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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15958-h.zip b/15958-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1661d60 --- /dev/null +++ b/15958-h.zip diff --git a/15958-h/15958-h.htm b/15958-h/15958-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..42d79d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/15958-h/15958-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12790 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<title>French and English</title> +<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii" /> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + body {background:#ffffff; + color:black; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + font-size:14pt; + margin-top:70px; + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align:justify} + h1 {text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em} + h2 {text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.04em} + h3 {text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.04em} + hr {height: 5px} + pre {text-align: center; font-size: 10pt;} + p {text-indent: 4% } + caption {text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 18pt; font-weight: bold; + letter-spacing: 0.04em; font-family: "Arial";} + td { font-family: "Arial";} + thead { font-weight: bold;} + td.ltoc { letter-spacing: 0.04em; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18pt; + text-transform: uppercase; text-align: right} + td.rtoc { font-weight: bold; font-size: 18pt; text-align: left} +/*]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of French and English, by Evelyn Everett-Green + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: French and English + A Story of the Struggle in America + +Author: Evelyn Everett-Green + +Release Date: May 31, 2005 [EBook #15958] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRENCH AND ENGLISH *** + + + + +Produced by Martin Robb + + + + + +</pre> + +<h1>French and English:</h1> +<h2>A Story of the Struggle in America</h2> +<h2>by Everett Evelyn-Green.</h2> +<hr /> +<table cellspacing="5" align="center" summary="Table of Contents"> +<caption>Contents</caption> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 1:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Border Warfare</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Western Settler.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Friends In Need.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Philadelphia.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">An Exciting Struggle.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 2:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Roger's Rangers.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch2-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Day Of Vengeance.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch2-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Robert Rogers.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch2-3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">The Life Of Adventure.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch2-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Vengeance And Disaster.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 3:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Disaster.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch3-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Tale Of Woe.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch3-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Escape.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch3-3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Albany.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch3-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Ticonderoga.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 4:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Wolfe.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch4-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Soldier At Home.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch4-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Louisbourg.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch4-3">Chapter 3:</a></td> +<td class="rtoc">Victory.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch4-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">The Fruits Of Victory.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 5:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Within Quebec.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch5-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">The Impregnable City.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch5-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">The Defences Of Quebec.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch5-3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Mariners Of The Deep.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch5-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Hostilities.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 6:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Without Quebec.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch6-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">In Sight Of His Goal.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch6-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Days Of Waiting.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch6-3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Daring Design.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch6-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">In The Hour Of Victory.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc">Book 7:</td> +<td class="rtoc">English Victors.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch7-1">Chapter 1</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">A Panic-Stricken City.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch7-2">Chapter 2</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Surrender.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch7-3">Chapter 3</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">Friendly Foes.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="ltoc"><a href="#Ch7-4">Chapter 4</a>:</td> +<td class="rtoc">The Last.</td> +</tr> +</table> +<h1>Book 1: Border Warfare.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch1" id="Ch1">Chapter 1</a>: A Western Settler.</h2> +<p>Humphrey Angell came swinging along through the silent aisles of +the vast primeval forest, his gun in the hollow of his arm, a heavy +bag of venison meat hanging from his shoulders.</p> +<p>A strange, wild figure, in the midst of a strange, wild scene: +his clothes, originally of some homespun cloth, now patched so +freely with dressed deerskin as to leave little of the original +material; moccasins on his feet, a beaver cap upon his head, his +leather belt stuck round with hunting knives, and the pistol to be +used at close quarters should any emergency arise.</p> +<p>He was a stalwart fellow, as these sons of the forest had need +to be--standing over six feet, and with a muscular development to +match his stately height. His tawny hair had been darkened by +exposure to hot suns, and his handsome face was deeply imbrowned +from the influences of weather in all seasons. His blue eyes had +that direct yet far-away look which comes to men who live face to +face with nature, and learn to know her in all her moods, and to +study her caprices in the earning of their daily bread.</p> +<p>Humphrey Angell was not more than twenty years of age, and he +had lived ten years in the forest. He had come there as a child +with his father, who had emigrated in his young life from England +to the settlement of Pennsylvania, and had afterwards become one of +the scattered settlers on the debatable ground between the French +and English borders, establishing himself in the heart of the +boundless forest, and setting to work with the utmost zeal and +industry to gather round himself a little farmstead where he could +pass his own later years in peace, and leave it for an inheritance +to his two sons.</p> +<p>Humphrey could remember Pennsylvania a little, although the life +in the small democratic township seemed now like a dream to him. +All his interests centred in the free forest, where he had grown to +manhood. Now and again a longing would come upon him to see +something of the great, tumultuous, seething world of whose +existence he was dimly aware. There were times in the long winter +evenings when he and his brother, the old father, and the brother's +wife would sit round the stove after the children had been put to +bed, talking of the past and the future. Then old Angell would tell +his sons of the life he had once led in far-away England, before +the spirit of adventure drove him forth to seek his fortune in the +New World; and at such times Humphrey would listen with eager +attention, feeling the stirrings of a like spirit within him, and +wondering whether the vast walls of the giant forest would for ever +shut him in, or whether it would be his lot some day to cross the +heaving, mysterious, ever-moving ocean of which his father often +spoke, and visit the country of which he was still proud to call +himself a son.</p> +<p>Yet he loved his forest home and the free, wild life he led. Nor +was the element of peril lacking to the daily lot--peril which had +not found them yet, but which might spring upon them unawares at +any moment. For after years of peace and apparent goodwill on the +part of the Indians of the Five Nations, as this tract of debatable +land had come to be called, a spirit of ill will and ferocity was +arising again; and settlers who had for years lived in peace and +quietness in their lonely homes had been swooped down upon, +scalped, their houses burnt, their wives and children +tomahawked--the raid being so swift and sudden that defence and +resistance had alike been futile.</p> +<p>What gave an added horror to this sudden change of policy on the +part of the Indians was the growing conviction throughout the +settlement that it was due to the agency of white men.</p> +<p>France, not content with the undisputed possession of Canada, +and of vast tracts of territory in the west and south which she had +no means of populating, was bitterly jealous of the English colony +in the east, and, above all; of any attempts which it might make to +extend its western border.</p> +<p>Fighting there had been already. Humphrey had heard rumours of +disasters to the English arms farther away to the south. He had +heard of Braddock's army having been cut to pieces in its attempt +to reach and capture the French Fort Duquesne, and a vague +uneasiness was penetrating to these scattered settlers, who had +hitherto lived in quietness and peace.</p> +<p>Perhaps had they known more of the spirit of parties beyond +their limited horizon, they would have been more uneasy still. But +habit is an enormous power in a man's life. Humphrey had gone forth +into the forest to kill meat for the family larder three or four +days in the week, in all seasons when the farm work was not +specially pressing. He came back day by day to the low-browed log +house, with its patches of Indian corn and other crops, its +pleasant sounds of life, the welcome from the children, the +approval of father and brother if the day had been successful, and +the smiles of the housewife when he displayed the contents of his +bag. It was almost impossible to remember from day to day that +peril from the silent, mysterious forest threatened them. They had +lived there for ten years unmolested and at peace; who would care +to molest them now?</p> +<p>And yet Humphrey, who knew the forest so well--its mysterious, +interminable depths, its trackless, boundless extent, rolling over +hill and valley in endless billows--he knew well how silently, how +suddenly an ambushed foe might approach, spring out from the thick, +tangled shelter to do some murderous deed, and in the maze of giant +timber be at once swallowed up beyond all danger of pursuit.</p> +<p>In the open plains the Indian raids were terrible enough, but +the horrors of uncertainty and ignorance which enveloped the +settlers in the forests might well cause the stoutest heart to +quail when once it became known that the Indians had become their +enemies, and that there was another enemy stirring up the strife, +and bribing the fierce and greedy savages to carry desolation and +death into the settlements of the English colonists.</p> +<p>Whispers--rumours--had just begun to penetrate into these leafy +solitudes; but communication with the outside world was so rare +that the Angell family, who had long been self-supporting, and able +to live without the products of the mother colony away to the east, +had scarcely realized the change that was creeping over the +country. The old man had never seen anything of Indian warfare, and +his sons had had little more experience. They had been peaceful +denizens of the woods, and bore arms for purposes of the chase +rather than for self-preservation from human foes, as did the bulk +of those dwellers in the woods that fringed the western border of +the English-speaking colony.</p> +<p>"We have no enemies; why should we fear?" asked Charles, the +elder brother, a man of placable temperament, a fine worker with +the axe or plough, a man of indomitable industry, endurance, and +patience, but one who had never shown any desire after adventure or +the chances of warfare. He was ten years older than Humphrey; and +the brothers had two sisters now married and settled in the colony. +The younger brother sometimes talked of visiting the sisters, and +bringing back news of them to the father at home; but Charles never +desired to leave the homestead. He was a singularly affectionate +husband and father, and had been an excellent son to the fine old +man, who now had his time of ease by the hearth in the winter +weather, though during a great part of the year he toiled in the +fields with a right good will, and with much of his old fire and +energy.</p> +<p>Humphrey was nearing home now, and started whistling a favourite +air which generally heralded his approach, and brought the children +tumbling out to meet him in a rush of merry welcome. But there was +no answering hubbub to be heard from the direction of the house, no +patter of little feet, no lowing of kine.</p> +<p>Humphrey stopped suddenly short in his whistling, and bent his +ear forward as though to listen. A faint, muffled, strangled cry +seemed to be borne to his ears. Under his bronze his face suddenly +grew white. He flung the heavy bag from off his back, and grasping +his gun more firmly in his hands, he rushed through the narrow +pathway; and came out upon the clearing around the little +farmstead.</p> +<p>In the morning he had left it, smiling in the autumn sunshine, a +peaceful, prosperous-looking place, homely, quaint, and bright. Now +his eyes rested upon a heap of smoking ruins, trampled crops, empty +sheds; and upon a still more horrible sight--the remains of mangled +corpses tied to the group of trees which sheltered the porch. It +was enough to curdle the blood of the stoutest hearted, and freeze +with horror the bravest warrior.</p> +<p>Humphrey was no warrior, but a strong-limbed, tender-hearted +youth; and as he looked at the awful scene before him, a blood-red +mist seemed to swim before his eyes. He gasped, and clutched at the +nearest tree trunk for support. Surely, surely it was some fever +dream which had come upon him. It could not, it should not be a +terrible reality.</p> +<p>"Humphrey, Humphrey! help, help!"</p> +<p>It was the strangled, muffled cry again. The sound woke the +young man from his trance of horror and amazement. He uttered a +hoarse cry, which he scarcely knew for his own, and dashed blindly +onwards.</p> +<p>"Here, here! This way. By the barn! Quick!"</p> +<p>No need to hasten Humphrey's flying feet. He rushed through the +trampled fields. He gained the clearing about the house and its +buildings. He reached the spot indicated, and saw a sight he would +never forget.</p> +<p>His brother Charles was tightly, cruelly bound to the stump of a +tree which had been often used for tethering animals at milking +time just outside the barn. His clothes were half torn from off his +back, and several gaping, bleeding wounds told of the fight which +had ended in his capture. Most significant of all was the long +semicircular red line round the brow, where the scalping knife had +plainly passed.</p> +<p>Humphrey's stout knife was cutting through the cruel cords, even +while his horrified eyes were taking in these details.</p> +<p>When his brother was released, he seemed to collapse for a +moment, and fell face downwards upon the ground, a quiver running +through all his limbs, such as Humphrey had seen many a time in +some wild creature stricken with its death wound.</p> +<p>He uttered a sharp cry of terror and anguish, and averting his +eyes from the awful sights with which the place abounded, he dashed +to the well, and bringing back a supply of pure cold water, flung +it over his brother's prostrate form, laving his face and hands, +and holding a small vessel to his parched and swollen lips so that +the draught could trickle into his mouth.</p> +<p>There was an effort to swallow, a quiver and a struggle, and the +wounded man opened his eyes and sat up.</p> +<p>"Where am I--what is it?" he gasped, draining the cup again and +again, like one who has been near to perish with thirst. "O +Humphrey, I have had such an awful dream!"</p> +<p>Humphrey had so placed his brother that he should not see on +opening his eyes that ghastly sight which turned the younger man +sick with horror each time his eyes wandered that way.</p> +<p>Charles saw the familiar outline of the forest, and his +brother's face bending over him. He had for a moment a vague +impression of something unspeakably awful and horrible, but at that +moment he believed that some mischance had befallen himself alone, +and that he had imagined some black, nameless horror in a fevered +dream.</p> +<p>A shiver ran through Humphrey's frame. His blue eyes were dazed +and dilated. What answer could he make? He busied himself with +dressing the wounds upon his brother's chest and shoulders, from +which the blood still oozed slowly.</p> +<p>"What is it?" asked Charles once again; "how did I come to be +hurt?"</p> +<p>Humphrey made no reply, but a groan burst unawares from his +lips. The sound seemed to startle Charles from his momentary calm. +He suddenly put up his hand to his brow, felt the smart of the +significant red line left by the scalping knife, and the next +moment he had sprung to his feet with a sharp, low cry of +unspeakable anguish.</p> +<p>He faced round then--and looked!</p> +<p>Humphrey stood beside him shoulder to shoulder, with his arm +about his brother, lest physical weakness should again overpower +him. But Charles seemed like one turned to stone.</p> +<p>For perhaps three long minutes he stood thus--speechless, +motionless; then a wild cry burst from his lips, accompanied by a +torrent of the wildest, fiercest invective--appeals to Heaven for +vengeance, threats of undying hatred, undying hostility to those +savage murderers whose raid had made this fair spot into a +desolation so awful.</p> +<p>Humphrey stood still and silent the while, like one spellbound. +He scarcely knew his brother in this moment of passionate despair +and fury. Charles had been a silent, placable man all his life +through. Born and bred in the Quaker settlement, till he had taken +to the life of the forest he had been a man of quiet industry and +toil rather than a fighter or a talker. A peaceful creed had been +his, and he had perhaps never before raised a hand in anger against +a fellow creature.</p> +<p>This made the sudden wild and passionate outburst the more +strange and awful to Humphrey. It was almost as though Charles was +no longer the brother he had known all these years, but had been +transformed into a different being by the swift and fearful +calamity which had swept down upon them during these past few +hours.</p> +<p>"I will avenge--I swear it! As they have done, so shall it be +done unto them. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life--is not +that written in the Scriptures? The avenger of blood shall follow +and overtake. His hand shall not spare, neither his eye pity. The +evildoer shall be rooted out of the land. His place shall be no +more found. Even as they have done, so shall it be done unto +them."</p> +<p>He stopped, and suddenly raised his clasped hands to heaven. A +torrent of words broke from his lips.</p> +<p>"O God, Thou hast seen, Thine eyes have beheld. If it had been +an open enemy that had done this thing, then could I perchance have +borne it. If it had been the untutored savage, in his ignorant +ferocity, then would I have left Thee, O Lord, to deal with him--to +avenge! But the white brother has risen up against his own flesh +and blood. The white man has stood by to see. He has hounded on the +savages! He has disgraced his humanity! O Lord God, give him into +my hands! let me avenge me of mine adversary. Let the ignorant +Indian escape if Thou wilt, but grant unto me to slay and slay and +slay amid the ranks of the white man, who has sold his soul for +gain, and has become more treacherous and cruel than the Indian +ally whose aid he has invoked. Judge Thou betwixt us, O Lord; look +upon this scene! Strengthen Thou mine arm to the battle, for here I +vow that I will henceforth give my life to this work. I will till +the fields no more. I will beat my pruning hook into a sword. I +will slay, and spare not, and Thou, O God of battles, shalt be with +me. Thou shalt strengthen mine arm; Thou shalt give unto me the +victory. Thou shalt deliver mine enemy into mine hand. I know it, I +see it! For Thou art God, and I am Thy servant, and I will avenge +upon him who has defied Thee this hideous crime upon which Thine +eyes have looked!"</p> +<p>Humphrey stood by silent and awed. An answering thrill was in +his own heart. He had averted his eyes from the ghastly spectacle +of those charred and mangled corpses; but they turned upon them +once more at this moment, and he could not marvel at his brother's +words. He, too, had been trained to peaceable thoughts and ways. He +had hoped that there would soon be an end of these rumours of wars. +His immediate forefathers had been men of peace, and he had never +known the craving after the excitement of battle.</p> +<p>Yet as his brother spoke there came upon him a new feeling. He +felt his arm tingling; he felt the hot blood surging through his +veins. He was conscious that were an enemy to show face at that +moment between the trees of the forest, he would be ready to spring +upon him like a wild beast, and rend him limb from limb without +pity and without remorse.</p> +<p>But the Indians had made off as silently and as swiftly as they +appeared. Not a vestige of the band remained behind. And there was +work for the brothers at that moment of a different sort, and work +which left its lasting mark upon the memory and even upon the +nature of Humphrey Angell.</p> +<p>Together the brothers dug a deep grave. Reverently they +deposited in it all that was left of the mortal remains of those +whom they had loved so tenderly and well: the kindly house mother, +to whose industry and thrift so much of their comfort had been due; +the little, innocent, prattling children and brave little lads, who +were already learning to be useful to father and mother. None of +them spared--no pity shown to sex or age. All ruthlessly murdered; +husband and father forced to watch the horrid spectacle, himself a +helpless prisoner, waiting for his doom.</p> +<p>Humphrey had not hitherto dared to ask the question which had +been exercising him all the while--how it was that his brother's +life had been spared. He also wanted to know where the old man +their father was; for the corpses they had laid in the grave were +those of Charles's wife and children.</p> +<p>Charles noted his questioning glance around when the grave had +received its victims, and he pointed to the smoking ruins of the +house.</p> +<p>"He lies there. They bound him in his chair. They tied the babe +down in his cradle. They set fire to the house. Heaven send that +the reek choked them before the fire touched them! They lie yonder +beneath the funeral pyre--our venerable sire and my bonny, laughing +babe!"</p> +<p>He stopped short, choked by a sudden rush of tears; and +Humphrey, flinging down his spade, threw himself along the ground +in a paroxysm of unspeakable anguish, choking sobs breaking from +him, the unaccustomed tears raining down his cheeks.</p> +<p>The brothers wept together. Perhaps those tears saved Charles +from some severe fever of the brain. He wept till he was perfectly +exhausted, and at last his condition of prostration so far aroused +Humphrey that he was forced into action.</p> +<p>He half lifted, half dragged his brother into one of the empty +barns, where he laid him down upon some straw. He rolled up his own +coat for a pillow, and after hastily finishing the filling in of +the grave, he went back into the forest for his game bag, and +having kindled a fire, cooked some of the meat, and forced his +brother to eat and drink. It was growing dark by that time, and the +blackness of the forest seemed to be swallowing them up.</p> +<p>A faint red glow still came from the direction of the burning +homestead, where the fire still smouldered amid the smoking ruins. +Humphrey closed the door of the barn, to shut out the sight and +also the chill freshness of the autumn night.</p> +<p>He lay down upon the straw beside his brother, worn out in body +and mind. But there could be no thought of sleep for either man +that night; the horror was too pressing and ever present, and +anguish lay like a physical load upon their hearts.</p> +<p>The silence was full of horror for both; in self defence +Humphrey began to speak.</p> +<p>"When was it, Charles? I was in the forest all day, and I saw +and heard nothing. The silence was never broken save by the +accustomed sounds of the wild creatures of the wood. No war party +came my way. When was it?"</p> +<p>"At the noontide meal. We had all gathered within doors. There +was none to give warning of danger. Suddenly and silently as ghosts +they must have filed from out the forest. We were already +surrounded and helpless before the first wild war whoop broke upon +our ears!"</p> +<p>Charles put up his hands as though to shut out that awful yell, +the echoes of which rang so long in the ears of those who had heard +it. Humphrey shivered, and his hands clinched themselves nervously +together.</p> +<p>"Why was I not here to fight and to die?"</p> +<p>"Better to live--and to avenge their blood!" answered Charles, +with a gleam lighting his sunken eyes. He was silent awhile, and +then went on with his narrative.</p> +<p>"It was not a fight; it was only a slaughter! The children +rushed screaming from the house, escaping the first rush of the +painted savages when they burst in upon us. But there were others +outside, who hacked and slashed them as they passed. I had only my +hunting knife in my belt. I stood before Ellen, and I fought like +ten demons! God is witness that I did all that one man could. But +what avail against scores of such foes? Three corpses were heaped +at my threshold. I saw them carrying away many others dead or +wounded, Our father fought too; and Ellen backed into the corner +where the gun stood, and with her own hands she shot down two of +the savages.</p> +<p>"Would to heaven she had shot at the white one, who was tenfold +more of a fiend! But he shall not escape--he shall not escape! I +shall know his face when I see it next. And I will not go down to +the grave till he and I have stood face to face once more, when I +am not bound and helpless, but a free man with weapons in my hand. +That day will come; I read it in the book of fate. The Lord God, +unto whom vengeance belongeth, He will cause it to come to +pass!"</p> +<p>Humphrey was afraid of these wild outbursts, as likely to bring +on fever; and yet he could not but desire to know more.</p> +<p>"A white man? Nay, brother; that is scarce to be believed. A +white man to league himself to such deeds as these!"</p> +<p>"A white man--a Frenchman. For I called upon him in our tongue, +and he answered me in the same, but with that halting accent which +I know belongs to the sons of France. Moreover, he made no secret +of it. He called us dogs of English, who were robbers of the soil +where none had right to penetrate save the subjects of his royal +master. He swore that they would make an end of us, root and +branch; and he laughed when he saw the Indians cutting down the +little ones, and covering their tender bodies with cruel wounds; +nor had he any pity upon the one white woman; and when I raved upon +him and cursed him, he laughed back, and said he had no power to +allay the fury of the savages. Those who would preserve themselves +safe should retire within the bounds of the colony to which they +belong. France would have an end of encroachment, and the Indians +were her friends, and would help her to drive out the common +foe!"</p> +<p>Humphrey set his teeth and clinched his hands. The old +instinctive hatred of centuries between French and English, never +really dead, now leaped into life in his breast. He had heard +plenty of talk during his boyhood of France's boundless pretensions +with regard to the great New World of the West, and how she sought, +by the simple process of declaring territory to be hers, to extend +her power over millions of miles of the untrodden plains and +forests, which she could never hope to populate. He had laughed +with others at these claims, and had thought little enough of them +when with father and brother he set out for the western +frontier.</p> +<p>There was then peace between the nations. Nor had it entered +into the calculations of the settlers that their white brethren +would stir up the friendly Indians against them, and bring havoc +and destruction to their scattered dwellings. That was a method of +warfare undreamed of a few years back; but it was now becoming a +terrible reality.</p> +<p>"But your life was spared?" said Humphrey at last; "and yet the +scalping-knife came very close to doing its horrid work."</p> +<p>"Yes: they spared me--he spared me--when he had made me suffer +what was tenfold worse than death; yet I wot well he only thought +to leave me to a lingering death of anguish, more terrible than +that of the scalping knife! They knew not that I had any to come to +my succour. When he drew off the howling Indians and left me bound +to the stump, he thought he left me to perish of starvation and +burning thirst. It was no mercy that he showed me--rather a +refinement of cruelty. I begged him to make an end of my wretched +life; but he smiled, and bid me a mocking farewell.</p> +<p>"Great God of heaven and earth, look down and avenge me of mine +adversary! I trust there are not many such fiends in human shape +even in the ranks of the jealous and all-grasping French. But if +there be, may it be mine to carry death and desolation into their +ranks! May they be driven forth from this fair land which they have +helped to desolate! May death and destruction come swiftly upon +them; and when they fall, let them rise up no more!"</p> +<p>"Amen!" said Humphrey solemnly; and the brothers sat in silence +for a great while, the gloom hiding them the one from the other, +though they knew that their hearts were beating in sympathy.</p> +<p>"The war has broken out," said Humphrey at last. "We can +perchance find our place in the ranks of those who go to drive out +the oppressive race, whose claims are such as English subjects will +not tolerate."</p> +<p>"Ay, there will be fighting, fighting, fighting now till they +are driven forth, and till England's flag waves proudly over this +great land!" cried Charles, with a strange confidence and +exultation in his tones. "England will fight, and I will fight with +her. I will slay and slay, and spare not; and I will tell this tale +to all wherever I go. I will hunt out mine enemy until I compass +his death. They have despoiled me of home, of wife, of children. +They have taken away all the joy of life. The light of my eyes is +gone. Henceforth I have but one thing to live for. I bare my sword +against France. Against her will I fight until the Lord gives us +the victory. The world shall know, and all ears shall tingle at the +tale which I will tell. There shall be no quarter, no pity for +those who use such means as those which have left me what I am +tonight!"</p> +<p>Humphrey could not marvel at the intensity of the ferocity in +Charles's tones. It sounded strange in one of so gentle and +placable a nature; but he had cause--he had cause!</p> +<p>"Think you that the man was other than one of those wild fellows +who run from all law and order in the townships and become denizens +of the wood, and little better than the wild Indians themselves? +We. have heard of these <i>coureurs de bois</i>, as they are +called. There are laws passed against them, severe and restrictive, +by their own people. Perchance it were scarce just to the French to +credit them with all that this man has done."</p> +<p>"Peace, Humphrey," was the stern reply. "We know that the French +are inciting the Indians against our peaceful settlers, and that +what has happened here today is happening in other places along our +scattered frontier. The work is the work of France, and against +France will I fight till she is overthrown. I have sworn it. Seek +not to turn me from my purpose. I will fight, and fight, and fight +till I see her lying in the dust, and till I have met mine enemy +face to face and have set my foot upon his neck. God has heard my +vow; He will fight for me till it be fulfilled."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch2" id="Ch2">Chapter 2</a>: Friends In Need.</h2> +<p>It was not to be surprised at that, after that terrible day and +night, Charles should awake from the restless sleep into which he +had dropped towards dawn in a state of high fever.</p> +<p>He lay raving in delirium for three days, whilst Humphrey sat +beside him, putting water to his parched lips, striving to soothe +and quiet him; often shuddering with horror as he seemed to see +again with his brother's eyes those horrid scenes upon which the +fevered man's fancy ever dwelt; waking sometimes at night in a +sweat of terror, thinking he heard the Indian war whoop echoing +through the forest.</p> +<p>Those were terrible days for Humphrey--days of a loneliness that +was beyond anything he had experienced before. His brother was near +him in the flesh, but severed from him by a whole world of fevered +imaginings. Sometimes Humphrey found it in his heart to wish that +the Indians would come back and make a final end of them both. All +hope and zest and joy in life seemed to have been taken from him at +one blow. He could neither think of the happy past without pangs of +pain, nor yet face a future which seemed barren of hope and +promise.</p> +<p>He could only sit beside his brother, tend him, nurse him, pray +for him. But the words of prayer too often died away upon his lips. +Had they not all prayed together, after the godly habit of the +household, upon the very morning when this awful disaster fell upon +them? Were these vast solitudes too far away for God to hear the +prayers that went up from them?</p> +<p>Humphrey had never known what awful loneliness could engulf the +human spirit till he sat beside the fevered man in the vast +solitude of the primeval forest, asking in his heart whether God +Himself had not forsaken them.</p> +<p>It was the hour of sundown, and Humphrey had gone outside for a +breath of fresh air. He looked ten years older than he had done a +few days back, when he had come whistling through the forest track, +expecting to see the children bounding forth to meet him. His eyes +were sunken, his face was pale and haggard, his dress was unkempt +and ragged. There were no clever fingers now to patch tattered +raiment, and keep things neat and trim.</p> +<p>There was an unwonted sound in the forest! It was distant still. +To some ears it would have been inaudible; but Humphrey heard it, +and his heart suddenly beat faster.</p> +<p>The sound was that of approaching steps--the steps of men. A few +minutes more and he heard the sound of voices, too. He had been +about to dash into the shed for his gun, but the fresh sounds +arrested his movement.</p> +<p>He had ears as sharp as those of an ambushed Indian, and he +detected in a moment that the men who were approaching the clearing +were of his own nationality. The words he could not hear, but he +could distinguish the intonation. It was not the rapid, +thin-sounding French tongue; it was English--he was certain of it! +And a light leaped to his eyes at the bare thought of meeting a +brother countryman in this desolate place.</p> +<p>Probably it was some other settler, one of that hardy race that +fringed the colony on its western frontier. Miles and miles of +rolling forest lay between these scattered holdings, and since war +was but lately begun, nothing had been done for the protection of +the hapless people now becoming an easy prey of the Indians stirred +up to molest them.</p> +<p>Humphrey knew none of their neighbours. Forest travelling was +too difficult and dangerous to tempt the settler far away from his +own holding. If it were one of these coming now, most likely he too +had suffered from attack or fear of attack, and was seeking a +friend in the nearest locality.</p> +<p>He stood like one spellbound, watching and waiting. The sound of +steps drew nearer to the fringe of obscuring forest trees; the +sound of voices became plainer and more plain. In another minute +Humphrey saw them--two bronzed and stalwart men--advancing from the +wood into the clearing. They came upon it unawares, as was plain +from their sudden pause. But they were white men; they were +brothers in this wild land. There was something like a sob in +Humphrey's throat, which he hastily swallowed down, as he advanced +with great strides to meet them.</p> +<p>"You are welcome," he said. "I had thought the Indians had left +no living beings behind them in all this forest save my brother and +myself."</p> +<p>No introductions were needed in this savage place; the face of +every white man lit up at sight of a like countenance, and at the +sound of the familiar tongue. The men shook hands with a hearty +grip, and one said to Humphrey:</p> +<p>"You have had Indians here?"</p> +<p>Humphrey made an expressive gesture with his hand.</p> +<p>"This was a week ago as fair a holding as heart of man could +wish to see in this grim forest. You see what is left today!"</p> +<p>"Your house is burnt down, as we plainly see. Have you lost +aught beside? Has human blood been spilt?"</p> +<p>"The corpse of my venerable father, and that of a bold baby boy, +lie beneath yon heap of ruins which made their funeral pyre. In +yonder grave lie the mingled corpses of my brother's wife and four +fair children, hacked to death and half burnt by the savages. And +yet this work is not the work of savages alone. With them we have +dwelt at peace these many years. The shame, the horror, the +disgrace of it is that we owe these horrors to the white sons of +France, who hound on the savages to make these raids, and stand by +to see them do their bloody work!"</p> +<p>The two strangers exchanged glances--meaning glances--and one of +them laid a hand upon Humphrey's shoulder, looking earnestly into +his eyes the while.</p> +<p>"Is it so in very truth? So have we heard in whispers, but it +was a thing we could scarce believe. We have travelled far from the +lands of the south to join our brethren of the English race. We +heard rumours of wars cruel and bloody. Yet it seemed to us too +strange a thing to believe that here, amid the hostile, savage +Indians, white man could wage war with white man, and take the +bloody heathen man as his ally, instead of the brother who bears +the name of Christ!"</p> +<p>Humphrey looked with some wonder and fascination into the face +of the youth who spoke. It was a refined and beautiful face, +notwithstanding the evidences of long exposure to sun and wind. The +features were finely cut, sensitive and expressive, and the eyes +were very luminous in their glance, and possessed strangely +penetrating powers. In stature the young man was almost as tall as +Humphrey, but of a much slighter build; yet he was wiry and +muscular, as could well be seen, and plainly well used to the life +of the wild woodlands. His dress was that of the backwoods, dressed +deerskin being the chief material used. Both travellers wore +moccasins on their feet, and carried the usual weapons of offence +and defence.</p> +<p>Yet Humphrey felt as though this man was in some sort different +from those he had met in the woods at rare times when out hunting. +His voice, his words, his phraseology seemed in some sort strange, +and he asked him wonderingly:</p> +<p>"From whence are you, friends?"</p> +<p>"From the land of the far south--from the rolling plains of the +giant Mississippi, that vast river of which perchance you have +heard?"</p> +<p>"Ay, verily," answered Humphrey, with a touch of bitterness in +his tone. "I have heard of that great river, which the French King +claims to have discovered, and which they say he will guard with a +chain of forts right away from Canada, and will thus command all +the New World of the West, pinning us English within the limits of +that portion of land lying betwixt the ocean and the range of the +Allegheny Mountains," and Humphrey waved his hand in that +direction, and looked questioningly at the men before him.</p> +<p>He had an impression that all who came from the far south, from +the colony of Louisiana, as he had heard it called, must be in some +sort French subjects. And yet these men spoke his own tongue, and +seemed to be friends and brothers.</p> +<p>"That was the chimera of the French Monarch more than a century +ago. Methinks it is little nearer its accomplishment now than when +our forefathers, acting as pioneers, made a small settlement in a +green valley near to the mouth of the giant river, waiting for the +King to send his priests and missionaries to convert the heathen +from their evil ways, and found a fair Christian realm in that fair +land."</p> +<p>"Then were your forefathers French subjects?" asked Humphrey, +rather bewildered. "If so, how come you to speak mine own tongue as +you do?"</p> +<p>"I come of no French stock!" cried the companion stranger, who +had remained silent until now, looking searchingly round the +clearing, and examining Humphrey himself with curiosity; "I have no +drop of French blood in my veins, whatever Julian may have. I am +Fritz Neville. I come of an English family. But you shall hear all +later on, as we sit by our fire at night. I would hear all your +tale of desolation and woe. We, for our part, have no cause to love +the French oppressors, whose ambition and greed seem to know no +bounds. Can you give us shelter by your hearth tonight? Food we +have of our own, since we find game in sufficient abundance in +these forest tracks."</p> +<p>As he spoke he unslung from his shoulders a fine young fawn +which they had lately shot, and Humphrey made eager answer to the +request for hospitality.</p> +<p>"Would that we had better to offer! But the homestead is burnt. +My brother lies sick of a fever in yon shed--a fever brought on by +loss of blood and by anguish of mind. I have been alone in this +place with him hard upon a week now, and to me it seems as though +years instead of days had passed over my head since the calamity +happened."</p> +<p>"I can well believe that," said the first speaker, whom his +companion had spoken of as Julian. "There be times in a man's life +when hours are as days and days as years. But let me see your +brother if he be sick. I have some skill in the treatment of +fevers, and I have brought in my wallet some simples which we find +wonderfully helpful down in the south, from where I come. I doubt +not I can bring him relief."</p> +<p>Humphrey's face brightened with a look of joyful relief, and +Fritz exclaimed heartily:</p> +<p>"Yes, yes, Julian is a notable leech. We all come to him with +our troubles both of body and mind.</p> +<p>"Lead on, comrade. I will cook the supper whilst you and he tend +the sick man; and afterwards we will tell all our tale; and take +counsel for the future."</p> +<p>It was new life to Humphrey to hear the sound of human voices, +to feel the touch of friendly hands, to know himself not alone in +the awful isolation of the vast forest. He led the way to the rough +shed, which he had contrived during the past days to convert into a +rude species of sleeping and living room. He had made a hearth and +a chimney, so that he could cook food whilst still keeping an eye +upon his sick brother. He had contrived a certain amount of rude +comfort in Charles's bed and surroundings. The place looked +pleasant to the wearied, travellers, for it was spotlessly clean, +and it afforded shelter from the keen night air.</p> +<p>They had been finding the nights grow cold as they journeyed +northward, and Fritz rubbed his hands at sight of the glow of the +fire, and set to work eagerly upon his culinary tasks; whilst +Julian and Humphrey bent over Charles, the former examining the +condition of his pulse and skin with the air of one who knows how +to combat the symptoms of illness.</p> +<p>He administered a draught, and bathed the sick man's temples +with some pungent decoction of herbs which he prepared with hot +water; and after giving him a small quantity of soup, told Humphrey +that he would probably sleep quietly all night, and might very +likely awake without any fever, though as weak as a child.</p> +<p>And in effect only a short time elapsed before his eyes closed, +and he sank into a peaceful slumber, such as he had not known +throughout the past days.</p> +<p>"Thank God you came!" said Humphrey with fervour; "I had thought +to bury my brother here beside his wife, and the loneliness and +horror had well nigh driven me mad. If he live, I shall have +something left to live for; else I could have wished that we had +all perished together!"</p> +<p>"Nay," cried Fritz from the fire, "we can do better than that: +we can join those who have the welfare of the country at heart. We +can punish proud France for her ambition and encroachments, and +perchance--who knows?--England's flag may ere long proudly wave +where now only the banner of France has floated from her scattered +forts."</p> +<p>But just at this moment Humphrey could not be roused to any +patriotic fervour. The sense of personal loss and horror was strong +upon him. His thoughts were turning vaguely towards the mother +country from which his fathers had come. For the moment the wild +West was hateful to him. He could not face the thought of taking up +the old life again. He had been uprooted too suddenly and +ruthlessly. The spell of the forest was gone. Sometimes he felt +that he never wished to look upon waving trees again.</p> +<p>As they partook of the well-cooked supper which Fritz had +provided, and afterwards sat smoking their pipes beside the fire, +whilst the wind moaned and sighed round the corners of the shed, +and whispered through the trees around the clearing, he told these +strangers the whole history of his life, and how it had seemed to +be suddenly cut in half a week ago, whilst the last half already +began to look and feel to him longer than the first.</p> +<p>There was no lack of sympathy and interest in the faces of his +hearers. When they heard how a Frenchman had been with the Indians +upon their raid, Fritz smote the ground heavily with his open hand, +exclaiming:</p> +<p>"That is what we heard as we journeyed onward; that is the +rumour that reached us even in the far south. It was hard to +believe that brother should turn against brother out here in these +trackless wilds, amid hordes of savage Indians. We said it must +surely be false--that Christian men could not be guilty of such +wickedness! Yet it has proved all too true. We have heard stories +during our journey which have filled our hearts with loathing and +scorn. France is playing a treacherous, a vile and unworthy game. +England is no match for her yet--unprepared and taken at a +disadvantage. But you will see, you will see! She will arise from +sleep like a giant refreshed! And then let proud France tremble for +her bloody laurels!"</p> +<p>His eye flashed, and Julian said thoughtfully:</p> +<p>"Ay, truly has she stained her laurels with blood; and she is +even now staining her annals with dark crimes, when she stirs up +the savage Indian to bring death and desolation to those peaceful +settlers with whom they have so long lived as friends. God will +require their blood at the hands of France. Let her beware! for the +hour of her destruction will not be prolonged if she sells herself +to sin."</p> +<p>There was a long silence then between the three men; it was at +length broken by Humphrey, who looked from one to the other, and +said:</p> +<p>"You have not yet told me of yourselves. Who are you, and whence +do you come? I have heard of vast plains and mighty rivers in the +south and west, but I know nothing beyond these forest tracks which +lie about our desolated home."</p> +<p>Fritz signed to Julian to be the speaker, and he leaned his back +against the wall, clasping his hands behind his head. The firelight +gleamed upon his earnest face and shone in his brilliant eyes. +Humphrey regarded him with a species of fascination. He had never +seen a man quite of this type before.</p> +<p>"Have you ever heard," asked Julian, "of that great explorer La +Salle, who first made the voyage of the great river Mississippi, +and founded the infant colony of Louisiana, albeit he himself +perished by the hand of an assassin in the wilderness, before he +had half achieved the object to which he was pledged?"</p> +<p>"I have heard the name," said Humphrey; "I used to hear the men +of Philadelphia talk of such things when I was a boy. But he was a +Frenchman."</p> +<p>"Yes, and came with a commission from the King of France hard +upon a century ago. My great-grandfather and his father were of the +company of La Salle, although they bore their part in a different +expedition from that which is known to the world."</p> +<p>"Are you then French?" asked Humphrey, half disappointed, though +he could not tell why.</p> +<p>Julian smiled, reading the thought in his heart.</p> +<p>"French in little beside name," he replied. "My great +grandfather, Gaspard Dautray, was half English through his mother, +an Englishwoman; and he married Mary Neville, an English maiden, +from whose family Fritz there is descended. In brief, let me tell +you the story. Long before La Salle had penetrated the fastnesses +of the west, there had grown up in a green valley a little colony +of English, outcasts from their own land by reason of their faith. +They had lived at peace for long with the Indian tribes; but when +more white men began invading their country, jealousy and fury were +awakened in the hearts of the Indians, and this little settlement +was in great danger. In their extremity this little colony sent to +La Salle, and though he himself was absent, his lieutenant sent +them a band of men to aid them in defending their lives and +property, and in routing the attacking Indian force.</p> +<p>"But it was no longer safe to remain in the green valley which +had sheltered them so long. They heard of the lands of the south, +down the great mysterious river, and they resolved to seek an +asylum there.</p> +<p>"With the company of La Salle, and yet not attached to it, was a +holy man whom all the world called Father Fritz; a priest, yet one +who followed not the Pope of Rome, but loved each Christian +brother, and recognized only one Church--the Church of the +baptized. He went with the little band, and they made themselves a +new home in the land of the south. They were beloved of the Indians +about them. Father Fritz taught them, baptized such as were truly +converted, and lived amongst them to a hoary old age, loving and +beloved; seeking always to hold them back from greed and +covetousness, and teaching them that the hope for which they must +look was the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to reign upon +the earth."</p> +<p>Julian paused, looking thoughtfully into the fire. Humphrey +heaved a great sigh, and said half bitterly:</p> +<p>"But the Lord delayeth His coming, and men wage war against +their brethren."</p> +<p>"Yes, verily; yet I think that should make us long the more for +the day which will surely come. However, let me tell my tale. The +great enterprise of France in the south and west has come to but a +very small thing. No chain of forts guards the great river. The +highway from Canada to the south has never been opened up. France +is speaking of it to this day. These very hostile movements towards +England are all part and parcel of the old plan. She still desires +to hold the whole territory by this chain of forts, and shut +England in between the sea and those mountains yonder. You have +heard, I doubt not, how England is resolved not to be thus held in +check. Major George Washington and General Braddock have both made +attacks upon Fort Duquesne, and though both have suffered defeat +owing to untoward causes and bad generalship, the spirit within +them is still unquenched. Fort Duquesne, Fort Niagara, Fort +Ticonderoga--these are the three northern links of the chain, and I +think that England will never rest until she has floated her flag +over these three forts.</p> +<p>"We have come from far to the heart of that great struggle which +all men know must come. The day of rest for us seemed ended. We +have been travelling all through the long, hot summer months, to +find and to be with our countrymen when the hour of battle should +come."</p> +<p>Humphrey looked from one to the other, and said:</p> +<p>"There are only two of you. Where are all the rest from your +smiling valley of the south? Were you the only twain that desired +to join the fight?"</p> +<p>"A dozen of us started, but two turned back quickly, discouraged +by the hardness of the way, and a few died of fever in the great +swamps and jungles: Others turned aside when we neared the great +lakes, thinking to find an easier way. But Fritz and I had our own +plan of making our way to New England, and after long toil and +travel here we are at the end of our journey. For this indeed seems +like the end, when we have found a comrade who will show us the way +and lead us to the civilized world again!"</p> +<p>"Ay, I can do that," answered Humphrey; "I know well the road +back to the world. Nor is it a matter of more than a few days' +travel to reach the outlying townships. I have often said I would +go and visit our sisters and friends, but I have never done so. +Alas that I should go at last with such heavy tidings!"</p> +<p>"Heavy tidings indeed," said Fritz, with sympathy; "yet we will +avenge these treacherous murders upon those who have brought them +to pass."</p> +<p>"That will not restore the dead to life," said Humphrey +mournfully.</p> +<p>"No, but it will ease the burning heart of its load of rage and +vengeance."</p> +<p>Humphrey's eyes turned for a moment towards his sleeping +brother. He knew how welcome would be such words to him--that is, +if he awoke from his fever dreams in the same mood as they had +found him.</p> +<p>"And yet," said Julian thoughtfully, "we have been taught by our +fathers that brothers should live at peace together, even as we in +our valley lived long at peace with all and with one another. So +long as the memory of our venerable Father remained alive there was +all harmony and concord, and every man sought his brother's well +being as earnestly as his own."</p> +<p>"Can you remember the holy man?" asked Humphrey, with +interest.</p> +<p>"No; but my father remembered him well. He was well grown +towards manhood before the venerable old man died at a great age. +My grandfather has told me story after story of him. I have been +brought up to love and revere his memory, and to hold fast the +things which he taught us. But after his death, alas! a new spirit +gradually entered into the hearts of our people. They began to grow +covetous of gain, to trade with the Indians for their own benefit, +to fall into careless and sometimes evil practices. Before my +father died he said to me that the Home of Peace was no longer the +place it once had been, and that he should like to think that I +might find a better place to live in, since I was young and had my +life before me."</p> +<p>"Was that long ago?"</p> +<p>"Just a year. My mother had died six months earlier. The +dissensions of the parent countries had begun to reach to us. We +had been French and English from the beginning, but had dwelt in +peace and brotherly goodwill for nigh upon eighty years. We had +married amongst ourselves, so that some amongst us scarce knew +whether to call themselves French or English. But for all that +disunion grew and spread. Stragglers of Louisiana found their way +to us. They brought new fashions of thought and teaching with them. +Some Romish priests found us out, and took possession of the little +chapel which Father Fritz had built with such loving care, and the +Mass was said instead of that simpler service which he had drawn up +for us. Many of us the priests dubbed as heretics, and because we +would not change our views for them, they became angry, and we were +excommunicated. It has been nothing but growing strife and disunion +for the past two years. I was glad to turn my back upon it at last, +and find my way to a freer land, and one where a man may worship +God according to his conscience; albeit I have no desire to speak +ill of the priests, who were good men, and sought to teach us what +they deemed to be the truth."</p> +<p>"I am a Protestant," said Humphrey; "I know little about Romish +devices. I was taught to hate and abhor them. We dwelt among the +Quaker folk of Pennsylvania. but we are not Quakers ourselves. Out +here in the wilds we must live as we can. We have the Bible--and +that is all."</p> +<p>"People say of the Quakers that they will not fight!" said Fritz +suddenly. "Is that so?"</p> +<p>"I know not," answered Humphrey; "I think I have heard my father +say something of that sort. But surely they will fight to avenge +such things as that!" and he made a gesture with his hand as though +indicating the burnt homestead and the graves of the murdered woman +and children.</p> +<p>"If they be men they surely will. You will go and tell them your +story, Humphrey?"</p> +<p>"Ay, that I will!" answered Humphrey, between his shut +teeth.</p> +<p>Fritz sat staring into the fire for some time, and then he too +broke out with some heat.</p> +<p>"Yes, it is the same story all over. It was the French who came +and spoiled our happy home. If they had let us alone, perchance we +might have been there still, hunting, fishing, following the same +kind of life as our fathers--at peace with ourselves and with the +world. But they came amongst us. They sowed disunion and strife. +They were resolved to get rid of the English party, as they called +it. They were all softness and mildness to them. But those in whom +the sturdy British spirit flourished they regarded with jealousy +and dislike. They sowed the seeds of disunion. They spoiled our +valley and our life. Doubtless the germs were there before, but it +was the emissaries of France who wrought the mischief. If they +could have done it, I believe they would have taught the Indians to +distrust us English; but that was beyond their power. Even they +held in loving reverence the name of Father Fritz, and none of his +children, as they called us all alike, could do wrong in their +eyes. So then it was their policy to get rid of such as would not +own the supremacy of France in all things. I was glad at the last +to go. We became weary of the bickerings and strife. Some of the +elders remained behind, but the rest of us went forth to find +ourselves a new home and a new country."</p> +<p>Humphrey listened to this tale with as much interest as it was +possible for him to give to any concern other than his own. +Something of that indignant hatred which was springing into active +life all through the western continent began to inflame his breast. +It had been no effect of Charles's inflamed imagination. The French +were raising the Indians against them, and striving to overthrow +England's sons wherever they had a foothold, beyond their immediate +colonies. It was time they should arise and assert themselves. +Humphrey's eyes kindled as he sat thinking upon these things.</p> +<p>"I too will go forth and fight France," he said at last; and +with that resolve the sense of numb lethargy and despair fell away +from him like a worn-out garment, and his old fire and energy +returned.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch3" id="Ch3">Chapter 3</a>: Philadelphia.</h2> +<p>"I will go and tell my tale in the ears of my countrymen," said +Charles, with steady voice but burning eyes, "and then I will go +forth and fight the French, and slay and slay till they be driven +from off the face of the western world!"</p> +<p>The fever had left Charles now. Some of his former strength had +come back to him. But his brother looked at him often with +wondering eyes, for it seemed to him that this Charles was a new +being, with whom he had but scant acquaintance. He could not +recognize in this stern faced, brooding man the quiet, homely +farmer and settler whose home he had shared for so long.</p> +<p>Their new comrades were glad of the rest afforded them by the +necessity of waiting till Charles should be fit to move. They had +been travelling for many months, and the shelter of a roof--even +though it was only the roof of a shed--was grateful to them.</p> +<p>Fritz and Charles took a strong mutual liking almost from the +first. Both were men of unwonted strength and endurance, and both +were fired by a strong personal enmity towards the French and their +aggressive policy.</p> +<p>Julian told Humphrey, in their private conferences, something of +the cause of this personal rancour.</p> +<p>"There was a fair maid in our valley--Renee we called her--and +her parents were French. But we were all friends together; and +Fritz and she loved each other, and were about to be betrothed. +Then came these troubles, and the priest forbade Renee to wed a +heretic; and though she herself would have been faithful, her +parents were afraid. It seemed to all then that the French were +going to be masters of the land. There was another youth who loved +her also, and to him they married her. That was just before we came +away--a dozen of us English youths, who could not stand the new +state of things and the strife of party. Fritz has neither +forgotten nor forgiven. The name of France us odious in his +ears."</p> +<p>"And in yours, too?" asked Humphrey.</p> +<p>Julian's face was grave and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"I have my moments of passionate anger. I hate everything that +is vile and treacherous and aggressive. But I would seek to +remember that after all we are brothers, and that we all bear the +name of Christ. That is what Father Fritz of old sought to make us +remember. Perhaps it comes the easier to me in that I have French +blood in my veins, albeit I regard myself now as an English +subject. I have cast in my lot with the English."</p> +<p>Humphrey and Julian drew together, much as did Charles and +Fritz. Julian was a year or two older than Humphrey, and Charles +was several years older than Fritz; but all had led a free open-air +life, and had tastes and feelings in common. They understood +woodcraft and hunting; they were hardy, self reliant, +courageous.</p> +<p>It was of such men as these that the best soldiers were made in +the days that were at hand; although the military leaders, +especially if they came from the Old World with its code of +civilized warfare, were slow to recognize it.</p> +<p>A heavy storm of wind and rain--the precursor of the coming +winter--raged round the little settlement for several days, during +which the party sat round their fire, talking of the past and the +future, and learning to know each other more and more +intimately.</p> +<p>Charles recovered rapidly from the loss of blood and the fever +weakness. His constitution triumphed easily over his recent +illness, and he was only longing to be on the road, that he might +the sooner stand face to face with the foe.</p> +<p>And now the storm was abating. The sun began to shine out +through the driving wrack of clouds. The woodland tracks might be +wet, but little reeked the travellers of that.</p> +<p>They bound upon their backs as much provision as would suffice +for their immediate needs. They looked well to their arms and +ammunition. They had mended their clothes, and were strong and +fresh and full of courage.</p> +<p>The journey before them seemed as nothing to the pair who had +traversed so many thousands of miles of wood and water. And the +settlers had friends at the other end who would remember them, and +have tears of sympathy to shed at hearing their terrible tale.</p> +<p>The brothers stood looking their last upon the clearing which +had for so long been their home. In Humphrey's eyes there was an +unwonted moisture; but Charles's face was set and stern, and his +lips twitched with the excess of restrained emotion. His eyes were +fixed upon the mound which hid from his view the corpses of wife +and children. Suddenly he lifted his clinched hand towards +heaven.</p> +<p>"Strengthen, O Lord, this right hand of mine, that it may be +strong against the nation whose crimes bring desolation upon Thy +children. Be with us in the hour of vengeance and victory. Help us +to render unto them even as they have rendered to us."</p> +<p>Julian and Fritz had withdrawn themselves a little, respecting +the inevitable emotion which must come to men at such a moment. +Humphrey turned away, and took a few uncertain steps, half blinded +by the unwonted smart of tears in his eyes. He had come almost to +hate this place of terrible associations; and yet it wrung his +heart for a moment to leave those nameless graves, and that little +lonely spot where so many peaceful and happy hours had been +spent.</p> +<p>Julian's hand was on his arm, and his voice spoke in his +ear.</p> +<p>"I know what it feels like; I have been through it. The smart is +keen. But it helps us to remember that we are but strangers and +pilgrims. It is perhaps those who have no abiding city here who +most readily seek that which is theirs above."</p> +<p>Humphrey pressed Julian's hand, feeling vaguely comforted by his +words, although he could not enter fully into their +significance.</p> +<p>To Charles Julian said:</p> +<p>"'We must remember, even in our righteous wrath, that God has +said He is the avenger. We can trust our wrongs in His hands. He +will use us as His instruments if He thinks good. But let us beware +of private acts of vengeance of our own planning. We must not +forget the reverse of the picture--the mercy as well as the anger +of God. We must not take things out of His hands into our own, lest +we stumble and fall. We have a commandment to love our enemies, and +to do good to those that hate us."</p> +<p>Charles looked fixedly at him.</p> +<p>"I have not forgotten," he said, in his strange, slow way; "I +was brought up amongst those who refuse the sword, calling +themselves servants of the Prince of Peace. We shall see which the +Lord will have--peace or war. Do you think He desires to see a +repetition of such scenes as that?"</p> +<p>Charles pointed sternly to the ruined homestead--the grave +beside it, and his gloomy eyes looked straight into those of +Julian; but he did not even wait for an answer, but plunged along +the forest track in an easterly direction.</p> +<pre> +* * * * * +</pre> +<p>In a wide street in Philadelphia, not far from the Assembly +Rooms where such hot debates were constantly going on, stood an +old-fashioned house, quaintly gabled, above the door of which hung +out a sign board intimating that travellers might find rest and +refreshment within.</p> +<p>The whole house was spotlessly clean, and its aspect was prim +and sober, as was indeed that of the whole city. Men in +wide-brimmed hats and wide-skirted coats of sombre hue walked the +streets, and talked earnestly together at the corners; whilst the +women, for the most part, passed on their way with lowered eyes, +and hoods drawn modestly over their heads, neither speaking nor +being spoken to as they pursued their way.</p> +<p>To be sure there were exceptions. In some quarters there were +plenty of people of a different aspect and bearing; but in this +wide and pleasant street, overlooked by the window of the hostelry, +there were few gaily-dressed persons to be seen, but nearly all of +them wore the dress and adopted the quaint speech of the Quaker +community.</p> +<p>From this window a bright-faced girl was looking eagerly out +into the street. She wore a plain enough dress of grey homespun +cloth, and a little prim cap covered her pretty hair. Yet for all +that several little rebellious curls peeped forth, surrounding her +face with a tiny nimbus; and there was something dainty in the +fashion of her white frilled kerchief, arranged across her dress +bodice and tied behind. She would dearly have loved to adorn +herself with some knots of rose-coloured ribbon, but the rose tints +in her cheek gave the touch of colour which brightened her sombre +raiment, and her dancing blue eyes would have made sunshine in any +place.</p> +<p>She had opened the window lattice and craned her head to look +down the street; but at the sound of a footstep within doors she +quickly drew it in again, for her mother reproved her when she +found her hanging out at the window.</p> +<p>"What is all the stir about, mother?" she asked; "there be so +many folks abroad, and they have been passing in and out of the +Assembly Rooms for above an hour. What does it all mean? Are they +baiting the Governor again? Are they having another fight about the +taxes?"</p> +<p>"Nay, child, I know not. I have been in the kitchen, looking to +the supper. Thy father came in awhile back, and said we had guests +arrived, and that he desired the supper to be extra good. That is +all I know."</p> +<p>"Something has happened, I am sure of that!" cried the girl +again, "and I would father would come and tell us what it is all +about. He always hears all the news. Perhaps the travellers he is +bringing here will know. I may sit with you at the supper table, +may I not, mother?"</p> +<p>"Yes, child; so your father said. He came in with a smile upon +his face. But he was in a great haste, and has been gone ever +since. So what it all means I know not."</p> +<p>Susanna--for such was the name of the girl--became at once +interested and excited.</p> +<p>"O mother, what can it be? Hark at that noise in the street +below! People are crying out in a great rage. What can it be? It +was so that day a week agone, when news was brought in that some +poor settlers had been murdered by Indians, and the Assembly would +do nothing but wrangle with the Governor instead of sending out +troops to defend our people. Do you think something can have +happened again?"</p> +<p>The mother's face turned a little pale.</p> +<p>"Heaven send it be not so!" she exclaimed. "I am always in fear +when I hear of such things--in fear for my old father, and for my +brothers. You know they live away there on the border. I pray +Heaven no trouble will fall upon them."</p> +<p>Susanna's eyes dilated with interest, as they always did when +her mother talked to her of these unknown relations, away beyond +the region of safety and civilization.</p> +<p>To be correct, it should be explained that Susanna was not the +real daughter of the woman whom she called mother; for Benjamin +Ashley had been twice married, and Susanna had been five years old +before Hannah Angell had taken the mother's place. But she never +thought of this herself. She remembered no other mother, and the +tie between them was strong and tender, despite the fact that there +was not more than thirteen years' difference in age between them, +and some girls might have rebelled against the rule of one who +might almost have been a sister.</p> +<p>But Susanna had no desire to rebel. Hannah's rule was a mild and +gentle one, although it was exercised with a certain amount of prim +decorum. Still the girl was shrewd enough to know that her father's +leanings towards the Quaker code had been greatly modified by the +influence of his wife, and that she was kept less strictly than he +would have kept her had he remained a widower.</p> +<p>Hannah bustled away to the kitchen, and Susanna, after one more +longing look out of the window towards the crowd assembled in the +open space beyond, followed her, and gave active assistance in the +setting of the supper table.</p> +<p>A young man in Quaker garb, and with a broad-brimmed hat in his +hand, entered the outer room, engaged in hot dispute with another +youth of different aspect, whose face was deeply flushed as if in +anger.</p> +<p>"Your Franklin may be a clever man--I have nothing against +that!" he exclaimed hotly; "but if he backs up the stubborn +Assembly, and stands idle whilst our settlers are being massacred +like sheep, then say I that he and they alike deserve hanging in a +row from the gables of their own Assembly House; and that if the +Indians break in upon us and scalp them all, they will but meet the +deserts of their obstinacy and folly!"</p> +<p>"Friend," said the other of the sober raiment, "thee speaks as a +heathen man and a vain fellow. The Lord hath given us a commandment +to love one another, and to live at peace with all men. We may not +lightly set aside that commandment; we may not do evil that good +may come."</p> +<p>"Tush, man! get your Bible and look. I am no scholar, but I know +that the Lord calls Himself a man of war--that He rides forth, +sword in hand, conquering, and to conquer; that the armies in +heaven itself fight under the Archangel against the powers of +darkness. And are we men to let our brothers be brutally murdered, +whilst we sit with folded hands, or wrangle weeks and months away, +as you Quakers are wrangling over some petty question of taxation +which a man of sense would settle in five minutes? I am ashamed of +Philadelphia! The whole world will be pointing the finger of scorn +at us. We are acting like cowards--like fools--not like men! If +there were but a man to lead us forth, I and a hundred stout +fellows would start forth to the border country tomorrow to wage +war with those villainous Indians and their more villainous allies +the crafty sons of France."</p> +<p>"Have patience, friend," said the Quaker youth, with his solemn +air; "I tell thee that the Assembly is in the right. Who are the +Penns these proprietaries--that their lands should be exempt from +taxation? If the Governor will yield that point, then will the +Assembly raise the needful aid for keeping in check the enemy, +albeit it goes sorely against their righteous souls. But they will +not give everything and gain nothing; it is not right they +should."</p> +<p>"And while they wrangle and snarl and bicker, like so many dogs +over a bone, our countrywomen and their innocent children are to be +scalped and burnt and massacred? That is Scripture law, is it? that +is your vaunted religion. You will give way--you will yield your +principles for a petty victory on a point of law, but not to save +the lives of the helpless brothers who are crying aloud on all +hands to you to come and save them!"</p> +<p>The Quaker youth moved his large feet uneasily; he, in common +with the seniors of his party, was beginning to find it a little +difficult to maintain a logical position in face of the pressing +urgency of the position. He had been brought up in the tenets which +largely prevailed in Pennsylvania at that day, and was primed with +numerous arguments which up till now had been urged with confidence +by the Quaker community. But the peace-loving Quakers were +beginning to feel the ground shaking beneath their feet. The day +was advancing with rapid strides when they would be forced either +to take up arms in defence of their colony, or to sit still and see +it pass bodily into the hands of the enemy.</p> +<p>Susanna was peeping in at the door of the next room. She knew +both the speakers well. Ebenezer Jenkyns had indeed been paying her +some attention of late, although she laughed him to scorn. Much +more to her liking was bold John Stark, her father's kinsman; and +as there was nobody in the room beside these two, she ventured to +go a step within the doorway and ask:</p> +<p>"What is the matter now, Jack? what are you two fighting about +so hotly?"</p> +<p>"Faith, 'tis ever the same old tale--more massacres and outrages +upon our borders, more women and children slaughtered! Settlers +from the western border calling aloud to us to send them help, and +these Quaker fellows of the Assembly doing nothing but wrangle, +wrangle, wrangle with the Governor, and standing idle whilst their +brothers perish. Save me from the faith of the peace makers!"</p> +<p>Again the other young man moved uneasily, the more so as he saw +the look of disdain and scorn flitting over the pretty face of +Susanna.</p> +<p>"Thee does us an injustice, friend," he said. "Was it not +Benjamin Franklin who a few months back gave such notable help to +General Braddock that he called him the only man of honesty and +vigour in all the western world? But the Lord showed that He would +not have us attack our brother men, and Braddock's army was cut to +pieces, and he himself slain. When the Lord shows us His mind, it +is not for us to persist in our evil courses; we must be patient +beneath His chastenings."</p> +<p>"Tush, man! the whole campaign was grossly mismanaged; all the +world knows that by now. But why hark back to the past? it is the +present, the future that lie before us. Are we to let our province +become overrun and despoiled by hordes of savage Indians, or are we +to rise like men and sweep them back whence they came? There is the +case in a nutshell. And instead of facing it like men, the Assembly +talks and squabbles and wrangles like a pack of silly women!"</p> +<p>"Oh no, Cousin Jack," quoth Susanna saucily, "say not like +women! Women would make up their minds to action in an hour. Say +rather like men, like men such as Ebenezer loves--men with the +tongues of giants and the spirit of mice; men who speak great +swelling words, and boast of their righteousness, but who are put +to shame by the brute beasts themselves. Even a timid hen will be +brave when her brood is attacked; but a Quaker cannot be anything +but a coward, and will sit with folded hands whilst his own kinsmen +perish miserably!"</p> +<p>This was rather too much even for Ebenezer's phlegmatic spirit. +He seized his broad-brimmed hat and clapped it on his head.</p> +<p>"Thee will be sorry some day, Susanna, for making game of the +Quakers, and of the godly ones of the earth," he spluttered.</p> +<p>"Go thee to the poultry yard, friend Ebenezer," called Susanna +after him; "the old hen there will give thee a warm welcome. Go and +learn from her how to fight. I warrant thee will learn more from +her than thee has ever known before--more than thine own people +will ever teach thee. Go to the old hen to learn; only I fear thee +will soon flee from her with a text in thy mouth to aid thy legs to +run!"</p> +<p>"Susanna, Susanna!" cried a voice from within, whilst Jack +doubled himself up in a paroxysm of delight, "what are you saying +so loud and free? Come hither, child. You grow over bold, and I +cannot have you in the public room. With whom are you talking +there?"</p> +<p>"There is only Jack here now," answered Susanna meekly, although +the sparkle still gleamed in her eyes; "Ebenezer has just gone out. +I was saying farewell to him."</p> +<p>"Come back now, and finish setting the table; and if John will +stay to supper, he will be welcome."</p> +<p>John was only too glad, for he took keen pleasure in the society +of Susanna, and was fond of the quaint old house where his kinsman +lived. He rose and went into the inner room, where Hannah received +him with a smile and a nod.</p> +<p>Susanna would have asked him what special news had reached the +town that day, but the sound of approaching feet outside warned her +of the return of her father with the friends he was bringing to +supper. She flew to the kitchen for the first relay of dishes, and +Hannah left her to dish them up, whilst she went to meet the +guests.</p> +<p>Jack and the maidservant assisted Susanna at the stove, and a +few minutes passed before they entered the supper room, where the +company had assembled. When they did so, the girl was surprised to +note that her mother was standing between two tall strangers, one +of whom had his arm about her, and that she was weeping silently +yet bitterly.</p> +<p>Susanna put down her dishes on the table and crept to her +father's side.</p> +<p>"What is the matter?" she asked timidly.</p> +<p>"Matter enough to bring tears to all our eyes--ay, tears of +blood!" answered Ashley sternly. "These two men are your mother's +brothers, who arrived today--just a short while back--as I hoped +with pleasant tidings. Now have we learned a different tale. Their +old father and Charles's wife and children have been brutally +murdered by Indians, and he himself escaped as by a miracle. We +have been telling the tale to the Assembly this very afternoon. Ah, +it would have moved hearts of stone to hear Charles's words! I pray +Heaven that something may soon be done. It is fearful to think of +the sufferings which our inaction is causing to our settlers in the +west!"</p> +<p>"It is a shame--a disgrace!" exclaimed Jack hotly, and then he +turned his glance upon the two other men who were seated at the +table, taking in the whole scene in silence.</p> +<p>Both wore the look of travellers; both were tanned by exposure, +and were clad in stained and curious garments, such as betokened +the life of the wilderness. Jack was instantly and keenly +interested. He himself would willingly have been a backwoodsman had +he been able to adopt that adventurous life.</p> +<p>Ashley saw the look he bent upon the travellers, and he made +them known to one another.</p> +<p>"These friends have travelled far from the lands of the south, +and have been friends in need to our kinsmen yonder. Fritz Neville +and Julian Dautray are their names.</p> +<p>"Susanna, set food before them. Your mother will not be able to +think of aught just now. We must let her have her cry out before we +trouble her."</p> +<p>The rest of the party seated themselves, whilst in the recess by +the window Hannah stood between the brothers she had parted from +ten years ago, listening to their tale, and weeping as she +listened.</p> +<p>Ashley turned to his two guests, who were eating with appetite +from the well-filled platters placed before them, and he began to +speak as though taking up a theme which had lately been +dropped.</p> +<p>"It is no wonder that you are perplexed by what you hear and see +in this city. I will seek to make the point at issue as clear to +you as it may be. You have doubtless heard of the Penn family, from +whom this colony takes its name. Much we owe to our founder--his +wisdom, liberality, and enlightenment; but his sons are hated here. +They are absent in England, but they are the proprietaries of vast +tracts of land, and it is with regard to these lands that the +troubles in the Assembly arise. The proprietaries are regarded as +renegades from the faith; for the Assembly here is Quaker almost to +a man. They hate the feudalism of the tenure of the proprietaries, +and they are resolved to tax these lands, although they will not +defend them, and although no income is at present derived from +them."</p> +<p>"Have they the power to do so?" asked Julian.</p> +<p>"Not without the consent of the Governor. That is where the +whole trouble lies. And the Governor has no power to grant them +leave to tax the proprietary lands. Not only so, but he is +expressly forbidden by the terms of his commission to permit this +taxation. But the Assembly will not yield the point, nor will they +consent to furnish means for the defence of the colony until this +point is conceded. That is where the deadlock comes in. The +Governor cannot yield; his powers do not permit it. The Assembly +will not yield. They hate the thought of war, and seem glad to +shelter themselves behind this quibble. For a while many of us, +their friends, although not exactly at one with them in all things, +stood by them and upheld them; but we are fast losing patience now. +When it comes to having our peaceful settlers barbarously murdered, +and our western border desolated and encroached upon; when it +becomes known that this is the doing of jealous France, not of the +Indians themselves, then it is time to take a wider outlook. Let +the question of the proprietary lands stand over till another time; +the question may then be settled at a less price than is being paid +for it now, when every month's delay costs us the lives of helpless +women and children, and when humanity herself is crying aloud in +our streets."</p> +<p>Ashley, although he had long been on most friendly terms with +the Quaker population of the town, was not by faith a Quaker, and +was growing impatient with the Assembly and its stubborn policy of +resistance. He felt that his old friend Franklin should know +better, and show a wider spirit. He had acted with promptness and +patriotism earlier in the year, when Braddock's luckless expedition +had applied to him for help. But in this warfare he was sternly +resolved on the victory over the Governor, and at this moment it +seemed as though all Philadelphia was much more eager to achieve +this than to defend the borders of the colony.</p> +<p>Hitherto the danger had not appeared pressing to the eastern +part of the colony. They were in no danger from Indian raids, and +they had small pity for their brethren on the western frontier. +Between them and the encroaching Indians lay a population, mostly +German, that acted like a buffer state to them; and notwithstanding +that every post brought in urgent appeals for help, they passed the +time in wrangling with the Governor, in drawing up bills professing +to be framed to meet the emergency, but each one of them containing +the clause through which the Governor was forced to draw his +pen.</p> +<p>Governor Morris had written off to England stating the exceeding +difficulty of his position. His appeals to the Assembly to defend +the colony were spirited and manly. He was anxious to join with the +other colonies for an organized and united resistance, but this was +at present extremely difficult. Others before him had tried the +same policy, but it had ended in failure. Petty jealousies did more +to hold the colonies apart than a common peril to bind them +together. Political and religious strife was always arising. There +was nothing to bind them together save a common, though rather +cold, allegiance to the English King. Now and again, in moments of +imminent peril, they had united for a common object; but they fell +apart almost at once. Each had its own pet quarrel with its +Governor, which was far more interesting to the people at the +moment than anything else.</p> +<p>Julian and Fritz listened in amaze as Ashley, who was a +well-informed man and a shrewd observer, put before them, as well +as he was able, the state of affairs reigning in Pennsylvania and +the sister states.</p> +<p>"I am often ashamed of our policy, of our bickerings, of our +tardiness," concluded the good man; "yet for all that there is +stuff of the right sort in our people. We have English blood in our +veins, and I always maintain that England is bound to be the +dominant power in these lands of the west. Let them but send us +good leaders and generals from the old country, and I will answer +for it that the rising generation of New England will fight and +will conquer, and drive the encroaching French back whence they +came!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch4" id="Ch4">Chapter 4</a>: An Exciting +Struggle.</h2> +<p>It was an exciting scene. Susanna stood at the window, and gazed +eagerly along the street, striving hard to obtain a sight of the +seething crowd in the open square.</p> +<p>She could see the tall, haggard form of her Uncle Charles, as +she called him. He was standing upon a little platform that his +friends had erected for him in front of the Assembly Rooms, and he +was speaking aloud to the surging crowd in accents that rang far +through the still air, and even reached the ears of the listeners +at the open window.</p> +<p>For once Hannah made no protest when the girl thrust out her +head. She herself seemed to be striving to catch the echoes of the +clear, trumpet-like voice. Her colour came and went in her cheeks; +her breast heaved with the emotion which often found vent in those +days in a fit of silent weeping.</p> +<p>"Mother dear, do not weep; they shall be avenged! Nobody can +listen to Uncle Charles and not be moved. Hark how they are +shouting now--hark! I can see them raising their arms to heaven. +They are shaking their fists in the direction of the windows of the +Assembly House. Surely those cowardly men must be roused to action; +they cannot hear unmoved a tale such as Uncle Charles has to +tell!"</p> +<p>"Yet even so the dead will not be restored to life; and war is a +cruel, bitter thing."</p> +<p>"Yes, but victory is glorious. And we shall surely triumph, for +our cause is righteous. I am sure of that. And Julian Dautray says +the same. I think he is a very good man, mother; I think he is +better than the Quakers, though he does not talk as if he thought +himself a saint.</p> +<p>"O mother, there is Uncle Humphrey looking up at us! I pray you +let me go down to him. I long so greatly to hear what Uncle Charles +is saying. And I shall be safe in his care."</p> +<p>"I think I will come, too," said Hannah, whose interest and +curiosity were keenly aroused; and after signalling as much to +Humphrey, they threw on their cloaks and hoods, and were soon out +in the streets, where an excited crowd had gathered.</p> +<p>"The posts have come in," said Humphrey, as they made their way +slowly along, "and there is news of fresh disasters, and nearer. In +a few minutes we shall have more news. Men have gone in who promise +to come out and read us the letters. But the bearers themselves +declare that things are terrible. The Germans have been attacked. A +Moravian settlement has been burnt to the ground, and all its +inhabitants butchered. Families are flying from the border country, +naked and destitute, to get clear of the savages and their +tomahawks. Every where the people are calling aloud upon the +Assembly to come to their succour."</p> +<p>The crowd in the street was surging to and fro. Some were +Quakers, with pale, determined countenances, still holding to their +stubborn policy of non-resistance to the enemy, but of obstinate +resistance to the Governor and the proprietaries. The sight of +these men seemed to inflame the rest of the populace, and they were +hustled and hooted as they made their way into the Assembly; whilst +the Governor was cheered as he went by with a grave and troubled +face, and on the steps of his house he turned and addressed the +people.</p> +<p>"My friends," he said, "I am doing what I can. I have written to +the proprietaries and to the government at home. I have told them +that the conduct of the Assembly is to me shocking beyond parallel. +I am asking for fresh powers to deal with this horrible crisis. But +I cannot look for an answer for long; and meantime are all our +helpless settlers in the west to be butchered? You men of the city, +rise you and make a solemn protest to these obstinate rulers of +yours. I have spoken all that one man may, and they will not hear. +Try you now if you cannot make your voice heard."</p> +<p>"We will, we will!" shouted a hundred voices; and forthwith +knots of influential men began to gather together in corners, +talking eagerly together, and gesticulating in their +excitement.</p> +<p>And all this while Charles, wild-eyed and haggard, was keeping +his place on the little platform, and telling his story again and +again to the shifting groups who came and went. Men and women hung +upon his words in a sort of horrible fascination. Others might talk +of horrors guessed at, yet unseen; Charles had witnessed the things +of which he spoke, and his words sent thrills of horror through the +frames of those who heard. Women wept, and wrung their hands, and +the faces of men grew white and stern.</p> +<p>But upon the opposite side of the square another orator was +haranguing the crowd. A young Quaker woman had got up upon some +steps, moved in spirit, as she declared, to denounce the wickedness +of war, and to urge the townsmen to peaceful methods. Her shrill +voice rose high and piercing, and she invoked Heaven to bless the +work of those who would endure all things rather than spill human +blood.</p> +<p>But the people had heard something too much of this peaceful +gospel. For long they had upheld the policy of non-resistance. They +had their shops, their farms, their merchandise; they were +prosperous and phlegmatic, more interested in local than in +national issues. They had been content to be preached at by the +Quakers, and to give passive adhesion to their policy; but the hour +of awakening had come. The agonized cries of those who looked to +them for aid had pierced their ears too often to be ignored. +Humanity itself must rise in answer to such an appeal. They were +beginning to see that their peace policy was costing untold human +lives, amid scenes of unspeakable horror.</p> +<p>They let the woman speak in peace; they did not try to stop her +utterances. But when a brother Quaker took her place and began a +similar harangue, the young men round raised a howl, and a voice +cried out:</p> +<p>"Duck him in the horse pond! Roll him in a barrel! Let him be +tarred and feathered like an Indian, since he loves the scalping +savages so well. Who's got a tomahawk? Let's see how they use them. +Does anybody know how they scalp their prisoners? A Quaker would +never miss his scalp; he always has his hat on!"</p> +<p>A roar of laughter greeted this sally; and a rush was made for +the unlucky orator, who showed a bold front enough to the mob. But +at that moment public attention was turned in a different direction +by the appearing upon the steps of the Assembly Rooms of a +well-known citizen of high repute, who had until latterly been one +of the peace party, but who of late had made a resolute stand, +insisting that something must be done for the protection of the +western settlers, and for the curbing of the ambitious +encroachments and preposterous claims of France.</p> +<p>This grave-faced citizen came out with some papers in his hand, +and the crowd was hushed into silence.</p> +<p>Overhead anxious faces could be seen looking out at the window. +It was not by the wishes of the Assembly that such letters were +made public; but many of them had been addressed to James Freeman +himself, and they could not restrain him from doing as he would +with his own.</p> +<p>"My friends," he said, and his voice rose distinct in the clear +air, "we have heavy tidings today. You shall hear what is written +from some sufferers not far from Fort Cumberland, where forty white +men, women, and children were barbarously murdered a few days +back.</p> +<p>"'We are in as bad circumstances as ever any poor Christians +were ever in; for the cries of the widowers, widows, fatherless and +motherless children are enough to pierce the hardest of hearts. +Likewise it is a very sorrowful spectacle to see those that escaped +with their lives with not a mouthful to eat, or bed to lie on, or +clothes to cover their nakedness or keep them warm, but all they +had consumed to ashes. These deplorable circumstances cry aloud to +your Honour's most wise consideration how steps may speedily be +taken to deliver us out of the hand of our persecutors the cruel +and murderous savages, and to bring the struggle to an end.'"</p> +<p>The reader paused, and a low, deep murmur passed through the +crowd, its note of rage and menace being clearly heard. The speaker +took up another paper and recommenced.</p> +<p>"This comes from John Harris on the east bank of the +Susquehanna:</p> +<p>"'The Indians are cutting us off every day, and I had a certain +account of about fifteen hundred Indians, besides French, being on +their march against us and Virginia, and now close on our borders, +their scouts scalping our families on our frontier daily.'"</p> +<p>Another pause, another murmur like a roar, and a voice from the +crowd was raised to ask:</p> +<p>"And what says the Assembly to that?"</p> +<p>"They say that if the Indians are rising against us, who have +been friendly so long, then we must surely have done something to +wrong them; and they are about to search for the cause of such a +possible wrong, and redress it, rather than impose upon the colony +the calamities of a cruel Indian war!"</p> +<p>A yell and a groan went up from the crowd. For a moment it +seemed almost as though some attack would be made upon the Assembly +House. The habits of law and obedience were, however, strong in the +citizens of Philadelphia, and in the end they dispersed quietly to +their own homes; but a fire had been kindled in their hearts which +would not easily be quenched.</p> +<p>Days were wasted by the Quakers in an unsuccessful attempt to +prove that there had been some fraud on the part of the Governor in +a recent land purchase from the Indians. And they again laid before +the Governor one of their proposals, still containing the clause +which he was unable to entertain, and which inevitably brought +matters to a deadlock.</p> +<p>The Quakers drew up a declaration affirming that they had now +taken every step in their power, "consistent with the just rights +of the freemen of Pennsylvania, for the relief of the poor +distressed inhabitants," and further declared that "we have reason +to believe that they themselves would not wish us to go further. +Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little +temporary relief and safety deserve neither liberty nor +safety."</p> +<p>The Governor, in a dignified reply, once more urged upon them +the absolute necessity of waiving for the present the vexed +question of the proprietary estates, and passing a bill for the +relief of the present sufferers; but the Quakers remained deaf and +mute, and would not budge one inch from their position.</p> +<p>All the city was roused. In houses like that of Benjamin Ashley, +where people were coming and going the whole day long, and where +travellers from these border lands were to be found who could give +information at first hand, the discussion went on every day and all +day long. Ashley himself was keenly excited. He had quite broken +away from a number of his old friends who supported the Assembly in +its blind obstinacy. Nobody could sit by unmoved whilst Charles and +Humphrey Angell told their tale of horror and woe; and, moreover, +both Julian Dautray and Fritz Neville had much to tell of the +aggressive policy of France, and of her resolute determination to +stifle and strangle the growing colonies of England, by giving them +no room to expand, whilst she herself claimed boundless untrodden +regions which she could never hope to populate or hold.</p> +<p>Fresh excitements came daily to the city. Early one morning, as +the tardy daylight broke, a rumble of wheels in the street below +told of the arrival of travellers. The wheels stopped before +Ashley's door, and he hastily finished his toilet and went +down.</p> +<p>In a few moments all the house was in a stir and commotion. A +terrible whisper was running from mouth to mouth. That cart +standing grimly silent in the street below carried, it was said, a +terrible load. Beneath its heavy cover lay the bodies of about +twenty victims of Indian ferocity; and the guardians of the load +were stern-faced men, bearing recent scars upon their own persons, +who ate and drank in stony silence, and only waited till the +Assembly had met before completing their grim mission.</p> +<p>The thing had got wind in the town by now, and the square space +was thronged. The members of the Assembly looked a little uneasy as +they passed through the crowd, but not a sound was made till all +had gathered in the upper room.</p> +<p>Then from out the yard of the inn was dragged the cart. No +horses were fastened to it. The young men of the city dragged it +out and pushed it along. The silent, grim-faced guardians walked in +front. As it reached the square the crowd sent up a groaning cry, +and opened right and left for the dreadful load to be set in +position before the windows of the great room where the Assembly +had met.</p> +<p>Then the cover was thrown back, and yells and cries arose from +all. Shouts were raised for the Assembly to come and look at their +work.</p> +<p>There was no resisting the mandate of the crowd. White and +trembling, the members of the Assembly were had out upon the steps, +and forced to look at the bodies of their victims. The crowd +hooted, groaned, yelled with maddened fury. The advocates of peace +shrank into themselves, appalled at the evidences of barbarities +they had sought to believe exaggerated. It was useless now to +attempt to deny the truth of what had been reported.</p> +<p>Back they slunk into the Assembly House, white and trembling, +and for the moment cowed. The cart was moved on, and stopped in +front of house after house where notable Quakers dwelt who were not +members of the Assembly. They were called to come to their windows +and look, and were greeted with hisses and curses.</p> +<p>The very next day a paper, under preparation by a number of the +leading citizens at the suggestion of the Governor, was presented +to the Assembly under the title of a "Representation." It contained +a stern appeal for the organization of measures of defence, and +ended by the dignified and significant words:</p> +<p>"You will forgive us, gentlemen, if we assume characters +somewhat higher than that of humble suitors praying for the defence +of our lives and properties as a matter of grace or favour on your +side. You will permit us to make a positive and immediate demand of +it."</p> +<p>The Quakers were frightened, incensed, and perplexed. Their +preachers went about the streets urging upon the people the +doctrine of non-resistance, and picturing the horrors of warfare. +The Assembly debated and debated, but invariably came to the +conclusion that they must withstand the Governor to the last upon +the question of taxation.</p> +<p>All the city was in a tumult and ferment; but when the news came +that a settlement only sixty miles away, Tulpehocken by name, had +been destroyed and its inhabitants massacred, even the advocates of +peace grew white with fear, and the House began to draw up a +militia law--the most futile and foolish perhaps that had ever been +suggested even by lovers of peace--in the vain hope of appeasing +the people.</p> +<p>But the people would not be appeased by a mere mockery. They +clamoured for the raising of money for a systematic defence of +their colony, and the ground was cut from beneath the feet of the +Assembly by a letter received from England by the Governor--not +indeed in response to his recent urgent appeals, but still written +with some knowledge of the unsettled state of the country. In this +letter the proprietaries promised a donation of five thousand +pounds as a free gift for the defence of the provinces threatened +in so formidable a manner, provided it was regarded as a gift and +not as any part of a tax upon their estates, which were to remain +free according to the old feudal tenure.</p> +<p>The Assembly upon hearing this could hold out no longer. They +were forced by the clamour of public opinion to strike out the +debated and debatable clause from the long-contested bill, and +immediately it was passed into law by the Governor.</p> +<p>"Ay, they have come to their senses at last--when it is well +nigh too late!" spoke John Stark, with a touch of bitterness in his +tone. "They will furnish money now; but what can be done with the +winter just upon us? For six months we must lie idle, whilst the +snow and ice wrap us round. Why was not this thing done before our +settlements were destroyed, and when we could have pushed forth an +army into the field to drive back the encroaching foe, so that they +would never have dared to show their faces upon our border +again?"</p> +<p>Charles looked up with burning eyes.</p> +<p>"What say you? Six months to wait? That will not do for me! My +blood is boiling in my veins; I must needs cool it! If these +laggard rulers, with their clumsy methods, cannot put an army in +the field before the spring, surely there are men enough amongst us +to go forth--a hardy band of woodsmen and huntsmen--and hunt and +harry, and slay and destroy, even as they have done!"</p> +<p>"That is what the Rangers do!" cried Stark, with kindling eyes; +"I have heard of them before this. The Rangers of New England have +done good work before now. Good thought, good thought! Why not form +ourselves into a band of Rangers? Are we not strong and full of +courage, seasoned to hardship, expert in our way with gun or axe? +Why should we lie idle here all the long winter through? Why not +let us forth to the forest--find out where help is needed most, and +make here a dash and there a raid, striking terror into the hearts +of the foe, and bringing help and comfort to those desolate +inhabitants of the wilderness who go in terror of their lives? Why +not be a party of bold Rangers, scouring the forests, and doing +whatever work comes to hand? Men have banded themselves together +for this work before now; why may not we do the like?"</p> +<p>"Why not, indeed?" cried Fritz, leaping to his feet. "I pine in +the restraint of this town; I long for the forest and the plain +once more. My blood, too, is hot within me at the thought of what +has been done and will be done again. Let us band ourselves +together as brothers in arms. There must be work and to spare for +those who desire it."</p> +<p>Ashley thoughtfully stroked his chin, looking round the circle +before him. He was a shrewd and thoughtful man, and there was +nothing of cowardice in his nature, although he was cautious and +careful.</p> +<p>"It is not a bad thought, Nephew John," he said; "and yet I had +been thinking of something different for some of you intrepid and +adventurous youths to do. I had thought of sending news of the +state of parties here to our friends and kinsmen in England. When +all is said and done, it is to England that we must look for help. +She must send us generals to command us, and she must help us with +her money. There are many families across the water who would open +their purses on our behalf right generously were our sad case made +known to them. Letters are sent continually, but it is the spoken +tale that moves the heart. I had thought to send across myself to +such of our friends and families as still regard us as belonging to +them. If they made a response such as I look for, we should soon +have means at our disposal to augment what the tardy Assembly may +do by an auxiliary force, equipped and furnished with all that can +be needed. But you cannot be in two places at once.</p> +<p>"What think you, my young friends? Will you serve your +distressed brethren better as Rangers of the forest, or as +emissaries to England?"</p> +<p>"Why not divide our forces?" asked John Stark; "there are enough +of us for that. I have often heard Humphrey speak of a wish to +cross the sea, and to visit the land from which we have all come. +Why not let him choose a comrade, and go thither with letters and +messages, and tell his tale in the ears of friends? And whilst they +are thus absent, why should not the rest of us make up a party of +bold spirits, and go forth into the wilderness, and there carry on +such work of defence and aggression as we find for us to do?"</p> +<p>"Ay. I have no love for the unknown ocean," said Charles; "I +have other work to do than to visit new lands. I have a vow upon +me, and I cannot rest till it be accomplished."</p> +<p>Humphrey and Julian looked at each other. Already they had +spoken of a visit to England. Both desired to see the lands of the +Eastern Hemisphere from whence their fathers had come. Hitherto +they had not seen how this could be accomplished; but Ashley's +words opened out an unexpected way. If the citizens of Philadelphia +wanted to send messengers to their friends across the water, they +would gladly volunteer for the service.</p> +<p>"If Julian will go with me, I will gladly go," said +Humphrey.</p> +<p>"I will go, with all my heart," answered Julian at once; "and we +will seek and strive to do the pleasure of those who send us."</p> +<p>Ashley's face beamed upon the pair. He knew by this time that no +better messenger than Julian Dautray could be found. He had a gift +of eloquence and a singularly attractive personality. His nature +was gentle and refined--curiously so considering his +upbringing--and he had a largeness of heart and a gift of sympathy +which was seldom to be met with amongst the more rugged sons of the +north.</p> +<p>He had made himself something of a power already in the circle +into which he had been thrown; and when it was known amongst +Ashley's friends and acquaintance that his wife's brother, together +with Julian Dautray, would go to England with their representations +to friends and to those in authority, a liberal response was made +as to their outfit and introductions, and the young men were +surprised to find themselves suddenly raised to a place of such +importance and distinction.</p> +<p>It was an exciting time for Susanna and for all in the house. +John Stark came to and fro, bringing news that he had found fresh +volunteers to join the band of Rangers, who were already making +preparations for departure upon their perilous life of +adventure.</p> +<p>Some of the older citizens looked doubtful, and spoke of the +rigours of the winter; but John laughed, and Charles smiled his +strange, mirthless smile, and all declared themselves fearless and +ready to face whatever might be in store. Come what might, they +would go to the help of the settlers, be the Assembly ever so +dilatory in sending help.</p> +<p>"But you will not get killed?" Susanna would plead, looking from +one face to the other. She was fond of John, who had been like a +brother to her all her life; she had a great admiration for +handsome Fritz, who often spent whole evenings telling her +wonderful stories of the far south whilst she plied her needle over +the rough garments the Rangers were to take with them. It seemed to +her a splendid thing these men were about to do, but she shrank +from the thought that harm might come to them. She sometimes almost +wished they had not thought of it, and that they had been content +to remain in the city, drilling with the town militia, and thinking +of the coming spring campaign.</p> +<p>"We must take our chance," answered Fritz, as he bent over her +with a smile on one of those occasions. "You would not have us +value our lives above the safety of our distressed brethren or the +honour of our nation? The things which have happened here of late +have tarnished England's fair name and fame. You would not have us +hold back, if we can help to bring back the lustre of that name? I +know you better than that."</p> +<p>"I would have you do heroic deeds," answered Susanna, with +quickly-kindled enthusiasm, "only I would not have you lose your +lives in doing it."</p> +<p>"We must take our chance of that," answered Fritz, with a smile, +"as other soldiers take theirs. But we shall be a strong and wary +company; and I have passed already unscathed through many perils. +You will not forget us when we are gone, Susanna? I shall think of +you sitting beside this comfortable hearth, when we are lying out +beneath the frosty stars, with the world lying white beneath us, +wrapped in its winding sheet!"</p> +<p>"Ah, you will suffer such hardships! they all say that."</p> +<p>There was a look of distress in the girl's eyes; but Fritz +laughed aloud.</p> +<p>"Hardship! what is hardship? I know not the name. We can track +game in the forest, and fish the rivers for it. We can make +ourselves fires of sparkling, crackling pine logs; we can slip +along over ice and snow upon our snowshoes and skates, as I have +heard them described, albeit I myself shall have to learn the trick +of them--for we had none such methods in my country, where the cold +could never get a grip of us. Fear not for us, Susanna; we shall +fare well, and we shall do the work of men, I trow. I am weary +already of the life of the city; I would go forth once more to my +forest home."</p> +<p>There was a sparkle almost like that of tears in the girl's +eyes, and a little unconscious note as of reproach in her +voice.</p> +<p>"That is always the way with men; they would ever be doing and +daring. Would that I too were a man! there is naught in the world +for a maid to do."</p> +<p>"Say not so," cried Fritz, taking the little hand and holding it +tenderly between his own. "Life would be but a sorry thing for us +men were it not for the gentle maidens left at home to think of us +and pray for us and welcome us back again. Say, Susanna, what sort +of a welcome will you have for me, when I come to claim it after my +duty is done?"</p> +<p>She raised her eyes to his, and the colour flooded her face.</p> +<p>"I shall welcome you back with great gladness of heart, Fritz, +and I shall pray for you every day whilst you are away."</p> +<p>"And not forget me, even if other fine fellows of officers, such +as we begin to see in our streets now, come speaking fine words to +you, and seeking to win smiles from your bright eyes? You will keep +a place in your heart still for the rough Ranger Fritz?"</p> +<p>Susanna's eyes lighted with something of mischievous amusement, +and then as she proceeded grew more grave and soft.</p> +<p>"My good mother will take care that I have small converse with +the gay young officers, Fritz. But in truth, even were it not so, I +should never care for them, or think of them as I do of you. You +are facing perils they would not. You are brave with the bravery of +a true hero. It is with the Rangers of the forest that my heart +will go. Be sure you break it not, Fritz, by too rashly exposing +yourself to peril."</p> +<p>"Sweetheart!" was his softly-spoken answer; and Susanna went to +her bed that night with a heart that beat high with a strange sweet +happiness, although the cloud of coming parting lay heavy upon her +soul.</p> +<p>A few days later, Humphrey and Julian, fully equipped with +instructions, introductions, money and other necessaries, left the +city, ready for their homeward voyage; and in another week the +small but hardy band of Rangers, with their plain and meagre +outfit, but with stout hearts and brave resolves, said adieu to +those they left behind, and started westward for that debatable +ground upon which a bloody warfare had to be fought to the bitter +end.</p> +<h1>Book 2: Roger's Rangers.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch2-1" id="Ch2-1">Chapter 1</a>: A Day Of +Vengeance.</h2> +<p>To the west! to the west! to the west!</p> +<p>Such was the watchword of the band of sturdy Rangers who set +forth from Pennsylvania to the defence of the hapless settlers.</p> +<p>They were but a handful of bold spirits. It was little they +could hope to accomplish in attempting to stem the tide of war; but +their presence brought comfort to many an aching heart, and nerved +many a lonely settler to intrench and defend his house and family, +instead of giving way to utter despair.</p> +<p>There was work for the little band to do amongst these scattered +holdings. John Stark urged upon such settlers as had the courage to +remain to build themselves block houses, to establish some sort of +communication with one another, to collect arms and ammunition, and +be ready to retire behind their defences and repel an attack. For +the moment the Indians seemed glutted with spoil and with blood, +and were more quiet, although this tranquillity was not to be +reckoned upon for a day. Still, whilst it lasted it gave a +breathing space to many harassed and desperate settlers; and Fritz +could give them many valuable hints as to the best method of +intrenching themselves in block houses. He had seen so many of +these upon his long journey, and understood their construction +well.</p> +<p>Everywhere they found the people in a state of either deep +despondency or intense exasperation. It seemed to them that they +had been basely deserted and betrayed by their countrymen, who +should have been prompt to send to their defence; and although the +arrival of the Rangers, and the news they brought of future help, +did something to cheer and encourage them, it was easy to see that +they were deeply hurt at the manner in which their appeals had been +met, and were ready to curse the Quakers and the Assembly who had +calmly let them be slaughtered like brute beasts, whilst they +wrangled in peaceful security over some disputed point with the +Governor.</p> +<p>"Are you Rogers' men?" was a question which the Rangers met +again and again as they pursued their way.</p> +<p>"No," they would answer; "we know of no Rogers. Who is he, and +why is his name in all men's mouths?"</p> +<p>This question was not always easy to get answered. Some said one +thing and some another; but as they pursued their western way, they +reached a settlement where more precise information was to be +had.</p> +<p>"Have you not heard of Robert Rogers, the New Hampshire Ranger? +Well, you will hear his name many times before this war is closed. +He has gathered about him a band of bold and daring spirits. He has +lived in the forest from boyhood. He has been used to dealings with +both English and French settlers. He speaks the language of both. +But he is stanch to the heart's core. He is vowed to the service of +his country. He moves through the forests, over the lakes, across +the rivers. None can say where he will next appear. He seems +everywhere--he spies upon the foe. He appears beneath the walls of +their forts, snatches a sleepy sentry away from his post, and +carries him to the English camp, where information is thus gleaned +of the doings of the enemy. He and his band are here, there, and +everywhere. We had hoped to have seen them here by this. Colonel +Armstrong sent a message praying him to come and help him to attack +a pestilent nest of savages which is the curse of his life. We had +hoped you were the forerunners of his band when you appeared. But +in these troublous times who can tell whether the messenger ever +reached his destination?"</p> +<p>"But if we are not Rogers' men, we are Rangers of the forest," +cried Stark, who was leader of the party. "We can fight; we are +trained to the exercise of arms. We will push on to this Colonel +Armstrong, and what aid so small a band can give him that we will +give."</p> +<p>"He will welcome any help from bold men willing to fight," was +the answer they got. "Pray Heaven you be successful; for we all go +in terror of our lives from the cruelty of Captain Jacobs. If he +were slain, we might have rest awhile."</p> +<p>"Captain Jacobs?"</p> +<p>"So they call him. He is a notable Indian chieftain. Most likely +the French baptized him by that name. They like to be called by +some name and title which sounds like that of a white man. He lives +at the Indian town of Kittanning, on the banks of the Allegheny, +and he is upheld by the French from Fort Duquesne and Venango. They +supply him with the munitions of war, and he makes of our lives a +terror. Colonel Armstrong has been sent by the Governor to try to +fall upon him unawares, and oust him from his vantage ground. If +the town were but destroyed and he slain, we might know a little +ease of mind."</p> +<p>The eyes of the Rangers lighted with anticipation. This was the +first they had heard of real warfare. If they could lend a hand to +such an expedition as this, they would feel rewarded for all their +pains and toil.</p> +<p>"Captain Jacobs, Captain Jacobs!" repeated Charles, with a gleam +in his sombre eyes; "tell me what manner of man this Captain Jacobs +is."</p> +<p>"I have seen him once--a giant in height, painted in vermilion, +and carrying always in his hand a mighty spear, which they say none +but he can wield. His eyes roll terribly, and upon his brow is a +strange scar shaped like a crescent--"</p> +<p>"Ay, ay, ay; and in his hair is one white tuft, which he has +braided with scarlet thread," interposed Charles, panting and +twitching in his excitement.</p> +<p>"That is the man--the most bloodthirsty fire eater of all the +Indian chiefs. Could the country but be rid of him, we might sleep +in our beds in peace once more, instead of lying shivering and +shaking at every breath which passes over the forest at night."</p> +<p>"Let us be gone!" cried Charles, shaking his knife in a meaning +and menacing fashion; "I thirst to be there when that man's record +is closed. Let me see his end; let me plunge my knife into his +black heart! There is another yet whom my vengeance must overtake; +but let me fall upon this one first."</p> +<p>"Was he one of the attacking party that desolated your +homestead?" asked Stark, as they moved along in the given +direction, after a brief pause for rest and refreshment.</p> +<p>"Ay, he was," answered Charles grimly. "I could not forget that +gigantic form, that mighty spear, that scar and the white tuft! He +stood by, and laughed at my frantic struggles, at the screams of +the children, at the agony of my gentle wife. A fiend from the pit +could not have been more cruel. But the hour is at hand when it +shall be done to him as he has done. His hand lighted the wood pile +they had set against the door of the house. Let him suffer a like +fate at our hands in the day of vengeance!"</p> +<p>Spurred on by the hope of striking some well-planted blow at the +heart of the enemy, the hardy band of Rangers pushed their way +through the forest tracks, scarcely pausing for rest or sleep, till +the lights of a little camp and settlement twinkled before them in +the dusk, and they were hailed by the voice of a watchful +sentinel.</p> +<p>"Friends," cried Stark, in clear tones--"Rangers of the +forest--come to the aid of Colonel Armstrong, hoping to be in time +for the attack on Kittanning."</p> +<p>"Now welcome, welcome!" cried the man, running joyfully forward; +and the next minute the little band was borne into the camp by a +joyful company of raw soldiers, who seemed to feel a great sense of +support even from the arrival of a mere handful.</p> +<p>"Rogers' Rangers are come! the Rangers are come!" was the word +eagerly passed from mouth to mouth; and before the newcomers could +make any explanation, they found themselves pushed into a +fair-sized building, some thing in the form of a temporary +blockhouse, and confronted with the Colonel himself, who received +them with great goodwill.</p> +<p>"You are from Captain Rogers?" he said; "is one of you that +notable man himself?"</p> +<p>Stark stepped forward to act as spokesman, and was shaken warmly +by the hand.</p> +<p>"Rangers we are, but not of Rogers' company," he said. "Indeed, +when we started forth from Philadelphia to the succour of the +distressed districts, we had not even heard the name of Rogers, +though it is now familiar enough.</p> +<p>"We heard, however, that you were in need of the help of +Rangers, and we have come with all haste to your camp. We wish for +nothing better than to stand in the forefront of the battle against +the treacherous and hostile Indians. Although not of Rogers' +training, you will not find us faint of heart or feeble of limb. +There are a dozen of us, as you see, and we will fight with the +best that we have."</p> +<p>"And right welcome at such a moment," was the cordial answer, +"for the men I have with me are little trained to warfare; and +though they will follow when bravely led, they are somewhat like +sheep, and are easily thrown into confusion or turned aside from +the way. Tonight you shall rest and be well fed after your march, +and on the morrow we will make a rapid secret march, and seek to +fall upon the foe unawares."</p> +<p>The Rangers were as hungry as hunters, and glad enough to sit +down once more to a well-spread table. The rations were not +luxurious as to quality, but there was sufficient quantity, which +to hungry men is the great matter. The Colonel sat with them at +table, heard all they had to tell of the state of the country from +Philadelphia westward, and had many grim tales to tell himself of +outrages and losses in this district.</p> +<p>"We lost Fort Granville at harvest time, when the men were +forced to garner their crops, and we had to send out soldiers to +protect them. The French and Indians set upon the Fort, and though +it was gallantly defended by the lieutenant in charge, it fell into +their hands. Since then their aggressions have been unbearable. +Captain Jacobs has been making the lives of the settlers a terror +to them. We have sent for help from the colony, with what success +you know. We have sent to the Rangers under Rogers, and had hoped +to be reinforced by them.</p> +<p>"But if he cannot help us, it is much to have stout-hearted +friends come unexpectedly to our aid. Have you seen fighting, +friends? or are you like the bulk of our men--inured to toil and +hardship, full of zeal and courage, ready to wield any and every +weapon in defence of property, or against the treacherous +Indian?"</p> +<p>"Something like that," answered Stark; "but we can all claim to +be good marksmen, and to have good weapons with us. Our rifles +carry far, and we seldom miss the quarry. I will answer for us that +we stand firm, and that we come not behind your soldiers in +steadiness, nor in the use of arms at close quarters."</p> +<p>"That I can well believe," answered the Colonel, with a smile; +"I have but a score of men who have been trained in the school of +arms. The rest were but raw recruits a few months ago, and many of +them have little love of fighting, though they seek to do their +duty.</p> +<p>"Well, well, we must not sit up all night talking. We have a +hard day's march before us tomorrow, and we must needs make all the +speed we can. Indian scouts might discover our camp at any moment, +and our only chance is to fall upon the Indian town unawares. They +do not look for attack in the winter months--that is our best +protection from spies. And so far I think we have escaped notice. +But it may not last, and we must be wary. We will sleep till dawn, +but with the first of the daylight we must be moving. The way is +long, but we have some good guides who know the best tracks. We +ought to reach the town soon after nightfall; and when all are +sleeping in fancied security, we will fall upon them."</p> +<p>The Rangers were glad enough of the few hours of sleep which +they were able to obtain, and it was luxury to them to sleep +beneath a roof, and to be served the next morning with breakfast +which they had not had to kill and cook themselves.</p> +<p>The men were in good spirits, too. The arrival of the little +body of Rangers had encouraged them; and as the company marched +through the forest, generally in single file, the newcomers +scattered themselves amongst the larger body, and talked to them of +what was going forward in the eastern districts, and how, after +long delay, reinforcements were being prepared to come to the aid +of the hapless settlers.</p> +<p>That was cheering news for all, and it put new heart into the +band. They marched along cheerily, although cautiously, for they +knew not what black scouts might be lurking in the thickets; and if +the Indians once got wind of their coming, there would be little +hope of successful attack.</p> +<p>On and on they marched all through the keen winter air, which +gave them fine appetites for their meals when they paused to rest +and refresh themselves, but made walking easier than when the sun +beat down pitilessly upon them in the summer. There had been no +heavy snow as yet, and the track was not hard to find. But the way +was longer than had been anticipated, and night had long closed in +before they caught a glimpse of any settlement, although they knew +they must be drawing near.</p> +<p>The guides became perplexed in the darkness of the forest. The +moon was shining, but the light was dim and deceptive within the +great glades. Still they pushed on resolutely, and the Rangers +gradually drew to the front, goaded on by their own eagerness, and +less disposed to feel fatigue than the soldiers, who were in +reality less hardy than they.</p> +<p>All in a moment a strange sound smote upon their ears. It was +the roll of an Indian drum. They paused suddenly, and looked each +other in the face. The rolling sound continued, and then rose a +sound of whooping and yelling such as some of their number had +never heard before.</p> +<p>"It is the war dance," whispered one of the guides; and a thrill +ran through the whole company. Had they been discovered, and were +the Indians coming out in a body against them?</p> +<p>For a brief while they were halted just below the top of the +ridge, whilst a few of the guides and Rangers crept cautiously +forward to inspect the hollow in which they knew the village +lay.</p> +<p>Colonel Armstrong was one of this party, and he, with Stark and +Fritz, cautiously crept up over the ridge and looked down upon the +Indian town below.</p> +<p>The moon lighted up the whole scene. There was no appearance of +tumult or excitement. The sound of the drum and the whooping of the +warriors were not accompanied by any demonstration of activity by +those within the community. Probably some war party or hunting +party had returned with spoil, and they were celebrating the event +by a banquet and a dance.</p> +<p>The soldiers were bidden to move onward, but very cautiously. It +was necessary that they should make the descent of the rugged path +before the moon set, and it was abundantly evident that the Indians +had at present no idea of the presence of the enemy.</p> +<p>Slowly and cautiously the soldiers crept down the steep path, +doing everything possible to avoid a noise; but suddenly the sound +of a peculiar whistle sounded from somewhere below, and there were +a movement and a thrill of dismay through all the ranks; for surely +it was a signal of discovery!</p> +<p>Only Fritz was undismayed, and gave vent to a silent laugh.</p> +<p>"That is not an alarm," he whispered to the Colonel; "it is but +a young chief signalling to some squaw. But the place is not asleep +yet; if we go much nearer we shall be seen. Those bushes would give +us cover till all is quiet. We could crouch there and rest, and +when the time has come spring out upon the village unawares."</p> +<p>The Colonel approved the plan, and the weary men were glad +enough of the rest before the battle should begin. All were full of +hope and ardour; but in spite of that, most of them fell asleep +crouched in the cover. The surrounding hills kept off the wind, and +it was warm beneath the sheltering scrub.</p> +<p>But Charles sat up with his hands clasped round his knees, his +eyes intently fixed upon the Indian village. Beside him were a few +of his chosen comrades amongst the Rangers--men older than the +hardy youths who had organized the band--settlers like himself, who +had suffered losses like his own, and in whose hearts there burned +a steady fire of vengeful hate that could only be quenched in +blood.</p> +<p>To them crept one of the guides who knew the district and the +town of Kittanning. With him were his son and another hardy lad. He +looked at Charles and made a sign. The next moment some six or +eight men were silently creeping through the sleeping soldiers, +unnoticed even by the sharp eyes of the Colonel, who was stationed +at some little distance.</p> +<p>Like human snakes these men wriggled themselves down the +tortuous path, keeping always under cover of the bushes; and even +when the open ground below was reached, they slipped so silently +along beneath the cover of the hedges that not an eye saw them, not +even the sharp ears of the Indians heard their insidious +approach.</p> +<p>"Which is the house of Captain Jacobs?" asked Charles in a +whisper of the guide.</p> +<p>"It lies yonder," he answered, "in the centre of the village. It +is the strongest building in the place, and has loopholes from +which a hot fire can be poured out upon an approaching foe. The +Indians here have great stores of gunpowder and arms--given them by +the French to keep up the border war. Unless we can take them by +surprise, we be all dead men; for they are as ten to one, and are +armed to the teeth."</p> +<p>Charles's face in the moonlight was set and stern.</p> +<p>"Here is a stack of wood," he said. "Let every man take his +fagot; but be silent as death."</p> +<p>Plainly these men knew what they had come to do. In perfect +silence, yet with an exercise of considerable strength, they loaded +themselves with the dry brushwood, and split logs which the Indians +had cut and piled up ready for use either to burn or for the +building of their huts. Then, thus loaded, they crept like ghosts +or ghouls through the sleeping street of the Indian town, and piled +their burdens against the walls of the centre hut, which belonged +to the chief.</p> +<p>Twice and thrice was this thing repeated; but Charles remained +posted beside the door of the house, working in a strange and +mysterious fashion at the entrance. Upon his face was a strange, +set smile. Now and again he shook his clinched hand towards the +heavens, as though invoking the aid or the wrath of the Deity.</p> +<p>The bold little band were in imminent peril. One accidental slip +or fall, an unguarded word, an involuntary cough, and the lives of +the whole party might pay the forfeit. They were in the heart of an +Indian village, enemies and spies. But the good fortune which so +often attends upon some rash enterprise was with them tonight. They +completed their task, and drew away from the silent place as +shadow-like as they had come.</p> +<p>But they did not return to their comrades; they posted +themselves at a short distance from the place. They looked well to +the priming of their rifles, and to their other arms, and sat in +silence to await the commencement of the battle.</p> +<p>The moon set in golden radiance behind the wooded hills. In the +eastern sky the first rose red showed that dawn would shortly +break. Looking towards the hill, the little band saw that movement +had already begun there. They rose to their feet, and looked from +the moving shapes amid the brushwood towards the still sleeping, +silent town.</p> +<p>"The Lord of hosts is with us," spoke Charles, in a solemn +voice; "He will deliver the enemy into our hands. Let us quit +ourselves like men and be strong. Let us do unto them even as they +have done. Let not the wicked escape us. The Lord do so to me, and +more also, if I reward not unto yon cruel chieftain his wickedness +and his cruelties. If he leave this place alive, let my life pay +the forfeit!"</p> +<p>A murmur ran through the little group about him. Each man +grasped his weapon and stood still as a statue. This little company +had posted themselves upon a knoll which commanded the house of the +bloodthirsty chief. It was their business to see that he at least +did not escape from the day of vengeance.</p> +<p>The moments seemed hours to those men waiting and watching; but +they did not wait in vain.</p> +<p>A blaze of fire, a simultaneous crack of firearms, and a wild +shout that was like one of already earned victory, and the +assailants came charging down the hillside, and across the open +fields, firing volley after volley upon the sleeping town, from +which astonished and bewildered savages came pouring out in a dense +mass, only to fall writhing beneath the hail of bullets from the +foe who had surprised them thus unawares.</p> +<p>But there were in that community men trained in the arts of war, +who were not to be scared into non-resistance by a sudden +onslaught, however unexpected. These men occupied log houses around +that of their chieftain, and instead of rushing forth, they +remained behind their walls, and fired steadily back at the enemy +with a rapidity and steadiness which evoked the admiration of the +Colonel himself.</p> +<p>Fiercely rained the bullets from rank to rank. Indians yelled +and whooped; the squaws rushed screaming hither and thither; the +fight waxed hotter and yet more hot. But all unknown to the +Indians, and unseen by them in the confusion and terror, a file of +stern, determined men was stealing towards the very centre of their +town, creeping along the ground so as to avoid notice, and be safe +from the hail of shot, but ever drawing nearer and nearer to that +centre, where the defence was so courageously maintained.</p> +<p>Charles was the first to reach the log house against which the +brushwood had been piled. In the dim light of dawn his face could +be seen wearing a look of concentrated purpose. He had lately +passed an open hut from whence the inhabitants had fled, and he +carried in his hand a smouldering firebrand. Now crouching against +the place from which the hottest fire belched forth, he blew upon +this brand till a tongue of flame darted forth, and in a moment +more the brushwood around the house had begun to crackle with a +sound like that made by a hissing snake before it makes the fatal +spring.</p> +<p>Five minutes later and the ring of flame round the doomed house +was complete. The firing suddenly ceased, and there was a sound of +blows and cries, turning to howls of fury as the inmates found that +the door would not yield--that they were trapped.</p> +<p>The Rangers, rushing up, seized burning brands and commenced +setting fire to house after house, whilst their comrades stood at a +short distance shooting down the Indians as they burst forth. A +scene of the wildest terror and confusion was now illumined by the +glare of the fire, and at short intervals came the sound of short, +sharp explosions, as the flames reached the charged guns of the +Indians or the kegs of gunpowder lavishly stored in their +houses.</p> +<p>But Charles stood like a statue in the midst of the turmoil. His +face was white and terrible; his gun was in his hands. He did not +attempt to fire it, although Indians were scuttling past him like +hunted hares; he stood stern and passive, biding his time.</p> +<p>The ring of flame round the centre house rose higher and higher. +Cries and screams were heard issuing from within. Some intrepid +warrior was chanting his death song, dauntless to the last. A +frightened squaw was shrieking aloud; but not even the sound of a +woman's voice moved Charles from his fell purpose.</p> +<p>Suddenly his, face changed; the light flashed into his eyes. He +raised his head, and he laid his gun to his shoulder.</p> +<p>Out upon the roof of the cabin, ringed as it was with fire, +there sprang a man of gigantic aspect, daubed and tattooed in +vermilion, his hair braided in scarlet, and one white tuft +conspicuous in the black. He stood upon the roof, glaring wildly +round him as if meditating a spring. Doubtless the smoke and fire +shielded him in some sort from observation. Had not there been one +relentless foe vowed to his destruction, he might in all +probability have leaped the ring of flame and escaped with his +life.</p> +<p>But Charles had covered him with his gun. The chieftain saw the +gleaming barrel, and paused irresolute. Charles's voice rose clear +above the surrounding din.</p> +<p>"Murderer, tyrant, tormentor of helpless women and babes, the +white man's God doth war against thee. The hour of thy death has +come. As thou hast done unto others, so shall it be done unto +thee."</p> +<p>Then the sharp report of the rifle sounded, and the chief +bounded into the air and fell back helpless. He was not dead--his +yells of rage and fear told that--but he was helpless. His thigh +was shattered. He lay upon the roof of the blazing cabin unable to +move hand or foot, and Charles stood by like a grim sentinel till +the frail building collapsed into a burning mass; then with a +fierce gesture he stirred the ashes with the butt of his rifle, +saying beneath his breath:</p> +<p>"That is one of them!"</p> +<p>Victory for the white man was complete, notwithstanding that +bands of Indians from the other side of the river came rushing to +the succour of their allies. They came too late, and were scattered +and dispersed by the resolute fire of the English. The whole +village was destroyed. Colonel Armstrong took as many arms and as +much ammunition as his men could carry, and devoted the rest to +destruction.</p> +<p>More satisfactory still, they released from captivity eleven +prisoners, white men with women and children, who had been carried +off at different times when others had been massacred. From these +persons they learned that the Indians of Kittanning had often +boasted that they had in the place a stock of ammunition sufficient +to keep up a ten years' war with the English along the borders. To +have taken and destroyed all these stores was no small matter, and +the Colonel and his men rejoiced not a little over the blow thus +struck at the foe almost in his own land.</p> +<p>But there was no chance of following up the victory. Armstrong +was not strong enough to carry the war into the enemy's country; +moreover, the winter was already upon them, although up till the +present the season had been especially mild and open. He must march +his men back to quarters, and provide for the safety of his +wounded, and for the restoration of the rescued prisoners to their +friends.</p> +<p>He would gladly have kept Stark and his little valiant band with +him, but the Rangers had different aims in view.</p> +<p>"We must be up and doing; we must find fighting somewhere. On +Lake George we shall surely find work for men to do. Rangers of +wood and forest care nothing for winter ice and snow. We will go +northward and eastward, asking news of Rogers and his Rangers. It +may be that we shall fall in with them, and that we can make common +cause with them against the common foe."</p> +<p>So said Stark, speaking for all his band, for all were of one +heart and one mind.</p> +<p>Therefore, after a few days for rest and refreshment, the little +army retreated whence it had come; whilst the bold band of Rangers +started forth for the other scene of action, away towards the +north, along the frozen lakes which formed one of the highways to +Canada.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch2-2" id="Ch2-2">Chapter 2</a>: Robert Rogers.</h2> +<p>They met for the first time, face to face, amid a world of ice +and snow, upon the frozen surface of Lake George.</p> +<p>Stark and his little band had been through strange experiences, +and had met with many adventures as they pursued their course +towards the spot where they heard that the French and English were +lying encamped and intrenched, awaiting the arrival of spring +before commencing the campaign afresh; and they now began to have a +clearer notion of the situation between the two nations than they +had hitherto had.</p> +<p>They had spent a week in the quaint Dutch town of Albany, and +there they had heard many things with regard to the state of +parties and the affairs between the two nations.</p> +<p>England and France were nominally at peace, or had been, even +whilst these murderous onslaughts had been going on in the west. +But it was evident to all that war must be shortly declared between +the countries, if it had not already been proclaimed. The scent of +battle seemed in the very air. Nothing was talked of but the great +struggle for supremacy in the west, which must shortly be fought +out to the bitter end.</p> +<p>The aim of France was to connect Canada with Louisiana by a +chain of forts, and keep the English penned up in their eastern +provinces without room to expand. The northern links of this chain +were Fort Ticonderoga, just where the waters of Lake George join +those of Champlain; Fort Niagara, which commanded the lakes; and +Fort Duquesne, at the head of the Ohio, the key to the great +Mississippi.</p> +<p>It was a gigantic scheme, and one full of ambition; there was +one immense drawback. The French emigrants of the western world +numbered only about one hundred and eighty thousand souls, whilst +the English colonies had their two millions of inhabitants. The +French could only accomplish their ends if the Indians would become +and remain their allies. The English, though equally anxious to +keep on good terms with the dusky denizens of the woods, who could +be such dangerous foes, had less need to use them in fight, as, if +they chose to combine and act in concert, they could throw an army +into the field which must overpower any the French could mass.</p> +<p>But the weakness of the provinces hitherto had been this lack of +harmony. They would not act in concert. They were forever +disputing, one province with another, and each at home with its +governor. The home ministry sent out men unfit for the work of +command. Military disasters followed one after the other. +Washington and Braddock had both been overthrown in successive +attempts upon Fort Duquesne; and now the English Fort of Oswego, +their outpost at Lake Ontario, was lost through mismanagement and +bad generalship.</p> +<p>Canada owned a centralized government. She could send out her +men by the various routes to the points of vantage where the +struggle lay. England had an enormous border to protect, and no one +centre of operations to work from. She was hampered at every turn +by internal jealousies, and by incompetent commanders. Braddock had +been a good soldier, but he could not understand forest fighting, +and had raged against the Virginian men, who were doing excellent +work firing at the Indians from behind trees, and meeting their +tactics by like ones. Braddock had driven them into rank by beating +them with the flat of his sword, only to see them shot down like +sheep. Blunders such as this had marked the whole course of the +war; and misfortune after misfortune had attended the English arms +upon the mainland, although in Acadia they had been more +successful.</p> +<p>These things Stark and his little band heard from the Dutch of +Albany; they also heard that the English were encamped at the +southern end of Lake George, at Forts Edward and William Henry, +their commander being John Winslow, whose name was becoming known +and respected as that of a brave and humane soldier, who had +carried through a difficult piece of business in Acadia with as +much consideration and kindliness as possible.</p> +<p>Now he was in command of the English force watching the +movements of the French at Ticonderoga; here also were Rogers and +his Rangers to be found. They had marched into Winslow's camp, it +was said, some few months earlier, proffering their services; and +there they had since remained, scouting up and down the lake upon +skates or snowshoes, snatching away prisoners from the Indian +allies, or from the very walls of the fort itself, and intercepting +provisions sent down Lake Champlain for the use of the French.</p> +<p>Details of these escapades on the part of the Rangers were not +known in Albany; but rumours of Rogers' intrepidity reached them +from time to time, and Stark and his band were fired anew by the +desire to join themselves to this bold leader, and to assist him in +his task of harassing the enemy, and bringing assistance of all +sorts into the English camp.</p> +<p>Bidding adieu to the Dutch, who had received them kindly, and +now sent them away with a sufficiency of provisions to last them +several days, they skimmed away still to the northward on their +snowshoes. They had taken directions as to what route to pursue in +order to reach Fort Edward, and thence to pass on to Fort William +Henry; but the heavy snowfall obliterated landmarks, and they +presently came to the conclusion that they had missed the way, and +had travelled too far north already.</p> +<p>"Then we must keep in a westerly direction," quoth Stark, as +they sat in council together over their fire at night; "we cannot +fail thus to strike the lake at last, and that, if frozen hard, can +be our highway. At the southern end is the fort William Henry; at +the northern outlet is the French fort with the name of +Ticonderoga."</p> +<p>This deflection in direction being agreed to, the party lay down +to sleep--Charles Angell offering to act as sentry, as he +frequently did.</p> +<p>Since the tragedy which had wrecked his life, Charles had seldom +been able to sleep quietly at night. He was haunted by horrible +dreams, and the thought of sleep was repugnant to him. He would +often drop asleep at odd hours over the campfire whilst his +comrades were discussing and planning, and they would let him sleep +in peace at such times; but at night he was alert and wide awake, +and they were glad enough to give him his request, and let him keep +watch whilst they rested and slumbered.</p> +<p>The silence of the snow-girt forest was profound; yet Charles +was restless tonight, and kept pausing to listen with an odd +intensity of expression. His faculties, both of sight and hearing, +had become preternaturally acute of late. More than once this gift +of his had saved the party from falling amongst a nest of hostile +Indians; tonight it was to prove of service in another way.</p> +<p>In the dead of night the Rangers were awakened by a trumpet-like +call.</p> +<p>"To arms, friends, to arms! The Indians are abroad; they are +attacking our brothers! I hear the shouts of battle. We must to +their rescue! Let us not delay! To arms, and follow me; I will lead +you thither!"</p> +<p>In a second the camp was astir. The men lay down in their +clothes, wrapping a buffalo robe about them for warmth. In a few +seconds all were aroused, strapping their blankets upon their +shoulders and seizing their weapons.</p> +<p>"What have you heard, Charles, and where?" asked Stark and Fritz +in a breath as they ran up.</p> +<p>"Yonder, yonder!" cried Charles, pointing in a northwesterly +direction; "it is a fight on the ice. It is not far away. The +Indians are attacking white men--English men. I hear their cries +and their shoutings. Hark--there is shooting, too! Come, follow me, +and I will take you there. There is work for the Rangers +tonight!"</p> +<p>Yes, it was true. They could all hear the sound of shots. What +had gone before had only reached the ears of Charles; but the +report of firearms carried far. In three minutes the bold little +company had started at a brisk run through the snow-covered forest, +getting quickly into the long swing of their snowshoes, and +skimming over the ground at an inconceivably rapid pace, +considering the nature of the ground traversed.</p> +<p>All at once the forest opened before them. They came out upon +its farthest fringe; and below them lay, white and bare, and +sparkling in the moonlight, the frozen, snow-laden plateau of the +lake.</p> +<p>It was a weirdly beautiful scene which lay spread like a +panorama before them in the winter moonlight; but they had no time +to think of that now. All eyes were fixed upon the stirring scene +enacted in the middle of the lake, or at least well out upon its +frozen surface, where a band of resolute men, sheltering themselves +behind a few sledges, which made them a sort of rampart, were +firing steadily, volley after volley, at a band of leaping, yelling +Indians who had partially surrounded them, and who were slowly but +steadily advancing, despite their heavy loss, returning the fire of +the defendants, though by no means so steadily and regularly, and +whooping and yelling with a fearful ferocity.</p> +<p>It was easy to see, even by the moonlight alone, that the men +behind the sledges were white men. A sudden enthusiasm and +excitement possessed our little band of Rangers as this sight burst +upon them, and Stark gave the instant word:</p> +<p>"Steady, men, but lose not a moment. Form two lines, and rush +them from behind. Reserve your fire till I give the word. Then let +them have it hot, and close upon them from behind. When they find +themselves between two fires, they will think themselves trapped. +They will scatter like hunted hares. See, they have no notion of +any foe save the one in front. Keep beneath the shadow of the +forest till the last moment, and then rush them and fire!"</p> +<p>The men nodded, and unslung their guns. They made no noise +gliding down the steep snow bank upon their long shoes, and then +out upon the ice of the lake.</p> +<p>"Fire!" exclaimed Stark at the right moment; and as one man the +Rangers halted, and each picked his man.</p> +<p>Crack-crack-crack!</p> +<p>Literally each bullet told. Twelve dusky savages bounded into +the air, and fell dead upon the blood-stained snow.</p> +<p>Crack-crack-crack!</p> +<p>The affrighted Indians had faced round only to meet another +volley from the intrepid little band behind.</p> +<p>That was enough. The prowess of the Rangers was well known from +one end of the lake to the other. To be hemmed in between two +companies was more than Indian bravery or Indian stoicism could +stand. With yells of terror they dropped their arms and fled to the +forest, followed by a fierce firing from both parties, which made +great havoc in their ranks. The rout was complete and +instantaneous. Had it not been for panic, they might have paused to +note how few were those new foes in number, and how small even the +united body was as compared with their own numbers; but they fled, +as Stark had foretold, like hunted hares, and the white men were +left upon the lake face to face, with dead and dying Indians around +them.</p> +<p>An enormously tall man leaped up from behind the rampart of +sledges, and came forward with outstretched hand. He was a man of +magnificent physique, with a mass of wild, tangled hair and beard, +and black eyes which seemed to burn like live coals. His features +were rugged and rather handsome, and his nose was of very large +proportions.</p> +<p>Stark took a step forward and shook the outstretched hand. He +knew this man, from descriptions received of him during their +months of wandering.</p> +<p>"You are Captain Rogers?"</p> +<p>"Robert Rogers, of the Rangers, at your service," replied the +other, in a deep, sonorous voice, which seemed to match his size; +"and this is my brother Richard," as another fine-looking man +approached and held out his hand to their deliverers. "And right +glad are we to welcome such bold spirits amongst us, though who you +are and whence you come we know not. You have saved us from peril +of death tonight, and Rogers never forgets a service like +that."</p> +<p>"We have come from far to seek you," answered Stark; "we +ourselves are Rangers of the forest. We fear neither heat nor cold, +peril, hardship, nor foe. We long to fight our country's battle +against the Indian savages and against the encroaching French. It +has been told us again and again that Rogers is the captain for us, +and to Rogers we have come."</p> +<p>"And right welcome are all such bold spirits in Rogers' camp!" +was the quick reply. "That is the spirit of the true Ranger. Nor +shall you be disappointed in your desire after peril and adventure. +You can see by tonight's experience the sort of adventure into +which we are constantly running. We scouts of the lake have to +watch ourselves against whole hordes of wily, savage Indian scouts +and spies. Some of our number are killed and cut off with each +encounter; and yet we live and thrive and prosper. And if you ask +honest John Winslow who are those who help him most during this +season of weary waiting, I trow he will tell you it is Rogers and +his bold Rangers."</p> +<p>By this time the whole band of Rangers had gathered round +Stark's little company, and the men were all talking together. In +those wild lands ceremony is unknown; friendships are quickly made, +if quickly sundered by the chances and changes of a life of +adventure and change; and soon the band felt as if one common +spirit inspired them.</p> +<p>There were three wounded men in Rogers' company; they were put +upon a sledge and well covered up. Then the party moved along to a +position at some distance from that where they had met the +attack.</p> +<p>"The Indians will come back to find and remove their dead," +explained Rogers. "It is better to be gone. We will encamp and +bivouac a little farther away. Then we will hold a council as to +our next move. They will not be in haste to molest us again."</p> +<p>The plan was carried out. The hardy Rangers hollowed out a +sheltered nook in the snow, threw up a wall of protection against +the wind, lighted a fire, and sat round it discussing the events of +the night, and exchanging amenities with their new comrades.</p> +<p>The two Rogerses, together with Stark, Fritz, and the silent, +watchful Charles, gathered in a knot a little apart, and Rogers +laid before them, in a few brief speeches, the situation of affairs +upon the lake.</p> +<p>Lake Champlain, the more northern and the larger of the twin +lakes, was altogether guarded by the French. St. John stood at its +head, and Crown Point guarded it lower down--being a great +fortified promontory, where the lake narrowed to a very small +passage, widening out again below, till it reached the other strong +fort and colony of Ticonderoga, where Lake George formed a junction +with it, though the lake itself still ran an independent course to +the south, parallel with Lake George, being fed by the waters of +Wood Creek, a narrow, river-like inlet, which was a second waterway +into the larger lake.</p> +<p>The position of Ticonderoga was, therefore, very important, as +it commanded both these waterways; and even if the English could +succeed in avoiding the guns of that fort, there was still Crown +Point, further to the north, to keep them from advancing.</p> +<p>In addition to these advantages, the French had won the local +Indians to their side; and though they did much towards +embarrassing their white allies, and were a perfect nuisance both +to officers and men, they were too useful to risk offending or to +be dispensed with, as they were always ready for a dash upon any +English scouting parties, and formed a sort of balance to the +tactics of the English Rangers.</p> +<p>"They are villainous foes!" said Rogers, with a dark scowl. "It +is their great joy to take prisoners; and when the French have +extracted from them all the information they can as to the strength +and prospects of the English, the Indians will claim them again, to +scalp and burn, and the French scarcely raise a protest. It is said +that they speak with disgust of the barbarities of these savage +allies, but they do little or nothing to check them. That is why my +wrath often rises higher against the French than against the +Indians themselves. They know no better; but for white man to +deliver white man into their hands--that is what makes my blood +boil!"</p> +<p>The fire leaped up in Charles's eyes, and he had his tale to +tell, at hearing of which the Rogerses set their teeth and muttered +curses not loud but deep.</p> +<p>"Now will I tell you what we started forth to do," said the +leader of the band. "We have been busy all winter. Last month we +skated down the lake when it was clear of snow, passed Ticonderoga +all unseen, intercepted some sledges of provisions, and carried +them and their drivers to our fort. Now we are bent upon a longer +journey. We want to reach Crown Point, and make a plan of the works +for our brave Commander Winslow. We were a part of the way on our +route, when we fell in with Indians conveying provisions to the +French on these sledges. We took them from them and dispersed the +crew; but they must have scattered and got help, and they set upon +us, as you have seen. Now that we have three wounded and two +somewhat bruised and shaken, I am thinking it would be better to +send them back, with a few sound men as escort--for the provisions +will be welcome at the fort, which is not too well +victualled--whilst the rest of us push on, and see if we can +accomplish our errand. Now that we are thus reinforced, we shall be +strong enough to do this."</p> +<p>The eyes of Stark and Fritz sparkled at the prospect.</p> +<p>"We will go with you," they cried. "We long for such work as +this; it is what we have come for from our homes and friends."</p> +<p>And then Stark added modestly:</p> +<p>"And if I am but little trained to arms, I can draw. I have been +used to that work in my old life, which was too tame for me. I +understand how to make plans and elevations. If I could but get a +good view of the fortifications, I will undertake to make a good +drawing of them for your general."</p> +<p>Rogers slapped him heartily upon the back.</p> +<p>"A draughtsman is the very fellow we want," he cried; "and a +draughtsman who can wield weapons as you can, John Stark, is the +very man for us. You and your band will be right welcome. You can +all use snowshoes, I see, and doubtless skates also?"</p> +<p>Stark nodded. By that time all were proficient in these arts, +even Fritz, to whom they had been new at the commencement of the +winter. Charles fingered the knife at his belt, and his cavern-like +eyes glowed in their sockets.</p> +<p>"Let me fight the French-the French!" he muttered. "I have +avenged myself upon the Indian foe. Now let me know the joy of +meeting the white foe face to face!"</p> +<p>"Is that poor fellow mad?" asked Rogers of Fritz, when next +morning, all preparations being speedily made, the party had +divided, and the larger contingent was sweeping down the lake +towards the distant junction, which was guarded by the guns of +Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>"I think his brain is touched. He has been like that ever since +I have known him; but his brother and friends say that once he was +the most gentle and peaceful of men, and never desired to raise +hand against his fellow. It is the horror of one awful memory that +has made him what he is. I thought perhaps that when he wreaked his +vengeance upon the Indian chieftain who had slain his wife and +children, he would have been satisfied; but the fire in his heart +seems unquenched and unquenchable. Sometimes I have a fancy that +when his wrath is satisfied the spring of life will cease within +him. He grows more gaunt and thin each week; but he is borne along +by the strong spirit within, and in battle his strength is as the +strength of ten."</p> +<p>"As is ofttimes the way with men whose minds are unhinged," said +Rogers. "Truly we have small reason to love our white brothers the +French, since at their door lies the sin of these ravages upon the +hapless border settlers. We will requite them even as they deserve! +We will smite them hip and thigh! though we must not, and will not, +become like the savage Indians. We will not suffer outrage; it +shall be enough of shame and humiliation for them to see the flag +of England flaunting proudly where their banners have been wont to +fly."</p> +<p>A few days of rather laborious travel--for the snow was +soft--and Crown Point lay before them. They had left the lake some +time before, skirting round Roger's Rock, and thus making a cut +across country, and missing the perils of passing Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>"We will take that in returning," said Rogers; "but we will not +risk being seen on our way down, else they might be upon the alert +for our return. We will arrange a pleasant surprise for them."</p> +<p>The way was laborious now, for they had to climb hills which +gave them a good view over the fortifications of Crown Point; but +this elevation once safely attained, without any further +molestation from Indians, they were able to make a complete survey +of the fortifications; and Stark made some excellent plans and +drawings, which gave a fine idea of the place.</p> +<p>So far all had been peaceful; but the Rangers were not wont to +come and go and leave no trace. There were outlying farms around +the fortifications, and comings and goings between the French +soldiers and peasants.</p> +<p>"We will stop these supplies," said Rogers, with a sardonic +smile; "the French shall learn to be as careful of their flour as +we have to be!"</p> +<p>And carefully laying an ambush in the early grey of a winter's +morning, he sprang suddenly out upon a train of wagons wending +their way to the fortifications.</p> +<p>The drivers, scared and terrified, jumped from their places, and +ran screaming into the defences, whence soldiers came rushing out, +sword in hand, but only to find the wagons in flames, the horses +driven off to the forest, and the barns and farmsteads behind +burning.</p> +<p>It was a savage sort of warfare, but it was the work of the +Rangers to repay ferocity in kind, and to leave behind them dread +tokens of the visits they paid.</p> +<p>Whilst the terrified inhabitants and the angry soldiers were +striving to extinguish the flames, and vituperating Rogers and his +company, these bold Rangers themselves were fleeing down the lake +as fast as snowshoes could take them, full of satisfaction at the +havoc they had wrought, and intent upon leaving their mark at +Ticonderoga before they passed on to Fort William Henry.</p> +<p>Guarded as it was by fortifications and surrounded by Indian +spies, Rogers and his men approached it cautiously, yet without +fear; for they knew every inch of the ground, and they were so +expert in all woodcraft and strategic arts that they could lie +hidden in brushwood within speaking distance of the foe, yet not +betray their presence by so much as the crackle of a twig.</p> +<p>It was night when they neared the silent fort. A dying moon gave +faint light. The advancing party glided like ghosts along the +opposite bank. A sentry here and there tramped steadily. The +Rangers could hear the exchange of salute and the rattle of a +grounded musket. But no sign did they make of their presence. They +kept close in the black shadow, and halted in a cavern-like spot +well known to them from intimate acquaintance.</p> +<p>Richard Rogers had been sent scouting by his brother, and came +in with news.</p> +<p>"There will be marching on the morrow. Some soldiers will leave +the fort for the nearest camp; I could not gather how many, but +there will be some marching through the forest. If we post +ourselves near to the road by which they will pass, we may do some +havoc ere they know our whereabouts."</p> +<p>This was work entirely to the liking of the Rangers. Before dawn +they were posted in their ambush, and allowed themselves a few +hours of repose, but lighted no fire. They must not draw attention +to themselves.</p> +<p>They were awake and astir with the first light of the tardy +dawn, eagerly listening whilst they looked to the priming of their +arms, and exchanged whispered prognostications.</p> +<p>Then came the expected sound--the tramp, tramp, tramp of a +number of men on the march.</p> +<p>"Hist!" whispered Rogers, "lie low, and reserve your fire. These +sound too many for us."</p> +<p>The men kept watch, and saw the soldiers file by. There were +close upon two hundred. It would have been madness to attack them, +and the Rangers looked at one another in disappointment.</p> +<p>"Cheer up! there may be more to come," suggested Rogers; and +before another hour had passed, their listening ears were rewarded +by the sound of a bugle call, and in a few minutes more the +trampling of feet was heard once again, and this time the sound was +less and more irregular.</p> +<p>"Some stragglers kept behind for something, seeking to catch up +the main body," spoke Rogers in a whisper. "Be ready, men; mark +each his foe, and then out upon them, and take prisoners if you +can."</p> +<p>The taking of prisoners was most important. It was from them +that each side learned what was being done by the various +commanders. A prisoner was valuable booty to return with to the +fort. Rogers seldom went forth upon any important expedition +without returning with one or more.</p> +<p>The men swung by carelessly, laughing and talking. They had such +faith in their Indian scouts that they never thought of an ambushed +foe.</p> +<p>The ping of the rifles in their rear caused a strange panic +amongst them. They faced round to see the redoubtable Rogers spring +out at the head of a compact body of men.</p> +<p>But the strangest thing in that strange attack was a wild, +unearthly yell which suddenly broke from one of the Rangers.</p> +<p>It was like nothing human; it was like the fierce roar of some +terrible wild beast. Even Rogers himself was startled for the +moment, and looked back to see from whence it had come.</p> +<p>At that moment Charles Angell dashed forward in a frantic +manner. He had flung his gun from him; his eyeballs were fixed and +staring; there was foam upon his lips; his hair was streaming in +the wind. He bore an aspect so strange and fearful that the French +uttered yells of terror, and fled helter-skelter from the +onslaught.</p> +<p>But if any had had eyes to note it, there was one Frenchman +whose face became ashy white as he met the rolling gaze of those +terrible, bloodshot eyes. He too flung away his gun, and uttered a +frantic yell of terror, plunging headlong into the wood without a +thought save flight.</p> +<p>"It is he! it is he! it is he!"</p> +<p>This was the shout which rang from the lips of Charles as he +dashed after the retreating figure. All was confusion now amid +French and Rangers alike; that awful yell, and something in the +appearance of Charles, had startled friend and foe alike.</p> +<p>There were several of the French soldiers left dead in the wood, +and one was captured and made prisoner; but the rest had fled like +men demented, and the Rangers could not come up with them. As for +Charles and his quarry, they had disappeared, and it was long +before any trace could be found of them.</p> +<p>Stark and Fritz, however, would not give up the search, and at +last they came upon the prostrate form of Charles. He lay face +downwards on the frozen ground, which was deeply stained with +blood. His wrist was fearfully gashed by some knife; yet in his +fingers he held still a piece of cloth from the coat of the French +fugitive. It had been literally torn out of his grasp before the +man could get free, and he had nearly hacked off the left hand of +the hapless Charles.</p> +<p>Yet the man had made good his escape, leaving Charles well nigh +dead from loss of blood. But they carried him tenderly back to +their cave, and making a rough sledge for him; then brought him +safely with their prisoner into the camp at Fort William Henry.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch2-3" id="Ch2-3">Chapter 3</a>: The Life Of +Adventure.</h2> +<p>"I have seen him once, and he has escaped me. But we shall meet +again, and then the hour of vengeance will have come!"</p> +<p>This was the burden of Charles's words as he lay in his narrow +quarters in the Rangers' huts just without Fort William Henry, +tended by his comrades till his wound healed. The fever which so +often follows upon loss of blood had him in its grip for awhile, +and he would lie and mutter for hours in a state of +semi-delirium.</p> +<p>The sympathy of his comrades for this strange man with the +tragic story was deep and widespread. Charles had become a +favourite and an object of interest throughout the ranks of the +Rangers, and great excitement prevailed when it was understood that +he had really seen the man--the Frenchman--who had stood by to see +his wife and family massacred, and had deliberately designed to +leave him, cruelly pinioned, to die a lingering death of agony in +the heart of the lonely forest.</p> +<p>Every day he had visitors to his sickbed, and again and again he +told the tale, described his foe, and told how he knew that the man +recognized him, first taking him--or so he believed--for a spectre +from the tomb, afterwards filled with the most lively terror as he +realized that he was pursued by one who had such dire cause for +bitter vengeance.</p> +<p>"We have met twice!" Charles would say, between his shut teeth. +"Once I was at his mercy, and he showed none. The second time he +fled before me as a man flees from death and hell. The third time +we meet--and meet we shall--it will be that the Lord has delivered +him into my hand. I will strike, and spare not. It will be the hour +appointed of Heaven!"</p> +<p>With the lengthening days and the approach of spring the life of +the Rangers became less full of hardship, though not less full of +adventure. Snowshoes and skates were laid aside, and the men +started to construct boats and canoes in which they soon began to +skim the surface of the lake; scouting here, there, and all over, +and bringing back news of the enemy's movements and strength even +when no capture of prisoners rewarded their efforts.</p> +<p>Rogers had taken a great liking to John Stark and his followers. +He dubbed Stark his lieutenant, and Fritz and Stark were +inseparable companions by this time. Charles attached himself to no +person in particular, but was the friend of all; pitied and +respected for his misfortunes, allowed to come and go much as he +would; regarded rather as one set aside by Heaven for an instrument +of vengeance; standing alone, as it were, not quite like any of his +comrades; a dreamy, solitary creature, seldom talking much, often +passing the whole day in silent brooding; yet when there was +fighting to be done, waking up to a sort of Berserker fury, dealing +blows with an almost superhuman strength, and invariably filling +the hearts of his adversaries with a species of superstitious fear +and dread.</p> +<p>For the tall, gaunt figure with the haggard face, flaming eyes, +and wildly-floating locks bore so weird an aspect that a man might +be pardoned for regarding it as an apparition. Not a particle of +colour remained in Charles's face. The flesh had shrunk away till +the bones stood out almost like skin stretched over a skull. The +hair, too, was white as snow, whilst the brows were coal black, +enhancing the effect of the luminous, fiery eyes beneath. It was +small wonder that Charles was regarded by Rangers and soldiers +alike as a thing apart. He came and went as he would, no man +interfering or asking him questions.</p> +<p>At the same time he seemed to regard Fritz and Stark as his +chief friends; and if they started forth with any of the Rangers, +it was generally observed that Charles would be of the company.</p> +<p>The life of the forest was pleasant enough in the warmer +weather; but the garrison at the fort were anxious to know what +orders they would receive for the summer campaign, and so far +nothing was heard but that they were to remain on the defensive. +This might be prudent, seeing that Ticonderoga was< strongly +fortified and garrisoned; but it pleased neither soldiers nor +officers, and the Rangers went scouting more and more eagerly, +hoping to learn news which might tempt those in authority to +sanction some more overt movement.</p> +<p>One day a strange adventure befell the Rangers. Rogers and his +little flotilla of boats were here, there, and everywhere upon the +lake. Not only did they move up and down Lake George, which was +debatable ground, commanded at the different ends by a French and +English fort, but they carried boats across a mountain gorge to the +eastward, launched them again in South Bay, and rowed down the +narrow prolongation of Lake Champlain, and under cover of dark +nights would glide with muffled oars beneath the very guns of +Ticonderoga, within hearing of the sentries' challenge to each +other, and so on to Crown Point, whence they could watch the +movements of the enemy, and see their transports passing to and fro +with provisions for Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>Many a small boat was seized, many a large one sunk by these +hardy Rangers of the forest. They were as wily as Indians, and as +sudden and secret in their movements. The French regarded them with +a species of awe and fear. They would sometimes find an English +boat or canoe in some spot perfectly inexplicable to them. They +could not believe that anyone could pass the fortifications of +Ticonderoga unseen and unheard, and would start the wildest +hypotheses to account for the phenomenon, even to believing that +some waterway existed which was unknown alike to them and their +Indian scouts.</p> +<p>But to return to the adventure to which allusion has been +made.</p> +<p>Rogers with some thirty of his Rangers was out upon one of those +daring adventures. They were encamped within a mile of Ticonderoga. +Their boats were lying in a little wooded creek which gave access +to the lake. Some of the party, headed by Rogers, had gone on +towards Crown Point by night. Stark, with a handful of trusty men, +lay in hiding, watching the movements from the fort, and keeping a +wary eye upon those who came and went, ready to pounce out upon any +straggler who should adventure himself unawares into the forest, +and carry him off captive to the English camp.</p> +<p>Certain tidings as to the course the campaign was likely to take +were urgently wanted by this time. The posts to the English fort +brought in no news save that it was thought better for the army on +the western frontier to remain upon the defensive, and no talk of +sending large reinforcements came to cheer or encourage them. +Winslow was impatient and resentful. He thought there were +mismanagement and lack of energy. He knew that the provinces had +been roused at last out of their lethargy, and had pledged +themselves to some active effort to check French aggression; yet +weeks were slipping by, one after the other, and no help of any +consequence came to the army on the outskirts. No command reached +the eager soldiers for a blow to be struck there, as had been +confidently expected.</p> +<p>Perhaps the French might be better informed as to what was going +on in other parts of the great continent, and so prisoners were +wanted more urgently than ever.</p> +<p>At midday upon a steamy midsummer day, one of the young Rangers +who had been wandering about near to the camp in search of game +came back with cautious haste to report that he had seen a small +party of French leaving the fort by the water gate, cross the +narrow waterway, and plunge into the forest. He had observed the +direction taken, and thought they could easily surround and cut +them off. He did not think there were more than six in the party; +probably they were out hunting, unconscious of the proximity of any +foe.</p> +<p>Stark was on his feet in a second. This was just the chance for +the Rangers. Seizing their arms and hastily conferring together, +they laid their plans, and then divided themselves into three +companies of three, planning to fetch a circuit, keep under cover, +and thus surround the little company, who would believe themselves +entirely overmatched, and some of whom would surrender at +discretion, if they did not all do so.</p> +<p>Stark, Fritz, and Charles remained together, taking a certain +path as agreed upon. They crept like Indians through the wood. +Hardly the breaking of a branch betrayed their movements. In +Charles's eyes the slumbering fire leaped into life. He always +lived in the hope of again meeting his foe face to face. He knew +that he was probably within the walls of Ticonderoga. Any day might +bring them face to face once more.</p> +<p>Softly and cautiously they crept through the brushwood. Stark +had made a sign of extra caution, for some nameless instinct seemed +to have told him that they were near the quarry now. He paused a +moment, held up his hand as if in warning; and at that instant +there suddenly arose from the heart of the wood the unwonted sound +of a sweet, fresh girl's voice raised in a little French song!</p> +<p>The men looked at one another in amaze. Were their ears +deceiving them? But no; the trilling notes came nearer. +Involuntarily they pressed forward a few paces, and then came to a +dead stop. What was it they saw?</p> +<p>A maiden, a young girl of perhaps seventeen summers, her hat +suspended by a broad ribbon from her arm, and half filled with +flowers, was wandering through the woodland tracks as quietly as +though in her sheltered home across the water. As she moved she +sang snatches of song in a clear, bird-like voice; and when her +eyes suddenly fell upon the three strange figures in the path, +there was no fear in their violet depths, only a sort of startled +bewilderment, instantly followed by an eagerness that there was no +mistaking.</p> +<p>"Oh," she exclaimed eagerly, in accents which denoted almost +unmixed pleasure, and speaking English with only a very slight +intonation denoting her mixed nationality, "I am sure that I have +my wish at last! You are Rogers' Rangers!"</p> +<p>Stark and Fritz had doffed their hats in a moment. They were +more nonplussed a great deal than this fearless maiden, who looked +like the goddess of the glade, secure in her right of possession. +Her eyes were dancing with glee; her mouth had curved to a +delicious smile of triumph.</p> +<p>"I have been longing to see the Rangers ever since I arrived at +Ticonderoga; but they declared they were terrible fire-eating men, +worse than the wild Indians, and that they would kill me if I +adventured myself near to them--kill me or carry me away captive. +But I said 'No!'" (and the girl threw back her head in a gesture of +pride and scorn); "I said that the Rangers were Englishmen--English +gentlemen, many of them--and that they did not war with women! I +was not afraid; I knew they would not lay a finger upon me.</p> +<p>"I am not wrong, am I, sirs? You would not hurt a maiden who +trusts your chivalry and honour?"</p> +<p>"I would slay the first man who dared so much as to lay a finger +upon you, lady," answered Stark impetuously, "even though he were +my own comrade or brother! We are Rogers' Rangers, as you have +rightly guessed; and we are here scouting round Fort Ticonderoga, +ready to intercept its inmates when we may catch them. But you are +right: we war not with women; we fight with men who can fight us +back.</p> +<p>"But tell us, fair lady, how comes it that you are here alone in +the forest? It is scarce safe in these troubled times of warfare, +with Indians all around, and rude soldiers prowling the woods and +lurking in its fastnesses."</p> +<p>"Ah, but my escort is close at hand. I did but stray away a +little in search of flowers. They said the forest was free from +peril today. The Indians have gone off yonder on some enterprise of +their own, and the English are lying within their lines far enough +away. I begged and prayed, and at last they gave way. My brother +and the men are after a fine young deer they sighted. I bid them +leave me. I was not afraid. I thought the worst that could happen +would be that I came face to face with a party of Rangers, and that +was exactly what I have longed to do ever since I arrived."</p> +<p>The girl looked up smiling into the faces of the bronzed, +stalwart men standing before her; then she seated herself upon a +fallen tree and motioned them to be seated likewise.</p> +<p>"I want to talk," she said; "let us sit down and be sociable. I +daresay they will be some time in killing their quarry. We will +enjoy ourselves till they come back. They shall not hurt you; I +will ensure that."</p> +<p>Stark smiled a little at the girl's assurance.</p> +<p>"More likely they may suffer at our hands, lady. There are more +of us scattered about the forest. But our aim is not to slay, but +to obtain prisoners who shall give us news; so you need not fear +that harm will befall your brother--least of all if he speaks the +English tongue as you do. If I might make bold to ask you of +yourself, how comes it that an English girl is in such a wild spot +as this, and amid the soldiers of France?"</p> +<p>"I am not English," answered the maiden, with a smile; "I am +French upon my father's side, and my mother was a Scotchwoman. I +have lived in Scotland, where I learned your tongue; and I always +spoke it with my mother so long as she lived. It is as easy to me +as my father's French."</p> +<p>"And how come you to this wild spot in the heart of these +forests, and with warfare all around?"</p> +<p>"I will tell you that, too. My father has always been a man of +action, who has loved travel and adventure. Since the outbreak of +this war in the west he has longed to be in the midst of it. He is +something of a soldier, and something of a statesman, and he is the +friend of many great ones at Court, and has been entrusted before +now with missions requiring skill and tact. He is also the kinsman +of the Marquis of Montcalm, whose name no doubt you know by this +time."</p> +<p>"He is the new military commander sent out by the King of +France, to take the lead in the war now commenced in Canada and +along the border between France and England," answered Stark +promptly.</p> +<p>"Yes; and my father and uncle came out with him, and my brother +and I also. My uncle is the good Abbe Messonnier; but you will not +have heard of him, though he is well known and well beloved in +France. My father has certain work to do here the nature of which I +do not fully know, nor could I divulge if I did. We arrived at +Quebec a short time ago, and thence we moved on to Montreal. But it +was needful for my father and uncle to visit some of these +outposts, and we begged, Colin and I, not to be left behind. We +burned with curiosity to see the strange sights of which we had +heard--the Indians in their war paint, the great forests and lakes, +the forts and their garrisons, and all the wonders of the west.</p> +<p>"So they brought us in their company. My father takes me +everywhere with him that he can. Since my mother's death he seems +unable to lose sight of me. We have been hard upon a month at the +fort now. We are learning all we can of the condition of affairs, +to report to the Marquis when we return to Montreal or to Quebec. +He himself talks of coming to command here when the time comes for +the attack to be made upon your fort; but that will scarcely be +yet, for there is so much he has to set in order in Canada. Oh, the +way things are managed there--it is a disgrace!"</p> +<p>"Is Canada weak then?" asked Stark, burning with curiosity for +information on the subject.</p> +<p>The girl slowly shook her head.</p> +<p>"Perhaps I ought not to talk with you, since you are the enemies +of my countrymen. And, in sooth, I know little enough to tell. I +hear one say this and one the other, and I cannot know where the +truth lies. But of one thing they are very certain and +confident--that they will drive out the English from all these +western outposts, and will keep them shut in between the mountains +and the sea; and that France alone shall rule this mighty continent +of giant forests and rivers, undisturbed by any foreign foe. Of +that all men are confident."</p> +<p>The Rangers exchanged glances, and the girl saw it.</p> +<p>"You do not believe me," she said quickly; "but, indeed, I have +heard so many strange things that I know not what to believe +myself. Strangest of all is that white men should call upon those +terrible savage Indians to war with them against their white +brethren. That, as my good uncle says, is a disgrace to humanity. +Ah! I would you could have heard him speak to the officers at +yonder fort since his arrival there. They brought in a few +prisoners a few days after we came. They were going to cook and eat +them--to treat them--oh, I cannot think of it! My uncle went to the +officers, and bid them interfere; but they only shrugged their +shoulders, and said they must not anger the Indians, or they would +desert, and become even more troublesome than they are already. He +got them out of their hands himself, and sent them safely to +Montreal; and oh, how he spoke to the French soldiers and officers +afterwards! He said that such wicked disregard of the bond betwixt +Christian and Christian must inevitably draw down the wrath of +Heaven upon those who practised it, and that no cause could prosper +where such things were permitted.</p> +<p>"I have heard things since I have been here that have filled my +heart with sorrow and anger. I have been ashamed of my countrymen! +I have felt that our foes are nobler than ourselves, and that God +must surely arise and fight for them if these abominations are +suffered to continue."</p> +<p>The Rangers were silent; they well knew what she meant. The +French were culpably weak where the Indians were concerned, +permitting them almost without remonstrance to burn their prisoners +from the English lines, and even after engagements leaving the +English dead and wounded to the Indians and the wolves, though the +English always buried the French dead with their own when they had +been in like circumstances, and had showed kindness to their +wounded.</p> +<p>"The Indians are the plague of the lives of men and officers +alike," continued the girl, breaking forth in animated fashion. +"They eat up a week's rations in three days, and come clamouring +for more. They make rules for the English which they will not +observe themselves. They are insolent and disgusting and +treacherous. Oh, I cannot think how our people bear it! I would +sooner lose all than win through using such tools. I hate to think +of victory obtained by such means. You Rangers are brave men; +though men dread you, yet they respect you, and would fain imitate +your prowess. The Indians are devils--I can find no other name for +them. They are fiends, and I verily think that evil will befall us +if we league ourselves with them. Thus my uncle tries to teach; but +they will not listen to his words."</p> +<p>"Time will show, lady," answered Fritz; "and there are Indians +who are gentle and tamable, and are some of them even sincere +believers in our Christian faith. I have seen and lived among such +in the lands of the south. But here they have been corrupted by the +vices of those who should teach them better. It is a disgrace to +England and France alike that this should be so."</p> +<p>At this moment the sound of shouting and yelling arose from the +forest, and some shots were fired in close succession. The girl +started to her feet, looking white and scared; but Fritz and Stark +stood close beside her, one on either hand, as if to assure her +that no harm should befall her.</p> +<p>The next moment a fair-haired youth, with a strong likeness to +the girl, came dashing blindly through the forest, calling her name +in accents of frantic fear.</p> +<p>"Corinne, Corinne, Corinne! Where are you? Hide yourself! Have a +care! The Rangers are upon us!"</p> +<p>"I am here, Colin. I am safe!" she cried, in her flute-like +accents--"I am here all safe. The Rangers are taking care of me. +See!"</p> +<p>He pulled up short, blinded and breathless. He had come tearing +back to his sister's aid, full of remorse at having been tempted to +leave her for a moment in the pleasure of the chase. He stood +panting, staring at the strange group, unable to get out a +word.</p> +<p>"Call the men in," said Stark, addressing Charles, who had +remained silent all the while; "tell them to hurt no one--to make +no captures. This lady's escort is to remain unmolested. Bring them +here, and we will deliver them their charge safe and sound."</p> +<p>With alacrity Charles disappeared upon his errand. The old +tender-heartedness of the man always returned when he saw anything +young and helpless. There was no fierceness in his strange face +today, and Corinne, looking after him, said wonderingly:</p> +<p>"Who is he? he looks like one who has seen a ghost!"</p> +<p>In a few terse phrases Fritz told the outline of Charles's +story, and how he himself with his companion had found the hapless +man and his brother.</p> +<p>"Oh, this war is a terrible thing!" cried Corinne, pressing her +hands together. "It makes men into devils, I think. Ah, why can we +not live at peace and concord with our brothers? Surely out here, +in these wild lands, French and English might join hands, and live +as brothers instead of foes."</p> +<p>"I fear me," said Fritz, looking out before him with wide gaze, +"that that time is far enough away--that it will never come until +the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and +of His Christ, when He shall reign for ever and ever."</p> +<p>She looked at him in quick surprise. She had not expected to +hear such words in the mouth of one of Rogers' Rangers.</p> +<p>"I have heard my uncle speak so," she said slowly; "but the +soldiers think of nothing but fighting and conquest."</p> +<p>"We used to think much of that day down in my southern home. We +were taught to look for the day of the Lord and the coming of +Christ. But men were even there growing weary and impatient. The +strife of parties was spoiling our home. That is why so many of us +journeyed forth to see the world. But I do not forget what my +forefathers taught and believed."</p> +<p>There was a light of quick sympathy in the girl's eyes; but she +had no time to reply, for the Rangers were coming back, with the +French soldiers in their company. They had surprised the whole +band, and had practically made them prisoners when Charles came up +with his strange message, and they marched them along to see what +it all meant.</p> +<p>Great was their astonishment when they saw the golden-haired +girl with her fearless bearing, and the handsome lad standing +beside her, still breathless and bewildered.</p> +<p>"Release these men," said Stark briefly; "they have been told +off for the service of this lady. Let them resume their charge, and +return in safety to the fort, or continue their chase in the forest +at pleasure. We do not war with women.</p> +<p>"If you wish to see some pretty hunting, Mistress Corinne, +Rogers' Rangers are at your service, and the haunts of bird and +beast are well known to us."</p> +<p>The girl's eyes sparkled. She was as full of the love of +adventure as any boy could be. She looked at her brother, but he +shook his head in doubt.</p> +<p>"I think our father would not wish it," he said. "I thank these +gentlemen most gratefully for their courtesy and chivalry, but I +think we must be returning to the fort. It may be that the shots +will have been heard, and that soldiers may be coming in search of +us already.</p> +<p>"We shall not forget your kindness, sir. I trust the day will +come when we may be able to requite you in kind;" and he held out +his hand, first to Stark and then to Fritz.</p> +<p>Corinne had looked a little mutinous at first; but when her +brother spoke of a possible sortie across the water from the fort, +her face changed. Perhaps she was not quite so confident of the +chivalry of the French soldiers as she had been of that of the +Rangers.</p> +<p>"Perhaps it is best so; yet I should have loved to scour the +forest with Rogers' Rangers.</p> +<p>"Are you the great Rogers himself?" she asked, turning to Stark, +and then letting her glance wander to Fritz's fine face.</p> +<p>"No, Mistress Corinne; Rogers himself is away farther afield," +answered Stark. "This is Fritz Neville, and I am John Stark, whom +he honours with the title of his lieutenant."</p> +<p>"Fritz Neville--John Stark," she repeated, looking from one to +the other, a smile in her frank, sweet eyes. "I shall not forget +those names. I shall say them over every day to myself, and pray +that in times of warfare the saints will watch over and protect the +brave English Rangers, who had us as prisoners in their power, and +let us go away safe and sound."</p> +<p>She held out her hand as she spoke, first to one and then to the +other of the men, both of whom took it reverently, pressed it, and +bowed low with a sort of rude homage. The other Rangers sent up a +little cheer for the brave young lady who spoke their tongue so +well; and the French soldiers, who looked a little ashamed of the +predicament in which they had placed themselves, smiled, and became +friendly and at ease, realizing that all was well.</p> +<p>"We will escort you to your boat, lady," said Stark; "you will +suffer us that privilege."</p> +<p>"Ah yes, if it will be safe. But they will not dare fire from +the fort when they see that our company is returning. I would I +could take you back with me, and introduce you to my father and +uncle; but perchance it would not be safe."</p> +<p>"Perhaps we shall make their acquaintance some other way!" said +Stark, with a touch of grim humour; and Corinne, understanding him, +exclaimed:</p> +<p>"Ah, do not let us think of that! let us only remember that we +have met as friends in the wild forest."</p> +<p>"A pleasant memory truly," answered Stark gallantly, "and one so +new to a Ranger that he will never be like to forget it;" and as +they pursued their way towards the lake, he held the youth and the +girl spellbound and breathless by tales of the strange life of +adventure which they led, and by detailing some of their +hairbreadth escapes from the hands of Indians and Frenchmen as they +scoured the forest, lay in ambush, and skulked beneath the very +ramparts of the enemy's fortifications, hearing the talk of the +sentries overhead.</p> +<p>"Nay, but you are brave men in sooth; you deserve success. The +fortunes of war must surely be yours at last," cried Corinne, with +covert enthusiasm.</p> +<p>"Ah! here is the lake, and here is our boat. Nay, come not +further. I fear lest hurt should come to you. I thank you again +with all my heart. Perhaps the day will come when we shall see each +other again. I would fain believe that I shall meet again with +Rogers' bold, chivalrous Rangers."</p> +<p>"It may be--it may be," answered Stark, with a smile. "Farewell, +sweet Mistress Corinne; may you come safely through all perils by +land and water. Your brave spirit will carry you well through +life's troubled sea, I think."</p> +<p>She smiled, and stepped into the boat. Then suddenly turning and +waving her hand, she said:</p> +<p>"I will tell you one thing which my uncle has said. Whether he +will be a true prophet or no I cannot tell. His words are these, +and they were spoken to M. de Montcalm: 'You are safe now, for +England is governed by an imbecile--the Duke of Newcastle--a +minister without parts, understanding, or courage. But there is +another man in England of a different calibre. If ever you hear +that Pitt is at the head of the administration, then look to your +laurels; for, if I be not greatly deceived, that man has brain and +energy to turn the whole tide of battle. Three years after he +begins to rule England's policy, and France will have begun to lose +her empire in the West!'"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch2-4" id="Ch2-4">Chapter 4</a>: Vengeance And +Disaster.</h2> +<p>The episode of Corinne, and the prophecy she had quoted to them, +formed one of the bright episodes in a year which brought little +success or relief to the army encamped upon the waters of Lake +George. There was no campaign that year. The two armies lay inside +their respective fortifications, each keeping on the defensive; and +the bold Rangers alone did active skirmishing service, as has been +related, appearing at all sorts of apparently impossible points, +swooping down upon an unwary hunting party or a sleeping sentinel, +bringing in spoil to the fort, burning transports bound for +Ticonderoga, and doing gallant irregular service which kept the +garrison and the Rangers in spirits, but did little or nothing to +effect any change in the condition of affairs.</p> +<p>Anxiously was news waited for from England. What was the parent +country going to do for her Western children in their hour of need +and extremity? There were rumours afloat of a massing of Indian +tribes to be let loose upon the hapless settlers along the Indian +border; and although Sir William Johnson, that able agent of +England's with the natives, was hard at work seeking to oppose and +counteract French diplomacy amongst the savage tribes, there was +yet so much disunion and misunderstanding and jealousy amongst +English commanders and governors, that matters were constantly at a +deadlock; whilst France, with her centralized authority, moved on +towards her goal unimpeded and at ease (as it seemed to the +harassed English officials), although not without her internal +troubles also.</p> +<p>November brought about the usual breaking up of the camps on +both sides. The French soldiers were drafted back to Canada in +great companies, sorely beset and harassed at times by the action +of the Rangers; whilst Winslow drew off the bulk of his men to +winter quarters in the larger towns of New England and the adjacent +colonies, leaving Major Eyre in charge of the fort, with sufficient +men to hold it during the dead winter season.</p> +<p>Rogers' Rangers were independent of weather. They pursued their +hardy and adventurous calling as well through the ice-bound winter +months as during the genial season of summer. But from time to time +his followers liked to visit their homes and friends, and Winslow +was glad enough to have their company upon his march back upon +civilization; for the Rangers were masters of the art of woodcraft, +and were the most able allies when difficulties arose through the +rising of rivers or the intricacies of the forest paths.</p> +<p>Stark and his little band, now reduced from a dozen to nine, +accompanied the army back to winter quarters; for John desired to +see his friends, and also to raise recruits for next season's +campaign, now that he had learned experience, and had inspiring +tales to tell of adventure, victory, and quick retributive +vengeance upon a treacherous and rapacious enemy.</p> +<p>Fritz and Charles both accompanied him, though the latter with +some reluctance. He would rather have remained in the neighbourhood +of the French lines, behind which lay the foe he was bent on +meeting once more face to face; but Stark had represented to him +that his sister would wish to see him once more, and Rogers had +appointed January as the time when he and his Rangers would be +back, when the ice would be firm and hard, and they could renew +their wild winter warfare, whilst during the earlier months of the +winter there was no certainty of carrying on any successful +operations. Heavy rain and soft snow were too much even for the +hardy Rangers to grapple with. They were practically useless now +till the frost came and fastened its firm grip upon the sleeping +world.</p> +<p>There was joy in many a city throughout the English colony when +the troops marched in; although there was mourning in many homes +for the loss of some son or brother killed by the foe, or by the +many forms of sickness which prevailed at the fort.</p> +<p>There were troubles, too, with the citizens about the billeting +of the English contingent, and many were the heart burnings which +arose between stubborn townsmen and military rulers before these +matters could be adjusted. But all this made little matter in +houses like that of Benjamin Ashley, who was a true patriot at +heart, and threw open his doors not only to his wife's brother, but +to as many war-weary soldiers as he could accommodate, and was +never tired of hearing all that they could tell as to their past +experiences, or of discussing with them the probable result of the +coming struggle.</p> +<p>Fritz would sit beside Susanna's spinning wheel in the evening, +telling her stories to which she listened in open-eyed amaze, and +giving eager heed to the discussion of politics amongst the other +men. Charles would sit apart, absent and dreamy--a strange figure +amongst the rest-- very gentle and tender in his manner towards +Hannah and Susanna, but taking little or no interest in the daily +round of life, and only counting the days till he could return to +the forest and his mission of vengeance.</p> +<p>There was great discontent in the hearts of the colonists. They +declared that nothing was done for them, and yet they were never +prepared to bestir themselves actively. When Fritz asked eagerly +about the English statesman Pitt, he was told that he and the Duke +of Newcastle were now acting together in the ministry, and that +some hoped for better things in consequence. But it was evident to +all by this time that the first move made by the new minister would +be directed against Louisbourg in Acadia, the only stronghold yet +remaining to the French in Cape Breton Island. After driving the +enemy from thence, he might, and probably would, turn his attention +to the western frontier; but meantime the colonists here would have +mainly to hold back the enemy by their own united efforts, and +unity of action was just the thing which appeared most difficult to +them.</p> +<p>It was not encouraging; but the hardy Rangers were not to be +disheartened, and true to their promise, they only stayed within +winter quarters till after the festive Christmas season; and then +gathering together a compact little body of volunteers, Stark set +forward once again for the wild forest, where he was to meet Rogers +and his band.</p> +<p>Fritz was ready to go, despite his parting with pretty Susanna, +whose bright eyes sparkled with tears as she said goodbye. It was +not a time for making new ties; yet the little maiden knew very +well by this time that her life and his were bound together by a +strong and tender bond, and that into her own something had entered +which could never be taken away.</p> +<p>They met in the heart of the forest, a few miles from Fort +William Henry--Rogers and his large company, and Stark with his +smaller contingent. But Stark was now the leader of a band of +five-and-twenty bold spirits; for so inspiring had been his stories +of the Ranger's life that volunteers had come crowding in, and he +had had some ado to get rid of those who were manifestly unfit for +the life. Even Ebenezer Jenkyns, in his wild desire to win the +approval of Susanna, had begged to be permitted to join the Ranger +band, and Stark had had some difficulty in ridding himself of the +youthful Quaker, suddenly possessed of martial ambitions and +ardour.</p> +<p>Right glad were the garrison at the fort to see the Rangers come +marching in. They had been quite quiet, save for a few minor +nocturnal raids from Indians, which had not done much harm. Their +chief foe was smallpox, which kept breaking out amongst the men, as +well as other forms of sickness. They did not understand +sanitation, and the fort was dirty and unhealthy. Rogers would not +have his men lodged within it; but the Rangers built themselves +huts just outside, and when not otherwise occupied, spent their +time in the construction of boats and sloops for use on the lake, +in which work Major Eyre had kept his men employed during the +previous months.</p> +<p>But it was not for peaceful toil like this that the Rangers had +gathered together; in a little while, accordingly, a scouting party +was formed, with Crown Point as its goal.</p> +<p>Snowshoes and skates were looked to, and the hardy Rangers +started off beneath the grey, leaden winter sky, gliding through +the grim, ghost-like forest, silent as death, past ice-bound +waterfalls, and forests of fir and larch bent and bowed by the load +of snow, ever onwards and northwards, always on the alert, ready +for instant action, fearless and undismayed in a white wilderness +and in those trackless solitudes which would strike dismay into +many a bold heart.</p> +<p>They skirted round Ticonderoga, not showing themselves to their +foe, and encamped upon the edge of Lake Champlain, lighting fires, +and making themselves as comfortable as circumstances permitted. +They had travelled hard for many days, and were glad of a little +rest.</p> +<p>But this rest was not of long duration. Early the next morning, +before it was well light, Charles, the sleepless watcher, awoke the +camp by his low whistle of warning.</p> +<p>"I hear the sound of a sledge on the ice!" he said.</p> +<p>In a moment every Ranger was on the alert; every man had seized +his weapons, the fires were stamped out, and preparations were made +for an instant move.</p> +<p>A few minutes more and they heard the sound also--the sharp ring +of a sledge upon the ice, and the beat of horse hooves as it drew +nearer.</p> +<p>Now horses were prizes greatly in demand at the English fort, +and Rogers was eager to obtain possession of this prize. He called +out to Stark to make a dash along the lake side with a dozen of his +men, and try to head it off towards the spot where he and the rest +of the Rangers would wait. And hardly had the order left his lips +before Stark was off upon his mission.</p> +<p>On and on dashed the sledge with its unsuspecting occupants. +They had come forth from Ticonderoga, and were heading for Crown +Point. Stark and his men flitted like shadows along the snowy +banks. The horses paused. There was something amiss with the +harness. Stark looked at his men, gave a fine English cheer, and +rushed forth upon the ice, with a dozen stout followers at his +heels.</p> +<p>In a moment the occupants of the sledge saw their peril. A yell +arose from the throats of all the three. They turned like +lightning, and the horses sprang forward at a gallop; but in a +moment they were surrounded by Stark and his men, who called upon +them to surrender, and sprang at the horses to stay their headlong +flight.</p> +<p>But now a new terror was added to the scene. Round the bend of +the lake swept other sledges--quite an army of them; and whilst the +French sent up shouts for help, Stark looked round to see what +Rogers and his company were doing.</p> +<p>"Here they come! here they come! Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' +Rangers!" yelled his men, as they saw the compact band of veteran +woodsmen rushing forth to their aid.</p> +<p>That cry was well known to the French. For a moment there was a +pause, the sledges pulling up as though in doubt whether to rush +forward and seek to fight their way through, or to turn and run +back to Ticonderoga. But the energy with which the Rangers came on +settled that point. Every sledge wheeled round and fled, whilst +Rogers' men dashed helter skelter upon them, flinging themselves +upon the horses, firing at the occupants, and in spite of all +resistance securing three sledges, six horses, and seven French +prisoners.</p> +<p>The rest of the sledges escaped, and Rogers and Stark met each +other with grave faces.</p> +<p>"They will give notice at Ticonderoga that we are here," said +the former. "They will come out against us and cut off our retreat. +We must examine the prisoners ourselves and learn all we can from +them, and then make our way to the fort as fast as possible through +the forest. The enemy may be upon us before nightfall."</p> +<p>Fritz, who spoke French as easily as English, had already been +questioning the prisoners separately.</p> +<p>"They all tell the same tale," he said gravely: "they have five +hundred regular soldiers at the fort, and Indians coming in daily. +They were organizing parties to intercept communication between +Fort Edward and Fort William Henry. They are pledged to the +extermination of the Rangers wherever they meet them. Directly they +know that we are lurking in their vicinity, they will come out in +great numbers against us."</p> +<p>Rogers' face was set and stern.</p> +<p>"We will give them a warm welcome when they do!" he said. +"Meantime we will lose no time. Light up the fires and dry the +ammunition which has become wet. The horses must be sacrificed and +the sledges burned. As for the men, we must keep them till the last +minute. When we go, they can go back to their fort. They will have +nothing to tell there which is not known already. The Rangers slay +men in fair fight, but they do not butcher prisoners."</p> +<p>The thing was done. Rogers' commands were carried out, and in +cautious single file the band of Rangers crept through the forest +by devious tracks known to themselves, keeping eyes and ears ever +on the alert.</p> +<p>"Have a care!" came the warning cry of Charles at last; "I hear +the cocking of guns."</p> +<p>The words had hardly passed his lips before a volley blazed out +from the bushes, and many a bold Ranger fell as he stood, shot +through the heart.</p> +<p>"Steady, men--and fire!" cried Rogers, speaking as coolly as +though a hail storm and not one of hot lead was raining about them. +Blood was running down his cheek from a graze on the temple; and +Fritz felt for the first time the stinging sensation in his arm +which he had heard described so many times before.</p> +<p>In a moment they had spread themselves out in the best possible +manner, retreating upon the hill they had just descended, and +covering themselves with the trees, from behind which they fired +with unerring accuracy. Stark and some of his men were at the top +of the hill, having been the rear guard of the company. They poured +a steady, deadly fire into the bushes which concealed the foe; +whilst their comrades, running from tree to tree, fell back upon +them, and forming on the hilltop, repulsed again and again, with +stubborn gallantry, the assault of a foe which they knew must +outnumber them by four or five to one.</p> +<p>But the face of Rogers was still set and stern.</p> +<p>"They will try to outflank us next, and get round to the rear," +he said between his teeth to Stark. "Stark, you must pick some of +our best men, and stop that movement if it occurs. If they get us +between two fires, we are all dead men!"</p> +<p>"Fritz, you will be my lieutenant," said Stark, as he looked +about him and chose his company. Fritz was at his side in a moment. +"We are in as evil a chance as ever men were yet," he added, "but I +think we shall live to tell the tale by the warm fireside at home. +I have been in tight fixes before this, and have won through +somehow. I trust our gallant Rogers will not fall. That would carry +confusion to our ranks."</p> +<p>Shoulder to shoulder stood Fritz and Stark, warily watching the +movements of the foe. They saw them creeping round the base of the +hill--saw it by the movement of the brushwood rather than by +anything else; for their foes were used to bush craft, too.</p> +<p>"If anything should go amiss with me today, friend John," said +Fritz, as he loaded his piece, looking sternly down into the hollow +beneath, "give my love to Susanna, and tell her that her name will +be on my lips and my heart in the hour of death."</p> +<p>"Talk not of death, man, but of victory!" cried Stark, whose +indomitable cheerfulness never forsook him. "Yet I will remember +and give the message to my pretty cousin--for I know that women +live on words like these--if the blow has to fall. But never think +of that!"</p> +<p>"I do not," answered Fritz; "I hope to come forth safe and +sound. But were it otherwise--"</p> +<p>"Fire!" cried Stark, breaking suddenly into the commander; and a +sharp, deadly volley blazed forth from the guns of his +contingent.</p> +<p>It was plain that the enemy had not expected this flank movement +to be observed. Cries of dismay and pain rang through the forest. +They broke cover and ran back towards the main body, followed by +another well-directed volley from the brave Stark and his men.</p> +<p>Round the spot where Rogers and the main body of the Rangers +stood the fight waxed fierce and hot. But Stark held to his post on +the spur of the hill, where he saw how the foe was trying to get +round to their rear; and again and again his well-aimed volleys +sent them flying back decimated to their companions.</p> +<p>But how was it going with the others? The firing was incessant, +and shouts and cries told of death and disaster on both sides. +Stark bid Fritz make a dash for the main body and bring back word. +The brief winter's day was beginning to draw to a close. There was +something terrible in the brightness of the fire that was streaming +from the thickets as the daylight failed. It seemed as though the +very forest was in flames; and the crack of musketry was almost +unceasing.</p> +<p>"They are calling upon us to surrender," said Fritz, hastening +back with his tale. "The French are calling upon Rogers by name, +begging him to trust to their honour and clemency, and promising +the best of treatment if he and his brave men will surrender. They +are calling out that it is a pity so many bold men should perish +like brute beasts. But Rogers stands like a rock, and replies by +volley after volley. He has been hit through the wrist, and his +head is bound about by a cloth; but he looks like a lion at bay, +and will not yield one inch."</p> +<p>"Let us back to his side, and make one great charge against the +foe!" shouted Stark, who saw that no further flank movement was to +be anticipated now. His men answered by a cheer. They were ready +for any display of gallantry and courage, and swore by Stark, who +was beloved of all for his happy temper and cheerful, dauntless +bravery.</p> +<p>Up the shoulder of the hill and across the ridge they dashed. +They shouted their cry of "Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!" It +was taken up by those upon the top, who gathered together and made +a blind rush down towards their foe. The French, taken by surprise +at this impetuosity, and afraid of the darkness of the forest, made +off in haste for Ticonderoga, having worked sad havoc amongst the +bold Rangers, who were left alone with their wounded and dead, the +shades of night gathering fast round them, and the camp of the foe +within a few miles.</p> +<p>It was a situation of grave peril; but Rogers was not to be +daunted. He buried his dead; he gathered together the wounded, and +afraid to allow even a night for rest, he marched his party all +through the night, and by morning they were upon the shores of Lake +George.</p> +<p>"I will fetch a sledge for the wounded," quoth Stark, full of +energy and enterprise as usual. "It will puzzle the enemy to find +the route we have taken. Lie you here close and keep watch and +ward, and I will fetch succour from the fort before the French have +time to seek us out."</p> +<p>This was good counsel, and Rogers followed it. Stark, after a +quick journey across the ice, brought sledges and soldiers from the +fort, and in a few more days the Rangers were brought back in +triumph to their huts without Fort William Henry, where they were +content to lie idle for a short while, recovering from their wounds +and fatigues. Hardly a man had escaped uninjured; and some were +very dangerously wounded, and died from the effects of the injuries +received. Fritz himself had a slight attack of fever resulting from +the wound which he had scarcely noticed in the heat of battle. +Stark was almost the only member of the company who had come forth +quite unscathed, and he was the life of the party during the next +spell of inaction, telling stories, setting the men to useful +tasks, making drawings of the French forts for the guidance of the +English, and amusing the whole place by his sudden escapades in +different directions.</p> +<p>The Rangers were further cheered by a letter of thanks from +General Abercromby, lately sent out from England, recognizing their +gallant service, and promising that it should be made known to the +King.</p> +<p>But the adventures of the winter were not over, although the +days were lengthening out, and the blustering rains and winds of +March had come. The snow was greatly lessened; but a spell of frost +still held the lake bound, and the rigours of the season were +little abated.</p> +<p>It was St. Patrick's Day; and as some of the soldiers in Fort +William Henry were Irish, they had celebrated the anniversary by a +revel which had left a large proportion more or less drunk and +incapable. Their English comrades had followed their lead with +alacrity, and the Fort was resounding with laughter and song.</p> +<p>But the Rangers in the huts outside were on the alert and as +Stark remarked with a smile, they must keep watch and ward that +night, for nobody else seemed to have any disposition to do so.</p> +<p>Major Eyre, in pity for the forlorn condition of his men, had +not restrained them from amusing themselves in their own fashion +upon this anniversary. It was well, however, that there were some +sleepless watchers on the alert that night; for as the grey dawn +began to break, a sound was heard over the ice as though of an +approaching multitude. The Rangers gave the alarm, and manned the +guns. There was nothing to be seen through the murky mists of dawn; +but the guns belched forth fire and round shot towards the lake, +and the sounds suddenly ceased.</p> +<p>An hour later Charles came rushing in; there was blood upon his +face, and his eyes were wild, but in his excitement he seemed to +know nothing of any hurt.</p> +<p>"They are coming! they are coming! I have seen them! There are +hundreds upon hundreds of them, well armed, well equipped with +everything that men can want. They are bound for the fort. They are +going to take it, They have sworn it! And <i>he</i> is in their +ranks. I saw him with these eyes. <i>He</i> is there. <i>He</i> is +one of them. We shall meet again, and this time he shall not escape +me!"</p> +<p>In a moment all was excitement and bustle. The men, sobered by +the near presence of danger, were at their posts in a moment. All +knew that the fort was not strong, and that a resolute assault by a +large force would he difficult to repel; but at least they had not +been taken by surprise, and that was something.</p> +<p>A yell from without told that something was going on there. The +Rangers were driving off a party of men who had crept up under +cover of the mist wreaths, hoping to fire the huts outside, and so +burn the fort. They were sent helter skelter over the ice to rejoin +their comrades; and after a pause of some hours an officer was seen +advancing from the French lines bearing a flag.</p> +<p>He was blindfolded, that he might not see the weak parts of the +fort, and was brought to Major Byre and the other officers. His +message was to advise them to surrender the fort and obtain for +themselves favourable terms, threatening a massacre if this was +refused.</p> +<p>"I shall defend myself to the last!" said Major Byre calmly. +"Englishmen do not give up their forts at the bidding of the foe. +We can at least die like men, if we cannot defend ourselves, and +that has yet to be proved."</p> +<p>The news of this demand and the reply flew like wildfire through +the ranks, and inspired the men with courage and ardour. The +Rangers were brought within the fort, and all was made ready for +the assault.</p> +<p>A storm of shot hailed upon the fort. Through the gathering +darkness of the night they could only distinguish the foe by the +red glare from their guns. The English fort was dark and silent. It +reserved its fire till the enemy came closer. The crisis was coming +nearer and nearer. There was a tense feeling in the air, as though +an electric cloud hovered over all.</p> +<p>Charles went about with a strange look upon his face.</p> +<p>"He is there--he is coming. We shall meet!" he kept repeating; +and all through that night there was no sleep for him--he wandered +about like a restless spirit. No service was demanded of him. He +was counted as one whose mind wanders. Yet in the hour of battle +none could fight with more obstinate bravery than Charles +Angell.</p> +<p>"Fire! fire! fire!"</p> +<p>It was Charles's voice that raised the cry in the dead of the +night. No attack had been made upon the fort; but under cover of +darkness the enemy had crept nearer and nearer to the outlying +buildings, and tongues of flame were shooting up.</p> +<p>Instantly the guns were turned in that direction, and a +fusillade awoke the silence of the sleeping lake, whilst cries of +agony told how the bullets and shots had gone home.</p> +<p>"Come, Rangers," shouted Rogers, "follow me out and fall upon +them! Drive them back! Save the fort from fire!"</p> +<p>Rogers never called upon his men in vain. No service was too +full of peril for them. Ignorant as they were of the number or +power of their assailants, they dashed in a compact body out of the +side gate towards the place where the glare of the fire illumined +the darkness of the night.</p> +<p>Dark forms were hurrying hither and thither; but the moment the +Rangers appeared with their battle cry, there was an instant rout +and flight.</p> +<p>"After them!" shouted Rogers; and the men dashed over the rough +ground, pursuers and pursued, shouting, yelling, firing--and they +saw that some bolder spirits amongst the Frenchmen had even set +fire to the sloop on the stocks which Rogers had been teaching the +soldiers how to construct.</p> +<p>But in the forefront of the pursuit might be seen one wild, +strange figure with flying hair and fiery eyes. He turned neither +to the right hand nor to the left, but ran on and on in a straight +line, keeping one flying figure ever in view.</p> +<p>The flying figure seemed to know that some deadly pursuit was +meant; for he, too, never turned nor swerved, but dashed on and on. +He gained the frozen lake; but the treacherous, slippery ice seemed +to yield beneath his feet. He had struck the lake at the point +where it was broken up to obtain water for the fort.</p> +<p>A yell of horror escaped him. He flung up his arms and +disappeared.</p> +<p>But his pursuer dashed on and on, a wild laugh escaping him as +he saw what had happened. The next minute he was bending down over +the yawning hole, and had put his long, strong arm through it into +the icy water beneath.</p> +<p>He touched nothing. The hapless man had sunk to rise no more. +Once sucked beneath the deep waters of the frozen lake, exhausted +as he was, there was no hope for him. Charles cut and hacked at the +ice blocks, regardless of his own personal safety; and after long +labour he succeeded in moving some of them, and in dragging out the +lifeless corpse, already frozen stiff, of the man he had sworn to +slay.</p> +<p>The French were flying over the frozen ice, the Rangers in +pursuit. They came upon the strange spectacle, and stopped short in +amaze. A dead man lay upon the ice of the lake where it was broken +and dangerous, his dead face turned up to the moonlight, his hands +clinched and stiff and frozen. Beside the corpse sat Charles, his +glassy eyes fixed upon the dead face, himself almost as stiff and +stark.</p> +<p>They came up and spoke to him; but he only pointed to the +corpse.</p> +<p>"That is he--that is <i>he!</i>" he cried hoarsely. "I saw him, +and he saw me. We fought, and he fled. I have been running after +him over ice and snow for years and years. He is dead now--dead, +dead, dead! The Lord has delivered him into my hand. My work is +done!"</p> +<p>He stood up suddenly, threw up his arms, and then fell heavily +forward face downwards upon the ice.</p> +<p>When they lifted him up and carried him within the fort, it was +to find that Charles Angell the Ranger was dead.</p> +<h1>Book 3: Disaster.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch3-1" id="Ch3-1">Chapter 1</a>: A Tale Of Woe.</h2> +<p>The intrepidity of the officer in command, and the alertness and +courage of the Rangers, had saved Fort William Henry from one +threatened disaster.</p> +<p>When the French had fairly retreated, after having been forced +to content themselves with the burning of the boats and the +unfinished sloop and certain of the surrounding huts and buildings, +the English found out from their prisoners how great their peril +had been. For the French force sent against them had been a strong +one, well equipped, and hopeful of surprising the place and +carrying it by a <i>coup de main.</i></p> +<p>Failing in this, they had made a show of hostility, but had not +really attempted anything very serious. The season was against +anything like a settled siege, and they had retreated quickly to +their own quarters.</p> +<p>But this attack was only to be the prelude to one on a very +different scale already being organized at headquarters. The +English heard disquieting rumours from all quarters, and turned +eager eyes towards England and their own colonies from whence help +should come to them, for their numbers were terribly thinned by +disease, and death in many forms had taken off pretty well a third +of their number.</p> +<p>Rogers himself had been attacked by smallpox, and upon his +recovery he and the large body of the Rangers betook themselves to +the woods and elsewhere, preferring the free life of the forest, +with its manifold adventures and perils, to the monotonous life in +an unhealthy fort.</p> +<p>But Fritz remained behind. When Rogers left he was not fit to +accompany him, having been suffering from fever, though he had +escaped the scourge of smallpox. He had felt the death of Charles a +good deal. He had become attached to the strange, half-crazed man +who had been his special comrade for so long. It seemed like +something wanting in his life when his care was no longer required +by any one person. Indeed all the Rangers missed their +white-headed, wild-eyed, sharp-eared recruit; and as the saying is, +many a better man could better have been spared.</p> +<p>Stark went with Rogers, too much the true Ranger now to be left +behind. Fritz intended to follow them as soon as he was well +enough. Meantime he had formed a warm friendship with two young +officers lately come to the fort with the new commander, Colonel +Monro--one of them being Captain Pringle, and the other a young +lieutenant of the name of Roche.</p> +<p>Colonel Monro was a Scotchman, a brave man and a fine soldier. +Those under his command spoke of him in terms of warm and loving +admiration. Fritz heard of some of his achievements from his new +friends, and in his turn told them of his own adventures and of the +life he had led during the past two years.</p> +<p>"We have heard of the Rangers many a time and oft," cried Roche. +"We had thought of offering ourselves to Rogers as volunteers; but +men are so sorely wanted for the regular army and the militia that +our duty seemed to point that way. But I should like well to follow +the fortunes of the hardy Rogers."</p> +<p>It was true indeed that men were sorely wanted at Fort William +Henry. Colonel Monro looked grave and anxious as he examined its +defences. It was an irregular bastioned square, built of gravel and +earth, crowned by a rampart of heavy logs, and guarded by ditches +on three sides, and by the lake on the north. But it was not strong +enough to stand a very heavy assault, although it was provided with +seventeen cannons, besides some mortars and swivels.</p> +<p>The garrison numbered at this time something over two thousand; +but there were many sick amongst these, and sickness was inclined +to spread, to the grave anxiety of the commander.</p> +<p>Fourteen miles away to the south lay Fort Edward, and General +Webb was there with some fifteen hundred men. He had sent on as +many men as he felt able to spare some short time before, in +response to an appeal from Colonel Monro. Disquieting rumours of an +advance from Ticonderoga were every day coming to their ears. +Summer was at its height, and if a blow were to be struck, it would +certainly be soon.</p> +<p>A scouting party was sent out under the command of a certain +Colonel Parker, in order to learn the strength of the enemy and +what they were about. Three days passed in anxious suspense, and as +nothing was heard of the scouting party, Fritz begged leave to go +forth with a handful of men to look for them, promising not to +expose himself or them to danger. As he knew the forest so well, +and was an experienced Ranger, leave was quickly obtained, and +Pringle and Roche were permitted to be of the company.</p> +<p>They started with the first dawn of the summer's morning; but +they had not gone far before they came upon traces of their +companions. Fritz's quick eyes saw tracks in the forest which +bespoke the near neighbourhood of Indians, and this made them all +proceed with great caution. The tracks, however, were some days +old, he thought, and led away to the westward. At one spot he +pointed out to his companions certain indications which convinced +him that a large number of Indians had lately been lying there.</p> +<p>"Pray Heaven it has not been an ambush sent to outwit and +overpower our men!" he said. "What would those raw lads from New +Jersey do if suddenly confronted by a crew of yelling Indians? I +trust I am no coward myself, but the sound of that awful war whoop +thrills me still with a kind of horror; it has been the forerunner +of many a tragedy to the white man out in wildernesses such as +this."</p> +<p>"I have heard it once," said Pringle, with an expressive +gesture, "and I could well wish never to hear it again, did not +duty to King and country drive me willingly forth to fight against +these dusky savages, who make of these fair lands a veritable hell +upon earth.</p> +<p>"Hark! what is that?"</p> +<p>It was like the sound of a faint cry not so very far away. They +listened, and it was presently repeated. Fritz started forward at a +run.</p> +<p>"That is no Indian voice," he exclaimed; "it is one of our men +calling for aid. He has heard our voices."</p> +<p>Followed by the rest of the party, Fritz ran forward, and soon +came out into a more open glade, commanded by the ridge where he +had observed the signs of Indian occupation. As he did so he +uttered a startled exclamation, which was repeated in all kinds of +keys by those who came after. For in this glade lay the bodies of +full fifty of their soldiers, for the most part stripped and +scalped; and the place was so trodden and bloodstained as to show +plainly that it had been the scene of a bloody conflict.</p> +<p>Crawling forth from a little sheltered gorge was a wan, +dishevelled figure, bloodstained and ghastly. And Fritz, springing +forward, caught the lad in his strong arms, whilst he fell to +feeble sobbing in the plenitude of his thankfulness and relief.</p> +<p>When he was fed and heartened up he had a terrible tale to +tell.</p> +<p>It had been as Fritz thought. A party of Indians had been +crouching in the forest, and had fallen upon the company unawares. +Colonel Parker had not been wise. He had divided his men into two +companies. One had gone by boats, and one had skirted through the +forest. What had happened to the boats the lad could not tell. He +had been one of the very few survivors of the land party, and he +owed his escape to his having fallen wounded and breathless into +the little cleft in the rocks hidden by the thick undergrowth, so +that the Indians did not find him when they made their search after +scalps and accoutrements.</p> +<p>Crouching amongst the bushes, half fainting from terror, the lad +had seen it all.</p> +<p>"They scalped them one by one, yelling and shouting and dancing. +They cared not whether they were dead or not. Oh, it was horrible, +horrible! They lighted a fire to burn some of the prisoners, and +danced around it yelling and jeering as their victims died. Oh, I +can never forget the sight! Every moment I thought they would find +me. I thought of all the things I had heard that savages did to +their prisoners. If I had had my sword, I would have run it through +my heart. But I had nothing, and presently I suppose I fainted, for +I can remember no more; and when I woke they had all gone, and only +the bodies lay about beside me. They had taken off their own dead; +but I durst not come out, lest they should come back and find me, +and I did not know where I was.</p> +<p>"There was water in the brook, or I should have died; and I used +to crawl out and drink, and go and hide myself again. And last of +all I heard English voices, and called out; and that is all I can +tell you."</p> +<p>They made a litter and carried the lad back to the fort, where +he lay tossing in fever for many a long day to come. It was evil +news that they had for their comrades; and it was not more cheering +when stragglers from the scouting party came back by twos and +threes, all with the same tale. The Indians were overrunning all +the forests and lakes. They had mustered around the French camp by +hundreds and thousands, and were scouring the woods everywhere, +under no sort of discipline, excited, rebellious, rapacious, yet +too useful as allies not to be humoured by those who had summoned +them to their aid.</p> +<p>All had horrid tales to tell of cannibal feasts, and of the +savage treatment of prisoners. Some declared they had seen French +officers and ecclesiastics striving to interfere, but that the +Indians paid no manner of heed to them.</p> +<p>"There was a young priest who saw them eating human flesh at +their fire, and he came up and rebuked them. I was sitting by. I +had a cord round my neck. Sweat was pouring from me, for I knew I +should be the next victim. They looked at the priest, and one young +Indian cried out in French, 'You have French taste, I have Indian; +this is good meat for me. Taste it yourself, and see if you cannot +learn to like it too!' Whereat all the rest laughed aloud. But the +priest rebuked them again, and offered money if they would give me +up; and presently they did, though rather against their will. They +were sending some prisoners to Montreal, and I was to have gone +there, too; but in the night I escaped, and as I knew something of +the forest, I have got back safe and sound."</p> +<p>Tales like these came pouring in as the survivors struggled back +to the fort. All were agreed that the Indians were very numerous +and very fierce, and it was said by all that the muster of the +French seemed to be very strong.</p> +<p>Anxiety and fear reigned throughout the fort. Fritz almost lived +upon the lake in his boat, watching for the first signs of the +enemy's approach. That a great part of it would come by water he +did not doubt. And sometimes he would leave his boat in a creek, +and climb some adjacent height, from whence he could scan the +surface of the lake, and see what was stirring there.</p> +<p>Roche was his companion on those excursions; and the two had +climbed together to a commanding height, when upon the dawn of a +glorious midsummer morning they saw the long-expected flotilla +covering the lake and making headway up it.</p> +<p>What a sight it was! The hearts of the onlookers seemed to stand +still within them as they looked. And yet it was a magnificent +spectacle. Myriads and myriads of Indian canoes like flocks of +waterfowl seemed swarming everywhere, whilst from two to three +hundred bateaux conveyed the French and Canadian soldiers. Then +there were great platforms bearing the heavy guns, and rowed by +huge sweeps, as well as being assisted by the bateaux; whilst the +blaze of colour formed by the uniforms of the various battalions +formed in itself a picture which had seldom been seen in these +savage solitudes.</p> +<p>"We shall have our work cut out to face such odds!" cried Fritz, +as he turned to dash down the hill and regain his canoe. But Roche +laid a hand upon his arm, and pointed significantly in another +direction.</p> +<p>Fritz looked, and a smothered exclamation, almost like a groan, +broke from him.</p> +<p>Far away through the mazes of the forest, skirting round towards +the doomed fort by a road parallel with the lake, was a large body +of troops--how large the spectators could not guess, but they saw +enough to tell them that it was a very considerable detachment. +Such an army as the one now marching upon Fort William Henry had +not been seen there before. To those who knew the weakness of the +fort and of its garrison it seemed already as though the day were +lost.</p> +<p>Moreover these men knew that the great Marquis de Montcalm +himself was coming this time to take personal command, and his name +inspired respect and a certain fear. He was known to be a general +of considerable distinction; it was felt that there would be no +blundering when he was at the head of the expedition.</p> +<p>To fly back to the fort with these ominous tidings was but the +work of a few short hours. In a moment all was stir and bustle. The +soldiers were not to be disheartened. They were ready and almost +eager for the battle, having become weary of inaction and suspense. +But the face of Colonel Monro was grave and stern, and he called +Fritz aside presently and conferred with him apart.</p> +<p>"I must send a messenger to Fort Edward to General Webb, to +report to him our sorry plight. He has said that he can spare no +more men; but this extremity of ours should be told him. Think you +that you can take a letter safely to him? You Rangers are the best +of messengers; and you have seen this great armament, and can speak +with authority concerning it. Tell him how sore our need is. It may +be that he can hurry up the reinforcements, or that they may be +already on their way. Even a few hundreds would be better than +none. At least he should know our need."</p> +<p>Fritz was ready in a moment to take the message, but he had +small hope of any result, and he saw that the brave Colonel had +little either. General Webb was a man upon whose courage and +generalship several aspersions had already been cast. If ever he +was to regain confidence and show these aspersions to be untrue, +this was the time to show himself in his true colours. But it was +with no confidence that Fritz set forth upon his errand.</p> +<p>Not long ago General Webb had visited the fort, and had given +certain orders and had spoken brave words about coming to command +in person should need arise; but he had returned to Fort Edward the +following day, and had then sent the reinforcements which were all +he was able to spare. It remained to be seen whether he would +fulfil his promise when he knew that the attack of the enemy might +be expected every hour.</p> +<p>Fritz rode in hot haste to the fort and asked for the General. +He brought news of urgency, he told them, and was instantly shown +to the General's quarters. He stood in silence whilst the letter +which Fritz brought was opened and read; then he abruptly asked the +tall young Ranger what it was he had seen.</p> +<p>Fritz told his tale in simple, graphic words, the General +marching up and down the room meantime, evidently in some +perturbation of spirit; but all he said at the close was:</p> +<p>"Go back and tell Colonel Monro that I have no troops here which +I can safely withdraw, but that I have sent, and will send, +expresses to the provinces for help."</p> +<p>Fritz was too much the soldier to make reply. He bowed and +retired, well knowing that no express sent to New England could be +of the smallest service now. It was with a bitter sense of failure +that he took the fresh horse provided for him and made all speed +back to the camp.</p> +<p>The road was still clear, but how long it would remain so there +was no knowing. Swarms of Indians were drawing around them. If +succour did not come quickly, it would arrive too late.</p> +<p>Monro received the message in silence, and continued to +strengthen his own defences as best he might. The next day brought +the enemy full in view, and the numbers of the hostile host +astonished though they did not dismay the brave little +garrison.</p> +<p>Once more Monro sent forth Fritz with a letter to the +General.</p> +<p>"The French are upon us," he wrote, "both by land and water. +They are well supplied with artillery, which will make sad havoc of +our defences, for these, you have seen for yourself, are none of +the strongest. Nevertheless the garrison are all in good spirits, +and eager to do their duty. I make no doubt that you will send us a +reinforcement, for we are very certain that a part of the enemy +will soon get possession of the road, and in that case our +condition would become very serious."</p> +<p>Again Fritz was entrusted with this letter; again he made the +rapid night journey over the familiar road.</p> +<p>This time he was not admitted to the General's presence, and +after he had remained at Fort Edward about an hour and had been +refreshed, a message came to say that General Webb had received the +letter and considered it, but could make no other reply than he had +done the previous day.</p> +<p>"Then God help us," said the Scotch veteran when this message +was brought him, "for vain is the help of man!"</p> +<p>And although he went about the fort with as calm and cheerful a +mien as before, he was certain in his own heart that Fort William +Henry was now doomed.</p> +<p>"They are surrounding us on all sides," cried Roche, as soon as +Fritz appeared upon the ramparts with his disheartening message, +which, however, he kept for the moment to himself. "See, they are +working their way through the forest to the rear, just beyond our +range. Soon we shall be hemmed in, and they will bring up their +guns. We have done what we can for these poor walls; but they will +not long stand the cannonade of all those guns we see lying yonder +on the platoons upon the lake."</p> +<p>"We must hope that the militia from the provinces will come up +before their preparations are complete," said Fritz. "They should +be on their way by now. But delay and procrastination have ever +marked our methods through this war. Nevertheless the men are in +good spirits; they are eager for the fight to begin. I marvel at +their courage, seeing how great are the odds. But even the sick +seemed fired by martial ardour!"</p> +<p>It was so. The long inaction of the winter and spring had been +wearisome and disheartening. It was impossible for the soldiers to +doubt that they would receive help from without now that it was +known that the enemy was actually upon them. Moreover, they all +knew, and some remembered, how the assault of a few months back had +been repulsed; and not realizing the different scale upon which +this one was to be conducted, were full of hopeful confidence and +emulation.</p> +<p>Before hostilities actually commenced, Colonel Monro summoned +his officers about him. Great excitement prevailed in the fort, for +it was known that a messenger had been admitted under a flag of +truce, and that he brought a letter from the Marquis de Montcalm. +It was to the reading of this letter that Monro invited his +officers.</p> +<p>"We have to deal with an honourable foe, gentlemen," said the +veteran, looking at those about him, "as you will know when I read +to you his words. 'I owe it to humanity,' so writes M. de Montcalm, +'to summon you to surrender. At present I can restrain the savages, +and make them observe the terms of a capitulation, as I might not +have power to do under other circumstances; and the most obstinate +defence on your part can only retard the capture of the place a few +days, and endanger an unfortunate garrison which cannot be +relieved, in consequence of the dispositions I have made. I demand +a decisive answer within an hour.' That, gentlemen, is the message +brought to us. What answer shall we return to our high-minded +adversary?"</p> +<p>There was only one word in the mouths of all.</p> +<p>"No surrender! no surrender!" they called aloud, waving their +swords in the air; and the cry was taken up by those without, and +reached the soldiers upon the ramparts, and the welkin rang with +the enthusiastic shout:</p> +<p>"No surrender! no surrender!"</p> +<p>By this time the Indians were swarming about close outside the +ramparts, and hearing this cry and knowing its meaning, they looked +up and gesticulated fiercely.</p> +<p>"You won't surrender, eh?" bawled in broken French an old Indian +chief. "Fire away then and fight your best; for if we catch you +after this, you shall get no quarter!"</p> +<p>The response to this threat was the heavy boom of the cannon as +Fort William Henry discharged its first round of artillery.</p> +<p>For a moment it produced immense effect amongst the swarms of +painted savages, who scuttled away yelling with fear; for though +well used to the sound of musketry, and having considerable skill +with firearms themselves, they had never heard the roar of big guns +before, and the screaming of the shells as they whistled overhead +filled them with terror and amaze.</p> +<p>They were intensely eager for the French guns to be got into +position, and were a perfect nuisance to the regular soldiers, as +they worked with intrepid industry at their trenches and mounds. +But before long even the Indians were satisfied with the prolonged +roar of artillery, which lasted day after day, day after day; +whilst within their walls the brave but diminished garrison looked +vainly for succour, and examined with a sinking heart their +diminished store of ammunition and their cracked and overheated +guns.</p> +<p>"It cannot go on long like this," the officers said one to the +other. "What is the General doing over yonder? He must hear by the +heavy firing what straits we are in. He knows the condition of the +fort. He should risk and dare everything to come to our aid. If +this fort is lost, then our western frontier has lost its only +point of defence against the inroads of Indians and the +encroachments of France."</p> +<p>A few days later and a cry went up from the walls, "A white +flag! a white flag!" and for a moment a wild hope surged up in the +hearts of the soldiers that the enemy had grown tired of the game +of war, and had some proposal to make.</p> +<p>The messenger brought a letter. It was not from the French +commander himself, though it was delivered with a courteous message +from him. It had been found upon the body of a white man slain by +the Indians a few days before, and brought to the French camp. The +Marquis de Montcalm had read it, and sent it now to the person for +whom it was intended.</p> +<p>"Give my thanks," said Monro, "to the Marquis for his courtesy, +and tell him that it is a joy to me to have to do with so generous +a foe."</p> +<p>But the letter thus received was one of evil omen to the hapless +garrison. It came from General Webb, and repeated that, until +reinforced from the provinces, he could do nothing for the garrison +of Fort William Henry; and advised Colonel Monro to make the best +terms that he could with the enemy, who were plainly too strong for +him to withstand.</p> +<p>It was time indeed for the gallant little garrison to think of +surrender. Men and officers stood in knots together gloomily +surveying the scene.</p> +<p>"We have done what men can do," said Captain Pringle to his +friends Fritz and Roche; "but where are we now? A third of our men +are sick and wounded. Almost all our big guns are burst. The +enemy's trenches are being pushed nearer and nearer, and there are +still more of their guns to be brought to bear. Our wall is +breached; I marvel they have not already made an assault. There is +nothing for it but surrender, if we can obtain honourable terms of +capitulation."</p> +<p>"Nay, rather let us die sword in hand and face to foe!" cried +Roche, with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Let us make a last +desperate sortie, and see if we cannot drive the enemy from their +position. Anything is better than dying here like rats in a hole! A +forlorn hope is better than none. Why should we not at least cut +our way out to the free forest, if we cannot rout the enemy and +drive them back whence they came?"</p> +<p>"The life of the free forest would mean death to those raw lads +who have come out from England or from the provinces," said Fritz +gravely. "It would be hardly more than a choice of deaths; and yet +I would sooner die sword in hand, hewing my way to freedom, than +cooped up between walls where every shot begins to tell, and where +the dead can scarce be buried for the peril to the living."</p> +<p>And indeed the position of affairs was so deplorable that a +council was held by Monro; and it was agreed that if any desired to +make this last sortie, either for life and liberty for themselves, +or in the last forlorn hope of driving the enemy from their +position, it might be attempted; but if it failed, there was +nothing for it but capitulation, if honourable terms could be had, +or if not to die at their posts, fighting to the very last.</p> +<p>A cheer went up from the men when they heard these words. If +they had well nigh lost hope, their courage was not quenched, and a +large band volunteered for the sortie. Fritz and Roche were amongst +these, but Pringle remained behind in the fort.</p> +<p>"I will stand by the Colonel and the sinking ship," he said. "It +is but a choice of evils. I doubt if any of us will see the light +of many more days. I prefer the chances of war to the unknown +horrors of the forest filled with savages."</p> +<p>He laid a hand upon Roche's arm and looked affectionately into +the boyish brave young face. Then he turned to Fritz.</p> +<p>"If you should get through, take care of the lad. You are a +Ranger; you know the forest well. If any can escape safely thither, +it will be you and such as you. But don't forsake the boy--don't +let him fall alive into the hands of the Indians; kill him yourself +sooner. And now fare well, and God bless you both: for I think that +on this earth we shall meet no more."</p> +<p>"Nay, why think that?" cried Roche eagerly; "stranger things +have happened before now than that we should all live to tell the +tale of these days."</p> +<p>Pringle shook his head; whilst Fritz wrung his hand and +said:</p> +<p>"At least remember this: if you should wish to have news of us, +ask it of Rogers' Rangers, who are always to be heard of in these +parts. If we escape, it is to Rogers we shall find our way. He will +be glad enough to welcome us, and from any of his Rangers you will +hear news of us if we ever reach his ranks."</p> +<p>There was no sleep for the fort that night. Indeed the hot +summer nights were all too short for any enterprise to be +undertaken then. The glow in the western sky had scarcely paled +before there might have been seen creeping forth through the +battered gateway file after file of soldiers, as well equipped as +their circumstances allowed--silent, stealthy, eager for the signal +which should launch them against the intrenched foe so close at +hand.</p> +<p>But alas for them, they had foes wily, watchful, lynx-eyed, ever +on the watch for some such movement. Hardly had they got clear of +their protecting walls and ditches, when, with a horrid yell, +hundreds and thousands of dusky Indians leaped up from the ground +and rushed frantically towards them. The next moment the boom of +guns overhead told that the French camp had been alarmed. The +regular soldiers would be upon them in a few minutes, driving them +back to the fort, killing and wounding, and leaving the Indians to +butcher and scalp at their leisure. The fearful war whoop was +ringing in their ears. The line wavered--broke; the men made a +frantic rush backwards towards their lines.</p> +<p>"Don't fly!" cried Roche suddenly to Fritz, at whose side he +marched; "let us cut our way through, or die doing it. It is death +whichever way we turn. Let us die like men, with our faces and not +our backs to the foe!"</p> +<p>"Come then!" cried Fritz, upon whom had fallen one of those +strange bursts of desperate fury which give a man whilst it lasts +the strength of ten.</p> +<p>With a wild bound he sprang forward, bursting through the ranks +of Indians like the track of a whirlwind, scattering them right and +left, hewing, hacking, cutting! Roche was just behind or at his +side; the two seemed invulnerable, irresistible, possessed of some +supernatural strength. The Indians in amaze gave way right and +left, and turned their attention to the flying men, who were easier +to deal with than this strange couple.</p> +<p>A shout went up that the devil was abroad, and the Indian, ever +superstitious, shrank away from these stalwart figures, believing +them to be denizens from some other world; whilst the French +soldiers, who might have felt very differently, had not yet so far +equipped themselves as to be ready to come out from their +lines.</p> +<p>Fritz had marked his line with care. Only upon one small section +between lake and forest was there any possible passage without +peril from the French lines, and that was by skirting the head of +the lake just where their own intrenched camp, now almost in ruins, +gave them shelter.</p> +<p>The woodsman's and the Ranger's instinct kept true within him +even in the confusion and darkness. He never deflected from his +line.</p> +<p>"This way! this way!" he called to Roche in smothered tones, as +they heard the sound of the fight growing fainter behind them. He +took the lad's hand, and plunged into the marshy hollow. He knew +that none would follow them there; the ground was too treacherous. +But there was a path known to himself which he could find blindfold +by day or night.</p> +<p>He pulled his comrade along with a fierce, wild haste, till at a +certain point he paused. There was a little cavernous shelter in +the midst of the morass, and here the pair sank down breathless and +exhausted.</p> +<p>"We are saved!" gasped Roche, clasping his comrade by the +hand.</p> +<p>"For the moment--yes," answered Fritz; "but what of +afterwards?"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch3-2" id="Ch3-2">Chapter 2</a>: Escape.</h2> +<p>Young Roche lay face downwards upon the rocky floor of the +little cavern, great sobs breaking from him which he was unable to +restrain. Fritz, with a stern, set face, sat beside another +prostrate figure--that of a man who looked more dead than alive, +and whose head and arm were wrapped in linen bandages soaked +through and through with blood.</p> +<p>It was Captain Pringle, their friend and comrade in Fort William +Henry, who had elected to remain with the garrison when the other +two took part in a sortie and cut themselves a path to the forest. +Had he remained with them, he might have fared better; he would at +least have been spared the horrors of a scene which would now be +branded forever upon his memory in characters of fire.</p> +<p>What had happened to that ill-fated fort Fritz and Roche knew +little as yet. They had heard the tremendous firing which had +followed whilst they remained in hiding during the day the dawn of +which had seen the last desperate sortie. They had at night seen +flames which spoke of Indian campfires all round the place, and +from the complete cessation of firing after two they concluded that +terms of surrender had been made. They had meant to wander deeper +and deeper into the forest, out of reach of possible peril from +prowling Indians; but they had been unable to tear themselves away +without learning more of the fate of the hapless fort and its +garrison.</p> +<p>At daybreak--or rather with the, first grey of dawn-- they had +crept through the brushwood as stealthily as Indians themselves, +only to be made aware shortly that something horrible and terrible +was going on. Yells and war whoops and the screech of Indian voices +rose and clamoured through the silence of the forest, mingled with +the shrieks of victims brutally massacred, and the shouts and +entreaties of the French officers, who ran hither and thither +seeking to restrain the brutal and savage treachery of their +unworthy allies.</p> +<p>Roche had lost his head, and would have rushed madly upon the +scene of bloodshed and confusion; and Fritz must needs have +followed, for he was not one to let a comrade go to his death +alone: but before they had proceeded far, they met their comrade +Pringle dashing through the forest, covered with wounds, and +pursued by half a dozen screeching Indians, and in a moment they +had sprung to his rescue.</p> +<p>With a yell as fierce in its way as that of the Indians +themselves they sprang upon the painted savages, and taking them +unawares, they killed every one before the dusky and drunken sons +of the forest had recovered from their surprise at being thus met +and opposed.</p> +<p>But plainly there was no time to lose. The forest was ringing +with the awful war whoop. Their comrade was in no state for further +fighting; he was almost too far gone even for flight.</p> +<p>They seized him one by each arm; they dashed along through the +tangled forest by an unfrequented track known to Fritz, half +leading, half carrying him the while. The din and the horrid +clamour grew fainter in their ears. No pursuing footsteps gave them +cause to pause to defend themselves. The centre of excitement round +the fort drew the human wolves, as carrion draws vultures. The +forest was dim and silent and deserted as the fugitives pursued +their way through it.</p> +<p>From time to time the wounded man dropped some words full of +horror and despair. Young Roche, new to these fearful border wars, +was almost overcome by this broken narrative, realizing the fearful +fate which had overtaken so many of his brave comrades of the past +weeks.</p> +<p>When at last they reached the little cave for which Fritz was +heading, and where they felt that for the moment at least they were +safe, he could only throw himself along the ground in an agony of +grief and physical exhaustion: whilst the hardier Fritz bathed the +wounds of their unfortunate comrade, binding them up with no small +skill, and refreshing him with draughts of water from the pool hard +by, which was all the sick man desired at this moment.</p> +<p>All three comrades were exhausted to the uttermost, and for a +long while nothing broke the silence of the dim place save the +long-drawn, gasping sobs of the lad. Gradually these died away into +silence, and Fritz saw that both his companions slept--the fitful +sleep of overwrought nature. Yet he was thankful even for that. +Moving softly about he lighted a fire, and having captured one of +the wild turkeys which were plentiful in the forest at that season, +he proceeded to prepare a meal for them when they should awake.</p> +<p>Roche slept on and on, as the young will do when nature has been +tried to her extreme limits; but Pringle presently opened his eyes, +and looked feebly about him.</p> +<p>Fritz had a little weak broth to offer him by that time, and +after drinking it the Captain looked a little less wan and +ghastly.</p> +<p>"Where are we?" he asked, in a weak voice; "and how many are +there of us?"</p> +<p>"We have only Roche with us. We have been in the forest since +the sortie when we cut our way out. We met you the next day with +half a dozen Indians at your heels. We know nothing save what you +have spoken of treachery and massacre. Can it be true that the +French permitted such abominations? The forest was ringing with the +Indian war whoops and the screams of their wretched victims!"</p> +<p>A shudder ran through Pringle's frame.</p> +<p>"It is too true," he said; "it is horrible--unspeakably +horrible! Yet we must not blame the French too much. They did what +they could to prevent it. Indeed, I heard the Marquis de Montcalm +himself bidding the Indians kill him, but spare the English +garrison, which had surrendered, and had been promised all the +honours of war and a safe escort to Fort Edward."</p> +<p>"If men will stoop to use fiends to do their work," said Fritz +sternly, "they must expect to be disgraced and defied by these +fiends, over whom they have no sort of influence. If men will use +unworthy instruments, they must take the consequences."</p> +<p>"Yes; but the consequences have been the massacre of our hapless +sick and wounded, and scenes of horror at thought of which my blood +curdles. They have fallen upon us, not upon them."</p> +<p>"For the moment, yes," said Fritz, still in the same stern tone; +"but, Pringle, there is a God above us who looks down upon these +things, and who will not suffer such deeds to pass unavenged. We +are His children; we bear His name. We look to Him in the dark +moments of despair and overthrow. I am sure that He will hear and +answer. He will not suffer these crimes against humanity and +civilization to go unpunished. He will provide the instrument for +the overthrow of the power which can deal thus treacherously, even +though the treachery may be that of their allies, and not their +own. It is they who employ such unworthy tools. They must bear the +responsibility when these things happen."</p> +<p>There was a long silence between the two men then, after which +Pringle said:</p> +<p>"If they had only sent us reinforcements! I know that we shall +hear later on that the reserves were on their way. Why do we do +everything a month or more too late? It has been the ruin of our +western frontier from first to last. We are never ready!"</p> +<p>"No; that has been the mistake so far, but I think it will not +always be so. There is an able man in England now whose hands are +on the helm; and though full power is not his as yet, he can and +will do much, they say. Even the more astute of the French begin to +dread the name of Pitt. I think that the tide will turn presently, +and we shall see our victorious foes flying before us like chaff +before the wind."</p> +<p>"You think that?"</p> +<p>"I do. I have seen and heard much of the methods of France in +the south--her ambition, her presumption, her weakness. Here in the +north she has a firmer grip, and Canada is her stronghold. But if +once we can shake her power there, all will be gone. They say that +Pitt knows this, and that his eyes are upon the Western world. +France has her hands full at home. A great war is raging in Europe. +A few well-planted blows, ably directed from beyond the sea by +England herself, might do untold harm to her western provinces. I +hope to live to see the day when those blows will be given."</p> +<p>Young Roche began to stir in his sleep, and presently sat up, +bewildered and perplexed; but soon recollection swept over him, and +he stumbled to his feet, and joined the other two by the fire.</p> +<p>"Tell us all," he said, as they began to think of supper; for he +and Fritz had scarcely broken their fast all day, and nature was +now asserting her needs. "I would learn all, horrible though it is. +Tell us--did Fort William Henry surrender?"</p> +<p>"Yes; there was nothing else for it. New batteries opened upon +us, as well as the old ones. There was a great breach in the wall +which could have been carried by assault at any moment, and our +guns were all burst, save a few of the smaller ones. They gave us +lenient terms. We were to march out with the honours of war, and +keep one of our guns; they were to give us safe escort to Fort +Edward; we were to take our baggage with us. The Marquis showed +himself a generous foe--of him we have reason to think well; but +the Indians, and even the Canadians--well. I will come to that in +its turn. Thank Heaven, I did not see too much; what I did see will +haunt me to my dying day!"</p> +<p>The lad's eyes dilated. It was terrible; but he wanted to hear +all.</p> +<p>"All was arranged. The French soldiers marched in and took +possession. We marched out to the intrenched camp to join our +comrades there, who, of course, had been included in the +capitulation. In the charge of the French we left our sick, who +could not march. Hardly had we gone before the Indians swarmed in +in search of plunder, and finding little--for, as you know, there +was little to find--they instantly began to murder the sick, +rushing hither and thither, yelling wildly, waving scalps in their +hands!"</p> +<p>"And the French allowed it!" exclaimed Roche, setting his teeth +hard; for he had friends and comrades lying sick at the fort when +he left it.</p> +<p>"It was done so quickly they might not have known. One +missionary was there, and rushed hither and thither seeking to stay +them; but he might as well have spoken to the wild waves of the sea +in a storm. But that was not all. In an hour or so they were +clamouring and swarming all round the camp, and the French soldiers +told off for our protection either could not or would not keep them +out. Montcalm, in great anxiety, came over himself seeking to +restore order; but the Indians were drunk with blood, and would not +listen to him. He begged us to stave in our rum barrels, which was +instantly done; but the act provoked the savages, and they pounced +upon our baggage, which had been reserved to us by the terms of the +treaty. We appealed to the Marquis; but he advised us to give it +up.</p> +<p>"'I am doing all I can,' he said to Colonel Monro; 'but I shall +be only too happy if I can prevent a massacre!'"</p> +<p>"Horrible!" ejaculated the young lieutenant. "Oh, better, far +better, to have held the fort and perished in open fight than to be +set upon in cold blood by those fiends!"</p> +<p>"Yes," quoth Pringle sternly; "that is what we felt and said. +But it was too late then. The Indians were all amongst us. They +were here, there, and everywhere. They got hold of the long hair of +the women and the terrified children, and drew their scalping +knives and menaced them till they shrieked and cried aloud in +abject terror--"</p> +<p>Pringle paused; a spasm of horror shook him. After a brief pause +he recommenced in more rapid tones:</p> +<p>"Why prolong the tale? it has lasted already too long. No proper +guard was provided for us. Why I cannot tell, for the Marquis was +truly horrified at what was going on. Perhaps he thought the steps +he had taken were sufficient, or that the rage of the Indians was +appeased; but be that as it might, when we marched out towards Fort +Edward, we had no efficient protection, and the Indians were all +round us, snatching at caps and coats, and forcing the soldiers to +give them rum from their canteens, every drop of which seemed to +add fuel to the fire."</p> +<p>"And you had no escort?"</p> +<p>"None of any efficacy. Monro, our gallant Colonel, went back to +the French camp to protest and petition; but while he was gone the +spark kindled.</p> +<p>"It was the Anenaki chief who first raised the war whoop, and +the effect was instantaneous. They sprang upon us like fiends. They +seized the shrieking women and children and bore them off to the +woods, killing and scalping them as they ran. We had guns, but no +ammunition, and were almost exhausted with what we had been +through.</p> +<p>"In a moment all was a scene of indescribable horror and +confusion. I can only speak of what I saw myself. I was set upon by +the savages; but I could give blow for blow. They sprang after +others less able to defend themselves. I saw a little lad rush +screaming through the wood. I at once ran after him, and knocked +down his pursuer. He clung about me, begging me to save him. I took +his hand, and we dashed into the forest together.</p> +<p>"As we did so, I was aware that some French officers, with the +Marquis de Montcalm, were rushing up to try to appease the tumult; +but I doubt me if their words produced any effect. The boy and I +ran on together. Then out dashed a dozen or more warriors upon us, +with scalps in their hands--a sight horrible to behold. I set the +boy against a tree, and stood before him; but they were all round +us. I felt his despairing, clutching hands torn from round my waist +whilst I was hacking and hewing down the men in front. I heard the +shriek of agony and the gurgling cry as the tomahawk descended upon +his head.</p> +<p>"I knew that he was dead, and the rage which filled me drove me +on and on with the strength of madness. I had lost the sense of +direction. I only knew that I had burst through the ring of my +assailants, and that I was running my headlong course with the +whole pack of them yelling at my heels. Now and again a cry from +right or left would divert one or another of my pursuers, but some +of them held resolutely on, and I knew that my strength must +eventually give out, and that only a horrible death awaited me.</p> +<p>"Then it was that I heard shouts in the English tongue, and knew +that some person or persons had come to my rescue. But my eyes were +full of blood, and my senses were well nigh failing. It was only by +degrees I came to know who had saved my life. I shall never forget +it, though I cannot say what is in my heart."</p> +<p>He held out his hand first to one and then to the other of his +comrades, and they grasped it warmly. Roche lifted his right hand +and shook it upwards.</p> +<p>"May Heaven give me the chance to revenge this day's work upon +the foes of England! May the time come when France shall drink deep +of that cup of suffering and humiliation which she has caused us to +drink withal; and may I be there to see!"</p> +<p>And yet, before many months had passed, Roche and his companions +had reason to know that their foes could be chivalrous and generous +to an enemy in distress.</p> +<p>The comrades lay in close hiding for many days, until the work +of demolishing the hapless fort had been accomplished, and the +French, together with their savage allies, had withdrawn back to +their own lines at Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>There was no dash made upon Fort Edward, as might well have been +the case. Satisfied with what he had accomplished, and under orders +to permit the Canadian troops to return home in time to gather in +the harvest, the Marquis de Montcalm withdrew his forces when his +task was finished. Possibly he felt that victory was too dearly +purchased at the cost of such horrors as had followed the capture +of Fort William Henry.</p> +<p>Pringle recovered from his wounds, which, though numerous, were +none of them severe. The spell of rest was welcome to all after the +fatigues and privations of the siege. Fritz was an expert huntsman, +and kept their larder well stocked; and when they were ready to +travel, he was able to lead them safely through the forest, towards +the haunts where Rogers and his Rangers were likely to be met +with.</p> +<p>It was upon a clear September afternoon that they first met +white men, or indeed human beings of any kind; for they had +sedulously avoided falling in with Indians, and the loneliness of +the forest had become a little oppressive to Pringle and Roche, +although they were eager to learn the arts of woodcraft, and were +proving apt pupils. They were both going to volunteer to join +Rogers' bold band of Rangers, for they had grown almost +disheartened at the regular army service, where one blunder and +disaster was invariably capped by another; and the life of the +Rangers did at least give scope for personal daring and adventure, +and might enable them to strike a blow now and again at the enemy +who had wrought them such woe.</p> +<p>They heard themselves hailed one day out of the heart of the +forest by a cheery English voice.</p> +<p>"What ho! who goes there?"</p> +<p>"Friend to Rogers and his Rangers!" called back Fritz, in the +formula of the forest, and the next minute a bronzed and +bright-faced, handsome man had sprung lightly out of the thicket, +and stood before them.</p> +<p>He was a stranger to Fritz, but something in his dress and +general aspect proclaimed him to be a Ranger, and he grasped Fritz +by the hand warmly.</p> +<p>"You come in good time to give us news. We have been far +afield--almost as far as Niagara itself. We hear rumours of +disaster and treachery; but hitherto we have had no certain +tidings. Is it true that Fort William Henry has fallen?"</p> +<p>The tale was told once again, other Rangers crowding round to +hear. Pringle was naturally the spokesman, and Fritz, singling out +from the group a man whom he had known before, asked him who the +gallant-looking stranger was who seemed like the leader of a +band.</p> +<p>"That is Lord Howe," was the answer. "He came out from England +to fight the French; but the expedition to Louisbourg came to +nothing through delay and mismanagement. He landed, and whilst +waiting for further orders from home he has joined the Rangers, in +order to learn their methods of fighting. Never was hardier or +braver man, or one more cheerful and blithe. Even the stern Rogers +himself unbends when he is near. He has been the very life of our +party since he has joined us."</p> +<p>Fritz soon found that this was no exaggeration. Howe was a +splendid comrade and Ranger, full of courage, the hardiest of the +hardy, never failing in spirits whatever were the hardships of the +life, and showing such aptitude for generalship and command that +already he had made his mark amongst the hardy Rangers, and was +entrusted with enterprises of difficulty and danger.</p> +<p>It was not much that could be done against the foe with the +inclement winter season approaching. The snow fell early. The +Canadians and regulars had gone into winter quarters; but there was +still a garrison in Ticonderoga, and to harass and despoil that +garrison was the pastime of the Rangers. They stole beneath the +walls upon the frozen lake. They carried off cattle, and made +banquets off their carcasses. If they could not do with all the +meat themselves, they would leave the carcasses at the foot of the +walls, sometimes with mocking letters attached to the horns.</p> +<p>Thus, after a more than usually successful raid, when they had +taken two prisoners and driven off a number of head of cattle, they +tied to the horns of one of the slain beasts the following words, +written large for all to read.</p> +<p>"I am obliged to you, sir, for the rest you have allowed me to +take, and for the fresh meat you have supplied me with. I shall +take good care of my prisoners. My compliments to the Marquis de +Montcalm.</p> +<p>"--(Signed)</p> +<p>"ROGERS."</p> +<p>But in spite of these successful raids, a misfortune was in +store for the gallant Rangers in the early spring which broke up +and scattered their band for that season, and spread throughout the +district the false report of Rogers' death.</p> +<p>Captain Hebecourt was commanding the French at Ticonderoga, and +in March he received large reinforcements of Canadians and Indians, +and the latter instantly detected recent marks of snowshoes in the +vicinity betraying the neighbourhood of white men. An attack was +therefore organized to try to rid the place of the pestilent +Rangers, as the French called them; whilst, as it so happened, the +Rangers had no knowledge of the reinforcements which had come in to +the fort.</p> +<p>Rogers' fault was ever a daring rashness, and when one day he +and his little band saw the advance of a party of Indians, he drew +his men under cover and greeted them with a hot and fatal fire.</p> +<p>But this was only the advance guard. Unknown and unguessed at by +Rogers, the large body behind was approaching, and the next moment +the whole place was echoing with triumphant yells, as the pursuing +Rangers were met by a compact force outnumbering them by four to +one, who sprang furiously upon them, trying to hack them to +pieces.</p> +<p>Rogers, gallantly backed by Lord Howe, who had all the instinct +of the true general, recalled them hastily and formed them up on +the slope of a hill, where they made a gallant stand, and drove +back the enemy again and again. But outnumbered as they were, it +was a terrible struggle, and Ranger after Ranger dropped at his +post; whilst at last the cry was raised that the foe had surrounded +them upon the rear, and nothing was left them but to take to the +forest in flight.</p> +<p>"To the woods, men, to the woods!" shouted Rogers. "Leave me, +and every man for himself!"</p> +<p>Indeed it was soon impossible for any party to keep together. It +was just one dash from tree to tree for bare life, seeking to evade +the wily foe, and seeing brave comrades drop at every turn.</p> +<p>Rogers, Howe, and about twenty fine fellows were making a +running fight for it along the crest of the ridge. Pringle, Roche, +and Fritz were separated from these, but kept together, and by the +use of all their strength and sagacity succeeded in eluding the +Indians and hiding themselves in the snow-covered forest.</p> +<p>All was desolation around them. A heavy snowstorm gathered and +burst. They were hopelessly separated from their comrades, and +Fritz, who was their guide in woodcraft, was wounded in the head, +and in a strangely dazed condition.</p> +<p>"I can take you to Rogers' camp, nevertheless," he kept +repeating. "We must not lie down, or we shall die. But I can find +the road--I can find the road. I know the forest in all its +aspects; I shall not lose the way."</p> +<p>It was a terrible night. They had no food but a little ginger +which Pringle chanced to have in his pocket, and a bit of a sausage +that Roche had secreted about him. The snow drifted in their faces. +They were wearied to death, yet dared not lie down; and though +always hoping to reach the spot where Fritz declared that Rogers +was certain to be found, they discovered, when the grey light of +morning came, that they had only fetched a circle, and were at the +place they had started from, in perilous proximity to the French +fort.</p> +<p>Yet as they gazed at one another in mute despair a more terrible +thing happened. The Indian war whoop sounded loud in their ears, +and a band of savages dashed out upon them. Before they could +attempt resistance in their numbed state, they were surrounded and +carried off captive.</p> +<p>"We can die like men; that is all that is left to us!" said +Pringle, pressing up to Roche to whisper in his ear. "Heaven grant +they kill us quickly; it is the only grace we can hope for +now."</p> +<p>Dizzy and faint and exhausted, they were hurried along by their +captors they knew not whither. They had come out from the forest, +and the sun was beginning to shine round them, when they suddenly +heard a voice shouting out something the meaning of which they +could not catch; and the next moment a body of white men came +running up wearing the familiar uniform of French soldiers and +officers.</p> +<p>"Uncle!" cried a lad's clear voice, speaking in French, a +language perfectly intelligible to Fritz, "that tall man there is +the one who saved Corinne and me in the forest that day when we +were surrounded and nearly taken by the Rangers. Get him away from +the Indians; they shall not have him! He saved us from peril once; +we must save him now."</p> +<p>"Assuredly, my son," came the response, in a full, sonorous +voice; and Fritz, rallying his failing powers, shook off for a +moment the mists which seemed to enwrap him, and saw that a +fine-looking man of benevolent aspect, wearing the habit of an +ecclesiastic, was speaking earnestly to the Indians who had them in +their hands, whilst several French officers and soldiers had formed +up round them.</p> +<p>There was some quick and rather excited talk between the Abbe +and the dusky savages; but he appeared to prevail with them at +length, and Fritz heard the order given:</p> +<p>"Take these men into the fort, and give them every care and +attention. I shall come later to see how my orders have been +carried out."</p> +<p>The men saluted. They cut the cords which bound the prisoners. +They led them away kindly enough.</p> +<p>The lad who had first spoken pressed up to the side of +Fritz.</p> +<p>"I will take care of you, and my uncle will heal your wound. You +remember how Corinne promised some day to return the good favour +that you did us. You are our guests; you are not prisoners. My +uncle, the Abbe, has said so, and no one will dare to dispute his +word. He is the Abbe de Messonnier, whom all the world loves and +reveres."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch3-3" id="Ch3-3">Chapter 3</a>: Albany.</h2> +<p>"You are not our prisoner," said Colin; "you and your friends +are our guests, welcome to stay or go as you will. Only we hope and +desire that you will not go forth into the forest again until the +snow has melted, and you are sound and whole once more."</p> +<p>The bright-faced boy was seated beside the bed whereon lay +Fritz, who felt like a man awakening from a long, strange, and +rather frightful dream. He had become unconscious almost +immediately after their rescue three days before, and had only now +recovered the use of his faculties and the memory of recent +events.</p> +<p>"You had a bad wound on the side of your head when we found +you," explained Colin. "My uncle, the Abbe, says that had it been +left much longer untended you must have died. He is an excellent +surgeon himself, having learned much as to the treatment of wounds +and bruises and sicknesses of all kinds. He is well pleased with +its appearance now, and with your state of health. He says that you +Rangers are marvellous tough customers, whether as soldiers or as +patients. You take a great deal of killing!"</p> +<p>Fritz smiled in response to the boy's bright look, but there was +anxiety in his face too.</p> +<p>"Can you tell me aught of the Rangers?" he said. "You, +doubtless, know how we were set upon and dispersed a few days +back."</p> +<p>"Yes; and our Captain of the fort is right glad at it," said the +boy, "for Rogers led him a dog's life with his raids and robberies. +But all is fair in love and war, and it is not for us to complain +of what we ourselves have provoked and should do in like +circumstances. Nevertheless there is rejoicing at Ticonderoga that +the Rangers are dispersed and broken for the present. We were +beginning to fear lest they should take away from us all our +provision and cut off our supplies."</p> +<p>"Do you know how many were slain?"</p> +<p>"No; but it must have been a considerable number. I am sorry +myself. I delight in all brave deeds of daring, and it is the +Rangers who have shown themselves the heroes of this campaign. At +first they said Rogers himself had been killed, but that has since +been contradicted. For myself I do not believe it. The dead were +carefully examined by one who knew Rogers well, and he declares +there is no corpse that in any way resembles him; and others +declare that he was seen escaping to the forest, fighting every +inch of the way, with a resolute little band around him whom none +cared to follow."</p> +<p>"I myself saw something of that," answered Fritz; "but it all +seems like a dream of long ago. Tell me now of those who were with +me--Captain Pringle and the lad Roche. Are they here, and unhurt of +the Indians?"</p> +<p>"They are sound and well, and though sorely exhausted by cold +and hunger and fatigue when they were brought in, are fully +recovered now. Captain Pringle is quite a hero with us, for he has +told us all the story of that disgraceful and dishonourable day of +August last when the laurels of France were sorely tarnished by the +treacherous villainy of her Indian allies! Believe me, friend +Fritz, we men of France deplore that massacre, and cry shame upon +ourselves and our countrymen for not taking sterner measures to +repress it. For that reason alone, as mine uncle says, we owe to +you and to your companions every honour and courtesy which we can +show. If we have sometimes to blush for the conduct of our allies, +we can show that we are capable of better things ourselves; and if +we can make reparation ever so little, you will not find us +backward in doing it."</p> +<p>This indeed seemed to be the feeling of those within the fort. +Although these men were Rangers, part of the band which had +harassed them so sorely through the winter months, the garrison +received them with open arms, ministered to their wants, and vied +with one another in making them at home.</p> +<p>The influence of the venerable Abbe might have had something to +do with this; but it was greatly due to the chivalry of the French +nature, and to the eager desire to show kindness to those who had +witnessed and suffered from that awful tragedy which had followed +upon the surrender of Fort William Henry, which they felt to be a +lasting disgrace to their cause.</p> +<p>Those of the officers who had been there averred that they could +never forget the horror of those two days; and the French surgeon +who had taken over the English sick and wounded, and yet saw them +butchered before his eyes ere he could even call for help, had +never been the same man since.</p> +<p>So when Fritz was able to rise from his bed and join his +companions, he found himself in pleasant enough quarters, +surrounded by friendly faces, and made much of by all in the fort. +He, being able to speak French fluently, made himself a great +favorite with the men, and he enjoyed many long conversations with +the Abbe, who was a man of much acumen and discernment, and saw +more clearly the course which events were likely to take than did +those amongst whom he lived.</p> +<p>From him Fritz learned that affairs in Canada were looking very +grave. There were constant difficulties arising between the various +officials there, and the most gross corruption existed in financial +affairs, so that there was a rottenness that was eating like a +canker into the heart of the colony, despite its outward aspect of +prosperity. France was burdened by foreign wars and could do little +for her dependencies beyond the sea; whilst England was beginning +to awake from her apathy, and she had at her helm now a man who +understood as no statesman there had done before him the value to +her of these lands beyond the sea.</p> +<p>"I have always maintained," the Abbe would say, "that in spite +of all her blunders, which blunders and tardinesses are still +continuing, there is a spirit in your English colonies which will +one day rise triumphant, and make you a foe to be feared and +dreaded. You move with the times; we stand still. You teach and +learn independence and self government; we depend wholly upon a +King who cares little for us and a country that is engrossed in +other matters, and has little thought to spend upon our perils and +our troubles. You are growing, and, like a young horse or bullock, +you do not know yet how to use your strength. You are unbroken to +yoke and halter; you waste your energy in plunging and butting when +you should be utilizing it to some good end. Yet mark my words, the +day is coming when you will learn to answer to the rein; when you +will use your strength reasonably and for a great end and then +shall we have cause to tremble before you!"</p> +<p>Fritz listened and partly understood, and could admire the man +who spoke so boldly even when he depreciated the power of his own +people. He grew to love and revere the Abbe not a little, and when +the day came for them to say farewell, it was with real sorrow he +spoke his adieu.</p> +<p>"You have been very good to us, my father," he said. "I hope the +day may come when we may be able to show our gratitude."</p> +<p>"Like enough it will, my son," answered the Abbe gently; "I have +little doubt that it will. If not to me, yet to my children and +countrymen. For the moment the laurels of victory remain in our +hands; but the tide may some day turn. If so, then remember to be +merciful and gentle to those who will be in your power. I think +that the English have ever shown themselves generous foes; I think +they will continue to show themselves such in the hour of +victory."</p> +<p>It was with hearts much cheered and strengthened that the +comrades went forth from Ticonderoga. Colin and a few French +soldiers accompanied them for some distance.</p> +<p>They did not propose to try to seek Rogers or his scattered +Rangers; there was no knowing where they would now be found. Fritz +had decided to push back to Fort Edward, and so to Albany, the +quaint Dutch settlement which had been the basis of recent +operations, being the town nearest to the western frontier at this +point. There they would be certain to get news of what was going on +in the country, and for a short time it would be pleasant to dwell +amid the haunts of men, instead of in these remote fastnesses of +the forest.</p> +<p>"I hope we shall meet again," said Colin, as he held Fritz's +hand in a last clasp. "I am not altogether French. I find that I +can love the English well. Quebec will be my home before long. +Corinne is there already, and my uncle and I will return there +shortly. It is a fine city, such as you have hardly seen in your +wanderings so far. I would I could show it you. Some say the +English have an eye upon it, as the key to Canada. In sooth I think +they would find it a hard nut to crack. We of the city call it +impregnable. But come you in peace there, and I will show it you +with joy."</p> +<p>They parted with a smile and a warm clasp, little guessing how +they would meet next.</p> +<p>The journey to Albany was uneventful. The travellers met with no +misadventures, and upon a sunny April evening drew near to the +pleasant little town, smiling in the soft sunshine of a remarkably +warm evening.</p> +<p>It presented a singularly peaceful appearance. The fort was on +the hill behind, and seemed to stand sentinel for the little +township it was there to protect. The wide grassy road ran down +towards the river, its row of quaint Dutch houses broken by a group +of finer and more imposing buildings, including the market, the +guard house, the town hall, and two churches.</p> +<p>The houses were not built in rows, but each stood in its own +garden, possessing its well, its green paddock, and its own +overshadowing tree or trees. They were quaintly built, with +timbered fronts, and great projecting porches where the inhabitants +gathered at the close of the day, to discuss the news and to gossip +over local or provincial affairs.</p> +<p>As the travellers entered the long, wide street, their eyes +looked upon a pleasant, homely scene--the cows straying homeward, +making music with their bells, stopping each at her own gate to be +milked; the children hanging around, porringer in hand, waiting for +the evening meal; matrons and the elder men gathered in groups +round the doors and in the porches; young men wrestling or arguing +in eager groups; and the girls gathered together chatting and +laughing, throwing smiling glances towards their brothers and +lovers as they strove for victory in some feat of skill or +strength.</p> +<p>It was difficult to believe that so peaceful a scene could exist +in a country harassed by war, or that these settlers could carry on +their lives in so serene and untroubled a fashion with the dread +war cloud hovering in the sky above.</p> +<p>There was one house which stood a little apart from the others, +and wore a rather more imposing aspect, although, like all the +rest, it was of a quaint and home-like appearance. It stood a +little back from the main streets and its porch was wider and +larger, whilst the garden in front was laid out with a taste and +care which bespoke both skill and a love for nature's products.</p> +<p>The travellers were slowly wending their way past this house, +debating within themselves where to stop for the night, and just +beginning to attract the attention of the inhabitants, when a voice +hailed them eagerly from the wide porch.</p> +<p>"Fritz Neville, or I'm a Dutchman myself! And Pringle and Roche +as well! Why, man, we thought we had left you dead in the forest. +We saw you cut off from us and surrounded. We never had a hope of +seeing you alive again. This is a happy meeting, in truth!"</p> +<p>Fritz started at the sound of his name, and the next minute had +made a quick forward hound, his face shining all over.</p> +<p>It was Lord Howe who had hailed him--the bold, joyous young +Viscount beloved by all who knew him. The comrades shook hands +again and again as they eagerly exchanged greetings.</p> +<p>"Oh, we got away to the forest, Rogers and Stark and I, and a +score or more. Other stragglers kept dropping in and joining us, +and many more, as we found later, had made their way back to Fort +Edward. But nowhere could we learn news of you. Come in, come in; +you will be welcomed warmly by my kind hostess, Mrs. Schuyler. She +has been the friend and mother of all English fugitives in their +destitution and need. I have a home with her here for the present, +till the army from England and the levies from the provinces +arrive. Come in, good comrades, and do not fear; there will be a +warm welcome here for you."</p> +<p>They followed Howe to the house, and found that he had not +deceived them as to the welcome they would receive. Colonel +Schuyler was a great man in Albany, and his wife was deservedly +respected and beloved. Just now the Colonel was absent on duties +connected with the coming campaign, in which Albany was becoming +keenly interested. The neighbouring provinces, particularly that of +Massachusetts, had awakened at last from lethargy, and the +inhabitants were bestirring themselves with zeal, if not always +with discretion. The Colonel, who had warmly embraced the English +cause, was doing what he could there to raise arms and men, and his +wife at home was playing her part in caring for the fugitives who +kept passing through on their way from the forest, both after the +massacre at Fort William Henry, and after the rout of the +Rangers.</p> +<p>Rogers himself was too restless a being to remain in the haunts +of civilization. He and a few picked men were again off to the +forest. But Stark, who had been wounded, and Lord Howe, who was +awaiting orders from England as to his position in command during +the approaching campaign, remained as guests with Mrs. Schuyler; +and she at once begged that Fritz and his companions would do the +same, since her house was roomy, and she desired to do all in her +power for those who were about to risk their lives in the endeavour +to suppress the terrible Indian raids, and to crush the aggressions +of those who used these raids as a means of obtaining their own +aggrandizement.</p> +<p>It was a pleasant house to stay in, and Mrs. Schuyler was like a +mother to them all. For Lord Howe she entertained a warm affection, +which he requited with a kindred feeling.</p> +<p>All was excitement in Albany now. General Abercromby was on the +way to take the command of the forces; but Lord Howe was to have a +position of considerable importance, and it was whispered by those +who knew what went on behind the scenes that it was to his skill +and courage and military prowess that Pitt really looked. He +received private dispatches by special messengers, and his bright +young face was full of purpose and lofty courage.</p> +<p>The Massachusetts levies began to assemble, and Howe took the +raw lads in hand, and began to drill them with a wonderful success. +But it was no play work to be under such a commander. They had come +for once rather well provided with clothing and baggage; but Howe +laughed aloud at the thought of soldiers encumbering themselves +with more impedimenta than was actually needful.</p> +<p>The long, heavy-skirted coats which the soldiers wore, both +regulars and provincials, excited his ridicule, as did also the +long hair plaited into a queue behind and tied with ribbons.</p> +<p>His own hair he had long since cut short to his head-- a fashion +speedily imitated by officers and men alike, who all adored him. He +suggested that skirtless coats would be more easy to march in than +the heavy ones in vogue, and forthwith all the skirts were cut off, +and the coats became short jackets, scarcely reaching the +waist.</p> +<p>The men laughed at their droll appearance, but felt the freedom +and increased marching power; and as Lord Howe wore just such a +coat himself, who could complain? He wore leggings of leather, such +as were absolutely needful to forest journeys, and soon his men did +the same. No women were to be allowed to follow his contingent; and +as for washing of clothes, why, Lord Howe was seen going down to +the river side to wash his own, and the fashion thus set was +followed enthusiastically by his men.</p> +<p>If their baggage was cut down to a minimum, they were each +ordered to carry thirty pounds of meal in a bag; so that it was +soon seen that Lord Rowe's contingent could not only walk further +and faster in march than any other, but that it would be +independent of the supply trains for pretty nearly a month. They +carried their own bread material, and the forest would always +supply meat.</p> +<p>Fritz was ever forward to carry out the wishes and act as the +right hand of the hardy Brigadier; for that was Lord Howe's +military rank. Pringle and Roche served under him, too, and there +was a warm bond growing up betwixt officers and men, and a feeling +of enthusiasm which seemed to them like an augury of victory to +come.</p> +<p>"Our business is to fight the foe--to do our duty whether we +live or die," Howe would say to his men. "We have failed before; we +may fail again. Never mind; we shall conquer at last. With results +the soldier has nothing to do. Remember that. He does his duty. He +sticks to his post. He obeys his commands. Do that, men; and +whether we conquer or die, we shall have done our duty, and that is +all our country asks of us."</p> +<p>And now the long days of June had come, and all were eager for +the opening campaign. Ticonderoga was to be attacked. To wrest from +the French some of their strong holds on the western English +border--to break their power in the sight of the Indians--was a +thing that was absolutely necessary to the life of the New England +colonies and the other provinces under English rule. Fort Edward +still remained to her, though Oswego and William Henry had fallen +and were demolished. The capture of Ticonderoga would be a blow to +France which would weaken her immensely, and lower her prestige +with the Indians, which was now a source of great danger to the +English colonists.</p> +<p>The story of the massacre after the surrender of Fort William +Henry had made a profound impression throughout the +English-speaking provinces, and had awakened a longing after +vengeance which in itself had seemed almost like an earnest of +victory. And now the regular troops began to muster and pour in, +and Albany was all excitement and enthusiasm; for the Dutch had by +that time come to have a thorough distrust of France, and to desire +the victory of the English arms only less ardently than the English +themselves.</p> +<p>Mrs. Schuyler, as usual, opened her doors wide to receive as +many of the officers as she was able whilst the final preparations +were being made. And upon a soft midsummer evening Lord Howe +appeared in the supper room, bringing with him two fine-looking +officers--one grey headed, the other young and ardent--and +introducing them to his hostess and those assembled round the table +as Major Duncan Campbell, the Laird of Inverawe, in Scotland; with +his son Alexander, a Lieutenant of the Highland force.</p> +<p>Young Alexander was seated next to Fritz at table, and began an +eager conversation with him. Talk surged to and fro that night. +Excitement prevailed everywhere. But Fritz observed that Major +Campbell sat very grave and silent, and that even Lord Howe's +efforts to draw him into conversation proved unavailing.</p> +<p>Mrs. Schuyler also tried, but with little success, to make the +veteran talk. He answered with grave courtesy all remarks made to +him, but immediately lapsed into a sombre abstraction, from which +it seemed difficult to rouse him.</p> +<p>At the end of the supper Lord Howe rose to his feet, made a +dashing little speech to the company, full of fire and enthusiasm, +and proposed the toast:</p> +<p>"Success to the expedition against Ticonderoga!"</p> +<p>Fritz happened to be looking at the grave, still face of Major +Campbell, and as these words were spoken he saw a sudden spasm pass +across it. The soldier rose suddenly to his feet, took up his glass +for a moment, put it down untasted, and with a bow to his hostess +pushed aside his chair, and strode from the room in an access of +visible emotion.</p> +<p>Lord Howe looked after him a moment, and draining his glass, +seemed about to go after the guest; but young Alexander, from the +other side of the table, made him a sign, and he sat down +again.</p> +<p>The incident, however, seemed to act like the breaking up of the +supper party, and the guests rose and left the table, dispersing +quickly to look after bag or baggage or some last duty, till only +Mrs. Schuyler, Lord Howe, Fritz, and Lieutenant Campbell were left +in the supper room.</p> +<p>It was then that young Alexander looked round and said, "It was +the name you spoke which affected my father so strangely--the fatal +name of Ticonderoga!"</p> +<p>"Fatal! how fatal?" asked Lord Howe quickly.</p> +<p>"You have not heard the strange story, then?"</p> +<p>"No; what story?"</p> +<p>"It concerns my father; it is the cause of his melancholy. When +you have heard it you will not perhaps wonder, though to you the +incident may seem incredible."</p> +<p>"I have learned that there are many things in this world which +are wonderful and mysterious, yet which it is folly to disbelieve," +answered Howe. "Let us hear your story, Campbell. I would not have +spoken words to hurt your father could I have known."</p> +<p>"I am sure you would not; but hear the tale, and you will know +why that name sounds in his ears like a death knell.</p> +<p>"Long years ago it must have been when I was but a little +child--my father was sitting alone over the fire in our home at +Inverawe; a wild, strange place that I love as I love no other spot +on earth. He was in the great hall, and, suddenly there came a +knocking at the door, loud and imperative. He opened, and there +stood a man without, wild and dishevelled, who told how he had +slain a man in a fray, and was flying from his pursuers.</p> +<p>"'Give me help and shelter!' he implored; and my father drew him +in and closed the door, and promised to hide him. 'Swear on your +dirk not to give me up!' he implored; and my father swore, though +with him his word was ever his bond. He hid the fugitive in a +secret place, and hardly had he done so before there was another +loud knocking at the door.</p> +<p>"This time it was the pursuers, hot on the track of the +murderer. 'He has slain your cousin Donald,' they told him. 'He +cannot be far away. We are hunting for him. Can you help us?' My +father was in a great strait; but he remembered his oath, and +though he sent out servants to help in the search, he would not +give up to justice the man who had trusted him."</p> +<p>"And he was right," said Lord Howe quickly; "I honour and +respect him for that."</p> +<p>"It may be so, yet it is against the traditions of our house and +race," answered Alexander gravely; "and that night my father woke +suddenly from a troubled dream to see the ghost of his murdered +kinsman standing at his bedside. The spectre spoke to him in urgent +tones:</p> +<p>"'Inverawe, Inverawe, blood has been shed; shield not the +murderer!'</p> +<p>"Unable to sleep, my father rose, and went to the fugitive and +told him he could not shelter him longer. 'You swore on your dirk!' +replied the miserable man; and my father, admitting the oath not to +betray him, led him away in the darkness and hid him in a mountain +cave known to hardly any save himself.</p> +<p>"That night once more the spectre came and spoke the same words, +'Inverawe, Inverawe, blood has been shed; shield not the murderer!' +The vision troubled my father greatly. At daybreak he went once +more to the cave; but the man was gone--whither he never knew. He +went home, and again upon the third night the ghostly figure stood +beside him; but this time he was less stern of voice and +aspect.</p> +<p>"He spoke these words, 'Farewell, Inverawe; farewell, till we +meet at <i>Ticonderoga</i>.' Then it vanished, and he has never +seen it since."</p> +<p>"Ticonderoga!" repeated Lord Howe, and looked steadily at +Alexander, who proceeded:</p> +<p>"That was the word. My father had never heard it before. The +sound of it was so strange that he wrote it down; and when I was a +youth of perhaps seventeen summers, and had become a companion to +him, he told me the whole story, and we pondered together as to +what and where Ticonderoga could be. Years had passed since he saw +the vision, and he had never heard the name from that day. I had +not heard it either--then."</p> +<p>The faces of the listeners were full of grave interest. The +strangeness of the coincidence struck them all.</p> +<p>"And then?" queried Howe, after a silence.</p> +<p>"Then came the news of this war, and some Highland regiments +were ordered off. My father and I were amongst those to go. We were +long in hearing what our destination was to be. We had landed upon +these shores before we heard that the expedition to which we were +attached was bound for Ticonderoga."</p> +<p>Again there was silence, which Mrs. Schuyler broke by asking +gently:</p> +<p>"And your father thinks that there is some doom connected with +that name?"</p> +<p>"He is convinced that be will meet his death there," replied +Alexander, "and I confess I fear the same myself."</p> +<p>Nobody spoke for a minute, and then Mrs. Schuyler said +softly:</p> +<p>"It is a strange, weird story; yet it cannot but be true. No man +could guess at such a name. Ticonderoga, Ticonderoga. I wonder what +will be the end of that day!"</p> +<p>"And what matters the end if we do our duty to the last?" spoke +Lord Howe, lifting his bright young face and throwing back his head +with a gesture that his friends knew well. "A man can but die once. +For my part, I only ask to die sword in hand and face to the foe, +doing my duty to my country, my heart at peace with God. That is +the spirit with which we soldiers must go into battle. We are sent +there by our country; we fight for her. If need be we die for her. +Can we ask a nobler death? For myself I do not. Let it come to me +at Ticonderoga, or wherever Providence wills, I will not shrink or +fear. Give me only the power to die doing my duty, and I ask no +more."</p> +<p>There was a beautiful light in his great hazel eyes, a sweet +smile hovered round his lips. Fritz, looking at him, seemed to see +something in his face which he had scarcely noted before--a depth, +a serenity, a beauty quite apart from the dashing gallantry of look +and bearing which was his most salient characteristic.</p> +<p>Into the eyes of Mrs. Schuyler there had sprung sudden tears. +She went over to the young man and laid a hand upon his head.</p> +<p>"Thank God that our soldiers still go into battle in that +spirit; that they make their peace with Him before they draw sword +upon their fellow men. A soldier's life is a strange paradox; yet +God, who is the God of battles as well as Prince of Peace, knows +and understands. He will bless the righteous cause, though He may +call to rest many a gallant soldier, and still in death many an +ardent young heart. But however mysteriously He works, we are +instruments in His hands. Let us strive to be worthy of that +honour, and then we shall know that we are helping to bring nearer +His kingdom upon earth, which, when once set up, shall bring in a +reign of peace, where war shall be no more."</p> +<p>"Amen, with all my heart!" quoth Lord Howe, and there was a +light in his eyes which bespoke that, soldier though he was to his +fingertips, he was no stranger to the hope of the eternal peace +which the Lord alone can give.</p> +<p>Mrs. Schuyler was not a demonstrative woman in daily life; but +when her guest rose to say goodnight upon this last evening, she +kissed him as a mother might, and he kissed her back with words of +tender gratitude and affection.</p> +<p>And so the night fell upon the town of Albany--the night before +the march to Ticonderoga.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch3-4" id="Ch3-4">Chapter 4</a>: Ticonderoga.</h2> +<p>A joyous farewell to friends at Albany, with anticipation of a +speedy and victorious return thither; a rapid and well-arranged +march to Fort Edward and Lake George, where they were gladdened by +the sight of the hardy Rogers and the remnant of his gallant band, +embarked in whaleboats, and ready to lead the van or perform any +daring service asked of them; a cheerful embarking upon the lake in +the great multitude of boats and bateaux; bright sunshine overhead, +the sound of military music in their ears, flags waving, men +cheering and shouting--what expedition could have started under +happier and more joyous auspices?</p> +<p>There were regulars from England--the foremost being the +Fifty-fifth, commanded by Lord Howe. There were American and +Highland regiments, and the provincials from numbers of the +provinces, each in its own uniform and colours. The lake was alive +with above one thousand craft for the transport of this great army +with its heavy artillery, and Rogers declared that Ticonderoga was +as good as their own: for it had only provision to last eight or +nine days; and if not at once battered down by the enemy's guns, it +could easily be starved out by a judicious disposition of the +troops.</p> +<p>One night was spent camped halfway down the lake. Lord Howe, +with Stark and Rogers and Fritz for companions, lay upon his +bearskin overlooking Fritz's diagrams of the fort, taken in past +days, listening to what all the three men had to tell of the +fortress, both inside and out, and making many plans for the attack +upon the morrow.</p> +<p>General Abercromby was with the army; yet it was well known that +Lord Howe was the leading spirit, and to him it was that all the +men instinctively looked. It was he who upon the morrow, when they +had reached and passed the Narrows and were drawing near to the +fort, reconnoitred the landing place in whaleboats, drove off a +small party of French soldiers who were watching them, but were +unable to oppose them, and superintended the landing of the whole +army.</p> +<p>The lake here had narrowed down to the dimensions of a river, +and it made a considerable bend something like a horseshoe. If the +bridge had not been broken down, they could have marched to a point +much nearer to Ticonderoga upon a well-trodden road; but the bridge +being gone, it was necessary to march the army along the west bank +of this river-like waterway which connected Lake George with Lake +Champlain, for there were too many dangerous rapids for navigation +to be possible; and upon the tongue of land jutting out into Lake +Champlain, and washed by the waters of this river on its other +side, stood the fortress of Ticonderoga, their goal.</p> +<p>Rogers was their leader. He knew the forest well; yet even he +found it a somewhat difficult matter to pick his way through the +dense summer foliage. The columns following found the forest tracks +extraordinarily difficult to follow. They were many of them unused +to such rough walking, and fell into inevitable confusion.</p> +<p>Rogers, together with Lord Howe and some of his hardier soldiers +and the Rangers, pushed boldly on. Whilst they walked they talked +of what lay before them. Rogers told how Montcalm himself was +within the fort, and that his presence there inspired the soldiers +with great courage and confidence; because he was a fine soldier, a +very gallant gentleman, and had had considerable success in arms +ever since he arrived in Canada.</p> +<p>As the forest tracks grew more densely overgrown, Lord Howe +paused in his rapid walk beside Rogers.</p> +<p>"My men are growing puzzled by the forest," he said, "and indeed +it is small wonder, seeing that we ourselves scarce know where we +are. Go you on with the Rangers, Rogers, and I will return a short +distance and get my men into better order. I do not anticipate an +ambush; but there may be enemies lurking in the woods. We must not +be taken unawares. Push you on, and I will follow with my company +at a short distance."</p> +<p>"I will take a handful of men with me," answered Rogers, "and +push on to reconnoitre. Let the rest remain with you. They will +encourage and hearten up the regulars, who are new to this sort of +thing; and when I know more clearly our exact position, I will fall +back and report."</p> +<p>Fritz remained with Howe, whose men came marching up in a rather +confused and straggling fashion, but were only perplexed, not in +any wise disheartened, by the roughness of the road. When the +column had regained something like marching order, the word was +given to start, and Lord Howe with a bodyguard of Rangers marched +at the head.</p> +<p>They had proceeded like this for perhaps a mile or more, when +there was a quick stir in the thicket. Next moment the challenge +rang out:</p> +<p>"<i>Qui vive</i>?"</p> +<p>"<i>Francais</i>!" shouted back a Ranger, who +had learned Rogers' trick of puzzling his opponents by the use of +French words.</p> +<p>But this time they were not deceived. A stern word of command +was given. A crack of rifles sounded out from the bushes; puffs of +smoke and flashes of fire were seen.</p> +<p>"Steady, men; load and fire!"</p> +<p>The command was given by Lord Howe. It was the last he ever +spoke. The wood rang with the crossfire of the foes who could not +see each other. Fritz had discharged his piece, and was loading +again when he saw Lord Howe suddenly throw up his hands and fall +helplessly forward.</p> +<p>He sprang to his side with a cry of dismay. He strove to hold +him up and support him to some place of safety, but could only lay +him down beneath a tree hard by, where a ring of Rangers instantly +formed around him, whilst the skirmish in the forest was hotly +maintained on both sides.</p> +<p>"He is shot through the heart!" cried Stark, in a lamentable +voice, as he hastily examined the wound; and indeed the shadow of +death had fallen upon the brave, bright, noble face of the young +officer.</p> +<p>Just once the heavy lids lifted themselves. Lord Howe looked +into the faces of the two men bending over him, and a faint smile +curved his lips.</p> +<p>"Keep them steady," he just managed to whisper, and the next +moment his head fell back against Fritz's shoulder. He had passed +into the unknown land where the clamour of battle is no more +heard.</p> +<p>It was a terrible blow, and consternation spread through the +ranks as it became known. Indeed, but for the Rangers, a panic and +flight would probably have followed. But Rogers, Stark, and Fritz +were of sterner stuff than the levies, and more seasoned than the +bulk of regular soldiers.</p> +<p>Rogers had returned instantly upon hearing the firing, and had +discharged a brisk volley upon the French as he dashed through +their ranks to regain his companions. Caught between two fires, +they were in no small peril, and made a dash for the riverbed; the +Rangers standing steady and driving them to their destruction, +whilst the ranks had time to recover themselves and maintain their +ground.</p> +<p>The rout of this body of French soldiers was complete, whilst +the English loss was small numerically; but the loss of Howe was +irreparable, and all heart and hope seemed taken out of the gallant +army which had started forth so full of hope. There was nothing now +to be done but to fall back upon the main army, with the sorrowful +tidings of their leader's death, and await the order of General +Abercromby as to the next move.</p> +<p>This was done, and the men were kept under arms all night, +waiting for orders which never came. Indecision and procrastination +again prevailed, and were again the undoing of the English +enterprise.</p> +<p>Still there was no question but that the fort must be attacked, +and as the Rangers came in with the news that the French had broken +up and deserted a camp they had hitherto held at some sawmills on +the river, a little way from the fort, a detachment of soldiers was +sent to take possession of this place. This having been done, and a +bridge thrown over the river by an able officer of the name of +Bradstreet, the army was moved up, and encamped at this place prior +to the assault of the fort. Rogers and his Rangers had reconnoitred +the whole place, and were eager to tell their tale.</p> +<p>Fort Ticonderoga occupied a triangular promontory, washed upon +two sides by the waters of Lake Champlain and the river-like +extremity of Lake George. The landward approach was guarded by a +strong rampart of felled trees, which the soldiers had formed into +a breastwork and abattis which might almost be called musket-proof. +So at least Rogers and his men had judged. They had watched the +French at their task, and had good reason to know the solid +protection given to the men behind by a rampart of this sort.</p> +<p>He was therefore all eagerness for the cannon to be brought up +from the lake.</p> +<p>"The artillery will make short work of it, General," he said, in +his bluff, abrupt fashion. "It will come rattling about their +heads, and they must take to the walls behind, and these will soon +give way before a steady cannonade. Or if we take the cannon up to +yonder heights of Rattlesnake Hill, we can fling our round shot +within their breastwork from end to end, and drive the men back +like rabbits to their burrow; or we can plant a battery at the +narrow mouth of Lake Champlain, and cut off their supplies. With +the big guns we can beat them in half a dozen ways; but let our +first act be to bring them up, for muskets and rifles are of little +use against such a rampart as they have made, bristling with spikes +and living twigs and branches, which baffle assault as you might +scarce believe without a trial."</p> +<p>Rogers spoke with the assurance and freedom of a man used to +command and certain of his subject. He and Lord Howe had been on +terms of most friendly intimacy, and the young Brigadier had +learned much from the veteran Ranger, whose services had been of so +much value to the English. He would never have taken umbrage at +advice given by a subordinate. But General Abercromby was of a +different order, and he little liked Rogers' assured manner and +brusque, independent tone. He heard him to the end, but gave an +evasive reply, and sent out an engineer on his own account to +survey the French position, and bring him word what was his +opinion.</p> +<p>This worthy made his survey, and came back full of +confidence.</p> +<p>"The rampart is but a hastily-constructed breastwork of felled +trees; it should be easily carried by assault," he reported, full +of careless confidence. "A good bayonet charge, resolutely +conducted, is all that is needed, and we shall be in the fort +before night."</p> +<p>The soldiers cheered aloud when they heard the news. They were +filled with valour and eagerness, in spite of the death of their +beloved leader. It seemed as though his spirit inspired them with +ardent desire to show what they could do; although generalship, +alas! had perished with the young Brigadier, who had fallen at such +an untimely moment.</p> +<p>The Rangers looked at one another with grim faces. They would +not speak a word to dishearten the troops; but they knew, far +better than the raw levies or the English regulars could do, the +nature of the obstruction to be encountered.</p> +<p>"A bayonet charge by soldiers full of valour is no light thing," +said Pringle to the Ranger, as they stood in the evening light +talking together. "Resolute men have done wonders before now in +such a charge, and why not we tomorrow?"</p> +<p>"Have you seen the abattis?" asked Rogers, in his grim and +brusque fashion.</p> +<p>"No," answered Pringle; "I have only heard it described by those +who have."</p> +<p>"Come, then, and look at it before it be dark," was Rogers' +reply; and he, together with Stark, led Fritz and Pringle and Roche +along a narrow forest pathway which the Rangers were engaged in +widening and improving, ready for the morrow's march, until he was +able to show them, from a knoll of rising ground, the nature of the +fortification they were to attack upon the morrow.</p> +<p>The French had shown no small skill in the building of this +breastwork, which ran along a ridge of high ground behind the fort +itself, and commanded the approach towards it from the land side. +The whole forest in the immediate vicinity had been felled. It bore +the appearance of a tract of ground through which a cyclone has +whirled its way. Great numbers of the trees had been dragged up to +form the rampart, but there were hundreds of others, as well as +innumerable roots and stumps, lugs and heads, lying in confusion +all around; and Rogers, pointing towards the encumbered tract just +beneath and around the rampart, looked at Pringle and said:</p> +<p>"How do you think a bayonet charge is to be rushed over such +ground as that? And what good will our musketry fire be against +those tough wooden walls, directed upon a foe we cannot see, but +who can pick us off in security from behind their breastwork? For +let me tell you that there is great skill shown in its +construction. On the inside, I doubt not, they can approach close +to their loopholes, which you can detect all along, and take easy +aim at us; but on this side it is bristling with pointed stakes, +twisted boughs, and treetops so arranged as to baffle and hinder +any attempt at assault. As I told your General, his cannon could +shatter it in a few hours, if he would but bring them to bear. But +a rampart like that is practically bayonet and musket proof. It +will prove impregnable to assault."</p> +<p>Pringle and Roche exchanged glances. They had seen something of +fighting before this, but never warfare so strange.</p> +<p>"Would that Lord Howe were living!" exclaimed the younger +officer. "He would have heard reason; he would have been advised. +But the General--"</p> +<p>He paused, and a meaning gesture concluded the sentence. It was +not for them to speak against their commander; but he inspired no +confidence in his men, and it was plainly seen that he was about to +take a very ill-judged step.</p> +<p>It is the soldier's fate that he must not rebel or remonstrate +or argue; his duty is to obey orders and leave the rest. But that +night, as the army slept in the camp round the deserted sawmills, +there were many whose eyes never closed in slumber. Fritz saw the +veteran Campbell sitting in the moonlight, looking straight before +him with wide, unseeing eyes; and when the grey light of day broke +over the forest, his face was shadowed, as it seemed, by the +approach of death.</p> +<p>"I shall never see another sunrise," he said to Fritz, as the +latter walked up to him; "my span of life will be cut through here +at Ticonderoga."</p> +<p>Fritz made no reply. It seemed to him that many lives would be +cut short upon this fateful day. He wondered whether he should live +to see the shades of evening fall. He had no thought of quailing or +drawing back. He had cast in his lot with the army, and he meant to +fight his very best that day; but he realized the hopelessness of +the contest before them, and although, if the General could only be +aroused in time to a sense of his own blunder, and would at the +eleventh hour order up the cannon, and take those steps which might +ensure success, the tide of battle might soon be turned. Yet no man +felt any confidence in him as a leader, and it was only the +ignorant soldiers, unaware of what lay before them, who rose to +greet the coming day with hope and confidence in their hearts.</p> +<p>But it was something that they should start forth with so high a +courage. Even if they were going to their death, it was better they +should believe that they were marching forth to victory. They +cheered lustily as they received the order, which was to carry the +breastwork by a bayonet charge; and only the Rangers saw the grim +smile which crossed the face of Rogers as he heard that word +given.</p> +<p>Yet he and his gallant band of Rangers were in the van. They did +not shrink from the task before them, although they knew better +than others the perils and difficulties by which it was beset. They +had widened the path; they led the way. There was no more confusion +in the line of march.</p> +<p>The General remained behind at the sawmills, to direct the +operations of the whole army, as there were other slighter +enterprises to be undertaken upon the same day, though the assault +of the protecting rampart was the chief one. News was to be brought +to him at short intervals of the course the fight was taking. It +was Rogers' great hope that he would soon be made aware of the +impossibility of the task he had set his soldiers, and would send +instant and urgent orders for the cannon to be brought up to the +aid of his foot soldiers.</p> +<p>Full of hope and confidence the columns pressed forward, till +shortly after midday they emerged from the shelter of the forest, +and saw before them the broken space of open ground, with its +encumbering mass of stumps and fallen timber, and behind that the +grim rampart, where all looked still as death. They formed into +line quickly and without confusion and then, with an enthusiastic +cheer, made a dash for the barrier.</p> +<p>The Rangers and light infantry in front began to fire as they +advanced; but the main body of soldiers held their bayonets in +position, and strove after an orderly advance. But over such ground +order was impossible. They had to clamber, to scramble, to cut +their way as best they could. The twigs and branches blinded them; +they fell over the knotted roots; they became disordered and +scattered, though their confidence remained unshaken.</p> +<p>Then suddenly, when they were half across the open space, came +the long crack and blaze from end to end of the rampart; smoke +seemed to gush and flash out from one extremity to the other. Sharp +cries of agony and dismay, shouts and curses, filled the air. The +English fell in dozens amid the fallen trees, and those behind +rushed forward over the bodies of their doomed companions.</p> +<p>It was in vain to try to carry the rampart by the bayonet. The +soldiers drew up and fired all along their line; but of what avail +was it to fire upon an enemy they could not see, whilst they +themselves were a target for the grapeshot and musketballs which +swept in a deadly cross fire through their ranks? But they would +not fall back. Headed by the Rangers, who made rapid way over the +rough and encumbered ground, they pressed on, undaunted by the hail +of iron about them, and inflamed to fury by the fall of their +comrades around them.</p> +<p>It was an awful scene. It was branded upon the memory of the +survivors in characters of fire.</p> +<p>Fritz kept in the foremost rank, unable to understand why he was +not shot down. He reached the rampart, and was halfway up, when he +was clutched by the hands of a man in front, who in his death agony +knew not what he did, and the two rolled into the ditch +together.</p> +<p>For a moment all was suffocation and horror. Unwounded, but +buried and battered, with his musket torn from his grasp, Fritz +struggled out through the writhing heap of humanity, and saw that +the head of the column had fallen back for a breathing space, +though with the evident intention of re-forming and dashing again +to the charge.</p> +<p>The firing from the rampart still continued; but Fritz made a +successful dash back to the lines, and reached them in safety. He +was known by this time as an experienced Ranger, and was taken +aside by Bradstreet, the officer in command of the light infantry +that with the Rangers headed the charge.</p> +<p>The gallant officer was wounded and breathless, and was seated +upon a fallen trunk.</p> +<p>"Neville," he said, "I know that you are fleet of foot and stout +of heart. I would have you return to the camp on the instant, with +a message for the General. Tell him how things are here, and that +this rampart is to the utmost as impregnable as Rogers warned us. +Our men are falling thick and fast, and although full of courage, +cannot do the impossible. Beg him to order the guns to be brought +up, for without them we are helpless against the enemy."</p> +<p>Fritz knew this right well, and took the message.</p> +<p>"We shall make another charge immediately," Bradstreet said in +conclusion. "We shall not fail to carry out our orders; but I have +little hope of success. We can do almost nothing against the +French, whilst they mow us down by hundreds. No men can hold on at +such odds for long. Go quickly, and bring us word again, for we are +like to be cut to pieces.</p> +<p>"You are not wounded yourself?"</p> +<p>"No; I have escaped as by a miracle. I will run the whole +distance and take the message. Would that the General had listened +to counsel before!"</p> +<p>Bradstreet made a gesture of assent, but said nothing. Fritz +sped through the forest, hot and breathless, yet straining every +nerve to reach his goal.</p> +<p>It was a blazing day where the shade of the forest was not +found, and this made the fighting all the harder. Fritz's heart was +heavy within him for the lives thrown away so needlessly. When he +reached the tent of the General, and was ushered into his presence, +burning words rushed to his lips, and it was only with an effort +that he commanded himself to speak calmly of the fight and deliver +the message with which he was charged.</p> +<p>General Abercromby listened and frowned, and looked about him as +though to take counsel with his officers. But the best of these +were away at the fight, and those with him were few and +insignificant and inexperienced.</p> +<p>"Surely a little resolution and vigour would suffice to carry an +insignificant breastwork, hastily thrown up only a few days ago," +he said, unwilling to confess himself in the wrong. "I will order +up the Highland regiments to your aid. With their assistance you +can make another charge, and it will be strange if you cannot carry +all before you."</p> +<p>Fritz compressed his lips, and his heart sank.</p> +<p>"I will give you a line to Colonel Bradstreet. Tell him that +reinforcements are coming, and that another concerted attack must +be made. It will be time enough to talk of sending for the +artillery when we see the result of that."</p> +<p>A few lines were penned by the General and entrusted to Fritz, +who dashed back with burning heart to where the fight still raged +so fiercely. He heard the bagpipes of the Highlanders skirling +behind as he reached the opening in the forest. He knew that these +brave men could fight like tigers; but to what avail, he thought, +were so many gallant soldiers to be sent to their death?</p> +<p>The fighting in his absence had been hot and furious, but +nothing had been done to change the aspect of affairs. Intrepid men +had assaulted the rampart, and even leaped upon and over it, only +to meet their death upon the other side.</p> +<p>Once a white flag had been seen waving over the rampart, and for +a moment hope had sprung up that the enemy was about to surrender. +The firing for that brief space had been suspended, the English +raising their muskets over their heads and crying +"Quarter!"--meaning that they would show mercy to the foe; the +French thinking that they were coming to give themselves up as +prisoners of war. The signal had merely been waved by a young +captain in defiance to the foe. He had tied his handkerchief to his +musket in his excitement, without any intention to deceive. But the +incident aroused a bitter feeling. The English shouted out that the +French were seeking to betray them, and the fight was resumed with +such fury that for a brief while the rampart was in real danger of +being taken, and the French General was in considerable +anxiety.</p> +<p>But the odds were too great. The gallant assailants were driven +back, and when Fritz arrived with his news there was again a slight +cessation in the vehemence of the attack.</p> +<p>Bradstreet eagerly snatched at the letter and opened it. Fritz's +face had told him something; the written words made assurance +doubly sure.</p> +<p>He tore the paper across, and set his foot upon it.</p> +<p>"We can die but once," he said briefly; "but it goes to my heart +to see these brave fellows led like sheep to the slaughter. England +will want to know the reason why when this story is told at +home."</p> +<p>The Highlanders were soon upon the scene of action filled to the +brim with the stubborn fury with which they were wont to fight. At +their head marched their Major, the dark-faced Inverawe, his son +only a little behind.</p> +<p>The arrival of reinforcements put new heart into the gallant but +exhausted regiments which had led the attack; and now the +Highlanders were swarming about the foot of the rampart, seeking to +scale its bristling sides, often gaining the top, by using the +bodies of their slain countrymen as ladders, but only to be cut +down upon the other side.</p> +<p>The Major cheered on his men. The shadow was gone from his face +now. In the heat of the battle he had no thought left for himself. +His kinsmen and clansmen were about him. He was ever in the van. +One young chieftain with some twenty followers was on the top of +the rampart, hacking and hewing at those behind, as if possessed of +superhuman strength. The Highlanders, with their strange cries and +yells, pressed ever on and on. But the raking fire from behind the +abattis swept their ranks, mowed them down, and strewed the ground +with dying and dead.</p> +<p>Like a rock stood Campbell of Inverawe, his eyes everywhere, +directing, encouraging, cheering on his men, who needed not his +words to inspire them with unquenchable fury.</p> +<p>Suddenly his tall figure swayed forward. Without so much as a +cry he fell. There was a rush towards him of his own clansmen. They +lifted him, and bore him from the scene of action. It was the end +of the assault. The Highlanders who had scaled the rampart had all +been bayoneted within. Nearly two thousand men, wounded or dead, +lay in that terrible clearing. It was hopeless to fight longer. All +that man could do had been done. The recall was sounded, and the +brave troops, given over to death and disaster by the incompetence +of one man, were led back to the camp exhausted and despairing; the +Rangers still doing good service in carrying off the wounded, and +keeping up a steady fire whilst this task was being proceeded +with.</p> +<p>General Abercromby's terror at the result of the day's work was +as pitiful as his mismanagement had been. There was no talk now of +retrieving past blunders; there was nothing but a general rout--a +retreat upon Fort Edward as fast as boats could take them. One +blunder was capped by another. Ticonderoga was left to the French, +when it might have been an easy prey to the English. The day of +disaster was not yet ended, though away in the east the star of +hope was rising.</p> +<p>It was at Fort Edward that the wounded laird of Inverawe +breathed his last. His wound had been mortal, and he was barely +living when they landed him on the banks of Lake George.</p> +<p>"Donald, you are avenged!" he said once, a few minutes before +his death. "We have met at Ticonderoga!"</p> +<h1>Book 4: Wolfe.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch4-1" id="Ch4-1">Chapter 1</a>: A Soldier At +Home.</h2> +<p>He lay upon a couch beneath the shade of a drooping lime tree, +where flickering lights and shadows played upon his tall, slight +figure and pale, quaint face. There was nothing martial in the +aspect of this young man, invalided home from active service on the +Continent, where the war was fiercely raging between the European +powers. He had a very white skin, and his hair was fair, with a +distinct shade of red in it. It was cut short in front, and lightly +powdered when the young man was in full dress, and behind it was +tied in the queue so universally worn.</p> +<p>He was quite young still, barely thirty years old; yet he had +seen years of active service in the army, and had achieved no small +distinction for intrepidity and cool daring. He had won the notice +already of the man now at the helm of state, whose eyes were +anxiously fixed upon any rising soldier of promise, ready to avail +himself of the services of such to sustain England's honour and +prestige both on land and sea.</p> +<p>James Wolfe was the son of a soldier, and had been brought up to +the profession of arms almost as a matter of course. Yet he seemed +a man little cut out for the life of the camp; for he suffered from +almost chronic ill-health, and was often in sore pain of body even +though the indomitable spirit was never quenched within him. His +face bore the look of resolution and self mastery which is often to +be seen in those who have been through keen physical suffering. +There were lines there which told of weary days and nights of pain; +but there was an unquenchable light in the eyes that invariably +struck those who came into contact with the young officer. He had +already learned the secret of imparting to his men the enthusiasm +which was kindled in his own breast; and there was not a man in his +company but would gladly have laid down his life in his service, if +he had been called upon to do so.</p> +<p>Today, however, there was nothing of the soldier and leader of +forlorn hope in his aspect. He lay back upon his couch with a +dreamy abstraction in his gaze. The gambols of his canine +favourites passed unnoticed by him. He had been reading news that +stirred him deeply, and he had fallen into a meditation.</p> +<p>The news sheet contained a brief and hasty account of the loss +of Fort William Henry, with a hint respecting the massacre which +had followed. No particulars were as yet forthcoming. This was but +the voice of rumour. But the paragraph, vague as it was, had been +sufficient to arouse strange feelings within the young officer. He +had let the paper fall now, and was turning things over in his own +mind.</p> +<p>One of the articles had said how needful it was becoming for +England to awake from her lethargy, and send substantial aid to her +colonies, unless she desired to see them annihilated by the +aggressions of France. National feeling against that proud foe was +beginning to rise high. The Continental war had quickened it, and +Wolfe, who had served against the armies of France in many a +closely-contested battle, felt his pulses tingling at the recital +of her successes against England's infant colonies.</p> +<p>Men were wanted for the service, the paper had said--men of +courage and proved valour. We had had too many bunglers already out +there; it was now time that men of a different stamp should be +forthcoming.</p> +<p>In his ears there seemed beaten the sound of a question and its +reply. Where had he heard those words, and when?</p> +<p>"Who will go up to battle against this proud foe?"</p> +<p>"Here am I; send me."</p> +<p>The light leaped into his eyes; his long, thin hands clasped and +unclasped themselves as stirring thoughts swept over him. He knew +that there was a great struggle impending between England and her +French rival upon the other side of the world. Hitherto his +battlefields had been in Europe, but a voice from far away seemed +to be calling to him in urgent accents. Away in the West, English +subjects were being harried and killed, driven like helpless sheep +to slaughter. How long was it to continue? Would the mother country +be content that her provinces should be first contracted and then +slowly strangled by the chains imposed by the boundless ambition of +France? Never, never, never! The young officer spoke the words +aloud, half raising himself from his couch as he did so.</p> +<p>There was a rising man now at the helm of the state; he had not +the full powers that many desired to see. He had to work hand in +hand with a colleague of known incapacity. Yet the voice of the +nation was beginning to make itself heard. England was growing +enraged against a minister under whose rule so many grievous +blunders had been committed. Newcastle still retained his position +of foremost of the King's advisers, but Pitt now stood at his side; +and it was understood that the younger statesman was to take the +real command of the ship of state, whilst his elder associate +confined himself to those matters in which he could not well do +harm.</p> +<p>"If only it had come three years earlier," breathed +Wolfe--"before we had suffered such loss and disgrace!"</p> +<p>The young soldier knew that an expedition had been fitted out a +few months ago for Louisbourg in Acadia--that French fortress of +Cape Breton which alone had been able to resist the English arms. +The capture of Louisbourg had been the one thing determined upon by +the tardy government for the relief of their colonies in the +Western world. It had been surmised that this action on their part +would draw away the French troops from the frontier, and thus +relieve the colonists from any pressing anxiety; but although there +had been little definite news from the fleet so far, it began to be +reared that the Admirals had mismanaged matters, and that no blow +would be struck this season.</p> +<p>September had come--a hot, sunny, summer-like month in England. +But Wolfe had heard something of the rock-bound coasts of Cape +Breton, and he was well aware that if the furious equinoctial gales +should once threaten the English fleet, no Admiral would be able to +attempt an action by sea, or even the landing of the troops.</p> +<p>Young Wolfe had one friend out With the expedition, and from him +he had received a letter only a short time ago, telling him of all +the delays and procrastinations which were already beginning to +render abortive a well-planned scheme. It made his blood boil in +his veins to think how the incapacity of those in command doomed +the hopes of so many to such bitter disappointment, and lowered the +prestige of England in the eyes of the whole civilized world.</p> +<p>"If Pitt could but have a free hand, things would be different!" +exclaimed Wolfe again, speaking aloud, as is the fashion of lonely +men. "But the King is beginning to value and appreciate him, and +the nation is learning confidence. The time will come--yes, the +time will come! Heaven send that I live to see the day, and have a +hand in the glorious work!"</p> +<p>As he spoke these words he observed a certain excitement amongst +the dogs playing around him, and guessed that their quick ears had +caught sounds of an arrival of some sort. In a few minutes' time +his servant approached him, bearing a letter which he handed to his +master, who opened it and cast his eyes over its contents.</p> +<p>"Are the two gentlemen here?" he asked.</p> +<p>"Yes, sir; they asked that the letter might be given to you, and +that they might wait until you had read it."</p> +<p>"Then show them out to me here, and bring us coffee," said +Wolfe, whose face had put on a look of considerable eagerness and +animation; and as the servant retired towards the house, the +soldier remained looking after him, as though wistful to catch the +first glimpse of the expected guests.</p> +<p>In a few minutes they appeared in the wake of the servant. Both +were quietly dressed in sober riding suits; but there the +resemblance ended. One of the pair was a very tall man, with fair +hair cut short all round his head, and a pair of large blue-grey +eyes that had a trick of seeming to look through and beyond the +objects upon which they were bent, and a thoroughly English type of +feature; whilst his companion was more slightly built, albeit a man +of fine proportions, too, with a darker face, more chiselled +features, and hair dressed according to the prevailing mode, +lightly powdered in front, and tied in a queue behind.</p> +<p>Wolfe rose slowly to his feet, his brow slightly contracting +with the effort. Upon his face there was a very attractive smile, +and he held out his hand in turn to the two newcomers.</p> +<p>"You are very welcome, gentlemen--more welcome than I can say. I +am grateful to my friend Sir Charles for giving me this opportunity +of making your acquaintance. It has been my great wish to speak +face to face with men who have lived in that great land whither all +eyes are now turning. Be seated, I pray you, gentlemen, and tell me +which of you is Mr. Julia Dautray, and which Mr. Humphrey +Angell."</p> +<p>"My name is Dautray," answered the dark-eyed man. "We have +travelled to England together, my friend and I, but have also been +in France, to visit some of those there still bearing my name, +although my immediate forefathers have lived and died in the lands +of the far West. We have met with much kindness in this country, +and have some time since accomplished the mission on which we were +dispatched. Our thoughts are turning once more towards the land of +our birth. Had we not been in France at the time, we would gladly +have accompanied the expedition which set sail for Louisbourg not +long since."</p> +<p>"I cannot regret that you failed to do so," answered Wolfe, in +his winning way, "since it has brought me the pleasure of this +visit. I trust, gentlemen, that you will honour me by being my +guests for a few days at least. There is very much that I desire to +learn about the lands from which you come. My friend Sir Charles +speaks as though you were wanderers upon the face of the earth. If +that be so, I may hope that you will stay your wanderings meantime, +and make my home yours for a while."</p> +<p>"You are very kind, Captain Wolfe," said Julian gratefully; "if +it be not trespassing too far upon your hospitality, we should be +glad and grateful to accept it."</p> +<p>"The honour will be mine," said Wolfe; "I have long desired to +know more of that world beyond the seas. Hitherto I have seen +nothing save my own country, and a few of those which lie nearest +to it. But I have the feeling within me that the time is coming +when I shall be sent farther afield. Men will be needed for the +strife which must soon be waged on the far side of the Atlantic, +and it may be that I shall be chosen as one of those who will go +thither."</p> +<p>"That is what Sir Charles said when he gave us this letter for +you," said Julian. "He said that Mr. Pitt had named you once or +twice as a rising officer, likely to be chosen for service there. +That is why Sir Charles thought that a visit from us would be +welcome. I do not know whether we can give you any news which you +have not heard already; but we can at least answer such questions +as to the country and its life as may be interesting to you, though +it is now two years since we sailed from its shores."</p> +<p>Into Wolfe's eyes there had leaped a bright light.</p> +<p>"Spoke Sir Charles such words of me?" he said eagerly. "Has Mr. +Pitt named me as likely for this service?"</p> +<p>"So it was told us," answered Julian. "We came to England in the +early spring of last year, with letters and urgent appeals to +friends in England from their kinfolk beyond the sea. We went from +place to place, as our directions were, and saw many men and heard +much hot discussion; but it seemed hard to get a hearing in high +places, and for a while we thought we had had our journey in vain. +Nevertheless they would not let us go. One and another would keep +us, hoping to gain introduction to some influential man, in whose +ears we could tell our tale. And so matters went on, and we were +passed from place to place, always well treated and well cared for. +In the spring we went to France, though we were warned of danger, +because of the war. But we met with no hurt. Humphrey passed as my +servant, and I have French blood in my veins, and can speak the +language as one born there. Nor did we go to any large centres, but +contented ourselves with the remote spots, where I found kinsfolk +of mine own name living still. And we reached England again only +two months ago."</p> +<p>"And then?"</p> +<p>"There was more excitement then. The fleet had sailed for +Louisbourg; men's hearts were stirred within them. Tales of fresh +atrocities along the border had reached home. Anger against France +was stirred up by the war. It was then we were brought before Sir +Charles Graham, and told our tale to him. He is the friend of Mr. +Pitt, and he came back to us many times to learn more of what we +had to tell of the difficulties of the provinces, and of the apathy +that prevailed there, even though terrible things Were passing +daily close by.</p> +<p>"It was he who at last bid us go to you. He said you were his +friend, and would make us welcome for his sake and ours. And when +he gave us this letter, he told us the words of Mr. Pitt respecting +you."</p> +<p>"And have you other news besides?" asked Wolfe eagerly. "When +left you London? And is it yet known there whether this rumour of +fresh disaster is true? See, there is the Western news sheet; it +speaks of a disquieting rumour as to the fall of Fort William +Henry, our outpost on Lake George. Have fresh tidings been +received? for if that place fall, we are in evil case indeed."</p> +<p>Julian gravely shook his head.</p> +<p>"The rumour is all too true. Had you not heard? A fast-sailing +vessel has brought it to Southampton--the evil tidings of disaster +and death. The fort held out bravely through a terrible cannonade; +but no relief was sent, and the walls were battered down. There was +nothing for it but surrender. The garrison obtained honourable +terms; but the French either could not or would not restrain their +Indian allies. Surrender was followed by a brutal massacre of the +hapless soldiers and their wives and children. It is horrible to +read the story of the atrocities committed. We have seen Indians at +their hideous work. We know, as you in this land never can do, what +it is like."</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes flashed fire.</p> +<p>"A surrendered garrison massacred! and the French stood by and +suffered it!"</p> +<p>"The account is confused. Some say they did try without avail; +some that they were callous and indifferent; some that they did +much to avert the horrors, and saved large numbers of victims out +of their clutches. But they did not succeed in stopping an awful +loss of life. The pages of history will be stained dark when the +story of that day is written!"</p> +<p>"Ay, truly!" cried Humphrey, in his deep, resonant voice, +speaking for the first time; "the page of history should be written +in characters of blood and fire. I have seen the work of those +savage fiends. I have seen, and I shall remember to the last day of +my life!"</p> +<p>"Tell me," said Wolfe, looking straight at the stalwart youth, +whose lips had slightly drawn themselves back, showing the firm +line of the white teeth beneath.</p> +<p>Humphrey had told his tale many times during the past months. He +told it to Wolfe that day--told it with a curious graphic power, +considering that his words were few, and that his manner was +perfectly quiet.</p> +<p>A red flush mounted into Wolfe's face, and died away again. He +drew his breath through, his teeth with a slightly whistling sound. +With him this was a sign of keen emotion.</p> +<p>"You saw all that?"</p> +<p>"With my own eyes. I am telling no tale of hearsay. And men have +tales yet more horrid to tell--tales to which a man may scarce +listen for the horror and the shame. This is the way the Indians +serve the subjects of the English crown at the bidding of the +servants of France!"</p> +<p>Wolfe raised his right hand, and let it slowly drop again.</p> +<p>"May Heaven give to me the grace," he said, in a voice that +vibrated with tense feeling, "to go forth to the succour of my +countrymen there--to fight and to avenge!"</p> +<p>After that there was silence for a while, and the servant came +and brought coffee, and took orders for the entertainment and +lodging of the guests. When he had gone Wolfe was calm again, and +listened with keen interest to the story they had to tell of their +arrival in Pennsylvania, and of the extraordinary apathy of the +colonists in the eastern towns, and the difficulty of arousing them +to any concerted action with their own countrymen in the +neighbouring provinces, even for the common defence.</p> +<p>Wolfe knew something of that, and of the causes at work to bring +about such a result. He talked with more comprehension and insight +as to the state of infant colonies, partially self-governed and +self-dependent, struggling out of leading strings, and intent upon +growing to man's estate, than anybody had hitherto done.</p> +<p>"We shall never have a second Canada out there such as France +has won--a country wholly dependent upon the one at home, looking +always to her for government, help, care, money. No, no; the spirit +of those who went forth from England was utterly different. They +are English subjects still, but they want to rule themselves after +their own way. They will never be helpless and dependent; they will +be more like to shake our yoke from off their necks when they +arrive at man's estate. But what matter if they do? We shall be +brothers, even though the sea roll between them. The parent country +has sent them forth, and must protect them till they are able to +protect themselves, even as the birds and the beasts of the fields +defend their young. After that we shall see. But for my part I +prefer that struggling spirit of independence and desire after +self-government. It can be carried too far; but it shows life, +energy, youth, and strength. If Canada were not bound hand and foot +to the throne of the French tyrant, she would be a more formidable +foe to tackle than she can show herself now."</p> +<p>"Yet she has done us grievous hurt. We seem able to make no +headway against her, in spite of our best efforts."</p> +<p>"Let us see what better efforts we can make then," cried Wolfe, +with eager eyes. "Best! why, man, we have done nothing but +procrastinate and blunder, till my ears tingle with shame as I read +the story! But we are awakening at last, and we have a man to look +to who is no blunderer. The tide will turn ere long, you will see; +and when it does, may I be there to see and to bear my share!"</p> +<p>Julian looked at the gaunt, prostrate form of the soldier, and +said gravely:</p> +<p>"But you are surely in no fit state for military service?"</p> +<p>Wolfe threw back his head with a little gesture of impatience, +and then smiled brightly.</p> +<p>"This carcass of mine has been a source of trouble and pain to +me from my boyhood, and there come moments when I must needs give +it a little rest. But yet I have found that it can carry me through +the necessary fatigues with a vigour I had scarcely expected of it. +It is being patched up again after a hard campaign; and now that +the summer has closed, nothing can be set afoot till the spring +comes. By that time I shall be fit for service once more, you will +see. I am taking the waters of Bath with sedulous care. They have +done much for me as it is. Soon I trust to be hale and sound once +more."</p> +<p>"Have you been wounded, sir?"</p> +<p>"Many times, but not seriously; only that everything tells when +one is afflicted by such a rickety body as this," and the young +officer smiled his peculiarly brilliant smile, which made the chief +charm of his pale, unusual face. "I got both a wound and a severe +strain in my last campaign, which has bothered me ever since, and +still keeps me to my couch the greater part of the day. But +rheumatism is my chronic foe; it follows me wherever I go, lying in +wait to pounce upon me, and hold me a cripple in its red-hot iron +hand. That is the trouble of my life on the march. It is so often +all but impossible to get through the day's work, and yet it is +wonderful how the foe can be held at bay when some task has to be +done whether or not.</p> +<p>"But a truce to such talk! A soldier has other things to think +of than aching joints and weary bones. A man can but once die for +his country, and that is all I ask to do. That mine will not he a +long life I feel a certain assurance. All I ask is the power to +serve my country as long as I am able, and to die for her, sword in +hand, when the hour has come."</p> +<p>The eyes kindled and the smile flashed forth. Julian and +Humphrey looked into the face of the man whom they had heard +described as one of the most promising and intrepid young officers +of the English army, and felt a thrill of admiration run through +them. The frame was so frail and weak and helpless; but the +indomitable spirit seemed as though it would be able to bear its +master through any and every peril which duty might bid him +face.</p> +<p>They had consented to be his guests for a few days; but it had +not occurred to them that this visit would be prolonged to any +great length, and yet thus it came about.</p> +<p>Colonel Wolfe and his wife, the mother of whom the young soldier +often spoke in tender and loving terms, were detained from +rejoining their son, as they had purposed doing before the winter +came. Colonel Wolfe had a property of his own in Kent, and his +presence was wanted there. The son was compelled to remain in the +neighbourhood of Bath for the sake of his shattered health. They +had intended all spending the winter there together in the pleasant +house they had taken; but this soon became impossible, and it was +then that Wolfe said to his new friends, with that quaint look of +appeal in his eyes which they had come to know by this time:</p> +<p>"Could you two be persuaded to take pity upon a capricious and +whimsical sick man, and be his companions through the winter +months? Then with the spring, when we know what is to be done for +the succour of our comrades in the West, we will make shift to go +forth to their assistance. If you will stay with me till then, I +will promise you shall not lack fitting equipment to follow the +army when it sails hence."</p> +<p>There was nothing the two companions desired more by that time +than to remain with Wolfe, the charm of whose personality had by +that time quite fascinated them. They felt almost like brothers +already. It was upon Humphrey's strong arm that Wolfe would take +his daily walk into the town for the needful baths or water +drinkings. It was Julian who read to him the news of the day, and +they all discussed it eagerly together. Moreover, he saw to the +drilling and training of these two fine men with the keenest +interest and enthusiasm. They had the making in them of excellent +soldiers, and showed an aptitude which delighted him for all sorts +of exercises and feats of arms.</p> +<p>The war fever permeated the whole country by that time, and +training and drilling were going on all around. It was easy for the +travellers to pick up all that was needful to them of comprehension +as to military terms and commands. Hours were spent by themselves +and Wolfe over books and maps in the library, whilst he fought over +again with them campaign after campaign--those where he had served, +and those before his time with which he had close acquaintance; and +they entered more and more into the spirit of martial exercise, +learning to comprehend military tactics and the art of war as they +had never done before.</p> +<p>Meantime the news from the Western world was all bad. The +attempt upon Louisbourg had been abortive, owing to the tardiness +of the English Admiral, of London the Governor out there, and the +early storms which had obliged the fleet to retire even when it had +mustered for the attack.</p> +<p>"It is shameful!" cried Wolfe with flashing eyes, as the news +was made known; "England will become the laughingstock of the whole +world! Fort Oswego lost, William Henry lost, and its garrison +massacred! Louisbourg left to the French, without a blow being +struck! Shame upon us! shame upon us! We should blush for our tardy +procrastination. But mark my word, this will be the last such +blunder! Pitt will take the reins in his own grasp. We shall see a +change now."</p> +<p>"I trust so," said Humphrey grimly; "it is time indeed. I know +what these attacks against Louisbourg will mean for those along the +frontier--death, disaster, more Indian raids, less power of +protection. The Governor will draw off the levies which might come +to their assistance for the work at Louisbourg. The French will +hound on the Indians to ravage more and more. We shall hear fresh +tales of horror there before the end comes."</p> +<p>"Which we will avenge!" spoke Wolfe, between his shut teeth. "It +shall not always be said of England that she slept whilst her +subjects died!"</p> +<p>With the turn of the year active preparations began to be +discussed, and Wolfe to receive letters from headquarters. All was +now excitement in that household, for there was no doubt that +England's great minister was going to take active measures, and +that the day of tardy blundering was to be brought to an end.</p> +<p>Wolfe was found one day in a state of keen excitement.</p> +<p>"I have heard from Mr. Pitt myself!" he cried, waving the paper +over his head. "He has taken the great resolve, not only to check +the aggressions of France upon the border, but to sweep her out +from the Western world, till she can find no place for herself +there! That is the spirit I delight in; that is the task I long to +aid in; that is the one and only thing to do. Leave her neither +root nor branch in the world of the West! If we do, she will be a +thorn in our side, a upas tree poisoning the air. Let Canada be +ours once for all, and we have no more to fear!"</p> +<p>Humphrey and Julian exchanged glances of amaze. Such a scheme as +this seemed to smack of madness.</p> +<p>"You think it cannot be done, my friends? England has done +greater feats before."</p> +<p>"But there is Quebec," said Julian gravely; "I have heard that +it is a fortress absolutely impregnable. And Quebec is the key of +Canada."</p> +<p>"I know it," answered Wolfe, with a light in his eyes, "I know +it well. I have seen drawings; I have heard descriptions of it. +That it will be a nut hard to crack I do not doubt. But yet--but +yet--ah, well, we may not boast of what we will do in the future. +Let it suffice us first to take Louisbourg from the foe. But that +once done, I shall know no rest, day or night, till I stand as +victor at the walls of Quebec!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch4-2" id="Ch4-2">Chapter 2</a>: Louisbourg.</h2> +<p>"Do not leave Gabarus Bay until I have effected a landing!"</p> +<p>So spoke Admiral Boscawen; and when the word was known, a cheer +ran through the squadron from end to end.</p> +<p>Brigadier Wolfe had struggled up upon deck, looking white and +ghostlike, for he had suffered much during the voyage; but when +that word reached him, the fire leaped into his eyes, and he turned +an exultant look upon his friends, and exclaimed:</p> +<p>"That is an excellent good word; that is the spirit which +inspires victory!"</p> +<p>Yet it was no light thing which was to be attempted, as no one +knew better than Wolfe himself; for he had been out in a boat upon +the previous day with Major General Amherst and his comrade +Brigadier Lawrence, reconnoitring the shore all along the bay, and +they had seen how strongly it was commanded by French batteries, +and how difficult it would be to land any body of troops there.</p> +<p>To their right, as they looked shorewards, stood the town and +grim fortress of Louisbourg, boldly and commandingly placed upon +the rocky promontory which protects one side of the harbour, +running out, as it were, to meet another promontory, the extremity +of which is called Lighthouse Point. These two promontories almost +enclose the harbour of Louisbourg; and midway between them is Goat +Island, upon which, in the days of warfare of which we are telling, +a strong battery was placed, so that no enemy's ship could enter +the harbour without being subjected to a murderous crossfire, +enough to disable and sink it.</p> +<p>Within the harbour were a number of French ships, which, in +spite of a feeble attempt at blockade earlier in the year by some +English and American vessels, had succeeded in making their way +thither with an ample supply of provisions for the garrison.</p> +<p>To force an entrance into the harbour was manifestly impossible +at the present juncture of affairs. The only hope lay in effecting +a landing in the larger bay outside, where lay the English fleet; +and the shore had been reconnoitred the previous day with a view of +ascertaining the chances of this.</p> +<p>The report had not been encouraging. The French batteries were +well placed, and were well furnished with cannon. It would be +difficult enough to land. It would be yet more difficult to +approach the citadel itself; but the experienced eyes of Wolfe and +others saw that the only hope lay in an attack from the landward +side. The dangerous craggy shore was its best protection. On land +there were ridges of high ground from which it might be stormed, if +only guns could be carried up. That would be a task of no small +danger and difficulty; but courage and resolution might win the +day; and Amherst was a commander of a different stamp from the +hesitating Abercromby, who was at that very time mustering his +troops with a view to the attack upon Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>"It is a fine fortress," said Wolfe to Julian, as they stood +surveying the place from the raised deck of the vessel. "You cannot +see much from here; the distance is too great. But they have +batteries well posted on every height all along the bay; and as for +the fortress and citadel, I have seldom seen such workmanship. Its +bastions, ramparts, and glacis are a marvel of engineering. It may +well be called the Dunkirk of the Western world. It will be a hard +nut to crack; but I never believe there is a fortress which English +valour cannot suffice to take!"</p> +<p>The resolution to land the troops once made, arrangements were +speedily set in order. There were three places along the bay where +it might he possible to effect a landing--White Point, Flat Point, +and Freshwater Cove--all on the west of the town. To the east there +was an inlet where it might be possible to land troops, though +perilously near the guns of the citadel. It was resolved to make a +feint here, and to send parties to each of the three other points, +so as to divide and distract the attention of the enemy. Wolfe was +to take command of the landing at Freshwater Cove, which was the +spot where Amherst most desired to make his first stand, and here +the most determined attempt was to be made. The Commander came and +conferred with his Brigadier as to the best method of procedure, +and left him full powers of command when the moment should +come.</p> +<p>Julian and Humphrey were with Wolfe, and had been his companions +and best friends upon the voyage out. They had both obtained +commissions, partly through the influence of the Brigadier; and +were eager to see warfare. Julian had been Wolfe's nurse and +attendant during the voyage, and the bond which now united them was +a strong and tender one. Wolfe bad suffered both from seasickness +and from a renewal of the former strain, and looked even now but +little fit for the enterprise upon which he was bound; but no +physical weakness had ever yet hindered him in the moment of peril +from doing his duty, and his eyes flashed with the old fire, as he +spoke of what was about to take place.</p> +<p>"Let us but once gain possession of that battery," he cried, +pointing to the guns frowning grimly over Freshwater Cove, "and +turn the guns against their present masters, and we shall have +taken the first step. Once let us get foot upon this shore, and it +will take more than the cannonade of the Frenchmen to get us off +again."</p> +<p>Eagerly did the fleet await the moment of attack; but their +patience was rather severely tried. Gale first and then heavy fog, +with a tremendous swell at sea, detained them long at their +anchorage, and one good ship struck upon a rock, and was in +considerable danger for a while.</p> +<p>Wolfe suffered much during those days; but his spirit was as +unquenchable as ever, and as soon as the stormy sea had gone down a +little, was eager for the enterprise.</p> +<p>"Let us but set foot ashore, and I shall be a new man!" he +cried. "I weary of the everlasting heaving of the sea; but upon +shore, with my sword in my hand, there I am at home!"</p> +<p>The sea grew calm. There was still a heavy swell, and the waves +broke in snowy surf upon the beach; but the attempt had become +practicable, and the word was given overnight for a start at +daybreak. The men were told off into light boats, such as could be +taken close inshore; whilst the frigates were to approach the +various points of real or feigned attack, and open a heavy +cannonade upon the French batteries.</p> +<p>Julian and Humphrey found themselves in boats alongside each +other. Humphrey was an Ensign, whilst Julian had been made a +Lieutenant. They belonged to the flotilla commanded by Wolfe, and +were directing some of the boats which were upon the right +extremity of the little fleet.</p> +<p>The hearts of the men were beating high with excitement and the +anticipation of stern work before them. The guns looked grimly +forth from the heights above the shore. All was yet silent as +death; still it was impossible to think that the French were +ignorant of the concerted movement about to be made against +them.</p> +<p>A roar from the shore, behind and to their right, told them that +already the battle had begun in other quarters. The sailors set +their teeth and rowed their hardest. The boats shot through the +great green waves.</p> +<p>Suddenly the smoke puffed out from the batteries in front. There +was a flash of fire, and in a few seconds a dull roar, with +strange, screaming noises interspersed. The water became lashed by +a storm of shot, and shrieks of human agony mingled with the noise +of the battle. It was a deadly fire which fell hot around the +devoted little fleet; but Humphrey and Julian, away to the right, +were a little out of range, and slightly protected by a craggy +ridge. No man of their company had been killed; but they saw that +along the line of boats terrible havoc was being wrought.</p> +<p>They saw Wolfe's tall, thin figure standing up and making signs. +He was waving his hand to them now, and Humphrey exclaimed in his +keen excitement:</p> +<p>"We are to land behind the crag and rush the guns!"</p> +<p>In a moment the half-dozen or more boats of this little +detachment were making for the shore as hard as the rowers' arms +could take them. It was hard work to land amongst the breakers, +which were dashing into snowy surf along the beach; but perhaps the +surf hid them from their enemies a little, for they were not +hindered by any storm of shot or shell. They landed on the beach, +formed into a compact body, and headed by Major Scott and some bold +Highland soldiers, they dashed up the slope towards the +battery.</p> +<p>But now they were in the midst of a hail of bullets. It seemed +to Humphrey as though hell's mouth had opened. But there was no +thought of fear in his heart. The battle fury had come upon him. He +sprang within the battery and flung himself upon the gunners. +Others followed his example. There was a tremendous hand-to-hand +fight-- French, Indians, English, Scotch, all in one struggling +<i>melee</i>; and then above the tumult Wolfe's clarion voice +ringing out, cheering on his men, uttering concise words of +command; and then a sense of release from the suffocating pressure, +a consciousness that the enemy was giving way, was flying, was +abandoning the position; a loud English cheer, and a yell from the +Highlanders, the sound of flying footsteps, pursuers and pursued; +and Humphrey found himself leaning against a gun, giddy and blind +and bewildered, scarcely knowing whether he were alive or dead, +till a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and a familiar voice said +in his ear:</p> +<p>"Well done, Ensign Angell. They tell me that we owe our +victorious rush today to your blunder!"</p> +<p>"My blunder?"</p> +<p>"Yes; you mistook my signal. I was ordering a retreat. It would +not have been possible to land the men under that deadly fire. I +could not see, from my position, the little shelter of the crag. I +had signalled to draw out of the range of the guns. But your +mistake has won us the day."</p> +<p>Humphrey, half ashamed, half exultant, was too breathless to +reply; Julian came hastening up; and Wolfe hurried away to see to +the landing of the guns and stores, now that the enemy had made a +full retreat upon the fortress.</p> +<p>"You are not wounded, Humphrey?"</p> +<p>"I think not. I have only had all the breath knocked out of me; +and the guns seem to stun one. Have they really left us in +possession of the battery? And does not Wolfe say that, when once +we get a footing on the shore, we will not leave till Louisbourg is +ours?"</p> +<p>Triumph filled the hearts alike of soldiers and sailors. All day +long they worked waist deep in the surf, getting ashore such things +as were most needed, intrenching themselves behind the battery, +clearing the ground, making a road up from the beach, and pitching +their tents.</p> +<p>At. night a cheer went up from their weary throats, for they saw +red tongues of flame shooting up, and soon it was known beyond a +doubt that the French had fired one of their batteries, which they +had felt obliged to abandon; and this showed that they had no +intention of attacking the bold storming party which had +established itself at the Cove.</p> +<p>At sea the guns roared and flashed all day and all night. The +air was full of sounds of battle. But the wearied soldiers slept in +their tents, and by day worked might and main at the task of making +good their position. They extended the line of their camp, they +built redoubts and blockhouses, they routed skirmishing parties of +Indians and Acadians hiding in the woods and spying upon them, and +they strengthened their position day by day, till it became too +strong a one for the enemy to dare to approach.</p> +<p>Every day the men toiled at their task, cheered by items of news +from the shore. The battery on Goat Island was silenced, after many +days of hot fire from the English frigates. A French vessel had +fired in the harbour, and had been burned to the water's edge. The +garrison had sent a frigate with dispatches pressing for aid to +their governor in Canada. The frigate and dispatches fell into the +hands of the English, and much valuable information was gleaned +therefrom.</p> +<p>And day by day the camp stretched out in a semicircle behind the +town. It was a difficult task to construct it; for a marsh lay +before them, and the road could only be made at the cost of +tremendous labour, and often the fire of the enemy disturbed the +men at their work.</p> +<p>Wolfe was the life and soul of the camp all through this piece +of arduous work. If he could not handle pick and shovel like some, +his quick eye always saw the best course to pursue, and his keen +insight was invaluable in the direction of operations. Ill or well, +he was with and amongst his men every day and all day long, the +friend of each and every one, noticing each man's work, giving +praise to industry and skill, cheering, encouraging, inspiring. Not +a soldier but felt that the young officer was his personal friend; +not a man but would most willingly and gladly have borne for him +some of that physical suffering which at times was written all too +clearly in his wasted face.</p> +<p>"Nay, it is nothing," he would say to his companions, when they +strove to make him spare himself; "I am happier amongst you all. I +can always get through the day's work somehow. In my tent I brood +and rebel against this crazy carcass of mine; but out here, in the +stir and the strife, I can go nigh to forget it."</p> +<p>But Wolfe was soon to have a task set him quite to his liking. +He came to his quarters one day with eager, shining eyes; and so +soon as he saw him, Julian knew that he had news to tell.</p> +<p>"The batteries upon Lighthouse Point are next to be silenced. We +must gain the command of the harbour for our ships. If we can once +do that, the day will be ours. I am told off to this task, with +twelve hundred men. You and Humphrey are to go with me. We must +march right round the town, under cover of night, taking our guns +with us. By daybreak we will have them planted behind the French +battery; by night, if all goes well, we shall have gained +possession of it."</p> +<p>The troops were all drawn up in order for the night march, full +of hopeful anticipation. They had that kind of confidence in Wolfe +which the commander inspires who is not made but born. Humphrey, +whose skill in finding his way in the dark, and whose powers as a +guide had been tested before now, was sent on in advance with a +handful of men, to give warning of any impending peril to be passed +or encountered. He had the untiring energy of a son of the forest, +and the instinct which told him of the proximity of the foe before +he saw him.</p> +<p>But the march was uneventful in that way. The French had fallen +back upon the town. Their fears now were for the very fortress +itself, that fortress which they had so proudly boasted was +impregnable alike by land and sea! Before the dawn of the morning +Humphrey came back to the main body, seeking speech with Wolfe.</p> +<p>"They have abandoned their battery on Lighthouse Point. It is +ours without striking a blow. They have spiked their guns and gone! +We have only to take possession, mount our guns, and the command of +the harbour is ours!"</p> +<p>A shout of triumph went up from the men as this fact became +known. Gaily did they push on over the broken country, doing what +they could in passing to level the way for the transport of the +cannon in the rear. By dawn of day, they were full in sight of +their destination, and saw indeed that it was deserted, and only +awaited their taking possession. With shouts and cheers they +dragged up their guns and set them in position. They fired a salute +to tell their friends that all was well, and sent a few shots +flying amongst the French ships in the harbour, to the no small +consternation of the town.</p> +<p>But Wolfe could not be idle. The task set him had been +accomplished without his having to strike a blow.</p> +<p>"We must unite our line, and silence some of those batteries +that protect the town on the land side," he said to his men. "The +guns and the gunners, with a sufficient force for their protection, +will remain here. We have sterner work to do elsewhere; and whilst +we are pushing our lines nearer and nearer, I would I knew how they +are feeling within the walls of the town."</p> +<p>"Let me be the one to find that out and report," said Julian +eagerly.</p> +<p>"You, man! and how?"</p> +<p>"Let me try to make my way within the lines. We have French +prisoners; let me borrow the uniform of one. I can speak French as +easily as though it were my mother tongue, which, in sooth, perhaps +it is; for I might as well call myself French as English, although +I have always loved the English and cast in my lot with them. No +sentry can know the face of every soldier in the fortress. Let me +see if I cannot get within the walls, and bring you word again of +what is passing there!"</p> +<p>Wolfe stroked his face thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"It is a bold scheme, and I have a mind to take you at your +word; but I would not have you run into too great peril."</p> +<p>"I scarce think that I shall do so. I will have a care. In +truth, I should well enough like to see within those solid walls. +It is a wonderful fortress this. It might be good for us to know +its strength or its weakness, if weakness it has. I would but +remain a couple of nights, and then return and bring you word +again."</p> +<p>"I should like to hear the report right well," answered Wolfe. +"I only wish I could accompany you myself."</p> +<p>"That would never do. Yours is too valuable a life to risk; mine +is worth but little to any man save myself."</p> +<p>"I fear rather that I should be but a clog upon your movements," +answered Wolfe; "and no man would take me for a Frenchman, even +though I can speak the tongue indifferently well. Nor would Amherst +suffer me to make the attempt. We are all under obedience to our +superiors. But I will suffer you to go, if you think the risk not +too great. But have a care of yourself, Julian, have a care. You +have become a friend to me that I could ill spare. If aught of harm +befell you, the campaign would be clouded to me, even though +crowned with victory."</p> +<p>Julian pressed the hand he held, and for a moment there was +silence between the pair. Wolfe looked out before him, and said +musingly:</p> +<p>"Does it never seem strange to you, Julian, the thought that our +trade is one which makes us look upon the slaughter of our foes as +the thing most to be desired, whilst we have that in our hearts +which causes us to hate the very thought of suffering and death, +either for ourselves or for others; and when we see our foes +wounded and left upon the field of battle, we give them the care +and tending that we give our own men, and seek in every way to +allay their pain and bring them help and comfort?"</p> +<p>"Yes, truly; war is full of strange paradoxes," answered Julian +thoughtfully. "Sometimes I think that war, like all other ills, +comes to us as a part of the curse which sin has brought into the +world. We cannot get away from it yet. There be times when it is +right to fight--when to sit with folded hands would be a grievous +and a cowardly action on the part of a nation. Yet we know that it +is God's will that we should love our brethren, and we know that He +loves all. So when we see them helpless and suffering, we know that +we are right to tend and care for them, and that to do otherwise +would be a sin in His sight. And we know, too, that the day will +come when wars will cease, when Christ will come and take the power +and rule, and when we shall see Him in His glory, and the kingdoms +of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His +Christ."</p> +<p>Deep silence fell upon them both, and then Wolfe spoke +gently.</p> +<p>"That would, indeed, be a glorious day! though I, a soldier +trained to arms, say it. But I fear me I shall never live to see +it."</p> +<p>Julian was silent awhile, and then said slowly:</p> +<p>"We cannot tell. Of that day and hour knoweth no man. All we +know is that it will come, and will come suddenly. I have lived +amongst those who looked to see it from day to day. They had been +waiting and watching for the Lord's coming through hard upon a +century, they and their fathers before them. The hope was beginning +to fade and die out. Priests had come amongst them who bid them +think of other things, and look no farther than the sacrifice of +the Mass, daily offered before their eyes. And yet I used to feel +that the other was the fuller, more glorious hope. I think I shall +cherish it always."</p> +<p>"I would were I you," answered Wolfe in a low voice. "I think it +is that which has made you different from other men. I think that +if I were to be dying, Julian, I should like to hold your hand in +mine and feel that you were near."</p> +<p>Then the two friends pressed each other by the hand, and walked +back to the camp. As Julian had said, there were many French +prisoners there, brought in from time to time after skirmishes. +They were treated exactly the same as the English wounded, and +Wolfe made a point of visiting them daily, talking to them in their +own tongue, and promising them a speedy exchange when any +negotiation should be opened with the town. Julian, too, went much +amongst them, able to win their confidence very easily, since he +seemed to them almost like a brother. It was quite an easy thing +for him to disguise himself in the white uniform of a French +soldier, and to creep, under cover of the darkness, closer and +closer to the wall of the town.</p> +<p>It so chanced that he could not have chosen a better night for +his enterprise. The booming of guns across the harbour and from the +batteries behind had now become constant, and attracted little +notice from sentries or soldiers beyond range. But just as darkness +began to fall, a shell from Wolfe's newly-planted battery fell upon +one of the French ships in the harbour, and set her on fire. The +glare rose in the sky, and suddenly there was the sound of an +explosion, sparks rose in dense clouds into the air, and the ship +plunged like a wild creature in terror, broke from her moorings, +and drifted alongside a sister ship. The flames spread to her +rigging, and in a few minutes both were ablaze; and before the +affrighted and bewildered crews could do anything to prevent it, a +third vessel had become involved in the conflagration, and the town +was illumined by the pillars of flame which shot up from the still +waters of the harbour.</p> +<p>All was confusion and dismay, for the French had no ships to +spare. Four had been deliberately sunk in the harbour's mouth to +prevent the entrance of the English, and here were three all in a +blaze. The soldiers and inhabitants rushed madly down to the +water's edge to seek to stay the conflagration, and Julian, seizing +his opportunity, rushed through the gateway with a small detachment +of men from one of the outside batteries, and found himself within +the town without having been so much as challenged.</p> +<p>Down to the water's edge with the rest he rushed, shouting and +gesticulating with the best of them. His uniform prevented his +being even so much as looked at. To all appearance he was a French +soldier. He did not hesitate to mingle in the crowd, or avoid +conversation with any. Very soon he found he was working with the +rest in the hopeless endeavour to save the doomed vessels; and he +was helpful in getting off some of the half-stifled sailors, +dashing upon deck quite a number of times, and bringing back in his +strong arms the helpless men who had been overpowered by the flames +before they could make their escape.</p> +<p>It was work which Julian loved; for saving life was more to his +taste than killing. He toiled on, cheering up his comrades, till +all that could be saved were placed upon shore; and when he stepped +at last upon the quay after the last voyage to the burning ships, +he found himself confronted by a fine soldierly man, whose dress +and manner bespoke him a personage of some importance.</p> +<p>"Well done, my good fellow," he said approvingly; "I shall not +forget your gallantry tonight. You doubtless belong to one of the +vessels, since I have no knowledge of your face. You had better +come up to the citadel, where you shall receive refreshment and a +place to rest in. We want all the soldiers we can get for the +defence of the town, since we are in evil case between foes on land +and foes on the sea."</p> +<p>Julian saluted, and spoke a few words of thanks, and the crowd +bore him towards the citadel.</p> +<p>"Who was it that spoke to me?" he asked of his next neighbour; +and the man replied with a laugh:</p> +<p>"Why, Governor Drucour to be sure! Are you blind with the smoke, +my friend? A very gallant governor and soldier he is, as you should +know. And as for Madame, his wife--ah, well, you must see her to +understand!"</p> +<p>Nor was Julian long in understanding something of what was meant +by this unfinished sentence; for he and his companions had not been +long seated at table, with a good meal before them, when the door +opened, and a tall, elegant lady entered the room, leaning on the +arm of the Governor, and instantly the whole company rose, whilst a +shout went up:</p> +<p>"Long live the Governor! Long live Madame his wife! Long live +the King!"</p> +<p>The lady came in, and motioned to the company to be seated. She +walked up and down amongst them, speaking brave words of thanks and +cheer; and halting beside Julian, she made him quite a little +special speech, telling him how she had heard that he had been the +foremost of all in seeking to save the lives of those who might +otherwise have perished in the flames.</p> +<p>No questions were asked of him, for the excitement was still +strong, and it was taken for granted that he had come off one of +the burning ships. The men were all talking together, with the +volubility of their race, and Julian took just enough share in the +conversation to avoid suspicion.</p> +<p>Besides, why should he be suspected? He looked in every respect +a Frenchman. And had he not risked his life more than once that +night to save those left on board the vessels?</p> +<p>The next morning he was able to take an excellent view of the +citadel and town. He was amazed at the strength of the place. In +one sense of the word it was well nigh impregnable. From the water +it could scarcely be touched; but the ridges above, now in the +possession of the English, were a source of weakness and peril; and +now that the enemy was pushing nearer and nearer, under cover of +their own guns, it was plain that the position was becoming one of +grave peril. A very little more and the English would be able to +shell the whole town and fortress from the land side; and though +the soldiers within the citadel were full of hope and confidence, +the townsfolk were becoming more and more alarmed, and spoke openly +together of the probable fall of the place.</p> +<p>They told Julian much that he desired to know, as did also the +soldiers within the citadel. He was listening to them, when a +sudden cry reached them, and a cheer went up, mingled with cries of +<i>"Vive Madame! vive Madame le General</i>!"</p> +<p>Julian looked round, and saw that Madame Drucour had come out +upon the ramparts, and was preparing with her own hands to fire off +one of the great guns. This she did amid the applause of the +soldiers, and the man standing beside Julian said with +enthusiasm:</p> +<p>"Madame comes here every day, no matter the weather or the +firing, and walks round the ramparts, and fires off one or more of +the guns, to keep us in heart. She is a brave lady. If all soldiers +and townsfolk had her spirit, there would be no talk of +surrendering Louisbourg."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch4-3" id="Ch4-3">Chapter 3: Victory.</a></h2> +<p>"Julian! Is that you I see? Truly I had begun to fear that some +misfortune had befallen you. So you have been within the walls of +the town, and have returned safe and sound? Your face is a very +welcome one, my friend!"</p> +<p>Wolfe stretched out his hand, which was eagerly grasped by +Julian. It was a still, close evening, and the sullen booming of +the guns continued without abatement. So used had the ears of +besiegers and besieged grown to that sound of menace, that it was +hardly heeded more than the roar of the surf upon the shore.</p> +<p>Wolfe was lying in his tent, looking white and worn, as was +generally the case after the labours of the day were ended. His +indomitable spirit bore him gallantly through the working hours of +the long, hot days; but night found him exhausted, and often too +suffering to sleep. Julian had been his best companion at such +times as these, and he had missed him a good deal these past +days.</p> +<p>"I have been within the city and citadel, and have returned safe +and sound," answered Julian, throwing off the cloak he wore over +his white French uniform. "It cannot be long before the place +surrenders. Our guns are doing fearful havoc. Fires break out, as +you must see, continually. The King's Bastion was almost all +consumed yesterday. The hearts of the townspeople are growing faint +within them. The officers and soldiers are bold, and show a +cheerful front; but they begin to know that sooner or later they +will have to throw up the game."</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes kindled with martial joy.</p> +<p>"It is the turn of the tide, the turn of the tide!" he +exclaimed, his whole face instinct with anticipation of triumph. +"The English flag has been trailed in the dust, humiliated, +vanquished; but she shall wave aloft over yon proud fortress, which +men have called impregnable. And if there, why not over Quebec +itself?"</p> +<p>Then, whilst he made Julian refresh himself with food and drink, +he bid him tell all the story of his visit to Louisbourg: how he +had obtained entrance, what he had seen and heard, and what opinion +he now held as to the position of the foe and the chances of the +siege.</p> +<p>Wolfe was much delighted with the anecdotes related of the +courage and kindness of Madame Drucour.</p> +<p>"The Commander shall hear of that. Brave lady! I would not that +she should suffer needless hurt. Tell me, Julian, are they in need +of food or wine or any such thing within the walls? I would gladly +send to the brave Madame some token of goodwill and +appreciation."</p> +<p>"They are well victualled; but I heard Madame say that the sick +were suffering somewhat from scurvy, and that she wished she had +fruit to distribute amongst them. Some of them have come off the +ships, where the illness is frequent. Madame Drucour visits the +sick constantly, and dresses their wounds with her own hands when +the surgeons are busy. And, indeed, they need all the help they can +get, for the sick and wounded increase upon their hands daily."</p> +<p>"They shall have fruit!" cried Wolfe eagerly. "We had a ship +arrive to help the squadron, and she came laden with pines from the +West Indies. We will send in a quantity to Madame Drucour under a +flag of truce. We may be forced to fight our fellow men, but we +need not forget that they are of the same flesh and blood as +ourselves. An honourable foe is second only to a friend."</p> +<p>"Madame will be grateful for any such act of courtesy, I am +sure," replied Julian. "She is a noble lady--gracious, beautiful, +and brave. She spoke good words to me, little knowing who I was. It +made me feel something treacherous to accept her courtesies, +knowing myself for a spy. But yet I have not hurt them by my +spying; I can see that the defence cannot long be maintained by +those within the walls. Beyond that I have little to say. The fires +by day and night tell of the destruction and havoc our guns are +making. It needs no spy to report that."</p> +<p>General Amherst was keenly interested next day in hearing the +story Julian had to tell, and was ready and eager to send a present +of fruit and other dainties for the sick to Madame Drucour. Under +cover of a flag of truce the convoy was dispatched, and for half a +day the guns on both sides ceased firing.</p> +<p>In addition to the fruit the General sent a very polite letter +to the lady, expressing his regret for the annoyance and anxiety +she must be experiencing, and sending a number of small billets and +messages from wounded Frenchmen in their hands to their friends in +the city.</p> +<p>The messengers returned bearing with them a basket and a note. +The basket contained some bottles of choice wine for the General's +table, and the letter, written by Madame Drucour herself, was +couched in terms of courtesy and gratitude. She declared that the +fruit for the sick was just the very thing she had been most +desiring, and wondered what bird of the air had whispered the +message into the ear of the noble English officer. As for the war +itself, deplorable as it must always be, the knowledge that they +were fighting against a generous and worthy foe could not but be a +source of happiness; and, in conclusion, the lady added that they +had within the walls of Louisbourg a surgeon of uncommon skill with +gunshot wounds, and that his services should always be at the +command of any English officer who might desire them.</p> +<p>"That is like her!" exclaimed Julian to Wolfe, when the terms of +the letter were made known. "She is a very noble and gracious lady, +and I trust and hope no hurt will come to her. But she exposes +herself to many perils in the hope of cheering and heartening up +the men. They all fight better for the knowledge that she is near +them; and she goes her daily rounds of the ramparts, be the firing +ever so hot!"</p> +<p>The cannon were roaring again now from both lines of batteries. +The doomed fortress was holding out gallantly, and had as yet given +no sign of surrender.</p> +<p>Wolfe was hard at work, day after day, drawing his lines closer +and closer. His military genius showed itself in every disposition +of his lines and batteries. He saw at a glance exactly what should +be done, and set to work to do it in the best possible way.</p> +<p>"How many ships have they in the harbour?" he asked of Julian, +two days after his return from the town.</p> +<p>"Only two of any size--the <i>Bienfaisant</i> and the +<i>Prudent</i>. The rest have been sunk or destroyed."</p> +<p>"I think we had better make an end of those two," said Wolfe +thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"It might not be a task of great difficulty, if it could be done +secretly," said Julian. "The soldiers are mostly on land. They need +them more in the citadel than on board; and they think the ships +are safe, lying as they do under their own batteries. If we could +get a dull or foggy night, we might make a dash at them. We can +enter the harbour now that the Island battery is silenced and the +frigate <i>Arethuse</i> gone. They say the sailors on board the +ships are longing for a task. They would rejoice to accomplish +something of that sort."</p> +<p>"Get me ready a boat, and you and Humphrey row me out to our +fleet yonder," said Wolfe, looking out over the wide expanse of +blue beyond the harbour. "I will speak of this with the Admiral, +and see what he thinks of the undertaking."</p> +<p>They rowed him out from Flat Point to the flagship, and put him +on board. It was a fine sight to see the great battleships anchored +in the bay, ready to take their part in the struggle at a word of +command. But the French fleet had done little or nothing to harass +them. They were complete masters of the deep. Even the ships in the +harbour had not ventured out, and now only two of them +remained.</p> +<p>"There will be none tomorrow, if this sea mist comes down," said +Wolfe, with a little grim smile, as he entered the boat again. "Row +me to the harbour's mouth; I would take a look for myself at the +position of the vessels."</p> +<p>The sun was shining brilliantly upon land, but over the sea +there was a little haze, which seemed disposed to increase. It had +been so for two or three days, the fog coming thicker at night. +Wolfe looked keenly about him as he reached the mouth of the +harbour. He did not attempt to enter it, but sat looking before him +with intent, critical gaze.</p> +<p>"I see," he remarked, after a pause. "Now row me once more to +the flagship, and so back. The thing can be done."</p> +<p>Promptitude was one of Wolfe's characteristics; he never let +grass grow under his feet. If the thing was to be done, let it be +done at once; and the British tar is never a laggard when there is +fighting or adventure to be had!</p> +<p>Julian and Humphrey volunteered for the service. Humphrey was a +favourite with the sailors, having been employed almost constantly +in carrying messages to and from the fleet, or in helping to land +transports. He was as expert now in the management of a boat as the +best of the jack tars, and was eager to take part in the daring +enterprise which was to be carried out that night.</p> +<p>Six hundred sailors, collected from different vessels, were to +be told off for the task. They set to work with hearty goodwill, +muffling their oars, and preparing for their noiseless advance into +the harbour. The guns would roar ceaselessly overhead. That would +do much to drown any sound from the water. Still, care and caution +would have to be exercised; for the batteries of the fortress +commanded the harbour, and the ships lay beneath their protecting +guns. If the little flotilla betrayed its approach by any unguarded +sound, it might easily be annihilated before ever it could approach +its goal. So that the task set the hardy sailors was not without +its distinct element of peril, which was perhaps its chiefest +attraction.</p> +<p>The shades of night gathered slowly over land and sea. It seemed +to Humphrey and some of those waiting in the boats as though night +had never fallen so slowly before. But their eyes were gladdened by +the sight of the soft fog wreaths which crept over the water as the +dusk fell, lying upon it like a soft blanket, and blotting out the +distance as much as the darkness could do.</p> +<p>It was not a heavy fog. The sailors were in no danger of losing +their way as they rowed, first for the harbour mouth, and then for +the two French warships at anchor beneath the batteries. But it was +thick enough to hide their approach from those on land. It was not +probable that even the crews of the vessels would be aware of their +close proximity till the word to board was given. Unless some +accidental and unguarded sound betrayed their advance, they might +in all likelihood carry all before them by a surprise movement.</p> +<p>Julian was in the same boat as the officer in command of the +expedition. His intimate knowledge of the position of the war +vessels would be of use in this murk and darkness. Humphrey took an +oar in the same boat; and the little fleet got together, and +commenced its silent voyage just as the clocks of the fortress +boomed out the midnight hour.</p> +<p>It was a strange, ghostly voyage. There was a moon in the sky +overhead, and the outlines of the hills and batteries, and even of +the fortress itself, could be distinguished wherever the ground +rose high enough; but wreaths of white vapour lay lazily along the +water, or seemed to curl slowly upwards like smoke from some fire, +and the boats rowed along in the encircling mist, only able to gain +glimpses from time to time of the moonlit world as a puff of wind +drove the vapour away from their path and gave them a transitory +outlook upon their surroundings.</p> +<p>The dull roar of the guns filled the air. Sometimes the +batteries were silent at night; but Wolfe kept things alive on this +occasion, in order to cover the approach of the boarding party. Now +the mouth of the harbour was reached, and the little fleet gathered +itself more compactly together, and the muffling of the oars was +carefully looked to. Directions as to the order to be observed had +been given before, and the boats fell into their appointed position +with quickness and accuracy.</p> +<p>Julian took the helm of the leading boat, and steered it across +the harbour towards the anchored vessels. He knew exactly where and +how they lay. And soon the little flotilla was lying compactly +together, its presence all unsuspected, within a cable's length of +the two battleships.</p> +<p>Now the time for concealment was over. The men seized their arms +in readiness. The boats dashed through the water at full speed. The +next moment hundreds of hardy British sailors were swarming up the +sides of the French vessels, uttering cheers and shouts of triumph +the while.</p> +<p>Humphrey and Julian were amongst the first to spring upon the +deck of the <i>Bienfaisant</i>. The startled crew were just rushing +up from below, having been made aware of the peril only a few +seconds earlier. Some of them were but half dressed; few of them +knew what it was that was happening. They found themselves +confronted by English sailors with dirk and musket. Sharp firing, +shouts, curses, cries, made the night hideous for a few minutes, +and then a ringing voice called out in French:</p> +<p>"Surrender the vessels, and your lives shall be spared."</p> +<p>It was Julian who cried these words at the command of the +officer, and there was no resistance possible for the overpowered +crew. The soldiers were on shore within the fort. They were but a +handful of men in comparison with their English assailants. It was +impossible to dispute possession.</p> +<p>"Take to your boats and go ashore, and you shall not be +molested," was the next cry; and the men were forced to obey, the +fighting having lasted only a very brief space: for it was evident +from the first that the English were masters, and needless carnage +was not desired by them.</p> +<p>Nevertheless the peril to the English sailors was by no means +over yet. The guns in the battery now opened fire upon the fleet of +boats, and a hailstorm of shot and shell raged round them; so that +the French sailors dared not leave the vessel, but crowded below +out of the hot fire, preferring to trust to the tender mercies of +their captors rather than to the guns of their countrymen.</p> +<p>"Tow her away under one of our own batteries," was the order, +given as coolly as though this leaden rain were nothing but a +summer shower.</p> +<p>Humphrey sprang to the side, and cut the cable which anchored +her to her moorings. Just at that moment a glow of light through +the fog fell across the deck, and looking up he saw a pillar of +flame rising from the water close at hand, and casting strange +lights and shadows upon the shifting mists which enwrapped +them.</p> +<p>"They have fired the <i>Prudent</i>!" exclaimed Julian. "Now we +shall have light for our task; but we shall be a better target for +the enemy's fire. We must lose no time. Cut loose the second cable; +we should be moving. See that the boats are all ready to tow us +along. What a grand sight that burning ship is!</p> +<p>"Ah, I see now. She is aground with the ebb tide. They could not +move her, so they have fired her instead. There are her boats +rowing for shore with her crew in them!"</p> +<p>It was a strange, grand sight, watching the flames enwrap the +doomed vessel from stem to stern, till she was one sheet of rosy +light. Even the guns from shore had ceased to fire for a brief +space, as though the gunners were watching the weird spectacle of +the illuminated fog, or were perhaps afraid lest their fire should +hurt their own comrades in the boats. But the English sailors took +advantage of the lull to set to their task of towing the +<i>Bienfaisant</i> with hearty goodwill.</p> +<p>"She moves! she moves!" cried Humphrey excitedly, standing at +the wheel to direct her course. "Well pulled, comrades--well pulled +indeed! Ah, their guns are going to speak again! They will not let +us go without a parting salute."</p> +<p>The batteries on shore opened their mouths, and belched forth +flame and smoke. The ship staggered beneath the leaden hail; but +the guns were too high to do mischief to the boats upon the water, +and the sailors replied by a lusty cheer. Julian wiped away a few +drops of blood that trickled down his face from a slight cut on his +temple; but for the most part the shot struck only the spars and +rigging, whistling harmlessly over the heads of the men on deck, +who laughed and cheered as they encouraged their comrades in the +boats to row their hardest and get beyond reach of the enemy's +fire.</p> +<p>Wolfe had planted a battery himself just lately which commanded +a part of the harbour, and beneath this sheltering battery the +<i>Bienfaisant</i> was towed, whilst the sailors cheered might and +main; and once out of reach of the enemy's fire, rested on their +oars and watched the grand illumination of the flame-wrapped +<i>Prudent</i>.</p> +<p>"If war is a horrible thing," said Julian reflectively to +Humphrey, "it has at least its grand sights. Look at the red glare +upon the shifting fog banks! Is it not like some wild diabolic +carnival? One could fancy one saw the forms of demons flitting to +and fro in all that reek and glare."</p> +<p>Humphrey's grave young face wore a rather stern look.</p> +<p>"I have seen other fires than that, and heard of those I have +not seen--fires the memory of which will live in my heart for years +and years! If we burn the vessels of the French, is it not because +they have hounded on the Indians to burn our homesteads, ay, and +with them our defenceless wives and children, mothers and sisters? +Shall not deeds like these bring about a stern retaliation? Are we +not here to take vengeance upon those who have been treacherous +foes, and shamed the Christian profession that they make? Shall we +pity or spare when we remember what they have done? The blood of +our brothers cries out to us. We do but repay them in their own +coin."</p> +<p>"Yes," returned Julian thoughtfully; "there is a stern law of +reaping and sowing ordained of God Himself. We may well believe +that we are instruments in His hands for the carrying out of His +purpose. Yet we must seek always to be led of Him, and not to take +matters into our own hands. 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith +the Lord.'"</p> +<p>"I believe He will," said Humphrey, with a flash in his eyes; +"but give it to me to be there to see!"</p> +<p>"As I think we shall," answered Julian, "for I believe that the +key of the war will lie next at Quebec. Whoever holds that, holds +the power in Canada, and from Canada can command the western +frontier. And the taking of Quebec is the object upon which the +mind of Wolfe is firmly set. You know how often he has said to us, +'If I could achieve that, I could say my <i>Nunc +Dimittis</i> with joy and thankfulness.' I believe in my heart +that he will live to see that glorious victory for England's +arms."</p> +<p>Wolfe was waiting upon the strand for the boat which brought +Julian and Humphrey back with the details of the victorious +enterprise. He grasped them both by the hand.</p> +<p>"Now I think that surrender cannot much longer be delayed, and, +in truth, I hope it will not be. News has reached us from the west +of some great disaster at Ticonderoga. It is but the voice of +rumour. A light fishing smack brought letters to the General this +evening, dated from Albany, and sent by special messenger. Nothing +definite is known; but they report a disastrous defeat, attributed +to the untimely death of Lord Howe quite early in the expedition. I +cannot say what truth there may be in this, but I fear some great +disaster has recently taken place. It has made the General and his +officers very stern and resolved. England's honour has been sorely +tarnished by these many defeats. But I believe her star will rise +again. Louisbourg at least must fall ere long."</p> +<p>Julian and Humphrey were both filled with sorrow and anxiety at +this piece of news. Charles and Fritz were both likely, they +thought, if living still, to be there with the army; and one was +anxious for news of his brother, and the other of his comrade and +friend.</p> +<p>"When Louisbourg is taken," said Humphrey, "I shall ask leave of +absence to go to seek my brother. My sister in Philadelphia will +give me tidings of him. I shall go thither, and come back when the +attempt upon proud Quebec is made."</p> +<p>"If I had my way, we should sail from Louisbourg straight for +Quebec," cried Wolfe, with a flash in his eyes. "I would follow up +one blow by another. Yet I know not whether our instructions will +carry us thus far. Nevertheless, I hope to live to see the day when +the English flag shall wave over the ramparts of that city and +fortress which has been called the Impregnable."</p> +<p>The news, rumour though it was and unconfirmed, of fresh +disaster to the English arms in the interior excited much feeling +in the English ranks. Had there been another massacre, such as had +disgraced the struggle at Fort William Henry? What would be the +next tidings which would reach them of their brethren in arms?</p> +<p>There had been so many tales of horror told out in the wild west +that strong men often shuddered at the bare thought of what they +might have to bear. So the faces of men and officers were alike +stern and dark; and when the white flag fluttered at last from the +walls of Louisbourg, and the news ran like wildfire through the +camp that the fortress was about to surrender, there was a feeling +in all hearts that the terms granted should not be too easy. France +owed England a deep and mighty debt, which sooner or later she must +pay.</p> +<p>Wolfe was sent for to be with General Amherst when he received +the deputation of the French, and he returned to his quarters +looking grave and thoughtful.</p> +<p>"We have told them that they must surrender as prisoners of war, +and send their reply within an hour. If they refuse, we attack at +once both by land and sea. We are all resolved that the siege shall +be brought to an end. If we could have been here a month earlier, +we might have effected a junction with our friends in the west, and +have averted the calamity which has overtaken them there."</p> +<p>"Will they accept?" asked Julian eagerly. "They are in a sore +strait, but yet they are brave men. They might, perhaps, have +looked to be permitted to march out with the honours of war after +their bold defence."</p> +<p>"Yes; and this would have been granted them had it not been for +what happened at Fort William Henry. But the memory of that day +cannot be wiped out from the memory of our officers, The General +was supported by the bulk of his officers. They will have no +conditions. They will treat the sick and the wounded and the towns +people with every consideration, but they will be absolute masters. +The Admiral was there, and he and the General signed the note. They +are resolved to abide by its contents."</p> +<p>Excitement reigned everywhere. The firing had ceased, and the +stillness of the air was like that which sometimes precedes the +bursting of a thunderstorm, What reply would the fort return? and +how quickly would it arrive? It was understood that, in the event +of delay, a general assault would be made, and some of the soldiers +would have eagerly welcomed the order for the advance.</p> +<p>Keen excitement prevailed when it became known that a messenger +had come, not bringing the expected reply, but one asking for less +rigorous terms.</p> +<p>"The General would not see him," was the cry. "He was sent back +to say that nothing would be changed from the last letter addressed +to the Governor. The Admiral and General are alike agreed. There +will be no wavering from that."</p> +<p>It was plain that there was some variance in the city itself. In +the ranks of the besieging force there was intense excitement and +stir. Every man was looking to his arms, save when he was asking +news and gazing towards the walls of the city. That something +decisive must soon be settled was apparent to all.</p> +<p>The white flag again! A messenger was coming out towards the +camp with the reply. He appeared in no haste, and paused again and +again to look back. Suddenly another man appeared running hastily +after him. The first messenger paused, consulted with him, and then +turned back towards the city. The second man ran on alone, making +vehement signs, as though afraid there might yet be some +misunderstanding.</p> +<p>"We accept! we accept!" he shouted out, waving a paper above his +head, beside himself with excitement.</p> +<p>Two men followed him; they were taken into the tent of the +General, who, with the Admiral, was awaiting the final answer. But +the first messenger remained without, panting and exhausted, and +Julian instantly recognized him as an officer who had shown him +some kindness during his short stay within the fortress.</p> +<p>He came up to him now, and the recognition was mutual.</p> +<p>"So you were a spy all the while, my friend!" said the +Frenchman, with something like a grim laugh. "Had we known that, +you would have received a different welcome. Ah well, it matters +little now. And it is a pity for brave men to die like dogs. We +were in a sad pass before. You could not have told much that was +not already known."</p> +<p>"The fortress is ready to capitulate?"</p> +<p>"Not the fortress, but the town. Bad as our condition is, we +would not have surrendered on those terms. We had indeed dispatched +a messenger to say as much. But the Provost and the citizens were +too many for us. They ran to the citadel, and made such work that +the Governor yielded, and I offered, being fleet of foot, to run +after the messenger and stop him if it could be done. Luckily his +own heart misgave him, and he had not hurried. And close upon my +heels were sent others with more definite instructions. And thus +Louisbourg passes into the hands of gallant foes. But I trust they +will show every courtesy to our brave Madame."</p> +<p>"Have no fear on that score," answered Julian; "I have told in +the English camp of the bravery and gracious kindness of Madame le +General. Our commander will see that she is treated with every +consideration; as also the sick and wounded, her special charge. It +is well not to drive us to assault the weakened town. Now we shall +enter as friends rather than foes."</p> +<p>"So said the Provost, remembering that the English have much +cause of complaint against us. We cannot deny that ourselves. Ah +me! it is the chance of war. We have had our triumphs, and now you +have your turn. It is not here but at Quebec that the real trial of +strength will be. I think, my friends, you will find that you have +a hard nut to crack there."</p> +<p>"So they said of Louisbourg, and yet that has been done," +answered Julian, with a smile. "But come in, and refresh yourself +in my tent here whilst the messengers are conferring with our +General. They will have to draw up terms of capitulation. There +will be time to get a good meal whilst that is being done."</p> +<p>At dawn the following morning the drums beat. The English +soldiers got into order, and marched through the Dauphin gate into +the town. The French soldiers, drawn up in array, threw down their +muskets, and with tears of mortification marched away, leaving the +victors in possession.</p> +<p>The English flag was run up, amid wild cheering, and floated +over the grim and shattered ramparts. The turn of the tide had come +at last, and Louisbourg had fallen into the hands of the +English.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch4-4" id="Ch4-4">Chapter 4</a>: The Fruits Of +Victory.</h2> +<p>Wolfe lay upon a couch in a comfortable apartment, such as he +had not inhabited since he set sail from England months ago. It was +in the citadel itself--in the heart of the King's Bastion, where +the Governor had his quarters.</p> +<p>Wolfe had been the life and soul of the siege. To his genius and +indomitable resolution the victory of the English arms had been +largely due. He had forced himself to take the lead, and had toiled +night and day in the crisis of the struggle and the final triumph; +and even after the victors had marched in, his eyes seemed to be +everywhere, enforcing discipline, preventing any sort of disorder +or licence amongst the soldiers, and sternly repressing the +smallest attempt on their part to plunder the townsfolk, or take +the slightest advantage of their helpless condition.</p> +<p>He had specially seen to the condition of the sick and wounded, +insuring them the same care as was given to the English in like +case. This had been one of the articles of the capitulation, but it +was one which was in like cases too often carelessly carried out, +sometimes almost ignored.</p> +<p>Wolfe with his own eyes saw that there was no shirking, no +mismanagement here. He seemed to be everywhere at once during those +busy days which followed the entrance into the town. But outraged +nature would have her revenge at last, and for three days he had +lain helpless and suffering in the room assigned to him in the +Governor's house, watched over and tended by Julian, who had by +this time come to have a very adequate idea as to the treatment +most needed by him when those attacks came on.</p> +<p>The cool of the evening had followed upon the heat of a very +sultry day, which had greatly tried the sufferer. Wolfe looked up, +and saw his friend beside him, and smiled in recognition of his +attentions.</p> +<p>"You are always here, Julian; you must surely want rest +yourself. You have been here night and day. I know it even though I +may not seem to do so. But I shall be on my legs again soon. I can +feel that the access of pain is abating. How have things been going +in the town since I was laid by the heels?"</p> +<p>"Oh well, several vessels with their load of prisoners have +already sailed for England; many of the townsfolk and merchants +have started, or are starting, for France; some regiments of our +men are to be sent at once to reinforce General Abercromby. I fear +by all accounts that they will come too late to be of any real use +for the campaign this season. It is quite true that he suffered a +crushing defeat at Ticonderoga, due, as many of the officers say, +to bad generalship. Still he will doubtless be glad of support in +the wilderness, wherever he may be. Humphrey is to start with the +first detachment; he expects his orders for departure daily."</p> +<p>Wolfe raised himself upon his elbow and sat up, despite his +weakness, fired by excitement and energy.</p> +<p>"But Quebec, Quebec, Quebec!" he exclaimed; "surely we are going +forward to Quebec?"</p> +<p>Julian shook his head doubtfully.</p> +<p>"I fear me not at least this present season. I hear it said that +General Amherst was ready, but that the Admiral was against it for +the present. They say there is still much to do in subduing the +adjacent possessions of France in these lands, and so paving the +way for the greater enterprise. Various officers are to be sent +hither and thither upon expeditions to small settlements, to uproot +or destroy them. When this has been done, perhaps the move to +Quebec will be made. But I fear me it will not be before next +year."</p> +<p>Wolfe made a gesture of irritation and impatience.</p> +<p>"Have we not yet had enough of procrastination?" he questioned +bitterly. "Will England never learn the lesson which her reverses +should have taught her? What boots the victory we have gained here, +if it be not the stepping stone to lead us to Quebec?"</p> +<p>"Who speaks of Quebec?" asked a clear, musical voice at the +half-open door; and Julian sprang to his feet, exclaiming as he did +so:</p> +<p>"It is Madame Drucour! she has come every day to see and inquire +after you."</p> +<p>Hearing the sound of her name, the lady pushed open the door and +entered--a graceful, stately figure clothed all in black; her +beautiful face worn and pale, and trouble lurking in the depths of +her hazel eyes; yet calm and serene and noble of aspect as she +moved forward and held out a slim white hand to the patient.</p> +<p>"You are better, Monsieur?" she asked, in her full, rich tones. +"I trust that the suffering is less than it was. The fever, I can +see, has abated somewhat."</p> +<p>Wolfe carried the hand he held to his lips. In common with all +the officers who had made her acquaintance, Wolfe had come to have +a very high opinion of Madame Drucour.</p> +<p>"I thank you, gracious lady, for your condescension in asking. I +trust soon to be restored to such measure of health and strength as +I ever enjoy. At best I am but a cranky creature; but with quarters +such as these I should be worse than ungrateful if I did not mend. +I trust my presence here has caused you no inconvenience; for truly +I believe that I am in your house, and that I owe to you the +comforts I enjoy."</p> +<p>She gave a strange little smile as she seated herself beside +him.</p> +<p>"In truth, Monsieur, I know not what I may call my own today. +This town and fortress are now no longer ours, and we are but here +ourselves on sufferance--prisoners of war--"</p> +<p>"Nay, nay, not prisoners--not you, Madame," answered Wolfe +hastily. "We war not against women--least of all such noble ladies +as yourself!"</p> +<p>She acknowledged this speech by a little motion of the head, and +then continued, in a tone at once sorrowful and dignified: "I +cannot separate myself from those amongst whom I have lived for so +long. I acknowledge with gratitude the courtesy I have received +from all. I know that my personal liberty is assured to me. But my +heart will always be where there is need of help by my own +countrymen. If not a prisoner to the English, I am held in other +bonds."</p> +<p>"Ah yes," answered Wolfe, with an answering sparkle in his eye; +"that I understand well. We are all bound to our country in bonds +that cannot be severed. And yet we are bound to the common cause of +humanity, and there we meet on common ground. We need not remember +anything else at such a time, Madame. We serve in one army there. +Do not our wounded as well as your own bless the sight of your face +and the sound of your voice amongst them?"</p> +<p>"And have they not cause to bless the name of that brave officer +who, in spite of his own weakness and suffering, would not rest +until he had seen in person that all were cared for--foes as well +as friends? Yes, truly, Monsieur, in one warfare we can stand upon +the same side, and fight the same battle against disease and +suffering and death. I would that this were the only kind of +warfare that is known in the world!"</p> +<p>"And I too--sometimes," replied Wolfe, lying back again on his +pillows and looking dreamily out before him. "There are moments, it +is true, when the battle fever works in a man's blood, and war +seems to him then a glorious game. But it has its terrible and +hateful side, as every soldier knows well. And yet the day seems +far away when wars shall be no more."</p> +<p>"Indeed yes," answered Madame Drucour, with a little sigh; "we +have a sorrowful prospect before us yet. What was the word which I +heard you speak as I entered? Was it not of that projected march +upon Quebec?"</p> +<p>"It was," answered Wolfe frankly. "I may not deny, Madame, that +the longing of my heart at this moment is to try conclusions with +your gallant countrymen beneath the walls of Quebec."</p> +<p>"You are bold, Monsieur," said Madame Drucour, with a little +smile.</p> +<p>"You know Quebec, Madame?"</p> +<p>"Very well. It is there that I purpose going with my husband +when the exchange is completed which gives him his liberty. I have +relatives there, and I go to be with them when duty may call my +husband elsewhere. If you come to Quebec, Monsieur, we may +perchance meet again."</p> +<p>"It will be something happy to look forward to."</p> +<p>"There is always joy in feeling that the foe we fight is a noble +and generous one. I shall tell in Quebec how the English General, +though stern in his terms of capitulation, refused to me nothing +that I asked when once the town was given up, and how generously he +and all his officers showed themselves, and in especial +one--Brigadier Wolfe!"</p> +<p>The young man bowed at the compliment.</p> +<p>"And I, on my side, shall know that if Madame Drucour is within +the walls of Quebec, no garrison can fail to be gallant and +devoted. Such an example before their eyes would put heart and +heroism into the most faint hearted."</p> +<p>A very sincere liking grew up between Madame Drucour and her +guests before Wolfe was on his legs again, and able to return to +his quarters amongst his men. Indeed, his happiest hours were spent +in the company of that lady, for there was much to vex and try him +when in the camp.</p> +<p>There was to be no move upon Quebec that season and Wolfe chafed +rather bitterly at the decision, and wrote to General Amherst in +stronger terms than most subordinate officers would have ventured +to do. He even spoke of throwing up the service, if nothing were to +be done at such a critical time; but the General would not hear of +losing so valuable an officer, and indeed, in spite of the +irritability sometimes engendered by his ill-health, Wolfe was too +much the soldier at heart ever to abandon his calling.</p> +<p>It was, however, rather hard to one of his ardent and chivalrous +temperament, eager for the great blow to be struck against Quebec, +to be deputed to harry and destroy a number of little fishing +settlements along the Gulf of St. Lawrence--which measure he +considered a needless severity, and hated accordingly. It was a +relief to him to know that Pitt, having heard of his severe bout of +illness after the taking of Louisbourg, had summoned him back to +England to recruit his health.</p> +<p>"When we have finished our great exploit of robbing fishermen of +their nets and burning their huts, we will to England again, +Julian; and you will come with me, my trusty comrade and friend. If +we are spreading the terror of England's name here, we are not +adding to her laurels. Let me remain at home till there be real +warfare to accomplish, and then let me come out again. This task is +odious and sickening to me. Were it not that another might show +more harshness and barbarity over it, I would e'en decline the +mission."</p> +<p>Humphrey had already left Louisbourg for Philadelphia and the +western frontier; but Julian had elected to remain with Wolfe, who +had come to depend upon him in no small measure. There was +something in the temperaments of the two men which made them +congenial one to the other. Wolfe's restless irritability was +soothed by Julian's quiet calmness, and there was in both men a +strain of ardent patriotism and self devotion which gave them +sympathies in common.</p> +<p>Together they set sail for England when the soldier's work was +done, and after a fairly prosperous voyage they landed in that +country, and immediately started for Bath, where Wolfe hoped to +find relief from his rheumatic troubles, and gain the strength +which he had lost during this hard campaign.</p> +<p>"I think my mother will be awaiting me there this time," he +said, with a light in his eyes. "You have never seen my mother yet, +Julian. Ah, how I long to see her again! she has been such a mother +to me! There are times when I think if I have to give up this +profession of arms, and take to a quiet life, I could have a very +happy life at home with my mother. We suit each other so well, and +we are like each other in our foibles and weaknesses. I think I +have inherited my cranky health from her, but not her beauty. You +will see for yourself how little like her I am in that respect when +we get home."</p> +<p>To Julian, who had known nothing of the joys of home since he +left his valley in the far south of the Western world, and who had +no home to call his own now, there was something touching in the +eagerness of Wolfe to reach his home and his mother. His father was +not likely to be there. He would almost certainly be either in +Kent, or else abroad; for he still held a command in the army, and +the war on the Continent was still raging furiously. But the mother +would be awaiting her son in the house he had written to ask her to +secure for him again. It was within easy reach of the town, and yet +it was quiet and secluded, and suited his tastes and habits.</p> +<p>It was almost dark one murky autumn evening when the lumbering +coach, which had conveyed the friends the last stages of their +journey, drew up at the door of the house. Lights shone in the +windows, and from the open door there streamed out a glowing shaft +of yellow light, bespeaking the warm welcome awaiting the tired +traveller.</p> +<p>Wolfe had been weary to the verge of exhaustion when they had +abandoned the attempt to ride the whole distance, and had secured +the heavy coach; but now he seemed to revive to new life, and he +sprang from it with some of the activity of youth and strength.</p> +<p>"Mother--there is my mother!" he exclaimed; and Julian saw him +take the steps two at a time, to meet the advancing greeting from +the mother who had come to welcome home her son.</p> +<p>Mrs. Wolfe was a distinctly beautiful woman, whose beauty had +been but little dimmed by time. There was a sweet, matronly repose +about her, and the brightness of her red-gold hair was dashed with +streaks of soft grey beneath the laces with which it was crowned. +But her complexion was clear and fair, and there was a look of soft +fragility about her which made the son's protecting air of +solicitude a natural and appropriate one. She folded him in her +arms in a long, rapturous embrace; and Julian stood silently by the +while, reverent of that deep love which for the moment could find +no expression save in the whispered words:</p> +<p>"Mother! mother! mother!"</p> +<p>"My son--my dear boy! my son come back to me!"</p> +<p>When the lady turned at length to greet the silent figure who +stood silently watching this meeting, Julian could see that the +tears were standing upon her cheeks and sparkling in her eyes.</p> +<p>"You will pardon me, sir, for this apparent neglect," she said +sweetly, putting her thin jewelled fingers into Julian's hand; "but +when my boy goes forth to the fight, I never know whether it will +be God's will to send him back to me safe and sound. A mother's +heart cannot but be full upon a day like this. But second only to +my joy in welcoming him back is this of making acquaintance with +the trusty friend who has been so much to him during his perils and +labours."</p> +<p>"Madam, it has been the joy and honour of my life to be able to +serve so great a soldier and so noble a man!"</p> +<p>The warm clasp upon his fingers gave the mother's answer to +this; and then they all moved within the lighted hall, where a +glowing fire and a number of candles gave bright illumination, and +where quite a hubbub of welcome was going on. The servants were +pressing forward to see and greet their young master, who had come +home crowned with laurels. It was known by this time in England how +much of the success at Louisbourg had been due to Wolfe's unfailing +energy and intrepidity. He was a hero at home as well as abroad, +though he had hardly realized it yet. Moreover, he was vociferously +welcomed by his dogs, all of whom had been brought by his mother to +meet their master again; and he had much ado to return the manifold +greetings bestowed upon him, and to free himself at last from the +demonstrative affection of his canine friends.</p> +<p>A plentiful supper was awaiting the wearied travellers; and it +was when they had put in order their dress and entered the dining +room that they were aware of the presence of another lady, a very +handsome, dark-eyed girl, who stood beside the glowing fire +regarding their entrance with looks of unaffected interest.</p> +<p>"My dear," said Mrs. Wolfe, "let me present to you my son James, +of whom you know much, although you have never met; and his friend +and companion, Lieutenant Julian Dautray, whose name is equally +known to you.</p> +<p>"This, James, is Miss Kate Lowther, the daughter of an old +friend of ours, who has left her in my charge whilst he takes a +last voyage to Barbados, where once he was Governor, to be my +daughter and companion till he comes back to claim her."</p> +<p>The bright-eyed girl dropped a courtesy to the gentlemen, who +bowed low before her; but then holding out her hand frankly to +Wolfe, she said in a clear, fresh voice.</p> +<p>"I am so glad to see you, Cousin James. I am going to call you +that because I call your mother Aunt, and she has given me leave to +do so. I know so much about you from your letters. I have copied +every one of them to send to your father, for Aunt will not part +with the originals even for him! I know all about Louisbourg, and +the batteries, and the ships, and the big guns. Oh, I think if I +were a man I could become an officer at once, and command a great +campaign like that one! We had such rejoicings here when the news +came! it was like new life to us. We had heard of that dreadful +defeat at Ticonderoga, and it seemed as though England was never to +rise from the dust of humiliation. It was openly said that +Louisbourg would never fall; that it was as impregnable as Quebec. +Oh, there was such lugubrious talk! And then came the news of the +victory, and of Brigadier Wolfe's valiant and doughty deeds. You +may guess how your mother's eyes shone at that! And all England +echoed to the sound of your name!"</p> +<p>"A name more formidable in sound than in reality," spoke Wolfe, +laughing, but cheered and pleased by the sincere and pretty +enthusiasm of the winning girl. "When those who have kindly admired +me from the distance come to inspect me in person, what a shock +they will receive! We shall have to palm Julian here off as the +right man; he will play the part with much more dignity and +grace."</p> +<p>Kate looked from one to the other laughing.</p> +<p>"What do you expect me to say to that? Lieutenant Dautray looks +every inch a soldier; but I think, Cousin James, that you have the +air of the man born to command."</p> +<p>"In spite of my cropped red head and lanky limbs? I am proud of +the compliment paid me."</p> +<p>Wolfe was certainly rather taken aback to find himself a man of +so much mark when he showed himself in Bath. He had quite an +ovation when first he appeared at the Pump Room; and although he +was in a measure accustomed to lead a public life, and to be the +object of attention and even admiration, he shrank from having this +carried into his private life, and was happiest at home with his +mother and friend, and with bright Kate Lowther, with whom he soon +became wonderfully intimate.</p> +<p>The girl's sincere affection for his frail and delicate mother +would in any case have won his heart; but there was something +exceedingly attractive in her whole personality and in her eager +interest in his past career and in the fortunes of the war. She +would sit for hours beside him whilst he related to his mother the +incidents of the campaign, and her questions and comments showed a +quick intelligence and ready sympathy that were a never-failing +source of interest to him.</p> +<p>Her strength and vitality were refreshing to one who was himself +almost always weak and suffering. He would watch her at play with +the dogs in the garden, or up and down the staircase, and delight +in the grace and vigour of her movements. She would come in from +her walks and rides with a glow upon her face and a light in her +eyes, and sitting down beside him would relate all that had +befallen her since her departure an hour or two before--telling +everything in so racy and lively a fashion that it became the +chiefest pleasure of Wolfe's life to lie and look at her and listen +to her conversation.</p> +<p>Christmas was close upon them. It would be a bright and happy +season for mother and son, spent together after their long +separation. Upon the eve of that day Kate came eagerly in with a +large official letter in her hand, addressed to the soldier. It was +a moment of excitement whilst he opened it, for it was known that +he had been corresponding latterly with several ministers +respecting the proposed expedition against Quebec, and all knew how +dear to his heart was the fulfilment of that daring scheme.</p> +<p>As he read the document his cheek flushed. He sat up more erect +in his chair, and there came into his face a look which his +soldiers well knew. It was always to be seen there when he led them +into battle.</p> +<p>"Mother," he said very quietly, "Mr. Pitt has chosen me to +command the expedition now fitting out against Quebec."</p> +<p>Mrs. Wolfe gave a little gasp, the tears springing to her eyes; +but over Kate's face there spread a deep, beautiful flush, and she +grasped the young man by the hand, exclaiming:</p> +<p>"O Cousin James, how glad I am! What a splendid victory it will +be!"</p> +<p>"If it be won!" he said, looking up at her with kindling eyes. +"But there is always an 'if' in the case."</p> +<p>"There will be none when you are in command," answered Kate, +with a ring of proud assurance in her voice. "Had you been +commander of the Louisbourg expedition, Quebec would have been ours +by now."</p> +<p>Their eyes met. In hers he read unbounded admiration and faith. +It thrilled him strangely. It brought a look of new purpose into +his face. He held her hand, and she left it lying in his clasp. He +was holding it still when he turned to his mother.</p> +<p>"Are you not glad, mother mine?" he asked gently.</p> +<p>"Oh yes, my son--glad and proud of the honour done you, of the +appreciation shown of your worth and service. But how will you be +able to undergo all that fatigue, and the perils and sufferings of +another voyage? That is what goes to my heart. You are so little +fit for it all!"</p> +<p>"I have found that a man can always be fit for his duty," said +Wolfe gravely. "Is not that so, Kate?"</p> +<p>"With you it is," she answered, with another of her wonderful +glances; and the mother, watching the faces of the pair, rose from +her seat and crept from the room. Her heart was at once glad and +sorrowful, proud and heavy; she felt that she must ease it with a +little weeping before she could talk of this great thing with the +spirit her son would look to find in her.</p> +<p>Wolfe and Kate were left alone together. He got possession of +her other hand. She was standing before him still, a beautiful +bloom upon her face, her eyes shining like stars.</p> +<p>"You are pleased with all this, my Kate?" he asked; and he let +the last words escape him unconsciously.</p> +<p>"Pleased that your country should do you this great honour? Of +course I am pleased. You have deserved it at her hands; yet men do +not always get their deserts in this world."</p> +<p>"No; and you must not think that there are not hundreds of +better and braver men than myself in our army, or that I am a very +wonderful person. I have got the wish of my heart--it has been +granted to me more fully than I ever looked to see it; but how +often do we see in the hour of triumph that there is something +bitter in the cup, something we had not looked to find there. Three +months ago I was burning to sail for Quebec, and now--"</p> +<p>He paused for a moment, and she looked full at him.</p> +<p>"Surely you have not changed. You want to go; your heart is set +upon it!"</p> +<p>"Yes," he answered gravely: "my wish and purpose have never +wavered; but now my heart is divided. Once it beat only for my +country, and the clash of arms was music in my ears; now it has +found a rival elsewhere. If I go to Quebec, I must leave you +behind, my Kate!"</p> +<p>Suddenly into her bright eyes there sprang the smart of tears. +She clasped the hands that held hers and pressed them closely.</p> +<p>"It will not be for long," she said; "you will return covered +with glory and renown!"</p> +<p>"It may be so, it may be so; yet who can tell? Think how many +gallant soldiers have been left behind upon that great continent: +Braddock, Howe--oh, I could name many others less known to fame, +perhaps, but gallant soldiers all. We go out with our lives in our +hand, and so many never return!"</p> +<p>The tears began to fall slowly in sparkling drops. She could not +release her hands to wipe them away.</p> +<p>"Do not speak so, James; it is not like you! Why do you try to +break my heart?"</p> +<p>"Would you care so much, so much, were I to find a soldier's +grave?"</p> +<p>A quick sob was her reply. She turned her head away.</p> +<p>"Kate, do you love me?"</p> +<p>"I think you know that I do, James."</p> +<p>"I have begun to hope, and yet I have scarcely dared. You so +full of life and strength and beauty, and I such a broken +crock!"</p> +<p>"A hero, you mean!" she answered, with flashing eyes--"a soldier +and a hero; tenfold more a hero in that you overcome pain and +weakness, sickness and suffering, in the discharge of your duty, +and do things that others would declare impossible! Oh yes, I have +heard of you; Lieutenant Dautray has told me. I know how you have +done the impossible again and yet again. James, you will do this +once again. You will storm that great fortress which men call +impregnable--you will storm it and you will vanquish it; and you +will come home crowned with glory and honour! And I shall be here +waiting for you; I shall watch and wait till you come. It is +written in the book of fate that your name is to go down to +posterity as the hero of Quebec. I am sure of it--oh, I am sure! Do +not say anything to damp my hope, for I will not believe you!"</p> +<p>He looked into her face, and his own kindled strangely. "I will +say nothing but that I love you--I love you--I love you! Today that +is enough between us, Kate. Let the rest go--the honour and glory +of the world, the commission, and all besides. Today we belong to +each other; tomorrow we sing of peace on earth, goodwill toward +men. Let that suffice us; let us forget the rest. We will be happy +together in our love, and in love to all mankind. After that we +must think again of these things. Afterwards thoughts of war and +strife must have their place; but for once let love be lord of our +lives. After that storm and strife--and Quebec!"</p> +<h1>Book 5: Within Quebec.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch5-1" id="Ch5-1">Chapter 1</a>: The Impregnable +City.</h2> +<p>Within a lofty chamber, with narrow windows and walls of massive +thickness, stood a young, bright-haired girl, looking with dreamy +eyes across the wide waters of the great St. Lawrence, as it rolled +its majestic course some hundreds of feet below. Although that +mighty waterway narrowed as it passed the rocky promontory upon +which the city of Quebec was built, it was even there a wonderful +river; and looking westward, as the girl was doing, it seemed to +spread out before her eyes like a veritable sea. It was dotted with +ships of various dimensions bringing in supplies, or news of coming +help or peril--news of that great armament from distant England, +perhaps, whose approach was being awaited by all within the city +with a sense of intense expectancy, not entirely unmixed with +fear.</p> +<p>True, the soldiers laughed to scorn the idea of any attack upon +Quebec. It stood upon its rocky tongue of land, frowning and +unassailable, as it seemed to them. All along the north bank of the +lower river the French were throwing up earthworks and intrenching +their army, to hinder any attempt at landing troops there; and the +guns of the town batteries would soon sink and destroy any vessel +rash enough to try to pass the town, and gain a footing upon the +shores above. Indeed, so frowning and precipitous were these that +nature herself seemed to be sufficient guard.</p> +<p>"Let the English come, and see what welcome we have got for +them!" was a favourite exclamation from soldiers and townsfolk; yet +all the same there was anxiety in the faces of those who watched +daily for the first approach of the English sails. Had not +Louisbourg said the same, and yet had fallen before English +hardihood and resolution? Those in the highest places in this +Canadian capital best knew the rotten condition into which her +affairs had fallen. The corruption amongst officials, the jealousy +between Governor and General, the crafty self seeking of the +Intendant--these and a hundred other things were enough to cause +much anxiety at headquarters. The grand schemes of the French for +acquiring a whole vast continent were fast dwindling down to the +anxious hope of being able to keep what they already possessed.</p> +<p>The girl gazing forth from the narrow window was turning over in +her mind the things that she had heard. Her fair face was grave, +yet it was bright, too, and as she threw out her hand towards the +vista of the great river rolling its mighty volume of water towards +the sea, she suddenly exclaimed:</p> +<p>"And what if they do come? what if they do conquer? Have we not +deserved it? have we not brought ruin upon our own heads by the +wickedness and cruelty we have made our allies? And if England's +flag should one day wave over the fortress of Quebec, as it now +does over that of Louisbourg, what is that to me? Have I not +English--or Scotch--blood in my veins? Am I not as much English as +French? I sometimes think that, had I my choice, England would be +the country where I should best love to dwell. It is the land of +freedom--all say that, even my good uncle, who knows so well. I +love freedom; I love what is noble and great. Sometimes I feel in +my heart that England will be the greatest country of the +world."</p> +<p>Her eyes glowed; she stretched forth her hands in a speaking +gesture. The waters of the great river seemed to flash back an +answer. Cooped up within frowning walls, amid the buildings of the +fortress and upper town, Corinne felt sometimes like a bird in a +prison cage; and yet the life fascinated her, with its constant +excitements, its military environment, its atmosphere of coming +danger. She did not want to leave Quebec till the struggle between +the nations had been fought out. And yet she scarcely knew which +side she wished to see win. French though her training had been of +late years, yet her childhood had been spent in the stormy north, +amid an English-speaking people. She had seen much that disgusted +and saddened her here amongst the French of Canada. She despised +the aged libertine who still sat upon the French throne with all +the scorn and disgust of an ardent nature full of noble +impulses.</p> +<p>"I hate to call myself his subject!" she had been known to say. +"I will be free to choose to which nation I will belong. I have the +right to call myself English if I choose."</p> +<p>Not that Corinne very often gave way to such open demonstrations +of her national independence, It was to her aunt, Madame Drucour, +with whom she was now making a home, that she indulged these little +rhapsodies, secure of a certain amount of indulgence and even +sympathy from that lady, who had reason to think and speak well of +English gallantry and chivalry.</p> +<p>Madame Drucour occupied a small house wedged in amongst the +numerous strongly-built houses and ecclesiastical buildings of the +upper town of Quebec. The house had been deserted by its original +occupants upon the first news of the fall of Louisbourg. Many of +the inhabitants of Quebec had taken fright at that, and had sailed +for France; and Madame Drucour had been placed here by her husband, +who himself was wanted in other quarters to repel English advances. +The lady had been glad to summon to her side her niece Corinne, +who, since the state of the country had become so disturbed, had +been placed by her father and uncle in the Convent of the +Ursulines, under the charge of the good nuns there.</p> +<p>Corinne had been fond of the nuns; but the life of the cloister +was little to her taste. She was glad enough to escape from its +monotony, and to make her home with her father's sister. Madame +Drucour could tell her the most thrilling and delightful stories of +the siege of Louisbourg. Already she felt to know a great deal +about war in general and sieges in particular. She often +experienced a thrill of pride and delight in the thought that she +herself was about to be a witness of a siege of which all the world +would be talking.</p> +<p>As she stood at the window today, a footstep rang through the +quiet house below, and suddenly the door of the little chamber was +flung wide open.</p> +<p>"Corinne!" cried a ringing voice which she well knew.</p> +<p>She turned round with a little cry of joy.</p> +<p>"Colin!" she cried, and the next minute brother and sister were +locked in a fervent embrace.</p> +<p>"O Colin, Colin, when did you come, and whence?"</p> +<p>"Just this last hour, and from Montreal," he answered. "Oh, what +strange adventures I have seen since last we met! Corinne, there +have been times when I thought never to see you again! I have so +much to say I know not where to begin. I have seen our triumphs, +and I have seen our defeat. Corinne, it is as our uncle said. There +is a great man now at the helm in England, and we are feeling his +power out here in the West."</p> +<p>"Do you think the tide has turned against the French arms?" +asked Corinne breathlessly.</p> +<p>"What else can I think? Has not Fort Frontenac fallen? Has not +Fort Duquesne been abandoned before the advancing foe? Our realm in +the west is cut away from Canada in the north. If we cannot reunite +them, our power is gone. And they say that Ticonderoga and Crown +Point will be the next to fall. The English are massing upon Lake +George. They have commanders of a different calibre now. Poor +Ticonderoga! I grew to love it well. I spent many a happy month +there. But what can we do to save it, threatened as we are now by +the English fleet in the great St. Lawrence itself?"</p> +<p>"Are they not brave, these English?" cried Corinne, with an +enthusiasm of admiration in her face and voice. "Colin, I am glad, +oh very glad, that you and I are not all French. We can admire our +gallant foes without fear of disloyalty to our blood. We have cause +to know how gallant and chivalrous they can be."</p> +<p>Colin's eyes lighted with eager pleasure.</p> +<p>"You remember that day in the forest, Corinne, and how we were +protected by English Rangers from hurt?"</p> +<p>"Ah, do I not! And I have heard, too, from our Aunt Drucour, of +their kindness and generosity to a conquered army--"</p> +<p>But she stopped, and waited for her brother to speak, as she saw +that he had more to say.</p> +<p>"You remember the big, tall Ranger, whose name was Fritz?" he +said eagerly.</p> +<p>"Yes, I remember him well."</p> +<p>"He is here--in Quebec--in this house at this very minute! He +and I have travelled from Montreal with my uncle."</p> +<p>Corinne's eyes were bright with eager interest.</p> +<p>Ah, Colin! is that truly so? And how came that about? You +travelling with an English Ranger!"</p> +<p>"Yes, truly, and we owe our lives to his valour and protection. +It is strange how Dame Fortune has thrown us across each other's +path times and again during these past few short years. First, he +saved us from attack in the forest. You need not that I should tell +you more of that, Corinne. Afterwards, some few of us from +Ticonderoga saved the lives of him and of a few other Rangers who +had fallen into the hands of the Indians after that defeat at Fort +William Henry, which had scattered them far and wide. We felt such +shame at the way our Indian allies had behaved, and at the little +protection given to the prisoners of war by our Canadian troops, +that we were glad to show kindness and hospitality to the +wanderers, Rangers though they were; and when I recognized Fritz, I +was the more glad. He was wounded and ill, and we nursed him to +health ere we sent him away. After that it was long before we met +again, and then he came to our succour when we were in the same +peril from Indians as he had been himself the year before."</p> +<p>"From Indians? O brother!" and Corinne shuddered, for she had +that horror of the red-skinned race which comes to those who have +seen and heard of their cruelties and treachery from those who have +dwelt amongst them.</p> +<p>"Yes, you must know, Corinne, that in the west, where our uncle +goes with the word of life and truth, the Indians are already +wavering, and are disposed to return to their past friendship with +the English. They are wonderfully cunning and far-seeing. They seem +to have that same instinct as men say that rats possess, and are +eager to leave the sinking ship, or to join themselves to the +winning side, whichever way you like to put it. Since we have seen +misfortune they have begun to change towards us. We cannot trust +them out in the west. They are becoming sullen, if not hostile. A +very little and they will turn upon us with savage fury--at least +if they are not withheld from it by the English themselves."</p> +<p>Corinne's cheek flushed; she flung back her head with an +indescribable gesture.</p> +<p>"And I believe the English will withhold them. To our shame be +it spoken, the French have made use of them. They have stooped to a +warfare which makes civilized man shudder with horror. England will +not use such methods; I am sure of it, And she will prosper where +we have failed; for God in the heavens rules the nations upon +earth, and He will not suffer such wickedness to continue forever. +If France in the west falls, she falls rather by her own act than +by that of her foes."</p> +<p>"That is what my uncle says," answered Colin earnestly; "it is +what he has striven all along to impress upon our leaders, but +without avail. He has been seeking, too, to show to the Indians +themselves the evil of their wicked practices. He has never been +afraid of them; he has always been their friend. But the day came +when they would no longer listen to him; when they drove us forth +with hatred and malice; when there came into their faces that which +made me more afraid than anything I have ever faced in my life +before, Corinne. We dared not stay. The chief dismissed us and bid +us be gone quickly, whilst he could still hold his people in check. +He did not wish harm to come to us; but savage blood is hard to +check.</p> +<p>"We got away from the village, and hoped the danger was over. We +made our way as well as we could towards Montreal. But our uncle +was weak; he had had several attacks of fever. One day he could not +travel. That night we were set upon by a score of wandering +Indians. They would not listen to our words, We were white men, +that was enough. All white men were their enemies, they said. They +would roast us alive first and eat us afterwards, they +declared,"</p> +<p>"O Colin!" cried Corinne, with widely-dilated eyes.</p> +<p>"Yes; I can see their eyes now, rolling and gleaming. They began +collecting light brushwood around the upright stakes they drove +into the ground. They laughed and yelled, and sprang about with +frightful contortions. They were working themselves up as they do +before they set to one of their frightful pieces of work. Our uncle +called me to him, and we prayed together. At least he prayed, and I +tried to follow his words; but I could do nothing but watch those +awful preparations. Then suddenly a shout arose from the forest +hard by, and the Indians seized their weapons. We sent up a shout, +caring little whether it was answered by English or French. We knew +that what we had heard was no Indian whoop; it came from the +throats of white men.</p> +<p>"Next minute a body of Rangers had dashed amongst us. The +Indians fled, scattering right and left like chaff before the wind. +Next minute I distinguished the friendly face of Fritz. He was +kneeling beside our uncle, and asking him tenderly if he were +hurt."</p> +<p>"The same Fritz as saved us in the forest! Oh, I am glad it was +he!"</p> +<p>"So was I; and doubly glad when I found that he knew more about +the cure of these forest fevers than even our uncle himself. The +Rangers made a hut for us, and for three days Fritz doctored our +uncle, till he was almost well again. But they would not leave us +in the forest, with the bands of treacherous Indians prowling +around. They escorted us to within a short distance of Montreal +itself, and Fritz consented to come into the city as our guest; and +since he speaks French almost as well as English, he was a welcome +guest to all. He became so much attached to my uncle that he +consented to come with us to Quebec. For he is anxious to join the +English squadron when it reaches these waters, and my uncle gave +him his word of honour that no hindrance shall be placed in the way +of his doing so. Perhaps it may be even well for one who has seen +the extreme strength of the town, and the preparations made for its +defence by land and sea, to go to warn the bold invaders that the +task they contemplate is one which is well nigh if not quite +impossible."</p> +<p>"O Colin, it is good indeed to have you again, out of the very +jaws of death! Let me go myself and thank this noble Fritz for his +good offices. Colin, I fear me I am half a traitor to the cause of +France already; for there is that in my heart which bids me regard +the English as friends rather than as foes. And when I hear men +shake their heads and say that they may one day be the masters of +these broad lands of the west, it raises within me no feeling of +anger or grief. I cannot be a true daughter of France to feel +so!"</p> +<p>"And yet I share that feeling, Corinne. I often feel that I am +less than half a Frenchman! My good uncle sometimes shakes his head +over me; but then he smiles, and says that the mother's blood +always runs strong in the firstborn son; and methinks, had our +mother lived, she would have been on the side of those who speak +her tongue and hail from the grey lands of the north."</p> +<p>"Ah, it is good that you feel the same, Colin! I had almost +chided myself for being half a traitor. And now take me to our good +friend Fritz, that I may thank him myself and see him again with +mine own eyes."</p> +<p>Brother and sister descended the stone stairway which divided +the various floors of that narrow house. As they reached the foot +of the staircase, they heard the sound of voices from a half-open +door, and Corinne said with a smile:</p> +<p>"It is our Aunt Drucour talking with the stranger. She is ever +eager for news of the war. A soldier is always a friend to her, so +as he brings her tidings."</p> +<p>The room into which Corinne and Colin stepped softly, so as not +to disturb the conversation of their elders, was a long and narrow +apartment, with the same small windows which characterized the rest +of the house. A table in the centre of the room took up the chief +of the space, and at this table sat a bronzed and stalwart man, +whom Corinne instantly recognized as her protector in that forest +adventure of long ago. He was seated with a trencher before him, +and was doing an justice to the fare set out; but he was also in +earnest conversation with Madame Drucour, who was seated opposite, +her elbows lightly resting upon the table, and her chin upon her +clasped hands.</p> +<p>Upon a couch beneath the window lay the Abbe himself, with a cup +of wine beside him. He looked like a man who has been through +considerable fatigue and hardship, though his brow was serene and +his eyes were bright as he followed the rapid conversation which +passed be tween the pair at the tables.</p> +<p>As the boy and girl entered it was Fritz who was speaking, and +he spoke eagerly.</p> +<p>"You have seen Julian Dautray, my friend and comrade who sailed +away to England several years since on an embassy from the town of +Philadelphia? Now this is news indeed. For I have heard no word of +him from that day to this; yet once we were like brothers, and we +made that long, long journey together from the far south, till our +souls were knit together even as the souls of David and Jonathan. +Tell me of him! Is he well? Is he still in this new world beyond +the dividing sea?"</p> +<p>"After the capture of Louisbourg," answered Madame Drucour, with +the little touch of shrinking in her tone which such words always +occasioned her, "he was to accompany the gallant Brigadier Wolfe +(to whose untiring energy and zeal much of England's success was +due) upon some mission of destruction on the coasts, little indeed +to that soldier's liking. After that, I heard that they were to +sail for England, since the brave officer's health stood in great +need of recruiting. But it was known to all of us that Monsieur +Wolfe would never rest content till he had seen whether he might +not repeat at Quebec what he had accomplished at Louisbourg. And if +not actually known, it is more than conjectured that the fleet from +England which brings our foes into these waters will bring with it +that gallant soldier Wolfe; and if so, you may be sure that your +good friend (and mine) Monsieur Julian Dautray will be with +him."</p> +<p>"That is good hearing," cried Fritz, whose face was beaming with +satisfaction and pleasure; "it is like a feast to a hungry man to +hear news of Julian again!"</p> +<p>And he listened with extreme interest whilst the lady told him +all she knew of his friend--his daring dash into the fortress +disguised as a French soldier, and his many acts of chivalrous +generosity at the close of the siege.</p> +<p>"We have reason to be grateful to you English," said Madame +Drucour, with a gracious smile. "It is a happiness, when we have to +fight, to find such generous and noble foes. It is hard to believe +that this strong city of Quebec will ever open its gates even to so +brave a commander as the gallant Wolfe; and yet, if such a thing +were again to be here as was at Louisbourg, I, for one, shall be +able to welcome the victor with a smile as well as a sigh; for I +have seen how generous he is to sick and wounded, and how gently +chivalrous to women and children."</p> +<p>"Yet those were stern terms demanded from capitulating +Louisbourg," spoke the Abbe thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"They were," said the lady, with a sigh; "and yet can we wonder +so greatly? England has suffered much from the methods we of France +have pursued in our warfare. But let us not think of that tonight; +let us remember only that English and French may be +friends--individually--even though our nations are at war. Let us +entertain Monsieur with the best at our command, and bid him +Godspeed when he shall choose to leave us.</p> +<p>"Ah! and there I see my nephew Colin.</p> +<p>"Welcome, dear child; thou art child no longer.</p> +<p>"What a fine youth he has grown with the flight of years! I +should scarce have known him!"</p> +<p>Whilst aunt and nephew were exchanging amenities in one part of +the room, Corinne approached Fritz, who had risen to his feet at +sight of her, and putting out a hand said with a shy smile:</p> +<p>"I am glad to welcome you again, Monsieur."</p> +<p>"And I to see you once again, Mademoiselle," he replied. "I have +often wondered whether I should ever have that pleasure. The chance +of war has brought me and your brother face to face three times +already. But I scarce thought I should see you again. I thought +these troubled days would have sent you back to France. These are +strange places for tender maidens to abide in--these walled cities, +with guns without and within!"</p> +<p>"Ah, but I have no home in France," answered the girl, "and I +would not be sent away. I have grown to love this strange Western +land and the struggle and stress of the life here. I would fain see +the end of this mighty struggle. To which scale will victory +incline, think you, Monsieur? Will the flag of England displace +that of France over the town and fortress of this city of +Quebec?"</p> +<p>"Time alone can show that," answered Fritz gravely; "and we must +not boast of coming victory after all the ignominious defeats that +we have suffered. But this I know--the spirit of England is yet +unbroken. She has set herself to a task, and will not readily turn +back from it. If the spirit of her sons is the same now as it was +in the days of which our fathers have told us, I think that she +will not quietly accept repulse."</p> +<p>Corinne's eyes flashed; she seemed to take a strange sort of +pride in anticipations such as these.</p> +<p>"I like that spirit," she cried; "it has not been the spirit of +France. She has boasted, boasted, boasted of all the wonders she +was to perform, and yet she has never made good her hold in the +south. Now the tide seems to have turned here in the north; and +though men speak brave words of defiance, their hearts are failing +them for fear. And have they not reason to fear--they who have done +so ignobly?"</p> +<p>"Do you remember what you told us when we met in the forest long +ago?" asked Fritz. "Do you remember the name you spoke--the name of +Pitt--and told us that when that man's hand was on the helm of +England's statecraft the turn of the tide would come? And so we +waited for news from home, and at last we heard the name of Pitt. +And, behold, since then the tide has turned indeed. Those words of +yours have upheld our hopes in many a dark hour. And now that the +fulfilment seems so near, shall we not feel grateful to those who +held out the torch of hope when all was darkness?"</p> +<p>Corinne smiled brightly, and held out her little hand again.</p> +<p>"We will be friends, come what will," she said; "for I love the +English as well as the French, and I have cause to know what +generous foes they can make!"</p> +<p>So Fritz became the guest of Madame Drucour in the narrow little +stone house; the Abbe likewise remained as an inmate whilst he +recruited the health that had been so sorely tried and shattered of +late. Fritz was in no haste to depart, if his hosts desired his +presence there. He would join the English fleet when it appeared; +but it mattered little to him how he passed the intervening time. +He could pass as well for a Frenchman as an Englishman, and did so +for the time he remained in the city; but he kept his eyes open, +and took careful note of what he saw, and, in truth, it seemed to +him that the English fleet had little or no chance of effecting any +landing in or near Quebec.</p> +<p>The fortifications of the town were immensely strong; so was its +position--so commandingly situated upon the little tongue of land. +There was a small camp upon the opposite point of land, which might +perhaps be strengthened with advantage; but the whole of the north +bank of the river was being fortified and intrenched, and was +manned by regulars and Canadian troops, all well armed and +munitioned. It was impossible to see how any attacking force could +obtain a foothold upon that strand; and if Fritz's hosts took care +to let him see all this, it seemed to him a proof that they well +understood the impregnable character of their position.</p> +<p>But it was no part of Fritz's plan to linger over long in +Quebec, although he was wishful to see the city for himself, and to +judge of the strength of its position. He knew that the fleet from +Louisbourg would be hanging about nearer the mouth of the great +estuary, and to a traveller of his experience the journey either by +land or water was a mere trifle.</p> +<p>Any day the sails of the English vessels might be expected to +appear. The seething excitement in the city, and the eager and +laborious preparations upon land, showed how public feeling was +being aroused. It might not be well for Fritz to linger much +longer. If his real connection with the English were discovered, he +might find himself in difficulties.</p> +<p>"I have arranged with a boatman to take you down the river +tonight, Monsieur," said Madame Drucour to him; when he had +expressed a determination to leave. "He is scouting for information +as to the English fleet, and we have heard that vessels have been +seen in the region of the Isle-aux-Coudres. He will land you there, +and you will then have no difficulty in rejoining your countrymen. +If Monsieur Wolfe has arrived, pray give him my best compliments, +and tell him that I hope his health is improved, and that if we +should meet once again it will be as friends."</p> +<p>"I will not forget to do so, Madame," answered Fritz. "I myself +look forward with pleasure to making the acquaintance of that great +soldier. I should not have dared to think that I might approach him +myself; but since Julian is his friend, I shall not be denied his +presence."</p> +<p>Corinne was listening to the talk with eager interest; now she +broke in with a smile:</p> +<p>"And tell Monsieur Julian that if he should repeat his strategy +of Louisbourg here at Quebec, and steal into the city in disguise, +I hope he will come to see us here. We are very well disposed +towards the English, my aunt and I. We should have a welcome for +him, and would see that he came to no harm."</p> +<p>Madame Drucour laughed, and patted the cheek of her niece.</p> +<p>"Make no rash promises, little one. The game of war is a fiercer +and more deadly and dangerous one than thou canst realize as yet. +It may be our privilege to shelter and succour a hunted foe; but +tempt not any man to what might be certain destruction. Spies meet +with scant mercy; and there are Indians in this city who know not +the meaning of mercy, and have eyes and ears quicker and keener +than our own. Monsieur and his friends had better now remain +without the city walls, unless the day should come when they can +enter them as conquerors and masters of all."</p> +<p>She drew herself together and gave a little, quick, shuddering +sigh, as though realizing as those never could do who had not seen +war what must inevitably be ere such an end could be +accomplished.</p> +<p>Fritz took her hand and carried it to his lips.</p> +<p>"If such a day as that come, Madame," he said, "be very sure +that my first duty and privilege will be to protect you and yours +from harm. Adieu; and if I can ever repay your kindness to me, be +sure the opportunity shall not be neglected."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch5-2" id="Ch5-2">Chapter 2</a>: The Defences Of +Quebec.</h2> +<p>Excitement reigned in the city. There had been a cry of fear +earlier in the day. Men had rushed through the streets, crying +aloud in every tone of consternation:</p> +<p>"The English fleet! the English fleet!"</p> +<p>But this had proved a false alarm. The sails seen advancing up +the great waterway were those of friendly vessels, laden with +provisions for the city, and great rejoicings were held as the +supplies were carried into the storehouses by the eager citizens +and soldiers. Colin, running hither and thither picking up news, +came running back at short intervals with tidings for his sister +and aunt.</p> +<p>"They all say the English fleet has sailed from England, and may +be here any day; but at least we shall not starve yet. We have a +fine consignment of provisions brought in today."</p> +<p>Next time he came he had another item of information to +give.</p> +<p>"Our General, Monsieur de Montcalm, met me in the street just +now, and bid me say that he purposed to take his supper with us +this evening, as there are certain matters he would discuss with my +uncle, and with you, dear aunt, who have seen so much of warfare. +He asked me if it would be convenient for you to receive him, and I +said I was sure that it would."</p> +<p>"Quite right, my child," answered Madame Drucour; "I shall deem +it an honour to entertain the brave Marquis. I have a great respect +for him, both as a man and a soldier."</p> +<p>"Yes: they all speak well of him, and they say that the +Governor, Vaudreuil, treats him shamefully, or at least traduces +him shamefully behind his back to the Government in France. He is +jealous because Monsieur de Montcalm is so much better a soldier +than he. His jealousy is mean and pitiful. I hear things that make +my blood boil!"</p> +<p>"Yes: Monsieur de Montcalm has had to exercise great patience +and self restraint. We all honour him for it," said the Abbe, +looking up from his breviary. "His has been a difficult post from +first to last, and he has filled it with marked ability. The +Governor seeks to take to himself all the credit of success +throughout the colony and the war, and to heap upon Montcalm all +the blame wherever there has been discomfiture and defeat; but from +what I can learn, the Minister of France is not deceived. The +powers of the campaign are vested mainly in the hands of the +General of the forces, let the Governor rage as he will."</p> +<p>Colin and Corinne stood at the window watching the hubbub down +in the lower town and along the quays. They could obtain a fair +view from the upper window, where the girl spent so much of her +time; and whilst the Abbe and Madame Drucour talked of public +matters and the political outlook, Colin poured broadsides of +information into the ears of his sister.</p> +<p>"They say that the English ships can never navigate the waters +of this great river!" he cried. "I was talking with the sailors on +the vessels which have come in. They dare not bring their own ships +up without a pilot on board. If the English try to sail their great +battleships up through the shoals and other perils, they will +assuredly, say the men, run them upon the jagged edges of the +sunken reefs and wreck them hopelessly. I was telling them that the +English are better sailors than ever the French will be; but they +only laughed grimly, and bid them come and see what their sailor +craft could do without pilots in the mouth of the St. Lawrence. I +should grieve if the noble vessels were wrecked and stranded in the +Traverse, which they say is the most dangerous part of all. But the +sailors are very confident that that is what will happen."</p> +<p>"I don't believe it!" cried Corinne, with flashing eyes. "The +English have always been masters of the sea; have they not won +themselves the name of 'sea dogs' and 'sea rovers' even from their +enemies? The walls and guns of Quebec may prove too much for them, +but not the navigation of the St. Lawrence."</p> +<p>"So I think," answered Colin eagerly; "but that is what the men +say.</p> +<p>"The French are always something overconfident and boastful, I +think," said Corinne gravely. "They like to win their battles +before they fight them, and beat back the foe before he appears. +But we shall see--we shall see."</p> +<p>Colin and Corinne were both much interested in the General of +the forces, Monsieur the Marquis of Montcalm. In addition to being +a very excellent soldier--brave, capable, merciful, and modest--he +was a very delightful and charming companion in any social +gathering; and towards Corinne he showed himself especially tender, +telling her, with the tears standing in his eyes, how much she +reminded him of the little daughter he had left at home, Mirete; +whom he feared he should never see again.</p> +<p>"For my aide-de-camp, M. de Bougainville, lately returned from +France, has brought me sad news. One of my daughters has died--he +could not ascertain which; but I feel sure it is my little Mirete, +who was always delicate and fragile. I loved her very much; she was +such a clinging little thing, and had soft brown eyes like yours, +my dear. I did not think, when I left my wife and children in our +happy home at Candiac, that I should be detained here so long, or +that death would have visited my house ere I returned. We were so +happy in that far away home in France; my thoughts are ever turning +back thither. Pray Heaven I may soon bring this war to a successful +termination, and may then return to end my days in peace in that +fair spot, surrounded by those I love so well!"</p> +<p>This little speech touched Corinne's heart, and she lifted her +face and gave the bereaved father a kiss of sympathy, the tears +hanging upon her own long lashes. He squeezed her hand and returned +the salute with warmth. Yet the next minute he was the soldier and +the general all over, as he seated himself at table and proceeded +to discuss the situation of affairs with the Abbe and his +hostess.</p> +<p>"My policy," he explained to them, "will be one of defence, not +of attack. What we must set ourselves to do is to prevent any +landing of English troops upon the north bank of this river +anywhere near the city. I had thought at first of making the Plains +of Abraham, behind the city, the basis of my encampment. But this, +as you know, has been given up, and the north bank of the river, +through Beauport and right away to the river and falls of the +Montmorency, has been selected.</p> +<p>"When you are sufficiently recovered, my friend, I should like +to take you to see our position. Our right rests upon the St. +Charles, our left upon the Montmorency. Quebec is thus secured from +any advance by land. Her own guns must protect her from any attempt +by sea. No vessel should or ought to pass the rock without being +instantly disabled, if not sunk. By disposing our forces in this +way, and remaining upon the defensive, we shall have our foes in a +vice, so to speak. The risk of disembarking and trying to fight us +will be immense. They will lose ten men to our one in every +encounter. And if we can play this waiting game long enough, the +storms of winter will come down upon us, and the Admirals will have +to withdraw their fleet to some safe harbourage, and we shall have +saved Quebec!"</p> +<p>"Yes," said the Abbe--"that sounds a wise and wary policy; but +will the Canadian militia be patient and obedient during the long +period of inaction? They are accustomed to a sort of fierce, short +forest warfare, quick marches, hand-to-hand fights, and the freedom +to return to their homes. How will they like the long imprisonment +in the camp, without being brought face to face with the foe? The +Canadian soldiers have always given trouble; I fear they will do so +again."</p> +<p>"If they become troublesome," said Montcalm, with a tightening +of the lips, "they will be told that the Indians shall be loosed +upon their lands and farms to harry and destroy! Mutineers are +accorded scant mercy. Monsieur de Vaudreuil has made up his mind +how to deal with them in such case."</p> +<p>The Abbe stroked his chin thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"If we alienate the Canadians, and have only the regulars to +fall back upon, we shall be very short handed."</p> +<p>"True; but I do not anticipate such a contingency. The Canadians +are no more desirous of seeing England's flag waving over their +lands than we are ourselves. They may be rebellious and +discontented, but they will hardly go further than that."</p> +<p>"It is ill work fighting with discontented soldiers," said +Madame Drucour thoughtfully.</p> +<p>"Very true, Madame. I often wish we had better material for our +army. I abhor the Indians, and distrust the Canadians. But what can +we do? France has sore need of all her soldiers for her European +wars. What can she do for us here out in the western wilds? She has +her hands full at home."</p> +<p>"And yet," said the Abbe, "if she loses her hold upon these same +western wilds, she will lose that new kingdom upon which her eyes +have been greedily fastened for two centuries or more. She has +claimed half the world as her own; will she lose all for the sake +of some petty quarrel with her neighbours?"</p> +<p>Montcalm smiled and slowly shook his head.</p> +<p>"Our royal master has his hands something too full at times," he +said; "yet we will do our best for him out here."</p> +<p>"And if General Amherst with his great army should succeed in +capturing Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and should advance upon us +by the interior, and steal upon us from behind, what then?" asked +the Abbe, who, having come from that part of the world, and knowing +the apprehensions of the French along the western border, was not +unmindful of this possible danger.</p> +<p>Montcalm's face was grave.</p> +<p>"That will be our greatest danger," he said. "If that should +take place, we shall have to weaken our camp along the river and +send reinforcements to the small detachments now placed along the +upper river. But the English were routed at Ticonderoga once; let +us hope it will happen so a second time."</p> +<p>"General Amherst is a very different commander from General +Abercromby," said the Abbe gravely; and Madame Drucour added her +testimony to the abilities of the General who had commanded at the +siege of Louisbourg, although the dash and energy of Wolfe had been +one of the main elements of strength to the besiegers.</p> +<p>"Yet I have confidence in our good Boulamaque," answered +Montcalm. "He will do all that can he done to check the advance of +the invaders and hold out fortresses against them. We have had our +disasters--far be it from me to deny it--but Ticonderoga is strong, +and has long held her own; I think she will do so once again."</p> +<p>"And will you remain within the walls of Quebec yourself, my +dear Marquis? or is it true what I hear--that your headquarters +will be with the camp at Beauport?"</p> +<p>"My place is here--there--everywhere!" answered Montcalm, with a +smile and a meaning gesture. "Within the city the Chevalier de +Ramesay will hold command with sixteen thousand men. For my part, I +shall occupy myself chiefly with the army along the river banks. +The first peril will certainly lie there. The town is unassailable, +but a landing will probably be attempted somewhere along there. The +enemy must be driven back with loss and confusion each time such an +attempt is made. That will discourage them, and inspire our men +with hope and courage. We have also prepared fire ships at no small +cost, to be launched and fired at convenient seasons, and sent +adrift amongst the enemy's ships. The sight of their burning +vessels will do something to discourage the English. They put their +trust in their ships. We will show them what a warm welcome we have +waiting for them here!"</p> +<p>"And our own vessels," asked the Abbe--"what of them? Will any +naval battle he attempted?"</p> +<p>"No. The Governor has given orders that they shall disembark +their men for the defence of the town, and the ships themselves +will be sent some distance up the river out of harm's way. We have +kept some of the best for fire ships; the rest will remain at a +distance, beyond the river Richelieu."</p> +<p>"You think, then, that no British ship can pass the guns of the +town?"</p> +<p>Montcalm's face was a study of calm confidence.</p> +<p>"I only wish they might attempt it," he said. "We would sink +them one by one, as a child's boats could be sunk by throwing +stones upon them. The English have a task before them the magnitude +of which they have little idea of. First they have the river itself +to navigate; then they have the guns of Quebec to settle with. Let +them take their choice between Scylla and Charybdis; for of a +certainty they lie betwixt the two."</p> +<p>Indeed the guns of Quebec were formidable enough. Next day +Montcalm took Madame Drucour and her niece and nephew a tour of +inspection about the town, and up to one of the heights which gave +them a panoramic view of the city and its defences, both within and +without. The batteries of the town bristled with formidable guns; +the town itself swarmed with soldiers--regulars, militia, Indians. +From the adjacent country men of all ages had come flocking in, +eager to bear arms against the foe. The Bishop had issued a mandate +to his flock, urging them to rally round their leaders, and never +surrender the fair domain of Canada to the heretic usurper.</p> +<p>There was plenty of enthusiasm now amongst the Canadians they +came flocking into the camp in great numbers. All were hardy +fellows, trained to a certain sort of rough fighting from their +very childhood. They were invaluable in forest warfare, as had been +proved again and again. But they lacked the stamina of the regular +soldier. They were invariably unsteady when exposed to fire in the +open, and they were impatient of discipline and control. Vaudreuil +was always loud in their praise, trying to give them the credit of +every successful engagement. But Montcalm reposed much more +confidence in his regular soldiers; although he gave these others +their due when they had proved of service to him.</p> +<p>It was a wonderful sight to see the lines of defence stretching +right away from the river St. Charles, close to the promontory on +which Quebec was built, to that other invisible gorge where the +wonderful cataract of the Montmorency flung its waters into the +greater St. Lawrence below. Opposite was the height of Point Levi, +with its smaller batteries; and away on the left, in the middle of +the vast, sea-like river, could be distinguished the western end of +the Isle of Orleans.</p> +<p>Earthworks, batteries, redoubts seemed to bristle every where. +Squadrons of men, like brilliant-hued ants, moved to and fro upon +the plains below. The tents of the camp stretched out in endless +white spots; and the river was dotted with small craft of all sorts +conveying provisions to the camp, and doing transport duty of all +kinds.</p> +<p>"He will be a bold man who faces the fire from our batteries, I +think," said Montcalm, looking with a calm complacency upon the +animated scene; and then he turned and pointed backwards behind him +to Cape Diamond, fringed with its palisades and capped by parapet +and redoubt.</p> +<p>A bold foe indeed to face the perils frowning from every height +upon which the eye could rest. Madame Drucour's face slowly +brightened as she took in, with eyes that were experienced in such +matters, the full strength of the position occupied by the city of +Quebec.</p> +<p>"In truth, I scarce see how the enemy could effect a landing +anywhere--could even attempt it," she said. "And yet we said the +same at Louisbourg--till they landed where none of us thought they +could do, and took us in the rear!"</p> +<p>And her eyes sought the steep, precipitous banks of the river +after the town had been passed, as though asking whether any +landing could be effected there, if some ships should succeed in +the daring attempt to pass the guns of the town, and find anchorage +in the upper river.</p> +<p>Montcalm followed her glance with his, and seemed to read the +thought in her heart.</p> +<p>"All these heights will be watched," he said. "Although I have +no fear of any vessel being foolhardy enough to attempt the +passage, or clever enough to succeed in passing the guns of the +fortifications, I shall leave no point unwatched or unguarded. +Quebec shall not fall whilst I have life and breath! If the victor +marches into the city, it will be across my dead body!"</p> +<p>Later upon that very day a fresh excitement occurred. Madame +Drucour and her niece and nephew were in the pleasant upper room of +their house, talking over the things they had seen and heard that +day, when the clamour in the street below roused them to the +consciousness that something unwonted was afoot; and Colin ran +below, eager to know what the matter could be. In a few minutes he +returned, his face full of animation and eager interest.</p> +<p>"They have taken three prisoners!" he exclaimed-- "English +midshipmen all of them. You know our boats are scouting all round +the Isle-aux-Coudres, where Durell and his contingent of ships from +Louisbourg are lying waiting for the English fleet."</p> +<p>"Yes, yes," cried Corinne eagerly; "we know that! But where are +the prisoners?"</p> +<p>"They are below, in the house. They brought them to the Abbe, +our uncle. They profess not to speak French, these lads, but I +think they understand it fast enough.</p> +<p>"Come down and hear their story, my aunt; and you also, Corinne. +They have been left in our care by the order of Monsieur de +Montcalm, that we may win from them all that they know, respecting +the strength of the English fleet. Let us go and hear what they +say."</p> +<p>"How came they to be taken?" asked Madame Drucour, as she rose +to accompany Colin.</p> +<p>"They were taken on shore. They had left their ship, perhaps +without leave, and were amusing themselves upon the island. The men +in our boat watched them, and presently landed cautiously and +surrounded them. They made a gallant struggle, but were captured at +length. And now they have been brought to us that we may get from +them all the information we can. Our uncle is talking to them even +now. I want to hear, and I want Corinne also to hear what they +say."</p> +<p>"And the poor lads will doubtless be hungry," said Madame +Drucour, always thoughtful for the comfort of others; "we will set +food before them as they talk. They shall see that we are not harsh +captors."</p> +<p>It was three bright-faced, bronzed English lads that they found +in the lower room with the good Abbe. He had induced the rest of +the people to disperse, and was now alone with the captives. The +lads seemed quite disposed to be talkative, and when the lady +entered bearing food, their eyes brightened; they stood up and made +their bows to all, and fell upon the victuals with a hearty +goodwill.</p> +<p>"Strong! I should think it was strong," cried the eldest of the +three, in response to a question from the Abbe respecting the +English squadron on the way: "why, there are more than thirty ships +of the line, and with frigates, sloops-of-war, and transports they +must number over fifty. Then we have ten fine ships under Admiral +Durell, waiting to join the main fleet when it comes; and there is +another squadron under Admiral Holmes, which has gone to New York +to take up the troops mustered in New England for the reduction of +Quebec. Oh, it will be a grand sight, a grand sight, when it comes +sailing up the waters of the St. Lawrence! Quebec, I dare wager, +has never seen such a sight before!"</p> +<p>The faces of all the lads were full of animation and pride. They +appeared to have no fears for their personal safety. They were +enthusiastic in their descriptions of the wonderful feats which the +world would soon see, and when once started on the subject were +ready to talk on and on.</p> +<p>"They have fifteen or sixteen thousand men--picked troops--with +the gallant Wolfe in command," cried another. "You have seen +something already of what Wolfe can do when he is set upon a +task!"</p> +<p>Madame Drucour made a little sign of assent; she had learned +that lesson herself very fully. The lad made her a courtly bow, for +he knew her well, having been at the siege of Louisbourg, and +having seen her when he had entered the fortress to view it after +the surrender.</p> +<p>"Madame Drucour is herself a soldier; she can appreciate the +talents of the soldiers," he said. "Well, we have Wolfe coming, and +with him three gallant Brigadiers--Moncton and Townshend and +Murray. They all say that each one of these is as valiant as the +great Wolfe himself, and as full of ardour."</p> +<p>"And then our guns!" chimed in the third. "Why, we have guns +enough to batter down these old walls as children batter down their +card houses! You know what English guns did at Louisbourg, Madame! +Well, we have bigger and heavier ones coming from England--such +guns as have never been seen in this country before; and such +shells--why, you can hear the scream of them for miles. You will +hear them soon singing and screaming over Quebec if you try to hold +it against Wolfe!"</p> +<p>Corinne and Colin exchanged glances. It seemed indeed to bring +the thought of war very near when this sort of talk went on. The +Abbe was thoughtfully stroking his chin, debating within himself +whether all this was a bit of gasconade on the part of these +middies, or whether it represented the actual facts of the case. +Madame Drucour made quiet answer, saying:</p> +<p>"But Quebec has also its guns, my young friends; Quebec can make +fitting reply to English guns. And ships are more vulnerable than +our thick walls. The game of war is one that both nations can play +with skill and success. If you have a Wolfe on your side, we have a +Montcalm on ours!"</p> +<p>"Oh yes; we have heard of the Marquis of Montcalm. He is a fine +old fellow; I wish we could see him."</p> +<p>"You have your wish, gentlemen!" spoke a new voice from the +shadowy corner by the door, where the twilight was gathering.</p> +<p>The company started to their feet and saluted the great man, who +advanced smiling, motioning them to be seated. Corinne kindled the +lamp, and the General looked about him and sat down at the table +opposite to the three youths.</p> +<p>"I hear you are from the English squadron," he said; "I have +come to ask you as to its strength. Tell me frankly and candidly +what you know, and I will undertake that your captivity shall not +be a rigorous one."</p> +<p>He spoke in French, and the Abbe interpreted, although he +suspected that the lads understood a good deal more of that +language than they professed to do. They were willing enough to +repeat what they had said before as to the overwhelming size and +equipment of the fleet on its way from England--of the valour of +men and officers, of Wolfe's known intrepidity and military genius, +and of the excellent, far-carrying guns and their equally excellent +gunners.</p> +<p>Montcalm listened with bent brow and thoughtful mien. The lads +appeared to speak with confidence and sincerity. They evidently +believed that the fall of Quebec was foreordained of Heaven; but it +was possible they might be misinformed as to the true strength of +the fleet, and had perhaps, consciously or unconsciously, +exaggerated that.</p> +<p>At any rate they were not reticent: they told everything they +knew and perhaps more. They gloried in the thought of the fighting +to come, and seemed to take their own captivity very lightly, +evidently thinking it only a matter of a few weeks before they +could be exchanged or released--before their countrymen would be +marching into Quebec.</p> +<p>"And as soon as General Amherst has got Ticonderoga, he will +march here to help us, if we are not masters here first!" was the +final shot of the senior midshipman. "Not that Wolfe will need his +help in the taking of Quebec, but he will want a share in the glory +of it. And all New England, and all those provinces which have been +asleep so long, are waking up, eager to take their share now that +the moment of final triumph is near. There are so many fine troops +waiting to embark that Admiral Holmes will probably have to leave +the half behind. But they will follow somehow, you will see. They +are thirsting to avenge themselves upon the Indians, and upon those +who set the Indians on to harry and destroy their brothers along +the borders!"</p> +<p>The Abbe translated this also into French, making a little +gesture with his hand the while.</p> +<p>"I knew that retribution must sooner or later follow upon that +great sin," he said. "Were it not for my feeling on that score, I +should have firmer hopes for Quebec. But God will not suffer +iniquity to go long unpunished. We have drawn down retribution upon +our own heads!"</p> +<p>Montcalm made a gesture similar to that of the Abbe.</p> +<p>"I have said so myself many a time," he replied. "I hated and +abhorred the means we have too often used. It may be that what you +say is right and just. And yet I know that I shall not live to see +Quebec in the hands of the English. I can die for my country, and I +am willing to do so; but I cannot and I will not surrender!"</p> +<p>"So they said at Louisbourg," muttered one of the midshipmen to +Colin, showing how easily he understood what was passing; "but they +sang to a different tune when they had heard the music of our guns +long enough!"</p> +<p>The Marquis was talking aside with the Abbe and Madame Drucour. +When the colloquy was over, the Abbe addressed the midshipmen.</p> +<p>"Monsieur de Montcalm is willing to release you on parole, and +my sister, Madame Drucour, will permit you to remain in this house +during your stay in the city. You must give up your dirks, and pass +your word not to try to escape; but after having done this, you +will be free to come and go as you will. And if the English should +take prisoners of our French subjects, you shall be exchanged upon +the first opportunity. These are the terms offered you by Monsieur +de Montcalm as the alternative to an imprisonment which would be +sorely irksome to youths such as you."</p> +<p>The lads looked at one another. It was a promise rather hard to +give, since there would be so many excellent opportunities for +escape; but the thought of imprisonment in some gloomy subterranean +portion of the fortress, even with the faint chance of effecting an +escape from thence, was too sombre and repelling. They accepted the +lenient terms offered, passed their word with frank sincerity, and +handed over their weapons with a stifled sigh.</p> +<p>"We will show you the city tomorrow," said Colin, when he took +their guests up to the lofty where they were to sleep in company. +"My sister and I are half English ourselves. I sometimes think that +in her heart of hearts Corinne would like to see the English flag +floating over the towers of Quebec."</p> +<p>"Hurrah for Mademoiselle Corinne!" cried the lad Peter, throwing +his cap into the air. "I thought you two looked little like the +dark-skinned Frenchies! We shall be friends then, and when the town +falls we will take care that no harm comes to you. But we mean to +have Quebec; so you may make up your mind to that!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch5-3" id="Ch5-3">Chapter 3</a>: Mariners Of The +Deep.</h2> +<p>"I must go! I must go!" shouted Colin, bursting into the house, +mad with excitement and impetuosity.</p> +<p>"My uncle, you will let me go! I must see this great and mighty +fleet for myself. They say it is coming up the mighty river's +mouth. Some say it will be wrecked ere it reach the Isle of +Orleans! Let me go and see it, I pray, and I will return and tell +you all."</p> +<p>The whole city was in a ferment. For long weeks had the English +fleet been watched and waited for--for so long, indeed, that +provisions were already becoming a little scarce within the town, +in spite of the convoy which had arrived earlier in the year. So +many mouths were there to feed that the question of supply was +causing anxiety already. Still with care there was enough to last +for a considerable time. Only the delay of the English vessels had +upset the calculations of the men in charge of the commissariat +department, and the people had to be put upon rations, lest there +should be a too quick consumption of the stores.</p> +<p>This had caused a little murmuring and discontent, and the long +waiting had tried the citizens more than active work would have +done. It had given Montcalm time to fortify his camp very strongly, +and make his position all that he desired; but it had been a +wearisome time to many, and the Canadian troops were already +discontented, and wearying to get away from the life of the camp, +back to their own homes and fields and farms.</p> +<p>But now hot midsummer had come, and with it the. English foe. A +fast-sailing sloop had brought word that the junction of the +squadrons was taking place just off Cape Tourmente, and Colin was +wild to take boat and go to see the great ships.</p> +<p>"They are saying that they must all be wrecked in trying to +navigate the Traverse," cried the boy; "but Peter and Paul and +Arthur laugh to scorn the notion, and say that we do not know what +sort of men the English mariners are. Some say that Admiral Durell +has already captured the pilots who live there, ready to take the +French ships up and down. Let me go and learn what is happening. +Let me take a boat, and take Peter and Paul and Arthur with me. +They know how to manage one as well as any sailor in the town. Let +us go, my uncle, and bring you word again."</p> +<p>The boy was set on it; he could not be withheld. Moreover, the +Abbe and Madame Drucour were keenly anxious for news.</p> +<p>"Be careful, my boy, be cautious," he said; "run not into +danger. But I think thou art safe upon the river with those lads. +You will take care of one another, and bring us word again what is +happening."</p> +<p>"Oh, I will come back safe and sound, never fear for me!" +answered the boy, in great delight. "We will bring you news, never +fear! We will see all that is to be seen. Oh, I am glad the day of +waiting is over, and that the day for fighting has come!"</p> +<p>"Would that I were a boy like you, Colin!" cried Corinne, with +sparkling eyes. "It is hard to be cooped up in the city when there +are such stirring things going on outside. But I will up to the +heights and watch for the sight of sails; and you will come back +soon, Colin, and tell us all the news."</p> +<p>Nevertheless it was a hard task for the eager girl to remain +behind when her brother and their three merry friends went forth in +search of news.</p> +<p>By this time the English midshipmen were quite at home in their +new home, and the blithest of companions for the brother and sister +there. They did much to foster the sympathies of Colin and Corinne +for the English cause. The boys told of England and the life there, +and were so full of enthusiasm for their country that it was almost +impossible not to catch something of the contagion of their mood. +Both Colin and his sister had seen much to disgust and displease +them amongst the French; whilst round their foes there seemed to be +a sort of halo of romance and chivalry which appealed to the +imaginative strain in both brother and sister.</p> +<p>Their British blood could not fail to be stirred within them. +They saw and heard of corruption, chicanery, and petty jealousy all +round them here. It was hardly to be wondered at that they inclined +to the other side. England and Scotland were uniting together for +the conquest of this Western world. Their mother's countrymen were +fighting the battle. They had the right to wish them success.</p> +<p>Corinne rehearsed all this to herself as she stood upon the +lofty heights behind the town that afternoon with her uncle and +aunt. They were looking with anxiety and grave misgivings at the +clustering sails dimly seen in the distance upon the shining water +of that vast estuary. Montcalm himself had come up to see, and +stood with his telescope at his eye, watchful and grave.</p> +<p>"We have made a mistake," he said to the Abbe in a low voice. "I +did speak to the Governor once; but he was against the measure, and +we permitted it to drop. But I can see now it was a mistake. We +should have planted a battery--a strong one--upon Cape Tourmente, +and bombarded the ships as they passed by. We trusted to the +dangerous navigation of the Traverse, but we made a mistake: +English sailors can go anywhere!"</p> +<p>The Abbe made a sign of assent. He remembered now how the +General had made this suggestion to the Governor, and pressed it +with some ardour, but had been met with opposition at every point. +Vaudreuil had declared that it would weaken the town to bring out +such a force to a distant point; that they must concentrate all +their strength around the city; that they would give the enemy the +chance of cutting their army in two. Montcalm had yielded the +point. There was so much friction between him and the Governor that +he had to give way where he could. Vaudreuil was always full of +grand, swelling words, and boasts of his great deeds and devotion; +but men were beginning to note that when face to face with real +peril he lost his nerve and self confidence, and had to depend upon +others. It was thus that he opposed Montcalm (of whose superior +genius and popularity he was bitterly jealous) at every turn when +danger was still distant, but turned to him in a fluster of dismay +when the hour of immediate peril had come, and had been made more +perilous by his own lack of perception and forethought whilst +things were less imminent.</p> +<p>"Yet look at our lines of defence!" he exclaimed, after he had +finished all the survey he could make of the distant sails crowded +about the Isle of Orleans. "Where could any army hope to land along +this northern shore? Let them fire as they like from their ships; +that will not hurt us. And we can answer back in a fashion that +must soon silence them. The heights are ours; the town is safely +guarded. The summer is half spent already. Let us but keep them at +bay for two months, and the storms of the equinox will do the rest. +When September comes, then come the gales--and indeed they may help +us at any time in these treacherous waters. You mariners of +England, you are full of confidence and skill--I am the last to +deny it--but the elements have proved stronger than you before +this, and may do so again."</p> +<p>Corinne listened to all this with a beating heart, and asked of +her aunt:</p> +<p>"What think you that they will first do--the English, I +mean?"</p> +<p>"Probably land and make a camp upon the Isle of Orleans, which +has been evacuated. A camp of some sort they must have, and can +make it there without damage to us. It will make a sort of basis of +operations for them; but I think they will be sorely puzzled what +to do next. They cannot get near the city without exposing +themselves to a deadly fire which they cannot return--for guns +fired low from ships will not even touch our walls or ramparts--and +any attempt along the shore by Beauport will be repulsed with heavy +loss."</p> +<p>"Yet they will do something, I am sure," spoke the girl, beneath +her breath; and she was more sure still of this when upon the +morrow Colin returned, all aglow with excitement and admiration, +whilst the three midshipmen had much ado to restrain their whoops +of joy and triumph.</p> +<p>"I never saw such a thing!" cried Colin, his face full of +delight and enthusiasm, as he and the midshipmen got Corinne to +themselves, and could talk unrestrainedly together; "I feel as +though I could never take sides against the English again! If they +are all such men as that old sailing master Killick, methinks the +French have little chance against them."</p> +<p>"Hurrah for old Killick! hurrah for England's sailors!" cried +the midshipmen, as wildly excited as Colin himself; and Corinne +pressed her hands together, and looked from one to the other, +crying:</p> +<p>"Oh tell me! what did he do?"</p> +<p>"I'll tell you!" cried Colin. "You have heard them speak of the +Traverse, and what a difficult place it is to navigate?"</p> +<p>"Yes: Monsieur de Montcalm was saying that no vessel ever +ventured up or down without a pilot; but he said that a rumour had +reached him that some pilots had been taken prisoners, and that the +English ships would get up with their help."</p> +<p>"With or without!" cried Peter, tossing his cap into the air. +"As though English sailors could not move without Frenchmen to help +them!"</p> +<p>"Some of them took pilots aboard; indeed they were sent to them, +and had no choice. But I must not get confused, and confuse you, +Corinne. I'll just tell you what we did ourselves.</p> +<p>"We heard a great talk going on on board one of the transport +boats called the <i>Goodwill</i>, which was almost in the van of +the fleet, I suppose because the old sailing master, Killick, was +so good a seaman; and so they had sent a pilot out to her, and he +was jabbering away at a great rate--"</p> +<p>"Just like all the Frenchies!" cut in Paul; "calling out that he +would never have acted pilot to an English ship except under +compulsion, and declaring that it was a dismal tale the survivors +would take to their own country--that Canada should be the grave of +the whole army, and the St. Lawrence should bury beneath its waves +nine-tenths of the British ships, and that the walls of Quebec +should be lined with English scalps!"</p> +<p>"The wretch!" cried Corinne. "I wonder the sailors did not throw +him overboard to find his own grave!"</p> +<p>"I verily believe they would have done so, had it not been for +strict orders from the Admiral that the pilots were to be well +treated," answered Arthur. "Our English Admirals and officers are +all like that: they will never have any advantage taken of helpless +prisoners."</p> +<p>"I know, I know!" answered Corinne quickly; "that is where they +teach the French such a lesson. But go on--tell me more. What about +old Killick? and where were you all the while?"</p> +<p>"Holding on to the side of the transport, where we could see and +hear everything, and telling the sailors who were near about Quebec +and what was going on there. But soon we were too much interested +in what was going on aboard to think of anything else.</p> +<p>"Old Killick roared out after a bit, 'Has that confounded French +pilot done bragging yet?' And when somebody said he was ready to +show them the passage of the Traverse, he bawled out:</p> +<p>"'What! d'ye think I'm going to take orders from a dog of a +Frenchman, and aboard my own vessel, too? Get you to the helm, Jim, +and mind you take no orders from anybody but me. If that Frenchman +tries to speak, just rap him on the head with a rope's end to keep +him quiet!'</p> +<p>"And with that he rolled to the forecastle with his trumpet in +his hand, and got the ship under way, bawling out his instructions +to his mate at the wheel, just as though he had been through the +place all his life!"</p> +<p>"Had he ever been there before?" asked Corinne breathlessly.</p> +<p>"No, never. I heard the commanding officer and some of the +gentlemen on board asking him, and remonstrating; but it was no +use.</p> +<p>"'Been through before! no, never,' he cried; 'but I'm going +through now.'</p> +<p>"Then they told him that not even a French vessel with an +experienced sailing master ever dared take the passage without a +pilot, even though he might know it well. Whereupon old Killick +patted the officer upon the back, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear, +that's right enough for them; but hang me if I don't show you all +that an Englishman shall go at ease where a Frenchman daren't show +his nose! Come along with me, my dear, and I'll show you this +dangerous passage.'</p> +<p>"And he led him forward to the best place, giving his orders as +cool and unconcerned as though he had been in the Thames itself. +The vessel that followed, hearing what was going on, and being +afraid of falling into some peril herself, called out to know who +the rash sailing master was. 'I am old Killick!" roared back the +bold old fellow himself, hearing the question, 'and that should be +enough for you!'</p> +<p>"And he turned his back, and went on laughing and joking with +the officer, and bawling out his orders with all the confidence of +an experienced pilot."</p> +<p>"O Colin! And did he make no mistake? And what did the pilot +say?"</p> +<p>"Oh, he rolled up his eyes, and kept asking if they were sure +the old fellow had never been there before; and when we had got +through the great zigzag with never so much as the ghost of a +misadventure, and the signalling boats pointed to the deeper water +beyond, the old fellow only laughed, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear, a +terrible dangerous navigation! Chalk it down, a terrible dangerous +navigation! If you don't make a sputter about it, you'll get no +credit in England!'</p> +<p>"Then lounging away to his mate at the helm, he bid him give it +to somebody else; and walking off with him, he said, 'Hang me if +there are not a thousand places in the Thames fifty times worse +than that. I'm ashamed that Englishmen should make such a rout +about it!' And when his words were translated to the pilot, he +raised his hands to heaven in mute protest, and evidently regarded +old Killick as something not quite human."</p> +<p>"Hurrah for the old sea dog! That's the kind of mariner we have, +Mademoiselle Corinne; that's the way we rule the waves! Hurrah for +brave old Killick! We'll make as little of getting into Quebec as +he did of navigating the Traverse!"</p> +<p>The story of the old captain's prowess ran through Quebec like +lightning, and produced there a sensation of wonder not unmixed +with awe. If this was the spirit which animated the English fleet, +what might not be the next move?</p> +<p>It was quickly known that the redoubtable Wolfe had landed upon +the Isle of Orleans, and was marching in a westerly direction +towards the point three or four miles distant from the city where +he would be able to obtain a better view than heretofore of the +nature of the task to which he was pledged.</p> +<p>"Let him come," said the Marquis of Montcalm grimly; "let him +have from thence a good view of our brave town and its defences! +Perchance it will be a lesson to him, in his youthful pride. He +thinks he is a second Hannibal. It will cool his hot blood, +perchance, to see the welcome we are prepared to accord to the +invaders of our soil."</p> +<p>In effect there was another sort of welcome awaiting the English +fleet; for upon the next day one of those violent squalls for which +these northern waters are famous swept over the great river St. +Lawrence, and in the town of Quebec there were rejoicing and +triumph.</p> +<p>"Now let the British mariners look to themselves!" cried the +people, shaking fists in the direction of the invisible fleet, +which they knew was anchored off the south shore of the great +island. "We shall soon see what they can do against one of our +Canadian tempests! Pray Heaven and all the saints that it may sink +every one of them to the bottom, or grind them to pieces upon the +rocks!"</p> +<p>"Pooh! not a bit of it," cried the midshipmen in contempt, +though they watched the storm with secret anxiety. "As though +English-built vessels could not ride out a capful of wind like +this! See, it is clearing off already! in an hour's time it will +have subsided. As though our anchors would not hold and our sailors +keep their heads in such a little mock tempest as this!"</p> +<p>Luckily for the English fleet, the squall was as brief as it was +violent; nevertheless it did do considerable damage to the ships at +their anchorage, and flying rumours were brought in as to the +amount of harm inflicted. Certainly some considerable damage had +been done, but nothing beyond repair. It had not daunted one whit +the hearts of the invading foe.</p> +<p>Montcalm came into the city that evening, and supped with the +Abbe and Madame Drucour. He was not without anxiety, and yet was +calm and hopeful.</p> +<p>"The tempest did not last long enough to serve our turn as we +hoped. The Governor trusted it would have destroyed the whole +fleet; but from what I can learn, nothing was really lost except a +few of the flat-bottomed landing boats used in the disembarkation +of the troops. The English are certainly notable sailors; but it is +with her soldiers that we shall have more directly to deal. Still, +I wish we could have sunk her ships; it would have placed her on +the horns of a dilemma."</p> +<p>"I have heard," said the Abbe, "that the Governor talks of +destroying the fleet by fire. He has made considerable preparation +for such an attempt."</p> +<p>Montcalm smiled slightly.</p> +<p>"True; he has been busy with his fire ships for some while. For +my own part, I have but limited faith in them. They have cost us a +million, and I doubt whether they will prove of any service; yet +Vaudreuil is very confident."</p> +<p>"The Governor is wont to be confident--till the moment of actual +peril arrives," said the Abbe thoughtfully. "Well, we shall see--we +shall see. When are these notable fire ships to be sent forth?"</p> +<p>"I think tomorrow night," answered Montcalm, "but that is a +matter which rests with the Governor. I have no concern in it; and +when such is the case, I offer no advice and take no part in the +arrangements. Doubtless I shall see what is going on from some +vantage point; but Monsieur de Vaudreuil will not take counsel with +me in the matter."</p> +<p>"Fire ships!" cried the midshipmen, when Colin told them what he +had heard; "do they think to frighten English mariners with +fireworks and bonfires? Good! let them try and see. And O Colin, +good Colin, if they are going to send down fire ships upon the +fleet, let us be there to see!"</p> +<p>Colin desired nothing better himself. He was all agog to see the +thing through. And why should they not? It was not difficult to +obtain a boat, and in the darkness and confusion the four lads +would easily be able to follow the fire ships and see the whole +thing through. The midshipmen could navigate a boat with anyone, +and Colin had learned much of their skill. All day they were often +to be seen skimming about the basin of the St. Lawrence, +prospecting about for news, and watching the movements of the +English soldiers on shore, or of the fleet anchored a few miles +farther off. They had only to steal away unnoticed, and take to +their boat before the excitement began, and they could follow the +phantom ships upon their mysterious way, and watch the whole +attempt against the English fleet.</p> +<p>"Ah, but take me," cried Corinne, when she heard the +discussion--"do take me! It is so hard to be a girl, and see +nothing! I will not be in your way. I will not scream and cry, or +do anything like that. I only want to watch and see. I shall not be +afraid. And I want so much to see something! I know I could slip +away without anyone's knowing or missing me. Only say you will take +me!"</p> +<p>"Of course we will take you, Mademoiselle Corinne," cried Paul, +with boyish gallantry; "why should you not see as well as we? I +have a sister Margery at home who would be as wild to go as you can +be. She is as good as a boy any day. Wrap yourself well up in a +great cloak, so that you may keep warm, and so that nobody can +guess we have a lady on board, and we will take care of you, never +fear!"</p> +<p>Corinne clapped her hands gaily; although growing to maidenhood, +she had the heart of a child, and was full of delight at the +thought of anything that promised adventure and excitement.</p> +<p>"How good you are! And pray call me not 'Mademoiselle' any more; +call me Corinne--all of you. Let me be an English girl, and your +sister; for, in sooth, I feel more and more English every day of my +life. Sometimes I fear that I shall be hanged for a traitor to the +cause; for I find myself on the side of our English rivals more and +more every day!"</p> +<p>The compact thus sealed was easily carried out. The Abbe and his +sister, Madame Drucour, were keenly interested in the attempt of +the fire ships against the English fleet, and were to watch +proceedings from the steeple of the Recollet Friars. The daylight +lasted long now, and supper was over before the shadows began to +fall; and the excited lads were able to wait till the seniors had +started forth before they made their own escape down to the +harbour.</p> +<p>Corinne wrapped herself in a long black cloak, drawing the hood +over her head, and thus disguising herself and her sex completely +from any prying eyes; but indeed they scarcely met anyone as they +hurried along through the narrow streets to the unfrequented wharf, +where the boys had brought up the boat earlier in the day. Quickly +they were all aboard, and were gliding through the darkening water, +whilst the crowd gathered at quite a different part of the harbour +showed where the launch of the fire ships was going on.</p> +<p>Colin described them as well as he could.</p> +<p>"There are three or four big ones, and Monsieur Delouche is in +command; and then there is a great fire raft, as they call it--a +lot of schooners, shallops, and such like, all chained together--a +formidable-looking thing, for I got one of the sailors to show it +me. I suppose they are all pretty much alike, crammed with +explosives and combustibles; old swivels and guns loaded up to the +muzzle, grenades, and all sorts of things like that, some of them +invented for the occasion. We must give these fellows a wide berth +when once they are set alight; for they will burn mightily, and +shower lead and fire upon everything within reach. I only trust +they may not do fearful damage to the English ships!"</p> +<p>"Not they!" cried Peter, with a fine contempt in his voice. "The +Frenchies are safe to make a muddle of it somewhere; and our bold +jack tars won't be scared by noise and flame. You'll soon see the +sort of welcome they will give these fiery messengers."</p> +<p>The night darkened. There was no moon, and the faint wreaths of +vapour lay lightly upon the wide waste of waters. Corinne gazed +about her with a sense of fascination. She had never before been so +far out upon the river; and how strange and ghostlike it appeared +in the silence of the night!</p> +<p>Ten o'clock struck from the clocks in the town behind them, and +Colin turned back to look towards the harbour.</p> +<p>"They were to start at ten," he remarked. "Let us lie to now and +watch for them. We must give them a wide berth, but not be too far +distant to see what they do."</p> +<p>Corinne gazed, breathless with excitement, along the darkening +water. The silence and increasing darkness seemed to weigh upon +them like a tangible oppression. They could hear their own excited +breathing; and all started violently when Arthur's voice suddenly +broke the silence by exclaiming:</p> +<p>"I see them! I see them--over yonder!"</p> +<p>The boat in which the eager lads and equally eager girl were +afloat was drifting about not very far distant from the Point of +Orleans, where were an English outpost and some English shipping, +although the main part of the fleet was some distance further on. +The watchers expected that the ghostly ships, gliding upon their +silent way, would pass this first shipping in silence and under +cover of the darkness, and only begin to glow and fire when close +to the larger part of the hostile fleet. Yet as they watched the +oncoming vessels through the murk of the night, they saw small +tongues of flame beginning to flicker through the gloom, and run up +the masts and sails like live things; and all in a moment came a +smothered roar and a bright flashing flame which, for the few +seconds it lasted, showed the whole fire fleet stealing onwards, +and the boats by which the crews of them were making good their +escape.</p> +<p>"They have fired them too soon!" cried Colin, in great +excitement. "I know they were not to have done it till they had +passed the Point and got well into the south channel, where all the +shipping lies."</p> +<p>"Hurrah!" cried Peter, waving his cap; "did we not say that the +Frenchies would make a mess of it? They may be good for something +on land; but at sea--"</p> +<p>There was no hearing the end of the sentence; for with a roar +like that of a volcano in eruption one of the ships burst into a +mass of flames, whilst the rest became lighted up by the glare, and +were soon adding to the conflagration--the fire racing up their +masts and rigging, and showing them against the black waters like +vessels of lambent flame.</p> +<p>"How beautiful, yet how terrible!" cried Corinne, as she gazed +with fascinated eyes. "But look--look--look--look how the water is +torn up with the shower of lead that falls from them! Are they not +like fiery dragons spouting out sheets of fire? Oh, and listen how +they hiss and roar! Are they not like live things? Oh, it is the +most terrible thing I have ever seen. How glad I am that they are +not running amongst the English ships! They are beautiful, terrible +creatures; but I think they are doing no hurt to anything."</p> +<p>"And look yonder!" cried Peter, pointing landwards in great +excitement; "see those long red lines drawn up on shore! Those are +our English soldiers, all ready to receive the foe should they seek +to land under cover of this noise and smoke and confusion. As +though our British grenadiers would be scared by false fire like +yon fireworks!"</p> +<p>"And see, see again!" yelled Paul, still more excited--"see our +sailors getting to their boats! They are going to row out and +grapple those flaming monsters. See if it be not so. They are +drifting down a little too near our few ships. You will see now for +yourself, Corinne, the stuff of which our mariners are made!"</p> +<p>"Oh surely, surely they will not go near those terrible +vessels!" cried Corinne.</p> +<p>"Yes, but they will," cried Arthur, watching their movements +keenly; "oh, would I were with them to help! See, see! they are +getting their grappling irons into the boats. That means they are +going to grapple these blazing ships, and tow them somewhere out of +harm's way. Hurrah for England and England's sailors! Now you will +see what our answer will be to these fiery messengers."</p> +<p>Corinne clasped her hands in mute wonder and amaze as the boats +shot off from shore, bearing straight down upon the great fire +raft--the most formidable of all the fleet--which was spouting +flame and lead, and blazing like a live volcano, roaring the while +like a veritable wild beast, as though animated by a demon of +fury.</p> +<p>"They never can go near it; they will be burned alive!" cried +the girl, in affright.</p> +<p>But the midshipmen watched the tactics of the boats with eyes +full of eager comprehension.</p> +<p>"They will tackle it somehow, you will see," cried Peter. "See, +they are getting round to the leeward of it, and they will lie off +till it has finished its most deadly spouting. But it is drifting +down upon the ships at anchor. They will never let it get amongst +them. You will see--you will see! O brave jack tars, show the +mettle you are made of in the eyes of all Quebec this night!"</p> +<p>Corinne could scarcely bear to look, and yet she could not turn +her eyes away. The English sailors, laughing and joking the while, +swarmed round the fiery monster in their boats, singing out to one +another, and at favourable moments flinging their grappling irons +and sheering off again.</p> +<p>"All's well! all's well!" they kept calling out, as one after +another they fixed their hold; then with united and manful effort, +and with a sing-song sound which came rolling over the water with +strange effect, they commenced towing their blazing prize away from +the ships she was nearing rather too threateningly, whilst great +shouts and rounds of cheering went up from those afloat and +ashore.</p> +<p>"Oh, well done, well done, brave men!" cried Corinne, roused to +a keen enthusiasm; and in one of the pauses of the cheering, when +silence had fallen upon the spectators owing to a sudden vicious +outrush of flame, which seemed for a moment as though it must +overwhelm the gallant English tars, a voice came from one of the +tow boats, calling out to a companion in another:</p> +<p>"I say, Jack, didst thou ever take hell in tow afore?"</p> +<p>The monster raft, flaming and sputtering, together with the +other fire ships beyond, was coolly towed ashore by the intrepid +sailors, and all were left to burn away harmlessly upon the strand, +where they could hurt nothing; whilst peals of laughter and +cheering went up from the English camp.</p> +<p>"Poor Monsieur de Vaudreuil!" exclaimed Colin, as he prepared to +sail back to the dark city, "I wonder if he has seen the fate of +his vaunted fire ships?"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch5-4" id="Ch5-4">Chapter 4</a>: Hostilities.</h2> +<p>"Alas! alas!" wailed the townsfolk, when the news of the fiasco +of the fire ships was made known, "those dogs of English are too +much for us upon the water; but let them attempt to meet us on +land, and we will show them what we can do!"</p> +<p>"Do they think French soldiers are the only ones who can fight?" +asked Arthur, with a note of wondering scorn in his voice, as the +sense of these words came to him. "Well, they will have their wish +fast enough, I doubt not! Wolfe is here; and if he cannot fight, +write me down an ass! They have seen what the sailors can do; now +we will show them what our soldiers are good for!"</p> +<p>"Don't boast, Arthur," quoth Peter, the eldest of the trio; "we +can do without great swelling words. The French boast themselves +into the belief that they hold this whole vast continent in +possession. We must not be like them, and seek to boast ourselves +into Quebec! We will wait till our flag is flying from yon +battlement, and then it will be time enough to talk."</p> +<p>"All right," answered Arthur gaily; "I'll wager it will not be +long before we see it there!"</p> +<p>"Only don't let our townsfolk hear you saying that," said +Corinne, laughing, "else they may be disposed to set you hanging +there instead!"</p> +<p>And at that retort a laugh was raised against Arthur, who was a +little disposed to gasconade, and to an unmerited scorn of the +valour of their French rivals.</p> +<p>"Nor will Quebec be taken in a day, nor a week, nor a month," +added Corinne, "if all we hear be true. Monsieur de Montcalm has no +intention, it is said, of meeting your Wolfe in battle. He means to +lie behind these strong walls, and yonder formidable earthworks +which protect his camp, and wear out the patience of the foe till +the autumn storms force them to leave these coasts for a safer +harbourage. There will be no fighting in the open, they say; all +will be done by the guns cannonading us, and by ours returning the +fire. It may be grand and terrible to watch, but it will not bring +things quickly to an issue."</p> +<p>"Yet Wolfe will contrive something to keep the foe busy, or I am +much mistaken," cried Peter. "Doubtless a pitched battle is what he +would most desire; but if that is not to be, he will find a way of +harassing his foes. Never fear, Corinne; you will see enough of war +before long--trust my word for that!"</p> +<p>"Enough, and too much, perchance," said the girl, with a little, +quick sigh; "my aunt tells me that war is a fearful game to behold. +Sometimes my heart sinks within me at what is about to befall. And +yet I am glad to be here; I would not be elsewhere. I long to see +this great struggle and watch it through. All say that Quebec is +the key of Canada. Whichever nation holds Quebec will be master of +the whole vast province."</p> +<p>"Ay, and Wolfe knows that as well as the French themselves. His +cry has always been, 'To Quebec!'</p> +<p>"And yonder he is, within a few miles of his goal! Now we shall +see what he can do."</p> +<p>In truth they were very soon to see and feel for themselves in +the city what Wolfe could and would do.</p> +<p>A day or two later sounds of excitement and alarm in the street +proclaimed that something fresh was afoot, and Colin with his +comrades darted out to learn the news. The citizens were gathering +together and running for places which commanded a view over the +river, and those who had telescopes or spyglasses were adjusting +them with trembling hands, pointing them all in one +direction--namely, towards the heights of Point Levi opposite, +where the river narrowed itself till it was less than a mile +wide.</p> +<p>"What is it?" cried Colin to a man with a glass at his eye.</p> +<p>"The English soldiers are there!" he answered; "I can see their +red coats swarming up the heights. Holy Virgin protect us! They are +making fascines and gabions. They are going to bring up their guns. +They will be able to lay the houses of the Lower Town in ruins, +even if they cannot touch the fortifications. Why did not the +Governor leave a stronger force over yonder to protect us?"</p> +<p>That question was being passed from mouth to mouth by the +anxious and frightened townspeople. They had been full of +confidence and courage up till now; but the news that Wolfe had +taken Point Levi, and was bringing up guns and intrenching himself +upon the heights, filled them with apprehension.</p> +<p>"What are our guns doing that they do not open fire and dislodge +them?" cried one voice after the other. "Where is the Marquis of +Montcalm? Why does he not take steps for our defence?"</p> +<p>Montcalm was indeed coming post haste to the city, seeing +clearly the menace in this action of the English General. He +bitterly regretted having left the defence of Point Levi to the +Canadian contingent there; for the Canadians were very uncertain +soldiers, and were easily discouraged, though if well led and +generalled they could be of great service in certain kinds of +warfare. But it was known that the Canadians were already beginning +to look upon the English as their possible new rulers; and some of +them were disposed to regard a change of masters almost with +indifference, so long as they were not interfered with in their own +possessions. It was quite likely they had only made a very +half-hearted resistance to the English foe; at least one thing was +certain--Wolfe had gained possession of these heights with +singularly little difficulty.</p> +<p>But Montcalm was not going to let him remain there if he could +by any means dislodge him. Hardly had the General entered the +fortress before Corinne heard, almost for the first time, the +strange screaming noise of a shell hurtling through the air, and +the next moment there were gushes of smoke from a dozen places +along the fortifications, as the great guns were pointed and fired +and the balls and bombs went flying across the great river, to fall +amongst the busy toilers on the opposite height, carrying death and +destruction with them.</p> +<p>Eagerly was the result of the fire watched and waited for. The +citizens cried out to those with glasses to tell them the +result.</p> +<p>"They take no notice," cried one man who was commandingly +posted; "they toil on without so much as a pause. The fire has not +touched them yet; the guns are pointed too low. They are bringing +up their own guns now; they have one battery almost complete. In a +few hours they will be ready to return our fire. Can nothing be +done to stop that? Our houses and churches will be knocked to +pieces, and our town destroyed! The General says that this will do +them no good--they cannot touch the citadel and fortifications; but +are we to have our homes destroyed about our ears? We men of Quebec +will not stand that!"</p> +<p>Fear and indignation were filling all hearts. Why had Point Levi +been so poorly defended? Why had it been left such an easy prey to +the foe? Who was to blame? Governor or General--Vaudreuil or +Montcalm? The balance of opinion was in favour of the General, +whose known ability and personal charm had rendered him popular +with the citizens, whilst Vaudreuil commanded but little respect or +confidence. Still, whoever was to blame, the fact remained. The +town was in terrible danger of a ruinous bombardment, and the +efforts now made to beat back and dislodge the enemy met with no +sort of success.</p> +<p>On and on they toiled. The shot and shell certainly fell amongst +them after a while, but seemed in no whit to disconcert them. The +Canadian soldiers regarded with amaze this cool intrepidity. They +themselves could be bold in forest warfare, with shelter all around +them; but they were never steady in the open under fire, and could +hardly credit how any soldiers could pursue their tasks unmoved by +the leaden rain descending upon and about them.</p> +<p>"The devil and his angels must be protecting them!" cried the +women, crossing themselves in fear; but the English midshipmen +laughed aloud.</p> +<p>"What do they think soldiers are for, if not to do their duty in +the teeth of danger and difficulty? They are a strange people, +these Canadians. Surely the French troops would face peril as +steadily if they were put to it?"</p> +<p>"Oh yes," answered Colin; "the French regulars fight exceedingly +well. Has not that been proved a thousand times on European soil? +But the plaint of our General is that France sends him so few men, +and that the Indians and Canadians are not of the same value, save +in certain classes of warfare and in their native forests. The +Governor is, however, so jealous for the honour of his Canadians, +that he seeks in his dispatches to give all the credit of victory +to them. So it is natural that the French minister should be chary +of sending out regulars, which are so urgently needed over there +for the war. Monsieur de Montcalm has told my uncle many things on +this very point. He is always urging the Government to send us more +men, but he can only get the half of what he needs. Perhaps, in +days to come, France may regret that she did not listen better to +his representations. We shall have need of good men if this city is +to be held for her against the English."</p> +<p>When the lads reached their home, they found the Abbe and his +sister deep in talk. Corinne had been listening with attention, but +now she turned eagerly to the lads, to ask what news they brought. +Their tale was soon told, and all faces were grave.</p> +<p>"It will be a disastrous thing for the city to be bombarded," +said the Abbe. "It may not bring the capitulation any nearer, but +it will harass and dishearten the citizens. I am truly sorry for +them; they will certainly suffer. It should have been better +managed than that those opposite heights should fall so easy a prey +to the foe. Again that is the mismanagement of the Governor."</p> +<p>"Several boats have come over from the opposite shore," +whispered Corinne to her brother, "bringing news of what happened +there. There has been little enough resistance to the English +soldiers. A party landed at Beaumont, sending in front a band of +Rangers, who had a little scuffle with some Canadians in the woods, +and drove them off. The soldiers landed, and a placard was posted +upon the door of the church. It was signed by Wolfe. It told the +Canadians that if they would stand neutral in the coming struggle, +they should have full protection both of their persons and +property, and undisturbed liberty of religion; but warned them that +if they presumed to take up arms against the English, their houses +and goods should be destroyed and their churches despoiled. This +placard the Canadians removed when the soldiers had gone, and have +brought it to Quebec for the Governor to see."</p> +<p>"And what says he?"</p> +<p>"Nay, we know not, but it has caused a great commotion in the +town. If the Canadians do not stand by the French in this struggle, +the English must needs be victors."</p> +<p>"Ay," spoke the Abbe, whose face was very grave, "and the case +is but an evil one for them, as they begin to see. Already they are +weary of the war. They love not the life of the camp or the waiting +which is now imposed upon them. They are longing already to get +back to their homes and their farms, and see after their crops and +harvests. Yet if they refuse service under their masters the +French, they are threatened with Indian raids; and if they fight +the English, they are now threatened with their fury and vengeance. +It is small wonder that they are perplexed and half-hearted. We +shall have trouble with them, I fear me, ere the battle has been +fought and won."</p> +<p>Trouble was certainly menacing the town. There was no immediate +danger of its falling into the enemy's hands; but he was putting +himself in a position from which he could inflict irritating and +harassing injury to the town, and was making evident and active +preparations to do so. The military authorities, who looked at the +larger issues of affairs, regarded with perhaps a little too much +coolness the prospect of the destruction of some churches and a +large number of houses and other buildings, consoling themselves +with the knowledge that the fortifications would not suffer +greatly, and that Wolfe would be no nearer taking Quebec after he +had laid in ruins the homes of the citizens. But the exasperation +of these individuals was great, and their fear rose with every hour +which passed. They saw that batteries were being erected, +intrenchments thrown up; that their fire was no check to the +activity of the foe; and that before very long the storm of shot +and shell would be returned with interest, and would fall upon +their city, making terrible havoc there.</p> +<p>Something must be done! That was the word on all lips. In +warlike days even peaceful citizens are not altogether ignorant of +the arts of war, and the burghers in the streets were mustering +strong together, every man of them armed, their faces stern and +full of determination as they moved all together to one of the open +squares in the city, and the place soon presented a most animated +appearance.</p> +<p>Not citizens alone, but pupils from the seminaries, Canadians +from the other shore, and a sprinkling of soldiers had joined the +muster. Every man carried arms, and when they had assembled to the +number of between one and two thousand, a loud call was made for +the Governor.</p> +<p>When Vaudreuil appeared, looking harassed and anxious, it was +explained to him that the burghers of the city demanded leave to +make a determined effort to save their houses and property from +destruction. Would the Governor grant them an experienced officer +to lead them? They would then cross the river at night, make a +compass round the English camp, and set upon them from behind at +dawn, whilst the guns from the town opened fire in front. Caught +thus between two fires, and attacked front and rear, they must +quickly be dislodged and annihilated; and the citizens would make +themselves masters of these hostile batteries, which they would +take good care should never fall into English hands again.</p> +<p>Their request was granted. An officer of considerable +experience, Dumas by name, was told off to head the expedition, and +a good many regular soldiers, who volunteered for the service, were +permitted to accompany them.</p> +<p>Dearly would the three midshipmen have loved to be of the party, +to see all that went on, but they knew they must not make such a +suggestion. They were known in the town as prisoners on parole. It +would appear to all that they meditated escape. But they urged upon +Colin to try to see it all, and bring word again what had +befallen.</p> +<p>Colin was nothing loth. He longed to be in the thick of the +struggle. Moreover, he was well known to the citizens, and was +loved for his own sake as well as for that of his uncle the Abbe, +who went daily to and fro amongst the agitated people, seeking to +calm their fears and to inspire them with courage and hope.</p> +<p>"I will go!" he cried. "Watch you from this side, and mark how +the gunners do their work at dawn. If all goes well, our signal for +attack will be the sound of the guns opening fire upon yonder +batteries. And yet I shall scarcely wish to see the English +dislodged. I do not want our town laid in ruins; yet I truly +believe the English rule would be a benefit to this distracted +realm. Their own colonies, if report speaks truth, are far more +flourishing and strong than any France has ever planted. You have +the knack of it, you Britons. Sometimes I doubt whether we shall +ever learn it."</p> +<p>"Don't say 'we,'" cried Arthur. "You are more than half an +Englishman already, and we will teach you to be one of us before we +have done. You neither look nor speak nor act like a Frenchie. Of +course here in Quebec, amongst your own acquaintances and friends, +you will feel to belong in some sort to them; but once we get you +into English ranks, you will soon forget that you ever were +anything but an Englishman at heart."</p> +<p>Colin was almost ready to believe this himself, though he +scarcely liked to put it so broadly, lest it should seem like +treachery to his own family and friends. He was possessed of a very +keen admiration for British pluck and boldness and audacity. The +things he had heard and seen had fired his enthusiasm, and he was +quite of the opinion that were the free choice to be one day his, +he would choose to throw in his lot with the English invaders of +Canadian soil. To watch how this game of skill and address was to +be played out between the two powers was now his great aim and +object, and he was eager to be a spectator in the next scene of the +drama.</p> +<p>His way was made quite easy; for the Abbe himself resolved to +accompany the expedition, and watch from a distance the effect of +the combined attack upon the English batteries. He would have been +better satisfied had Montcalm been consulted; but he was away at +Beauport, and if the citizens were to achieve anything, it would be +better for them to strike whilst the iron was hot. Another day and +the leaden storm might have opened upon the city, and the heart +might be taken out of them.</p> +<p>All was now hurry and confusion--too much confusion for the +approval of the Abbe, who, with the officer in command and the +regular troops, sought to allay it, and to infuse more of +discipline and organization into the arrangements.</p> +<p>Colin ran back to say farewell to Corinne and Madame Drucour; +and they bid him be careful of himself, and come back amongst the +first to bring them news. After promising this Colin departed, and +the night fell upon the town--a restless night for those within its +walls; for there was scarce a house but had contributed its one or +more members for the expedition, and all knew that the salvation of +their homes depended upon the success of the attack.</p> +<p>It was a hot, dark night, and there was little sleep in the +city. It would be impossible to hear at that distance, even if some +hand-to-hand fighting were to take place on the opposite bank. The +wind set the wrong way, and only if the big guns boomed out would +they be likely to know that the English had been aroused. Eagerly +was the dawn waited for, when the city guns would give the expected +signal; but the dawn came so wrapped in fog, and it was not quite +as early as was expected that the boom and roar from the +fortifications told that the gunners could sight the opposing +batteries. The blanket of fog seemed then to roll up and away, +leaving the glistening river lying like a sheet of silver at their +feet.</p> +<p>But what was the meaning of that crowd of boats all making for +the city as fast as oars and sails could bring them? It was hardly +six o'clock in the morning, and the attack could not well have been +commenced before five. What, then, were they doing, hurrying back +in their boats like hunted hares?</p> +<p>Those with telescopes, watching from the heights above, declared +that the English were pursuing their occupations with the most +perfect unconcern, that they were bringing up more guns, and that +the batteries were now so well planted and defended that the city +guns did no harm. Shell away as they might from Quebec, no effect +was produced upon their solid earthworks; and it was abundantly +evident that very soon they would he in a position to open fire +upon the hapless city. Down to the river level rushed the excited +people, to meet the returning boats. Such a clamour of inquiry, +response, anger, and disappointment arose that at first nothing +could be made out. The midshipmen cleared a path for the Abbe and +Colin through the gathering crowd; and as soon as they were fairly +within the walls of their home, they began to tell the dismal +tale.</p> +<p>"It was just a fiasco from first to last!" cried Colin. "It was +as our uncle said: there was no order or discipline or preparation. +One might as well have sent out a pack of children to do the +work!"</p> +<p>"What happened?" cried Corinne breathlessly.</p> +<p>"Why, nothing but a series of gross blunders. We got across all +safe, and landed unopposed. The Seminary scholars were over first, +and marched off up the hill before the rest came. We got separated +in that way, and almost at once one felt that a sort of panic had +got hold of the people. The burghers who were so anxious to come +now got frightened, and were most difficult to get into order. +Dumas and the regulars did their utmost; but it was plain that the +people were scared out of their lives lest the English should +suddenly appear and attack them. After a long time we got into a +sort of order, and began the march, when all of a sudden there were +a crash and a blaze, and everything was thrown into confusion. They +yelled out that the English were upon them, and headed for the +boats."</p> +<p>"O Colin--the men who were so keen to fight!" cried Corinne; +whilst the midshipmen doubled themselves up with laughter, +exclaiming beneath their breath:</p> +<p>"O gallant burghers of Quebec!"</p> +<p>"It was disgraceful!" cried Colin hotly; "and more disgraceful +still was it that the fire came from our own side--from the +Seminary scholars, who had gone in advance; a thing they had no +business to do. But this was not the worst--at least it was not the +end of the bungling; for if you will believe me, the same thing +happened three distinct times. Twice more after we had got the men +formed up again, and were leading them up the hill behind the +English guns, did those wretched Seminary scholars mistake them for +the enemy and fire into their ranks. The last time they killed a +score or more, and wounded quite a large number of others. That was +too much. The men turned tail and fled helter-skelter back to the +boats, and there was no getting them back after that. The scholars, +too, when they heard what they had done, were seized with panic, +and joined the rout.</p> +<p>"I never saw such a scene in my life as the opposite shore +presented just as the dawn was breaking and the first gun boomed +out, and we knew that we ought to have been marching in compact +order along the crest of the hill to fall upon the gunners from +behind. Well, if this is how Quebec manages her affairs, she +deserves to have her houses battered in. We shall soon have the +answer from the English batteries, and we shall deserve it, +too!"</p> +<p>Colin was right. The iron storm began all too soon, and proved +to the full as destructive as had been feared. Churches and houses +were laid in ruins, and disastrous fires broke out, consuming +others. The unhappy occupants of the Lower Town fled from the +smoking ruins, some to take refuge with friends in the Upper Town, +which was considerably less exposed; others to fly into the open +country beyond, where they trusted to be safe from the English +invader. As the military authorities had proclaimed, this +destruction did not materially affect the position of the +belligerents--the English could not get much nearer their object by +shelling the town--but it did much to dishearten the citizens, and +produced a strong moral effect of depression, and murmurs even +arose in isolated quarters that it would be better to surrender +than to be destroyed.</p> +<p>Moreover, disquieting reports came from other places. The camp +of Montcalm extended, as has been said, from the river St. Charles +to the Falls of Montmorency. That great gorge was considered +protection enough, and it was believed that no enemy would be rash +enough to try to cross the river higher up; indeed, it was +popularly supposed that there was no ford. Nevertheless it soon +became known that Wolfe had effected a landing upon the farther +shore of the Montmorency; that he was fortifying a camp there, and +had found and was now holding a ford in the river above, whence, if +he chose, he could cross and fall upon the camp at Beauport.</p> +<p>There had been some argument at first as to the advisability of +dislodging him before he had made himself strong enough to resist +attack. The Intendant had given his voice in favour of the attack; +but for once the Governor and the General had been of one mind, and +had decided against it.</p> +<p>"Let him stay where he is," said Montcalm, after he had surveyed +the position; "he can do us little harm there. If we dislodge him, +he may find a footing elsewhere, and prove much more dangerous and +troublesome. If he tries to get across to us, we shall have a +welcome ready!"</p> +<p>So, though parties of Canadians and Indians harassed the English +in their camp, and were met and routed by the gallant Rangers, who +always accompanied the English forces, the soldiers remained in +their intrenchments, and took little notice of the rival camp. +Sometimes under flags of truce messages passed between the hostile +camps.</p> +<p>"You will no doubt batter and demolish a great part of the +town," wrote Montcalm on one occasion, "but you will never get +inside it!"</p> +<p>"I will have Quebec," wrote back Wolfe, "if I stay here till the +winter. I have come from England to win it. I do not go back till +my task is done."</p> +<p>Some smiled at that message; but Madame Drucour received it with +a little shivering sigh.</p> +<p>"Ah," she exclaimed, "I have seen Monsieur Wolfe; I can hear him +speak the words! Somehow it seems to me that he is a man who will +never go back from his resolve. If he has made up his mind to take +Quebec, Quebec will be taken!"</p> +<h1>Book 6: Without Quebec.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch6-1" id="Ch6-1">Chapter 1</a>: In Sight Of His +Goal.</h2> +<p>Wolfe stood rapt in thought beside the batteries upon Point +Levi. From his own camp at the Montmorency falls he had come over +in a boat to visit Brigadier Moncton's camp, opposite the city of +Quebec; and now he stood surveying the town--and the havoc wrought +upon its buildings by his cannon--with a glass at his eye, a look +of great thoughtfulness and care stamped upon his thin face.</p> +<p>Near at hand, ready to answer if addressed, was Brigadier +Moncton, a brave and capable officer; and a little farther off, +also watching the General and the scene spread out before him, +stood a little group of three, who had come across with Wolfe in +the boat, and who were, in fact, none other than our old friends, +Fritz Neville, Julian Dautray, and Humphrey Angell.</p> +<p>It had been an immense joy to these three men to meet together +in the camp of Wolfe round about Quebec. Julian had accompanied the +expedition from England, Fritz had joined Admiral Durell's +contingent whilst it was waiting for junction with the fleet from +England, and Humphrey had come to join them in the transport ships +from New York, bringing news of friends in Philadelphia, where he +had passed a portion of the time of waiting.</p> +<p>Now these three comrades, so long parted, and now brought +together by the chances of war, were almost inseparable. Wolfe had +appointed them posts about his own person, having taken for Fritz +almost the same warm liking that he had from the first felt towards +Julian and Humphrey, and which, in the case of Julian, had ripened +into a deep and ardent friendship.</p> +<p>Whilst the young General was making his survey, rapt in thoughts +which as yet he kept to himself, the three comrades spoke together +of the war and the outlook.</p> +<p>"It will be a hard nut to crack, this city of Quebec," said +Humphrey; "they were all saying that in Philadelphia as I left. Yet +all men say that Quebec is the key of Canada. If that falls into +our hands, we shall be masters of the country."</p> +<p>"And if our General has set his mind upon it, he will accomplish +it," said Julian briefly.</p> +<p>"He is a wonderful man," said Fritz, with a look of admiration +directed towards the tall, slim figure of the soldier; "would that +his body were as strong as his spirit! Sometimes when I look at him +I fear that the blade is too keen for the scabbard. That ardent +spirit will wear out the frail body."</p> +<p>"That is the danger," said Julian gravely; "but it is wonderful +what he can compel that frail body to go through. He will rise from +an almost sleepless night of pain and exhaustion, and do the work +of a man in sound health, infusing life and energy and enthusiasm +into everyone with whom he comes in contact! Truly the King's words +about him contained a great truth."</p> +<p>"What words?" asked Fritz.</p> +<p>"Why, you know that this Wolfe of ours is but a young man, +gallant enough, but far younger and less known than many another of +half his capacity. You know, too, that the Duke of Newcastle, to +whose blundering we owe half our misfortunes in the west, was never +known to make a wise selection of men for posts of command, and was +shocked and alarmed when he heard that Pitt had appointed a +comparatively young and untried man for the command of such an +expedition as this. He once said testily to the King that Pitt's +new general was mad.</p> +<p>"'Mad is he?' quoth His Majesty, with a laugh; 'then I hope he +will bite some more of my generals!'"</p> +<p>Fritz laughed at the sally.</p> +<p>"In truth we could have done with some more of that sort of +madness amongst the leaders of those border wars which have ended +so disastrously for us. But in very truth the tide did turn, as the +Abbe Messonnier had foretold, when Pitt's hand was placed upon the +helm of England's government. So much has been accomplished already +that I myself do not believe we shall turn our backs upon these +scenes before Quebec is ours."</p> +<p>"That is what they say in Philadelphia," cried Humphrey--"that +Quebec must and shall fall. If General Amherst can but capture +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he will march to our assistance by +land. Then the French will be caught between two armies, and the +nut will be cracked indeed! Did I tell you that our kinsman +Benjamin Ashley has declared that, directly Quebec falls, he will +come and visit the great city of which so much has been spoken, to +see for himself the great work? If he does this, he will bring his +wife and Susanna with him. You cannot think how keenly alive the +Philadelphians are becoming to the glory it will be to rid Canada +of French rule, and found an English-speaking colony there. The +Quakers still stand aloof, and talk gloomily of the sin of warfare; +but the rest of the people heed them no whit. They have furnished +and equipped a gallant band to join General Amherst, and they are +kindling with a great enthusiasm in the cause. Even our old friend +Ebenezer Jenkyns has been talking great swelling words of warlike +import. He would have joined the militia, he says, had not his +father forbidden him."</p> +<p>"It is well they have awoke at last," said Fritz, a little +grimly; "but it would have been better had they done so before +their border was harried, and their brothers and countrymen done to +death by the bands of Indian marauders."</p> +<p>At which saying Humphrey's face grew dark; for there was stamped +upon his brain one scene the memory of which would never be +effaced, though it should be a thousandfold avenged.</p> +<p>"I would that Charles could have lived to see the day when the +English should enter the city of Quebec!"</p> +<p>He spoke beneath his breath; but Fritz heard him, and answered +with thoughtful gravity:</p> +<p>"Perhaps it were not true kindness to wish him back. His death +blow was struck when his wife and children perished. The days which +remained to him were days of sorrow and pain. The light of his +life, the desire of his eyes, had been taken away. He lived but for +an act of vengeance, and when that was accomplished, I believe he +would have faded out of life had it not been that his own life was +extinguished at the same time as that of his foe."</p> +<p>Humphrey made a silent sign of assent. He could not speak much +even yet of the tragic fate of his brother, or of the events which +had led to it. Fritz turned the subject by speaking of John Stark +and the Rangers, asking Humphrey what had been known of them since +the breaking-up of the band after the disaster of Ticonderoga.</p> +<p>"I saw Stark," answered Humphrey eagerly. "Have I not told you +before? Ah well, we have not much time for talking these busy days. +Yes, I saw Stark; he came to visit his kinsfolk of the inn when I +was in Philadelphia. He has gone now with Amherst's party. He will +join Rogers, I suppose; and, doubtless, the Rangers will again do +good service, as they do everywhere. He was in half a mind to come +north with the expedition for Quebec, but decided that he would be +of more use in country every foot of which was familiar to him. But +he declared that, if once Ticonderoga were to fall, he would bring +us the news faster than any other messenger. How he will come, and +by what route, I know not; but this I know, that if there is a +victory for English arms yonder in the west, and if John Stark be +not killed, the sight of his face amongst us here will be the sign +to us that the victory has been won."</p> +<p>"And right welcome will be the sight of his face," cried Fritz, +"be his news what it may. John Stark is one of the best and bravest +men I know. I have told our General many a tale of him and his +prowess. Wolfe will have a welcome for him if he ever appears +here."</p> +<p>Wolfe seemed to have finished his survey. He took the glass from +his eye and looked round him. Moncton was at his side in a moment. +He, in common with all who fought with and under him, had a great +admiration for the gallant young General.</p> +<p>"Moncton," said Wolfe, in a voice loud enough for the other +three to hear plainly, "I want to get some ships past the city into +the upper reach of the river. The French General will not fight. I +give him chance after chance against me, but he does not take it. +He thinks a waiting game will serve his turn best, and perhaps he +is right. But we must leave no stone unturned to harass and perplex +him. I want a footing in the upper reach of the river. I want to +get some vessels past the town."</p> +<p>Moncton drew his lips together in a silent whistle.</p> +<p>"Will not the town batteries sink them like logs as they pass?" +he asked.</p> +<p>"They will, if they see them. They have left the river free of +vessels; they trust entirely to their guns. But our sailors have +done bolder deeds before this than the passing of some batteries +upon a dark night. If you were to cover their advance by a furious +cannonade upon the town, do you not think we could slip a few past +those frowning batteries, and make a new basis of operations for +ourselves in the upper reach of the river, above the town?"</p> +<p>Moncton's eyes glistened. It was a daring project, but it was +not without promise of success. Such things might be done, and yet +there was serious risk.</p> +<p>"It will weaken us in one way," pursued Wolfe, speaking in his +quiet, meditative fashion. "As it is, we are divided into three +camps--one here, one at Montmorency, and one on the Isle of +Orleans. If we carry out this plan, we shall be divided into four; +and should any pressing danger menace any one of those four camps, +it might be some while before assistance could be sent. And yet I +am more than half disposed to try. Montcalm does not appear to have +any intention of attacking us. And if we weaken ourselves, we shall +also weaken him by this movement. At present he is concentrating +his whole strength in and below the city. If we get a footing on +the upper river, he will have to send a contingent there to watch +us. Whether we have any reasonable hope of getting at the city in +that way, I cannot yet tell; I know too little of the character of +the ground. But at least we shall have won a strategic victory in +getting our ships past the guns of Quebec; and we shall cause +consternation and alarm there, even if nothing else."</p> +<p>"I will cover the movement with all the power of my guns," cried +Moncton eagerly; "and if the thing can be done, our sailors will do +it; they are in no whit afraid of the enemy's guns. And look--if +the ships get through, why not let our red-coats and blue-jackets +drag a fleet of boats across the base of this Point Levi, along the +low ground yonder, and launch them in the river above, where they +can join the ships and bring them reinforcements of men? Then we +shall have means of transporting men and provisions to these +vessels, and the sight of them upon their upper river will further +dishearten the citizens of Quebec, who have been very well punished +already by our guns."</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Wolfe. "I would sooner have shattered the +citadel than the houses and convents; but we must e'en do what we +can in this game of war. But your idea is excellent, Moncton. If +the ships succeed in making the passage, the boats shall certainly +be brought across, as you suggest. It will be a strategic triumph +for us, even though we do not reap immediate fruit from it. And if +once Amherst can march to join us, it will be everything to have +shipping in the upper river."</p> +<p>"And you are hopeful that he will?"</p> +<p>"If he can make good his position upon the lakes and in the +west. I have information that things are going well for us there; +but so far no definite news of the capture of Ticonderoga has +reached us. It is rumoured that Niagara is attacked, and is likely +to pass into our hands. There is no doubt that the French all along +the western boundary are in extremity. If Quebec goes, all will go; +they will have no heart to hold out. But, on the other hand, if we +are beaten here, and are forced to retreat unsuccessfully, it will +have a great moral effect throughout Canada."</p> +<p>"Canada is becoming very half-hearted towards its French +masters," said Moncton. "We hear a good deal from prisoners brought +to the camp by our scouts. We had one brought in the other day--a +cunning old rascal, but by no means reticent when we had plied him +with port wine. He said that they were sick to death of the +struggle, and only wished it over one way or the other. They would +be glad enough to stand neutral, and serve either French or English +according as the victory went; but their priests threaten them with +spiritual terrors if they do not fight for the cause of Holy +Church, as they term it, whilst the military authorities threaten +them with the Indians, and we, on the other side, with the +destruction of their farms and houses if they interfere in any way +with us. Their case is certainly a hard one."</p> +<p>"It is," answered Wolfe; "but, all the same, I am not going to +permit any infringement of the orders I have laid down. If the +people will stand neutral or help us, they shall have protection +and all reasonable help if the Indians attack them; but if they +prefer to obey their French masters or their priestly tyrants, and +harry and worry us, I keep my word, and I send out harrying parties +to drive off their cattle and bring themselves prisoners to our +camps. No violence shall be done them; no church shall be violated; +not a finger shall be laid upon any woman or child. If outrages are +committed by my soldiers, the men shall instantly be hanged or +shot. But I will have no infringement of my commands. What I say I +mean. I have posted up my intentions. The people know what they +have to expect. The free choice is theirs. If they will not take +the offered protection, they must abide by the consequences."</p> +<p>Inflexible firmness was written upon the thin face of the young +General. Cruelty was abhorrent to him whatever form it took; but he +could be stern and rigorous in the prosecution of any plan which +had been adopted after careful consideration. He knew that the +greatest blessing to the Canadians would be the termination of this +long and wearing war. From his heart he believed that transference +from French to English rule would be the happiest possible change +of fortune for them. Therefore he did not shrink from any measures +which should tend to bring about this consummation; and whilst +giving them every opportunity to save themselves and their property +by aiding or at least not interfering with or opposing his +measures, he made it abundantly plain that, if they persisted in +inimical courses, they would be treated as enemies.</p> +<p>The idea of effecting a passage of the city and forming a camp, +or at least a flotilla, above the town was a matter which afforded +much discussion and excitement throughout the English ranks. The +daring of it appealed to all hearts, and the sailors when they +heard it were keen for the enterprise, confident of success were +only a dark night to be chosen for the attempt. Old Killick, with +his hands in his pockets, rolled up and down his deck, chewing a +quid of tobacco, and giving his opinions on the subject.</p> +<p>"Pass Quebec! bless you, my dears, I'll undertake to pass the +town guns any hour of the day or night you like to send me. What a +rout they did make, to be sure, about their old river! They make +just such a rout about their precious guns! What English ship ever +feared to pass a French battery yet? Give me a capful of wind, and +I'll undertake to get my boat past whilst the Frenchies are trying +to get their guns pointed low enough to sink me! The soldiers have +been having their turn for a bit; it's time we had one now. We've +had nothing to amuse us since those pretty fireworks the Frenchies +were kind enough to get up for us the other week! Oh that they +should think to scare us with such toys as that! Oh my, what fools +some men can be!"</p> +<p>With Wolfe resolution was speedily followed by action. No sooner +had he made up his mind what he meant to do than preparations were +instantly set on foot. He came down in person to inspect the fleet, +and discuss with the Admirals what ships should be chosen for the +service. Finally, the <i>Sutherland</i> was selected as the ship to +run the gauntlet, on account of her sailing capacities and the +excellence of her sailing master and crew. A frigate was to +accompany her, and several smaller vessels, one of which, to his +great satisfaction, was Killick's; and he was permitted to lead the +way, as his shrewdness and skill in nautical matters were well +known throughout the fleet.</p> +<p>Colonel Carleton, a promising and experienced officer, was in +charge of the troops. But Wolfe himself could not be far away. He +was to watch everything from Point Levi, and in the event of +success to superintend the passage overland of the flotilla of +boats; and in one of these he purposed himself to join the +expedition in the upper river, and make a careful survey of the +defences there.</p> +<p>Dearly would he have liked to make one of the daring party who +were to run the gauntlet of the French batteries, but he knew his +responsibilities as General of the forces too well to expose +himself rashly where he could not take the lead. He must trust to +the sailors for this thing; his turn would come later.</p> +<p>All was in readiness. The selected vessels were lying at anchor, +ready to loose from their moorings when the sun had sunk. Wolfe in +his light boat, managed by Humphrey and Fritz, had made a tour of +inspection, and was now speeding across the water towards Point +Levi, up the heights of which several additional powerful guns had +been carried earlier in the day to assist in the cannonade planned +for the night.</p> +<p>Little was spoken by the General or his subordinates. Wolfe had +been suffering much during the past days from acute rheumatism, and +from the inward malady which gave him little rest night or day. His +face looked very thin and drawn, but the fire in his eyes was +unquenchable, and it was plain that his mind was not with himself, +but with the enterprise, carefully thought out and courageously +planned, which was to be attempted that night.</p> +<p>"Take me as near to the town batteries as is safe," he said; and +the boat's head was directed towards the northern shore.</p> +<p>"I believe it will be done," he said, after a keen inspection of +the batteries through his glass. "The guns are almost all pointed +towards Point Levi. If the ships make good way with wind and tide, +as they should, they will glide so fast along that, even if +sighted, they will almost have passed before the guns can be +depressed sufficiently to be dangerous."</p> +<p>Then they made for Point Levi, and Wolfe stepped ashore, to be +received by Moncton, who escorted him to the batteries to see their +preparations. The three friends, released from attendance upon him, +took up a position from which they could command a view of what +passed, in so far as the darkness of night should permit them any +view. A pall of cloud hung in the sky, and the shades of evening +fell early. Yet it seemed long to the anxious watchers before the +darkness blotted out the view of the distant city, and of the +panorama of dancing water beneath.</p> +<p>Generally the guns from Point Levi boomed all day, but were +silent at night, leaving the camp to repose. But though they had +ceased to fire at sundown, darkness had no sooner fallen than the +iron mouths opened in a prolonged and terrific roar, a blaze of +yellow light glowed along the batteries, and the watchers from the +strand heard the huge shells screaming overhead as they hurtled +through the air, carrying with them their terrible messages of +death and destruction.</p> +<p>The noise was terrific; the sight was terrible in its fierce +grandeur. The three companions had seen many strange and fearful +things during the past years, but perhaps they had never before +been quite so near to a battery spouting out its leaden rain in +great broad flashes of lambent flame.</p> +<p>Julian and Fritz could not turn their eyes from the magnificent +sight; but Humphrey, after one glance, turned his upon the dark +waterway, and it was his voice that spoke at last in accents of +keen emotion.</p> +<p>"Here come the ships."</p> +<p>The others could not see for a while--their eyes were dazzled; +and in the roar and rattle of artillery overhead nothing could be +heard of the silent advance of those darkened hulls as they slipped +like ghosts through the water. They were as close to the south bank +as it was safe to keep, and followed Killick's sloop with as much +precision as possible. The strong tide beneath them, and the light, +favouring wind, bore them past at a rate that the spectators had +scarcely expected. They could just descry the dark, looming objects +gliding swiftly and silently along. But would the gunners in Quebec +see them? The onlookers held their breath as the phantom ships +sailed upon their way. They were passing the blazing batteries now, +and the cannonade was more furious than ever. The guns of Quebec +were blazing back. But was the fire directed only at the opposite +heights? or had the flitting sails been seen, and would the iron +rain pour upon the gallant vessels making the daring passage?</p> +<p>Fritz felt such an oppression upon his heart that he could +scarce draw his breath; but moments came and moments went, and the +ships glided unharmed upon their way. They had all passed the +batteries now. They were in the very narrowest part of the channel, +just where the town batteries commanded the passage. Humphrey could +stand it no longer.</p> +<p>"To the boat," he cried, "to the boat! yonder she lies! Let us +follow and make sure, and bring the General word!"</p> +<p>In a moment the three had rushed down, and were running their +boat into the water. Next minute the sail was up, and the light +little craft was cutting through the black river at a gallant pace. +Now she had caught up the last of the silent string of daring +cruisers; now she was gliding by the large warship. All was safe, +all was silent on the water; only overhead the hurtling bombs and +balls roared and boomed. The gunners of Quebec had not sighted the +stealthy ships. The town knew nothing of what was being done under +cover of that furious cannonade. And now the batteries had been +safely passed; the lights of the town upon the right were beginning +to fade in the distance.</p> +<p>A sudden rift in the clouds let through a glancing beam of +moonlight, which fell full upon the figure of old Killick as he +stood upon the forecastle of his vessel, preparing to let down the +anchor as arranged when a safe place had been found. The old +sea-dog had convoyed the party as cleverly as he had navigated the +dangerous channel of the Traverse. He pulled out his battered +sou'wester and waved it in the direction of Quebec.</p> +<p>"Bless you, my dears! how well you do sleep! You ought to be +sound and hearty, I'm sure. Good luck to you, every man of you at +the guns! Bless my soul! if I were the Markiss of Montcalm, when I +awoke in the morning to see the English ships in the basin above +the town, I'd hang every mother's son of them each to his own gun! +But poor fellows, it would be hard to blame them. They can't help +being born Frenchmen and fools after all!"</p> +<p>A laugh and a cheer from those who heard greeted old Killick's +sally; and Humphrey, quickly turning round the prow of the boat, +sent her speeding back to Point Levi, to bring certain tidings of +the success to Wolfe.</p> +<h2><a name="Ch6-2" id="Ch6-2">Chapter 2</a>: Days Of Waiting.</h2> +<p>"I am sorry that you should have to be disturbed, dear ladies, +but it is no longer safe for you to remain where you were. My +soldiers require the ground. But tomorrow you shall be sent in +safety to Quebec, under a flag of truce. You will be safer there +than at Pointe-aux-Trembles, now that my ships are in the upper +river."</p> +<p>Wolfe spoke thus at the conclusion of a supper party, which he +had hastily got up for the benefit of the prisoners brought to +Point Levi by his fleet of boats. The soldiers had landed along the +upper river, and in spite of a faint resistance from Indians and +Canadians, had effected a landing. Though they had not found much +in the way of stores or cattle, they had taken what they could, and +had brought a number of prisoners to Wolfe's camp. These were +mostly French--a great number being women and children and old men +who had left Quebec during the bombardment, and sought refuge in +the outlying village.</p> +<p>The idea of being sent back to town was not exactly palatable, +but it was plain that there was now no safety along the upper +river; the English troops seemed to be everywhere at once.</p> +<p>"You are such dreadful people, you English!" sighed one lady, +looking, not without admiration, towards the youthful General, who +was entertaining them at his own table, and who had given the +strictest orders that the humbler of the prisoners should be +equally well treated elsewhere: "you seem to fly from point to +point, to divide your army as you will, and conquer wherever you +appear. It is wonderful, but it is terrible, too! And yet with all +this, how are you to get into Quebec? For it seems to me you are no +nearer that than you were a month ago."</p> +<p>Wolfe smiled his slight, peculiar smile.</p> +<p>"Madame," he answered, "we have a proverb in En gland which says +that 'where there's a will there's a way.' I have been sent out by +the government of my country to take Quebec, and here I stay till I +have carried out that order. How and when it will be accomplished I +do not yet know; what I say is that I am here to do it, and that I +mean to do it. When you return to the city, present my respects to +the Marquis of Montcalm, and tell him what I say."</p> +<p>The ladies looked at one another, and lifted eyes and hands. In +the aspect of the young General, despite his physical feebleness, +there was an air of such calm, confident power that they were +deeply impressed; and one of them, looking earnestly at him, +cried:</p> +<p>"You make us admire you as much as we fear you, Monsieur Wolfe. +But if you are to have Quebec, pray take it quickly; for this long, +cruel war wears us out."</p> +<p>"Madame," he answered, "I would that I could; but Monsieur de +Montcalm gives me no chance of fighting. If he were not so +cautious, I should greatly rejoice. I give him all sorts of chances +to attack me, but he will not avail himself of them. If caution +could save Quebec, assuredly it would never fall!"</p> +<p>"If he take not care, his caution will be his undoing," said a +Canadian dame of sprightly turn. "As for us of the country, we are +weary to death of uncertainty. They tell me that the Canadian +militia will not long remain loyal if kept in such inactivity. We +Canadians do not understand this sort of warfare. Quick raids, +sharp fighting, quick return home is what our men are used to. They +can be brave enough in their native forests; but this sitting down +in camps for weeks and months together, whilst their harvests are +lying uncut in the fields, or left a prey to Indian marauders--no, +that they do not understand or appreciate. They are almost ready to +welcome English rule sooner than go on like this. I doubt not you +have heard as much from your prisoners before."</p> +<p>"Something like it," answered Wolfe, with a slight curl of the +lip. "I confess I have no great opinion of the militia of Monsieur +de Montcalm. His regular troops are fine soldiers; but for the +rest, they would give us little trouble, I take it. Perhaps the +Marquis knows that, and therefore will not fight."</p> +<p>"In the woods one Canadian soldier is worth three regulars," +remarked the lady, with a shrewd glance at Wolfe, and a smile upon +her face; "but in the open one regular is worth half a dozen +Canadians. We do not understand standing firm under fire. Give us a +tree to run behind, and we will be as valiant as you wish, and +shoot down our foes with unerring aim; but we must have cover. We +have been used to it, and we do not understand being without it. I +am sure I well understand the feeling. I should make a good enough +Canadian militiaman, but I should never have the nerve to be a +regular soldier."</p> +<p>Wolfe smiled and made a little bow to his guests.</p> +<p>"I believe, Mesdames, that ladies have a higher courage than men +when the hour of peril really comes. I had the honour to become +acquainted with Madame Drucour at the siege of Louisbourg. I was +told, and can well believe, that it was in great part her heroic +example which inspired the men there to that courage which they +showed, and which gave us such hard work. Courage is by no means +the prerogative of the soldier or of man. The women of the world +have again and again set the loftiest examples of it to those who +come after."</p> +<p>The ladies returned his bow, and drank to his health before they +retired to their tents for the night.</p> +<p>"If we see you within Quebec, Monsieur Wolfe, we shall know how +generous a victor we have to deal with. Madame Drucour has told us +the same; but now we have seen it with our own eyes."</p> +<p>"Pray give my best compliments to Madame Drucour," said Wolfe +earnestly, "and tell her that not the least pleasant element in the +anticipation of getting into Quebec is the thought that in so doing +I shall have the honour and pleasure of renewing acquaintance with +her."</p> +<p>Wolfe was on the strand upon the following morning to see his +captives safely off to Quebec, whilst a flag of truce was hoisted, +and the batteries ceased to fire.</p> +<p>"Farewell, my dear ladies; I hope soon to meet you all again," +said the young General, with playful geniality, as he handed them +to their seats. "If Monsieur de Montcalm will but give me the +chance of coming to conclusions with him, I will do my utmost to +bring this uncomfortable state of affairs to a close."</p> +<p>"Ah, Monsieur, you are very complaisant! but the only way that +you want to take is the capture of our poor city."</p> +<p>"Very true, dear ladies; that is the only end I am willing to +contemplate. And yet, believe me, in desiring this I desire nothing +that shall be for your final discomfiture. I know what the rule of +France is in these parts, and what that of England is also. Believe +me that beneath English government peace and prosperity such as she +has never known before will come to Canada. I believe that the day +will speedily come when you will see this for yourselves."</p> +<p>"I should not wonder," answered the Canadian dame, with a light +laugh; "I am half disposed to think the same myself. His Majesty of +France has not endeared himself to us these many years past. I +should not be broken hearted to see a change of monarch."</p> +<p>The boats pushed off, and Wolfe stood watching them on their way +across the river. His face was grave and thoughtful, and he turned +presently to Fritz with a sigh.</p> +<p>"Poor ladies! I am sorry to send them back to the horrors of the +siege; but it is the only safe place for them.</p> +<p>"And now we must think seriously of our next step. The time is +flying, and we must not let the grass grow under our feet. It is +true what they said last night: we are no nearer taking Quebec than +when we sailed from England months ago. We have frightened and +harassed the foe, but we are not one step nearer the goal."</p> +<p>"And yet we have one ship and several smaller vessels in the +upper river," said Julian; "and where one ship has passed others +may do so."</p> +<p>"Yes; I shall try to bring up other vessels. One never knows +what the chances of war will be. It is well to have the command of +the river both above and below; and if Amherst should form a +junction with us, we may find the fleet above the town of great +use. But we are now at the end of July, and Ticonderoga, though +threatened, has not yet fallen, so far as we know; and even were it +to do so quickly, there will be much for Amherst to do there and at +Crown Point, and a long, long march before he could reach us. We +must face the possibility of having to accomplish this matter with +the forces now at command; and we are in the position now that our +camp is split up into four, and we have no great muster of troops +at any one point. If Montcalm were to make a determined dash at any +one of our camps, he could destroy it before the rest of the army +could be mustered for its defence. Why he does not avail himself of +the chances given him I do not know. But his policy of inaction has +its drawbacks too for us, since I would sooner face him in a +pitched battle than be kept here inactive, waiting upon chances +that never offer."</p> +<p>The army was certainly getting rather weary of this inaction. It +was not idle, for Wolfe's manifesto to the Canadians was now being +enforced. Supplies were wanted for the troops, and the inimical +Canadians were forced to supply them. Indeed, great numbers of +these harassed and undecided inhabitants of the disputed territory +were glad enough to be made prisoners by the English and sent on +board their transports for safety. Their cattle, of course, fell a +prey to the invaders; but they were in so much peril of robbery +from the Indians that this was a small matter. When once within +Wolfe's camp their lives were safe, and no ill treatment was +permitted; and to some of the wretched Canadians this had become a +boon. It was small wonder they were growing sick and weary of the +war, and would have welcomed either nation as conqueror, so that +they could only know again the blessings of peace and safety.</p> +<p>Yet something more definite must be attempted; Wolfe was more +and more determined upon that. It was difficult to know how best to +attack an enemy so strongly intrenched and so well able to repulse +attack; yet his men were burning with ardour, and his own spirit +was hot within him. He sometimes felt as though his feeble body +would not much longer be able to endure the strain put upon it. The +cracked pitcher may go once too often to the well. To die in the +service of his country was what Wolfe desired and expected for +himself; but he wished that death might come to him in the din and +excitement of the battle, and in the hour of victory; not by the +hand of disease, whilst his aim and object was yet +unaccomplished.</p> +<p>"We must fight!" he said to Julian, as he took his way back to +his camp at the Montmorency; "we must seek to bring the enemy to +close quarters. We shall fight at terrible disadvantage, I well +know; we shall suffer heavy loss. But I would back a hundred of our +brave fellows against a battalion of Canadian militia. We must try +conclusions with them somehow, and by a concerted attack, both from +Montmorency and from the strand, seek to effect something, even if +it be only to affright and dishearten them."</p> +<p>The soldiers were ready and eager to be allowed a fling at the +foe. They were full of ardour and enthusiasm, for so far every +attempt made had been vigorously and successfully carried out, and +they began to have an idea that Wolfe could not be frustrated in +any scheme of his.</p> +<p>To attack the city itself was obviously impossible under present +conditions, They could never get a footing near those solid walls +and ramparts. But the camp along the Beauport shore was more +vulnerable. If they could effect a landing there, they might rush +one or more of the batteries, and bring about a general engagement. +It was impossible, as it happened, for Wolfe to estimate the full +strength of the French position; but he knew that the task would be +no light one, even though he could not see that there were +batteries upon the heights above.</p> +<p>It was near to the Montmorency that he designed to make the +attack. The shores of the river were, for the most part, very steep +here; but at one place there was at low water a strand of muddy +ground about half a mile wide, protected at the edge by a French +redoubt. From there the ground rose steep and slippery to the +higher land above. If the men could land and take the redoubt, +Wolfe had hopes of bringing men over by the Montmorency ford--the +one above the cataract--and effecting a junction there, and by +combining the actions of these two detachments, succeed in +dislodging a portion of the French army, and effecting a firm +foothold upon the north bank of the St. Lawrence.</p> +<p>It was a rather desperate scheme; but it was received with +enthusiasm by the soldiers and sailors, both of whom would be +needed for the attempt. The vessels and boats for the transport of +the men were quickly made ready, whilst others were told off to +hover about the basin in order to perplex the French, and keep them +ignorant of the real point of attack.</p> +<p>Wolfe himself took up his position in the battleship +<i>Centurion</i>, which anchored near to the Montmorency, and +opened fire upon the redoubts just beyond the strand. Julian was +with him, watching intently, and noting every movement made by +enemy or friend. But Fritz and< Humphrey could not be denied +their share in the fight. They were upon an armed transport that +was standing in shore to further harass and batter the redoubt, and +to be left stranded by the ebb tide, as near to her as might +be.</p> +<p>It was at low water that the attack must be made. Boats from +Point Levi were hovering around the strand all the afternoon, +sometimes making for one point, sometimes for another, keeping the +French always on the alert, uncertain and wondering. But Montcalm +was too acute a general to be long deceived. He saw where the real +attack must be made, and there he concentrated his chief force. Had +Wolfe been able to see how his batteries could sweep with a +crossfire the whole of the steep ascent from the redoubt to the +heights above, where the men from the Montmorency camp might be +able to join with them, he might have withheld his men from the +bold attack. And yet English soldiers have won the victory even +against such odds as these!</p> +<p>He stood in a commanding place upon the ship, and his eyes +anxiously scanned the scene. The hot sun had gone in now beneath +banks of heavy cloud. A few splashes of rain seemed to herald an +approaching storm; there was a rumble as of thunder away to the +right.</p> +<p>The tide was out; the bank of mud lay bare. Wolfe gave a long +look round him and waved his hand.</p> +<p>It was the signal waited for. The moment after, the +<i>Centurion's</i> guns opened their iron mouths, and a storm of +shot rattled around the redoubt. The batteries from the Montmorency +blazed forth, and so did the more distant ones from Point Levi. The +fire of all three was concentrated upon the redoubts and batteries +and forces at this portion of the Beauport camp; and the French +gave answer back from their well-placed batteries.</p> +<p>Under cover of this heavy fire the boats rowed to shore, and the +men in waiting upon the stranded transports leaped out and joined +their comrades. The grenadiers were the first to land; and though +Moncton's brigade and Fraser's Highlanders were close behind, the +eagerness of the men could not be restrained. They did not wait for +their companions; they did not even wait to form up in very orderly +fashion themselves. They made a gallant dash upon the redoubt, and +so strong was the onrush that the French, after a very brief +resistance, fled; and with a shout and cheer of triumph the English +gained their prize.</p> +<p>Julian, standing beside Wolfe on the vessel, could not refrain +from a shout of triumph; but the face of the General was grave and +stern.</p> +<p>"They are wrong--they are wrong!" he said; "they are too +impetuous. Their rash gallantry will cost them dear. See, they are +not even waiting now for their companions to join them; they are +trying to rush the heights alone! Folly--madness! They will lose +everything by such rashness! There! did I not say so?"</p> +<p>At that moment the batteries on the brink of the height opened +their murderous crossfire. The men were mown down like grass before +the scythe; but so full were they of fury and desire of victory +that they heeded nothing, and pressed onward and upward, as though +resolved to carry everything before them.</p> +<p>Had they been able to see the heights above, they would have +noted that across the ford above the Montmorency a compact body of +men was passing in perfect order, to fall upon the French from +behind, and effect a junction with them. But at that moment, whilst +the fortunes of the day seemed hanging in the balance, the very +floodgates of heaven seemed to open, and a deluge of rain +descended, whilst the blackness of a terrific thunderstorm fell +upon the combatants.</p> +<p>The slippery grass no longer gave foothold, and the men rolled +down the steep heights--dead, wounded, and unhurt in one medley. +The ammunition grew soaked, and the guns refused their task. The +glare of the lightning lit up a scene of utter confusion.</p> +<p>Wolfe saw all, standing with grave face and stern, watchful +eyes. At last he spoke.</p> +<p>"Sound the retreat," he said, and then bit his lip; and Julian, +by a glance into his face, knew what it had cost him to speak those +words.</p> +<p>The retreat was made in good order, and was distinguished by a +few acts of personal gallantry; for the Indians swooped down, as +they always did when they saw their chance, to scalp the wounded +and the dead. Soldiers risked their lives to save their fallen +comrades from this fate, dragging the wounded with them, at risk of +their own lives. The guns of the captured redoubt did some service +in beating off the savages; and the boats were launched once more, +though their load was a far lighter one than when they had brought +up their eager crews an hour before. The strand and the height +above were covered with the dead who had paid for their rash +gallantry with their lives. It was a scene upon which Wolfe's eyes +dwelt with sadness and pain, as he ordered a boat to be got ready +for him, that he might address the men on their return to +quarters.</p> +<p>It was with stern words that Wolfe met his soldiers. He was not +a man to condone a lack of discipline because it had been coupled +with personal bravery.</p> +<p>"Do you grenadiers suppose that you can beat the French +single-handed?" he asked, eying the thinned ranks with stern +displeasure in his eyes. "Such impetuous, irregular, and +unsoldierlike proceedings as those witnessed today destroy all +order, and make it impossible for a commander to form any +disposition for an attack, and put it out of the General's power to +execute his plans. The death of those five hundred brave men who +lie on the strand yonder is due, in the main, to your rashness and +insubordination."</p> +<p>The men were shamefaced and contrite. They recognized their +error, and were the more grieved inasmuch as they saw how the check +had affected their brave young General. They heard, too, that the +French were full of triumphant rejoicings; that they declared this +repulse to be the end of the English attempt upon Quebec. They +looked upon the game as already in their hands; and although the +English were fond of declaring that but for the storm they would +yet have won the heights, and with the aid of their other +contingent have routed the French gunners and got a footing there, +they knew that, as facts were now, they had rather suffered than +benefited by the action, for it had put fresh hope into the hearts +of their foes; and it was possible that the disappointment had +something to do with the access of violent illness and suffering +which at this juncture prostrated their General.</p> +<p>Wolfe was indeed dangerously ill. He had long been putting the +strongest pressure upon himself, and Julian had been struck upon +the day of the assault with the look of suffering upon his worn +face. He kept up during the next few days, but looked so ghastly +that his friends were deeply concerned; and Julian, together with +Fritz and Humphrey, scoured the neighbourhood in order to find a +place of greater comfort where their commander could lie. Presently +they came upon a little farmhouse near to the camp at Montmorency, +sheltered from the wind, and pleasantly situated. It had been +deserted by its occupants, who had, however, left behind furniture +enough to enable them to get one room at least fit for the +habitation of the sufferer. And none too soon.</p> +<p>That very day Wolfe, after trying to make a survey of the lines, +was found in his tent half fainting with pain. He looked up at +Julian with heavy eyes, and stretching out his hand to him, he +said:</p> +<p>"I fear me I shall never live to enter Quebec. I have fought +till I can fight no more. Take me somewhere that I can rest. I can +do no more--yet."</p> +<p>They took him to the little farmhouse, and laid him upon the bed +they had prepared. The doctors came, and looked grave; for the +fever was high, the suffering keen, and the wasted frame seemed +little able to withstand the ravages of disease. Yet never a murmur +passed his lips; and when there came intervals of comparative ease, +he would ask of those about him how affairs without were +proceeding, giving orders from time to time with all his old acumen +and force, and never forgetting to inquire for the wounded who had +been brought off from the ill-starred assault, and had been given +the best quarters which the camp afforded. He had never any pity +for himself, but always plenty to spare for others.</p> +<p>Great gloom hung over the camp. Not only were the soldiers +depressed by their repulse, and by the apparent impossibility of +getting into the city, but they were in fear and trembling lest +they should also lose their brave General.</p> +<p>"If Wolfe goes, hope goes," was a common saying in the camp. +They seemed to know by intuition that with him would expire all +hope of achieving an almost impossible victory.</p> +<p>Fritz and Julian nursed the sick man; and never were nurses more +skilful and tender. Humphrey constituted himself messenger and +forager, bringing everything he could get that the invalid was +likely to need, and keeping them informed of everything that went +on at the different camps.</p> +<p>Other vessels had passed the guns of Quebec. Scouts from the +interior reported disaffection toward the French cause all through +Canada. English soldiers were carrying the terror of the British +arms through large tracts of country. The French were becoming +anxious and dispirited.</p> +<p>So much they learned during those days of waiting; but they +could rejoice but little whilst Wolfe lay low, racked with pain +which no medicine could alleviate, and in danger of sinking through +the wearing exhaustion which followed.</p> +<p>"How will it end? how will it end?" spoke Fritz to himself one +day late in August, as he stepped outside the house to obtain a +breath of air. The next moment he gave a great start, and held out +his hands in a gesture of amazement,</p> +<p>"What--who--how--is it a ghost I see?"</p> +<p>A hearty laugh was the answer, and his hands were gripped in a +clasp that was very certainly one of flesh and blood, to say +nothing of bone and muscle.</p> +<p>"Ghost indeed! Nay, Fritz, you know better than that! It is John +Stark himself, come to fulfil his promise, and to bring to General +Wolfe the news that Ticonderoga has fallen!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch6-3" id="Ch6-3">Chapter 3</a>: A Daring Design.</h2> +<p>Ticonderoga fallen! The news was like new wine in the veins of +Wolfe. Ill as he was, he insisted that Stark should be brought to +his bedside, and he eagerly entreated the bold Ranger to tell him +the whole story.</p> +<p>"There is not so much to tell as there might be," said Stark, +"for the French made no fight, either at Ticonderoga or at Crown +Point. We came with a gallant array against their fortresses, only +to find that the enemy had evacuated them. They tried to blow up +Ticonderoga before they left; but only one bastion was destroyed. +Crown Point was deserted without a blow being struck. I waited for +that, and then made good my word. I said I would be the first to +take the news of the fall of Ticonderoga to General Wolfe at +Quebec."</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes were shining with excitement.</p> +<p>"Then is General Amherst on his way here with his army?" he +asked eagerly.</p> +<p>Stark shook his head.</p> +<p>"Alas, no! there is still much work to be done. If the French +have abandoned these two forts, it is only that they may +concentrate all their strength at Isle-aux-Noix, where the General +must now attack them. And to do this he must build a brigantine and +other vessels; and though there is a sawmill at Ticonderoga, the +work will still take somewhat long to accomplish. I fear that many +weeks will elapse before he can advance; and meantime--"</p> +<p>He paused, for he scarce knew how to conclude the sentence. He +had heard as he passed through the camp towards Wolfe's quarters +that the outlook was not altogether a bright one, despite the fact +that success had crowned many of the enterprises hitherto +undertaken.</p> +<p>Wolfe took up the unfinished sentence and spoke.</p> +<p>"Meantime the winter gales will be threatening us, and if the +walls of Quebec still shut us out, we may be forced to sail to +England with our task yet uncompleted, or to take up our winter +quarters in one of the islands, and wait for better things next +spring. Was that the thought in your mind, John Stark?"</p> +<p>"In truth, sir, as I came along and surveyed the position of the +notable city of Quebec, it seemed to me that it would be a hard +task to bring it to surrender; but then we all know that General +Wolfe can accomplish the impossible if any man can."</p> +<p>A slight smile crossed Wolfe's worn face.</p> +<p>"I look like a man to perform the impossible, don't I, good +Stark?" he said; and the Ranger's eyes filled with pitiful sympathy +as he made answer:</p> +<p>"Indeed, sir, I grieve to find you so; and yet men say that +Wolfe sick is better than half a dozen other generals in full +health and strength. Believe me, we have faith in you, and believe +that you will win the day even single handed, though all the world +should look on in scornful amaze, and say that you had set yourself +the impossible."</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes flashed. A flush rose for a moment in his pale +cheek. Julian saw that such words as these moved him and braced his +spirit like a tonic. He was half afraid lest it should be too much +excitement, and he signed to Fritz to take Stark away.</p> +<p>"But I will see him again anon," said Wolfe; "I must hear more +of these things. Let him be fed and well looked to, and presently I +will ask him to come to me again."</p> +<p>And when the two had left him, Wolfe turned to Julian and +said:</p> +<p>"I see now that I have nothing to hope for in a junction with +Amherst. He will have his hands full till the close of the season. +If Quebec is to be taken, we must take it ourselves, unaided from +without. I think I would rather die out here, and leave this +carcass of mine in a Canadian grave, than return to England with +the news that Quebec still holds out against the English flag!"</p> +<p>"Nay, say not so," answered Julian earnestly, "for the greatest +general may be baffled at some point. And think of your +mother--and--Miss Lowther!"</p> +<p>A softer look came into Wolfe's eyes. Upon his lips there +hovered a slight, strange smile. Instinctively his hand sought for +something beneath his pillow. Julian well knew what it was: a case +containing miniature portraits of the two beings he loved best in +the world--his mother, and the fair girl who had promised to become +his wife.</p> +<p>He did not open it, but he held it in his hand, and spoke with a +dreamy softness of intonation.</p> +<p>"There be times when I think that men of war should have no +mothers or sisters or lovers," he said. "We leave so sad a heritage +behind for them so oft. And we are not worth the sacred tears that +they shed over us when we fall."</p> +<p>"And yet I think they would scarce be without those sacred +memories to cherish," answered Julian, thinking of Mrs. Wolfe's +idolization of her son, and of Kate Lowther's bright eyes, +overflowing with loving admiration. "But why speak you so, as +though you would see them no more? Your health is slowly mending +now, and you have been through perils and dangers before now, and +have come safe out of them."</p> +<p>"That is true," answered Wolfe thoughtfully; "and yet a voice in +my heart seems to tell me that I shall see those loved faces no +more. It may be but the fantasy of a troubled and fevered brain; +but in dreams I have seen them, tears in their eyes, weeping for +one unworthy of such grief, who lies in a far-off grave beneath the +frowning battlements of yon great city. I wonder ofttimes whether +we are given to know something of that which is about to befall; +for in my heart a voice has spoken, and that voice has said that +Quebec shall be ours, but that these eyes shall never see what lies +within the ramparts, for they will be sealed in death before that +hour shall arrive."</p> +<p>Julian had no reply ready; he knew not what to say. It did +indeed seem little likely that that frail form could survive the +perils and hardships of this great siege, should it be prosecuted +to the end, and should some daring assault be successfully made +against the impregnable city.</p> +<p>From the day upon which Stark arrived in the camp at Montmorency +with the news from Ticonderoga Wolfe began to mend. It seemed as +though the certainty that the English arms were prevailing in the +west, though no help could be looked for this season from Amherst, +combined to put a sort of new vigour and resolution into the heart +of the dauntless young General. If anything were to be +accomplished, he must now do it by his own unaided efforts; and +since August was well-nigh past, if he were to act at all it must +be soon, or the winter storms might come sweeping down, and render +his position untenable.</p> +<p>He had had plenty of time whilst lying helpless in bed to think +out various plans of attack upon the city. Each one seemed +desperate and hopeless, whether, as before, the assault were made +by means of boats along the Beauport shore, or by crossing the +upper ford above Montmorency and fetching a compass behind the +French position, or by storming the lower town, now almost in +ruins, for it was commanded by the batteries in the citadel and +upper town. In fact, the French position was so strong everywhere +that it was difficult to see how any enterprise could possibly +prove successful.</p> +<p>In his hours of comparative ease Wolfe had thought out, and +Julian had written out at his dictation, a sketch of one or two +alternative plans for attack, which he sent in the form of a letter +to the Brigadiers commanding the various detachments of the army, +asking them to take counsel together over them, and to meet at the +farmhouse as soon as he was well enough to see them, and let them +discuss the matter together. All Wolfe's projects were for attack +from the lower river; for lying ill and helpless as he was, he had +hardly realized what had been going steadily on ever since that +first successful attempt to get shipping past the town guns and +into the upper reach of the St. Lawrence. Every time there was a +suitable night, with a favouring wind, vessels had run the gauntlet +of the batteries, always covered by a heavy fire from Point Levi; +and now quite a fleet of warships, frigates, and transports lay in +the reach above the town, whilst Montcalm had had to weaken his +camp at Beauport to watch the heights there. For though these were +steep and rugged and inaccessible, it would not do to leave them +unguarded.</p> +<p>When the Brigadiers met in the old farmhouse, Wolfe was up and +dressed for almost the first time, looking gaunt and haggard, his +face lined with pain and care, but full of calm and steadfast +purpose, and with a mind as clear as ever. He was touched by the +warm greetings of his officers, and by their tales as to the +enthusiastic delight in the ranks at the news that their General +was better.</p> +<p>The army was animated by a spirit of great courage and +confidence. The news from Ticonderoga had done good. This had been +followed by tidings of the capture of the Niagara fort. Even though +Amherst could not coalesce with them, they were feeling that +English arms were everywhere invincible, and that even Quebec would +not long stand against them. It would be the greater glory to +vanquish it single-handed; and had they not Wolfe to lead them?</p> +<p>Wolfe could not but smile as he heard this, and then the +discussion began. The Brigadiers had read his alternative +proposals; but they had another to lay before him which they +thought more likely of success. This was to make the real attack +above the town, transporting men and munitions by means of their +ships now lying in the upper reach, and seeking to obtain a footing +upon the heights, from whence they might bombard the upper city, or +even carry it by an impetuous assault.</p> +<p>"We can make a feint of attacking at Beauport, to keep the +Marquis upon the alert there, and his troops from being detached to +the defence of the heights. But let our real assault be on that +side," advised Moncton, whose position at Point Levi gave him +considerable knowledge of affairs upon the upper river. "It is true +that the heights are watched and guarded, but the force there is +not large. They trust to the nature of the ground, which is +inhospitable to the last degree, to hinder any attempt at landing. +And our vessels in the river below are leading poor Bougainville a +fine dance up and down the banks. He has some twenty miles to +protect with less than two thousand men--so far as we can +learn--and Admiral Holmes, who commands the fleet, takes care that +he shall have no rest night or day. The men begin to know the +ground; they are full of desire for the attack. It sounds +desperate, we are well aware; but then so do all the plans. Yet if +we are to make one great dash upon Quebec before we give up the +hope of taking it this season, we must attempt the apparently +impossible!"</p> +<p>Into Wolfe's eyes had sprung the battle light. Desperate it +might be to scale almost perpendicular cliffs and plant batteries +on the top whilst exposed to the fire of a sleepless enemy there, +who could send for reinforcements by thousands when once aware of +the threatened peril. And yet now that he knew his strength in the +upper river, and the wishes of his officers, he hesitated not one +instant.</p> +<p>"It shall be tried," he said, "and it shall be tried quickly. +The issues of life and death, of battle and victory, are in higher +hands than ours. It is for us to do our utmost to brave all. We can +do no more, but we can do that!"</p> +<p>The meeting broke up. The Brigadiers went back to their +respective stations to announce the decision and to make +preparation. Eager enthusiasm prevailed throughout the ranks of the +army, and the question in all mouths was, would the General be fit +to lead them in person.</p> +<p>This was Wolfe's own great anxiety. His physician shook his +head, but received this characteristic admonition:</p> +<p>"I know perfectly well you cannot cure me; but pray make me up +so that I may be free from unbearable pain for a few days, able to +do my duty by my brave soldiers, That is all I ask or want."</p> +<p>As soon as ever he was able, Wolfe visited the Admirals on their +ships and discussed his plan with them. They were all becoming +rather anxious at the lateness of the season, and were thinking of +moving away. But they consented to remain till this attempt should +be made; Wolfe, on his part, agreeing that if it failed he must +abandon the hope of reducing Quebec this season, and not expose his +soldiers to the needless hardships of a winter in these inclement +latitudes,</p> +<p>As it was, there was a good deal of sickness amongst the men, +and the number of able-bodied soldiers was considerably reduced. +Wolfe visited those in hospital, and spoke kind and cheering words +to them. He knew what it was to be laid aside from active service, +and how hard inactivity was when there was work to be done.</p> +<p>The camp on the Montmorency was broken up first. Wolfe wanted +his soldiers elsewhere, and he thought it no bad move to take this +step, as the French would probably think it the first move in the +evacuation of the whole position. Montcalm, indeed, would have +fallen upon them in the rear and inflicted heavy damage, if Moncton +at Point Levi had not seen the danger, and sent a number of men in +boats to make a feint of attacking Beauport; upon which the troops +were hastily recalled.</p> +<p>All was activity and secret industry in the English lines, A +whole fleet of baggage boats was laden and smuggled past the town +guns into the upper river; more craft followed, till quite an +armament lay in that wider reach above; and yet the French were not +permitted to have any exact notion as to what was to be done, nor +that any serious attack was meditated in that direction.</p> +<p>Wolfe himself was taken up the river in one of the vessels. He +was still weak and suffering, but he could no longer give any +thought to his own condition.</p> +<p>"I can rest when the battle is fought," he said to Julian, who +would fain have bidden him spare himself more; and it seemed to his +friend as though there were more in those words than met the +ear.</p> +<p>News was daily brought in of the strength of the French +position. Montcalm, very uneasy at the action of the English fleet, +sent as many reinforcements as he could spare to man the heights +and gorges of the upper river. Batteries were planted, and every +step taken to guard against the danger of attack. Rain and wind +hindered the English from putting their plan into immediate +execution, and the men suffered a good deal from close crowding on +the transports, and from various brushes with the enemy which +enlivened the monotony of those days of waiting.</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes were everywhere. He was in the Admiral's vessel, +and although sometimes hardly able to drag himself upon deck, he +would note with all his old keenness every nook and cranny in the +precipitous shores, every movement of the enemy, every natural +advantage which could possibly be made use of in his attempt.</p> +<p>All this time the ships were drifting to and fro with the tide +from the basin of the upper river, just above Quebec itself, right +away to Cap Rouge, where the French had their headquarters, and +were always ready for an assault. This action on the part of the +ships was a very politic one, for it kept the French troops +ceaselessly upon the march and the watch, wearing them out with +fatigue; whilst the English soldiers on board their vessels were at +their ease, save that they were rather uncomfortably crowded.</p> +<p>The long delay was over at last. The weather had improved; Wolfe +had made up his mind as to every detail of the attack; the troops +at Point Levi and on the Isle of Orleans had been instructed as to +the parts they were to play in drawing off the enemy's attention +from the real point of attack.</p> +<p>"I should like to address the men once more," said Wolfe to +Julian, upon a still September morning. "I should like them to take +one last charge from my own lips; perhaps it may be the last I +shall ever give them!"</p> +<p>For Wolfe seemed to have upon his spirit the presentiment of +coming doom. He looked round upon the eager, expectant faces, and +his own kindled with a loving enthusiasm. He had loved these men, +and they loved him. The sight of his tall, gaunt form and thin, +white face evoked cheer after cheer from soldiers and sailors +alike. He had to wait till the tumult subsided before he could +speak, and then his voice rang out clear and trumpet-like as he +briefly described to the listening host the position of affairs and +what was expected of them.</p> +<p>"The enemy's force is now divided, great scarcity prevails in +their camp, and universal discontent among the Canadians. Our +troops below are in readiness to join us, all the light artillery +and tools are embarked at Point Levi, and the troops will land +where the French seem least to expect it. The first body that gets +on shore is to march directly to the enemy and drive them from any +little post they may occupy; the officers must be careful that the +succeeding bodies do not by any mistake fire on those who go before +them. The battalions must form on the upper ground with expedition, +and be ready to charge whatever presents itself. When the artillery +and troops are landed, a corps will be left to secure the landing +place while the rest march on and endeavour to bring the Canadians +and French to a battle. The officers and men will remember what +their country expects of them, and what a determined body of +soldiers, inured to war, is capable of doing against five weak +French battalions mingled with a disorderly peasantry."</p> +<p>Cheer after cheer rent the air as these words were heard. The +enthusiasm of the men had suffered no diminution during the days of +waiting. They loved their General; they respected and admired their +officers. They were full of eagerness to find themselves at last +face to face with the foe. They knew that upon the issue of this +enterprise hung the whole fate of the long campaign. If they failed +in their design, they must return to England with a story of +failure so far as Quebec was concerned; and no one would understand +the full difficulties of the situation, or appreciate all the solid +work that had already been accomplished towards the attainment of +that object.</p> +<p>Everything that could be done had been done. Admiral Saunders, +in the Basin of Quebec, was deceiving Montcalm by preparations +which convinced that General that the real point of attack was to +be along the Beauport shore, where he therefore massed his troops +in readiness; whilst Admiral Holmes, with his bateaux and +flat-bottomed troop boats, was deluding Bougainville with the +notion that his camp at Cap Rouge was to be the immediate object of +the English assault. But all the while Wolfe and a few of his +officers--only a few--were in the secret of the real basis of +action; though the men knew that all was decided upon, and that +they would be led with consummate skill and address.</p> +<p>In the grey of the morning, Julian, too excited to sleep, heard +the soft plash of oars alongside the <i>Sutherland</i>, and raising +his head to look over the bulwarks, he heard his name pronounced in +a familiar voice.</p> +<p>"Humphrey, is that you?"</p> +<p>"Yes," he answered. "I have gleaned some news. I want to impart +it to the General."</p> +<p>Wolfe was lying on deck looking up at the quiet stars overhead, +worn out with the long strain, yet free from acute pain, and +thankful for the boon. He heard the words, and sat up.</p> +<p>"Bring him to me," he ordered; "I will hear his report."</p> +<p>The next minute Humphrey was on deck and beside him. Humphrey +was often employed to carry messages from ship to ship. He had +built himself a light, strong canoe; and could shoot through the +water almost like an Indian. He stood beside Wolfe's couch and told +his tale.</p> +<p>"I went up to the French camp as close as possible. I heard +there that some boatloads of provisions were to be sent down +tonight upon the ebb to Montcalm's camp. They have done this +before, and will do it again. Later on I came upon two Canadians, +seeking to escape from the French camp. I took them across to our +vessels for safety. They confirmed what I had overheard. Boats +laden with provision will be passing the French sentries along the +coast tonight. If our boats go down in advance of these, they may +do so almost unchallenged."</p> +<p>Wolfe's eyes brightened before he had heard the last word. He +instantly perceived the advantage which might accrue to them from +this piece of information luckily hit upon. He grasped Humphrey's +hand in a warm clasp, and said:</p> +<p>"You bring good news, comrade. I think the star of England is +about to rise upon this land. Go now and rest yourself; but be near +to me in the time of struggle. You are a swift and trusty +messenger. It is such as you"--and his eyes sought Julian and +Fritz, who were both alert and awake--"that I desire to have about +me in the hour of final struggle."</p> +<p>Then, when Humphrey had gone below with Fritz, Wolfe turned to +Julian and said, speaking slowly and dreamily:</p> +<p>"There is something I would say to you, my friend. I have a +strange feeling that the close of my life is at hand--that I shall +not live to see the fruit of my toil; though to die in battle--in +the hour, if it may be, of victory--has been ever the summit of my +hopes and ambition. Something tells me that I shall gain the object +of my hope tomorrow, or today perchance. I have one charge to give +you, Julian, if that thing should come to pass."</p> +<p>Julian bit his lip; he could not speak. He was aware of the +presentiment which hung upon Wolfe's spirit, but he had fought +against it might and main.</p> +<p>The, soldier placed his hand within the breast of his coat, and +detached and drew out that miniature case containing the likeness +of his mother and his betrothed. He opened it once, looked long in +the dim light at both loved faces, and pressed his lips to each in +turn.</p> +<p>"If I should fall," he said, "give it to Kate; I think she will +like to have it. Tell her I wore it upon my heart till the last. I +would not have it shattered by shot and shell. Give it her with my +dying blessing and love, and tell her that my last prayer will be +for her happiness. She must not grieve too much for me, or let her +life be shadowed. I am happy in having known her love. I desire +that happiness shall be her portion in life. Tell her that when you +give her that case."</p> +<p>He closed it and placed it in Julian's hands, and spoke no more; +though throughout that day of preparation and thought a gentle +quietude of manner possessed him, and struck all with whom he came +in contact.</p> +<p>Even when at last all was in readiness and the General in one of +the foremost boats was drifting silently down the dark river, with +the solemn stars overhead, it was not of battles or deeds of daring +that he spoke with those about him. After the silence of deep +tension his melodious voice was heard speaking words that fell +strangely on the ears of the officers clustered about him.</p> +<p>"The curlew tolls the knell of parting day" spoke that voice; +and in the deep hush of night the whole of that "Elegy" was softly +rehearsed in a strangely impressive manner, a thrill running +through many at the words:</p> +<p>"The paths of glory lead but to the grave."</p> +<p>When the recitation was over there was a long, deep silence, +broken at last by Wolfe himself, who said:</p> +<p>"Gentlemen, I would rather have written that poem than take +Quebec!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch6-4" id="Ch6-4">Chapter 4</a>: In The Hour Of +Victory.</h2> +<p>"<i>Qui vive</i>?"</p> +<p>It was the French sentry upon the shore, as the boats glided +slowly by in the darkness. Julian was waiting for the challenge, +and was ready with the answer.</p> +<p>"<i>France</i>!"</p> +<p>"<i>A quel regiment</i>?" came the voice again.</p> +<p>"<i>De la Reine</i>," answered Julian, who had not spoken in +vain with the deserting Canadians, and knew a good deal about +Bougainville's camp. Then afraid of being asked the password, he +hastily added, still speaking French, "Have a care; the English +will hear us! The provision boats from the camp!"</p> +<p>That hint was enough. The sentry knew that provision boats were +expected, and that English vessels were anchored not far off. He +let the fleet of English boats pass by in the darkness.</p> +<p>The strong current swept them along. Now they had reached the +appointed place--passed it, indeed before they could get out of the +current; but there was a narrow strand, wide enough for +disembarkation, and the band of picked men who had volunteered for +the task were already out, preparing to scale the lofty heights and +see what lay beyond.</p> +<p>Up they went in the close darkness of the autumn night, the +four-and-twenty selected men leading the way, closely followed by a +larger band of comrades. No word was spoken, no cry was raised. The +tense excitement of the moment seemed to preclude any such +demonstration. It was believed that at this point there would be +little resistance. There was no sentry on the shore, and no +appearance of any camp along the top. It was believed that the +French officer Vergor, with a small detachment of troops, was +somewhere in the vicinity; but the renown of that worthy was not +such as to check the ardour of the English troops.</p> +<p>Wolfe remained below, silent and motionless. His hands were +locked together, and his pale face upturned towards the towering +heights above. The gurgle and plash of the river was in his ears, +mingled with those other sounds--the sounds of scrambling as his +soldiers made their way up the rugged heights in the uncertain +light of the waning stars. It was a moment never to be forgotten in +his life. The presentiment of coming death was +forgotten--everything was forgotten but the wild, strong hope of +victory; and when from the top of the gorge there came at last the +ring of a British cheer, the sound of brisk musket firing, and then +another ringing shout as of triumph, the blood rushed into his +white face, and he sprang from the boat on to the strand, +exclaiming:</p> +<p>"They have won the foothold. Form up, men, and follow. We have +England's honour in our keeping this day. Never let her say we +failed her at the moment of greatest need."</p> +<p>It was a precipitous gorge up the sides of which the men had to +climb. Julian looked anxiously up it and then at Wolfe, and +said:</p> +<p>"It is too steep; do not try it. Let me find an easier path for +you if I can."</p> +<p>He smiled as he scanned the sides of the gorge.</p> +<p>"I doubt if I shall get up," he answered; "but I mean to +try."</p> +<p>And so strong was the resolution which inspired him that he +found strength to drag himself up the steep declivity, with only a +little assistance from Julian; and found himself, with the first +breaking of the dawn, breathless, giddy, exhausted, upon the summit +of those Heights of Abraham which today he was to make famous.</p> +<p>Instantly he took the command of the situation. Cannon were +heard opening fire close on the left. It was the battery of Samos +firing upon the English boats in the rear, now just visible in the +broadening daylight.</p> +<p>"Silence that battery!" said Wolfe to an officer whose men were +just forming up.</p> +<p>Their response was a cheer, as they moved away in orderly array; +and when the distant battery of Sillary opened its mouth and +uttered its menacing roar, there was another battalion ready to +start off to capture and silence it. Soon the great guns uttered +their voices no more. The English were masters of the coveted +heights, and still their troops continued to land and clamber up to +join their comrades upon the top.</p> +<p>The hearts of the soldiers beat high with pride and joy; but the +face of Wolfe was inscrutable as he stood surveying the plain which +formed a sort of tableland on the western side of the city of +Quebec.</p> +<p>The town itself he could not see, though he knew where it lay, +and how beyond it extended the camp of Beauport, from which +Montcalm could march battalion after battalion to meet him in +battle. He knew, too, that behind him lay Bougainville and his +thousands, who, by joining in a concentrated action with Montcalm, +could hem him in between two fires, and cut his gallant little army +to pieces. He realized all this right well, if others did not, and +knew that victory or death--even annihilation--lay before them. And +knowing this, he made his survey of the place with a concentrated +attention, and issued his orders without hesitation or delay.</p> +<p>The grassy plain was pretty level. Quebec bounded it on the +east, the precipices on the St. Lawrence on the south, the +declivities to the basin of the St. Charles on the north. In one +place the plain--called the Plains of Abraham, from the old settler +who once made a home there--was little more than a mile wide. When +Wolfe reached it, he halted, and after a careful survey said:</p> +<p>"This will be the place to make our stand. Here we will meet our +foe in battle. Fight they must now; and if heaven will grant us the +victory, let the praise and glory of the day be to God above. If He +think well to withhold His countenance from us, let us sell our +lives as dearly as may be, and die sword in hand, with our face to +the foe!"</p> +<p>Then the orders were issued. The brigades and battalions were +marshalled into position. The Brigadiers received their orders from +their young General, and took up the positions allotted to them. +Each of them grasped him by the hand before quitting his side. To +each one he spoke a word of praise for his gallantry during the +tedious campaign, and of thanks for the personal friendship shown +to one who felt so unworthy of it, having been so often a care and +a trouble instead of a source of strength to those about him.</p> +<p>Julian stood near, a strange mistiness before his eyes; and as +Fritz turned away to take up his position at the head of his men, +he said in a husky voice to his friend:</p> +<p>"You will stay beside him and guard him from ill. I know not +why, but my heart is full of misgiving. Quebec will be dearly won +if it lose us the gallant Wolfe!"</p> +<p>"He will not think so," said Julian. "And his life has been so +full of trouble and pain. I think few know how he has suffered. +Perhaps there is some truth in the old heathen saying, 'Those whom +the gods love die young.' Perhaps it has a better fulfilment and +significance now that the Light has come into the world, and that +there is no sting now in death."</p> +<p>They pressed each other by the hand, and Fritz swung away. It +was a moment of deep though suppressed emotion. Both men knew that +they might have looked their last upon the face of the other, and +after many years of close and brother-like companionship such +partings cannot be without their thrill of pain and wonder.</p> +<p>"Why must these things be?" spoke Julian, beneath his breath. +"Why must men stand up to kill and be killed? How long will it be +before the reign of the Prince of Peace, when all these things +shall be done away?"</p> +<p>Light showers were scudding over the landscape, sometimes +blotting out the view, sometimes illumined by shafts of golden +sunlight, which gave a curious glory to the scene. The battle was +set in array. Every disposition which military genius could suggest +had been made to avoid surprise or outflanking or any other peril. +Puffs of smoke from over the plains denoted the presence of +ambushed Indians or Canadians, and skirmishers were scouring hither +and thither to dislodge any parties who approached unpleasantly +near.</p> +<p>The soldiers were bidden to lie down, to be safer from accident, +and to rest themselves in preparation for what was coming. The main +body of the army was quiet, but to the left, where some woods and +houses gave cover to the enemy, the fire be came galling, and some +light infantry were sent out to make an end of the foes there, to +take and burn the houses and scatter the marksmen.</p> +<p>This was successfully done, and again there was quiet. Wolfe, +who seemed to be everywhere at once, went round the field once +again, cheered lustily wherever he appeared; grave, watchful, with +the air of a man who knows that the crisis of his life is at hand, +and that upon the issue of the day hang results greater than he can +reckon or comprehend.</p> +<p>It was about ten in the morning before his quick eye saw signs +that the enemy was at last advancing to take up the gage of battle +so gallantly thrown down. Hitherto the French had succeeded in +avoiding a pitched encounter with their foe; now they must fight, +or have their city hopelessly cut off from the basis of their +supplies. Wolfe knew that at last the hour had come, and his pale +face flushed with a strange exultation as he saw the first white +lines advancing towards him.</p> +<p>"At last!" he exclaimed--"at last! We have waited many months +for this moment; now that it has come, pray Heaven we may strike a +blow for England's honour which France shall never forget!"</p> +<p>Julian's attention was distracted by the sight of a little knot +of men coming slowly towards the rear, where the surgeons were +stationed to care for the wounded, who were to be carried there +when possible.</p> +<p>"It is Fritz!" he exclaimed; "he has been wounded!"</p> +<p>Wolfe uttered an expression of concern, and stepped forward to +inquire. It had been the regiment in command of Fritz which had +been sent to silence the sharpshooters in the farms and copses. +John Stark had gone with him, their former life as Rangers having +well qualified them for this species of warfare. Fritz was now +being led back, white and bloody, one ball having lodged in his +shoulder, and another in his foot. He walked with difficulty, +supported by two of his men.</p> +<p>"I am grieved to see you so!" cried Wolfe, with the ready +concern he showed in any sufferings not his own.</p> +<p>"It is naught," answered Fritz, faintly but cheerfully; "I would +care no whit but that it will keep me from the fight.</p> +<p>"I have left John Stark in command, sir," he added to the +General; "the men are perfectly steady when he directs their +movements."</p> +<p>Wolfe nodded. He knew the intrepidity and cool courage of the +Ranger. There would be no blundering where Stark held the +command.</p> +<p>"Care for your patient well," said the young General to a +surgeon who came hurrying up at the moment; "Captain Neville is too +good a soldier and officer for us to lose."</p> +<p>Then turning to Humphrey, who was acting in the capacity of +aide-de-camp, he said in a quick undertone:</p> +<p>"If anything should happen to me in the battle, let Brigadier +Moncton know that I recommend Captain Neville for promotion."</p> +<p>Then he turned his attention towards the oncoming tide of +battle, knowing that the great crisis for which he had been waiting +all these long months was now upon him.</p> +<p>The French were forming up along the opposite ridge, which hid +the city from view. Wolfe took in their disposition at a glance, +and a grim smile formed itself upon his lips. He saw that though +the centre of the three bodies forming up into order was composed +entirely of regular troops, both flanks were regulars intermixed +with Canadians; and for the Canadian militia in the open he had an +unbounded contempt. Moreover, he noted that instead of waiting +until they were in good and compact order, they began almost +immediately to advance, and that without any of the method and +precision so necessary in an attack upon a well-posted and +stationary foe.</p> +<p>He passed along the word of command to his own officers, +instructing them how to act, and stood watching with the breathless +intensity of a man who knows that the crisis of a mighty destiny is +at hand.</p> +<p>The moment the French soldiers got within range they commenced +to fire; not as one man, in a crashing volley, but wildly, +irregularly, excitedly, uttering cries and shouts the while--a +trick caught from their Indian allies, who used noise as one of +their most effective weapons.</p> +<p>"Bah!" cried Wolfe, with a sudden exclamation of mingled +contempt and amusement; "look there! Saw you ever such soldiers as +these?"</p> +<p>Those about him looked, and a hoarse laugh broke from them, and +seemed to run along the ranks of immovable red-coats drawn up like +a wall, and coolly reserving their fire.</p> +<p>The gust of laughter was called forth by the action of the +Canadian recruits, who, immediately upon discharging their pieces, +flung themselves down upon the ground to reload, throwing their +companions into the utmost confusion, as it was almost impossible +to continue marching without trampling upon their prostrate +figures.</p> +<p>"I would sooner trust my whole fate to one company of regulars," +exclaimed Wolfe, "than attempt to fight with such soldiers as +these! They are fit only for their native forests; and were I in +command, back they should go there, quick march."</p> +<p>Yet still the oncoming mass of French approached, the dropping +fire never ceasing. Nearer and nearer they came, and now were not +fifty paces distant from the English lines.</p> +<p>"Crash!"</p> +<p>It was not like a volley of musketry; it was like a cannon shot. +The absolute precision with which it was delivered showed the +perfect steadiness and nerve of the men. Upon Wolfe's face might be +seen a smile of approbation and pride. This was the way English +soldiers met the foe; this was the spirit in which victory was +won.</p> +<p>Another crash, almost as accurate as the first, and a few +minutes of deafening clattering fire; a pause, in which nothing +could be seen but rolling clouds of smoke; and then?</p> +<p>The smoke rolled slowly away, and as the pall lifted, a wild, +ringing cheer broke from the English ranks, mingled with the yell +of the Highlanders beyond. The ground was covered with dead and +wounded; the ranks of the oncoming foe were shattered and broken. +The Canadians had turned, and were flying hither and thither, only +caring to escape the terrible fire, which in open country they +could never stand. In a few more seconds, as soon as the regulars +saw that the red-coats were preparing to charge, they too flung +down their muskets and joined the rout.</p> +<p>"Charge them, men, charge them!"</p> +<p>Wolfe's voice rang like a clarion note over the field. He placed +himself at the head of one of the columns. Julian and Humphrey were +on either side of him. The yell of the Highlanders was in their +ears, and the huzzah of the English soldiers, as they dashed upon +the retreating foe.</p> +<p>Their line had been a little broken here by the fire of the foe, +and still from ambushed sharpshooters hidden upon the plain a more +or less deadly fire was kept up. Wolfe led where the danger was +greatest and the firing most galling and persistent.</p> +<p>"Dislodge those men!" was the order which had just passed his +lips, when Julian noticed that he seemed to pause and stagger for a +moment.</p> +<p>"You are hurt!" he exclaimed anxiously, springing to his side; +but Wolfe kept steadily on his way, wrapping his handkerchief round +his wrist the while. The blood was welling from it. Julian insisted +upon tying the bandage, finding that the wrist was shattered.</p> +<p>"You are wounded--you will surely go back!" he said anxiously; +but Wolfe seemed scarcely to hear.</p> +<p>The next moment he was off again with his men, directing their +movements with all his accustomed skill and acumen. Once again he +staggered. Julian dashed to his side; but he spoke no word. If he +would but think of himself! But no; his soul was in the battle. He +had no care save for the issue of the day.</p> +<p>A sudden volley seemed to open upon them from a little unseen +dip in the ground, masked by thick underwood. Julian felt a bullet +whiz so near to his ear that the skin was grazed and the hair +singed. For a moment he was dizzy with the deafening sound. Then a +low cry from Humphrey reached him.</p> +<p>"The General! the General!" he said.</p> +<p>Julian dashed his hand across his eyes and looked. Wolfe was +sitting upon the ground. He was still gazing earnestly at the +battle rushing onward, but there had come into his eyes a strange +dimness.</p> +<p>"He is struck--he is wounded!" said Humphrey in a low voice, +bending over him. "Help, Julian; we must carry him to the +rear."</p> +<p>Julian half expected resistance on the part of Wolfe; but no +word passed his lips. They were growing ashy white.</p> +<p>With a groan of anguish--for he felt as though he knew what was +coming--Julian bent to the task, and the pair conveyed the light, +frail form through the <i>melee</i> of the battlefield towards the +place where the wounded had been carried, and where Fritz still +lay. A surgeon came hastily forward, and seeing who it was, uttered +an exclamation of dismay.</p> +<p>Wolfe opened his dim eyes. He saw Julian's face, but all the +rest was blotted out in a haze.</p> +<p>"Lay me down," he said faintly; "I want nothing."</p> +<p>"The surgeons are here," said Julian anxiously as they put him +out of the hot rays of the sun, which was now shining over heights +and plains.</p> +<p>"They can do nothing for me," said Wolfe, in the same faint, +dreamy way; "let them look to those whom they can help."</p> +<p>A death-like faintness was creeping over him. The surgeon put a +stimulating draught to his lips; and when a part had been +swallowed, proceeded to make a partial examination of the injuries +sustained. But when he had opened the breast of his coat and saw +two orifices in the neighbourhood of the heart, he shook his head, +and laid the wounded man down to rest.</p> +<p>Julian felt a spasm of pain shoot through his heart, like a +thrust from a bayonet.</p> +<p>"Can you do nothing?" he asked in a whisper.</p> +<p>"Nothing," was the reply. "He has not an hour to live."</p> +<p>"To be cut off in the very hour of victory!" exclaimed Humphrey, +with a burst of sorrow. "It is too hard--too hard!"</p> +<p>"Yet it is what he desired for himself," said Julian, in a low +voice. I think it is what he himself would have chosen."</p> +<p>"He has suffered more than any of us can well imagine," said the +surgeon gravely. "We can scarcely grudge to him the rest and peace +of the long, last sleep."</p> +<p>Humphrey turned away to dash the tears from his eyes. In his +silent, dog-like fashion, he had loved their young General with a +great and ardent love, and it cut him to the heart to see him lying +there white and pulseless, his life ebbing slowly away, without +hope of a rally.</p> +<p>A sign from somebody at a little distance attracted his +attention. He crossed the open space of ground, and bent over +Fritz, who lay bandaged and partially helpless amongst the wounded, +but with all his faculties clear.</p> +<p>"What is it they are saying all around?" he asked anxiously. +"How goes the battle? how is it with our General?"</p> +<p>"The battle truly is won--or so I believe," answered Humphrey, +in a husky voice. "God grant that the gallant Wolfe may live to +know that success has crowned his efforts--that the laurel wreath +will be his, even though it be only laid upon his tomb!"</p> +<p>"Is he then wounded?"</p> +<p>"Mortally, they say."</p> +<p>A spasm of pain contracted Fritz's face.</p> +<p>"Then Quebec will be dearly purchased," he said. "Humphrey, help +me to move; I would look upon his face once again!"</p> +<p>Humphrey gave the desired assistance. They were bringing in the +wounded, French and English both, to this place of shelter; but the +spot where Wolfe lay was regarded as sacred ground. It was still +and quiet there, though in the distance the din of battle sounded, +and the sharp rattle of musketry or the booming of artillery could +be heard at this side and that.</p> +<p>Fritz limped slowly across the open space, and halted a dozen +paces from where Wolfe lay; half supported in the arms of Julian, +whose face was stern with repressed grief.</p> +<p>The ashen shadow had deepened upon the face of the dying man. He +seemed to be sinking away out of life. The long lashes lay upon the +waxen cheek; the deep repose of the long, last sleep seemed to be +falling upon the wasted features. Fritz felt an unaccustomed mist +rising before his eyes. He thought he had never before seen a +nobler countenance.</p> +<p>The few standing about the wounded General looked from him to +the distant plain, where the battle tide was rolling farther away, +and from which, from time to time, arose outbursts of sudden +sound--the wild screech of the Highlanders, the answering cheer of +the English, the spattering, diminishing shots, and now and again a +sharp volley that told of some more determined struggle in one +place or another.</p> +<p>"Look how they run! look, look--they run like sheep!" cried +Humphrey, breaking into sudden excitement, as his trained sight, +without the aid of glasses, took in the meaning of that confused +mass of men.</p> +<p>Julian felt a thrill run through the prostrate form he was +holding. The eyes he had never thought to look upon again opened +wide. Wolfe raised his head, and asked, with something of the old +ring in his voice:</p> +<p>"Who run?"</p> +<p>"The enemy, sir," eagerly replied those who stood by. "They are +melting away like smoke. They give way everywhere. The day is +ours!"</p> +<p>The young General half raised himself, as though he would fain +have seen the sight; but his dim eyes took in nothing.</p> +<p>"Tell Colonel Burton," he said, speaking with his old decision, +"to march Webb's regiment down to the St. Charles, and cut off +their retreat from the bridge."</p> +<p>Humphrey was off almost before the words had left his lips. He +would be the one to carry the General's last message. Wolfe heard +him go, and smiled. He knew that Humphrey was the trustiest of +messengers. He looked up into Julian's face.</p> +<p>"Now lay me down again," he said faintly. "Farewell, my trusty +friend and comrade. Take my love to those at home; remember my last +messages. God be thanked; He has given us the victory. I can die in +peace."</p> +<p>He drew a long sigh, and his eyes closed. A little thrill ran +through the worn frame.</p> +<p>Julian laid it down, and reverently covered the peaceful face; +whilst a stifled sob went up from those who saw the action.</p> +<p>James Wolfe had gone to his rest--had died the death of a hero +upon the victorious battlefield.</p> +<h1>Book 7: English Victors.</h1> +<h2><a name="Ch7-1" id="Ch7-1">Chapter 1</a>: A Panic-Stricken +City.</h2> +<p>It had come at last! The long delay and suspense were over. The +English had stormed the Heights of Abraham. Their long red lines +had been seen by terrified citizens, who came rushing into the town +at dawn of day. The supposed attack at Beauport had been nothing +but a blind. Whilst Montcalm and Vaudreuil were massing the troops +to repel the enemy here, the real assault had been made behind the +city, and the English foe was almost upon them.</p> +<p>Colin had dashed out when the first grey of the dawn had stolen +in at their windows. There had been no sleep for Quebec that night. +The whole city was in a state of tense excitement. Confidently had +the Generals declared that the enemy were bent upon their own +destruction; that they were about to tempt fate, and would be +driven back with ignominy and loss.</p> +<p>"Let them come! Let them taste of the welcome we have to offer +them! Let them see what Quebec has to give them when they reach her +strand!"</p> +<p>These words, and many similar to them, were passed from mouth to +mouth by the garrison and townsfolk of Quebec. None would admit +that disaster was possible to "the impregnable city;" and yet its +shattered walls and ruined houses, the crowded hospital and the +deserted buildings, all told a terrible tale. The upper town had +suffered lately almost as severely as the lower had done at the +commencement of the bombardment. It was a problem now where to find +safe shelter for the citizens. Great numbers of them had fled to +the country beyond, or to other Canadian settlements; for not only +was this terrible bombardment destroying their homes, and +inflicting fearful hurt upon those exposed to it, but provisions +were becoming very scarce; and if the English once got foothold on +the west side of the town, they would be able to cut off Quebec +from her source of supply.</p> +<p>Colin dashed out for tidings so soon as the dawn crept into the +sky; and Madame Drucour and Corinne sat very close together, so +absorbed in listening that they could scarce find words in which to +reassure each other.</p> +<p>They were no longer in the little narrow house where once they +had dwelt. That had been shattered at last by some of the heavier +guns which the enemy had brought to Point Levi, and they had been +forced to abandon it. They were in a house which so far had not +been touched, sheltered as it was behind some of the +fortifications. It belonged to Surgeon Arnoux, a clever and +competent man, who was at present with the army of Bourlemaque; but +his younger brother, Victor, also a surgeon, was still in the city, +and he had generously opened his house to several of the +unfortunate citizens who had been rendered homeless by the +bombardment.</p> +<p>At present the house contained as its residents Madame Drucour, +with her brother the Abbe, and Colin and Corinne. The Bishop, +Pontbriand, who was dying himself of a mortal disease, but was +still able to go about amongst the sick and wounded, was another +inmate, beloved of all. The party was waited on sedulously by an +old servant of the Ursulines, Bonnehomme Michel, as she was called, +who was the most faithful, hard-working, and devoted of creatures, +and displayed the greatest ingenuity in contriving, out of the +scantiest of materials, such dishes as should tempt the appetite of +the sick Bishop, and make the rest forget that they were in a +beleaguered city.</p> +<p>Corinne had learned by this time what the horrors of war were +like. Her fair face was both thinner and graver than it had been in +past days. She had known the terrible experience that leaves its +mark upon the witnesses: she had been one of more than one company +when a bursting shell in their midst had brought death to some +amongst those with whom she was sitting. She had seen men-- yes, +and women too--struck down in the streets by shot or splinters. She +had worked side by side with Madame Drucour amid the sick and +wounded, and had seen sights of horror and suffering which had +branded themselves deeply into her soul.</p> +<p>She could never again be the careless, laughing Corinne of old; +and yet the soldier spirit in her burned stronger and ever more +strong. If war was a fearful and terrible thing, it had its +glorious side too. She heard, with a strange thrill of mingled pain +and pride, of the gallant doings of the English troops. She +regarded the cautious policy of the French with something like +contempt. She and Colin would sometimes steal down to the margin of +the water, and look at the English vessels which had braved the +guns of the town, and were riding safely at anchor in the upper +basin; and would feel a thrill of admiration at the dauntless +bravery of the British sailors and soldiers. After all, if Quebec +were to fall to such gallant foes, would she suffer much after the +first shock was over?</p> +<p>They had lost their three merry midshipmen. When General Wolfe +had sent over several boatloads of prisoners taken in the unguarded +villages of the upper river, it had been agreed that any English +prisoners in the town should be given in exchange; and the lads, +cheering lustily the while, had been rowed away by the returning +boats.</p> +<p>Colin and Corinne had missed their companionship, but had been +assured of a meeting before so very long. They knew what that had +meant, yet they could not resent the suggestion. Constant +companionship with the English middies had intensified their +interest in the English cause. They did not speak of it much except +to one another, but in secret they had no fear of the unknown foe. +They felt a certain exultation and triumph in the stories they were +always hearing of English prowess and valour.</p> +<p>And now it was known to all that the crucial moment had come. +The English had made a great coup. They had landed; they had +stormed the heights; they were said to be intrenching themselves +and bringing up their guns; and although this was not true at the +moment, the very thought struck terror into the hearts of the +citizens and soldiers.</p> +<p>Unless they could be dislodged from their present commanding +position, the town was lost. That was the word in the mouths of +all. A mounted messenger, followed by others, had been sent flying +to Montcalm and Vaudreuil. It was certain that the General would be +quickly on the spot, and surely he and his army together would +suffice to drive back or annihilate this audacious intruder!</p> +<p>So said the people; yet none dared to make light of the peril. +Madame Drucour's face was very grave as she sat looking out into +the street, her arm about Corinne. It was not even safe for them to +try to go out to the hospital that morning--the hospital which had +been moved out of the town and erected upon the plain of the St. +Charles, out of reach of the enemy's guns. Hitherto the Heights of +Abraham had been like a rampart of defence; now they were alive +with the battalions of the foe. The plain might at any time become +the scene of a battle or a rout.</p> +<p>"Here is Colin back!" cried Corinne, suddenly starting to her +feet. "Now he will tell us!"</p> +<p>"It is all true!" cried the lad, bursting into the room. "It is +wonderful to see them; it is marvellous what they have done. They +must have scaled the cliffs at almost impossible places; and now +they are forming up in a splendid way! The whole plateau is alive +with them!"</p> +<p>"The first rays of the sun striking across it were dyed red with +the scarlet uniforms. It was magnificent to see them. I cannot tell +whether they have any guns there. I saw none. But it is not easy to +get a good view of the plain; the ridge above the town hides +it."</p> +<p>"But what is our General doing?" asked Madame Drucour, with +clasped hands.</p> +<p>"They say he is coming; they say he is on his way from the +Beauport camp with the whole army at his back. If he has also sent +a message directing Bougainville to advance at the same time from +Cap Rouge and fall upon the English rear, it might well be that the +invaders would be cut to pieces. But no one here knows what is +ordered. Some say one thing and some another. One thing alone is +certain--the Marquis is on his way."</p> +<p>The Abbe, who had been out to gather news, came back now with +much the same tale that Colin had to tell. There was no manner of +doubt about it. The English army had, as by magic, appeared upon +the Heights of Abraham, and had set themselves in battle array upon +the best piece of ground for their purpose. The sight of the +compact red lines filled the French with dismay and fear. If an +enemy could do this in a single night, what might they not have the +power of achieving?</p> +<p>"We are in God's hands," said the Abbe to his sister, as they +hastily, and without much appetite, partook of the meal which +Bonnehomme Michel spread for them; "but truly I fear me that +disaster is in store for the arms of France. There seems no reason +why we should lack power to drive back the English to their ships; +yet I have that within me which speaks of calamity and disaster. +Canada has become helpless and corrupt. When that has befallen a +country or a community, it has always fallen. I fear me that the +days of French rule are numbered. I only pray that if the English +reign here in our stead, they may prove themselves merciful +masters, and keep their promise not to interfere with the exercise +of the true faith in which the people have been brought up."</p> +<p>"If the English have pledged their word to that, they will keep +it," answered Madame Drucour; "and if Canada must fall, we may +rejoice that it should fall into hands as merciful as those of our +English rivals."</p> +<p>"That is true," said her brother: "they have set us many a noble +example of clemency and honour. Yet their hands are not altogether +free from blood guiltiness. There have been acts of violence and +cruelty committed even during these past weeks along the shores of +the river."</p> +<p>"Yes," answered Madame Drucour: "houses have been burned and +families turned adrift, and much suffering has resulted therefrom. +War is ever cruel, and the track of it is marked with fire and +blood. Yet we must remember that the persons thus molested had fair +warning given them. They might have remained in safety had they +submitted to the conditions imposed by General Wolfe. Perhaps they +showed more spirit by resistance; but they drew down their fate +upon themselves. And no woman or child has been hurt; no cruelties +have been inflicted upon prisoners. No Indians have been suffered +to molest them. Would we have been as forbearing--as stern in the +maintenance of order and discipline? The only acts of cruelty +committed on the English side have been by Rangers not belonging to +the regular army, and those only upon Indians or those degraded +Canadians who go about with them, painted and disguised to resemble +their dusky allies. For my part, I think that men who thus degrade +themselves deserve all that they get."</p> +<p>"It is well to seek to find consolation in time of extremity," +said the Abbe, "and I do rejoice very heartily in the knowledge +that we have a merciful foe to deal with. If this city is forced to +open her gates to the English, I verily believe that no scenes of +outrage will disgrace the page of history upon which this day's +doings shall be recorded. There is help in that thought at +least."</p> +<p>But it was impossible for either Colin or his uncle to remain +within doors upon such a day. He insisted that Madame Drucour and +Corinne should not adventure themselves beyond the city walls, +though he did not condemn them to remain within doors. But he, for +his own part, must go forth and see what was befalling without; for +the Abbe, in spite of his vows, was half a soldier at heart, and +had done some fighting in his young life, and knew the sound of the +clash of arms.</p> +<p>He was not going to adventure himself into the battle, or to +suffer Colin to do so either; that would be useless. Indeed the boy +had no desire to enter the lists against the English, being more +than half on their side as it was, although the infection of the +feelings of the townspeople rendered it difficult for him exactly +to know his own mind.</p> +<p>He and Corinne were alike consumed with an overpowering sense of +excitement. It was the thought of the battle about to be waged that +filled the minds of both--the imminence of the coming struggle. As +for the result, that was less a matter of concern to them. The +crisis was the overwhelming consideration in their minds.</p> +<p>The Abbe and Colin had gone. The streets were beginning to fill +with excited people. The storm of shot and shell was not falling +upon Quebec today. The guns had been directed upon the Beauport +camp, to cover the real enterprise being carried on above. Also the +river had to be watched and guarded. Everything spoke of a change +in tactics. There was a tense feeling in the air as though an +electric cloud hung low over the city.</p> +<p>Then came a burst of cheering. Montcalm had been seen spurring +on with only a small band of followers over the bridge of the St. +Charles towards the scene of danger; and now the army itself was in +sight, making its way after him across the bridge and towards the +city, through whose streets they must pass to gain unmolested those +heights where the English were awaiting them, drawn up in close +array.</p> +<p>Montcalm's face was full of anxiety, and yet full of courage, as +he returned the plaudits of the citizens. He knew that affairs were +serious, but he hoped and believed that he should find but a small +detachment of the enemy waiting to receive him. He could not +believe that very much had been accomplished in one night. A little +resolution and courage and military address, and the foe would be +dislodged and driven ignominiously down those precipitous heights +which they had scaled with such boldness a few hours before.</p> +<p>It was a fine sight to see the troops pouring in by the Palace +Gate, and out again by the gates of St. Louis and St. John--the +white uniforms and gleaming bayonets of the battalions of old +France, the Canadian militia, and the troops of painted Indians +following, cheered by the citizens, reinforced by the garrison, +their hearts animated by lust of conquest and an assurance of +victory, which assurance was not altogether shared by the citizens +themselves, whose scouts had brought in alarming tidings concerning +the strength of the English position.</p> +<p>And now the soldiers had all marched through; the last of the +bands had disappeared from the streets; the garrison had taken +themselves to their own quarters; the men of the town had flocked +out of the city in the hope of seeing something of the fight; and +the streets were chiefly thronged by anxious women and wondering, +wide-eyed children--all crowding together in groups, their faces +turned towards those heights above where they knew the struggle was +to be fought out.</p> +<p>"Hark to the firing!"</p> +<p>A deep silence fell upon the crowds in the streets--the hush of +a breathless expectancy. The rattle of musketry fell upon their +ears, and then a sound almost like a cannon shot. It was the volley +of the English, delivered with such admirable precision. An +involuntary scream arose from many as that sound was heard. Had the +English got their artillery up to those inaccessible heights?</p> +<p>But no; there was no further sound of cannonading, only a fierce +and continuous fusillade, which told of the battle raging so +fiercely up yonder on the heights.</p> +<p>Some women crowded into the churches to offer prayers at the +shrines of saint or Virgin; but the majority could not tear +themselves away from the streets, nor from the open space near to +the gate of St. Louis, by which gate news would most likely +enter.</p> +<p>And it did.</p> +<p>How the time went none could say, but it seemed only a short +time after the firing had commenced before white-faced scouts from +the town, who had gone forth to see the battle, came running back +with gestures of terror and despair.</p> +<p>"The English are shooting us down like sheep. The French give +way on every side. Their terrible fire mows down our ranks like +grass before the scythe! They are charging upon us now! We are +scattered and fleeing every way! Alas, alas! the day is lost. +Quebec will fall!"</p> +<p>"Lost! it cannot be lost in this time," cried pale-faced women, +unable and unwilling to believe. "Where is the Governor? he will +come up with the reserves. Where is Bougainville? surely he will +fall upon the English rear! Have we not twice the force of the +English? We cannot be conquered in this time! it would be a shame +to France forever."</p> +<p>So cried the people--one calling one thing, and another another, +whilst every fresh scout brought in fresh tidings of disaster. +There could be no doubt about it. The French army had been routed +at the first onset. Where the fault lay none could tell, but they +were flying like chaff before the wind.</p> +<p>Corinne stood close beside her aunt, silent, with dilated eyes, +her heart beating almost to suffocation as she sought to hear what +was said, and to make out the truth of the thousand wild rumours +flying about.</p> +<p>Colin came dashing through the gate. His face was flushed; he +had lost his hat; he was too breathless to speak. But he saw +Corinne's signal, and came dashing up to them. He flung himself +down upon the ground, and struggled for breath.</p> +<p>"O Colin, what have you seen?"</p> +<p>In a few moments more he was able to speak.</p> +<p>"I have seen the battle!" he gasped; "I have seen it all. I +could not have believed it would have been fought so soon. I have +seen something that these people would rejoice to know, but I shall +not tell them. I have seen the fall of General Wolfe!"</p> +<p>Madame Drucour uttered a short exclamation of dismay.</p> +<p>"General Wolfe killed! Colin, art thou sure?"</p> +<p>"Not sure that he is dead, only that he fell, and was carried +away by his men. He was heading the charge, as a brave General +should. Oh, had you seen how that battle was directed, you could +not but have admired him, whether friend or foe! It teaches one +what war can be to see such generalship as that."</p> +<p>"He is a great man," said Madame Drucour softly; "I have always +maintained that. Pray Heaven his life be spared, for he will be a +merciful and gallant victor; and if he fall, we may not meet such +generous, chivalrous kindness from others."</p> +<p>"Here come the soldiers!" cried Corinne, who from a little +vantage ground could see over the battlements. "Ah, how they run! +as though the enemy were at their heels.</p> +<p>"Are you men? are you soldiers? For shame! for shame! To run +like sheep when none pursues! Now indeed will I call myself French +no longer; I will be a British subject like my mother. It is not +willingly that I desert a losing cause; but I cannot bear such +poltroonery. When have the English ever fled like this before us? +Oh, it is a shame! it is a disgrace!"</p> +<p>"Ah, if you could have seen the English soldiers!" cried Colin, +with eager enthusiasm; "I never heard a volley delivered as theirs +was! They never wasted a shot. They stood like a rock whilst the +French charged across to them, firing all the time. And when they +did fire, it was like a cannon shot; and after that, our men seemed +to have no spirit left in them. When the smoke of the second volley +cleared off, I could scarce believe my eyes. The dead seemed to +outnumber the living; and these were flying helter-skelter this way +and that!"</p> +<p>"But did not the General strive to rally them?"</p> +<p>"Doubtless he did. Our Marquis is a brave soldier and an able +General; but what can one man do? Panic had seized the troops; and +if you had heard the sound of cheering from the ranks of the +English, and that strange yell from those wild Highlanders as they +dashed in pursuit, you would have understood better what the +soldiers felt like. They ran like sheep--they are running still. I +saw that if I were to have a chance of bringing you the news, I +must use all my powers, or I should be jammed in the mass of flying +humanity making for the city; and since the English are not very +far behind, I had need to make good my retreat."</p> +<p>It was plain that Colin was only a little in advance of a +portion of the defeated army, whose soldiers were now flocking back +to the city, spreading panic everywhere.</p> +<p>Suddenly there ran through the assembled crowd a murmur which +gathered in volume and intensity, and changed to a strange sound as +of wailing. Corinne, who had the best view, leaned eagerly forward +to see, and her face blanched instantly.</p> +<p>A horseman was coming through the gate, supported on either side +by a soldier; his face was deadly white, and blood was streaming +from a wound in his breast.</p> +<p>Madame Drucour looked also and uttered a cry:</p> +<p>"<i>Monsieur le Marquis est tue</i>!"</p> +<p>It was indeed Montcalm, shot right through the body, but not +absolutely unconscious, though dazed and helpless.</p> +<p>Instantly Madame Drucour had forced a passage through the crowd, +and was at his side.</p> +<p>"Bring him this way," she said to those who supported him and +led the horse; "he will have the best attention here."</p> +<p>Montcalm seemed to hear the words, and the wail of sorrow which +went up from the bystanders. He roused himself, and spoke a few +words, faintly and with difficulty.</p> +<p>"It is nothing. You must not be troubled for me, my good +friends. It is as it should be--as I would have it."</p> +<p>Then his head drooped forward, and Madame Drucour hurried the +soldiers onward to the house where she now lived; Colin running on +in advance to give notice of their approach, and if possible to +find Victor Arnoux, that the wounded man might receive immediate +attention.</p> +<p>The surgeon was luckily on the spot almost at once, and directed +the carrying of the Marquis into one of the lower rooms, where they +laid him on a couch and brought some stimulant for him to swallow. +He was now quite unconscious; and the young surgeon, after looking +at the wound, bit his lip and stood in silent thought whilst the +necessary things were brought to him.</p> +<p>"Is it dangerous?" asked Madame Drucour, in an anxious whisper, +as she looked down at the well-known face.</p> +<p>"It is mortal!" answered Victor, in the same low tone. "He has +not twelve hours of life left in him."</p> +<h2><a name="Ch7-2" id="Ch7-2">Chapter 2</a>: Surrender.</h2> +<p>"Is the General yet living?" asked the Abbe an hour or two +later, entering the house to which he knew his friend had been +carried, a look of concentrated anxiety upon his face.</p> +<p>Madame Drucour had heard his step even before she heard his +voice. She was already beside him, her face pale and her eyes red +with weeping.</p> +<p>"Ah, my brother," she cried, "thou art come to tell us that all +is lost!"</p> +<p>"All would not be lost if the army had a head!" answered the +Abbe, with subdued energy. "We could outnumber the enemy yet if we +had a soldier fit to take command. But the Marquis--how goes it +with him?"</p> +<p>"He lives yet, but he is sinking fast. He will never see the +light of another day!" and the tears which had gathered in Madame +Drucour's eyes fell over her cheeks.</p> +<p>"My poor friend!" sighed the Abbe; and after a pause of musing +he added, "Is he conscious?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he came to himself a short while ago, and insisted upon +knowing how it was with him."</p> +<p>"He knows, then?"</p> +<p>"Yes--Victor Arnoux told him the truth: but I think he knew it +before."</p> +<p>"And what said he?"</p> +<p>"That it was well; that he should not live to see the surrender +of Quebec; that his work was done on earth, and he ready to +depart."</p> +<p>"Then he thinks the cause is lost?"</p> +<p>"Those are the words he used. Perchance he knows that there is +no one now to lead or direct them. You know, my brother, that the +brave Senezergues lies mortally wounded. He might have taken the +command; but now we have none fit for it. You have seen what is +passing without the city; tell me of it! What does the Governor? +They say that when the battle was fought he had not yet appeared +upon the scene of action."</p> +<p>"No," answered the Abbe bitterly, "he had not. Yet he had had +notice four hours before the fighting commenced, and was nearer +than the Marquis, who brought the army up. He came too late to do +anything. He is always late. He comes up at the end of +everything--to claim credit if the day is won, to throw the blame +upon others if fortune frowns. He is saying now that it was a +deplorable mistake on Montcalm's part to attack before he had +joined issues with him; as though his raw Canadians had ever done +any good in the open field!"</p> +<p>"You have seen him, then?"</p> +<p>"Yes; he and a part of the routed army have taken possession of +the redoubt at the head of the bridge of boats across the St. +Charles, and so completely are they cowed and terrified that it was +all that a few of the cooler-headed ones of us could do to prevent +the men from cutting in pieces the bridge itself, and thus cutting +off the retreat of half the army, who are still pouring back over +it, pursued by the English."</p> +<p>"Then the fight is not yet over?"</p> +<p>"The battle is, but not the rout. And yet there is a sort of +fighting going on. The Canadians, who in the open field show +themselves so useless, are redeeming their character now. They have +spread themselves over the low-lying lands by the river, hiding in +bushes and coverts, and shooting down the English in a fashion +which they little relish. Those fierce Highlanders suffer the most +from this sort of warfare, for they always throw away their muskets +before they charge, and so they have no weapon that is of any +service against a hidden marksman in the bushes. But all this, +though it may harass the English, does not affect the issue of the +day. We have suffered a crushing defeat, although the number of the +slain is not excessive. It remains now to be settled whether we +accept this defeat as final, or whether we yet try to make a stand +for the honour of our country and the salvation of Canada."</p> +<p>"Ah, my brother, if Quebec goes, Canada goes!"</p> +<p>"That is so; but there are many of us who say that Quebec is not +yet lost. It is not lost; it might well be saved. And yet what +think you of this? They say that within the hornwork the Governor +and the Intendant were closeted together drafting the terms of +capitulation of the whole colony, ready to submit to the English +General!"</p> +<p>"So soon?"</p> +<p>"So they say. I know not if it be altogether true, but all is +confusion worse confounded yonder. The soldiers are pouring back to +their camp at Beauport in a perfect fever of panic. I heard that +Bigot would have tried to muster and lead them against the enemy +once more, and that the Governor gave his sanction, but that the +officers would not second the suggestion. I think all feel that +with only Vaudreuil to lead fighting is hopeless. He knows not his +own mind two minutes together; he agrees always with the last +speaker. He is always terrified in the moment of real crisis and +peril. His bluster and gasconade desert him, and leave him in +pitiful case."</p> +<p>"What, then, is to be done?"</p> +<p>"That I cannot tell. I have come with a message from the +Governor to the Marquis. He sent me to ascertain his condition, and +if possible to ask counsel of him. His word would still carry +weight. If he is sufficiently himself to listen for a few minutes +to what I have to say, I would then put the case and ask his +opinion upon it."</p> +<p>Madame Drucour drew the Abbe softly into the room where the +dying man lay. Montcalm's eyes opened as he heard them approach. At +the sight of the Abbe he seemed to try to rouse himself.</p> +<p>"You have brought news! Tell me, how goes it?"</p> +<p>The Abbe repeated in some detail the after events of the battle +and rout, Montcalm listening to every word with the keenest +interest and attention.</p> +<p>"Where is the Governor?" he asked at the conclusion of the +narrative.</p> +<p>"He was still at the hornwork when I left," answered the Abbe; +"but many were clamouring around him, declaring that the place +would be carried by assault almost immediately, and all of them cut +to pieces without quarter; and that they had better surrender the +city and colony at once than lose all their lives in an unavailing +struggle."</p> +<p>Montcalm's face, upon which death had already set its seal, +remained immovably calm and tranquil.</p> +<p>"What said the Governor?" he asked.</p> +<p>"He appeared to agree with this view of the case. He is much +alarmed and disturbed. He is preparing to return to his own +quarters upon the Beauport road, and will there hold a council as +to the next step to be taken. It was he who asked me to go back to +the city and see you, my General, and ask what advice you have for +us. We are in a sore strait, and there seems none to advise us; but +any word that comes from you will have its weight with the +army."</p> +<p>Montcalm lay silent a long while. Physical weakness made +speaking difficult, and his mind no longer worked with the +lightning quickness of old days. He seemed to find some slight +difficulty in bringing it down to the affairs of earthly battles +and struggles.</p> +<p>"Tell the Governor," he said at last, speaking faint and low, +"that there is a threefold choice before him; and that though were +I at the head of the army, I should say, Fight, I do not offer him +counsel to do so; I only tell him the alternatives. The first of +these is to fight--to join forces with Ramesay's garrison and the +sailors from the batteries here, and to gather in all the outlying +Canadians and Indians of the neighbourhood. With such an army as +could be quickly gathered, and by acting in concert with +Bougainville from Cap Rouge, there is at least a very fair chance +of vanquishing the foe in open fight. The next alternative is for +him to retire upon Jacques Cartier, leaving Quebec with an +efficient garrison, and from there to harass the enemy, cut off +supplies, and otherwise prolong the siege till the approach of +winter forces them to take to their ships and go. The third is to +give up the colony to English rule. Let the Governor and his +council take their choice of these three plans, for there is no +other."</p> +<p>"I will take the message myself," said the Abbe, pressing the +hand of his friend, and stooping to imprint a kiss on the pale +brow. "God be with you, my friend, in the hour of trial; and may He +receive your soul when He shall have called it! I shall pray for +the repose of your gallant spirit. Peace be with you. +Farewell."</p> +<p>Montcalm was too much exhausted for further speech, but he made +a slight gesture with his hand, and the Abbe left him, Madame +Drucour stealing after him for a last word.</p> +<p>"You will not run into peril yourself, my brother?"</p> +<p>"Nay," he answered, with a touch of bitterness in his tone; "I +shall be safe enough, since my errand is to the Governor. Monsieur +de Vaudreuil is never known to put himself into danger. Oh that we +had a Governor who thought first of the honour of France and second +of his own safety!"</p> +<p>"But surely they will fight! they will not give up Quebec +without a struggle? Look at the walls and ramparts, untouched and +impregnable as ever! Our town is shattered, it is true, but that +has long been done. Why should we give up the city because a few +hundred soldiers have been slain upon the Plains of Abraham? We +have still a great army to fight with."</p> +<p>"We have; but where is the General to lead us? Nevertheless, we +may still show ourselves men.</p> +<p>"Colin, my boy, is that thou? What, dost thou want to come with +me? So be it, then. Thou shalt do so, and take back word to thy +aunt here as to what the council decides.</p> +<p>"I may find work over yonder with the sick and wounded. I may +not return tonight. But Colin shall come back with news, and you +will know that all is well with me."</p> +<p>They went together, and Madame Drucour returned to her watch +beside the sick and dying man. The surgeon stole in and out as his +other duties permitted him, and Corinne shared the watch beside the +couch where Montcalm lay.</p> +<p>The Bishop, who in spite of his feebleness had been abroad in +the city, seeking to console the dying and to cheer up the +garrison, depressed by rumours of the flight of the army, came in +at dusk, exhausted and depressed himself, to find another dying +soldier in need of the last rites of the Church.</p> +<p>It was a solemn scene which that dim room witnessed as the night +waned and the approach of dawn came on. Without all was confusion, +hurry, anxiety, and distress, none seeking sleep in their beds, all +eagerly awaiting tidings from the army--the news which should tell +them whether they were to be gallantly supported or left to their +fate. Within there was the deep hush which the approach of death +seems ever to bring. The short, gasping confession had been made; +the Bishop stood over the dying man, making the sign and speaking +the words of absolution. A young priest from the Seminary and an +acolyte had been found to assist at the solemn rite; and Madame +Drucour, with Corinne and the faithful old servant, knelt at the +farther end of the room, striving to keep back their tears.</p> +<p>It was over at last. The words of commendation had been spoken; +the last labouring breath had been drawn. Corinne, half choking +with her emotion, and feeling as though she would be stifled if she +were to remain longer in that chamber of death, silently glided +away out of the room into the open air; and once there, she broke +into wild weeping, the result of the long tension of her pent-up +emotion.</p> +<p>"Mademoiselle, mademoiselle! Corinne!" cried a familiar voice in +a subdued tone from some place not far distant. "Is it indeed you? +Nay, do not weep; there is not need. We shall not harm you; you and +yours shall be safe whatever comes to pass in Quebec."</p> +<p>Corinne gazed about her in astonishment. Who was speaking to +her? The next house to theirs was deserted, because the roof had +been blown off, and a shell had fallen through, breaking almost +every floor. Yet the voice seemed to come from a window within that +house, and in the dim and uncertain moonlight she saw a head--two +heads--protruding from a first-floor window. Next minute she was +further astonished by the rapid descent of three figures, who +seemed to clamber like monkeys down the shattered wall; and behold +the three merry midshipmen were grouped around her, holding her +hands and seeking to cheer her.</p> +<p>"Peter--Paul--Arthur! How came you here? Surely Quebec is not +taken yet!"</p> +<p>"No, but so nearly taken that we thought to steal a march. We +have been working since evening in dragging up cannon upon the +plain yonder, where the army is intrenching itself; and when our +task was done, we felt a great wish to see what was passing in the +city where we had many friends, and which we knew so well. In the +confusion it was not difficult to get in under cover of the dusk; +but we found we could not get out again--at least not when we +tried. But we cared little for that. There are plenty of empty +houses to hide in, and we had bread in our pockets. We heard of you +and Madame Drucour, and have been watching and waiting in hopes of +seeing you. But, Corinne, are you weeping because the English are +about to take Quebec? We looked upon you as an ally and a +compatriot."</p> +<p>"I am weeping because our good General, the Marquis of Montcalm, +is just dead," answered Corinne, wiping her eyes. "He lies within +those walls, sleeping the last sleep. He will never see his wife +and his mother and his mill at Candiac again. And he has talked so +much to us of all those things, and of the children he loved so +well. Oh, war is a cruel thing! Pray Heaven it may come to a speedy +end!"</p> +<p>The sound of flying footsteps up the street caused the +midshipmen to look at one another, and meditate a return to their +hiding place; but Corinne said:</p> +<p>"That is Colin's step; he comes back with news."</p> +<p>And, in truth, the next moment Colin stood amongst them, so full +of excitement himself that the sudden appearance of the midshipmen, +whom he instantly recognized, did not at once strike him with +astonishment.</p> +<p>"I will never call myself a Frenchman again!" he panted, his +eyes gleaming with wrath. "What think you, Corinne? They are flying +from the camp at Beauport as sheep fly before wolves. It is no +retreat, it is a rout--a disgraceful, abominable, causeless rout. +There is no enemy near. The English are up on the heights, +intrenching themselves no doubt, and resting after their gallant +enterprise. Our uncle has exhausted his powers of persuasion. He +has shown them again and again how strong is their position still, +how little it would even now take of courage and resolution to save +Quebec and the colony. They will not listen--they will not hear. +They are flying like chaff before the wind. They are leaving +everything behind in their mad haste to be gone! And the Indians +will swoop down directly the camp is empty, and take everything. +Oh, it is a disgrace, a disgrace! Not even to take a night to think +it over. If the English did but know, and sent out a few hundred +soldiers upon them, they might cut the whole army to pieces in a +few hours!"</p> +<p>Colin, Colin! oh, is it so?"</p> +<p>"It is indeed; and all that the men say when one speaks to them +is that Wolfe and his soldiers are too much for them. They will not +stay to be hacked to pieces."</p> +<p>"Alas!" said Paul gravely, "the gallant Wolfe is no more. If you +have lost your General, so have we. Wolfe fell early in the battle, +and Moncton is dangerously wounded. We are robbed of our two first +officers; but for all that we will have Quebec and Canada."</p> +<p>"And you deserve it!" answered Colin, fired with generous +enthusiasm. "If our French soldiers and officers fling away their +courage and their honour, let us welcome those who have both, and +who are masters worthy to be served and loved."</p> +<p>It was a strange, sad day. The confusion and despair in the town +were pitiful to behold. With the first light of day it was seen +that the camp at Beauport was still standing, and hope sprang up in +the hearts of the townsfolk. But when, shortly after, it was known +that though standing it had been abandoned, and that the night had +seen the indiscriminate flight of the whole army, the deepest +despondency fell upon the town. This feeling was not lessened when +it began to be whispered that the Chevalier Ramesay had received +instructions from the Governor not to attempt to hold the town in +face of a threatened assault, but to wait till the scanty +provisions had been exhausted, and then raise the white flag and +obtain the best terms he could.</p> +<p>The Abbe had stayed to bring this last letter from the flying +Governor. His own soul was stirred to the depths by indignation and +sorrow. It seemed to him the crowning disgrace in a disgraceful +flight. Ramesay had sought speech with the Marquis a few hours +before his death, but could obtain no advice from him. He had done +with worldly things, and could only wish well to those who were +left behind. It was a desperate state of affairs, and all the town +knew it.</p> +<p>So great was the confusion that no workman could be found to +make a coffin for the body of the dead General. The old servant of +the Ursulines, faithful to the last, went hither and thither and +collected a few planks and nails, and the midshipmen and Colin +assisted her to nail together a rude coffin in which the body was +presently laid. It must be buried that same evening, for none knew +from hour to hour what was in store for the city. But no pomp or +circumstance could attend the funeral; and indeed no one could be +found to dig a grave.</p> +<p>Yet a fitting grave was found in the chapel of the Ursuline +convent, now little more than a ruin. An exploding shell had made a +deep cavity in the floor not far from the altar, and this hollow +was soon shaped into the similitude of a grave.</p> +<p>No bells tolled or cannon fired as the mournful procession filed +through the streets; yet it did not lack a certain sombre dignity. +The Bishop and the Abbe headed it, with a few priests from the +Cathedral in attendance. Ramesay was there with his officers, and +Madame Drucour, with Colin and Corinne, the three midshipmen (who +no longer feared to show themselves), and the old servant, brought +up the rear. As the <i>cortege</i> passed through the streets, +numbers of citizens fell in behind, together with women and +children, weeping for one whose name was dear, and who they all +averred would have saved their city had he lived.</p> +<p>Torches were lit before the procession filed into the ruined +church, and sobs mingled with the chants that were rehearsed over +the grave.</p> +<p>"Alas, alas!" sobbed the women; "we have buried our hopes in +that grave. We have lost our General; we shall lose our city, and +all Canada will follow."</p> +<p>"It is no wonder they feel so," said the Abbe to his sister that +night; "we are abandoned by the army that might have saved us. We +have scarce provision to last a week, even on half rations--so I +heard today--and all the merchants and townspeople are for +immediate capitulation. It is possible that when our army finds +itself at Jacques Cartier, thirty miles from the scene of danger, +and in an impregnable position, they may rally their courage and +reconsider the situation; but unless I am greatly mistaken, that +resolution will come too late--Quebec will have already +surrendered."</p> +<p>Things had come to a desperate pass. Only one out of all the +officers was in favour of resistance; the rest declared it +impossible. The English on the heights were intrenched, and were +pushing their trenches nearer and nearer. Though Wolfe was dead and +Moncton disabled, Townshend, the third in command, was acting with +the energy and resolve which had characterized the expedition all +along.</p> +<p>Three days after Montcalm's death matters reached a crisis. +Troops were seen approaching the Palace Gate from the St. Charles +meadows, and the ships of war were slowly nearing the town with +evident intention of opening fire.</p> +<p>All the city was in a state of uncontrollable fright and +agitation. The officers crowded round Ramesay's quarters declaring +that they could do nothing with their men; that the men said they +knew that orders had been given to avoid assault, and that they +were threatening to carry their guns back to the arsenal, and +desert bodily to the English. So disgusted and disheartened were +they by the action of the Governor and his army that they had no +fight left in them.</p> +<p>"Raise the white flag then!" said the Commander, in brief, stern +tones.</p> +<p>Was it a cheer or a groan which arose from the town as the +symbol of surrender was seen floating above the battlements? Once +it was torn down by some more ardent spirit; but again it floated +high, and the people gazing up at it gesticulated and wept, though +whether for sorrow or joy they could scarce have told +themselves.</p> +<p>It was known that a messenger had gone forth to confer with the +English commander, and the negotiations were drawn out hour after +hour, in the hope of some succour from without; till a stern +message came back that if they were not signed within an hour, the +assault would be ordered.</p> +<p>Then Ramesay signed, having secured more favourable terms than +he had dared to hope for. The capitulation of Quebec was an +accomplished fact!</p> +<p>Yet even whilst the people were still thronging the streets and +open places by the gateway, a band of weary horsemen were seen +spurring towards the city. As the foremost entered he cried:</p> +<p>"Courage, good friends, courage! Help is at hand! The army is +marching to your defence! Quebec shall yet be saved!"</p> +<p>Alas! Quebec had fallen. Sobs and groans went up from the women, +and curses from the men. There was a rush for Ramesay's quarters to +tell the news and ask what could be done; but the Chevalier's face +was stern and hard.</p> +<p>"Nothing can be done," he said. "You have had your own will. You +have signed away your city. Honour will not permit me to break my +word. Besides, how can we trust an army which has basely deserted +us once? If they would not attack the foe before he had had time to +intrench and fortify himself, how can we hope that they will have +courage to brave the assault of a formidable intrenched camp +defended by artillery?</p> +<p>"Go back whence you came, sirs, and tell the Governor, if you +will, that his cowardice and desertion have done their work. Quebec +is lost to France for ever, and Canada will follow. He could have +saved it four days ago had he had the heart of a soldier or the +head of a statesman; now it is lost irrevocably!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch7-3" id="Ch7-3">Chapter 3</a>: Friendly Foes.</h2> +<p>Quebec was taken; it had surrendered without a blow when once +the battle upon the heights above had ended in the overthrow of the +French army.</p> +<p>Julian and Fritz exchanged glances of wonder when it was known +beyond all doubt that the capitulation had been signed. It was +marvellous to them, who knew the full peril of their own position, +that the French should be so blind. A concerted attack from the two +armies of the immediate locality could scarcely have failed to +drive them from their vantage ground back to their ships; and once +there, the Admirals would have had no choice but to put to sea once +more; for already the season was closing, and it would then have +been madness to think of any further operations for that +season.</p> +<p>And yet sadness rather than joy was the main feeling in the +hearts of these comrades as they prepared themselves to be of the +number to march into the city.</p> +<p>Fritz was still somewhat lame from the effect of his wound; but +his splendid physique had made light of the injury, and in other +respects he was sound and strong. Humphrey walked beside him, +giving him a little assistance over rough ground, and Julian was on +his other side. They were full of curiosity to behold the city +which it had cost them so much to take, and Fritz was anxious to +find again those friends who had shown him kindness in past days. +Julian, too, was very desirous to meet Madame Drucour once more, +and renew with her those pleasant relations which had commenced +within the fortress of Louisbourg.</p> +<p>Townshend, the Brigadier now in command, had granted easy terms +to the place. He knew too well the peril of his position not to be +thankful for having Quebec almost at any price. The garrison and +the sailors, who formed a considerable portion of the force in the +city, were to march out with the honours of war, and were to be +shipped to France with what speed they might. The promised +protection offered by Wolfe to all peaceable inhabitants was to be +assured to all, together with the free exercise of their own +religion.</p> +<p>To Townshend had been carried upon the very day of the +capitulation a letter written by Montcalm only a few hours before +his death, the feeble penmanship of which showed well how difficult +it had been to him to indite it. In effect it was the last thing he +ever wrote, and the signature was nothing but a faint initial, as +though the failing fingers refused the task before them.</p> +<p>"Monsieur," ran the missive, "the well-known humanity of the +English sets my mind at peace concerning the fate of the French +prisoners and the Canadians. Feel towards them as they have caused +me to feel. Do not let them perceive that they have changed +masters. Be their protector as I have been their father,"</p> +<p>It was probable that Montcalm believed himself addressing Wolfe +when he wrote this last charge. It was not known with any certainty +in Quebec that the English General had fallen, Some had heard he +was wounded, but no certainty prevailed. Indeed it was with no +exultation that Quebec heard of the death of the dreaded Wolfe. If +he were redoubtable in the field of battle, he was known to be a +merciful and generous foe in the hour of victory. Madame Drucour +had shed tears when told for certain of the hero's fall; the Abbe +had sorrowfully shaken his bead, and had told the citizens that +they had nothing to rejoice over in that.</p> +<p>So the garrison marched out with as much bravery and martial +show as they could under the circumstances, and the citizens +crowded the streets and ramparts to cheer them as they went, and +watch with mingled feelings the entrance of the English troops into +the town and the hoisting of the English flag. Sobs broke from +many, and a deep groan rose shudderingly upon the air; and yet +there were very many in the city who cared little for the change of +masters, if only they might be rid of the horrors of war.</p> +<p>Life had long been very difficult under the French rule. So much +official corruption existed, especially in the matter of supplies +of food and other necessaries, that the unhappy people were forced +to pay double and treble value for almost everything, and were +being slowly bled to death, that a few functionaries like Bigot and +Cadet might fatten and grow enormously rich. They had begun to know +that the English colonies were very differently governed; that they +grew in strength and independence, and were encouraged, and not +thwarted and hindered, in their internal development. Although much +smaller in extent than Canada, their population was double that of +the French colony. It was indeed the growing strength and +prosperity of the English provinces which had excited the jealous +animosity of the French, and had quickened their resolve to pen +them in between mountain and sea, and hinder their development. And +this resolve had been followed by the commencement of that border +warfare to which this was the sequel.</p> +<p>England knew better than let herself be penned within narrow +limits. She had broken through the bonds which held her back. Now +she was mistress of the key and capital of Canada. It could only be +a matter of time before the whole colony fell to her.</p> +<p>"It may be better for them in the end," said Madame Drucour, +heaving a long sigh as she watched the departure of the garrison, +and saw the scarlet uniforms of the English flooding the streets of +Quebec, "And yet it is hard to see it. I knew it must come, but my +heart is heavy within me. If only we had made a more gallant fight, +I should have felt it less."</p> +<p>"There he is! there he is!" shouted Colin suddenly; "there is +Fritz Neville!"</p> +<p>"Ah," cried Madame Drucour, with a quick look of pleasure, "and +there is Monsieur Julian Dautray too! Get speech with them if you +can, Colin, and bring them to supper at our house. There is much I +should like to ask them; and if some of the officers are to be +billeted amongst us townsfolk, I would gladly have those two to +care for."</p> +<p>"I'll go and see about it," cried Colin.</p> +<p>"Take us with you," cried the midshipmen, who had viewed the +procession with swelling hearts, uttering now and then a British +cheer, which mingled oddly with the sighs of the people. However, +since they had cheered the retiring troops as lustily as their own +countrymen, no one took this amiss. Indeed the young middies had +made themselves popular in the town by this time, and had done +something to promote a feeling of confidence in the goodwill and +clemency of the victors.</p> +<p>Corinne and her aunt returned homeward. The girl was in a state +of great excitement, sorrow for the regret of others mingling with +her own secret triumph and joy in the victory of the English.</p> +<p>It was no use trying to disguise from herself that she was glad +the English had prevailed. She had come to have a contempt and +distrust of the French and their ways and their rule. She admired +the English, and believed in them. They had shown courage and +resolution and heroism--had accomplished a feat which had hitherto +been deemed impossible. She was proud of the British blood running +in her veins, and was ready to welcome the victors with all her +heart.</p> +<p>So she decked the supper table with green leaves and grasses, +and a few flowers culled from the convent garden, where it had not +been torn to pieces by shot and shell. The viands were not very +plentiful, it is true, since scarcity still prevailed in the city; +but that would come to an end now, for the English were already +making arrangements for throwing in ample supplies.</p> +<p>Then she ran upstairs to don her best holiday gown, feeling a +wonderful rebound of spirit after the depression and anxiety and +horror of the past days. She sang a little to herself as she +flitted about her room, and was only just ready when she heard +Colin's voice from below summoning her to come.</p> +<p>She ran down the staircase and glided into the supper room, to +find it (as it seemed) quite full of company. It was too dusk to +distinguish faces by that time, but Bonnehomme Michel appeared at +the moment, bringing in two lamps, and the faces of the guests were +instantly revealed to her.</p> +<p>Her face lighted as she met the friendly glance of Fritz +Neville, and she extended her hand with a pretty welcoming grace. +The next minute she found herself exchanging greetings with an +officer in British uniform, a dark-eyed, dark-haired man, with a +very clear-cut, handsome face. Nor did it surprise her to hear that +this was Captain Dautray, who had played a romantic part in the +siege of Louisbourg.</p> +<p>"My aunt, Madame Drucour, has often spoken of you, sir," she +said, "and told us how you disguised yourself and adventured +yourself into the heart of the enemy's fortress. In sooth, I wonder +you could ever dare such a deed. Suppose you had been found +out?"</p> +<p>"Then I should have been shot as a spy, I do not doubt," +answered Julian, "and should never have known the pleasure of +making the acquaintance of the brave Madame Drucour--'Madame le +General,' as she was called in Louisbourg--nor of being presented +in Quebec to Mademoiselle her niece."</p> +<p>And as he spoke he bowed over Corinne's hand and raised it to +his lips.</p> +<p>The girl blushed and smiled. Such a salute was not uncommon in +those days, and there was nothing free in Julian's manner; indeed +there was a grave dignity about him which distinguished him in +whatever company he found himself, and his recent military training +had done much to increase the natural advantages which had always +been his.</p> +<p>The remaining guest, who was a stranger to her, was presented as +Humphrey Angell, and she looked with quick interest at him, +recollecting how Fritz had told her the tale of that terrible +Indian raid, and how he had found the two brothers, almost +distracted by anguish and despair, amid the blackened ruins of +their once prosperous settlement. This was the brother of the +strange, wild-looking man whom she and Colin had seen in the forest +long, long ago, and who had perished in the hour of vengeance. How +interesting it was, she thought, to see all these men of whom she +had heard and thought so much! She let her glance wander from one +face to the other, and she was not ashamed of the feeling of keen +admiration which awoke within her.</p> +<p>The three midshipmen were also of the company. Discipline had +been somewhat relaxed in the hour of battle and victory, and they +had obtained leave of absence from their ship for a while. Colin +had brought them back for a farewell repast. They seemed almost +like sons of the house by this time; and they had brought with +them, from one of the provision transports, a supply of good +victuals which had made Bonnehomme Michel's eyes shine and her +wrinkled visage beam.</p> +<p>The scent of coffee pervaded the house, and soon a savoury mess +such as had not been seen for long upon that table was set down, +and the guests, in excellent spirits, took their places. Corinne +found herself seated next to Julian, with Arthur on her other side. +The Abbe took the foot of the table, and Madame Drucour the head. +She looked pale and grave, but showed a gentle dignity and courtesy +of bearing which was very impressive; and everyone showed her all +possible deference.</p> +<p>Corinne spoke to Julian in a low voice.</p> +<p>"I want to ask of your General, the great Wolfe. Were you with +him when he died?"</p> +<p>"Yes, Mademoiselle; he died in my arms. I have had the honour of +calling myself his friend for above a year."</p> +<p>At that word Madame Drucour looked up and said:</p> +<p>"Ah, let me hear of Monsieur Wolfe! I had hoped to see him again +myself. Such a hero, such a sweet and courteous gentleman! +Frenchwoman though I be, I could have welcomed him as the victor of +Quebec!"</p> +<p>All listened with deep attention as Julian related in +considerable detail the story of the last hours of Wolfe, and +Madame Drucour wiped her eyes many times during the recital.</p> +<p>"Ah! if he had but lived to see the city of his hopes, I would +myself have been his nurse, and would have brought him back to +health and strength.</p> +<p>"You smile, sir; but yet I have seen much of sickness. You will +hear that the doctors themselves give me the credit for saving many +lives."</p> +<p>"I can believe it, Madame; indeed I have seen something of that +skill with mine own eyes. But, alas! I fear that the case of our +friend was beyond human skill. I think that, had he had the choice, +he would have chosen to die as he did in the hour of victory. To +wear out a life of suffering in uncongenial inactivity would have +been sorely irksome to his unquenchable spirit; and yet, after the +hardships through which he had passed, I misdoubt me if he could +ever have taken the field again. He would have endured the peril +and pain of another long voyage only to die upon shipboard, or at +his home if he lived to reach it. The hand of death was surely upon +him."</p> +<p>"And to die in the hour of a glorious victory is surely a +fitting close to a hero's life," said Corinne softly to Julian, +when the tide of talk had recommenced to flow in other quarters. +"But tell me, does he leave behind many to mourn him? Has he +parents living, or sisters and brothers, or one nearer and dearer +still? Has he a wife in England?"</p> +<p>"Not a wife, Mademoiselle, but one who was to have been his wife +had he lived to return, and a mother who loves him as the apple of +the eye. I shall have a sad task before me when I return to tell +them of him whom they have loved and lost."</p> +<p>"Are you then going back to England?" asked Corinne; "are you +not born in these lands of the West?"</p> +<p>"Yes; and I think that my home will be here when my duties to my +friend are done. But first I must return to his home and his +mother, and give to them there his last loving messages, and those +things he wished them to possess of his. Indeed, his body is to be +taken back, embalmed; the officers have decided upon that. I must +see his mother and Miss Lowther again; then I think I shall return +to these Western shores once again, and make my home upon Canadian +soil."</p> +<p>"Tell me more about Mrs. Wolfe and Miss Lowther," said Corinne, +with keen interest in her eyes and voice.</p> +<p>So Julian told her much of the events of those months which he +spent in England by the side of Wolfe, and at last he drew forth +the double miniature containing the likeness of the two who loved +the hero so well, and gave it to Corinne to look at.</p> +<p>The tears came into her eyes as she gazed at the two faces. He +saw the sparkle on her long lashes as she returned him the case, +and he loved her for them.</p> +<p>"It is a beautiful face; both are beautiful faces," she said. +"How sad for them--how very sad--that he should return to them no +more! Do you think Miss Lowther will ever love again? Or will she +go mourning all the days of her life for him whom she has +lost?"</p> +<p>Julian shook his head doubtfully.</p> +<p>"I cannot tell; yet time is a great healer, and Wolfe himself +sent her a message bidding her not mourn too long and deeply for +him. She is still young, and the time they spent together was not +very long. I trust and hope that comfort will come to her when her +grief has abated and the wound has healed. Life would become too +sorrowful a thing if death were able to make such lasting havoc of +its hopes and happiness."</p> +<p>Corinne drew a long sigh. She had seen much of death and +disaster those last months of her young life. It would indeed be +too cruel if the hand of time held no healing balm in its +clasp.</p> +<p>The next days were full of interest for Corinne. Julian took her +and Colin under his special protection and care. Fritz was kept to +the house and its vicinity by his lameness, which the march into +the city had rather increased; and Humphrey was busy in a thousand +ways. But Julian, though he had sundry duties to perform, had +plenty of leisure on his hands, too; and he gave up a great portion +of this leisure to taking Corinne and her brother a regular tour of +the various ships, and of the camps where the English had settled +themselves whilst attacking Quebec--showing them exactly how the +Heights of Abraham had been scaled, how the plain had been reached +and the battle set in array there; and the spot where Wolfe had +fallen, and that where he had died.</p> +<p>The bright-faced girl, with her French name and English +sympathies, was feted and welcomed everywhere. Brigadier Townshend +gave a dinner to some of the residents, and the Abbe and Madame +Drucour, with their nephew and niece, were invited. Corinne's +health was proposed and drunk amid acclamation, greatly to her own +astonishment; and wherever she went she met with nothing but +kindness and respect.</p> +<p>She was given a number of trophies of the recent war-- a small +dagger that had belonged to Wolfe being the most prized of them +all. She daily visited the hospital with her aunt, and cheered by +her bright presence both the English and French who lay there.</p> +<p>All was busy in and about the city. The garrison was being +shipped off to France, according to the terms of the capitulation; +and a number of residents whose homes had been destroyed, and who +had no mind to remain in the place now that the English were the +masters, were eager likewise to be gone. The French ships in the +upper reaches of the river were permitted to come down, take up +their crews again, and transport the fugitives to France.</p> +<p>But the Abbe and his sister remained on, uncertain of their +future, Madame Drucour waited for news of her husband, and the Abbe +lingered to know if he could serve his countrymen any longer. They +had friends in France, but were not much disposed to return to that +land. Colin and Corinne were burning with desire to see England at +least, even if they did not remain there; and Madame Drucour was +disposed to wish the same thing for herself.</p> +<p>One day Humphrey brought them news. He had had news of the +ex-governor of Louisbourg. He had fallen into the hands of the +Indians, but had been rescued by the English, and had been sent, +with a number of other prisoners, to England in one of their +returning ships. The news had been brought by a sloop from New +York.</p> +<p>Vessels were beginning to arrive in the harbour now from the +enthusiastic English provinces. Those in Quebec heard how joy bells +were ringing and bonfires blazing throughout New England and the +provinces. Far-seeing men saw in the fall of Quebec an augury of a +new and splendid empire in the west, over which England should +rule. So far, at least, there was no thought of anything else, +although the spirit of independence had taken deep root which +another day would bring forth a different sort of fruit.</p> +<p>"Madame, your husband is safe," said Humphrey when brought to +her to tell his tale; "I have heard it from one who saw him. He has +not suffered any severe hurt at the hands of the Indians. They were +of those who were wavering betwixt loyalty to France and loyalty to +England, and who made captives of white men wherever they could, +hoping to get a ransom for them. He was rescued by the English and +brought to New York, put safely on board a home-sailing vessel, and +doubtless he is safe on shore there by this time. He will be well +treated; have no fears as to that. The brave Governor of Louisbourg +will find many friends in England."</p> +<p>"Where I will join him!" cried Madame Drucour, clasping her +hands. "Yes, that settles my hesitation. If my husband is in +England, I will go thither and join him; and these children shall +go with us, and make acquaintance with their mother's kindred in +Scotland.</p> +<p>"Captain Dautray, can you help us in this matter? Can you secure +for us a passage in one of your many noble ships so soon to return? +You have been so true a friend to us that we appeal to you with +confidence and courage."</p> +<p>"It rejoices me that you should do so, Madame. I will see to it +at once. If possible, you shall sail in the same ship as I do +myself. I think there will be little difficulty. Each vessel will +transport a certain number of those who desire to return to France +or to be carried to English shores."</p> +<p>Corinne clapped her hands; her whole face lighted up.</p> +<p>"Oh, I shall see England! I shall realize the dream of my +life!</p> +<p>"Colin, do you hear--do you understand? We are going to +England--and in Captain Dautray's ship!"</p> +<p>"Hurrah!" cried the boy; "hurrah for old England! And if we go +in Captain Dautray's ship, we shall have our middies for our +companions, for they are to belong to the <i>Royal William</i>, +too. Ah, that will be something to live for indeed! When do we +sail? and where shall we go when we get there?"</p> +<p>"The Admirals want to leave as soon as possible," answered +Julian; "they have already stayed far beyond the time they +intended. But there is much to arrange, and they will not go till +they have sufficiently victualled the town, and settled the new +garrison as comfortably and securely as may be.</p> +<p>"Still it will not be long now, And as for the rest, I can only +beg of you to come first, upon landing, to the house of Mrs. Wolfe, +where I myself am bound. Madame Drucour's name is known to her.</p> +<p>"Her son spoke much of you, Madame, and of your kindness to him +at Louisbourg. And they know too how kindly others were +treated--your humble servant being one. Believe me, it will be the +greatest pleasure to Mrs. Wolfe to welcome anyone who has known and +loved her son, I have to visit her immediately; come at least with +me so far. After that we will learn where Monsieur Drucour is to be +found, and I will seek him out and bring him to you."</p> +<p>So the matter was settled, and the Abbe gave his approval. He +himself would remain in Quebec, the friend and counsellor of the +victorious English, whom he could not but regard with affection and +respect.</p> +<p>Of the Brigadiers in command, Moncton was too much shattered to +do aught but go home to recover of his wounds; Townshend was +resolved to sail back, to receive the compliments and honours of +the victory (since Wolfe had passed beyond these things); and +Murray was left in command of Quebec.</p> +<p>There had been some talk of destroying it rather than facing the +perils of keeping it in its shattered condition, and with a French +army so near. But English pluck had scorned this policy, and +already the men were hard at work repairing its defences, and +storing away a sufficient supply of provisions for the long, +inclement winter that lay before them.</p> +<p>"We may have to fight for it yet," spoke some as they cheerfully +worked at their fascines; "but we have got Quebec, and we mean to +keep it, let the French storm and rage as they will. If we could +take it from them almost without a blow, surely we can keep it now +we have it!"</p> +<h2><a name="Ch7-4" id="Ch7-4">Chapter 4</a>: The Last.</h2> +<p>"Fritz, Fritz! what do you think? Who do you think has come to +Quebec? Why, my brother-in-law, good Benjamin Ashley, together with +his wife and daughter. They have come in charge of a trim little +vessel, laden with provisions, sent as a gift from the citizens of +Philadelphia to the victors of Quebec. He has charge of the cargo, +I mean, not of the sloop; and he says he has come to stop, but I +had no time to hear all his story. Others were flocking about him, +and he had letters for the commanding officer. I hastened away to +find you and tell the news. Let us go back together and learn more +of this thing."</p> +<p>Into Fritz's face there had leaped a look of quick and keen +interest.</p> +<p>"Benjamin Ashley," he repeated, "with his wife and daughter! Is +little Susanna actually here in Quebec?"</p> +<p>"Yes, and my sister," cried Humphrey eagerly, "looking but +little changed from the day I left her in Philadelphia months ago. +And their first inquiry after kissing me was for you, Fritz. Had +you escaped the perils of the war? how were you? and were you here +in the town also?"</p> +<p>"Let us go and see them," cried Fritz, seizing his stick; "I +would be one of the first to welcome them. It is true that you said +Benjamin Ashley spoke of coming to Quebec if it should fall to us, +but I never thought to see him here so soon. He must have a stout +heart, for the perils of the place are not ended yet, I fear."</p> +<p>"He has a stout heart, in truth," answered Humphrey; "and right +glad am I to see him. Quebec will be more of a home to us if +Benjamin Ashley and his wife and daughter are dwelling within its +walls."</p> +<p>"Indeed it will," answered Fritz eagerly; and forthwith the pair +started off together in search of their kinsfolk and friends.</p> +<p>On the way they encountered John Stark, who was the head of the +band of Rangers to be quartered in Quebec during the winter as part +of the garrison, and he was greatly excited by the news.</p> +<p>"Hurrah for brave Benjamin Ashley! It is like the stout-hearted +fellow he always was to join his countrymen in times of peril +rather than wait till all was smooth sailing. We shall want +stout-hearted citizens of English blood within the city walls, to +people the empty houses, and save us from being too much surrounded +with half-hearted Canadian residents. If we are beleaguered by a +French army, as is likely enough, we shall want citizens as well as +soldiers if we are to hold our prize against them."</p> +<p>This was, indeed, very true, and therefore it was that any +settlers from New England were warmly welcomed by the officers in +charge of the fortress and city. They could depend upon their +soldiers in the garrison well enough; but every commander knows how +much harm can be done to a cause by discontent and half-heartedness +in the city.</p> +<p>At Louisbourg it was the voice of the citizens that had turned +the scale and forced the capitulation, and the same thing had, to a +great extent, happened at Quebec, The citizens had been discouraged +and rendered desperate by the way in which the town had suffered, +and this feeling had reacted upon the garrison, and had rendered +them far less willing to try to hold out than they might otherwise +have been.</p> +<p>It was some little time before Humphrey and his comrades could +find Ashley. He had been taken to the commander of the fortress to +deliver up his papers and have a personal interview with him; and +it was said that he was being entertained by him at table, and his +wife and daughter also.</p> +<p>Presently the news came that Mr. Ashley from Philadelphia was +inspecting the premises of the Fleur de Lye, which was the most +commodious and important inn in the lower town. It had been a good +deal shattered by the bombardment, and the proprietor had been +killed by a bursting shell. His family had been amongst the first +of the inhabitants to take ship for France and now the place stood +empty, its sign swinging mournfully from the door, waiting for some +enterprising citizen to come and open business there again.</p> +<p>"Doubtless the Commander has given him the offer of the house +and business," said Fritz when he heard. "Ashley is just the man to +restore prosperity to the old inn. Let us go and seek him there, +Humphrey. A stout-hearted English-speaking host will be right +welcome at the inn, and our fellows will bring him plenty of +custom."</p> +<p>The comrades hurried along the now familiar streets, and reached +their destination in due course. The inn stood at no great distance +from the harbour, and was in its palmy days a great resort both for +the soldiers of the fortress and the sailors who navigated the +great river. It was a solid building, and though its roof had been +much damaged, and there was an ugly crack all down the front, its +foundations were solid, and a little care and skill would soon +repair the damage.</p> +<p>Fritz followed Humphrey into the big public room close to the +entrance, and there he came face to face with Benjamin Ashley, who +was just saying farewell to Brigadier Murray, and whose honest face +lighted with pleasure at the sight of the stalwart soldier.</p> +<p>"It shall be seen to at once, Mr. Ashley," the Commander was +saying. "I will set the men to work tomorrow, and in a few days the +place will be habitable. You shall have immediate possession, and +the sooner you can start business the better for all. We want +Quebec to be a town again, and not a ruin. We want to make friends +of the inhabitants, and show them that the conditions of life are +not altogether altered. We want them to trust us and to think of us +as friends. I am sure you will help us in this. Nothing like good +wine and a jovial host to set men's tongues wagging in a friendly +fashion, and lighten their hearts of any load of fear and +despondency."</p> +<p>Murray strode out, returning the salutes of his subordinates, +and the next minute Fritz and Ashley were exchanging a warm +greeting.</p> +<p>"Welcome to Quebec, my friend; it does the heart good to see you +here. Humphrey declared you had promised to come soon; but I had +not dared to think it would be this side of the winter season."</p> +<p>"Why, yes; I have been ready and waiting this long while. To +tell the truth, I have had enough of Philadelphia and its +Quaker-ridden Assembly. Why, when once the war had broken out and +was raging in good earnest, I longed for nothing so much as my own +youth back again, that I might fight with the best of them. And the +peace palaver of the Quakers sickened me. I came near to +quarrelling with some of my old friends, and I grew eager to see +fresh places, fresh faces. I turned it over in my mind, and I +thought that if Quebec fell into our hands, English-speaking +citizens would surely be wanted to leaven the French and Canadians +who would remain. And if so, why should not I be one to take up my +abode?"</p> +<p>"Why not, indeed?" cried Fritz, whose eyes were eagerly straying +round the room in search of somebody he had not seen as yet. "It +was a happy thought, as our Commander has just told you, I doubt +not."</p> +<p>"He has been a capital friend--he has put me in possession of +this place; and I can see that there will be the making of a fine +business here. And I have not come empty-handed. I sold the old +tavern over yonder, and I have a fine store of wine and ale and +salted provisions stored away on board, enough to set me up for the +winter.</p> +<p>"I must have that old sign down," added Ashley, stepping into +the street and looking up at the battered board crazily hanging +from the beam above; "we must have another one up instead. I'll set +up a wolf's head in its place, in memory of the gallant soldier who +fell on the Plains of Abraham. And I will call my inn the Wolfe of +Quebec."</p> +<p>Fritz laughed, still looking round him with quick glances.</p> +<p>"And what said your wife and daughter to such a move?"</p> +<p>"Oh, the wife is a good wife, and follows her husband; though I +won't say she did not feel the wrench of parting a good bit. As for +the maid, she was wild to come! She has done nothing but think of +the war ever since it began. She is half a soldier already, I tell +her, and is making herself only fit to be a soldier's wife. She +might have had the pick of all the young Quakers in Philadelphia; +but you should have seen her turn up her pretty nose at them. "'A +Quaker indeed!' quoth the little puss; 'I'd as lief marry a +broomstick with a turnip for a head! Give me a man who is a man, +not a puling woman in breeches!'</p> +<p>"The sauciness of the little puss!"</p> +<p>But Ashley's jolly laugh showed that he encouraged the maid in +her "sauciness," and Fritz and Humphrey laughed in sympathy.</p> +<p>"Where are Mrs. Ashley and Susanna to be found?" asked Fritz +when the laugh had subsided.</p> +<p>K "Oh, somewhere in the house, poking and prying, and settling +the things in woman's fashion. Anything in the house is to be ours, +and we may buy cheap a quantity of the furniture which is being +taken out of the houses which are too much shattered to be rebuilt. +We have brought things of our own, too. Oh, we shall do well, we +shall do well. It was a capital thought to come here. Canada in +English hands will have a great future before it."</p> +<p>But Fritz was off already, leaving Humphrey to discuss the +situation with his brother-in-law. He was off in search of Susanna, +and presently came upon her sitting upon a wide window ledge which +commanded a view of the quay and harbour, and of the heights of +Point Levi opposite. Hannah was taking housewifely notes on the +upper floor; but the view from this window had fascinated the girl, +and she sat gazing out, lost in thought, a thousand pictures +flitting through her imaginative brain.</p> +<p>"Susanna!" spoke a voice behind her.</p> +<p>She started to her feet, quivering in every limb; and facing +round, found herself confronted by him whose face and form had been +the centre of each of her mental pictures, whose name had been on +her lips and in her heart each time she had bent her knees in +prayer for two long years, and who she knew had come at last to ask +the fulfilment of that promise she had given him when last they had +parted.</p> +<p>Her hands were in his; his face was bent over hers. He +disengaged one hand, and put it round her shoulders, drawing her +towards him gently.</p> +<p>She did not resist; she gave a happy little sigh, and stood with +her fair head close to his shoulder.</p> +<p>"Susanna, I have done what I hoped. I am a captain in the +English King's army. I have won some small reputation as a soldier. +I have a position sufficiently assured. You have come to live at +Quebec. I am quartered there for the winter. Many of our officers +and soldiers have wives who follow them wherever they go. I would +not ask you to come to me to share hardship and privation; but I +ask you to be my wife, here in this city, where your father's house +will give you shelter if I should be forced by the chances of war +to leave you for a while.</p> +<p>"Susanna, will you be brave enough for this? Can you make up +your mind to be a soldier's wife, even before the war has closed? I +had not thought to ask you so soon; but year after year passes by, +and though nearer and ever nearer to the goal of peace, the clouds +still hang in the sky, and there is still stern work for the +soldier to do. But we seem now to see the end of the long, long +war, and that a happy end; and so I ask if you can marry me, even +with the chances of one of those separations which wring the heart +and entail so much anxiety and sorrow upon the wife left at +home."</p> +<p>She was clinging to him even before he had done, shedding tears, +and yet half laughing as she looked with dewy eyes into his +face.</p> +<p>"O Fritz, Fritz, don't you understand yet what a woman's love is +like? As though I would not rather a hundred thousand times be your +wife, come what may in the future, than live the safest and most +sheltered life without you! As though I should not glory and +delight to share the perils and hardships you are called upon to +endure! As though being together would not make up a hundredfold +for everything else!"</p> +<p>When Benjamin Ashley, together with Humphrey and John Stark, +came in search of the others, they all saw at a glance what had +taken place. Susanna's blushing face and Fritz's expression of +proud, glad happiness told the tale all too plainly. But all had +been prepared for it; and Ashley laughed as he took his daughter's +face between his hands and kissed it, though he heaved a quick +sigh, too.</p> +<p>"Ah me! so all the birds leave the nest at last. And nothing but +a red-coat would serve your turn, my maid! That I have known for +long enough. Well, well, I cannot blame you. We owe a debt of +gratitude to our brave soldiers which we must all be willing to +pay.</p> +<p>"Take her, Fritz my boy; take her, and her father's blessing +with her. She will not come to you empty handed; she has a snug +little fortune from her mother ready for her dowry. But you have +wooed her and won her like a man; and her love will be, if I +mistake not, the crown of your manhood and of your life."</p> +<p>"Indeed it will, sir," answered Fritz fervently, and possessed +himself of Susanna's hand once more.</p> +<p>Barely a week later, and the party stood upon the quay to say +farewell to their friends and comrades who were sailing away for +England. October was waning. The departure of the ships could no +longer be delayed. Many had already gone; but today the mortal +remains of the gallant Wolfe had been conveyed on board the +<i>Royal William</i>, and all the town had come forth to pay its +last tribute of respect to one who was mourned by friends and foes +alike. Flags hung half-mast high, the guns had boomed a salute, and +the bells of the city had tolled in solemn cadence as the coffin +was borne to the quay and reverently carried to the place prepared +for it upon the ship.</p> +<p>Now all was bustle and animated farewell as the sailors began to +make preparations for unfurling the sails and hoisting up the +anchor. Julian and Fritz stood together a little apart from the +crowd; their hands were locked in a close clasp. The tie which +bound them together was a very strong and tender one.</p> +<p>"You will come back, Julian? you will not forsake these Western +lands, which must always seem to me more like home than any country +beyond the seas--even England, which we call our home. You will +come back?"</p> +<p>"Yes, I shall come back; the lands of the great West ever seem +to be calling me. I do but go to make good my promise to him that +is gone; then I shall return, and cast in my lot with the English +subjects of Canada."</p> +<p>"They say you are to receive promotion, Julian. You will rise to +be a man of place in this colony. I am certain of it. You have +talents, address, courage; and you are always beloved of French and +English alike. I have heard men talk of you, and point you out as a +rising man. They will want such over here when Canada has passed +into English keeping."</p> +<p>"They will find me ready to do my best if ever they should +desire to use me. I want nothing better than to serve my country, +and to heal the wound between the two nations who have struggled so +long for supremacy in the West."</p> +<p>"You will come back--I am sure of it--a man of place and +importance. But you will be the same Julian still, my brother and +friend. And, Julian (am I wrong in thinking it?), you will not come +back alone?"</p> +<p>A slight flush rose in Julian's face; but he answered +quietly:</p> +<p>"I hope not; I believe not."</p> +<p>"Mademoiselle Corinne--" began Fritz, but paused there; for the +girl was close beside them, having come up with her aunt, Madame +Drucour, to say goodbye to the group of friends gathered to see +them off.</p> +<p>Fritz saw the quick glance which flashed between her and Julian +as their eyes met, and he felt that he had got his answer. When +Julian came back to Canada, he would not come alone.</p> +<p>The last farewells were said; the deck was crowded by those who +were to sail away; the musical call of the seamen rose and fell as +the sails unfurled to the breeze, and the gallant vessel began to +slip through the water.</p> +<p>"A safe voyage and a joyous return. God be with you all!" cried +those upon the quay.</p> +<p>The Abbe lifted his hands, and seemed to pronounce a benediction +upon the departing ship, and those who saw the action bared their +heads and bent the knee.</p> +<p>Then the sails swelled out, the pace increased; a salute boomed +forth from the fortress behind, and was answered from the vessel +now gliding so fast away; and the <i>Royal William</i> moved with +stately grace through the wide waters of the St. Lawrence, and +slowly disappeared in the hazy distance.</p> +<p><br /> +THE END.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's French and English, by Evelyn Everett-Green + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRENCH AND ENGLISH *** + +***** This file should be named 15958-h.htm or 15958-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/9/5/15958/ + +Produced by Martin Robb + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: French and English + A Story of the Struggle in America + +Author: Evelyn Everett-Green + +Release Date: May 31, 2005 [EBook #15958] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRENCH AND ENGLISH *** + + + + +Produced by Martin Robb + + + + + +French and English: +A Story of the Struggle in America +by Evelyn Everett-Green. + + + + CONTENTS + + BOOK 1: BORDER WARFARE. +Chapter 1: A Western Settler. +Chapter 2: Friends In Need. +Chapter 3: Philadelphia. +Chapter 4: An Exciting Struggle. + + BOOK 2: ROGER'S RANGERS. +Chapter 1: A Day Of Vengeance. +Chapter 2: Robert Rogers. +Chapter 3: The Life Of Adventure. +Chapter 4: Vengeance And Disaster. + + BOOK 3: DISASTER. +Chapter 1: A Tale Of Woe. +Chapter 2: Escape. +Chapter 3: Albany. +Chapter 4: Ticonderoga. + + BOOK 4: WOLFE. +Chapter 1: A Soldier At Home. +Chapter 2: Louisbourg. +Chapter 3: Victory. +Chapter 4: The Fruits Of Victory. + + BOOK 5: WITHIN QUEBEC. +Chapter 1: The Impregnable City. +Chapter 2: The Defences Of Quebec. +Chapter 3: Mariners Of The Deep. +Chapter 4: Hostilities. + + BOOK 6: WITHOUT QUEBEC. +Chapter 1: In Sight Of His Goal. +Chapter 2: Days Of Waiting. +Chapter 3: A Daring Design. +Chapter 4: In The Hour Of Victory. + + BOOK 7: ENGLISH VICTORS. +Chapter 1: A Panic-Stricken City. +Chapter 2: Surrender. +Chapter 3: Friendly Foes. +Chapter 4: The Last. + + + +Book 1: Border Warfare + +Chapter 1: A Western Settler. + + +Humphrey Angell came swinging along through the silent aisles of +the vast primeval forest, his gun in the hollow of his arm, a heavy +bag of venison meat hanging from his shoulders. + +A strange, wild figure, in the midst of a strange, wild scene: his +clothes, originally of some homespun cloth, now patched so freely +with dressed deerskin as to leave little of the original material; +moccasins on his feet, a beaver cap upon his head, his leather belt +stuck round with hunting knives, and the pistol to be used at close +quarters should any emergency arise. + +He was a stalwart fellow, as these sons of the forest had need to +be--standing over six feet, and with a muscular development to +match his stately height. His tawny hair had been darkened by +exposure to hot suns, and his handsome face was deeply imbrowned +from the influences of weather in all seasons. His blue eyes had +that direct yet far-away look which comes to men who live face to +face with nature, and learn to know her in all her moods, and to +study her caprices in the earning of their daily bread. + +Humphrey Angell was not more than twenty years of age, and he had +lived ten years in the forest. He had come there as a child with +his father, who had emigrated in his young life from England to the +settlement of Pennsylvania, and had afterwards become one of the +scattered settlers on the debatable ground between the French and +English borders, establishing himself in the heart of the boundless +forest, and setting to work with the utmost zeal and industry to +gather round himself a little farmstead where he could pass his own +later years in peace, and leave it for an inheritance to his two +sons. + +Humphrey could remember Pennsylvania a little, although the life in +the small democratic township seemed now like a dream to him. All +his interests centred in the free forest, where he had grown to +manhood. Now and again a longing would come upon him to see +something of the great, tumultuous, seething world of whose +existence he was dimly aware. There were times in the long winter +evenings when he and his brother, the old father, and the brother's +wife would sit round the stove after the children had been put to +bed, talking of the past and the future. Then old Angell would tell +his sons of the life he had once led in far-away England, before +the spirit of adventure drove him forth to seek his fortune in the +New World; and at such times Humphrey would listen with eager +attention, feeling the stirrings of a like spirit within him, and +wondering whether the vast walls of the giant forest would for ever +shut him in, or whether it would be his lot some day to cross the +heaving, mysterious, ever-moving ocean of which his father often +spoke, and visit the country of which he was still proud to call +himself a son. + +Yet he loved his forest home and the free, wild life he led. Nor +was the element of peril lacking to the daily lot--peril which had +not found them yet, but which might spring upon them unawares at +any moment. For after years of peace and apparent goodwill on the +part of the Indians of the Five Nations, as this tract of debatable +land had come to be called, a spirit of ill will and ferocity was +arising again; and settlers who had for years lived in peace and +quietness in their lonely homes had been swooped down upon, scalped, +their houses burnt, their wives and children tomahawked--the raid +being so swift and sudden that defence and resistance had alike +been futile. + +What gave an added horror to this sudden change of policy on the +part of the Indians was the growing conviction throughout the +settlement that it was due to the agency of white men. + +France, not content with the undisputed possession of Canada, and +of vast tracts of territory in the west and south which she had no +means of populating, was bitterly jealous of the English colony in +the east, and, above all; of any attempts which it might make to +extend its western border. + +Fighting there had been already. Humphrey had heard rumours of +disasters to the English arms farther away to the south. He had +heard of Braddock's army having been cut to pieces in its attempt +to reach and capture the French Fort Duquesne, and a vague +uneasiness was penetrating to these scattered settlers, who had +hitherto lived in quietness and peace. + +Perhaps had they known more of the spirit of parties beyond their +limited horizon, they would have been more uneasy still. But habit +is an enormous power in a man's life. Humphrey had gone forth into +the forest to kill meat for the family larder three or four days in +the week, in all seasons when the farm work was not specially +pressing. He came back day by day to the low-browed log house, with +its patches of Indian corn and other crops, its pleasant sounds of +life, the welcome from the children, the approval of father and +brother if the day had been successful, and the smiles of the +housewife when he displayed the contents of his bag. It was almost +impossible to remember from day to day that peril from the silent, +mysterious forest threatened them. They had lived there for ten +years unmolested and at peace; who would care to molest them now? + +And yet Humphrey, who knew the forest so well--its mysterious, +interminable depths, its trackless, boundless extent, rolling over +hill and valley in endless billows--he knew well how silently, how +suddenly an ambushed foe might approach, spring out from the thick, +tangled shelter to do some murderous deed, and in the maze of giant +timber be at once swallowed up beyond all danger of pursuit. + +In the open plains the Indian raids were terrible enough, but the +horrors of uncertainty and ignorance which enveloped the settlers +in the forests might well cause the stoutest heart to quail when +once it became known that the Indians had become their enemies, and +that there was another enemy stirring up the strife, and bribing +the fierce and greedy savages to carry desolation and death into +the settlements of the English colonists. + +Whispers--rumours--had just begun to penetrate into these leafy +solitudes; but communication with the outside world was so rare +that the Angell family, who had long been self-supporting, and able +to live without the products of the mother colony away to the east, +had scarcely realized the change that was creeping over the +country. The old man had never seen anything of Indian warfare, and +his sons had had little more experience. They had been peaceful +denizens of the woods, and bore arms for purposes of the chase +rather than for self-preservation from human foes, as did the bulk +of those dwellers in the woods that fringed the western border of +the English-speaking colony. + +"We have no enemies; why should we fear?" asked Charles, the elder +brother, a man of placable temperament, a fine worker with the axe +or plough, a man of indomitable industry, endurance, and patience, +but one who had never shown any desire after adventure or the +chances of warfare. He was ten years older than Humphrey; and the +brothers had two sisters now married and settled in the colony. The +younger brother sometimes talked of visiting the sisters, and +bringing back news of them to the father at home; but Charles never +desired to leave the homestead. He was a singularly affectionate +husband and father, and had been an excellent son to the fine old +man, who now had his time of ease by the hearth in the winter +weather, though during a great part of the year he toiled in the +fields with a right good will, and with much of his old fire and +energy. + +Humphrey was nearing home now, and started whistling a favourite +air which generally heralded his approach, and brought the children +tumbling out to meet him in a rush of merry welcome. But there was +no answering hubbub to be heard from the direction of the house, no +patter of little feet, no lowing of kine. + +Humphrey stopped suddenly short in his whistling, and bent his ear +forward as though to listen. A faint, muffled, strangled cry seemed +to be borne to his ears. Under his bronze his face suddenly grew +white. He flung the heavy bag from off his back, and grasping his +gun more firmly in his hands, he rushed through the narrow pathway; +and came out upon the clearing around the little farmstead. + +In the morning he had left it, smiling in the autumn sunshine, a +peaceful, prosperous-looking place, homely, quaint, and bright. Now +his eyes rested upon a heap of smoking ruins, trampled crops, empty +sheds; and upon a still more horrible sight--the remains of mangled +corpses tied to the group of trees which sheltered the porch. It +was enough to curdle the blood of the stoutest hearted, and freeze +with horror the bravest warrior. + +Humphrey was no warrior, but a strong-limbed, tender-hearted youth; +and as he looked at the awful scene before him, a blood-red mist +seemed to swim before his eyes. He gasped, and clutched at the +nearest tree trunk for support. Surely, surely it was some fever +dream which had come upon him. It could not, it should not be a +terrible reality. + +"Humphrey, Humphrey! help, help!" + +It was the strangled, muffled cry again. The sound woke the young +man from his trance of horror and amazement. He uttered a hoarse +cry, which he scarcely knew for his own, and dashed blindly +onwards. + +"Here, here! This way. By the barn! Quick!" + +No need to hasten Humphrey's flying feet. He rushed through the +trampled fields. He gained the clearing about the house and its +buildings. He reached the spot indicated, and saw a sight he would +never forget. + +His brother Charles was tightly, cruelly bound to the stump of a +tree which had been often used for tethering animals at milking +time just outside the barn. His clothes were half torn from off his +back, and several gaping, bleeding wounds told of the fight which +had ended in his capture. Most significant of all was the long +semicircular red line round the brow, where the scalping knife had +plainly passed. + +Humphrey's stout knife was cutting through the cruel cords, even +while his horrified eyes were taking in these details. + +When his brother was released, he seemed to collapse for a moment, +and fell face downwards upon the ground, a quiver running through +all his limbs, such as Humphrey had seen many a time in some wild +creature stricken with its death wound. + +He uttered a sharp cry of terror and anguish, and averting his eyes +from the awful sights with which the place abounded, he dashed to +the well, and bringing back a supply of pure cold water, flung it +over his brother's prostrate form, laving his face and hands, and +holding a small vessel to his parched and swollen lips so that the +draught could trickle into his mouth. + +There was an effort to swallow, a quiver and a struggle, and the +wounded man opened his eyes and sat up. + +"Where am I--what is it?" he gasped, draining the cup again and +again, like one who has been near to perish with thirst. "O +Humphrey, I have had such an awful dream!" + +Humphrey had so placed his brother that he should not see on +opening his eyes that ghastly sight which turned the younger man +sick with horror each time his eyes wandered that way. + +Charles saw the familiar outline of the forest, and his brother's +face bending over him. He had for a moment a vague impression of +something unspeakably awful and horrible, but at that moment he +believed that some mischance had befallen himself alone, and that +he had imagined some black, nameless horror in a fevered dream. + +A shiver ran through Humphrey's frame. His blue eyes were dazed and +dilated. What answer could he make? He busied himself with dressing +the wounds upon his brother's chest and shoulders, from which the +blood still oozed slowly. + +"What is it?" asked Charles once again; "how did I come to be +hurt?" + +Humphrey made no reply, but a groan burst unawares from his lips. +The sound seemed to startle Charles from his momentary calm. He +suddenly put up his hand to his brow, felt the smart of the +significant red line left by the scalping knife, and the next +moment he had sprung to his feet with a sharp, low cry of +unspeakable anguish. + +He faced round then--and looked! + +Humphrey stood beside him shoulder to shoulder, with his arm about +his brother, lest physical weakness should again overpower him. But +Charles seemed like one turned to stone. + +For perhaps three long minutes he stood thus--speechless, +motionless; then a wild cry burst from his lips, accompanied by a +torrent of the wildest, fiercest invective--appeals to Heaven for +vengeance, threats of undying hatred, undying hostility to those +savage murderers whose raid had made this fair spot into a +desolation so awful. + +Humphrey stood still and silent the while, like one spellbound. He +scarcely knew his brother in this moment of passionate despair and +fury. Charles had been a silent, placable man all his life through. +Born and bred in the Quaker settlement, till he had taken to the +life of the forest he had been a man of quiet industry and toil +rather than a fighter or a talker. A peaceful creed had been his, +and he had perhaps never before raised a hand in anger against a +fellow creature. + +This made the sudden wild and passionate outburst the more strange +and awful to Humphrey. It was almost as though Charles was no +longer the brother he had known all these years, but had been +transformed into a different being by the swift and fearful +calamity which had swept down upon them during these past few +hours. + +"I will avenge--I swear it! As they have done, so shall it be done +unto them. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life--is not that +written in the Scriptures? The avenger of blood shall follow and +overtake. His hand shall not spare, neither his eye pity. The +evildoer shall be rooted out of the land. His place shall be no +more found. Even as they have done, so shall it be done unto them." + +He stopped, and suddenly raised his clasped hands to heaven. A +torrent of words broke from his lips. + +"O God, Thou hast seen, Thine eyes have beheld. If it had been an +open enemy that had done this thing, then could I perchance have +borne it. If it had been the untutored savage, in his ignorant +ferocity, then would I have left Thee, O Lord, to deal with him--to +avenge! But the white brother has risen up against his own flesh +and blood. The white man has stood by to see. He has hounded on the +savages! He has disgraced his humanity! O Lord God, give him into +my hands! let me avenge me of mine adversary. Let the ignorant +Indian escape if Thou wilt, but grant unto me to slay and slay and +slay amid the ranks of the white man, who has sold his soul for +gain, and has become more treacherous and cruel than the Indian +ally whose aid he has invoked. Judge Thou betwixt us, O Lord; look +upon this scene! Strengthen Thou mine arm to the battle, for here I +vow that I will henceforth give my life to this work. I will till +the fields no more. I will beat my pruning hook into a sword. I +will slay, and spare not, and Thou, O God of battles, shalt be with +me. Thou shalt strengthen mine arm; Thou shalt give unto me the +victory. Thou shalt deliver mine enemy into mine hand. I know it, I +see it! For Thou art God, and I am Thy servant, and I will avenge +upon him who has defied Thee this hideous crime upon which Thine +eyes have looked!" + +Humphrey stood by silent and awed. An answering thrill was in his +own heart. He had averted his eyes from the ghastly spectacle of +those charred and mangled corpses; but they turned upon them once +more at this moment, and he could not marvel at his brother's +words. He, too, had been trained to peaceable thoughts and ways. He +had hoped that there would soon be an end of these rumours of wars. +His immediate forefathers had been men of peace, and he had never +known the craving after the excitement of battle. + +Yet as his brother spoke there came upon him a new feeling. He felt +his arm tingling; he felt the hot blood surging through his veins. +He was conscious that were an enemy to show face at that moment +between the trees of the forest, he would be ready to spring upon +him like a wild beast, and rend him limb from limb without pity and +without remorse. + +But the Indians had made off as silently and as swiftly as they +appeared. Not a vestige of the band remained behind. And there was +work for the brothers at that moment of a different sort, and work +which left its lasting mark upon the memory and even upon the +nature of Humphrey Angell. + +Together the brothers dug a deep grave. Reverently they deposited +in it all that was left of the mortal remains of those whom they +had loved so tenderly and well: the kindly house mother, to whose +industry and thrift so much of their comfort had been due; the +little, innocent, prattling children and brave little lads, who +were already learning to be useful to father and mother. None of +them spared--no pity shown to sex or age. All ruthlessly murdered; +husband and father forced to watch the horrid spectacle, himself a +helpless prisoner, waiting for his doom. + +Humphrey had not hitherto dared to ask the question which had been +exercising him all the while--how it was that his brother's life +had been spared. He also wanted to know where the old man their +father was; for the corpses they had laid in the grave were those +of Charles's wife and children. + +Charles noted his questioning glance around when the grave had +received its victims, and he pointed to the smoking ruins of the +house. + +"He lies there. They bound him in his chair. They tied the babe +down in his cradle. They set fire to the house. Heaven send that +the reek choked them before the fire touched them! They lie yonder +beneath the funeral pyre--our venerable sire and my bonny, laughing +babe!" + +He stopped short, choked by a sudden rush of tears; and Humphrey, +flinging down his spade, threw himself along the ground in a +paroxysm of unspeakable anguish, choking sobs breaking from him, +the unaccustomed tears raining down his cheeks. + +The brothers wept together. Perhaps those tears saved Charles from +some severe fever of the brain. He wept till he was perfectly +exhausted, and at last his condition of prostration so far aroused +Humphrey that he was forced into action. + +He half lifted, half dragged his brother into one of the empty +barns, where he laid him down upon some straw. He rolled up his own +coat for a pillow, and after hastily finishing the filling in of +the grave, he went back into the forest for his game bag, and +having kindled a fire, cooked some of the meat, and forced his +brother to eat and drink. It was growing dark by that time, and the +blackness of the forest seemed to be swallowing them up. + +A faint red glow still came from the direction of the burning +homestead, where the fire still smouldered amid the smoking ruins. +Humphrey closed the door of the barn, to shut out the sight and +also the chill freshness of the autumn night. + +He lay down upon the straw beside his brother, worn out in body and +mind. But there could be no thought of sleep for either man that +night; the horror was too pressing and ever present, and anguish +lay like a physical load upon their hearts. + +The silence was full of horror for both; in self defence Humphrey +began to speak. + +"When was it, Charles? I was in the forest all day, and I saw and +heard nothing. The silence was never broken save by the accustomed +sounds of the wild creatures of the wood. No war party came my way. +When was it?" + +"At the noontide meal. We had all gathered within doors. There was +none to give warning of danger. Suddenly and silently as ghosts +they must have filed from out the forest. We were already +surrounded and helpless before the first wild war whoop broke upon +our ears!" + +Charles put up his hands as though to shut out that awful yell, the +echoes of which rang so long in the ears of those who had heard it. +Humphrey shivered, and his hands clinched themselves nervously +together. + +"Why was I not here to fight and to die?" + +"Better to live--and to avenge their blood!" answered Charles, with +a gleam lighting his sunken eyes. He was silent awhile, and then +went on with his narrative. + +"It was not a fight; it was only a slaughter! The children rushed +screaming from the house, escaping the first rush of the painted +savages when they burst in upon us. But there were others outside, +who hacked and slashed them as they passed. I had only my hunting +knife in my belt. I stood before Ellen, and I fought like ten +demons! God is witness that I did all that one man could. But what +avail against scores of such foes? Three corpses were heaped at my +threshold. I saw them carrying away many others dead or wounded, +Our father fought too; and Ellen backed into the corner where the +gun stood, and with her own hands she shot down two of the savages. + +"Would to heaven she had shot at the white one, who was tenfold +more of a fiend! But he shall not escape--he shall not escape! I +shall know his face when I see it next. And I will not go down to +the grave till he and I have stood face to face once more, when I +am not bound and helpless, but a free man with weapons in my hand. +That day will come; I read it in the book of fate. The Lord God, +unto whom vengeance belongeth, He will cause it to come to pass!" + +Humphrey was afraid of these wild outbursts, as likely to bring on +fever; and yet he could not but desire to know more. + +"A white man? Nay, brother; that is scarce to be believed. A white +man to league himself to such deeds as these!" + +"A white man--a Frenchman. For I called upon him in our tongue, and +he answered me in the same, but with that halting accent which I +know belongs to the sons of France. Moreover, he made no secret of +it. He called us dogs of English, who were robbers of the soil +where none had right to penetrate save the subjects of his royal +master. He swore that they would make an end of us, root and +branch; and he laughed when he saw the Indians cutting down the +little ones, and covering their tender bodies with cruel wounds; +nor had he any pity upon the one white woman; and when I raved upon +him and cursed him, he laughed back, and said he had no power to +allay the fury of the savages. Those who would preserve themselves +safe should retire within the bounds of the colony to which they +belong. France would have an end of encroachment, and the Indians +were her friends, and would help her to drive out the common foe!" + +Humphrey set his teeth and clinched his hands. The old instinctive +hatred of centuries between French and English, never really dead, +now leaped into life in his breast. He had heard plenty of talk +during his boyhood of France's boundless pretensions with regard to +the great New World of the West, and how she sought, by the simple +process of declaring territory to be hers, to extend her power over +millions of miles of the untrodden plains and forests, which she +could never hope to populate. He had laughed with others at these +claims, and had thought little enough of them when with father and +brother he set out for the western frontier. + +There was then peace between the nations. Nor had it entered into +the calculations of the settlers that their white brethren would +stir up the friendly Indians against them, and bring havoc and +destruction to their scattered dwellings. That was a method of +warfare undreamed of a few years back; but it was now becoming a +terrible reality. + +"But your life was spared?" said Humphrey at last; "and yet the +scalping-knife came very close to doing its horrid work." + +"Yes: they spared me--he spared me--when he had made me suffer what +was tenfold worse than death; yet I wot well he only thought to +leave me to a lingering death of anguish, more terrible than that +of the scalping knife! They knew not that I had any to come to my +succour. When he drew off the howling Indians and left me bound to +the stump, he thought he left me to perish of starvation and +burning thirst. It was no mercy that he showed me--rather a +refinement of cruelty. I begged him to make an end of my wretched +life; but he smiled, and bid me a mocking farewell. + +"Great God of heaven and earth, look down and avenge me of mine +adversary! I trust there are not many such fiends in human shape +even in the ranks of the jealous and all-grasping French. But if +there be, may it be mine to carry death and desolation into their +ranks! May they be driven forth from this fair land which they have +helped to desolate! May death and destruction come swiftly upon +them; and when they fall, let them rise up no more!" + +"Amen!" said Humphrey solemnly; and the brothers sat in silence for +a great while, the gloom hiding them the one from the other, though +they knew that their hearts were beating in sympathy. + +"The war has broken out," said Humphrey at last. "We can perchance +find our place in the ranks of those who go to drive out the +oppressive race, whose claims are such as English subjects will not +tolerate." + +"Ay, there will be fighting, fighting, fighting now till they are +driven forth, and till England's flag waves proudly over this great +land!" cried Charles, with a strange confidence and exultation in +his tones. "England will fight, and I will fight with her. I will +slay and slay, and spare not; and I will tell this tale to all +wherever I go. I will hunt out mine enemy until I compass his +death. They have despoiled me of home, of wife, of children. They +have taken away all the joy of life. The light of my eyes is gone. +Henceforth I have but one thing to live for. I bare my sword +against France. Against her will I fight until the Lord gives us +the victory. The world shall know, and all ears shall tingle at the +tale which I will tell. There shall be no quarter, no pity for +those who use such means as those which have left me what I am +tonight!" + +Humphrey could not marvel at the intensity of the ferocity in +Charles's tones. It sounded strange in one of so gentle and +placable a nature; but he had cause--he had cause! + +"Think you that the man was other than one of those wild fellows +who run from all law and order in the townships and become denizens +of the wood, and little better than the wild Indians themselves? +We. have heard of these coureurs de bois, as they are called. There +are laws passed against them, severe and restrictive, by their own +people. Perchance it were scarce just to the French to credit them +with all that this man has done." + +"Peace, Humphrey," was the stern reply. "We know that the French +are inciting the Indians against our peaceful settlers, and that +what has happened here today is happening in other places along our +scattered frontier. The work is the work of France, and against +France will I fight till she is overthrown. I have sworn it. Seek +not to turn me from my purpose. I will fight, and fight, and fight +till I see her lying in the dust, and till I have met mine enemy +face to face and have set my foot upon his neck. God has heard my +vow; He will fight for me till it be fulfilled." + + + +Chapter 2: Friends In Need. + + +It was not to be surprised at that, after that terrible day and +night, Charles should awake from the restless sleep into which he +had dropped towards dawn in a state of high fever. + +He lay raving in delirium for three days, whilst Humphrey sat +beside him, putting water to his parched lips, striving to soothe +and quiet him; often shuddering with horror as he seemed to see +again with his brother's eyes those horrid scenes upon which the +fevered man's fancy ever dwelt; waking sometimes at night in a +sweat of terror, thinking he heard the Indian war whoop echoing +through the forest. + +Those were terrible days for Humphrey--days of a loneliness that +was beyond anything he had experienced before. His brother was near +him in the flesh, but severed from him by a whole world of fevered +imaginings. Sometimes Humphrey found it in his heart to wish that +the Indians would come back and make a final end of them both. All +hope and zest and joy in life seemed to have been taken from him at +one blow. He could neither think of the happy past without pangs of +pain, nor yet face a future which seemed barren of hope and +promise. + +He could only sit beside his brother, tend him, nurse him, pray for +him. But the words of prayer too often died away upon his lips. Had +they not all prayed together, after the godly habit of the +household, upon the very morning when this awful disaster fell upon +them? Were these vast solitudes too far away for God to hear the +prayers that went up from them? + +Humphrey had never known what awful loneliness could engulf the +human spirit till he sat beside the fevered man in the vast +solitude of the primeval forest, asking in his heart whether God +Himself had not forsaken them. + +It was the hour of sundown, and Humphrey had gone outside for a +breath of fresh air. He looked ten years older than he had done a +few days back, when he had come whistling through the forest track, +expecting to see the children bounding forth to meet him. His eyes +were sunken, his face was pale and haggard, his dress was unkempt +and ragged. There were no clever fingers now to patch tattered +raiment, and keep things neat and trim. + +There was an unwonted sound in the forest! It was distant still. To +some ears it would have been inaudible; but Humphrey heard it, and +his heart suddenly beat faster. + +The sound was that of approaching steps--the steps of men. A few +minutes more and he heard the sound of voices, too. He had been +about to dash into the shed for his gun, but the fresh sounds +arrested his movement. + +He had ears as sharp as those of an ambushed Indian, and he +detected in a moment that the men who were approaching the clearing +were of his own nationality. The words he could not hear, but he +could distinguish the intonation. It was not the rapid, +thin-sounding French tongue; it was English--he was certain of it! +And a light leaped to his eyes at the bare thought of meeting a +brother countryman in this desolate place. + +Probably it was some other settler, one of that hardy race that +fringed the colony on its western frontier. Miles and miles of +rolling forest lay between these scattered holdings, and since war +was but lately begun, nothing had been done for the protection of +the hapless people now becoming an easy prey of the Indians stirred +up to molest them. + +Humphrey knew none of their neighbours. Forest travelling was too +difficult and dangerous to tempt the settler far away from his own +holding. If it were one of these coming now, most likely he too had +suffered from attack or fear of attack, and was seeking a friend in +the nearest locality. + +He stood like one spellbound, watching and waiting. The sound of +steps drew nearer to the fringe of obscuring forest trees; the +sound of voices became plainer and more plain. In another minute +Humphrey saw them--two bronzed and stalwart men--advancing from the +wood into the clearing. They came upon it unawares, as was plain +from their sudden pause. But they were white men; they were +brothers in this wild land. There was something like a sob in +Humphrey's throat, which he hastily swallowed down, as he advanced +with great strides to meet them. + +"You are welcome," he said. "I had thought the Indians had left no +living beings behind them in all this forest save my brother and +myself." + +No introductions were needed in this savage place; the face of +every white man lit up at sight of a like countenance, and at the +sound of the familiar tongue. The men shook hands with a hearty +grip, and one said to Humphrey: + +"You have had Indians here?" + +Humphrey made an expressive gesture with his hand. + +"This was a week ago as fair a holding as heart of man could wish +to see in this grim forest. You see what is left today!" + +"Your house is burnt down, as we plainly see. Have you lost aught +beside? Has human blood been spilt?" + +"The corpse of my venerable father, and that of a bold baby boy, +lie beneath yon heap of ruins which made their funeral pyre. In +yonder grave lie the mingled corpses of my brother's wife and four +fair children, hacked to death and half burnt by the savages. And +yet this work is not the work of savages alone. With them we have +dwelt at peace these many years. The shame, the horror, the +disgrace of it is that we owe these horrors to the white sons of +France, who hound on the savages to make these raids, and stand by +to see them do their bloody work!" + +The two strangers exchanged glances--meaning glances--and one of +them laid a hand upon Humphrey's shoulder, looking earnestly into +his eyes the while. + +"Is it so in very truth? So have we heard in whispers, but it was a +thing we could scarce believe. We have travelled far from the lands +of the south to join our brethren of the English race. We heard +rumours of wars cruel and bloody. Yet it seemed to us too strange a +thing to believe that here, amid the hostile, savage Indians, white +man could wage war with white man, and take the bloody heathen man +as his ally, instead of the brother who bears the name of Christ!" + +Humphrey looked with some wonder and fascination into the face of +the youth who spoke. It was a refined and beautiful face, +notwithstanding the evidences of long exposure to sun and wind. The +features were finely cut, sensitive and expressive, and the eyes +were very luminous in their glance, and possessed strangely +penetrating powers. In stature the young man was almost as tall as +Humphrey, but of a much slighter build; yet he was wiry and +muscular, as could well be seen, and plainly well used to the life +of the wild woodlands. His dress was that of the backwoods, dressed +deerskin being the chief material used. Both travellers wore +moccasins on their feet, and carried the usual weapons of offence +and defence. + +Yet Humphrey felt as though this man was in some sort different +from those he had met in the woods at rare times when out hunting. +His voice, his words, his phraseology seemed in some sort strange, +and he asked him wonderingly: + +"From whence are you, friends?" + +"From the land of the far south--from the rolling plains of the +giant Mississippi, that vast river of which perchance you have +heard?" + +"Ay, verily," answered Humphrey, with a touch of bitterness in his +tone. "I have heard of that great river, which the French King +claims to have discovered, and which they say he will guard with a +chain of forts right away from Canada, and will thus command all +the New World of the West, pinning us English within the limits of +that portion of land lying betwixt the ocean and the range of the +Allegheny Mountains," and Humphrey waved his hand in that +direction, and looked questioningly at the men before him. + +He had an impression that all who came from the far south, from the +colony of Louisiana, as he had heard it called, must be in some +sort French subjects. And yet these men spoke his own tongue, and +seemed to be friends and brothers. + +"That was the chimera of the French Monarch more than a century +ago. Methinks it is little nearer its accomplishment now than when +our forefathers, acting as pioneers, made a small settlement in a +green valley near to the mouth of the giant river, waiting for the +King to send his priests and missionaries to convert the heathen +from their evil ways, and found a fair Christian realm in that fair +land." + +"Then were your forefathers French subjects?" asked Humphrey, +rather bewildered. "If so, how come you to speak mine own tongue as +you do?" + +"I come of no French stock!" cried the companion stranger, who had +remained silent until now, looking searchingly round the clearing, +and examining Humphrey himself with curiosity; "I have no drop of +French blood in my veins, whatever Julian may have. I am Fritz +Neville. I come of an English family. But you shall hear all later +on, as we sit by our fire at night. I would hear all your tale of +desolation and woe. We, for our part, have no cause to love the +French oppressors, whose ambition and greed seem to know no bounds. +Can you give us shelter by your hearth tonight? Food we have of our +own, since we find game in sufficient abundance in these forest +tracks." + +As he spoke he unslung from his shoulders a fine young fawn which +they had lately shot, and Humphrey made eager answer to the request +for hospitality. + +"Would that we had better to offer! But the homestead is burnt. My +brother lies sick of a fever in yon shed--a fever brought on by +loss of blood and by anguish of mind. I have been alone in this +place with him hard upon a week now, and to me it seems as though +years instead of days had passed over my head since the calamity +happened." + +"I can well believe that," said the first speaker, whom his +companion had spoken of as Julian. "There be times in a man's life +when hours are as days and days as years. But let me see your +brother if he be sick. I have some skill in the treatment of +fevers, and I have brought in my wallet some simples which we find +wonderfully helpful down in the south, from where I come. I doubt +not I can bring him relief." + +Humphrey's face brightened with a look of joyful relief, and Fritz +exclaimed heartily: + +"Yes, yes, Julian is a notable leech. We all come to him with our +troubles both of body and mind. + +"Lead on, comrade. I will cook the supper whilst you and he tend +the sick man; and afterwards we will tell all our tale; and take +counsel for the future." + +It was new life to Humphrey to hear the sound of human voices, to +feel the touch of friendly hands, to know himself not alone in the +awful isolation of the vast forest. He led the way to the rough +shed, which he had contrived during the past days to convert into a +rude species of sleeping and living room. He had made a hearth and +a chimney, so that he could cook food whilst still keeping an eye +upon his sick brother. He had contrived a certain amount of rude +comfort in Charles's bed and surroundings. The place looked +pleasant to the wearied, travellers, for it was spotlessly clean, +and it afforded shelter from the keen night air. + +They had been finding the nights grow cold as they journeyed +northward, and Fritz rubbed his hands at sight of the glow of the +fire, and set to work eagerly upon his culinary tasks; whilst +Julian and Humphrey bent over Charles, the former examining the +condition of his pulse and skin with the air of one who knows how +to combat the symptoms of illness. + +He administered a draught, and bathed the sick man's temples with +some pungent decoction of herbs which he prepared with hot water; +and after giving him a small quantity of soup, told Humphrey that +he would probably sleep quietly all night, and might very likely +awake without any fever, though as weak as a child. + +And in effect only a short time elapsed before his eyes closed, and +he sank into a peaceful slumber, such as he had not known +throughout the past days. + +"Thank God you came!" said Humphrey with fervour; "I had thought to +bury my brother here beside his wife, and the loneliness and horror +had well nigh driven me mad. If he live, I shall have something +left to live for; else I could have wished that we had all perished +together!" + +"Nay," cried Fritz from the fire, "we can do better than that: we +can join those who have the welfare of the country at heart. We can +punish proud France for her ambition and encroachments, and +perchance--who knows?--England's flag may ere long proudly wave +where now only the banner of France has floated from her scattered +forts." + +But just at this moment Humphrey could not be roused to any +patriotic fervour. The sense of personal loss and horror was strong +upon him. His thoughts were turning vaguely towards the mother +country from which his fathers had come. For the moment the wild +West was hateful to him. He could not face the thought of taking up +the old life again. He had been uprooted too suddenly and +ruthlessly. The spell of the forest was gone. Sometimes he felt +that he never wished to look upon waving trees again. + +As they partook of the well-cooked supper which Fritz had provided, +and afterwards sat smoking their pipes beside the fire, whilst the +wind moaned and sighed round the corners of the shed, and whispered +through the trees around the clearing, he told these strangers the +whole history of his life, and how it had seemed to be suddenly cut +in half a week ago, whilst the last half already began to look and +feel to him longer than the first. + +There was no lack of sympathy and interest in the faces of his +hearers. When they heard how a Frenchman had been with the Indians +upon their raid, Fritz smote the ground heavily with his open hand, +exclaiming: + +"That is what we heard as we journeyed onward; that is the rumour +that reached us even in the far south. It was hard to believe that +brother should turn against brother out here in these trackless +wilds, amid hordes of savage Indians. We said it must surely be +false--that Christian men could not be guilty of such wickedness! +Yet it has proved all too true. We have heard stories during our +journey which have filled our hearts with loathing and scorn. +France is playing a treacherous, a vile and unworthy game. England +is no match for her yet--unprepared and taken at a disadvantage. +But you will see, you will see! She will arise from sleep like a +giant refreshed! And then let proud France tremble for her bloody +laurels!" + +His eye flashed, and Julian said thoughtfully: + +"Ay, truly has she stained her laurels with blood; and she is even +now staining her annals with dark crimes, when she stirs up the +savage Indian to bring death and desolation to those peaceful +settlers with whom they have so long lived as friends. God will +require their blood at the hands of France. Let her beware! for the +hour of her destruction will not be prolonged if she sells herself +to sin." + +There was a long silence then between the three men; it was at +length broken by Humphrey, who looked from one to the other, and +said: + +"You have not yet told me of yourselves. Who are you, and whence do +you come? I have heard of vast plains and mighty rivers in the +south and west, but I know nothing beyond these forest tracks which +lie about our desolated home." + +Fritz signed to Julian to be the speaker, and he leaned his back +against the wall, clasping his hands behind his head. The firelight +gleamed upon his earnest face and shone in his brilliant eyes. +Humphrey regarded him with a species of fascination. He had never +seen a man quite of this type before. + +"Have you ever heard," asked Julian, "of that great explorer La +Salle, who first made the voyage of the great river Mississippi, +and founded the infant colony of Louisiana, albeit he himself +perished by the hand of an assassin in the wilderness, before he +had half achieved the object to which he was pledged?" + +"I have heard the name," said Humphrey; "I used to hear the men of +Philadelphia talk of such things when I was a boy. But he was a +Frenchman." + +"Yes, and came with a commission from the King of France hard upon +a century ago. My great-grandfather and his father were of the +company of La Salle, although they bore their part in a different +expedition from that which is known to the world." + +"Are you then French?" asked Humphrey, half disappointed, though he +could not tell why. + +Julian smiled, reading the thought in his heart. + +"French in little beside name," he replied. "My great grandfather, +Gaspard Dautray, was half English through his mother, an +Englishwoman; and he married Mary Neville, an English maiden, from +whose family Fritz there is descended. In brief, let me tell you +the story. Long before La Salle had penetrated the fastnesses of +the west, there had grown up in a green valley a little colony of +English, outcasts from their own land by reason of their faith. +They had lived at peace for long with the Indian tribes; but when +more white men began invading their country, jealousy and fury were +awakened in the hearts of the Indians, and this little settlement +was in great danger. In their extremity this little colony sent to +La Salle, and though he himself was absent, his lieutenant sent +them a band of men to aid them in defending their lives and +property, and in routing the attacking Indian force. + +"But it was no longer safe to remain in the green valley which had +sheltered them so long. They heard of the lands of the south, down +the great mysterious river, and they resolved to seek an asylum +there. + +"With the company of La Salle, and yet not attached to it, was a +holy man whom all the world called Father Fritz; a priest, yet one +who followed not the Pope of Rome, but loved each Christian +brother, and recognized only one Church--the Church of the +baptized. He went with the little band, and they made themselves a +new home in the land of the south. They were beloved of the Indians +about them. Father Fritz taught them, baptized such as were truly +converted, and lived amongst them to a hoary old age, loving and +beloved; seeking always to hold them back from greed and +covetousness, and teaching them that the hope for which they must +look was the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to reign upon +the earth." + +Julian paused, looking thoughtfully into the fire. Humphrey heaved +a great sigh, and said half bitterly: + +"But the Lord delayeth His coming, and men wage war against their +brethren." + +"Yes, verily; yet I think that should make us long the more for the +day which will surely come. However, let me tell my tale. The great +enterprise of France in the south and west has come to but a very +small thing. No chain of forts guards the great river. The highway +from Canada to the south has never been opened up. France is +speaking of it to this day. These very hostile movements towards +England are all part and parcel of the old plan. She still desires +to hold the whole territory by this chain of forts, and shut +England in between the sea and those mountains yonder. You have +heard, I doubt not, how England is resolved not to be thus held in +check. Major George Washington and General Braddock have both made +attacks upon Fort Duquesne, and though both have suffered defeat +owing to untoward causes and bad generalship, the spirit within +them is still unquenched. Fort Duquesne, Fort Niagara, Fort +Ticonderoga--these are the three northern links of the chain, and I +think that England will never rest until she has floated her flag +over these three forts. + +"We have come from far to the heart of that great struggle which +all men know must come. The day of rest for us seemed ended. We +have been travelling all through the long, hot summer months, to +find and to be with our countrymen when the hour of battle should +come." + +Humphrey looked from one to the other, and said: + +"There are only two of you. Where are all the rest from your +smiling valley of the south? Were you the only twain that desired +to join the fight?" + +"A dozen of us started, but two turned back quickly, discouraged by +the hardness of the way, and a few died of fever in the great +swamps and jungles: Others turned aside when we neared the great +lakes, thinking to find an easier way. But Fritz and I had our own +plan of making our way to New England, and after long toil and +travel here we are at the end of our journey. For this indeed seems +like the end, when we have found a comrade who will show us the way +and lead us to the civilized world again!" + +"Ay, I can do that," answered Humphrey; "I know well the road back +to the world. Nor is it a matter of more than a few days' travel to +reach the outlying townships. I have often said I would go and +visit our sisters and friends, but I have never done so. Alas that +I should go at last with such heavy tidings!" + +"Heavy tidings indeed," said Fritz, with sympathy; "yet we will +avenge these treacherous murders upon those who have brought them +to pass." + +"That will not restore the dead to life," said Humphrey mournfully. + +"No, but it will ease the burning heart of its load of rage and +vengeance." + +Humphrey's eyes turned for a moment towards his sleeping brother. +He knew how welcome would be such words to him--that is, if he +awoke from his fever dreams in the same mood as they had found him. + +"And yet," said Julian thoughtfully, "we have been taught by our +fathers that brothers should live at peace together, even as we in +our valley lived long at peace with all and with one another. So +long as the memory of our venerable Father remained alive there was +all harmony and concord, and every man sought his brother's well +being as earnestly as his own." + +"Can you remember the holy man?" asked Humphrey, with interest. + +"No; but my father remembered him well. He was well grown towards +manhood before the venerable old man died at a great age. My +grandfather has told me story after story of him. I have been +brought up to love and revere his memory, and to hold fast the +things which he taught us. But after his death, alas! a new spirit +gradually entered into the hearts of our people. They began to grow +covetous of gain, to trade with the Indians for their own benefit, +to fall into careless and sometimes evil practices. Before my +father died he said to me that the Home of Peace was no longer the +place it once had been, and that he should like to think that I +might find a better place to live in, since I was young and had my +life before me." + +"Was that long ago?" + +"Just a year. My mother had died six months earlier. The +dissensions of the parent countries had begun to reach to us. We +had been French and English from the beginning, but had dwelt in +peace and brotherly goodwill for nigh upon eighty years. We had +married amongst ourselves, so that some amongst us scarce knew +whether to call themselves French or English. But for all that +disunion grew and spread. Stragglers of Louisiana found their way +to us. They brought new fashions of thought and teaching with them. +Some Romish priests found us out, and took possession of the little +chapel which Father Fritz had built with such loving care, and the +Mass was said instead of that simpler service which he had drawn up +for us. Many of us the priests dubbed as heretics, and because we +would not change our views for them, they became angry, and we were +excommunicated. It has been nothing but growing strife and disunion +for the past two years. I was glad to turn my back upon it at last, +and find my way to a freer land, and one where a man may worship +God according to his conscience; albeit I have no desire to speak +ill of the priests, who were good men, and sought to teach us what +they deemed to be the truth." + +"I am a Protestant," said Humphrey; "I know little about Romish +devices. I was taught to hate and abhor them. We dwelt among the +Quaker folk of Pennsylvania. but we are not Quakers ourselves. Out +here in the wilds we must live as we can. We have the Bible--and +that is all." + +"People say of the Quakers that they will not fight!" said Fritz +suddenly. "Is that so?" + +"I know not," answered Humphrey; "I think I have heard my father +say something of that sort. But surely they will fight to avenge +such things as that!" and he made a gesture with his hand as though +indicating the burnt homestead and the graves of the murdered woman +and children. + +"If they be men they surely will. You will go and tell them your +story, Humphrey?" + +"Ay, that I will!" answered Humphrey, between his shut teeth. + +Fritz sat staring into the fire for some time, and then he too +broke out with some heat. + +"Yes, it is the same story all over. It was the French who came and +spoiled our happy home. If they had let us alone, perchance we +might have been there still, hunting, fishing, following the same +kind of life as our fathers--at peace with ourselves and with the +world. But they came amongst us. They sowed disunion and strife. +They were resolved to get rid of the English party, as they called +it. They were all softness and mildness to them. But those in whom +the sturdy British spirit flourished they regarded with jealousy +and dislike. They sowed the seeds of disunion. They spoiled our +valley and our life. Doubtless the germs were there before, but it +was the emissaries of France who wrought the mischief. If they +could have done it, I believe they would have taught the Indians to +distrust us English; but that was beyond their power. Even they +held in loving reverence the name of Father Fritz, and none of his +children, as they called us all alike, could do wrong in their +eyes. So then it was their policy to get rid of such as would not +own the supremacy of France in all things. I was glad at the last +to go. We became weary of the bickerings and strife. Some of the +elders remained behind, but the rest of us went forth to find +ourselves a new home and a new country." + +Humphrey listened to this tale with as much interest as it was +possible for him to give to any concern other than his own. +Something of that indignant hatred which was springing into active +life all through the western continent began to inflame his breast. +It had been no effect of Charles's inflamed imagination. The French +were raising the Indians against them, and striving to overthrow +England's sons wherever they had a foothold, beyond their immediate +colonies. It was time they should arise and assert themselves. +Humphrey's eyes kindled as he sat thinking upon these things. + +"I too will go forth and fight France," he said at last; and with +that resolve the sense of numb lethargy and despair fell away from +him like a worn-out garment, and his old fire and energy returned. + + + +Chapter 3: Philadelphia. + + +"I will go and tell my tale in the ears of my countrymen," said +Charles, with steady voice but burning eyes, "and then I will go +forth and fight the French, and slay and slay till they be driven +from off the face of the western world!" + +The fever had left Charles now. Some of his former strength had +come back to him. But his brother looked at him often with +wondering eyes, for it seemed to him that this Charles was a new +being, with whom he had but scant acquaintance. He could not +recognize in this stern faced, brooding man the quiet, homely +farmer and settler whose home he had shared for so long. + +Their new comrades were glad of the rest afforded them by the +necessity of waiting till Charles should be fit to move. They had +been travelling for many months, and the shelter of a roof--even +though it was only the roof of a shed--was grateful to them. + +Fritz and Charles took a strong mutual liking almost from the +first. Both were men of unwonted strength and endurance, and both +were fired by a strong personal enmity towards the French and their +aggressive policy. + +Julian told Humphrey, in their private conferences, something of +the cause of this personal rancour. + +"There was a fair maid in our valley--Renee we called her--and her +parents were French. But we were all friends together; and Fritz +and she loved each other, and were about to be betrothed. Then came +these troubles, and the priest forbade Renee to wed a heretic; and +though she herself would have been faithful, her parents were +afraid. It seemed to all then that the French were going to be +masters of the land. There was another youth who loved her also, +and to him they married her. That was just before we came away--a +dozen of us English youths, who could not stand the new state of +things and the strife of party. Fritz has neither forgotten nor +forgiven. The name of France us odious in his ears." + +"And in yours, too?" asked Humphrey. + +Julian's face was grave and thoughtful. + +"I have my moments of passionate anger. I hate everything that is +vile and treacherous and aggressive. But I would seek to remember +that after all we are brothers, and that we all bear the name of +Christ. That is what Father Fritz of old sought to make us +remember. Perhaps it comes the easier to me in that I have French +blood in my veins, albeit I regard myself now as an English +subject. I have cast in my lot with the English." + +Humphrey and Julian drew together, much as did Charles and Fritz. +Julian was a year or two older than Humphrey, and Charles was +several years older than Fritz; but all had led a free open-air +life, and had tastes and feelings in common. They understood +woodcraft and hunting; they were hardy, self reliant, courageous. + +It was of such men as these that the best soldiers were made in the +days that were at hand; although the military leaders, especially +if they came from the Old World with its code of civilized warfare, +were slow to recognize it. + +A heavy storm of wind and rain--the precursor of the coming +winter--raged round the little settlement for several days, during +which the party sat round their fire, talking of the past and the +future, and learning to know each other more and more intimately. + +Charles recovered rapidly from the loss of blood and the fever +weakness. His constitution triumphed easily over his recent +illness, and he was only longing to be on the road, that he might +the sooner stand face to face with the foe. + +And now the storm was abating. The sun began to shine out through +the driving wrack of clouds. The woodland tracks might be wet, but +little reeked the travellers of that. + +They bound upon their backs as much provision as would suffice for +their immediate needs. They looked well to their arms and +ammunition. They had mended their clothes, and were strong and +fresh and full of courage. + +The journey before them seemed as nothing to the pair who had +traversed so many thousands of miles of wood and water. And the +settlers had friends at the other end who would remember them, and +have tears of sympathy to shed at hearing their terrible tale. + +The brothers stood looking their last upon the clearing which had +for so long been their home. In Humphrey's eyes there was an +unwonted moisture; but Charles's face was set and stern, and his +lips twitched with the excess of restrained emotion. His eyes were +fixed upon the mound which hid from his view the corpses of wife +and children. Suddenly he lifted his clinched hand towards heaven. + +"Strengthen, O Lord, this right hand of mine, that it may be strong +against the nation whose crimes bring desolation upon Thy children. +Be with us in the hour of vengeance and victory. Help us to render +unto them even as they have rendered to us." + +Julian and Fritz had withdrawn themselves a little, respecting the +inevitable emotion which must come to men at such a moment. +Humphrey turned away, and took a few uncertain steps, half blinded +by the unwonted smart of tears in his eyes. He had come almost to +hate this place of terrible associations; and yet it wrung his +heart for a moment to leave those nameless graves, and that little +lonely spot where so many peaceful and happy hours had been spent. + +Julian's hand was on his arm, and his voice spoke in his ear. + +"I know what it feels like; I have been through it. The smart is +keen. But it helps us to remember that we are but strangers and +pilgrims. It is perhaps those who have no abiding city here who +most readily seek that which is theirs above." + +Humphrey pressed Julian's hand, feeling vaguely comforted by his +words, although he could not enter fully into their significance. + +To Charles Julian said: + +"'We must remember, even in our righteous wrath, that God has said +He is the avenger. We can trust our wrongs in His hands. He will +use us as His instruments if He thinks good. But let us beware of +private acts of vengeance of our own planning. We must not forget +the reverse of the picture--the mercy as well as the anger of God. +We must not take things out of His hands into our own, lest we +stumble and fall. We have a commandment to love our enemies, and to +do good to those that hate us." + +Charles looked fixedly at him. + +"I have not forgotten," he said, in his strange, slow way; "I was +brought up amongst those who refuse the sword, calling themselves +servants of the Prince of Peace. We shall see which the Lord will +have--peace or war. Do you think He desires to see a repetition of +such scenes as that?" + +Charles pointed sternly to the ruined homestead--the grave beside +it, and his gloomy eyes looked straight into those of Julian; but +he did not even wait for an answer, but plunged along the forest +track in an easterly direction. + + * * * * * + +In a wide street in Philadelphia, not far from the Assembly Rooms +where such hot debates were constantly going on, stood an +old-fashioned house, quaintly gabled, above the door of which hung +out a sign board intimating that travellers might find rest and +refreshment within. + +The whole house was spotlessly clean, and its aspect was prim and +sober, as was indeed that of the whole city. Men in wide-brimmed +hats and wide-skirted coats of sombre hue walked the streets, and +talked earnestly together at the corners; whilst the women, for the +most part, passed on their way with lowered eyes, and hoods drawn +modestly over their heads, neither speaking nor being spoken to as +they pursued their way. + +To be sure there were exceptions. In some quarters there were +plenty of people of a different aspect and bearing; but in this +wide and pleasant street, overlooked by the window of the hostelry, +there were few gaily-dressed persons to be seen, but nearly all of +them wore the dress and adopted the quaint speech of the Quaker +community. + +From this window a bright-faced girl was looking eagerly out into +the street. She wore a plain enough dress of grey homespun cloth, +and a little prim cap covered her pretty hair. Yet for all that +several little rebellious curls peeped forth, surrounding her face +with a tiny nimbus; and there was something dainty in the fashion +of her white frilled kerchief, arranged across her dress bodice and +tied behind. She would dearly have loved to adorn herself with some +knots of rose-coloured ribbon, but the rose tints in her cheek gave +the touch of colour which brightened her sombre raiment, and her +dancing blue eyes would have made sunshine in any place. + +She had opened the window lattice and craned her head to look down +the street; but at the sound of a footstep within doors she quickly +drew it in again, for her mother reproved her when she found her +hanging out at the window. + +"What is all the stir about, mother?" she asked; "there be so many +folks abroad, and they have been passing in and out of the Assembly +Rooms for above an hour. What does it all mean? Are they baiting +the Governor again? Are they having another fight about the taxes?" + +"Nay, child, I know not. I have been in the kitchen, looking to the +supper. Thy father came in awhile back, and said we had guests +arrived, and that he desired the supper to be extra good. That is +all I know." + +"Something has happened, I am sure of that!" cried the girl again, +"and I would father would come and tell us what it is all about. He +always hears all the news. Perhaps the travellers he is bringing +here will know. I may sit with you at the supper table, may I not, +mother?" + +"Yes, child; so your father said. He came in with a smile upon his +face. But he was in a great haste, and has been gone ever since. So +what it all means I know not." + +Susanna--for such was the name of the girl--became at once +interested and excited. + +"O mother, what can it be? Hark at that noise in the street below! +People are crying out in a great rage. What can it be? It was so +that day a week agone, when news was brought in that some poor +settlers had been murdered by Indians, and the Assembly would do +nothing but wrangle with the Governor instead of sending out troops +to defend our people. Do you think something can have happened +again?" + +The mother's face turned a little pale. + +"Heaven send it be not so!" she exclaimed. "I am always in fear +when I hear of such things--in fear for my old father, and for my +brothers. You know they live away there on the border. I pray +Heaven no trouble will fall upon them." + +Susanna's eyes dilated with interest, as they always did when her +mother talked to her of these unknown relations, away beyond the +region of safety and civilization. + +To be correct, it should be explained that Susanna was not the real +daughter of the woman whom she called mother; for Benjamin Ashley +had been twice married, and Susanna had been five years old before +Hannah Angell had taken the mother's place. But she never thought +of this herself. She remembered no other mother, and the tie +between them was strong and tender, despite the fact that there was +not more than thirteen years' difference in age between them, and +some girls might have rebelled against the rule of one who might +almost have been a sister. + +But Susanna had no desire to rebel. Hannah's rule was a mild and +gentle one, although it was exercised with a certain amount of prim +decorum. Still the girl was shrewd enough to know that her father's +leanings towards the Quaker code had been greatly modified by the +influence of his wife, and that she was kept less strictly than he +would have kept her had he remained a widower. + +Hannah bustled away to the kitchen, and Susanna, after one more +longing look out of the window towards the crowd assembled in the +open space beyond, followed her, and gave active assistance in the +setting of the supper table. + +A young man in Quaker garb, and with a broad-brimmed hat in his +hand, entered the outer room, engaged in hot dispute with another +youth of different aspect, whose face was deeply flushed as if in +anger. + +"Your Franklin may be a clever man--I have nothing against that!" +he exclaimed hotly; "but if he backs up the stubborn Assembly, and +stands idle whilst our settlers are being massacred like sheep, +then say I that he and they alike deserve hanging in a row from the +gables of their own Assembly House; and that if the Indians break +in upon us and scalp them all, they will but meet the deserts of +their obstinacy and folly!" + +"Friend," said the other of the sober raiment, "thee speaks as a +heathen man and a vain fellow. The Lord hath given us a commandment +to love one another, and to live at peace with all men. We may not +lightly set aside that commandment; we may not do evil that good +may come." + +"Tush, man! get your Bible and look. I am no scholar, but I know +that the Lord calls Himself a man of war--that He rides forth, +sword in hand, conquering, and to conquer; that the armies in +heaven itself fight under the Archangel against the powers of +darkness. And are we men to let our brothers be brutally murdered, +whilst we sit with folded hands, or wrangle weeks and months away, +as you Quakers are wrangling over some petty question of taxation +which a man of sense would settle in five minutes? I am ashamed of +Philadelphia! The whole world will be pointing the finger of scorn +at us. We are acting like cowards--like fools--not like men! If +there were but a man to lead us forth, I and a hundred stout +fellows would start forth to the border country tomorrow to wage +war with those villainous Indians and their more villainous allies +the crafty sons of France." + +"Have patience, friend," said the Quaker youth, with his solemn +air; "I tell thee that the Assembly is in the right. Who are the +Penns these proprietaries--that their lands should be exempt from +taxation? If the Governor will yield that point, then will the +Assembly raise the needful aid for keeping in check the enemy, +albeit it goes sorely against their righteous souls. But they will +not give everything and gain nothing; it is not right they should." + +"And while they wrangle and snarl and bicker, like so many dogs +over a bone, our countrywomen and their innocent children are to be +scalped and burnt and massacred? That is Scripture law, is it? that +is your vaunted religion. You will give way--you will yield your +principles for a petty victory on a point of law, but not to save +the lives of the helpless brothers who are crying aloud on all +hands to you to come and save them!" + +The Quaker youth moved his large feet uneasily; he, in common with +the seniors of his party, was beginning to find it a little +difficult to maintain a logical position in face of the pressing +urgency of the position. He had been brought up in the tenets which +largely prevailed in Pennsylvania at that day, and was primed with +numerous arguments which up till now had been urged with confidence +by the Quaker community. But the peace-loving Quakers were +beginning to feel the ground shaking beneath their feet. The day +was advancing with rapid strides when they would be forced either +to take up arms in defence of their colony, or to sit still and see +it pass bodily into the hands of the enemy. + +Susanna was peeping in at the door of the next room. She knew both +the speakers well. Ebenezer Jenkyns had indeed been paying her some +attention of late, although she laughed him to scorn. Much more to +her liking was bold John Stark, her father's kinsman; and as there +was nobody in the room beside these two, she ventured to go a step +within the doorway and ask: + +"What is the matter now, Jack? what are you two fighting about so +hotly?" + +"Faith, 'tis ever the same old tale--more massacres and outrages +upon our borders, more women and children slaughtered! Settlers +from the western border calling aloud to us to send them help, and +these Quaker fellows of the Assembly doing nothing but wrangle, +wrangle, wrangle with the Governor, and standing idle whilst their +brothers perish. Save me from the faith of the peace makers!" + +Again the other young man moved uneasily, the more so as he saw the +look of disdain and scorn flitting over the pretty face of Susanna. + +"Thee does us an injustice, friend," he said. "Was it not Benjamin +Franklin who a few months back gave such notable help to General +Braddock that he called him the only man of honesty and vigour in +all the western world? But the Lord showed that He would not have +us attack our brother men, and Braddock's army was cut to pieces, +and he himself slain. When the Lord shows us His mind, it is not +for us to persist in our evil courses; we must be patient beneath +His chastenings." + +"Tush, man! the whole campaign was grossly mismanaged; all the +world knows that by now. But why hark back to the past? it is the +present, the future that lie before us. Are we to let our province +become overrun and despoiled by hordes of savage Indians, or are we +to rise like men and sweep them back whence they came? There is the +case in a nutshell. And instead of facing it like men, the Assembly +talks and squabbles and wrangles like a pack of silly women!" + +"Oh no, Cousin Jack," quoth Susanna saucily, "say not like women! +Women would make up their minds to action in an hour. Say rather +like men, like men such as Ebenezer loves--men with the tongues of +giants and the spirit of mice; men who speak great swelling words, +and boast of their righteousness, but who are put to shame by the +brute beasts themselves. Even a timid hen will be brave when her +brood is attacked; but a Quaker cannot be anything but a coward, +and will sit with folded hands whilst his own kinsmen perish +miserably!" + +This was rather too much even for Ebenezer's phlegmatic spirit. He +seized his broad-brimmed hat and clapped it on his head. + +"Thee will be sorry some day, Susanna, for making game of the +Quakers, and of the godly ones of the earth," he spluttered. + +"Go thee to the poultry yard, friend Ebenezer," called Susanna +after him; "the old hen there will give thee a warm welcome. Go and +learn from her how to fight. I warrant thee will learn more from +her than thee has ever known before--more than thine own people +will ever teach thee. Go to the old hen to learn; only I fear thee +will soon flee from her with a text in thy mouth to aid thy legs to +run!" + +"Susanna, Susanna!" cried a voice from within, whilst Jack doubled +himself up in a paroxysm of delight, "what are you saying so loud +and free? Come hither, child. You grow over bold, and I cannot have +you in the public room. With whom are you talking there?" + +"There is only Jack here now," answered Susanna meekly, although +the sparkle still gleamed in her eyes; "Ebenezer has just gone out. +I was saying farewell to him." + +"Come back now, and finish setting the table; and if John will stay +to supper, he will be welcome." + +John was only too glad, for he took keen pleasure in the society of +Susanna, and was fond of the quaint old house where his kinsman +lived. He rose and went into the inner room, where Hannah received +him with a smile and a nod. + +Susanna would have asked him what special news had reached the town +that day, but the sound of approaching feet outside warned her of +the return of her father with the friends he was bringing to +supper. She flew to the kitchen for the first relay of dishes, and +Hannah left her to dish them up, whilst she went to meet the +guests. + +Jack and the maidservant assisted Susanna at the stove, and a few +minutes passed before they entered the supper room, where the +company had assembled. When they did so, the girl was surprised to +note that her mother was standing between two tall strangers, one +of whom had his arm about her, and that she was weeping silently +yet bitterly. + +Susanna put down her dishes on the table and crept to her father's +side. + +"What is the matter?" she asked timidly. + +"Matter enough to bring tears to all our eyes--ay, tears of blood!" +answered Ashley sternly. "These two men are your mother's brothers, +who arrived today--just a short while back--as I hoped with +pleasant tidings. Now have we learned a different tale. Their old +father and Charles's wife and children have been brutally murdered +by Indians, and he himself escaped as by a miracle. We have been +telling the tale to the Assembly this very afternoon. Ah, it would +have moved hearts of stone to hear Charles's words! I pray Heaven +that something may soon be done. It is fearful to think of the +sufferings which our inaction is causing to our settlers in the +west!" + +"It is a shame--a disgrace!" exclaimed Jack hotly, and then he +turned his glance upon the two other men who were seated at the +table, taking in the whole scene in silence. + +Both wore the look of travellers; both were tanned by exposure, and +were clad in stained and curious garments, such as betokened the +life of the wilderness. Jack was instantly and keenly interested. +He himself would willingly have been a backwoodsman had he been +able to adopt that adventurous life. + +Ashley saw the look he bent upon the travellers, and he made them +known to one another. + +"These friends have travelled far from the lands of the south, and +have been friends in need to our kinsmen yonder. Fritz Neville and +Julian Dautray are their names. + +"Susanna, set food before them. Your mother will not be able to +think of aught just now. We must let her have her cry out before we +trouble her." + +The rest of the party seated themselves, whilst in the recess by +the window Hannah stood between the brothers she had parted from +ten years ago, listening to their tale, and weeping as she +listened. + +Ashley turned to his two guests, who were eating with appetite from +the well-filled platters placed before them, and he began to speak +as though taking up a theme which had lately been dropped. + +"It is no wonder that you are perplexed by what you hear and see in +this city. I will seek to make the point at issue as clear to you +as it may be. You have doubtless heard of the Penn family, from +whom this colony takes its name. Much we owe to our founder--his +wisdom, liberality, and enlightenment; but his sons are hated here. +They are absent in England, but they are the proprietaries of vast +tracts of land, and it is with regard to these lands that the +troubles in the Assembly arise. The proprietaries are regarded as +renegades from the faith; for the Assembly here is Quaker almost to +a man. They hate the feudalism of the tenure of the proprietaries, +and they are resolved to tax these lands, although they will not +defend them, and although no income is at present derived from +them." + +"Have they the power to do so?" asked Julian. + +"Not without the consent of the Governor. That is where the whole +trouble lies. And the Governor has no power to grant them leave to +tax the proprietary lands. Not only so, but he is expressly +forbidden by the terms of his commission to permit this taxation. +But the Assembly will not yield the point, nor will they consent to +furnish means for the defence of the colony until this point is +conceded. That is where the deadlock comes in. The Governor cannot +yield; his powers do not permit it. The Assembly will not yield. +They hate the thought of war, and seem glad to shelter themselves +behind this quibble. For a while many of us, their friends, +although not exactly at one with them in all things, stood by them +and upheld them; but we are fast losing patience now. When it comes +to having our peaceful settlers barbarously murdered, and our +western border desolated and encroached upon; when it becomes known +that this is the doing of jealous France, not of the Indians +themselves, then it is time to take a wider outlook. Let the +question of the proprietary lands stand over till another time; the +question may then be settled at a less price than is being paid for +it now, when every month's delay costs us the lives of helpless +women and children, and when humanity herself is crying aloud in +our streets." + +Ashley, although he had long been on most friendly terms with the +Quaker population of the town, was not by faith a Quaker, and was +growing impatient with the Assembly and its stubborn policy of +resistance. He felt that his old friend Franklin should know +better, and show a wider spirit. He had acted with promptness and +patriotism earlier in the year, when Braddock's luckless expedition +had applied to him for help. But in this warfare he was sternly +resolved on the victory over the Governor, and at this moment it +seemed as though all Philadelphia was much more eager to achieve +this than to defend the borders of the colony. + +Hitherto the danger had not appeared pressing to the eastern part +of the colony. They were in no danger from Indian raids, and they +had small pity for their brethren on the western frontier. Between +them and the encroaching Indians lay a population, mostly German, +that acted like a buffer state to them; and notwithstanding that +every post brought in urgent appeals for help, they passed the time +in wrangling with the Governor, in drawing up bills professing to +be framed to meet the emergency, but each one of them containing +the clause through which the Governor was forced to draw his pen. + +Governor Morris had written off to England stating the exceeding +difficulty of his position. His appeals to the Assembly to defend +the colony were spirited and manly. He was anxious to join with the +other colonies for an organized and united resistance, but this was +at present extremely difficult. Others before him had tried the +same policy, but it had ended in failure. Petty jealousies did more +to hold the colonies apart than a common peril to bind them +together. Political and religious strife was always arising. There +was nothing to bind them together save a common, though rather +cold, allegiance to the English King. Now and again, in moments of +imminent peril, they had united for a common object; but they fell +apart almost at once. Each had its own pet quarrel with its +Governor, which was far more interesting to the people at the +moment than anything else. + +Julian and Fritz listened in amaze as Ashley, who was a +well-informed man and a shrewd observer, put before them, as well +as he was able, the state of affairs reigning in Pennsylvania and +the sister states. + +"I am often ashamed of our policy, of our bickerings, of our +tardiness," concluded the good man; "yet for all that there is +stuff of the right sort in our people. We have English blood in our +veins, and I always maintain that England is bound to be the +dominant power in these lands of the west. Let them but send us +good leaders and generals from the old country, and I will answer +for it that the rising generation of New England will fight and +will conquer, and drive the encroaching French back whence they +came!" + + + +Chapter 4: An Exciting Struggle. + + +It was an exciting scene. Susanna stood at the window, and gazed +eagerly along the street, striving hard to obtain a sight of the +seething crowd in the open square. + +She could see the tall, haggard form of her Uncle Charles, as she +called him. He was standing upon a little platform that his friends +had erected for him in front of the Assembly Rooms, and he was +speaking aloud to the surging crowd in accents that rang far +through the still air, and even reached the ears of the listeners +at the open window. + +For once Hannah made no protest when the girl thrust out her head. +She herself seemed to be striving to catch the echoes of the clear, +trumpet-like voice. Her colour came and went in her cheeks; her +breast heaved with the emotion which often found vent in those days +in a fit of silent weeping. + +"Mother dear, do not weep; they shall be avenged! Nobody can listen +to Uncle Charles and not be moved. Hark how they are shouting +now--hark! I can see them raising their arms to heaven. They are +shaking their fists in the direction of the windows of the Assembly +House. Surely those cowardly men must be roused to action; they +cannot hear unmoved a tale such as Uncle Charles has to tell!" + +"Yet even so the dead will not be restored to life; and war is a +cruel, bitter thing." + +"Yes, but victory is glorious. And we shall surely triumph, for our +cause is righteous. I am sure of that. And Julian Dautray says the +same. I think he is a very good man, mother; I think he is better +than the Quakers, though he does not talk as if he thought himself +a saint. + +"O mother, there is Uncle Humphrey looking up at us! I pray you let +me go down to him. I long so greatly to hear what Uncle Charles is +saying. And I shall be safe in his care." + +"I think I will come, too," said Hannah, whose interest and +curiosity were keenly aroused; and after signalling as much to +Humphrey, they threw on their cloaks and hoods, and were soon out +in the streets, where an excited crowd had gathered. + +"The posts have come in," said Humphrey, as they made their way +slowly along, "and there is news of fresh disasters, and nearer. In +a few minutes we shall have more news. Men have gone in who promise +to come out and read us the letters. But the bearers themselves +declare that things are terrible. The Germans have been attacked. A +Moravian settlement has been burnt to the ground, and all its +inhabitants butchered. Families are flying from the border country, +naked and destitute, to get clear of the savages and their +tomahawks. Every where the people are calling aloud upon the +Assembly to come to their succour." + +The crowd in the street was surging to and fro. Some were Quakers, +with pale, determined countenances, still holding to their stubborn +policy of non-resistance to the enemy, but of obstinate resistance +to the Governor and the proprietaries. The sight of these men +seemed to inflame the rest of the populace, and they were hustled +and hooted as they made their way into the Assembly; whilst the +Governor was cheered as he went by with a grave and troubled face, +and on the steps of his house he turned and addressed the people. + +"My friends," he said, "I am doing what I can. I have written to +the proprietaries and to the government at home. I have told them +that the conduct of the Assembly is to me shocking beyond parallel. +I am asking for fresh powers to deal with this horrible crisis. But +I cannot look for an answer for long; and meantime are all our +helpless settlers in the west to be butchered? You men of the city, +rise you and make a solemn protest to these obstinate rulers of +yours. I have spoken all that one man may, and they will not hear. +Try you now if you cannot make your voice heard." + +"We will, we will!" shouted a hundred voices; and forthwith knots +of influential men began to gather together in corners, talking +eagerly together, and gesticulating in their excitement. + +And all this while Charles, wild-eyed and haggard, was keeping his +place on the little platform, and telling his story again and again +to the shifting groups who came and went. Men and women hung upon +his words in a sort of horrible fascination. Others might talk of +horrors guessed at, yet unseen; Charles had witnessed the things of +which he spoke, and his words sent thrills of horror through the +frames of those who heard. Women wept, and wrung their hands, and +the faces of men grew white and stern. + +But upon the opposite side of the square another orator was +haranguing the crowd. A young Quaker woman had got up upon some +steps, moved in spirit, as she declared, to denounce the wickedness +of war, and to urge the townsmen to peaceful methods. Her shrill +voice rose high and piercing, and she invoked Heaven to bless the +work of those who would endure all things rather than spill human +blood. + +But the people had heard something too much of this peaceful +gospel. For long they had upheld the policy of non-resistance. They +had their shops, their farms, their merchandise; they were +prosperous and phlegmatic, more interested in local than in +national issues. They had been content to be preached at by the +Quakers, and to give passive adhesion to their policy; but the hour +of awakening had come. The agonized cries of those who looked to +them for aid had pierced their ears too often to be ignored. +Humanity itself must rise in answer to such an appeal. They were +beginning to see that their peace policy was costing untold human +lives, amid scenes of unspeakable horror. + +They let the woman speak in peace; they did not try to stop her +utterances. But when a brother Quaker took her place and began a +similar harangue, the young men round raised a howl, and a voice +cried out: + +"Duck him in the horse pond! Roll him in a barrel! Let him be +tarred and feathered like an Indian, since he loves the scalping +savages so well. Who's got a tomahawk? Let's see how they use them. +Does anybody know how they scalp their prisoners? A Quaker would +never miss his scalp; he always has his hat on!" + +A roar of laughter greeted this sally; and a rush was made for the +unlucky orator, who showed a bold front enough to the mob. But at +that moment public attention was turned in a different direction by +the appearing upon the steps of the Assembly Rooms of a well-known +citizen of high repute, who had until latterly been one of the +peace party, but who of late had made a resolute stand, insisting +that something must be done for the protection of the western +settlers, and for the curbing of the ambitious encroachments and +preposterous claims of France. + +This grave-faced citizen came out with some papers in his hand, and +the crowd was hushed into silence. + +Overhead anxious faces could be seen looking out at the window. It +was not by the wishes of the Assembly that such letters were made +public; but many of them had been addressed to James Freeman +himself, and they could not restrain him from doing as he would +with his own. + +"My friends," he said, and his voice rose distinct in the clear +air, "we have heavy tidings today. You shall hear what is written +from some sufferers not far from Fort Cumberland, where forty white +men, women, and children were barbarously murdered a few days back. + +"'We are in as bad circumstances as ever any poor Christians were +ever in; for the cries of the widowers, widows, fatherless and +motherless children are enough to pierce the hardest of hearts. +Likewise it is a very sorrowful spectacle to see those that escaped +with their lives with not a mouthful to eat, or bed to lie on, or +clothes to cover their nakedness or keep them warm, but all they +had consumed to ashes. These deplorable circumstances cry aloud to +your Honour's most wise consideration how steps may speedily be +taken to deliver us out of the hand of our persecutors the cruel +and murderous savages, and to bring the struggle to an end.'" + +The reader paused, and a low, deep murmur passed through the crowd, +its note of rage and menace being clearly heard. The speaker took +up another paper and recommenced. + +"This comes from John Harris on the east bank of the Susquehanna: + +"'The Indians are cutting us off every day, and I had a certain +account of about fifteen hundred Indians, besides French, being on +their march against us and Virginia, and now close on our borders, +their scouts scalping our families on our frontier daily.'" + +Another pause, another murmur like a roar, and a voice from the +crowd was raised to ask: + +"And what says the Assembly to that?" + +"They say that if the Indians are rising against us, who have been +friendly so long, then we must surely have done something to wrong +them; and they are about to search for the cause of such a possible +wrong, and redress it, rather than impose upon the colony the +calamities of a cruel Indian war!" + +A yell and a groan went up from the crowd. For a moment it seemed +almost as though some attack would be made upon the Assembly House. +The habits of law and obedience were, however, strong in the +citizens of Philadelphia, and in the end they dispersed quietly to +their own homes; but a fire had been kindled in their hearts which +would not easily be quenched. + +Days were wasted by the Quakers in an unsuccessful attempt to prove +that there had been some fraud on the part of the Governor in a +recent land purchase from the Indians. And they again laid before +the Governor one of their proposals, still containing the clause +which he was unable to entertain, and which inevitably brought +matters to a deadlock. + +The Quakers drew up a declaration affirming that they had now taken +every step in their power, "consistent with the just rights of the +freemen of Pennsylvania, for the relief of the poor distressed +inhabitants," and further declared that "we have reason to believe +that they themselves would not wish us to go further. Those who +would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary +relief and safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." + +The Governor, in a dignified reply, once more urged upon them the +absolute necessity of waiving for the present the vexed question of +the proprietary estates, and passing a bill for the relief of the +present sufferers; but the Quakers remained deaf and mute, and +would not budge one inch from their position. + +All the city was roused. In houses like that of Benjamin Ashley, +where people were coming and going the whole day long, and where +travellers from these border lands were to be found who could give +information at first hand, the discussion went on every day and all +day long. Ashley himself was keenly excited. He had quite broken +away from a number of his old friends who supported the Assembly in +its blind obstinacy. Nobody could sit by unmoved whilst Charles and +Humphrey Angell told their tale of horror and woe; and, moreover, +both Julian Dautray and Fritz Neville had much to tell of the +aggressive policy of France, and of her resolute determination to +stifle and strangle the growing colonies of England, by giving them +no room to expand, whilst she herself claimed boundless untrodden +regions which she could never hope to populate or hold. + +Fresh excitements came daily to the city. Early one morning, as the +tardy daylight broke, a rumble of wheels in the street below told +of the arrival of travellers. The wheels stopped before Ashley's +door, and he hastily finished his toilet and went down. + +In a few moments all the house was in a stir and commotion. A +terrible whisper was running from mouth to mouth. That cart +standing grimly silent in the street below carried, it was said, a +terrible load. Beneath its heavy cover lay the bodies of about +twenty victims of Indian ferocity; and the guardians of the load +were stern-faced men, bearing recent scars upon their own persons, +who ate and drank in stony silence, and only waited till the +Assembly had met before completing their grim mission. + +The thing had got wind in the town by now, and the square space was +thronged. The members of the Assembly looked a little uneasy as +they passed through the crowd, but not a sound was made till all +had gathered in the upper room. + +Then from out the yard of the inn was dragged the cart. No horses +were fastened to it. The young men of the city dragged it out and +pushed it along. The silent, grim-faced guardians walked in front. +As it reached the square the crowd sent up a groaning cry, and +opened right and left for the dreadful load to be set in position +before the windows of the great room where the Assembly had met. + +Then the cover was thrown back, and yells and cries arose from all. +Shouts were raised for the Assembly to come and look at their work. + +There was no resisting the mandate of the crowd. White and +trembling, the members of the Assembly were had out upon the steps, +and forced to look at the bodies of their victims. The crowd +hooted, groaned, yelled with maddened fury. The advocates of peace +shrank into themselves, appalled at the evidences of barbarities +they had sought to believe exaggerated. It was useless now to +attempt to deny the truth of what had been reported. + +Back they slunk into the Assembly House, white and trembling, and +for the moment cowed. The cart was moved on, and stopped in front +of house after house where notable Quakers dwelt who were not +members of the Assembly. They were called to come to their windows +and look, and were greeted with hisses and curses. + +The very next day a paper, under preparation by a number of the +leading citizens at the suggestion of the Governor, was presented +to the Assembly under the title of a "Representation." It contained +a stern appeal for the organization of measures of defence, and +ended by the dignified and significant words: + +"You will forgive us, gentlemen, if we assume characters somewhat +higher than that of humble suitors praying for the defence of our +lives and properties as a matter of grace or favour on your side. +You will permit us to make a positive and immediate demand of it." + +The Quakers were frightened, incensed, and perplexed. Their +preachers went about the streets urging upon the people the +doctrine of non-resistance, and picturing the horrors of warfare. +The Assembly debated and debated, but invariably came to the +conclusion that they must withstand the Governor to the last upon +the question of taxation. + +All the city was in a tumult and ferment; but when the news came +that a settlement only sixty miles away, Tulpehocken by name, had +been destroyed and its inhabitants massacred, even the advocates of +peace grew white with fear, and the House began to draw up a +militia law--the most futile and foolish perhaps that had ever been +suggested even by lovers of peace--in the vain hope of appeasing +the people. + +But the people would not be appeased by a mere mockery. They +clamoured for the raising of money for a systematic defence of +their colony, and the ground was cut from beneath the feet of the +Assembly by a letter received from England by the Governor--not +indeed in response to his recent urgent appeals, but still written +with some knowledge of the unsettled state of the country. In this +letter the proprietaries promised a donation of five thousand +pounds as a free gift for the defence of the provinces threatened +in so formidable a manner, provided it was regarded as a gift and +not as any part of a tax upon their estates, which were to remain +free according to the old feudal tenure. + +The Assembly upon hearing this could hold out no longer. They were +forced by the clamour of public opinion to strike out the debated +and debatable clause from the long-contested bill, and immediately +it was passed into law by the Governor. + +"Ay, they have come to their senses at last--when it is well nigh +too late!" spoke John Stark, with a touch of bitterness in his +tone. "They will furnish money now; but what can be done with the +winter just upon us? For six months we must lie idle, whilst the +snow and ice wrap us round. Why was not this thing done before our +settlements were destroyed, and when we could have pushed forth an +army into the field to drive back the encroaching foe, so that they +would never have dared to show their faces upon our border again?" + +Charles looked up with burning eyes. + +"What say you? Six months to wait? That will not do for me! My +blood is boiling in my veins; I must needs cool it! If these +laggard rulers, with their clumsy methods, cannot put an army in +the field before the spring, surely there are men enough amongst us +to go forth--a hardy band of woodsmen and huntsmen--and hunt and +harry, and slay and destroy, even as they have done!" + +"That is what the Rangers do!" cried Stark, with kindling eyes; "I +have heard of them before this. The Rangers of New England have +done good work before now. Good thought, good thought! Why not form +ourselves into a band of Rangers? Are we not strong and full of +courage, seasoned to hardship, expert in our way with gun or axe? +Why should we lie idle here all the long winter through? Why not +let us forth to the forest--find out where help is needed most, and +make here a dash and there a raid, striking terror into the hearts +of the foe, and bringing help and comfort to those desolate +inhabitants of the wilderness who go in terror of their lives? Why +not be a party of bold Rangers, scouring the forests, and doing +whatever work comes to hand? Men have banded themselves together +for this work before now; why may not we do the like?" + +"Why not, indeed?" cried Fritz, leaping to his feet. "I pine in the +restraint of this town; I long for the forest and the plain once +more. My blood, too, is hot within me at the thought of what has +been done and will be done again. Let us band ourselves together as +brothers in arms. There must be work and to spare for those who +desire it." + +Ashley thoughtfully stroked his chin, looking round the circle +before him. He was a shrewd and thoughtful man, and there was +nothing of cowardice in his nature, although he was cautious and +careful. + +"It is not a bad thought, Nephew John," he said; "and yet I had +been thinking of something different for some of you intrepid and +adventurous youths to do. I had thought of sending news of the +state of parties here to our friends and kinsmen in England. When +all is said and done, it is to England that we must look for help. +She must send us generals to command us, and she must help us with +her money. There are many families across the water who would open +their purses on our behalf right generously were our sad case made +known to them. Letters are sent continually, but it is the spoken +tale that moves the heart. I had thought to send across myself to +such of our friends and families as still regard us as belonging to +them. If they made a response such as I look for, we should soon +have means at our disposal to augment what the tardy Assembly may +do by an auxiliary force, equipped and furnished with all that can +be needed. But you cannot be in two places at once. + +"What think you, my young friends? Will you serve your distressed +brethren better as Rangers of the forest, or as emissaries to +England?" + +"Why not divide our forces?" asked John Stark; "there are enough of +us for that. I have often heard Humphrey speak of a wish to cross +the sea, and to visit the land from which we have all come. Why not +let him choose a comrade, and go thither with letters and messages, +and tell his tale in the ears of friends? And whilst they are thus +absent, why should not the rest of us make up a party of bold +spirits, and go forth into the wilderness, and there carry on such +work of defence and aggression as we find for us to do?" + +"Ay. I have no love for the unknown ocean," said Charles; "I have +other work to do than to visit new lands. I have a vow upon me, and +I cannot rest till it be accomplished." + +Humphrey and Julian looked at each other. Already they had spoken +of a visit to England. Both desired to see the lands of the Eastern +Hemisphere from whence their fathers had come. Hitherto they had +not seen how this could be accomplished; but Ashley's words opened +out an unexpected way. If the citizens of Philadelphia wanted to +send messengers to their friends across the water, they would +gladly volunteer for the service. + +"If Julian will go with me, I will gladly go," said Humphrey. + +"I will go, with all my heart," answered Julian at once; "and we +will seek and strive to do the pleasure of those who send us." + +Ashley's face beamed upon the pair. He knew by this time that no +better messenger than Julian Dautray could be found. He had a gift +of eloquence and a singularly attractive personality. His nature was +gentle and refined--curiously so considering his upbringing--and he +had a largeness of heart and a gift of sympathy which was seldom to +be met with amongst the more rugged sons of the north. + +He had made himself something of a power already in the circle into +which he had been thrown; and when it was known amongst Ashley's +friends and acquaintance that his wife's brother, together with +Julian Dautray, would go to England with their representations to +friends and to those in authority, a liberal response was made as +to their outfit and introductions, and the young men were surprised +to find themselves suddenly raised to a place of such importance +and distinction. + +It was an exciting time for Susanna and for all in the house. John +Stark came to and fro, bringing news that he had found fresh +volunteers to join the band of Rangers, who were already making +preparations for departure upon their perilous life of adventure. + +Some of the older citizens looked doubtful, and spoke of the +rigours of the winter; but John laughed, and Charles smiled his +strange, mirthless smile, and all declared themselves fearless and +ready to face whatever might be in store. Come what might, they +would go to the help of the settlers, be the Assembly ever so +dilatory in sending help. + +"But you will not get killed?" Susanna would plead, looking from +one face to the other. She was fond of John, who had been like a +brother to her all her life; she had a great admiration for +handsome Fritz, who often spent whole evenings telling her +wonderful stories of the far south whilst she plied her needle over +the rough garments the Rangers were to take with them. It seemed to +her a splendid thing these men were about to do, but she shrank +from the thought that harm might come to them. She sometimes almost +wished they had not thought of it, and that they had been content +to remain in the city, drilling with the town militia, and thinking +of the coming spring campaign. + +"We must take our chance," answered Fritz, as he bent over her with +a smile on one of those occasions. "You would not have us value our +lives above the safety of our distressed brethren or the honour of +our nation? The things which have happened here of late have +tarnished England's fair name and fame. You would not have us hold +back, if we can help to bring back the lustre of that name? I know +you better than that." + +"I would have you do heroic deeds," answered Susanna, with +quickly-kindled enthusiasm, "only I would not have you lose your +lives in doing it." + +"We must take our chance of that," answered Fritz, with a smile, +"as other soldiers take theirs. But we shall be a strong and wary +company; and I have passed already unscathed through many perils. +You will not forget us when we are gone, Susanna? I shall think of +you sitting beside this comfortable hearth, when we are lying out +beneath the frosty stars, with the world lying white beneath us, +wrapped in its winding sheet!" + +"Ah, you will suffer such hardships! they all say that." + +There was a look of distress in the girl's eyes; but Fritz laughed +aloud. + +"Hardship! what is hardship? I know not the name. We can track game +in the forest, and fish the rivers for it. We can make ourselves +fires of sparkling, crackling pine logs; we can slip along over ice +and snow upon our snowshoes and skates, as I have heard them +described, albeit I myself shall have to learn the trick of +them--for we had none such methods in my country, where the cold +could never get a grip of us. Fear not for us, Susanna; we shall +fare well, and we shall do the work of men, I trow. I am weary +already of the life of the city; I would go forth once more to my +forest home." + +There was a sparkle almost like that of tears in the girl's eyes, +and a little unconscious note as of reproach in her voice. + +"That is always the way with men; they would ever be doing and +daring. Would that I too were a man! there is naught in the world +for a maid to do." + +"Say not so," cried Fritz, taking the little hand and holding it +tenderly between his own. "Life would be but a sorry thing for us +men were it not for the gentle maidens left at home to think of us +and pray for us and welcome us back again. Say, Susanna, what sort +of a welcome will you have for me, when I come to claim it after my +duty is done?" + +She raised her eyes to his, and the colour flooded her face. + +"I shall welcome you back with great gladness of heart, Fritz, and +I shall pray for you every day whilst you are away." + +"And not forget me, even if other fine fellows of officers, such as +we begin to see in our streets now, come speaking fine words to +you, and seeking to win smiles from your bright eyes? You will keep +a place in your heart still for the rough Ranger Fritz?" + +Susanna's eyes lighted with something of mischievous amusement, and +then as she proceeded grew more grave and soft. + +"My good mother will take care that I have small converse with the +gay young officers, Fritz. But in truth, even were it not so, I +should never care for them, or think of them as I do of you. You +are facing perils they would not. You are brave with the bravery of +a true hero. It is with the Rangers of the forest that my heart +will go. Be sure you break it not, Fritz, by too rashly exposing +yourself to peril." + +"Sweetheart!" was his softly-spoken answer; and Susanna went to her +bed that night with a heart that beat high with a strange sweet +happiness, although the cloud of coming parting lay heavy upon her +soul. + +A few days later, Humphrey and Julian, fully equipped with +instructions, introductions, money and other necessaries, left the +city, ready for their homeward voyage; and in another week the +small but hardy band of Rangers, with their plain and meagre +outfit, but with stout hearts and brave resolves, said adieu to +those they left behind, and started westward for that debatable +ground upon which a bloody warfare had to be fought to the bitter +end. + + + +Book 2: Roger's Rangers. + +Chapter 1: A Day Of Vengeance. + + +To the west! to the west! to the west! + +Such was the watchword of the band of sturdy Rangers who set forth +from Pennsylvania to the defence of the hapless settlers. + +They were but a handful of bold spirits. It was little they could +hope to accomplish in attempting to stem the tide of war; but their +presence brought comfort to many an aching heart, and nerved many a +lonely settler to intrench and defend his house and family, instead +of giving way to utter despair. + +There was work for the little band to do amongst these scattered +holdings. John Stark urged upon such settlers as had the courage to +remain to build themselves block houses, to establish some sort of +communication with one another, to collect arms and ammunition, and +be ready to retire behind their defences and repel an attack. For +the moment the Indians seemed glutted with spoil and with blood, +and were more quiet, although this tranquillity was not to be +reckoned upon for a day. Still, whilst it lasted it gave a +breathing space to many harassed and desperate settlers; and Fritz +could give them many valuable hints as to the best method of +intrenching themselves in block houses. He had seen so many of +these upon his long journey, and understood their construction +well. + +Everywhere they found the people in a state of either deep +despondency or intense exasperation. It seemed to them that they +had been basely deserted and betrayed by their countrymen, who +should have been prompt to send to their defence; and although the +arrival of the Rangers, and the news they brought of future help, +did something to cheer and encourage them, it was easy to see that +they were deeply hurt at the manner in which their appeals had been +met, and were ready to curse the Quakers and the Assembly who had +calmly let them be slaughtered like brute beasts, whilst they +wrangled in peaceful security over some disputed point with the +Governor. + +"Are you Rogers' men?" was a question which the Rangers met again +and again as they pursued their way. + +"No," they would answer; "we know of no Rogers. Who is he, and why +is his name in all men's mouths?" + +This question was not always easy to get answered. Some said one +thing and some another; but as they pursued their western way, they +reached a settlement where more precise information was to be had. + +"Have you not heard of Robert Rogers, the New Hampshire Ranger? +Well, you will hear his name many times before this war is closed. +He has gathered about him a band of bold and daring spirits. He has +lived in the forest from boyhood. He has been used to dealings with +both English and French settlers. He speaks the language of both. +But he is stanch to the heart's core. He is vowed to the service of +his country. He moves through the forests, over the lakes, across +the rivers. None can say where he will next appear. He seems +everywhere--he spies upon the foe. He appears beneath the walls of +their forts, snatches a sleepy sentry away from his post, and +carries him to the English camp, where information is thus gleaned +of the doings of the enemy. He and his band are here, there, and +everywhere. We had hoped to have seen them here by this. Colonel +Armstrong sent a message praying him to come and help him to attack +a pestilent nest of savages which is the curse of his life. We had +hoped you were the forerunners of his band when you appeared. But +in these troublous times who can tell whether the messenger ever +reached his destination?" + +"But if we are not Rogers' men, we are Rangers of the forest," +cried Stark, who was leader of the party. "We can fight; we are +trained to the exercise of arms. We will push on to this Colonel +Armstrong, and what aid so small a band can give him that we will +give." + +"He will welcome any help from bold men willing to fight," was the +answer they got. "Pray Heaven you be successful; for we all go in +terror of our lives from the cruelty of Captain Jacobs. If he were +slain, we might have rest awhile." + +"Captain Jacobs?" + +"So they call him. He is a notable Indian chieftain. Most likely +the French baptized him by that name. They like to be called by +some name and title which sounds like that of a white man. He lives +at the Indian town of Kittanning, on the banks of the Allegheny, +and he is upheld by the French from Fort Duquesne and Venango. They +supply him with the munitions of war, and he makes of our lives a +terror. Colonel Armstrong has been sent by the Governor to try to +fall upon him unawares, and oust him from his vantage ground. If +the town were but destroyed and he slain, we might know a little +ease of mind." + +The eyes of the Rangers lighted with anticipation. This was the +first they had heard of real warfare. If they could lend a hand to +such an expedition as this, they would feel rewarded for all their +pains and toil. + +"Captain Jacobs, Captain Jacobs!" repeated Charles, with a gleam in +his sombre eyes; "tell me what manner of man this Captain Jacobs +is." + +"I have seen him once--a giant in height, painted in vermilion, and +carrying always in his hand a mighty spear, which they say none but +he can wield. His eyes roll terribly, and upon his brow is a +strange scar shaped like a crescent--" + +"Ay, ay, ay; and in his hair is one white tuft, which he has +braided with scarlet thread," interposed Charles, panting and +twitching in his excitement. + +"That is the man--the most bloodthirsty fire eater of all the +Indian chiefs. Could the country but be rid of him, we might sleep +in our beds in peace once more, instead of lying shivering and +shaking at every breath which passes over the forest at night." + +"Let us be gone!" cried Charles, shaking his knife in a meaning and +menacing fashion; "I thirst to be there when that man's record is +closed. Let me see his end; let me plunge my knife into his black +heart! There is another yet whom my vengeance must overtake; but +let me fall upon this one first." + +"Was he one of the attacking party that desolated your homestead?" +asked Stark, as they moved along in the given direction, after a +brief pause for rest and refreshment. + +"Ay, he was," answered Charles grimly. "I could not forget that +gigantic form, that mighty spear, that scar and the white tuft! He +stood by, and laughed at my frantic struggles, at the screams of +the children, at the agony of my gentle wife. A fiend from the pit +could not have been more cruel. But the hour is at hand when it +shall be done to him as he has done. His hand lighted the wood pile +they had set against the door of the house. Let him suffer a like +fate at our hands in the day of vengeance!" + +Spurred on by the hope of striking some well-planted blow at the +heart of the enemy, the hardy band of Rangers pushed their way +through the forest tracks, scarcely pausing for rest or sleep, till +the lights of a little camp and settlement twinkled before them in +the dusk, and they were hailed by the voice of a watchful sentinel. + +"Friends," cried Stark, in clear tones--"Rangers of the +forest--come to the aid of Colonel Armstrong, hoping to be in time +for the attack on Kittanning." + +"Now welcome, welcome!" cried the man, running joyfully forward; +and the next minute the little band was borne into the camp by a +joyful company of raw soldiers, who seemed to feel a great sense of +support even from the arrival of a mere handful. + +"Rogers' Rangers are come! the Rangers are come!" was the word +eagerly passed from mouth to mouth; and before the newcomers could +make any explanation, they found themselves pushed into a +fair-sized building, some thing in the form of a temporary +blockhouse, and confronted with the Colonel himself, who received +them with great goodwill. + +"You are from Captain Rogers?" he said; "is one of you that notable +man himself?" + +Stark stepped forward to act as spokesman, and was shaken warmly by +the hand. + +"Rangers we are, but not of Rogers' company," he said. "Indeed, +when we started forth from Philadelphia to the succour of the +distressed districts, we had not even heard the name of Rogers, +though it is now familiar enough. + +"We heard, however, that you were in need of the help of Rangers, +and we have come with all haste to your camp. We wish for nothing +better than to stand in the forefront of the battle against the +treacherous and hostile Indians. Although not of Rogers' training, +you will not find us faint of heart or feeble of limb. There are a +dozen of us, as you see, and we will fight with the best that we +have." + +"And right welcome at such a moment," was the cordial answer, "for +the men I have with me are little trained to warfare; and though +they will follow when bravely led, they are somewhat like sheep, +and are easily thrown into confusion or turned aside from the way. +Tonight you shall rest and be well fed after your march, and on the +morrow we will make a rapid secret march, and seek to fall upon the +foe unawares." + +The Rangers were as hungry as hunters, and glad enough to sit down +once more to a well-spread table. The rations were not luxurious as +to quality, but there was sufficient quantity, which to hungry men +is the great matter. The Colonel sat with them at table, heard all +they had to tell of the state of the country from Philadelphia +westward, and had many grim tales to tell himself of outrages and +losses in this district. + +"We lost Fort Granville at harvest time, when the men were forced +to garner their crops, and we had to send out soldiers to protect +them. The French and Indians set upon the Fort, and though it was +gallantly defended by the lieutenant in charge, it fell into their +hands. Since then their aggressions have been unbearable. Captain +Jacobs has been making the lives of the settlers a terror to them. +We have sent for help from the colony, with what success you know. +We have sent to the Rangers under Rogers, and had hoped to be +reinforced by them. + +"But if he cannot help us, it is much to have stout-hearted friends +come unexpectedly to our aid. Have you seen fighting, friends? or +are you like the bulk of our men--inured to toil and hardship, full +of zeal and courage, ready to wield any and every weapon in defence +of property, or against the treacherous Indian?" + +"Something like that," answered Stark; "but we can all claim to be +good marksmen, and to have good weapons with us. Our rifles carry +far, and we seldom miss the quarry. I will answer for us that we +stand firm, and that we come not behind your soldiers in +steadiness, nor in the use of arms at close quarters." + +"That I can well believe," answered the Colonel, with a smile; "I +have but a score of men who have been trained in the school of +arms. The rest were but raw recruits a few months ago, and many of +them have little love of fighting, though they seek to do their +duty. + +"Well, well, we must not sit up all night talking. We have a hard +day's march before us tomorrow, and we must needs make all the +speed we can. Indian scouts might discover our camp at any moment, +and our only chance is to fall upon the Indian town unawares. They +do not look for attack in the winter months--that is our best +protection from spies. And so far I think we have escaped notice. +But it may not last, and we must be wary. We will sleep till dawn, +but with the first of the daylight we must be moving. The way is +long, but we have some good guides who know the best tracks. We +ought to reach the town soon after nightfall; and when all are +sleeping in fancied security, we will fall upon them." + +The Rangers were glad enough of the few hours of sleep which they +were able to obtain, and it was luxury to them to sleep beneath a +roof, and to be served the next morning with breakfast which they +had not had to kill and cook themselves. + +The men were in good spirits, too. The arrival of the little body +of Rangers had encouraged them; and as the company marched through +the forest, generally in single file, the newcomers scattered +themselves amongst the larger body, and talked to them of what was +going forward in the eastern districts, and how, after long delay, +reinforcements were being prepared to come to the aid of the +hapless settlers. + +That was cheering news for all, and it put new heart into the band. +They marched along cheerily, although cautiously, for they knew not +what black scouts might be lurking in the thickets; and if the +Indians once got wind of their coming, there would be little hope +of successful attack. + +On and on they marched all through the keen winter air, which gave +them fine appetites for their meals when they paused to rest and +refresh themselves, but made walking easier than when the sun beat +down pitilessly upon them in the summer. There had been no heavy +snow as yet, and the track was not hard to find. But the way was +longer than had been anticipated, and night had long closed in +before they caught a glimpse of any settlement, although they knew +they must be drawing near. + +The guides became perplexed in the darkness of the forest. The moon +was shining, but the light was dim and deceptive within the great +glades. Still they pushed on resolutely, and the Rangers gradually +drew to the front, goaded on by their own eagerness, and less +disposed to feel fatigue than the soldiers, who were in reality +less hardy than they. + +All in a moment a strange sound smote upon their ears. It was the +roll of an Indian drum. They paused suddenly, and looked each other +in the face. The rolling sound continued, and then rose a sound of +whooping and yelling such as some of their number had never heard +before. + +"It is the war dance," whispered one of the guides; and a thrill +ran through the whole company. Had they been discovered, and were +the Indians coming out in a body against them? + +For a brief while they were halted just below the top of the ridge, +whilst a few of the guides and Rangers crept cautiously forward to +inspect the hollow in which they knew the village lay. + +Colonel Armstrong was one of this party, and he, with Stark and +Fritz, cautiously crept up over the ridge and looked down upon the +Indian town below. + +The moon lighted up the whole scene. There was no appearance of +tumult or excitement. The sound of the drum and the whooping of the +warriors were not accompanied by any demonstration of activity by +those within the community. Probably some war party or hunting +party had returned with spoil, and they were celebrating the event +by a banquet and a dance. + +The soldiers were bidden to move onward, but very cautiously. It +was necessary that they should make the descent of the rugged path +before the moon set, and it was abundantly evident that the Indians +had at present no idea of the presence of the enemy. + +Slowly and cautiously the soldiers crept down the steep path, doing +everything possible to avoid a noise; but suddenly the sound of a +peculiar whistle sounded from somewhere below, and there were a +movement and a thrill of dismay through all the ranks; for surely +it was a signal of discovery! + +Only Fritz was undismayed, and gave vent to a silent laugh. + +"That is not an alarm," he whispered to the Colonel; "it is but a +young chief signalling to some squaw. But the place is not asleep +yet; if we go much nearer we shall be seen. Those bushes would give +us cover till all is quiet. We could crouch there and rest, and +when the time has come spring out upon the village unawares." + +The Colonel approved the plan, and the weary men were glad enough +of the rest before the battle should begin. All were full of hope +and ardour; but in spite of that, most of them fell asleep crouched +in the cover. The surrounding hills kept off the wind, and it was +warm beneath the sheltering scrub. + +But Charles sat up with his hands clasped round his knees, his eyes +intently fixed upon the Indian village. Beside him were a few of +his chosen comrades amongst the Rangers--men older than the hardy +youths who had organized the band--settlers like himself, who had +suffered losses like his own, and in whose hearts there burned a +steady fire of vengeful hate that could only be quenched in blood. + +To them crept one of the guides who knew the district and the town +of Kittanning. With him were his son and another hardy lad. He +looked at Charles and made a sign. The next moment some six or +eight men were silently creeping through the sleeping soldiers, +unnoticed even by the sharp eyes of the Colonel, who was stationed +at some little distance. + +Like human snakes these men wriggled themselves down the tortuous +path, keeping always under cover of the bushes; and even when the +open ground below was reached, they slipped so silently along +beneath the cover of the hedges that not an eye saw them, not even +the sharp ears of the Indians heard their insidious approach. + +"Which is the house of Captain Jacobs?" asked Charles in a whisper +of the guide. + +"It lies yonder," he answered, "in the centre of the village. It is +the strongest building in the place, and has loopholes from which a +hot fire can be poured out upon an approaching foe. The Indians +here have great stores of gunpowder and arms--given them by the +French to keep up the border war. Unless we can take them by +surprise, we be all dead men; for they are as ten to one, and are +armed to the teeth." + +Charles's face in the moonlight was set and stern. + +"Here is a stack of wood," he said. "Let every man take his fagot; +but be silent as death." + +Plainly these men knew what they had come to do. In perfect +silence, yet with an exercise of considerable strength, they loaded +themselves with the dry brushwood, and split logs which the Indians +had cut and piled up ready for use either to burn or for the +building of their huts. Then, thus loaded, they crept like ghosts +or ghouls through the sleeping street of the Indian town, and piled +their burdens against the walls of the centre hut, which belonged +to the chief. + +Twice and thrice was this thing repeated; but Charles remained +posted beside the door of the house, working in a strange and +mysterious fashion at the entrance. Upon his face was a strange, +set smile. Now and again he shook his clinched hand towards the +heavens, as though invoking the aid or the wrath of the Deity. + +The bold little band were in imminent peril. One accidental slip or +fall, an unguarded word, an involuntary cough, and the lives of the +whole party might pay the forfeit. They were in the heart of an +Indian village, enemies and spies. But the good fortune which so +often attends upon some rash enterprise was with them tonight. They +completed their task, and drew away from the silent place as +shadow-like as they had come. + +But they did not return to their comrades; they posted themselves +at a short distance from the place. They looked well to the priming +of their rifles, and to their other arms, and sat in silence to +await the commencement of the battle. + +The moon set in golden radiance behind the wooded hills. In the +eastern sky the first rose red showed that dawn would shortly +break. Looking towards the hill, the little band saw that movement +had already begun there. They rose to their feet, and looked from +the moving shapes amid the brushwood towards the still sleeping, +silent town. + +"The Lord of hosts is with us," spoke Charles, in a solemn voice; +"He will deliver the enemy into our hands. Let us quit ourselves +like men and be strong. Let us do unto them even as they have done. +Let not the wicked escape us. The Lord do so to me, and more also, +if I reward not unto yon cruel chieftain his wickedness and his +cruelties. If he leave this place alive, let my life pay the +forfeit!" + +A murmur ran through the little group about him. Each man grasped +his weapon and stood still as a statue. This little company had +posted themselves upon a knoll which commanded the house of the +bloodthirsty chief. It was their business to see that he at least +did not escape from the day of vengeance. + +The moments seemed hours to those men waiting and watching; but +they did not wait in vain. + +A blaze of fire, a simultaneous crack of firearms, and a wild shout +that was like one of already earned victory, and the assailants +came charging down the hillside, and across the open fields, firing +volley after volley upon the sleeping town, from which astonished +and bewildered savages came pouring out in a dense mass, only to +fall writhing beneath the hail of bullets from the foe who had +surprised them thus unawares. + +But there were in that community men trained in the arts of war, +who were not to be scared into non-resistance by a sudden +onslaught, however unexpected. These men occupied log houses around +that of their chieftain, and instead of rushing forth, they +remained behind their walls, and fired steadily back at the enemy +with a rapidity and steadiness which evoked the admiration of the +Colonel himself. + +Fiercely rained the bullets from rank to rank. Indians yelled and +whooped; the squaws rushed screaming hither and thither; the fight +waxed hotter and yet more hot. But all unknown to the Indians, and +unseen by them in the confusion and terror, a file of stern, +determined men was stealing towards the very centre of their town, +creeping along the ground so as to avoid notice, and be safe from +the hail of shot, but ever drawing nearer and nearer to that +centre, where the defence was so courageously maintained. + +Charles was the first to reach the log house against which the +brushwood had been piled. In the dim light of dawn his face could +be seen wearing a look of concentrated purpose. He had lately +passed an open hut from whence the inhabitants had fled, and he +carried in his hand a smouldering firebrand. Now crouching against +the place from which the hottest fire belched forth, he blew upon +this brand till a tongue of flame darted forth, and in a moment +more the brushwood around the house had begun to crackle with a +sound like that made by a hissing snake before it makes the fatal +spring. + +Five minutes later and the ring of flame round the doomed house was +complete. The firing suddenly ceased, and there was a sound of +blows and cries, turning to howls of fury as the inmates found that +the door would not yield--that they were trapped. + +The Rangers, rushing up, seized burning brands and commenced +setting fire to house after house, whilst their comrades stood at a +short distance shooting down the Indians as they burst forth. A +scene of the wildest terror and confusion was now illumined by the +glare of the fire, and at short intervals came the sound of short, +sharp explosions, as the flames reached the charged guns of the +Indians or the kegs of gunpowder lavishly stored in their houses. + +But Charles stood like a statue in the midst of the turmoil. His +face was white and terrible; his gun was in his hands. He did not +attempt to fire it, although Indians were scuttling past him like +hunted hares; he stood stern and passive, biding his time. + +The ring of flame round the centre house rose higher and higher. +Cries and screams were heard issuing from within. Some intrepid +warrior was chanting his death song, dauntless to the last. A +frightened squaw was shrieking aloud; but not even the sound of a +woman's voice moved Charles from his fell purpose. + +Suddenly his, face changed; the light flashed into his eyes. He +raised his head, and he laid his gun to his shoulder. + +Out upon the roof of the cabin, ringed as it was with fire, there +sprang a man of gigantic aspect, daubed and tattooed in vermilion, +his hair braided in scarlet, and one white tuft conspicuous in the +black. He stood upon the roof, glaring wildly round him as if +meditating a spring. Doubtless the smoke and fire shielded him in +some sort from observation. Had not there been one relentless foe +vowed to his destruction, he might in all probability have leaped +the ring of flame and escaped with his life. + +But Charles had covered him with his gun. The chieftain saw the +gleaming barrel, and paused irresolute. Charles's voice rose clear +above the surrounding din. + +"Murderer, tyrant, tormentor of helpless women and babes, the white +man's God doth war against thee. The hour of thy death has come. As +thou hast done unto others, so shall it be done unto thee." + +Then the sharp report of the rifle sounded, and the chief bounded +into the air and fell back helpless. He was not dead--his yells of +rage and fear told that--but he was helpless. His thigh was +shattered. He lay upon the roof of the blazing cabin unable to move +hand or foot, and Charles stood by like a grim sentinel till the +frail building collapsed into a burning mass; then with a fierce +gesture he stirred the ashes with the butt of his rifle, saying +beneath his breath: + +"That is one of them!" + +Victory for the white man was complete, notwithstanding that bands +of Indians from the other side of the river came rushing to the +succour of their allies. They came too late, and were scattered and +dispersed by the resolute fire of the English. The whole village +was destroyed. Colonel Armstrong took as many arms and as much +ammunition as his men could carry, and devoted the rest to +destruction. + +More satisfactory still, they released from captivity eleven +prisoners, white men with women and children, who had been carried +off at different times when others had been massacred. From these +persons they learned that the Indians of Kittanning had often +boasted that they had in the place a stock of ammunition sufficient +to keep up a ten years' war with the English along the borders. To +have taken and destroyed all these stores was no small matter, and +the Colonel and his men rejoiced not a little over the blow thus +struck at the foe almost in his own land. + +But there was no chance of following up the victory. Armstrong was +not strong enough to carry the war into the enemy's country; +moreover, the winter was already upon them, although up till the +present the season had been especially mild and open. He must march +his men back to quarters, and provide for the safety of his +wounded, and for the restoration of the rescued prisoners to their +friends. + +He would gladly have kept Stark and his little valiant band with +him, but the Rangers had different aims in view. + +"We must be up and doing; we must find fighting somewhere. On Lake +George we shall surely find work for men to do. Rangers of wood and +forest care nothing for winter ice and snow. We will go northward +and eastward, asking news of Rogers and his Rangers. It may be that +we shall fall in with them, and that we can make common cause with +them against the common foe." + +So said Stark, speaking for all his band, for all were of one heart +and one mind. + +Therefore, after a few days for rest and refreshment, the little +army retreated whence it had come; whilst the bold band of Rangers +started forth for the other scene of action, away towards the +north, along the frozen lakes which formed one of the highways to +Canada. + + + +Chapter 2: Robert Rogers. + + +They met for the first time, face to face, amid a world of ice and +snow, upon the frozen surface of Lake George. + +Stark and his little band had been through strange experiences, and +had met with many adventures as they pursued their course towards +the spot where they heard that the French and English were lying +encamped and intrenched, awaiting the arrival of spring before +commencing the campaign afresh; and they now began to have a +clearer notion of the situation between the two nations than they +had hitherto had. + +They had spent a week in the quaint Dutch town of Albany, and there +they had heard many things with regard to the state of parties and +the affairs between the two nations. + +England and France were nominally at peace, or had been, even +whilst these murderous onslaughts had been going on in the west. +But it was evident to all that war must be shortly declared between +the countries, if it had not already been proclaimed. The scent of +battle seemed in the very air. Nothing was talked of but the great +struggle for supremacy in the west, which must shortly be fought +out to the bitter end. + +The aim of France was to connect Canada with Louisiana by a chain +of forts, and keep the English penned up in their eastern provinces +without room to expand. The northern links of this chain were Fort +Ticonderoga, just where the waters of Lake George join those of +Champlain; Fort Niagara, which commanded the lakes; and Fort +Duquesne, at the head of the Ohio, the key to the great +Mississippi. + +It was a gigantic scheme, and one full of ambition; there was one +immense drawback. The French emigrants of the western world +numbered only about one hundred and eighty thousand souls, whilst +the English colonies had their two millions of inhabitants. The +French could only accomplish their ends if the Indians would become +and remain their allies. The English, though equally anxious to +keep on good terms with the dusky denizens of the woods, who could +be such dangerous foes, had less need to use them in fight, as, if +they chose to combine and act in concert, they could throw an army +into the field which must overpower any the French could mass. + +But the weakness of the provinces hitherto had been this lack of +harmony. They would not act in concert. They were forever +disputing, one province with another, and each at home with its +governor. The home ministry sent out men unfit for the work of +command. Military disasters followed one after the other. +Washington and Braddock had both been overthrown in successive +attempts upon Fort Duquesne; and now the English Fort of Oswego, +their outpost at Lake Ontario, was lost through mismanagement and +bad generalship. + +Canada owned a centralized government. She could send out her men +by the various routes to the points of vantage where the struggle +lay. England had an enormous border to protect, and no one centre +of operations to work from. She was hampered at every turn by +internal jealousies, and by incompetent commanders. Braddock had +been a good soldier, but he could not understand forest fighting, +and had raged against the Virginian men, who were doing excellent +work firing at the Indians from behind trees, and meeting their +tactics by like ones. Braddock had driven them into rank by beating +them with the flat of his sword, only to see them shot down like +sheep. Blunders such as this had marked the whole course of the +war; and misfortune after misfortune had attended the English arms +upon the mainland, although in Acadia they had been more +successful. + +These things Stark and his little band heard from the Dutch of +Albany; they also heard that the English were encamped at the +southern end of Lake George, at Forts Edward and William Henry, +their commander being John Winslow, whose name was becoming known +and respected as that of a brave and humane soldier, who had +carried through a difficult piece of business in Acadia with as +much consideration and kindliness as possible. + +Now he was in command of the English force watching the movements +of the French at Ticonderoga; here also were Rogers and his Rangers +to be found. They had marched into Winslow's camp, it was said, +some few months earlier, proffering their services; and there they +had since remained, scouting up and down the lake upon skates or +snowshoes, snatching away prisoners from the Indian allies, or from +the very walls of the fort itself, and intercepting provisions sent +down Lake Champlain for the use of the French. + +Details of these escapades on the part of the Rangers were not +known in Albany; but rumours of Rogers' intrepidity reached them +from time to time, and Stark and his band were fired anew by the +desire to join themselves to this bold leader, and to assist him in +his task of harassing the enemy, and bringing assistance of all +sorts into the English camp. + +Bidding adieu to the Dutch, who had received them kindly, and now +sent them away with a sufficiency of provisions to last them +several days, they skimmed away still to the northward on their +snowshoes. They had taken directions as to what route to pursue in +order to reach Fort Edward, and thence to pass on to Fort William +Henry; but the heavy snowfall obliterated landmarks, and they +presently came to the conclusion that they had missed the way, and +had travelled too far north already. + +"Then we must keep in a westerly direction," quoth Stark, as they +sat in council together over their fire at night; "we cannot fail +thus to strike the lake at last, and that, if frozen hard, can be +our highway. At the southern end is the fort William Henry; at the +northern outlet is the French fort with the name of Ticonderoga." + +This deflection in direction being agreed to, the party lay down to +sleep--Charles Angell offering to act as sentry, as he frequently +did. + +Since the tragedy which had wrecked his life, Charles had seldom +been able to sleep quietly at night. He was haunted by horrible +dreams, and the thought of sleep was repugnant to him. He would +often drop asleep at odd hours over the campfire whilst his +comrades were discussing and planning, and they would let him sleep +in peace at such times; but at night he was alert and wide awake, +and they were glad enough to give him his request, and let him keep +watch whilst they rested and slumbered. + +The silence of the snow-girt forest was profound; yet Charles was +restless tonight, and kept pausing to listen with an odd intensity +of expression. His faculties, both of sight and hearing, had become +preternaturally acute of late. More than once this gift of his had +saved the party from falling amongst a nest of hostile Indians; +tonight it was to prove of service in another way. + +In the dead of night the Rangers were awakened by a trumpet-like +call. + +"To arms, friends, to arms! The Indians are abroad; they are +attacking our brothers! I hear the shouts of battle. We must to +their rescue! Let us not delay! To arms, and follow me; I will lead +you thither!" + +In a second the camp was astir. The men lay down in their clothes, +wrapping a buffalo robe about them for warmth. In a few seconds all +were aroused, strapping their blankets upon their shoulders and +seizing their weapons. + +"What have you heard, Charles, and where?" asked Stark and Fritz in +a breath as they ran up. + +"Yonder, yonder!" cried Charles, pointing in a northwesterly +direction; "it is a fight on the ice. It is not far away. The +Indians are attacking white men--English men. I hear their cries +and their shoutings. Hark--there is shooting, too! Come, follow me, +and I will take you there. There is work for the Rangers tonight!" + +Yes, it was true. They could all hear the sound of shots. What had +gone before had only reached the ears of Charles; but the report of +firearms carried far. In three minutes the bold little company had +started at a brisk run through the snow-covered forest, getting +quickly into the long swing of their snowshoes, and skimming over +the ground at an inconceivably rapid pace, considering the nature +of the ground traversed. + +All at once the forest opened before them. They came out upon its +farthest fringe; and below them lay, white and bare, and sparkling +in the moonlight, the frozen, snow-laden plateau of the lake. + +It was a weirdly beautiful scene which lay spread like a panorama +before them in the winter moonlight; but they had no time to think +of that now. All eyes were fixed upon the stirring scene enacted in +the middle of the lake, or at least well out upon its frozen +surface, where a band of resolute men, sheltering themselves behind +a few sledges, which made them a sort of rampart, were firing +steadily, volley after volley, at a band of leaping, yelling +Indians who had partially surrounded them, and who were slowly but +steadily advancing, despite their heavy loss, returning the fire of +the defendants, though by no means so steadily and regularly, and +whooping and yelling with a fearful ferocity. + +It was easy to see, even by the moonlight alone, that the men +behind the sledges were white men. A sudden enthusiasm and +excitement possessed our little band of Rangers as this sight burst +upon them, and Stark gave the instant word: + +"Steady, men, but lose not a moment. Form two lines, and rush them +from behind. Reserve your fire till I give the word. Then let them +have it hot, and close upon them from behind. When they find +themselves between two fires, they will think themselves trapped. +They will scatter like hunted hares. See, they have no notion of +any foe save the one in front. Keep beneath the shadow of the +forest till the last moment, and then rush them and fire!" + +The men nodded, and unslung their guns. They made no noise gliding +down the steep snow bank upon their long shoes, and then out upon +the ice of the lake. + +"Fire!" exclaimed Stark at the right moment; and as one man the +Rangers halted, and each picked his man. + +Crack-crack-crack! + +Literally each bullet told. Twelve dusky savages bounded into the +air, and fell dead upon the blood-stained snow. + +Crack-crack-crack! + +The affrighted Indians had faced round only to meet another volley +from the intrepid little band behind. + +That was enough. The prowess of the Rangers was well known from one +end of the lake to the other. To be hemmed in between two companies +was more than Indian bravery or Indian stoicism could stand. With +yells of terror they dropped their arms and fled to the forest, +followed by a fierce firing from both parties, which made great +havoc in their ranks. The rout was complete and instantaneous. Had +it not been for panic, they might have paused to note how few were +those new foes in number, and how small even the united body was as +compared with their own numbers; but they fled, as Stark had +foretold, like hunted hares, and the white men were left upon the +lake face to face, with dead and dying Indians around them. + +An enormously tall man leaped up from behind the rampart of +sledges, and came forward with outstretched hand. He was a man of +magnificent physique, with a mass of wild, tangled hair and beard, +and black eyes which seemed to burn like live coals. His features +were rugged and rather handsome, and his nose was of very large +proportions. + +Stark took a step forward and shook the outstretched hand. He knew +this man, from descriptions received of him during their months of +wandering. + +"You are Captain Rogers?" + +"Robert Rogers, of the Rangers, at your service," replied the +other, in a deep, sonorous voice, which seemed to match his size; +"and this is my brother Richard," as another fine-looking man +approached and held out his hand to their deliverers. "And right +glad are we to welcome such bold spirits amongst us, though who you +are and whence you come we know not. You have saved us from peril +of death tonight, and Rogers never forgets a service like that." + +"We have come from far to seek you," answered Stark; "we ourselves +are Rangers of the forest. We fear neither heat nor cold, peril, +hardship, nor foe. We long to fight our country's battle against +the Indian savages and against the encroaching French. It has been +told us again and again that Rogers is the captain for us, and to +Rogers we have come." + +"And right welcome are all such bold spirits in Rogers' camp!" was +the quick reply. "That is the spirit of the true Ranger. Nor shall +you be disappointed in your desire after peril and adventure. You +can see by tonight's experience the sort of adventure into which we +are constantly running. We scouts of the lake have to watch +ourselves against whole hordes of wily, savage Indian scouts and +spies. Some of our number are killed and cut off with each +encounter; and yet we live and thrive and prosper. And if you ask +honest John Winslow who are those who help him most during this +season of weary waiting, I trow he will tell you it is Rogers and +his bold Rangers." + +By this time the whole band of Rangers had gathered round Stark's +little company, and the men were all talking together. In those +wild lands ceremony is unknown; friendships are quickly made, if +quickly sundered by the chances and changes of a life of adventure +and change; and soon the band felt as if one common spirit inspired +them. + +There were three wounded men in Rogers' company; they were put upon +a sledge and well covered up. Then the party moved along to a +position at some distance from that where they had met the attack. + +"The Indians will come back to find and remove their dead," +explained Rogers. "It is better to be gone. We will encamp and +bivouac a little farther away. Then we will hold a council as to +our next move. They will not be in haste to molest us again." + +The plan was carried out. The hardy Rangers hollowed out a +sheltered nook in the snow, threw up a wall of protection against +the wind, lighted a fire, and sat round it discussing the events of +the night, and exchanging amenities with their new comrades. + +The two Rogerses, together with Stark, Fritz, and the silent, +watchful Charles, gathered in a knot a little apart, and Rogers +laid before them, in a few brief speeches, the situation of affairs +upon the lake. + +Lake Champlain, the more northern and the larger of the twin lakes, +was altogether guarded by the French. St. John stood at its head, +and Crown Point guarded it lower down--being a great fortified +promontory, where the lake narrowed to a very small passage, +widening out again below, till it reached the other strong fort and +colony of Ticonderoga, where Lake George formed a junction with it, +though the lake itself still ran an independent course to the +south, parallel with Lake George, being fed by the waters of Wood +Creek, a narrow, river-like inlet, which was a second waterway into +the larger lake. + +The position of Ticonderoga was, therefore, very important, as it +commanded both these waterways; and even if the English could +succeed in avoiding the guns of that fort, there was still Crown +Point, further to the north, to keep them from advancing. + +In addition to these advantages, the French had won the local +Indians to their side; and though they did much towards +embarrassing their white allies, and were a perfect nuisance both +to officers and men, they were too useful to risk offending or to +be dispensed with, as they were always ready for a dash upon any +English scouting parties, and formed a sort of balance to the +tactics of the English Rangers. + +"They are villainous foes!" said Rogers, with a dark scowl. "It is +their great joy to take prisoners; and when the French have +extracted from them all the information they can as to the strength +and prospects of the English, the Indians will claim them again, to +scalp and burn, and the French scarcely raise a protest. It is said +that they speak with disgust of the barbarities of these savage +allies, but they do little or nothing to check them. That is why my +wrath often rises higher against the French than against the +Indians themselves. They know no better; but for white man to +deliver white man into their hands--that is what makes my blood +boil!" + +The fire leaped up in Charles's eyes, and he had his tale to tell, +at hearing of which the Rogerses set their teeth and muttered +curses not loud but deep. + +"Now will I tell you what we started forth to do," said the leader +of the band. "We have been busy all winter. Last month we skated +down the lake when it was clear of snow, passed Ticonderoga all +unseen, intercepted some sledges of provisions, and carried them +and their drivers to our fort. Now we are bent upon a longer +journey. We want to reach Crown Point, and make a plan of the works +for our brave Commander Winslow. We were a part of the way on our +route, when we fell in with Indians conveying provisions to the +French on these sledges. We took them from them and dispersed the +crew; but they must have scattered and got help, and they set upon +us, as you have seen. Now that we have three wounded and two +somewhat bruised and shaken, I am thinking it would be better to +send them back, with a few sound men as escort--for the provisions +will be welcome at the fort, which is not too well victualled--whilst +the rest of us push on, and see if we can accomplish our errand. Now +that we are thus reinforced, we shall be strong enough to do this." + +The eyes of Stark and Fritz sparkled at the prospect. + +"We will go with you," they cried. "We long for such work as this; +it is what we have come for from our homes and friends." + +And then Stark added modestly: + +"And if I am but little trained to arms, I can draw. I have been +used to that work in my old life, which was too tame for me. I +understand how to make plans and elevations. If I could but get a +good view of the fortifications, I will undertake to make a good +drawing of them for your general." + +Rogers slapped him heartily upon the back. + +"A draughtsman is the very fellow we want," he cried; "and a +draughtsman who can wield weapons as you can, John Stark, is the +very man for us. You and your band will be right welcome. You can +all use snowshoes, I see, and doubtless skates also?" + +Stark nodded. By that time all were proficient in these arts, even +Fritz, to whom they had been new at the commencement of the winter. +Charles fingered the knife at his belt, and his cavern-like eyes +glowed in their sockets. + +"Let me fight the French-the French!" he muttered. "I have avenged +myself upon the Indian foe. Now let me know the joy of meeting the +white foe face to face!" + +"Is that poor fellow mad?" asked Rogers of Fritz, when next +morning, all preparations being speedily made, the party had +divided, and the larger contingent was sweeping down the lake +towards the distant junction, which was guarded by the guns of +Ticonderoga. + +"I think his brain is touched. He has been like that ever since I +have known him; but his brother and friends say that once he was +the most gentle and peaceful of men, and never desired to raise +hand against his fellow. It is the horror of one awful memory that +has made him what he is. I thought perhaps that when he wreaked his +vengeance upon the Indian chieftain who had slain his wife and +children, he would have been satisfied; but the fire in his heart +seems unquenched and unquenchable. Sometimes I have a fancy that +when his wrath is satisfied the spring of life will cease within +him. He grows more gaunt and thin each week; but he is borne along +by the strong spirit within, and in battle his strength is as the +strength of ten." + +"As is ofttimes the way with men whose minds are unhinged," said +Rogers. "Truly we have small reason to love our white brothers the +French, since at their door lies the sin of these ravages upon the +hapless border settlers. We will requite them even as they deserve! +We will smite them hip and thigh! though we must not, and will not, +become like the savage Indians. We will not suffer outrage; it +shall be enough of shame and humiliation for them to see the flag +of England flaunting proudly where their banners have been wont to +fly." + +A few days of rather laborious travel--for the snow was soft--and +Crown Point lay before them. They had left the lake some time +before, skirting round Roger's Rock, and thus making a cut across +country, and missing the perils of passing Ticonderoga. + +"We will take that in returning," said Rogers; "but we will not +risk being seen on our way down, else they might be upon the alert +for our return. We will arrange a pleasant surprise for them." + +The way was laborious now, for they had to climb hills which gave +them a good view over the fortifications of Crown Point; but this +elevation once safely attained, without any further molestation +from Indians, they were able to make a complete survey of the +fortifications; and Stark made some excellent plans and drawings, +which gave a fine idea of the place. + +So far all had been peaceful; but the Rangers were not wont to come +and go and leave no trace. There were outlying farms around the +fortifications, and comings and goings between the French soldiers +and peasants. + +"We will stop these supplies," said Rogers, with a sardonic smile; +"the French shall learn to be as careful of their flour as we have +to be!" + +And carefully laying an ambush in the early grey of a winter's +morning, he sprang suddenly out upon a train of wagons wending +their way to the fortifications. + +The drivers, scared and terrified, jumped from their places, and +ran screaming into the defences, whence soldiers came rushing out, +sword in hand, but only to find the wagons in flames, the horses +driven off to the forest, and the barns and farmsteads behind +burning. + +It was a savage sort of warfare, but it was the work of the Rangers +to repay ferocity in kind, and to leave behind them dread tokens of +the visits they paid. + +Whilst the terrified inhabitants and the angry soldiers were +striving to extinguish the flames, and vituperating Rogers and his +company, these bold Rangers themselves were fleeing down the lake +as fast as snowshoes could take them, full of satisfaction at the +havoc they had wrought, and intent upon leaving their mark at +Ticonderoga before they passed on to Fort William Henry. + +Guarded as it was by fortifications and surrounded by Indian spies, +Rogers and his men approached it cautiously, yet without fear; for +they knew every inch of the ground, and they were so expert in all +woodcraft and strategic arts that they could lie hidden in +brushwood within speaking distance of the foe, yet not betray their +presence by so much as the crackle of a twig. + +It was night when they neared the silent fort. A dying moon gave +faint light. The advancing party glided like ghosts along the +opposite bank. A sentry here and there tramped steadily. The +Rangers could hear the exchange of salute and the rattle of a +grounded musket. But no sign did they make of their presence. They +kept close in the black shadow, and halted in a cavern-like spot +well known to them from intimate acquaintance. + +Richard Rogers had been sent scouting by his brother, and came in +with news. + +"There will be marching on the morrow. Some soldiers will leave the +fort for the nearest camp; I could not gather how many, but there +will be some marching through the forest. If we post ourselves near +to the road by which they will pass, we may do some havoc ere they +know our whereabouts." + +This was work entirely to the liking of the Rangers. Before dawn +they were posted in their ambush, and allowed themselves a few +hours of repose, but lighted no fire. They must not draw attention +to themselves. + +They were awake and astir with the first light of the tardy dawn, +eagerly listening whilst they looked to the priming of their arms, +and exchanged whispered prognostications. + +Then came the expected sound--the tramp, tramp, tramp of a number +of men on the march. + +"Hist!" whispered Rogers, "lie low, and reserve your fire. These +sound too many for us." + +The men kept watch, and saw the soldiers file by. There were close +upon two hundred. It would have been madness to attack them, and +the Rangers looked at one another in disappointment. + +"Cheer up! there may be more to come," suggested Rogers; and before +another hour had passed, their listening ears were rewarded by the +sound of a bugle call, and in a few minutes more the trampling of +feet was heard once again, and this time the sound was less and +more irregular. + +"Some stragglers kept behind for something, seeking to catch up the +main body," spoke Rogers in a whisper. "Be ready, men; mark each +his foe, and then out upon them, and take prisoners if you can." + +The taking of prisoners was most important. It was from them that +each side learned what was being done by the various commanders. A +prisoner was valuable booty to return with to the fort. Rogers +seldom went forth upon any important expedition without returning +with one or more. + +The men swung by carelessly, laughing and talking. They had such +faith in their Indian scouts that they never thought of an ambushed +foe. + +The ping of the rifles in their rear caused a strange panic amongst +them. They faced round to see the redoubtable Rogers spring out at +the head of a compact body of men. + +But the strangest thing in that strange attack was a wild, +unearthly yell which suddenly broke from one of the Rangers. + +It was like nothing human; it was like the fierce roar of some +terrible wild beast. Even Rogers himself was startled for the +moment, and looked back to see from whence it had come. + +At that moment Charles Angell dashed forward in a frantic manner. +He had flung his gun from him; his eyeballs were fixed and staring; +there was foam upon his lips; his hair was streaming in the wind. +He bore an aspect so strange and fearful that the French uttered +yells of terror, and fled helter-skelter from the onslaught. + +But if any had had eyes to note it, there was one Frenchman whose +face became ashy white as he met the rolling gaze of those +terrible, bloodshot eyes. He too flung away his gun, and uttered a +frantic yell of terror, plunging headlong into the wood without a +thought save flight. + +"It is he! it is he! it is he!" + +This was the shout which rang from the lips of Charles as he dashed +after the retreating figure. All was confusion now amid French and +Rangers alike; that awful yell, and something in the appearance of +Charles, had startled friend and foe alike. + +There were several of the French soldiers left dead in the wood, +and one was captured and made prisoner; but the rest had fled like +men demented, and the Rangers could not come up with them. As for +Charles and his quarry, they had disappeared, and it was long +before any trace could be found of them. + +Stark and Fritz, however, would not give up the search, and at last +they came upon the prostrate form of Charles. He lay face downwards +on the frozen ground, which was deeply stained with blood. His +wrist was fearfully gashed by some knife; yet in his fingers he +held still a piece of cloth from the coat of the French fugitive. +It had been literally torn out of his grasp before the man could +get free, and he had nearly hacked off the left hand of the hapless +Charles. + +Yet the man had made good his escape, leaving Charles well nigh +dead from loss of blood. But they carried him tenderly back to +their cave, and making a rough sledge for him; then brought him +safely with their prisoner into the camp at Fort William Henry. + + + +Chapter 3: The Life Of Adventure. + + +"I have seen him once, and he has escaped me. But we shall meet +again, and then the hour of vengeance will have come!" + +This was the burden of Charles's words as he lay in his narrow +quarters in the Rangers' huts just without Fort William Henry, +tended by his comrades till his wound healed. The fever which so +often follows upon loss of blood had him in its grip for awhile, +and he would lie and mutter for hours in a state of semi-delirium. + +The sympathy of his comrades for this strange man with the tragic +story was deep and widespread. Charles had become a favourite and +an object of interest throughout the ranks of the Rangers, and +great excitement prevailed when it was understood that he had +really seen the man--the Frenchman--who had stood by to see his +wife and family massacred, and had deliberately designed to leave +him, cruelly pinioned, to die a lingering death of agony in the +heart of the lonely forest. + +Every day he had visitors to his sickbed, and again and again he +told the tale, described his foe, and told how he knew that the man +recognized him, first taking him--or so he believed--for a spectre +from the tomb, afterwards filled with the most lively terror as he +realized that he was pursued by one who had such dire cause for +bitter vengeance. + +"We have met twice!" Charles would say, between his shut teeth. +"Once I was at his mercy, and he showed none. The second time he +fled before me as a man flees from death and hell. The third time +we meet--and meet we shall--it will be that the Lord has delivered +him into my hand. I will strike, and spare not. It will be the hour +appointed of Heaven!" + +With the lengthening days and the approach of spring the life of +the Rangers became less full of hardship, though not less full of +adventure. Snowshoes and skates were laid aside, and the men +started to construct boats and canoes in which they soon began to +skim the surface of the lake; scouting here, there, and all over, +and bringing back news of the enemy's movements and strength even +when no capture of prisoners rewarded their efforts. + +Rogers had taken a great liking to John Stark and his followers. He +dubbed Stark his lieutenant, and Fritz and Stark were inseparable +companions by this time. Charles attached himself to no person in +particular, but was the friend of all; pitied and respected for his +misfortunes, allowed to come and go much as he would; regarded +rather as one set aside by Heaven for an instrument of vengeance; +standing alone, as it were, not quite like any of his comrades; a +dreamy, solitary creature, seldom talking much, often passing the +whole day in silent brooding; yet when there was fighting to be +done, waking up to a sort of Berserker fury, dealing blows with an +almost superhuman strength, and invariably filling the hearts of +his adversaries with a species of superstitious fear and dread. + +For the tall, gaunt figure with the haggard face, flaming eyes, and +wildly-floating locks bore so weird an aspect that a man might be +pardoned for regarding it as an apparition. Not a particle of +colour remained in Charles's face. The flesh had shrunk away till +the bones stood out almost like skin stretched over a skull. The +hair, too, was white as snow, whilst the brows were coal black, +enhancing the effect of the luminous, fiery eyes beneath. It was +small wonder that Charles was regarded by Rangers and soldiers +alike as a thing apart. He came and went as he would, no man +interfering or asking him questions. + +At the same time he seemed to regard Fritz and Stark as his chief +friends; and if they started forth with any of the Rangers, it was +generally observed that Charles would be of the company. + +The life of the forest was pleasant enough in the warmer weather; +but the garrison at the fort were anxious to know what orders they +would receive for the summer campaign, and so far nothing was heard +but that they were to remain on the defensive. This might be +prudent, seeing that Ticonderoga was< strongly fortified and +garrisoned; but it pleased neither soldiers nor officers, and the +Rangers went scouting more and more eagerly, hoping to learn news +which might tempt those in authority to sanction some more overt +movement. + +One day a strange adventure befell the Rangers. Rogers and his +little flotilla of boats were here, there, and everywhere upon the +lake. Not only did they move up and down Lake George, which was +debatable ground, commanded at the different ends by a French and +English fort, but they carried boats across a mountain gorge to the +eastward, launched them again in South Bay, and rowed down the +narrow prolongation of Lake Champlain, and under cover of dark +nights would glide with muffled oars beneath the very guns of +Ticonderoga, within hearing of the sentries' challenge to each +other, and so on to Crown Point, whence they could watch the +movements of the enemy, and see their transports passing to and fro +with provisions for Ticonderoga. + +Many a small boat was seized, many a large one sunk by these hardy +Rangers of the forest. They were as wily as Indians, and as sudden +and secret in their movements. The French regarded them with a +species of awe and fear. They would sometimes find an English boat +or canoe in some spot perfectly inexplicable to them. They could +not believe that anyone could pass the fortifications of +Ticonderoga unseen and unheard, and would start the wildest +hypotheses to account for the phenomenon, even to believing that +some waterway existed which was unknown alike to them and their +Indian scouts. + +But to return to the adventure to which allusion has been made. + +Rogers with some thirty of his Rangers was out upon one of those +daring adventures. They were encamped within a mile of Ticonderoga. +Their boats were lying in a little wooded creek which gave access +to the lake. Some of the party, headed by Rogers, had gone on +towards Crown Point by night. Stark, with a handful of trusty men, +lay in hiding, watching the movements from the fort, and keeping a +wary eye upon those who came and went, ready to pounce out upon any +straggler who should adventure himself unawares into the forest, +and carry him off captive to the English camp. + +Certain tidings as to the course the campaign was likely to take +were urgently wanted by this time. The posts to the English fort +brought in no news save that it was thought better for the army on +the western frontier to remain upon the defensive, and no talk of +sending large reinforcements came to cheer or encourage them. +Winslow was impatient and resentful. He thought there were +mismanagement and lack of energy. He knew that the provinces had +been roused at last out of their lethargy, and had pledged +themselves to some active effort to check French aggression; yet +weeks were slipping by, one after the other, and no help of any +consequence came to the army on the outskirts. No command reached +the eager soldiers for a blow to be struck there, as had been +confidently expected. + +Perhaps the French might be better informed as to what was going on +in other parts of the great continent, and so prisoners were wanted +more urgently than ever. + +At midday upon a steamy midsummer day, one of the young Rangers who +had been wandering about near to the camp in search of game came +back with cautious haste to report that he had seen a small party +of French leaving the fort by the water gate, cross the narrow +waterway, and plunge into the forest. He had observed the direction +taken, and thought they could easily surround and cut them off. He +did not think there were more than six in the party; probably they +were out hunting, unconscious of the proximity of any foe. + +Stark was on his feet in a second. This was just the chance for the +Rangers. Seizing their arms and hastily conferring together, they +laid their plans, and then divided themselves into three companies +of three, planning to fetch a circuit, keep under cover, and thus +surround the little company, who would believe themselves entirely +overmatched, and some of whom would surrender at discretion, if +they did not all do so. + +Stark, Fritz, and Charles remained together, taking a certain path +as agreed upon. They crept like Indians through the wood. Hardly +the breaking of a branch betrayed their movements. In Charles's +eyes the slumbering fire leaped into life. He always lived in the +hope of again meeting his foe face to face. He knew that he was +probably within the walls of Ticonderoga. Any day might bring them +face to face once more. + +Softly and cautiously they crept through the brushwood. Stark had +made a sign of extra caution, for some nameless instinct seemed to +have told him that they were near the quarry now. He paused a +moment, held up his hand as if in warning; and at that instant +there suddenly arose from the heart of the wood the unwonted sound +of a sweet, fresh girl's voice raised in a little French song! + +The men looked at one another in amaze. Were their ears deceiving +them? But no; the trilling notes came nearer. Involuntarily they +pressed forward a few paces, and then came to a dead stop. What was +it they saw? + +A maiden, a young girl of perhaps seventeen summers, her hat +suspended by a broad ribbon from her arm, and half filled with +flowers, was wandering through the woodland tracks as quietly as +though in her sheltered home across the water. As she moved she +sang snatches of song in a clear, bird-like voice; and when her +eyes suddenly fell upon the three strange figures in the path, +there was no fear in their violet depths, only a sort of startled +bewilderment, instantly followed by an eagerness that there was no +mistaking. + +"Oh," she exclaimed eagerly, in accents which denoted almost +unmixed pleasure, and speaking English with only a very slight +intonation denoting her mixed nationality, "I am sure that I have +my wish at last! You are Rogers' Rangers!" + +Stark and Fritz had doffed their hats in a moment. They were more +nonplussed a great deal than this fearless maiden, who looked like +the goddess of the glade, secure in her right of possession. Her +eyes were dancing with glee; her mouth had curved to a delicious +smile of triumph. + +"I have been longing to see the Rangers ever since I arrived at +Ticonderoga; but they declared they were terrible fire-eating men, +worse than the wild Indians, and that they would kill me if I +adventured myself near to them--kill me or carry me away captive. +But I said 'No!'" (and the girl threw back her head in a gesture of +pride and scorn); "I said that the Rangers were Englishmen--English +gentlemen, many of them--and that they did not war with women! I +was not afraid; I knew they would not lay a finger upon me. + +"I am not wrong, am I, sirs? You would not hurt a maiden who trusts +your chivalry and honour?" + +"I would slay the first man who dared so much as to lay a finger +upon you, lady," answered Stark impetuously, "even though he were +my own comrade or brother! We are Rogers' Rangers, as you have +rightly guessed; and we are here scouting round Fort Ticonderoga, +ready to intercept its inmates when we may catch them. But you are +right: we war not with women; we fight with men who can fight us +back. + +"But tell us, fair lady, how comes it that you are here alone in +the forest? It is scarce safe in these troubled times of warfare, +with Indians all around, and rude soldiers prowling the woods and +lurking in its fastnesses." + +"Ah, but my escort is close at hand. I did but stray away a little +in search of flowers. They said the forest was free from peril +today. The Indians have gone off yonder on some enterprise of their +own, and the English are lying within their lines far enough away. +I begged and prayed, and at last they gave way. My brother and the +men are after a fine young deer they sighted. I bid them leave me. +I was not afraid. I thought the worst that could happen would be +that I came face to face with a party of Rangers, and that was +exactly what I have longed to do ever since I arrived." + +The girl looked up smiling into the faces of the bronzed, stalwart +men standing before her; then she seated herself upon a fallen tree +and motioned them to be seated likewise. + +"I want to talk," she said; "let us sit down and be sociable. I +daresay they will be some time in killing their quarry. We will +enjoy ourselves till they come back. They shall not hurt you; I +will ensure that." + +Stark smiled a little at the girl's assurance. + +"More likely they may suffer at our hands, lady. There are more of +us scattered about the forest. But our aim is not to slay, but to +obtain prisoners who shall give us news; so you need not fear that +harm will befall your brother--least of all if he speaks the +English tongue as you do. If I might make bold to ask you of +yourself, how comes it that an English girl is in such a wild spot +as this, and amid the soldiers of France?" + +"I am not English," answered the maiden, with a smile; "I am French +upon my father's side, and my mother was a Scotchwoman. I have +lived in Scotland, where I learned your tongue; and I always spoke +it with my mother so long as she lived. It is as easy to me as my +father's French." + +"And how come you to this wild spot in the heart of these forests, +and with warfare all around?" + +"I will tell you that, too. My father has always been a man of +action, who has loved travel and adventure. Since the outbreak of +this war in the west he has longed to be in the midst of it. He is +something of a soldier, and something of a statesman, and he is the +friend of many great ones at Court, and has been entrusted before +now with missions requiring skill and tact. He is also the kinsman +of the Marquis of Montcalm, whose name no doubt you know by this +time." + +"He is the new military commander sent out by the King of France, +to take the lead in the war now commenced in Canada and along the +border between France and England," answered Stark promptly. + +"Yes; and my father and uncle came out with him, and my brother and +I also. My uncle is the good Abbe Messonnier; but you will not have +heard of him, though he is well known and well beloved in France. +My father has certain work to do here the nature of which I do not +fully know, nor could I divulge if I did. We arrived at Quebec a +short time ago, and thence we moved on to Montreal. But it was +needful for my father and uncle to visit some of these outposts, +and we begged, Colin and I, not to be left behind. We burned with +curiosity to see the strange sights of which we had heard--the +Indians in their war paint, the great forests and lakes, the forts +and their garrisons, and all the wonders of the west. + +"So they brought us in their company. My father takes me everywhere +with him that he can. Since my mother's death he seems unable to +lose sight of me. We have been hard upon a month at the fort now. +We are learning all we can of the condition of affairs, to report +to the Marquis when we return to Montreal or to Quebec. He himself +talks of coming to command here when the time comes for the attack +to be made upon your fort; but that will scarcely be yet, for there +is so much he has to set in order in Canada. Oh, the way things are +managed there--it is a disgrace!" + +"Is Canada weak then?" asked Stark, burning with curiosity for +information on the subject. + +The girl slowly shook her head. + +"Perhaps I ought not to talk with you, since you are the enemies of +my countrymen. And, in sooth, I know little enough to tell. I hear +one say this and one the other, and I cannot know where the truth +lies. But of one thing they are very certain and confident--that +they will drive out the English from all these western outposts, +and will keep them shut in between the mountains and the sea; and +that France alone shall rule this mighty continent of giant forests +and rivers, undisturbed by any foreign foe. Of that all men are +confident." + +The Rangers exchanged glances, and the girl saw it. + +"You do not believe me," she said quickly; "but, indeed, I have +heard so many strange things that I know not what to believe +myself. Strangest of all is that white men should call upon those +terrible savage Indians to war with them against their white +brethren. That, as my good uncle says, is a disgrace to humanity. +Ah! I would you could have heard him speak to the officers at +yonder fort since his arrival there. They brought in a few +prisoners a few days after we came. They were going to cook and eat +them--to treat them--oh, I cannot think of it! My uncle went to the +officers, and bid them interfere; but they only shrugged their +shoulders, and said they must not anger the Indians, or they would +desert, and become even more troublesome than they are already. He +got them out of their hands himself, and sent them safely to +Montreal; and oh, how he spoke to the French soldiers and officers +afterwards! He said that such wicked disregard of the bond betwixt +Christian and Christian must inevitably draw down the wrath of +Heaven upon those who practised it, and that no cause could prosper +where such things were permitted. + +"I have heard things since I have been here that have filled my +heart with sorrow and anger. I have been ashamed of my countrymen! +I have felt that our foes are nobler than ourselves, and that God +must surely arise and fight for them if these abominations are +suffered to continue." + +The Rangers were silent; they well knew what she meant. The French +were culpably weak where the Indians were concerned, permitting +them almost without remonstrance to burn their prisoners from the +English lines, and even after engagements leaving the English dead +and wounded to the Indians and the wolves, though the English +always buried the French dead with their own when they had been in +like circumstances, and had showed kindness to their wounded. + +"The Indians are the plague of the lives of men and officers +alike," continued the girl, breaking forth in animated fashion. +"They eat up a week's rations in three days, and come clamouring +for more. They make rules for the English which they will not +observe themselves. They are insolent and disgusting and +treacherous. Oh, I cannot think how our people bear it! I would +sooner lose all than win through using such tools. I hate to think +of victory obtained by such means. You Rangers are brave men; +though men dread you, yet they respect you, and would fain imitate +your prowess. The Indians are devils--I can find no other name for +them. They are fiends, and I verily think that evil will befall us +if we league ourselves with them. Thus my uncle tries to teach; but +they will not listen to his words." + +"Time will show, lady," answered Fritz; "and there are Indians who +are gentle and tamable, and are some of them even sincere believers +in our Christian faith. I have seen and lived among such in the +lands of the south. But here they have been corrupted by the vices +of those who should teach them better. It is a disgrace to England +and France alike that this should be so." + +At this moment the sound of shouting and yelling arose from the +forest, and some shots were fired in close succession. The girl +started to her feet, looking white and scared; but Fritz and Stark +stood close beside her, one on either hand, as if to assure her +that no harm should befall her. + +The next moment a fair-haired youth, with a strong likeness to the +girl, came dashing blindly through the forest, calling her name in +accents of frantic fear. + +"Corinne, Corinne, Corinne! Where are you? Hide yourself! Have a +care! The Rangers are upon us!" + +"I am here, Colin. I am safe!" she cried, in her flute-like +accents--"I am here all safe. The Rangers are taking care of me. +See!" + +He pulled up short, blinded and breathless. He had come tearing +back to his sister's aid, full of remorse at having been tempted to +leave her for a moment in the pleasure of the chase. He stood +panting, staring at the strange group, unable to get out a word. + +"Call the men in," said Stark, addressing Charles, who had remained +silent all the while; "tell them to hurt no one--to make no +captures. This lady's escort is to remain unmolested. Bring them +here, and we will deliver them their charge safe and sound." + +With alacrity Charles disappeared upon his errand. The old +tender-heartedness of the man always returned when he saw anything +young and helpless. There was no fierceness in his strange face +today, and Corinne, looking after him, said wonderingly: + +"Who is he? he looks like one who has seen a ghost!" + +In a few terse phrases Fritz told the outline of Charles's story, +and how he himself with his companion had found the hapless man and +his brother. + +"Oh, this war is a terrible thing!" cried Corinne, pressing her +hands together. "It makes men into devils, I think. Ah, why can we +not live at peace and concord with our brothers? Surely out here, +in these wild lands, French and English might join hands, and live +as brothers instead of foes." + +"I fear me," said Fritz, looking out before him with wide gaze, +"that that time is far enough away--that it will never come until +the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and +of His Christ, when He shall reign for ever and ever." + +She looked at him in quick surprise. She had not expected to hear +such words in the mouth of one of Rogers' Rangers. + +"I have heard my uncle speak so," she said slowly; "but the +soldiers think of nothing but fighting and conquest." + +"We used to think much of that day down in my southern home. We +were taught to look for the day of the Lord and the coming of +Christ. But men were even there growing weary and impatient. The +strife of parties was spoiling our home. That is why so many of us +journeyed forth to see the world. But I do not forget what my +forefathers taught and believed." + +There was a light of quick sympathy in the girl's eyes; but she had +no time to reply, for the Rangers were coming back, with the French +soldiers in their company. They had surprised the whole band, and +had practically made them prisoners when Charles came up with his +strange message, and they marched them along to see what it all +meant. + +Great was their astonishment when they saw the golden-haired girl +with her fearless bearing, and the handsome lad standing beside +her, still breathless and bewildered. + +"Release these men," said Stark briefly; "they have been told off +for the service of this lady. Let them resume their charge, and +return in safety to the fort, or continue their chase in the forest +at pleasure. We do not war with women. + +"If you wish to see some pretty hunting, Mistress Corinne, Rogers' +Rangers are at your service, and the haunts of bird and beast are +well known to us." + +The girl's eyes sparkled. She was as full of the love of adventure +as any boy could be. She looked at her brother, but he shook his +head in doubt. + +"I think our father would not wish it," he said. "I thank these +gentlemen most gratefully for their courtesy and chivalry, but I +think we must be returning to the fort. It may be that the shots +will have been heard, and that soldiers may be coming in search of +us already. + +"We shall not forget your kindness, sir. I trust the day will come +when we may be able to requite you in kind;" and he held out his +hand, first to Stark and then to Fritz. + +Corinne had looked a little mutinous at first; but when her brother +spoke of a possible sortie across the water from the fort, her face +changed. Perhaps she was not quite so confident of the chivalry of +the French soldiers as she had been of that of the Rangers. + +"Perhaps it is best so; yet I should have loved to scour the forest +with Rogers' Rangers. + +"Are you the great Rogers himself?" she asked, turning to Stark, +and then letting her glance wander to Fritz's fine face. + +"No, Mistress Corinne; Rogers himself is away farther afield," +answered Stark. "This is Fritz Neville, and I am John Stark, whom +he honours with the title of his lieutenant." + +"Fritz Neville--John Stark," she repeated, looking from one to the +other, a smile in her frank, sweet eyes. "I shall not forget those +names. I shall say them over every day to myself, and pray that in +times of warfare the saints will watch over and protect the brave +English Rangers, who had us as prisoners in their power, and let us +go away safe and sound." + +She held out her hand as she spoke, first to one and then to the +other of the men, both of whom took it reverently, pressed it, and +bowed low with a sort of rude homage. The other Rangers sent up a +little cheer for the brave young lady who spoke their tongue so +well; and the French soldiers, who looked a little ashamed of the +predicament in which they had placed themselves, smiled, and became +friendly and at ease, realizing that all was well. + +"We will escort you to your boat, lady," said Stark; "you will +suffer us that privilege." + +"Ah yes, if it will be safe. But they will not dare fire from the +fort when they see that our company is returning. I would I could +take you back with me, and introduce you to my father and uncle; +but perchance it would not be safe." + +"Perhaps we shall make their acquaintance some other way!" said +Stark, with a touch of grim humour; and Corinne, understanding him, +exclaimed: + +"Ah, do not let us think of that! let us only remember that we have +met as friends in the wild forest." + +"A pleasant memory truly," answered Stark gallantly, "and one so +new to a Ranger that he will never be like to forget it;" and as +they pursued their way towards the lake, he held the youth and the +girl spellbound and breathless by tales of the strange life of +adventure which they led, and by detailing some of their +hairbreadth escapes from the hands of Indians and Frenchmen as they +scoured the forest, lay in ambush, and skulked beneath the very +ramparts of the enemy's fortifications, hearing the talk of the +sentries overhead. + +"Nay, but you are brave men in sooth; you deserve success. The +fortunes of war must surely be yours at last," cried Corinne, with +covert enthusiasm. + +"Ah! here is the lake, and here is our boat. Nay, come not further. +I fear lest hurt should come to you. I thank you again with all my +heart. Perhaps the day will come when we shall see each other +again. I would fain believe that I shall meet again with Rogers' +bold, chivalrous Rangers." + +"It may be--it may be," answered Stark, with a smile. "Farewell, +sweet Mistress Corinne; may you come safely through all perils by +land and water. Your brave spirit will carry you well through +life's troubled sea, I think." + +She smiled, and stepped into the boat. Then suddenly turning and +waving her hand, she said: + +"I will tell you one thing which my uncle has said. Whether he will +be a true prophet or no I cannot tell. His words are these, and +they were spoken to M. de Montcalm: 'You are safe now, for England +is governed by an imbecile--the Duke of Newcastle--a minister +without parts, understanding, or courage. But there is another man +in England of a different calibre. If ever you hear that Pitt is at +the head of the administration, then look to your laurels; for, if +I be not greatly deceived, that man has brain and energy to turn +the whole tide of battle. Three years after he begins to rule +England's policy, and France will have begun to lose her empire in +the West!'" + + + +Chapter 4: Vengeance And Disaster. + + +The episode of Corinne, and the prophecy she had quoted to them, +formed one of the bright episodes in a year which brought little +success or relief to the army encamped upon the waters of Lake +George. There was no campaign that year. The two armies lay inside +their respective fortifications, each keeping on the defensive; and +the bold Rangers alone did active skirmishing service, as has been +related, appearing at all sorts of apparently impossible points, +swooping down upon an unwary hunting party or a sleeping sentinel, +bringing in spoil to the fort, burning transports bound for +Ticonderoga, and doing gallant irregular service which kept the +garrison and the Rangers in spirits, but did little or nothing to +effect any change in the condition of affairs. + +Anxiously was news waited for from England. What was the parent +country going to do for her Western children in their hour of need +and extremity? There were rumours afloat of a massing of Indian +tribes to be let loose upon the hapless settlers along the Indian +border; and although Sir William Johnson, that able agent of +England's with the natives, was hard at work seeking to oppose and +counteract French diplomacy amongst the savage tribes, there was +yet so much disunion and misunderstanding and jealousy amongst +English commanders and governors, that matters were constantly at a +deadlock; whilst France, with her centralized authority, moved on +towards her goal unimpeded and at ease (as it seemed to the +harassed English officials), although not without her internal +troubles also. + +November brought about the usual breaking up of the camps on both +sides. The French soldiers were drafted back to Canada in great +companies, sorely beset and harassed at times by the action of the +Rangers; whilst Winslow drew off the bulk of his men to winter +quarters in the larger towns of New England and the adjacent +colonies, leaving Major Eyre in charge of the fort, with sufficient +men to hold it during the dead winter season. + +Rogers' Rangers were independent of weather. They pursued their +hardy and adventurous calling as well through the ice-bound winter +months as during the genial season of summer. But from time to time +his followers liked to visit their homes and friends, and Winslow +was glad enough to have their company upon his march back upon +civilization; for the Rangers were masters of the art of woodcraft, +and were the most able allies when difficulties arose through the +rising of rivers or the intricacies of the forest paths. + +Stark and his little band, now reduced from a dozen to nine, +accompanied the army back to winter quarters; for John desired to +see his friends, and also to raise recruits for next season's +campaign, now that he had learned experience, and had inspiring +tales to tell of adventure, victory, and quick retributive +vengeance upon a treacherous and rapacious enemy. + +Fritz and Charles both accompanied him, though the latter with some +reluctance. He would rather have remained in the neighbourhood of +the French lines, behind which lay the foe he was bent on meeting +once more face to face; but Stark had represented to him that his +sister would wish to see him once more, and Rogers had appointed +January as the time when he and his Rangers would be back, when the +ice would be firm and hard, and they could renew their wild winter +warfare, whilst during the earlier months of the winter there was +no certainty of carrying on any successful operations. Heavy rain +and soft snow were too much even for the hardy Rangers to grapple +with. They were practically useless now till the frost came and +fastened its firm grip upon the sleeping world. + +There was joy in many a city throughout the English colony when the +troops marched in; although there was mourning in many homes for +the loss of some son or brother killed by the foe, or by the many +forms of sickness which prevailed at the fort. + +There were troubles, too, with the citizens about the billeting of +the English contingent, and many were the heart burnings which +arose between stubborn townsmen and military rulers before these +matters could be adjusted. But all this made little matter in +houses like that of Benjamin Ashley, who was a true patriot at +heart, and threw open his doors not only to his wife's brother, but +to as many war-weary soldiers as he could accommodate, and was +never tired of hearing all that they could tell as to their past +experiences, or of discussing with them the probable result of the +coming struggle. + +Fritz would sit beside Susanna's spinning wheel in the evening, +telling her stories to which she listened in open-eyed amaze, and +giving eager heed to the discussion of politics amongst the other +men. Charles would sit apart, absent and dreamy--a strange figure +amongst the rest--very gentle and tender in his manner towards +Hannah and Susanna, but taking little or no interest in the daily +round of life, and only counting the days till he could return to +the forest and his mission of vengeance. + +There was great discontent in the hearts of the colonists. They +declared that nothing was done for them, and yet they were never +prepared to bestir themselves actively. When Fritz asked eagerly +about the English statesman Pitt, he was told that he and the Duke +of Newcastle were now acting together in the ministry, and that +some hoped for better things in consequence. But it was evident to +all by this time that the first move made by the new minister would +be directed against Louisbourg in Acadia, the only stronghold yet +remaining to the French in Cape Breton Island. After driving the +enemy from thence, he might, and probably would, turn his attention +to the western frontier; but meantime the colonists here would have +mainly to hold back the enemy by their own united efforts, and +unity of action was just the thing which appeared most difficult to +them. + +It was not encouraging; but the hardy Rangers were not to be +disheartened, and true to their promise, they only stayed within +winter quarters till after the festive Christmas season; and then +gathering together a compact little body of volunteers, Stark set +forward once again for the wild forest, where he was to meet Rogers +and his band. + +Fritz was ready to go, despite his parting with pretty Susanna, +whose bright eyes sparkled with tears as she said goodbye. It was +not a time for making new ties; yet the little maiden knew very +well by this time that her life and his were bound together by a +strong and tender bond, and that into her own something had entered +which could never be taken away. + +They met in the heart of the forest, a few miles from Fort William +Henry--Rogers and his large company, and Stark with his smaller +contingent. But Stark was now the leader of a band of five-and-twenty +bold spirits; for so inspiring had been his stories of the Ranger's +life that volunteers had come crowding in, and he had had some ado +to get rid of those who were manifestly unfit for the life. Even +Ebenezer Jenkyns, in his wild desire to win the approval of Susanna, +had begged to be permitted to join the Ranger band, and Stark had +had some difficulty in ridding himself of the youthful Quaker, +suddenly possessed of martial ambitions and ardour. + +Right glad were the garrison at the fort to see the Rangers come +marching in. They had been quite quiet, save for a few minor +nocturnal raids from Indians, which had not done much harm. Their +chief foe was smallpox, which kept breaking out amongst the men, as +well as other forms of sickness. They did not understand +sanitation, and the fort was dirty and unhealthy. Rogers would not +have his men lodged within it; but the Rangers built themselves +huts just outside, and when not otherwise occupied, spent their +time in the construction of boats and sloops for use on the lake, +in which work Major Eyre had kept his men employed during the +previous months. + +But it was not for peaceful toil like this that the Rangers had +gathered together; in a little while, accordingly, a scouting party +was formed, with Crown Point as its goal. + +Snowshoes and skates were looked to, and the hardy Rangers started +off beneath the grey, leaden winter sky, gliding through the grim, +ghost-like forest, silent as death, past ice-bound waterfalls, and +forests of fir and larch bent and bowed by the load of snow, ever +onwards and northwards, always on the alert, ready for instant +action, fearless and undismayed in a white wilderness and in those +trackless solitudes which would strike dismay into many a bold +heart. + +They skirted round Ticonderoga, not showing themselves to their +foe, and encamped upon the edge of Lake Champlain, lighting fires, +and making themselves as comfortable as circumstances permitted. +They had travelled hard for many days, and were glad of a little +rest. + +But this rest was not of long duration. Early the next morning, +before it was well light, Charles, the sleepless watcher, awoke the +camp by his low whistle of warning. + +"I hear the sound of a sledge on the ice!" he said. + +In a moment every Ranger was on the alert; every man had seized his +weapons, the fires were stamped out, and preparations were made for +an instant move. + +A few minutes more and they heard the sound also--the sharp ring of +a sledge upon the ice, and the beat of horse hooves as it drew +nearer. + +Now horses were prizes greatly in demand at the English fort, and +Rogers was eager to obtain possession of this prize. He called out +to Stark to make a dash along the lake side with a dozen of his +men, and try to head it off towards the spot where he and the rest +of the Rangers would wait. And hardly had the order left his lips +before Stark was off upon his mission. + +On and on dashed the sledge with its unsuspecting occupants. They +had come forth from Ticonderoga, and were heading for Crown Point. +Stark and his men flitted like shadows along the snowy banks. The +horses paused. There was something amiss with the harness. Stark +looked at his men, gave a fine English cheer, and rushed forth upon +the ice, with a dozen stout followers at his heels. + +In a moment the occupants of the sledge saw their peril. A yell +arose from the throats of all the three. They turned like +lightning, and the horses sprang forward at a gallop; but in a +moment they were surrounded by Stark and his men, who called upon +them to surrender, and sprang at the horses to stay their headlong +flight. + +But now a new terror was added to the scene. Round the bend of the +lake swept other sledges--quite an army of them; and whilst the +French sent up shouts for help, Stark looked round to see what +Rogers and his company were doing. + +"Here they come! here they come! Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!" +yelled his men, as they saw the compact band of veteran woodsmen +rushing forth to their aid. + +That cry was well known to the French. For a moment there was a +pause, the sledges pulling up as though in doubt whether to rush +forward and seek to fight their way through, or to turn and run +back to Ticonderoga. But the energy with which the Rangers came on +settled that point. Every sledge wheeled round and fled, whilst +Rogers' men dashed helter skelter upon them, flinging themselves +upon the horses, firing at the occupants, and in spite of all +resistance securing three sledges, six horses, and seven French +prisoners. + +The rest of the sledges escaped, and Rogers and Stark met each +other with grave faces. + +"They will give notice at Ticonderoga that we are here," said the +former. "They will come out against us and cut off our retreat. We +must examine the prisoners ourselves and learn all we can from +them, and then make our way to the fort as fast as possible through +the forest. The enemy may be upon us before nightfall." + +Fritz, who spoke French as easily as English, had already been +questioning the prisoners separately. + +"They all tell the same tale," he said gravely: "they have five +hundred regular soldiers at the fort, and Indians coming in daily. +They were organizing parties to intercept communication between +Fort Edward and Fort William Henry. They are pledged to the +extermination of the Rangers wherever they meet them. Directly they +know that we are lurking in their vicinity, they will come out in +great numbers against us." + +Rogers' face was set and stern. + +"We will give them a warm welcome when they do!" he said. "Meantime +we will lose no time. Light up the fires and dry the ammunition +which has become wet. The horses must be sacrificed and the sledges +burned. As for the men, we must keep them till the last minute. +When we go, they can go back to their fort. They will have nothing +to tell there which is not known already. The Rangers slay men in +fair fight, but they do not butcher prisoners." + +The thing was done. Rogers' commands were carried out, and in +cautious single file the band of Rangers crept through the forest +by devious tracks known to themselves, keeping eyes and ears ever +on the alert. + +"Have a care!" came the warning cry of Charles at last; "I hear the +cocking of guns." + +The words had hardly passed his lips before a volley blazed out +from the bushes, and many a bold Ranger fell as he stood, shot +through the heart. + +"Steady, men--and fire!" cried Rogers, speaking as coolly as though +a hail storm and not one of hot lead was raining about them. Blood +was running down his cheek from a graze on the temple; and Fritz +felt for the first time the stinging sensation in his arm which he +had heard described so many times before. + +In a moment they had spread themselves out in the best possible +manner, retreating upon the hill they had just descended, and +covering themselves with the trees, from behind which they fired +with unerring accuracy. Stark and some of his men were at the top +of the hill, having been the rear guard of the company. They poured +a steady, deadly fire into the bushes which concealed the foe; +whilst their comrades, running from tree to tree, fell back upon +them, and forming on the hilltop, repulsed again and again, with +stubborn gallantry, the assault of a foe which they knew must +outnumber them by four or five to one. + +But the face of Rogers was still set and stern. + +"They will try to outflank us next, and get round to the rear," he +said between his teeth to Stark. "Stark, you must pick some of our +best men, and stop that movement if it occurs. If they get us +between two fires, we are all dead men!" + +"Fritz, you will be my lieutenant," said Stark, as he looked about +him and chose his company. Fritz was at his side in a moment. "We +are in as evil a chance as ever men were yet," he added, "but I +think we shall live to tell the tale by the warm fireside at home. +I have been in tight fixes before this, and have won through +somehow. I trust our gallant Rogers will not fall. That would carry +confusion to our ranks." + +Shoulder to shoulder stood Fritz and Stark, warily watching the +movements of the foe. They saw them creeping round the base of the +hill--saw it by the movement of the brushwood rather than by +anything else; for their foes were used to bush craft, too. + +"If anything should go amiss with me today, friend John," said +Fritz, as he loaded his piece, looking sternly down into the hollow +beneath, "give my love to Susanna, and tell her that her name will +be on my lips and my heart in the hour of death." + +"Talk not of death, man, but of victory!" cried Stark, whose +indomitable cheerfulness never forsook him. "Yet I will remember +and give the message to my pretty cousin--for I know that women +live on words like these--if the blow has to fall. But never think +of that!" + +"I do not," answered Fritz; "I hope to come forth safe and sound. +But were it otherwise--" + +"Fire!" cried Stark, breaking suddenly into the commander; and a +sharp, deadly volley blazed forth from the guns of his contingent. + +It was plain that the enemy had not expected this flank movement to +be observed. Cries of dismay and pain rang through the forest. They +broke cover and ran back towards the main body, followed by another +well-directed volley from the brave Stark and his men. + +Round the spot where Rogers and the main body of the Rangers stood +the fight waxed fierce and hot. But Stark held to his post on the +spur of the hill, where he saw how the foe was trying to get round +to their rear; and again and again his well-aimed volleys sent them +flying back decimated to their companions. + +But how was it going with the others? The firing was incessant, and +shouts and cries told of death and disaster on both sides. Stark +bid Fritz make a dash for the main body and bring back word. The +brief winter's day was beginning to draw to a close. There was +something terrible in the brightness of the fire that was streaming +from the thickets as the daylight failed. It seemed as though the +very forest was in flames; and the crack of musketry was almost +unceasing. + +"They are calling upon us to surrender," said Fritz, hastening back +with his tale. "The French are calling upon Rogers by name, begging +him to trust to their honour and clemency, and promising the best +of treatment if he and his brave men will surrender. They are +calling out that it is a pity so many bold men should perish like +brute beasts. But Rogers stands like a rock, and replies by volley +after volley. He has been hit through the wrist, and his head is +bound about by a cloth; but he looks like a lion at bay, and will +not yield one inch." + +"Let us back to his side, and make one great charge against the +foe!" shouted Stark, who saw that no further flank movement was to +be anticipated now. His men answered by a cheer. They were ready +for any display of gallantry and courage, and swore by Stark, who +was beloved of all for his happy temper and cheerful, dauntless +bravery. + +Up the shoulder of the hill and across the ridge they dashed. They +shouted their cry of "Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!" It was +taken up by those upon the top, who gathered together and made a +blind rush down towards their foe. The French, taken by surprise at +this impetuosity, and afraid of the darkness of the forest, made +off in haste for Ticonderoga, having worked sad havoc amongst the +bold Rangers, who were left alone with their wounded and dead, the +shades of night gathering fast round them, and the camp of the foe +within a few miles. + +It was a situation of grave peril; but Rogers was not to be +daunted. He buried his dead; he gathered together the wounded, and +afraid to allow even a night for rest, he marched his party all +through the night, and by morning they were upon the shores of Lake +George. + +"I will fetch a sledge for the wounded," quoth Stark, full of +energy and enterprise as usual. "It will puzzle the enemy to find +the route we have taken. Lie you here close and keep watch and +ward, and I will fetch succour from the fort before the French have +time to seek us out." + +This was good counsel, and Rogers followed it. Stark, after a quick +journey across the ice, brought sledges and soldiers from the fort, +and in a few more days the Rangers were brought back in triumph to +their huts without Fort William Henry, where they were content to +lie idle for a short while, recovering from their wounds and +fatigues. Hardly a man had escaped uninjured; and some were very +dangerously wounded, and died from the effects of the injuries +received. Fritz himself had a slight attack of fever resulting from +the wound which he had scarcely noticed in the heat of battle. +Stark was almost the only member of the company who had come forth +quite unscathed, and he was the life of the party during the next +spell of inaction, telling stories, setting the men to useful +tasks, making drawings of the French forts for the guidance of the +English, and amusing the whole place by his sudden escapades in +different directions. + +The Rangers were further cheered by a letter of thanks from General +Abercromby, lately sent out from England, recognizing their gallant +service, and promising that it should be made known to the King. + +But the adventures of the winter were not over, although the days +were lengthening out, and the blustering rains and winds of March +had come. The snow was greatly lessened; but a spell of frost still +held the lake bound, and the rigours of the season were little +abated. + +It was St. Patrick's Day; and as some of the soldiers in Fort +William Henry were Irish, they had celebrated the anniversary by a +revel which had left a large proportion more or less drunk and +incapable. Their English comrades had followed their lead with +alacrity, and the Fort was resounding with laughter and song. + +But the Rangers in the huts outside were on the alert and as Stark +remarked with a smile, they must keep watch and ward that night, +for nobody else seemed to have any disposition to do so. + +Major Eyre, in pity for the forlorn condition of his men, had not +restrained them from amusing themselves in their own fashion upon +this anniversary. It was well, however, that there were some +sleepless watchers on the alert that night; for as the grey dawn +began to break, a sound was heard over the ice as though of an +approaching multitude. The Rangers gave the alarm, and manned the +guns. There was nothing to be seen through the murky mists of dawn; +but the guns belched forth fire and round shot towards the lake, +and the sounds suddenly ceased. + +An hour later Charles came rushing in; there was blood upon his +face, and his eyes were wild, but in his excitement he seemed to +know nothing of any hurt. + +"They are coming! they are coming! I have seen them! There are +hundreds upon hundreds of them, well armed, well equipped with +everything that men can want. They are bound for the fort. They are +going to take it, They have sworn it! And he is in their ranks. I +saw him with these eyes. He is there. He is one of them. We shall +meet again, and this time he shall not escape me!" + +In a moment all was excitement and bustle. The men, sobered by the +near presence of danger, were at their posts in a moment. All knew +that the fort was not strong, and that a resolute assault by a +large force would he difficult to repel; but at least they had not +been taken by surprise, and that was something. + +A yell from without told that something was going on there. The +Rangers were driving off a party of men who had crept up under +cover of the mist wreaths, hoping to fire the huts outside, and so +burn the fort. They were sent helter skelter over the ice to rejoin +their comrades; and after a pause of some hours an officer was seen +advancing from the French lines bearing a flag. + +He was blindfolded, that he might not see the weak parts of the +fort, and was brought to Major Byre and the other officers. His +message was to advise them to surrender the fort and obtain for +themselves favourable terms, threatening a massacre if this was +refused. + +"I shall defend myself to the last!" said Major Byre calmly. +"Englishmen do not give up their forts at the bidding of the foe. +We can at least die like men, if we cannot defend ourselves, and +that has yet to be proved." + +The news of this demand and the reply flew like wildfire through +the ranks, and inspired the men with courage and ardour. The +Rangers were brought within the fort, and all was made ready for +the assault. + +A storm of shot hailed upon the fort. Through the gathering +darkness of the night they could only distinguish the foe by the +red glare from their guns. The English fort was dark and silent. It +reserved its fire till the enemy came closer. The crisis was coming +nearer and nearer. There was a tense feeling in the air, as though +an electric cloud hovered over all. + +Charles went about with a strange look upon his face. + +"He is there--he is coming. We shall meet!" he kept repeating; and +all through that night there was no sleep for him--he wandered +about like a restless spirit. No service was demanded of him. He +was counted as one whose mind wanders. Yet in the hour of battle +none could fight with more obstinate bravery than Charles Angell. + +"Fire! fire! fire!" + +It was Charles's voice that raised the cry in the dead of the +night. No attack had been made upon the fort; but under cover of +darkness the enemy had crept nearer and nearer to the outlying +buildings, and tongues of flame were shooting up. + +Instantly the guns were turned in that direction, and a fusillade +awoke the silence of the sleeping lake, whilst cries of agony told +how the bullets and shots had gone home. + +"Come, Rangers," shouted Rogers, "follow me out and fall upon them! +Drive them back! Save the fort from fire!" + +Rogers never called upon his men in vain. No service was too full +of peril for them. Ignorant as they were of the number or power of +their assailants, they dashed in a compact body out of the side +gate towards the place where the glare of the fire illumined the +darkness of the night. + +Dark forms were hurrying hither and thither; but the moment the +Rangers appeared with their battle cry, there was an instant rout +and flight. + +"After them!" shouted Rogers; and the men dashed over the rough +ground, pursuers and pursued, shouting, yelling, firing--and they +saw that some bolder spirits amongst the Frenchmen had even set +fire to the sloop on the stocks which Rogers had been teaching the +soldiers how to construct. + +But in the forefront of the pursuit might be seen one wild, strange +figure with flying hair and fiery eyes. He turned neither to the +right hand nor to the left, but ran on and on in a straight line, +keeping one flying figure ever in view. + +The flying figure seemed to know that some deadly pursuit was +meant; for he, too, never turned nor swerved, but dashed on and on. +He gained the frozen lake; but the treacherous, slippery ice seemed +to yield beneath his feet. He had struck the lake at the point +where it was broken up to obtain water for the fort. + +A yell of horror escaped him. He flung up his arms and disappeared. + +But his pursuer dashed on and on, a wild laugh escaping him as he +saw what had happened. The next minute he was bending down over the +yawning hole, and had put his long, strong arm through it into the +icy water beneath. + +He touched nothing. The hapless man had sunk to rise no more. Once +sucked beneath the deep waters of the frozen lake, exhausted as he +was, there was no hope for him. Charles cut and hacked at the ice +blocks, regardless of his own personal safety; and after long +labour he succeeded in moving some of them, and in dragging out the +lifeless corpse, already frozen stiff, of the man he had sworn to +slay. + +The French were flying over the frozen ice, the Rangers in pursuit. +They came upon the strange spectacle, and stopped short in amaze. A +dead man lay upon the ice of the lake where it was broken and +dangerous, his dead face turned up to the moonlight, his hands +clinched and stiff and frozen. Beside the corpse sat Charles, his +glassy eyes fixed upon the dead face, himself almost as stiff and +stark. + +They came up and spoke to him; but he only pointed to the corpse. + +"That is he--that is he!" he cried hoarsely. "I saw him, and he saw +me. We fought, and he fled. I have been running after him over ice +and snow for years and years. He is dead now--dead, dead, dead! The +Lord has delivered him into my hand. My work is done!" + +He stood up suddenly, threw up his arms, and then fell heavily +forward face downwards upon the ice. + +When they lifted him up and carried him within the fort, it was to +find that Charles Angell the Ranger was dead. + + + +Book 3: Disaster. + +Chapter 1: A Tale Of Woe. + + +The intrepidity of the officer in command, and the alertness and +courage of the Rangers, had saved Fort William Henry from one +threatened disaster. + +When the French had fairly retreated, after having been forced to +content themselves with the burning of the boats and the unfinished +sloop and certain of the surrounding huts and buildings, the +English found out from their prisoners how great their peril had +been. For the French force sent against them had been a strong one, +well equipped, and hopeful of surprising the place and carrying it +by a coup de main. + +Failing in this, they had made a show of hostility, but had not +really attempted anything very serious. The season was against +anything like a settled siege, and they had retreated quickly to +their own quarters. + +But this attack was only to be the prelude to one on a very +different scale already being organized at headquarters. The +English heard disquieting rumours from all quarters, and turned +eager eyes towards England and their own colonies from whence help +should come to them, for their numbers were terribly thinned by +disease, and death in many forms had taken off pretty well a third +of their number. + +Rogers himself had been attacked by smallpox, and upon his recovery +he and the large body of the Rangers betook themselves to the woods +and elsewhere, preferring the free life of the forest, with its +manifold adventures and perils, to the monotonous life in an +unhealthy fort. + +But Fritz remained behind. When Rogers left he was not fit to +accompany him, having been suffering from fever, though he had +escaped the scourge of smallpox. He had felt the death of Charles a +good deal. He had become attached to the strange, half-crazed man +who had been his special comrade for so long. It seemed like +something wanting in his life when his care was no longer required by +any one person. Indeed all the Rangers missed their white-headed, +wild-eyed, sharp-eared recruit; and as the saying is, many a better +man could better have been spared. + +Stark went with Rogers, too much the true Ranger now to be left +behind. Fritz intended to follow them as soon as he was well +enough. Meantime he had formed a warm friendship with two young +officers lately come to the fort with the new commander, Colonel +Monro--one of them being Captain Pringle, and the other a young +lieutenant of the name of Roche. + +Colonel Monro was a Scotchman, a brave man and a fine soldier. +Those under his command spoke of him in terms of warm and loving +admiration. Fritz heard of some of his achievements from his new +friends, and in his turn told them of his own adventures and of the +life he had led during the past two years. + +"We have heard of the Rangers many a time and oft," cried Roche. +"We had thought of offering ourselves to Rogers as volunteers; but +men are so sorely wanted for the regular army and the militia that +our duty seemed to point that way. But I should like well to follow +the fortunes of the hardy Rogers." + +It was true indeed that men were sorely wanted at Fort William +Henry. Colonel Monro looked grave and anxious as he examined its +defences. It was an irregular bastioned square, built of gravel and +earth, crowned by a rampart of heavy logs, and guarded by ditches +on three sides, and by the lake on the north. But it was not strong +enough to stand a very heavy assault, although it was provided with +seventeen cannons, besides some mortars and swivels. + +The garrison numbered at this time something over two thousand; but +there were many sick amongst these, and sickness was inclined to +spread, to the grave anxiety of the commander. + +Fourteen miles away to the south lay Fort Edward, and General Webb +was there with some fifteen hundred men. He had sent on as many men +as he felt able to spare some short time before, in response to an +appeal from Colonel Monro. Disquieting rumours of an advance from +Ticonderoga were every day coming to their ears. Summer was at its +height, and if a blow were to be struck, it would certainly be +soon. + +A scouting party was sent out under the command of a certain +Colonel Parker, in order to learn the strength of the enemy and +what they were about. Three days passed in anxious suspense, and as +nothing was heard of the scouting party, Fritz begged leave to go +forth with a handful of men to look for them, promising not to +expose himself or them to danger. As he knew the forest so well, +and was an experienced Ranger, leave was quickly obtained, and +Pringle and Roche were permitted to be of the company. + +They started with the first dawn of the summer's morning; but they +had not gone far before they came upon traces of their companions. +Fritz's quick eyes saw tracks in the forest which bespoke the near +neighbourhood of Indians, and this made them all proceed with great +caution. The tracks, however, were some days old, he thought, and +led away to the westward. At one spot he pointed out to his +companions certain indications which convinced him that a large +number of Indians had lately been lying there. + +"Pray Heaven it has not been an ambush sent to outwit and overpower +our men!" he said. "What would those raw lads from New Jersey do if +suddenly confronted by a crew of yelling Indians? I trust I am no +coward myself, but the sound of that awful war whoop thrills me +still with a kind of horror; it has been the forerunner of many a +tragedy to the white man out in wildernesses such as this." + +"I have heard it once," said Pringle, with an expressive gesture, +"and I could well wish never to hear it again, did not duty to King +and country drive me willingly forth to fight against these dusky +savages, who make of these fair lands a veritable hell upon earth. + +"Hark! what is that?" + +It was like the sound of a faint cry not so very far away. They +listened, and it was presently repeated. Fritz started forward at a +run. + +"That is no Indian voice," he exclaimed; "it is one of our men +calling for aid. He has heard our voices." + +Followed by the rest of the party, Fritz ran forward, and soon came +out into a more open glade, commanded by the ridge where he had +observed the signs of Indian occupation. As he did so he uttered a +startled exclamation, which was repeated in all kinds of keys by +those who came after. For in this glade lay the bodies of full +fifty of their soldiers, for the most part stripped and scalped; +and the place was so trodden and bloodstained as to show plainly +that it had been the scene of a bloody conflict. + +Crawling forth from a little sheltered gorge was a wan, dishevelled +figure, bloodstained and ghastly. And Fritz, springing forward, +caught the lad in his strong arms, whilst he fell to feeble sobbing +in the plenitude of his thankfulness and relief. + +When he was fed and heartened up he had a terrible tale to tell. + +It had been as Fritz thought. A party of Indians had been crouching +in the forest, and had fallen upon the company unawares. Colonel +Parker had not been wise. He had divided his men into two +companies. One had gone by boats, and one had skirted through the +forest. What had happened to the boats the lad could not tell. He +had been one of the very few survivors of the land party, and he +owed his escape to his having fallen wounded and breathless into +the little cleft in the rocks hidden by the thick undergrowth, so +that the Indians did not find him when they made their search after +scalps and accoutrements. + +Crouching amongst the bushes, half fainting from terror, the lad +had seen it all. + +"They scalped them one by one, yelling and shouting and dancing. +They cared not whether they were dead or not. Oh, it was horrible, +horrible! They lighted a fire to burn some of the prisoners, and +danced around it yelling and jeering as their victims died. Oh, I +can never forget the sight! Every moment I thought they would find +me. I thought of all the things I had heard that savages did to +their prisoners. If I had had my sword, I would have run it through +my heart. But I had nothing, and presently I suppose I fainted, for +I can remember no more; and when I woke they had all gone, and only +the bodies lay about beside me. They had taken off their own dead; +but I durst not come out, lest they should come back and find me, +and I did not know where I was. + +"There was water in the brook, or I should have died; and I used to +crawl out and drink, and go and hide myself again. And last of all +I heard English voices, and called out; and that is all I can tell +you." + +They made a litter and carried the lad back to the fort, where he +lay tossing in fever for many a long day to come. It was evil news +that they had for their comrades; and it was not more cheering when +stragglers from the scouting party came back by twos and threes, +all with the same tale. The Indians were overrunning all the +forests and lakes. They had mustered around the French camp by +hundreds and thousands, and were scouring the woods everywhere, +under no sort of discipline, excited, rebellious, rapacious, yet +too useful as allies not to be humoured by those who had summoned +them to their aid. + +All had horrid tales to tell of cannibal feasts, and of the savage +treatment of prisoners. Some declared they had seen French officers +and ecclesiastics striving to interfere, but that the Indians paid +no manner of heed to them. + +"There was a young priest who saw them eating human flesh at their +fire, and he came up and rebuked them. I was sitting by. I had a +cord round my neck. Sweat was pouring from me, for I knew I should +be the next victim. They looked at the priest, and one young Indian +cried out in French, 'You have French taste, I have Indian; this is +good meat for me. Taste it yourself, and see if you cannot learn to +like it too!' Whereat all the rest laughed aloud. But the priest +rebuked them again, and offered money if they would give me up; and +presently they did, though rather against their will. They were +sending some prisoners to Montreal, and I was to have gone there, +too; but in the night I escaped, and as I knew something of the +forest, I have got back safe and sound." + +Tales like these came pouring in as the survivors struggled back to +the fort. All were agreed that the Indians were very numerous and +very fierce, and it was said by all that the muster of the French +seemed to be very strong. + +Anxiety and fear reigned throughout the fort. Fritz almost lived +upon the lake in his boat, watching for the first signs of the +enemy's approach. That a great part of it would come by water he +did not doubt. And sometimes he would leave his boat in a creek, +and climb some adjacent height, from whence he could scan the +surface of the lake, and see what was stirring there. + +Roche was his companion on those excursions; and the two had +climbed together to a commanding height, when upon the dawn of a +glorious midsummer morning they saw the long-expected flotilla +covering the lake and making headway up it. + +What a sight it was! The hearts of the onlookers seemed to stand +still within them as they looked. And yet it was a magnificent +spectacle. Myriads and myriads of Indian canoes like flocks of +waterfowl seemed swarming everywhere, whilst from two to three +hundred bateaux conveyed the French and Canadian soldiers. Then +there were great platforms bearing the heavy guns, and rowed by +huge sweeps, as well as being assisted by the bateaux; whilst the +blaze of colour formed by the uniforms of the various battalions +formed in itself a picture which had seldom been seen in these +savage solitudes. + +"We shall have our work cut out to face such odds!" cried Fritz, as +he turned to dash down the hill and regain his canoe. But Roche +laid a hand upon his arm, and pointed significantly in another +direction. + +Fritz looked, and a smothered exclamation, almost like a groan, +broke from him. + +Far away through the mazes of the forest, skirting round towards +the doomed fort by a road parallel with the lake, was a large body +of troops--how large the spectators could not guess, but they saw +enough to tell them that it was a very considerable detachment. +Such an army as the one now marching upon Fort William Henry had +not been seen there before. To those who knew the weakness of the +fort and of its garrison it seemed already as though the day were +lost. + +Moreover these men knew that the great Marquis de Montcalm himself +was coming this time to take personal command, and his name +inspired respect and a certain fear. He was known to be a general +of considerable distinction; it was felt that there would be no +blundering when he was at the head of the expedition. + +To fly back to the fort with these ominous tidings was but the work +of a few short hours. In a moment all was stir and bustle. The +soldiers were not to be disheartened. They were ready and almost +eager for the battle, having become weary of inaction and suspense. +But the face of Colonel Monro was grave and stern, and he called +Fritz aside presently and conferred with him apart. + +"I must send a messenger to Fort Edward to General Webb, to report +to him our sorry plight. He has said that he can spare no more men; +but this extremity of ours should be told him. Think you that you +can take a letter safely to him? You Rangers are the best of +messengers; and you have seen this great armament, and can speak +with authority concerning it. Tell him how sore our need is. It may +be that he can hurry up the reinforcements, or that they may be +already on their way. Even a few hundreds would be better than +none. At least he should know our need." + +Fritz was ready in a moment to take the message, but he had small +hope of any result, and he saw that the brave Colonel had little +either. General Webb was a man upon whose courage and generalship +several aspersions had already been cast. If ever he was to regain +confidence and show these aspersions to be untrue, this was the +time to show himself in his true colours. But it was with no +confidence that Fritz set forth upon his errand. + +Not long ago General Webb had visited the fort, and had given +certain orders and had spoken brave words about coming to command +in person should need arise; but he had returned to Fort Edward the +following day, and had then sent the reinforcements which were all +he was able to spare. It remained to be seen whether he would +fulfil his promise when he knew that the attack of the enemy might +be expected every hour. + +Fritz rode in hot haste to the fort and asked for the General. He +brought news of urgency, he told them, and was instantly shown to +the General's quarters. He stood in silence whilst the letter which +Fritz brought was opened and read; then he abruptly asked the tall +young Ranger what it was he had seen. + +Fritz told his tale in simple, graphic words, the General marching +up and down the room meantime, evidently in some perturbation of +spirit; but all he said at the close was: + +"Go back and tell Colonel Monro that I have no troops here which I +can safely withdraw, but that I have sent, and will send, expresses +to the provinces for help." + +Fritz was too much the soldier to make reply. He bowed and retired, +well knowing that no express sent to New England could be of the +smallest service now. It was with a bitter sense of failure that he +took the fresh horse provided for him and made all speed back to +the camp. + +The road was still clear, but how long it would remain so there was +no knowing. Swarms of Indians were drawing around them. If succour +did not come quickly, it would arrive too late. + +Monro received the message in silence, and continued to strengthen +his own defences as best he might. The next day brought the enemy +full in view, and the numbers of the hostile host astonished though +they did not dismay the brave little garrison. + +Once more Monro sent forth Fritz with a letter to the General. + +"The French are upon us," he wrote, "both by land and water. They +are well supplied with artillery, which will make sad havoc of our +defences, for these, you have seen for yourself, are none of the +strongest. Nevertheless the garrison are all in good spirits, and +eager to do their duty. I make no doubt that you will send us a +reinforcement, for we are very certain that a part of the enemy +will soon get possession of the road, and in that case our +condition would become very serious." + +Again Fritz was entrusted with this letter; again he made the rapid +night journey over the familiar road. + +This time he was not admitted to the General's presence, and after +he had remained at Fort Edward about an hour and had been +refreshed, a message came to say that General Webb had received the +letter and considered it, but could make no other reply than he had +done the previous day. + +"Then God help us," said the Scotch veteran when this message was +brought him, "for vain is the help of man!" + +And although he went about the fort with as calm and cheerful a +mien as before, he was certain in his own heart that Fort William +Henry was now doomed. + +"They are surrounding us on all sides," cried Roche, as soon as +Fritz appeared upon the ramparts with his disheartening message, +which, however, he kept for the moment to himself. "See, they are +working their way through the forest to the rear, just beyond our +range. Soon we shall be hemmed in, and they will bring up their +guns. We have done what we can for these poor walls; but they will +not long stand the cannonade of all those guns we see lying yonder +on the platoons upon the lake." + +"We must hope that the militia from the provinces will come up +before their preparations are complete," said Fritz. "They should +be on their way by now. But delay and procrastination have ever +marked our methods through this war. Nevertheless the men are in +good spirits; they are eager for the fight to begin. I marvel at +their courage, seeing how great are the odds. But even the sick +seemed fired by martial ardour!" + +It was so. The long inaction of the winter and spring had been +wearisome and disheartening. It was impossible for the soldiers to +doubt that they would receive help from without now that it was +known that the enemy was actually upon them. Moreover, they all +knew, and some remembered, how the assault of a few months back had +been repulsed; and not realizing the different scale upon which +this one was to be conducted, were full of hopeful confidence and +emulation. + +Before hostilities actually commenced, Colonel Monro summoned his +officers about him. Great excitement prevailed in the fort, for it +was known that a messenger had been admitted under a flag of truce, +and that he brought a letter from the Marquis de Montcalm. It was +to the reading of this letter that Monro invited his officers. + +"We have to deal with an honourable foe, gentlemen," said the +veteran, looking at those about him, "as you will know when I read +to you his words. 'I owe it to humanity,' so writes M. de Montcalm, +'to summon you to surrender. At present I can restrain the savages, +and make them observe the terms of a capitulation, as I might not +have power to do under other circumstances; and the most obstinate +defence on your part can only retard the capture of the place a few +days, and endanger an unfortunate garrison which cannot be +relieved, in consequence of the dispositions I have made. I demand +a decisive answer within an hour.' That, gentlemen, is the message +brought to us. What answer shall we return to our high-minded +adversary?" + +There was only one word in the mouths of all. + +"No surrender! no surrender!" they called aloud, waving their +swords in the air; and the cry was taken up by those without, and +reached the soldiers upon the ramparts, and the welkin rang with +the enthusiastic shout: + +"No surrender! no surrender!" + +By this time the Indians were swarming about close outside the +ramparts, and hearing this cry and knowing its meaning, they looked +up and gesticulated fiercely. + +"You won't surrender, eh?" bawled in broken French an old Indian +chief. "Fire away then and fight your best; for if we catch you +after this, you shall get no quarter!" + +The response to this threat was the heavy boom of the cannon as +Fort William Henry discharged its first round of artillery. + +For a moment it produced immense effect amongst the swarms of +painted savages, who scuttled away yelling with fear; for though +well used to the sound of musketry, and having considerable skill +with firearms themselves, they had never heard the roar of big guns +before, and the screaming of the shells as they whistled overhead +filled them with terror and amaze. + +They were intensely eager for the French guns to be got into +position, and were a perfect nuisance to the regular soldiers, as +they worked with intrepid industry at their trenches and mounds. +But before long even the Indians were satisfied with the prolonged +roar of artillery, which lasted day after day, day after day; +whilst within their walls the brave but diminished garrison looked +vainly for succour, and examined with a sinking heart their +diminished store of ammunition and their cracked and overheated +guns. + +"It cannot go on long like this," the officers said one to the +other. "What is the General doing over yonder? He must hear by the +heavy firing what straits we are in. He knows the condition of the +fort. He should risk and dare everything to come to our aid. If +this fort is lost, then our western frontier has lost its only +point of defence against the inroads of Indians and the +encroachments of France." + +A few days later and a cry went up from the walls, "A white flag! a +white flag!" and for a moment a wild hope surged up in the hearts +of the soldiers that the enemy had grown tired of the game of war, +and had some proposal to make. + +The messenger brought a letter. It was not from the French +commander himself, though it was delivered with a courteous message +from him. It had been found upon the body of a white man slain by +the Indians a few days before, and brought to the French camp. The +Marquis de Montcalm had read it, and sent it now to the person for +whom it was intended. + +"Give my thanks," said Monro, "to the Marquis for his courtesy, and +tell him that it is a joy to me to have to do with so generous a +foe." + +But the letter thus received was one of evil omen to the hapless +garrison. It came from General Webb, and repeated that, until +reinforced from the provinces, he could do nothing for the garrison +of Fort William Henry; and advised Colonel Monro to make the best +terms that he could with the enemy, who were plainly too strong for +him to withstand. + +It was time indeed for the gallant little garrison to think of +surrender. Men and officers stood in knots together gloomily +surveying the scene. + +"We have done what men can do," said Captain Pringle to his friends +Fritz and Roche; "but where are we now? A third of our men are sick +and wounded. Almost all our big guns are burst. The enemy's +trenches are being pushed nearer and nearer, and there are still +more of their guns to be brought to bear. Our wall is breached; I +marvel they have not already made an assault. There is nothing for +it but surrender, if we can obtain honourable terms of capitulation." + +"Nay, rather let us die sword in hand and face to foe!" cried +Roche, with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Let us make a last +desperate sortie, and see if we cannot drive the enemy from their +position. Anything is better than dying here like rats in a hole! A +forlorn hope is better than none. Why should we not at least cut +our way out to the free forest, if we cannot rout the enemy and +drive them back whence they came?" + +"The life of the free forest would mean death to those raw lads who +have come out from England or from the provinces," said Fritz +gravely. "It would be hardly more than a choice of deaths; and yet +I would sooner die sword in hand, hewing my way to freedom, than +cooped up between walls where every shot begins to tell, and where +the dead can scarce be buried for the peril to the living." + +And indeed the position of affairs was so deplorable that a council +was held by Monro; and it was agreed that if any desired to make +this last sortie, either for life and liberty for themselves, or in +the last forlorn hope of driving the enemy from their position, it +might be attempted; but if it failed, there was nothing for it but +capitulation, if honourable terms could be had, or if not to die at +their posts, fighting to the very last. + +A cheer went up from the men when they heard these words. If they +had well nigh lost hope, their courage was not quenched, and a +large band volunteered for the sortie. Fritz and Roche were amongst +these, but Pringle remained behind in the fort. + +"I will stand by the Colonel and the sinking ship," he said. "It is +but a choice of evils. I doubt if any of us will see the light of +many more days. I prefer the chances of war to the unknown horrors +of the forest filled with savages." + +He laid a hand upon Roche's arm and looked affectionately into the +boyish brave young face. Then he turned to Fritz. + +"If you should get through, take care of the lad. You are a Ranger; +you know the forest well. If any can escape safely thither, it will +be you and such as you. But don't forsake the boy--don't let him +fall alive into the hands of the Indians; kill him yourself sooner. +And now fare well, and God bless you both: for I think that on this +earth we shall meet no more." + +"Nay, why think that?" cried Roche eagerly; "stranger things have +happened before now than that we should all live to tell the tale +of these days." + +Pringle shook his head; whilst Fritz wrung his hand and said: + +"At least remember this: if you should wish to have news of us, ask +it of Rogers' Rangers, who are always to be heard of in these +parts. If we escape, it is to Rogers we shall find our way. He will +be glad enough to welcome us, and from any of his Rangers you will +hear news of us if we ever reach his ranks." + +There was no sleep for the fort that night. Indeed the hot summer +nights were all too short for any enterprise to be undertaken then. +The glow in the western sky had scarcely paled before there might +have been seen creeping forth through the battered gateway file +after file of soldiers, as well equipped as their circumstances +allowed--silent, stealthy, eager for the signal which should launch +them against the intrenched foe so close at hand. + +But alas for them, they had foes wily, watchful, lynx-eyed, ever on +the watch for some such movement. Hardly had they got clear of +their protecting walls and ditches, when, with a horrid yell, +hundreds and thousands of dusky Indians leaped up from the ground +and rushed frantically towards them. The next moment the boom of +guns overhead told that the French camp had been alarmed. The +regular soldiers would be upon them in a few minutes, driving them +back to the fort, killing and wounding, and leaving the Indians to +butcher and scalp at their leisure. The fearful war whoop was +ringing in their ears. The line wavered--broke; the men made a +frantic rush backwards towards their lines. + +"Don't fly!" cried Roche suddenly to Fritz, at whose side he +marched; "let us cut our way through, or die doing it. It is death +whichever way we turn. Let us die like men, with our faces and not +our backs to the foe!" + +"Come then!" cried Fritz, upon whom had fallen one of those strange +bursts of desperate fury which give a man whilst it lasts the +strength of ten. + +With a wild bound he sprang forward, bursting through the ranks of +Indians like the track of a whirlwind, scattering them right and +left, hewing, hacking, cutting! Roche was just behind or at his +side; the two seemed invulnerable, irresistible, possessed of some +supernatural strength. The Indians in amaze gave way right and +left, and turned their attention to the flying men, who were easier +to deal with than this strange couple. + +A shout went up that the devil was abroad, and the Indian, ever +superstitious, shrank away from these stalwart figures, believing +them to be denizens from some other world; whilst the French +soldiers, who might have felt very differently, had not yet so far +equipped themselves as to be ready to come out from their lines. + +Fritz had marked his line with care. Only upon one small section +between lake and forest was there any possible passage without +peril from the French lines, and that was by skirting the head of +the lake just where their own intrenched camp, now almost in ruins, +gave them shelter. + +The woodsman's and the Ranger's instinct kept true within him even +in the confusion and darkness. He never deflected from his line. + +"This way! this way!" he called to Roche in smothered tones, as +they heard the sound of the fight growing fainter behind them. He +took the lad's hand, and plunged into the marshy hollow. He knew +that none would follow them there; the ground was too treacherous. +But there was a path known to himself which he could find blindfold +by day or night. + +He pulled his comrade along with a fierce, wild haste, till at a +certain point he paused. There was a little cavernous shelter in +the midst of the morass, and here the pair sank down breathless and +exhausted. + +"We are saved!" gasped Roche, clasping his comrade by the hand. + +"For the moment--yes," answered Fritz; "but what of afterwards?" + + + +Chapter 2: Escape. + + +Young Roche lay face downwards upon the rocky floor of the little +cavern, great sobs breaking from him which he was unable to +restrain. Fritz, with a stern, set face, sat beside another +prostrate figure--that of a man who looked more dead than alive, +and whose head and arm were wrapped in linen bandages soaked +through and through with blood. + +It was Captain Pringle, their friend and comrade in Fort William +Henry, who had elected to remain with the garrison when the other +two took part in a sortie and cut themselves a path to the forest. +Had he remained with them, he might have fared better; he would at +least have been spared the horrors of a scene which would now be +branded forever upon his memory in characters of fire. + +What had happened to that ill-fated fort Fritz and Roche knew +little as yet. They had heard the tremendous firing which had +followed whilst they remained in hiding during the day the dawn of +which had seen the last desperate sortie. They had at night seen +flames which spoke of Indian campfires all round the place, and +from the complete cessation of firing after two they concluded that +terms of surrender had been made. They had meant to wander deeper +and deeper into the forest, out of reach of possible peril from +prowling Indians; but they had been unable to tear themselves away +without learning more of the fate of the hapless fort and its +garrison. + +At daybreak--or rather with the, first grey of dawn--they had +crept through the brushwood as stealthily as Indians themselves, +only to be made aware shortly that something horrible and terrible +was going on. Yells and war whoops and the screech of Indian voices +rose and clamoured through the silence of the forest, mingled with +the shrieks of victims brutally massacred, and the shouts and +entreaties of the French officers, who ran hither and thither +seeking to restrain the brutal and savage treachery of their +unworthy allies. + +Roche had lost his head, and would have rushed madly upon the scene +of bloodshed and confusion; and Fritz must needs have followed, for +he was not one to let a comrade go to his death alone: but before +they had proceeded far, they met their comrade Pringle dashing +through the forest, covered with wounds, and pursued by half a +dozen screeching Indians, and in a moment they had sprung to his +rescue. + +With a yell as fierce in its way as that of the Indians themselves +they sprang upon the painted savages, and taking them unawares, +they killed every one before the dusky and drunken sons of the +forest had recovered from their surprise at being thus met and +opposed. + +But plainly there was no time to lose. The forest was ringing with +the awful war whoop. Their comrade was in no state for further +fighting; he was almost too far gone even for flight. + +They seized him one by each arm; they dashed along through the +tangled forest by an unfrequented track known to Fritz, half +leading, half carrying him the while. The din and the horrid +clamour grew fainter in their ears. No pursuing footsteps gave them +cause to pause to defend themselves. The centre of excitement round +the fort drew the human wolves, as carrion draws vultures. The +forest was dim and silent and deserted as the fugitives pursued +their way through it. + +From time to time the wounded man dropped some words full of horror +and despair. Young Roche, new to these fearful border wars, was +almost overcome by this broken narrative, realizing the fearful +fate which had overtaken so many of his brave comrades of the past +weeks. + +When at last they reached the little cave for which Fritz was +heading, and where they felt that for the moment at least they were +safe, he could only throw himself along the ground in an agony of +grief and physical exhaustion: whilst the hardier Fritz bathed the +wounds of their unfortunate comrade, binding them up with no small +skill, and refreshing him with draughts of water from the pool hard +by, which was all the sick man desired at this moment. + +All three comrades were exhausted to the uttermost, and for a long +while nothing broke the silence of the dim place save the +long-drawn, gasping sobs of the lad. Gradually these died away into +silence, and Fritz saw that both his companions slept--the fitful +sleep of overwrought nature. Yet he was thankful even for that. +Moving softly about he lighted a fire, and having captured one of +the wild turkeys which were plentiful in the forest at that season, +he proceeded to prepare a meal for them when they should awake. + +Roche slept on and on, as the young will do when nature has been +tried to her extreme limits; but Pringle presently opened his eyes, +and looked feebly about him. + +Fritz had a little weak broth to offer him by that time, and after +drinking it the Captain looked a little less wan and ghastly. + +"Where are we?" he asked, in a weak voice; "and how many are there +of us?" + +"We have only Roche with us. We have been in the forest since the +sortie when we cut our way out. We met you the next day with half a +dozen Indians at your heels. We know nothing save what you have +spoken of treachery and massacre. Can it be true that the French +permitted such abominations? The forest was ringing with the Indian +war whoops and the screams of their wretched victims!" + +A shudder ran through Pringle's frame. + +"It is too true," he said; "it is horrible--unspeakably horrible! +Yet we must not blame the French too much. They did what they could +to prevent it. Indeed, I heard the Marquis de Montcalm himself +bidding the Indians kill him, but spare the English garrison, which +had surrendered, and had been promised all the honours of war and a +safe escort to Fort Edward." + +"If men will stoop to use fiends to do their work," said Fritz +sternly, "they must expect to be disgraced and defied by these +fiends, over whom they have no sort of influence. If men will use +unworthy instruments, they must take the consequences." + +"Yes; but the consequences have been the massacre of our hapless +sick and wounded, and scenes of horror at thought of which my blood +curdles. They have fallen upon us, not upon them." + +"For the moment, yes," said Fritz, still in the same stern tone; +"but, Pringle, there is a God above us who looks down upon these +things, and who will not suffer such deeds to pass unavenged. We +are His children; we bear His name. We look to Him in the dark +moments of despair and overthrow. I am sure that He will hear and +answer. He will not suffer these crimes against humanity and +civilization to go unpunished. He will provide the instrument for +the overthrow of the power which can deal thus treacherously, even +though the treachery may be that of their allies, and not their +own. It is they who employ such unworthy tools. They must bear the +responsibility when these things happen." + +There was a long silence between the two men then, after which +Pringle said: + +"If they had only sent us reinforcements! I know that we shall hear +later on that the reserves were on their way. Why do we do +everything a month or more too late? It has been the ruin of our +western frontier from first to last. We are never ready!" + +"No; that has been the mistake so far, but I think it will not +always be so. There is an able man in England now whose hands are +on the helm; and though full power is not his as yet, he can and +will do much, they say. Even the more astute of the French begin to +dread the name of Pitt. I think that the tide will turn presently, +and we shall see our victorious foes flying before us like chaff +before the wind." + +"You think that?" + +"I do. I have seen and heard much of the methods of France in the +south--her ambition, her presumption, her weakness. Here in the +north she has a firmer grip, and Canada is her stronghold. But if +once we can shake her power there, all will be gone. They say that +Pitt knows this, and that his eyes are upon the Western world. +France has her hands full at home. A great war is raging in Europe. +A few well-planted blows, ably directed from beyond the sea by +England herself, might do untold harm to her western provinces. I +hope to live to see the day when those blows will be given." + +Young Roche began to stir in his sleep, and presently sat up, +bewildered and perplexed; but soon recollection swept over him, and +he stumbled to his feet, and joined the other two by the fire. + +"Tell us all," he said, as they began to think of supper; for he +and Fritz had scarcely broken their fast all day, and nature was +now asserting her needs. "I would learn all, horrible though it is. +Tell us--did Fort William Henry surrender?" + +"Yes; there was nothing else for it. New batteries opened upon us, +as well as the old ones. There was a great breach in the wall which +could have been carried by assault at any moment, and our guns were +all burst, save a few of the smaller ones. They gave us lenient +terms. We were to march out with the honours of war, and keep one +of our guns; they were to give us safe escort to Fort Edward; we +were to take our baggage with us. The Marquis showed himself a +generous foe--of him we have reason to think well; but the Indians, +and even the Canadians--well. I will come to that in its turn. +Thank Heaven, I did not see too much; what I did see will haunt me +to my dying day!" + +The lad's eyes dilated. It was terrible; but he wanted to hear all. + +"All was arranged. The French soldiers marched in and took +possession. We marched out to the intrenched camp to join our +comrades there, who, of course, had been included in the +capitulation. In the charge of the French we left our sick, who +could not march. Hardly had we gone before the Indians swarmed in +in search of plunder, and finding little--for, as you know, there +was little to find--they instantly began to murder the sick, +rushing hither and thither, yelling wildly, waving scalps in their +hands!" + +"And the French allowed it!" exclaimed Roche, setting his teeth +hard; for he had friends and comrades lying sick at the fort when +he left it. + +"It was done so quickly they might not have known. One missionary +was there, and rushed hither and thither seeking to stay them; but +he might as well have spoken to the wild waves of the sea in a +storm. But that was not all. In an hour or so they were clamouring +and swarming all round the camp, and the French soldiers told off +for our protection either could not or would not keep them out. +Montcalm, in great anxiety, came over himself seeking to restore +order; but the Indians were drunk with blood, and would not listen +to him. He begged us to stave in our rum barrels, which was +instantly done; but the act provoked the savages, and they pounced +upon our baggage, which had been reserved to us by the terms of the +treaty. We appealed to the Marquis; but he advised us to give it +up. + +"'I am doing all I can,' he said to Colonel Monro; 'but I shall be +only too happy if I can prevent a massacre!'" + +"Horrible!" ejaculated the young lieutenant. "Oh, better, far +better, to have held the fort and perished in open fight than to be +set upon in cold blood by those fiends!" + +"Yes," quoth Pringle sternly; "that is what we felt and said. But +it was too late then. The Indians were all amongst us. They were +here, there, and everywhere. They got hold of the long hair of the +women and the terrified children, and drew their scalping knives +and menaced them till they shrieked and cried aloud in abject +terror--" + +Pringle paused; a spasm of horror shook him. After a brief pause he +recommenced in more rapid tones: + +"Why prolong the tale? it has lasted already too long. No proper +guard was provided for us. Why I cannot tell, for the Marquis was +truly horrified at what was going on. Perhaps he thought the steps +he had taken were sufficient, or that the rage of the Indians was +appeased; but be that as it might, when we marched out towards Fort +Edward, we had no efficient protection, and the Indians were all +round us, snatching at caps and coats, and forcing the soldiers to +give them rum from their canteens, every drop of which seemed to +add fuel to the fire." + +"And you had no escort?" + +"None of any efficacy. Monro, our gallant Colonel, went back to the +French camp to protest and petition; but while he was gone the +spark kindled. + +"It was the Anenaki chief who first raised the war whoop, and the +effect was instantaneous. They sprang upon us like fiends. They +seized the shrieking women and children and bore them off to the +woods, killing and scalping them as they ran. We had guns, but no +ammunition, and were almost exhausted with what we had been +through. + +"In a moment all was a scene of indescribable horror and confusion. +I can only speak of what I saw myself. I was set upon by the +savages; but I could give blow for blow. They sprang after others +less able to defend themselves. I saw a little lad rush screaming +through the wood. I at once ran after him, and knocked down his +pursuer. He clung about me, begging me to save him. I took his +hand, and we dashed into the forest together. + +"As we did so, I was aware that some French officers, with the +Marquis de Montcalm, were rushing up to try to appease the tumult; +but I doubt me if their words produced any effect. The boy and I +ran on together. Then out dashed a dozen or more warriors upon us, +with scalps in their hands--a sight horrible to behold. I set the +boy against a tree, and stood before him; but they were all round +us. I felt his despairing, clutching hands torn from round my waist +whilst I was hacking and hewing down the men in front. I heard the +shriek of agony and the gurgling cry as the tomahawk descended upon +his head. + +"I knew that he was dead, and the rage which filled me drove me on +and on with the strength of madness. I had lost the sense of +direction. I only knew that I had burst through the ring of my +assailants, and that I was running my headlong course with the +whole pack of them yelling at my heels. Now and again a cry from +right or left would divert one or another of my pursuers, but some +of them held resolutely on, and I knew that my strength must +eventually give out, and that only a horrible death awaited me. + +"Then it was that I heard shouts in the English tongue, and knew +that some person or persons had come to my rescue. But my eyes were +full of blood, and my senses were well nigh failing. It was only by +degrees I came to know who had saved my life. I shall never forget +it, though I cannot say what is in my heart." + +He held out his hand first to one and then to the other of his +comrades, and they grasped it warmly. Roche lifted his right hand +and shook it upwards. + +"May Heaven give me the chance to revenge this day's work upon the +foes of England! May the time come when France shall drink deep of +that cup of suffering and humiliation which she has caused us to +drink withal; and may I be there to see!" + +And yet, before many months had passed, Roche and his companions +had reason to know that their foes could be chivalrous and generous +to an enemy in distress. + +The comrades lay in close hiding for many days, until the work of +demolishing the hapless fort had been accomplished, and the French, +together with their savage allies, had withdrawn back to their own +lines at Ticonderoga. + +There was no dash made upon Fort Edward, as might well have been +the case. Satisfied with what he had accomplished, and under orders +to permit the Canadian troops to return home in time to gather in +the harvest, the Marquis de Montcalm withdrew his forces when his +task was finished. Possibly he felt that victory was too dearly +purchased at the cost of such horrors as had followed the capture +of Fort William Henry. + +Pringle recovered from his wounds, which, though numerous, were +none of them severe. The spell of rest was welcome to all after the +fatigues and privations of the siege. Fritz was an expert huntsman, +and kept their larder well stocked; and when they were ready to +travel, he was able to lead them safely through the forest, towards +the haunts where Rogers and his Rangers were likely to be met with. + +It was upon a clear September afternoon that they first met white +men, or indeed human beings of any kind; for they had sedulously +avoided falling in with Indians, and the loneliness of the forest +had become a little oppressive to Pringle and Roche, although they +were eager to learn the arts of woodcraft, and were proving apt +pupils. They were both going to volunteer to join Rogers' bold band +of Rangers, for they had grown almost disheartened at the regular +army service, where one blunder and disaster was invariably capped +by another; and the life of the Rangers did at least give scope for +personal daring and adventure, and might enable them to strike a +blow now and again at the enemy who had wrought them such woe. + +They heard themselves hailed one day out of the heart of the forest +by a cheery English voice. + +"What ho! who goes there?" + +"Friend to Rogers and his Rangers!" called back Fritz, in the +formula of the forest, and the next minute a bronzed and +bright-faced, handsome man had sprung lightly out of the thicket, +and stood before them. + +He was a stranger to Fritz, but something in his dress and general +aspect proclaimed him to be a Ranger, and he grasped Fritz by the +hand warmly. + +"You come in good time to give us news. We have been far +afield--almost as far as Niagara itself. We hear rumours of +disaster and treachery; but hitherto we have had no certain +tidings. Is it true that Fort William Henry has fallen?" + +The tale was told once again, other Rangers crowding round to hear. +Pringle was naturally the spokesman, and Fritz, singling out from +the group a man whom he had known before, asked him who the +gallant-looking stranger was who seemed like the leader of a band. + +"That is Lord Howe," was the answer. "He came out from England to +fight the French; but the expedition to Louisbourg came to nothing +through delay and mismanagement. He landed, and whilst waiting for +further orders from home he has joined the Rangers, in order to +learn their methods of fighting. Never was hardier or braver man, +or one more cheerful and blithe. Even the stern Rogers himself +unbends when he is near. He has been the very life of our party +since he has joined us." + +Fritz soon found that this was no exaggeration. Howe was a splendid +comrade and Ranger, full of courage, the hardiest of the hardy, +never failing in spirits whatever were the hardships of the life, +and showing such aptitude for generalship and command that already +he had made his mark amongst the hardy Rangers, and was entrusted +with enterprises of difficulty and danger. + +It was not much that could be done against the foe with the +inclement winter season approaching. The snow fell early. The +Canadians and regulars had gone into winter quarters; but there was +still a garrison in Ticonderoga, and to harass and despoil that +garrison was the pastime of the Rangers. They stole beneath the +walls upon the frozen lake. They carried off cattle, and made +banquets off their carcasses. If they could not do with all the +meat themselves, they would leave the carcasses at the foot of the +walls, sometimes with mocking letters attached to the horns. + +Thus, after a more than usually successful raid, when they had +taken two prisoners and driven off a number of head of cattle, they +tied to the horns of one of the slain beasts the following words, +written large for all to read. + +"I am obliged to you, sir, for the rest you have allowed me to +take, and for the fresh meat you have supplied me with. I shall +take good care of my prisoners. My compliments to the Marquis de +Montcalm. + +"--(Signed) + +"ROGERS." + +But in spite of these successful raids, a misfortune was in store +for the gallant Rangers in the early spring which broke up and +scattered their band for that season, and spread throughout the +district the false report of Rogers' death. + +Captain Hebecourt was commanding the French at Ticonderoga, and in +March he received large reinforcements of Canadians and Indians, +and the latter instantly detected recent marks of snowshoes in the +vicinity betraying the neighbourhood of white men. An attack was +therefore organized to try to rid the place of the pestilent +Rangers, as the French called them; whilst, as it so happened, the +Rangers had no knowledge of the reinforcements which had come in to +the fort. + +Rogers' fault was ever a daring rashness, and when one day he and +his little band saw the advance of a party of Indians, he drew his +men under cover and greeted them with a hot and fatal fire. + +But this was only the advance guard. Unknown and unguessed at by +Rogers, the large body behind was approaching, and the next moment +the whole place was echoing with triumphant yells, as the pursuing +Rangers were met by a compact force outnumbering them by four to +one, who sprang furiously upon them, trying to hack them to pieces. + +Rogers, gallantly backed by Lord Howe, who had all the instinct of +the true general, recalled them hastily and formed them up on the +slope of a hill, where they made a gallant stand, and drove back +the enemy again and again. But outnumbered as they were, it was a +terrible struggle, and Ranger after Ranger dropped at his post; +whilst at last the cry was raised that the foe had surrounded them +upon the rear, and nothing was left them but to take to the forest +in flight. + +"To the woods, men, to the woods!" shouted Rogers. "Leave me, and +every man for himself!" + +Indeed it was soon impossible for any party to keep together. It +was just one dash from tree to tree for bare life, seeking to evade +the wily foe, and seeing brave comrades drop at every turn. + +Rogers, Howe, and about twenty fine fellows were making a running +fight for it along the crest of the ridge. Pringle, Roche, and +Fritz were separated from these, but kept together, and by the use +of all their strength and sagacity succeeded in eluding the Indians +and hiding themselves in the snow-covered forest. + +All was desolation around them. A heavy snowstorm gathered and +burst. They were hopelessly separated from their comrades, and +Fritz, who was their guide in woodcraft, was wounded in the head, +and in a strangely dazed condition. + +"I can take you to Rogers' camp, nevertheless," he kept repeating. +"We must not lie down, or we shall die. But I can find the road--I +can find the road. I know the forest in all its aspects; I shall +not lose the way." + +It was a terrible night. They had no food but a little ginger which +Pringle chanced to have in his pocket, and a bit of a sausage that +Roche had secreted about him. The snow drifted in their faces. They +were wearied to death, yet dared not lie down; and though always +hoping to reach the spot where Fritz declared that Rogers was +certain to be found, they discovered, when the grey light of +morning came, that they had only fetched a circle, and were at the +place they had started from, in perilous proximity to the French +fort. + +Yet as they gazed at one another in mute despair a more terrible +thing happened. The Indian war whoop sounded loud in their ears, +and a band of savages dashed out upon them. Before they could +attempt resistance in their numbed state, they were surrounded and +carried off captive. + +"We can die like men; that is all that is left to us!" said +Pringle, pressing up to Roche to whisper in his ear. "Heaven grant +they kill us quickly; it is the only grace we can hope for now." + +Dizzy and faint and exhausted, they were hurried along by their +captors they knew not whither. They had come out from the forest, +and the sun was beginning to shine round them, when they suddenly +heard a voice shouting out something the meaning of which they +could not catch; and the next moment a body of white men came +running up wearing the familiar uniform of French soldiers and +officers. + +"Uncle!" cried a lad's clear voice, speaking in French, a language +perfectly intelligible to Fritz, "that tall man there is the one +who saved Corinne and me in the forest that day when we were +surrounded and nearly taken by the Rangers. Get him away from the +Indians; they shall not have him! He saved us from peril once; we +must save him now." + +"Assuredly, my son," came the response, in a full, sonorous voice; +and Fritz, rallying his failing powers, shook off for a moment the +mists which seemed to enwrap him, and saw that a fine-looking man +of benevolent aspect, wearing the habit of an ecclesiastic, was +speaking earnestly to the Indians who had them in their hands, +whilst several French officers and soldiers had formed up round +them. + +There was some quick and rather excited talk between the Abbe and +the dusky savages; but he appeared to prevail with them at length, +and Fritz heard the order given: + +"Take these men into the fort, and give them every care and +attention. I shall come later to see how my orders have been +carried out." + +The men saluted. They cut the cords which bound the prisoners. They +led them away kindly enough. + +The lad who had first spoken pressed up to the side of Fritz. + +"I will take care of you, and my uncle will heal your wound. You +remember how Corinne promised some day to return the good favour +that you did us. You are our guests; you are not prisoners. My +uncle, the Abbe, has said so, and no one will dare to dispute his +word. He is the Abbe de Messonnier, whom all the world loves and +reveres." + + + +Chapter 3: Albany. + + +"You are not our prisoner," said Colin; "you and your friends are +our guests, welcome to stay or go as you will. Only we hope and +desire that you will not go forth into the forest again until the +snow has melted, and you are sound and whole once more." + +The bright-faced boy was seated beside the bed whereon lay Fritz, +who felt like a man awakening from a long, strange, and rather +frightful dream. He had become unconscious almost immediately after +their rescue three days before, and had only now recovered the use +of his faculties and the memory of recent events. + +"You had a bad wound on the side of your head when we found you," +explained Colin. "My uncle, the Abbe, says that had it been left +much longer untended you must have died. He is an excellent surgeon +himself, having learned much as to the treatment of wounds and +bruises and sicknesses of all kinds. He is well pleased with its +appearance now, and with your state of health. He says that you +Rangers are marvellous tough customers, whether as soldiers or as +patients. You take a great deal of killing!" + +Fritz smiled in response to the boy's bright look, but there was +anxiety in his face too. + +"Can you tell me aught of the Rangers?" he said. "You, doubtless, +know how we were set upon and dispersed a few days back." + +"Yes; and our Captain of the fort is right glad at it," said the +boy, "for Rogers led him a dog's life with his raids and robberies. +But all is fair in love and war, and it is not for us to complain +of what we ourselves have provoked and should do in like +circumstances. Nevertheless there is rejoicing at Ticonderoga that +the Rangers are dispersed and broken for the present. We were +beginning to fear lest they should take away from us all our +provision and cut off our supplies." + +"Do you know how many were slain?" + +"No; but it must have been a considerable number. I am sorry +myself. I delight in all brave deeds of daring, and it is the +Rangers who have shown themselves the heroes of this campaign. At +first they said Rogers himself had been killed, but that has since +been contradicted. For myself I do not believe it. The dead were +carefully examined by one who knew Rogers well, and he declares +there is no corpse that in any way resembles him; and others +declare that he was seen escaping to the forest, fighting every +inch of the way, with a resolute little band around him whom none +cared to follow." + +"I myself saw something of that," answered Fritz; "but it all seems +like a dream of long ago. Tell me now of those who were with +me--Captain Pringle and the lad Roche. Are they here, and unhurt of +the Indians?" + +"They are sound and well, and though sorely exhausted by cold and +hunger and fatigue when they were brought in, are fully recovered +now. Captain Pringle is quite a hero with us, for he has told us +all the story of that disgraceful and dishonourable day of August +last when the laurels of France were sorely tarnished by the +treacherous villainy of her Indian allies! Believe me, friend +Fritz, we men of France deplore that massacre, and cry shame upon +ourselves and our countrymen for not taking sterner measures to +repress it. For that reason alone, as mine uncle says, we owe to +you and to your companions every honour and courtesy which we can +show. If we have sometimes to blush for the conduct of our allies, +we can show that we are capable of better things ourselves; and if +we can make reparation ever so little, you will not find us +backward in doing it." + +This indeed seemed to be the feeling of those within the fort. +Although these men were Rangers, part of the band which had +harassed them so sorely through the winter months, the garrison +received them with open arms, ministered to their wants, and vied +with one another in making them at home. + +The influence of the venerable Abbe might have had something to do +with this; but it was greatly due to the chivalry of the French +nature, and to the eager desire to show kindness to those who had +witnessed and suffered from that awful tragedy which had followed +upon the surrender of Fort William Henry, which they felt to be a +lasting disgrace to their cause. + +Those of the officers who had been there averred that they could +never forget the horror of those two days; and the French surgeon +who had taken over the English sick and wounded, and yet saw them +butchered before his eyes ere he could even call for help, had +never been the same man since. + +So when Fritz was able to rise from his bed and join his +companions, he found himself in pleasant enough quarters, +surrounded by friendly faces, and made much of by all in the fort. +He, being able to speak French fluently, made himself a great +favorite with the men, and he enjoyed many long conversations with +the Abbe, who was a man of much acumen and discernment, and saw +more clearly the course which events were likely to take than did +those amongst whom he lived. + +From him Fritz learned that affairs in Canada were looking very +grave. There were constant difficulties arising between the various +officials there, and the most gross corruption existed in financial +affairs, so that there was a rottenness that was eating like a +canker into the heart of the colony, despite its outward aspect of +prosperity. France was burdened by foreign wars and could do little +for her dependencies beyond the sea; whilst England was beginning +to awake from her apathy, and she had at her helm now a man who +understood as no statesman there had done before him the value to +her of these lands beyond the sea. + +"I have always maintained," the Abbe would say, "that in spite of +all her blunders, which blunders and tardinesses are still +continuing, there is a spirit in your English colonies which will +one day rise triumphant, and make you a foe to be feared and +dreaded. You move with the times; we stand still. You teach and +learn independence and self government; we depend wholly upon a +King who cares little for us and a country that is engrossed in +other matters, and has little thought to spend upon our perils and +our troubles. You are growing, and, like a young horse or bullock, +you do not know yet how to use your strength. You are unbroken to +yoke and halter; you waste your energy in plunging and butting when +you should be utilizing it to some good end. Yet mark my words, the +day is coming when you will learn to answer to the rein; when you +will use your strength reasonably and for a great end and then +shall we have cause to tremble before you!" + +Fritz listened and partly understood, and could admire the man who +spoke so boldly even when he depreciated the power of his own +people. He grew to love and revere the Abbe not a little, and when +the day came for them to say farewell, it was with real sorrow he +spoke his adieu. + +"You have been very good to us, my father," he said. "I hope the +day may come when we may be able to show our gratitude." + +"Like enough it will, my son," answered the Abbe gently; "I have +little doubt that it will. If not to me, yet to my children and +countrymen. For the moment the laurels of victory remain in our +hands; but the tide may some day turn. If so, then remember to be +merciful and gentle to those who will be in your power. I think +that the English have ever shown themselves generous foes; I think +they will continue to show themselves such in the hour of victory." + +It was with hearts much cheered and strengthened that the comrades +went forth from Ticonderoga. Colin and a few French soldiers +accompanied them for some distance. + +They did not propose to try to seek Rogers or his scattered +Rangers; there was no knowing where they would now be found. Fritz +had decided to push back to Fort Edward, and so to Albany, the +quaint Dutch settlement which had been the basis of recent +operations, being the town nearest to the western frontier at this +point. There they would be certain to get news of what was going on +in the country, and for a short time it would be pleasant to dwell +amid the haunts of men, instead of in these remote fastnesses of +the forest. + +"I hope we shall meet again," said Colin, as he held Fritz's hand +in a last clasp. "I am not altogether French. I find that I can +love the English well. Quebec will be my home before long. Corinne +is there already, and my uncle and I will return there shortly. It +is a fine city, such as you have hardly seen in your wanderings so +far. I would I could show it you. Some say the English have an eye +upon it, as the key to Canada. In sooth I think they would find it +a hard nut to crack. We of the city call it impregnable. But come +you in peace there, and I will show it you with joy." + +They parted with a smile and a warm clasp, little guessing how they +would meet next. + +The journey to Albany was uneventful. The travellers met with no +misadventures, and upon a sunny April evening drew near to the +pleasant little town, smiling in the soft sunshine of a remarkably +warm evening. + +It presented a singularly peaceful appearance. The fort was on the +hill behind, and seemed to stand sentinel for the little township +it was there to protect. The wide grassy road ran down towards the +river, its row of quaint Dutch houses broken by a group of finer +and more imposing buildings, including the market, the guard house, +the town hall, and two churches. + +The houses were not built in rows, but each stood in its own +garden, possessing its well, its green paddock, and its own +overshadowing tree or trees. They were quaintly built, with +timbered fronts, and great projecting porches where the inhabitants +gathered at the close of the day, to discuss the news and to gossip +over local or provincial affairs. + +As the travellers entered the long, wide street, their eyes looked +upon a pleasant, homely scene--the cows straying homeward, making +music with their bells, stopping each at her own gate to be milked; +the children hanging around, porringer in hand, waiting for the +evening meal; matrons and the elder men gathered in groups round +the doors and in the porches; young men wrestling or arguing in +eager groups; and the girls gathered together chatting and +laughing, throwing smiling glances towards their brothers and +lovers as they strove for victory in some feat of skill or +strength. + +It was difficult to believe that so peaceful a scene could exist in +a country harassed by war, or that these settlers could carry on +their lives in so serene and untroubled a fashion with the dread +war cloud hovering in the sky above. + +There was one house which stood a little apart from the others, and +wore a rather more imposing aspect, although, like all the rest, it +was of a quaint and home-like appearance. It stood a little back +from the main streets and its porch was wider and larger, whilst +the garden in front was laid out with a taste and care which +bespoke both skill and a love for nature's products. + +The travellers were slowly wending their way past this house, +debating within themselves where to stop for the night, and just +beginning to attract the attention of the inhabitants, when a voice +hailed them eagerly from the wide porch. + +"Fritz Neville, or I'm a Dutchman myself! And Pringle and Roche as +well! Why, man, we thought we had left you dead in the forest. We +saw you cut off from us and surrounded. We never had a hope of +seeing you alive again. This is a happy meeting, in truth!" + +Fritz started at the sound of his name, and the next minute had +made a quick forward hound, his face shining all over. + +It was Lord Howe who had hailed him--the bold, joyous young +Viscount beloved by all who knew him. The comrades shook hands +again and again as they eagerly exchanged greetings. + +"Oh, we got away to the forest, Rogers and Stark and I, and a score +or more. Other stragglers kept dropping in and joining us, and many +more, as we found later, had made their way back to Fort Edward. +But nowhere could we learn news of you. Come in, come in; you will +be welcomed warmly by my kind hostess, Mrs. Schuyler. She has been +the friend and mother of all English fugitives in their destitution +and need. I have a home with her here for the present, till the +army from England and the levies from the provinces arrive. Come +in, good comrades, and do not fear; there will be a warm welcome +here for you." + +They followed Howe to the house, and found that he had not deceived +them as to the welcome they would receive. Colonel Schuyler was a +great man in Albany, and his wife was deservedly respected and +beloved. Just now the Colonel was absent on duties connected with +the coming campaign, in which Albany was becoming keenly +interested. The neighbouring provinces, particularly that of +Massachusetts, had awakened at last from lethargy, and the +inhabitants were bestirring themselves with zeal, if not always +with discretion. The Colonel, who had warmly embraced the English +cause, was doing what he could there to raise arms and men, and his +wife at home was playing her part in caring for the fugitives who +kept passing through on their way from the forest, both after the +massacre at Fort William Henry, and after the rout of the Rangers. + +Rogers himself was too restless a being to remain in the haunts of +civilization. He and a few picked men were again off to the forest. +But Stark, who had been wounded, and Lord Howe, who was awaiting +orders from England as to his position in command during the +approaching campaign, remained as guests with Mrs. Schuyler; and +she at once begged that Fritz and his companions would do the same, +since her house was roomy, and she desired to do all in her power +for those who were about to risk their lives in the endeavour to +suppress the terrible Indian raids, and to crush the aggressions of +those who used these raids as a means of obtaining their own +aggrandizement. + +It was a pleasant house to stay in, and Mrs. Schuyler was like a +mother to them all. For Lord Howe she entertained a warm affection, +which he requited with a kindred feeling. + +All was excitement in Albany now. General Abercromby was on the way +to take the command of the forces; but Lord Howe was to have a +position of considerable importance, and it was whispered by those +who knew what went on behind the scenes that it was to his skill +and courage and military prowess that Pitt really looked. He +received private dispatches by special messengers, and his bright +young face was full of purpose and lofty courage. + +The Massachusetts levies began to assemble, and Howe took the raw +lads in hand, and began to drill them with a wonderful success. But +it was no play work to be under such a commander. They had come for +once rather well provided with clothing and baggage; but Howe +laughed aloud at the thought of soldiers encumbering themselves +with more impedimenta than was actually needful. + +The long, heavy-skirted coats which the soldiers wore, both +regulars and provincials, excited his ridicule, as did also the +long hair plaited into a queue behind and tied with ribbons. + +His own hair he had long since cut short to his head--a fashion +speedily imitated by officers and men alike, who all adored him. He +suggested that skirtless coats would be more easy to march in than +the heavy ones in vogue, and forthwith all the skirts were cut off, +and the coats became short jackets, scarcely reaching the waist. + +The men laughed at their droll appearance, but felt the freedom and +increased marching power; and as Lord Howe wore just such a coat +himself, who could complain? He wore leggings of leather, such as +were absolutely needful to forest journeys, and soon his men did +the same. No women were to be allowed to follow his contingent; and +as for washing of clothes, why, Lord Howe was seen going down to +the river side to wash his own, and the fashion thus set was +followed enthusiastically by his men. + +If their baggage was cut down to a minimum, they were each ordered +to carry thirty pounds of meal in a bag; so that it was soon seen +that Lord Rowe's contingent could not only walk further and faster +in march than any other, but that it would be independent of the +supply trains for pretty nearly a month. They carried their own +bread material, and the forest would always supply meat. + +Fritz was ever forward to carry out the wishes and act as the right +hand of the hardy Brigadier; for that was Lord Howe's military +rank. Pringle and Roche served under him, too, and there was a warm +bond growing up betwixt officers and men, and a feeling of +enthusiasm which seemed to them like an augury of victory to come. + +"Our business is to fight the foe--to do our duty whether we live +or die," Howe would say to his men. "We have failed before; we may +fail again. Never mind; we shall conquer at last. With results the +soldier has nothing to do. Remember that. He does his duty. He +sticks to his post. He obeys his commands. Do that, men; and +whether we conquer or die, we shall have done our duty, and that is +all our country asks of us." + +And now the long days of June had come, and all were eager for the +opening campaign. Ticonderoga was to be attacked. To wrest from the +French some of their strong holds on the western English border--to +break their power in the sight of the Indians--was a thing that was +absolutely necessary to the life of the New England colonies and +the other provinces under English rule. Fort Edward still remained +to her, though Oswego and William Henry had fallen and were +demolished. The capture of Ticonderoga would be a blow to France +which would weaken her immensely, and lower her prestige with the +Indians, which was now a source of great danger to the English +colonists. + +The story of the massacre after the surrender of Fort William Henry +had made a profound impression throughout the English-speaking +provinces, and had awakened a longing after vengeance which in +itself had seemed almost like an earnest of victory. And now the +regular troops began to muster and pour in, and Albany was all +excitement and enthusiasm; for the Dutch had by that time come to +have a thorough distrust of France, and to desire the victory of +the English arms only less ardently than the English themselves. + +Mrs. Schuyler, as usual, opened her doors wide to receive as many +of the officers as she was able whilst the final preparations were +being made. And upon a soft midsummer evening Lord Howe appeared in +the supper room, bringing with him two fine-looking officers--one +grey headed, the other young and ardent--and introducing them to +his hostess and those assembled round the table as Major Duncan +Campbell, the Laird of Inverawe, in Scotland; with his son +Alexander, a Lieutenant of the Highland force. + +Young Alexander was seated next to Fritz at table, and began an +eager conversation with him. Talk surged to and fro that night. +Excitement prevailed everywhere. But Fritz observed that Major +Campbell sat very grave and silent, and that even Lord Howe's +efforts to draw him into conversation proved unavailing. + +Mrs. Schuyler also tried, but with little success, to make the +veteran talk. He answered with grave courtesy all remarks made to +him, but immediately lapsed into a sombre abstraction, from which +it seemed difficult to rouse him. + +At the end of the supper Lord Howe rose to his feet, made a dashing +little speech to the company, full of fire and enthusiasm, and +proposed the toast: + +"Success to the expedition against Ticonderoga!" + +Fritz happened to be looking at the grave, still face of Major +Campbell, and as these words were spoken he saw a sudden spasm pass +across it. The soldier rose suddenly to his feet, took up his glass +for a moment, put it down untasted, and with a bow to his hostess +pushed aside his chair, and strode from the room in an access of +visible emotion. + +Lord Howe looked after him a moment, and draining his glass, seemed +about to go after the guest; but young Alexander, from the other +side of the table, made him a sign, and he sat down again. + +The incident, however, seemed to act like the breaking up of the +supper party, and the guests rose and left the table, dispersing +quickly to look after bag or baggage or some last duty, till only +Mrs. Schuyler, Lord Howe, Fritz, and Lieutenant Campbell were left +in the supper room. + +It was then that young Alexander looked round and said, "It was the +name you spoke which affected my father so strangely--the fatal +name of Ticonderoga!" + +"Fatal! how fatal?" asked Lord Howe quickly. + +"You have not heard the strange story, then?" + +"No; what story?" + +"It concerns my father; it is the cause of his melancholy. When you +have heard it you will not perhaps wonder, though to you the +incident may seem incredible." + +"I have learned that there are many things in this world which are +wonderful and mysterious, yet which it is folly to disbelieve," +answered Howe. "Let us hear your story, Campbell. I would not have +spoken words to hurt your father could I have known." + +"I am sure you would not; but hear the tale, and you will know why +that name sounds in his ears like a death knell. + +"Long years ago it must have been when I was but a little child--my +father was sitting alone over the fire in our home at Inverawe; a +wild, strange place that I love as I love no other spot on earth. +He was in the great hall, and, suddenly there came a knocking at +the door, loud and imperative. He opened, and there stood a man +without, wild and dishevelled, who told how he had slain a man in a +fray, and was flying from his pursuers. + +"'Give me help and shelter!' he implored; and my father drew him in +and closed the door, and promised to hide him. 'Swear on your dirk +not to give me up!' he implored; and my father swore, though with +him his word was ever his bond. He hid the fugitive in a secret +place, and hardly had he done so before there was another loud +knocking at the door. + +"This time it was the pursuers, hot on the track of the murderer. +'He has slain your cousin Donald,' they told him. 'He cannot be far +away. We are hunting for him. Can you help us?' My father was in a +great strait; but he remembered his oath, and though he sent out +servants to help in the search, he would not give up to justice the +man who had trusted him." + +"And he was right," said Lord Howe quickly; "I honour and respect +him for that." + +"It may be so, yet it is against the traditions of our house and +race," answered Alexander gravely; "and that night my father woke +suddenly from a troubled dream to see the ghost of his murdered +kinsman standing at his bedside. The spectre spoke to him in urgent +tones: + +"'Inverawe, Inverawe, blood has been shed; shield not the +murderer!' + +"Unable to sleep, my father rose, and went to the fugitive and told +him he could not shelter him longer. 'You swore on your dirk!' +replied the miserable man; and my father, admitting the oath not to +betray him, led him away in the darkness and hid him in a mountain +cave known to hardly any save himself. + +"That night once more the spectre came and spoke the same words, +'Inverawe, Inverawe, blood has been shed; shield not the murderer!' +The vision troubled my father greatly. At daybreak he went once +more to the cave; but the man was gone--whither he never knew. He +went home, and again upon the third night the ghostly figure stood +beside him; but this time he was less stern of voice and aspect. + +"He spoke these words, 'Farewell, Inverawe; farewell, till we meet +at Ticonderoga.' Then it vanished, and he has never seen it since." + +"Ticonderoga!" repeated Lord Howe, and looked steadily at +Alexander, who proceeded: + +"That was the word. My father had never heard it before. The sound +of it was so strange that he wrote it down; and when I was a youth +of perhaps seventeen summers, and had become a companion to him, he +told me the whole story, and we pondered together as to what and +where Ticonderoga could be. Years had passed since he saw the +vision, and he had never heard the name from that day. I had not +heard it either--then." + +The faces of the listeners were full of grave interest. The +strangeness of the coincidence struck them all. + +"And then?" queried Howe, after a silence. + +"Then came the news of this war, and some Highland regiments were +ordered off. My father and I were amongst those to go. We were long +in hearing what our destination was to be. We had landed upon these +shores before we heard that the expedition to which we were +attached was bound for Ticonderoga." + +Again there was silence, which Mrs. Schuyler broke by asking +gently: + +"And your father thinks that there is some doom connected with that +name?" + +"He is convinced that be will meet his death there," replied +Alexander, "and I confess I fear the same myself." + +Nobody spoke for a minute, and then Mrs. Schuyler said softly: + +"It is a strange, weird story; yet it cannot but be true. No man +could guess at such a name. Ticonderoga, Ticonderoga. I wonder what +will be the end of that day!" + +"And what matters the end if we do our duty to the last?" spoke +Lord Howe, lifting his bright young face and throwing back his head +with a gesture that his friends knew well. "A man can but die once. +For my part, I only ask to die sword in hand and face to the foe, +doing my duty to my country, my heart at peace with God. That is +the spirit with which we soldiers must go into battle. We are sent +there by our country; we fight for her. If need be we die for her. +Can we ask a nobler death? For myself I do not. Let it come to me +at Ticonderoga, or wherever Providence wills, I will not shrink or +fear. Give me only the power to die doing my duty, and I ask no +more." + +There was a beautiful light in his great hazel eyes, a sweet smile +hovered round his lips. Fritz, looking at him, seemed to see +something in his face which he had scarcely noted before--a depth, +a serenity, a beauty quite apart from the dashing gallantry of look +and bearing which was his most salient characteristic. + +Into the eyes of Mrs. Schuyler there had sprung sudden tears. She +went over to the young man and laid a hand upon his head. + +"Thank God that our soldiers still go into battle in that spirit; +that they make their peace with Him before they draw sword upon +their fellow men. A soldier's life is a strange paradox; yet God, +who is the God of battles as well as Prince of Peace, knows and +understands. He will bless the righteous cause, though He may call +to rest many a gallant soldier, and still in death many an ardent +young heart. But however mysteriously He works, we are instruments +in His hands. Let us strive to be worthy of that honour, and then +we shall know that we are helping to bring nearer His kingdom upon +earth, which, when once set up, shall bring in a reign of peace, +where war shall be no more." + +"Amen, with all my heart!" quoth Lord Howe, and there was a light +in his eyes which bespoke that, soldier though he was to his +fingertips, he was no stranger to the hope of the eternal peace +which the Lord alone can give. + +Mrs. Schuyler was not a demonstrative woman in daily life; but when +her guest rose to say goodnight upon this last evening, she kissed +him as a mother might, and he kissed her back with words of tender +gratitude and affection. + +And so the night fell upon the town of Albany--the night before the +march to Ticonderoga. + + + +Chapter 4: Ticonderoga. + + +A joyous farewell to friends at Albany, with anticipation of a +speedy and victorious return thither; a rapid and well-arranged +march to Fort Edward and Lake George, where they were gladdened by +the sight of the hardy Rogers and the remnant of his gallant band, +embarked in whaleboats, and ready to lead the van or perform any +daring service asked of them; a cheerful embarking upon the lake in +the great multitude of boats and bateaux; bright sunshine overhead, +the sound of military music in their ears, flags waving, men +cheering and shouting--what expedition could have started under +happier and more joyous auspices? + +There were regulars from England--the foremost being the +Fifty-fifth, commanded by Lord Howe. There were American and +Highland regiments, and the provincials from numbers of the +provinces, each in its own uniform and colours. The lake was alive +with above one thousand craft for the transport of this great army +with its heavy artillery, and Rogers declared that Ticonderoga was +as good as their own: for it had only provision to last eight or +nine days; and if not at once battered down by the enemy's guns, it +could easily be starved out by a judicious disposition of the +troops. + +One night was spent camped halfway down the lake. Lord Howe, with +Stark and Rogers and Fritz for companions, lay upon his bearskin +overlooking Fritz's diagrams of the fort, taken in past days, +listening to what all the three men had to tell of the fortress, +both inside and out, and making many plans for the attack upon the +morrow. + +General Abercromby was with the army; yet it was well known that +Lord Howe was the leading spirit, and to him it was that all the +men instinctively looked. It was he who upon the morrow, when they +had reached and passed the Narrows and were drawing near to the +fort, reconnoitred the landing place in whaleboats, drove off a +small party of French soldiers who were watching them, but were +unable to oppose them, and superintended the landing of the whole +army. + +The lake here had narrowed down to the dimensions of a river, and +it made a considerable bend something like a horseshoe. If the +bridge had not been broken down, they could have marched to a point +much nearer to Ticonderoga upon a well-trodden road; but the bridge +being gone, it was necessary to march the army along the west bank +of this river-like waterway which connected Lake George with Lake +Champlain, for there were too many dangerous rapids for navigation +to be possible; and upon the tongue of land jutting out into Lake +Champlain, and washed by the waters of this river on its other +side, stood the fortress of Ticonderoga, their goal. + +Rogers was their leader. He knew the forest well; yet even he found +it a somewhat difficult matter to pick his way through the dense +summer foliage. The columns following found the forest tracks +extraordinarily difficult to follow. They were many of them unused +to such rough walking, and fell into inevitable confusion. + +Rogers, together with Lord Howe and some of his hardier soldiers +and the Rangers, pushed boldly on. Whilst they walked they talked +of what lay before them. Rogers told how Montcalm himself was +within the fort, and that his presence there inspired the soldiers +with great courage and confidence; because he was a fine soldier, a +very gallant gentleman, and had had considerable success in arms +ever since he arrived in Canada. + +As the forest tracks grew more densely overgrown, Lord Howe paused +in his rapid walk beside Rogers. + +"My men are growing puzzled by the forest," he said, "and indeed it +is small wonder, seeing that we ourselves scarce know where we are. +Go you on with the Rangers, Rogers, and I will return a short +distance and get my men into better order. I do not anticipate an +ambush; but there may be enemies lurking in the woods. We must not +be taken unawares. Push you on, and I will follow with my company +at a short distance." + +"I will take a handful of men with me," answered Rogers, "and push +on to reconnoitre. Let the rest remain with you. They will +encourage and hearten up the regulars, who are new to this sort of +thing; and when I know more clearly our exact position, I will fall +back and report." + +Fritz remained with Howe, whose men came marching up in a rather +confused and straggling fashion, but were only perplexed, not in +any wise disheartened, by the roughness of the road. When the +column had regained something like marching order, the word was +given to start, and Lord Howe with a bodyguard of Rangers marched +at the head. + +They had proceeded like this for perhaps a mile or more, when there +was a quick stir in the thicket. Next moment the challenge rang +out: + +"Qui vive?" + +"Francais!" shouted back a Ranger, who had learned Rogers' trick of +puzzling his opponents by the use of French words. + +But this time they were not deceived. A stern word of command was +given. A crack of rifles sounded out from the bushes; puffs of +smoke and flashes of fire were seen. + +"Steady, men; load and fire!" + +The command was given by Lord Howe. It was the last he ever spoke. +The wood rang with the crossfire of the foes who could not see each +other. Fritz had discharged his piece, and was loading again when +he saw Lord Howe suddenly throw up his hands and fall helplessly +forward. + +He sprang to his side with a cry of dismay. He strove to hold him +up and support him to some place of safety, but could only lay him +down beneath a tree hard by, where a ring of Rangers instantly +formed around him, whilst the skirmish in the forest was hotly +maintained on both sides. + +"He is shot through the heart!" cried Stark, in a lamentable voice, +as he hastily examined the wound; and indeed the shadow of death +had fallen upon the brave, bright, noble face of the young officer. + +Just once the heavy lids lifted themselves. Lord Howe looked into +the faces of the two men bending over him, and a faint smile curved +his lips. + +"Keep them steady," he just managed to whisper, and the next moment +his head fell back against Fritz's shoulder. He had passed into the +unknown land where the clamour of battle is no more heard. + +It was a terrible blow, and consternation spread through the ranks +as it became known. Indeed, but for the Rangers, a panic and flight +would probably have followed. But Rogers, Stark, and Fritz were of +sterner stuff than the levies, and more seasoned than the bulk of +regular soldiers. + +Rogers had returned instantly upon hearing the firing, and had +discharged a brisk volley upon the French as he dashed through +their ranks to regain his companions. Caught between two fires, +they were in no small peril, and made a dash for the riverbed; the +Rangers standing steady and driving them to their destruction, +whilst the ranks had time to recover themselves and maintain their +ground. + +The rout of this body of French soldiers was complete, whilst the +English loss was small numerically; but the loss of Howe was +irreparable, and all heart and hope seemed taken out of the gallant +army which had started forth so full of hope. There was nothing now +to be done but to fall back upon the main army, with the sorrowful +tidings of their leader's death, and await the order of General +Abercromby as to the next move. + +This was done, and the men were kept under arms all night, waiting +for orders which never came. Indecision and procrastination again +prevailed, and were again the undoing of the English enterprise. + +Still there was no question but that the fort must be attacked, and +as the Rangers came in with the news that the French had broken up +and deserted a camp they had hitherto held at some sawmills on the +river, a little way from the fort, a detachment of soldiers was +sent to take possession of this place. This having been done, and a +bridge thrown over the river by an able officer of the name of +Bradstreet, the army was moved up, and encamped at this place prior +to the assault of the fort. Rogers and his Rangers had reconnoitred +the whole place, and were eager to tell their tale. + +Fort Ticonderoga occupied a triangular promontory, washed upon two +sides by the waters of Lake Champlain and the river-like extremity +of Lake George. The landward approach was guarded by a strong +rampart of felled trees, which the soldiers had formed into a +breastwork and abattis which might almost be called musket-proof. +So at least Rogers and his men had judged. They had watched the +French at their task, and had good reason to know the solid +protection given to the men behind by a rampart of this sort. + +He was therefore all eagerness for the cannon to be brought up from +the lake. + +"The artillery will make short work of it, General," he said, in +his bluff, abrupt fashion. "It will come rattling about their +heads, and they must take to the walls behind, and these will soon +give way before a steady cannonade. Or if we take the cannon up to +yonder heights of Rattlesnake Hill, we can fling our round shot +within their breastwork from end to end, and drive the men back +like rabbits to their burrow; or we can plant a battery at the +narrow mouth of Lake Champlain, and cut off their supplies. With +the big guns we can beat them in half a dozen ways; but let our +first act be to bring them up, for muskets and rifles are of little +use against such a rampart as they have made, bristling with spikes +and living twigs and branches, which baffle assault as you might +scarce believe without a trial." + +Rogers spoke with the assurance and freedom of a man used to +command and certain of his subject. He and Lord Howe had been on +terms of most friendly intimacy, and the young Brigadier had +learned much from the veteran Ranger, whose services had been of so +much value to the English. He would never have taken umbrage at +advice given by a subordinate. But General Abercromby was of a +different order, and he little liked Rogers' assured manner and +brusque, independent tone. He heard him to the end, but gave an +evasive reply, and sent out an engineer on his own account to +survey the French position, and bring him word what was his +opinion. + +This worthy made his survey, and came back full of confidence. + +"The rampart is but a hastily-constructed breastwork of felled +trees; it should be easily carried by assault," he reported, full +of careless confidence. "A good bayonet charge, resolutely +conducted, is all that is needed, and we shall be in the fort +before night." + +The soldiers cheered aloud when they heard the news. They were +filled with valour and eagerness, in spite of the death of their +beloved leader. It seemed as though his spirit inspired them with +ardent desire to show what they could do; although generalship, +alas! had perished with the young Brigadier, who had fallen at such +an untimely moment. + +The Rangers looked at one another with grim faces. They would not +speak a word to dishearten the troops; but they knew, far better +than the raw levies or the English regulars could do, the nature of +the obstruction to be encountered. + +"A bayonet charge by soldiers full of valour is no light thing," +said Pringle to the Ranger, as they stood in the evening light +talking together. "Resolute men have done wonders before now in +such a charge, and why not we tomorrow?" + +"Have you seen the abattis?" asked Rogers, in his grim and brusque +fashion. + +"No," answered Pringle; "I have only heard it described by those +who have." + +"Come, then, and look at it before it be dark," was Rogers' reply; +and he, together with Stark, led Fritz and Pringle and Roche along +a narrow forest pathway which the Rangers were engaged in widening +and improving, ready for the morrow's march, until he was able to +show them, from a knoll of rising ground, the nature of the +fortification they were to attack upon the morrow. + +The French had shown no small skill in the building of this +breastwork, which ran along a ridge of high ground behind the fort +itself, and commanded the approach towards it from the land side. +The whole forest in the immediate vicinity had been felled. It bore +the appearance of a tract of ground through which a cyclone has +whirled its way. Great numbers of the trees had been dragged up to +form the rampart, but there were hundreds of others, as well as +innumerable roots and stumps, lugs and heads, lying in confusion +all around; and Rogers, pointing towards the encumbered tract just +beneath and around the rampart, looked at Pringle and said: + +"How do you think a bayonet charge is to be rushed over such ground +as that? And what good will our musketry fire be against those +tough wooden walls, directed upon a foe we cannot see, but who can +pick us off in security from behind their breastwork? For let me +tell you that there is great skill shown in its construction. On +the inside, I doubt not, they can approach close to their +loopholes, which you can detect all along, and take easy aim at us; +but on this side it is bristling with pointed stakes, twisted +boughs, and treetops so arranged as to baffle and hinder any +attempt at assault. As I told your General, his cannon could +shatter it in a few hours, if he would but bring them to bear. But +a rampart like that is practically bayonet and musket proof. It +will prove impregnable to assault." + +Pringle and Roche exchanged glances. They had seen something of +fighting before this, but never warfare so strange. + +"Would that Lord Howe were living!" exclaimed the younger officer. +"He would have heard reason; he would have been advised. But the +General--" + +He paused, and a meaning gesture concluded the sentence. It was not +for them to speak against their commander; but he inspired no +confidence in his men, and it was plainly seen that he was about to +take a very ill-judged step. + +It is the soldier's fate that he must not rebel or remonstrate or +argue; his duty is to obey orders and leave the rest. But that +night, as the army slept in the camp round the deserted sawmills, +there were many whose eyes never closed in slumber. Fritz saw the +veteran Campbell sitting in the moonlight, looking straight before +him with wide, unseeing eyes; and when the grey light of day broke +over the forest, his face was shadowed, as it seemed, by the +approach of death. + +"I shall never see another sunrise," he said to Fritz, as the +latter walked up to him; "my span of life will be cut through here +at Ticonderoga." + +Fritz made no reply. It seemed to him that many lives would be cut +short upon this fateful day. He wondered whether he should live to +see the shades of evening fall. He had no thought of quailing or +drawing back. He had cast in his lot with the army, and he meant to +fight his very best that day; but he realized the hopelessness of +the contest before them, and although, if the General could only be +aroused in time to a sense of his own blunder, and would at the +eleventh hour order up the cannon, and take those steps which might +ensure success, the tide of battle might soon be turned. Yet no man +felt any confidence in him as a leader, and it was only the +ignorant soldiers, unaware of what lay before them, who rose to +greet the coming day with hope and confidence in their hearts. + +But it was something that they should start forth with so high a +courage. Even if they were going to their death, it was better they +should believe that they were marching forth to victory. They +cheered lustily as they received the order, which was to carry the +breastwork by a bayonet charge; and only the Rangers saw the grim +smile which crossed the face of Rogers as he heard that word given. + +Yet he and his gallant band of Rangers were in the van. They did +not shrink from the task before them, although they knew better +than others the perils and difficulties by which it was beset. They +had widened the path; they led the way. There was no more confusion +in the line of march. + +The General remained behind at the sawmills, to direct the +operations of the whole army, as there were other slighter +enterprises to be undertaken upon the same day, though the assault +of the protecting rampart was the chief one. News was to be brought +to him at short intervals of the course the fight was taking. It +was Rogers' great hope that he would soon be made aware of the +impossibility of the task he had set his soldiers, and would send +instant and urgent orders for the cannon to be brought up to the +aid of his foot soldiers. + +Full of hope and confidence the columns pressed forward, till +shortly after midday they emerged from the shelter of the forest, +and saw before them the broken space of open ground, with its +encumbering mass of stumps and fallen timber, and behind that the +grim rampart, where all looked still as death. They formed into +line quickly and without confusion and then, with an enthusiastic +cheer, made a dash for the barrier. + +The Rangers and light infantry in front began to fire as they +advanced; but the main body of soldiers held their bayonets in +position, and strove after an orderly advance. But over such ground +order was impossible. They had to clamber, to scramble, to cut +their way as best they could. The twigs and branches blinded them; +they fell over the knotted roots; they became disordered and +scattered, though their confidence remained unshaken. + +Then suddenly, when they were half across the open space, came the +long crack and blaze from end to end of the rampart; smoke seemed +to gush and flash out from one extremity to the other. Sharp cries +of agony and dismay, shouts and curses, filled the air. The English +fell in dozens amid the fallen trees, and those behind rushed +forward over the bodies of their doomed companions. + +It was in vain to try to carry the rampart by the bayonet. The +soldiers drew up and fired all along their line; but of what avail +was it to fire upon an enemy they could not see, whilst they +themselves were a target for the grapeshot and musketballs which +swept in a deadly cross fire through their ranks? But they would +not fall back. Headed by the Rangers, who made rapid way over the +rough and encumbered ground, they pressed on, undaunted by the hail +of iron about them, and inflamed to fury by the fall of their +comrades around them. + +It was an awful scene. It was branded upon the memory of the +survivors in characters of fire. + +Fritz kept in the foremost rank, unable to understand why he was +not shot down. He reached the rampart, and was halfway up, when he +was clutched by the hands of a man in front, who in his death agony +knew not what he did, and the two rolled into the ditch together. + +For a moment all was suffocation and horror. Unwounded, but buried +and battered, with his musket torn from his grasp, Fritz struggled +out through the writhing heap of humanity, and saw that the head of +the column had fallen back for a breathing space, though with the +evident intention of re-forming and dashing again to the charge. + +The firing from the rampart still continued; but Fritz made a +successful dash back to the lines, and reached them in safety. He +was known by this time as an experienced Ranger, and was taken +aside by Bradstreet, the officer in command of the light infantry +that with the Rangers headed the charge. + +The gallant officer was wounded and breathless, and was seated upon +a fallen trunk. + +"Neville," he said, "I know that you are fleet of foot and stout of +heart. I would have you return to the camp on the instant, with a +message for the General. Tell him how things are here, and that +this rampart is to the utmost as impregnable as Rogers warned us. +Our men are falling thick and fast, and although full of courage, +cannot do the impossible. Beg him to order the guns to be brought +up, for without them we are helpless against the enemy." + +Fritz knew this right well, and took the message. + +"We shall make another charge immediately," Bradstreet said in +conclusion. "We shall not fail to carry out our orders; but I have +little hope of success. We can do almost nothing against the +French, whilst they mow us down by hundreds. No men can hold on at +such odds for long. Go quickly, and bring us word again, for we are +like to be cut to pieces. + +"You are not wounded yourself?" + +"No; I have escaped as by a miracle. I will run the whole distance +and take the message. Would that the General had listened to +counsel before!" + +Bradstreet made a gesture of assent, but said nothing. Fritz sped +through the forest, hot and breathless, yet straining every nerve +to reach his goal. + +It was a blazing day where the shade of the forest was not found, +and this made the fighting all the harder. Fritz's heart was heavy +within him for the lives thrown away so needlessly. When he reached +the tent of the General, and was ushered into his presence, burning +words rushed to his lips, and it was only with an effort that he +commanded himself to speak calmly of the fight and deliver the +message with which he was charged. + +General Abercromby listened and frowned, and looked about him as +though to take counsel with his officers. But the best of these +were away at the fight, and those with him were few and +insignificant and inexperienced. + +"Surely a little resolution and vigour would suffice to carry an +insignificant breastwork, hastily thrown up only a few days ago," +he said, unwilling to confess himself in the wrong. "I will order +up the Highland regiments to your aid. With their assistance you +can make another charge, and it will be strange if you cannot carry +all before you." + +Fritz compressed his lips, and his heart sank. + +"I will give you a line to Colonel Bradstreet. Tell him that +reinforcements are coming, and that another concerted attack must +be made. It will be time enough to talk of sending for the +artillery when we see the result of that." + +A few lines were penned by the General and entrusted to Fritz, who +dashed back with burning heart to where the fight still raged so +fiercely. He heard the bagpipes of the Highlanders skirling behind +as he reached the opening in the forest. He knew that these brave +men could fight like tigers; but to what avail, he thought, were so +many gallant soldiers to be sent to their death? + +The fighting in his absence had been hot and furious, but nothing +had been done to change the aspect of affairs. Intrepid men had +assaulted the rampart, and even leaped upon and over it, only to +meet their death upon the other side. + +Once a white flag had been seen waving over the rampart, and for a +moment hope had sprung up that the enemy was about to surrender. The +firing for that brief space had been suspended, the English raising +their muskets over their heads and crying "Quarter!"--meaning that +they would show mercy to the foe; the French thinking that they were +coming to give themselves up as prisoners of war. The signal had +merely been waved by a young captain in defiance to the foe. He had +tied his handkerchief to his musket in his excitement, without any +intention to deceive. But the incident aroused a bitter feeling. The +English shouted out that the French were seeking to betray them, and +the fight was resumed with such fury that for a brief while the +rampart was in real danger of being taken, and the French General +was in considerable anxiety. + +But the odds were too great. The gallant assailants were driven +back, and when Fritz arrived with his news there was again a slight +cessation in the vehemence of the attack. + +Bradstreet eagerly snatched at the letter and opened it. Fritz's +face had told him something; the written words made assurance +doubly sure. + +He tore the paper across, and set his foot upon it. + +"We can die but once," he said briefly; "but it goes to my heart to +see these brave fellows led like sheep to the slaughter. England +will want to know the reason why when this story is told at home." + +The Highlanders were soon upon the scene of action filled to the +brim with the stubborn fury with which they were wont to fight. At +their head marched their Major, the dark-faced Inverawe, his son +only a little behind. + +The arrival of reinforcements put new heart into the gallant but +exhausted regiments which had led the attack; and now the +Highlanders were swarming about the foot of the rampart, seeking to +scale its bristling sides, often gaining the top, by using the +bodies of their slain countrymen as ladders, but only to be cut +down upon the other side. + +The Major cheered on his men. The shadow was gone from his face +now. In the heat of the battle he had no thought left for himself. +His kinsmen and clansmen were about him. He was ever in the van. +One young chieftain with some twenty followers was on the top of +the rampart, hacking and hewing at those behind, as if possessed of +superhuman strength. The Highlanders, with their strange cries and +yells, pressed ever on and on. But the raking fire from behind the +abattis swept their ranks, mowed them down, and strewed the ground +with dying and dead. + +Like a rock stood Campbell of Inverawe, his eyes everywhere, +directing, encouraging, cheering on his men, who needed not his +words to inspire them with unquenchable fury. + +Suddenly his tall figure swayed forward. Without so much as a cry +he fell. There was a rush towards him of his own clansmen. They +lifted him, and bore him from the scene of action. It was the end +of the assault. The Highlanders who had scaled the rampart had all +been bayoneted within. Nearly two thousand men, wounded or dead, +lay in that terrible clearing. It was hopeless to fight longer. All +that man could do had been done. The recall was sounded, and the +brave troops, given over to death and disaster by the incompetence +of one man, were led back to the camp exhausted and despairing; the +Rangers still doing good service in carrying off the wounded, and +keeping up a steady fire whilst this task was being proceeded with. + +General Abercromby's terror at the result of the day's work was as +pitiful as his mismanagement had been. There was no talk now of +retrieving past blunders; there was nothing but a general rout--a +retreat upon Fort Edward as fast as boats could take them. One +blunder was capped by another. Ticonderoga was left to the French, +when it might have been an easy prey to the English. The day of +disaster was not yet ended, though away in the east the star of +hope was rising. + +It was at Fort Edward that the wounded laird of Inverawe breathed +his last. His wound had been mortal, and he was barely living when +they landed him on the banks of Lake George. + +"Donald, you are avenged!" he said once, a few minutes before his +death. "We have met at Ticonderoga!" + + + +Book 4: Wolfe. + +Chapter 1: A Soldier At Home. + + +He lay upon a couch beneath the shade of a drooping lime tree, +where flickering lights and shadows played upon his tall, slight +figure and pale, quaint face. There was nothing martial in the +aspect of this young man, invalided home from active service on the +Continent, where the war was fiercely raging between the European +powers. He had a very white skin, and his hair was fair, with a +distinct shade of red in it. It was cut short in front, and lightly +powdered when the young man was in full dress, and behind it was +tied in the queue so universally worn. + +He was quite young still, barely thirty years old; yet he had seen +years of active service in the army, and had achieved no small +distinction for intrepidity and cool daring. He had won the notice +already of the man now at the helm of state, whose eyes were +anxiously fixed upon any rising soldier of promise, ready to avail +himself of the services of such to sustain England's honour and +prestige both on land and sea. + +James Wolfe was the son of a soldier, and had been brought up to +the profession of arms almost as a matter of course. Yet he seemed +a man little cut out for the life of the camp; for he suffered from +almost chronic ill-health, and was often in sore pain of body even +though the indomitable spirit was never quenched within him. His +face bore the look of resolution and self mastery which is often to +be seen in those who have been through keen physical suffering. +There were lines there which told of weary days and nights of pain; +but there was an unquenchable light in the eyes that invariably +struck those who came into contact with the young officer. He had +already learned the secret of imparting to his men the enthusiasm +which was kindled in his own breast; and there was not a man in his +company but would gladly have laid down his life in his service, if +he had been called upon to do so. + +Today, however, there was nothing of the soldier and leader of +forlorn hope in his aspect. He lay back upon his couch with a +dreamy abstraction in his gaze. The gambols of his canine +favourites passed unnoticed by him. He had been reading news that +stirred him deeply, and he had fallen into a meditation. + +The news sheet contained a brief and hasty account of the loss of +Fort William Henry, with a hint respecting the massacre which had +followed. No particulars were as yet forthcoming. This was but the +voice of rumour. But the paragraph, vague as it was, had been +sufficient to arouse strange feelings within the young officer. He +had let the paper fall now, and was turning things over in his own +mind. + +One of the articles had said how needful it was becoming for +England to awake from her lethargy, and send substantial aid to her +colonies, unless she desired to see them annihilated by the +aggressions of France. National feeling against that proud foe was +beginning to rise high. The Continental war had quickened it, and +Wolfe, who had served against the armies of France in many a +closely-contested battle, felt his pulses tingling at the recital +of her successes against England's infant colonies. + +Men were wanted for the service, the paper had said--men of courage +and proved valour. We had had too many bunglers already out there; +it was now time that men of a different stamp should be +forthcoming. + +In his ears there seemed beaten the sound of a question and its +reply. Where had he heard those words, and when? + +"Who will go up to battle against this proud foe?" + +"Here am I; send me." + +The light leaped into his eyes; his long, thin hands clasped and +unclasped themselves as stirring thoughts swept over him. He knew +that there was a great struggle impending between England and her +French rival upon the other side of the world. Hitherto his +battlefields had been in Europe, but a voice from far away seemed +to be calling to him in urgent accents. Away in the West, English +subjects were being harried and killed, driven like helpless sheep +to slaughter. How long was it to continue? Would the mother country +be content that her provinces should be first contracted and then +slowly strangled by the chains imposed by the boundless ambition of +France? Never, never, never! The young officer spoke the words +aloud, half raising himself from his couch as he did so. + +There was a rising man now at the helm of the state; he had not the +full powers that many desired to see. He had to work hand in hand +with a colleague of known incapacity. Yet the voice of the nation +was beginning to make itself heard. England was growing enraged +against a minister under whose rule so many grievous blunders had +been committed. Newcastle still retained his position of foremost +of the King's advisers, but Pitt now stood at his side; and it was +understood that the younger statesman was to take the real command +of the ship of state, whilst his elder associate confined himself +to those matters in which he could not well do harm. + +"If only it had come three years earlier," breathed Wolfe--"before +we had suffered such loss and disgrace!" + +The young soldier knew that an expedition had been fitted out a few +months ago for Louisbourg in Acadia--that French fortress of Cape +Breton which alone had been able to resist the English arms. The +capture of Louisbourg had been the one thing determined upon by the +tardy government for the relief of their colonies in the Western +world. It had been surmised that this action on their part would +draw away the French troops from the frontier, and thus relieve the +colonists from any pressing anxiety; but although there had been +little definite news from the fleet so far, it began to be reared +that the Admirals had mismanaged matters, and that no blow would be +struck this season. + +September had come--a hot, sunny, summer-like month in England. But +Wolfe had heard something of the rock-bound coasts of Cape Breton, +and he was well aware that if the furious equinoctial gales should +once threaten the English fleet, no Admiral would be able to +attempt an action by sea, or even the landing of the troops. + +Young Wolfe had one friend out With the expedition, and from him he +had received a letter only a short time ago, telling him of all the +delays and procrastinations which were already beginning to render +abortive a well-planned scheme. It made his blood boil in his veins +to think how the incapacity of those in command doomed the hopes of +so many to such bitter disappointment, and lowered the prestige of +England in the eyes of the whole civilized world. + +"If Pitt could but have a free hand, things would be different!" +exclaimed Wolfe again, speaking aloud, as is the fashion of lonely +men. "But the King is beginning to value and appreciate him, and +the nation is learning confidence. The time will come--yes, the +time will come! Heaven send that I live to see the day, and have a +hand in the glorious work!" + +As he spoke these words he observed a certain excitement amongst +the dogs playing around him, and guessed that their quick ears had +caught sounds of an arrival of some sort. In a few minutes' time +his servant approached him, bearing a letter which he handed to his +master, who opened it and cast his eyes over its contents. + +"Are the two gentlemen here?" he asked. + +"Yes, sir; they asked that the letter might be given to you, and +that they might wait until you had read it." + +"Then show them out to me here, and bring us coffee," said Wolfe, +whose face had put on a look of considerable eagerness and +animation; and as the servant retired towards the house, the +soldier remained looking after him, as though wistful to catch the +first glimpse of the expected guests. + +In a few minutes they appeared in the wake of the servant. Both +were quietly dressed in sober riding suits; but there the +resemblance ended. One of the pair was a very tall man, with fair +hair cut short all round his head, and a pair of large blue-grey +eyes that had a trick of seeming to look through and beyond the +objects upon which they were bent, and a thoroughly English type of +feature; whilst his companion was more slightly built, albeit a man +of fine proportions, too, with a darker face, more chiselled +features, and hair dressed according to the prevailing mode, +lightly powdered in front, and tied in a queue behind. + +Wolfe rose slowly to his feet, his brow slightly contracting with +the effort. Upon his face there was a very attractive smile, and he +held out his hand in turn to the two newcomers. + +"You are very welcome, gentlemen--more welcome than I can say. I am +grateful to my friend Sir Charles for giving me this opportunity of +making your acquaintance. It has been my great wish to speak face +to face with men who have lived in that great land whither all eyes +are now turning. Be seated, I pray you, gentlemen, and tell me +which of you is Mr. Julia Dautray, and which Mr. Humphrey Angell." + +"My name is Dautray," answered the dark-eyed man. "We have +travelled to England together, my friend and I, but have also been +in France, to visit some of those there still bearing my name, +although my immediate forefathers have lived and died in the lands +of the far West. We have met with much kindness in this country, +and have some time since accomplished the mission on which we were +dispatched. Our thoughts are turning once more towards the land of +our birth. Had we not been in France at the time, we would gladly +have accompanied the expedition which set sail for Louisbourg not +long since." + +"I cannot regret that you failed to do so," answered Wolfe, in his +winning way, "since it has brought me the pleasure of this visit. I +trust, gentlemen, that you will honour me by being my guests for a +few days at least. There is very much that I desire to learn about +the lands from which you come. My friend Sir Charles speaks as +though you were wanderers upon the face of the earth. If that be +so, I may hope that you will stay your wanderings meantime, and +make my home yours for a while." + +"You are very kind, Captain Wolfe," said Julian gratefully; "if it +be not trespassing too far upon your hospitality, we should be glad +and grateful to accept it." + +"The honour will be mine," said Wolfe; "I have long desired to know +more of that world beyond the seas. Hitherto I have seen nothing +save my own country, and a few of those which lie nearest to it. +But I have the feeling within me that the time is coming when I +shall be sent farther afield. Men will be needed for the strife +which must soon be waged on the far side of the Atlantic, and it +may be that I shall be chosen as one of those who will go thither." + +"That is what Sir Charles said when he gave us this letter for +you," said Julian. "He said that Mr. Pitt had named you once or +twice as a rising officer, likely to be chosen for service there. +That is why Sir Charles thought that a visit from us would be +welcome. I do not know whether we can give you any news which you +have not heard already; but we can at least answer such questions +as to the country and its life as may be interesting to you, though +it is now two years since we sailed from its shores." + +Into Wolfe's eyes there had leaped a bright light. + +"Spoke Sir Charles such words of me?" he said eagerly. "Has Mr. +Pitt named me as likely for this service?" + +"So it was told us," answered Julian. "We came to England in the +early spring of last year, with letters and urgent appeals to +friends in England from their kinfolk beyond the sea. We went from +place to place, as our directions were, and saw many men and heard +much hot discussion; but it seemed hard to get a hearing in high +places, and for a while we thought we had had our journey in vain. +Nevertheless they would not let us go. One and another would keep +us, hoping to gain introduction to some influential man, in whose +ears we could tell our tale. And so matters went on, and we were +passed from place to place, always well treated and well cared for. +In the spring we went to France, though we were warned of danger, +because of the war. But we met with no hurt. Humphrey passed as my +servant, and I have French blood in my veins, and can speak the +language as one born there. Nor did we go to any large centres, but +contented ourselves with the remote spots, where I found kinsfolk +of mine own name living still. And we reached England again only +two months ago." + +"And then?" + +"There was more excitement then. The fleet had sailed for +Louisbourg; men's hearts were stirred within them. Tales of fresh +atrocities along the border had reached home. Anger against France +was stirred up by the war. It was then we were brought before Sir +Charles Graham, and told our tale to him. He is the friend of Mr. +Pitt, and he came back to us many times to learn more of what we +had to tell of the difficulties of the provinces, and of the apathy +that prevailed there, even though terrible things Were passing +daily close by. + +"It was he who at last bid us go to you. He said you were his +friend, and would make us welcome for his sake and ours. And when +he gave us this letter, he told us the words of Mr. Pitt respecting +you." + +"And have you other news besides?" asked Wolfe eagerly. "When left +you London? And is it yet known there whether this rumour of fresh +disaster is true? See, there is the Western news sheet; it speaks +of a disquieting rumour as to the fall of Fort William Henry, our +outpost on Lake George. Have fresh tidings been received? for if +that place fall, we are in evil case indeed." + +Julian gravely shook his head. + +"The rumour is all too true. Had you not heard? A fast-sailing +vessel has brought it to Southampton--the evil tidings of disaster +and death. The fort held out bravely through a terrible cannonade; +but no relief was sent, and the walls were battered down. There was +nothing for it but surrender. The garrison obtained honourable +terms; but the French either could not or would not restrain their +Indian allies. Surrender was followed by a brutal massacre of the +hapless soldiers and their wives and children. It is horrible to +read the story of the atrocities committed. We have seen Indians at +their hideous work. We know, as you in this land never can do, what +it is like." + +Wolfe's eyes flashed fire. + +"A surrendered garrison massacred! and the French stood by and +suffered it!" + +"The account is confused. Some say they did try without avail; some +that they were callous and indifferent; some that they did much to +avert the horrors, and saved large numbers of victims out of their +clutches. But they did not succeed in stopping an awful loss of +life. The pages of history will be stained dark when the story of +that day is written!" + +"Ay, truly!" cried Humphrey, in his deep, resonant voice, speaking +for the first time; "the page of history should be written in +characters of blood and fire. I have seen the work of those savage +fiends. I have seen, and I shall remember to the last day of my +life!" + +"Tell me," said Wolfe, looking straight at the stalwart youth, +whose lips had slightly drawn themselves back, showing the firm +line of the white teeth beneath. + +Humphrey had told his tale many times during the past months. He +told it to Wolfe that day--told it with a curious graphic power, +considering that his words were few, and that his manner was +perfectly quiet. + +A red flush mounted into Wolfe's face, and died away again. He drew +his breath through, his teeth with a slightly whistling sound. With +him this was a sign of keen emotion. + +"You saw all that?" + +"With my own eyes. I am telling no tale of hearsay. And men have +tales yet more horrid to tell--tales to which a man may scarce +listen for the horror and the shame. This is the way the Indians +serve the subjects of the English crown at the bidding of the +servants of France!" + +Wolfe raised his right hand, and let it slowly drop again. + +"May Heaven give to me the grace," he said, in a voice that +vibrated with tense feeling, "to go forth to the succour of my +countrymen there--to fight and to avenge!" + +After that there was silence for a while, and the servant came and +brought coffee, and took orders for the entertainment and lodging +of the guests. When he had gone Wolfe was calm again, and listened +with keen interest to the story they had to tell of their arrival +in Pennsylvania, and of the extraordinary apathy of the colonists +in the eastern towns, and the difficulty of arousing them to any +concerted action with their own countrymen in the neighbouring +provinces, even for the common defence. + +Wolfe knew something of that, and of the causes at work to bring +about such a result. He talked with more comprehension and insight +as to the state of infant colonies, partially self-governed and +self-dependent, struggling out of leading strings, and intent upon +growing to man's estate, than anybody had hitherto done. + +"We shall never have a second Canada out there such as France has +won--a country wholly dependent upon the one at home, looking +always to her for government, help, care, money. No, no; the spirit +of those who went forth from England was utterly different. They +are English subjects still, but they want to rule themselves after +their own way. They will never be helpless and dependent; they will +be more like to shake our yoke from off their necks when they +arrive at man's estate. But what matter if they do? We shall be +brothers, even though the sea roll between them. The parent country +has sent them forth, and must protect them till they are able to +protect themselves, even as the birds and the beasts of the fields +defend their young. After that we shall see. But for my part I +prefer that struggling spirit of independence and desire after +self-government. It can be carried too far; but it shows life, +energy, youth, and strength. If Canada were not bound hand and foot +to the throne of the French tyrant, she would be a more formidable +foe to tackle than she can show herself now." + +"Yet she has done us grievous hurt. We seem able to make no headway +against her, in spite of our best efforts." + +"Let us see what better efforts we can make then," cried Wolfe, +with eager eyes. "Best! why, man, we have done nothing but +procrastinate and blunder, till my ears tingle with shame as I read +the story! But we are awakening at last, and we have a man to look +to who is no blunderer. The tide will turn ere long, you will see; +and when it does, may I be there to see and to bear my share!" + +Julian looked at the gaunt, prostrate form of the soldier, and said +gravely: + +"But you are surely in no fit state for military service?" + +Wolfe threw back his head with a little gesture of impatience, and +then smiled brightly. + +"This carcass of mine has been a source of trouble and pain to me +from my boyhood, and there come moments when I must needs give it a +little rest. But yet I have found that it can carry me through the +necessary fatigues with a vigour I had scarcely expected of it. It +is being patched up again after a hard campaign; and now that the +summer has closed, nothing can be set afoot till the spring comes. +By that time I shall be fit for service once more, you will see. I +am taking the waters of Bath with sedulous care. They have done +much for me as it is. Soon I trust to be hale and sound once more." + +"Have you been wounded, sir?" + +"Many times, but not seriously; only that everything tells when one +is afflicted by such a rickety body as this," and the young officer +smiled his peculiarly brilliant smile, which made the chief charm +of his pale, unusual face. "I got both a wound and a severe strain +in my last campaign, which has bothered me ever since, and still +keeps me to my couch the greater part of the day. But rheumatism is +my chronic foe; it follows me wherever I go, lying in wait to +pounce upon me, and hold me a cripple in its red-hot iron hand. +That is the trouble of my life on the march. It is so often all but +impossible to get through the day's work, and yet it is wonderful +how the foe can be held at bay when some task has to be done +whether or not. + +"But a truce to such talk! A soldier has other things to think of +than aching joints and weary bones. A man can but once die for his +country, and that is all I ask to do. That mine will not he a long +life I feel a certain assurance. All I ask is the power to serve my +country as long as I am able, and to die for her, sword in hand, +when the hour has come." + +The eyes kindled and the smile flashed forth. Julian and Humphrey +looked into the face of the man whom they had heard described as +one of the most promising and intrepid young officers of the +English army, and felt a thrill of admiration run through them. The +frame was so frail and weak and helpless; but the indomitable +spirit seemed as though it would be able to bear its master through +any and every peril which duty might bid him face. + +They had consented to be his guests for a few days; but it had not +occurred to them that this visit would be prolonged to any great +length, and yet thus it came about. + +Colonel Wolfe and his wife, the mother of whom the young soldier +often spoke in tender and loving terms, were detained from +rejoining their son, as they had purposed doing before the winter +came. Colonel Wolfe had a property of his own in Kent, and his +presence was wanted there. The son was compelled to remain in the +neighbourhood of Bath for the sake of his shattered health. They +had intended all spending the winter there together in the pleasant +house they had taken; but this soon became impossible, and it was +then that Wolfe said to his new friends, with that quaint look of +appeal in his eyes which they had come to know by this time: + +"Could you two be persuaded to take pity upon a capricious and +whimsical sick man, and be his companions through the winter +months? Then with the spring, when we know what is to be done for +the succour of our comrades in the West, we will make shift to go +forth to their assistance. If you will stay with me till then, I +will promise you shall not lack fitting equipment to follow the +army when it sails hence." + +There was nothing the two companions desired more by that time than +to remain with Wolfe, the charm of whose personality had by that +time quite fascinated them. They felt almost like brothers already. +It was upon Humphrey's strong arm that Wolfe would take his daily +walk into the town for the needful baths or water drinkings. It was +Julian who read to him the news of the day, and they all discussed +it eagerly together. Moreover, he saw to the drilling and training +of these two fine men with the keenest interest and enthusiasm. +They had the making in them of excellent soldiers, and showed an +aptitude which delighted him for all sorts of exercises and feats +of arms. + +The war fever permeated the whole country by that time, and +training and drilling were going on all around. It was easy for the +travellers to pick up all that was needful to them of comprehension +as to military terms and commands. Hours were spent by themselves +and Wolfe over books and maps in the library, whilst he fought over +again with them campaign after campaign--those where he had served, +and those before his time with which he had close acquaintance; and +they entered more and more into the spirit of martial exercise, +learning to comprehend military tactics and the art of war as they +had never done before. + +Meantime the news from the Western world was all bad. The attempt +upon Louisbourg had been abortive, owing to the tardiness of the +English Admiral, of London the Governor out there, and the early +storms which had obliged the fleet to retire even when it had +mustered for the attack. + +"It is shameful!" cried Wolfe with flashing eyes, as the news was +made known; "England will become the laughingstock of the whole +world! Fort Oswego lost, William Henry lost, and its garrison +massacred! Louisbourg left to the French, without a blow being +struck! Shame upon us! shame upon us! We should blush for our tardy +procrastination. But mark my word, this will be the last such +blunder! Pitt will take the reins in his own grasp. We shall see a +change now." + +"I trust so," said Humphrey grimly; "it is time indeed. I know what +these attacks against Louisbourg will mean for those along the +frontier--death, disaster, more Indian raids, less power of +protection. The Governor will draw off the levies which might come +to their assistance for the work at Louisbourg. The French will +hound on the Indians to ravage more and more. We shall hear fresh +tales of horror there before the end comes." + +"Which we will avenge!" spoke Wolfe, between his shut teeth. "It +shall not always be said of England that she slept whilst her +subjects died!" + +With the turn of the year active preparations began to be +discussed, and Wolfe to receive letters from headquarters. All was +now excitement in that household, for there was no doubt that +England's great minister was going to take active measures, and +that the day of tardy blundering was to be brought to an end. + +Wolfe was found one day in a state of keen excitement. + +"I have heard from Mr. Pitt myself!" he cried, waving the paper +over his head. "He has taken the great resolve, not only to check +the aggressions of France upon the border, but to sweep her out +from the Western world, till she can find no place for herself +there! That is the spirit I delight in; that is the task I long to +aid in; that is the one and only thing to do. Leave her neither +root nor branch in the world of the West! If we do, she will be a +thorn in our side, a upas tree poisoning the air. Let Canada be +ours once for all, and we have no more to fear!" + +Humphrey and Julian exchanged glances of amaze. Such a scheme as +this seemed to smack of madness. + +"You think it cannot be done, my friends? England has done greater +feats before." + +"But there is Quebec," said Julian gravely; "I have heard that it +is a fortress absolutely impregnable. And Quebec is the key of +Canada." + +"I know it," answered Wolfe, with a light in his eyes, "I know it +well. I have seen drawings; I have heard descriptions of it. That +it will be a nut hard to crack I do not doubt. But yet--but +yet--ah, well, we may not boast of what we will do in the future. +Let it suffice us first to take Louisbourg from the foe. But that +once done, I shall know no rest, day or night, till I stand as +victor at the walls of Quebec!" + + + +Chapter 2: Louisbourg. + + +"Do not leave Gabarus Bay until I have effected a landing!" + +So spoke Admiral Boscawen; and when the word was known, a cheer ran +through the squadron from end to end. + +Brigadier Wolfe had struggled up upon deck, looking white and +ghostlike, for he had suffered much during the voyage; but when +that word reached him, the fire leaped into his eyes, and he turned +an exultant look upon his friends, and exclaimed: + +"That is an excellent good word; that is the spirit which inspires +victory!" + +Yet it was no light thing which was to be attempted, as no one knew +better than Wolfe himself; for he had been out in a boat upon the +previous day with Major General Amherst and his comrade Brigadier +Lawrence, reconnoitring the shore all along the bay, and they had +seen how strongly it was commanded by French batteries, and how +difficult it would be to land any body of troops there. + +To their right, as they looked shorewards, stood the town and grim +fortress of Louisbourg, boldly and commandingly placed upon the +rocky promontory which protects one side of the harbour, running +out, as it were, to meet another promontory, the extremity of which +is called Lighthouse Point. These two promontories almost enclose +the harbour of Louisbourg; and midway between them is Goat Island, +upon which, in the days of warfare of which we are telling, a +strong battery was placed, so that no enemy's ship could enter the +harbour without being subjected to a murderous crossfire, enough to +disable and sink it. + +Within the harbour were a number of French ships, which, in spite +of a feeble attempt at blockade earlier in the year by some English +and American vessels, had succeeded in making their way thither +with an ample supply of provisions for the garrison. + +To force an entrance into the harbour was manifestly impossible at +the present juncture of affairs. The only hope lay in effecting a +landing in the larger bay outside, where lay the English fleet; and +the shore had been reconnoitred the previous day with a view of +ascertaining the chances of this. + +The report had not been encouraging. The French batteries were well +placed, and were well furnished with cannon. It would be difficult +enough to land. It would be yet more difficult to approach the +citadel itself; but the experienced eyes of Wolfe and others saw +that the only hope lay in an attack from the landward side. The +dangerous craggy shore was its best protection. On land there were +ridges of high ground from which it might be stormed, if only guns +could be carried up. That would be a task of no small danger and +difficulty; but courage and resolution might win the day; and +Amherst was a commander of a different stamp from the hesitating +Abercromby, who was at that very time mustering his troops with a +view to the attack upon Ticonderoga. + +"It is a fine fortress," said Wolfe to Julian, as they stood +surveying the place from the raised deck of the vessel. "You cannot +see much from here; the distance is too great. But they have +batteries well posted on every height all along the bay; and as for +the fortress and citadel, I have seldom seen such workmanship. Its +bastions, ramparts, and glacis are a marvel of engineering. It may +well be called the Dunkirk of the Western world. It will be a hard +nut to crack; but I never believe there is a fortress which English +valour cannot suffice to take!" + +The resolution to land the troops once made, arrangements were +speedily set in order. There were three places along the bay where +it might he possible to effect a landing--White Point, Flat Point, +and Freshwater Cove--all on the west of the town. To the east there +was an inlet where it might be possible to land troops, though +perilously near the guns of the citadel. It was resolved to make a +feint here, and to send parties to each of the three other points, +so as to divide and distract the attention of the enemy. Wolfe was +to take command of the landing at Freshwater Cove, which was the +spot where Amherst most desired to make his first stand, and here +the most determined attempt was to be made. The Commander came and +conferred with his Brigadier as to the best method of procedure, +and left him full powers of command when the moment should come. + +Julian and Humphrey were with Wolfe, and had been his companions +and best friends upon the voyage out. They had both obtained +commissions, partly through the influence of the Brigadier; and +were eager to see warfare. Julian had been Wolfe's nurse and +attendant during the voyage, and the bond which now united them was +a strong and tender one. Wolfe bad suffered both from seasickness +and from a renewal of the former strain, and looked even now but +little fit for the enterprise upon which he was bound; but no +physical weakness had ever yet hindered him in the moment of peril +from doing his duty, and his eyes flashed with the old fire, as he +spoke of what was about to take place. + +"Let us but once gain possession of that battery," he cried, +pointing to the guns frowning grimly over Freshwater Cove, "and +turn the guns against their present masters, and we shall have +taken the first step. Once let us get foot upon this shore, and it +will take more than the cannonade of the Frenchmen to get us off +again." + +Eagerly did the fleet await the moment of attack; but their +patience was rather severely tried. Gale first and then heavy fog, +with a tremendous swell at sea, detained them long at their +anchorage, and one good ship struck upon a rock, and was in +considerable danger for a while. + +Wolfe suffered much during those days; but his spirit was as +unquenchable as ever, and as soon as the stormy sea had gone down a +little, was eager for the enterprise. + +"Let us but set foot ashore, and I shall be a new man!" he cried. +"I weary of the everlasting heaving of the sea; but upon shore, +with my sword in my hand, there I am at home!" + +The sea grew calm. There was still a heavy swell, and the waves +broke in snowy surf upon the beach; but the attempt had become +practicable, and the word was given overnight for a start at +daybreak. The men were told off into light boats, such as could be +taken close inshore; whilst the frigates were to approach the +various points of real or feigned attack, and open a heavy +cannonade upon the French batteries. + +Julian and Humphrey found themselves in boats alongside each other. +Humphrey was an Ensign, whilst Julian had been made a Lieutenant. +They belonged to the flotilla commanded by Wolfe, and were +directing some of the boats which were upon the right extremity of +the little fleet. + +The hearts of the men were beating high with excitement and the +anticipation of stern work before them. The guns looked grimly +forth from the heights above the shore. All was yet silent as +death; still it was impossible to think that the French were +ignorant of the concerted movement about to be made against them. + +A roar from the shore, behind and to their right, told them that +already the battle had begun in other quarters. The sailors set +their teeth and rowed their hardest. The boats shot through the +great green waves. + +Suddenly the smoke puffed out from the batteries in front. There +was a flash of fire, and in a few seconds a dull roar, with +strange, screaming noises interspersed. The water became lashed by +a storm of shot, and shrieks of human agony mingled with the noise +of the battle. It was a deadly fire which fell hot around the +devoted little fleet; but Humphrey and Julian, away to the right, +were a little out of range, and slightly protected by a craggy +ridge. No man of their company had been killed; but they saw that +along the line of boats terrible havoc was being wrought. + +They saw Wolfe's tall, thin figure standing up and making signs. He +was waving his hand to them now, and Humphrey exclaimed in his keen +excitement: + +"We are to land behind the crag and rush the guns!" + +In a moment the half-dozen or more boats of this little detachment +were making for the shore as hard as the rowers' arms could take +them. It was hard work to land amongst the breakers, which were +dashing into snowy surf along the beach; but perhaps the surf hid +them from their enemies a little, for they were not hindered by any +storm of shot or shell. They landed on the beach, formed into a +compact body, and headed by Major Scott and some bold Highland +soldiers, they dashed up the slope towards the battery. + +But now they were in the midst of a hail of bullets. It seemed to +Humphrey as though hell's mouth had opened. But there was no +thought of fear in his heart. The battle fury had come upon him. He +sprang within the battery and flung himself upon the gunners. +Others followed his example. There was a tremendous hand-to-hand +fight--French, Indians, English, Scotch, all in one struggling +melee; and then above the tumult Wolfe's clarion voice ringing out, +cheering on his men, uttering concise words of command; and then a +sense of release from the suffocating pressure, a consciousness +that the enemy was giving way, was flying, was abandoning the +position; a loud English cheer, and a yell from the Highlanders, +the sound of flying footsteps, pursuers and pursued; and Humphrey +found himself leaning against a gun, giddy and blind and +bewildered, scarcely knowing whether he were alive or dead, till a +hand was laid upon his shoulder, and a familiar voice said in his +ear: + +"Well done, Ensign Angell. They tell me that we owe our victorious +rush today to your blunder!" + +"My blunder?" + +"Yes; you mistook my signal. I was ordering a retreat. It would not +have been possible to land the men under that deadly fire. I could +not see, from my position, the little shelter of the crag. I had +signalled to draw out of the range of the guns. But your mistake +has won us the day." + +Humphrey, half ashamed, half exultant, was too breathless to reply; +Julian came hastening up; and Wolfe hurried away to see to the +landing of the guns and stores, now that the enemy had made a full +retreat upon the fortress. + +"You are not wounded, Humphrey?" + +"I think not. I have only had all the breath knocked out of me; and +the guns seem to stun one. Have they really left us in possession +of the battery? And does not Wolfe say that, when once we get a +footing on the shore, we will not leave till Louisbourg is ours?" + +Triumph filled the hearts alike of soldiers and sailors. All day +long they worked waist deep in the surf, getting ashore such things +as were most needed, intrenching themselves behind the battery, +clearing the ground, making a road up from the beach, and pitching +their tents. + +At. night a cheer went up from their weary throats, for they saw +red tongues of flame shooting up, and soon it was known beyond a +doubt that the French had fired one of their batteries, which they +had felt obliged to abandon; and this showed that they had no +intention of attacking the bold storming party which had +established itself at the Cove. + +At sea the guns roared and flashed all day and all night. The air +was full of sounds of battle. But the wearied soldiers slept in +their tents, and by day worked might and main at the task of making +good their position. They extended the line of their camp, they +built redoubts and blockhouses, they routed skirmishing parties of +Indians and Acadians hiding in the woods and spying upon them, and +they strengthened their position day by day, till it became too +strong a one for the enemy to dare to approach. + +Every day the men toiled at their task, cheered by items of news +from the shore. The battery on Goat Island was silenced, after many +days of hot fire from the English frigates. A French vessel had +fired in the harbour, and had been burned to the water's edge. The +garrison had sent a frigate with dispatches pressing for aid to +their governor in Canada. The frigate and dispatches fell into the +hands of the English, and much valuable information was gleaned +therefrom. + +And day by day the camp stretched out in a semicircle behind the +town. It was a difficult task to construct it; for a marsh lay +before them, and the road could only be made at the cost of +tremendous labour, and often the fire of the enemy disturbed the +men at their work. + +Wolfe was the life and soul of the camp all through this piece of +arduous work. If he could not handle pick and shovel like some, his +quick eye always saw the best course to pursue, and his keen +insight was invaluable in the direction of operations. Ill or well, +he was with and amongst his men every day and all day long, the +friend of each and every one, noticing each man's work, giving +praise to industry and skill, cheering, encouraging, inspiring. Not +a soldier but felt that the young officer was his personal friend; +not a man but would most willingly and gladly have borne for him +some of that physical suffering which at times was written all too +clearly in his wasted face. + +"Nay, it is nothing," he would say to his companions, when they +strove to make him spare himself; "I am happier amongst you all. I +can always get through the day's work somehow. In my tent I brood +and rebel against this crazy carcass of mine; but out here, in the +stir and the strife, I can go nigh to forget it." + +But Wolfe was soon to have a task set him quite to his liking. He +came to his quarters one day with eager, shining eyes; and so soon +as he saw him, Julian knew that he had news to tell. + +"The batteries upon Lighthouse Point are next to be silenced. We +must gain the command of the harbour for our ships. If we can once +do that, the day will be ours. I am told off to this task, with +twelve hundred men. You and Humphrey are to go with me. We must +march right round the town, under cover of night, taking our guns +with us. By daybreak we will have them planted behind the French +battery; by night, if all goes well, we shall have gained +possession of it." + +The troops were all drawn up in order for the night march, full of +hopeful anticipation. They had that kind of confidence in Wolfe +which the commander inspires who is not made but born. Humphrey, +whose skill in finding his way in the dark, and whose powers as a +guide had been tested before now, was sent on in advance with a +handful of men, to give warning of any impending peril to be passed +or encountered. He had the untiring energy of a son of the forest, +and the instinct which told him of the proximity of the foe before +he saw him. + +But the march was uneventful in that way. The French had fallen +back upon the town. Their fears now were for the very fortress +itself, that fortress which they had so proudly boasted was +impregnable alike by land and sea! Before the dawn of the morning +Humphrey came back to the main body, seeking speech with Wolfe. + +"They have abandoned their battery on Lighthouse Point. It is ours +without striking a blow. They have spiked their guns and gone! We +have only to take possession, mount our guns, and the command of +the harbour is ours!" + +A shout of triumph went up from the men as this fact became known. +Gaily did they push on over the broken country, doing what they +could in passing to level the way for the transport of the cannon +in the rear. By dawn of day, they were full in sight of their +destination, and saw indeed that it was deserted, and only awaited +their taking possession. With shouts and cheers they dragged up +their guns and set them in position. They fired a salute to tell +their friends that all was well, and sent a few shots flying +amongst the French ships in the harbour, to the no small +consternation of the town. + +But Wolfe could not be idle. The task set him had been accomplished +without his having to strike a blow. + +"We must unite our line, and silence some of those batteries that +protect the town on the land side," he said to his men. "The guns +and the gunners, with a sufficient force for their protection, will +remain here. We have sterner work to do elsewhere; and whilst we +are pushing our lines nearer and nearer, I would I knew how they +are feeling within the walls of the town." + +"Let me be the one to find that out and report," said Julian +eagerly. + +"You, man! and how?" + +"Let me try to make my way within the lines. We have French +prisoners; let me borrow the uniform of one. I can speak French as +easily as though it were my mother tongue, which, in sooth, perhaps +it is; for I might as well call myself French as English, although +I have always loved the English and cast in my lot with them. No +sentry can know the face of every soldier in the fortress. Let me +see if I cannot get within the walls, and bring you word again of +what is passing there!" + +Wolfe stroked his face thoughtfully. + +"It is a bold scheme, and I have a mind to take you at your word; +but I would not have you run into too great peril." + +"I scarce think that I shall do so. I will have a care. In truth, I +should well enough like to see within those solid walls. It is a +wonderful fortress this. It might be good for us to know its +strength or its weakness, if weakness it has. I would but remain a +couple of nights, and then return and bring you word again." + +"I should like to hear the report right well," answered Wolfe. "I +only wish I could accompany you myself." + +"That would never do. Yours is too valuable a life to risk; mine is +worth but little to any man save myself." + +"I fear rather that I should be but a clog upon your movements," +answered Wolfe; "and no man would take me for a Frenchman, even +though I can speak the tongue indifferently well. Nor would Amherst +suffer me to make the attempt. We are all under obedience to our +superiors. But I will suffer you to go, if you think the risk not +too great. But have a care of yourself, Julian, have a care. You +have become a friend to me that I could ill spare. If aught of harm +befell you, the campaign would be clouded to me, even though +crowned with victory." + +Julian pressed the hand he held, and for a moment there was silence +between the pair. Wolfe looked out before him, and said musingly: + +"Does it never seem strange to you, Julian, the thought that our +trade is one which makes us look upon the slaughter of our foes as +the thing most to be desired, whilst we have that in our hearts +which causes us to hate the very thought of suffering and death, +either for ourselves or for others; and when we see our foes +wounded and left upon the field of battle, we give them the care +and tending that we give our own men, and seek in every way to +allay their pain and bring them help and comfort?" + +"Yes, truly; war is full of strange paradoxes," answered Julian +thoughtfully. "Sometimes I think that war, like all other ills, +comes to us as a part of the curse which sin has brought into the +world. We cannot get away from it yet. There be times when it is +right to fight--when to sit with folded hands would be a grievous +and a cowardly action on the part of a nation. Yet we know that it +is God's will that we should love our brethren, and we know that He +loves all. So when we see them helpless and suffering, we know that +we are right to tend and care for them, and that to do otherwise +would be a sin in His sight. And we know, too, that the day will +come when wars will cease, when Christ will come and take the power +and rule, and when we shall see Him in His glory, and the kingdoms +of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His +Christ." + +Deep silence fell upon them both, and then Wolfe spoke gently. + +"That would, indeed, be a glorious day! though I, a soldier trained +to arms, say it. But I fear me I shall never live to see it." + +Julian was silent awhile, and then said slowly: + +"We cannot tell. Of that day and hour knoweth no man. All we know +is that it will come, and will come suddenly. I have lived amongst +those who looked to see it from day to day. They had been waiting +and watching for the Lord's coming through hard upon a century, +they and their fathers before them. The hope was beginning to fade +and die out. Priests had come amongst them who bid them think of +other things, and look no farther than the sacrifice of the Mass, +daily offered before their eyes. And yet I used to feel that the +other was the fuller, more glorious hope. I think I shall cherish +it always." + +"I would were I you," answered Wolfe in a low voice. "I think it is +that which has made you different from other men. I think that if I +were to be dying, Julian, I should like to hold your hand in mine +and feel that you were near." + +Then the two friends pressed each other by the hand, and walked +back to the camp. As Julian had said, there were many French +prisoners there, brought in from time to time after skirmishes. +They were treated exactly the same as the English wounded, and +Wolfe made a point of visiting them daily, talking to them in their +own tongue, and promising them a speedy exchange when any +negotiation should be opened with the town. Julian, too, went much +amongst them, able to win their confidence very easily, since he +seemed to them almost like a brother. It was quite an easy thing +for him to disguise himself in the white uniform of a French +soldier, and to creep, under cover of the darkness, closer and +closer to the wall of the town. + +It so chanced that he could not have chosen a better night for his +enterprise. The booming of guns across the harbour and from the +batteries behind had now become constant, and attracted little +notice from sentries or soldiers beyond range. But just as darkness +began to fall, a shell from Wolfe's newly-planted battery fell upon +one of the French ships in the harbour, and set her on fire. The +glare rose in the sky, and suddenly there was the sound of an +explosion, sparks rose in dense clouds into the air, and the ship +plunged like a wild creature in terror, broke from her moorings, +and drifted alongside a sister ship. The flames spread to her +rigging, and in a few minutes both were ablaze; and before the +affrighted and bewildered crews could do anything to prevent it, a +third vessel had become involved in the conflagration, and the town +was illumined by the pillars of flame which shot up from the still +waters of the harbour. + +All was confusion and dismay, for the French had no ships to spare. +Four had been deliberately sunk in the harbour's mouth to prevent +the entrance of the English, and here were three all in a blaze. +The soldiers and inhabitants rushed madly down to the water's edge +to seek to stay the conflagration, and Julian, seizing his +opportunity, rushed through the gateway with a small detachment of +men from one of the outside batteries, and found himself within the +town without having been so much as challenged. + +Down to the water's edge with the rest he rushed, shouting and +gesticulating with the best of them. His uniform prevented his +being even so much as looked at. To all appearance he was a French +soldier. He did not hesitate to mingle in the crowd, or avoid +conversation with any. Very soon he found he was working with the +rest in the hopeless endeavour to save the doomed vessels; and he +was helpful in getting off some of the half-stifled sailors, +dashing upon deck quite a number of times, and bringing back in his +strong arms the helpless men who had been overpowered by the flames +before they could make their escape. + +It was work which Julian loved; for saving life was more to his +taste than killing. He toiled on, cheering up his comrades, till +all that could be saved were placed upon shore; and when he stepped +at last upon the quay after the last voyage to the burning ships, +he found himself confronted by a fine soldierly man, whose dress +and manner bespoke him a personage of some importance. + +"Well done, my good fellow," he said approvingly; "I shall not +forget your gallantry tonight. You doubtless belong to one of the +vessels, since I have no knowledge of your face. You had better +come up to the citadel, where you shall receive refreshment and a +place to rest in. We want all the soldiers we can get for the +defence of the town, since we are in evil case between foes on land +and foes on the sea." + +Julian saluted, and spoke a few words of thanks, and the crowd bore +him towards the citadel. + +"Who was it that spoke to me?" he asked of his next neighbour; and +the man replied with a laugh: + +"Why, Governor Drucour to be sure! Are you blind with the smoke, my +friend? A very gallant governor and soldier he is, as you should +know. And as for Madame, his wife--ah, well, you must see her to +understand!" + +Nor was Julian long in understanding something of what was meant by +this unfinished sentence; for he and his companions had not been +long seated at table, with a good meal before them, when the door +opened, and a tall, elegant lady entered the room, leaning on the +arm of the Governor, and instantly the whole company rose, whilst a +shout went up: + +"Long live the Governor! Long live Madame his wife! Long live the +King!" + +The lady came in, and motioned to the company to be seated. She +walked up and down amongst them, speaking brave words of thanks and +cheer; and halting beside Julian, she made him quite a little +special speech, telling him how she had heard that he had been the +foremost of all in seeking to save the lives of those who might +otherwise have perished in the flames. + +No questions were asked of him, for the excitement was still +strong, and it was taken for granted that he had come off one of +the burning ships. The men were all talking together, with the +volubility of their race, and Julian took just enough share in the +conversation to avoid suspicion. + +Besides, why should he be suspected? He looked in every respect a +Frenchman. And had he not risked his life more than once that night +to save those left on board the vessels? + +The next morning he was able to take an excellent view of the +citadel and town. He was amazed at the strength of the place. In +one sense of the word it was well nigh impregnable. From the water +it could scarcely be touched; but the ridges above, now in the +possession of the English, were a source of weakness and peril; and +now that the enemy was pushing nearer and nearer, under cover of +their own guns, it was plain that the position was becoming one of +grave peril. A very little more and the English would be able to +shell the whole town and fortress from the land side; and though +the soldiers within the citadel were full of hope and confidence, +the townsfolk were becoming more and more alarmed, and spoke openly +together of the probable fall of the place. + +They told Julian much that he desired to know, as did also the +soldiers within the citadel. He was listening to them, when a +sudden cry reached them, and a cheer went up, mingled with cries of +"Vive Madame! vive Madame le General!" + +Julian looked round, and saw that Madame Drucour had come out upon +the ramparts, and was preparing with her own hands to fire off one +of the great guns. This she did amid the applause of the soldiers, +and the man standing beside Julian said with enthusiasm: + +"Madame comes here every day, no matter the weather or the firing, +and walks round the ramparts, and fires off one or more of the +guns, to keep us in heart. She is a brave lady. If all soldiers and +townsfolk had her spirit, there would be no talk of surrendering +Louisbourg." + + + +Chapter 3: Victory. + + +"Julian! Is that you I see? Truly I had begun to fear that some +misfortune had befallen you. So you have been within the walls of +the town, and have returned safe and sound? Your face is a very +welcome one, my friend!" + +Wolfe stretched out his hand, which was eagerly grasped by Julian. +It was a still, close evening, and the sullen booming of the guns +continued without abatement. So used had the ears of besiegers and +besieged grown to that sound of menace, that it was hardly heeded +more than the roar of the surf upon the shore. + +Wolfe was lying in his tent, looking white and worn, as was +generally the case after the labours of the day were ended. His +indomitable spirit bore him gallantly through the working hours of +the long, hot days; but night found him exhausted, and often too +suffering to sleep. Julian had been his best companion at such +times as these, and he had missed him a good deal these past days. + +"I have been within the city and citadel, and have returned safe +and sound," answered Julian, throwing off the cloak he wore over +his white French uniform. "It cannot be long before the place +surrenders. Our guns are doing fearful havoc. Fires break out, as +you must see, continually. The King's Bastion was almost all +consumed yesterday. The hearts of the townspeople are growing faint +within them. The officers and soldiers are bold, and show a +cheerful front; but they begin to know that sooner or later they +will have to throw up the game." + +Wolfe's eyes kindled with martial joy. + +"It is the turn of the tide, the turn of the tide!" he exclaimed, +his whole face instinct with anticipation of triumph. "The English +flag has been trailed in the dust, humiliated, vanquished; but she +shall wave aloft over yon proud fortress, which men have called +impregnable. And if there, why not over Quebec itself?" + +Then, whilst he made Julian refresh himself with food and drink, he +bid him tell all the story of his visit to Louisbourg: how he had +obtained entrance, what he had seen and heard, and what opinion he +now held as to the position of the foe and the chances of the +siege. + +Wolfe was much delighted with the anecdotes related of the courage +and kindness of Madame Drucour. + +"The Commander shall hear of that. Brave lady! I would not that she +should suffer needless hurt. Tell me, Julian, are they in need of +food or wine or any such thing within the walls? I would gladly +send to the brave Madame some token of goodwill and appreciation." + +"They are well victualled; but I heard Madame say that the sick +were suffering somewhat from scurvy, and that she wished she had +fruit to distribute amongst them. Some of them have come off the +ships, where the illness is frequent. Madame Drucour visits the +sick constantly, and dresses their wounds with her own hands when +the surgeons are busy. And, indeed, they need all the help they can +get, for the sick and wounded increase upon their hands daily." + +"They shall have fruit!" cried Wolfe eagerly. "We had a ship arrive +to help the squadron, and she came laden with pines from the West +Indies. We will send in a quantity to Madame Drucour under a flag +of truce. We may be forced to fight our fellow men, but we need not +forget that they are of the same flesh and blood as ourselves. An +honourable foe is second only to a friend." + +"Madame will be grateful for any such act of courtesy, I am sure," +replied Julian. "She is a noble lady--gracious, beautiful, and +brave. She spoke good words to me, little knowing who I was. It +made me feel something treacherous to accept her courtesies, +knowing myself for a spy. But yet I have not hurt them by my +spying; I can see that the defence cannot long be maintained by +those within the walls. Beyond that I have little to say. The fires +by day and night tell of the destruction and havoc our guns are +making. It needs no spy to report that." + +General Amherst was keenly interested next day in hearing the story +Julian had to tell, and was ready and eager to send a present of +fruit and other dainties for the sick to Madame Drucour. Under +cover of a flag of truce the convoy was dispatched, and for half a +day the guns on both sides ceased firing. + +In addition to the fruit the General sent a very polite letter to +the lady, expressing his regret for the annoyance and anxiety she +must be experiencing, and sending a number of small billets and +messages from wounded Frenchmen in their hands to their friends in +the city. + +The messengers returned bearing with them a basket and a note. The +basket contained some bottles of choice wine for the General's +table, and the letter, written by Madame Drucour herself, was +couched in terms of courtesy and gratitude. She declared that the +fruit for the sick was just the very thing she had been most +desiring, and wondered what bird of the air had whispered the +message into the ear of the noble English officer. As for the war +itself, deplorable as it must always be, the knowledge that they +were fighting against a generous and worthy foe could not but be a +source of happiness; and, in conclusion, the lady added that they +had within the walls of Louisbourg a surgeon of uncommon skill with +gunshot wounds, and that his services should always be at the +command of any English officer who might desire them. + +"That is like her!" exclaimed Julian to Wolfe, when the terms of +the letter were made known. "She is a very noble and gracious lady, +and I trust and hope no hurt will come to her. But she exposes +herself to many perils in the hope of cheering and heartening up +the men. They all fight better for the knowledge that she is near +them; and she goes her daily rounds of the ramparts, be the firing +ever so hot!" + +The cannon were roaring again now from both lines of batteries. The +doomed fortress was holding out gallantly, and had as yet given no +sign of surrender. + +Wolfe was hard at work, day after day, drawing his lines closer and +closer. His military genius showed itself in every disposition of +his lines and batteries. He saw at a glance exactly what should be +done, and set to work to do it in the best possible way. + +"How many ships have they in the harbour?" he asked of Julian, two +days after his return from the town. + +"Only two of any size--the Bienfaisant and the Prudent. The rest +have been sunk or destroyed." + +"I think we had better make an end of those two," said Wolfe +thoughtfully. + +"It might not be a task of great difficulty, if it could be done +secretly," said Julian. "The soldiers are mostly on land. They need +them more in the citadel than on board; and they think the ships +are safe, lying as they do under their own batteries. If we could +get a dull or foggy night, we might make a dash at them. We can +enter the harbour now that the Island battery is silenced and the +frigate Arethuse gone. They say the sailors on board the ships are +longing for a task. They would rejoice to accomplish something of +that sort." + +"Get me ready a boat, and you and Humphrey row me out to our fleet +yonder," said Wolfe, looking out over the wide expanse of blue +beyond the harbour. "I will speak of this with the Admiral, and see +what he thinks of the undertaking." + +They rowed him out from Flat Point to the flagship, and put him on +board. It was a fine sight to see the great battleships anchored in +the bay, ready to take their part in the struggle at a word of +command. But the French fleet had done little or nothing to harass +them. They were complete masters of the deep. Even the ships in the +harbour had not ventured out, and now only two of them remained. + +"There will be none tomorrow, if this sea mist comes down," said +Wolfe, with a little grim smile, as he entered the boat again. "Row +me to the harbour's mouth; I would take a look for myself at the +position of the vessels." + +The sun was shining brilliantly upon land, but over the sea there +was a little haze, which seemed disposed to increase. It had been +so for two or three days, the fog coming thicker at night. Wolfe +looked keenly about him as he reached the mouth of the harbour. He +did not attempt to enter it, but sat looking before him with +intent, critical gaze. + +"I see," he remarked, after a pause. "Now row me once more to the +flagship, and so back. The thing can be done." + +Promptitude was one of Wolfe's characteristics; he never let grass +grow under his feet. If the thing was to be done, let it be done at +once; and the British tar is never a laggard when there is fighting +or adventure to be had! + +Julian and Humphrey volunteered for the service. Humphrey was a +favourite with the sailors, having been employed almost constantly +in carrying messages to and from the fleet, or in helping to land +transports. He was as expert now in the management of a boat as the +best of the jack tars, and was eager to take part in the daring +enterprise which was to be carried out that night. + +Six hundred sailors, collected from different vessels, were to be +told off for the task. They set to work with hearty goodwill, +muffling their oars, and preparing for their noiseless advance into +the harbour. The guns would roar ceaselessly overhead. That would +do much to drown any sound from the water. Still, care and caution +would have to be exercised; for the batteries of the fortress +commanded the harbour, and the ships lay beneath their protecting +guns. If the little flotilla betrayed its approach by any unguarded +sound, it might easily be annihilated before ever it could approach +its goal. So that the task set the hardy sailors was not without +its distinct element of peril, which was perhaps its chiefest +attraction. + +The shades of night gathered slowly over land and sea. It seemed to +Humphrey and some of those waiting in the boats as though night had +never fallen so slowly before. But their eyes were gladdened by the +sight of the soft fog wreaths which crept over the water as the +dusk fell, lying upon it like a soft blanket, and blotting out the +distance as much as the darkness could do. + +It was not a heavy fog. The sailors were in no danger of losing +their way as they rowed, first for the harbour mouth, and then for +the two French warships at anchor beneath the batteries. But it was +thick enough to hide their approach from those on land. It was not +probable that even the crews of the vessels would be aware of their +close proximity till the word to board was given. Unless some +accidental and unguarded sound betrayed their advance, they might +in all likelihood carry all before them by a surprise movement. + +Julian was in the same boat as the officer in command of the +expedition. His intimate knowledge of the position of the war +vessels would be of use in this murk and darkness. Humphrey took an +oar in the same boat; and the little fleet got together, and +commenced its silent voyage just as the clocks of the fortress +boomed out the midnight hour. + +It was a strange, ghostly voyage. There was a moon in the sky +overhead, and the outlines of the hills and batteries, and even of +the fortress itself, could be distinguished wherever the ground +rose high enough; but wreaths of white vapour lay lazily along the +water, or seemed to curl slowly upwards like smoke from some fire, +and the boats rowed along in the encircling mist, only able to gain +glimpses from time to time of the moonlit world as a puff of wind +drove the vapour away from their path and gave them a transitory +outlook upon their surroundings. + +The dull roar of the guns filled the air. Sometimes the batteries +were silent at night; but Wolfe kept things alive on this occasion, +in order to cover the approach of the boarding party. Now the mouth +of the harbour was reached, and the little fleet gathered itself +more compactly together, and the muffling of the oars was carefully +looked to. Directions as to the order to be observed had been given +before, and the boats fell into their appointed position with +quickness and accuracy. + +Julian took the helm of the leading boat, and steered it across the +harbour towards the anchored vessels. He knew exactly where and how +they lay. And soon the little flotilla was lying compactly +together, its presence all unsuspected, within a cable's length of +the two battleships. + +Now the time for concealment was over. The men seized their arms in +readiness. The boats dashed through the water at full speed. The +next moment hundreds of hardy British sailors were swarming up the +sides of the French vessels, uttering cheers and shouts of triumph +the while. + +Humphrey and Julian were amongst the first to spring upon the deck +of the Bienfaisant. The startled crew were just rushing up from +below, having been made aware of the peril only a few seconds +earlier. Some of them were but half dressed; few of them knew what +it was that was happening. They found themselves confronted by +English sailors with dirk and musket. Sharp firing, shouts, curses, +cries, made the night hideous for a few minutes, and then a ringing +voice called out in French: + +"Surrender the vessels, and your lives shall be spared." + +It was Julian who cried these words at the command of the officer, +and there was no resistance possible for the overpowered crew. The +soldiers were on shore within the fort. They were but a handful of +men in comparison with their English assailants. It was impossible +to dispute possession. + +"Take to your boats and go ashore, and you shall not be molested," +was the next cry; and the men were forced to obey, the fighting +having lasted only a very brief space: for it was evident from the +first that the English were masters, and needless carnage was not +desired by them. + +Nevertheless the peril to the English sailors was by no means over +yet. The guns in the battery now opened fire upon the fleet of +boats, and a hailstorm of shot and shell raged round them; so that +the French sailors dared not leave the vessel, but crowded below +out of the hot fire, preferring to trust to the tender mercies of +their captors rather than to the guns of their countrymen. + +"Tow her away under one of our own batteries," was the order, given +as coolly as though this leaden rain were nothing but a summer +shower. + +Humphrey sprang to the side, and cut the cable which anchored her +to her moorings. Just at that moment a glow of light through the +fog fell across the deck, and looking up he saw a pillar of flame +rising from the water close at hand, and casting strange lights and +shadows upon the shifting mists which enwrapped them. + +"They have fired the Prudent!" exclaimed Julian. "Now we shall have +light for our task; but we shall be a better target for the enemy's +fire. We must lose no time. Cut loose the second cable; we should +be moving. See that the boats are all ready to tow us along. What a +grand sight that burning ship is! + +"Ah, I see now. She is aground with the ebb tide. They could not +move her, so they have fired her instead. There are her boats +rowing for shore with her crew in them!" + +It was a strange, grand sight, watching the flames enwrap the +doomed vessel from stem to stern, till she was one sheet of rosy +light. Even the guns from shore had ceased to fire for a brief +space, as though the gunners were watching the weird spectacle of +the illuminated fog, or were perhaps afraid lest their fire should +hurt their own comrades in the boats. But the English sailors took +advantage of the lull to set to their task of towing the +Bienfaisant with hearty goodwill. + +"She moves! she moves!" cried Humphrey excitedly, standing at the +wheel to direct her course. "Well pulled, comrades--well pulled +indeed! Ah, their guns are going to speak again! They will not let +us go without a parting salute." + +The batteries on shore opened their mouths, and belched forth flame +and smoke. The ship staggered beneath the leaden hail; but the guns +were too high to do mischief to the boats upon the water, and the +sailors replied by a lusty cheer. Julian wiped away a few drops of +blood that trickled down his face from a slight cut on his temple; +but for the most part the shot struck only the spars and rigging, +whistling harmlessly over the heads of the men on deck, who laughed +and cheered as they encouraged their comrades in the boats to row +their hardest and get beyond reach of the enemy's fire. + +Wolfe had planted a battery himself just lately which commanded a +part of the harbour, and beneath this sheltering battery the +Bienfaisant was towed, whilst the sailors cheered might and main; +and once out of reach of the enemy's fire, rested on their oars and +watched the grand illumination of the flame-wrapped Prudent. + +"If war is a horrible thing," said Julian reflectively to Humphrey, +"it has at least its grand sights. Look at the red glare upon the +shifting fog banks! Is it not like some wild diabolic carnival? One +could fancy one saw the forms of demons flitting to and fro in all +that reek and glare." + +Humphrey's grave young face wore a rather stern look. + +"I have seen other fires than that, and heard of those I have not +seen--fires the memory of which will live in my heart for years and +years! If we burn the vessels of the French, is it not because they +have hounded on the Indians to burn our homesteads, ay, and with +them our defenceless wives and children, mothers and sisters? Shall +not deeds like these bring about a stern retaliation? Are we not +here to take vengeance upon those who have been treacherous foes, +and shamed the Christian profession that they make? Shall we pity +or spare when we remember what they have done? The blood of our +brothers cries out to us. We do but repay them in their own coin." + +"Yes," returned Julian thoughtfully; "there is a stern law of +reaping and sowing ordained of God Himself. We may well believe +that we are instruments in His hands for the carrying out of His +purpose. Yet we must seek always to be led of Him, and not to take +matters into our own hands. 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith +the Lord.'" + +"I believe He will," said Humphrey, with a flash in his eyes; "but +give it to me to be there to see!" + +"As I think we shall," answered Julian, "for I believe that the key +of the war will lie next at Quebec. Whoever holds that, holds the +power in Canada, and from Canada can command the western frontier. +And the taking of Quebec is the object upon which the mind of Wolfe +is firmly set. You know how often he has said to us, 'If I could +achieve that, I could say my Nunc Dimittis with joy and +thankfulness.' I believe in my heart that he will live to see that +glorious victory for England's arms." + +Wolfe was waiting upon the strand for the boat which brought Julian +and Humphrey back with the details of the victorious enterprise. He +grasped them both by the hand. + +"Now I think that surrender cannot much longer be delayed, and, in +truth, I hope it will not be. News has reached us from the west of +some great disaster at Ticonderoga. It is but the voice of rumour. +A light fishing smack brought letters to the General this evening, +dated from Albany, and sent by special messenger. Nothing definite +is known; but they report a disastrous defeat, attributed to the +untimely death of Lord Howe quite early in the expedition. I cannot +say what truth there may be in this, but I fear some great disaster +has recently taken place. It has made the General and his officers +very stern and resolved. England's honour has been sorely tarnished +by these many defeats. But I believe her star will rise again. +Louisbourg at least must fall ere long." + +Julian and Humphrey were both filled with sorrow and anxiety at +this piece of news. Charles and Fritz were both likely, they +thought, if living still, to be there with the army; and one was +anxious for news of his brother, and the other of his comrade and +friend. + +"When Louisbourg is taken," said Humphrey, "I shall ask leave of +absence to go to seek my brother. My sister in Philadelphia will +give me tidings of him. I shall go thither, and come back when the +attempt upon proud Quebec is made." + +"If I had my way, we should sail from Louisbourg straight for +Quebec," cried Wolfe, with a flash in his eyes. "I would follow up +one blow by another. Yet I know not whether our instructions will +carry us thus far. Nevertheless, I hope to live to see the day when +the English flag shall wave over the ramparts of that city and +fortress which has been called the Impregnable." + +The news, rumour though it was and unconfirmed, of fresh disaster +to the English arms in the interior excited much feeling in the +English ranks. Had there been another massacre, such as had +disgraced the struggle at Fort William Henry? What would be the +next tidings which would reach them of their brethren in arms? + +There had been so many tales of horror told out in the wild west +that strong men often shuddered at the bare thought of what they +might have to bear. So the faces of men and officers were alike +stern and dark; and when the white flag fluttered at last from the +walls of Louisbourg, and the news ran like wildfire through the +camp that the fortress was about to surrender, there was a feeling +in all hearts that the terms granted should not be too easy. France +owed England a deep and mighty debt, which sooner or later she must +pay. + +Wolfe was sent for to be with General Amherst when he received the +deputation of the French, and he returned to his quarters looking +grave and thoughtful. + +"We have told them that they must surrender as prisoners of war, +and send their reply within an hour. If they refuse, we attack at +once both by land and sea. We are all resolved that the siege shall +be brought to an end. If we could have been here a month earlier, +we might have effected a junction with our friends in the west, and +have averted the calamity which has overtaken them there." + +"Will they accept?" asked Julian eagerly. "They are in a sore +strait, but yet they are brave men. They might, perhaps, have +looked to be permitted to march out with the honours of war after +their bold defence." + +"Yes; and this would have been granted them had it not been for +what happened at Fort William Henry. But the memory of that day +cannot be wiped out from the memory of our officers, The General +was supported by the bulk of his officers. They will have no +conditions. They will treat the sick and the wounded and the towns +people with every consideration, but they will be absolute masters. +The Admiral was there, and he and the General signed the note. They +are resolved to abide by its contents." + +Excitement reigned everywhere. The firing had ceased, and the +stillness of the air was like that which sometimes precedes the +bursting of a thunderstorm, What reply would the fort return? and +how quickly would it arrive? It was understood that, in the event +of delay, a general assault would be made, and some of the soldiers +would have eagerly welcomed the order for the advance. + +Keen excitement prevailed when it became known that a messenger had +come, not bringing the expected reply, but one asking for less +rigorous terms. + +"The General would not see him," was the cry. "He was sent back to +say that nothing would be changed from the last letter addressed to +the Governor. The Admiral and General are alike agreed. There will +be no wavering from that." + +It was plain that there was some variance in the city itself. In +the ranks of the besieging force there was intense excitement and +stir. Every man was looking to his arms, save when he was asking +news and gazing towards the walls of the city. That something +decisive must soon be settled was apparent to all. + +The white flag again! A messenger was coming out towards the camp +with the reply. He appeared in no haste, and paused again and again +to look back. Suddenly another man appeared running hastily after +him. The first messenger paused, consulted with him, and then +turned back towards the city. The second man ran on alone, making +vehement signs, as though afraid there might yet be some +misunderstanding. + +"We accept! we accept!" he shouted out, waving a paper above his +head, beside himself with excitement. + +Two men followed him; they were taken into the tent of the General, +who, with the Admiral, was awaiting the final answer. But the first +messenger remained without, panting and exhausted, and Julian +instantly recognized him as an officer who had shown him some +kindness during his short stay within the fortress. + +He came up to him now, and the recognition was mutual. + +"So you were a spy all the while, my friend!" said the Frenchman, +with something like a grim laugh. "Had we known that, you would +have received a different welcome. Ah well, it matters little now. +And it is a pity for brave men to die like dogs. We were in a sad +pass before. You could not have told much that was not already +known." + +"The fortress is ready to capitulate?" + +"Not the fortress, but the town. Bad as our condition is, we would +not have surrendered on those terms. We had indeed dispatched a +messenger to say as much. But the Provost and the citizens were too +many for us. They ran to the citadel, and made such work that the +Governor yielded, and I offered, being fleet of foot, to run after +the messenger and stop him if it could be done. Luckily his own +heart misgave him, and he had not hurried. And close upon my heels +were sent others with more definite instructions. And thus +Louisbourg passes into the hands of gallant foes. But I trust they +will show every courtesy to our brave Madame." + +"Have no fear on that score," answered Julian; "I have told in the +English camp of the bravery and gracious kindness of Madame le +General. Our commander will see that she is treated with every +consideration; as also the sick and wounded, her special charge. It +is well not to drive us to assault the weakened town. Now we shall +enter as friends rather than foes." + +"So said the Provost, remembering that the English have much cause +of complaint against us. We cannot deny that ourselves. Ah me! it +is the chance of war. We have had our triumphs, and now you have +your turn. It is not here but at Quebec that the real trial of +strength will be. I think, my friends, you will find that you have +a hard nut to crack there." + +"So they said of Louisbourg, and yet that has been done," answered +Julian, with a smile. "But come in, and refresh yourself in my tent +here whilst the messengers are conferring with our General. They +will have to draw up terms of capitulation. There will be time to +get a good meal whilst that is being done." + +At dawn the following morning the drums beat. The English soldiers +got into order, and marched through the Dauphin gate into the town. +The French soldiers, drawn up in array, threw down their muskets, +and with tears of mortification marched away, leaving the victors +in possession. + +The English flag was run up, amid wild cheering, and floated over +the grim and shattered ramparts. The turn of the tide had come at +last, and Louisbourg had fallen into the hands of the English. + + + +Chapter 4: The Fruits Of Victory. + + +Wolfe lay upon a couch in a comfortable apartment, such as he had +not inhabited since he set sail from England months ago. It was in +the citadel itself--in the heart of the King's Bastion, where the +Governor had his quarters. + +Wolfe had been the life and soul of the siege. To his genius and +indomitable resolution the victory of the English arms had been +largely due. He had forced himself to take the lead, and had toiled +night and day in the crisis of the struggle and the final triumph; +and even after the victors had marched in, his eyes seemed to be +everywhere, enforcing discipline, preventing any sort of disorder +or licence amongst the soldiers, and sternly repressing the +smallest attempt on their part to plunder the townsfolk, or take +the slightest advantage of their helpless condition. + +He had specially seen to the condition of the sick and wounded, +insuring them the same care as was given to the English in like +case. This had been one of the articles of the capitulation, but it +was one which was in like cases too often carelessly carried out, +sometimes almost ignored. + +Wolfe with his own eyes saw that there was no shirking, no +mismanagement here. He seemed to be everywhere at once during those +busy days which followed the entrance into the town. But outraged +nature would have her revenge at last, and for three days he had +lain helpless and suffering in the room assigned to him in the +Governor's house, watched over and tended by Julian, who had by +this time come to have a very adequate idea as to the treatment +most needed by him when those attacks came on. + +The cool of the evening had followed upon the heat of a very sultry +day, which had greatly tried the sufferer. Wolfe looked up, and saw +his friend beside him, and smiled in recognition of his attentions. + +"You are always here, Julian; you must surely want rest yourself. +You have been here night and day. I know it even though I may not +seem to do so. But I shall be on my legs again soon. I can feel +that the access of pain is abating. How have things been going in +the town since I was laid by the heels?" + +"Oh well, several vessels with their load of prisoners have already +sailed for England; many of the townsfolk and merchants have +started, or are starting, for France; some regiments of our men are +to be sent at once to reinforce General Abercromby. I fear by all +accounts that they will come too late to be of any real use for the +campaign this season. It is quite true that he suffered a crushing +defeat at Ticonderoga, due, as many of the officers say, to bad +generalship. Still he will doubtless be glad of support in the +wilderness, wherever he may be. Humphrey is to start with the first +detachment; he expects his orders for departure daily." + +Wolfe raised himself upon his elbow and sat up, despite his +weakness, fired by excitement and energy. + +"But Quebec, Quebec, Quebec!" he exclaimed; "surely we are going +forward to Quebec?" + +Julian shook his head doubtfully. + +"I fear me not at least this present season. I hear it said that +General Amherst was ready, but that the Admiral was against it for +the present. They say there is still much to do in subduing the +adjacent possessions of France in these lands, and so paving the +way for the greater enterprise. Various officers are to be sent +hither and thither upon expeditions to small settlements, to uproot +or destroy them. When this has been done, perhaps the move to +Quebec will be made. But I fear me it will not be before next +year." + +Wolfe made a gesture of irritation and impatience. + +"Have we not yet had enough of procrastination?" he questioned +bitterly. "Will England never learn the lesson which her reverses +should have taught her? What boots the victory we have gained here, +if it be not the stepping stone to lead us to Quebec?" + +"Who speaks of Quebec?" asked a clear, musical voice at the +half-open door; and Julian sprang to his feet, exclaiming as he did +so: + +"It is Madame Drucour! she has come every day to see and inquire +after you." + +Hearing the sound of her name, the lady pushed open the door and +entered--a graceful, stately figure clothed all in black; her +beautiful face worn and pale, and trouble lurking in the depths of +her hazel eyes; yet calm and serene and noble of aspect as she +moved forward and held out a slim white hand to the patient. + +"You are better, Monsieur?" she asked, in her full, rich tones. "I +trust that the suffering is less than it was. The fever, I can see, +has abated somewhat." + +Wolfe carried the hand he held to his lips. In common with all the +officers who had made her acquaintance, Wolfe had come to have a +very high opinion of Madame Drucour. + +"I thank you, gracious lady, for your condescension in asking. I +trust soon to be restored to such measure of health and strength as +I ever enjoy. At best I am but a cranky creature; but with quarters +such as these I should be worse than ungrateful if I did not mend. +I trust my presence here has caused you no inconvenience; for truly +I believe that I am in your house, and that I owe to you the +comforts I enjoy." + +She gave a strange little smile as she seated herself beside him. + +"In truth, Monsieur, I know not what I may call my own today. This +town and fortress are now no longer ours, and we are but here +ourselves on sufferance--prisoners of war--" + +"Nay, nay, not prisoners--not you, Madame," answered Wolfe hastily. +"We war not against women--least of all such noble ladies as +yourself!" + +She acknowledged this speech by a little motion of the head, and +then continued, in a tone at once sorrowful and dignified: "I +cannot separate myself from those amongst whom I have lived for so +long. I acknowledge with gratitude the courtesy I have received +from all. I know that my personal liberty is assured to me. But my +heart will always be where there is need of help by my own +countrymen. If not a prisoner to the English, I am held in other +bonds." + +"Ah yes," answered Wolfe, with an answering sparkle in his eye; +"that I understand well. We are all bound to our country in bonds +that cannot be severed. And yet we are bound to the common cause of +humanity, and there we meet on common ground. We need not remember +anything else at such a time, Madame. We serve in one army there. +Do not our wounded as well as your own bless the sight of your face +and the sound of your voice amongst them?" + +"And have they not cause to bless the name of that brave officer +who, in spite of his own weakness and suffering, would not rest +until he had seen in person that all were cared for--foes as well +as friends? Yes, truly, Monsieur, in one warfare we can stand upon +the same side, and fight the same battle against disease and +suffering and death. I would that this were the only kind of +warfare that is known in the world!" + +"And I too--sometimes," replied Wolfe, lying back again on his +pillows and looking dreamily out before him. "There are moments, it +is true, when the battle fever works in a man's blood, and war +seems to him then a glorious game. But it has its terrible and +hateful side, as every soldier knows well. And yet the day seems +far away when wars shall be no more." + +"Indeed yes," answered Madame Drucour, with a little sigh; "we have +a sorrowful prospect before us yet. What was the word which I heard +you speak as I entered? Was it not of that projected march upon +Quebec?" + +"It was," answered Wolfe frankly. "I may not deny, Madame, that the +longing of my heart at this moment is to try conclusions with your +gallant countrymen beneath the walls of Quebec." + +"You are bold, Monsieur," said Madame Drucour, with a little smile. + +"You know Quebec, Madame?" + +"Very well. It is there that I purpose going with my husband when +the exchange is completed which gives him his liberty. I have +relatives there, and I go to be with them when duty may call my +husband elsewhere. If you come to Quebec, Monsieur, we may +perchance meet again." + +"It will be something happy to look forward to." + +"There is always joy in feeling that the foe we fight is a noble +and generous one. I shall tell in Quebec how the English General, +though stern in his terms of capitulation, refused to me nothing +that I asked when once the town was given up, and how generously he +and all his officers showed themselves, and in especial +one--Brigadier Wolfe!" + +The young man bowed at the compliment. + +"And I, on my side, shall know that if Madame Drucour is within the +walls of Quebec, no garrison can fail to be gallant and devoted. +Such an example before their eyes would put heart and heroism into +the most faint hearted." + +A very sincere liking grew up between Madame Drucour and her guests +before Wolfe was on his legs again, and able to return to his +quarters amongst his men. Indeed, his happiest hours were spent in +the company of that lady, for there was much to vex and try him +when in the camp. + +There was to be no move upon Quebec that season and Wolfe chafed +rather bitterly at the decision, and wrote to General Amherst in +stronger terms than most subordinate officers would have ventured +to do. He even spoke of throwing up the service, if nothing were to +be done at such a critical time; but the General would not hear of +losing so valuable an officer, and indeed, in spite of the +irritability sometimes engendered by his ill-health, Wolfe was too +much the soldier at heart ever to abandon his calling. + +It was, however, rather hard to one of his ardent and chivalrous +temperament, eager for the great blow to be struck against Quebec, +to be deputed to harry and destroy a number of little fishing +settlements along the Gulf of St. Lawrence--which measure he +considered a needless severity, and hated accordingly. It was a +relief to him to know that Pitt, having heard of his severe bout of +illness after the taking of Louisbourg, had summoned him back to +England to recruit his health. + +"When we have finished our great exploit of robbing fishermen of +their nets and burning their huts, we will to England again, +Julian; and you will come with me, my trusty comrade and friend. If +we are spreading the terror of England's name here, we are not +adding to her laurels. Let me remain at home till there be real +warfare to accomplish, and then let me come out again. This task is +odious and sickening to me. Were it not that another might show +more harshness and barbarity over it, I would e'en decline the +mission." + +Humphrey had already left Louisbourg for Philadelphia and the +western frontier; but Julian had elected to remain with Wolfe, who +had come to depend upon him in no small measure. There was +something in the temperaments of the two men which made them +congenial one to the other. Wolfe's restless irritability was +soothed by Julian's quiet calmness, and there was in both men a +strain of ardent patriotism and self devotion which gave them +sympathies in common. + +Together they set sail for England when the soldier's work was +done, and after a fairly prosperous voyage they landed in that +country, and immediately started for Bath, where Wolfe hoped to +find relief from his rheumatic troubles, and gain the strength +which he had lost during this hard campaign. + +"I think my mother will be awaiting me there this time," he said, +with a light in his eyes. "You have never seen my mother yet, +Julian. Ah, how I long to see her again! she has been such a mother +to me! There are times when I think if I have to give up this +profession of arms, and take to a quiet life, I could have a very +happy life at home with my mother. We suit each other so well, and +we are like each other in our foibles and weaknesses. I think I +have inherited my cranky health from her, but not her beauty. You +will see for yourself how little like her I am in that respect when +we get home." + +To Julian, who had known nothing of the joys of home since he left +his valley in the far south of the Western world, and who had no +home to call his own now, there was something touching in the +eagerness of Wolfe to reach his home and his mother. His father was +not likely to be there. He would almost certainly be either in +Kent, or else abroad; for he still held a command in the army, and +the war on the Continent was still raging furiously. But the mother +would be awaiting her son in the house he had written to ask her to +secure for him again. It was within easy reach of the town, and yet +it was quiet and secluded, and suited his tastes and habits. + +It was almost dark one murky autumn evening when the lumbering +coach, which had conveyed the friends the last stages of their +journey, drew up at the door of the house. Lights shone in the +windows, and from the open door there streamed out a glowing shaft +of yellow light, bespeaking the warm welcome awaiting the tired +traveller. + +Wolfe had been weary to the verge of exhaustion when they had +abandoned the attempt to ride the whole distance, and had secured +the heavy coach; but now he seemed to revive to new life, and he +sprang from it with some of the activity of youth and strength. + +"Mother--there is my mother!" he exclaimed; and Julian saw him take +the steps two at a time, to meet the advancing greeting from the +mother who had come to welcome home her son. + +Mrs. Wolfe was a distinctly beautiful woman, whose beauty had been +but little dimmed by time. There was a sweet, matronly repose about +her, and the brightness of her red-gold hair was dashed with +streaks of soft grey beneath the laces with which it was crowned. +But her complexion was clear and fair, and there was a look of soft +fragility about her which made the son's protecting air of +solicitude a natural and appropriate one. She folded him in her +arms in a long, rapturous embrace; and Julian stood silently by the +while, reverent of that deep love which for the moment could find +no expression save in the whispered words: + +"Mother! mother! mother!" + +"My son--my dear boy! my son come back to me!" + +When the lady turned at length to greet the silent figure who stood +silently watching this meeting, Julian could see that the tears +were standing upon her cheeks and sparkling in her eyes. + +"You will pardon me, sir, for this apparent neglect," she said +sweetly, putting her thin jewelled fingers into Julian's hand; "but +when my boy goes forth to the fight, I never know whether it will +be God's will to send him back to me safe and sound. A mother's +heart cannot but be full upon a day like this. But second only to +my joy in welcoming him back is this of making acquaintance with +the trusty friend who has been so much to him during his perils and +labours." + +"Madam, it has been the joy and honour of my life to be able to +serve so great a soldier and so noble a man!" + +The warm clasp upon his fingers gave the mother's answer to this; +and then they all moved within the lighted hall, where a glowing +fire and a number of candles gave bright illumination, and where +quite a hubbub of welcome was going on. The servants were pressing +forward to see and greet their young master, who had come home +crowned with laurels. It was known by this time in England how much +of the success at Louisbourg had been due to Wolfe's unfailing +energy and intrepidity. He was a hero at home as well as abroad, +though he had hardly realized it yet. Moreover, he was vociferously +welcomed by his dogs, all of whom had been brought by his mother to +meet their master again; and he had much ado to return the manifold +greetings bestowed upon him, and to free himself at last from the +demonstrative affection of his canine friends. + +A plentiful supper was awaiting the wearied travellers; and it was +when they had put in order their dress and entered the dining room +that they were aware of the presence of another lady, a very +handsome, dark-eyed girl, who stood beside the glowing fire +regarding their entrance with looks of unaffected interest. + +"My dear," said Mrs. Wolfe, "let me present to you my son James, of +whom you know much, although you have never met; and his friend and +companion, Lieutenant Julian Dautray, whose name is equally known +to you. + +"This, James, is Miss Kate Lowther, the daughter of an old friend +of ours, who has left her in my charge whilst he takes a last +voyage to Barbados, where once he was Governor, to be my daughter +and companion till he comes back to claim her." + +The bright-eyed girl dropped a courtesy to the gentlemen, who bowed +low before her; but then holding out her hand frankly to Wolfe, she +said in a clear, fresh voice. + +"I am so glad to see you, Cousin James. I am going to call you that +because I call your mother Aunt, and she has given me leave to do +so. I know so much about you from your letters. I have copied every +one of them to send to your father, for Aunt will not part with the +originals even for him! I know all about Louisbourg, and the +batteries, and the ships, and the big guns. Oh, I think if I were a +man I could become an officer at once, and command a great campaign +like that one! We had such rejoicings here when the news came! it +was like new life to us. We had heard of that dreadful defeat at +Ticonderoga, and it seemed as though England was never to rise from +the dust of humiliation. It was openly said that Louisbourg would +never fall; that it was as impregnable as Quebec. Oh, there was +such lugubrious talk! And then came the news of the victory, and of +Brigadier Wolfe's valiant and doughty deeds. You may guess how your +mother's eyes shone at that! And all England echoed to the sound of +your name!" + +"A name more formidable in sound than in reality," spoke Wolfe, +laughing, but cheered and pleased by the sincere and pretty +enthusiasm of the winning girl. "When those who have kindly admired +me from the distance come to inspect me in person, what a shock +they will receive! We shall have to palm Julian here off as the +right man; he will play the part with much more dignity and grace." + +Kate looked from one to the other laughing. + +"What do you expect me to say to that? Lieutenant Dautray looks +every inch a soldier; but I think, Cousin James, that you have the +air of the man born to command." + +"In spite of my cropped red head and lanky limbs? I am proud of the +compliment paid me." + +Wolfe was certainly rather taken aback to find himself a man of so +much mark when he showed himself in Bath. He had quite an ovation +when first he appeared at the Pump Room; and although he was in a +measure accustomed to lead a public life, and to be the object of +attention and even admiration, he shrank from having this carried +into his private life, and was happiest at home with his mother and +friend, and with bright Kate Lowther, with whom he soon became +wonderfully intimate. + +The girl's sincere affection for his frail and delicate mother +would in any case have won his heart; but there was something +exceedingly attractive in her whole personality and in her eager +interest in his past career and in the fortunes of the war. She +would sit for hours beside him whilst he related to his mother the +incidents of the campaign, and her questions and comments showed a +quick intelligence and ready sympathy that were a never-failing +source of interest to him. + +Her strength and vitality were refreshing to one who was himself +almost always weak and suffering. He would watch her at play with +the dogs in the garden, or up and down the staircase, and delight +in the grace and vigour of her movements. She would come in from +her walks and rides with a glow upon her face and a light in her +eyes, and sitting down beside him would relate all that had +befallen her since her departure an hour or two before--telling +everything in so racy and lively a fashion that it became the +chiefest pleasure of Wolfe's life to lie and look at her and listen +to her conversation. + +Christmas was close upon them. It would be a bright and happy +season for mother and son, spent together after their long +separation. Upon the eve of that day Kate came eagerly in with a +large official letter in her hand, addressed to the soldier. It was +a moment of excitement whilst he opened it, for it was known that +he had been corresponding latterly with several ministers +respecting the proposed expedition against Quebec, and all knew how +dear to his heart was the fulfilment of that daring scheme. + +As he read the document his cheek flushed. He sat up more erect in +his chair, and there came into his face a look which his soldiers +well knew. It was always to be seen there when he led them into +battle. + +"Mother," he said very quietly, "Mr. Pitt has chosen me to command +the expedition now fitting out against Quebec." + +Mrs. Wolfe gave a little gasp, the tears springing to her eyes; but +over Kate's face there spread a deep, beautiful flush, and she +grasped the young man by the hand, exclaiming: + +"O Cousin James, how glad I am! What a splendid victory it will +be!" + +"If it be won!" he said, looking up at her with kindling eyes. "But +there is always an 'if' in the case." + +"There will be none when you are in command," answered Kate, with a +ring of proud assurance in her voice. "Had you been commander of +the Louisbourg expedition, Quebec would have been ours by now." + +Their eyes met. In hers he read unbounded admiration and faith. It +thrilled him strangely. It brought a look of new purpose into his +face. He held her hand, and she left it lying in his clasp. He was +holding it still when he turned to his mother. + +"Are you not glad, mother mine?" he asked gently. + +"Oh yes, my son--glad and proud of the honour done you, of the +appreciation shown of your worth and service. But how will you be +able to undergo all that fatigue, and the perils and sufferings of +another voyage? That is what goes to my heart. You are so little +fit for it all!" + +"I have found that a man can always be fit for his duty," said +Wolfe gravely. "Is not that so, Kate?" + +"With you it is," she answered, with another of her wonderful +glances; and the mother, watching the faces of the pair, rose from +her seat and crept from the room. Her heart was at once glad and +sorrowful, proud and heavy; she felt that she must ease it with a +little weeping before she could talk of this great thing with the +spirit her son would look to find in her. + +Wolfe and Kate were left alone together. He got possession of her +other hand. She was standing before him still, a beautiful bloom +upon her face, her eyes shining like stars. + +"You are pleased with all this, my Kate?" he asked; and he let the +last words escape him unconsciously. + +"Pleased that your country should do you this great honour? Of +course I am pleased. You have deserved it at her hands; yet men do +not always get their deserts in this world." + +"No; and you must not think that there are not hundreds of better +and braver men than myself in our army, or that I am a very +wonderful person. I have got the wish of my heart--it has been +granted to me more fully than I ever looked to see it; but how +often do we see in the hour of triumph that there is something +bitter in the cup, something we had not looked to find there. Three +months ago I was burning to sail for Quebec, and now--" + +He paused for a moment, and she looked full at him. + +"Surely you have not changed. You want to go; your heart is set +upon it!" + +"Yes," he answered gravely: "my wish and purpose have never +wavered; but now my heart is divided. Once it beat only for my +country, and the clash of arms was music in my ears; now it has +found a rival elsewhere. If I go to Quebec, I must leave you +behind, my Kate!" + +Suddenly into her bright eyes there sprang the smart of tears. She +clasped the hands that held hers and pressed them closely. + +"It will not be for long," she said; "you will return covered with +glory and renown!" + +"It may be so, it may be so; yet who can tell? Think how many +gallant soldiers have been left behind upon that great continent: +Braddock, Howe--oh, I could name many others less known to fame, +perhaps, but gallant soldiers all. We go out with our lives in our +hand, and so many never return!" + +The tears began to fall slowly in sparkling drops. She could not +release her hands to wipe them away. + +"Do not speak so, James; it is not like you! Why do you try to +break my heart?" + +"Would you care so much, so much, were I to find a soldier's +grave?" + +A quick sob was her reply. She turned her head away. + +"Kate, do you love me?" + +"I think you know that I do, James." + +"I have begun to hope, and yet I have scarcely dared. You so full +of life and strength and beauty, and I such a broken crock!" + +"A hero, you mean!" she answered, with flashing eyes--"a soldier +and a hero; tenfold more a hero in that you overcome pain and +weakness, sickness and suffering, in the discharge of your duty, +and do things that others would declare impossible! Oh yes, I have +heard of you; Lieutenant Dautray has told me. I know how you have +done the impossible again and yet again. James, you will do this +once again. You will storm that great fortress which men call +impregnable--you will storm it and you will vanquish it; and you +will come home crowned with glory and honour! And I shall be here +waiting for you; I shall watch and wait till you come. It is +written in the book of fate that your name is to go down to +posterity as the hero of Quebec. I am sure of it--oh, I am sure! Do +not say anything to damp my hope, for I will not believe you!" + +He looked into her face, and his own kindled strangely. "I will say +nothing but that I love you--I love you--I love you! Today that is +enough between us, Kate. Let the rest go--the honour and glory of +the world, the commission, and all besides. Today we belong to each +other; tomorrow we sing of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Let +that suffice us; let us forget the rest. We will be happy together +in our love, and in love to all mankind. After that we must think +again of these things. Afterwards thoughts of war and strife must +have their place; but for once let love be lord of our lives. After +that storm and strife--and Quebec!" + + + +Book 5: Within Quebec. + +Chapter 1: The Impregnable City. + + +Within a lofty chamber, with narrow windows and walls of massive +thickness, stood a young, bright-haired girl, looking with dreamy +eyes across the wide waters of the great St. Lawrence, as it rolled +its majestic course some hundreds of feet below. Although that +mighty waterway narrowed as it passed the rocky promontory upon +which the city of Quebec was built, it was even there a wonderful +river; and looking westward, as the girl was doing, it seemed to +spread out before her eyes like a veritable sea. It was dotted with +ships of various dimensions bringing in supplies, or news of coming +help or peril--news of that great armament from distant England, +perhaps, whose approach was being awaited by all within the city +with a sense of intense expectancy, not entirely unmixed with fear. + +True, the soldiers laughed to scorn the idea of any attack upon +Quebec. It stood upon its rocky tongue of land, frowning and +unassailable, as it seemed to them. All along the north bank of the +lower river the French were throwing up earthworks and intrenching +their army, to hinder any attempt at landing troops there; and the +guns of the town batteries would soon sink and destroy any vessel +rash enough to try to pass the town, and gain a footing upon the +shores above. Indeed, so frowning and precipitous were these that +nature herself seemed to be sufficient guard. + +"Let the English come, and see what welcome we have got for them!" +was a favourite exclamation from soldiers and townsfolk; yet all +the same there was anxiety in the faces of those who watched daily +for the first approach of the English sails. Had not Louisbourg +said the same, and yet had fallen before English hardihood and +resolution? Those in the highest places in this Canadian capital +best knew the rotten condition into which her affairs had fallen. +The corruption amongst officials, the jealousy between Governor and +General, the crafty self seeking of the Intendant--these and a +hundred other things were enough to cause much anxiety at +headquarters. The grand schemes of the French for acquiring a whole +vast continent were fast dwindling down to the anxious hope of +being able to keep what they already possessed. + +The girl gazing forth from the narrow window was turning over in +her mind the things that she had heard. Her fair face was grave, +yet it was bright, too, and as she threw out her hand towards the +vista of the great river rolling its mighty volume of water towards +the sea, she suddenly exclaimed: + +"And what if they do come? what if they do conquer? Have we not +deserved it? have we not brought ruin upon our own heads by the +wickedness and cruelty we have made our allies? And if England's +flag should one day wave over the fortress of Quebec, as it now +does over that of Louisbourg, what is that to me? Have I not +English--or Scotch--blood in my veins? Am I not as much English as +French? I sometimes think that, had I my choice, England would be +the country where I should best love to dwell. It is the land of +freedom--all say that, even my good uncle, who knows so well. I +love freedom; I love what is noble and great. Sometimes I feel in +my heart that England will be the greatest country of the world." + +Her eyes glowed; she stretched forth her hands in a speaking +gesture. The waters of the great river seemed to flash back an +answer. Cooped up within frowning walls, amid the buildings of the +fortress and upper town, Corinne felt sometimes like a bird in a +prison cage; and yet the life fascinated her, with its constant +excitements, its military environment, its atmosphere of coming +danger. She did not want to leave Quebec till the struggle between +the nations had been fought out. And yet she scarcely knew which +side she wished to see win. French though her training had been of +late years, yet her childhood had been spent in the stormy north, +amid an English-speaking people. She had seen much that disgusted +and saddened her here amongst the French of Canada. She despised +the aged libertine who still sat upon the French throne with all +the scorn and disgust of an ardent nature full of noble impulses. + +"I hate to call myself his subject!" she had been known to say. "I +will be free to choose to which nation I will belong. I have the +right to call myself English if I choose." + +Not that Corinne very often gave way to such open demonstrations of +her national independence, It was to her aunt, Madame Drucour, with +whom she was now making a home, that she indulged these little +rhapsodies, secure of a certain amount of indulgence and even +sympathy from that lady, who had reason to think and speak well of +English gallantry and chivalry. + +Madame Drucour occupied a small house wedged in amongst the +numerous strongly-built houses and ecclesiastical buildings of the +upper town of Quebec. The house had been deserted by its original +occupants upon the first news of the fall of Louisbourg. Many of +the inhabitants of Quebec had taken fright at that, and had sailed +for France; and Madame Drucour had been placed here by her husband, +who himself was wanted in other quarters to repel English advances. +The lady had been glad to summon to her side her niece Corinne, +who, since the state of the country had become so disturbed, had +been placed by her father and uncle in the Convent of the +Ursulines, under the charge of the good nuns there. + +Corinne had been fond of the nuns; but the life of the cloister was +little to her taste. She was glad enough to escape from its +monotony, and to make her home with her father's sister. Madame +Drucour could tell her the most thrilling and delightful stories of +the siege of Louisbourg. Already she felt to know a great deal +about war in general and sieges in particular. She often +experienced a thrill of pride and delight in the thought that she +herself was about to be a witness of a siege of which all the world +would be talking. + +As she stood at the window today, a footstep rang through the quiet +house below, and suddenly the door of the little chamber was flung +wide open. + +"Corinne!" cried a ringing voice which she well knew. + +She turned round with a little cry of joy. + +"Colin!" she cried, and the next minute brother and sister were +locked in a fervent embrace. + +"O Colin, Colin, when did you come, and whence?" + +"Just this last hour, and from Montreal," he answered. "Oh, what +strange adventures I have seen since last we met! Corinne, there +have been times when I thought never to see you again! I have so +much to say I know not where to begin. I have seen our triumphs, +and I have seen our defeat. Corinne, it is as our uncle said. There +is a great man now at the helm in England, and we are feeling his +power out here in the West." + +"Do you think the tide has turned against the French arms?" asked +Corinne breathlessly. + +"What else can I think? Has not Fort Frontenac fallen? Has not Fort +Duquesne been abandoned before the advancing foe? Our realm in the +west is cut away from Canada in the north. If we cannot reunite +them, our power is gone. And they say that Ticonderoga and Crown +Point will be the next to fall. The English are massing upon Lake +George. They have commanders of a different calibre now. Poor +Ticonderoga! I grew to love it well. I spent many a happy month +there. But what can we do to save it, threatened as we are now by +the English fleet in the great St. Lawrence itself?" + +"Are they not brave, these English?" cried Corinne, with an +enthusiasm of admiration in her face and voice. "Colin, I am glad, +oh very glad, that you and I are not all French. We can admire our +gallant foes without fear of disloyalty to our blood. We have cause +to know how gallant and chivalrous they can be." + +Colin's eyes lighted with eager pleasure. + +"You remember that day in the forest, Corinne, and how we were +protected by English Rangers from hurt?" + +"Ah, do I not! And I have heard, too, from our Aunt Drucour, of +their kindness and generosity to a conquered army--" + +But she stopped, and waited for her brother to speak, as she saw +that he had more to say. + +"You remember the big, tall Ranger, whose name was Fritz?" he said +eagerly. + +"Yes, I remember him well." + +"He is here--in Quebec--in this house at this very minute! He and I +have travelled from Montreal with my uncle." + +Corinne's eyes were bright with eager interest. + +Ah, Colin! is that truly so? And how came that about? You +travelling with an English Ranger!" + +"Yes, truly, and we owe our lives to his valour and protection. It +is strange how Dame Fortune has thrown us across each other's path +times and again during these past few short years. First, he saved +us from attack in the forest. You need not that I should tell you +more of that, Corinne. Afterwards, some few of us from Ticonderoga +saved the lives of him and of a few other Rangers who had fallen +into the hands of the Indians after that defeat at Fort William +Henry, which had scattered them far and wide. We felt such shame at +the way our Indian allies had behaved, and at the little protection +given to the prisoners of war by our Canadian troops, that we were +glad to show kindness and hospitality to the wanderers, Rangers +though they were; and when I recognized Fritz, I was the more glad. +He was wounded and ill, and we nursed him to health ere we sent him +away. After that it was long before we met again, and then he came +to our succour when we were in the same peril from Indians as he +had been himself the year before." + +"From Indians? O brother!" and Corinne shuddered, for she had that +horror of the red-skinned race which comes to those who have seen +and heard of their cruelties and treachery from those who have +dwelt amongst them. + +"Yes, you must know, Corinne, that in the west, where our uncle +goes with the word of life and truth, the Indians are already +wavering, and are disposed to return to their past friendship with +the English. They are wonderfully cunning and far-seeing. They seem +to have that same instinct as men say that rats possess, and are +eager to leave the sinking ship, or to join themselves to the +winning side, whichever way you like to put it. Since we have seen +misfortune they have begun to change towards us. We cannot trust +them out in the west. They are becoming sullen, if not hostile. A +very little and they will turn upon us with savage fury--at least +if they are not withheld from it by the English themselves." + +Corinne's cheek flushed; she flung back her head with an +indescribable gesture. + +"And I believe the English will withhold them. To our shame be it +spoken, the French have made use of them. They have stooped to a +warfare which makes civilized man shudder with horror. England will +not use such methods; I am sure of it, And she will prosper where +we have failed; for God in the heavens rules the nations upon +earth, and He will not suffer such wickedness to continue forever. +If France in the west falls, she falls rather by her own act than +by that of her foes." + +"That is what my uncle says," answered Colin earnestly; "it is what +he has striven all along to impress upon our leaders, but without +avail. He has been seeking, too, to show to the Indians themselves +the evil of their wicked practices. He has never been afraid of +them; he has always been their friend. But the day came when they +would no longer listen to him; when they drove us forth with hatred +and malice; when there came into their faces that which made me +more afraid than anything I have ever faced in my life before, +Corinne. We dared not stay. The chief dismissed us and bid us be +gone quickly, whilst he could still hold his people in check. He +did not wish harm to come to us; but savage blood is hard to check. + +"We got away from the village, and hoped the danger was over. We +made our way as well as we could towards Montreal. But our uncle +was weak; he had had several attacks of fever. One day he could not +travel. That night we were set upon by a score of wandering +Indians. They would not listen to our words, We were white men, +that was enough. All white men were their enemies, they said. They +would roast us alive first and eat us afterwards, they declared," + +"O Colin!" cried Corinne, with widely-dilated eyes. + +"Yes; I can see their eyes now, rolling and gleaming. They began +collecting light brushwood around the upright stakes they drove +into the ground. They laughed and yelled, and sprang about with +frightful contortions. They were working themselves up as they do +before they set to one of their frightful pieces of work. Our uncle +called me to him, and we prayed together. At least he prayed, and I +tried to follow his words; but I could do nothing but watch those +awful preparations. Then suddenly a shout arose from the forest +hard by, and the Indians seized their weapons. We sent up a shout, +caring little whether it was answered by English or French. We knew +that what we had heard was no Indian whoop; it came from the +throats of white men. + +"Next minute a body of Rangers had dashed amongst us. The Indians +fled, scattering right and left like chaff before the wind. Next +minute I distinguished the friendly face of Fritz. He was kneeling +beside our uncle, and asking him tenderly if he were hurt." + +"The same Fritz as saved us in the forest! Oh, I am glad it was +he!" + +"So was I; and doubly glad when I found that he knew more about the +cure of these forest fevers than even our uncle himself. The +Rangers made a hut for us, and for three days Fritz doctored our +uncle, till he was almost well again. But they would not leave us +in the forest, with the bands of treacherous Indians prowling +around. They escorted us to within a short distance of Montreal +itself, and Fritz consented to come into the city as our guest; and +since he speaks French almost as well as English, he was a welcome +guest to all. He became so much attached to my uncle that he +consented to come with us to Quebec. For he is anxious to join the +English squadron when it reaches these waters, and my uncle gave +him his word of honour that no hindrance shall be placed in the way +of his doing so. Perhaps it may be even well for one who has seen +the extreme strength of the town, and the preparations made for its +defence by land and sea, to go to warn the bold invaders that the +task they contemplate is one which is well nigh if not quite +impossible." + +"O Colin, it is good indeed to have you again, out of the very jaws +of death! Let me go myself and thank this noble Fritz for his good +offices. Colin, I fear me I am half a traitor to the cause of +France already; for there is that in my heart which bids me regard +the English as friends rather than as foes. And when I hear men +shake their heads and say that they may one day be the masters of +these broad lands of the west, it raises within me no feeling of +anger or grief. I cannot be a true daughter of France to feel so!" + +"And yet I share that feeling, Corinne. I often feel that I am less +than half a Frenchman! My good uncle sometimes shakes his head over +me; but then he smiles, and says that the mother's blood always +runs strong in the firstborn son; and methinks, had our mother +lived, she would have been on the side of those who speak her +tongue and hail from the grey lands of the north." + +"Ah, it is good that you feel the same, Colin! I had almost chided +myself for being half a traitor. And now take me to our good friend +Fritz, that I may thank him myself and see him again with mine own +eyes." + +Brother and sister descended the stone stairway which divided the +various floors of that narrow house. As they reached the foot of +the staircase, they heard the sound of voices from a half-open +door, and Corinne said with a smile: + +"It is our Aunt Drucour talking with the stranger. She is ever +eager for news of the war. A soldier is always a friend to her, so +as he brings her tidings." + +The room into which Corinne and Colin stepped softly, so as not to +disturb the conversation of their elders, was a long and narrow +apartment, with the same small windows which characterized the rest +of the house. A table in the centre of the room took up the chief +of the space, and at this table sat a bronzed and stalwart man, +whom Corinne instantly recognized as her protector in that forest +adventure of long ago. He was seated with a trencher before him, +and was doing an justice to the fare set out; but he was also in +earnest conversation with Madame Drucour, who was seated opposite, +her elbows lightly resting upon the table, and her chin upon her +clasped hands. + +Upon a couch beneath the window lay the Abbe himself, with a cup of +wine beside him. He looked like a man who has been through +considerable fatigue and hardship, though his brow was serene and +his eyes were bright as he followed the rapid conversation which +passed be tween the pair at the tables. + +As the boy and girl entered it was Fritz who was speaking, and he +spoke eagerly. + +"You have seen Julian Dautray, my friend and comrade who sailed +away to England several years since on an embassy from the town of +Philadelphia? Now this is news indeed. For I have heard no word of +him from that day to this; yet once we were like brothers, and we +made that long, long journey together from the far south, till our +souls were knit together even as the souls of David and Jonathan. +Tell me of him! Is he well? Is he still in this new world beyond +the dividing sea?" + +"After the capture of Louisbourg," answered Madame Drucour, with +the little touch of shrinking in her tone which such words always +occasioned her, "he was to accompany the gallant Brigadier Wolfe +(to whose untiring energy and zeal much of England's success was +due) upon some mission of destruction on the coasts, little indeed +to that soldier's liking. After that, I heard that they were to +sail for England, since the brave officer's health stood in great +need of recruiting. But it was known to all of us that Monsieur +Wolfe would never rest content till he had seen whether he might +not repeat at Quebec what he had accomplished at Louisbourg. And if +not actually known, it is more than conjectured that the fleet from +England which brings our foes into these waters will bring with it +that gallant soldier Wolfe; and if so, you may be sure that your +good friend (and mine) Monsieur Julian Dautray will be with him." + +"That is good hearing," cried Fritz, whose face was beaming with +satisfaction and pleasure; "it is like a feast to a hungry man to +hear news of Julian again!" + +And he listened with extreme interest whilst the lady told him all +she knew of his friend--his daring dash into the fortress disguised +as a French soldier, and his many acts of chivalrous generosity at +the close of the siege. + +"We have reason to be grateful to you English," said Madame +Drucour, with a gracious smile. "It is a happiness, when we have to +fight, to find such generous and noble foes. It is hard to believe +that this strong city of Quebec will ever open its gates even to so +brave a commander as the gallant Wolfe; and yet, if such a thing +were again to be here as was at Louisbourg, I, for one, shall be +able to welcome the victor with a smile as well as a sigh; for I +have seen how generous he is to sick and wounded, and how gently +chivalrous to women and children." + +"Yet those were stern terms demanded from capitulating Louisbourg," +spoke the Abbe thoughtfully. + +"They were," said the lady, with a sigh; "and yet can we wonder so +greatly? England has suffered much from the methods we of France have +pursued in our warfare. But let us not think of that tonight; let us +remember only that English and French may be friends--individually--even +though our nations are at war. Let us entertain Monsieur with the best +at our command, and bid him Godspeed when he shall choose to leave us. + +"Ah! and there I see my nephew Colin. + +"Welcome, dear child; thou art child no longer. + +"What a fine youth he has grown with the flight of years! I should +scarce have known him!" + +Whilst aunt and nephew were exchanging amenities in one part of the +room, Corinne approached Fritz, who had risen to his feet at sight +of her, and putting out a hand said with a shy smile: + +"I am glad to welcome you again, Monsieur." + +"And I to see you once again, Mademoiselle," he replied. "I have +often wondered whether I should ever have that pleasure. The chance +of war has brought me and your brother face to face three times +already. But I scarce thought I should see you again. I thought +these troubled days would have sent you back to France. These are +strange places for tender maidens to abide in--these walled cities, +with guns without and within!" + +"Ah, but I have no home in France," answered the girl, "and I would +not be sent away. I have grown to love this strange Western land +and the struggle and stress of the life here. I would fain see the +end of this mighty struggle. To which scale will victory incline, +think you, Monsieur? Will the flag of England displace that of +France over the town and fortress of this city of Quebec?" + +"Time alone can show that," answered Fritz gravely; "and we must +not boast of coming victory after all the ignominious defeats that +we have suffered. But this I know--the spirit of England is yet +unbroken. She has set herself to a task, and will not readily turn +back from it. If the spirit of her sons is the same now as it was +in the days of which our fathers have told us, I think that she +will not quietly accept repulse." + +Corinne's eyes flashed; she seemed to take a strange sort of pride +in anticipations such as these. + +"I like that spirit," she cried; "it has not been the spirit of +France. She has boasted, boasted, boasted of all the wonders she +was to perform, and yet she has never made good her hold in the +south. Now the tide seems to have turned here in the north; and +though men speak brave words of defiance, their hearts are failing +them for fear. And have they not reason to fear--they who have done +so ignobly?" + +"Do you remember what you told us when we met in the forest long +ago?" asked Fritz. "Do you remember the name you spoke--the name of +Pitt--and told us that when that man's hand was on the helm of +England's statecraft the turn of the tide would come? And so we +waited for news from home, and at last we heard the name of Pitt. +And, behold, since then the tide has turned indeed. Those words of +yours have upheld our hopes in many a dark hour. And now that the +fulfilment seems so near, shall we not feel grateful to those who +held out the torch of hope when all was darkness?" + +Corinne smiled brightly, and held out her little hand again. + +"We will be friends, come what will," she said; "for I love the +English as well as the French, and I have cause to know what +generous foes they can make!" + +So Fritz became the guest of Madame Drucour in the narrow little +stone house; the Abbe likewise remained as an inmate whilst he +recruited the health that had been so sorely tried and shattered of +late. Fritz was in no haste to depart, if his hosts desired his +presence there. He would join the English fleet when it appeared; +but it mattered little to him how he passed the intervening time. +He could pass as well for a Frenchman as an Englishman, and did so +for the time he remained in the city; but he kept his eyes open, +and took careful note of what he saw, and, in truth, it seemed to +him that the English fleet had little or no chance of effecting any +landing in or near Quebec. + +The fortifications of the town were immensely strong; so was its +position--so commandingly situated upon the little tongue of land. +There was a small camp upon the opposite point of land, which might +perhaps be strengthened with advantage; but the whole of the north +bank of the river was being fortified and intrenched, and was +manned by regulars and Canadian troops, all well armed and +munitioned. It was impossible to see how any attacking force could +obtain a foothold upon that strand; and if Fritz's hosts took care +to let him see all this, it seemed to him a proof that they well +understood the impregnable character of their position. + +But it was no part of Fritz's plan to linger over long in Quebec, +although he was wishful to see the city for himself, and to judge +of the strength of its position. He knew that the fleet from +Louisbourg would be hanging about nearer the mouth of the great +estuary, and to a traveller of his experience the journey either by +land or water was a mere trifle. + +Any day the sails of the English vessels might be expected to +appear. The seething excitement in the city, and the eager and +laborious preparations upon land, showed how public feeling was +being aroused. It might not be well for Fritz to linger much +longer. If his real connection with the English were discovered, he +might find himself in difficulties. + +"I have arranged with a boatman to take you down the river tonight, +Monsieur," said Madame Drucour to him; when he had expressed a +determination to leave. "He is scouting for information as to the +English fleet, and we have heard that vessels have been seen in the +region of the Isle-aux-Coudres. He will land you there, and you +will then have no difficulty in rejoining your countrymen. If +Monsieur Wolfe has arrived, pray give him my best compliments, and +tell him that I hope his health is improved, and that if we should +meet once again it will be as friends." + +"I will not forget to do so, Madame," answered Fritz. "I myself +look forward with pleasure to making the acquaintance of that great +soldier. I should not have dared to think that I might approach him +myself; but since Julian is his friend, I shall not be denied his +presence." + +Corinne was listening to the talk with eager interest; now she +broke in with a smile: + +"And tell Monsieur Julian that if he should repeat his strategy of +Louisbourg here at Quebec, and steal into the city in disguise, I +hope he will come to see us here. We are very well disposed towards +the English, my aunt and I. We should have a welcome for him, and +would see that he came to no harm." + +Madame Drucour laughed, and patted the cheek of her niece. + +"Make no rash promises, little one. The game of war is a fiercer +and more deadly and dangerous one than thou canst realize as yet. +It may be our privilege to shelter and succour a hunted foe; but +tempt not any man to what might be certain destruction. Spies meet +with scant mercy; and there are Indians in this city who know not +the meaning of mercy, and have eyes and ears quicker and keener +than our own. Monsieur and his friends had better now remain +without the city walls, unless the day should come when they can +enter them as conquerors and masters of all." + +She drew herself together and gave a little, quick, shuddering +sigh, as though realizing as those never could do who had not seen +war what must inevitably be ere such an end could be accomplished. + +Fritz took her hand and carried it to his lips. + +"If such a day as that come, Madame," he said, "be very sure that +my first duty and privilege will be to protect you and yours from +harm. Adieu; and if I can ever repay your kindness to me, be sure +the opportunity shall not be neglected." + + + +Chapter 2: The Defences Of Quebec. + + +Excitement reigned in the city. There had been a cry of fear +earlier in the day. Men had rushed through the streets, crying +aloud in every tone of consternation: + +"The English fleet! the English fleet!" + +But this had proved a false alarm. The sails seen advancing up the +great waterway were those of friendly vessels, laden with +provisions for the city, and great rejoicings were held as the +supplies were carried into the storehouses by the eager citizens +and soldiers. Colin, running hither and thither picking up news, +came running back at short intervals with tidings for his sister +and aunt. + +"They all say the English fleet has sailed from England, and may be +here any day; but at least we shall not starve yet. We have a fine +consignment of provisions brought in today." + +Next time he came he had another item of information to give. + +"Our General, Monsieur de Montcalm, met me in the street just now, +and bid me say that he purposed to take his supper with us this +evening, as there are certain matters he would discuss with my +uncle, and with you, dear aunt, who have seen so much of warfare. +He asked me if it would be convenient for you to receive him, and I +said I was sure that it would." + +"Quite right, my child," answered Madame Drucour; "I shall deem it +an honour to entertain the brave Marquis. I have a great respect +for him, both as a man and a soldier." + +"Yes: they all speak well of him, and they say that the Governor, +Vaudreuil, treats him shamefully, or at least traduces him +shamefully behind his back to the Government in France. He is +jealous because Monsieur de Montcalm is so much better a soldier +than he. His jealousy is mean and pitiful. I hear things that make +my blood boil!" + +"Yes: Monsieur de Montcalm has had to exercise great patience and +self restraint. We all honour him for it," said the Abbe, looking +up from his breviary. "His has been a difficult post from first to +last, and he has filled it with marked ability. The Governor seeks +to take to himself all the credit of success throughout the colony +and the war, and to heap upon Montcalm all the blame wherever there +has been discomfiture and defeat; but from what I can learn, the +Minister of France is not deceived. The powers of the campaign are +vested mainly in the hands of the General of the forces, let the +Governor rage as he will." + +Colin and Corinne stood at the window watching the hubbub down in +the lower town and along the quays. They could obtain a fair view +from the upper window, where the girl spent so much of her time; +and whilst the Abbe and Madame Drucour talked of public matters and +the political outlook, Colin poured broadsides of information into +the ears of his sister. + +"They say that the English ships can never navigate the waters of +this great river!" he cried. "I was talking with the sailors on the +vessels which have come in. They dare not bring their own ships up +without a pilot on board. If the English try to sail their great +battleships up through the shoals and other perils, they will +assuredly, say the men, run them upon the jagged edges of the +sunken reefs and wreck them hopelessly. I was telling them that the +English are better sailors than ever the French will be; but they +only laughed grimly, and bid them come and see what their sailor +craft could do without pilots in the mouth of the St. Lawrence. I +should grieve if the noble vessels were wrecked and stranded in the +Traverse, which they say is the most dangerous part of all. But the +sailors are very confident that that is what will happen." + +"I don't believe it!" cried Corinne, with flashing eyes. "The +English have always been masters of the sea; have they not won +themselves the name of 'sea dogs' and 'sea rovers' even from their +enemies? The walls and guns of Quebec may prove too much for them, +but not the navigation of the St. Lawrence." + +"So I think," answered Colin eagerly; "but that is what the men +say. + +"The French are always something overconfident and boastful, I +think," said Corinne gravely. "They like to win their battles +before they fight them, and beat back the foe before he appears. +But we shall see--we shall see." + +Colin and Corinne were both much interested in the General of the +forces, Monsieur the Marquis of Montcalm. In addition to being a +very excellent soldier--brave, capable, merciful, and modest--he +was a very delightful and charming companion in any social +gathering; and towards Corinne he showed himself especially tender, +telling her, with the tears standing in his eyes, how much she +reminded him of the little daughter he had left at home, Mirete; +whom he feared he should never see again. + +"For my aide-de-camp, M. de Bougainville, lately returned from +France, has brought me sad news. One of my daughters has died--he +could not ascertain which; but I feel sure it is my little Mirete, +who was always delicate and fragile. I loved her very much; she was +such a clinging little thing, and had soft brown eyes like yours, +my dear. I did not think, when I left my wife and children in our +happy home at Candiac, that I should be detained here so long, or +that death would have visited my house ere I returned. We were so +happy in that far away home in France; my thoughts are ever turning +back thither. Pray Heaven I may soon bring this war to a successful +termination, and may then return to end my days in peace in that +fair spot, surrounded by those I love so well!" + +This little speech touched Corinne's heart, and she lifted her face +and gave the bereaved father a kiss of sympathy, the tears hanging +upon her own long lashes. He squeezed her hand and returned the +salute with warmth. Yet the next minute he was the soldier and the +general all over, as he seated himself at table and proceeded to +discuss the situation of affairs with the Abbe and his hostess. + +"My policy," he explained to them, "will be one of defence, not of +attack. What we must set ourselves to do is to prevent any landing +of English troops upon the north bank of this river anywhere near +the city. I had thought at first of making the Plains of Abraham, +behind the city, the basis of my encampment. But this, as you know, +has been given up, and the north bank of the river, through +Beauport and right away to the river and falls of the Montmorency, +has been selected. + +"When you are sufficiently recovered, my friend, I should like to +take you to see our position. Our right rests upon the St. Charles, +our left upon the Montmorency. Quebec is thus secured from any +advance by land. Her own guns must protect her from any attempt by +sea. No vessel should or ought to pass the rock without being +instantly disabled, if not sunk. By disposing our forces in this +way, and remaining upon the defensive, we shall have our foes in a +vice, so to speak. The risk of disembarking and trying to fight us +will be immense. They will lose ten men to our one in every +encounter. And if we can play this waiting game long enough, the +storms of winter will come down upon us, and the Admirals will have +to withdraw their fleet to some safe harbourage, and we shall have +saved Quebec!" + +"Yes," said the Abbe--"that sounds a wise and wary policy; but will +the Canadian militia be patient and obedient during the long period +of inaction? They are accustomed to a sort of fierce, short forest +warfare, quick marches, hand-to-hand fights, and the freedom to +return to their homes. How will they like the long imprisonment in +the camp, without being brought face to face with the foe? The +Canadian soldiers have always given trouble; I fear they will do so +again." + +"If they become troublesome," said Montcalm, with a tightening of +the lips, "they will be told that the Indians shall be loosed upon +their lands and farms to harry and destroy! Mutineers are accorded +scant mercy. Monsieur de Vaudreuil has made up his mind how to deal +with them in such case." + +The Abbe stroked his chin thoughtfully. + +"If we alienate the Canadians, and have only the regulars to fall +back upon, we shall be very short handed." + +"True; but I do not anticipate such a contingency. The Canadians +are no more desirous of seeing England's flag waving over their +lands than we are ourselves. They may be rebellious and +discontented, but they will hardly go further than that." + +"It is ill work fighting with discontented soldiers," said Madame +Drucour thoughtfully. + +"Very true, Madame. I often wish we had better material for our +army. I abhor the Indians, and distrust the Canadians. But what can +we do? France has sore need of all her soldiers for her European +wars. What can she do for us here out in the western wilds? She has +her hands full at home." + +"And yet," said the Abbe, "if she loses her hold upon these same +western wilds, she will lose that new kingdom upon which her eyes +have been greedily fastened for two centuries or more. She has +claimed half the world as her own; will she lose all for the sake +of some petty quarrel with her neighbours?" + +Montcalm smiled and slowly shook his head. + +"Our royal master has his hands something too full at times," he +said; "yet we will do our best for him out here." + +"And if General Amherst with his great army should succeed in +capturing Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and should advance upon us +by the interior, and steal upon us from behind, what then?" asked +the Abbe, who, having come from that part of the world, and knowing +the apprehensions of the French along the western border, was not +unmindful of this possible danger. + +Montcalm's face was grave. + +"That will be our greatest danger," he said. "If that should take +place, we shall have to weaken our camp along the river and send +reinforcements to the small detachments now placed along the upper +river. But the English were routed at Ticonderoga once; let us hope +it will happen so a second time." + +"General Amherst is a very different commander from General +Abercromby," said the Abbe gravely; and Madame Drucour added her +testimony to the abilities of the General who had commanded at the +siege of Louisbourg, although the dash and energy of Wolfe had been +one of the main elements of strength to the besiegers. + +"Yet I have confidence in our good Boulamaque," answered Montcalm. +"He will do all that can he done to check the advance of the +invaders and hold out fortresses against them. We have had our +disasters--far be it from me to deny it--but Ticonderoga is strong, +and has long held her own; I think she will do so once again." + +"And will you remain within the walls of Quebec yourself, my dear +Marquis? or is it true what I hear--that your headquarters will be +with the camp at Beauport?" + +"My place is here--there--everywhere!" answered Montcalm, with a +smile and a meaning gesture. "Within the city the Chevalier de +Ramesay will hold command with sixteen thousand men. For my part, I +shall occupy myself chiefly with the army along the river banks. +The first peril will certainly lie there. The town is unassailable, +but a landing will probably be attempted somewhere along there. The +enemy must be driven back with loss and confusion each time such an +attempt is made. That will discourage them, and inspire our men +with hope and courage. We have also prepared fire ships at no small +cost, to be launched and fired at convenient seasons, and sent +adrift amongst the enemy's ships. The sight of their burning +vessels will do something to discourage the English. They put their +trust in their ships. We will show them what a warm welcome we have +waiting for them here!" + +"And our own vessels," asked the Abbe--"what of them? Will any +naval battle he attempted?" + +"No. The Governor has given orders that they shall disembark their +men for the defence of the town, and the ships themselves will be +sent some distance up the river out of harm's way. We have kept +some of the best for fire ships; the rest will remain at a +distance, beyond the river Richelieu." + +"You think, then, that no British ship can pass the guns of the +town?" + +Montcalm's face was a study of calm confidence. + +"I only wish they might attempt it," he said. "We would sink them +one by one, as a child's boats could be sunk by throwing stones +upon them. The English have a task before them the magnitude of +which they have little idea of. First they have the river itself to +navigate; then they have the guns of Quebec to settle with. Let +them take their choice between Scylla and Charybdis; for of a +certainty they lie betwixt the two." + +Indeed the guns of Quebec were formidable enough. Next day Montcalm +took Madame Drucour and her niece and nephew a tour of inspection +about the town, and up to one of the heights which gave them a +panoramic view of the city and its defences, both within and +without. The batteries of the town bristled with formidable guns; +the town itself swarmed with soldiers--regulars, militia, Indians. +From the adjacent country men of all ages had come flocking in, +eager to bear arms against the foe. The Bishop had issued a mandate +to his flock, urging them to rally round their leaders, and never +surrender the fair domain of Canada to the heretic usurper. + +There was plenty of enthusiasm now amongst the Canadians they came +flocking into the camp in great numbers. All were hardy fellows, +trained to a certain sort of rough fighting from their very +childhood. They were invaluable in forest warfare, as had been +proved again and again. But they lacked the stamina of the regular +soldier. They were invariably unsteady when exposed to fire in the +open, and they were impatient of discipline and control. Vaudreuil +was always loud in their praise, trying to give them the credit of +every successful engagement. But Montcalm reposed much more +confidence in his regular soldiers; although he gave these others +their due when they had proved of service to him. + +It was a wonderful sight to see the lines of defence stretching +right away from the river St. Charles, close to the promontory on +which Quebec was built, to that other invisible gorge where the +wonderful cataract of the Montmorency flung its waters into the +greater St. Lawrence below. Opposite was the height of Point Levi, +with its smaller batteries; and away on the left, in the middle of +the vast, sea-like river, could be distinguished the western end of +the Isle of Orleans. + +Earthworks, batteries, redoubts seemed to bristle every where. +Squadrons of men, like brilliant-hued ants, moved to and fro upon +the plains below. The tents of the camp stretched out in endless +white spots; and the river was dotted with small craft of all sorts +conveying provisions to the camp, and doing transport duty of all +kinds. + +"He will be a bold man who faces the fire from our batteries, I +think," said Montcalm, looking with a calm complacency upon the +animated scene; and then he turned and pointed backwards behind him +to Cape Diamond, fringed with its palisades and capped by parapet +and redoubt. + +A bold foe indeed to face the perils frowning from every height +upon which the eye could rest. Madame Drucour's face slowly +brightened as she took in, with eyes that were experienced in such +matters, the full strength of the position occupied by the city of +Quebec. + +"In truth, I scarce see how the enemy could effect a landing +anywhere--could even attempt it," she said. "And yet we said the +same at Louisbourg--till they landed where none of us thought they +could do, and took us in the rear!" + +And her eyes sought the steep, precipitous banks of the river after +the town had been passed, as though asking whether any landing +could be effected there, if some ships should succeed in the daring +attempt to pass the guns of the town, and find anchorage in the +upper river. + +Montcalm followed her glance with his, and seemed to read the +thought in her heart. + +"All these heights will be watched," he said. "Although I have no +fear of any vessel being foolhardy enough to attempt the passage, or +clever enough to succeed in passing the guns of the fortifications, +I shall leave no point unwatched or unguarded. Quebec shall not +fall whilst I have life and breath! If the victor marches into the +city, it will be across my dead body!" + +Later upon that very day a fresh excitement occurred. Madame +Drucour and her niece and nephew were in the pleasant upper room of +their house, talking over the things they had seen and heard that +day, when the clamour in the street below roused them to the +consciousness that something unwonted was afoot; and Colin ran +below, eager to know what the matter could be. In a few minutes he +returned, his face full of animation and eager interest. + +"They have taken three prisoners!" he exclaimed--"English +midshipmen all of them. You know our boats are scouting all round +the Isle-aux-Coudres, where Durell and his contingent of ships from +Louisbourg are lying waiting for the English fleet." + +"Yes, yes," cried Corinne eagerly; "we know that! But where are the +prisoners?" + +"They are below, in the house. They brought them to the Abbe, our +uncle. They profess not to speak French, these lads, but I think +they understand it fast enough. + +"Come down and hear their story, my aunt; and you also, Corinne. +They have been left in our care by the order of Monsieur de +Montcalm, that we may win from them all that they know, respecting +the strength of the English fleet. Let us go and hear what they +say." + +"How came they to be taken?" asked Madame Drucour, as she rose to +accompany Colin. + +"They were taken on shore. They had left their ship, perhaps +without leave, and were amusing themselves upon the island. The men +in our boat watched them, and presently landed cautiously and +surrounded them. They made a gallant struggle, but were captured at +length. And now they have been brought to us that we may get from +them all the information we can. Our uncle is talking to them even +now. I want to hear, and I want Corinne also to hear what they +say." + +"And the poor lads will doubtless be hungry," said Madame Drucour, +always thoughtful for the comfort of others; "we will set food +before them as they talk. They shall see that we are not harsh +captors." + +It was three bright-faced, bronzed English lads that they found in +the lower room with the good Abbe. He had induced the rest of the +people to disperse, and was now alone with the captives. The lads +seemed quite disposed to be talkative, and when the lady entered +bearing food, their eyes brightened; they stood up and made their +bows to all, and fell upon the victuals with a hearty goodwill. + +"Strong! I should think it was strong," cried the eldest of the +three, in response to a question from the Abbe respecting the +English squadron on the way: "why, there are more than thirty ships +of the line, and with frigates, sloops-of-war, and transports they +must number over fifty. Then we have ten fine ships under Admiral +Durell, waiting to join the main fleet when it comes; and there is +another squadron under Admiral Holmes, which has gone to New York +to take up the troops mustered in New England for the reduction of +Quebec. Oh, it will be a grand sight, a grand sight, when it comes +sailing up the waters of the St. Lawrence! Quebec, I dare wager, +has never seen such a sight before!" + +The faces of all the lads were full of animation and pride. They +appeared to have no fears for their personal safety. They were +enthusiastic in their descriptions of the wonderful feats which the +world would soon see, and when once started on the subject were +ready to talk on and on. + +"They have fifteen or sixteen thousand men--picked troops--with the +gallant Wolfe in command," cried another. "You have seen something +already of what Wolfe can do when he is set upon a task!" + +Madame Drucour made a little sign of assent; she had learned that +lesson herself very fully. The lad made her a courtly bow, for he +knew her well, having been at the siege of Louisbourg, and having +seen her when he had entered the fortress to view it after the +surrender. + +"Madame Drucour is herself a soldier; she can appreciate the +talents of the soldiers," he said. "Well, we have Wolfe coming, and +with him three gallant Brigadiers--Moncton and Townshend and +Murray. They all say that each one of these is as valiant as the +great Wolfe himself, and as full of ardour." + +"And then our guns!" chimed in the third. "Why, we have guns enough +to batter down these old walls as children batter down their card +houses! You know what English guns did at Louisbourg, Madame! Well, +we have bigger and heavier ones coming from England--such guns as +have never been seen in this country before; and such shells--why, +you can hear the scream of them for miles. You will hear them soon +singing and screaming over Quebec if you try to hold it against +Wolfe!" + +Corinne and Colin exchanged glances. It seemed indeed to bring the +thought of war very near when this sort of talk went on. The Abbe +was thoughtfully stroking his chin, debating within himself whether +all this was a bit of gasconade on the part of these middies, or +whether it represented the actual facts of the case. Madame Drucour +made quiet answer, saying: + +"But Quebec has also its guns, my young friends; Quebec can make +fitting reply to English guns. And ships are more vulnerable than +our thick walls. The game of war is one that both nations can play +with skill and success. If you have a Wolfe on your side, we have a +Montcalm on ours!" + +"Oh yes; we have heard of the Marquis of Montcalm. He is a fine old +fellow; I wish we could see him." + +"You have your wish, gentlemen!" spoke a new voice from the shadowy +corner by the door, where the twilight was gathering. + +The company started to their feet and saluted the great man, who +advanced smiling, motioning them to be seated. Corinne kindled the +lamp, and the General looked about him and sat down at the table +opposite to the three youths. + +"I hear you are from the English squadron," he said; "I have come +to ask you as to its strength. Tell me frankly and candidly what +you know, and I will undertake that your captivity shall not be a +rigorous one." + +He spoke in French, and the Abbe interpreted, although he suspected +that the lads understood a good deal more of that language than +they professed to do. They were willing enough to repeat what they +had said before as to the overwhelming size and equipment of the +fleet on its way from England--of the valour of men and officers, +of Wolfe's known intrepidity and military genius, and of the +excellent, far-carrying guns and their equally excellent gunners. + +Montcalm listened with bent brow and thoughtful mien. The lads +appeared to speak with confidence and sincerity. They evidently +believed that the fall of Quebec was foreordained of Heaven; but it +was possible they might be misinformed as to the true strength of +the fleet, and had perhaps, consciously or unconsciously, +exaggerated that. + +At any rate they were not reticent: they told everything they knew +and perhaps more. They gloried in the thought of the fighting to +come, and seemed to take their own captivity very lightly, +evidently thinking it only a matter of a few weeks before they +could be exchanged or released--before their countrymen would be +marching into Quebec. + +"And as soon as General Amherst has got Ticonderoga, he will march +here to help us, if we are not masters here first!" was the final +shot of the senior midshipman. "Not that Wolfe will need his help +in the taking of Quebec, but he will want a share in the glory of +it. And all New England, and all those provinces which have been +asleep so long, are waking up, eager to take their share now that +the moment of final triumph is near. There are so many fine troops +waiting to embark that Admiral Holmes will probably have to leave +the half behind. But they will follow somehow, you will see. They +are thirsting to avenge themselves upon the Indians, and upon those +who set the Indians on to harry and destroy their brothers along +the borders!" + +The Abbe translated this also into French, making a little gesture +with his hand the while. + +"I knew that retribution must sooner or later follow upon that +great sin," he said. "Were it not for my feeling on that score, I +should have firmer hopes for Quebec. But God will not suffer +iniquity to go long unpunished. We have drawn down retribution upon +our own heads!" + +Montcalm made a gesture similar to that of the Abbe. + +"I have said so myself many a time," he replied. "I hated and +abhorred the means we have too often used. It may be that what you +say is right and just. And yet I know that I shall not live to see +Quebec in the hands of the English. I can die for my country, and I +am willing to do so; but I cannot and I will not surrender!" + +"So they said at Louisbourg," muttered one of the midshipmen to +Colin, showing how easily he understood what was passing; "but they +sang to a different tune when they had heard the music of our guns +long enough!" + +The Marquis was talking aside with the Abbe and Madame Drucour. +When the colloquy was over, the Abbe addressed the midshipmen. + +"Monsieur de Montcalm is willing to release you on parole, and my +sister, Madame Drucour, will permit you to remain in this house +during your stay in the city. You must give up your dirks, and pass +your word not to try to escape; but after having done this, you +will be free to come and go as you will. And if the English should +take prisoners of our French subjects, you shall be exchanged upon +the first opportunity. These are the terms offered you by Monsieur +de Montcalm as the alternative to an imprisonment which would be +sorely irksome to youths such as you." + +The lads looked at one another. It was a promise rather hard to +give, since there would be so many excellent opportunities for +escape; but the thought of imprisonment in some gloomy subterranean +portion of the fortress, even with the faint chance of effecting an +escape from thence, was too sombre and repelling. They accepted the +lenient terms offered, passed their word with frank sincerity, and +handed over their weapons with a stifled sigh. + +"We will show you the city tomorrow," said Colin, when he took +their guests up to the lofty where they were to sleep in company. +"My sister and I are half English ourselves. I sometimes think that +in her heart of hearts Corinne would like to see the English flag +floating over the towers of Quebec." + +"Hurrah for Mademoiselle Corinne!" cried the lad Peter, throwing +his cap into the air. "I thought you two looked little like the +dark-skinned Frenchies! We shall be friends then, and when the town +falls we will take care that no harm comes to you. But we mean to +have Quebec; so you may make up your mind to that!" + + + +Chapter 3: Mariners Of The Deep. + + +"I must go! I must go!" shouted Colin, bursting into the house, mad +with excitement and impetuosity. + +"My uncle, you will let me go! I must see this great and mighty +fleet for myself. They say it is coming up the mighty river's +mouth. Some say it will be wrecked ere it reach the Isle of +Orleans! Let me go and see it, I pray, and I will return and tell +you all." + +The whole city was in a ferment. For long weeks had the English +fleet been watched and waited for--for so long, indeed, that +provisions were already becoming a little scarce within the town, +in spite of the convoy which had arrived earlier in the year. So +many mouths were there to feed that the question of supply was +causing anxiety already. Still with care there was enough to last +for a considerable time. Only the delay of the English vessels had +upset the calculations of the men in charge of the commissariat +department, and the people had to be put upon rations, lest there +should be a too quick consumption of the stores. + +This had caused a little murmuring and discontent, and the long +waiting had tried the citizens more than active work would have +done. It had given Montcalm time to fortify his camp very strongly, +and make his position all that he desired; but it had been a +wearisome time to many, and the Canadian troops were already +discontented, and wearying to get away from the life of the camp, +back to their own homes and fields and farms. + +But now hot midsummer had come, and with it the. English foe. A +fast-sailing sloop had brought word that the junction of the +squadrons was taking place just off Cape Tourmente, and Colin was +wild to take boat and go to see the great ships. + +"They are saying that they must all be wrecked in trying to +navigate the Traverse," cried the boy; "but Peter and Paul and +Arthur laugh to scorn the notion, and say that we do not know what +sort of men the English mariners are. Some say that Admiral Durell +has already captured the pilots who live there, ready to take the +French ships up and down. Let me go and learn what is happening. +Let me take a boat, and take Peter and Paul and Arthur with me. +They know how to manage one as well as any sailor in the town. Let +us go, my uncle, and bring you word again." + +The boy was set on it; he could not be withheld. Moreover, the Abbe +and Madame Drucour were keenly anxious for news. + +"Be careful, my boy, be cautious," he said; "run not into danger. +But I think thou art safe upon the river with those lads. You will +take care of one another, and bring us word again what is +happening." + +"Oh, I will come back safe and sound, never fear for me!" answered +the boy, in great delight. "We will bring you news, never fear! We +will see all that is to be seen. Oh, I am glad the day of waiting +is over, and that the day for fighting has come!" + +"Would that I were a boy like you, Colin!" cried Corinne, with +sparkling eyes. "It is hard to be cooped up in the city when there +are such stirring things going on outside. But I will up to the +heights and watch for the sight of sails; and you will come back +soon, Colin, and tell us all the news." + +Nevertheless it was a hard task for the eager girl to remain behind +when her brother and their three merry friends went forth in search +of news. + +By this time the English midshipmen were quite at home in their new +home, and the blithest of companions for the brother and sister +there. They did much to foster the sympathies of Colin and Corinne +for the English cause. The boys told of England and the life there, +and were so full of enthusiasm for their country that it was almost +impossible not to catch something of the contagion of their mood. +Both Colin and his sister had seen much to disgust and displease +them amongst the French; whilst round their foes there seemed to be +a sort of halo of romance and chivalry which appealed to the +imaginative strain in both brother and sister. + +Their British blood could not fail to be stirred within them. They +saw and heard of corruption, chicanery, and petty jealousy all +round them here. It was hardly to be wondered at that they inclined +to the other side. England and Scotland were uniting together for +the conquest of this Western world. Their mother's countrymen were +fighting the battle. They had the right to wish them success. + +Corinne rehearsed all this to herself as she stood upon the lofty +heights behind the town that afternoon with her uncle and aunt. +They were looking with anxiety and grave misgivings at the +clustering sails dimly seen in the distance upon the shining water +of that vast estuary. Montcalm himself had come up to see, and +stood with his telescope at his eye, watchful and grave. + +"We have made a mistake," he said to the Abbe in a low voice. "I +did speak to the Governor once; but he was against the measure, and +we permitted it to drop. But I can see now it was a mistake. We +should have planted a battery--a strong one--upon Cape Tourmente, +and bombarded the ships as they passed by. We trusted to the +dangerous navigation of the Traverse, but we made a mistake: +English sailors can go anywhere!" + +The Abbe made a sign of assent. He remembered now how the General +had made this suggestion to the Governor, and pressed it with some +ardour, but had been met with opposition at every point. Vaudreuil +had declared that it would weaken the town to bring out such a +force to a distant point; that they must concentrate all their +strength around the city; that they would give the enemy the chance +of cutting their army in two. Montcalm had yielded the point. There +was so much friction between him and the Governor that he had to +give way where he could. Vaudreuil was always full of grand, +swelling words, and boasts of his great deeds and devotion; but men +were beginning to note that when face to face with real peril he +lost his nerve and self confidence, and had to depend upon others. +It was thus that he opposed Montcalm (of whose superior genius and +popularity he was bitterly jealous) at every turn when danger was +still distant, but turned to him in a fluster of dismay when the +hour of immediate peril had come, and had been made more perilous +by his own lack of perception and forethought whilst things were +less imminent. + +"Yet look at our lines of defence!" he exclaimed, after he had +finished all the survey he could make of the distant sails crowded +about the Isle of Orleans. "Where could any army hope to land along +this northern shore? Let them fire as they like from their ships; +that will not hurt us. And we can answer back in a fashion that +must soon silence them. The heights are ours; the town is safely +guarded. The summer is half spent already. Let us but keep them at +bay for two months, and the storms of the equinox will do the rest. +When September comes, then come the gales--and indeed they may help +us at any time in these treacherous waters. You mariners of +England, you are full of confidence and skill--I am the last to +deny it--but the elements have proved stronger than you before +this, and may do so again." + +Corinne listened to all this with a beating heart, and asked of her +aunt: + +"What think you that they will first do--the English, I mean?" + +"Probably land and make a camp upon the Isle of Orleans, which has +been evacuated. A camp of some sort they must have, and can make it +there without damage to us. It will make a sort of basis of +operations for them; but I think they will be sorely puzzled what +to do next. They cannot get near the city without exposing +themselves to a deadly fire which they cannot return--for guns +fired low from ships will not even touch our walls or ramparts--and +any attempt along the shore by Beauport will be repulsed with heavy +loss." + +"Yet they will do something, I am sure," spoke the girl, beneath +her breath; and she was more sure still of this when upon the +morrow Colin returned, all aglow with excitement and admiration, +whilst the three midshipmen had much ado to restrain their whoops +of joy and triumph. + +"I never saw such a thing!" cried Colin, his face full of delight +and enthusiasm, as he and the midshipmen got Corinne to themselves, +and could talk unrestrainedly together; "I feel as though I could +never take sides against the English again! If they are all such +men as that old sailing master Killick, methinks the French have +little chance against them." + +"Hurrah for old Killick! hurrah for England's sailors!" cried the +midshipmen, as wildly excited as Colin himself; and Corinne pressed +her hands together, and looked from one to the other, crying: + +"Oh tell me! what did he do?" + +"I'll tell you!" cried Colin. "You have heard them speak of the +Traverse, and what a difficult place it is to navigate?" + +"Yes: Monsieur de Montcalm was saying that no vessel ever ventured +up or down without a pilot; but he said that a rumour had reached +him that some pilots had been taken prisoners, and that the English +ships would get up with their help." + +"With or without!" cried Peter, tossing his cap into the air. "As +though English sailors could not move without Frenchmen to help +them!" + +"Some of them took pilots aboard; indeed they were sent to them, +and had no choice. But I must not get confused, and confuse you, +Corinne. I'll just tell you what we did ourselves. + +"We heard a great talk going on on board one of the transport boats +called the Goodwill, which was almost in the van of the fleet, I +suppose because the old sailing master, Killick, was so good a +seaman; and so they had sent a pilot out to her, and he was +jabbering away at a great rate--" + +"Just like all the Frenchies!" cut in Paul; "calling out that he +would never have acted pilot to an English ship except under +compulsion, and declaring that it was a dismal tale the survivors +would take to their own country--that Canada should be the grave of +the whole army, and the St. Lawrence should bury beneath its waves +nine-tenths of the British ships, and that the walls of Quebec +should be lined with English scalps!" + +"The wretch!" cried Corinne. "I wonder the sailors did not throw +him overboard to find his own grave!" + +"I verily believe they would have done so, had it not been for +strict orders from the Admiral that the pilots were to be well +treated," answered Arthur. "Our English Admirals and officers are +all like that: they will never have any advantage taken of helpless +prisoners." + +"I know, I know!" answered Corinne quickly; "that is where they +teach the French such a lesson. But go on--tell me more. What about +old Killick? and where were you all the while?" + +"Holding on to the side of the transport, where we could see and +hear everything, and telling the sailors who were near about Quebec +and what was going on there. But soon we were too much interested +in what was going on aboard to think of anything else. + +"Old Killick roared out after a bit, 'Has that confounded French +pilot done bragging yet?' And when somebody said he was ready to +show them the passage of the Traverse, he bawled out: + +"'What! d'ye think I'm going to take orders from a dog of a +Frenchman, and aboard my own vessel, too? Get you to the helm, Jim, +and mind you take no orders from anybody but me. If that Frenchman +tries to speak, just rap him on the head with a rope's end to keep +him quiet!' + +"And with that he rolled to the forecastle with his trumpet in his +hand, and got the ship under way, bawling out his instructions to +his mate at the wheel, just as though he had been through the place +all his life!" + +"Had he ever been there before?" asked Corinne breathlessly. + +"No, never. I heard the commanding officer and some of the +gentlemen on board asking him, and remonstrating; but it was no +use. + +"'Been through before! no, never,' he cried; 'but I'm going through +now.' + +"Then they told him that not even a French vessel with an +experienced sailing master ever dared take the passage without a +pilot, even though he might know it well. Whereupon old Killick +patted the officer upon the back, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear, +that's right enough for them; but hang me if I don't show you all +that an Englishman shall go at ease where a Frenchman daren't show +his nose! Come along with me, my dear, and I'll show you this +dangerous passage.' + +"And he led him forward to the best place, giving his orders as +cool and unconcerned as though he had been in the Thames itself. +The vessel that followed, hearing what was going on, and being +afraid of falling into some peril herself, called out to know who +the rash sailing master was. 'I am old Killick!" roared back the +bold old fellow himself, hearing the question, 'and that should be +enough for you!' + +"And he turned his back, and went on laughing and joking with the +officer, and bawling out his orders with all the confidence of an +experienced pilot." + +"O Colin! And did he make no mistake? And what did the pilot say?" + +"Oh, he rolled up his eyes, and kept asking if they were sure the +old fellow had never been there before; and when we had got through +the great zigzag with never so much as the ghost of a misadventure, +and the signalling boats pointed to the deeper water beyond, the +old fellow only laughed, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear, a terrible +dangerous navigation! Chalk it down, a terrible dangerous +navigation! If you don't make a sputter about it, you'll get no +credit in England!' + +"Then lounging away to his mate at the helm, he bid him give it to +somebody else; and walking off with him, he said, 'Hang me if there +are not a thousand places in the Thames fifty times worse than +that. I'm ashamed that Englishmen should make such a rout about +it!' And when his words were translated to the pilot, he raised his +hands to heaven in mute protest, and evidently regarded old Killick +as something not quite human." + +"Hurrah for the old sea dog! That's the kind of mariner we have, +Mademoiselle Corinne; that's the way we rule the waves! Hurrah for +brave old Killick! We'll make as little of getting into Quebec as +he did of navigating the Traverse!" + +The story of the old captain's prowess ran through Quebec like +lightning, and produced there a sensation of wonder not unmixed +with awe. If this was the spirit which animated the English fleet, +what might not be the next move? + +It was quickly known that the redoubtable Wolfe had landed upon the +Isle of Orleans, and was marching in a westerly direction towards +the point three or four miles distant from the city where he would +be able to obtain a better view than heretofore of the nature of +the task to which he was pledged. + +"Let him come," said the Marquis of Montcalm grimly; "let him have +from thence a good view of our brave town and its defences! +Perchance it will be a lesson to him, in his youthful pride. He +thinks he is a second Hannibal. It will cool his hot blood, +perchance, to see the welcome we are prepared to accord to the +invaders of our soil." + +In effect there was another sort of welcome awaiting the English +fleet; for upon the next day one of those violent squalls for which +these northern waters are famous swept over the great river St. +Lawrence, and in the town of Quebec there were rejoicing and +triumph. + +"Now let the British mariners look to themselves!" cried the +people, shaking fists in the direction of the invisible fleet, +which they knew was anchored off the south shore of the great +island. "We shall soon see what they can do against one of our +Canadian tempests! Pray Heaven and all the saints that it may sink +every one of them to the bottom, or grind them to pieces upon the +rocks!" + +"Pooh! not a bit of it," cried the midshipmen in contempt, though they +watched the storm with secret anxiety. "As though English-built vessels +could not ride out a capful of wind like this! See, it is clearing off +already! in an hour's time it will have subsided. As though our anchors +would not hold and our sailors keep their heads in such a little mock +tempest as this!" + +Luckily for the English fleet, the squall was as brief as it was +violent; nevertheless it did do considerable damage to the ships at +their anchorage, and flying rumours were brought in as to the +amount of harm inflicted. Certainly some considerable damage had +been done, but nothing beyond repair. It had not daunted one whit +the hearts of the invading foe. + +Montcalm came into the city that evening, and supped with the Abbe +and Madame Drucour. He was not without anxiety, and yet was calm +and hopeful. + +"The tempest did not last long enough to serve our turn as we +hoped. The Governor trusted it would have destroyed the whole +fleet; but from what I can learn, nothing was really lost except a +few of the flat-bottomed landing boats used in the disembarkation +of the troops. The English are certainly notable sailors; but it is +with her soldiers that we shall have more directly to deal. Still, +I wish we could have sunk her ships; it would have placed her on +the horns of a dilemma." + +"I have heard," said the Abbe, "that the Governor talks of +destroying the fleet by fire. He has made considerable preparation +for such an attempt." + +Montcalm smiled slightly. + +"True; he has been busy with his fire ships for some while. For my +own part, I have but limited faith in them. They have cost us a +million, and I doubt whether they will prove of any service; yet +Vaudreuil is very confident." + +"The Governor is wont to be confident--till the moment of actual +peril arrives," said the Abbe thoughtfully. "Well, we shall see--we +shall see. When are these notable fire ships to be sent forth?" + +"I think tomorrow night," answered Montcalm, "but that is a matter +which rests with the Governor. I have no concern in it; and when +such is the case, I offer no advice and take no part in the +arrangements. Doubtless I shall see what is going on from some +vantage point; but Monsieur de Vaudreuil will not take counsel with +me in the matter." + +"Fire ships!" cried the midshipmen, when Colin told them what he +had heard; "do they think to frighten English mariners with +fireworks and bonfires? Good! let them try and see. And O Colin, +good Colin, if they are going to send down fire ships upon the +fleet, let us be there to see!" + +Colin desired nothing better himself. He was all agog to see the +thing through. And why should they not? It was not difficult to +obtain a boat, and in the darkness and confusion the four lads +would easily be able to follow the fire ships and see the whole +thing through. The midshipmen could navigate a boat with anyone, +and Colin had learned much of their skill. All day they were often +to be seen skimming about the basin of the St. Lawrence, +prospecting about for news, and watching the movements of the +English soldiers on shore, or of the fleet anchored a few miles +farther off. They had only to steal away unnoticed, and take to +their boat before the excitement began, and they could follow the +phantom ships upon their mysterious way, and watch the whole +attempt against the English fleet. + +"Ah, but take me," cried Corinne, when she heard the +discussion--"do take me! It is so hard to be a girl, and see +nothing! I will not be in your way. I will not scream and cry, or +do anything like that. I only want to watch and see. I shall not be +afraid. And I want so much to see something! I know I could slip +away without anyone's knowing or missing me. Only say you will take +me!" + +"Of course we will take you, Mademoiselle Corinne," cried Paul, +with boyish gallantry; "why should you not see as well as we? I +have a sister Margery at home who would be as wild to go as you can +be. She is as good as a boy any day. Wrap yourself well up in a +great cloak, so that you may keep warm, and so that nobody can +guess we have a lady on board, and we will take care of you, never +fear!" + +Corinne clapped her hands gaily; although growing to maidenhood, +she had the heart of a child, and was full of delight at the +thought of anything that promised adventure and excitement. + +"How good you are! And pray call me not 'Mademoiselle' any more; +call me Corinne--all of you. Let me be an English girl, and your +sister; for, in sooth, I feel more and more English every day of my +life. Sometimes I fear that I shall be hanged for a traitor to the +cause; for I find myself on the side of our English rivals more and +more every day!" + +The compact thus sealed was easily carried out. The Abbe and his +sister, Madame Drucour, were keenly interested in the attempt of +the fire ships against the English fleet, and were to watch +proceedings from the steeple of the Recollet Friars. The daylight +lasted long now, and supper was over before the shadows began to +fall; and the excited lads were able to wait till the seniors had +started forth before they made their own escape down to the +harbour. + +Corinne wrapped herself in a long black cloak, drawing the hood +over her head, and thus disguising herself and her sex completely +from any prying eyes; but indeed they scarcely met anyone as they +hurried along through the narrow streets to the unfrequented wharf, +where the boys had brought up the boat earlier in the day. Quickly +they were all aboard, and were gliding through the darkening water, +whilst the crowd gathered at quite a different part of the harbour +showed where the launch of the fire ships was going on. + +Colin described them as well as he could. + +"There are three or four big ones, and Monsieur Delouche is in +command; and then there is a great fire raft, as they call it--a +lot of schooners, shallops, and such like, all chained together--a +formidable-looking thing, for I got one of the sailors to show it +me. I suppose they are all pretty much alike, crammed with +explosives and combustibles; old swivels and guns loaded up to the +muzzle, grenades, and all sorts of things like that, some of them +invented for the occasion. We must give these fellows a wide berth +when once they are set alight; for they will burn mightily, and +shower lead and fire upon everything within reach. I only trust +they may not do fearful damage to the English ships!" + +"Not they!" cried Peter, with a fine contempt in his voice. "The +Frenchies are safe to make a muddle of it somewhere; and our bold +jack tars won't be scared by noise and flame. You'll soon see the +sort of welcome they will give these fiery messengers." + +The night darkened. There was no moon, and the faint wreaths of +vapour lay lightly upon the wide waste of waters. Corinne gazed +about her with a sense of fascination. She had never before been so +far out upon the river; and how strange and ghostlike it appeared +in the silence of the night! + +Ten o'clock struck from the clocks in the town behind them, and +Colin turned back to look towards the harbour. + +"They were to start at ten," he remarked. "Let us lie to now and +watch for them. We must give them a wide berth, but not be too far +distant to see what they do." + +Corinne gazed, breathless with excitement, along the darkening +water. The silence and increasing darkness seemed to weigh upon +them like a tangible oppression. They could hear their own excited +breathing; and all started violently when Arthur's voice suddenly +broke the silence by exclaiming: + +"I see them! I see them--over yonder!" + +The boat in which the eager lads and equally eager girl were afloat +was drifting about not very far distant from the Point of Orleans, +where were an English outpost and some English shipping, although +the main part of the fleet was some distance further on. The +watchers expected that the ghostly ships, gliding upon their silent +way, would pass this first shipping in silence and under cover of +the darkness, and only begin to glow and fire when close to the +larger part of the hostile fleet. Yet as they watched the oncoming +vessels through the murk of the night, they saw small tongues of +flame beginning to flicker through the gloom, and run up the masts +and sails like live things; and all in a moment came a smothered +roar and a bright flashing flame which, for the few seconds it +lasted, showed the whole fire fleet stealing onwards, and the boats +by which the crews of them were making good their escape. + +"They have fired them too soon!" cried Colin, in great excitement. +"I know they were not to have done it till they had passed the +Point and got well into the south channel, where all the shipping +lies." + +"Hurrah!" cried Peter, waving his cap; "did we not say that the +Frenchies would make a mess of it? They may be good for something +on land; but at sea--" + +There was no hearing the end of the sentence; for with a roar like +that of a volcano in eruption one of the ships burst into a mass of +flames, whilst the rest became lighted up by the glare, and were +soon adding to the conflagration--the fire racing up their masts +and rigging, and showing them against the black waters like vessels +of lambent flame. + +"How beautiful, yet how terrible!" cried Corinne, as she gazed with +fascinated eyes. "But look--look--look--look how the water is torn +up with the shower of lead that falls from them! Are they not like +fiery dragons spouting out sheets of fire? Oh, and listen how they +hiss and roar! Are they not like live things? Oh, it is the most +terrible thing I have ever seen. How glad I am that they are not +running amongst the English ships! They are beautiful, terrible +creatures; but I think they are doing no hurt to anything." + +"And look yonder!" cried Peter, pointing landwards in great +excitement; "see those long red lines drawn up on shore! Those are +our English soldiers, all ready to receive the foe should they seek +to land under cover of this noise and smoke and confusion. As +though our British grenadiers would be scared by false fire like +yon fireworks!" + +"And see, see again!" yelled Paul, still more excited--"see our +sailors getting to their boats! They are going to row out and +grapple those flaming monsters. See if it be not so. They are +drifting down a little too near our few ships. You will see now for +yourself, Corinne, the stuff of which our mariners are made!" + +"Oh surely, surely they will not go near those terrible vessels!" +cried Corinne. + +"Yes, but they will," cried Arthur, watching their movements +keenly; "oh, would I were with them to help! See, see! they are +getting their grappling irons into the boats. That means they are +going to grapple these blazing ships, and tow them somewhere out of +harm's way. Hurrah for England and England's sailors! Now you will +see what our answer will be to these fiery messengers." + +Corinne clasped her hands in mute wonder and amaze as the boats +shot off from shore, bearing straight down upon the great fire +raft--the most formidable of all the fleet--which was spouting +flame and lead, and blazing like a live volcano, roaring the while +like a veritable wild beast, as though animated by a demon of fury. + +"They never can go near it; they will be burned alive!" cried the +girl, in affright. + +But the midshipmen watched the tactics of the boats with eyes full +of eager comprehension. + +"They will tackle it somehow, you will see," cried Peter. "See, +they are getting round to the leeward of it, and they will lie off +till it has finished its most deadly spouting. But it is drifting +down upon the ships at anchor. They will never let it get amongst +them. You will see--you will see! O brave jack tars, show the +mettle you are made of in the eyes of all Quebec this night!" + +Corinne could scarcely bear to look, and yet she could not turn her +eyes away. The English sailors, laughing and joking the while, +swarmed round the fiery monster in their boats, singing out to one +another, and at favourable moments flinging their grappling irons +and sheering off again. + +"All's well! all's well!" they kept calling out, as one after +another they fixed their hold; then with united and manful effort, +and with a sing-song sound which came rolling over the water with +strange effect, they commenced towing their blazing prize away from +the ships she was nearing rather too threateningly, whilst great +shouts and rounds of cheering went up from those afloat and ashore. + +"Oh, well done, well done, brave men!" cried Corinne, roused to a +keen enthusiasm; and in one of the pauses of the cheering, when +silence had fallen upon the spectators owing to a sudden vicious +outrush of flame, which seemed for a moment as though it must +overwhelm the gallant English tars, a voice came from one of the +tow boats, calling out to a companion in another: + +"I say, Jack, didst thou ever take hell in tow afore?" + +The monster raft, flaming and sputtering, together with the other +fire ships beyond, was coolly towed ashore by the intrepid sailors, +and all were left to burn away harmlessly upon the strand, where +they could hurt nothing; whilst peals of laughter and cheering went +up from the English camp. + +"Poor Monsieur de Vaudreuil!" exclaimed Colin, as he prepared to +sail back to the dark city, "I wonder if he has seen the fate of +his vaunted fire ships?" + + + +Chapter 4: Hostilities. + + +"Alas! alas!" wailed the townsfolk, when the news of the fiasco of +the fire ships was made known, "those dogs of English are too much +for us upon the water; but let them attempt to meet us on land, and +we will show them what we can do!" + +"Do they think French soldiers are the only ones who can fight?" +asked Arthur, with a note of wondering scorn in his voice, as the +sense of these words came to him. "Well, they will have their wish +fast enough, I doubt not! Wolfe is here; and if he cannot fight, +write me down an ass! They have seen what the sailors can do; now +we will show them what our soldiers are good for!" + +"Don't boast, Arthur," quoth Peter, the eldest of the trio; "we can +do without great swelling words. The French boast themselves into +the belief that they hold this whole vast continent in possession. +We must not be like them, and seek to boast ourselves into Quebec! +We will wait till our flag is flying from yon battlement, and then +it will be time enough to talk." + +"All right," answered Arthur gaily; "I'll wager it will not be long +before we see it there!" + +"Only don't let our townsfolk hear you saying that," said Corinne, +laughing, "else they may be disposed to set you hanging there +instead!" + +And at that retort a laugh was raised against Arthur, who was a +little disposed to gasconade, and to an unmerited scorn of the +valour of their French rivals. + +"Nor will Quebec be taken in a day, nor a week, nor a month," added +Corinne, "if all we hear be true. Monsieur de Montcalm has no +intention, it is said, of meeting your Wolfe in battle. He means to +lie behind these strong walls, and yonder formidable earthworks +which protect his camp, and wear out the patience of the foe till +the autumn storms force them to leave these coasts for a safer +harbourage. There will be no fighting in the open, they say; all +will be done by the guns cannonading us, and by ours returning the +fire. It may be grand and terrible to watch, but it will not bring +things quickly to an issue." + +"Yet Wolfe will contrive something to keep the foe busy, or I am +much mistaken," cried Peter. "Doubtless a pitched battle is what he +would most desire; but if that is not to be, he will find a way of +harassing his foes. Never fear, Corinne; you will see enough of war +before long--trust my word for that!" + +"Enough, and too much, perchance," said the girl, with a little, +quick sigh; "my aunt tells me that war is a fearful game to behold. +Sometimes my heart sinks within me at what is about to befall. And +yet I am glad to be here; I would not be elsewhere. I long to see +this great struggle and watch it through. All say that Quebec is +the key of Canada. Whichever nation holds Quebec will be master of +the whole vast province." + +"Ay, and Wolfe knows that as well as the French themselves. His cry +has always been, 'To Quebec!' + +"And yonder he is, within a few miles of his goal! Now we shall see +what he can do." + +In truth they were very soon to see and feel for themselves in the +city what Wolfe could and would do. + +A day or two later sounds of excitement and alarm in the street +proclaimed that something fresh was afoot, and Colin with his +comrades darted out to learn the news. The citizens were gathering +together and running for places which commanded a view over the river, +and those who had telescopes or spyglasses were adjusting them with +trembling hands, pointing them all in one direction--namely, towards +the heights of Point Levi opposite, where the river narrowed itself +till it was less than a mile wide. + +"What is it?" cried Colin to a man with a glass at his eye. + +"The English soldiers are there!" he answered; "I can see their red +coats swarming up the heights. Holy Virgin protect us! They are +making fascines and gabions. They are going to bring up their guns. +They will be able to lay the houses of the Lower Town in ruins, +even if they cannot touch the fortifications. Why did not the +Governor leave a stronger force over yonder to protect us?" + +That question was being passed from mouth to mouth by the anxious +and frightened townspeople. They had been full of confidence and +courage up till now; but the news that Wolfe had taken Point Levi, +and was bringing up guns and intrenching himself upon the heights, +filled them with apprehension. + +"What are our guns doing that they do not open fire and dislodge +them?" cried one voice after the other. "Where is the Marquis of +Montcalm? Why does he not take steps for our defence?" + +Montcalm was indeed coming post haste to the city, seeing clearly +the menace in this action of the English General. He bitterly +regretted having left the defence of Point Levi to the Canadian +contingent there; for the Canadians were very uncertain soldiers, +and were easily discouraged, though if well led and generalled they +could be of great service in certain kinds of warfare. But it was +known that the Canadians were already beginning to look upon the +English as their possible new rulers; and some of them were +disposed to regard a change of masters almost with indifference, so +long as they were not interfered with in their own possessions. It +was quite likely they had only made a very half-hearted resistance +to the English foe; at least one thing was certain--Wolfe had +gained possession of these heights with singularly little +difficulty. + +But Montcalm was not going to let him remain there if he could by +any means dislodge him. Hardly had the General entered the fortress +before Corinne heard, almost for the first time, the strange +screaming noise of a shell hurtling through the air, and the next +moment there were gushes of smoke from a dozen places along the +fortifications, as the great guns were pointed and fired and the +balls and bombs went flying across the great river, to fall amongst +the busy toilers on the opposite height, carrying death and +destruction with them. + +Eagerly was the result of the fire watched and waited for. The +citizens cried out to those with glasses to tell them the result. + +"They take no notice," cried one man who was commandingly posted; +"they toil on without so much as a pause. The fire has not touched +them yet; the guns are pointed too low. They are bringing up their +own guns now; they have one battery almost complete. In a few hours +they will be ready to return our fire. Can nothing be done to stop +that? Our houses and churches will be knocked to pieces, and our +town destroyed! The General says that this will do them no +good--they cannot touch the citadel and fortifications; but are we +to have our homes destroyed about our ears? We men of Quebec will +not stand that!" + +Fear and indignation were filling all hearts. Why had Point Levi +been so poorly defended? Why had it been left such an easy prey to +the foe? Who was to blame? Governor or General--Vaudreuil or +Montcalm? The balance of opinion was in favour of the General, +whose known ability and personal charm had rendered him popular +with the citizens, whilst Vaudreuil commanded but little respect or +confidence. Still, whoever was to blame, the fact remained. The +town was in terrible danger of a ruinous bombardment, and the +efforts now made to beat back and dislodge the enemy met with no +sort of success. + +On and on they toiled. The shot and shell certainly fell amongst +them after a while, but seemed in no whit to disconcert them. The +Canadian soldiers regarded with amaze this cool intrepidity. They +themselves could be bold in forest warfare, with shelter all around +them; but they were never steady in the open under fire, and could +hardly credit how any soldiers could pursue their tasks unmoved by +the leaden rain descending upon and about them. + +"The devil and his angels must be protecting them!" cried the +women, crossing themselves in fear; but the English midshipmen +laughed aloud. + +"What do they think soldiers are for, if not to do their duty in +the teeth of danger and difficulty? They are a strange people, +these Canadians. Surely the French troops would face peril as +steadily if they were put to it?" + +"Oh yes," answered Colin; "the French regulars fight exceedingly +well. Has not that been proved a thousand times on European soil? +But the plaint of our General is that France sends him so few men, +and that the Indians and Canadians are not of the same value, save +in certain classes of warfare and in their native forests. The +Governor is, however, so jealous for the honour of his Canadians, +that he seeks in his dispatches to give all the credit of victory +to them. So it is natural that the French minister should be chary +of sending out regulars, which are so urgently needed over there +for the war. Monsieur de Montcalm has told my uncle many things on +this very point. He is always urging the Government to send us more +men, but he can only get the half of what he needs. Perhaps, in +days to come, France may regret that she did not listen better to +his representations. We shall have need of good men if this city is +to be held for her against the English." + +When the lads reached their home, they found the Abbe and his +sister deep in talk. Corinne had been listening with attention, but +now she turned eagerly to the lads, to ask what news they brought. +Their tale was soon told, and all faces were grave. + +"It will be a disastrous thing for the city to be bombarded," said +the Abbe. "It may not bring the capitulation any nearer, but it +will harass and dishearten the citizens. I am truly sorry for them; +they will certainly suffer. It should have been better managed than +that those opposite heights should fall so easy a prey to the foe. +Again that is the mismanagement of the Governor." + +"Several boats have come over from the opposite shore," whispered +Corinne to her brother, "bringing news of what happened there. +There has been little enough resistance to the English soldiers. A +party landed at Beaumont, sending in front a band of Rangers, who +had a little scuffle with some Canadians in the woods, and drove +them off. The soldiers landed, and a placard was posted upon the +door of the church. It was signed by Wolfe. It told the Canadians +that if they would stand neutral in the coming struggle, they +should have full protection both of their persons and property, and +undisturbed liberty of religion; but warned them that if they +presumed to take up arms against the English, their houses and +goods should be destroyed and their churches despoiled. This +placard the Canadians removed when the soldiers had gone, and have +brought it to Quebec for the Governor to see." + +"And what says he?" + +"Nay, we know not, but it has caused a great commotion in the town. +If the Canadians do not stand by the French in this struggle, the +English must needs be victors." + +"Ay," spoke the Abbe, whose face was very grave, "and the case is +but an evil one for them, as they begin to see. Already they are +weary of the war. They love not the life of the camp or the waiting +which is now imposed upon them. They are longing already to get +back to their homes and their farms, and see after their crops and +harvests. Yet if they refuse service under their masters the +French, they are threatened with Indian raids; and if they fight +the English, they are now threatened with their fury and vengeance. +It is small wonder that they are perplexed and half-hearted. We +shall have trouble with them, I fear me, ere the battle has been +fought and won." + +Trouble was certainly menacing the town. There was no immediate +danger of its falling into the enemy's hands; but he was putting +himself in a position from which he could inflict irritating and +harassing injury to the town, and was making evident and active +preparations to do so. The military authorities, who looked at the +larger issues of affairs, regarded with perhaps a little too much +coolness the prospect of the destruction of some churches and a +large number of houses and other buildings, consoling themselves +with the knowledge that the fortifications would not suffer +greatly, and that Wolfe would be no nearer taking Quebec after he +had laid in ruins the homes of the citizens. But the exasperation +of these individuals was great, and their fear rose with every hour +which passed. They saw that batteries were being erected, +intrenchments thrown up; that their fire was no check to the +activity of the foe; and that before very long the storm of shot +and shell would be returned with interest, and would fall upon +their city, making terrible havoc there. + +Something must be done! That was the word on all lips. In warlike +days even peaceful citizens are not altogether ignorant of the arts +of war, and the burghers in the streets were mustering strong +together, every man of them armed, their faces stern and full of +determination as they moved all together to one of the open squares +in the city, and the place soon presented a most animated +appearance. + +Not citizens alone, but pupils from the seminaries, Canadians from +the other shore, and a sprinkling of soldiers had joined the +muster. Every man carried arms, and when they had assembled to the +number of between one and two thousand, a loud call was made for +the Governor. + +When Vaudreuil appeared, looking harassed and anxious, it was +explained to him that the burghers of the city demanded leave to +make a determined effort to save their houses and property from +destruction. Would the Governor grant them an experienced officer +to lead them? They would then cross the river at night, make a +compass round the English camp, and set upon them from behind at +dawn, whilst the guns from the town opened fire in front. Caught +thus between two fires, and attacked front and rear, they must +quickly be dislodged and annihilated; and the citizens would make +themselves masters of these hostile batteries, which they would +take good care should never fall into English hands again. + +Their request was granted. An officer of considerable experience, +Dumas by name, was told off to head the expedition, and a good many +regular soldiers, who volunteered for the service, were permitted +to accompany them. + +Dearly would the three midshipmen have loved to be of the party, to +see all that went on, but they knew they must not make such a +suggestion. They were known in the town as prisoners on parole. It +would appear to all that they meditated escape. But they urged upon +Colin to try to see it all, and bring word again what had befallen. + +Colin was nothing loth. He longed to be in the thick of the +struggle. Moreover, he was well known to the citizens, and was +loved for his own sake as well as for that of his uncle the Abbe, +who went daily to and fro amongst the agitated people, seeking to +calm their fears and to inspire them with courage and hope. + +"I will go!" he cried. "Watch you from this side, and mark how the +gunners do their work at dawn. If all goes well, our signal for +attack will be the sound of the guns opening fire upon yonder +batteries. And yet I shall scarcely wish to see the English +dislodged. I do not want our town laid in ruins; yet I truly +believe the English rule would be a benefit to this distracted +realm. Their own colonies, if report speaks truth, are far more +flourishing and strong than any France has ever planted. You have +the knack of it, you Britons. Sometimes I doubt whether we shall +ever learn it." + +"Don't say 'we,'" cried Arthur. "You are more than half an +Englishman already, and we will teach you to be one of us before we +have done. You neither look nor speak nor act like a Frenchie. Of +course here in Quebec, amongst your own acquaintances and friends, +you will feel to belong in some sort to them; but once we get you +into English ranks, you will soon forget that you ever were +anything but an Englishman at heart." + +Colin was almost ready to believe this himself, though he scarcely +liked to put it so broadly, lest it should seem like treachery to +his own family and friends. He was possessed of a very keen +admiration for British pluck and boldness and audacity. The things +he had heard and seen had fired his enthusiasm, and he was quite of +the opinion that were the free choice to be one day his, he would +choose to throw in his lot with the English invaders of Canadian +soil. To watch how this game of skill and address was to be played +out between the two powers was now his great aim and object, and he +was eager to be a spectator in the next scene of the drama. + +His way was made quite easy; for the Abbe himself resolved to +accompany the expedition, and watch from a distance the effect of +the combined attack upon the English batteries. He would have been +better satisfied had Montcalm been consulted; but he was away at +Beauport, and if the citizens were to achieve anything, it would be +better for them to strike whilst the iron was hot. Another day and +the leaden storm might have opened upon the city, and the heart +might be taken out of them. + +All was now hurry and confusion--too much confusion for the +approval of the Abbe, who, with the officer in command and the +regular troops, sought to allay it, and to infuse more of +discipline and organization into the arrangements. + +Colin ran back to say farewell to Corinne and Madame Drucour; and +they bid him be careful of himself, and come back amongst the first +to bring them news. After promising this Colin departed, and the +night fell upon the town--a restless night for those within its +walls; for there was scarce a house but had contributed its one or +more members for the expedition, and all knew that the salvation of +their homes depended upon the success of the attack. + +It was a hot, dark night, and there was little sleep in the city. +It would be impossible to hear at that distance, even if some +hand-to-hand fighting were to take place on the opposite bank. The +wind set the wrong way, and only if the big guns boomed out would +they be likely to know that the English had been aroused. Eagerly +was the dawn waited for, when the city guns would give the expected +signal; but the dawn came so wrapped in fog, and it was not quite +as early as was expected that the boom and roar from the +fortifications told that the gunners could sight the opposing +batteries. The blanket of fog seemed then to roll up and away, +leaving the glistening river lying like a sheet of silver at their +feet. + +But what was the meaning of that crowd of boats all making for the +city as fast as oars and sails could bring them? It was hardly six +o'clock in the morning, and the attack could not well have been +commenced before five. What, then, were they doing, hurrying back +in their boats like hunted hares? + +Those with telescopes, watching from the heights above, declared +that the English were pursuing their occupations with the most +perfect unconcern, that they were bringing up more guns, and that +the batteries were now so well planted and defended that the city +guns did no harm. Shell away as they might from Quebec, no effect +was produced upon their solid earthworks; and it was abundantly +evident that very soon they would he in a position to open fire +upon the hapless city. Down to the river level rushed the excited +people, to meet the returning boats. Such a clamour of inquiry, +response, anger, and disappointment arose that at first nothing +could be made out. The midshipmen cleared a path for the Abbe and +Colin through the gathering crowd; and as soon as they were fairly +within the walls of their home, they began to tell the dismal tale. + +"It was just a fiasco from first to last!" cried Colin. "It was as +our uncle said: there was no order or discipline or preparation. +One might as well have sent out a pack of children to do the work!" + +"What happened?" cried Corinne breathlessly. + +"Why, nothing but a series of gross blunders. We got across all +safe, and landed unopposed. The Seminary scholars were over first, +and marched off up the hill before the rest came. We got separated +in that way, and almost at once one felt that a sort of panic had +got hold of the people. The burghers who were so anxious to come +now got frightened, and were most difficult to get into order. +Dumas and the regulars did their utmost; but it was plain that the +people were scared out of their lives lest the English should +suddenly appear and attack them. After a long time we got into a +sort of order, and began the march, when all of a sudden there were +a crash and a blaze, and everything was thrown into confusion. They +yelled out that the English were upon them, and headed for the +boats." + +"O Colin--the men who were so keen to fight!" cried Corinne; whilst +the midshipmen doubled themselves up with laughter, exclaiming +beneath their breath: + +"O gallant burghers of Quebec!" + +"It was disgraceful!" cried Colin hotly; "and more disgraceful +still was it that the fire came from our own side--from the +Seminary scholars, who had gone in advance; a thing they had no +business to do. But this was not the worst--at least it was not the +end of the bungling; for if you will believe me, the same thing +happened three distinct times. Twice more after we had got the men +formed up again, and were leading them up the hill behind the +English guns, did those wretched Seminary scholars mistake them for +the enemy and fire into their ranks. The last time they killed a +score or more, and wounded quite a large number of others. That was +too much. The men turned tail and fled helter-skelter back to the +boats, and there was no getting them back after that. The scholars, +too, when they heard what they had done, were seized with panic, +and joined the rout. + +"I never saw such a scene in my life as the opposite shore +presented just as the dawn was breaking and the first gun boomed +out, and we knew that we ought to have been marching in compact +order along the crest of the hill to fall upon the gunners from +behind. Well, if this is how Quebec manages her affairs, she +deserves to have her houses battered in. We shall soon have the +answer from the English batteries, and we shall deserve it, too!" + +Colin was right. The iron storm began all too soon, and proved to +the full as destructive as had been feared. Churches and houses +were laid in ruins, and disastrous fires broke out, consuming +others. The unhappy occupants of the Lower Town fled from the +smoking ruins, some to take refuge with friends in the Upper Town, +which was considerably less exposed; others to fly into the open +country beyond, where they trusted to be safe from the English +invader. As the military authorities had proclaimed, this +destruction did not materially affect the position of the +belligerents--the English could not get much nearer their object by +shelling the town--but it did much to dishearten the citizens, and +produced a strong moral effect of depression, and murmurs even +arose in isolated quarters that it would be better to surrender +than to be destroyed. + +Moreover, disquieting reports came from other places. The camp of +Montcalm extended, as has been said, from the river St. Charles to +the Falls of Montmorency. That great gorge was considered +protection enough, and it was believed that no enemy would be rash +enough to try to cross the river higher up; indeed, it was +popularly supposed that there was no ford. Nevertheless it soon +became known that Wolfe had effected a landing upon the farther +shore of the Montmorency; that he was fortifying a camp there, and +had found and was now holding a ford in the river above, whence, if +he chose, he could cross and fall upon the camp at Beauport. + +There had been some argument at first as to the advisability of +dislodging him before he had made himself strong enough to resist +attack. The Intendant had given his voice in favour of the attack; +but for once the Governor and the General had been of one mind, and +had decided against it. + +"Let him stay where he is," said Montcalm, after he had surveyed +the position; "he can do us little harm there. If we dislodge him, +he may find a footing elsewhere, and prove much more dangerous and +troublesome. If he tries to get across to us, we shall have a +welcome ready!" + +So, though parties of Canadians and Indians harassed the English in +their camp, and were met and routed by the gallant Rangers, who +always accompanied the English forces, the soldiers remained in +their intrenchments, and took little notice of the rival camp. +Sometimes under flags of truce messages passed between the hostile +camps. + +"You will no doubt batter and demolish a great part of the town," +wrote Montcalm on one occasion, "but you will never get inside it!" + +"I will have Quebec," wrote back Wolfe, "if I stay here till the +winter. I have come from England to win it. I do not go back till +my task is done." + +Some smiled at that message; but Madame Drucour received it with a +little shivering sigh. + +"Ah," she exclaimed, "I have seen Monsieur Wolfe; I can hear him +speak the words! Somehow it seems to me that he is a man who will +never go back from his resolve. If he has made up his mind to take +Quebec, Quebec will be taken!" + + + +Book 6: Without Quebec. + +Chapter 1: In Sight Of His Goal. + + +Wolfe stood rapt in thought beside the batteries upon Point Levi. +From his own camp at the Montmorency falls he had come over in a +boat to visit Brigadier Moncton's camp, opposite the city of +Quebec; and now he stood surveying the town--and the havoc wrought +upon its buildings by his cannon--with a glass at his eye, a look +of great thoughtfulness and care stamped upon his thin face. + +Near at hand, ready to answer if addressed, was Brigadier Moncton, +a brave and capable officer; and a little farther off, also +watching the General and the scene spread out before him, stood a +little group of three, who had come across with Wolfe in the boat, +and who were, in fact, none other than our old friends, Fritz +Neville, Julian Dautray, and Humphrey Angell. + +It had been an immense joy to these three men to meet together in +the camp of Wolfe round about Quebec. Julian had accompanied the +expedition from England, Fritz had joined Admiral Durell's +contingent whilst it was waiting for junction with the fleet from +England, and Humphrey had come to join them in the transport ships +from New York, bringing news of friends in Philadelphia, where he +had passed a portion of the time of waiting. + +Now these three comrades, so long parted, and now brought together +by the chances of war, were almost inseparable. Wolfe had appointed +them posts about his own person, having taken for Fritz almost the +same warm liking that he had from the first felt towards Julian and +Humphrey, and which, in the case of Julian, had ripened into a deep +and ardent friendship. + +Whilst the young General was making his survey, rapt in thoughts +which as yet he kept to himself, the three comrades spoke together +of the war and the outlook. + +"It will be a hard nut to crack, this city of Quebec," said +Humphrey; "they were all saying that in Philadelphia as I left. Yet +all men say that Quebec is the key of Canada. If that falls into +our hands, we shall be masters of the country." + +"And if our General has set his mind upon it, he will accomplish +it," said Julian briefly. + +"He is a wonderful man," said Fritz, with a look of admiration +directed towards the tall, slim figure of the soldier; "would that +his body were as strong as his spirit! Sometimes when I look at him +I fear that the blade is too keen for the scabbard. That ardent +spirit will wear out the frail body." + +"That is the danger," said Julian gravely; "but it is wonderful +what he can compel that frail body to go through. He will rise from +an almost sleepless night of pain and exhaustion, and do the work +of a man in sound health, infusing life and energy and enthusiasm +into everyone with whom he comes in contact! Truly the King's words +about him contained a great truth." + +"What words?" asked Fritz. + +"Why, you know that this Wolfe of ours is but a young man, gallant +enough, but far younger and less known than many another of half +his capacity. You know, too, that the Duke of Newcastle, to whose +blundering we owe half our misfortunes in the west, was never known +to make a wise selection of men for posts of command, and was +shocked and alarmed when he heard that Pitt had appointed a +comparatively young and untried man for the command of such an +expedition as this. He once said testily to the King that Pitt's +new general was mad. + +"'Mad is he?' quoth His Majesty, with a laugh; 'then I hope he will +bite some more of my generals!'" + +Fritz laughed at the sally. + +"In truth we could have done with some more of that sort of madness +amongst the leaders of those border wars which have ended so +disastrously for us. But in very truth the tide did turn, as the +Abbe Messonnier had foretold, when Pitt's hand was placed upon the +helm of England's government. So much has been accomplished already +that I myself do not believe we shall turn our backs upon these +scenes before Quebec is ours." + +"That is what they say in Philadelphia," cried Humphrey--"that +Quebec must and shall fall. If General Amherst can but capture +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he will march to our assistance by +land. Then the French will be caught between two armies, and the +nut will be cracked indeed! Did I tell you that our kinsman +Benjamin Ashley has declared that, directly Quebec falls, he will +come and visit the great city of which so much has been spoken, to +see for himself the great work? If he does this, he will bring his +wife and Susanna with him. You cannot think how keenly alive the +Philadelphians are becoming to the glory it will be to rid Canada +of French rule, and found an English-speaking colony there. The +Quakers still stand aloof, and talk gloomily of the sin of warfare; +but the rest of the people heed them no whit. They have furnished +and equipped a gallant band to join General Amherst, and they are +kindling with a great enthusiasm in the cause. Even our old friend +Ebenezer Jenkyns has been talking great swelling words of warlike +import. He would have joined the militia, he says, had not his +father forbidden him." + +"It is well they have awoke at last," said Fritz, a little grimly; +"but it would have been better had they done so before their border +was harried, and their brothers and countrymen done to death by the +bands of Indian marauders." + +At which saying Humphrey's face grew dark; for there was stamped +upon his brain one scene the memory of which would never be +effaced, though it should be a thousandfold avenged. + +"I would that Charles could have lived to see the day when the +English should enter the city of Quebec!" + +He spoke beneath his breath; but Fritz heard him, and answered with +thoughtful gravity: + +"Perhaps it were not true kindness to wish him back. His death blow +was struck when his wife and children perished. The days which +remained to him were days of sorrow and pain. The light of his +life, the desire of his eyes, had been taken away. He lived but for +an act of vengeance, and when that was accomplished, I believe he +would have faded out of life had it not been that his own life was +extinguished at the same time as that of his foe." + +Humphrey made a silent sign of assent. He could not speak much even +yet of the tragic fate of his brother, or of the events which had +led to it. Fritz turned the subject by speaking of John Stark and +the Rangers, asking Humphrey what had been known of them since the +breaking-up of the band after the disaster of Ticonderoga. + +"I saw Stark," answered Humphrey eagerly. "Have I not told you +before? Ah well, we have not much time for talking these busy days. +Yes, I saw Stark; he came to visit his kinsfolk of the inn when I +was in Philadelphia. He has gone now with Amherst's party. He will +join Rogers, I suppose; and, doubtless, the Rangers will again do +good service, as they do everywhere. He was in half a mind to come +north with the expedition for Quebec, but decided that he would be +of more use in country every foot of which was familiar to him. But +he declared that, if once Ticonderoga were to fall, he would bring +us the news faster than any other messenger. How he will come, and +by what route, I know not; but this I know, that if there is a +victory for English arms yonder in the west, and if John Stark be +not killed, the sight of his face amongst us here will be the sign +to us that the victory has been won." + +"And right welcome will be the sight of his face," cried Fritz, "be +his news what it may. John Stark is one of the best and bravest men +I know. I have told our General many a tale of him and his prowess. +Wolfe will have a welcome for him if he ever appears here." + +Wolfe seemed to have finished his survey. He took the glass from +his eye and looked round him. Moncton was at his side in a moment. +He, in common with all who fought with and under him, had a great +admiration for the gallant young General. + +"Moncton," said Wolfe, in a voice loud enough for the other three +to hear plainly, "I want to get some ships past the city into the +upper reach of the river. The French General will not fight. I give +him chance after chance against me, but he does not take it. He +thinks a waiting game will serve his turn best, and perhaps he is +right. But we must leave no stone unturned to harass and perplex +him. I want a footing in the upper reach of the river. I want to +get some vessels past the town." + +Moncton drew his lips together in a silent whistle. + +"Will not the town batteries sink them like logs as they pass?" he +asked. + +"They will, if they see them. They have left the river free of +vessels; they trust entirely to their guns. But our sailors have +done bolder deeds before this than the passing of some batteries +upon a dark night. If you were to cover their advance by a furious +cannonade upon the town, do you not think we could slip a few past +those frowning batteries, and make a new basis of operations for +ourselves in the upper reach of the river, above the town?" + +Moncton's eyes glistened. It was a daring project, but it was not +without promise of success. Such things might be done, and yet +there was serious risk. + +"It will weaken us in one way," pursued Wolfe, speaking in his +quiet, meditative fashion. "As it is, we are divided into three +camps--one here, one at Montmorency, and one on the Isle of +Orleans. If we carry out this plan, we shall be divided into four; +and should any pressing danger menace any one of those four camps, +it might be some while before assistance could be sent. And yet I +am more than half disposed to try. Montcalm does not appear to have +any intention of attacking us. And if we weaken ourselves, we shall +also weaken him by this movement. At present he is concentrating +his whole strength in and below the city. If we get a footing on +the upper river, he will have to send a contingent there to watch +us. Whether we have any reasonable hope of getting at the city in +that way, I cannot yet tell; I know too little of the character of +the ground. But at least we shall have won a strategic victory in +getting our ships past the guns of Quebec; and we shall cause +consternation and alarm there, even if nothing else." + +"I will cover the movement with all the power of my guns," cried +Moncton eagerly; "and if the thing can be done, our sailors will do +it; they are in no whit afraid of the enemy's guns. And look--if +the ships get through, why not let our red-coats and blue-jackets +drag a fleet of boats across the base of this Point Levi, along the +low ground yonder, and launch them in the river above, where they +can join the ships and bring them reinforcements of men? Then we +shall have means of transporting men and provisions to these +vessels, and the sight of them upon their upper river will further +dishearten the citizens of Quebec, who have been very well punished +already by our guns." + +"Yes," answered Wolfe. "I would sooner have shattered the citadel +than the houses and convents; but we must e'en do what we can in +this game of war. But your idea is excellent, Moncton. If the ships +succeed in making the passage, the boats shall certainly be brought +across, as you suggest. It will be a strategic triumph for us, even +though we do not reap immediate fruit from it. And if once Amherst +can march to join us, it will be everything to have shipping in the +upper river." + +"And you are hopeful that he will?" + +"If he can make good his position upon the lakes and in the west. I +have information that things are going well for us there; but so +far no definite news of the capture of Ticonderoga has reached us. +It is rumoured that Niagara is attacked, and is likely to pass into +our hands. There is no doubt that the French all along the western +boundary are in extremity. If Quebec goes, all will go; they will +have no heart to hold out. But, on the other hand, if we are beaten +here, and are forced to retreat unsuccessfully, it will have a +great moral effect throughout Canada." + +"Canada is becoming very half-hearted towards its French masters," +said Moncton. "We hear a good deal from prisoners brought to the +camp by our scouts. We had one brought in the other day--a cunning +old rascal, but by no means reticent when we had plied him with +port wine. He said that they were sick to death of the struggle, +and only wished it over one way or the other. They would be glad +enough to stand neutral, and serve either French or English +according as the victory went; but their priests threaten them with +spiritual terrors if they do not fight for the cause of Holy +Church, as they term it, whilst the military authorities threaten +them with the Indians, and we, on the other side, with the +destruction of their farms and houses if they interfere in any way +with us. Their case is certainly a hard one." + +"It is," answered Wolfe; "but, all the same, I am not going to +permit any infringement of the orders I have laid down. If the +people will stand neutral or help us, they shall have protection +and all reasonable help if the Indians attack them; but if they +prefer to obey their French masters or their priestly tyrants, and +harry and worry us, I keep my word, and I send out harrying parties +to drive off their cattle and bring themselves prisoners to our +camps. No violence shall be done them; no church shall be violated; +not a finger shall be laid upon any woman or child. If outrages are +committed by my soldiers, the men shall instantly be hanged or +shot. But I will have no infringement of my commands. What I say I +mean. I have posted up my intentions. The people know what they +have to expect. The free choice is theirs. If they will not take +the offered protection, they must abide by the consequences." + +Inflexible firmness was written upon the thin face of the young +General. Cruelty was abhorrent to him whatever form it took; but he +could be stern and rigorous in the prosecution of any plan which +had been adopted after careful consideration. He knew that the +greatest blessing to the Canadians would be the termination of this +long and wearing war. From his heart he believed that transference +from French to English rule would be the happiest possible change +of fortune for them. Therefore he did not shrink from any measures +which should tend to bring about this consummation; and whilst +giving them every opportunity to save themselves and their property +by aiding or at least not interfering with or opposing his +measures, he made it abundantly plain that, if they persisted in +inimical courses, they would be treated as enemies. + +The idea of effecting a passage of the city and forming a camp, or +at least a flotilla, above the town was a matter which afforded +much discussion and excitement throughout the English ranks. The +daring of it appealed to all hearts, and the sailors when they +heard it were keen for the enterprise, confident of success were +only a dark night to be chosen for the attempt. Old Killick, with +his hands in his pockets, rolled up and down his deck, chewing a +quid of tobacco, and giving his opinions on the subject. + +"Pass Quebec! bless you, my dears, I'll undertake to pass the town +guns any hour of the day or night you like to send me. What a rout +they did make, to be sure, about their old river! They make just +such a rout about their precious guns! What English ship ever +feared to pass a French battery yet? Give me a capful of wind, and +I'll undertake to get my boat past whilst the Frenchies are trying +to get their guns pointed low enough to sink me! The soldiers have +been having their turn for a bit; it's time we had one now. We've +had nothing to amuse us since those pretty fireworks the Frenchies +were kind enough to get up for us the other week! Oh that they +should think to scare us with such toys as that! Oh my, what fools +some men can be!" + +With Wolfe resolution was speedily followed by action. No sooner +had he made up his mind what he meant to do than preparations were +instantly set on foot. He came down in person to inspect the fleet, +and discuss with the Admirals what ships should be chosen for the +service. Finally, the Sutherland was selected as the ship to run +the gauntlet, on account of her sailing capacities and the +excellence of her sailing master and crew. A frigate was to +accompany her, and several smaller vessels, one of which, to his +great satisfaction, was Killick's; and he was permitted to lead the +way, as his shrewdness and skill in nautical matters were well +known throughout the fleet. + +Colonel Carleton, a promising and experienced officer, was in +charge of the troops. But Wolfe himself could not be far away. He +was to watch everything from Point Levi, and in the event of +success to superintend the passage overland of the flotilla of +boats; and in one of these he purposed himself to join the +expedition in the upper river, and make a careful survey of the +defences there. + +Dearly would he have liked to make one of the daring party who were +to run the gauntlet of the French batteries, but he knew his +responsibilities as General of the forces too well to expose +himself rashly where he could not take the lead. He must trust to +the sailors for this thing; his turn would come later. + +All was in readiness. The selected vessels were lying at anchor, +ready to loose from their moorings when the sun had sunk. Wolfe in +his light boat, managed by Humphrey and Fritz, had made a tour of +inspection, and was now speeding across the water towards Point +Levi, up the heights of which several additional powerful guns had +been carried earlier in the day to assist in the cannonade planned +for the night. + +Little was spoken by the General or his subordinates. Wolfe had +been suffering much during the past days from acute rheumatism, and +from the inward malady which gave him little rest night or day. His +face looked very thin and drawn, but the fire in his eyes was +unquenchable, and it was plain that his mind was not with himself, +but with the enterprise, carefully thought out and courageously +planned, which was to be attempted that night. + +"Take me as near to the town batteries as is safe," he said; and +the boat's head was directed towards the northern shore. + +"I believe it will be done," he said, after a keen inspection of +the batteries through his glass. "The guns are almost all pointed +towards Point Levi. If the ships make good way with wind and tide, +as they should, they will glide so fast along that, even if +sighted, they will almost have passed before the guns can be +depressed sufficiently to be dangerous." + +Then they made for Point Levi, and Wolfe stepped ashore, to be +received by Moncton, who escorted him to the batteries to see their +preparations. The three friends, released from attendance upon him, +took up a position from which they could command a view of what +passed, in so far as the darkness of night should permit them any +view. A pall of cloud hung in the sky, and the shades of evening +fell early. Yet it seemed long to the anxious watchers before the +darkness blotted out the view of the distant city, and of the +panorama of dancing water beneath. + +Generally the guns from Point Levi boomed all day, but were silent +at night, leaving the camp to repose. But though they had ceased to +fire at sundown, darkness had no sooner fallen than the iron mouths +opened in a prolonged and terrific roar, a blaze of yellow light +glowed along the batteries, and the watchers from the strand heard +the huge shells screaming overhead as they hurtled through the air, +carrying with them their terrible messages of death and +destruction. + +The noise was terrific; the sight was terrible in its fierce +grandeur. The three companions had seen many strange and fearful +things during the past years, but perhaps they had never before +been quite so near to a battery spouting out its leaden rain in +great broad flashes of lambent flame. + +Julian and Fritz could not turn their eyes from the magnificent +sight; but Humphrey, after one glance, turned his upon the dark +waterway, and it was his voice that spoke at last in accents of +keen emotion. + +"Here come the ships." + +The others could not see for a while--their eyes were dazzled; and +in the roar and rattle of artillery overhead nothing could be heard +of the silent advance of those darkened hulls as they slipped like +ghosts through the water. They were as close to the south bank as +it was safe to keep, and followed Killick's sloop with as much +precision as possible. The strong tide beneath them, and the light, +favouring wind, bore them past at a rate that the spectators had +scarcely expected. They could just descry the dark, looming objects +gliding swiftly and silently along. But would the gunners in Quebec +see them? The onlookers held their breath as the phantom ships +sailed upon their way. They were passing the blazing batteries now, +and the cannonade was more furious than ever. The guns of Quebec +were blazing back. But was the fire directed only at the opposite +heights? or had the flitting sails been seen, and would the iron +rain pour upon the gallant vessels making the daring passage? + +Fritz felt such an oppression upon his heart that he could scarce +draw his breath; but moments came and moments went, and the ships +glided unharmed upon their way. They had all passed the batteries +now. They were in the very narrowest part of the channel, just +where the town batteries commanded the passage. Humphrey could +stand it no longer. + +"To the boat," he cried, "to the boat! yonder she lies! Let us +follow and make sure, and bring the General word!" + +In a moment the three had rushed down, and were running their boat +into the water. Next minute the sail was up, and the light little +craft was cutting through the black river at a gallant pace. Now +she had caught up the last of the silent string of daring cruisers; +now she was gliding by the large warship. All was safe, all was +silent on the water; only overhead the hurtling bombs and balls +roared and boomed. The gunners of Quebec had not sighted the +stealthy ships. The town knew nothing of what was being done under +cover of that furious cannonade. And now the batteries had been +safely passed; the lights of the town upon the right were beginning +to fade in the distance. + +A sudden rift in the clouds let through a glancing beam of +moonlight, which fell full upon the figure of old Killick as he +stood upon the forecastle of his vessel, preparing to let down the +anchor as arranged when a safe place had been found. The old +sea-dog had convoyed the party as cleverly as he had navigated the +dangerous channel of the Traverse. He pulled out his battered +sou'wester and waved it in the direction of Quebec. + +"Bless you, my dears! how well you do sleep! You ought to be sound +and hearty, I'm sure. Good luck to you, every man of you at the +guns! Bless my soul! if I were the Markiss of Montcalm, when I +awoke in the morning to see the English ships in the basin above +the town, I'd hang every mother's son of them each to his own gun! +But poor fellows, it would be hard to blame them. They can't help +being born Frenchmen and fools after all!" + +A laugh and a cheer from those who heard greeted old Killick's +sally; and Humphrey, quickly turning round the prow of the boat, +sent her speeding back to Point Levi, to bring certain tidings of +the success to Wolfe. + + + +Chapter 2: Days Of Waiting. + + +"I am sorry that you should have to be disturbed, dear ladies, but +it is no longer safe for you to remain where you were. My soldiers +require the ground. But tomorrow you shall be sent in safety to +Quebec, under a flag of truce. You will be safer there than at +Pointe-aux-Trembles, now that my ships are in the upper river." + +Wolfe spoke thus at the conclusion of a supper party, which he had +hastily got up for the benefit of the prisoners brought to Point +Levi by his fleet of boats. The soldiers had landed along the upper +river, and in spite of a faint resistance from Indians and +Canadians, had effected a landing. Though they had not found much +in the way of stores or cattle, they had taken what they could, and +had brought a number of prisoners to Wolfe's camp. These were +mostly French--a great number being women and children and old men +who had left Quebec during the bombardment, and sought refuge in +the outlying village. + +The idea of being sent back to town was not exactly palatable, but +it was plain that there was now no safety along the upper river; +the English troops seemed to be everywhere at once. + +"You are such dreadful people, you English!" sighed one lady, +looking, not without admiration, towards the youthful General, who +was entertaining them at his own table, and who had given the +strictest orders that the humbler of the prisoners should be +equally well treated elsewhere: "you seem to fly from point to +point, to divide your army as you will, and conquer wherever you +appear. It is wonderful, but it is terrible, too! And yet with all +this, how are you to get into Quebec? For it seems to me you are no +nearer that than you were a month ago." + +Wolfe smiled his slight, peculiar smile. + +"Madame," he answered, "we have a proverb in En gland which says +that 'where there's a will there's a way.' I have been sent out by +the government of my country to take Quebec, and here I stay till I +have carried out that order. How and when it will be accomplished I +do not yet know; what I say is that I am here to do it, and that I +mean to do it. When you return to the city, present my respects to +the Marquis of Montcalm, and tell him what I say." + +The ladies looked at one another, and lifted eyes and hands. In the +aspect of the young General, despite his physical feebleness, there +was an air of such calm, confident power that they were deeply +impressed; and one of them, looking earnestly at him, cried: + +"You make us admire you as much as we fear you, Monsieur Wolfe. But +if you are to have Quebec, pray take it quickly; for this long, +cruel war wears us out." + +"Madame," he answered, "I would that I could; but Monsieur de +Montcalm gives me no chance of fighting. If he were not so +cautious, I should greatly rejoice. I give him all sorts of chances +to attack me, but he will not avail himself of them. If caution +could save Quebec, assuredly it would never fall!" + +"If he take not care, his caution will be his undoing," said a +Canadian dame of sprightly turn. "As for us of the country, we are +weary to death of uncertainty. They tell me that the Canadian +militia will not long remain loyal if kept in such inactivity. We +Canadians do not understand this sort of warfare. Quick raids, +sharp fighting, quick return home is what our men are used to. They +can be brave enough in their native forests; but this sitting down +in camps for weeks and months together, whilst their harvests are +lying uncut in the fields, or left a prey to Indian marauders--no, +that they do not understand or appreciate. They are almost ready to +welcome English rule sooner than go on like this. I doubt not you +have heard as much from your prisoners before." + +"Something like it," answered Wolfe, with a slight curl of the lip. +"I confess I have no great opinion of the militia of Monsieur de +Montcalm. His regular troops are fine soldiers; but for the rest, +they would give us little trouble, I take it. Perhaps the Marquis +knows that, and therefore will not fight." + +"In the woods one Canadian soldier is worth three regulars," +remarked the lady, with a shrewd glance at Wolfe, and a smile upon +her face; "but in the open one regular is worth half a dozen +Canadians. We do not understand standing firm under fire. Give us a +tree to run behind, and we will be as valiant as you wish, and +shoot down our foes with unerring aim; but we must have cover. We +have been used to it, and we do not understand being without it. I +am sure I well understand the feeling. I should make a good enough +Canadian militiaman, but I should never have the nerve to be a +regular soldier." + +Wolfe smiled and made a little bow to his guests. + +"I believe, Mesdames, that ladies have a higher courage than men +when the hour of peril really comes. I had the honour to become +acquainted with Madame Drucour at the siege of Louisbourg. I was +told, and can well believe, that it was in great part her heroic +example which inspired the men there to that courage which they +showed, and which gave us such hard work. Courage is by no means +the prerogative of the soldier or of man. The women of the world +have again and again set the loftiest examples of it to those who +come after." + +The ladies returned his bow, and drank to his health before they +retired to their tents for the night. + +"If we see you within Quebec, Monsieur Wolfe, we shall know how +generous a victor we have to deal with. Madame Drucour has told us +the same; but now we have seen it with our own eyes." + +"Pray give my best compliments to Madame Drucour," said Wolfe +earnestly, "and tell her that not the least pleasant element in the +anticipation of getting into Quebec is the thought that in so doing +I shall have the honour and pleasure of renewing acquaintance with +her." + +Wolfe was on the strand upon the following morning to see his +captives safely off to Quebec, whilst a flag of truce was hoisted, +and the batteries ceased to fire. + +"Farewell, my dear ladies; I hope soon to meet you all again," said +the young General, with playful geniality, as he handed them to +their seats. "If Monsieur de Montcalm will but give me the chance +of coming to conclusions with him, I will do my utmost to bring +this uncomfortable state of affairs to a close." + +"Ah, Monsieur, you are very complaisant! but the only way that you +want to take is the capture of our poor city." + +"Very true, dear ladies; that is the only end I am willing to +contemplate. And yet, believe me, in desiring this I desire nothing +that shall be for your final discomfiture. I know what the rule of +France is in these parts, and what that of England is also. Believe +me that beneath English government peace and prosperity such as she +has never known before will come to Canada. I believe that the day +will speedily come when you will see this for yourselves." + +"I should not wonder," answered the Canadian dame, with a light +laugh; "I am half disposed to think the same myself. His Majesty of +France has not endeared himself to us these many years past. I +should not be broken hearted to see a change of monarch." + +The boats pushed off, and Wolfe stood watching them on their way +across the river. His face was grave and thoughtful, and he turned +presently to Fritz with a sigh. + +"Poor ladies! I am sorry to send them back to the horrors of the +siege; but it is the only safe place for them. + +"And now we must think seriously of our next step. The time is +flying, and we must not let the grass grow under our feet. It is +true what they said last night: we are no nearer taking Quebec than +when we sailed from England months ago. We have frightened and +harassed the foe, but we are not one step nearer the goal." + +"And yet we have one ship and several smaller vessels in the upper +river," said Julian; "and where one ship has passed others may do +so." + +"Yes; I shall try to bring up other vessels. One never knows what +the chances of war will be. It is well to have the command of the +river both above and below; and if Amherst should form a junction +with us, we may find the fleet above the town of great use. But we +are now at the end of July, and Ticonderoga, though threatened, has +not yet fallen, so far as we know; and even were it to do so +quickly, there will be much for Amherst to do there and at Crown +Point, and a long, long march before he could reach us. We must +face the possibility of having to accomplish this matter with the +forces now at command; and we are in the position now that our camp +is split up into four, and we have no great muster of troops at any +one point. If Montcalm were to make a determined dash at any one of +our camps, he could destroy it before the rest of the army could be +mustered for its defence. Why he does not avail himself of the +chances given him I do not know. But his policy of inaction has its +drawbacks too for us, since I would sooner face him in a pitched +battle than be kept here inactive, waiting upon chances that never +offer." + +The army was certainly getting rather weary of this inaction. It +was not idle, for Wolfe's manifesto to the Canadians was now being +enforced. Supplies were wanted for the troops, and the inimical +Canadians were forced to supply them. Indeed, great numbers of +these harassed and undecided inhabitants of the disputed territory +were glad enough to be made prisoners by the English and sent on +board their transports for safety. Their cattle, of course, fell a +prey to the invaders; but they were in so much peril of robbery +from the Indians that this was a small matter. When once within +Wolfe's camp their lives were safe, and no ill treatment was +permitted; and to some of the wretched Canadians this had become a +boon. It was small wonder they were growing sick and weary of the +war, and would have welcomed either nation as conqueror, so that +they could only know again the blessings of peace and safety. + +Yet something more definite must be attempted; Wolfe was more and +more determined upon that. It was difficult to know how best to +attack an enemy so strongly intrenched and so well able to repulse +attack; yet his men were burning with ardour, and his own spirit +was hot within him. He sometimes felt as though his feeble body +would not much longer be able to endure the strain put upon it. The +cracked pitcher may go once too often to the well. To die in the +service of his country was what Wolfe desired and expected for +himself; but he wished that death might come to him in the din and +excitement of the battle, and in the hour of victory; not by the +hand of disease, whilst his aim and object was yet unaccomplished. + +"We must fight!" he said to Julian, as he took his way back to his +camp at the Montmorency; "we must seek to bring the enemy to close +quarters. We shall fight at terrible disadvantage, I well know; we +shall suffer heavy loss. But I would back a hundred of our brave +fellows against a battalion of Canadian militia. We must try +conclusions with them somehow, and by a concerted attack, both from +Montmorency and from the strand, seek to effect something, even if +it be only to affright and dishearten them." + +The soldiers were ready and eager to be allowed a fling at the foe. +They were full of ardour and enthusiasm, for so far every attempt +made had been vigorously and successfully carried out, and they +began to have an idea that Wolfe could not be frustrated in any +scheme of his. + +To attack the city itself was obviously impossible under present +conditions, They could never get a footing near those solid walls +and ramparts. But the camp along the Beauport shore was more +vulnerable. If they could effect a landing there, they might rush +one or more of the batteries, and bring about a general engagement. +It was impossible, as it happened, for Wolfe to estimate the full +strength of the French position; but he knew that the task would be +no light one, even though he could not see that there were +batteries upon the heights above. + +It was near to the Montmorency that he designed to make the attack. +The shores of the river were, for the most part, very steep here; +but at one place there was at low water a strand of muddy ground +about half a mile wide, protected at the edge by a French redoubt. +From there the ground rose steep and slippery to the higher land +above. If the men could land and take the redoubt, Wolfe had hopes +of bringing men over by the Montmorency ford--the one above the +cataract--and effecting a junction there, and by combining the +actions of these two detachments, succeed in dislodging a portion +of the French army, and effecting a firm foothold upon the north +bank of the St. Lawrence. + +It was a rather desperate scheme; but it was received with +enthusiasm by the soldiers and sailors, both of whom would be +needed for the attempt. The vessels and boats for the transport of +the men were quickly made ready, whilst others were told off to +hover about the basin in order to perplex the French, and keep them +ignorant of the real point of attack. + +Wolfe himself took up his position in the battleship Centurion, +which anchored near to the Montmorency, and opened fire upon the +redoubts just beyond the strand. Julian was with him, watching +intently, and noting every movement made by enemy or friend. But +Fritz and< Humphrey could not be denied their share in the fight. +They were upon an armed transport that was standing in shore to +further harass and batter the redoubt, and to be left stranded by +the ebb tide, as near to her as might be. + +It was at low water that the attack must be made. Boats from Point +Levi were hovering around the strand all the afternoon, sometimes +making for one point, sometimes for another, keeping the French +always on the alert, uncertain and wondering. But Montcalm was too +acute a general to be long deceived. He saw where the real attack +must be made, and there he concentrated his chief force. Had Wolfe +been able to see how his batteries could sweep with a crossfire the +whole of the steep ascent from the redoubt to the heights above, +where the men from the Montmorency camp might be able to join with +them, he might have withheld his men from the bold attack. And yet +English soldiers have won the victory even against such odds as +these! + +He stood in a commanding place upon the ship, and his eyes +anxiously scanned the scene. The hot sun had gone in now beneath +banks of heavy cloud. A few splashes of rain seemed to herald an +approaching storm; there was a rumble as of thunder away to the +right. + +The tide was out; the bank of mud lay bare. Wolfe gave a long look +round him and waved his hand. + +It was the signal waited for. The moment after, the Centurion's +guns opened their iron mouths, and a storm of shot rattled around +the redoubt. The batteries from the Montmorency blazed forth, and +so did the more distant ones from Point Levi. The fire of all three +was concentrated upon the redoubts and batteries and forces at this +portion of the Beauport camp; and the French gave answer back from +their well-placed batteries. + +Under cover of this heavy fire the boats rowed to shore, and the +men in waiting upon the stranded transports leaped out and joined +their comrades. The grenadiers were the first to land; and though +Moncton's brigade and Fraser's Highlanders were close behind, the +eagerness of the men could not be restrained. They did not wait for +their companions; they did not even wait to form up in very orderly +fashion themselves. They made a gallant dash upon the redoubt, and +so strong was the onrush that the French, after a very brief +resistance, fled; and with a shout and cheer of triumph the English +gained their prize. + +Julian, standing beside Wolfe on the vessel, could not refrain from +a shout of triumph; but the face of the General was grave and +stern. + +"They are wrong--they are wrong!" he said; "they are too impetuous. +Their rash gallantry will cost them dear. See, they are not even +waiting now for their companions to join them; they are trying to +rush the heights alone! Folly--madness! They will lose everything +by such rashness! There! did I not say so?" + +At that moment the batteries on the brink of the height opened +their murderous crossfire. The men were mown down like grass before +the scythe; but so full were they of fury and desire of victory +that they heeded nothing, and pressed onward and upward, as though +resolved to carry everything before them. + +Had they been able to see the heights above, they would have noted +that across the ford above the Montmorency a compact body of men +was passing in perfect order, to fall upon the French from behind, +and effect a junction with them. But at that moment, whilst the +fortunes of the day seemed hanging in the balance, the very +floodgates of heaven seemed to open, and a deluge of rain +descended, whilst the blackness of a terrific thunderstorm fell +upon the combatants. + +The slippery grass no longer gave foothold, and the men rolled down +the steep heights--dead, wounded, and unhurt in one medley. The +ammunition grew soaked, and the guns refused their task. The glare +of the lightning lit up a scene of utter confusion. + +Wolfe saw all, standing with grave face and stern, watchful eyes. +At last he spoke. + +"Sound the retreat," he said, and then bit his lip; and Julian, by +a glance into his face, knew what it had cost him to speak those +words. + +The retreat was made in good order, and was distinguished by a few +acts of personal gallantry; for the Indians swooped down, as they +always did when they saw their chance, to scalp the wounded and the +dead. Soldiers risked their lives to save their fallen comrades +from this fate, dragging the wounded with them, at risk of their +own lives. The guns of the captured redoubt did some service in +beating off the savages; and the boats were launched once more, +though their load was a far lighter one than when they had brought +up their eager crews an hour before. The strand and the height +above were covered with the dead who had paid for their rash +gallantry with their lives. It was a scene upon which Wolfe's eyes +dwelt with sadness and pain, as he ordered a boat to be got ready +for him, that he might address the men on their return to quarters. + +It was with stern words that Wolfe met his soldiers. He was not a +man to condone a lack of discipline because it had been coupled +with personal bravery. + +"Do you grenadiers suppose that you can beat the French +single-handed?" he asked, eying the thinned ranks with stern +displeasure in his eyes. "Such impetuous, irregular, and +unsoldierlike proceedings as those witnessed today destroy all +order, and make it impossible for a commander to form any +disposition for an attack, and put it out of the General's power to +execute his plans. The death of those five hundred brave men who +lie on the strand yonder is due, in the main, to your rashness and +insubordination." + +The men were shamefaced and contrite. They recognized their error, +and were the more grieved inasmuch as they saw how the check had +affected their brave young General. They heard, too, that the +French were full of triumphant rejoicings; that they declared this +repulse to be the end of the English attempt upon Quebec. They +looked upon the game as already in their hands; and although the +English were fond of declaring that but for the storm they would +yet have won the heights, and with the aid of their other +contingent have routed the French gunners and got a footing there, +they knew that, as facts were now, they had rather suffered than +benefited by the action, for it had put fresh hope into the hearts +of their foes; and it was possible that the disappointment had +something to do with the access of violent illness and suffering +which at this juncture prostrated their General. + +Wolfe was indeed dangerously ill. He had long been putting the +strongest pressure upon himself, and Julian had been struck upon +the day of the assault with the look of suffering upon his worn +face. He kept up during the next few days, but looked so ghastly +that his friends were deeply concerned; and Julian, together with +Fritz and Humphrey, scoured the neighbourhood in order to find a +place of greater comfort where their commander could lie. Presently +they came upon a little farmhouse near to the camp at Montmorency, +sheltered from the wind, and pleasantly situated. It had been +deserted by its occupants, who had, however, left behind furniture +enough to enable them to get one room at least fit for the +habitation of the sufferer. And none too soon. + +That very day Wolfe, after trying to make a survey of the lines, +was found in his tent half fainting with pain. He looked up at +Julian with heavy eyes, and stretching out his hand to him, he +said: + +"I fear me I shall never live to enter Quebec. I have fought till I +can fight no more. Take me somewhere that I can rest. I can do no +more--yet." + +They took him to the little farmhouse, and laid him upon the bed +they had prepared. The doctors came, and looked grave; for the +fever was high, the suffering keen, and the wasted frame seemed +little able to withstand the ravages of disease. Yet never a murmur +passed his lips; and when there came intervals of comparative ease, +he would ask of those about him how affairs without were +proceeding, giving orders from time to time with all his old acumen +and force, and never forgetting to inquire for the wounded who had +been brought off from the ill-starred assault, and had been given +the best quarters which the camp afforded. He had never any pity +for himself, but always plenty to spare for others. + +Great gloom hung over the camp. Not only were the soldiers +depressed by their repulse, and by the apparent impossibility of +getting into the city, but they were in fear and trembling lest +they should also lose their brave General. + +"If Wolfe goes, hope goes," was a common saying in the camp. They +seemed to know by intuition that with him would expire all hope of +achieving an almost impossible victory. + +Fritz and Julian nursed the sick man; and never were nurses more +skilful and tender. Humphrey constituted himself messenger and +forager, bringing everything he could get that the invalid was +likely to need, and keeping them informed of everything that went +on at the different camps. + +Other vessels had passed the guns of Quebec. Scouts from the +interior reported disaffection toward the French cause all through +Canada. English soldiers were carrying the terror of the British +arms through large tracts of country. The French were becoming +anxious and dispirited. + +So much they learned during those days of waiting; but they could +rejoice but little whilst Wolfe lay low, racked with pain which no +medicine could alleviate, and in danger of sinking through the +wearing exhaustion which followed. + +"How will it end? how will it end?" spoke Fritz to himself one day +late in August, as he stepped outside the house to obtain a breath +of air. The next moment he gave a great start, and held out his +hands in a gesture of amazement, + +"What--who--how--is it a ghost I see?" + +A hearty laugh was the answer, and his hands were gripped in a +clasp that was very certainly one of flesh and blood, to say +nothing of bone and muscle. + +"Ghost indeed! Nay, Fritz, you know better than that! It is John +Stark himself, come to fulfil his promise, and to bring to General +Wolfe the news that Ticonderoga has fallen!" + + + +Chapter 3: A Daring Design. + + +Ticonderoga fallen! The news was like new wine in the veins of +Wolfe. Ill as he was, he insisted that Stark should be brought to +his bedside, and he eagerly entreated the bold Ranger to tell him +the whole story. + +"There is not so much to tell as there might be," said Stark, "for +the French made no fight, either at Ticonderoga or at Crown Point. +We came with a gallant array against their fortresses, only to find +that the enemy had evacuated them. They tried to blow up +Ticonderoga before they left; but only one bastion was destroyed. +Crown Point was deserted without a blow being struck. I waited for +that, and then made good my word. I said I would be the first to +take the news of the fall of Ticonderoga to General Wolfe at +Quebec." + +Wolfe's eyes were shining with excitement. + +"Then is General Amherst on his way here with his army?" he asked +eagerly. + +Stark shook his head. + +"Alas, no! there is still much work to be done. If the French have +abandoned these two forts, it is only that they may concentrate all +their strength at Isle-aux-Noix, where the General must now attack +them. And to do this he must build a brigantine and other vessels; +and though there is a sawmill at Ticonderoga, the work will still +take somewhat long to accomplish. I fear that many weeks will +elapse before he can advance; and meantime--" + +He paused, for he scarce knew how to conclude the sentence. He had +heard as he passed through the camp towards Wolfe's quarters that +the outlook was not altogether a bright one, despite the fact that +success had crowned many of the enterprises hitherto undertaken. + +Wolfe took up the unfinished sentence and spoke. + +"Meantime the winter gales will be threatening us, and if the walls +of Quebec still shut us out, we may be forced to sail to England +with our task yet uncompleted, or to take up our winter quarters in +one of the islands, and wait for better things next spring. Was +that the thought in your mind, John Stark?" + +"In truth, sir, as I came along and surveyed the position of the +notable city of Quebec, it seemed to me that it would be a hard +task to bring it to surrender; but then we all know that General +Wolfe can accomplish the impossible if any man can." + +A slight smile crossed Wolfe's worn face. + +"I look like a man to perform the impossible, don't I, good Stark?" +he said; and the Ranger's eyes filled with pitiful sympathy as he +made answer: + +"Indeed, sir, I grieve to find you so; and yet men say that Wolfe +sick is better than half a dozen other generals in full health and +strength. Believe me, we have faith in you, and believe that you +will win the day even single handed, though all the world should +look on in scornful amaze, and say that you had set yourself the +impossible." + +Wolfe's eyes flashed. A flush rose for a moment in his pale cheek. +Julian saw that such words as these moved him and braced his spirit +like a tonic. He was half afraid lest it should be too much +excitement, and he signed to Fritz to take Stark away. + +"But I will see him again anon," said Wolfe; "I must hear more of +these things. Let him be fed and well looked to, and presently I +will ask him to come to me again." + +And when the two had left him, Wolfe turned to Julian and said: + +"I see now that I have nothing to hope for in a junction with +Amherst. He will have his hands full till the close of the season. +If Quebec is to be taken, we must take it ourselves, unaided from +without. I think I would rather die out here, and leave this +carcass of mine in a Canadian grave, than return to England with +the news that Quebec still holds out against the English flag!" + +"Nay, say not so," answered Julian earnestly, "for the greatest +general may be baffled at some point. And think of your +mother--and--Miss Lowther!" + +A softer look came into Wolfe's eyes. Upon his lips there hovered a +slight, strange smile. Instinctively his hand sought for something +beneath his pillow. Julian well knew what it was: a case containing +miniature portraits of the two beings he loved best in the +world--his mother, and the fair girl who had promised to become his +wife. + +He did not open it, but he held it in his hand, and spoke with a +dreamy softness of intonation. + +"There be times when I think that men of war should have no mothers +or sisters or lovers," he said. "We leave so sad a heritage behind +for them so oft. And we are not worth the sacred tears that they +shed over us when we fall." + +"And yet I think they would scarce be without those sacred memories +to cherish," answered Julian, thinking of Mrs. Wolfe's idolization +of her son, and of Kate Lowther's bright eyes, overflowing with +loving admiration. "But why speak you so, as though you would see +them no more? Your health is slowly mending now, and you have been +through perils and dangers before now, and have come safe out of +them." + +"That is true," answered Wolfe thoughtfully; "and yet a voice in my +heart seems to tell me that I shall see those loved faces no more. +It may be but the fantasy of a troubled and fevered brain; but in +dreams I have seen them, tears in their eyes, weeping for one +unworthy of such grief, who lies in a far-off grave beneath the +frowning battlements of yon great city. I wonder ofttimes whether +we are given to know something of that which is about to befall; +for in my heart a voice has spoken, and that voice has said that +Quebec shall be ours, but that these eyes shall never see what lies +within the ramparts, for they will be sealed in death before that +hour shall arrive." + +Julian had no reply ready; he knew not what to say. It did indeed +seem little likely that that frail form could survive the perils +and hardships of this great siege, should it be prosecuted to the +end, and should some daring assault be successfully made against +the impregnable city. + +From the day upon which Stark arrived in the camp at Montmorency with +the news from Ticonderoga Wolfe began to mend. It seemed as though +the certainty that the English arms were prevailing in the west, +though no help could be looked for this season from Amherst, combined +to put a sort of new vigour and resolution into the heart of the +dauntless young General. If anything were to be accomplished, he +must now do it by his own unaided efforts; and since August was +well nigh past, if he were to act at all it must be soon, or the +winter storms might come sweeping down, and render his position +untenable. + +He had had plenty of time whilst lying helpless in bed to think out +various plans of attack upon the city. Each one seemed desperate +and hopeless, whether, as before, the assault were made by means of +boats along the Beauport shore, or by crossing the upper ford above +Montmorency and fetching a compass behind the French position, or +by storming the lower town, now almost in ruins, for it was +commanded by the batteries in the citadel and upper town. In fact, +the French position was so strong everywhere that it was difficult +to see how any enterprise could possibly prove successful. + +In his hours of comparative ease Wolfe had thought out, and Julian +had written out at his dictation, a sketch of one or two +alternative plans for attack, which he sent in the form of a letter +to the Brigadiers commanding the various detachments of the army, +asking them to take counsel together over them, and to meet at the +farmhouse as soon as he was well enough to see them, and let them +discuss the matter together. All Wolfe's projects were for attack +from the lower river; for lying ill and helpless as he was, he had +hardly realized what had been going steadily on ever since that +first successful attempt to get shipping past the town guns and +into the upper reach of the St. Lawrence. Every time there was a +suitable night, with a favouring wind, vessels had run the gauntlet +of the batteries, always covered by a heavy fire from Point Levi; +and now quite a fleet of warships, frigates, and transports lay in +the reach above the town, whilst Montcalm had had to weaken his +camp at Beauport to watch the heights there. For though these were +steep and rugged and inaccessible, it would not do to leave them +unguarded. + +When the Brigadiers met in the old farmhouse, Wolfe was up and +dressed for almost the first time, looking gaunt and haggard, his +face lined with pain and care, but full of calm and steadfast +purpose, and with a mind as clear as ever. He was touched by the +warm greetings of his officers, and by their tales as to the +enthusiastic delight in the ranks at the news that their General +was better. + +The army was animated by a spirit of great courage and confidence. +The news from Ticonderoga had done good. This had been followed by +tidings of the capture of the Niagara fort. Even though Amherst +could not coalesce with them, they were feeling that English arms +were everywhere invincible, and that even Quebec would not long +stand against them. It would be the greater glory to vanquish it +single-handed; and had they not Wolfe to lead them? + +Wolfe could not but smile as he heard this, and then the discussion +began. The Brigadiers had read his alternative proposals; but they +had another to lay before him which they thought more likely of +success. This was to make the real attack above the town, +transporting men and munitions by means of their ships now lying in +the upper reach, and seeking to obtain a footing upon the heights, +from whence they might bombard the upper city, or even carry it by +an impetuous assault. + +"We can make a feint of attacking at Beauport, to keep the Marquis +upon the alert there, and his troops from being detached to the +defence of the heights. But let our real assault be on that side," +advised Moncton, whose position at Point Levi gave him considerable +knowledge of affairs upon the upper river. "It is true that the +heights are watched and guarded, but the force there is not large. +They trust to the nature of the ground, which is inhospitable to +the last degree, to hinder any attempt at landing. And our vessels +in the river below are leading poor Bougainville a fine dance up +and down the banks. He has some twenty miles to protect with less +than two thousand men--so far as we can learn--and Admiral Holmes, +who commands the fleet, takes care that he shall have no rest night +or day. The men begin to know the ground; they are full of desire +for the attack. It sounds desperate, we are well aware; but then so +do all the plans. Yet if we are to make one great dash upon Quebec +before we give up the hope of taking it this season, we must +attempt the apparently impossible!" + +Into Wolfe's eyes had sprung the battle light. Desperate it might +be to scale almost perpendicular cliffs and plant batteries on the +top whilst exposed to the fire of a sleepless enemy there, who +could send for reinforcements by thousands when once aware of the +threatened peril. And yet now that he knew his strength in the +upper river, and the wishes of his officers, he hesitated not one +instant. + +"It shall be tried," he said, "and it shall be tried quickly. The +issues of life and death, of battle and victory, are in higher +hands than ours. It is for us to do our utmost to brave all. We can +do no more, but we can do that!" + +The meeting broke up. The Brigadiers went back to their respective +stations to announce the decision and to make preparation. Eager +enthusiasm prevailed throughout the ranks of the army, and the +question in all mouths was, would the General be fit to lead them +in person. + +This was Wolfe's own great anxiety. His physician shook his head, +but received this characteristic admonition: + +"I know perfectly well you cannot cure me; but pray make me up so +that I may be free from unbearable pain for a few days, able to do +my duty by my brave soldiers, That is all I ask or want." + +As soon as ever he was able, Wolfe visited the Admirals on their +ships and discussed his plan with them. They were all becoming +rather anxious at the lateness of the season, and were thinking of +moving away. But they consented to remain till this attempt should +be made; Wolfe, on his part, agreeing that if it failed he must +abandon the hope of reducing Quebec this season, and not expose his +soldiers to the needless hardships of a winter in these inclement +latitudes, + +As it was, there was a good deal of sickness amongst the men, and +the number of able-bodied soldiers was considerably reduced. Wolfe +visited those in hospital, and spoke kind and cheering words to +them. He knew what it was to be laid aside from active service, and +how hard inactivity was when there was work to be done. + +The camp on the Montmorency was broken up first. Wolfe wanted his +soldiers elsewhere, and he thought it no bad move to take this +step, as the French would probably think it the first move in the +evacuation of the whole position. Montcalm, indeed, would have +fallen upon them in the rear and inflicted heavy damage, if Moncton +at Point Levi had not seen the danger, and sent a number of men in +boats to make a feint of attacking Beauport; upon which the troops +were hastily recalled. + +All was activity and secret industry in the English lines, A whole +fleet of baggage boats was laden and smuggled past the town guns +into the upper river; more craft followed, till quite an armament +lay in that wider reach above; and yet the French were not +permitted to have any exact notion as to what was to be done, nor +that any serious attack was meditated in that direction. + +Wolfe himself was taken up the river in one of the vessels. He was +still weak and suffering, but he could no longer give any thought +to his own condition. + +"I can rest when the battle is fought," he said to Julian, who +would fain have bidden him spare himself more; and it seemed to his +friend as though there were more in those words than met the ear. + +News was daily brought in of the strength of the French position. +Montcalm, very uneasy at the action of the English fleet, sent as +many reinforcements as he could spare to man the heights and gorges +of the upper river. Batteries were planted, and every step taken to +guard against the danger of attack. Rain and wind hindered the +English from putting their plan into immediate execution, and the +men suffered a good deal from close crowding on the transports, and +from various brushes with the enemy which enlivened the monotony of +those days of waiting. + +Wolfe's eyes were everywhere. He was in the Admiral's vessel, and +although sometimes hardly able to drag himself upon deck, he would +note with all his old keenness every nook and cranny in the +precipitous shores, every movement of the enemy, every natural +advantage which could possibly be made use of in his attempt. + +All this time the ships were drifting to and fro with the tide from +the basin of the upper river, just above Quebec itself, right away +to Cap Rouge, where the French had their headquarters, and were +always ready for an assault. This action on the part of the ships +was a very politic one, for it kept the French troops ceaselessly +upon the march and the watch, wearing them out with fatigue; whilst +the English soldiers on board their vessels were at their ease, +save that they were rather uncomfortably crowded. + +The long delay was over at last. The weather had improved; Wolfe +had made up his mind as to every detail of the attack; the troops +at Point Levi and on the Isle of Orleans had been instructed as to +the parts they were to play in drawing off the enemy's attention +from the real point of attack. + +"I should like to address the men once more," said Wolfe to Julian, +upon a still September morning. "I should like them to take one +last charge from my own lips; perhaps it may be the last I shall +ever give them!" + +For Wolfe seemed to have upon his spirit the presentiment of coming +doom. He looked round upon the eager, expectant faces, and his own +kindled with a loving enthusiasm. He had loved these men, and they +loved him. The sight of his tall, gaunt form and thin, white face +evoked cheer after cheer from soldiers and sailors alike. He had to +wait till the tumult subsided before he could speak, and then his +voice rang out clear and trumpet-like as he briefly described to +the listening host the position of affairs and what was expected of +them. + +"The enemy's force is now divided, great scarcity prevails in their +camp, and universal discontent among the Canadians. Our troops +below are in readiness to join us, all the light artillery and +tools are embarked at Point Levi, and the troops will land where +the French seem least to expect it. The first body that gets on +shore is to march directly to the enemy and drive them from any +little post they may occupy; the officers must be careful that the +succeeding bodies do not by any mistake fire on those who go before +them. The battalions must form on the upper ground with expedition, +and be ready to charge whatever presents itself. When the artillery +and troops are landed, a corps will be left to secure the landing +place while the rest march on and endeavour to bring the Canadians +and French to a battle. The officers and men will remember what +their country expects of them, and what a determined body of +soldiers, inured to war, is capable of doing against five weak +French battalions mingled with a disorderly peasantry." + +Cheer after cheer rent the air as these words were heard. The +enthusiasm of the men had suffered no diminution during the days of +waiting. They loved their General; they respected and admired their +officers. They were full of eagerness to find themselves at last +face to face with the foe. They knew that upon the issue of this +enterprise hung the whole fate of the long campaign. If they failed +in their design, they must return to England with a story of +failure so far as Quebec was concerned; and no one would understand +the full difficulties of the situation, or appreciate all the solid +work that had already been accomplished towards the attainment of +that object. + +Everything that could be done had been done. Admiral Saunders, in the +Basin of Quebec, was deceiving Montcalm by preparations which +convinced that General that the real point of attack was to be along +the Beauport shore, where he therefore massed his troops in readiness; +whilst Admiral Holmes, with his bateaux and flat-bottomed troop boats, +was deluding Bougainville with the notion that his camp at Cap Rouge +was to be the immediate object of the English assault. But all the +while Wolfe and a few of his officers--only a few--were in the secret +of the real basis of action; though the men knew that all was decided +upon, and that they would be led with consummate skill and address. + +In the grey of the morning, Julian, too excited to sleep, heard the +soft plash of oars alongside the Sutherland, and raising his head +to look over the bulwarks, he heard his name pronounced in a +familiar voice. + +"Humphrey, is that you?" + +"Yes," he answered. "I have gleaned some news. I want to impart it +to the General." + +Wolfe was lying on deck looking up at the quiet stars overhead, +worn out with the long strain, yet free from acute pain, and +thankful for the boon. He heard the words, and sat up. + +"Bring him to me," he ordered; "I will hear his report." + +The next minute Humphrey was on deck and beside him. Humphrey was +often employed to carry messages from ship to ship. He had built +himself a light, strong canoe; and could shoot through the water +almost like an Indian. He stood beside Wolfe's couch and told his +tale. + +"I went up to the French camp as close as possible. I heard there +that some boatloads of provisions were to be sent down tonight upon +the ebb to Montcalm's camp. They have done this before, and will do +it again. Later on I came upon two Canadians, seeking to escape +from the French camp. I took them across to our vessels for safety. +They confirmed what I had overheard. Boats laden with provision +will be passing the French sentries along the coast tonight. If our +boats go down in advance of these, they may do so almost +unchallenged." + +Wolfe's eyes brightened before he had heard the last word. He +instantly perceived the advantage which might accrue to them from +this piece of information luckily hit upon. He grasped Humphrey's +hand in a warm clasp, and said: + +"You bring good news, comrade. I think the star of England is about +to rise upon this land. Go now and rest yourself; but be near to me +in the time of struggle. You are a swift and trusty messenger. It +is such as you"--and his eyes sought Julian and Fritz, who were +both alert and awake--"that I desire to have about me in the hour +of final struggle." + +Then, when Humphrey had gone below with Fritz, Wolfe turned to +Julian and said, speaking slowly and dreamily: + +"There is something I would say to you, my friend. I have a strange +feeling that the close of my life is at hand--that I shall not live +to see the fruit of my toil; though to die in battle--in the hour, +if it may be, of victory--has been ever the summit of my hopes and +ambition. Something tells me that I shall gain the object of my +hope tomorrow, or today perchance. I have one charge to give you, +Julian, if that thing should come to pass." + +Julian bit his lip; he could not speak. He was aware of the +presentiment which hung upon Wolfe's spirit, but he had fought +against it might and main. + +The, soldier placed his hand within the breast of his coat, and +detached and drew out that miniature case containing the likeness +of his mother and his betrothed. He opened it once, looked long in +the dim light at both loved faces, and pressed his lips to each in +turn. + +"If I should fall," he said, "give it to Kate; I think she will +like to have it. Tell her I wore it upon my heart till the last. I +would not have it shattered by shot and shell. Give it her with my +dying blessing and love, and tell her that my last prayer will be +for her happiness. She must not grieve too much for me, or let her +life be shadowed. I am happy in having known her love. I desire +that happiness shall be her portion in life. Tell her that when you +give her that case." + +He closed it and placed it in Julian's hands, and spoke no more; +though throughout that day of preparation and thought a gentle +quietude of manner possessed him, and struck all with whom he came +in contact. + +Even when at last all was in readiness and the General in one of +the foremost boats was drifting silently down the dark river, with +the solemn stars overhead, it was not of battles or deeds of daring +that he spoke with those about him. After the silence of deep +tension his melodious voice was heard speaking words that fell +strangely on the ears of the officers clustered about him. + +"The curlew tolls the knell of parting day" spoke that voice; and +in the deep hush of night the whole of that "Elegy" was softly +rehearsed in a strangely impressive manner, a thrill running +through many at the words: + +"The paths of glory lead but to the grave." + +When the recitation was over there was a long, deep silence, broken +at last by Wolfe himself, who said: + +"Gentlemen, I would rather have written that poem than take +Quebec!" + + + +Chapter 4: In The Hour Of Victory. + + +"Qui vive?" + +It was the French sentry upon the shore, as the boats glided slowly +by in the darkness. Julian was waiting for the challenge, and was +ready with the answer. + +"France!" + +"A quel regiment?" came the voice again. + +"De la Reine," answered Julian, who had not spoken in vain with the +deserting Canadians, and knew a good deal about Bougainville's +camp. Then afraid of being asked the password, he hastily added, +still speaking French, "Have a care; the English will hear us! The +provision boats from the camp!" + +That hint was enough. The sentry knew that provision boats were +expected, and that English vessels were anchored not far off. He +let the fleet of English boats pass by in the darkness. + +The strong current swept them along. Now they had reached the +appointed place--passed it, indeed before they could get out of the +current; but there was a narrow strand, wide enough for +disembarkation, and the band of picked men who had volunteered for +the task were already out, preparing to scale the lofty heights and +see what lay beyond. + +Up they went in the close darkness of the autumn night, the +four-and-twenty selected men leading the way, closely followed by a +larger band of comrades. No word was spoken, no cry was raised. The +tense excitement of the moment seemed to preclude any such +demonstration. It was believed that at this point there would be +little resistance. There was no sentry on the shore, and no +appearance of any camp along the top. It was believed that the +French officer Vergor, with a small detachment of troops, was +somewhere in the vicinity; but the renown of that worthy was not +such as to check the ardour of the English troops. + +Wolfe remained below, silent and motionless. His hands were locked +together, and his pale face upturned towards the towering heights +above. The gurgle and plash of the river was in his ears, mingled +with those other sounds--the sounds of scrambling as his soldiers +made their way up the rugged heights in the uncertain light of the +waning stars. It was a moment never to be forgotten in his life. +The presentiment of coming death was forgotten--everything was +forgotten but the wild, strong hope of victory; and when from the +top of the gorge there came at last the ring of a British cheer, +the sound of brisk musket firing, and then another ringing shout as +of triumph, the blood rushed into his white face, and he sprang +from the boat on to the strand, exclaiming: + +"They have won the foothold. Form up, men, and follow. We have +England's honour in our keeping this day. Never let her say we +failed her at the moment of greatest need." + +It was a precipitous gorge up the sides of which the men had to +climb. Julian looked anxiously up it and then at Wolfe, and said: + +"It is too steep; do not try it. Let me find an easier path for you +if I can." + +He smiled as he scanned the sides of the gorge. + +"I doubt if I shall get up," he answered; "but I mean to try." + +And so strong was the resolution which inspired him that he found +strength to drag himself up the steep declivity, with only a little +assistance from Julian; and found himself, with the first breaking +of the dawn, breathless, giddy, exhausted, upon the summit of those +Heights of Abraham which today he was to make famous. + +Instantly he took the command of the situation. Cannon were heard +opening fire close on the left. It was the battery of Samos firing +upon the English boats in the rear, now just visible in the +broadening daylight. + +"Silence that battery!" said Wolfe to an officer whose men were +just forming up. + +Their response was a cheer, as they moved away in orderly array; +and when the distant battery of Sillary opened its mouth and +uttered its menacing roar, there was another battalion ready to +start off to capture and silence it. Soon the great guns uttered +their voices no more. The English were masters of the coveted +heights, and still their troops continued to land and clamber up to +join their comrades upon the top. + +The hearts of the soldiers beat high with pride and joy; but the +face of Wolfe was inscrutable as he stood surveying the plain which +formed a sort of tableland on the western side of the city of +Quebec. + +The town itself he could not see, though he knew where it lay, and +how beyond it extended the camp of Beauport, from which Montcalm +could march battalion after battalion to meet him in battle. He +knew, too, that behind him lay Bougainville and his thousands, who, +by joining in a concentrated action with Montcalm, could hem him in +between two fires, and cut his gallant little army to pieces. He +realized all this right well, if others did not, and knew that +victory or death--even annihilation--lay before them. And knowing +this, he made his survey of the place with a concentrated +attention, and issued his orders without hesitation or delay. + +The grassy plain was pretty level. Quebec bounded it on the east, +the precipices on the St. Lawrence on the south, the declivities to +the basin of the St. Charles on the north. In one place the +plain--called the Plains of Abraham, from the old settler who once +made a home there--was little more than a mile wide. When Wolfe +reached it, he halted, and after a careful survey said: + +"This will be the place to make our stand. Here we will meet our +foe in battle. Fight they must now; and if heaven will grant us the +victory, let the praise and glory of the day be to God above. If He +think well to withhold His countenance from us, let us sell our +lives as dearly as may be, and die sword in hand, with our face to +the foe!" + +Then the orders were issued. The brigades and battalions were +marshalled into position. The Brigadiers received their orders from +their young General, and took up the positions allotted to them. +Each of them grasped him by the hand before quitting his side. To +each one he spoke a word of praise for his gallantry during the +tedious campaign, and of thanks for the personal friendship shown +to one who felt so unworthy of it, having been so often a care and +a trouble instead of a source of strength to those about him. + +Julian stood near, a strange mistiness before his eyes; and as +Fritz turned away to take up his position at the head of his men, +he said in a husky voice to his friend: + +"You will stay beside him and guard him from ill. I know not why, +but my heart is full of misgiving. Quebec will be dearly won if it +lose us the gallant Wolfe!" + +"He will not think so," said Julian. "And his life has been so full +of trouble and pain. I think few know how he has suffered. Perhaps +there is some truth in the old heathen saying, 'Those whom the gods +love die young.' Perhaps it has a better fulfilment and +significance now that the Light has come into the world, and that +there is no sting now in death." + +They pressed each other by the hand, and Fritz swung away. It was a +moment of deep though suppressed emotion. Both men knew that they +might have looked their last upon the face of the other, and after +many years of close and brother-like companionship such partings +cannot be without their thrill of pain and wonder. + +"Why must these things be?" spoke Julian, beneath his breath. "Why +must men stand up to kill and be killed? How long will it be before +the reign of the Prince of Peace, when all these things shall be +done away?" + +Light showers were scudding over the landscape, sometimes blotting +out the view, sometimes illumined by shafts of golden sunlight, +which gave a curious glory to the scene. The battle was set in +array. Every disposition which military genius could suggest had +been made to avoid surprise or outflanking or any other peril. +Puffs of smoke from over the plains denoted the presence of +ambushed Indians or Canadians, and skirmishers were scouring hither +and thither to dislodge any parties who approached unpleasantly +near. + +The soldiers were bidden to lie down, to be safer from accident, +and to rest themselves in preparation for what was coming. The main +body of the army was quiet, but to the left, where some woods and +houses gave cover to the enemy, the fire be came galling, and some +light infantry were sent out to make an end of the foes there, to +take and burn the houses and scatter the marksmen. + +This was successfully done, and again there was quiet. Wolfe, who +seemed to be everywhere at once, went round the field once again, +cheered lustily wherever he appeared; grave, watchful, with the air +of a man who knows that the crisis of his life is at hand, and that +upon the issue of the day hang results greater than he can reckon +or comprehend. + +It was about ten in the morning before his quick eye saw signs that +the enemy was at last advancing to take up the gage of battle so +gallantly thrown down. Hitherto the French had succeeded in +avoiding a pitched encounter with their foe; now they must fight, +or have their city hopelessly cut off from the basis of their +supplies. Wolfe knew that at last the hour had come, and his pale +face flushed with a strange exultation as he saw the first white +lines advancing towards him. + +"At last!" he exclaimed--"at last! We have waited many months for +this moment; now that it has come, pray Heaven we may strike a blow +for England's honour which France shall never forget!" + +Julian's attention was distracted by the sight of a little knot of +men coming slowly towards the rear, where the surgeons were +stationed to care for the wounded, who were to be carried there +when possible. + +"It is Fritz!" he exclaimed; "he has been wounded!" + +Wolfe uttered an expression of concern, and stepped forward to +inquire. It had been the regiment in command of Fritz which had +been sent to silence the sharpshooters in the farms and copses. +John Stark had gone with him, their former life as Rangers having +well qualified them for this species of warfare. Fritz was now +being led back, white and bloody, one ball having lodged in his +shoulder, and another in his foot. He walked with difficulty, +supported by two of his men. + +"I am grieved to see you so!" cried Wolfe, with the ready concern +he showed in any sufferings not his own. + +"It is naught," answered Fritz, faintly but cheerfully; "I would +care no whit but that it will keep me from the fight. + +"I have left John Stark in command, sir," he added to the General; +"the men are perfectly steady when he directs their movements." + +Wolfe nodded. He knew the intrepidity and cool courage of the +Ranger. There would be no blundering where Stark held the command. + +"Care for your patient well," said the young General to a surgeon +who came hurrying up at the moment; "Captain Neville is too good a +soldier and officer for us to lose." + +Then turning to Humphrey, who was acting in the capacity of +aide-de-camp, he said in a quick undertone: + +"If anything should happen to me in the battle, let Brigadier +Moncton know that I recommend Captain Neville for promotion." + +Then he turned his attention towards the oncoming tide of battle, +knowing that the great crisis for which he had been waiting all +these long months was now upon him. + +The French were forming up along the opposite ridge, which hid the +city from view. Wolfe took in their disposition at a glance, and a +grim smile formed itself upon his lips. He saw that though the +centre of the three bodies forming up into order was composed +entirely of regular troops, both flanks were regulars intermixed +with Canadians; and for the Canadian militia in the open he had an +unbounded contempt. Moreover, he noted that instead of waiting +until they were in good and compact order, they began almost +immediately to advance, and that without any of the method and +precision so necessary in an attack upon a well-posted and +stationary foe. + +He passed along the word of command to his own officers, +instructing them how to act, and stood watching with the breathless +intensity of a man who knows that the crisis of a mighty destiny is +at hand. + +The moment the French soldiers got within range they commenced to +fire; not as one man, in a crashing volley, but wildly, +irregularly, excitedly, uttering cries and shouts the while--a +trick caught from their Indian allies, who used noise as one of +their most effective weapons. + +"Bah!" cried Wolfe, with a sudden exclamation of mingled contempt +and amusement; "look there! Saw you ever such soldiers as these?" + +Those about him looked, and a hoarse laugh broke from them, and +seemed to run along the ranks of immovable red-coats drawn up like +a wall, and coolly reserving their fire. + +The gust of laughter was called forth by the action of the Canadian +recruits, who, immediately upon discharging their pieces, flung +themselves down upon the ground to reload, throwing their +companions into the utmost confusion, as it was almost impossible +to continue marching without trampling upon their prostrate +figures. + +"I would sooner trust my whole fate to one company of regulars," +exclaimed Wolfe, "than attempt to fight with such soldiers as +these! They are fit only for their native forests; and were I in +command, back they should go there, quick march." + +Yet still the oncoming mass of French approached, the dropping fire +never ceasing. Nearer and nearer they came, and now were not fifty +paces distant from the English lines. + +"Crash!" + +It was not like a volley of musketry; it was like a cannon shot. +The absolute precision with which it was delivered showed the +perfect steadiness and nerve of the men. Upon Wolfe's face might be +seen a smile of approbation and pride. This was the way English +soldiers met the foe; this was the spirit in which victory was won. + +Another crash, almost as accurate as the first, and a few minutes +of deafening clattering fire; a pause, in which nothing could be +seen but rolling clouds of smoke; and then? + +The smoke rolled slowly away, and as the pall lifted, a wild, +ringing cheer broke from the English ranks, mingled with the yell +of the Highlanders beyond. The ground was covered with dead and +wounded; the ranks of the oncoming foe were shattered and broken. +The Canadians had turned, and were flying hither and thither, only +caring to escape the terrible fire, which in open country they +could never stand. In a few more seconds, as soon as the regulars +saw that the red-coats were preparing to charge, they too flung +down their muskets and joined the rout. + +"Charge them, men, charge them!" + +Wolfe's voice rang like a clarion note over the field. He placed +himself at the head of one of the columns. Julian and Humphrey were +on either side of him. The yell of the Highlanders was in their +ears, and the huzzah of the English soldiers, as they dashed upon +the retreating foe. + +Their line had been a little broken here by the fire of the foe, +and still from ambushed sharpshooters hidden upon the plain a more +or less deadly fire was kept up. Wolfe led where the danger was +greatest and the firing most galling and persistent. + +"Dislodge those men!" was the order which had just passed his lips, +when Julian noticed that he seemed to pause and stagger for a +moment. + +"You are hurt!" he exclaimed anxiously, springing to his side; but +Wolfe kept steadily on his way, wrapping his handkerchief round his +wrist the while. The blood was welling from it. Julian insisted +upon tying the bandage, finding that the wrist was shattered. + +"You are wounded--you will surely go back!" he said anxiously; but +Wolfe seemed scarcely to hear. + +The next moment he was off again with his men, directing their +movements with all his accustomed skill and acumen. Once again he +staggered. Julian dashed to his side; but he spoke no word. If he +would but think of himself! But no; his soul was in the battle. He +had no care save for the issue of the day. + +A sudden volley seemed to open upon them from a little unseen dip +in the ground, masked by thick underwood. Julian felt a bullet whiz +so near to his ear that the skin was grazed and the hair singed. +For a moment he was dizzy with the deafening sound. Then a low cry +from Humphrey reached him. + +"The General! the General!" he said. + +Julian dashed his hand across his eyes and looked. Wolfe was +sitting upon the ground. He was still gazing earnestly at the +battle rushing onward, but there had come into his eyes a strange +dimness. + +"He is struck--he is wounded!" said Humphrey in a low voice, +bending over him. "Help, Julian; we must carry him to the rear." + +Julian half expected resistance on the part of Wolfe; but no word +passed his lips. They were growing ashy white. + +With a groan of anguish--for he felt as though he knew what was +coming--Julian bent to the task, and the pair conveyed the light, +frail form through the melee of the battlefield towards the place +where the wounded had been carried, and where Fritz still lay. A +surgeon came hastily forward, and seeing who it was, uttered an +exclamation of dismay. + +Wolfe opened his dim eyes. He saw Julian's face, but all the rest +was blotted out in a haze. + +"Lay me down," he said faintly; "I want nothing." + +"The surgeons are here," said Julian anxiously as they put him out +of the hot rays of the sun, which was now shining over heights and +plains. + +"They can do nothing for me," said Wolfe, in the same faint, dreamy +way; "let them look to those whom they can help." + +A death-like faintness was creeping over him. The surgeon put a +stimulating draught to his lips; and when a part had been +swallowed, proceeded to make a partial examination of the injuries +sustained. But when he had opened the breast of his coat and saw +two orifices in the neighbourhood of the heart, he shook his head, +and laid the wounded man down to rest. + +Julian felt a spasm of pain shoot through his heart, like a thrust +from a bayonet. + +"Can you do nothing?" he asked in a whisper. + +"Nothing," was the reply. "He has not an hour to live." + +"To be cut off in the very hour of victory!" exclaimed Humphrey, +with a burst of sorrow. "It is too hard--too hard!" + +"Yet it is what he desired for himself," said Julian, in a low +voice. I think it is what he himself would have chosen." + +"He has suffered more than any of us can well imagine," said the +surgeon gravely. "We can scarcely grudge to him the rest and peace +of the long, last sleep." + +Humphrey turned away to dash the tears from his eyes. In his +silent, dog-like fashion, he had loved their young General with a +great and ardent love, and it cut him to the heart to see him lying +there white and pulseless, his life ebbing slowly away, without +hope of a rally. + +A sign from somebody at a little distance attracted his attention. +He crossed the open space of ground, and bent over Fritz, who lay +bandaged and partially helpless amongst the wounded, but with all +his faculties clear. + +"What is it they are saying all around?" he asked anxiously. "How +goes the battle? how is it with our General?" + +"The battle truly is won--or so I believe," answered Humphrey, in a +husky voice. "God grant that the gallant Wolfe may live to know +that success has crowned his efforts--that the laurel wreath will +be his, even though it be only laid upon his tomb!" + +"Is he then wounded?" + +"Mortally, they say." + +A spasm of pain contracted Fritz's face. + +"Then Quebec will be dearly purchased," he said. "Humphrey, help me +to move; I would look upon his face once again!" + +Humphrey gave the desired assistance. They were bringing in the +wounded, French and English both, to this place of shelter; but the +spot where Wolfe lay was regarded as sacred ground. It was still +and quiet there, though in the distance the din of battle sounded, +and the sharp rattle of musketry or the booming of artillery could +be heard at this side and that. + +Fritz limped slowly across the open space, and halted a dozen paces +from where Wolfe lay; half supported in the arms of Julian, whose +face was stern with repressed grief. + +The ashen shadow had deepened upon the face of the dying man. He +seemed to be sinking away out of life. The long lashes lay upon the +waxen cheek; the deep repose of the long, last sleep seemed to be +falling upon the wasted features. Fritz felt an unaccustomed mist +rising before his eyes. He thought he had never before seen a +nobler countenance. + +The few standing about the wounded General looked from him to the +distant plain, where the battle tide was rolling farther away, and +from which, from time to time, arose outbursts of sudden sound--the +wild screech of the Highlanders, the answering cheer of the +English, the spattering, diminishing shots, and now and again a +sharp volley that told of some more determined struggle in one +place or another. + +"Look how they run! look, look--they run like sheep!" cried +Humphrey, breaking into sudden excitement, as his trained sight, +without the aid of glasses, took in the meaning of that confused +mass of men. + +Julian felt a thrill run through the prostrate form he was holding. +The eyes he had never thought to look upon again opened wide. Wolfe +raised his head, and asked, with something of the old ring in his +voice: + +"Who run?" + +"The enemy, sir," eagerly replied those who stood by. "They are +melting away like smoke. They give way everywhere. The day is +ours!" + +The young General half raised himself, as though he would fain have +seen the sight; but his dim eyes took in nothing. + +"Tell Colonel Burton," he said, speaking with his old decision, "to +march Webb's regiment down to the St. Charles, and cut off their +retreat from the bridge." + +Humphrey was off almost before the words had left his lips. He +would be the one to carry the General's last message. Wolfe heard +him go, and smiled. He knew that Humphrey was the trustiest of +messengers. He looked up into Julian's face. + +"Now lay me down again," he said faintly. "Farewell, my trusty +friend and comrade. Take my love to those at home; remember my last +messages. God be thanked; He has given us the victory. I can die in +peace." + +He drew a long sigh, and his eyes closed. A little thrill ran +through the worn frame. + +Julian laid it down, and reverently covered the peaceful face; +whilst a stifled sob went up from those who saw the action. + +James Wolfe had gone to his rest--had died the death of a hero upon +the victorious battlefield. + + + +Book 7: English Victors. + +Chapter 1: A Panic-Stricken City. + + +It had come at last! The long delay and suspense were over. The +English had stormed the Heights of Abraham. Their long red lines +had been seen by terrified citizens, who came rushing into the town +at dawn of day. The supposed attack at Beauport had been nothing +but a blind. Whilst Montcalm and Vaudreuil were massing the troops +to repel the enemy here, the real assault had been made behind the +city, and the English foe was almost upon them. + +Colin had dashed out when the first grey of the dawn had stolen in +at their windows. There had been no sleep for Quebec that night. +The whole city was in a state of tense excitement. Confidently had +the Generals declared that the enemy were bent upon their own +destruction; that they were about to tempt fate, and would be +driven back with ignominy and loss. + +"Let them come! Let them taste of the welcome we have to offer +them! Let them see what Quebec has to give them when they reach her +strand!" + +These words, and many similar to them, were passed from mouth to +mouth by the garrison and townsfolk of Quebec. None would admit +that disaster was possible to "the impregnable city;" and yet its +shattered walls and ruined houses, the crowded hospital and the +deserted buildings, all told a terrible tale. The upper town had +suffered lately almost as severely as the lower had done at the +commencement of the bombardment. It was a problem now where to find +safe shelter for the citizens. Great numbers of them had fled to +the country beyond, or to other Canadian settlements; for not only +was this terrible bombardment destroying their homes, and +inflicting fearful hurt upon those exposed to it, but provisions +were becoming very scarce; and if the English once got foothold on +the west side of the town, they would be able to cut off Quebec +from her source of supply. + +Colin dashed out for tidings so soon as the dawn crept into the +sky; and Madame Drucour and Corinne sat very close together, so +absorbed in listening that they could scarce find words in which to +reassure each other. + +They were no longer in the little narrow house where once they had +dwelt. That had been shattered at last by some of the heavier guns +which the enemy had brought to Point Levi, and they had been forced +to abandon it. They were in a house which so far had not been +touched, sheltered as it was behind some of the fortifications. It +belonged to Surgeon Arnoux, a clever and competent man, who was at +present with the army of Bourlemaque; but his younger brother, +Victor, also a surgeon, was still in the city, and he had +generously opened his house to several of the unfortunate citizens +who had been rendered homeless by the bombardment. + +At present the house contained as its residents Madame Drucour, +with her brother the Abbe, and Colin and Corinne. The Bishop, +Pontbriand, who was dying himself of a mortal disease, but was +still able to go about amongst the sick and wounded, was another +inmate, beloved of all. The party was waited on sedulously by an +old servant of the Ursulines, Bonnehomme Michel, as she was called, +who was the most faithful, hard-working, and devoted of creatures, +and displayed the greatest ingenuity in contriving, out of the +scantiest of materials, such dishes as should tempt the appetite of +the sick Bishop, and make the rest forget that they were in a +beleaguered city. + +Corinne had learned by this time what the horrors of war were like. +Her fair face was both thinner and graver than it had been in past +days. She had known the terrible experience that leaves its mark +upon the witnesses: she had been one of more than one company when +a bursting shell in their midst had brought death to some amongst +those with whom she was sitting. She had seen men--yes, and women +too--struck down in the streets by shot or splinters. She had +worked side by side with Madame Drucour amid the sick and wounded, +and had seen sights of horror and suffering which had branded +themselves deeply into her soul. + +She could never again be the careless, laughing Corinne of old; and +yet the soldier spirit in her burned stronger and ever more strong. +If war was a fearful and terrible thing, it had its glorious side +too. She heard, with a strange thrill of mingled pain and pride, of +the gallant doings of the English troops. She regarded the cautious +policy of the French with something like contempt. She and Colin +would sometimes steal down to the margin of the water, and look at +the English vessels which had braved the guns of the town, and were +riding safely at anchor in the upper basin; and would feel a thrill +of admiration at the dauntless bravery of the British sailors and +soldiers. After all, if Quebec were to fall to such gallant foes, +would she suffer much after the first shock was over? + +They had lost their three merry midshipmen. When General Wolfe had +sent over several boatloads of prisoners taken in the unguarded +villages of the upper river, it had been agreed that any English +prisoners in the town should be given in exchange; and the lads, +cheering lustily the while, had been rowed away by the returning +boats. + +Colin and Corinne had missed their companionship, but had been +assured of a meeting before so very long. They knew what that had +meant, yet they could not resent the suggestion. Constant +companionship with the English middies had intensified their +interest in the English cause. They did not speak of it much except +to one another, but in secret they had no fear of the unknown foe. +They felt a certain exultation and triumph in the stories they were +always hearing of English prowess and valour. + +And now it was known to all that the crucial moment had come. The +English had made a great coup. They had landed; they had stormed +the heights; they were said to be intrenching themselves and +bringing up their guns; and although this was not true at the +moment, the very thought struck terror into the hearts of the +citizens and soldiers. + +Unless they could be dislodged from their present commanding +position, the town was lost. That was the word in the mouths of +all. A mounted messenger, followed by others, had been sent flying +to Montcalm and Vaudreuil. It was certain that the General would be +quickly on the spot, and surely he and his army together would +suffice to drive back or annihilate this audacious intruder! + +So said the people; yet none dared to make light of the peril. +Madame Drucour's face was very grave as she sat looking out into +the street, her arm about Corinne. It was not even safe for them to +try to go out to the hospital that morning--the hospital which had +been moved out of the town and erected upon the plain of the St. +Charles, out of reach of the enemy's guns. Hitherto the Heights of +Abraham had been like a rampart of defence; now they were alive +with the battalions of the foe. The plain might at any time become +the scene of a battle or a rout. + +"Here is Colin back!" cried Corinne, suddenly starting to her feet. +"Now he will tell us!" + +"It is all true!" cried the lad, bursting into the room. "It is +wonderful to see them; it is marvellous what they have done. They +must have scaled the cliffs at almost impossible places; and now +they are forming up in a splendid way! The whole plateau is alive +with them!" + +"The first rays of the sun striking across it were dyed red with +the scarlet uniforms. It was magnificent to see them. I cannot tell +whether they have any guns there. I saw none. But it is not easy to +get a good view of the plain; the ridge above the town hides it." + +"But what is our General doing?" asked Madame Drucour, with clasped +hands. + +"They say he is coming; they say he is on his way from the Beauport +camp with the whole army at his back. If he has also sent a message +directing Bougainville to advance at the same time from Cap Rouge +and fall upon the English rear, it might well be that the invaders +would be cut to pieces. But no one here knows what is ordered. Some +say one thing and some another. One thing alone is certain--the +Marquis is on his way." + +The Abbe, who had been out to gather news, came back now with much +the same tale that Colin had to tell. There was no manner of doubt +about it. The English army had, as by magic, appeared upon the +Heights of Abraham, and had set themselves in battle array upon the +best piece of ground for their purpose. The sight of the compact +red lines filled the French with dismay and fear. If an enemy could +do this in a single night, what might they not have the power of +achieving? + +"We are in God's hands," said the Abbe to his sister, as they +hastily, and without much appetite, partook of the meal which +Bonnehomme Michel spread for them; "but truly I fear me that +disaster is in store for the arms of France. There seems no reason +why we should lack power to drive back the English to their ships; +yet I have that within me which speaks of calamity and disaster. +Canada has become helpless and corrupt. When that has befallen a +country or a community, it has always fallen. I fear me that the +days of French rule are numbered. I only pray that if the English +reign here in our stead, they may prove themselves merciful +masters, and keep their promise not to interfere with the exercise +of the true faith in which the people have been brought up." + +"If the English have pledged their word to that, they will keep +it," answered Madame Drucour; "and if Canada must fall, we may +rejoice that it should fall into hands as merciful as those of our +English rivals." + +"That is true," said her brother: "they have set us many a noble +example of clemency and honour. Yet their hands are not altogether +free from blood guiltiness. There have been acts of violence and +cruelty committed even during these past weeks along the shores of +the river." + +"Yes," answered Madame Drucour: "houses have been burned and +families turned adrift, and much suffering has resulted therefrom. +War is ever cruel, and the track of it is marked with fire and +blood. Yet we must remember that the persons thus molested had fair +warning given them. They might have remained in safety had they +submitted to the conditions imposed by General Wolfe. Perhaps they +showed more spirit by resistance; but they drew down their fate +upon themselves. And no woman or child has been hurt; no cruelties +have been inflicted upon prisoners. No Indians have been suffered +to molest them. Would we have been as forbearing--as stern in the +maintenance of order and discipline? The only acts of cruelty +committed on the English side have been by Rangers not belonging to +the regular army, and those only upon Indians or those degraded +Canadians who go about with them, painted and disguised to resemble +their dusky allies. For my part, I think that men who thus degrade +themselves deserve all that they get." + +"It is well to seek to find consolation in time of extremity," said +the Abbe, "and I do rejoice very heartily in the knowledge that we +have a merciful foe to deal with. If this city is forced to open +her gates to the English, I verily believe that no scenes of +outrage will disgrace the page of history upon which this day's +doings shall be recorded. There is help in that thought at least." + +But it was impossible for either Colin or his uncle to remain +within doors upon such a day. He insisted that Madame Drucour and +Corinne should not adventure themselves beyond the city walls, +though he did not condemn them to remain within doors. But he, for +his own part, must go forth and see what was befalling without; for +the Abbe, in spite of his vows, was half a soldier at heart, and +had done some fighting in his young life, and knew the sound of the +clash of arms. + +He was not going to adventure himself into the battle, or to suffer +Colin to do so either; that would be useless. Indeed the boy had no +desire to enter the lists against the English, being more than half +on their side as it was, although the infection of the feelings of +the townspeople rendered it difficult for him exactly to know his +own mind. + +He and Corinne were alike consumed with an overpowering sense of +excitement. It was the thought of the battle about to be waged that +filled the minds of both--the imminence of the coming struggle. As +for the result, that was less a matter of concern to them. The +crisis was the overwhelming consideration in their minds. + +The Abbe and Colin had gone. The streets were beginning to fill +with excited people. The storm of shot and shell was not falling +upon Quebec today. The guns had been directed upon the Beauport +camp, to cover the real enterprise being carried on above. Also the +river had to be watched and guarded. Everything spoke of a change +in tactics. There was a tense feeling in the air as though an +electric cloud hung low over the city. + +Then came a burst of cheering. Montcalm had been seen spurring on +with only a small band of followers over the bridge of the St. +Charles towards the scene of danger; and now the army itself was in +sight, making its way after him across the bridge and towards the +city, through whose streets they must pass to gain unmolested those +heights where the English were awaiting them, drawn up in close +array. + +Montcalm's face was full of anxiety, and yet full of courage, as he +returned the plaudits of the citizens. He knew that affairs were +serious, but he hoped and believed that he should find but a small +detachment of the enemy waiting to receive him. He could not +believe that very much had been accomplished in one night. A little +resolution and courage and military address, and the foe would be +dislodged and driven ignominiously down those precipitous heights +which they had scaled with such boldness a few hours before. + +It was a fine sight to see the troops pouring in by the Palace +Gate, and out again by the gates of St. Louis and St. John--the +white uniforms and gleaming bayonets of the battalions of old +France, the Canadian militia, and the troops of painted Indians +following, cheered by the citizens, reinforced by the garrison, +their hearts animated by lust of conquest and an assurance of +victory, which assurance was not altogether shared by the citizens +themselves, whose scouts had brought in alarming tidings concerning +the strength of the English position. + +And now the soldiers had all marched through; the last of the bands +had disappeared from the streets; the garrison had taken themselves +to their own quarters; the men of the town had flocked out of the +city in the hope of seeing something of the fight; and the streets +were chiefly thronged by anxious women and wondering, wide-eyed +children--all crowding together in groups, their faces turned +towards those heights above where they knew the struggle was to be +fought out. + +"Hark to the firing!" + +A deep silence fell upon the crowds in the streets--the hush of a +breathless expectancy. The rattle of musketry fell upon their ears, +and then a sound almost like a cannon shot. It was the volley of +the English, delivered with such admirable precision. An +involuntary scream arose from many as that sound was heard. Had the +English got their artillery up to those inaccessible heights? + +But no; there was no further sound of cannonading, only a fierce +and continuous fusillade, which told of the battle raging so +fiercely up yonder on the heights. + +Some women crowded into the churches to offer prayers at the +shrines of saint or Virgin; but the majority could not tear +themselves away from the streets, nor from the open space near to +the gate of St. Louis, by which gate news would most likely enter. + +And it did. + +How the time went none could say, but it seemed only a short time +after the firing had commenced before white-faced scouts from the +town, who had gone forth to see the battle, came running back with +gestures of terror and despair. + +"The English are shooting us down like sheep. The French give way +on every side. Their terrible fire mows down our ranks like grass +before the scythe! They are charging upon us now! We are scattered +and fleeing every way! Alas, alas! the day is lost. Quebec will +fall!" + +"Lost! it cannot be lost in this time," cried pale-faced women, +unable and unwilling to believe. "Where is the Governor? he will +come up with the reserves. Where is Bougainville? surely he will +fall upon the English rear! Have we not twice the force of the +English? We cannot be conquered in this time! it would be a shame +to France forever." + +So cried the people--one calling one thing, and another another, +whilst every fresh scout brought in fresh tidings of disaster. +There could be no doubt about it. The French army had been routed +at the first onset. Where the fault lay none could tell, but they +were flying like chaff before the wind. + +Corinne stood close beside her aunt, silent, with dilated eyes, her +heart beating almost to suffocation as she sought to hear what was +said, and to make out the truth of the thousand wild rumours flying +about. + +Colin came dashing through the gate. His face was flushed; he had +lost his hat; he was too breathless to speak. But he saw Corinne's +signal, and came dashing up to them. He flung himself down upon the +ground, and struggled for breath. + +"O Colin, what have you seen?" + +In a few moments more he was able to speak. + +"I have seen the battle!" he gasped; "I have seen it all. I could +not have believed it would have been fought so soon. I have seen +something that these people would rejoice to know, but I shall not +tell them. I have seen the fall of General Wolfe!" + +Madame Drucour uttered a short exclamation of dismay. + +"General Wolfe killed! Colin, art thou sure?" + +"Not sure that he is dead, only that he fell, and was carried away +by his men. He was heading the charge, as a brave General should. +Oh, had you seen how that battle was directed, you could not but +have admired him, whether friend or foe! It teaches one what war +can be to see such generalship as that." + +"He is a great man," said Madame Drucour softly; "I have always +maintained that. Pray Heaven his life be spared, for he will be a +merciful and gallant victor; and if he fall, we may not meet such +generous, chivalrous kindness from others." + +"Here come the soldiers!" cried Corinne, who from a little vantage +ground could see over the battlements. "Ah, how they run! as though +the enemy were at their heels. + +"Are you men? are you soldiers? For shame! for shame! To run like +sheep when none pursues! Now indeed will I call myself French no +longer; I will be a British subject like my mother. It is not +willingly that I desert a losing cause; but I cannot bear such +poltroonery. When have the English ever fled like this before us? +Oh, it is a shame! it is a disgrace!" + +"Ah, if you could have seen the English soldiers!" cried Colin, +with eager enthusiasm; "I never heard a volley delivered as theirs +was! They never wasted a shot. They stood like a rock whilst the +French charged across to them, firing all the time. And when they +did fire, it was like a cannon shot; and after that, our men seemed +to have no spirit left in them. When the smoke of the second volley +cleared off, I could scarce believe my eyes. The dead seemed to +outnumber the living; and these were flying helter-skelter this way +and that!" + +"But did not the General strive to rally them?" + +"Doubtless he did. Our Marquis is a brave soldier and an able +General; but what can one man do? Panic had seized the troops; and +if you had heard the sound of cheering from the ranks of the +English, and that strange yell from those wild Highlanders as they +dashed in pursuit, you would have understood better what the +soldiers felt like. They ran like sheep--they are running still. I +saw that if I were to have a chance of bringing you the news, I +must use all my powers, or I should be jammed in the mass of flying +humanity making for the city; and since the English are not very +far behind, I had need to make good my retreat." + +It was plain that Colin was only a little in advance of a portion +of the defeated army, whose soldiers were now flocking back to the +city, spreading panic everywhere. + +Suddenly there ran through the assembled crowd a murmur which +gathered in volume and intensity, and changed to a strange sound as +of wailing. Corinne, who had the best view, leaned eagerly forward +to see, and her face blanched instantly. + +A horseman was coming through the gate, supported on either side by +a soldier; his face was deadly white, and blood was streaming from +a wound in his breast. + +Madame Drucour looked also and uttered a cry: + +"Monsieur le Marquis est tue!" + +It was indeed Montcalm, shot right through the body, but not +absolutely unconscious, though dazed and helpless. + +Instantly Madame Drucour had forced a passage through the crowd, +and was at his side. + +"Bring him this way," she said to those who supported him and led +the horse; "he will have the best attention here." + +Montcalm seemed to hear the words, and the wail of sorrow which +went up from the bystanders. He roused himself, and spoke a few +words, faintly and with difficulty. + +"It is nothing. You must not be troubled for me, my good friends. +It is as it should be--as I would have it." + +Then his head drooped forward, and Madame Drucour hurried the +soldiers onward to the house where she now lived; Colin running on +in advance to give notice of their approach, and if possible to +find Victor Arnoux, that the wounded man might receive immediate +attention. + +The surgeon was luckily on the spot almost at once, and directed +the carrying of the Marquis into one of the lower rooms, where they +laid him on a couch and brought some stimulant for him to swallow. +He was now quite unconscious; and the young surgeon, after looking +at the wound, bit his lip and stood in silent thought whilst the +necessary things were brought to him. + +"Is it dangerous?" asked Madame Drucour, in an anxious whisper, as +she looked down at the well-known face. + +"It is mortal!" answered Victor, in the same low tone. "He has not +twelve hours of life left in him." + + + +Chapter 2: Surrender. + + +"Is the General yet living?" asked the Abbe an hour or two later, +entering the house to which he knew his friend had been carried, a +look of concentrated anxiety upon his face. + +Madame Drucour had heard his step even before she heard his voice. +She was already beside him, her face pale and her eyes red with +weeping. + +"Ah, my brother," she cried, "thou art come to tell us that all is +lost!" + +"All would not be lost if the army had a head!" answered the Abbe, +with subdued energy. "We could outnumber the enemy yet if we had a +soldier fit to take command. But the Marquis--how goes it with +him?" + +"He lives yet, but he is sinking fast. He will never see the light +of another day!" and the tears which had gathered in Madame +Drucour's eyes fell over her cheeks. + +"My poor friend!" sighed the Abbe; and after a pause of musing he +added, "Is he conscious?" + +"Yes; he came to himself a short while ago, and insisted upon +knowing how it was with him." + +"He knows, then?" + +"Yes--Victor Arnoux told him the truth: but I think he knew it +before." + +"And what said he?" + +"That it was well; that he should not live to see the surrender of +Quebec; that his work was done on earth, and he ready to depart." + +"Then he thinks the cause is lost?" + +"Those are the words he used. Perchance he knows that there is no +one now to lead or direct them. You know, my brother, that the +brave Senezergues lies mortally wounded. He might have taken the +command; but now we have none fit for it. You have seen what is +passing without the city; tell me of it! What does the Governor? +They say that when the battle was fought he had not yet appeared +upon the scene of action." + +"No," answered the Abbe bitterly, "he had not. Yet he had had notice +four hours before the fighting commenced, and was nearer than the +Marquis, who brought the army up. He came too late to do anything. +He is always late. He comes up at the end of everything--to claim +credit if the day is won, to throw the blame upon others if fortune +frowns. He is saying now that it was a deplorable mistake on +Montcalm's part to attack before he had joined issues with him; as +though his raw Canadians had ever done any good in the open field!" + +"You have seen him, then?" + +"Yes; he and a part of the routed army have taken possession of the +redoubt at the head of the bridge of boats across the St. Charles, +and so completely are they cowed and terrified that it was all that +a few of the cooler-headed ones of us could do to prevent the men +from cutting in pieces the bridge itself, and thus cutting off the +retreat of half the army, who are still pouring back over it, +pursued by the English." + +"Then the fight is not yet over?" + +"The battle is, but not the rout. And yet there is a sort of +fighting going on. The Canadians, who in the open field show +themselves so useless, are redeeming their character now. They have +spread themselves over the low-lying lands by the river, hiding in +bushes and coverts, and shooting down the English in a fashion +which they little relish. Those fierce Highlanders suffer the most +from this sort of warfare, for they always throw away their muskets +before they charge, and so they have no weapon that is of any +service against a hidden marksman in the bushes. But all this, +though it may harass the English, does not affect the issue of the +day. We have suffered a crushing defeat, although the number of the +slain is not excessive. It remains now to be settled whether we +accept this defeat as final, or whether we yet try to make a stand +for the honour of our country and the salvation of Canada." + +"Ah, my brother, if Quebec goes, Canada goes!" + +"That is so; but there are many of us who say that Quebec is not +yet lost. It is not lost; it might well be saved. And yet what +think you of this? They say that within the hornwork the Governor +and the Intendant were closeted together drafting the terms of +capitulation of the whole colony, ready to submit to the English +General!" + +"So soon?" + +"So they say. I know not if it be altogether true, but all is +confusion worse confounded yonder. The soldiers are pouring back to +their camp at Beauport in a perfect fever of panic. I heard that +Bigot would have tried to muster and lead them against the enemy +once more, and that the Governor gave his sanction, but that the +officers would not second the suggestion. I think all feel that +with only Vaudreuil to lead fighting is hopeless. He knows not his +own mind two minutes together; he agrees always with the last +speaker. He is always terrified in the moment of real crisis and +peril. His bluster and gasconade desert him, and leave him in +pitiful case." + +"What, then, is to be done?" + +"That I cannot tell. I have come with a message from the Governor +to the Marquis. He sent me to ascertain his condition, and if +possible to ask counsel of him. His word would still carry weight. +If he is sufficiently himself to listen for a few minutes to what I +have to say, I would then put the case and ask his opinion upon +it." + +Madame Drucour drew the Abbe softly into the room where the dying +man lay. Montcalm's eyes opened as he heard them approach. At the +sight of the Abbe he seemed to try to rouse himself. + +"You have brought news! Tell me, how goes it?" + +The Abbe repeated in some detail the after events of the battle and +rout, Montcalm listening to every word with the keenest interest +and attention. + +"Where is the Governor?" he asked at the conclusion of the +narrative. + +"He was still at the hornwork when I left," answered the Abbe; "but +many were clamouring around him, declaring that the place would be +carried by assault almost immediately, and all of them cut to +pieces without quarter; and that they had better surrender the city +and colony at once than lose all their lives in an unavailing +struggle." + +Montcalm's face, upon which death had already set its seal, +remained immovably calm and tranquil. + +"What said the Governor?" he asked. + +"He appeared to agree with this view of the case. He is much +alarmed and disturbed. He is preparing to return to his own +quarters upon the Beauport road, and will there hold a council as +to the next step to be taken. It was he who asked me to go back to +the city and see you, my General, and ask what advice you have for +us. We are in a sore strait, and there seems none to advise us; but +any word that comes from you will have its weight with the army." + +Montcalm lay silent a long while. Physical weakness made speaking +difficult, and his mind no longer worked with the lightning +quickness of old days. He seemed to find some slight difficulty in +bringing it down to the affairs of earthly battles and struggles. + +"Tell the Governor," he said at last, speaking faint and low, "that +there is a threefold choice before him; and that though were I at +the head of the army, I should say, Fight, I do not offer him +counsel to do so; I only tell him the alternatives. The first of +these is to fight--to join forces with Ramesay's garrison and the +sailors from the batteries here, and to gather in all the outlying +Canadians and Indians of the neighbourhood. With such an army as +could be quickly gathered, and by acting in concert with +Bougainville from Cap Rouge, there is at least a very fair chance +of vanquishing the foe in open fight. The next alternative is for +him to retire upon Jacques Cartier, leaving Quebec with an +efficient garrison, and from there to harass the enemy, cut off +supplies, and otherwise prolong the siege till the approach of +winter forces them to take to their ships and go. The third is to +give up the colony to English rule. Let the Governor and his +council take their choice of these three plans, for there is no +other." + +"I will take the message myself," said the Abbe, pressing the hand +of his friend, and stooping to imprint a kiss on the pale brow. +"God be with you, my friend, in the hour of trial; and may He +receive your soul when He shall have called it! I shall pray for +the repose of your gallant spirit. Peace be with you. Farewell." + +Montcalm was too much exhausted for further speech, but he made a +slight gesture with his hand, and the Abbe left him, Madame Drucour +stealing after him for a last word. + +"You will not run into peril yourself, my brother?" + +"Nay," he answered, with a touch of bitterness in his tone; "I +shall be safe enough, since my errand is to the Governor. Monsieur +de Vaudreuil is never known to put himself into danger. Oh that we +had a Governor who thought first of the honour of France and second +of his own safety!" + +"But surely they will fight! they will not give up Quebec without a +struggle? Look at the walls and ramparts, untouched and impregnable +as ever! Our town is shattered, it is true, but that has long been +done. Why should we give up the city because a few hundred soldiers +have been slain upon the Plains of Abraham? We have still a great +army to fight with." + +"We have; but where is the General to lead us? Nevertheless, we may +still show ourselves men. + +"Colin, my boy, is that thou? What, dost thou want to come with me? +So be it, then. Thou shalt do so, and take back word to thy aunt +here as to what the council decides. + +"I may find work over yonder with the sick and wounded. I may not +return tonight. But Colin shall come back with news, and you will +know that all is well with me." + +They went together, and Madame Drucour returned to her watch beside +the sick and dying man. The surgeon stole in and out as his other +duties permitted him, and Corinne shared the watch beside the couch +where Montcalm lay. + +The Bishop, who in spite of his feebleness had been abroad in the +city, seeking to console the dying and to cheer up the garrison, +depressed by rumours of the flight of the army, came in at dusk, +exhausted and depressed himself, to find another dying soldier in +need of the last rites of the Church. + +It was a solemn scene which that dim room witnessed as the night +waned and the approach of dawn came on. Without all was confusion, +hurry, anxiety, and distress, none seeking sleep in their beds, all +eagerly awaiting tidings from the army--the news which should tell +them whether they were to be gallantly supported or left to their +fate. Within there was the deep hush which the approach of death +seems ever to bring. The short, gasping confession had been made; +the Bishop stood over the dying man, making the sign and speaking +the words of absolution. A young priest from the Seminary and an +acolyte had been found to assist at the solemn rite; and Madame +Drucour, with Corinne and the faithful old servant, knelt at the +farther end of the room, striving to keep back their tears. + +It was over at last. The words of commendation had been spoken; the +last labouring breath had been drawn. Corinne, half choking with +her emotion, and feeling as though she would be stifled if she were +to remain longer in that chamber of death, silently glided away out +of the room into the open air; and once there, she broke into wild +weeping, the result of the long tension of her pent-up emotion. + +"Mademoiselle, mademoiselle! Corinne!" cried a familiar voice in a +subdued tone from some place not far distant. "Is it indeed you? +Nay, do not weep; there is not need. We shall not harm you; you and +yours shall be safe whatever comes to pass in Quebec." + +Corinne gazed about her in astonishment. Who was speaking to her? +The next house to theirs was deserted, because the roof had been +blown off, and a shell had fallen through, breaking almost every +floor. Yet the voice seemed to come from a window within that +house, and in the dim and uncertain moonlight she saw a head--two +heads--protruding from a first-floor window. Next minute she was +further astonished by the rapid descent of three figures, who +seemed to clamber like monkeys down the shattered wall; and behold +the three merry midshipmen were grouped around her, holding her +hands and seeking to cheer her. + +"Peter--Paul--Arthur! How came you here? Surely Quebec is not taken +yet!" + +"No, but so nearly taken that we thought to steal a march. We have +been working since evening in dragging up cannon upon the plain +yonder, where the army is intrenching itself; and when our task was +done, we felt a great wish to see what was passing in the city +where we had many friends, and which we knew so well. In the +confusion it was not difficult to get in under cover of the dusk; +but we found we could not get out again--at least not when we +tried. But we cared little for that. There are plenty of empty +houses to hide in, and we had bread in our pockets. We heard of you +and Madame Drucour, and have been watching and waiting in hopes of +seeing you. But, Corinne, are you weeping because the English are +about to take Quebec? We looked upon you as an ally and a +compatriot." + +"I am weeping because our good General, the Marquis of Montcalm, is +just dead," answered Corinne, wiping her eyes. "He lies within +those walls, sleeping the last sleep. He will never see his wife +and his mother and his mill at Candiac again. And he has talked so +much to us of all those things, and of the children he loved so +well. Oh, war is a cruel thing! Pray Heaven it may come to a speedy +end!" + +The sound of flying footsteps up the street caused the midshipmen +to look at one another, and meditate a return to their hiding +place; but Corinne said: + +"That is Colin's step; he comes back with news." + +And, in truth, the next moment Colin stood amongst them, so full of +excitement himself that the sudden appearance of the midshipmen, +whom he instantly recognized, did not at once strike him with +astonishment. + +"I will never call myself a Frenchman again!" he panted, his eyes +gleaming with wrath. "What think you, Corinne? They are flying from +the camp at Beauport as sheep fly before wolves. It is no retreat, +it is a rout--a disgraceful, abominable, causeless rout. There is +no enemy near. The English are up on the heights, intrenching +themselves no doubt, and resting after their gallant enterprise. +Our uncle has exhausted his powers of persuasion. He has shown them +again and again how strong is their position still, how little it +would even now take of courage and resolution to save Quebec and +the colony. They will not listen--they will not hear. They are +flying like chaff before the wind. They are leaving everything +behind in their mad haste to be gone! And the Indians will swoop +down directly the camp is empty, and take everything. Oh, it is a +disgrace, a disgrace! Not even to take a night to think it over. If +the English did but know, and sent out a few hundred soldiers upon +them, they might cut the whole army to pieces in a few hours!" + +Colin, Colin! oh, is it so?" + +"It is indeed; and all that the men say when one speaks to them is +that Wolfe and his soldiers are too much for them. They will not +stay to be hacked to pieces." + +"Alas!" said Paul gravely, "the gallant Wolfe is no more. If you +have lost your General, so have we. Wolfe fell early in the battle, +and Moncton is dangerously wounded. We are robbed of our two first +officers; but for all that we will have Quebec and Canada." + +"And you deserve it!" answered Colin, fired with generous +enthusiasm. "If our French soldiers and officers fling away their +courage and their honour, let us welcome those who have both, and +who are masters worthy to be served and loved." + +It was a strange, sad day. The confusion and despair in the town +were pitiful to behold. With the first light of day it was seen +that the camp at Beauport was still standing, and hope sprang up in +the hearts of the townsfolk. But when, shortly after, it was known +that though standing it had been abandoned, and that the night had +seen the indiscriminate flight of the whole army, the deepest +despondency fell upon the town. This feeling was not lessened when +it began to be whispered that the Chevalier Ramesay had received +instructions from the Governor not to attempt to hold the town in +face of a threatened assault, but to wait till the scanty +provisions had been exhausted, and then raise the white flag and +obtain the best terms he could. + +The Abbe had stayed to bring this last letter from the flying +Governor. His own soul was stirred to the depths by indignation and +sorrow. It seemed to him the crowning disgrace in a disgraceful +flight. Ramesay had sought speech with the Marquis a few hours +before his death, but could obtain no advice from him. He had done +with worldly things, and could only wish well to those who were +left behind. It was a desperate state of affairs, and all the town +knew it. + +So great was the confusion that no workman could be found to make a +coffin for the body of the dead General. The old servant of the +Ursulines, faithful to the last, went hither and thither and +collected a few planks and nails, and the midshipmen and Colin +assisted her to nail together a rude coffin in which the body was +presently laid. It must be buried that same evening, for none knew +from hour to hour what was in store for the city. But no pomp or +circumstance could attend the funeral; and indeed no one could be +found to dig a grave. + +Yet a fitting grave was found in the chapel of the Ursuline +convent, now little more than a ruin. An exploding shell had made a +deep cavity in the floor not far from the altar, and this hollow +was soon shaped into the similitude of a grave. + +No bells tolled or cannon fired as the mournful procession filed +through the streets; yet it did not lack a certain sombre dignity. +The Bishop and the Abbe headed it, with a few priests from the +Cathedral in attendance. Ramesay was there with his officers, and +Madame Drucour, with Colin and Corinne, the three midshipmen (who +no longer feared to show themselves), and the old servant, brought +up the rear. As the cortege passed through the streets, numbers of +citizens fell in behind, together with women and children, weeping +for one whose name was dear, and who they all averred would have +saved their city had he lived. + +Torches were lit before the procession filed into the ruined +church, and sobs mingled with the chants that were rehearsed over +the grave. + +"Alas, alas!" sobbed the women; "we have buried our hopes in that +grave. We have lost our General; we shall lose our city, and all +Canada will follow." + +"It is no wonder they feel so," said the Abbe to his sister that +night; "we are abandoned by the army that might have saved us. We +have scarce provision to last a week, even on half rations--so I +heard today--and all the merchants and townspeople are for +immediate capitulation. It is possible that when our army finds +itself at Jacques Cartier, thirty miles from the scene of danger, +and in an impregnable position, they may rally their courage and +reconsider the situation; but unless I am greatly mistaken, that +resolution will come too late--Quebec will have already +surrendered." + +Things had come to a desperate pass. Only one out of all the +officers was in favour of resistance; the rest declared it +impossible. The English on the heights were intrenched, and were +pushing their trenches nearer and nearer. Though Wolfe was dead and +Moncton disabled, Townshend, the third in command, was acting with +the energy and resolve which had characterized the expedition all +along. + +Three days after Montcalm's death matters reached a crisis. Troops +were seen approaching the Palace Gate from the St. Charles meadows, +and the ships of war were slowly nearing the town with evident +intention of opening fire. + +All the city was in a state of uncontrollable fright and agitation. +The officers crowded round Ramesay's quarters declaring that they +could do nothing with their men; that the men said they knew that +orders had been given to avoid assault, and that they were +threatening to carry their guns back to the arsenal, and desert +bodily to the English. So disgusted and disheartened were they by +the action of the Governor and his army that they had no fight left +in them. + +"Raise the white flag then!" said the Commander, in brief, stern +tones. + +Was it a cheer or a groan which arose from the town as the symbol +of surrender was seen floating above the battlements? Once it was +torn down by some more ardent spirit; but again it floated high, +and the people gazing up at it gesticulated and wept, though +whether for sorrow or joy they could scarce have told themselves. + +It was known that a messenger had gone forth to confer with the +English commander, and the negotiations were drawn out hour after +hour, in the hope of some succour from without; till a stern +message came back that if they were not signed within an hour, the +assault would be ordered. + +Then Ramesay signed, having secured more favourable terms than he +had dared to hope for. The capitulation of Quebec was an +accomplished fact! + +Yet even whilst the people were still thronging the streets and +open places by the gateway, a band of weary horsemen were seen +spurring towards the city. As the foremost entered he cried: + +"Courage, good friends, courage! Help is at hand! The army is +marching to your defence! Quebec shall yet be saved!" + +Alas! Quebec had fallen. Sobs and groans went up from the women, +and curses from the men. There was a rush for Ramesay's quarters to +tell the news and ask what could be done; but the Chevalier's face +was stern and hard. + +"Nothing can be done," he said. "You have had your own will. You +have signed away your city. Honour will not permit me to break my +word. Besides, how can we trust an army which has basely deserted +us once? If they would not attack the foe before he had had time to +intrench and fortify himself, how can we hope that they will have +courage to brave the assault of a formidable intrenched camp +defended by artillery? + +"Go back whence you came, sirs, and tell the Governor, if you will, +that his cowardice and desertion have done their work. Quebec is +lost to France for ever, and Canada will follow. He could have +saved it four days ago had he had the heart of a soldier or the +head of a statesman; now it is lost irrevocably!" + + + +Chapter 3: Friendly Foes. + + +Quebec was taken; it had surrendered without a blow when once the +battle upon the heights above had ended in the overthrow of the +French army. + +Julian and Fritz exchanged glances of wonder when it was known +beyond all doubt that the capitulation had been signed. It was +marvellous to them, who knew the full peril of their own position, +that the French should be so blind. A concerted attack from the two +armies of the immediate locality could scarcely have failed to +drive them from their vantage ground back to their ships; and once +there, the Admirals would have had no choice but to put to sea once +more; for already the season was closing, and it would then have +been madness to think of any further operations for that season. + +And yet sadness rather than joy was the main feeling in the hearts +of these comrades as they prepared themselves to be of the number +to march into the city. + +Fritz was still somewhat lame from the effect of his wound; but his +splendid physique had made light of the injury, and in other +respects he was sound and strong. Humphrey walked beside him, +giving him a little assistance over rough ground, and Julian was on +his other side. They were full of curiosity to behold the city +which it had cost them so much to take, and Fritz was anxious to +find again those friends who had shown him kindness in past days. +Julian, too, was very desirous to meet Madame Drucour once more, +and renew with her those pleasant relations which had commenced +within the fortress of Louisbourg. + +Townshend, the Brigadier now in command, had granted easy terms to +the place. He knew too well the peril of his position not to be +thankful for having Quebec almost at any price. The garrison and +the sailors, who formed a considerable portion of the force in the +city, were to march out with the honours of war, and were to be +shipped to France with what speed they might. The promised +protection offered by Wolfe to all peaceable inhabitants was to be +assured to all, together with the free exercise of their own +religion. + +To Townshend had been carried upon the very day of the capitulation +a letter written by Montcalm only a few hours before his death, the +feeble penmanship of which showed well how difficult it had been to +him to indite it. In effect it was the last thing he ever wrote, +and the signature was nothing but a faint initial, as though the +failing fingers refused the task before them. + +"Monsieur," ran the missive, "the well-known humanity of the +English sets my mind at peace concerning the fate of the French +prisoners and the Canadians. Feel towards them as they have caused +me to feel. Do not let them perceive that they have changed +masters. Be their protector as I have been their father," + +It was probable that Montcalm believed himself addressing Wolfe +when he wrote this last charge. It was not known with any certainty +in Quebec that the English General had fallen, Some had heard he +was wounded, but no certainty prevailed. Indeed it was with no +exultation that Quebec heard of the death of the dreaded Wolfe. If +he were redoubtable in the field of battle, he was known to be a +merciful and generous foe in the hour of victory. Madame Drucour +had shed tears when told for certain of the hero's fall; the Abbe +had sorrowfully shaken his bead, and had told the citizens that +they had nothing to rejoice over in that. + +So the garrison marched out with as much bravery and martial show +as they could under the circumstances, and the citizens crowded the +streets and ramparts to cheer them as they went, and watch with +mingled feelings the entrance of the English troops into the town +and the hoisting of the English flag. Sobs broke from many, and a +deep groan rose shudderingly upon the air; and yet there were very +many in the city who cared little for the change of masters, if +only they might be rid of the horrors of war. + +Life had long been very difficult under the French rule. So much +official corruption existed, especially in the matter of supplies +of food and other necessaries, that the unhappy people were forced +to pay double and treble value for almost everything, and were +being slowly bled to death, that a few functionaries like Bigot and +Cadet might fatten and grow enormously rich. They had begun to know +that the English colonies were very differently governed; that they +grew in strength and independence, and were encouraged, and not +thwarted and hindered, in their internal development. Although much +smaller in extent than Canada, their population was double that of +the French colony. It was indeed the growing strength and +prosperity of the English provinces which had excited the jealous +animosity of the French, and had quickened their resolve to pen +them in between mountain and sea, and hinder their development. And +this resolve had been followed by the commencement of that border +warfare to which this was the sequel. + +England knew better than let herself be penned within narrow +limits. She had broken through the bonds which held her back. Now +she was mistress of the key and capital of Canada. It could only be +a matter of time before the whole colony fell to her. + +"It may be better for them in the end," said Madame Drucour, +heaving a long sigh as she watched the departure of the garrison, +and saw the scarlet uniforms of the English flooding the streets of +Quebec, "And yet it is hard to see it. I knew it must come, but my +heart is heavy within me. If only we had made a more gallant fight, +I should have felt it less." + +"There he is! there he is!" shouted Colin suddenly; "there is Fritz +Neville!" + +"Ah," cried Madame Drucour, with a quick look of pleasure, "and +there is Monsieur Julian Dautray too! Get speech with them if you +can, Colin, and bring them to supper at our house. There is much I +should like to ask them; and if some of the officers are to be +billeted amongst us townsfolk, I would gladly have those two to +care for." + +"I'll go and see about it," cried Colin. + +"Take us with you," cried the midshipmen, who had viewed the +procession with swelling hearts, uttering now and then a British +cheer, which mingled oddly with the sighs of the people. However, +since they had cheered the retiring troops as lustily as their own +countrymen, no one took this amiss. Indeed the young middies had +made themselves popular in the town by this time, and had done +something to promote a feeling of confidence in the goodwill and +clemency of the victors. + +Corinne and her aunt returned homeward. The girl was in a state of +great excitement, sorrow for the regret of others mingling with her +own secret triumph and joy in the victory of the English. + +It was no use trying to disguise from herself that she was glad the +English had prevailed. She had come to have a contempt and distrust +of the French and their ways and their rule. She admired the +English, and believed in them. They had shown courage and +resolution and heroism--had accomplished a feat which had hitherto +been deemed impossible. She was proud of the British blood running +in her veins, and was ready to welcome the victors with all her +heart. + +So she decked the supper table with green leaves and grasses, and a +few flowers culled from the convent garden, where it had not been +torn to pieces by shot and shell. The viands were not very +plentiful, it is true, since scarcity still prevailed in the city; +but that would come to an end now, for the English were already +making arrangements for throwing in ample supplies. + +Then she ran upstairs to don her best holiday gown, feeling a +wonderful rebound of spirit after the depression and anxiety and +horror of the past days. She sang a little to herself as she +flitted about her room, and was only just ready when she heard +Colin's voice from below summoning her to come. + +She ran down the staircase and glided into the supper room, to find +it (as it seemed) quite full of company. It was too dusk to +distinguish faces by that time, but Bonnehomme Michel appeared at +the moment, bringing in two lamps, and the faces of the guests were +instantly revealed to her. + +Her face lighted as she met the friendly glance of Fritz Neville, +and she extended her hand with a pretty welcoming grace. The next +minute she found herself exchanging greetings with an officer in +British uniform, a dark-eyed, dark-haired man, with a very +clear-cut, handsome face. Nor did it surprise her to hear that this +was Captain Dautray, who had played a romantic part in the siege of +Louisbourg. + +"My aunt, Madame Drucour, has often spoken of you, sir," she said, +"and told us how you disguised yourself and adventured yourself +into the heart of the enemy's fortress. In sooth, I wonder you +could ever dare such a deed. Suppose you had been found out?" + +"Then I should have been shot as a spy, I do not doubt," answered +Julian, "and should never have known the pleasure of making the +acquaintance of the brave Madame Drucour--'Madame le General,' as +she was called in Louisbourg--nor of being presented in Quebec to +Mademoiselle her niece." + +And as he spoke he bowed over Corinne's hand and raised it to his +lips. + +The girl blushed and smiled. Such a salute was not uncommon in +those days, and there was nothing free in Julian's manner; indeed +there was a grave dignity about him which distinguished him in +whatever company he found himself, and his recent military training +had done much to increase the natural advantages which had always +been his. + +The remaining guest, who was a stranger to her, was presented as +Humphrey Angell, and she looked with quick interest at him, +recollecting how Fritz had told her the tale of that terrible +Indian raid, and how he had found the two brothers, almost +distracted by anguish and despair, amid the blackened ruins of +their once prosperous settlement. This was the brother of the +strange, wild-looking man whom she and Colin had seen in the forest +long, long ago, and who had perished in the hour of vengeance. How +interesting it was, she thought, to see all these men of whom she +had heard and thought so much! She let her glance wander from one +face to the other, and she was not ashamed of the feeling of keen +admiration which awoke within her. + +The three midshipmen were also of the company. Discipline had been +somewhat relaxed in the hour of battle and victory, and they had +obtained leave of absence from their ship for a while. Colin had +brought them back for a farewell repast. They seemed almost like +sons of the house by this time; and they had brought with them, +from one of the provision transports, a supply of good victuals +which had made Bonnehomme Michel's eyes shine and her wrinkled +visage beam. + +The scent of coffee pervaded the house, and soon a savoury mess +such as had not been seen for long upon that table was set down, +and the guests, in excellent spirits, took their places. Corinne +found herself seated next to Julian, with Arthur on her other side. +The Abbe took the foot of the table, and Madame Drucour the head. +She looked pale and grave, but showed a gentle dignity and courtesy +of bearing which was very impressive; and everyone showed her all +possible deference. + +Corinne spoke to Julian in a low voice. + +"I want to ask of your General, the great Wolfe. Were you with him +when he died?" + +"Yes, Mademoiselle; he died in my arms. I have had the honour of +calling myself his friend for above a year." + +At that word Madame Drucour looked up and said: + +"Ah, let me hear of Monsieur Wolfe! I had hoped to see him again +myself. Such a hero, such a sweet and courteous gentleman! +Frenchwoman though I be, I could have welcomed him as the victor of +Quebec!" + +All listened with deep attention as Julian related in considerable +detail the story of the last hours of Wolfe, and Madame Drucour +wiped her eyes many times during the recital. + +"Ah! if he had but lived to see the city of his hopes, I would +myself have been his nurse, and would have brought him back to +health and strength. + +"You smile, sir; but yet I have seen much of sickness. You will +hear that the doctors themselves give me the credit for saving many +lives." + +"I can believe it, Madame; indeed I have seen something of that +skill with mine own eyes. But, alas! I fear that the case of our +friend was beyond human skill. I think that, had he had the choice, +he would have chosen to die as he did in the hour of victory. To +wear out a life of suffering in uncongenial inactivity would have +been sorely irksome to his unquenchable spirit; and yet, after the +hardships through which he had passed, I misdoubt me if he could +ever have taken the field again. He would have endured the peril +and pain of another long voyage only to die upon shipboard, or at +his home if he lived to reach it. The hand of death was surely upon +him." + +"And to die in the hour of a glorious victory is surely a fitting +close to a hero's life," said Corinne softly to Julian, when the +tide of talk had recommenced to flow in other quarters. "But tell +me, does he leave behind many to mourn him? Has he parents living, +or sisters and brothers, or one nearer and dearer still? Has he a +wife in England?" + +"Not a wife, Mademoiselle, but one who was to have been his wife +had he lived to return, and a mother who loves him as the apple of +the eye. I shall have a sad task before me when I return to tell +them of him whom they have loved and lost." + +"Are you then going back to England?" asked Corinne; "are you not +born in these lands of the West?" + +"Yes; and I think that my home will be here when my duties to my +friend are done. But first I must return to his home and his +mother, and give to them there his last loving messages, and those +things he wished them to possess of his. Indeed, his body is to be +taken back, embalmed; the officers have decided upon that. I must +see his mother and Miss Lowther again; then I think I shall return +to these Western shores once again, and make my home upon Canadian +soil." + +"Tell me more about Mrs. Wolfe and Miss Lowther," said Corinne, +with keen interest in her eyes and voice. + +So Julian told her much of the events of those months which he +spent in England by the side of Wolfe, and at last he drew forth +the double miniature containing the likeness of the two who loved +the hero so well, and gave it to Corinne to look at. + +The tears came into her eyes as she gazed at the two faces. He saw +the sparkle on her long lashes as she returned him the case, and he +loved her for them. + +"It is a beautiful face; both are beautiful faces," she said. "How +sad for them--how very sad--that he should return to them no more! +Do you think Miss Lowther will ever love again? Or will she go +mourning all the days of her life for him whom she has lost?" + +Julian shook his head doubtfully. + +"I cannot tell; yet time is a great healer, and Wolfe himself sent +her a message bidding her not mourn too long and deeply for him. +She is still young, and the time they spent together was not very +long. I trust and hope that comfort will come to her when her grief +has abated and the wound has healed. Life would become too +sorrowful a thing if death were able to make such lasting havoc of +its hopes and happiness." + +Corinne drew a long sigh. She had seen much of death and disaster +those last months of her young life. It would indeed be too cruel +if the hand of time held no healing balm in its clasp. + +The next days were full of interest for Corinne. Julian took her +and Colin under his special protection and care. Fritz was kept to +the house and its vicinity by his lameness, which the march into +the city had rather increased; and Humphrey was busy in a thousand +ways. But Julian, though he had sundry duties to perform, had +plenty of leisure on his hands, too; and he gave up a great portion +of this leisure to taking Corinne and her brother a regular tour of +the various ships, and of the camps where the English had settled +themselves whilst attacking Quebec--showing them exactly how the +Heights of Abraham had been scaled, how the plain had been reached +and the battle set in array there; and the spot where Wolfe had +fallen, and that where he had died. + +The bright-faced girl, with her French name and English sympathies, +was feted and welcomed everywhere. Brigadier Townshend gave a +dinner to some of the residents, and the Abbe and Madame Drucour, +with their nephew and niece, were invited. Corinne's health was +proposed and drunk amid acclamation, greatly to her own +astonishment; and wherever she went she met with nothing but +kindness and respect. + +She was given a number of trophies of the recent war--a small +dagger that had belonged to Wolfe being the most prized of them +all. She daily visited the hospital with her aunt, and cheered by +her bright presence both the English and French who lay there. + +All was busy in and about the city. The garrison was being shipped +off to France, according to the terms of the capitulation; and a +number of residents whose homes had been destroyed, and who had no +mind to remain in the place now that the English were the masters, +were eager likewise to be gone. The French ships in the upper +reaches of the river were permitted to come down, take up their +crews again, and transport the fugitives to France. + +But the Abbe and his sister remained on, uncertain of their future, +Madame Drucour waited for news of her husband, and the Abbe +lingered to know if he could serve his countrymen any longer. They +had friends in France, but were not much disposed to return to that +land. Colin and Corinne were burning with desire to see England at +least, even if they did not remain there; and Madame Drucour was +disposed to wish the same thing for herself. + +One day Humphrey brought them news. He had had news of the +ex-governor of Louisbourg. He had fallen into the hands of the +Indians, but had been rescued by the English, and had been sent, +with a number of other prisoners, to England in one of their +returning ships. The news had been brought by a sloop from New +York. + +Vessels were beginning to arrive in the harbour now from the +enthusiastic English provinces. Those in Quebec heard how joy bells +were ringing and bonfires blazing throughout New England and the +provinces. Far-seeing men saw in the fall of Quebec an augury of a +new and splendid empire in the west, over which England should +rule. So far, at least, there was no thought of anything else, +although the spirit of independence had taken deep root which +another day would bring forth a different sort of fruit. + +"Madame, your husband is safe," said Humphrey when brought to her +to tell his tale; "I have heard it from one who saw him. He has not +suffered any severe hurt at the hands of the Indians. They were of +those who were wavering betwixt loyalty to France and loyalty to +England, and who made captives of white men wherever they could, +hoping to get a ransom for them. He was rescued by the English and +brought to New York, put safely on board a home-sailing vessel, and +doubtless he is safe on shore there by this time. He will be well +treated; have no fears as to that. The brave Governor of Louisbourg +will find many friends in England." + +"Where I will join him!" cried Madame Drucour, clasping her hands. +"Yes, that settles my hesitation. If my husband is in England, I +will go thither and join him; and these children shall go with us, +and make acquaintance with their mother's kindred in Scotland. + +"Captain Dautray, can you help us in this matter? Can you secure +for us a passage in one of your many noble ships so soon to return? +You have been so true a friend to us that we appeal to you with +confidence and courage." + +"It rejoices me that you should do so, Madame. I will see to it at +once. If possible, you shall sail in the same ship as I do myself. +I think there will be little difficulty. Each vessel will transport +a certain number of those who desire to return to France or to be +carried to English shores." + +Corinne clapped her hands; her whole face lighted up. + +"Oh, I shall see England! I shall realize the dream of my life! + +"Colin, do you hear--do you understand? We are going to +England--and in Captain Dautray's ship!" + +"Hurrah!" cried the boy; "hurrah for old England! And if we go in +Captain Dautray's ship, we shall have our middies for our +companions, for they are to belong to the Royal William, too. Ah, +that will be something to live for indeed! When do we sail? and +where shall we go when we get there?" + +"The Admirals want to leave as soon as possible," answered Julian; +"they have already stayed far beyond the time they intended. But +there is much to arrange, and they will not go till they have +sufficiently victualled the town, and settled the new garrison as +comfortably and securely as may be. + +"Still it will not be long now, And as for the rest, I can only beg +of you to come first, upon landing, to the house of Mrs. Wolfe, +where I myself am bound. Madame Drucour's name is known to her. + +"Her son spoke much of you, Madame, and of your kindness to him at +Louisbourg. And they know too how kindly others were treated--your +humble servant being one. Believe me, it will be the greatest +pleasure to Mrs. Wolfe to welcome anyone who has known and loved +her son, I have to visit her immediately; come at least with me so +far. After that we will learn where Monsieur Drucour is to be +found, and I will seek him out and bring him to you." + +So the matter was settled, and the Abbe gave his approval. He +himself would remain in Quebec, the friend and counsellor of the +victorious English, whom he could not but regard with affection and +respect. + +Of the Brigadiers in command, Moncton was too much shattered to do +aught but go home to recover of his wounds; Townshend was resolved +to sail back, to receive the compliments and honours of the victory +(since Wolfe had passed beyond these things); and Murray was left +in command of Quebec. + +There had been some talk of destroying it rather than facing the +perils of keeping it in its shattered condition, and with a French +army so near. But English pluck had scorned this policy, and +already the men were hard at work repairing its defences, and +storing away a sufficient supply of provisions for the long, +inclement winter that lay before them. + +"We may have to fight for it yet," spoke some as they cheerfully +worked at their fascines; "but we have got Quebec, and we mean to +keep it, let the French storm and rage as they will. If we could +take it from them almost without a blow, surely we can keep it now +we have it!" + + + +Chapter 4: The Last. + + +"Fritz, Fritz! what do you think? Who do you think has come to +Quebec? Why, my brother-in-law, good Benjamin Ashley, together with +his wife and daughter. They have come in charge of a trim little +vessel, laden with provisions, sent as a gift from the citizens of +Philadelphia to the victors of Quebec. He has charge of the cargo, +I mean, not of the sloop; and he says he has come to stop, but I +had no time to hear all his story. Others were flocking about him, +and he had letters for the commanding officer. I hastened away to +find you and tell the news. Let us go back together and learn more +of this thing." + +Into Fritz's face there had leaped a look of quick and keen +interest. + +"Benjamin Ashley," he repeated, "with his wife and daughter! Is +little Susanna actually here in Quebec?" + +"Yes, and my sister," cried Humphrey eagerly, "looking but little +changed from the day I left her in Philadelphia months ago. And +their first inquiry after kissing me was for you, Fritz. Had you +escaped the perils of the war? how were you? and were you here in +the town also?" + +"Let us go and see them," cried Fritz, seizing his stick; "I would +be one of the first to welcome them. It is true that you said +Benjamin Ashley spoke of coming to Quebec if it should fall to us, +but I never thought to see him here so soon. He must have a stout +heart, for the perils of the place are not ended yet, I fear." + +"He has a stout heart, in truth," answered Humphrey; "and right +glad am I to see him. Quebec will be more of a home to us if +Benjamin Ashley and his wife and daughter are dwelling within its +walls." + +"Indeed it will," answered Fritz eagerly; and forthwith the pair +started off together in search of their kinsfolk and friends. + +On the way they encountered John Stark, who was the head of the +band of Rangers to be quartered in Quebec during the winter as part +of the garrison, and he was greatly excited by the news. + +"Hurrah for brave Benjamin Ashley! It is like the stout-hearted +fellow he always was to join his countrymen in times of peril +rather than wait till all was smooth sailing. We shall want +stout-hearted citizens of English blood within the city walls, to +people the empty houses, and save us from being too much surrounded +with half-hearted Canadian residents. If we are beleaguered by a +French army, as is likely enough, we shall want citizens as well as +soldiers if we are to hold our prize against them." + +This was, indeed, very true, and therefore it was that any settlers +from New England were warmly welcomed by the officers in charge of +the fortress and city. They could depend upon their soldiers in the +garrison well enough; but every commander knows how much harm can +be done to a cause by discontent and half-heartedness in the city. + +At Louisbourg it was the voice of the citizens that had turned the +scale and forced the capitulation, and the same thing had, to a +great extent, happened at Quebec, The citizens had been discouraged +and rendered desperate by the way in which the town had suffered, +and this feeling had reacted upon the garrison, and had rendered +them far less willing to try to hold out than they might otherwise +have been. + +It was some little time before Humphrey and his comrades could find +Ashley. He had been taken to the commander of the fortress to +deliver up his papers and have a personal interview with him; and +it was said that he was being entertained by him at table, and his +wife and daughter also. + +Presently the news came that Mr. Ashley from Philadelphia was +inspecting the premises of the Fleur de Lye, which was the most +commodious and important inn in the lower town. It had been a good +deal shattered by the bombardment, and the proprietor had been +killed by a bursting shell. His family had been amongst the first +of the inhabitants to take ship for France and now the place stood +empty, its sign swinging mournfully from the door, waiting for some +enterprising citizen to come and open business there again. + +"Doubtless the Commander has given him the offer of the house and +business," said Fritz when he heard. "Ashley is just the man to +restore prosperity to the old inn. Let us go and seek him there, +Humphrey. A stout-hearted English-speaking host will be right +welcome at the inn, and our fellows will bring him plenty of +custom." + +The comrades hurried along the now familiar streets, and reached +their destination in due course. The inn stood at no great distance +from the harbour, and was in its palmy days a great resort both for +the soldiers of the fortress and the sailors who navigated the +great river. It was a solid building, and though its roof had been +much damaged, and there was an ugly crack all down the front, its +foundations were solid, and a little care and skill would soon +repair the damage. + +Fritz followed Humphrey into the big public room close to the +entrance, and there he came face to face with Benjamin Ashley, who +was just saying farewell to Brigadier Murray, and whose honest face +lighted with pleasure at the sight of the stalwart soldier. + +"It shall be seen to at once, Mr. Ashley," the Commander was +saying. "I will set the men to work tomorrow, and in a few days the +place will be habitable. You shall have immediate possession, and +the sooner you can start business the better for all. We want +Quebec to be a town again, and not a ruin. We want to make friends +of the inhabitants, and show them that the conditions of life are +not altogether altered. We want them to trust us and to think of us +as friends. I am sure you will help us in this. Nothing like good +wine and a jovial host to set men's tongues wagging in a friendly +fashion, and lighten their hearts of any load of fear and +despondency." + +Murray strode out, returning the salutes of his subordinates, and +the next minute Fritz and Ashley were exchanging a warm greeting. + +"Welcome to Quebec, my friend; it does the heart good to see you +here. Humphrey declared you had promised to come soon; but I had +not dared to think it would be this side of the winter season." + +"Why, yes; I have been ready and waiting this long while. To tell +the truth, I have had enough of Philadelphia and its Quaker-ridden +Assembly. Why, when once the war had broken out and was raging in +good earnest, I longed for nothing so much as my own youth back +again, that I might fight with the best of them. And the peace +palaver of the Quakers sickened me. I came near to quarrelling with +some of my old friends, and I grew eager to see fresh places, fresh +faces. I turned it over in my mind, and I thought that if Quebec +fell into our hands, English-speaking citizens would surely be +wanted to leaven the French and Canadians who would remain. And if +so, why should not I be one to take up my abode?" + +"Why not, indeed?" cried Fritz, whose eyes were eagerly straying +round the room in search of somebody he had not seen as yet. "It +was a happy thought, as our Commander has just told you, I doubt +not." + +"He has been a capital friend--he has put me in possession of this +place; and I can see that there will be the making of a fine +business here. And I have not come empty-handed. I sold the old +tavern over yonder, and I have a fine store of wine and ale and +salted provisions stored away on board, enough to set me up for the +winter. + +"I must have that old sign down," added Ashley, stepping into the +street and looking up at the battered board crazily hanging from +the beam above; "we must have another one up instead. I'll set up a +wolf's head in its place, in memory of the gallant soldier who fell +on the Plains of Abraham. And I will call my inn the Wolfe of +Quebec." + +Fritz laughed, still looking round him with quick glances. + +"And what said your wife and daughter to such a move?" + +"Oh, the wife is a good wife, and follows her husband; though I +won't say she did not feel the wrench of parting a good bit. As for +the maid, she was wild to come! She has done nothing but think of +the war ever since it began. She is half a soldier already, I tell +her, and is making herself only fit to be a soldier's wife. She +might have had the pick of all the young Quakers in Philadelphia; +but you should have seen her turn up her pretty nose at them. "'A +Quaker indeed!' quoth the little puss; 'I'd as lief marry a +broomstick with a turnip for a head! Give me a man who is a man, +not a puling woman in breeches!' + +"The sauciness of the little puss!" + +But Ashley's jolly laugh showed that he encouraged the maid in her +"sauciness," and Fritz and Humphrey laughed in sympathy. + +"Where are Mrs. Ashley and Susanna to be found?" asked Fritz when +the laugh had subsided. + +K "Oh, somewhere in the house, poking and prying, and settling the +things in woman's fashion. Anything in the house is to be ours, and +we may buy cheap a quantity of the furniture which is being taken +out of the houses which are too much shattered to be rebuilt. We +have brought things of our own, too. Oh, we shall do well, we shall +do well. It was a capital thought to come here. Canada in English +hands will have a great future before it." + +But Fritz was off already, leaving Humphrey to discuss the +situation with his brother-in-law. He was off in search of Susanna, +and presently came upon her sitting upon a wide window ledge which +commanded a view of the quay and harbour, and of the heights of +Point Levi opposite. Hannah was taking housewifely notes on the +upper floor; but the view from this window had fascinated the girl, +and she sat gazing out, lost in thought, a thousand pictures +flitting through her imaginative brain. + +"Susanna!" spoke a voice behind her. + +She started to her feet, quivering in every limb; and facing round, +found herself confronted by him whose face and form had been the +centre of each of her mental pictures, whose name had been on her +lips and in her heart each time she had bent her knees in prayer +for two long years, and who she knew had come at last to ask the +fulfilment of that promise she had given him when last they had +parted. + +Her hands were in his; his face was bent over hers. He disengaged +one hand, and put it round her shoulders, drawing her towards him +gently. + +She did not resist; she gave a happy little sigh, and stood with +her fair head close to his shoulder. + +"Susanna, I have done what I hoped. I am a captain in the English +King's army. I have won some small reputation as a soldier. I have +a position sufficiently assured. You have come to live at Quebec. I +am quartered there for the winter. Many of our officers and +soldiers have wives who follow them wherever they go. I would not +ask you to come to me to share hardship and privation; but I ask +you to be my wife, here in this city, where your father's house +will give you shelter if I should be forced by the chances of war +to leave you for a while. + +"Susanna, will you be brave enough for this? Can you make up your +mind to be a soldier's wife, even before the war has closed? I had +not thought to ask you so soon; but year after year passes by, and +though nearer and ever nearer to the goal of peace, the clouds +still hang in the sky, and there is still stern work for the +soldier to do. But we seem now to see the end of the long, long +war, and that a happy end; and so I ask if you can marry me, even +with the chances of one of those separations which wring the heart +and entail so much anxiety and sorrow upon the wife left at home." + +She was clinging to him even before he had done, shedding tears, +and yet half laughing as she looked with dewy eyes into his face. + +"O Fritz, Fritz, don't you understand yet what a woman's love is +like? As though I would not rather a hundred thousand times be your +wife, come what may in the future, than live the safest and most +sheltered life without you! As though I should not glory and +delight to share the perils and hardships you are called upon to +endure! As though being together would not make up a hundredfold +for everything else!" + +When Benjamin Ashley, together with Humphrey and John Stark, came +in search of the others, they all saw at a glance what had taken +place. Susanna's blushing face and Fritz's expression of proud, +glad happiness told the tale all too plainly. But all had been +prepared for it; and Ashley laughed as he took his daughter's face +between his hands and kissed it, though he heaved a quick sigh, +too. + +"Ah me! so all the birds leave the nest at last. And nothing but a +red-coat would serve your turn, my maid! That I have known for long +enough. Well, well, I cannot blame you. We owe a debt of gratitude +to our brave soldiers which we must all be willing to pay. + +"Take her, Fritz my boy; take her, and her father's blessing with +her. She will not come to you empty handed; she has a snug little +fortune from her mother ready for her dowry. But you have wooed her +and won her like a man; and her love will be, if I mistake not, the +crown of your manhood and of your life." + +"Indeed it will, sir," answered Fritz fervently, and possessed +himself of Susanna's hand once more. + +Barely a week later, and the party stood upon the quay to say +farewell to their friends and comrades who were sailing away for +England. October was waning. The departure of the ships could no +longer be delayed. Many had already gone; but today the mortal +remains of the gallant Wolfe had been conveyed on board the Royal +William, and all the town had come forth to pay its last tribute of +respect to one who was mourned by friends and foes alike. Flags +hung half-mast high, the guns had boomed a salute, and the bells of +the city had tolled in solemn cadence as the coffin was borne to +the quay and reverently carried to the place prepared for it upon +the ship. + +Now all was bustle and animated farewell as the sailors began to +make preparations for unfurling the sails and hoisting up the +anchor. Julian and Fritz stood together a little apart from the +crowd; their hands were locked in a close clasp. The tie which +bound them together was a very strong and tender one. + +"You will come back, Julian? you will not forsake these Western +lands, which must always seem to me more like home than any country +beyond the seas--even England, which we call our home. You will +come back?" + +"Yes, I shall come back; the lands of the great West ever seem to +be calling me. I do but go to make good my promise to him that is +gone; then I shall return, and cast in my lot with the English +subjects of Canada." + +"They say you are to receive promotion, Julian. You will rise to be +a man of place in this colony. I am certain of it. You have +talents, address, courage; and you are always beloved of French and +English alike. I have heard men talk of you, and point you out as a +rising man. They will want such over here when Canada has passed +into English keeping." + +"They will find me ready to do my best if ever they should desire +to use me. I want nothing better than to serve my country, and to +heal the wound between the two nations who have struggled so long +for supremacy in the West." + +"You will come back--I am sure of it--a man of place and +importance. But you will be the same Julian still, my brother and +friend. And, Julian (am I wrong in thinking it?), you will not come +back alone?" + +A slight flush rose in Julian's face; but he answered quietly: + +"I hope not; I believe not." + +"Mademoiselle Corinne--" began Fritz, but paused there; for the +girl was close beside them, having come up with her aunt, Madame +Drucour, to say goodbye to the group of friends gathered to see +them off. + +Fritz saw the quick glance which flashed between her and Julian as +their eyes met, and he felt that he had got his answer. When Julian +came back to Canada, he would not come alone. + +The last farewells were said; the deck was crowded by those who +were to sail away; the musical call of the seamen rose and fell as +the sails unfurled to the breeze, and the gallant vessel began to +slip through the water. + +"A safe voyage and a joyous return. God be with you all!" cried +those upon the quay. + +The Abbe lifted his hands, and seemed to pronounce a benediction +upon the departing ship, and those who saw the action bared their +heads and bent the knee. + +Then the sails swelled out, the pace increased; a salute boomed +forth from the fortress behind, and was answered from the vessel +now gliding so fast away; and the Royal William moved with stately +grace through the wide waters of the St. Lawrence, and slowly +disappeared in the hazy distance. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's French and English, by Evelyn Everett-Green + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRENCH AND ENGLISH *** + +***** This file should be named 15958.txt or 15958.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/9/5/15958/ + +Produced by Martin Robb + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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