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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/4719-h.zip b/4719-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..82547a7 --- /dev/null +++ b/4719-h.zip diff --git a/4719-h/4719-h.htm b/4719-h/4719-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc1360f --- /dev/null +++ b/4719-h/4719-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6731 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of Wacousta—Volume I, by John Richardson +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.transnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.intro {font-size: medium ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wacousta: A Tale of the Pontiac +Conspiracy--Volume 1, by John Richardson + +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: Wacousta: A Tale of the Pontiac Conspiracy--Volume 1 + +Author: John Richardson + +Posting Date: September 6, 2009 [EBook #4719] +Release Date: December, 2003 +First Posted: March 7, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA--VOLUME 1 *** + + + + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from Charles Franks +and the distributed proofers. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +WACOUSTA; +</H1> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> + or,<BR> +</H4> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE PROPHECY. +</H2> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Volume One of Three +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +by +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +John Richardson +</H2> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="50%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="20%"> +<A HREF="#chap0101">I</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="20%"> +<A HREF="#chap0102">II</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="20%"> +<A HREF="#chap0103">III</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="20%"> +<A HREF="#chap0104">IV</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="20%"> +<A HREF="#chap0105">V</A> +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0106">VI</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0107">VII</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0108">VIII</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0109">IX</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0110">X</A> +</TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Preface +</H3> + +<P> +It is well known to every man conversant with the earlier history of +this country that, shortly subsequent to the cession of the Canadas to +England by France, Ponteac, the great head of the Indian race of that +period, had formed a federation of the various tribes, threatening +extermination to the British posts established along the Western +frontier. These were nine in number, and the following stratagem was +resorted to by the artful chief to effect their reduction. Investing +one fort with his warriors, so as to cut off all communication with the +others, and to leave no hope of succor, his practice was to offer terms +of surrender, which never were kept in the honorable spirit in which +the far more noble and generous Tecumseh always acted with his enemies, +and thus, in turn, seven of these outposts fell victims to their +confidence in his truth. +</P> + +<P> +Detroit and Michilimackinac, or Mackinaw as it is now called, remained, +and all the ingenuity of the chieftain was directed to the possession +of these strongholds. The following plan, well worthy of his invention, +was at length determined upon. During a temporary truce, and while +Ponteac was holding forth proposals for an ultimate and durable peace, +a game of lacrosse was arranged by him to take place simultaneously on +the common or clearing on which rested the forts of Michilimackinac and +Detroit. The better to accomplish their object, the guns of the +warriors had been cut short and given to their women, who were +instructed to conceal them under their blankets, and during the game, +and seemingly without design, to approach the drawbridge of the fort. +This precaution taken, the players were to approach and throw over +their ball, permission to regain which they presumed would not be +denied. On approaching the drawbridge they were with fierce yells to +make a general rush, and, securing the arms concealed by the women, to +massacre the unprepared garrison. +</P> + +<P> +The day was fixed; the game commenced, and was proceeded with in the +manner previously arranged. The ball was dexterously hurled into the +fort, and permission asked to recover it. It was granted. The +drawbridge was lowered, and the Indians dashed forward for the +accomplishment of their work of blood. How different the results in the +two garrisons! At Detroit, Ponteac and his warriors had scarcely +crossed the drawbridge when, to their astonishment and disappointment, +they beheld the guns of the ramparts depressed—the artillerymen with +lighted matches at their posts and covering the little garrison, +composed of a few companies of the 42nd Highlanders, who were also +under arms, and so distributed as to take the enemy most at an +advantage. Suddenly they withdrew and without other indication of their +purpose than what had been expressed in their manner, and carried off +the missing ball. Their design had been discovered and made known by +means of significant warnings to the Governor by an Indian woman who +owed a debt of gratitude to his family, and was resolved, at all +hazards, to save them. +</P> + +<P> +On the same day the same artifice was resorted to at Michilimackinac, +and with the most complete success. There was no guardian angel there +to warn them of danger, and all fell beneath the rifle, the tomahawk, +the war-club, and the knife, one or two of the traders—a Mr. Henry +among the rest—alone excepted. +</P> + +<P> +It was not long after this event when the head of the military +authorities in the Colony, apprised of the fate of these captured +posts, and made acquainted with the perilous condition of Fort Detroit, +which was then reduced to the last extremity, sought an officer who +would volunteer the charge of supplies from Albany to Buffalo, and +thence across the lake to Detroit, which, if possible, he was to +relieve. That volunteer was promptly found in my maternal grandfather, +Mr. Erskine, from Strabane, in the North of Ireland, then an officer in +the Commissariat Department. The difficulty of the undertaking will be +obvious to those who understand the danger attending a journey through +the Western wilderness, beset as it was by the warriors of Ponteac, +ever on the lookout to prevent succor to the garrison, and yet the duty +was successfully accomplished. He left Albany with provisions and +ammunition sufficient to fill several Schnectady boats—I think +seven—and yet conducted his charge with such prudence and foresight, +that notwithstanding the vigilance of Ponteac, he finally and after +long watching succeeded, under cover of a dark and stormy night, in +throwing into the fort the supplies of which the remnant of the +gallant "Black Watch," as the 42nd was originally named, and a company +of whom, while out reconnoitering, had been massacred at a spot in the +vicinity of the town, thereafter called the Bloody Run, stood so +greatly in need. This important service rendered, Mr. Erskine, in +compliance with the instructions he had received, returned to Albany, +where he reported the success of the expedition. +</P> + +<P> +The colonial authorities were not regardless of his interests. When the +Ponteac confederacy had been dissolved, and quiet and security restored +in that remote region, large tracts of land were granted to Mr. +Erskine, and other privileges accorded which eventually gave him the +command of nearly a hundred thousand dollars—enormous sum to have been +realized at that early period of the country. But it was not destined +that he should retain this. The great bulk of his capital was expended +on almost the first commercial shipping that ever skimmed the surface +of Lakes Huron and Erie. Shortly prior to the Revolution, he was +possessed of seven vessels of different tonnage, and the trade in which +he had embarked, and of which he was the head, was rapidly increasing +his already large fortune, when one of those autumnal hurricanes, which +even to this day continue to desolate the waters of the treacherous +lake last named, suddenly arose and buried beneath its engulfing waves +not less than six of these schooners laden with such riches, chiefly +furs, of the West as then were most an object of barter. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Erskine, who had married the daughter of one of the earliest +settlers from France, and of a family well known in history, a lady who +had been in Detroit during the siege of the British garrison by +Ponteac, now abandoned speculation, and contenting himself with the +remnant of his fortune, established himself near the banks of the +river, within a short distance of the Bloody Run. Here he continued +throughout the Revolution. Early, however, in the present century, he +quitted Detroit and repaired to the Canadian shore, where on a property +nearly opposite, which he obtained in exchange, and which in honor of +his native country he named Strabane—known as such to this day—he +passed the autumn of his days. The last time I beheld him was a day or +two subsequent to the affair of the Thames, when General Harrison and +Colonel Johnson were temporary inmates of his dwelling. +</P> + +<P> +My father, of a younger branch of the Annandale family, the head of +which was attainted in the Scottish rebellion of 1745, was an officer +of Simcoe's well-known Rangers, in which regiment, and about the same +period, the present Lord Hardinge commenced his services in this +country. Being quartered at Fort Erie, he met and married at the house +of one of the earliest Canadian merchants a daughter of Mr. Erskine, +then on a visit to her sister, and by her had eight children, of whom I +am the oldest and only survivor. Having a few years after his marriage +been ordered to St. Joseph's, near Michilimackinac, my father thought +it expedient to leave me with Mr. Erskine at Detroit, where I received +the first rudiments of my education. But here I did not remain long, +for it was during the period of the stay of the detachment of Simcoe's +Rangers at St. Joseph that Mr. Erskine repaired with his family to the +Canadian shore, where on the more elevated and conspicuous part of his +grounds which are situated nearly opposite the foot of Hog Island, so +repeatedly alluded to in "Wacousta," he had caused a flag-staff to be +erected, from which each Sabbath day proudly floated the colors under +which he had served, and which he never could bring himself to disown. +</P> + +<P> +It was at Strabane that the old lady, with whom I was a great favorite, +used to enchain my young interest by detailing various facts connected +with the siege she so well remembered, and infused into me a longing to +grow up to manhood that I might write a book about it. The details of +the Ponteac plan for the capture of the two forts were what she most +enlarged upon, and although a long lapse of years of absence from the +scene, and ten thousand incidents of a higher and more immediate +importance might have been supposed to weaken the recollections of so +early a period of life, the impression has ever vividly remained. Hence +the first appearance of "Wacousta" in London in 1832, more than a +quarter of a century later. The story is founded solely on the artifice +of Ponteac to possess himself of those two last British forts. All else +is imaginary. +</P> + +<P> +It is not a little curious that I, only a few years subsequent to the +narration by old Mrs. Erskine of the daring and cunning feats of +Ponteac, and his vain attempt to secure the fort of Detroit, should +myself have entered it in arms. But it was so. I had ever hated school +with a most bitter hatred, and I gladly availed myself of an offer from +General Brock to obtain for me a commission in the King's service. +Meanwhile I did duty as a cadet with the gallant 41st regiment, to +which the English edition of "Wacousta" was inscribed, and was one of +the guard of honor who took possession of the fort. The duty of a +sentinel over the British colors, which had just been hoisted was +assigned to me, and I certainly felt not a little proud of the +distinction. +</P> + +<P> +Five times within half a century had the flag of that fortress been +changed. First the lily of France, then the red cross of England, and +next the stars and stripes of America had floated over its ramparts; +and then again the red cross, and lastly the stars. On my return to +this country a few years since, I visited those scenes of stirring +excitement in which my boyhood had been passed, but I looked in vain +for the ancient fortifications which had given a classical interest to +that region. The unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them, +destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had risen the only +fortress in America at all worthy to give antiquity to the scene, +streets had been laid out and made, and houses had been built, leaving +not a trace of its existence save the well that formerly supplied the +closely besieged garrison with water; and this, half imbedded in the +herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling house of mean appearance, was +rather to be guessed at than seen; while at the opposite extremity of +the city, where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run, +cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every trace of the +past. +</P> + +<P> +Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a consistent +tale—the one as involving an improbability, the other a geographical +error. It has been assumed that the startling feat accomplished by that +man of deep revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt +for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and kiss the dust at +the instigation of their superiors, and yet arrogate to themselves a +claim to be considered gentlemen and men of honor and independence—it +has, I repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in +connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible. No one who +has ever seen these erections on the small forts of that day would +pronounce the same criticism. Never very lofty, they were ascended at +least one-third of their height by means of small projections nailed to +them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently compelled to clear +the flag lines entangled at the truck; therefore a strong and active +man, such as Wacousta is described to have been, might very well have +been supposed, in his strong anxiety for revenge and escape with his +victim, to have doubled his strength and activity on so important an +occasion, rendering that easy of attainment by himself which an +ordinary and unexcited man might deem impossible. I myself have knocked +down a gate, almost without feeling the resistance, in order to escape +the stilettos of assassins. +</P> + +<P> +The second objection is to the narrowness attributed in the tale to the +river St. Clair. This was done in the license usually accorded to a +writer of fiction, in order to give greater effect to the scene +represented as having occurred there, and, of course, in no way +intended as a geographical description of the river, nor was it +necessary. In the same spirit and for the same purpose it has been +continued. +</P> + +<P> +It will be seen that at the termination of the tragedy enacted at the +bridge, by which the Bloody Run was in those days crossed, that the +wretched wife of the condemned soldier pronounced a curse that could +not, of course, well be fulfilled in the course of the tale. Some few +years ago I published in Canada—I might as well have done so in +Kamschatka—the continuation, which was to have been dedicated to the +last King of England, but which, after the death of that monarch, was +inscribed to Sir John Harvey, whose letter, as making honorable mention +of a gallant and beloved brother, I feel it a duty to the memory of the +latter to subjoin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> + GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, N.B.,<BR> +<BR> + Major Richardson, Montreal.<BR> +<BR> + November 26th, 1839.<BR> +<BR> + "Dear Sir;—I am favored with your very interesting + communication of the 2nd instant, by which I learn + that you are the brother of two youths whose gallantry + and merits—and with regard to one of them, his + sufferings—during the late war, excited my warmest + admiration and sympathy. I beg you to believe that I + am far from insensible to the affecting proofs which + you have made known to me of this grateful recollection + of any little service I may have had it in my power + to render them; and I will add that the desire which + I felt to serve the father will be found to extend + itself to the son, if your nephew should ever find + himself under circumstances to require from me any + service which it may be within my power to render him." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> + "With regard to your very flattering proposition to + inscribe your present work to me, I can only say that, + independent of the respect to which the author of so + very charming a production as 'Wacousta' is entitled, + the interesting facts and circumstances so unexpectedly + brought to my knowledge and recollection would ensure + a ready acquiescence on my part." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> + "I remain, dear sir your very faithful servant"<BR> +<BR> + "(Signed) J. HARVEY. "<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The "Prophecy Fulfilled," which, however, has never been seen out of +the small country in which it appeared—Detroit, perhaps, alone +excepted—embraces and indeed is intimately connected with the +Beauchamp tragedy, which took place at or near Weisiger's Hotel, in +Frankfort, Kentucky, where I had been many years before confined as a +prisoner of war. While connecting it with the "Prophecy Fulfilled," and +making it subservient to the end I had in view, I had not read or even +heard of the existence of a work of the same character, which had +already appeared from the pen of an American author. Indeed, I have +reason to believe that the "Prophecy Fulfilled," although not published +until after a lapse of years, was the first written. No similarity of +treatment of the subject exists between the two versions, and this, be +it remembered, I remark without in the slightest degree impugning the +merit of the production of my fellow-laborer in the same field. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +THE AUTHOR. +<BR><BR> +New York City, January 1st, 1851. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0101"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INTRODUCTORY +</H3> + +<P> +As we are about to introduce our readers to scenes with which the +European is little familiarised, some few cursory remarks, illustrative +of the general features of the country into which we have shifted our +labours, may not be deemed misplaced at the opening of this volume. +</P> + +<P> +Without entering into minute geographical detail, it may be necessary +merely to point out the outline of such portions of the vast continent +of America as still acknowledge allegiance to the English crown, in +order that the reader, understanding the localities, may enter with +deeper interest into the incidents of a tale connected with a ground +hitherto untouched by the wand of the modern novelist. +</P> + +<P> +All who have ever taken the trouble to inform themselves of the +features of a country so little interesting to the majority of +Englishmen in their individual character must be aware,—and for the +information of those who are not, we state,—that that portion of the +northern continent of America which is known as the United States is +divided from the Canadas by a continuous chain of lakes and rivers, +commencing at the ocean into which they empty themselves, and extending +in a north-western direction to the remotest parts of these wild +regions, which have never yet been pressed by other footsteps than +those of the native hunters of the soil. First we have the magnificent +St. Lawrence, fed from the lesser and tributary streams, rolling her +sweet and silver waters into the foggy seas of the Newfoundland.—But +perhaps it will better tend to impress our readers with a panoramic +picture of the country in which our scene of action is more immediately +laid, by commencing at those extreme and remote points of our Canadian +possessions to which their attention will be especially directed in the +course of our narrative. +</P> + +<P> +The most distant of the north-western settlements of America is +Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians, and preserved by the +Americans, who possess the fort even to this hour. It is situated at +the head of the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of +St. Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States as an +independent republic, an English garrison has been maintained, with a +view of keeping the original fortress in check. From the lakes above +mentioned we descend into the River Sinclair, which, in turn, +disembogues itself into the lake of the same name. This again renders +tribute to the Detroit, a broad majestic river, not less than a mile in +breadth at its source, and progressively widening towards its mouth +until it is finally lost in the beautiful Lake Erie, computed at about +one hundred and sixty miles in circumference. From the embouchure of +this latter lake commences the Chippawa, better known in Europe from +the celebrity of its stupendous falls of Niagara, which form an +impassable barrier to the seaman, and, for a short space, sever the +otherwise uninterrupted chain connecting the remote fortresses we have +described with the Atlantic. At a distance of a few miles from the +falls, the Chippawa finally empties itself into the Ontario, the most +splendid of the gorgeous American lakes, on the bright bosom of which, +during the late war, frigates, seventy-fours, and even a ship of one +hundred and twelve guns, manned by a crew of one thousand men, +reflected the proud pennants of England! At the opposite extremity of +this magnificent and sea-like lake, which is upwards of two hundred +miles in circumference, the far-famed St. Lawrence takes her source; +and after passing through a vast tract of country, whose elevated banks +bear every trace of fertility and cultivation, connects itself with the +Lake Champlain, celebrated, as well as Erie, for a signal defeat of our +flotilla during the late contest with the Americans. Pushing her bold +waters through this somewhat inferior lake, the St. Lawrence pursues +her course seaward with impetuosity, until arrested near La Chine by +rock-studded shallows, which produce those strong currents and eddies, +the dangers of which are so beautifully expressed in the Canadian Boat +Song,—a composition that has rendered the "rapids" almost as familiar +to the imagination of the European as the falls of Niagara themselves. +Beyond La Chine the St. Lawrence gradually unfolds herself into greater +majesty and expanse, and rolling past the busy commercial town of +Montreal, is once more increased in volume by the insignificant lake of +St. Peter's, nearly opposite to the settlement of Three Rivers, midway +between Montreal and Quebec. From thence she pursues her course unfed, +except by a few inferior streams, and gradually widens as she rolls +past the capital of the Canadas, whose tall and precipitous +battlements, bristled with cannon, and frowning defiance from the +clouds in which they appear half imbedded, might be taken by the +imaginative enthusiast for the strong tower of the Spirit of those +stupendous scenes. From this point the St. Lawrence increases in +expanse, until, at length, after traversing a country where the traces +of civilisation become gradually less and less visible, she finally +merges in the gulf, from the centre of which the shores on either hand +are often invisible to the naked eye; and in this manner is it +imperceptibly lost in that misty ocean, so dangerous to mariners from +its deceptive and almost perpetual fogs. +</P> + +<P> +In following the links of this extensive chain of lakes and rivers, it +must be borne in recollection, that, proceeding seaward from +Michilimackinac and its contiguous district, all that tract of country +which lies to the right constitutes what is now known as the United +States of America, and all on the left the two provinces of Upper and +Lower Canada, tributary to the English government, subject to the +English laws, and garrisoned by English troops. The several forts and +harbours established along the left bank of the St. Lawrence, and +throughout that portion of our possessions which is known as Lower +Canada, are necessarily, from the improved condition and more numerous +population of that province, on a larger scale and of better +appointment; but in Upper Canada, where the traces of civilisation are +less evident throughout, and become gradually more faint as we advance +westward, the fortresses and harbours bear the same proportion In +strength and extent to the scantiness of the population they are +erected to protect. Even at the present day, along that line of remote +country we have selected for the theatre of our labours, the garrisons +are both few in number and weak in strength, and evidence of +cultivation is seldom to be found at any distance in the interior; so +that all beyond a certain extent of clearing, continued along the banks +of the lakes and rivers, is thick, impervious, rayless forest, the +limits of which have never yet been explored, perhaps, by the natives +themselves. +</P> + +<P> +Such being the general features of the country even at the present day, +it will readily be comprehended how much more wild and desolate was the +character they exhibited as far back as the middle of the last century, +about which period our story commences. At that epoch, it will be borne +in mind, what we have described as being the United States were then +the British colonies of America dependent on the mother-country; while +the Canadas, on the contrary, were, or had very recently been, under +the dominion of France, from whom they had been wrested after a long +struggle, greatly advanced in favour of England by the glorious battle +fought on the plains of Abraham, near Quebec, and celebrated for the +defeat of Montcalm and the death of Wolfe. +</P> + +<P> +The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the strong hold of +Quebec having, in every instance, been met by discomfiture and +disappointment, the French, in despair, relinquished the contest, and, +by treaty, ceded their claims to the Canadas,—an event that was +hastened by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded by +the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of General Amherst. +Still, though conquered as a people, many of the leading men in the +country, actuated by that jealousy for which they were remarkable, +contrived to oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest by +those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary enemies; and in +furtherance of this object, paid agents, men of artful and intriguing +character, were dispersed among the numerous tribes of savages, with a +view of exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors. +The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of those +countries immediately bordering on the hunting grounds and haunts of +the natives, with whom they carried on an extensive traffic in furs, +had established a communionship of interest between themselves and +those savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to account +the vindictive views of the former. The whole of the province of Upper +Canada at that time possessed but a scanty population, protected in its +most flourishing and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief +object of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of a few +companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of the natives, who, +although apparently inclining to acknowledge the change of neighbours, +and professing amity, were, it was well known, too much in the interest +of their old friends the French, and even the French Canadians +themselves, not to be regarded with the most cautious distrust. +</P> + +<P> +These stockade forts were never, at any one period, nearer to each +other than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles, so that, in +the event of surprise or alarm, there was little prospect of obtaining +assistance from without. Each garrison, therefore, was almost wholly +dependent on its own resources; and, when surrounded unexpectedly by +numerous bands of hostile Indians, had no other alternative than to +hold out to the death. Capitulation was out of the question; for, +although the wile and artifice of the natives might induce them to +promise mercy, the moment their enemies were in their power promises +and treaties were alike broken, and indiscriminate massacre ensued. +Communication by water was, except during a period of profound peace, +almost impracticable; for, although of late years the lakes of Canada +have been covered with vessels of war, many of them, as we have already +remarked, of vast magnitude, and been the theatres of conflicts that +would not have disgraced the salt waters of ocean itself, at the period +to which our story refers the flag of England was seen to wave only on +the solitary mast of some ill-armed and ill-manned gunboat, employed +rather for the purpose of conveying despatches from fort to fort, than +with any serious view to acts either of aggression or defence. +</P> + +<P> +In proportion as the colonies of America, now the United States, pushed +their course of civilisation westward, in the same degree did the +numerous tribes of Indians, who had hitherto dwelt more seaward, retire +upon those of their own countrymen, who, buried in vast and +impenetrable forests, had seldom yet seen the face of the European +stranger; so that, in the end, all the more central parts of those +stupendous wilds became doubly peopled. Hitherto, however, that +civilisation had not been carried beyond the state of New York; and all +those countries which have, since the American revolution, been added +to the Union under the names of Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, +&c., were, at the period embraced by our story, inhospitable and +unproductive woods, subject only to the dominion of the native, and as +yet unshorn by the axe of the cultivator. A few portions only of the +opposite shores of Michigan were occupied by emigrants from the +Canadas, who, finding no one to oppose or molest them, selected the +most fertile spots along the banks of the river; and of the existence +of these infant settlements, the English colonists, who had never +ventured so far, were not even aware until after the conquest of Canada +by the mother-country. This particular district was the centre around +which the numerous warriors, who had been driven westward by the +colonists, had finally assembled; and rude villages and encampments +rose far and near for a circuit of many miles around this infant +settlement and fort of the Canadians, to both of which they had given +the name of Detroit, after the river on whose elevated banks they +stood. Proceeding westward from this point, and along the tract of +country that diverged from the banks of the Lakes Huron, Sinclair, and +Michigan, all traces of that partial civilisation were again lost in +impervious wilds, tenanted only by the fiercest of the Indian tribes, +whose homes were principally along the banks of that greatest of +American waters, the Lake Superior, and in the country surrounding the +isolated fort of Michilimackinac, the last and most remote of the +European fortresses in Canada. +</P> + +<P> +When at a later period the Canadas were ceded to us by France, those +parts of the opposite frontier which we have just described became also +tributary to the English crown, and were, by the peculiar difficulties +that existed to communication with the more central and populous +districts, rendered especially favourable to the exercise of hostile +intrigue by the numerous active French emissaries every where dispersed +among the Indian tribes. During the first few years of the conquest, +the inhabitants of Canada, who were all either European French, or +immediate descendants of that nation, were, as might naturally be +expected, more than restive under their new governors, and many of the +most impatient spirits of the country sought every opportunity of +sowing the seeds of distrust and jealousy in the hearts of the natives. +By these people it was artfully suggested to the Indians, that their +new oppressors were of the race of those who had driven them from the +sea, and were progressively advancing on their territories until scarce +a hunting ground or a village would be left to them. They described +them, moreover, as being the hereditary enemies of their great father, +the King of France, with whose governors they had buried the hatchet +for ever, and smoked the calumet of perpetual peace. Fired by these +wily suggestions, the high and jealous spirit of the Indian chiefs took +the alarm, and they beheld with impatience the "Red Coat," or +"Saganaw," [Footnote: This word thus pronounced by themselves, in +reference to the English soldiery, is, in all probability, derived from +the original English settlers in Saganaw Bay.] usurping, as they deemed +it, those possessions which had so recently acknowledged the supremacy +of the pale flag of their ancient ally. The cause of the Indians, and +that of the Canadians, became, in some degree, identified as one, and +each felt it was the interest, and it may be said the natural instinct, +of both, to hold communionship of purpose, and to indulge the same +jealousies and fears. Such was the state of things in 1763, the period +at which our story commences,—an epoch fruitful in designs of +hostility and treachery on the part of the Indians, who, too crafty and +too politic to manifest their feelings by overt acts declaratory of the +hatred carefully instilled into their breasts, sought every opportunity +to compass the destruction of the English, wherever they were most +vulnerable to the effects of stratagem. Several inferior forts situated +on the Ohio had already fallen into their hands, when they summoned all +their address and cunning to accomplish the fall of the two important +though remote posts of Detroit and Michilimackinac. For a length of +time they were baffled by the activity and vigilance of the respective +governors of these forts, who had had too much fatal experience in the +fate of their companions not to be perpetually on the alert against +their guile; but when they had at length, in some degree, succeeded in +lulling the suspicions of the English, they determined on a scheme, +suggested by a leading chief, a man of more than ordinary character, +which promised fair to rid them altogether of a race they so cordially +detested. We will not, however, mar the interest of our tale, by +anticipating, at this early stage, either the nature or the success of +a stratagem which forms the essential groundwork of our story. +</P> + +<P> +While giving, for the information of the many, what, we trust, will not +be considered a too compendious outline of the Canadas, and the events +connected with them, we are led to remark, that, powerful as was the +feeling of hostility cherished by the French Canadians towards the +English when the yoke of early conquest yet hung heavily on them, this +feeling eventually died away under the mild influence of a government +that preserved to them the exercise of all their customary privileges, +and abolished all invidious distinctions between the descendants of +France and those of the mother-country. So universally, too, has this +system of conciliation been pursued, we believe we may with safety +aver, of all the numerous colonies that have succumbed to the genius +and power of England, there are none whose inhabitants entertain +stronger feelings of attachment and loyalty to her than those of +Canada; and whatever may be the transient differences,—differences +growing entirely out of circumstances and interests of a local +character, and in no way tending to impeach the acknowledged fidelity +of the mass of French Canadians,—whatever, we repeat, may be the +ephemeral differences that occasionally spring up between the governors +of those provinces and individual members of the Houses of Assembly, +they must, in no way, be construed into a general feeling of +disaffection towards the English crown. +</P> + +<P> +In proportion also as the Canadians have felt and acknowledged the +beneficent effects arising from a change of rulers, so have the Indian +tribes been gradually weaned from their first fierce principle of +hostility, until they have subsequently become as much distinguished by +their attachment to, as they were three quarters of a century ago +remarkable for their untameable aversion for, every thing that bore the +English name, or assumed the English character. Indeed, the hatred +which they bore to the original colonists has been continued to their +descendants, the subjects of the United States; and the same spirit of +union subsisted between the natives and British troops, and people of +Canada, during the late American war, that at an earlier period of the +history of that country prevailed so powerfully to the disadvantage of +England. +</P> + +<P> +And now we have explained a course of events which were in some measure +necessary to the full understanding of the country by the majority of +our readers, we shall, in furtherance of the same object, proceed to +sketch a few of the most prominent scenes more immediately before us. +</P> + +<P> +The fort of Detroit, as it was originally constructed by the French, +stands in the middle of a common, or description of small prairie, +bounded by woods, which, though now partially thinned in their +outskirts, were at that period untouched by the hand of civilisation. +Erected at a distance of about half a mile from the banks of the river, +which at that particular point are high and precipitous, it stood then +just far enough from the woods that swept round it in a semicircular +form to be secure from the rifle of the Indian; while from its +batteries it commanded a range of country on every hand, which no enemy +unsupported by cannon could traverse with impunity. Immediately in the +rear, and on the skirt of the wood, the French had constructed a sort +of bomb-proof, possibly intended to serve as a cover to the workmen +originally employed in clearing the woods, but long since suffered to +fall into decay. Without the fortification rose a strong and triple +line of pickets, each of about two feet and a half in circumference, +and so fitted into each other as to leave no other interstices than +those which were perforated for the discharge of musketry. They were +formed of the hardest and most knotted pines that could be procured; +the sharp points of which were seasoned by fire until they acquired +nearly the durability and consistency of iron. Beyond these firmly +imbedded pickets was a ditch, encircling the fort, of about twenty feet +in width, and of proportionate depth, the only communication over which +to and from the garrison was by means of a drawbridge, protected by a +strong chevaux-de-frise. The only gate with which the fortress was +provided faced the river; on the more immediate banks of which, and to +the left of the fort, rose the yet infant and straggling village that +bore the name of both. Numerous farm-houses, however, almost joining +each other, contributed to form a continuity of many miles along the +borders of the river, both on the right and on the left; while the +opposite shores of Canada, distinctly seen in the distance, presented, +as far as the eye could reach, the same enlivening character of +fertility. The banks, covered with verdure on either shore, were more +or less undulating at intervals; but in general they were high without +being abrupt, and picturesque without being bold, presenting, in their +partial cultivation, a striking contrast to the dark, tall, and +frowning forests bounding every point of the perspective. +</P> + +<P> +At a distance of about five miles on the left of the town the course of +the river was interrupted by a small and thickly wooded island, along +whose sandy beach occasionally rose the low cabin or wigwam which the +birch canoe, carefully upturned and left to dry upon the sands, +attested to be the temporary habitation of the wandering Indian. That +branch of the river which swept by the shores of Canada was (as at this +day) the only navigable one for vessels of burden, while that on the +opposite coast abounded in shallows and bars, affording passage merely +to the light barks of the natives, which seemed literally to skim the +very surface of its waves. Midway, between that point of the continent +which immediately faced the eastern extremity of the island we have +just named and the town of Detroit, flowed a small tributary river, the +approaches to which, on either hand, were over a slightly sloping +ground, the view of which could be entirely commanded from the fort. +The depth of this river, now nearly dried up, at that period varied +from three to ten or twelve feet; and over this, at a distance of about +twenty yards from the Detroit, into which it emptied itself, rose, +communicating with the high road, a bridge, which will more than once +be noticed in the course of our tale. Even to the present hour it +retains the name given to it during these disastrous times; and there +are few modern Canadians, or even Americans, who traverse the "Bloody +Bridge," especially at the still hours of advanced night, without +recalling to memory the tragic events of those days, (handed down as +they have been by their fathers, who were eye-witnesses of the +transaction,) and peopling the surrounding gloom with the shades of +those whose life-blood erst crimsoned the once pure waters of that now +nearly exhausted stream; and whose mangled and headless corpses were +slowly borne by its tranquil current into the bosom of the parent +river, where all traces of them finally disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +These are the minuter features of the scene we have brought more +immediately under the province of our pen. What Detroit was in 1763 it +nearly is at the present day, with this difference, however, that many +of those points which were then in a great degree isolated and rude are +now redolent with the beneficent effects of improved cultivation; and +in the immediate vicinity of that memorable bridge, where formerly +stood merely the occasional encampment of the Indian warrior, are now +to be seen flourishing farms and crops, and other marks of agricultural +industry. Of the fort of Detroit itself we will give the following +brief history:—It was, as we have already stated, erected by the +French while in the occupancy of the country by which it is more +immediately environed; subsequently, and at the final cession of the +Canadas, it was delivered over to England, with whom it remained until +the acknowledgement of the independence of the colonists by the +mother-country, when it hoisted the colours of the republic; the +British garrison marching out, and crossing over into Canada, followed +by such of the loyalists as still retained their attachment to the +English crown. At the commencement of the late war with America it was +the first and more immediate theatre of conflict, and was remarkable, +as well as Michilimackinac, for being one of the first posts of the +Americans that fell into our hands. The gallant daring, and promptness +of decision, for which the lamented general, Sir Isaac Brock, was so +eminently distinguished, achieved the conquest almost as soon as the +American declaration of war had been made known in Canada; and on this +occasion we ourselves had the good fortune to be selected as part of +the guard of honour, whose duty it was to lower the flag of America, +and substitute that of England in its place. On the approach, however, +of an overwhelming army of the enemy in the autumn of the ensuing year +it was abandoned by our troops, after having been dismantled and +reduced, in its more combustible parts, to ashes. The Americans, who +have erected new fortifications on the site of the old, still retain +possession of a post to which they attach considerable importance, from +the circumstance of its being a key to the more western portions of the +Union. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0102"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<P> +It was during the midnight watch, late in September, 1763, that the +English garrison of Detroit, in North America, was thrown into the +utmost consternation by the sudden and mysterious introduction of a +stranger within its walls. The circumstance at this moment was +particularly remarkable; for the period was so fearful and pregnant +with events of danger, the fort being assailed on every side by a +powerful and vindictive foe, that a caution and vigilance of no common +kind were unceasingly exercised by the prudent governor for the safety +of those committed to his charge. A long series of hostilities had been +pursued by the North-American Indians against the subjects of England, +within the few years that had succeeded to the final subjection of the +Canadas to her victorious arms; and many and sanguinary were the +conflicts in which the devoted soldiery were made to succumb to the +cunning and numbers of their savage enemies. In those lone regions, +both officers and men, in their respective ranks, were, by a +communionship of suffering, isolation, and peculiarity of duty, drawn +towards each other with feelings of almost fraternal affection; and the +fates of those who fell were lamented with sincerity of soul, and +avenged, when opportunity offered, with a determination prompted +equally by indignation and despair. This sentiment of union, existing +even between men and officers of different corps, was, with occasional +exceptions, of course doubly strengthened among those who fought under +the same colours, and acknowledged the same head; and, as it often +happened in Canada, during this interesting period, that a single +regiment was distributed into two or three fortresses, each so far +removed from the other that communication could with the utmost +facility be cut off, the anxiety and uncertainty of these detachments +became proportioned to the danger with which they knew themselves to be +more immediately beset. The garrison of Detroit, at the date above +named, consisted of a third of the —— regiment, the remainder of +which occupied the forts of Michilimackinac and Niagara, and to each +division of this regiment was attached an officer's command of +artillery. It is true that no immediate overt act of hostility had for +some time been perpetrated by the Indians, who were assembled in force +around the former garrison; but the experienced officer to whom the +command had been intrusted was too sensible of the craftiness of the +surrounding hordes to be deceived, by any outward semblance of amity, +into neglect of those measures of precaution which were so +indispensable to the surety of his trust. +</P> + +<P> +In this he pursued a line of policy happily adapted to the delicate +nature of his position. Unwilling to excite the anger or wound the +pride of the chiefs, by any outward manifestation of distrust, he +affected to confide in the sincerity of their professions, and, by +inducing his officers to mix occasionally in their councils, and his +men in the amusements of the inferior warriors, contrived to impress +the conviction that he reposed altogether on their faith. But, although +these acts were in some degree coerced by the necessity of the times, +and a perfect knowledge of all the misery that must accrue to them in +the event of their provoking the Indians into acts of open hostility, +the prudent governor took such precautions as were deemed efficient to +defeat any treacherous attempt at violation of the tacit treaty on the +part of the natives. The officers never ventured out, unless escorted +by a portion of their men, who, although appearing to be dispersed +among the warriors, still kept sufficiently together to be enabled, in +a moment of emergency, to afford succour not only to each other but to +their superiors. On these occasions, as a further security against +surprise, the troops left within were instructed to be in readiness, at +a moment's warning, to render assistance, if necessary, to their +companions, who seldom, on any occasion, ventured out of reach of the +cannon of the fort, the gate of which was hermetically closed, while +numerous supernumerary sentinels were posted along the ramparts, with a +view to give the alarm if any thing extraordinary was observed to occur +without. +</P> + +<P> +Painful and harassing as were the precautions it was found necessary to +adopt on these occasions, and little desirous as were the garrison to +mingle with the natives on such terms, still the plan was pursued by +the Governor from the policy already named: nay, it was absolutely +essential to the future interests of England that the Indians should be +won over by acts of confidence and kindness; and so little disposition +had hitherto been manifested by the English to conciliate, that every +thing was to be apprehended from the untameable rancour with which +these people were but too well disposed to repay a neglect at once +galling to their pride and injurious to their interests. +</P> + +<P> +Such, for a term of many months, had been the trying and painful duty +that had devolved on the governor of Detroit; when, in the summer of +1763, the whole of the western tribes of Indians, as if actuated by one +common impulse, suddenly threw off the mask, and commenced a series of +the most savage trespasses upon the English settlers in the vicinity of +the several garrisons, who were cut off in detail, without mercy, and +without reference to either age or sex. On the first alarm the weak +bodies of troops, as a last measure of security, shut themselves up in +their respective forts, where they were as incapable of rendering +assistance to others as of receiving it themselves. In this emergency +the prudence and forethought of the governor of Detroit were eminently +conspicuous; for, having long foreseen the possibility of such a +crisis, he had caused a plentiful supply of all that was necessary to +the subsistence and defence of the garrison to be provided at an +earlier period, so that, if foiled in their attempts at stratagem, +there was little chance that the Indians would speedily reduce them by +famine. To guard against the former, a vigilant watch was constantly +kept by the garrison both day and night, while the sentinels, doubled +in number, were constantly on the alert. Strict attention, moreover, +was paid to such parts of the ramparts as were considered most +assailable by a cunning and midnight enemy; and, in order to prevent +any imprudence on the part of the garrison, all egress or ingress was +prohibited that had not the immediate sanction of the chief. With this +view the keys of the gate were given in trust to the officer of the +guard; to whom, however, it was interdicted to use them unless by +direct and positive order of the Governor. In addition to this +precaution, the sentinels on duty at the gate had strict private +instructions not to suffer any one to pass either in or out unless +conducted by the governor in person; and this restriction extended even +to the officer of the guard. +</P> + +<P> +Such being the cautious discipline established in the fort, the +appearance of a stranger within its walls at the still hour of midnight +could not fail to be regarded as an extraordinary event, and to excite +an apprehension which could scarcely have been surpassed had a numerous +and armed band of savages suddenly appeared among them. The first +intimation of this fact was given by the violent ringing of an alarm +bell; a rope communicating with which was suspended in the Governor's +apartments, for the purpose of arousing the slumbering soldiers in any +case of pressing emergency. Soon afterwards the Governor himself was +seen to issue from his rooms into the open area of the parade, clad in +his dressing-gown, and bearing a lamp in one hand and a naked sword in +the other. His countenance was pale; and his features, violently +agitated, betrayed a source of alarm which those who were familiar with +his usual haughtiness of manner were ill able to comprehend. +</P> + +<P> +"Which way did he go?—why stand ye here?—follow—pursue him +quickly—let him not escape, on your lives!" +</P> + +<P> +These sentences, hurriedly and impatiently uttered, were addressed to +the two sentinels who, stationed in front of his apartments, had, on +the first sound of alarm from the portentous bell, lowered their +muskets to the charge, and now stood immovable in that position. +</P> + +<P> +"Who does your honour mane?" replied one of the men, startled, yet +bringing his arms to the recover, in salutation of his chief. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, the man—the stranger—the fellow who has just passed you." +</P> + +<P> +"Not a living soul has passed us since our watch commenced, your +honour," observed the second sentinel; "and we have now been here +upwards of an hour." +</P> + +<P> +"Impossible, sirs: ye have been asleep on your posts, or ye must have +seen him. He passed this way, and could not have escaped your +observation had ye been attentive to your duty." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, sure, and your honour knows bist," rejoined the first sentinel; +"but so hilp me St. Patrick, as I have sirved man and boy in your +honour's rigimint this twilve years, not even the fitch of a man has +passed me this blissed night. And here's my comrade, Jack Halford, who +will take his Bible oath to the same, with all due difirince to your +honour." +</P> + +<P> +The pithy reply to this eloquent attempt at exculpation was a brief +"Silence, sirrah, walk about!" +</P> + +<P> +The men brought their muskets once more, and in silence, to the +shoulder, and, in obedience to the command of their chief, resumed the +limited walk allotted to them; crossing each other at regular intervals +in the semicircular course that enfiladed, as it were, the only +entrance to the Governor's apartments. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile every thing was bustle and commotion among the garrison, who, +roused from sleep by the appalling sound of the alarm bell at that late +hour, were hastily arming. Throughout the obscurity might be seen the +flitting forms of men, whose already fully accoutred persons proclaimed +them to be of the guard; while in the lofty barracks, numerous lights +flashing to and fro, and moving with rapidity, attested the alacrity +with which the troops off duty were equipping themselves for some +service of more than ordinary interest. So noiseless, too, was this +preparation, as far as speech was concerned, that the occasional +opening and shutting of pans, and ringing of ramrods to ascertain the +efficiency of the muskets, might be heard distinctly in the stillness +of the night at a distance of many furlongs. +</P> + +<P> +HE, however, who had touched the secret spring of all this picturesque +movement, whatever might be his gratification and approval of the +promptitude with which the summons to arms had been answered by his +brave troops, was far from being wholly satisfied with the scene he had +conjured up. Recovered from the first and irrepressible agitation which +had driven him to sound the tocsin of alarm, he felt how derogatory to +his military dignity and proverbial coolness of character it might be +considered, to have awakened a whole garrison from their slumbers, when +a few files of the guard would have answered his purpose equally well. +Besides, so much time had been suffered to elapse, that the stranger +might have escaped; and if so, how many might be disposed to ridicule +his alarm, and consider it as emanating from an imagination disturbed +by sleep, rather than caused by the actual presence of one endowed like +themselves with the faculties of speech and motion. For a moment he +hesitated whether he should not countermand the summons to arms which +had been so precipitately given; but when he recollected the harrowing +threat that had been breathed in his ear by his midnight visiter,—when +he reflected, moreover, that even now it was probable he was lurking +within the precincts of the fort with a view to the destruction of all +that it contained,—when, in short, he thought of the imminent danger +that must attend them should he be suffered to escape,—he felt the +necessity of precaution, and determined on his measures, even at the +risk of manifesting a prudence which might be construed unfavourably. +On re-entering his apartments, he found his orderly, who, roused by the +midnight tumult, stood waiting to receive the commands of his chief. +</P> + +<P> +"Desire Major Blackwater to come to me immediately." +</P> + +<P> +The mandate was quickly obeyed. In a few seconds a short, thick-set, +and elderly officer made his appearance in a grey military undress +frock. +</P> + +<P> +"Blackwater, we have traitors within the fort. Let diligent search be +made in every part of the barracks for a stranger, an enemy, who has +managed to procure admittance among us: let every nook and cranny, +every empty cask, be examined forthwith; and cause a number of +additional sentinels to be stationed along the ramparts, in order to +intercept his escape." +</P> + +<P> +"Good Heaven, is it possible?" said the Major, wiping the perspiration +from his brows, though the night was unusually chilly for the season of +the year:—"how could he contrive to enter a place so vigilantly +guarded?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ask me not HOW, Blackwater," returned the Governor seriously; "let it +suffice that he has been in this very room, and that ten minutes since +he stood where you now stand." +</P> + +<P> +The Major looked aghast.—"God bless me, how singular! How could the +savage contrive to obtain admission? or was he in reality an Indian?" +</P> + +<P> +"No more questions, MAJOR Blackwater. Hasten to distribute the men, and +let diligent search be made every where; and recollect, neither officer +nor man courts his pillow until dawn." +</P> + +<P> +The "Major" emphatically prefixed to his name was a sufficient hint to +the stout officer that the doubts thus familiarly expressed were here +to cease, and that he was now addressed in the language of authority by +his superior, who expected a direct and prompt compliance with his +orders. He therefore slightly touched his hat in salutation, and +withdrew to make the dispositions that had been enjoined by his Colonel. +</P> + +<P> +On regaining the parade, he caused the men, already forming into +companies and answering to the roll-call of their respective +non-commissioned officers, to be wheeled into square, and then in a low +but distinct voice stated the cause of alarm; and, having communicated +the orders of the Governor, finished by recommending to each the +exercise of the most scrutinising vigilance; as on the discovery of the +individual in question, and the means by which he had contrived to +procure admission, the safety of the whole garrison, it was evident, +must depend. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers now dispersed in small parties throughout the interior of +the fort, while a select body were conducted to the ramparts by the +officers themselves, and distributed between the sentinels already +posted there, in such numbers, and at such distances, that it appeared +impossible any thing wearing the human form could pass them +unperceived, even in the obscurity that reigned around. +</P> + +<P> +When this duty was accomplished, the officers proceeded to the posts of +the several sentinels who had been planted since the last relief, to +ascertain if any or either of them had observed aught to justify the +belief that an enemy had succeeded in scaling the works. To all their +enquiries, however, they received a negative reply, accompanied by a +declaration, more or less positive with each, that such had been their +vigilance during the watch, had any person come within their beat, +detection must have been inevitable. The first question was put to the +sentinel stationed at the gate of the fort, at which point the whole of +the officers of the garrison were, with one or two exceptions, now +assembled. The man at first evinced a good deal of confusion; but this +might arise from the singular fact of the alarm that had been given, +and the equally singular circumstance of his being thus closely +interrogated by the collective body of his officers: he, however, +persisted in declaring that he had been in no wise inattentive to his +duty, and that no cause for alarm or suspicion had occurred near his +post. The officers then, in order to save time, separated into two +parties, pursuing opposite circuits, and arranging to meet at that +point of the ramparts which was immediately in the rear, and +overlooking the centre of the semicircular sweep of wild forest we have +described as circumventing the fort. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Blessington, I know not what you think of this sort of work," +observed Sir Everard Valletort, a young lieutenant of the —— +regiment, recently arrived from England, and one of the party who now +traversed the rampart to the right; "but confound me if I would not +rather be a barber's apprentice in London, upon nothing, and find +myself, than continue a life of this kind much longer. It positively +quite knocks me up; for what with early risings, and watchings (I had +almost added prayings), I am but the shadow of my former self." +</P> + +<P> +"Hist, Valletort, hist! speak lower," said Captain Blessington, the +senior officer present, "or our search must be in vain. Poor fellow!" +he pursued, laughing low and good humouredly at the picture of miseries +thus solemnly enumerated by his subaltern;—"how much, in truth, are +you to be pitied, who have so recently basked in all the sunshine of +enjoyment at home. For our parts, we have lived so long amid these +savage scenes, that we have almost forgotten what luxury, or even +comfort, means. Doubt not, my friend, that in time you will, like us, +be reconciled to the change." +</P> + +<P> +"Confound me for an idiot, then, if I give myself time," replied Sir +Everard affectedly. "It was only five minutes before that cursed alarm +bell was sounded in my ears, that I had made up my mind fully to resign +or exchange the instant I could do so with credit to myself; and, I am +sure, to be called out of a warm bed at this unseasonable hour offers +little inducement for me to change my opinion." +</P> + +<P> +"Resign or exchange with credit to yourself!" sullenly observed a stout +tall officer of about fifty, whose spleen might well be accounted for +in his rank of "Ensign" Delme. "Methinks there can be little credit in +exchanging or resigning, when one's companions are left behind, and in +a post of danger." +</P> + +<P> +"By Jasus, and ye may say that with your own pritty mouth," remarked +another veteran, who answered to the name of Lieutenant Murphy; "for it +isn't now, while we are surrounded and bediviled by the savages, that +any man of the —— rigimint should be after talking of bating a +retrate." +</P> + +<P> +"I scarcely understand you, gentlemen," warmly and quickly retorted Sir +Everard, who, with all his dandyism and effeminacy of manner, was of a +high and resolute spirit. "Do either of you fancy that I want courage +to face a positive danger, because I may not happen to have any +particular vulgar predilection for early rising?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense, Valletort, nonsense," interrupted, in accents of almost +feminine sweetness, his friend Lieutenant Charles de Haldimar, the +youngest son of the Governor: "Murphy is an eternal echo of the +opinions of those who look forward to promotion; and as for Delme—do +you not see the drift of his observation? Should you retire, as you +have threatened, of course another lieutenant will be appointed in your +stead; but, should you chance to lose your scalp during the struggle +with the savages, the step goes in the regiment, and he, being the +senior ensign, obtains promotion in consequence." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" observed Captain Blessington, "this is indeed the greatest curse +attached to the profession of a soldier. Even among those who most +esteem, and are drawn towards each other as well by fellowship in +pleasure as companionship in danger, this vile and debasing +principle—this insatiable desire for personal advancement—is certain +to intrude itself; since we feel that over the mangled bodies of our +dearest friends and companions, we can alone hope to attain preferment +and distinction." +</P> + +<P> +A moment or two of silence ensued, in the course of which each +individual appeared to be bringing home to his own heart the +application of the remark just uttered; and which, however they might +seek to disguise the truth from themselves, was too forcible to find +contradiction from the secret monitor within. And yet of those +assembled there was not one, perhaps, who would not, in the hour of +glory and of danger, have generously interposed his own frame between +that of his companion and the steel or bullet of an enemy. Such are the +contradictory elements which compose a soldier's life. +</P> + +<P> +This conversation, interrupted only by occasional questioning of the +sentinels whom they passed in their circuit, was carried on in an +audible whisper, which the close approximation of the parties to each +other, and the profound stillness of the night, enabled them to hear +with distinctness. +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, nay, De Haldimar," at length observed Sir Everard, in reply to +the observation of his friend, "do not imagine I intend to gratify Mr. +Delme by any such exhibition as that of a scalpless head; but, if such +be his hope, I trust that the hour which sees my love-locks dangling at +the top of an Indian pole may also let daylight into his own carcass +from a rifle bullet or a tomahawk." +</P> + +<P> +"And yit, Captin, it sames to me," observed Lieutenant Murphy, in +allusion to the remark of Blessington rather than in reply to the last +speaker,—"it sames to me, I say, that promotion in ony way is all fair +and honourable in times of hardship like thase; and though we may drop +a tare over our suparior when the luck of war, in the shape of a +tommyhawk, knocks him over, still there can be no rason why we +shouldn't stip into his shoes the viry nixt instant; and it's that, we +all know, that we fight for. And the divil a bitter chance any man of +us all has of promotion thin yoursilf, Captin: for it'll be mighty +strange if our fat Major doesn't git riddlid like a cullinder through +and through with the bullits from the Ingians' rifles before we have +quite done with this business, and thin you will have the rigimintal +majority, Captin; and it may be that one Liftinint Murphy, who is now +the sanior of his rank, may come in for the vacant captincy." +</P> + +<P> +"And Delme for the lieutenancy," said Charles de Haldimar +significantly. "Well, Murphy, I am happy to find that you, at least, +have hit on another than Sir Everard Valletort: one, in fact, who will +render the promotion more general than it would otherwise have been. +Seriously, I should be sorry if any thing happened to our worthy Major, +who, with all his bustling and grotesque manner, is as good an officer +and as brave a soldier as any his Majesty's army in Canada can boast. +For my part, I say, perish all promotion for ever, if it is only to be +obtained over the dead bodies of those with whom I have lived so long +and shared so many dangers!" +</P> + +<P> +"Nobly uttered, Charles," said Captain Blessington: "the sentiment is, +indeed, one well worthy of our present position; and God knows we are +few enough in number already, without looking forward to each other's +death as a means of our own more immediate personal advancement. With +you, therefore, I repeat, perish all my hopes of promotion, if it is +only to be obtained over the corpses of my companions! And let those +who are most sanguine in their expectations beware lest they prove the +first to be cut off, and that even before they have yet enjoyed the +advantages of the promotion they so eagerly covet." +</P> + +<P> +This observation, uttered without acrimony, had yet enough of delicate +reproach in it to satisfy Lieutenant Murphy that the speaker was far +from approving the expression of such selfish anticipations at a moment +like the present, when danger, in its most mysterious guise, lurked +around, and threatened the safety of all most dear to them. +</P> + +<P> +The conversation now dropped, and the party pursued their course in +silence. They had just passed the last sentinel posted in their line of +circuit, and were within a few yards of the immediate rear of the +fortress, when a sharp "Hist!" and sudden halt of their leader, Captain +Blessington, threw them all into an attitude of the most profound +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you hear?" he asked in a subdued whisper, after a few seconds of +silence, in which he had vainly sought to catch a repetition of the +sound. +</P> + +<P> +"Assuredly," he pursued, finding that no one answered, "I distinctly +heard a human groan." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?—in what direction?" asked Sir Everard and De Haldimar in the +same breath. +</P> + +<P> +"Immediately opposite to us on the common. But see, here are the +remainder of the party stationary, and listening also." +</P> + +<P> +They now stole gently forward a few paces, and were soon at the side of +their companions, all of whom were straining their necks and bending +their heads in the attitude of men listening attentively. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you heard any thing, Erskine?" asked Captain Blessington in the +same low whisper, and addressing the officer who led the opposite party. +</P> + +<P> +"Not a sound ourselves, but here is Sir Everard's black servant, Sambo, +who has just riveted our attention, by declaring that he distinctly +heard a groan towards the skirt of the common." +</P> + +<P> +"He is right," hastily rejoined Blessington; "I heard it also." +</P> + +<P> +Again a death-like silence ensued, during which the eyes of the party +were strained eagerly in the direction of the common. The night was +clear and starry, yet the dark shadow of the broad belt of forest threw +all that part of the waste which came within its immediate range into +impenetrable obscurity. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you see any thing?" whispered Valletort to his friend, who stood +next him: "look—look!" and he pointed with his finger. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing," returned De Haldimar, after an anxious gaze of a minute, +"but that dilapidated old bomb-proof." +</P> + +<P> +"See you not something dark, and slightly moving immediately in a line +with the left angle of the bomb-proof?" +</P> + +<P> +De Haldimar looked again.—"I do begin to fancy I see something," he +replied; "but so confusedly and indistinctly, that I know not whether +it be not merely an illusion of my imagination. Perhaps it is a stray +Indian dog devouring the carcass of the wolf you shot yesterday." +</P> + +<P> +"Be it dog or devil, here is for a trial of his vulnerability.—Sambo, +quick, my rifle." +</P> + +<P> +The young negro handed to his master one of those long heavy rifles, +which the Indians usually make choice of for killing the buffalo, elk, +and other animals whose wildness renders them difficult of approach. He +then, unbidden, and as if tutored to the task, placed himself in a +stiff upright position in front of his master, with every nerve and +muscle braced to the most inflexible steadiness. The young officer next +threw the rifle on the right shoulder of the boy for a rest, and +prepared to take his aim on the object that had first attracted his +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Make haste, massa,—him go directly,—Sambo see him get up." +</P> + +<P> +All was breathless attention among the group of officers; and when the +sharp ticking sound produced by the cocking of the rifle of their +companion fell on their ears, they bent their gaze upon the point +towards which the murderous weapon was levelled with the most aching +and intense interest. +</P> + +<P> +"Quick, quick, massa,—him quite up," again whispered the boy. +</P> + +<P> +The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the crack of the rifle, +followed by a bright blaze of light, sounded throughout the stillness +of the night with exciting sharpness. For an instant all was hushed; +but scarcely had the distant woods ceased to reverberate the +spirit-stirring echoes, when the anxious group of officers were +surprised and startled by a sudden flash, the report of a second rifle +from the common, and the whizzing of a bullet past their ears. This was +instantly succeeded by a fierce, wild, and prolonged cry, expressive at +once of triumph and revenge. It was that peculiar cry which an Indian +utters when the reeking scalp has been wrested from his murdered victim. +</P> + +<P> +"Missed him, as I am a sinner," exclaimed Sir Everard, springing to his +feet, and knocking the butt of his rifle on the ground with a movement +of impatience. "Sambo, you young scoundrel, it was all your fault,—you +moved your shoulder as I pulled the trigger. Thank Heaven, however, the +aim of the Indian appears to have been no better, although the sharp +whistling of his ball proves his piece to have been well levelled for a +random shot." +</P> + +<P> +"His aim has been too true," faintly pronounced the voice of one +somewhat in the rear of his companions. "The ball of the villain has +found a lodgment in my breast. God bless ye all, my boys; may your +fates be more lucky than mine!" While he yet spoke, Lieutenant Murphy +sank into the arms of Blessington and De Haldimar, who had flown to him +at the first intimation of his wound, and was in the next instant a +corpse. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0103"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<P> +"To your companies, gentlemen, to your companies on the instant. There +is treason in the fort, and we had need of all our diligence and +caution. Captain de Haldimar is missing, and the gate has been found +unlocked. Quick, gentlemen, quick; even now the savages may be around +us, though unseen." +</P> + +<P> +"Captain de Haldimar missing!—the gate unlocked!" exclaimed a number +of voices. "Impossible!—surely we are not betrayed by our own men." +</P> + +<P> +"The sentinel has been relieved, and is now in irons," resumed the +communicator of this startling piece of intelligence. It was the +adjutant of the regiment. +</P> + +<P> +"Away, gentlemen, to your posts immediately," said Captain Blessington, +who, aided by De Haldimar, hastened to deposit the stiffening body of +the unfortunate Murphy, which they still supported, upon the rampart. +Then addressing the adjutant, "Mr. Lawson, let a couple of files be +sent immediately to remove the body of their officer." +</P> + +<P> +"That shot which I heard from the common, as I approached, was not +fired at random, then, I find," observed the adjutant, as they all now +hastily descended to join their men.—"Who has fallen?" +</P> + +<P> +"Murphy, of the grenadiers," was the reply of one near him. +</P> + +<P> +"Poor fellow! our work commences badly," resumed Mr. Lawson: "Murphy +killed, and Captain de Haldimar missing. We had few officers enough to +spare before, and their loss will be severely felt; I greatly fear, +too, these casualties may have a tendency to discourage the men." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing more easy than to supply their place, by promoting some of our +oldest sergeants," observed Ensign Delme, who, as well as the ill-fated +Murphy, had risen from the ranks. "If they behave themselves well, the +King will confirm their appointments." +</P> + +<P> +"But my poor brother, what of him, Lawson? what have you learnt +connected with his disappearance?" asked Charles de Haldimar with deep +emotion. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing satisfactory, I am sorry to say," returned the adjutant; "in +fact, the whole affair is a mystery which no one can unravel; even at +this moment the sentinel, Frank Halloway, who is strongly suspected of +being privy to his disappearance, is undergoing a private examination +by your father the governor." +</P> + +<P> +"Frank Halloway!" repeated the youth with a start of astonishment; +"surely Halloway could never prove a traitor,—and especially to my +brother, whose life he once saved at the peril of his own." +</P> + +<P> +The officers had now gained the parade, when the "Fall in, gentlemen, +fall in," quickly pronounced by Major Blackwater, prevented all further +questioning on the part of the younger De Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +The scene, though circumscribed in limit, was picturesque in effect, +and might have been happily illustrated by the pencil of the painter. +The immediate area of the parade was filled with armed men, distributed +into three divisions, and forming, with their respective ranks facing +outwards, as many sides of a hollow square, the mode of defence +invariably adopted by the Governor in all cases of sudden alarm. The +vacant space, which communicated with the powder magazine, was left +open to the movements of three three-pounders, which were to support +each face in the event of its being broken by numbers. Close to these, +and within the square, stood the number of gunners necessary to the +duty of the field-pieces, each of which was commanded by a bombardier. +At the foot of the ramparts, outside the square, and immediately +opposite to their several embrasures, were stationed the gunners +required for the batteries, under a non-commissioned officer also, and +the whole under the direction of a superior officer of that arm, who +now walked to and fro, conversing in a low voice with Major Blackwater. +One gunner at each of these divisions of the artillery held in his hand +a blazing torch, reflecting with picturesque yet gloomy effect the +bright bayonets and equipment of the soldiers, and the anxious +countenances of the women and invalids, who, bending eagerly through +the windows of the surrounding barracks, appeared to await the issue of +these preparations with an anxiety increased by the very consciousness +of having no other parts than those of spectators to play in the scene +that was momentarily expected. +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes from the falling in of the officers with their +respective companies, the clank of irons was heard in the direction of +the guard-room, and several forms were seen slowly advancing into the +area already occupied as we have described. This party was preceded by +the Adjutant Lawson, who, advancing towards Major Blackwater, +communicated a message, that was followed by the command of the latter +officer for the three divisions to face inwards. The officer of +artillery also gave the word to his men to form lines of single files +immediately in the rear of their respective guns, leaving space enough +for the entrance of the approaching party, which consisted of half a +dozen files of the guard, under a non-commissioned officer, and one +whose manacled limbs, rather than his unaccoutred uniform, attested him +to be not merely a prisoner, but a prisoner confined for some serious +and flagrant offence. +</P> + +<P> +This party now advanced through the vacant quarter of the square, and +took their stations immediately in the centre. Here the countenances of +each, and particularly that of the prisoner, who was, if we may so term +it, the centre of that centre, were thrown into strong relief by the +bright glare of the torches as they were occasionally waved in air, to +disencumber them of their dross, so that the features of the prisoner +stood revealed to those around as plainly as if it had been noonday. +Not a sound, not a murmur, escaped from the ranks: but, though the +etiquette and strict laws of military discipline chained all speech, +the workings of the inward mind remained unchecked; and as they +recognised in the prisoner Frank Halloway, one of the bravest and +boldest in the field, and, as all had hitherto imagined, one of the +most devoted to his duty, an irrepressible thrill of amazement and +dismay crept throughout the frames, and for a moment blanched the +cheeks of those especially who belonged to the same company. On being +summoned from their fruitless search after the stranger, to fall in +without delay, it had been whispered among the men that treason had +crept into the fort, and a traitor, partly detected in his crime, had +been arrested and thrown into irons; but the idea of Frank Halloway +being that traitor was the last that could have entered into their +thoughts, and yet they now beheld him covered with every mark of +ignominy, and about to answer his high offence, in all human +probability, with his life. +</P> + +<P> +With the officers the reputation of Halloway for courage and fidelity +stood no less high; but, while they secretly lamented the circumstance +of his defalcation, they could not disguise from themselves the almost +certainty of his guilt, for each, as he now gazed upon the prisoner, +recollected the confusion and hesitation of manner he had evinced when +questioned by them preparatory to their ascending to the ramparts. +</P> + +<P> +Once more the suspense of the moment was interrupted by the entrance of +other forms into the area. They were those of the Adjutant, followed by +a drummer, bearing his instrument, and the Governor's orderly, charged +with pens, ink, paper, and a book which, from its peculiar form and +colour, every one present knew to be a copy of the Articles of War. A +variety of contending emotions passed through the breasts of many, as +they witnessed the silent progress of these preparations, rendered +painfully interesting by the peculiarity of their position, and the +wildness of the hour at which they thus found themselves assembled +together. The prisoner himself was unmoved: he stood proud, calm, and +fearless amid the guard, of whom he had so recently formed one; and +though his countenance was pale, as much, perhaps, from a sense of the +ignominious character in which he appeared as from more private +considerations, still there was nothing to denote either the abjectness +of fear or the consciousness of merited disgrace. Once or twice a low +sobbing, that proceeded at intervals from one of the barrack windows, +caught his ear, and he turned his glance in that direction with a +restless anxiety, which he exerted himself in the instant afterwards to +repress; but this was the only mark of emotion he betrayed. +</P> + +<P> +The above dispositions having been hastily made, the adjutant and his +assistants once more retired. After the lapse of a minute, a tall +martial-looking man, habited in a blue military frock, and of handsome, +though stern, haughty, and inflexible features, entered the area. He +was followed by Major Blackwater, the captain of artillery, and +Adjutant Lawson. +</P> + +<P> +"Are the garrison all present, Mr. Lawson? are the officers all +present?" +</P> + +<P> +"All except those of the guard, sir," replied the Adjutant, touching +his hat with a submission that was scrupulously exacted on all +occasions of duty by his superior. +</P> + +<P> +The Governor passed his hand for a moment over his brows. It seemed to +those around him as if the mention of that guard had called up +recollections which gave him pain; and it might be so, for his eldest +son, Captain Frederick de Haldimar, had commanded the guard. Whither he +had disappeared, or in what manner, no one knew. +</P> + +<P> +"Are the artillery all present, Captain Wentworth?" again demanded the +Governor, after a moment of silence, and in his wonted firm +authoritative voice. +</P> + +<P> +"All present, sir," rejoined the officer, following the example of the +Adjutant, and saluting his chief. +</P> + +<P> +"Then let a drum-head court-martial be assembled immediately, Mr. +Lawson, and without reference to the roster let the senior officers be +selected." +</P> + +<P> +The Adjutant went round to the respective divisions, and in a low voice +warned Captain Blessington, and the four senior subalterns, for that +duty. One by one the officers, as they were severally called upon, left +their places in the square, and sheathing their swords, stepped into +that part of the area appointed as their temporary court. They were now +all assembled, and Captain Blessington, the senior of his rank in the +garrison, was preparing to administer the customary oaths, when the +prisoner Halloway advanced a pace or two in front of his escort, and +removing his cap, in a clear, firm, but respectful voice, thus +addressed the Governor:— +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel de Haldimar, that I am no traitor, as I have already told you, +the Almighty God, before whom I swore allegiance to his Majesty, can +bear me witness. Appearances, I own, are against me; but, so far from +being a traitor, I would have shed my last drop of blood in defence of +the garrison and your family.—Colonel de Haldimar," he pursued, after +a momentary pause, in which he seemed to be struggling to subdue the +emotion which rose, despite of himself, to his throat, "I repeat, I am +no traitor, and I scorn the imputation—but here is my best answer to +the charge. This wound, (and he unbuttoned his jacket, opened his +shirt, and disclosed a deep scar upon his white chest,) this wound I +received in defence of my captain's life at Quebec. Had I not loved +him, I should not so have exposed myself, neither but for that should I +now stand in the situation of shame and danger, in which my comrades +behold me." +</P> + +<P> +Every heart was touched by this appeal—this bold and manly appeal to +the consideration of the Governor. The officers, especially, who were +fully conversant with the general merit of Halloway, were deeply +affected, and Charles de Haldimar—the young, the generous, the feeling +Charles de Haldimar,—even shed tears. +</P> + +<P> +"What mean you, prisoner?" interrogated the Governor, after a short +pause, during which he appeared to be weighing and deducing inferences +from the expressions just uttered. "What mean you, by stating, but for +that (alluding to your regard for Captain de Haldimar) you would not +now be in this situation of shame and danger?" +</P> + +<P> +The prisoner hesitated a moment; and then rejoined, but in a tone that +had less of firmness in it than before,—"Colonel de Haldimar, I am not +at liberty to state my meaning; for, though a private soldier, I +respect my word, and have pledged myself to secrecy." +</P> + +<P> +"You respect your word, and have pledged yourself to secrecy! What mean +you, man, by this rhodomontade? To whom can you have pledged yourself, +and for what, unless it be to some secret enemy without the walls? +Gentlemen, proceed to your duty: it is evident that the man is a +traitor, even from his own admission.—On my life," he pursued, more +hurriedly, and speaking in an under tone, as if to himself, "the fellow +has been bribed by, and is connected with—." The name escaped not his +lips; for, aware of the emotion he was betraying, he suddenly checked +himself, and assumed his wonted stern and authoritative bearing. +</P> + +<P> +Once more the prisoner addressed the Governor in the same clear firm +voice in which he had opened his appeal. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel de Haldimar, I have no connection with any living soul without +the fort; and again I repeat, I am no traitor, but a true and loyal +British soldier, as my services in this war, and my comrades, can well +attest. Still, I seek not to shun that death which I have braved a +dozen times at least in the —— regiment. All that I ask is, that I +may not be tried—that I may not have the shame of hearing sentence +pronounced against me YET; but if nothing should occur before eight +o'clock to vindicate my character from this disgrace, I will offer up +no further prayer for mercy. In the name of that life, therefore, which +I once preserved to Captain de Haldimar, at the price of my own blood, +I entreat a respite from trial until then." +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of God and all his angels, let mercy reach your soul, and +grant his prayer!" +</P> + +<P> +Every ear was startled—every heart touched by the plaintive, +melancholy, silver tones of the voice that faintly pronounced the last +appeal, and all recognised it for that of the young, interesting, and +attached wife of the prisoner. Again the latter turned his gaze towards +the window whence the sounds proceeded, and by the glare of the torches +a tear was distinctly seen by many coursing down his manly cheek. The +weakness was momentary. In the next instant he closed his shirt and +coat, and resuming his cap, stepped back once more amid his guard, +where he remained stationary, with the air of one who, having nothing +further to hope, has resolved to endure the worst that can happen with +resignation and fortitude. +</P> + +<P> +After the lapse of a few moments, again devoted to much apparent deep +thought and conjecture, the Governor once more, and rather hurriedly, +resumed,— +</P> + +<P> +"In the event, prisoner, of this delay in your trial being granted, +will you pledge yourself to disclose the secret to which you have +alluded? Recollect, there is nothing but that which can save your +memory from being consigned to infamy for ever; for who, among your +comrades, will believe the idle denial of your treachery, when there is +the most direct proof against you? If your secret die with you, +moreover, every honest man will consider it as having been one so +infamous and injurious to your character, that you were ashamed to +reveal it." +</P> + +<P> +These suggestions of the Colonel were not without their effect; for, in +the sudden swelling of the prisoner's chest, as allusion was made to +the disgrace that would attach to his memory, there was evidence of a +high and generous spirit, to whom obloquy was far more hateful than +even death itself. +</P> + +<P> +"I do promise," he at length replied, stepping forward, and uncovering +himself as before,—"if no one appear to justify my conduct at the hour +I have named, a full disclosure of all I know touching this affair +shall be made. And may God, of his infinite mercy, grant, for Captain +de Haldimar's sake, as well as mine, I may not then be wholly deserted!" +</P> + +<P> +There was something so peculiarly solemn and impressive in the manner +in which the unhappy man now expressed himself, that a feeling of the +utmost awe crept into the bosoms of the surrounding throng; and more +than one veteran of the grenadiers, the company to which Halloway +belonged, was heard to relieve his chest of the long pent-up sigh that +struggled for release. +</P> + +<P> +"Enough, prisoner," rejoined the Governor; "on this condition do I +grant your request; but recollect,—your disclosure ensures no hope of +pardon, unless, indeed, you have the fullest proof to offer in your +defence. Do you perfectly understand me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do," replied the soldier firmly; and again he placed his cap on his +head, and retired a step or two back among the guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be removed, and conducted to one of the +private cells. Who is the subaltern of the guard?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ensign Fortescue," was the answer. +</P> + +<P> +"Then let Ensign Fortescue keep the key of the cell himself. Tell him, +moreover, I shall hold him individually responsible for his charge." +</P> + +<P> +Once more the prisoner was marched out of the area; and, as the +clanking sound of his chains became gradually fainter in the distance, +the same voice that had before interrupted the proceedings, pronounced +a "God be praised!—God be praised!" with such melody of sorrow in its +intonations that no one could listen to it unmoved. Both officers and +men were more or less affected, and all hoped—they scarcely knew why +or what—but all hoped something favourable would occur to save the +life of the brave and unhappy Frank Halloway. +</P> + +<P> +Of the first interruption by the wife of the prisoner the Governor had +taken no notice; but on this repetition of the expression of her +feelings he briefly summoned, in the absence of the Adjutant, the +sergeant-major of the regiment to his side. +</P> + +<P> +"Sergeant-major Bletson, I desire that, in future, on all occasions of +this kind, the women of the regiment may be kept out of the way. Look +to it, sir!" +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant-major, who had stood erect as his own halbert, which he +held before him in a saluting position, during this brief admonition of +his colonel, acknowledged, by a certain air of deferential respect and +dropping of the eyes, unaccompanied by speech of any kind, that he felt +the reproof, and would, in future, take care to avoid all similar cause +for complaint. He then stalked stiffly away, and resumed, in a few +hasty strides, his position in rear of the troops. +</P> + +<P> +"Hard-hearted man!" pursued the same voice: "if my prayers of gratitude +to Heaven give offence, may the hour never come when my lips shall +pronounce their bitterest curse upon your severity!" +</P> + +<P> +There was something so painfully wild—so solemnly prophetic—in these +sounds of sorrow as they fell faintly upon the ear, and especially +under the extraordinary circumstances of the night, that they might +have been taken for the warnings of some supernatural agency. During +their utterance, not even the breathing of human life was to be heard +in the ranks. In the next instant, however, Sergeant-major Bletson was +seen repairing, with long and hasty strides, to the barrack whence the +voice proceeded, and the interruption was heard no more. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the officers, who had been summoned from the ranks for the +purpose of forming the court-martial, still lingered in the centre of +the square, apparently waiting for the order of their superior, before +they should resume their respective stations. As the quick and +comprehensive glance of Colonel de Haldimar now embraced the group, he +at once became sensible of the absence of one of the seniors, all of +whom he had desired should be selected for the court-martial. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Lawson," he remarked, somewhat sternly, as the Adjutant now +returned from delivering over his prisoner to Ensign Fortescue, "I +thought I understood from your report the officers were all present!" +</P> + +<P> +"I believe, sir, my report will be found perfectly correct," returned +the Adjutant, in a tone which, without being disrespectful, marked his +offended sense of the implication. +</P> + +<P> +"And Lieutenant Murphy—" +</P> + +<P> +"Is here, sir," said the Adjutant, pointing to a couple of files of the +guard, who were bearing a heavy burden, and following into the square. +"Lieutenant Murphy," he pursued, "has been shot on the ramparts; and I +have, as directed by Captain Blessington, caused the body to be brought +here, that I may receive your orders respecting the interment." As he +spoke, he removed a long military grey cloak, which completely +enshrouded the corpse, and disclosed, by the light of the still +brightly flaming torches of the gunners, the features of the +unfortunate Murphy. +</P> + +<P> +"How did he meet his death?" enquired the governor; without, however, +manifesting the slightest surprise, or appearing at all moved at the +discovery. +</P> + +<P> +"By a rifle shot fired from the common, near the old bomb proof," +observed Captain Blessington, as the adjutant looked to him for the +particular explanation he could not render himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! this reminds me," pursued the austere commandant,—"there was a +shot fired also from the ramparts. By whom, and at what?" +</P> + +<P> +"By me, sir," said Lieutenant Valletort, coming forward from the ranks, +"and at what I conceived to be an Indian, lurking as a spy upon the +common." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, Lieutenant Sir Everard Valletort, no repetition of these +firings, if you please; and let it be borne in mind by all, that +although, from the peculiar nature of the service in which we are +engaged, I so far depart from the established regulations of the army +as to permit my officers to arm themselves with rifles, they are to be +used only as occasion may require in the hour of conflict, and not for +the purpose of throwing a whole garrison into alarm by trials of skill +and dexterity upon shadows at this unseasonable hour." +</P> + +<P> +"I was not aware, sir," returned Sir Everard proudly, and secretly +galled at being thus addressed before the men, "it could be deemed a +military crime to destroy an enemy at whatever hour he might present +himself, and especially on such an occasion as the present. As for my +firing at a shadow, those who heard the yell that followed the second +shot, can determine that it came from no shadow, but from a fierce and +vindictive enemy. The cry denoted even something more than the ordinary +defiance of an Indian: it seemed to express a fiendish sentiment of +personal triumph and revenge." +</P> + +<P> +The governor started involuntarily. "Do you imagine, Sir Everard +Valletort, the aim of your rifle was true—that you hit him?" +</P> + +<P> +This question was asked so hurriedly, and in a tone so different from +that in which he had hitherto spoken, that the officers around +simultaneously raised their eyes to those of their colonel with an +expression of undissembled surprise. He observed it, and instantly +resumed his habitual sternness of look and manner. +</P> + +<P> +"I rather fear not, sir," replied Sir Everard, who had principally +remarked the emotion; "but may I hope (and this was said with +emphasis), in the evident disappointment you experience at my want of +success, my offence may be overlooked?" +</P> + +<P> +The governor fixed his penetrating eyes on the speaker, as if he would +have read his inmost mind; and then calmly, and even impressively, +observed,— +</P> + +<P> +"Sir Everard Valletort, I do overlook the offence, and hope you may as +easily forgive yourself. It were well, however, that your indiscretion, +which can only find its excuse in your being so young an officer, had +not been altogether without some good result. Had you killed or +disabled the—the savage, there might have been a decent palliative +offered; but what must be your feelings, sir, when you reflect, the +death of yon officer," and he pointed to the corpse of the unhappy +Murphy, "is, in a great degree, attributable to yourself? Had you not +provoked the anger of the savage, and given a direction to his aim by +the impotent and wanton discharge of your own rifle, this accident +would never have happened." +</P> + +<P> +This severe reproving of an officer, who had acted from the most +praiseworthy of motives, and who could not possibly have anticipated +the unfortunate catastrophe that had occurred, was considered +especially harsh and unkind by every one present; and a low and almost +inaudible murmur passed through the company to which Sir Everard was +attached. For a minute or two that officer also appeared deeply pained, +not more from the reproof itself than from the new light in which the +observation of his chief had taught him to view, for the first time, +the causes that had led to the fall of Murphy. Finding, however, that +the governor had no further remark to address to him, he once more +returned to his station in the ranks. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Lawson," resumed the commandant, turning to the adjutant, "let +this victim be carried to the spot on which he fell, and there +interred. I know no better grave for a soldier than beneath the sod +that has been moistened with his blood. Recollect," he continued, as +the adjutant once more led the party out of the area,—"no firing, Mr. +Lawson. The duty must be silently performed, and without the risk of +provoking a forest of arrows, or a shower of bullets from the savages. +Major Blackwater," he pursued, as soon as the corpse had been removed, +"let the men pile their arms even as they now stand, and remain ready +to fall in at a minute's notice. Should any thing extraordinary happen +before the morning, you will, of course, apprise me." He then strode +out of the area with the same haughty and measured step that had +characterised his entrance. +</P> + +<P> +"Our colonel does not appear to be in one of his most amiable moods +to-night," observed Captain Blessington, as the officers, after having +disposed of their respective companies, now proceeded along the +ramparts to assist at the last funeral offices of their unhappy +associate. "He was disposed to be severe, and must have put you, in +some measure, out of conceit with your favourite rifle, Valletort." +</P> + +<P> +"True," rejoined the Baronet, who had already rallied from the +momentary depression of his spirits, "he hit me devilish hard, I +confess, and was disposed to display more of the commanding officer +than quite suits my ideas of the service. His words were as caustic as +his looks; and could both have pierced me to the quick, there was no +inclination on his part wanting. By my soul I could .... but I forgive +him. He is the father of my friend: and for that reason will I chew the +cud of my mortification, nor suffer, if possible, a sense of his +unkindness to rankle at my heart. At all events, Blessington, my mind +is made up, and resign or exchange I certainly shall the instant I can +find a decent loop-hole to creep out of." +</P> + +<P> +Sir Everard fancied the ear of his captain was alone listening to these +expressions of his feeling, or in all probability he would not have +uttered them. As he concluded the last sentence, however, he felt his +arm gently grasped by one who walked a pace or two silently in their +rear. He turned, and recognised Charles de Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure, Valletort, you will believe how much pained I have been at +the severity of my father; but, indeed, there was nothing personally +offensive intended. Blessington can tell you as well as myself it is +his manner altogether. Nay, that although he is the first in seniority +after Blackwater, the governor treats him with the same distance and +hauteur he would use towards the youngest ensign in the service. Such +are the effects of his long military habits, and his ideas of the +absolutism of command. Am I not right, Blessington?" +</P> + +<P> +"Quite right, Charles. Sir Everard may satisfy himself his is no +solitary instance of the stern severity of your father. Still, I +confess, notwithstanding the rigidity of manner which he seems, on all +occasions, to think so indispensable to the maintenance of authority in +a commanding officer, I never knew him so inclined to find fault as he +is to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps," observed Valletort, good humouredly, "his conscience is +rather restless; and he is willing to get rid of it and his spleen +together. I would wager my rifle against the worthless scalp of the +rascal I fired at to-night, that this same stranger, whose asserted +appearance has called us from our comfortable beds, is but the creation +of his disturbed dreams. Indeed, how is it possible any thing formed of +flesh and blood could have escaped us with the vigilant watch that has +been kept on the ramparts? The old gentleman certainly had that +illusion strongly impressed on his mind when he so sapiently spoke of +my firing at a shadow." +</P> + +<P> +"But the gate," interrupted Charles de Haldimar, with something of mild +reproach in his tones,—"you forget, Valletort, the gate was found +unlocked, and that my brother is missing. HE, at least, was flesh and +blood, as you say, and yet he has disappeared. What more probable, +therefore, than that this stranger is at once the cause and the agent +of his abduction?" +</P> + +<P> +"Impossible, Charles," observed Captain Blessington; "Frederick was in +the midst of his guard. How, therefore, could he be conveyed away +without the alarm being given? Numbers only could have succeeded in so +desperate an enterprise; and yet there is no evidence, or even +suspicion, of more than one individual having been here." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a singular affair altogether," returned Sir Everard, musingly. +"Of two things, however, I am satisfied. The first is, that the +stranger, whoever he may be, and if he really has been here, is no +Indian; the second, that he is personally known to the governor, who +has been, or I mistake much, more alarmed at his individual presence +than if Ponteac and his whole band had suddenly broken in upon us. Did +you remark his emotion, when I dwelt on the peculiar character of +personal triumph and revenge which the cry of the lurking villain +outside seemed to express? and did you notice the eagerness with which +he enquired if I thought I had hit him? Depend upon it, there is more +in all this than is dreamt of in our philosophy." +</P> + +<P> +"And it was your undisguised perception of that emotion," remarked +Captain Blessington, "that drew down his severity upon your own head. +It was, however, too palpable not to be noticed by all; and I dare say +conjecture is as busily and as vaguely at work among our companions as +it is with us. The clue to the mystery, in a great degree, now dwells +with Frank Halloway; and to him we must look for its elucidation. His +disclosure will be one, I apprehend, full of ignominy to himself, but +of the highest interest and importance to us all. And yet I know not +how to believe the man the traitor he appears." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you remark that last harrowing exclamation of his wife?" observed +Charles de Haldimar, in a tone of unspeakable melancholy. "How +fearfully prophetic it sounded in my ears. I know not how it is," he +pursued, "but I wish I had not heard those sounds; for since that +moment I have had a sad strange presentiment of evil at my heart. +Heaven grant my poor brother may make his appearance, as I still trust +he will, at the hour Halloway seems to expect, for if not, the latter +most assuredly dies. I know my father well; and, if convicted by a +court martial, no human power can alter the destiny that awaits Frank +Halloway." +</P> + +<P> +"Rally, my dear Charles, rally," said Sir Everard, affecting a +confidence he did not feel himself; "indulge not in these idle and +superstitious fancies. I pity Halloway from my soul, and feel the +deepest interest in his pretty and unhappy wife; but that is no reason +why one should attach importance to the incoherent expressions wrung +from her in the agony of grief." +</P> + +<P> +"It is kind of you, Valletort, to endeavour to cheer my spirits, when, +if the truth were confessed, you acknowledge the influence of the same +feelings. I thank you for the attempt, but time alone can show how far +I shall have reason, or otherwise, to lament the occurrences of this +night." +</P> + +<P> +They had now reached that part of the ramparts whence the shot from Sir +Everard's rifle had been fired. Several men were occupied in digging a +grave in the precise spot on which the unfortunate Murphy had stood +when he received his death-wound; and into this, when completed, the +body, enshrouded in the cloak already alluded to, was deposited by his +companions. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0104"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<P> +While the adjutant was yet reading, in a low and solemn voice, the +service for the dead, a fierce and distant yell, as if from a legion of +devils, burst suddenly from the forest, and brought the hands of the +startled officers instinctively to their swords. This appalling cry +lasted, without interruption, for many minutes, and was then as +abruptly checked as it had been unexpectedly delivered. A considerable +pause succeeded, and then again it rose with even more startling +vehemence than before. By one unaccustomed to those devilish sounds, no +distinction could have been made in the two several yells that had been +thus savagely pealed forth; but those to whom practice and long +experience in the warlike habits and customs of the Indians had +rendered their shouts familiar, at once divined, or fancied they +divined, the cause. The first was, to their conception, a yell +expressive at once of vengeance and disappointment in pursuit,—perhaps +of some prisoner who had escaped from their toils; the second, of +triumph and success,—in all probability, indicative of the recapture +of that prisoner. For many minutes afterwards the officers continued to +listen, with the most aching attention, for a repetition of the cry, or +even fainter sounds, that might denote either a nearer approach to the +fort, or the final departure of the Indians. After the second yell, +however, the woods, in the heart of which it appeared to have been +uttered, were buried in as profound a silence as if they had never yet +echoed back the voice of man; and all at length became satisfied that +the Indians, having accomplished some particular purpose, had retired +once more to their distant encampments for the night. Captain Erskine +was the first who broke the almost breathless silence that prevailed +among themselves. +</P> + +<P> +"On my life De Haldimar is a prisoner with the Indians. He has been +attempting his escape,—has been detected,—followed, and again fallen +into their hands. I know their infernal yells but too well. The last +expressed their savage joy at the capture of a prisoner; and there is +no one of us missing but De Haldimar." +</P> + +<P> +"Not a doubt of it," said Captain Blessington; "the cry was certainly +what you describe it, and Heaven only knows what will be the fate of +our poor friend." +</P> + +<P> +No other officer spoke, for all were oppressed by the weight of their +own feelings, and sought rather to give indulgence to speculation in +secret, than to share their impressions with their companions. Charles +de Haldimar stood a little in the rear, leaning his head upon his hand +against the box of the sentry, (who was silently, though anxiously, +pacing his walk,) and in an attitude expressive of the deepest +dejection and sorrow. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I must finish Lawson's work, although I am but a poor hand +at this sort of thing," resumed Captain Erskine, taking up the prayer +book the adjutant had, in hastening on the first alarm to get the men +under arms, carelessly thrown on the grave of the now unconscious +Murphy. +</P> + +<P> +He then commenced the service at the point where Mr. Lawson had so +abruptly broken off, and went through the remainder of the prayers. A +very few minutes sufficed for the performance of this solemn duty, +which was effected by the faint dim light of the at length dawning day, +and the men in attendance proceeded to fill up the grave of their +officer. +</P> + +<P> +Gradually the mists, that had fallen during the latter hours of the +night, began to ascend from the common, and disperse themselves in air, +conveying the appearance of a rolling sheet of vapour retiring Back +upon itself, and disclosing objects in succession, until the eye could +embrace all that came within its extent of vision. As the officers yet +lingered near the rude grave of their companion, watching with +abstracted air the languid and almost mechanical action of their jaded +men, as they emptied shovel after shovel of the damp earth over the +body of its new tenant, they were suddenly startled by an expression of +exultation from Sir Everard Valletort. +</P> + +<P> +"By Jupiter, I have pinked him," he exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew my +rifle could not err; and as for my sight, I have carried away too many +prizes in target-shooting to have been deceived in that. How delighted +the old governor will be, Charles, to hear this. No more lecturing, I +am sure, for the next six months at least;" and the young officer +rubbed his hands together, at the success of his shot, with as much +satisfaction and unconcern for the future, as if he had been in his own +native England; in the midst of a prize-ring. +</P> + +<P> +Roused by the observation of his friend, De Haldimar quitted his +position near the sentry box, and advanced to the outer edge of the +rampart. To him, as to his companions, the outline of the old bomb +proof was now distinctly visible, but it was sometime before they could +discover, in the direction in which Valletort pointed, a dark speck +upon the common; and this so indistinctly, they could scarcely +distinguish it with the naked eye. +</P> + +<P> +"Your sight is quite equal to your aim, Sir Everard," remarked +Lieutenant Johnstone, one of Erskine's subalterns, "and both are +decidedly superior to mine; yet I used to be thought a good rifleman +too, and have credit for an eye no less keen than that of an Indian. +You have the advantage of me, however; for I honestly admit I never +could have picked off yon fellow in the dark as you have done." +</P> + +<P> +As the dawn increased, the dark shadow of a human form, stretched at +its length upon the ground, became perceptible; and the officers, with +one unanimous voice, bore loud testimony to the skill and dexterity of +him who had, under such extreme disadvantages, accomplished the death +of their skulking enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"Bravo, Valletort," said Charles de Haldimar, recovering his spirits, +as much from the idea, now occurring to him, that this might indeed be +the stranger whose appearance had so greatly disturbed his father, as +from the gratification he felt in the praises bestowed on his friend. +"Bravo, my dear fellow;" then approaching, and in a half whisper, "when +next I write to Clara, I shall request her, with my cousin's +assistance, to prepare a chaplet of bays, wherewith I shall myself +crown you as their proxy. But what is the matter now, Valletort? Why +stand you there gazing upon the common, as if the victim of your +murderous aim was rising from his bloody couch, to reproach you with +his death? Tell me, shall I write to Clara for the prize, or will you +receive it from her own hands?" +</P> + +<P> +"Bid her rather pour her curses on my head; and to those, De Haldimar, +add your own," exclaimed Sir Everard, at length raising himself from +the statue-like position he had assumed. "Almighty God," he pursued, in +the same tone of deep agony, "what have I done? Where, where shall I +hide myself?" +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he turned away from his companions, and covering his eyes +with his hand, with quick and unequal steps, even like those of a +drunken man, walked, or rather ran, along the rampart, as if fearful of +being overtaken. +</P> + +<P> +The whole group of officers, and Charles de Haldimar in particular, +were struck with dismay at the language and action of Sir Everard; and +for a moment they fancied that fatigue, and watching, and excitement, +had partially affected his brain. But when, after the lapse of a minute +or two, they again looked out upon the common, the secret of his +agitation was too faithfully and too painfully explained. +</P> + +<P> +What had at first the dusky and dingy hue of a half-naked Indian, was +now perceived, by the bright beams of light just gathering in the east, +to be the gay and striking uniform of a British officer. Doubt as to +who that officer was there could be none, for the white sword-belt +suspended over the right shoulder, and thrown into strong relief by the +field of scarlet on which it reposed, denoted the wearer of this +distinguishing badge of duty to be one of the guard. +</P> + +<P> +To comprehend effectually the feelings of the officers, it would be +necessary that one should have been not merely a soldier, but a soldier +under the same circumstances. Surrounded on every hand by a fierce and +cruel enemy—prepared at every moment to witness scenes of barbarity +and bloodshed in their most appalling shapes—isolated from all society +beyond the gates of their own fortress, and by consequence reposing on +and regarding each other as vital links in the chain of their wild and +adventurous existence,—it can easily be understood with what sincere +and unaffected grief they lamented the sudden cutting off even of those +who least assimilated in spirit and character with themselves. Such, in +a great degree, had been the case in the instance of the officer over +whose grave they were now met to render the last offices of +companionship, if not of friendship. Indeed Murphy—a rude, vulgar, and +illiterate, though brave Irishman—having risen from the ranks, the +coarseness of which he had never been able to shake off, was little +calculated, either by habits or education, to awaken feelings, except +of the most ordinary description, in his favour; and he and Ensign +Delme were the only exceptions to those disinterested and tacit +friendships that had grown up out of circumstances in common among the +majority. If, therefore, they could regret the loss of such a companion +as Murphy, how deep and heartfelt must have been the sorrow they +experienced when they beheld the brave, generous, manly, amiable, and +highly-talented Frederick de Haldimar—the pride of the garrison, and +the idol of his family—lying extended, a cold, senseless corpse, slain +by the hand of the bosom friend of his own brother!—Notwithstanding +the stern severity and distance of the governor, whom few +circumstances, however critical or exciting, could surprise into +relaxation of his habitual stateliness, it would have been difficult to +name two young men more universally liked and esteemed by their brother +officers than were the De Haldimars—the first for the qualities +already named—the second, for those retiring, mild, winning manners, +and gentle affections, added to extreme and almost feminine beauty of +countenance for which he was remarkable. Alas, what a gloomy picture +was now exhibited to the minds of all!—Frederick de Haldimar a corpse, +and slain by the hand of Sir Everard Valletort! What but disunion could +follow this melancholy catastrophe? and how could Charles de Haldimar, +even if his bland nature should survive the shock, ever bear to look +again upon the man who had, however innocently or unintentionally, +deprived him of a brother whom he adored? +</P> + +<P> +These were the impressions that passed through the minds of the +compassionating officers, as they directed their glance alternately +from the common to the pale and marble-like features of the younger De +Haldimar, who, with parted lips and stupid gaze, continued to fix his +eyes upon the inanimate form of his ill-fated brother, as if the very +faculty of life itself had been for a period suspended. At length, +however, while his companions watched in silence the mining workings of +that grief which they feared to interrupt by ill-timed observations, +even of condolence, the death-like hue, which had hitherto suffused the +usually blooming cheek of the young officer, was succeeded by a flush +of the deepest dye, while his eyes, swollen by the tide of blood now +rushing violently to his face, appeared to be bursting from their +sockets. The shock was more than his delicate frame, exhausted as it +was by watching and fatigue, could bear. He tottered, reeled, pressed +his hand upon his head, and before any one could render him assistance, +fell senseless on the ramparts. +</P> + +<P> +During the interval between Sir Everard Valletort's exclamation, and +the fall of Charles de Haldimar, the men employed at the grave had +performed their duty, and were gazing with mingled astonishment and +concern, both on the body of their murdered officer, and on the dumb +scene acting around them. Two of these were now despatched for a +litter, with which they speedily re-appeared. On this Charles de +Haldimar, already delirious with the fever of intense excitement, was +carefully placed, and, followed by Captain Blessington and Lieutenant +Johnstone, borne to his apartment in the small range of buildings +constituting the officers' barracks. Captain Erskine undertook the +disagreeable office of communicating these distressing events to the +governor; and the remainder of the officers once more hastened to join +or linger near their respective companies, in readiness for the order +which it was expected would be given to despatch a numerous party of +the garrison to secure the body of Captain de Haldimar. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0105"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<P> +The sun was just rising above the horizon, in all that peculiar +softness of splendour which characterises the early days of autumn in +America, as Captain Erskine led his company across the drawbridge that +communicated with the fort. It was the first time it had been lowered +since the investment of the garrison by the Indians; and as the dull +and rusty chains performed their service with a harsh and grating +sound, it seemed as if an earnest were given of melancholy boding. +Although the distance to be traversed was small, the risk the party +incurred was great; for it was probable the savages, ever on the alert, +would not suffer them to effect their object unmolested. It was perhaps +singular, and certainly contradictory, that an officer of the +acknowledged prudence and forethought ascribed to the +governor—qualities which in a great degree neutralised his excessive +severity in the eyes of his troops—should have hazarded the chance of +having his garrison enfeebled by the destruction of a part, if not of +the whole, of the company appointed to this dangerous duty; but with +all his severity, Colonel de Haldimar was not without strong affection +for his children. The feelings of the father, therefore, in a great +degree triumphed over the prudence of the commander; and to shield the +corpse of his son from the indignities which he well knew would be +inflicted on it by Indian barbarity, he had been induced to accede to +the earnest prayer of Captain Erskine, that he might be permitted to +lead out his company for the purpose of securing the body. Every means +were, however, taken to cover the advance, and ensure the retreat of +the detachment. The remainder of the troops were distributed along the +rear of the ramparts, with instructions to lie flat on their faces +until summoned by their officers from that position; which was to be +done only in the event of close pursuit from the savages. Artillerymen +were also stationed at the several guns that flanked the rear of the +fort, and necessarily commanded both the common and the outskirt of the +forest, with orders to fire with grape-shot at a given signal. Captain +Erskine's instructions were, moreover, if attacked, to retreat back +under the guns of the fort slowly and in good order, and without +turning his back upon the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Thus confident of support, the party, after traversing the drawbridge +with fixed bayonets, inclined to the right, and following the winding +of the ditch by which it was surrounded, made the semi-circuit of the +rampart until they gained the immediate centre of the rear, and in a +direct line with the bomb-proof. Here their mode of advance was +altered, to guard more effectually against the enemy with whom they +might possibly have to contend. The front and rear ranks of the +company, consisting in all of ninety men, were so placed as to leave +space in the event of attack, of a portion of each wheeling inwards so +as to present in an instant three equal faces of a square. As the rear +was sufficiently covered by the cannon of the fort to defeat any +attempt to turn their flanks, the manoeuvre was one that enabled them +to present a fuller front in whatever other quarter they might be +attacked; and had this additional advantage, that in the advance by +single files a narrower front was given to the aim of the Indians, who, +unless they fired in an oblique direction, could only, of necessity, +bring down two men (the leading files) at a time. +</P> + +<P> +In this order, and anxiously overlooked by their comrades, whose eyes +alone peered from above the surface of the rampart on which they lay +prostrate, the detachment crossed the common; one rank headed by +Captain Erskine, the other by Lieutenant Johnstone. They had now +approached within a few yards of the unfortunate victim, when Captain +Erskine commanded a halt of his party; and two files were detached from +the rear of each rank, to place the body on a litter with which they +had provided themselves. He and Johnstone also moved in the same +direction in advance of the men, prepared to render assistance if +required. The corpse lay on its face, and in no way despoiled of any of +its glittering habiliments; a circumstance that too well confirmed the +fact of De Haldimar's death having been accomplished by the ball from +Sir Everard Valletort's rifle. It appeared, however, the ill-fated +officer had struggled much in the agonies of death; for the left leg +was drawn Up into an unnatural state of contraction, and the right +hand, closely compressed, grasped a quantity of grass and soil, which +had evidently been torn up in a paroxysm of suffering and despair. +</P> + +<P> +The men placed the litter at the side of the body, which they now +proceeded to raise. As they were in the act of depositing it on this +temporary bier, the plumed hat fell from the head, and disclosed, to +the astonishment of all, the scalpless crown completely saturated in +its own clotted blood and oozing brains. +</P> + +<P> +An exclamation of horror and disgust escaped at the same moment from +the lips of the two officers, and the men started back from their +charge as if a basilisk had suddenly appeared before them. Captain +Erskine pursued:—"What the devil is the meaning of all this, +Johnstone?" +</P> + +<P> +"What, indeed!" rejoined his lieutenant, with a shrug of the shoulders, +that was intended to express his inability to form any opinion on the +subject. +</P> + +<P> +"Unless it should prove," continued Erskine, "as I sincerely trust it +may, that poor Valletort is not, after all, the murderer of his friend. +It must be so. De Haldimar has been slain by the same Indian who killed +Murphy.—Do you recollect his scalp cry? He was in the act of +despoiling his victim of this trophy of success, when Sir Everard +fired. Examine the body well, Mitchell, and discover where the wound +lies." +</P> + +<P> +The old soldier to whom this order was addressed now prepared, with the +assistance of his comrades, to turn the body upon its back, when +suddenly the air was rent with terrific yells, that seemed to be +uttered in their very ears, and in the next instant more than a hundred +dark and hideous savages sprang simultaneously to their feet within the +bomb-proof, while every tree along the skirt of the forest gave back +the towering form of a warrior. Each of these, in addition to his +rifle, was armed with all those destructive implements of warfare which +render the Indians of America so formidable and so terrible an enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand to your arms, men," shouted Captain Erskine, recovering from his +first and unavoidable, though but momentary, surprise. "First and +fourth sections, on your right and left backwards wheel:—Quick, men, +within the square, for your lives." As he spoke, he and Lieutenant +Johnstone sprang hastily back, and in time to obtain admittance within +the troops, who had rapidly executed the manoeuvre commanded. Not so +with Mitchell and his companions. On the first alarm they had quitted +the body of the mutilated officer, and flown to secure their arms, but +even while in the act of stooping to take them up, they had been +grappled by a powerful and vindictive foe; and the first thing they +beheld on regaining their upright position was a dusky Indian at the +side, and a gleaming tomahawk flashing rapidly round the head of each. +</P> + +<P> +"Fire not, on your lives," exclaimed Captain Erskine hastily, as he saw +several of the men in front levelling, in the excitement of the moment, +their muskets at the threatening savages. "Prepare for attack," he +pursued; and in the next instant each man dropped on his right knee, +and a barrier of bristling bayonets seemed to rise from the very bowels +of the earth. Attracted by the novelty of the sight, the bold and +daring warriors, although still retaining their firm grasp of the +unhappy soldiers, were for a moment diverted from their bloody purpose, +and temporarily suspended the quick and rotatory motion of their +weapons. Captain Erskine took advantage of this pause to seize the +halbert of one of his sergeants, to the extreme point of which he +hastily attached a white pocket handkerchief, that was loosely thrust +into the breast of his uniform; this he waved on high three several +times, and then relinquishing the halbert, dropped also on his knee +within the square. +</P> + +<P> +"The dog of a Saganaw asks for mercy," said a voice from within the +bomb-proof, and speaking in the dialect of the Ottawas. "His pale flag +bespeaks the quailing of his heart, and his attitude denotes the +timidity of the hind. His warriors are like himself, and even now upon +their knees they call upon their Manitou to preserve them from the +vengeance of the red-skins. But mercy is not for dogs like these. Now +is the time to make our tomahawks warm in their blood; and every head +that we count shall be a scalp upon our war poles." +</P> + +<P> +As he ceased, one universal and portentous yell burst from the +fiend-like band; and again the weapons of death were fiercely +brandished around the heads of the stupified soldiers who had fallen +into their power. +</P> + +<P> +"What can they be about?" anxiously exclaimed Captain Erskine, in the +midst of this deafening clamour, to his subaltern.—"Quiet, man; damn +you, quiet, or I'll cut you down," he pursued, addressing one of his +soldiers, whose impatience caused him to bring his musket half up to +the shoulder. And again he turned his head in the direction of the +fort:—"Thank God, here it comes at last,—I feared my signal had not +been noticed." +</P> + +<P> +While he yet spoke, the loud roaring of a cannon from the ramparts was +heard, and a shower of grape-shot passed over the heads of the +detachment, and was seen tearing up the earth around the bomb-proof, +and scattering fragments of stone and wood into the air. The men +simultaneously and unbidden gave three cheers. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant the scene was changed. As if moved by some mechanical +impulse, the fierce band that lined the bomb-proof sank below the +surface, and were no longer visible, while the warriors in the forest +again sought shelter behind the trees. The captured soldiers were also +liberated without injury, so sudden and startling had been the terror +produced in the savages by the lightning flash that announced its heavy +messengers of destruction. Discharge after discharge succeeded without +intermission; but the guns had been levelled so high, to prevent injury +to their own men, they had little other effect than to keep the Indians +from the attack. The rush of bullets through the close forest, and the +crashing of trees and branches as they fell with startling force upon +each other, were, with the peals of artillery, the only noises now to +be heard; for not a yell, not a word was uttered by the Indians after +the first discharge; and but for the certainty that existed in every +mind, it might have been supposed the whole of them had retired. +</P> + +<P> +"Now is your time," cried Captain Erskine; "bring in the litter to the +rear, and stoop as much as possible to avoid the shot." +</P> + +<P> +The poor half-strangled fellows, however, instead of obeying the order +of their captain, looked round in every direction for the enemy by whom +they had been so rudely handled, and who had glided from them almost as +imperceptibly and swiftly as they had first approached. It seemed as if +they apprehended that any attempt to remove the body would be visited +by those fierce devils with the same appalling and ferocious +threatenings. +</P> + +<P> +"Why stand ye there, ye dolts," continued their captain, "looking +around as if ye were bewitched? Bring the litter in to the +rear.—Mitchell, you old fool, are you grown a coward in your age? Are +you not ashamed to set such an example to your comrades?" +</P> + +<P> +The doubt thus implied of the courage of his men, who, in fact, were +merely stupified with the scene they had gone through, had, as Captain +Erskine expected, the desired effect. They now bent themselves to the +litter, on which they had previously deposited their muskets, and with +a self-possession that contrasted singularly with their recent air of +wild astonishment, bore it to the rear at the risk of being cut in two +at every moment by the fire from the fort. +</P> + +<P> +One fierce yell, instinctively proffered by several of the lurking band +in the forest, marked their disappointment and rage at the escape of +their victims; but all attempt at uncovering themselves, so as to be +enabled to fire, was prevented by the additional showers of grape which +that yell immediately brought upon them. +</P> + +<P> +The position in which Captain Erskine now found himself was highly +critical. Before him, and on either flank, was a multitude of savages, +who only awaited the cessation of the fire from the fort to commence +their fierce and impetuous attack. That that fire could not long be +sustained was evident, since ammunition could ill be spared for the +present inefficient purpose, where supplies of all kinds were so +difficult to be obtained; and, if he should attempt a retreat, the +upright position of his men exposed them to the risk of being swept +away by the ponderous metal, that already fanned their cheeks with the +air it so rapidly divided. Suddenly, however, the fire from the +batteries was discontinued, and this he knew to be a signal for +himself. He gave an order in a low voice, and the detachment quitted +their recumbent and defensive position, still remaining formed in +square. At the same instant, a gun flashed from the fort; but not as +before was heard the rushing sound of the destructive shot crushing the +trees in its resistless course. The Indians took courage at this +circumstance, for they deemed the bullets of their enemies were +expended; and that they were merely discharging their powder to keep up +the apprehension originally produced. Again they showed themselves, +like so many demons, from behind their lurking places; and yells and +shouts of the most terrific and threatening character once more rent +the air, and echoed through the woods. Their cries of anticipated +triumph were, however, but of short duration. Presently, a hissing +noise was heard in the air; and close to the bomb-proof, and at the +very skirt of the forest, they beheld a huge globe of iron fall +perpendicularly to the earth, to the outer part of which was attached +what they supposed to be a reed, that spat forth innumerable sparks of +fire, without however, seeming to threaten the slightest injury. +Attracted by the novel sight, a dozen warriors sprang to the spot, and +fastened their gaze upon it with all the childish wonder and curiosity +of men in a savage state. One, more eager and restless than his +fellows, stooped over it to feel with his hand of what it was composed. +At that moment it burst, and limbs, and head, and entrails, were seen +flying in the air, with the fragments of the shell, and prostrate and +struggling forms lay writhing on every hand in the last, fierce agonies +of death. +</P> + +<P> +A yell of despair and a shout of triumph burst at the same moment from +the adverse parties. Taking advantage of the terror produced, by this +catastrophe, in the savages, Captain Erskine caused the men bearing the +corpse to retreat, with all possible expedition, under the ramparts of +the fort. He waited until they got nearly half way, and then threw +forward the wheeling sections, that had covered this movement, once +more into single file, in which order he commenced his retreat. Step by +step, and almost imperceptibly, the men paced backwards, ready, at a +moment's notice, to reform the square. Partly recovered from the terror +and surprise produced by the bursting of the shell, the Indians were +quick in perceiving this movement: filled with rage at having been so +long baulked of their aim, they threw themselves once more impetuously +from their cover; and, with stimulating yells, at length opened their +fire. Several of Captain Erskine's men were wounded by this discharge; +when, again, and furiously the cannon opened from the fort. It was then +that the superiority of the artillery was made manifest. Both right and +left of the retreating files the ponderous shot flew heavily past, +carrying death and terror to the Indians; while not a man of those who +intervened was scathed or touched in its progress. The warriors in the +forest were once more compelled to shelter themselves behind the trees; +but in the bomb-proof, where they were more secure, they were also more +bold. From this a galling fire, mingled with the most hideous yells, +was now kept up; and the detachment, in their slow retreat, suffered +considerably. Several men had been killed; and, about twenty, including +Lieutenant Johnstone, wounded, when again, one of those murderous +globes fell, hissing in the very centre of the bomb-proof. In an +instant, the Indian fire was discontinued; and their dark and pliant +forms were seen hurrying with almost incredible rapidity over the +dilapidated walls, and flying into the very heart of the forest, so +that when the shell exploded, a few seconds afterwards, not a warrior +was to be seen. From this moment the attack was not renewed, and +Captain Erskine made good his retreat without farther molestation. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, old buffers!" exclaimed one of the leading files, as the +detachment, preceded by its dead and wounded, now moved along the moat +in the direction of the draw-bridge, "how did you like the grip of them +black savages?—I say, Mitchell, old Nick will scarcely know the face +of you, it's so much altered by fright.—Did you see," turning to the +man in his rear, "how harum-scarum he looked, when the captain called +out to him to come off?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hold your clapper, you spooney, and be damned to you!" exclaimed the +angry veteran.—"Had the Ingian fastened his paw upon your ugly neck as +he did upon mine, all the pitiful life your mother ever put into you +would have been spirited away from very fear; so you needn't brag." +</P> + +<P> +"Sure, and if any of ye had a grain of spunk, ye would have fired, and +freed a fellow from the clutch of them hell thieves," muttered another +of the men at the litter. "All the time, the devil had me by the +throat, swinging his tommyhawk about my head, I saw ye dancing up and +down in the heavens, instead of being on your marrow bones on the +common." +</P> + +<P> +"And didn't I want to do it?" rejoined the first speaker. "Ask Tom +Winkler here, if the captain didn't swear he'd cut the soul out of my +body if I even offered so much as to touch the trigger of my musket." +</P> + +<P> +"Faith, and lucky he did," replied his covering man (for the ranks had +again joined), "since but for that, there wouldn't be at this moment so +much as a hair of the scalp of one of you left." +</P> + +<P> +"And how so, Mr. Wiseacre?" rejoined his comrade. +</P> + +<P> +"How so! Because the first shot that we fired would have set the devils +upon them in right earnest—and then their top-knots wouldn't have been +worth a brass farthing. They would have been scalped before they could +say Jack Robinson." +</P> + +<P> +"It was a hell of a risk," resumed another of the litter men, "to give +four men a chance of having their skull pieces cracked open like so +many egg-shells, and all to get possession of a dead officer." +</P> + +<P> +"And sure, you beast," remarked a different voice in a tone of anger, +"the dead body of the brave captain was worth a dozen such rotten +carcasses with all the life in them. What matter would it be if ye had +all been scalped?" Then with a significant half glance to the rear, +which was brought up by their commander, on whose arm leaned the +slightly wounded Johnstone, "Take care the captain doesn't hear ye +prating after that fashion, Will Burford." +</P> + +<P> +"By Jasus," said a good-humoured, quaint looking Irishman, who had been +fixing his eyes on the litter during this pithy and characteristic +colloquy; "it sames to me, my boys, that ye have caught the wrong cow +by the horns, and that all your pains has been for nothing at all, at +all. By the holy pope, ye are all wrong; it's like bringing salt butter +to Cork, or coals to your Newcastle, as ye call it. Who the divil ever +heard of the officer wearing ammunition shoes?" +</P> + +<P> +The men all turned their gaze on that part of the vestment of the +corpse to which their attention had been directed by this remark, when +it was at once perceived, although it had hitherto escaped the +observation even of the officers, that, not only the shoes were those +usually worn by the soldiers, and termed ammunition or store shoes, but +also, the trowsers were of the description of coarse grey, peculiar to +that class. +</P> + +<P> +"By the piper that played before Moses, and ye're right, Dick Doherty," +exclaimed another Irishman; "sure, and it isn't the officer at all! +Just look at the great black fist of him too, and never call me Phil +Shehan, if it ever was made for the handling of an officer's spit." +</P> + +<P> +"Well said, Shehan," observed the man who had so warmly reproved Will +Burford, and who had formerly been servant to De Haldimar; "the +captain's hand is as white and as soft as my cross-belt, or, what's +saying a great deal more, as Miss Clara's herself, heaven bless her +sweet countenance! and Lieutenant Valletort's nigger's couldn't well be +much blacker nor this." +</P> + +<P> +"What a set of hignoramuses ye must be," grunted old Mitchell, "not to +see that the captain's hand is only covered with dirt; and as for the +ammunition shoes and trowsers, why you know our officers wear any thing +since we have been cooped up in this here fort." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, by the holy poker," (and here we must beg to refer the reader to +the soldier's vocabulary for any terms that may be, in the course of +this dialogue, incomprehensible to him or her,)—"Yes, by the holy +poker, off duty, if they like it," returned Phil Shehan; "but it isn't +even the colonel's own born son that dare to do so while officer of the +guard." +</P> + +<P> +"Ye are right, comrade," said Burford; "there would soon be hell and +tommy to pay if he did." +</P> + +<P> +At this point of their conversation, one of the leading men at the +litter, in turning to look at its subject, stumbled over the root of a +stump that lay in his way, and fell violently forward. The sudden +action destroyed the equilibrium of the corpse, which rolled off its +temporary bier upon the earth, and disclosed, for the first time, a +face begrimmed with masses of clotted blood, which had streamed forth +from the scalped brain during the night. +</P> + +<P> +"It's the divil himself," said Phil Shehan, making the sign of the +cross, half in jest, half in earnest: "for it isn't the captin at all, +and who but the divil could have managed to clap on his rigimintals?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, it's an Ingian," remarked Dick Burford, sagaciously; "it's an +Ingian that has killed the captain, and dressed himself in his clothes. +I thought he smelt strong, when I helped to pick him up." +</P> + +<P> +"And that's the reason why the bloody heathens wouldn't let us carry +him off," said another of the litter men. "I thought they wouldn't ha' +made such a rout about the officer, when they had his scalp already in +their pouch-belts." +</P> + +<P> +"What a set of prating fools ye are," interrupted the leading sergeant; +"who ever saw an Ingian with light hair? and sure this hair in the neck +is that of a Christian." +</P> + +<P> +At that moment Captain Erskine, attracted by the sudden halt produced +by the falling of the body, came quickly up to the front. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the meaning of all this, Cassidy?" he sternly demanded of the +sergeant; "why is this halt without my orders, and how comes the body +here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Carter stumbled against a root, sir, and the body rolled over upon the +ground." +</P> + +<P> +"And was the body to roll back again?" angrily rejoined his +captain.—"What mean ye, fellows, by standing there; quick, replace it +upon the litter, and mind this does not occur again." +</P> + +<P> +"They say, sir," said the sergeant, respectfully, as the men proceeded +to their duty, "that it is not Captain de Haldimar after all, but an +Ingian." +</P> + +<P> +"Not Captain de Haldimar! are ye all mad? and have the Indians, in +reality, turned your brains with fear?" +</P> + +<P> +What, however, was his own surprise, and that of Lieutenant Johnstone, +when, on a closer examination of the corpse, which the men had now +placed with its face uppermost, they discovered the bewildering fact +that it was not, indeed, Captain de Haldimar who lay before them, but a +stranger, dressed in the uniform of that officer. +</P> + +<P> +There was no time to solve, or even to dwell on the singular mystery; +for the Indians, though now retired, might be expected to rally and +renew the attack. Once more, therefore, the detachment moved forward; +the officers dropping as before to the rear, to watch any movements of +the enemy should he re-appear. Nothing, however, occurred to interrupt +their march; and in a few minutes the heavy clanking sound of the +chains of the drawbridge, as it was again raised by its strong pullies, +and the dull creaking sound of the rusty bolts and locks that secured +the ponderous gate, announced the detachment was once more safely +within the fort. +</P> + +<P> +While the wounded men were being conveyed to the hospital, a group, +comprising almost all the officers of the garrison, hastened to meet +Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Johnstone. Congratulations on the escape +of the one, and compliments, rather than condolences, on the accident +of the other, which the arm en echarpe denoted to be slight, were +hastily and warmly proffered. These felicitations were the genuine +ebullitions of the hearts of men who really felt a pride, unmixed with +jealousy, in the conduct of their fellows; and so cool and excellent +had been the manner in which Captain Erskine had accomplished his +object, that it had claimed the undivided admiration of all who had +been spectators of the affair, and had, with the aid of their +telescopes, been enabled to follow the minutest movements of the +detachment. +</P> + +<P> +"By heaven!" he at length replied, his chest swelling with gratified +pride at the warm and generous approval of his companions, "this more +than repays me for every risk. Yet, to be sincere, the credit is not +mine, but Wentworth's. But for you, my dear fellow," grasping and +shaking the hand of that officer, "we should have rendered but a +Flemish account of ourselves. How beautifully those guns covered our +retreat! and the first mortar that sent the howling devils flying in +air like so many Will-o'the-wisps, who placed that, Wentworth?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did," replied the officer, with a quickness that denoted a natural +feeling of exultation; "but Bombardier Kitson's was the most effective. +It was his shell that drove the Indians finally out of the bomb-proof, +and left the coast clear for your retreat." +</P> + +<P> +"Then Kitson, and his gunners also, merit our best thanks," pursued +Captain Erskine, whose spirits, now that his detachment was in safety, +were more than usually exhilarated by the exciting events of the last +hour; "and what will be more acceptable, perhaps, they shall each have +a glass of my best old Jamaica before they sleep,—and such stuff is +not to be met with every day in this wilderness of a country. But, +confound my stupid head! where are Charles de Haldimar and Sir Everard +Valletort?" +</P> + +<P> +"Poor Charles is in a high fever, and confined to his bed," remarked +Captain Blessington, who now came up adding his congratulations in a +low tone, that marked the despondency of his heart; "and Sir Everard I +have just left on the rampart with the company, looking, as he well +may, the very image of despair." +</P> + +<P> +"Run to them, Sumners, my dear boy," said Erskine, hastily addressing +himself to a young ensign who stood near him; "run quickly, and relieve +them of their error. Say it is not De Haldimar who has been killed, +therefore they need not make themselves any longer uneasy on that +score." +</P> + +<P> +The officers gave a start of surprise. Sumners, however, hastened to +acquit himself of the pleasing task assigned him, without waiting to +hear the explanation of the singular declaration. +</P> + +<P> +"Not De Haldimar!" eagerly and anxiously exclaimed Captain Blessington; +"who then have you brought to us in his uniform, which I clearly +distinguished from the rampart as you passed? Surely you would not +tamper with us at such a moment, Erskine?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who it is, I know not more than Adam," rejoined the other; "unless, +indeed, it be the devil himself. All I do know, is, it is not our +friend De Haldimar; although, as you observe, he most certainly wears +his uniform. But you shall see and judge for yourselves, gentlemen. +Sergeant Cassidy," he enquired of that individual, who now came to ask +if the detachment was to be dismissed, "where have you placed the +litter?" +</P> + +<P> +"Under the piazza of the guard-room, Sir," answered the sergeant. +</P> + +<P> +These words had scarcely been uttered, when a general and hasty +movement of the officers, anxious to satisfy themselves by personal +observation it was not indeed De Haldimar who had fallen, took place in +the direction alluded to, and in the next moment they were at the side +of the litter. +</P> + +<P> +A blanket had been thrown upon the corpse to conceal the loathsome +disfigurement of the face, over which masses of thick coagulated blood +were laid in patches and streaks, that set all recognition at defiance. +The formation of the head alone, which was round and short, denoted it +to be not De Haldimar's. Not a feature was left undefiled; and even the +eyes were so covered, it was impossible to say whether their lids were +closed or open. More than one officer's cheek paled with the sickness +that rose to his heart as he gazed on the hideous spectacle; yet, as +the curiosity of all was strongly excited to know who the murdered man +really was who had been so unaccountably inducted in the uniform of +their lost companion, they were resolved to satisfy themselves without +further delay. A basin of warm water and a sponge were procured from +the guard-room of Ensign Fortescue, who now joined them, and with these +Captain Blessington proceeded to remove the disguise. +</P> + +<P> +In the course of this lavation, it was discovered the extraordinary +flow of blood and brains had been produced by the infliction of a deep +wound on the back of the head, by the sharp and ponderous tomahawk of +an Indian. It was the only blow that had been given; and the +circumstance of the deceased having been found lying on his face, +accounted for the quantity of gore, that, trickling downwards, had so +completely disguised every feature. As the coat of thick encrusted +matter gave way beneath the frequent application of the moistening +sponge, the pallid hue of the countenance denoted the murdered man to +be a white. All doubt, however, was soon at an end. The ammunition +shoes, the grey trowsers, the coarse linen, and the stiff leathern +stock encircling the neck, attested the sufferer to be a soldier of the +garrison; but it was not until the face had been completely denuded of +its unsightly covering, and every feature fully exposed, that that +soldier was at length recognised to be Harry Donellan, the trusty and +attached servant of Captain de Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +While yet the officers stood apart, gazing at the corpse, and forming a +variety of conjectures, as vague as they were unsatisfactory, in regard +to their new mystery, Sir Everard Valletort, pale and breathless with +the speed he had used, suddenly appeared among them. +</P> + +<P> +"God of heaven! can it be true—and is it really not De Haldimar whom I +have shot?" wildly asked the agitated young man. "Who is this, +Erskine?" he continued, glancing at the litter. "Explain, for pity's +sake, and quickly." +</P> + +<P> +"Compose yourself, my dear Valletort," replied the officer addressed. +"You see this is not De Haldimar, but his servant Donellan. Neither has +the latter met his death from your rifle; there is no mark of a bullet +about him. It was an Indian tomahawk that did his business; and I will +stake my head against a hickory nut the blow came from the same rascal +at whom you fired, and who gave back the shot and the scalp halloo." +</P> + +<P> +This opinion was unanimously expressed by the remainder of the +officers. Sir Everard was almost as much overpowered by his joy, as he +had previously been overwhelmed by his despair, and he grasped and +shook the hand of Captain Erskine, who had thus been the means of +relieving his conscience, with an energy of gratitude and feeling that +almost drew tears from the eyes of that blunt but gallant officer. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank God, thank God!" he fervently exclaimed: "I have not then even +the death of poor Donellan to answer for;" and hastening from the +guard-room, he pursued his course hurriedly and delightedly to the +barrack-room of his friend. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0106"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<P> +The hour fixed for the trial of the prisoner Halloway had now arrived, +and the officers composing the court were all met in the mess-room of +the garrison, surrounding a long table covered with green cloth, over +which were distributed pens, ink, and paper for taking minutes of the +evidence, and such notes of the proceedings as the several members +might deem necessary in the course of the trial. Captain Blessington +presided; and next him, on either hand, were the first in seniority, +the two junior occupying the lowest places. The demeanour of the +several officers, serious and befitting the duty they were met to +perform, was rendered more especially solemn from the presence of the +governor, who sat a little to the right of the president, and without +the circle, remained covered, and with his arms folded across his +chest. At a signal given by the president to the orderly in waiting, +that individual disappeared from the room, and soon afterwards Frank +Halloway, strongly ironed, as on the preceding night, was ushered in by +several files of the guard, under Ensign Fortescue himself. +</P> + +<P> +The prisoner having been stationed a few paces on the left of the +president, that officer stood up to administer the customary oath. His +example was followed by the rest of the court, who now rose, and +extending each his right hand upon the prayer book, repeated, after the +president, the form of words prescribed by military law. They then, +after successively touching the sacred volume with their lips, once +more resumed their seats at the table. +</P> + +<P> +The prosecutor was the Adjutant Lawson, who now handed over to the +president a paper, from which the latter officer read, in a clear and +distinct voice, the following charges, viz.— +</P> + +<P> +"1st. For having on the night of the —th September 1763, while on duty +at the gate of the Fortress of Detroit, either admitted a stranger into +the garrison himself, or suffered him to obtain admission, without +giving the alarm, or using the means necessary to ensure his +apprehension, such conduct being treasonable, and in breach of the +articles of war. +</P> + +<P> +"2d. For having been accessary to the abduction of Captain Frederick de +Haldimar and private Harry Donellan, the disappearance of whom from the +garrison can only be attributed to a secret understanding existing +between the prisoner and the enemy without the walls, such conduct +being treasonable, and in breach of the articles of war." +</P> + +<P> +"Private Frank Halloway," continued Captain Blessington, after having +perused these two short but important charges, "you have heard what has +been preferred against you; what say you, therefore? Are you guilty, or +not guilty?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not guilty," firmly and somewhat exultingly replied the prisoner, +laying his hand at the same time on his swelling heart. +</P> + +<P> +"Stay, sir," sternly observed the governor, addressing the president; +"you have not read ALL the charges." +</P> + +<P> +Captain Blessington took up the paper from the table, on which he had +carelessly thrown it, after reading the accusations above detailed, and +perceived, for the first time, that a portion had been doubled back. +His eye now glanced over a third charge, which had previously escaped +his attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoner," he pursued, after the lapse of a minute, "there is a third +charge against you, viz. for having, on the night of the —th Sept. +1763, suffered Captain De Haldimar to unclose the gate of the fortress, +and, accompanied by his servant, private Harry Donellan, to pass your +post without the sanction of the governor, such conduct being in direct +violation of a standing order of the garrison, and punishable with +death." +</P> + +<P> +The prisoner started. "What!" he exclaimed, his cheek paling for the +first time with momentary apprehension; "is this voluntary confession +of my own to be turned into a charge that threatens my life? Colonel de +Haldimar, is the explanation which I gave you only this very hour, and +in private, to be made the public instrument of my condemnation? Am I +to die because I had not firmness to resist the prayer of my captain +and of your son, Colonel de Haldimar?" +</P> + +<P> +The president looked towards the governor, but a significant motion of +the head was the only reply; he proceeded,— +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoner Halloway, what plead you to this charge? Guilty, or not +guilty?" +</P> + +<P> +"I see plainly," said Halloway, after the pause of a minute, during +which he appeared to be summoning all his energies to his aid; "I see +plainly that it is useless to strive against my fate. Captain de +Haldimar is not here, and I must die. Still I shall not have the +disgrace of dying as a traitor, though I own I have violated the orders +of the garrison." +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoner," interrupted Captain Blessington, "whatever you may have to +urge, you had better reserve for your defence. Meanwhile, what answer +do you make to the last charge preferred?—Are you guilty, or not +guilty?" +</P> + +<P> +"Guilty," said Halloway, in a tone of mingled pride and sorrow, "guilty +of having listened to the earnest prayer of my captain, and suffered +him, in violation of my orders, to pass my post. Of the other charges I +am innocent." +</P> + +<P> +The court listened with the most profound attention and interest to the +words of the prisoner, and they glanced at each other in a manner that +marked their sense of the truth they attached to his declaration. +</P> + +<P> +"Halloway, prisoner," resumed Captain Blessington, mildly, yet +impressively; "recollect the severe penalty which the third charge, no +less than the others, entails, and recall your admission. Be advised by +me," he pursued, observing his hesitation. "Withdraw your plea, then, +and substitute that of not guilty to the whole." +</P> + +<P> +"Captain Blessington," returned the prisoner with deep emotion, "I feel +all the kindness of your motive; and if any thing can console me in my +present situation, it is the circumstance of having presiding at my +trial an officer so universally beloved by the whole corps. Still," and +again his voice acquired its wonted firmness, and his cheek glowed with +honest pride, "still, I say, I scorn to retract my words. Of the two +first charges I am as innocent as the babe unborn. To the last I plead +guilty; and vain would it be to say otherwise, since the gate was found +open while I was on duty, and I know the penalty attached to the +disobedience of orders." +</P> + +<P> +After some further but ineffectual remonstrance on the part of the +president, the pleas of the prisoner were recorded, and the examination +commenced. Governor de Haldimar was the first witness. +</P> + +<P> +That officer, having been sworn, stated, that on the preceding night he +had been intruded upon in his apartment by a stranger, who could have +obtained admission only through the gate of the fortress, by which also +he must have made good his escape. That it was evident the prisoner had +been in correspondence with their enemies; since, on proceeding to +examine the gate it had been found unlocked, while the confusion +manifested by him on being accused, satisfied all who were present of +the enormity of his guilt. Search had been made every where for the +keys, but without success. +</P> + +<P> +The second charge was supported by presumptive evidence alone; for +although the governor swore to the disappearance of his son, and the +murder of his servant, and dwelt emphatically on the fact of their +having been forcibly carried off with the connivance of the prisoner, +still there was no other proof of this, than the deductions drawn from +the circumstances already detailed. To meet this difficulty, however, +the third charge had been framed. +</P> + +<P> +In proof of this the governor stated, that the prisoner, on being +interrogated by him immediately subsequent to his being relieved from +his post, had evinced such confusion and hesitation, as to leave no +doubt whatever of his guilt; that, influenced by the half promise of +communication, which the court had heard as well as himself, he had +suffered the trial of the prisoner to be delayed until the present +hour, strongly hoping he might then be induced to reveal the share he +had borne in these unworthy and treasonable practices; that, with a +view to obtain this disclosure, so essential to the safety of the +garrison, he had, conjointly with Major Blackwater, visited the cell of +the prisoner, to whom he related the fact of the murder of Donellan, in +the disguise of his master's uniform, conjuring him, at the same time, +if he regarded his own life, and the safety of those who were most dear +to him, to give a clue to the solution of this mysterious circumstance, +and disclose the nature and extent of his connection with the enemy +without; that the prisoner however resolutely denied, as before, the +guilt imputed to him, but having had time to concoct a plausible story, +stated, (doubtless with a view to shield himself from the severe +punishment he well knew to be attached to his offence,) that Captain de +Haldimar himself had removed the keys from the guard-room, opened the +gate of the fortress, and accompanied by his servant, dressed in a +coloured coat, had sallied forth upon the common. "And this," +emphatically pursued the governor, "the prisoner admits he permitted, +although well aware that, by an order of long standing for the security +of the garrison, such a fragrant dereliction of his duty subjected him +to the punishment of death." +</P> + +<P> +Major Blackwater was the next witness examined. His testimony went to +prove the fact of the gate having been found open, and the confusion +manifested by the prisoner. It also substantiated that part of the +governor's evidence on the third charge, which related to the +confession recently made by Halloway, on which that charge had been +framed. +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant of the guard, and the governor's orderly having severally +corroborated the first portions of Major Blackwater's evidence, the +examination on the part of the prosecution terminated; when the +president called on the prisoner Halloway for his defence. The latter, +in a clear, firm, and collected tone, and in terms that surprised his +auditory, thus addressed the Court:— +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. President, and gentlemen,—Although, standing before you in the +capacity of a private soldier, and, oh! bitter and humiliating +reflection, in that most wretched and disgraceful of all situations, a +suspected traitor, I am not indeed what I seem to be. It is not for me +here to enter into the history of my past life; neither will I tarnish +the hitherto unsullied reputation of my family by disclosing my true +name. Suffice it to observe, I am a gentleman by birth; and although, +of late years, I have known all the hardships and privations attendant +on my fallen fortunes, I was once used to bask in the luxuries of +affluence, and to look upon those who now preside in judgment over me +as my equals. A marriage of affection,—a marriage with one who had +nothing but her own virtues and her own beauty to recommend her, drew +upon me the displeasure of my family, and the little I possessed, +independently of the pleasure of my relations, was soon dissipated. My +proud soul scorned all thought of supplication to those who had +originally spurned my wife from their presence; and yet my heart bled +for the privations of her who, alike respectable in family, was, both +from sex and the natural delicacy, of her frame, so far less +constituted to bear up against the frowns of adversity than myself. Our +extremity had now become great,—too great for human endurance; when, +through the medium of the public prints, I became acquainted with the +glorious action that had been fought in this country by the army under +General Wolfe. A new light burst suddenly upon my mind, and visions of +after prosperity constantly presented themselves to my view. The field +of honour was open before me, and there was a probability I might, by +good conduct, so far merit the approbation of my superiors, as to +obtain, in course of time, that rank among themselves to which by birth +and education I was so justly entitled to aspire. Without waiting to +consult my Ellen, whose opposition I feared to encounter until +opposition would be fruitless, I hastened to Lieutenant Walgrave, the +recruiting officer of the regiment,—tendered my services,—was +accepted and approved,—received the bounty money,—and became +definitively a soldier, under the assumed name of Frank Halloway. +</P> + +<P> +"It would be tedious and impertinent, gentlemen," resumed the prisoner, +after a short pause, "to dwell on the humiliations of spirit to which +both my wife and myself were subjected at our first introduction to our +new associates, who, although invariably kind to us, were, +nevertheless, ill suited, both by education and habit, to awaken any +thing like congeniality of feeling or similarity of pursuit. Still we +endeavoured, as much as possible, to lessen the distance that existed +between us; and from the first moment of our joining the regiment, +determined to adopt the phraseology and manners of those with whom an +adverse destiny had so singularly connected us. In this we succeeded; +for no one, up to the present moment, has imagined either my wife or +myself to be other than the simple and unpretending Frank and Ellen +Halloway. +</P> + +<P> +"On joining the regiment in this country," pursued the prisoner, after +another pause, marked by much emotion, "I had the good fortune to be +appointed to the grenadier company. Gentlemen, you all know the amiable +qualities of Captain de Haldimar. But although, unlike yourselves, I +have learnt to admire that officer only at a distance, my devotion to +his interests has been proportioned to the kindness with which I have +ever been treated by him; and may I not add, after this avowal of my +former condition, my most fervent desire has all along been to seize +the first favourable opportunity of performing some action that would +eventually elevate me to a position in which I might, without blushing +for the absence of the ennobling qualities of birth and condition, avow +myself his friend, and solicit that distinction from my equal which was +partially extended to me by my superior? The opportunity I sought was +not long wanting. At the memorable affair with the French general, +Levi, at Quebec, in which our regiment bore so conspicuous a part, I +had the good fortune to save the life of my captain. A band of Indians, +as you all, gentlemen, must recollect, had approached our right flank +unperceived, and while busily engaged with the French in front, we were +compelled to divide our fire between them and our new and fierce +assailants. The leader of that band was a French officer, who seemed +particularly to direct his attempts against the life of Captain de +Haldimar. He was a man of powerful proportions and gigantic stature—" +</P> + +<P> +"Hold!" said the governor, starting suddenly from the seat in which he +had listened with evident impatience to this long outline of the +prisoner's history. "Gentlemen," addressing the court, "that is the +very stranger who was in my apartment last night,—the being with whom +the prisoner is evidently in treacherous correspondence, and all this +absurd tale is but a blind to deceive your judgment, and mitigate his +own punishment. Who is there to prove the man he has just described was +the same who aimed at Captain de Haldimar's life at Quebec?" +</P> + +<P> +A flush of deep indignation overspread the features of the prisoner, +whose high spirit, now he had avowed his true origin, could ill brook +the affront thus put upon his veracity. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel de Haldimar!" he proudly replied, while his chains clanked +with the energy and force with which he drew up his person into an +attitude of striking dignity; "for once I sink the private soldier, and +address you in the character of the gentleman and your equal. I have a +soul, Sir, notwithstanding my fallen fortunes, as keenly alive to +honour as your own; and not even to save my wretched life, would I be +guilty of the baseness you now attribute to me. You have asked," he +pursued, in a more solemn tone, "what proof I have to show this +individual to be the same who attempted the life of Captain de +Haldimar. To Captain de Haldimar himself, should Providence have spared +his days, I shall leave the melancholy task of bearing witness to all I +here advance, when I shall be no more. Nay, Sir," and his look partook +at once of mingled scorn and despondency, "well do I know the fate that +awaits me; for in these proceedings—in that third charge—I plainly +read my death-warrant. But what, save my poor and wretched wife, have I +to regret? Colonel de Haldimar," he continued, with a vehemence meant +to check the growing weakness which the thought of his unfortunate +companion called up to his heart, "I saved the life of your son, even +by your own admission, no matter whose the arm that threatened his +existence; and in every other action in which I have been engaged, +honourable mention has ever been made of my conduct. Now, Sir, I ask +what has been my reward? So far from attending to the repeated +recommendations of my captain for promotion, even in a subordinate +rank, have you once deemed it necessary to acknowledge my services by +even a recognition of them in any way whatever?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. President, Captain Blessington," interrupted the governor, +haughtily, "are we met here to listen to such language from a private +soldier? You will do well, Sir, to exercise your prerogative, and stay +such impertinent matter, which can have no reference whatever to the +defence of the prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoner," resumed the president, who, as well as the other members of +the court, had listened with the most profound and absorbing interest +to the singular disclosure of him whom they still only knew as Frank +Halloway, "this language cannot be permitted; you must confine yourself +to your defence." +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me, gentlemen," returned Halloway, in his usual firm but +respectful tone of voice; "pardon me, if, standing on the brink of the +grave as I do, I have so far forgotten the rules of military discipline +as to sink for a moment the soldier in the gentleman; but to be taxed +with an unworthy fabrication, and to be treated with contumely when +avowing the secret of my condition, was more than human pride and human +feeling could tolerate." +</P> + +<P> +"Confine yourself, prisoner, to your defence," again remarked Captain +Blessington, perceiving the restlessness with which the governor +listened to these bold and additional observations of Halloway. +</P> + +<P> +Again the governor interposed:—"What possible connexion can there be +between this man's life, and the crime with which he stands charged? +Captain Blessington, this is trifling with the court, who are assembled +to try the prisoner for his treason, and not to waste their time in +listening to a history utterly foreign to the subject." +</P> + +<P> +"The history of my past life—Colonel de Haldimar," proudly returned +the prisoner, "although tedious and uninteresting to you, is of the +utmost importance to myself; for on that do I ground the most essential +part of my defence. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence +against me on the two first charges; and as those alone can reflect +dishonour on my memory, it is for the wisdom of this court to determine +whether that evidence is to be credited in opposition to the solemn +declaration of him, who, in admitting one charge, equally affecting his +life with the others, repudiates as foul those only which would attaint +his honour. Gentlemen," he pursued, addressing the court, "it is for +you to determine whether my defence is to be continued or not; yet, +whatever be my fate, I would fain remove all injurious impression from +the minds of my judges; and this can only be done by a simple detail of +circumstances, which may, by the unprejudiced, be as simply believed." +</P> + +<P> +Here the prisoner paused: when, after some low and earnest conversation +among the members of the court, two or three slips of written paper +were passed to the President. He glanced his eye hurriedly over them, +and then directed Halloway to proceed with his defence. +</P> + +<P> +"I have stated," pursued the interesting soldier, "that the officer who +led the band of Indians was a man of gigantic stature, and of +apparently great strength. My attention was particularly directed to +him from this circumstance, and as I was on the extreme flank of the +grenadiers, and close to Captain de Haldimar, had every opportunity of +observing his movements principally pointed at that officer. He first +discharged a carbine, the ball of which killed a man of the company at +his (Captain de Haldimar's) side; and then, with evident rage at having +been defeated in his aim, he took a pistol from his belt, and advancing +with rapid strides to within a few paces of his intended victim, +presented it in the most deliberate manner. At that moment, gentlemen, +(and it was but the work of a moment,) a thousand confused and almost +inexplicable feelings rose to my heart. The occasion I had long sought +was at length within my reach; but even the personal considerations, +which had hitherto influenced my mind, were sunk in the anxious desire +I entertained to preserve the life of an officer so universally +beloved, and so every way worthy of the sacrifice. While yet the pistol +remained levelled, I sprang before Captain de Haldimar, received the +ball in my breast, and had just strength sufficient to fire my musket +at this formidable enemy when I sank senseless to the earth. +</P> + +<P> +"It will not be difficult for you, gentlemen, who have feeling minds, +to understand the pleasurable pride with which, on being conveyed to +Captain de Haldimar's own apartments in Quebec, I found myself almost +overwhelmed by the touching marks of gratitude showered on me by his +amiable relatives. Miss Clara de Haldimar, in particular, like a +ministering angel, visited my couch of suffering at almost every hour, +and always provided with some little delicacy, suitable to my +condition, of which I had long since tutored myself to forget even the +use. But what principally afforded me pleasure, was to remark the +consolations which she tendered to my poor drooping Ellen, who, already +more than half subdued by the melancholy change in our condition in +life, frequently spent hours together in silent grief at the side of my +couch, and watching every change in my countenance with all the intense +anxiety of one who feels the last stay on earth is about to be severed +for ever. Ah! how I then longed to disclose to this kind and +compassionating being the true position of her on whom she lavished her +attention, and to make her known, not as the inferior honored by her +notice, but as the equal alike worthy of her friendship and deserving +of her esteem; but the wide, wide barrier that divided the wife of the +private soldier from the daughter and sister of the commissioned +officer sealed my lips, and our true condition continued unrevealed. +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen," resumed Halloway, after a short pause, "if I dwell on +these circumstances, it is with a view to show how vile are the charges +preferred against me. Is it likely, with all the incentives to good +conduct I have named, I should have proved a traitor to my country? +And, even if so, what to gain, I would ask; and by what means was a +correspondence with the enemy to be maintained by one in my humble +station? As for the second charge, how infamous, how injurious is it to +my reputation, how unworthy to be entertained! From the moment of my +recovery from that severe wound, every mark of favour that could be +bestowed on persons in our situation had been extended to my wife and +myself, by the family of Colonel de Haldimar; and my captain, knowing +me merely as the simple and low born Frank Halloway, although still the +preserver of his life, has been unceasing in his exertions to obtain +such promotion as he thought my conduct generally, independently of my +devotedness to his person, might claim. How these applications were +met, gentlemen, I have already stated; but notwithstanding Colonel de +Haldimar has never deemed me worthy of the promotion solicited, that +circumstance could in no way weaken my regard and attachment for him +who had so often demanded it. How then, in the name of heaven, can a +charge so improbable, so extravagant, as that of having been +instrumental in the abduction of Captain de Haldimar, be entertained? +and who is there among you, gentlemen, who will for one moment believe +I could harbour a thought so absurd as that of lending myself to the +destruction of one for whom I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice +of my blood? And now," pursued the prisoner, after another short pause, +"I come to the third charge,—that charge which most affects my life, +but impugns neither my honour nor my fidelity. That God, before whom I +know I shall shortly appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement, +and before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to relate is +true. +</P> + +<P> +"Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I heard a voice +distinctly on the outside of the rampart, near my post, calling in a +low and subdued tone on the name of Captain de Haldimar. The accents, +hastily and anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female. For a +moment I continued irresolute how to act, and hesitated whether or not +I should alarm the garrison; but, at length, presuming it was some +young female of the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it +occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize that officer +himself. While I yet hesitated whether to leave my post for a moment +for the purpose, a man crossed the parade a few yards in my front; it +was Captain de Haldimar's servant, Donellan, then in the act of +carrying some things from his master's apartment to the guard-room. I +called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished to see the +captain of the guard immediately. In the course of a few minutes he +came up to my post, when I told him what I had heard. At that moment, +the voice again repeated his name, when he abruptly left me and turned +to the left of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart. Soon +afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above me, sharply +calling out 'Hist, hist!' as if the person on the outside, despairing +of success, was in the act of retreating. A moment or two of silence +succeeded, when a low conversation ensued between the parties. The +distance was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds; yet +it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but in the language of +the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with which, as you are well aware, +gentlemen, Captain de Haldimar is familiar. This had continued about +ten minutes, when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the +rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house. Soon +afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my post, accompanied by +his servant Donellan; the former had the keys of the gate in his hand, +and he told me that he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some +business of the last importance to the safety of the garrison. +</P> + +<P> +"At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe penalty attached +to the infringement of an order, the observation of which had so +especially been insisted upon by the governor, whose permission, +however, I ventured respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be +obtained, if the business was really of the importance he described it. +Captain de Haldimar, however, declared he well knew the governor would +not accord that permission, unless he was positively acquainted with +the nature and extent of the danger to be apprehended; and of these, he +said, he was not himself sufficiently aware. All argument of this +nature proving ineffectual, he attempted to enforce his authority, not +only in his capacity of officer of the guard, but also as my captain, +ordering me, on pain of confinement, not to interfere with or attempt +to impede his departure. This, however, produced no better result; for +I knew that, in this instance, I was amenable to the order of the +governor alone, and I again firmly refused to violate my duty. +</P> + +<P> +"Finding himself thwarted in his attempt to enforce my obedience, +Captain de Haldimar, who seemed much agitated and annoyed by what he +termed my obstinacy, now descended to entreaty; and in the name of that +life which I had preserved to him, and of that deep gratitude which he +had ever since borne to me, conjured me not to prevent his departure. +'Halloway,' he urged, 'your life, my life, my father's life,—the life +of my sister Clara perhaps, who nursed you in illness, and who has ever +treated your wife with attention and kindness,—all these depend upon +your compliance with my request. 'Hear me,' he pursued, following up +the impression which he clearly perceived he had produced in me by this +singular and touching language: 'I promise to be back within the hour; +there is no danger attending my departure, and here will I be before +you are relieved from your post; no one can know I have been absent, +and your secret will remain with Donellan and myself. Do you think,' he +concluded, 'I would encourage a soldier of my regiment to disobey a +standing order of the garrison, unless there was some very +extraordinary reason for my so doing? But there is no time to be lost +in parley. Halloway! I entreat you to offer no further opposition to my +departure. I pledge myself to be back before you are relieved.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Gentlemen," impressively continued the prisoner, after a pause, during +which each member of the court seemed to breathe for the first time, so +deeply had the attention of all been riveted by the latter part of this +singular declaration, "how, under these circumstances, could I be +expected to act? Assured by Captain de Haldimar, in the most solemn +manner, that the existence of those most dear to his heart hung on my +compliance with his request, how could I refuse to him, whose life I +had saved, and whose character I so much esteemed, a boon so earnestly, +nay, so imploringly solicited? I acceded to his prayer, intimating, at +the same time, if he returned not before another sentinel should +relieve me, the discovery of my breach of duty must be made, and my +punishment inevitable. His last words, however, were to assure me he +should return at the hour he had named, and when I closed the gate upon +him it was under the firm impression his absence would only prove of +the temporary nature he had stated.—Gentlemen," abruptly concluded +Halloway, "I have nothing further to add; if I have failed in my duty +as a soldier, I have, at least, fulfilled that of a man; and although +the violation of the first entail upon me the punishment of death, the +motives which impelled me to that violation will not, I trust, be +utterly lost sight of by those by whom my punishment is to be awarded." +</P> + +<P> +The candid, fearless, and manly tone in which Halloway had delivered +this long and singular statement, however little the governor appeared +to be affected by it, evidently made a deep impression on the court, +who had listened with undiverted attention to the close. Some +conversation again ensued, in a low tone, among several members, when +two slips of written paper were passed up, as before, to the president. +These elicited the following interrogatories:— +</P> + +<P> +"You have stated, prisoner, that Captain de Haldimar left the fort +accompanied by his servant Donellan. How were they respectively +dressed?" +</P> + +<P> +"Captain de Haldimar in his uniform; Donellan, as far as I could +observe, in his regimental clothing also, with this difference, that he +wore his servant's round glazed hat and his grey great coat." +</P> + +<P> +"How then do you account for the extraordinary circumstance of Donellan +having been found murdered in his master's clothes? Was any allusion +made to a change of dress before they left the fort?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not the slightest," returned the prisoner; "nor can I in any way +account for this mysterious fact. When they quitted the garrison, each +wore the dress I have described." +</P> + +<P> +"In what manner did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan effect their +passage across the ditch?" continued the president, after glancing at +the second slip of paper. "The draw-bridge was evidently not lowered, +and there were no other means at hand to enable him to effect his +object with promptitude. How do you explain this, prisoner?" +</P> + +<P> +When this question was put, the whole body of officers, and the +governor especially, turned their eyes simultaneously on Halloway, for +on his hesitation or promptness in replying seemed to attach much of +the credit they were disposed to accord his statement. Halloway +observed it, and coloured. His reply, however, was free, unfaltering, +and unstudied. +</P> + +<P> +"A rope with which Donellan had provided himself, was secured to one of +the iron hooks that support the pullies immediately above the gate. +With this they swung themselves in succession to the opposite bank." +</P> + +<P> +The members of the court looked at each other, apparently glad that an +answer so confirmatory of the truth of the prisoner's statement, had +been thus readily given. +</P> + +<P> +"Were they to have returned in the same manner?" pursued the president, +framing his interrogatory from the contents of another slip of paper, +which, at the suggestion of the governor, had been passed to him by the +prosecutor, Mr. Lawson. +</P> + +<P> +"They were," firmly replied the prisoner. "At least I presumed they +were, for, I believe in the hurry of Captain de Haldimar's departure, +he never once made any direct allusion to the manner of his return; nor +did it occur to me until this moment how they were to regain possession +of the rope, without assistance from within." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," observed Colonel de Haldimar, addressing the president, +"the rope still remains. Mr. Lawson, examine the gate, and report +accordingly." +</P> + +<P> +The adjutant hastened to acquit himself of this laconic order, and soon +afterwards returned, stating not only that there was no rope, but that +the hook alluded to had disappeared altogether. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment the cheek of the prisoner paled; but it was evidently less +from any fear connected with his individual existence, than from the +shame he felt at having been detected in a supposed falsehood. He +however speedily recovered his self-possession, and exhibited the same +character of unconcern by which his general bearing throughout the +trial had been distinguished. +</P> + +<P> +On this announcement of the adjutant, the governor betrayed a movement +of impatience, that was meant to convey his utter disbelief of the +whole of the prisoner's statement, and his look seemed to express to +the court it should also arrive, and without hesitation, at the same +conclusion. Even all authoritative as he was, however, he felt that +military etiquette and strict discipline prevented his interfering +further in this advanced state of the proceedings. +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoner," again remarked Captain Blessington, "your statement in +regard to the means employed by Captain de Haldimar in effecting his +departure, is, you must admit, unsupported by appearances. How happens +it the rope is no longer where you say it was placed? No one could have +removed it but yourself. Have you done so? and if so, can you produce +it, or say where it is to be found?" +</P> + +<P> +"Captain Blessington," replied Halloway, proudly, yet respectfully, "I +have already invoked that great Being, before whose tribunal I am so +shortly to appear, in testimony of the truth of my assertion; and +again, in his presence, do I repeat, every word I have uttered is true. +I did not remove the rope, neither do I know what is become of it. I +admit its disappearance is extraordinary, but a moment's reflection +must satisfy the court I would not have devised a tale, the falsehood +of which could at once have been detected on an examination such as +that which has just been instituted. When Mr. Lawson left this room +just now, I fully expected he would have found the rope lying as it had +been left. What has become of it, I repeat, I know not; but in the +manner I have stated did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan cross the +ditch. I have nothing further to add," he concluded once more, drawing +up his fine tall person, the native elegance of which could not be +wholly disguised even in the dress of a private soldier; "nothing +further to disclose. Yet do I repel with scorn the injurious +insinuation against my fidelity, suggested in these doubts. I am +prepared to meet my death as best may become a soldier, and, let me +add, as best may become a proud and well born gentleman; but humanity +and common justice should at least be accorded to my memory. I am an +unfortunate man, but no traitor." +</P> + +<P> +The members were visibly impressed by the last sentences of the +prisoner. No further question however was asked, and he was again +removed by the escort, who had been wondering spectators of the scene, +to the cell he had so recently occupied. The room was then cleared of +the witnesses and strangers, the latter comprising nearly the whole of +the officers off duty, when the court proceeded to deliberate on the +evidence, and pass sentence on the accused. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0107"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<P> +Although the young and sensitive De Haldimar had found physical relief +in the summary means resorted to by the surgeon, the moral wound at his +heart not only remained unsoothed, but was rendered more acutely +painful by the wretched reflections, which, now that he had full +leisure to review the past, and anticipate the future in all the gloom +attached to both, so violently assailed him. From the moment when his +brother's strange and mysterious disappearance had been communicated by +the adjutant in the manner we have already seen, his spirits had been +deeply and fearfully depressed. Still he had every reason to expect, +from the well-known character of Halloway, the strong hope expressed by +the latter might be realised; and that, at the hour appointed for +trial, his brother would be present to explain the cause of his +mysterious absence, justify the conduct of his subordinate, and +exonerate him from the treachery with which he now stood charged. Yet, +powerful as this hope was, it was unavoidably qualified by dispiriting +doubt; for a nature affectionate and bland, as that of Charles de +Haldimar, could not but harbour distrust, while a shadow of +uncertainty, in regard to the fate of a brother so tenderly loved, +remained. He had forced himself to believe as much as possible what he +wished, and the effort had, to a certain extent succeeded; but there +had been something so solemn and so impressive in the scene that had +passed when the prisoner was first brought up for trial, something so +fearfully prophetic in the wild language of his unhappy wife, he had +found it impossible to resist the influence of the almost superstitious +awe they had awakened in his heart. +</P> + +<P> +What the feelings of the young officer were subsequently, when in the +person of the murdered man on the common, the victim of Sir Everard +Valletort's aim, he recognised that brother, whose disappearance had +occasioned him so much inquietude, we shall not attempt to describe: +their nature is best shown in the effect they produced—the almost +overwhelming agony of body and mind, which had borne him, like a +stricken plant, unresisting to the earth. But now that, in the calm and +solitude of his chamber, he had leisure to review the fearful events +conspiring to produce this extremity, his anguish of spirit was even +deeper than when the first rude shock of conviction had flashed upon +his understanding. A tide of suffering, that overpowered, without +rendering him sensible of its positive and abstract character, had, in +the first instance, oppressed his faculties, and obscured his +perception; but now, slow, sure, stinging, and gradually succeeding +each other, came every bitter thought and reflection of which that tide +was composed; and the generous heart of Charles de Haldimar was a prey +to feelings that would have wrung the soul, and wounded the +sensibilities of one far less gentle and susceptible than himself. +</P> + +<P> +Between Sir Everard Valletort and Charles de Haldimar, who, it has +already been remarked, were lieutenants in Captain Blessington's +company, a sentiment of friendship had been suffered to spring up +almost from the moment of Sir Everard's joining. The young men were +nearly of the same age; and although the one was all gentleness, the +other all spirit and vivacity, not a shade of disunion had at any +period intervened to interrupt the almost brotherly attachment +subsisting between them, and each felt the disposition of the other was +the one most assimilated to his own. In fact, Sir Everard was far from +being the ephemeral character he was often willing to appear. Under a +semblance of affectation, and much assumed levity of manner, never, +however, personally offensive, he concealed a brave, generous, warm, +and manly heart, and talents becoming the rank he held in society, such +as would not have reflected discredit on one numbering twice his years. +He had entered the army, as most young men of rank usually did at that +period, rather for the agremens it held forth, than with any serious +view to advancement in it as a profession. Still he entertained the +praiseworthy desire of being something more than what is, among +military men, emphatically termed a feather-bed soldier; and, contrary +to the wishes of his fashionable mother, who would have preferred +seeing him exhibit his uniform in the drawing-rooms of London, had +purchased the step into his present corps from a cavalry regiment at +home. Not that we mean, however, to assert he was not a feather-bed +soldier in its more literal sense: no man that ever glittered in gold +and scarlet was fonder of a feather-bed than the young baronet; and, in +fact, his own observations, recorded in the early part of this volume, +sufficiently prove his predilection for an indulgence which, we take +it, in no way impugned his character as a soldier. Sir Everard would +have fought twenty battles in the course of the month, if necessary, +and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his service, +provided only he had been suffered to press his downy couch to what is +termed a decent hour in the day. But he had an innate and, perhaps, it +may be, an instinctive horror of drills and early rising; a pastime in +which the martinets and disciplinarians of the last century were very +much given to indulge. He frequently upheld an opinion that must have +been little less than treason in the eyes of a commander so strict as +Colonel de Haldimar, that an officer who rose at eight, with all his +faculties refreshed and invigorated, might evince as much of the true +bearing of the soldier in the field, as he who, having quitted his +couch at dawn, naturally felt the necessity of repose at a moment when +activity and exertion were most required. +</P> + +<P> +We need scarcely state, Sir Everard's theories on this important +subject were seldom reduced to practice; for, even long before the +Indians had broken out into open acts of hostility, when such +precautions were rendered indispensable, Colonel de Haldimar had never +suffered either officer or man to linger on his pillow after the first +faint dawn had appeared. This was a system to which Sir Everard could +never reconcile himself. He had quitted England with a view to active +service abroad, it is true, but he had never taken "active service" in +its present literal sense, and, as he frequently declared to his +companions, he preferred giving an Indian warrior a chance for his +scalp any hour after breakfast, to rising at daybreak, when, from very +stupefaction, he seldom knew whether he stood on his head or his heels. +"If the men must be drilled," he urged, "with a view to their health +and discipline, why not place them under the direction of the adjutant +or the officer of the day, whoever he might chance to be, and not +unnecessarily disturb a body of gentlemen from their comfortable +slumbers at that unconscionable hour?" Poor Sir Everard! this was the +only grievance of which he complained, and he complained bitterly. +Scarcely a morning passed without his inveighing loudly against the +barbarity of such a custom; threatening at the same time, amid the +laughter of his companions, to quit the service in disgust at what he +called so ungentlemanly and gothic a habit. All he waited for, he +protested, was to have an opportunity of bearing away the spoils of +some Indian chief, that, on his return to England, he might afford his +lady mother an opportunity of judging with her own eyes of the sort of +enemy he had relinquished the comforts of home to contend against, and +exhibiting to her very dear friends the barbarous proofs of the prowess +of her son. Though these observations were usually made half in jest +half in earnest, there was no reason to doubt the young and lively +baronet was, in truth, heartily tired of a service which seemed to +offer nothing but privations and annoyances, unmixed with even the +chances of obtaining those trophies to which he alluded; and, but for +two motives, there is every probability he would have seriously availed +himself of the earliest opportunity of retiring. The first of these was +his growing friendship for the amiable and gentle Charles de Haldimar; +the second the secret, and scarcely to himself acknowledged, interest +which had been created in his heart for his sister Clara; whom he only +knew from the glowing descriptions of his friend, and the strong +resemblance she was said to bear to him by the other officers. +</P> + +<P> +Clara de Haldimar was the constant theme of her younger brother's +praise. Her image was ever uppermost in his thoughts—her name ever +hovering on his lips; and when alone with his friend Valletort, it was +his delight to dwell on the worth and accomplishments of his amiable +and beloved sister. Then, indeed, would his usually calm blue eye +sparkle with the animation of his subject, while his colouring cheek +marked all the warmth and sincerity with which he bore attestation to +her gentleness and her goodness. The heart of Charles de Haldimar, +soldier as he was, was pure, generous, and unsophisticated as that of +the sister whom he so constantly eulogized; and, while listening to his +eloquent praises, Sir Everard learnt to feel an interest in a being +whom all had declared to be the counterpart of her brother, as well in +personal attraction as in singleness of nature. With all his affected +levity, and notwithstanding his early initiation into fashionable +life—that matter-of-fact life which strikes at the existence of our +earlier and dearer illusions—there was a dash of romance in the +character of the young baronet which tended much to increase the +pleasure he always took in the warm descriptions of his friend. The +very circumstance of her being personally unknown to him, was, with Sir +Everard, an additional motive for interest in Miss de Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +Imagination and mystery generally work their way together; and as there +was a shade of mystery attached to Sir Everard's very ignorance of the +person of one whom he admired and esteemed from report alone, +imagination was not slow to improve the opportunity, and to endow the +object with characteristics, which perhaps a more intimate knowledge of +the party might have led him to qualify. In this manner, in early +youth, are the silken and willing fetters of the generous and the +enthusiastic forged. We invest some object, whose praises, whispered +secretly in the ear, have glided imperceptibly to the heart, with all +the attributes supplied by our own vivid and readily according +imaginations; and so accustomed do we become to linger on the picture, +we adore the semblance with an ardour which the original often fails to +excite. When, however, the high standard of our fancy's fair creation +is attained, we worship as something sacred that which was to our +hearts a source of pure and absorbing interest, hallowed by the very +secrecy in which such interest was indulged. Even where it fails, so +unwilling are we to lose sight of the illusion to which our thoughts +have fondly clung, so loth to destroy the identity of the semblance +with its original, that we throw a veil over that reason which is then +so little in unison with our wishes, and forgive much in consideration +of the very mystery which first gave a direction to our interest, and +subsequently chained our preference. How is it to be lamented, that +illusions so dear, and images so fanciful, should find their level with +time; or that intercourse with the world, which should be the means +rather of promoting than marring human happiness, should leave on the +heart so little vestige of those impressions which characterize the +fervency of youth; and which, dispassionately considered, constitute +the only true felicity of riper life! It is then that man, in all the +vigour and capacity of his intellectual nature, feels the sentiment of +love upon him in all its ennobling force. It is then that his impetuous +feelings, untinged by the romance which imposes its check upon the more +youthful, like the wild flow of the mighty torrent, seeks a channel +wherein they may empty themselves; and were he to follow the guidance +of those feelings, of which in that riper life he seems ashamed as of a +weakness unworthy his sex, in the warm and glowing bosom of Nature's +divinity—WOMAN—would he pour forth the swollen tide of his affection; +and acknowledge, in the fullness of his expanding heart, the vast +bounty of Providence, who had bestowed on him so invaluable—so +unspeakably invaluable, a blessing.—But no; in the pursuit of +ambition, in the acquisition of wealth, in the thirst after power, and +the craving after distinction, nay, nineteen times out of twenty, in +the most frivolous occupations, the most unsatisfactory amusements, do +the great mass of the maturer man sink those feelings; divested of +which, we become mere plodders on the earth, mere creatures of +materialism: nor is it until after age and infirmity have overtaken +them, they look back with regret to that real and substantial, but +unenjoyed happiness, which the occupied heart and the soul's communion +alone can bestow. Then indeed, when too late, are they ready to +acknowledge the futility of those pursuits, the inadequacy of those +mere ephemeral pleasures, to which in the full meridian of their +manhood they sacrificed, as a thing unworthy of their dignity, the +mysterious charm of woman's influence and woman's beauty. +</P> + +<P> +We do not mean to say Clara de Haldimar would have fallen short of the +high estimate formed of her worth by the friend of her brother; neither +is it to be understood, Sir Everard suffered this fair vision of his +fancy to lead him into the wild and labyrinthian paths of boyish +romance; but certain it is, the floating illusions, conjured up by his +imagination, exercised a mysterious influence over his heart, that +hourly acquired a deeper and less equivocal character. It might have +been curiosity in the first instance, or that mere repose of the fancy +upon an object of its own creation, which was natural to a young man +placed like himself for the moment out of the pale of all female +society. It has been remarked, and justly, there is nothing so +dangerous to the peace of the human heart as solitude. It is in +solitude, our thoughts, taking their colouring from our feelings, +invest themselves with the power of multiplying ideal beauty, until we +become in a measure tenants of a world of our own creation, from which +we never descend, without loathing and disgust, into the dull and +matter-of-fact routine of actual existence. Hence the misery of the +imaginative man!—hence his little sympathy with the mass, who, tame +and soulless, look upon life and the things of life, not through the +refining medium of ideality, but through the grossly magnifying optics +of mere sense and materialism. +</P> + +<P> +But, though we could, and perhaps may, at some future period, write +volumes on this subject, we return for the present from a digression +into which we have been insensibly led by the temporary excitement of +our own feelings. +</P> + +<P> +Whatever were the impressions of the young baronet, and however he +might have been inclined to suffer the fair image of the gentle Clara, +such as he was perhaps wont to paint it, to exercise its spell upon his +fancy, certain it is, he never expressed to her brother more than that +esteem and interest which it was but natural he should accord to the +sister of his friend. Neither had Charles de Haldimar, even amid all +his warmth of commendation, ever made the slightest allusion to his +sister, that could be construed into a desire she should awaken any +unusual or extraordinary sentiment of preference. Much and fervently as +he desired such an event, there was an innate sense of decorum, and it +may be secret pride, that caused him to abstain from any observation +having the remotest tendency to compromise the spotless delicacy of his +adored sister; and such he would have considered any expression of his +own hopes and wishes, where no declaration of preference had been +previously made. There was another motive for this reserve on the part +of the young officer. The baronet was an only child, and would, on +attaining his majority, of which he wanted only a few months, become +the possessor of a large fortune. His sister Clara, on the contrary, +had little beyond her own fair fame and the beauty transmitted to her +by the mother she had lost. Colonel de Haldimar was a younger son, and +had made his way through life with his sword, and an unblemished +reputation alone,—advantages he had shared with his children, for the +two eldest of whom his interest and long services had procured +commissions in his own regiment. +</P> + +<P> +But even while Charles de Haldimar abstained from all expression of his +hopes, he had fully made up his mind that Sir Everard and his sister +were so formed for each other, it was next to an impossibility they +could meet without loving. In one of his letters to the latter, he had +alluded to his friend in terms of so high and earnest panegyric, that +Clara had acknowledged, in reply, she was prepared to find in the young +baronet one whom she should regard with partiality, if it were only on +account of the friendship subsisting between him and her brother. This +admission, however, was communicated in confidence, and the young +officer had religiously preserved his sister's secret. +</P> + +<P> +These and fifty other recollections now crowded on the mind of the +sufferer, only to render the intensity of his anguish more complete; +among the bitterest of which was the certainty that the mysterious +events of the past night had raised up an insuperable barrier to this +union; for how could Clara de Haldimar become the wife of him whose +hands were, however innocently, stained with the life-blood of her +brother! To dwell on this, and the loss of that brother, was little +short of madness, and yet De Haldimar could think of nothing else; nor +for a period could the loud booming of the cannon from the ramparts, +every report of which shook his chamber to its very foundations, call +off his attention from a subject which, while it pained, engrossed +every faculty and absorbed every thought. At length, towards the close, +he called faintly to the old and faithful soldier, who, at the foot of +the bed, stood watching every change of his master's countenance, to +know the cause of the cannonade. On being informed the batteries in the +rear were covering the retreat of Captain Erskine, who, in his attempt +to obtain the body, had been surprised by the Indians, a new direction +was temporarily given to his thoughts, and he now manifested the utmost +impatience to know the result. +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes Morrison, who, in defiance of the surgeon's strict +order not on any account to quit the room, had flown to obtain some +intelligence which he trusted might remove the anxiety of his suffering +master, again made his appearance, stating the corpse was already +secured, and close under the guns of the fort, beneath which the +detachment, though hotly assailed from the forest, were also fast +retreating. +</P> + +<P> +"And is it really my brother, Morrison? Are you quite certain that it +is Captain de Haldimar?" asked the young officer, in the eager accents +of one who, with the fullest conviction on his mind, yet grasps at the +faintest shadow of a consoling doubt. "Tell me that it is not my +brother, and half of what I possess in the world shall be yours." +</P> + +<P> +The old soldier brushed a tear from his eye. "God bless you, Mr. de +Haldimar, I would give half my grey hairs to be able to do so; but it +is, indeed, too truly the captain who has been killed. I saw the very +wings of his regimentals as he lay on his face on the litter." +</P> + +<P> +Charles de Haldimar groaned aloud. "Oh God! oh God! would I had never +lived to see this day." Then springing suddenly up in his +bed.—"Morrison, where are my clothes? I insist on seeing my +slaughtered brother myself." +</P> + +<P> +"Good Heaven, sir, consider," said the old man approaching the bed, and +attempting to replace the covering which had been spurned to its very +foot,—"consider you are in a burning fever, and the slightest cold may +kill you altogether. The doctor's orders are, you were on no account to +get up." +</P> + +<P> +The effort made by the unfortunate youth was momentary. Faint from the +blood he had lost, and giddy from the excitement of his feelings, he +sank back exhausted on his pillow, and wept like a child. +</P> + +<P> +Old Morrison shed tears also; for his heart bled for the sufferings of +one whom he had nursed and played with even in early infancy, and whom, +although his master, he regarded with the affection he would have borne +to his own child. As he had justly observed, he would have willingly +given half his remaining years to be able to remove the source of the +sorrow which so deeply oppressed him. +</P> + +<P> +When this violent paroxysm had somewhat subsided, De Haldimar became +more composed; but his was rather that composure which grows out of the +apathy produced by overwhelming grief, than the result of any relief +afforded to his suffering heart by the tears he had shed. He had +continued some time in this faint and apparently tranquil state, when +confused sounds in the barrack-yard, followed by the raising of the +heavy drawbridge, announced the return of the detachment. Again he +started up in his bed and demanded his clothes, declaring his intention +to go out and receive the corpse of his murdered brother. All +opposition on the part of the faithful Morrison was now likely to prove +fruitless, when suddenly the door opened, and an officer burst +hurriedly into the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Courage! courage! my dear De Haldimar; I am the bearer of good news. +Your brother is not the person who has been slain." +</P> + +<P> +Again De Haldimar sank back upon his pillow, overcome by a variety of +conflicting emotions. A moment afterwards, and he exclaimed +reproachfully, yet almost gasping with the eagerness of his manner,— +</P> + +<P> +"For God's sake, Sumners—in the name of common humanity, do not trifle +with my feelings. If you would seek to lull me with false hopes, you +are wrong. I am prepared to hear and bear the worst at present; but to +be undeceived again would break my heart." +</P> + +<P> +"I swear to you by every thing I have been taught to revere as sacred," +solemnly returned Ensign Sumners, deeply touched by the affliction he +witnessed, "what I state is strictly true. Captain Erskine himself sent +me to tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"What, is he only wounded then?" and a glow of mingled hope and +satisfaction was visible even through the flush of previous excitement +on the cheek of the sufferer. "Quick, Morrison, give me my +clothes.—Where is my brother, Sumners?" and again he raised up his +debilitated frame with the intention of quitting his couch. +</P> + +<P> +"De Haldimar, my dear De Haldimar, compose yourself, and listen to me. +Your brother is still missing, and we are as much in the dark about his +fate as ever. All that is certain is, we have no positive knowledge of +his death; but surely that is a thousand times preferable to the horrid +apprehensions under which we have all hitherto laboured." +</P> + +<P> +"What mean you, Sumners? or am I so bewildered by my sufferings as not +to comprehend you clearly?—Nay, nay, forgive me; but I am almost +heart-broken at this loss, and scarcely know what I say. But what is it +you mean? I saw my unhappy brother lying on the common with my own +eyes. Poor Valletort, himself—" here a rush of bitter recollections +flashed on the memory of the young man, and the tears coursed each +other rapidly down his cheek. His emotion lasted for a few moments, and +he pursued,—"Poor Valletort himself saw him, for he was nearly as much +overwhelmed with affliction as I was; and even Morrison beheld him +also, not ten minutes since, under the very walls of the fort; nay, +distinguished the wings of his uniform: and yet you would persuade me +my brother, instead of being brought in a corpse, is still missing and +alive. This is little better than trifling with my wretchedness, +Sumners," and again he sank back exhausted on his pillow. +</P> + +<P> +"I can easily forgive your doubts, De Haldimar," returned the +sympathizing Sumners, taking the hand of his companion, and pressing it +gently in his own; "for, in truth, there is a great deal of mystery +attached to the whole affair. I have not seen the body myself; but I +distinctly heard Captain Erskine state it certainly was not your +brother, and he requested me to apprise both Sir Everard Valletort and +yourself of the fact." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is the murdered man, then? and how comes he to be clad in the +uniform of one of our officers? Pshaw! it is too absurd to be credited. +Erskine is mistaken—he must be mistaken—it can be no other than my +poor brother Frederick. Sumners, I am sick, faint, with this cruel +uncertainty: go, my dear fellow, at once, and examine the body; then +return to me, and satisfy my doubts, if possible." +</P> + +<P> +"Most willingly, if you desire it," returned Sumners, moving towards +the door; "but believe me, De Haldimar, you may make your mind tranquil +on the subject;—Erskine spoke with certainty." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you seen Valletort?" asked De Haldimar, while an involuntary +shudder pervaded his fame. +</P> + +<P> +"I have. He flew on the instant to make further enquiries; and was in +the act of going to examine the body of the murdered man when I came +here.—But here he is himself, and his countenance is the harbinger of +any thing but a denial of my intelligence." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Charles, what a weight of misery has been removed from my heart!" +exclaimed that officer, now rushing to the bedside of his friend, and +seizing his extended hand,—"Your brother, let us hope, still lives." +</P> + +<P> +"Almighty God, I thank thee!" fervently ejaculated De Haldimar; and +then, overcome with joy, surprise, and gratitude, he again sank back +upon his pillow, sobbing and weeping violently. +</P> + +<P> +Sumners had, with delicate tact, retired the moment Sir Everard made +his appearance; for he, as well as the whole body of officers, was +aware of the close friendship that subsisted between the young men, and +he felt, at such a moment, the presence of a third person must be a +sort of violation of the sacredness of their interview. +</P> + +<P> +For some minutes the young baronet stood watching in silence, and with +his friend's hand closely clasped in his own, the course of those tears +which seemed to afford so much relief to the overcharged heart of the +sufferer. At length they passed gradually away; and a smile, expressive +of the altered state of his feelings, for the first time animated the +flushed but handsome features of the younger De Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +We shall not attempt to paint all that passed between the friends +during the first interesting moments of an interview which neither had +expected to enjoy again, or the delight and satisfaction with which +they congratulated themselves on the futility of those fears, which, if +realised, must have embittered every future moment of their lives with +the most harrowing recollections. Sir Everard, particularly, felt, and +was not slow to express, his joy on this occasion; for, as he gazed +upon the countenance of his friend, he was more than ever inclined to +confess an interest in the sister he was said so much to resemble. +</P> + +<P> +With that facility with which in youth the generous and susceptible are +prone to exchange their tears for smiles, as some powerful motive for +the reaction may prompt, the invalid had already, and for the moment, +lost sight of the painful past in the pleasurable present, so that his +actual excitement was strongly in contrast with the melancholy he had +so recently exhibited. Never had Charles de Haldimar appeared so +eminently handsome; and yet his beauty resembled that of a frail and +delicate woman, rather than that of one called to the manly and arduous +profession of a soldier. It was that delicate and Medor-like beauty +which might have won the heart and fascinated the sense of a second +Angelica. The light brown hair flowing in thick and natural waves over +a high white forehead; the rich bloom of the transparent and downy +cheek; the large, blue, long, dark-lashed eye, in which a shade of +languor harmonised with the soft but animated expression of the whole +countenance,—the dimpled mouth,—the small, clear, and even +teeth,—all these now characterised Charles de Haldimar; and if to +these we add a voice rich, full, and melodious, and a smile sweet and +fascinating, we shall be at no loss to account for the readiness with +which Sir Everard suffered his imagination to draw on the brother for +those attributes he ascribed to the sister. +</P> + +<P> +It was while this impression was strong upon his fancy, he took +occasion to remark, in reply to an observation of De Haldimar's, +alluding to the despair with which his sister would have been seized, +had she known one brother had fallen by the hand of the friend of the +other. +</P> + +<P> +"The grief of my own heart, Charles, on this occasion, would have been +little inferior to her own. The truth is, my feelings during the last +three hours have let me into a secret, of the existence of which I was, +in a great degree, ignorant until then: I scarcely know how to express +myself, for the communication is so truly absurd and romantic you will +not credit it." He paused, hesitated, and then, as if determined to +anticipate the ridicule he seemed to feel would be attached to his +confession, with a forced half laugh pursued: "The fact is, Charles, I +have been so much used to listen to your warm and eloquent praises of +your sister, I have absolutely, I will not say fallen in love with +(that would be going too far), but conceived so strong an interest in +her, that my most ardent desire would be to find favour in her eyes. +What say you, my friend? are you inclined to forward my suit; and if +so, is there any chance for me, think you, with herself?" +</P> + +<P> +The breast of Charles de Haldimar, who had listened with deep and +increasing attention to this avowal, swelled high with pleasurable +excitement, and raising himself up in his bed with one hand, while he +grasped one of Sir Everard's with the other, he exclaimed with a +transport of affection too forcible to be controlled,— +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Valletort, Valletort! this is, indeed, all that was wanting to +complete my happiness. My sister Clara I adore with all the affection +of my nature; I love her better than my own life, which is wrapped up +in hers. She is an angel in disposition,—all that is dear, tender, and +affectionate,—all that is gentle and lovely in woman; one whose +welfare is dearer far to me than my own, and without whose presence I +could not live. Valletort, that prize,—that treasure, that dearer half +of myself, is yours,—yours for ever. I have long wished you should +love, each other, and I felt, when you met, you would. If I have +hitherto forborne from expressing this fondest wish of my heart, it has +been from delicacy—from a natural fear of compromising the purity of +my adored Clara. Now, however, you have confessed yourself interested, +by a description that falls far short of the true peril of that dear +girl, I can no longer disguise my gratification and delight. +Valletort," he concluded, impressively, "there is no other man on earth +to whom I would say so much; but you were formed for each other, and +you will, you must, be the husband of my sister." +</P> + +<P> +If the youthful and affectionate De Haldimar was happy, Sir Everard was +no less so; for already, with the enthusiasm of a young man of twenty, +he painted to himself the entire fruition of those dreams of happiness +that had so long been familiarised to his imagination. One doubt alone +crossed his mind. +</P> + +<P> +"But if your sister should have decided differently, Charles," he at +length remarked, as he gently quitted the embrace of his friend: "who +knows if her heart may not already throb for another; and even if not, +it is possible she may judge me far less flatteringly than you do." +</P> + +<P> +"Valletort, your fears are groundless. Having admitted thus far, I will +even go farther, and add, you have been the subject of one of my +letters to Clara, who, in her turn, 'confesses a strong interest in one +of whom she has heard so much.' She writes playfully, of course, but it +is quite evident to me she is prepared to like you." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! But, Charles, liking is many degrees removed you know from +loving; besides, I understand there are two or three handsome and +accomplished fellows among the garrison of Michilimackinac, and your +sister's visit to her cousin may not have been paid altogether with +impunity." +</P> + +<P> +"Think not thus meanly of Clara's understanding, Valletort. There must +be something more than mere beauty and accomplishment to fix the heart +of my sister. The dark eyed and elegant Baynton, and the musical and +sonnetteering Middleton, to whom you, doubtless, allude, are very +excellent fellows in their way; but handsome and accomplished as they +are, they are not exactly the men to please Clara de Haldimar." +</P> + +<P> +"But, my dear Charles, you forget also any little merit of my own is +doubly enhanced in your eyes, by the sincerity of the friendship +subsisting between us; your sister may think very differently." +</P> + +<P> +"Psha, Valletort! these difficulties are all of your own creation," +returned his friend, impatiently; "I know the heart of Clara is +disengaged. What would you more?" +</P> + +<P> +"Enough, De Haldimar; I will no longer doubt my own prospects. If she +but approve me, my whole life shall be devoted to the happiness of your +sister." +</P> + +<P> +A single knock was now heard at the door of the apartment; it was +opened, and a sergeant appeared at the entrance. +</P> + +<P> +"The company are under arms for punishment parade, Lieutenant +Valletort," said the man, touching his cap. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant, the visionary prospects of the young men gave place to +the stern realities connected with that announcement of punishment. The +treason of Halloway,—the absence of Frederick de Haldimar,—the +dangers by which they were beset,—and the little present probability +of a re-union with those who were most dear to them,—all these +recollections now flashed across their minds with the rapidity of +thought; and the conversation that had so recently passed between them +seemed to leave no other impression than what is produced from some +visionary speculation of the moment. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0108"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<P> +As the bells of the fort tolled the tenth hour of morning, the groups +of dispersed soldiery, warned by the rolling of the assembly drum, once +more fell into their respective ranks in the order described in the +opening of this volume, Soon afterwards the prisoner Halloway was +reconducted into the square by a strong escort, who took their stations +as before in the immediate centre, where the former stood principally +conspicuous to the observation of his comrades. His countenance was +paler, and had less, perhaps, of the indifference he had previously +manifested; but to supply this there was a certain subdued air of calm +dignity, and a composure that sprang, doubtless, from the consciousness +of the new character in which he now appeared before his superiors. +Colonel de Haldimar almost immediately followed, and with him were the +principal staff of the garrison, all of whom, with the exception of the +sick and wounded and their attendants, were present to a man. The +former took from the hands of the governor, Lawson, a large packet, +consisting of several sheets of folded paper closely written upon. +These were the proceedings of the court martial. +</P> + +<P> +After enumerating the several charges, and detailing the evidence of +the witnesses examined, the adjutant came at length to the finding and +sentence of the court, which were as follows:— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"The court having duly considered the evidence adduced against the +prisoner private Frank Halloway, together with what he has urged in his +defence, are of opinion,—" +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"That with regard to the first charge, it is not proved." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"That with regard to the second charge, it is not proved." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"That with regard to the third charge, even by his own voluntary +confession, the prisoner is guilty." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"The court having found the prisoner private Frank Halloway guilty of +the third charge preferred against him, which is hi direct violation of +a standing order of the garrison, entailing capital punishment, do +hereby sentence him, the said prisoner, private Frank Halloway, to be +shot to death at such time and place as the officer commanding may deem +fit to appoint." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Although the utmost order pervaded the ranks, every breath had been +suspended, every ear stretched during the reading of the sentence; and +now that it came arrayed in terror and in blood, every glance was +turned in pity on its unhappy victim. But Halloway heard it with the +ears of one who has made up his mind to suffer; and the faint half +smile that played upon his lip spoke more in scorn than in sorrow. +Colonel de Haldimar pursued:— +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +"The court having found it imperatively incumbent on them to award the +punishment of death to the prisoner, private Frank Halloway, at the +same time gladly avail themselves of their privilege by strongly +recommending him to mercy. The court cannot, in justice to the +character of the prisoner, refrain from expressing their unanimous +conviction, that notwithstanding the mysterious circumstances which +have led to his confinement and trial, he is entirely innocent of the +treachery ascribed to him. The court have founded this conviction on +the excellent character, both on duty and in the field, hitherto borne +by the prisoner,—his well-known attachment to the officer with whose +abduction be stands charged,—and the manly, open, and (as the court +are satisfied) correct history given of his former life. It is, +moreover, the impression of the court, that, as stated by the prisoner, +his guilt on the third charge has been the result only of his +attachment for Captain de Haldimar. And for this, and the reasons above +assigned, do they strongly recommend the prisoner to mercy." +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> + (Signed)<BR> +<BR> + NOEL BLESSINGTON,<BR> + Captain and President.<BR> +<BR> + Sentence approved and confirmed.<BR> +<BR> + CHARLES DE HALDIMAR,<BR> + Colonel Commandant.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +While these concluding remarks of the court were being read, the +prisoner manifested the deepest emotion. If a smile of scorn had +previously played upon his lip, it was because he fancied the court, +before whom he had sought to vindicate his fame, had judged him with a +severity not inferior to his colonel's; but now that, in the presence +of his companions, he heard the flattering attestation of his services, +coupled even as it was with the sentence that condemned him to die, +tears of gratitude and pleasure rose despite of himself to his eyes; +and it required all his self-command to enable him to abstain from +giving expression to his feelings towards those who had so generously +interpreted the motives of his dereliction from duty. But when the +melancholy and startling fact of the approval and confirmation of the +sentence met his ear, without the slightest allusion to that mercy +which had been so urgently recommended, he again overcame his weakness, +and exhibited his wonted air of calm and unconcern. +</P> + +<P> +"Let the prisoner be removed, Mr. Lawson," ordered the governor, whose +stern and somewhat dissatisfied expression of countenance was the only +comment on the recommendation for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +The order was promptly executed. Once more Halloway left the square, +and was reconducted to the cell he had occupied since the preceding +night. +</P> + +<P> +"Major Blackwater," pursued the governor, "let a detachment consisting +of one half the garrison be got in readiness to leave the fort within +the hour. Captain Wentworth, three pieces of field artillery will be +required. Let them be got ready also." He then retired from the area +with the forbidding dignity and stately haughtiness of manner that was +habitual to him; while the officers, who had just received his +commands, prepared to fulfil the respective duties assigned them. +</P> + +<P> +Since the first alarm of the garrison no opportunity had hitherto been +afforded the officers to snatch the slightest refreshment. Advantage +was now taken of the short interval allowed by the governor, and they +all repaired to the mess-room, where their breakfast had long since +been provided. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Blessington," remarked Captain Erskine, as he filled his plate +for the third time from a large haunch of smoke-dried venison, for +which his recent skirmish with the Indians had given him an unusual +relish, "so it appears your recommendation of poor Halloway to mercy is +little likely to be attended to. Did you remark how displeased the +colonel looked as he bungled through it? One might almost be tempted to +think he had an interest in the man's death, so determined does he +appear to carry his point." +</P> + +<P> +Although several of his companions, perhaps, felt and thought the same, +still there was no one who would have ventured to avow his real +sentiments in so unqualified a manner. Indeed such an observation +proceeding from the lips of any other officer would have excited the +utmost surprise; but Captain Erskine, a brave, bold, frank, and +somewhat thoughtless soldier, was one of those beings who are +privileged to say any thing. His opinions were usually expressed +without ceremony; and his speech was not the most circumspect NOW, as +since his return to the fort he had swallowed, fasting, two or three +glasses of a favourite spirit, which, without intoxicating, had greatly +excited him. +</P> + +<P> +"I remarked enough," said Captain Blessington, who sat leaning his head +on one hand, while with the other he occasionally, and almost +mechanically, raised a cup filled with a liquid of a pale blood colour +to his lips,—"quite enough to make me regret from my very soul I +should have been his principal judge. Poor Halloway, I pity him much; +for, on my honour, I believe him to be the gentleman he represents +himself." +</P> + +<P> +"A finer fellow does not live," remarked the last remaining officer of +the grenadiers. "But surely Colonel de Haldimar cannot mean to carry +the sentence into effect. The recommendation of a court, couched in +such terms as these, ought alone to have some weight with him." +</P> + +<P> +"It is quite clear, from the fact of his having been remanded to his +cell, the execution of the poor fellow will be deferred at least," +observed one of Captain Erskine's subalterns. "If the governor had +intended he should suffer immediately, he would have had him shot the +moment after his sentence was read. But what is the meaning and object +of this new sortie? and whither are we now going? Do you know, Captain +Erskine, our company is again ordered for this duty?" +</P> + +<P> +"Know it, Leslie! of course I do; and for that reason am I paying my +court to the more substantial part of the breakfast. Come, Blessington, +my dear fellow, you have quite lost your appetite, and we may have +sharp work before we get back. Follow my example: throw that nasty +blood-thickening sassafras away, and lay a foundation from this +venison. None sweeter is to be found in the forests of America. A few +slices of that, and then a glass each of my best Jamaica, and we shall +have strength to go through the expedition, if its object be the +capture of the bold Ponteac himself." +</P> + +<P> +"I presume the object is rather to seek for Captain de Haldimar," said +Lieutenant Boyce, the officer of grenadiers; "but in that case why not +send out his own company?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because the Colonel prefers trusting to cooler heads and more +experienced arms," good-humouredly observed Captain Erskine. +"Blessington is our senior, and his men are all old stagers. My lads, +too, have had their mettle up already this morning, and there is +nothing like that to prepare men for a dash of enterprise. It is with +them as with blood horses, the more you put them on their speed the +less anxious are they to quit the course. Well, Johnstone, my brave +Scot, ready for another skirmish?" he asked, as that officer now +entered to satisfy the cravings of an appetite little inferior to that +of his captain. +</P> + +<P> +"With 'Nunquam non paratus' for my motto," gaily returned the young +man, "it were odd, indeed, if a mere scratch like this should prevent +me from establishing my claim to it by following wherever my gallant +captain leads." +</P> + +<P> +"Most courteously spoken, and little in the spirit of a man yet +smarting under the infliction of a rifle wound, it must be confessed," +remarked Lieutenant Leslie. "But, Johnstone, you should bear in mind a +too close adherence to that motto has been, in some degree, fatal to +your family." +</P> + +<P> +"No reflections, Leslie, if you please," returned his brother +subaltern, slightly reddening. "If the head of our family was +unfortunate enough to be considered a traitor to England, he was not +so, at least, to Scotland; and Scotland was the land of his birth. But +let his political errors be forgotten. Though the winged spur no longer +adorn the booted heel of an Earl of Annandale, the time may not be far +distant when some liberal and popular monarch of England shall restore +a title forfeited neither through cowardice nor dishonour, but from an +erroneous sense of duty." +</P> + +<P> +"That is to say," muttered Ensign Delme, looking round for approval as +he spoke, "that our present king is neither liberal nor popular. Well, +Mr. Johnstone, were such an observation to reach the ears of Colonel de +Haldimar you would stand a very fair chance of being brought to a court +martial." +</P> + +<P> +"That is to say nothing of the kind, sir," somewhat fiercely retorted +the young Scot; "but any thing I do say you are at liberty to repeat to +Colonel de Haldimar, or whom you will. I cannot understand, Leslie, why +you should have made any allusion to the misfortunes of my family at +this particular moment, and in this public manner. I trust it was not +with a view to offend me;" and he fixed his large black eyes upon his +brother subaltern, as if he would have read every thought of his mind. +</P> + +<P> +"Upon my honour, Johnstone, I meant nothing of the kind," frankly +returned Leslie. "I merely meant to hint that as you had had your share +of service this morning, you might, at least, have suffered me to +borrow your spurs, while you reposed for the present on your laurels." +</P> + +<P> +"There are my gay and gallant Scots," exclaimed Captain Erskine, as he +swallowed off a glass of the old Jamaica which lay before him, and with +which he usually neutralised the acidities of a meat breakfast, +"Settled like gentlemen and lads of spirit as ye are," he pursued, as +the young men cordially shook each other's hand across the table. "What +an enviable command is mine, to have a company of brave fellows who +would face the devil himself were it necessary; and two hot and +impatient subs., who are ready to cut each other's throat for the +pleasure of accompanying me against a set of savages that are little +better than so many devils. Come, Johnstone, you know the Colonel +allows us but one sub. at a time, in consequence of our scarcity of +officers, therefore it is but fair Leslie should have his turn. It will +not be long, I dare say, before we shall have another brush with the +rascals." +</P> + +<P> +"In my opinion," observed Captain Blessington, who had been a silent +and thoughtful witness of what was passing around him, "neither Leslie +nor Johnstone would evince so much anxiety, were they aware of the +true-nature of the duty for which our companies have been ordered. +Depend upon it, it is no search after Captain de Haldimar in which we +are about to be engaged; for much as the colonel loves his son, he +would on no account compromise the safety of the garrison, by sending a +party into the forest, where poor De Haldimar, if alive, is at all +likely to be found." +</P> + +<P> +"Faith you are right, Blessington; the governor is not one to run these +sort of risks on every occasion. My chief surprise, indeed, is, that he +suffered me to venture even upon the common; but if we are not designed +for some hostile expedition, why leave the fort at all?" +</P> + +<P> +"The question will need no answer, if Halloway be found to accompany +us." +</P> + +<P> +"Psha! why should Halloway be taken out for the purpose? If he be shot +at all, he will be shot on the ramparts, in the presence of, and as an +example to, the whole garrison. Still, on reflection, I cannot but +think it impossible the sentence should be carried into full effect, +after the strong, nay, the almost unprecedented recommendation to mercy +recorded on the face of the proceedings." +</P> + +<P> +Captain Blessington shook his head despondingly. "What think you, +Erskine, of the policy of making an example, which may be witnessed by +the enemy as well as the garrison? It is evident, from his demeanour +throughout, nothing will convince the colonel that Halloway is not a +traitor, and he may think it advisable to strike terror in the minds of +the savages, by an execution which will have the effect of showing the +treason of the soldier to have been discovered." +</P> + +<P> +In this opinion many of the officers now concurred; and as the fate of +the unfortunate Halloway began to assume a character of almost +certainty, even the spirit of the gallant Erskine, the least subdued by +the recent distressing events, was overclouded; and all sank, as if by +one consent, into silent communion with their thoughts, as they almost +mechanically completed the meal, at which habit rather than appetite +still continued them. Before any of them had yet risen from the table, +a loud and piercing scream met their ears from without; and so quick +and universal was the movement it produced, that its echo had scarcely +yet died away in distance, when the whole of the breakfast party had +issued from the room, and were already spectators of the cause. +</P> + +<P> +The barracks of the officers, consisting of a range of low buildings, +occupied the two contiguous sides of a square, and in the front of +these ran a narrow and covered piazza, somewhat similar to those +attached to the guardhouses in England, which description of building +the barracks themselves most resembled. On the other two faces of the +square stood several block-houses, a style of structure which, from +their adaptation to purposes of defence as well as of accommodation, +were every where at that period in use in America, and are even now +continued along the more exposed parts of the frontier. These, capable +of containing each a company of men, were, as their name implies, +formed of huge masses of roughly-shapen timber, fitted into each other +at the extremities by rude incisions from the axe, and filled in with +smaller wedges of wood. The upper part of these block-houses projected +on every side several feet beyond the ground floor, and over the whole +was a sheathing of planks, which, as well as those covering the +barracks of the officers, were painted of a brick-red colour. Unlike +the latter, they rose considerably above the surface of the ramparts; +and, in addition to the small window to be seen on each side of each +story of the block-house, were numerous smaller square holes, +perforated for the discharge of musketry. Between both these barracks +and the ramparts there was just space sufficient to admit of the +passage of artillery of a heavy calibre; and at each of the four +angles, composing the lines of the fort, was an opening of several feet +in extent, not only to afford the gunners room to work their batteries, +but to enable them to reach their posts with greater expedition in the +event of any sudden emergency. On the right, on entering the fort over +the drawbridge, were the block-houses of the men; and immediately in +front, and on the left, the barracks of the officers, terminated at the +outer extremity by the guard-house, and at the inner by the quarters of +the commanding officer. +</P> + +<P> +As the officers now issued from the mess-room nearly opposite to the +gate, they observed, at that part of the barracks which ran at right +angles with it, and immediately in front of the apartment of the +younger De Haldimar, whence he had apparently just issued, the +governor, struggling, though gently, to disengage himself from a +female, who, with disordered hair and dress, lay almost prostrate upon +the piazza, and clasping his booted leg with an energy evidently +borrowed from the most rooted despair. The quick eye of the haughty man +had already rested on the group of officers drawn by the scream of the +supplicant. Numbers, too, of the men, attracted by the same cause, were +collected in front of their respective block-houses, and looking from +the windows of the rooms in which they were also breakfasting, +preparatory to the expedition. Vexed and irritated beyond measure, at +being thus made a conspicuous object of observation to his inferiors, +the unbending governor made a violent and successful effort to +disengage his leg; and then, without uttering a word, or otherwise +noticing the unhappy being who lay extended at his feet, he stalked +across the parade to his apartments at the opposite angle, without +appearing to manifest the slightest consciousness of the scene that had +awakened such universal attention. +</P> + +<P> +Several of the officers, among whom was Captain Blessington, now +hastened to the assistance of the female, whom all had recognised, from +the first, to be the interesting and unhappy wife of Halloway. Many of +the comrades of the latter, who had been pained and pitying spectators +of the scene, also advanced for the same purpose; but, on perceiving +their object anticipated by their superiors, they withdrew to the +blocks-houses, whence they had issued. Never was grief more forcibly +depicted, than in the whole appearance of this unfortunate woman; never +did anguish assume a character more fitted to touch the soul, or to +command respect. Her long fair hair, that had hitherto been hid under +the coarse mob-cap, usually worn by the wives of the soldiers, was now +divested of all fastening, and lay shadowing a white and polished +bosom, which, in her violent struggles to detain the governor, had +burst from its rude but modest confinement, and was now displayed in +all the dazzling delicacy of youth and sex. If the officers gazed for a +moment with excited look upon charms that had long been strangers to +their sight, and of an order they had little deemed to find in Ellen +Halloway, it was but the involuntary tribute rendered by nature unto +beauty. The depth and sacredness of that sorrow, which had left the +wretched woman unconscious of her exposure, in the instant afterwards +imposed a check upon admiration, which each felt to be a violation of +the first principles of human delicacy, and the feeling was repressed +almost in the moment that gave it birth. +</P> + +<P> +They were immediately in front of the room occupied by Charles de +Haldimar, in the piazza of which were a few old chairs, on which the +officers were in the habit of throwing themselves during the heat of +the day. On one of these Captain Blessington, assisted by the officer +of grenadiers, now seated the suffering and sobbing wife of Halloway. +His first care was to repair the disorder of her dress; and never was +the same office performed by man with greater delicacy, or absence of +levity by those who witnessed it. This was the first moment of her +consciousness. The inviolability of modesty for a moment rose paramount +even to the desolation of her heart, and putting rudely aside the hand +that reposed unavoidably upon her person, the poor woman started from +her seat, and looked wildly about her, as if endeavouring to identify +those by whom she was surrounded. But when she observed the pitying +gaze of the officers fixed upon her, in earnestness and commiseration, +and heard the benevolent accents of the ever kind Blessington exhorting +her to composure, her weeping became more violent, and her sobs more +convulsive. Captain Blessington threw an arm round her waist to prevent +her from falling; and then motioning to two or three women of the +company to which her husband was attached, who stood at a little +distance, in front of one of the block-houses, prepared to deliver her +over to their charge. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no, not yet!" burst at length from the lips of the agonised woman, +as she shrank from the rude but well-intentioned touch of the +sympathising assistants, who had promptly answered the signal; then, as +if obeying some new direction of her feelings, some new impulse of her +grief, she liberated herself from the slight grasp of Captain +Blessington, turned suddenly round, and, before any one could +anticipate the movement, entered an opening on the piazza, raised the +latch of a door situated at its extremity, and was, in the next +instant, in the apartment of the younger De Haldimar. +</P> + +<P> +The scene that met the eyes of the officers, who now followed close +after her, was one well calculated to make an impression on the hearts +even of the most insensible. In the despair and recklessness of her +extreme sorrow, the young wife of Halloway had already thrown herself +upon her knees at the bedside of the sick officer; and, with her hands +upraised and firmly clasped together, was now supplicating him in +tones, contrasting singularly in their gentleness with the depth of the +sorrow that had rendered her thus regardless of appearances, and +insensible to observation. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Mr. de Haldimar!" she implored, "in the name of God and of our +blessed Saviour, if you would save me from madness, intercede for my +unhappy husband, and preserve him from the horrid fate that awaits him. +You are too good, too gentle, too amiable, to reject the prayer of a +heart-broken woman. Moreover, Mr. de Haldimar," she proceeded, with +deeper energy, while she caught and pressed, between her own white and +bloodless hands, one nearly as delicate that lay extended near her, +"consider all my dear but unfortunate husband has done for your family. +Think of the blood he once spilt in the defence of your brother's life; +that brother, through whom alone, oh God! he is now condemned to die. +Call to mind the days and nights of anguish I passed near his couch of +suffering, when yet writhing beneath the wound aimed at the life of +Captain de Haldimar. Almighty Providence!" she pursued, in the same +impassioned yet plaintive voice, "why is not Miss Clara here to plead +the cause of the innocent, and to touch the stubborn heart of her +merciless father? She would, indeed, move heaven and earth to save the +life of him to whom she so often vowed eternal gratitude and +acknowledgment. Ah, she little dreams of his danger now; or, if prayer +and intercession could avail, my husband should yet live, and this +terrible struggle at my heart would be no more." +</P> + +<P> +Overcome by her emotion, the unfortunate woman suffered her aching head +to droop upon the edge of the bed, and her sobbing became so painfully +violent, that all who heard her expected, at every moment, some fatal +termination to her immoderate grief. Charles de Haldimar was little +less affected; and his sorrow was the more bitter, as he had just +proved the utter inefficacy of any thing in the shape of appeal to his +inflexible father. +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Halloway, my dear Mrs. Halloway, compose yourself," said Captain +Blessington, now approaching, and endeavouring to raise her gently from +the floor, on which she still knelt, while her hands even more firmly +grasped that of De Haldimar. "You are ill, very ill, and the +consequences of this dreadful excitement may be fatal. Be advised by +me, and retire. I have desired my room to be prepared for you, and +Sergeant Wilmot's wife shall remain with you as long as you may require +it." +</P> + +<P> +"No, no, no!" she again exclaimed with energy; "what care I for my own +wretched life—my beloved and unhappy husband is to die. Oh God! to die +without guilt—to be cut off in his youth—to be shot as a traitor—and +that simply for obeying the wishes of the officer whom he loved!—the +son of the man who now spurns all supplication from his presence. It is +inhuman—it is unjust—and Heaven will punish the hard-hearted man who +murders him—yes, murders him! for such a punishment for such an +offence is nothing less than murder." Again she wept bitterly, and as +Captain Blessington still essayed to soothe and raise her:—"No, no! I +will not leave this spot," she continued; "I will not quit the side of +Mr. de Haldimar, until he pledges himself to intercede for my poor +husband. It is his duty to save the life of him who saved his brother's +life; and God and human justice are with my appeal. Oh, tell me, then, +Mr. de Haldimar,—if you would save my wretched heart from +breaking,—tell me you will intercede for, and obtain the pardon of, my +husband!" +</P> + +<P> +As she concluded this last sentence in passionate appeal, she had risen +from her knees; and, conscious only of the importance of the boon +solicited, now threw herself upon the breast of the highly pained and +agitated young officer. Her long and beautiful hair fell floating over +his face, and mingled with his own, while her arms were wildly clasped +around him, in all the energy of frantic and hopeless adjuration. +</P> + +<P> +"Almighty God!" exclaimed the agitated young man, as he made a feeble +and fruitless effort to raise the form of the unhappy woman; "what +shall I say to impart comfort to this suffering being? Oh, Mrs. +Halloway," he pursued, "I would willingly give all I possess in this +world to be the means of saving your unfortunate husband,—and as much +for his own sake as for yours would I do this; but, alas! I have not +the power. Do not think I speak without conviction. My father has just +been with me, and I have pleaded the cause of your husband with an +earnestness I should scarcely have used had my own life been at stake. +But all my entreaties have been in vain. He is obstinate in the belief +my brother's strange absence, and Donellan's death, are attributable +only to the treason of Halloway. Still there is a hope. A detachment is +to leave the fort within the hour, and Halloway is to accompany them. +It may be, my father intends this measure only with a view to terrify +him into a confession of guilt; and that he deems it politic to make +him undergo all the fearful preliminaries without carrying the sentence +itself into effect." +</P> + +<P> +The unfortunate woman said no more. When she raised her heaving chest +from that of the young officer, her eyes, though red and shrunk to half +their usual size with weeping, were tearless; but on her countenance +there was an expression of wild woe, infinitely more distressing to +behold, in consequence of the almost unnatural check so suddenly +imposed upon her feelings. She tottered, rather than walked, through +the group of officers, who gave way on either hand to let her pass; and +rejecting all assistance from the women who had followed into the room, +and who now, in obedience to another signal from Captain Blessington, +hastened to her support, finally gained the door, and quitted the +apartment. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0109"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<P> +The sun was high in the meridian, as the second detachment, commanded +by Colonel de Haldimar in person, issued from the fort of Detroit. It +was that soft and hazy season, peculiar to the bland and beautiful +autumns of Canada, when the golden light of Heaven seems as if +transmitted through a veil of tissue, and all of animate and inanimate +nature, expanding and fructifying beneath its fostering influence, +breathes the most delicious languor and voluptuous repose. It was one +of those still, calm, warm, and genial days, which in those regions +come under the vulgar designation of the Indian summer; a season that +is ever hailed by the Canadian with a satisfaction proportioned to the +extreme sultriness of the summer, and the equally oppressive rigour of +the winter, by which it is immediately preceded and followed. It is +then that Nature, who seems from the creation to have bestowed all of +grandeur and sublimity on the stupendous Americas, looks gladly and +complacently on her work; and, staying the course of parching suns and +desolating frosts, loves to luxuriate for a period in the broad and +teeming bosom of her gigantic offspring. It is then that the +forest-leaves, alike free from the influence of the howling hurricane +of summer, and the paralysing and unfathomable snows of winter, cleave, +tame and stirless in their varying tints, to the parent branch; while +the broad rivers and majestic lakes exhibit a surface resembling rather +the incrustation of the polished mirror than the resistless, viewless +particles of which the golden element is composed. It is then that, +casting its satisfied glance across those magnificent rivers, the eye +beholds, as if reflected from a mirror (so similar in production and +appearance are the contiguous shores), both the fertility of cultivated +and the rudeness of uncultivated nature, that every where surround and +diversify the view. The tall and sloping banks, covered with verdure to +the very sands, that unite with the waters lying motionless at their +base; the continuous chain of neat farm-houses (we speak principally of +Detroit and its opposite shores); the luxuriant and bending orchards, +teeming with fruits of every kind and of every colour; the ripe and +yellow corn vying in hue with the soft atmosphere, which reflects and +gives full effect to its abundance and its richness,—these, with the +intervening waters unruffled, save by the lazy skiff, or the light bark +canoe urged with the rapidity of thought along its surface by the +slight and elegantly ornamented paddle of the Indian; or by the sudden +leaping of the large salmon, the unwieldy sturgeon, the bearded +cat-fish, or the delicately flavoured maskinonge, and fifty other +tenants of their bosom;—all these contribute to form the foreground of +a picture bounded in perspective by no less interesting, though perhaps +ruder marks of the magnificence of that great architect—Nature, on +which the eye never lingers without calm; while feelings, at once +voluptuous and tender, creep insensibly over the heart, and raise the +mind in adoration to the one great and sole Cause by which the +stupendous whole has been produced. +</P> + +<P> +Such a day as that we have just described was the —— of September, +1763, when the chief portion of the English garrison of Detroit issued +forth from the fortifications in which they had so long been cooped up, +and in the presumed execution of a duty undeniably the most trying and +painful that ever fell to the lot of soldier to perform. The heavy dull +movement of the guns, as they traversed the drawbridge resembled in +that confined atmosphere the rumbling of low and distant thunder; and +as they shook the rude and hollow sounding planks, over which they were +slowly dragged, called up to every heart the sad recollection of the +service for which they had been required. Even the tramp of the men, as +they moved heavily and measuredly across the yielding bridge, seemed to +wear the character of the reluctance with which they proceeded on so +hateful a duty; and more than one individual, as he momentarily turned +his eye upon the ramparts, where many of his comrades were grouped +together watching the departure of the detachment, testified by the +significant and mournful movement of his head how much he envied their +exemption from the task. +</P> + +<P> +The direct military road runs in a straight line from the fort to the +banks of the Detroit, and the eastern extremity of the town. Here it is +intersected by the highway running parallel with the river, and +branching off at right angles on either hand; the right, leading in the +direction of the more populous states; the left, through the town, and +thence towards the more remote and western parts, where European +influence has yet been but partially extended. The only difference +between its present and former character is, that what is now a +flourishing commercial town was then a mere village; while the adjacent +country, at present teeming with every mark of vegetation, bore no +other evidence of fertility than what was afforded by a few scattered +farm-houses, many of which skirted various parts of the forest. Along +this road the detachment now wended its slow and solemn course, and +with a mournful pageantry of preparation that gave fearful earnest of +the tragedy expected to be enacted. +</P> + +<P> +In front, and dragged by the hands of the gunners, moved two of the +three three-pounders, that had been ordered for the duty. Behind these +came Captain Blessington's company, and in their rear, the prisoner +Halloway, divested of his uniform, and clad in a white cotton jacket, +and cap of the same material. Six rank and file of the grenadiers +followed, under the command of a corporal, and behind these again, came +eight men of the same company; four of whom bore on their shoulders a +coffin, covered with a coarse black pall that had perhaps already +assisted at fifty interments; while the other four carried, in addition +to their own, the muskets of their burdened comrades. After these, +marched a solitary drummer-boy; whose tall bear-skin cap attested him +to be of the grenadiers also, while his muffled instrument marked the +duty for which he had been selected. Like his comrades, none of whom +exhibited their scarlet uniforms, he wore the collar of his great coat +closely buttoned beneath his chin, which was only partially visible +above the stiff leathern stock that encircled his neck. Although his +features were half buried in his huge cap and the high collar of his +coat, there was an air of delicacy about his person that seemed to +render him unsuited to such an office; and more than once was Captain +Erskine, who followed immediately behind him at the head of his +company, compelled to call sharply to the urchin, threatening him with +a week's drill unless he mended his feeble and unequal pace, and kept +from under the feet of his men. The remaining gun brought up the rear +of the detachment, who marched with fixed bayonets and two balls in +each musket; the whole presenting a front of sections, that completely +filled up the road along which they passed. Colonel de Haldimar, +Captain Wentworth, and the Adjutant Lawson followed in the extreme rear. +</P> + +<P> +An event so singular as that of the appearance of the English without +their fort, beset as they were by a host of fierce and dangerous +enemies, was not likely to pass unnoticed by a single individual in the +little village of Detroit. We have already observed, that most of the +colonist settlers had been cruelly massacred at the very onset of +hostilities. Not so, however, with the Canadians, who, from their +anterior relations with the natives, and the mutual and tacit good +understanding that subsisted between both parties, were suffered to +continue in quiet and unmolested possession of their homes, where they +preserved an avowed neutrality, never otherwise infringed than by the +assistance secretly and occasionally rendered to the English troops, +whose gold they were glad to receive in exchange for the necessaries of +life. +</P> + +<P> +Every dwelling of the infant town had commenced giving up its tenants, +from the moment when the head of the detachment was seen traversing the +drawbridge; so that, by the time it reached the highway, and took its +direction to the left, the whole population of Detroit were already +assembled in groups, and giving expression to their several +conjectures, with a vivacity of language and energy of gesticulation +that would not have disgraced the parent land itself. As the troops +drew nearer, however, they all sank at once into a silence, as much the +result of certain unacknowledged and undefined fears, as of the respect +the English had ever been accustomed to exact. The men removed their +short dingy clay pipes from their mouths with one hand, and uncovered +themselves with the other, while the women made their hasty reverence +with the air of people who seek to propitiate by an act of civility; +even the very children scraped and bowed, as if they feared the +omission might be fatal to them, and, clinging to the hands and dress +of their parents, looked up occasionally to their countenances to +discover whether the apprehensions of their own fluttering and timid +hearts were likely to be realised. Still there was sufficient of +curiosity with all to render them attentive spectators of the passing +troop. Hitherto, it had been imagined, the object of the English was an +attack on the encampments of their enemies; but when the gaze of each +adult inhabitant fell on the unaccoutred form of the lone soldier, who, +calm though pale, now moved among his comrades in the ignominious garb +of death, they could no longer doubt its true destination. +</P> + +<P> +The aged made the sign of the cross, and mumbled over a short prayer +for the repose of his soul, while the more youthful indulged in +half-breathed ejaculations of pity and concern that so fine and +interesting a man should be doomed to so dreadful a fate. +</P> + +<P> +At the farther extremity of the town, and at a bend in the road, which +branched off more immediately towards the river, stood a small public +house, whose creaking sign bore three ill executed fleurs-de-lis, +apologetic emblems of the arms of France. The building itself was +little more than a rude log hut, along the front of which ran a plank, +supported by two stumps of trees, and serving as a temporary +accommodation both for the traveller and the inmate. On this bench +three persons, apparently attracted by the beauty of the day and the +mildness of the autumnal sun, were now seated, two of whom were +leisurely puffing their pipes, while the third, a female, was employed +in carding wool, a quantity of which lay in a basket at her feet, while +she warbled, in a low tone, one of the simple airs of her native land. +The elder of the two men, whose age might be about fifty, offered +nothing particularly remarkable in his appearance: he was dressed in +one of those thick coats made of the common white blanket, which, even +to this day, are so generally worn by the Canadians, while his hair, +cut square upon the forehead, and tied into a club of nearly a foot +long, fell into the cape, or hood, attached to it: his face was ruddy +and shining as that of any rival Boniface among the race of the +hereditary enemies of his forefathers; and his thick short neck, and +round fat person, attested he was no more an enemy to the good things +of this world than themselves, while he was as little oppressed by its +cares: his nether garments were of a coarse blue homespun, and his feet +were protected by that rudest of all rude coverings, the Canadian +shoe-pack. This was composed of a single piece of stiff brown leather, +curved and puckered round the sides and front, where it was met by a +tongue of softer material, which helped to confine it in that position, +and to form the shoe. A bandana handkerchief fell from his neck upon +his chest; the covering of which was so imperfectly drawn, as to +disclose a quantity of long, coarse, black, and grisly hair. +</P> + +<P> +His companion was habited in a still more extraordinary manner. His +lower limbs were cased, up to the mid-thigh, in leathern leggings, the +seam of which was on the outside, leaving a margin, or border, of about +an inch wide, which had been slit into innumerable small fringes, +giving them an air of elegance and lightness: a garter of leather, +curiously wrought, with the stained quills of the porcupine, encircled +each leg, immediately under the knee, where it was tied in a bow, and +then suffered to hang pendant half way down the limb; to the fringes of +the leggings, moreover, were attached numerous dark-coloured horny +substances, emitting, as they rattled against each other, at the +slightest movement of the wearer, a tinkling sound, resembling that +produced by a number of small thin delicate brass bells; these were the +tender hoofs of the wild deer, dried, scraped, and otherwise prepared +for this ornamental purpose. Upon his large feet he wore mocassins, +made of the same pliant material with his leggings, and differing in +shape from the foot-gear of his companion in this particular only, that +they had no tongue introduced into the front: they were puckered +together by a strong sinew of the deer, until they met along the instep +in a seam concealed by the same ornamental quill-work that decorated +the garters: a sort of flap, fringed like the leggings, was folded back +from the ankle, upon the sides of the foot, and the whole was confined +by a strong though neat leathern thong, made of smoked deer-skin also, +which, after passing once or twice under the foot, was then tightly +drawn several times round the ankle, where it was finally secured. Two +strips of leather, about an inch and a half in width, attached to the +outer side of each legging, were made fast at their opposite +extremities to a strong girdle, encircling the loins, and supporting a +piece of coarse blue cloth, which, after passing completely under the +body, fell in short flaps both before and behind. The remainder of the +dress consisted of a cotton shirt, figured and sprigged on a dark +ground, that fell unconfined over the person; a close deer-skin +hunting-coat, fringed also at its edges; and a coarse common felt hat, +in the string of which (for there was no band) were twisted a number of +variegated feathers, furnished by the most beautiful and rare of the +American autumnal birds. Outside this hunting-coat, and across the +right shoulder, was flung an ornamented belt, to which were appended, +on the left side, and in a line with the elbow, a shot-pouch, made of +the untanned hide of some wild animal, and a flask for powder, formed +of the horn of the buffalo; on which, highly polished for this purpose, +were inscribed, with singular accuracy of proportion, a variety of +figures, both of men, and birds, and beasts, and fishes; two or three +small horn measures for powder, and a long thin wire, intended to serve +as a pricker for the rifle that reclined against the outside of the +hut, were also attached to this belt by strips of deer-skin of about +six inches in length. Into another broad leathern belt, that confined +the hunting coat, was thrust a tomahawk, the glittering head of which +was uppermost, and unsheathed: while at the opposite side, and half +supporting the powder-horn, the huge handle of a knife, whose blade was +buried in a strong leathern sheath, was distinctly visible. +</P> + +<P> +The form and face of this individual were in perfect keeping with the +style of his costume, and the formidable character of his equipment. +His stature was considerably beyond that of the ordinary race of men, +and his athletic and muscular limbs united the extremes of strength and +activity in a singular degree. His features, marked and prominent, wore +a cast of habitual thought, strangely tinctured with ferocity; and the +general expression of his otherwise not unhandsome countenance was +repellent and disdainful. At the first glance he might have been taken +for one of the swarthy natives of the soil; but though time and +constant exposure to scorching suns had given to his complexion a dusky +hue, still there were wanting the quick, black, penetrating eye; the +high cheek-bone; the straight, coarse, shining, black hair; the small +bony hand and foot; and the placidly proud and serious air, by which +the former is distinguished. His own eye was of a deep bluish grey; his +hair short, dark, and wavy; his hands large and muscular; and so far +from exhibiting any of the self-command of the Indian, the constant +play of his features betrayed each passing thought with the same +rapidity with which it was conceived. But if any doubt could have +existed in the mind of him who beheld this strangely accoutred figure, +it would have been instantly dispelled by a glance at his lower limbs. +We have already stated the upper part of his leggings terminated about +mid-thigh; from this to the hip, that portion of the limb was +completely bare, and disclosed, at each movement of the garment that +was suffered to fall loosely over it, not the swarthy and +copper-coloured flesh of the Indian, but the pale though sun-burnt skin +of one of a more temperate clime. His age might be about forty-five. +</P> + +<P> +At the moment when the English detachment approached the bend in the +road, these two individuals were conversing earnestly together, pausing +only to puff at intervals thick and wreathing volumes of smoke from +their pipes, which were filled with a mixture of tobacco and +odoriferous herbs. Presently, however, sounds that appeared familiar to +his ear arrested the attention of the wildly accoutred being we have +last described. It was the heavy roll of the artillery carriages +already advancing along the road, and somewhat in the rear of the hut. +To dash his pipe to the ground, seize and cock and raise his rifle to +his shoulder, and throw himself forward in the eager attitude of one +waiting until the object of his aim should appear in sight, was but the +work of a moment. Startled by the suddenness of the action, his male +companion moved a few paces also from his seat, to discover the cause +of this singular movement. The female, on the contrary, stirred not, +but ceasing for a moment the occupation in which she had been engaged, +fixed her dark and brilliant eyes upon the tall and picturesque form of +the rifleman, whose active and athletic limbs, thrown into powerful +relief by the distention of each nerve and muscle, appeared to engross +her whole admiration and interest, without any reference to the cause +that had produced this abrupt and hostile change in his movements. It +was evident that, unlike the other inhabitants of the town, this group +had been taken by surprise, and were utterly unprepared to expect any +thing in the shape of interruption. +</P> + +<P> +For upwards of a minute, during which the march of the men became +audible even to the ears of the female, the formidable warrior, for +such his garb denoted him to be, continued motionless in the attitude +he had at first assumed—his right cheek reposing on the ornamented +stock of his rifle, and his quick and steady eye fixed in one +undeviating line with the sight near the breech, and that which +surmounted the extreme end of the deadly weapon. No sooner, however, +had the head of the advancing column come within sight, than the +trigger was pulled, and the small and ragged bullet sped hissing from +the grooved and delicate barrel. A triumphant cry was next pealed from +the lips of the warrior,—a cry produced by the quickly repeated +application and removal of one hand to and from the mouth, while the +other suffered the butt end of the now harmless weapon to fall loosely +upon the earth. He then slowly and deliberately withdrew within the +cover of the hut. +</P> + +<P> +This daring action, which had been viewed by the leading troops with +astonishment not unmingled with alarm, occasioned a temporary confusion +in the ranks, for all believed they had fallen into an ambuscade of the +Indians. A halt was instantly commanded by Captain Blessington, in +order to give time to the governor to come up from the rear, while he +proceeded with one of the leading sections to reconnoitre the front of +the hut. To his infinite surprise, however, he found neither enemy, nor +evidence that an enemy had been there. The only individuals visible +were the Canadian already alluded to, and the dark-eyed female. Both +were seated on the bench;—the one smoking his pipe with a well assumed +appearance of unconcern—the other carding her wool, but with a hand +that by a close observer might be seen to tremble in its office, and a +cheek that was paler considerably than at the moment when we first +placed her before the imagination of the reader. Both, however, started +with unaffected surprise on seeing Captain Blessington and his little +force turn the corner of the house from the main road; and certain +looks of recognition passed between all parties, that proved them to be +no strangers to each other. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, monsieur," said the Canadian, in a mingled dialect, neither French +nor English, but partaking in some degree of the idiom of both, while +he attempted an ease and freedom of manner that was too miserably +affected to pass current with the mild but observant officer whom he +addressed, "how much surprise I am, and glad to see you. It is a long +times since you came out of de fort. I hope de governeur and de officir +be all very well. I was tinking to go to-day to see if you want any +ting. I have got some nice rum of the Jamaique for Capitaine Erskine. +Will you please to try some?" While speaking, the voluble host of the +Fleur de lis had risen from his seat, laid aside his pipe, and now +stood with his hands thrust into the pockets of his blanket coat. +</P> + +<P> +"It is, indeed, a long time since we have been here, master Francois," +somewhat sarcastically and drily replied Captain Blessington; "and you +have not visited us quite so often latterly yourself, though well aware +we were in want of fresh provisions. I give you all due credit, +however, for your intention of coming to-day, but you see we have +anticipated you. Still this is not the point. Where is the Indian who +fired at us just now? and how is it we find you leagued with our +enemies?" +</P> + +<P> +"What, sir, is it you say?" asked the Canadian, holding up his hands +with feigned astonishment "Me league myself with de savage. Upon my +honour I did not see nobody fire, or I should tell you. I love de +English too well to do dem harms." +</P> + +<P> +"Come, come, Francois, no nonsense. If I cannot make you confess, there +is one not far from me who will. You know Colonel de Haldimar too well +to imagine he will be trifled with in this manner: if he detects you in +a falsehood, he will certainly cause you to be hanged up at the first +tree. Take my advice, therefore, and say where you have secreted this +Indian; and recollect, if we fall into an ambuscade, your life will be +forfeited at the first shot we hear fired." +</P> + +<P> +At this moment the governor, followed by his adjutant, came rapidly up +to the spot. Captain Blessington communicated the ill success of his +queries, when the former cast on the terrified Canadian one of those +severe and searching looks which he so well knew how to assume. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the rascal who fired at us, sirrah? tell me instantly, or you +have not five minutes to live." +</P> + +<P> +The heart of mine host of the Fleur de lis quailed within him at this +formidable threat; and the usually ruddy hue of his countenance had now +given place to an ashy paleness. Still, as he had positively denied all +knowledge of the matter on which he was questioned, he appeared to feel +his safety lay in adhering to his original statement. Again, therefore, +he assured the governor, on his honour (laying his hand upon his heart +as he spoke), that what he had already stated was the fact. +</P> + +<P> +"Your honour—you pitiful trading scoundrel—how dare you talk to me of +your honour? Come, sir, confess at once where you have secreted this +fellow, or prepare to die." +</P> + +<P> +"If I may be so bold, your Honour," said one of Captain Blessington's +men, "the Frenchman lies. When the Ingian fired among us, this fellow +was peeping under his shoulder and watching us also. If I had not seen +him too often at the fort to be mistaken in his person, I should have +known him, at all events, by his blanket coat and red handkerchief." +</P> + +<P> +This blunt statement of the soldier, confirmed as it was the instant +afterwards by one of his comrades, was damning proof against the +Canadian, even if the fact of the rifle being discharged from the front +of the hut had not already satisfied all parties of the falsehood of +his assertion. +</P> + +<P> +"Come forward, a couple of files, and seize this villain," resumed the +governor with his wonted sternness of manner. "Mr. Lawson, see if his +hut does not afford a rope strong enough to hang the traitor from one +of his own apple trees." +</P> + +<P> +Both parties proceeded at the same moment to execute the two distinct +orders of their chief. The Canadian was now firmly secured in the grasp +of the two men who had given evidence against him, when, seeing all the +horror of the summary and dreadful fate that awaited him, he confessed +the individual who had fired had been sitting with him the instant +previously, but that he knew no more of him than of any other savage +occasionally calling at the Fleur de lis. He added, that on discharging +the rifle he had bounded across the palings of the orchard, and fled in +the direction of the forest. He denied, on interrogation, all knowledge +or belief of an enemy waiting in ambush; stating, moreover, even the +individual in question had not been aware of the sortie of the +detachment until apprised of their near approach by the heavy sound of +the gun-carriages. +</P> + +<P> +"Here are undeniable proofs of the man's villany, sir," said the +adjutant, returning from the hut and exhibiting objects of new and +fearful interest to the governor. "This hat and rope I found secreted +in one of the bed-rooms of the auberge. The first is evidently +Donellan's; and from the hook attached to the latter, I apprehend it to +be the same stated to have been used by Captain de Haldimar in crossing +the ditch." +</P> + +<P> +The governor took the hat and rope from the hands of his subordinate, +examined them attentively, and after a few moments of deep musing, +during which his countenance underwent several rapid though scarcely +perceptible changes, turned suddenly and eagerly to the soldier who had +first convicted the Canadian in his falsehood, and demanded if he had +seen enough of the man who had fired to be able to give even a general +description of his person. +</P> + +<P> +"Why yes, your Honour, I think I can; for the fellow stood long enough +after firing his piece, for a painter to have taken him off from head +to foot. He was a taller and larger man by far than our biggest +grenadier, and that is poor Harry Donellan, as your Honour knows. But +as for his dress, though I could see it all, I scarcely can tell how to +describe it. All I know is, he was covered with smoked deer-skin, in +some such fashion as the great chief Ponteac, only, instead of having +his head bare and shaved, he wore a strange outlandish sort of a hat, +covered over with wild birds' feathers in front." +</P> + +<P> +"Enough," interrupted the governor, motioning the man to silence; then, +in an undertone to himself,—"By Heaven, the very same." A shade of +disappointment, not unmingled with suppressed alarm, passed rapidly +across his brow; it was but momentary. "Captain Blessington," he +ordered quickly and impatiently, "search the hut and grounds for this +lurking Indian, who is, no doubt, secreted in the neighbourhood. Quick, +quick, sir; there is no time to be lost." Then in an angry and +intimidating tone to the Canadian, who had already dropped on his +knees, supplicating mercy, and vociferating his innocence in the same +breath,—"So, you infernal scoundrel, this is the manner in which you +have repaid our confidence. Where is my son, sir? or have you already +murdered him, as you did his servant? Tell me, you villain, what have +you to say to these proofs of your treachery? But stay, I shall take +another and fitter opportunity to question you. Mr. Lawson, secure this +traitor properly, and let him be conveyed to the centre of the +detachment." +</P> + +<P> +The mandate was promptly obeyed; and, in despite of his own unceasing +prayers and protestations of innocence, and the tears and entreaties of +his dark-eyed daughter Babette, who had thrown herself on her knees at +his side, the stout arms of mine host of the Fleur de lis were soon +firmly secured behind his back with the strong rope that had been found +under such suspicious circumstances in his possession. Before he was +marched off, however, two of the men who had been sent in pursuit, +returned from the orchard, stating that further search was now +fruitless. They had penetrated through a small thicket at the extremity +of the grounds, and had distinctly seen a man answering the description +given by their comrades, in full flight towards the forest skirting the +heights in front. +</P> + +<P> +The governor was evidently far from being satisfied with the result of +a search too late instituted to leave even a prospect of success. +"Where are the Indians principally encamped, sirrah?" he sternly +demanded of his captive; "answer me truly, or I will carry off this +wench as well, and if a single hair of a man of mine be even singed by +a shot from a skulking enemy, you may expect to see her bayoneted +before your eyes." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, my God! Monsieur le Gouverneur," exclaimed the affrighted +aubergiste, "as I am an honest man, I shall tell de truth, but spare my +child. They are all in de forest, and half a mile from de little river +dat runs between dis and de Pork Island." +</P> + +<P> +"Hog Island, I suppose you mean." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes sir, de Hog Island is de one I means." +</P> + +<P> +"Conduct him to the centre, and let him be confronted with the +prisoner," directed the governor, addressing his adjutant; "Captain +Blessington, your men may resume their stations in the ranks." +</P> + +<P> +The order was obeyed; and notwithstanding the tears and supplications +of the now highly excited Babette, who flung herself upon his neck, and +was only removed by force, the terrified Canadian was borne off from +his premises by the troops. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0110"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<P> +While this scene was enacting in front of the Fleur de lis, one of a +far more touching and painful nature was passing in the very heart of +the detachment itself. At the moment when the halt was ordered by +Captain Blessington, a rumour ran through the ranks that they had +reached the spot destined for the execution of their ill-fated comrade. +Those only in the immediate front were aware of the true cause; but +although the report of the rifle had been distinctly heard by all, it +had been attributed by those in the rear to the accidental discharge of +one of their own muskets. A low murmur, expressive of the opinion +generally entertained, passed gradually from rear to front, until it at +length reached the ears of the delicate drummer boy who marched behind +the coffin. His face was still buried in the collar of his coat; and +what was left uncovered of his features by the cap, was in some degree +hidden by the forward drooping of his head upon his chest. Hitherto he +had moved almost mechanically along, tottering and embarrassing himself +at every step under the cumbrous drum that was suspended from a belt +round his neck over the left thigh; but now there was a certain +indescribable drawing up of the frame, and tension of the whole person, +denoting a concentration of all the moral and physical energies,—a +sudden working up, as it were, of the intellectual and corporeal being +to some determined and momentous purpose. +</P> + +<P> +At the first halt of the detachment, the weary supporters of the coffin +had deposited their rude and sombre burden upon the earth, preparatory +to its being resumed by those appointed to relieve them. The dull sound +emitted by the hollow fabric, as it touched the ground, caught the ear +of him for whom it was destined, and he turned to gaze upon the sad and +lonely tenement so shortly to become his final resting place. There was +an air of calm composure and dignified sorrow upon his brow, that +infused respect into the hearts of all who beheld him; and even the men +selected to do the duty of executioners sought to evade his glance, as +his steady eye wandered from right to left of the fatal rank. His +attention, however, was principally directed towards the coffin, which +lay before him; on this he gazed fixedly for upwards of a minute. He +then turned his eyes in the direction of the fort, shuddered, heaved a +profound sigh, and looking up to heaven with the apparent fervour that +became his situation, seemed to pray for a moment or two inwardly and +devoutly. The thick and almost suffocating breathing of one immediately +beyond the coffin, was now distinctly heard by all. Halloway started +from his attitude of devotion, gazed earnestly on the form whence it +proceeded, and then wildly extending his arms, suffered a smile of +satisfaction to illumine his pale features. All eyes were now turned +upon the drummer boy, who, evidently labouring under convulsive +excitement of feeling, suddenly dashed his cap and instrument to the +earth, and flew as fast as his tottering and uncertain steps would +admit across the coffin, and into the arms extended to receive him. +</P> + +<P> +"My Ellen! oh, my own devoted, but too unhappy Ellen!" passionately +exclaimed the soldier, as he clasped the slight and agitated form of +his disguised wife to his throbbing heart. "This, this, indeed, is joy +even in death. I thought I could have died more happily without you, +but nature tugs powerfully at my heart; and to see you once more, to +feel you once more HERE" (and he pressed her wildly to his chest) "is +indeed a bliss that robs my approaching fate of half its terror." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh Reginald! my dearly beloved Reginald! my murdered husband!" +shrieked the unhappy woman; "your Ellen will not survive you. Her heart +is already broken, though she cannot weep; but the same grave shall +contain us both. Reginald, do you believe me? I swear it; the same +grave shall contain us both." +</P> + +<P> +Exhausted with the fatigue and excitement she had undergone, the +faithful and affectionate creature now lay, without sense or motion, in +the arms of her wretched husband. Halloway bore her, unopposed, a pace +or two in advance, and deposited her unconscious form on the fatal +coffin. +</P> + +<P> +No language of ours can render justice to the trying character of the +scene. All who witnessed it were painfully affected, and over the +bronzed cheek of many a veteran coursed a tear, that, like that of +Sterne's recording angel, might have blotted out a catalogue of sins. +Although each was prepared to expect a reprimand from the governor, for +suffering the prisoner to quit his station in the ranks, humanity and +nature pleaded too powerfully in his behalf, and neither officer nor +man attempted to interfere, unless with a view to render assistance. +Captain Erskine, in particular, was deeply pained, and would have given +any thing to recall the harsh language he had used towards the supposed +idle and inattentive drummer boy. Taking from a pocket in his uniform a +small flask of brandy, which he had provided against casualties, the +compassionating officer slightly raised the head of the pale and +unconscious woman with one hand, while with the other he introduced a +few drops between her parted lips. Halloway knelt at the opposite side +of the coffin; one hand searching, but in vain, the suspended pulse of +his inanimate wife; the other, unbuttoning the breast of the drum-boy's +jacket, which, with every other part of the equipment, she wore beneath +the loose great coat so effectually accomplishing her disguise. +</P> + +<P> +Such was the position of the chief actors in this truly distressing +drama, at the moment when Colonel de Haldimar came up with his new +prisoner, to mark what effect would be produced on Halloway by his +unexpected appearance. His own surprise and disappointment may be +easily conceived, when, in the form of the recumbent being who seemed +to engross universal attention, he recognised, by the fair and +streaming hair, and half exposed bosom, the unfortunate being whom, +only two hours previously, he had spurned from his feet in the costume +of her own sex, and reduced, by the violence of her grief, to almost +infantine debility. Question succeeded question to those around, but +without eliciting any clue to the means by which this mysterious +disguise had been effected. No one had been aware, until the truth was +so singularly and suddenly revealed, the supposed drummer was any other +than one of the lads attached to the grenadiers; and as for the other +facts, they spoke too plainly to the comprehension of the governor to +need explanation. Once more, however, the detachment was called to +order. Halloway struck his hand violently upon his brow, kissed the wan +lips of his still unconscious wife, breathing, as he did so, a half +murmured hope she might indeed be the corpse she appeared. He then +raised himself from the earth with a light and elastic vet firm +movement, and resumed the place he had previously occupied, where, to +his surprise, he beheld a second victim bound, and, apparently, devoted +to the same death. When the eyes of the two unhappy men met, the +governor closely watched the expression of the countenance of each; but +although the Canadian started on beholding the soldier, it might be +merely because he saw the latter arrayed in the garb of death, and +followed by the most unequivocal demonstrations of a doom to which he +himself was, in all probability, devoted. As for Halloway, his look +betrayed neither consciousness nor recognition; and though too proud to +express complaint or to give vent to the feelings of his heart, his +whole soul appeared to be absorbed in the unhappy partner of his +luckless destiny. Presently he saw her borne, and in the same state of +insensibility, in the arms of Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Leslie, +towards the hut of his fellow prisoner, and he heard the former officer +enjoin the weeping girl, Babette, to whose charge they delivered her +over, to pay every attention to her her situation might require. The +detachment then proceeded. +</P> + +<P> +The narrow but deep and rapid river alluded to by the Canadian, as +running midway between the town and Hog Island, derived its source far +within the forest, and formed the bed of one of those wild, dark, and +thickly wooded ravines so common in America. As it neared the Detroit, +however, the abruptness of its banks was so considerably lessened, as +to render the approach to it on the town side over an almost +imperceptible slope. Within a few yards of its mouth, as we have +already observed in our introductory chapter, a rude but strong wooden +bridge, over which lay the high road, had been constructed by the +French; and from the centre of this, all the circuit of intermediate +clearing, even to the very skirt of the forest, was distinctly +commanded by the naked eye. To the right, on approaching it from the +town, lay the adjacent shores of Canada, washed by the broad waters of +the Detroit, on which it was thrown into strong relief, and which, at +the distance of about a mile in front, was seen to diverge into two +distinct channels, pursuing each a separate course, until they again +met at the western extremity of Hog Island. On the left, and in the +front, rose a succession of slightly undulating hills, which, at a +distance of little more than half a mile, terminated in an elevation +considerably above the immediate level of the Detroit side of the +ravine. That, again, was crowned with thick and overhanging forest, +taking its circular sweep, as we have elsewhere shown, around the fort. +The intermediate ground was studded over with rude stumps of trees, and +bore, in various directions, distinct proofs of the spoliation wrought +among the infant possessions of the murdered English settlers. The view +to the rear was less open; the town being partially hidden by the +fruit-laden orchards that lined the intervening high road, and hung +principally on its left. This was not the case with the fort. Between +these orchards and the distant forest lay a line of open country, fully +commanded by its cannon, even to the ravine we have described, and in a +sweep that embraced every thing from the bridge itself to the forest, +in which all traces of its source was lost. +</P> + +<P> +When the detachment had arrived within twenty yards of the bridge, they +were made to file off to the left, until the last gun had come up. They +were then fronted; the rear section of Captain Erskine's company +resting on the road, and the left flank, covered by the two first guns +pointed obliquely, both in front and rear, to guard against surprise, +in the event of any of the Indians stealing round to the cover of the +orchards. The route by which they had approached this spot was upwards +of two miles in extent; but, as they now filed off into the open +ground, the leading sections observed, in a direct line over the +cleared country, and at the distance of little more than three quarters +of a mile, the dark ramparts of the fortress that contained their +comrades, and could even distinguish the uniforms of the officers and +men drawn up in line along the works, where they were evidently +assembled to witness the execution of the sentence on Halloway. +</P> + +<P> +Such a sight as that of the English so far from their fort, was not +likely to escape the notice of the Indians. Their encampment, as the +Canadian had truly stated, lay within the forest, and beyond the +elevated ground already alluded to; and to have crossed the ravine, or +ventured out of reach of the cannon of the fort, would have been to +have sealed the destruction of the detachment. But the officer to whom +their security was entrusted, although he had his own particular views +for venturing thus far, knew also at what point to stop; and such was +the confidence of his men in his skill and prudence, they would have +fearlessly followed wherever he might have chosen to lead. Still, even +amid all the solemnity of preparation attendant on the duty they were +out to perform, there was a natural and secret apprehensiveness about +each, that caused him to cast his eyes frequently and fixedly on that +part of the forest which was known to afford cover to their merciless +foes. At times they fancied they beheld the dark and flitting forms of +men gliding from tree to tree along the skirt of the wood; but when +they gazed again, nothing of the kind was to be seen, and the illusion +was at once ascribed to the heavy state of the atmosphere, and the +action of their own precautionary instincts. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the solemn tragedy of death was preparing in mournful +silence. On the centre of the bridge, and visible to those even within +the fort, was placed the coffin of Halloway, and at twelve paces in +front were drawn up the six rank and file on whom had devolved, by lot, +the cruel duty of the day. With calm and fearless eye the prisoner +surveyed the preparations for his approaching end; and whatever might +be the inward workings of his mind, there was not among the assembled +soldiery one individual whose countenance betrayed so little of sorrow +and emotion as his own. With a firm step, when summoned, he moved +towards the fatal coffin, dashing his cap to the earth as he advanced, +and baring his chest with the characteristic contempt of death of the +soldier. When he had reached the centre of the bridge, he turned facing +his comrades, and knelt upon the coffin. Captain Blessington, who, +permitted by the governor, had followed him with a sad heart and heavy +step, now drew a Prayer-book from his pocket, and read from it in a low +voice. He then closed the volume, listened to something the prisoner +earnestly communicated to him, received a small packet which he drew +from the bosom of his shirt, shook him long and cordially by the hand, +and then hastily resumed his post at the head of the detachment. +</P> + +<P> +The principal inhabitants of the village, led by curiosity, had +followed at a distance to witness the execution of the condemned +soldier: and above the heads of the line, and crowning the slope, were +collected groups of both sexes and of all ages, that gave a still more +imposing character to the scene. Every eye was now turned upon the +firing party, who only awaited the signal to execute their melancholy +office, when suddenly, in the direction of the forest, and upon the +extreme height, there burst the tremendous and deafening yells of +upwards of a thousand savages. For an instant Halloway was forgotten in +the instinctive sense of individual danger, and all gazed eagerly to +ascertain the movements of their enemy. Presently a man, naked to the +waist, his body and face besmeared with streaks of black and red paint, +and his whole attitude expressing despair and horror, was seen flying +down the height with a rapidity proportioned to the extreme peril in +which he stood. At about fifty paces in his rear followed a dozen +bounding, screaming Indians, armed with uplifted tomahawks, whose +anxiety in pursuit lent them a speed that even surpassed the efforts of +flight itself. It was evident the object of the pursued was to reach +the detachment, that of the pursuers to prevent him. The struggle was +maintained for a few moments with equality, but in the end the latter +were triumphant, and at each step the distance that separated them +became less. At the first alarm, the detachment, with the exception of +the firing party, who still occupied their ground, had been thrown into +square, and, with a gun planted in each angle, awaited the attack +momentarily expected. But although the heights were now alive with the +dusky forms of naked warriors, who, from the skirt of the forest, +watched the exertions of their fellows, the pursuit of the wretched +fugitive was confined to these alone. Foremost of the latter, and +distinguished by his violent exertions and fiendish cries, was the tall +and wildly attired warrior of the Fleur de lis. At every bound he took +he increased the space that divided him from his companions, and +lessened that which kept him from his panting and nearly exhausted +victim. Already were they descending the nearest of the undulating +hills, and both now became conspicuous objects to all around; but +principally the pursuer, whose gigantic frame and extraordinary speed +riveted every eye, even while the interest of all was excited for the +wretched fugitive alone. +</P> + +<P> +At that moment Halloway, who had been gazing on the scene with an +astonishment little inferior to that of his comrades, sprang suddenly +to his feet upon the coffin, and waving his hand in the direction of +the pursuing enemy, shouted aloud in a voice of mingled joy and +triumph,— +</P> + +<P> +"Ha! Almighty God, I thank thee! Here, here comes one who alone has the +power to snatch me from my impending doom." +</P> + +<P> +"By Heaven, the traitor confesses, and presumes to triumph in his +guilt," exclaimed the voice of one, who, while closely attending to +every movement of the Indians, was also vigilantly watching the effect +likely to be produced on the prisoner by this unexpected interruption. +"Corporal, do your duty." +</P> + +<P> +"Stay, stay—one moment stay!" implored Halloway with uplifted hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Do your duty, sir," fiercely repeated the governor. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh stop—for God's sake, stop! Another moment and he will be here, and +I—" +</P> + +<P> +He said no more—a dozen bullets penetrated his body—one passed +directly through his heart. He leaped several feet in the air, and then +fell heavily, a lifeless bleeding corpse, across the coffin. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the pursuit of the fugitive was continued, but by the warrior +of the Fleur de lis alone. Aware of their inefficiency to keep pace +with this singular being, his companions had relinquished the chace, +and now stood resting on the brow of the hill where the wretched +Halloway had first recognised his supposed deliverer, watching eagerly, +though within musket shot of the detachment, the result of a race on +which so much apparently depended. Neither party, however, attempted to +interfere with the other, for all eyes were now turned on the flying +man and his pursuer with an interest that denoted the extraordinary +efforts of the one to evade and the other to attain the accomplishment +of his object. Although the exertions of the former had been +stupendous, such was the eagerness and determination of the latter, +that at each step he gained perceptibly on his victim. The immediate +course taken was in a direct line for the ravine, which it evidently +was the object of the fugitive to clear at its nearest point. Already +had he approached within a few paces of its brink, and every eye was +fastened on the point where it was expected the doubtful leap would be +taken, when suddenly, as if despairing to accomplish it at a bound, he +turned to the left, and winding along its bank, renewed his efforts in +the direction of the bridge. This movement occasioned a change in the +position of the parties which was favourable to the pursued. Hitherto +they had been so immediately on a line with each other, it was +impossible for the detachment to bring a musket to bear upon the +warrior, without endangering him whose life they were anxious to +preserve. For a moment or two his body was fairly exposed, and a dozen +muskets were discharged at intervals from the square, but all without +success. Recovering his lost ground, he soon brought the pursued again +in a line between himself and the detachment, edging rapidly nearer to +him as he advanced, and uttering terrific yells, that were echoed back +from his companions on the brow of the hill. It was evident, however, +his object was the recapture, not the destruction, of the flying man, +for more than once did he brandish his menacing tomahawk in rapid +sweeps around his head, as if preparing to dart it, and as often did he +check the movement. The scene at each succeeding moment became more +critical and intensely interesting. The strength of the pursued was now +nearly exhausted, while that of his formidable enemy seemed to suffer +no diminution. Leap after leap he took with fearful superiority, +sideling as he advanced. Already had he closed upon his victim, while +with a springing effort a large and bony hand was extended to secure +his shoulder in his grasp. The effort was fatal to him; for in reaching +too far he lost his balance, and fell heavily upon the sward. A shout +of exultation burst from the English troops, and numerous voices now +encouraged the pursued to renew his exertions. The advice was not lost; +and although only a few seconds had elapsed between the fall and +recovery of his pursuer, the wretched fugitive had already greatly +increased the distance that separated them. A cry of savage rage and +disappointment burst from the lips of the gigantic warrior; and +concentrating all his remaining strength and speed into one final +effort, he bounded and leapt like a deer of the forest whence he came. +The opportunity for recapture, however, had been lost in his fall, for +already the pursued was within a few feet of the high road, and on the +point of turning the extremity of the bridge. One only resource was now +left: the warrior suddenly checked himself in his course, and remained +stationary; then raising and dropping his glittering weapon several +times in a balancing position, he waited until the pursued had gained +the highest point of the open bridge. At that moment the glittering +steel, aimed with singular accuracy and precision, ran whistling +through the air, and with such velocity of movement as to be almost +invisible to the eyes of those who attempted to follow it in its +threatening course. All expected to see it enter into the brain against +which it had been directed; but the fugitive had marked the movement in +time to save himself by stooping low to the earth, while the weapon, +passing over him, entered with a deadly and crashing sound into the +brain of the weltering corpse. This danger passed, he sprang once more +to his feet, nor paused again in his flight, until, faint and +exhausted, he sank without motion under the very bayonets of the firing +party. +</P> + +<P> +A new direction was now given to the interest of the assembled and +distinct crowds that had witnessed these startling incidents. Scarcely +had the wretched man gained the protection of the soldiery, when a +shriek divided the air, so wild, so piercing, and so unearthly, that +even the warrior of the Fleur de lis seemed to lose sight of his +victim, in the harrowing interest produced by that dreadful scream. All +turned their eyes for a moment in the quarter whence it proceeded; when +presently, from behind the groups of Canadians crowning the slope, was +seen flying, with the rapidity of thought, one who resembled rather a +spectre than a being of earth;—it was the wife of Halloway. Her long +fair hair was wild and streaming—her feet, and legs, and arms were +naked—and one solitary and scanty garment displayed rather than +concealed the symmetry of her delicate person. She flew to the fatal +bridge, threw herself on the body of her bleeding husband, and +imprinting her warm kisses on his bloody lips, for a moment or two +presented the image of one whose reason has fled for ever. Suddenly she +started from the earth; her face, her hands, and her garment so +saturated with the blood of her husband, that a feeling of horror crept +throughout the veins of all who beheld her. She stood upon the coffin, +and across the corpse—raised her eyes and hands imploringly to +Heaven—and then, in accents wilder even than her words, uttered an +imprecation that sounded like the prophetic warning of some unholy +spirit. +</P> + +<P> +"Inhuman murderer!" she exclaimed, in tones that almost paralysed the +ears on which it fell, "if there be a God of justice and of truth, he +will avenge this devilish deed. Yes, Colonel de Haldimar, a prophetic +voice whispers to my soul, that even as I have seen perish before my +eyes all I loved on earth, without mercy and without hope, so even +shall you witness the destruction of your accursed race. +Here—here—here," and she pointed downwards, with singular energy of +action, to the corpse of her husband, "here shall their blood flow till +every vestige of his own is washed away; and oh, if there be spared one +branch of thy detested family, may it only be that they may be reserved +for some death too horrible to be conceived!" +</P> + +<P> +Overcome by the frantic energy with which she had uttered these +appalling words, she sank backwards, and fell, uttering another shriek, +into the arms of the warrior of the Fleur de lis. +</P> + +<P> +"Hear you this, Colonel de Haldimar?" shouted the latter in a fierce +and powerful voice, and in the purest English accent; "hear you the +curse and prophecy of this heart-broken woman? You have slain her +husband, but she has found another. Ay, she shall be my bride, if only +for her detestation of yourself. When next you see us here," he +thundered, "tremble for your race. Ha, ha, ha! no doubt this is another +victim of your cold and calculating guile; but it shall be the last. By +Heaven, my very heart leaps upward in anticipation of thy coming hour. +Woman, thy hatred to this man has made me love thee; yes, thou shall be +my bride, and with my plans of vengeance will I woo thee. By this kiss +I swear it." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke, he bent his face over that of the pale and inanimate +woman, and pressed his lips to hers, yet red and moist with blood spots +from the wounds of her husband. Then wresting, with a violent effort, +his reeking tomahawk from the cranched brain of the unfortunate +soldier, and before any one could recover sufficiently from the effect +of the scene altogether to think even of interfering, he bore off his +prize in triumph, and fled, with nearly the same expedition he had +previously manifested, in the direction of the forest. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wacousta: A Tale of the Pontiac +Conspiracy--Volume 1, by John Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA--VOLUME 1 *** + +***** This file should be named 4719-h.htm or 4719-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/7/1/4719/ + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from Charles Franks +and the distributed proofers. 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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: Wacousta: A Tale of the Pontiac Conspiracy--Volume 1 + +Author: John Richardson + +Posting Date: September 6, 2009 [EBook #4719] +Release Date: December, 2003 +First Posted: March 7, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA--VOLUME 1 *** + + + + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from Charles Franks +and the distributed proofers. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + + +WACOUSTA; + + or, + +THE PROPHECY. + +Volume One of Three + + +by + +John Richardson + + + + + +Preface + +It is well known to every man conversant with the earlier history of +this country that, shortly subsequent to the cession of the Canadas to +England by France, Ponteac, the great head of the Indian race of that +period, had formed a federation of the various tribes, threatening +extermination to the British posts established along the Western +frontier. These were nine in number, and the following stratagem was +resorted to by the artful chief to effect their reduction. Investing +one fort with his warriors, so as to cut off all communication with the +others, and to leave no hope of succor, his practice was to offer terms +of surrender, which never were kept in the honorable spirit in which +the far more noble and generous Tecumseh always acted with his enemies, +and thus, in turn, seven of these outposts fell victims to their +confidence in his truth. + +Detroit and Michilimackinac, or Mackinaw as it is now called, remained, +and all the ingenuity of the chieftain was directed to the possession +of these strongholds. The following plan, well worthy of his invention, +was at length determined upon. During a temporary truce, and while +Ponteac was holding forth proposals for an ultimate and durable peace, +a game of lacrosse was arranged by him to take place simultaneously on +the common or clearing on which rested the forts of Michilimackinac and +Detroit. The better to accomplish their object, the guns of the +warriors had been cut short and given to their women, who were +instructed to conceal them under their blankets, and during the game, +and seemingly without design, to approach the drawbridge of the fort. +This precaution taken, the players were to approach and throw over +their ball, permission to regain which they presumed would not be +denied. On approaching the drawbridge they were with fierce yells to +make a general rush, and, securing the arms concealed by the women, to +massacre the unprepared garrison. + +The day was fixed; the game commenced, and was proceeded with in the +manner previously arranged. The ball was dexterously hurled into the +fort, and permission asked to recover it. It was granted. The +drawbridge was lowered, and the Indians dashed forward for the +accomplishment of their work of blood. How different the results in the +two garrisons! At Detroit, Ponteac and his warriors had scarcely +crossed the drawbridge when, to their astonishment and disappointment, +they beheld the guns of the ramparts depressed--the artillerymen with +lighted matches at their posts and covering the little garrison, +composed of a few companies of the 42nd Highlanders, who were also +under arms, and so distributed as to take the enemy most at an +advantage. Suddenly they withdrew and without other indication of their +purpose than what had been expressed in their manner, and carried off +the missing ball. Their design had been discovered and made known by +means of significant warnings to the Governor by an Indian woman who +owed a debt of gratitude to his family, and was resolved, at all +hazards, to save them. + +On the same day the same artifice was resorted to at Michilimackinac, +and with the most complete success. There was no guardian angel there +to warn them of danger, and all fell beneath the rifle, the tomahawk, +the war-club, and the knife, one or two of the traders--a Mr. Henry +among the rest--alone excepted. + +It was not long after this event when the head of the military +authorities in the Colony, apprised of the fate of these captured +posts, and made acquainted with the perilous condition of Fort Detroit, +which was then reduced to the last extremity, sought an officer who +would volunteer the charge of supplies from Albany to Buffalo, and +thence across the lake to Detroit, which, if possible, he was to +relieve. That volunteer was promptly found in my maternal grandfather, +Mr. Erskine, from Strabane, in the North of Ireland, then an officer in +the Commissariat Department. The difficulty of the undertaking will be +obvious to those who understand the danger attending a journey through +the Western wilderness, beset as it was by the warriors of Ponteac, +ever on the lookout to prevent succor to the garrison, and yet the duty +was successfully accomplished. He left Albany with provisions and +ammunition sufficient to fill several Schnectady boats--I think +seven--and yet conducted his charge with such prudence and foresight, +that notwithstanding the vigilance of Ponteac, he finally and after +long watching succeeded, under cover of a dark and stormy night, in +throwing into the fort the supplies of which the remnant of the +gallant "Black Watch," as the 42nd was originally named, and a company +of whom, while out reconnoitering, had been massacred at a spot in the +vicinity of the town, thereafter called the Bloody Run, stood so +greatly in need. This important service rendered, Mr. Erskine, in +compliance with the instructions he had received, returned to Albany, +where he reported the success of the expedition. + +The colonial authorities were not regardless of his interests. When the +Ponteac confederacy had been dissolved, and quiet and security restored +in that remote region, large tracts of land were granted to Mr. +Erskine, and other privileges accorded which eventually gave him the +command of nearly a hundred thousand dollars--enormous sum to have been +realized at that early period of the country. But it was not destined +that he should retain this. The great bulk of his capital was expended +on almost the first commercial shipping that ever skimmed the surface +of Lakes Huron and Erie. Shortly prior to the Revolution, he was +possessed of seven vessels of different tonnage, and the trade in which +he had embarked, and of which he was the head, was rapidly increasing +his already large fortune, when one of those autumnal hurricanes, which +even to this day continue to desolate the waters of the treacherous +lake last named, suddenly arose and buried beneath its engulfing waves +not less than six of these schooners laden with such riches, chiefly +furs, of the West as then were most an object of barter. + +Mr. Erskine, who had married the daughter of one of the earliest +settlers from France, and of a family well known in history, a lady who +had been in Detroit during the siege of the British garrison by +Ponteac, now abandoned speculation, and contenting himself with the +remnant of his fortune, established himself near the banks of the +river, within a short distance of the Bloody Run. Here he continued +throughout the Revolution. Early, however, in the present century, he +quitted Detroit and repaired to the Canadian shore, where on a property +nearly opposite, which he obtained in exchange, and which in honor of +his native country he named Strabane--known as such to this day--he +passed the autumn of his days. The last time I beheld him was a day or +two subsequent to the affair of the Thames, when General Harrison and +Colonel Johnson were temporary inmates of his dwelling. + +My father, of a younger branch of the Annandale family, the head of +which was attainted in the Scottish rebellion of 1745, was an officer +of Simcoe's well-known Rangers, in which regiment, and about the same +period, the present Lord Hardinge commenced his services in this +country. Being quartered at Fort Erie, he met and married at the house +of one of the earliest Canadian merchants a daughter of Mr. Erskine, +then on a visit to her sister, and by her had eight children, of whom I +am the oldest and only survivor. Having a few years after his marriage +been ordered to St. Joseph's, near Michilimackinac, my father thought +it expedient to leave me with Mr. Erskine at Detroit, where I received +the first rudiments of my education. But here I did not remain long, +for it was during the period of the stay of the detachment of Simcoe's +Rangers at St. Joseph that Mr. Erskine repaired with his family to the +Canadian shore, where on the more elevated and conspicuous part of his +grounds which are situated nearly opposite the foot of Hog Island, so +repeatedly alluded to in "Wacousta," he had caused a flag-staff to be +erected, from which each Sabbath day proudly floated the colors under +which he had served, and which he never could bring himself to disown. + +It was at Strabane that the old lady, with whom I was a great favorite, +used to enchain my young interest by detailing various facts connected +with the siege she so well remembered, and infused into me a longing to +grow up to manhood that I might write a book about it. The details of +the Ponteac plan for the capture of the two forts were what she most +enlarged upon, and although a long lapse of years of absence from the +scene, and ten thousand incidents of a higher and more immediate +importance might have been supposed to weaken the recollections of so +early a period of life, the impression has ever vividly remained. Hence +the first appearance of "Wacousta" in London in 1832, more than a +quarter of a century later. The story is founded solely on the artifice +of Ponteac to possess himself of those two last British forts. All else +is imaginary. + +It is not a little curious that I, only a few years subsequent to the +narration by old Mrs. Erskine of the daring and cunning feats of +Ponteac, and his vain attempt to secure the fort of Detroit, should +myself have entered it in arms. But it was so. I had ever hated school +with a most bitter hatred, and I gladly availed myself of an offer from +General Brock to obtain for me a commission in the King's service. +Meanwhile I did duty as a cadet with the gallant 41st regiment, to +which the English edition of "Wacousta" was inscribed, and was one of +the guard of honor who took possession of the fort. The duty of a +sentinel over the British colors, which had just been hoisted was +assigned to me, and I certainly felt not a little proud of the +distinction. + +Five times within half a century had the flag of that fortress been +changed. First the lily of France, then the red cross of England, and +next the stars and stripes of America had floated over its ramparts; +and then again the red cross, and lastly the stars. On my return to +this country a few years since, I visited those scenes of stirring +excitement in which my boyhood had been passed, but I looked in vain +for the ancient fortifications which had given a classical interest to +that region. The unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them, +destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had risen the only +fortress in America at all worthy to give antiquity to the scene, +streets had been laid out and made, and houses had been built, leaving +not a trace of its existence save the well that formerly supplied the +closely besieged garrison with water; and this, half imbedded in the +herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling house of mean appearance, was +rather to be guessed at than seen; while at the opposite extremity of +the city, where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run, +cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every trace of the +past. + +Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a consistent +tale--the one as involving an improbability, the other a geographical +error. It has been assumed that the startling feat accomplished by that +man of deep revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt +for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and kiss the dust at +the instigation of their superiors, and yet arrogate to themselves a +claim to be considered gentlemen and men of honor and independence--it +has, I repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in +connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible. No one who +has ever seen these erections on the small forts of that day would +pronounce the same criticism. Never very lofty, they were ascended at +least one-third of their height by means of small projections nailed to +them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently compelled to clear +the flag lines entangled at the truck; therefore a strong and active +man, such as Wacousta is described to have been, might very well have +been supposed, in his strong anxiety for revenge and escape with his +victim, to have doubled his strength and activity on so important an +occasion, rendering that easy of attainment by himself which an +ordinary and unexcited man might deem impossible. I myself have knocked +down a gate, almost without feeling the resistance, in order to escape +the stilettos of assassins. + +The second objection is to the narrowness attributed in the tale to the +river St. Clair. This was done in the license usually accorded to a +writer of fiction, in order to give greater effect to the scene +represented as having occurred there, and, of course, in no way +intended as a geographical description of the river, nor was it +necessary. In the same spirit and for the same purpose it has been +continued. + +It will be seen that at the termination of the tragedy enacted at the +bridge, by which the Bloody Run was in those days crossed, that the +wretched wife of the condemned soldier pronounced a curse that could +not, of course, well be fulfilled in the course of the tale. Some few +years ago I published in Canada--I might as well have done so in +Kamschatka--the continuation, which was to have been dedicated to the +last King of England, but which, after the death of that monarch, was +inscribed to Sir John Harvey, whose letter, as making honorable mention +of a gallant and beloved brother, I feel it a duty to the memory of the +latter to subjoin. + + GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, N.B., + + Major Richardson, Montreal. + + November 26th, 1839. + + "Dear Sir;--I am favored with your very interesting + communication of the 2nd instant, by which I learn + that you are the brother of two youths whose gallantry + and merits--and with regard to one of them, his + sufferings--during the late war, excited my warmest + admiration and sympathy. I beg you to believe that I + am far from insensible to the affecting proofs which + you have made known to me of this grateful recollection + of any little service I may have had it in my power + to render them; and I will add that the desire which + I felt to serve the father will be found to extend + itself to the son, if your nephew should ever find + himself under circumstances to require from me any + service which it may be within my power to render him." + + "With regard to your very flattering proposition to + inscribe your present work to me, I can only say that, + independent of the respect to which the author of so + very charming a production as 'Wacousta' is entitled, + the interesting facts and circumstances so unexpectedly + brought to my knowledge and recollection would ensure + a ready acquiescence on my part." + + "I remain, dear sir your very faithful servant" + + "(Signed) J. HARVEY. " + +The "Prophecy Fulfilled," which, however, has never been seen out of +the small country in which it appeared--Detroit, perhaps, alone +excepted--embraces and indeed is intimately connected with the +Beauchamp tragedy, which took place at or near Weisiger's Hotel, in +Frankfort, Kentucky, where I had been many years before confined as a +prisoner of war. While connecting it with the "Prophecy Fulfilled," and +making it subservient to the end I had in view, I had not read or even +heard of the existence of a work of the same character, which had +already appeared from the pen of an American author. Indeed, I have +reason to believe that the "Prophecy Fulfilled," although not published +until after a lapse of years, was the first written. No similarity of +treatment of the subject exists between the two versions, and this, be +it remembered, I remark without in the slightest degree impugning the +merit of the production of my fellow-laborer in the same field. + +THE AUTHOR. + +New York City, January 1st, 1851. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTORY + +As we are about to introduce our readers to scenes with which the +European is little familiarised, some few cursory remarks, illustrative +of the general features of the country into which we have shifted our +labours, may not be deemed misplaced at the opening of this volume. + +Without entering into minute geographical detail, it may be necessary +merely to point out the outline of such portions of the vast continent +of America as still acknowledge allegiance to the English crown, in +order that the reader, understanding the localities, may enter with +deeper interest into the incidents of a tale connected with a ground +hitherto untouched by the wand of the modern novelist. + +All who have ever taken the trouble to inform themselves of the +features of a country so little interesting to the majority of +Englishmen in their individual character must be aware,--and for the +information of those who are not, we state,--that that portion of the +northern continent of America which is known as the United States is +divided from the Canadas by a continuous chain of lakes and rivers, +commencing at the ocean into which they empty themselves, and extending +in a north-western direction to the remotest parts of these wild +regions, which have never yet been pressed by other footsteps than +those of the native hunters of the soil. First we have the magnificent +St. Lawrence, fed from the lesser and tributary streams, rolling her +sweet and silver waters into the foggy seas of the Newfoundland.--But +perhaps it will better tend to impress our readers with a panoramic +picture of the country in which our scene of action is more immediately +laid, by commencing at those extreme and remote points of our Canadian +possessions to which their attention will be especially directed in the +course of our narrative. + +The most distant of the north-western settlements of America is +Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians, and preserved by the +Americans, who possess the fort even to this hour. It is situated at +the head of the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of +St. Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States as an +independent republic, an English garrison has been maintained, with a +view of keeping the original fortress in check. From the lakes above +mentioned we descend into the River Sinclair, which, in turn, +disembogues itself into the lake of the same name. This again renders +tribute to the Detroit, a broad majestic river, not less than a mile in +breadth at its source, and progressively widening towards its mouth +until it is finally lost in the beautiful Lake Erie, computed at about +one hundred and sixty miles in circumference. From the embouchure of +this latter lake commences the Chippawa, better known in Europe from +the celebrity of its stupendous falls of Niagara, which form an +impassable barrier to the seaman, and, for a short space, sever the +otherwise uninterrupted chain connecting the remote fortresses we have +described with the Atlantic. At a distance of a few miles from the +falls, the Chippawa finally empties itself into the Ontario, the most +splendid of the gorgeous American lakes, on the bright bosom of which, +during the late war, frigates, seventy-fours, and even a ship of one +hundred and twelve guns, manned by a crew of one thousand men, +reflected the proud pennants of England! At the opposite extremity of +this magnificent and sea-like lake, which is upwards of two hundred +miles in circumference, the far-famed St. Lawrence takes her source; +and after passing through a vast tract of country, whose elevated banks +bear every trace of fertility and cultivation, connects itself with the +Lake Champlain, celebrated, as well as Erie, for a signal defeat of our +flotilla during the late contest with the Americans. Pushing her bold +waters through this somewhat inferior lake, the St. Lawrence pursues +her course seaward with impetuosity, until arrested near La Chine by +rock-studded shallows, which produce those strong currents and eddies, +the dangers of which are so beautifully expressed in the Canadian Boat +Song,--a composition that has rendered the "rapids" almost as familiar +to the imagination of the European as the falls of Niagara themselves. +Beyond La Chine the St. Lawrence gradually unfolds herself into greater +majesty and expanse, and rolling past the busy commercial town of +Montreal, is once more increased in volume by the insignificant lake of +St. Peter's, nearly opposite to the settlement of Three Rivers, midway +between Montreal and Quebec. From thence she pursues her course unfed, +except by a few inferior streams, and gradually widens as she rolls +past the capital of the Canadas, whose tall and precipitous +battlements, bristled with cannon, and frowning defiance from the +clouds in which they appear half imbedded, might be taken by the +imaginative enthusiast for the strong tower of the Spirit of those +stupendous scenes. From this point the St. Lawrence increases in +expanse, until, at length, after traversing a country where the traces +of civilisation become gradually less and less visible, she finally +merges in the gulf, from the centre of which the shores on either hand +are often invisible to the naked eye; and in this manner is it +imperceptibly lost in that misty ocean, so dangerous to mariners from +its deceptive and almost perpetual fogs. + +In following the links of this extensive chain of lakes and rivers, it +must be borne in recollection, that, proceeding seaward from +Michilimackinac and its contiguous district, all that tract of country +which lies to the right constitutes what is now known as the United +States of America, and all on the left the two provinces of Upper and +Lower Canada, tributary to the English government, subject to the +English laws, and garrisoned by English troops. The several forts and +harbours established along the left bank of the St. Lawrence, and +throughout that portion of our possessions which is known as Lower +Canada, are necessarily, from the improved condition and more numerous +population of that province, on a larger scale and of better +appointment; but in Upper Canada, where the traces of civilisation are +less evident throughout, and become gradually more faint as we advance +westward, the fortresses and harbours bear the same proportion In +strength and extent to the scantiness of the population they are +erected to protect. Even at the present day, along that line of remote +country we have selected for the theatre of our labours, the garrisons +are both few in number and weak in strength, and evidence of +cultivation is seldom to be found at any distance in the interior; so +that all beyond a certain extent of clearing, continued along the banks +of the lakes and rivers, is thick, impervious, rayless forest, the +limits of which have never yet been explored, perhaps, by the natives +themselves. + +Such being the general features of the country even at the present day, +it will readily be comprehended how much more wild and desolate was the +character they exhibited as far back as the middle of the last century, +about which period our story commences. At that epoch, it will be borne +in mind, what we have described as being the United States were then +the British colonies of America dependent on the mother-country; while +the Canadas, on the contrary, were, or had very recently been, under +the dominion of France, from whom they had been wrested after a long +struggle, greatly advanced in favour of England by the glorious battle +fought on the plains of Abraham, near Quebec, and celebrated for the +defeat of Montcalm and the death of Wolfe. + +The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the strong hold of +Quebec having, in every instance, been met by discomfiture and +disappointment, the French, in despair, relinquished the contest, and, +by treaty, ceded their claims to the Canadas,--an event that was +hastened by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded by +the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of General Amherst. +Still, though conquered as a people, many of the leading men in the +country, actuated by that jealousy for which they were remarkable, +contrived to oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest by +those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary enemies; and in +furtherance of this object, paid agents, men of artful and intriguing +character, were dispersed among the numerous tribes of savages, with a +view of exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors. +The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of those +countries immediately bordering on the hunting grounds and haunts of +the natives, with whom they carried on an extensive traffic in furs, +had established a communionship of interest between themselves and +those savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to account +the vindictive views of the former. The whole of the province of Upper +Canada at that time possessed but a scanty population, protected in its +most flourishing and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief +object of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of a few +companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of the natives, who, +although apparently inclining to acknowledge the change of neighbours, +and professing amity, were, it was well known, too much in the interest +of their old friends the French, and even the French Canadians +themselves, not to be regarded with the most cautious distrust. + +These stockade forts were never, at any one period, nearer to each +other than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles, so that, in +the event of surprise or alarm, there was little prospect of obtaining +assistance from without. Each garrison, therefore, was almost wholly +dependent on its own resources; and, when surrounded unexpectedly by +numerous bands of hostile Indians, had no other alternative than to +hold out to the death. Capitulation was out of the question; for, +although the wile and artifice of the natives might induce them to +promise mercy, the moment their enemies were in their power promises +and treaties were alike broken, and indiscriminate massacre ensued. +Communication by water was, except during a period of profound peace, +almost impracticable; for, although of late years the lakes of Canada +have been covered with vessels of war, many of them, as we have already +remarked, of vast magnitude, and been the theatres of conflicts that +would not have disgraced the salt waters of ocean itself, at the period +to which our story refers the flag of England was seen to wave only on +the solitary mast of some ill-armed and ill-manned gunboat, employed +rather for the purpose of conveying despatches from fort to fort, than +with any serious view to acts either of aggression or defence. + +In proportion as the colonies of America, now the United States, pushed +their course of civilisation westward, in the same degree did the +numerous tribes of Indians, who had hitherto dwelt more seaward, retire +upon those of their own countrymen, who, buried in vast and +impenetrable forests, had seldom yet seen the face of the European +stranger; so that, in the end, all the more central parts of those +stupendous wilds became doubly peopled. Hitherto, however, that +civilisation had not been carried beyond the state of New York; and all +those countries which have, since the American revolution, been added +to the Union under the names of Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, +&c., were, at the period embraced by our story, inhospitable and +unproductive woods, subject only to the dominion of the native, and as +yet unshorn by the axe of the cultivator. A few portions only of the +opposite shores of Michigan were occupied by emigrants from the +Canadas, who, finding no one to oppose or molest them, selected the +most fertile spots along the banks of the river; and of the existence +of these infant settlements, the English colonists, who had never +ventured so far, were not even aware until after the conquest of Canada +by the mother-country. This particular district was the centre around +which the numerous warriors, who had been driven westward by the +colonists, had finally assembled; and rude villages and encampments +rose far and near for a circuit of many miles around this infant +settlement and fort of the Canadians, to both of which they had given +the name of Detroit, after the river on whose elevated banks they +stood. Proceeding westward from this point, and along the tract of +country that diverged from the banks of the Lakes Huron, Sinclair, and +Michigan, all traces of that partial civilisation were again lost in +impervious wilds, tenanted only by the fiercest of the Indian tribes, +whose homes were principally along the banks of that greatest of +American waters, the Lake Superior, and in the country surrounding the +isolated fort of Michilimackinac, the last and most remote of the +European fortresses in Canada. + +When at a later period the Canadas were ceded to us by France, those +parts of the opposite frontier which we have just described became also +tributary to the English crown, and were, by the peculiar difficulties +that existed to communication with the more central and populous +districts, rendered especially favourable to the exercise of hostile +intrigue by the numerous active French emissaries every where dispersed +among the Indian tribes. During the first few years of the conquest, +the inhabitants of Canada, who were all either European French, or +immediate descendants of that nation, were, as might naturally be +expected, more than restive under their new governors, and many of the +most impatient spirits of the country sought every opportunity of +sowing the seeds of distrust and jealousy in the hearts of the natives. +By these people it was artfully suggested to the Indians, that their +new oppressors were of the race of those who had driven them from the +sea, and were progressively advancing on their territories until scarce +a hunting ground or a village would be left to them. They described +them, moreover, as being the hereditary enemies of their great father, +the King of France, with whose governors they had buried the hatchet +for ever, and smoked the calumet of perpetual peace. Fired by these +wily suggestions, the high and jealous spirit of the Indian chiefs took +the alarm, and they beheld with impatience the "Red Coat," or +"Saganaw," [Footnote: This word thus pronounced by themselves, in +reference to the English soldiery, is, in all probability, derived from +the original English settlers in Saganaw Bay.] usurping, as they deemed +it, those possessions which had so recently acknowledged the supremacy +of the pale flag of their ancient ally. The cause of the Indians, and +that of the Canadians, became, in some degree, identified as one, and +each felt it was the interest, and it may be said the natural instinct, +of both, to hold communionship of purpose, and to indulge the same +jealousies and fears. Such was the state of things in 1763, the period +at which our story commences,--an epoch fruitful in designs of +hostility and treachery on the part of the Indians, who, too crafty and +too politic to manifest their feelings by overt acts declaratory of the +hatred carefully instilled into their breasts, sought every opportunity +to compass the destruction of the English, wherever they were most +vulnerable to the effects of stratagem. Several inferior forts situated +on the Ohio had already fallen into their hands, when they summoned all +their address and cunning to accomplish the fall of the two important +though remote posts of Detroit and Michilimackinac. For a length of +time they were baffled by the activity and vigilance of the respective +governors of these forts, who had had too much fatal experience in the +fate of their companions not to be perpetually on the alert against +their guile; but when they had at length, in some degree, succeeded in +lulling the suspicions of the English, they determined on a scheme, +suggested by a leading chief, a man of more than ordinary character, +which promised fair to rid them altogether of a race they so cordially +detested. We will not, however, mar the interest of our tale, by +anticipating, at this early stage, either the nature or the success of +a stratagem which forms the essential groundwork of our story. + +While giving, for the information of the many, what, we trust, will not +be considered a too compendious outline of the Canadas, and the events +connected with them, we are led to remark, that, powerful as was the +feeling of hostility cherished by the French Canadians towards the +English when the yoke of early conquest yet hung heavily on them, this +feeling eventually died away under the mild influence of a government +that preserved to them the exercise of all their customary privileges, +and abolished all invidious distinctions between the descendants of +France and those of the mother-country. So universally, too, has this +system of conciliation been pursued, we believe we may with safety +aver, of all the numerous colonies that have succumbed to the genius +and power of England, there are none whose inhabitants entertain +stronger feelings of attachment and loyalty to her than those of +Canada; and whatever may be the transient differences,--differences +growing entirely out of circumstances and interests of a local +character, and in no way tending to impeach the acknowledged fidelity +of the mass of French Canadians,--whatever, we repeat, may be the +ephemeral differences that occasionally spring up between the governors +of those provinces and individual members of the Houses of Assembly, +they must, in no way, be construed into a general feeling of +disaffection towards the English crown. + +In proportion also as the Canadians have felt and acknowledged the +beneficent effects arising from a change of rulers, so have the Indian +tribes been gradually weaned from their first fierce principle of +hostility, until they have subsequently become as much distinguished by +their attachment to, as they were three quarters of a century ago +remarkable for their untameable aversion for, every thing that bore the +English name, or assumed the English character. Indeed, the hatred +which they bore to the original colonists has been continued to their +descendants, the subjects of the United States; and the same spirit of +union subsisted between the natives and British troops, and people of +Canada, during the late American war, that at an earlier period of the +history of that country prevailed so powerfully to the disadvantage of +England. + +And now we have explained a course of events which were in some measure +necessary to the full understanding of the country by the majority of +our readers, we shall, in furtherance of the same object, proceed to +sketch a few of the most prominent scenes more immediately before us. + +The fort of Detroit, as it was originally constructed by the French, +stands in the middle of a common, or description of small prairie, +bounded by woods, which, though now partially thinned in their +outskirts, were at that period untouched by the hand of civilisation. +Erected at a distance of about half a mile from the banks of the river, +which at that particular point are high and precipitous, it stood then +just far enough from the woods that swept round it in a semicircular +form to be secure from the rifle of the Indian; while from its +batteries it commanded a range of country on every hand, which no enemy +unsupported by cannon could traverse with impunity. Immediately in the +rear, and on the skirt of the wood, the French had constructed a sort +of bomb-proof, possibly intended to serve as a cover to the workmen +originally employed in clearing the woods, but long since suffered to +fall into decay. Without the fortification rose a strong and triple +line of pickets, each of about two feet and a half in circumference, +and so fitted into each other as to leave no other interstices than +those which were perforated for the discharge of musketry. They were +formed of the hardest and most knotted pines that could be procured; +the sharp points of which were seasoned by fire until they acquired +nearly the durability and consistency of iron. Beyond these firmly +imbedded pickets was a ditch, encircling the fort, of about twenty feet +in width, and of proportionate depth, the only communication over which +to and from the garrison was by means of a drawbridge, protected by a +strong chevaux-de-frise. The only gate with which the fortress was +provided faced the river; on the more immediate banks of which, and to +the left of the fort, rose the yet infant and straggling village that +bore the name of both. Numerous farm-houses, however, almost joining +each other, contributed to form a continuity of many miles along the +borders of the river, both on the right and on the left; while the +opposite shores of Canada, distinctly seen in the distance, presented, +as far as the eye could reach, the same enlivening character of +fertility. The banks, covered with verdure on either shore, were more +or less undulating at intervals; but in general they were high without +being abrupt, and picturesque without being bold, presenting, in their +partial cultivation, a striking contrast to the dark, tall, and +frowning forests bounding every point of the perspective. + +At a distance of about five miles on the left of the town the course of +the river was interrupted by a small and thickly wooded island, along +whose sandy beach occasionally rose the low cabin or wigwam which the +birch canoe, carefully upturned and left to dry upon the sands, +attested to be the temporary habitation of the wandering Indian. That +branch of the river which swept by the shores of Canada was (as at this +day) the only navigable one for vessels of burden, while that on the +opposite coast abounded in shallows and bars, affording passage merely +to the light barks of the natives, which seemed literally to skim the +very surface of its waves. Midway, between that point of the continent +which immediately faced the eastern extremity of the island we have +just named and the town of Detroit, flowed a small tributary river, the +approaches to which, on either hand, were over a slightly sloping +ground, the view of which could be entirely commanded from the fort. +The depth of this river, now nearly dried up, at that period varied +from three to ten or twelve feet; and over this, at a distance of about +twenty yards from the Detroit, into which it emptied itself, rose, +communicating with the high road, a bridge, which will more than once +be noticed in the course of our tale. Even to the present hour it +retains the name given to it during these disastrous times; and there +are few modern Canadians, or even Americans, who traverse the "Bloody +Bridge," especially at the still hours of advanced night, without +recalling to memory the tragic events of those days, (handed down as +they have been by their fathers, who were eye-witnesses of the +transaction,) and peopling the surrounding gloom with the shades of +those whose life-blood erst crimsoned the once pure waters of that now +nearly exhausted stream; and whose mangled and headless corpses were +slowly borne by its tranquil current into the bosom of the parent +river, where all traces of them finally disappeared. + +These are the minuter features of the scene we have brought more +immediately under the province of our pen. What Detroit was in 1763 it +nearly is at the present day, with this difference, however, that many +of those points which were then in a great degree isolated and rude are +now redolent with the beneficent effects of improved cultivation; and +in the immediate vicinity of that memorable bridge, where formerly +stood merely the occasional encampment of the Indian warrior, are now +to be seen flourishing farms and crops, and other marks of agricultural +industry. Of the fort of Detroit itself we will give the following +brief history:--It was, as we have already stated, erected by the +French while in the occupancy of the country by which it is more +immediately environed; subsequently, and at the final cession of the +Canadas, it was delivered over to England, with whom it remained until +the acknowledgement of the independence of the colonists by the +mother-country, when it hoisted the colours of the republic; the +British garrison marching out, and crossing over into Canada, followed +by such of the loyalists as still retained their attachment to the +English crown. At the commencement of the late war with America it was +the first and more immediate theatre of conflict, and was remarkable, +as well as Michilimackinac, for being one of the first posts of the +Americans that fell into our hands. The gallant daring, and promptness +of decision, for which the lamented general, Sir Isaac Brock, was so +eminently distinguished, achieved the conquest almost as soon as the +American declaration of war had been made known in Canada; and on this +occasion we ourselves had the good fortune to be selected as part of +the guard of honour, whose duty it was to lower the flag of America, +and substitute that of England in its place. On the approach, however, +of an overwhelming army of the enemy in the autumn of the ensuing year +it was abandoned by our troops, after having been dismantled and +reduced, in its more combustible parts, to ashes. The Americans, who +have erected new fortifications on the site of the old, still retain +possession of a post to which they attach considerable importance, from +the circumstance of its being a key to the more western portions of the +Union. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +It was during the midnight watch, late in September, 1763, that the +English garrison of Detroit, in North America, was thrown into the +utmost consternation by the sudden and mysterious introduction of a +stranger within its walls. The circumstance at this moment was +particularly remarkable; for the period was so fearful and pregnant +with events of danger, the fort being assailed on every side by a +powerful and vindictive foe, that a caution and vigilance of no common +kind were unceasingly exercised by the prudent governor for the safety +of those committed to his charge. A long series of hostilities had been +pursued by the North-American Indians against the subjects of England, +within the few years that had succeeded to the final subjection of the +Canadas to her victorious arms; and many and sanguinary were the +conflicts in which the devoted soldiery were made to succumb to the +cunning and numbers of their savage enemies. In those lone regions, +both officers and men, in their respective ranks, were, by a +communionship of suffering, isolation, and peculiarity of duty, drawn +towards each other with feelings of almost fraternal affection; and the +fates of those who fell were lamented with sincerity of soul, and +avenged, when opportunity offered, with a determination prompted +equally by indignation and despair. This sentiment of union, existing +even between men and officers of different corps, was, with occasional +exceptions, of course doubly strengthened among those who fought under +the same colours, and acknowledged the same head; and, as it often +happened in Canada, during this interesting period, that a single +regiment was distributed into two or three fortresses, each so far +removed from the other that communication could with the utmost +facility be cut off, the anxiety and uncertainty of these detachments +became proportioned to the danger with which they knew themselves to be +more immediately beset. The garrison of Detroit, at the date above +named, consisted of a third of the ---- regiment, the remainder of +which occupied the forts of Michilimackinac and Niagara, and to each +division of this regiment was attached an officer's command of +artillery. It is true that no immediate overt act of hostility had for +some time been perpetrated by the Indians, who were assembled in force +around the former garrison; but the experienced officer to whom the +command had been intrusted was too sensible of the craftiness of the +surrounding hordes to be deceived, by any outward semblance of amity, +into neglect of those measures of precaution which were so +indispensable to the surety of his trust. + +In this he pursued a line of policy happily adapted to the delicate +nature of his position. Unwilling to excite the anger or wound the +pride of the chiefs, by any outward manifestation of distrust, he +affected to confide in the sincerity of their professions, and, by +inducing his officers to mix occasionally in their councils, and his +men in the amusements of the inferior warriors, contrived to impress +the conviction that he reposed altogether on their faith. But, although +these acts were in some degree coerced by the necessity of the times, +and a perfect knowledge of all the misery that must accrue to them in +the event of their provoking the Indians into acts of open hostility, +the prudent governor took such precautions as were deemed efficient to +defeat any treacherous attempt at violation of the tacit treaty on the +part of the natives. The officers never ventured out, unless escorted +by a portion of their men, who, although appearing to be dispersed +among the warriors, still kept sufficiently together to be enabled, in +a moment of emergency, to afford succour not only to each other but to +their superiors. On these occasions, as a further security against +surprise, the troops left within were instructed to be in readiness, at +a moment's warning, to render assistance, if necessary, to their +companions, who seldom, on any occasion, ventured out of reach of the +cannon of the fort, the gate of which was hermetically closed, while +numerous supernumerary sentinels were posted along the ramparts, with a +view to give the alarm if any thing extraordinary was observed to occur +without. + +Painful and harassing as were the precautions it was found necessary to +adopt on these occasions, and little desirous as were the garrison to +mingle with the natives on such terms, still the plan was pursued by +the Governor from the policy already named: nay, it was absolutely +essential to the future interests of England that the Indians should be +won over by acts of confidence and kindness; and so little disposition +had hitherto been manifested by the English to conciliate, that every +thing was to be apprehended from the untameable rancour with which +these people were but too well disposed to repay a neglect at once +galling to their pride and injurious to their interests. + +Such, for a term of many months, had been the trying and painful duty +that had devolved on the governor of Detroit; when, in the summer of +1763, the whole of the western tribes of Indians, as if actuated by one +common impulse, suddenly threw off the mask, and commenced a series of +the most savage trespasses upon the English settlers in the vicinity of +the several garrisons, who were cut off in detail, without mercy, and +without reference to either age or sex. On the first alarm the weak +bodies of troops, as a last measure of security, shut themselves up in +their respective forts, where they were as incapable of rendering +assistance to others as of receiving it themselves. In this emergency +the prudence and forethought of the governor of Detroit were eminently +conspicuous; for, having long foreseen the possibility of such a +crisis, he had caused a plentiful supply of all that was necessary to +the subsistence and defence of the garrison to be provided at an +earlier period, so that, if foiled in their attempts at stratagem, +there was little chance that the Indians would speedily reduce them by +famine. To guard against the former, a vigilant watch was constantly +kept by the garrison both day and night, while the sentinels, doubled +in number, were constantly on the alert. Strict attention, moreover, +was paid to such parts of the ramparts as were considered most +assailable by a cunning and midnight enemy; and, in order to prevent +any imprudence on the part of the garrison, all egress or ingress was +prohibited that had not the immediate sanction of the chief. With this +view the keys of the gate were given in trust to the officer of the +guard; to whom, however, it was interdicted to use them unless by +direct and positive order of the Governor. In addition to this +precaution, the sentinels on duty at the gate had strict private +instructions not to suffer any one to pass either in or out unless +conducted by the governor in person; and this restriction extended even +to the officer of the guard. + +Such being the cautious discipline established in the fort, the +appearance of a stranger within its walls at the still hour of midnight +could not fail to be regarded as an extraordinary event, and to excite +an apprehension which could scarcely have been surpassed had a numerous +and armed band of savages suddenly appeared among them. The first +intimation of this fact was given by the violent ringing of an alarm +bell; a rope communicating with which was suspended in the Governor's +apartments, for the purpose of arousing the slumbering soldiers in any +case of pressing emergency. Soon afterwards the Governor himself was +seen to issue from his rooms into the open area of the parade, clad in +his dressing-gown, and bearing a lamp in one hand and a naked sword in +the other. His countenance was pale; and his features, violently +agitated, betrayed a source of alarm which those who were familiar with +his usual haughtiness of manner were ill able to comprehend. + +"Which way did he go?--why stand ye here?--follow--pursue him +quickly--let him not escape, on your lives!" + +These sentences, hurriedly and impatiently uttered, were addressed to +the two sentinels who, stationed in front of his apartments, had, on +the first sound of alarm from the portentous bell, lowered their +muskets to the charge, and now stood immovable in that position. + +"Who does your honour mane?" replied one of the men, startled, yet +bringing his arms to the recover, in salutation of his chief. + +"Why, the man--the stranger--the fellow who has just passed you." + +"Not a living soul has passed us since our watch commenced, your +honour," observed the second sentinel; "and we have now been here +upwards of an hour." + +"Impossible, sirs: ye have been asleep on your posts, or ye must have +seen him. He passed this way, and could not have escaped your +observation had ye been attentive to your duty." + +"Well, sure, and your honour knows bist," rejoined the first sentinel; +"but so hilp me St. Patrick, as I have sirved man and boy in your +honour's rigimint this twilve years, not even the fitch of a man has +passed me this blissed night. And here's my comrade, Jack Halford, who +will take his Bible oath to the same, with all due difirince to your +honour." + +The pithy reply to this eloquent attempt at exculpation was a brief +"Silence, sirrah, walk about!" + +The men brought their muskets once more, and in silence, to the +shoulder, and, in obedience to the command of their chief, resumed the +limited walk allotted to them; crossing each other at regular intervals +in the semicircular course that enfiladed, as it were, the only +entrance to the Governor's apartments. + +Meanwhile every thing was bustle and commotion among the garrison, who, +roused from sleep by the appalling sound of the alarm bell at that late +hour, were hastily arming. Throughout the obscurity might be seen the +flitting forms of men, whose already fully accoutred persons proclaimed +them to be of the guard; while in the lofty barracks, numerous lights +flashing to and fro, and moving with rapidity, attested the alacrity +with which the troops off duty were equipping themselves for some +service of more than ordinary interest. So noiseless, too, was this +preparation, as far as speech was concerned, that the occasional +opening and shutting of pans, and ringing of ramrods to ascertain the +efficiency of the muskets, might be heard distinctly in the stillness +of the night at a distance of many furlongs. + +HE, however, who had touched the secret spring of all this picturesque +movement, whatever might be his gratification and approval of the +promptitude with which the summons to arms had been answered by his +brave troops, was far from being wholly satisfied with the scene he had +conjured up. Recovered from the first and irrepressible agitation which +had driven him to sound the tocsin of alarm, he felt how derogatory to +his military dignity and proverbial coolness of character it might be +considered, to have awakened a whole garrison from their slumbers, when +a few files of the guard would have answered his purpose equally well. +Besides, so much time had been suffered to elapse, that the stranger +might have escaped; and if so, how many might be disposed to ridicule +his alarm, and consider it as emanating from an imagination disturbed +by sleep, rather than caused by the actual presence of one endowed like +themselves with the faculties of speech and motion. For a moment he +hesitated whether he should not countermand the summons to arms which +had been so precipitately given; but when he recollected the harrowing +threat that had been breathed in his ear by his midnight visiter,--when +he reflected, moreover, that even now it was probable he was lurking +within the precincts of the fort with a view to the destruction of all +that it contained,--when, in short, he thought of the imminent danger +that must attend them should he be suffered to escape,--he felt the +necessity of precaution, and determined on his measures, even at the +risk of manifesting a prudence which might be construed unfavourably. +On re-entering his apartments, he found his orderly, who, roused by the +midnight tumult, stood waiting to receive the commands of his chief. + +"Desire Major Blackwater to come to me immediately." + +The mandate was quickly obeyed. In a few seconds a short, thick-set, +and elderly officer made his appearance in a grey military undress +frock. + +"Blackwater, we have traitors within the fort. Let diligent search be +made in every part of the barracks for a stranger, an enemy, who has +managed to procure admittance among us: let every nook and cranny, +every empty cask, be examined forthwith; and cause a number of +additional sentinels to be stationed along the ramparts, in order to +intercept his escape." + +"Good Heaven, is it possible?" said the Major, wiping the perspiration +from his brows, though the night was unusually chilly for the season of +the year:--"how could he contrive to enter a place so vigilantly +guarded?" + +"Ask me not HOW, Blackwater," returned the Governor seriously; "let it +suffice that he has been in this very room, and that ten minutes since +he stood where you now stand." + +The Major looked aghast.--"God bless me, how singular! How could the +savage contrive to obtain admission? or was he in reality an Indian?" + +"No more questions, MAJOR Blackwater. Hasten to distribute the men, and +let diligent search be made every where; and recollect, neither officer +nor man courts his pillow until dawn." + +The "Major" emphatically prefixed to his name was a sufficient hint to +the stout officer that the doubts thus familiarly expressed were here +to cease, and that he was now addressed in the language of authority by +his superior, who expected a direct and prompt compliance with his +orders. He therefore slightly touched his hat in salutation, and +withdrew to make the dispositions that had been enjoined by his Colonel. + +On regaining the parade, he caused the men, already forming into +companies and answering to the roll-call of their respective +non-commissioned officers, to be wheeled into square, and then in a low +but distinct voice stated the cause of alarm; and, having communicated +the orders of the Governor, finished by recommending to each the +exercise of the most scrutinising vigilance; as on the discovery of the +individual in question, and the means by which he had contrived to +procure admission, the safety of the whole garrison, it was evident, +must depend. + +The soldiers now dispersed in small parties throughout the interior of +the fort, while a select body were conducted to the ramparts by the +officers themselves, and distributed between the sentinels already +posted there, in such numbers, and at such distances, that it appeared +impossible any thing wearing the human form could pass them +unperceived, even in the obscurity that reigned around. + +When this duty was accomplished, the officers proceeded to the posts of +the several sentinels who had been planted since the last relief, to +ascertain if any or either of them had observed aught to justify the +belief that an enemy had succeeded in scaling the works. To all their +enquiries, however, they received a negative reply, accompanied by a +declaration, more or less positive with each, that such had been their +vigilance during the watch, had any person come within their beat, +detection must have been inevitable. The first question was put to the +sentinel stationed at the gate of the fort, at which point the whole of +the officers of the garrison were, with one or two exceptions, now +assembled. The man at first evinced a good deal of confusion; but this +might arise from the singular fact of the alarm that had been given, +and the equally singular circumstance of his being thus closely +interrogated by the collective body of his officers: he, however, +persisted in declaring that he had been in no wise inattentive to his +duty, and that no cause for alarm or suspicion had occurred near his +post. The officers then, in order to save time, separated into two +parties, pursuing opposite circuits, and arranging to meet at that +point of the ramparts which was immediately in the rear, and +overlooking the centre of the semicircular sweep of wild forest we have +described as circumventing the fort. + +"Well, Blessington, I know not what you think of this sort of work," +observed Sir Everard Valletort, a young lieutenant of the ---- +regiment, recently arrived from England, and one of the party who now +traversed the rampart to the right; "but confound me if I would not +rather be a barber's apprentice in London, upon nothing, and find +myself, than continue a life of this kind much longer. It positively +quite knocks me up; for what with early risings, and watchings (I had +almost added prayings), I am but the shadow of my former self." + +"Hist, Valletort, hist! speak lower," said Captain Blessington, the +senior officer present, "or our search must be in vain. Poor fellow!" +he pursued, laughing low and good humouredly at the picture of miseries +thus solemnly enumerated by his subaltern;--"how much, in truth, are +you to be pitied, who have so recently basked in all the sunshine of +enjoyment at home. For our parts, we have lived so long amid these +savage scenes, that we have almost forgotten what luxury, or even +comfort, means. Doubt not, my friend, that in time you will, like us, +be reconciled to the change." + +"Confound me for an idiot, then, if I give myself time," replied Sir +Everard affectedly. "It was only five minutes before that cursed alarm +bell was sounded in my ears, that I had made up my mind fully to resign +or exchange the instant I could do so with credit to myself; and, I am +sure, to be called out of a warm bed at this unseasonable hour offers +little inducement for me to change my opinion." + +"Resign or exchange with credit to yourself!" sullenly observed a stout +tall officer of about fifty, whose spleen might well be accounted for +in his rank of "Ensign" Delme. "Methinks there can be little credit in +exchanging or resigning, when one's companions are left behind, and in +a post of danger." + +"By Jasus, and ye may say that with your own pritty mouth," remarked +another veteran, who answered to the name of Lieutenant Murphy; "for it +isn't now, while we are surrounded and bediviled by the savages, that +any man of the ---- rigimint should be after talking of bating a +retrate." + +"I scarcely understand you, gentlemen," warmly and quickly retorted Sir +Everard, who, with all his dandyism and effeminacy of manner, was of a +high and resolute spirit. "Do either of you fancy that I want courage +to face a positive danger, because I may not happen to have any +particular vulgar predilection for early rising?" + +"Nonsense, Valletort, nonsense," interrupted, in accents of almost +feminine sweetness, his friend Lieutenant Charles de Haldimar, the +youngest son of the Governor: "Murphy is an eternal echo of the +opinions of those who look forward to promotion; and as for Delme--do +you not see the drift of his observation? Should you retire, as you +have threatened, of course another lieutenant will be appointed in your +stead; but, should you chance to lose your scalp during the struggle +with the savages, the step goes in the regiment, and he, being the +senior ensign, obtains promotion in consequence." + +"Ah!" observed Captain Blessington, "this is indeed the greatest curse +attached to the profession of a soldier. Even among those who most +esteem, and are drawn towards each other as well by fellowship in +pleasure as companionship in danger, this vile and debasing +principle--this insatiable desire for personal advancement--is certain +to intrude itself; since we feel that over the mangled bodies of our +dearest friends and companions, we can alone hope to attain preferment +and distinction." + +A moment or two of silence ensued, in the course of which each +individual appeared to be bringing home to his own heart the +application of the remark just uttered; and which, however they might +seek to disguise the truth from themselves, was too forcible to find +contradiction from the secret monitor within. And yet of those +assembled there was not one, perhaps, who would not, in the hour of +glory and of danger, have generously interposed his own frame between +that of his companion and the steel or bullet of an enemy. Such are the +contradictory elements which compose a soldier's life. + +This conversation, interrupted only by occasional questioning of the +sentinels whom they passed in their circuit, was carried on in an +audible whisper, which the close approximation of the parties to each +other, and the profound stillness of the night, enabled them to hear +with distinctness. + +"Nay, nay, De Haldimar," at length observed Sir Everard, in reply to +the observation of his friend, "do not imagine I intend to gratify Mr. +Delme by any such exhibition as that of a scalpless head; but, if such +be his hope, I trust that the hour which sees my love-locks dangling at +the top of an Indian pole may also let daylight into his own carcass +from a rifle bullet or a tomahawk." + +"And yit, Captin, it sames to me," observed Lieutenant Murphy, in +allusion to the remark of Blessington rather than in reply to the last +speaker,--"it sames to me, I say, that promotion in ony way is all fair +and honourable in times of hardship like thase; and though we may drop +a tare over our suparior when the luck of war, in the shape of a +tommyhawk, knocks him over, still there can be no rason why we +shouldn't stip into his shoes the viry nixt instant; and it's that, we +all know, that we fight for. And the divil a bitter chance any man of +us all has of promotion thin yoursilf, Captin: for it'll be mighty +strange if our fat Major doesn't git riddlid like a cullinder through +and through with the bullits from the Ingians' rifles before we have +quite done with this business, and thin you will have the rigimintal +majority, Captin; and it may be that one Liftinint Murphy, who is now +the sanior of his rank, may come in for the vacant captincy." + +"And Delme for the lieutenancy," said Charles de Haldimar +significantly. "Well, Murphy, I am happy to find that you, at least, +have hit on another than Sir Everard Valletort: one, in fact, who will +render the promotion more general than it would otherwise have been. +Seriously, I should be sorry if any thing happened to our worthy Major, +who, with all his bustling and grotesque manner, is as good an officer +and as brave a soldier as any his Majesty's army in Canada can boast. +For my part, I say, perish all promotion for ever, if it is only to be +obtained over the dead bodies of those with whom I have lived so long +and shared so many dangers!" + +"Nobly uttered, Charles," said Captain Blessington: "the sentiment is, +indeed, one well worthy of our present position; and God knows we are +few enough in number already, without looking forward to each other's +death as a means of our own more immediate personal advancement. With +you, therefore, I repeat, perish all my hopes of promotion, if it is +only to be obtained over the corpses of my companions! And let those +who are most sanguine in their expectations beware lest they prove the +first to be cut off, and that even before they have yet enjoyed the +advantages of the promotion they so eagerly covet." + +This observation, uttered without acrimony, had yet enough of delicate +reproach in it to satisfy Lieutenant Murphy that the speaker was far +from approving the expression of such selfish anticipations at a moment +like the present, when danger, in its most mysterious guise, lurked +around, and threatened the safety of all most dear to them. + +The conversation now dropped, and the party pursued their course in +silence. They had just passed the last sentinel posted in their line of +circuit, and were within a few yards of the immediate rear of the +fortress, when a sharp "Hist!" and sudden halt of their leader, Captain +Blessington, threw them all into an attitude of the most profound +attention. + +"Did you hear?" he asked in a subdued whisper, after a few seconds of +silence, in which he had vainly sought to catch a repetition of the +sound. + +"Assuredly," he pursued, finding that no one answered, "I distinctly +heard a human groan." + +"Where?--in what direction?" asked Sir Everard and De Haldimar in the +same breath. + +"Immediately opposite to us on the common. But see, here are the +remainder of the party stationary, and listening also." + +They now stole gently forward a few paces, and were soon at the side of +their companions, all of whom were straining their necks and bending +their heads in the attitude of men listening attentively. + +"Have you heard any thing, Erskine?" asked Captain Blessington in the +same low whisper, and addressing the officer who led the opposite party. + +"Not a sound ourselves, but here is Sir Everard's black servant, Sambo, +who has just riveted our attention, by declaring that he distinctly +heard a groan towards the skirt of the common." + +"He is right," hastily rejoined Blessington; "I heard it also." + +Again a death-like silence ensued, during which the eyes of the party +were strained eagerly in the direction of the common. The night was +clear and starry, yet the dark shadow of the broad belt of forest threw +all that part of the waste which came within its immediate range into +impenetrable obscurity. + +"Do you see any thing?" whispered Valletort to his friend, who stood +next him: "look--look!" and he pointed with his finger. + +"Nothing," returned De Haldimar, after an anxious gaze of a minute, +"but that dilapidated old bomb-proof." + +"See you not something dark, and slightly moving immediately in a line +with the left angle of the bomb-proof?" + +De Haldimar looked again.--"I do begin to fancy I see something," he +replied; "but so confusedly and indistinctly, that I know not whether +it be not merely an illusion of my imagination. Perhaps it is a stray +Indian dog devouring the carcass of the wolf you shot yesterday." + +"Be it dog or devil, here is for a trial of his vulnerability.--Sambo, +quick, my rifle." + +The young negro handed to his master one of those long heavy rifles, +which the Indians usually make choice of for killing the buffalo, elk, +and other animals whose wildness renders them difficult of approach. He +then, unbidden, and as if tutored to the task, placed himself in a +stiff upright position in front of his master, with every nerve and +muscle braced to the most inflexible steadiness. The young officer next +threw the rifle on the right shoulder of the boy for a rest, and +prepared to take his aim on the object that had first attracted his +attention. + +"Make haste, massa,--him go directly,--Sambo see him get up." + +All was breathless attention among the group of officers; and when the +sharp ticking sound produced by the cocking of the rifle of their +companion fell on their ears, they bent their gaze upon the point +towards which the murderous weapon was levelled with the most aching +and intense interest. + +"Quick, quick, massa,--him quite up," again whispered the boy. + +The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the crack of the rifle, +followed by a bright blaze of light, sounded throughout the stillness +of the night with exciting sharpness. For an instant all was hushed; +but scarcely had the distant woods ceased to reverberate the +spirit-stirring echoes, when the anxious group of officers were +surprised and startled by a sudden flash, the report of a second rifle +from the common, and the whizzing of a bullet past their ears. This was +instantly succeeded by a fierce, wild, and prolonged cry, expressive at +once of triumph and revenge. It was that peculiar cry which an Indian +utters when the reeking scalp has been wrested from his murdered victim. + +"Missed him, as I am a sinner," exclaimed Sir Everard, springing to his +feet, and knocking the butt of his rifle on the ground with a movement +of impatience. "Sambo, you young scoundrel, it was all your fault,--you +moved your shoulder as I pulled the trigger. Thank Heaven, however, the +aim of the Indian appears to have been no better, although the sharp +whistling of his ball proves his piece to have been well levelled for a +random shot." + +"His aim has been too true," faintly pronounced the voice of one +somewhat in the rear of his companions. "The ball of the villain has +found a lodgment in my breast. God bless ye all, my boys; may your +fates be more lucky than mine!" While he yet spoke, Lieutenant Murphy +sank into the arms of Blessington and De Haldimar, who had flown to him +at the first intimation of his wound, and was in the next instant a +corpse. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +"To your companies, gentlemen, to your companies on the instant. There +is treason in the fort, and we had need of all our diligence and +caution. Captain de Haldimar is missing, and the gate has been found +unlocked. Quick, gentlemen, quick; even now the savages may be around +us, though unseen." + +"Captain de Haldimar missing!--the gate unlocked!" exclaimed a number +of voices. "Impossible!--surely we are not betrayed by our own men." + +"The sentinel has been relieved, and is now in irons," resumed the +communicator of this startling piece of intelligence. It was the +adjutant of the regiment. + +"Away, gentlemen, to your posts immediately," said Captain Blessington, +who, aided by De Haldimar, hastened to deposit the stiffening body of +the unfortunate Murphy, which they still supported, upon the rampart. +Then addressing the adjutant, "Mr. Lawson, let a couple of files be +sent immediately to remove the body of their officer." + +"That shot which I heard from the common, as I approached, was not +fired at random, then, I find," observed the adjutant, as they all now +hastily descended to join their men.--"Who has fallen?" + +"Murphy, of the grenadiers," was the reply of one near him. + +"Poor fellow! our work commences badly," resumed Mr. Lawson: "Murphy +killed, and Captain de Haldimar missing. We had few officers enough to +spare before, and their loss will be severely felt; I greatly fear, +too, these casualties may have a tendency to discourage the men." + +"Nothing more easy than to supply their place, by promoting some of our +oldest sergeants," observed Ensign Delme, who, as well as the ill-fated +Murphy, had risen from the ranks. "If they behave themselves well, the +King will confirm their appointments." + +"But my poor brother, what of him, Lawson? what have you learnt +connected with his disappearance?" asked Charles de Haldimar with deep +emotion. + +"Nothing satisfactory, I am sorry to say," returned the adjutant; "in +fact, the whole affair is a mystery which no one can unravel; even at +this moment the sentinel, Frank Halloway, who is strongly suspected of +being privy to his disappearance, is undergoing a private examination +by your father the governor." + +"Frank Halloway!" repeated the youth with a start of astonishment; +"surely Halloway could never prove a traitor,--and especially to my +brother, whose life he once saved at the peril of his own." + +The officers had now gained the parade, when the "Fall in, gentlemen, +fall in," quickly pronounced by Major Blackwater, prevented all further +questioning on the part of the younger De Haldimar. + +The scene, though circumscribed in limit, was picturesque in effect, +and might have been happily illustrated by the pencil of the painter. +The immediate area of the parade was filled with armed men, distributed +into three divisions, and forming, with their respective ranks facing +outwards, as many sides of a hollow square, the mode of defence +invariably adopted by the Governor in all cases of sudden alarm. The +vacant space, which communicated with the powder magazine, was left +open to the movements of three three-pounders, which were to support +each face in the event of its being broken by numbers. Close to these, +and within the square, stood the number of gunners necessary to the +duty of the field-pieces, each of which was commanded by a bombardier. +At the foot of the ramparts, outside the square, and immediately +opposite to their several embrasures, were stationed the gunners +required for the batteries, under a non-commissioned officer also, and +the whole under the direction of a superior officer of that arm, who +now walked to and fro, conversing in a low voice with Major Blackwater. +One gunner at each of these divisions of the artillery held in his hand +a blazing torch, reflecting with picturesque yet gloomy effect the +bright bayonets and equipment of the soldiers, and the anxious +countenances of the women and invalids, who, bending eagerly through +the windows of the surrounding barracks, appeared to await the issue of +these preparations with an anxiety increased by the very consciousness +of having no other parts than those of spectators to play in the scene +that was momentarily expected. + +In a few minutes from the falling in of the officers with their +respective companies, the clank of irons was heard in the direction of +the guard-room, and several forms were seen slowly advancing into the +area already occupied as we have described. This party was preceded by +the Adjutant Lawson, who, advancing towards Major Blackwater, +communicated a message, that was followed by the command of the latter +officer for the three divisions to face inwards. The officer of +artillery also gave the word to his men to form lines of single files +immediately in the rear of their respective guns, leaving space enough +for the entrance of the approaching party, which consisted of half a +dozen files of the guard, under a non-commissioned officer, and one +whose manacled limbs, rather than his unaccoutred uniform, attested him +to be not merely a prisoner, but a prisoner confined for some serious +and flagrant offence. + +This party now advanced through the vacant quarter of the square, and +took their stations immediately in the centre. Here the countenances of +each, and particularly that of the prisoner, who was, if we may so term +it, the centre of that centre, were thrown into strong relief by the +bright glare of the torches as they were occasionally waved in air, to +disencumber them of their dross, so that the features of the prisoner +stood revealed to those around as plainly as if it had been noonday. +Not a sound, not a murmur, escaped from the ranks: but, though the +etiquette and strict laws of military discipline chained all speech, +the workings of the inward mind remained unchecked; and as they +recognised in the prisoner Frank Halloway, one of the bravest and +boldest in the field, and, as all had hitherto imagined, one of the +most devoted to his duty, an irrepressible thrill of amazement and +dismay crept throughout the frames, and for a moment blanched the +cheeks of those especially who belonged to the same company. On being +summoned from their fruitless search after the stranger, to fall in +without delay, it had been whispered among the men that treason had +crept into the fort, and a traitor, partly detected in his crime, had +been arrested and thrown into irons; but the idea of Frank Halloway +being that traitor was the last that could have entered into their +thoughts, and yet they now beheld him covered with every mark of +ignominy, and about to answer his high offence, in all human +probability, with his life. + +With the officers the reputation of Halloway for courage and fidelity +stood no less high; but, while they secretly lamented the circumstance +of his defalcation, they could not disguise from themselves the almost +certainty of his guilt, for each, as he now gazed upon the prisoner, +recollected the confusion and hesitation of manner he had evinced when +questioned by them preparatory to their ascending to the ramparts. + +Once more the suspense of the moment was interrupted by the entrance of +other forms into the area. They were those of the Adjutant, followed by +a drummer, bearing his instrument, and the Governor's orderly, charged +with pens, ink, paper, and a book which, from its peculiar form and +colour, every one present knew to be a copy of the Articles of War. A +variety of contending emotions passed through the breasts of many, as +they witnessed the silent progress of these preparations, rendered +painfully interesting by the peculiarity of their position, and the +wildness of the hour at which they thus found themselves assembled +together. The prisoner himself was unmoved: he stood proud, calm, and +fearless amid the guard, of whom he had so recently formed one; and +though his countenance was pale, as much, perhaps, from a sense of the +ignominious character in which he appeared as from more private +considerations, still there was nothing to denote either the abjectness +of fear or the consciousness of merited disgrace. Once or twice a low +sobbing, that proceeded at intervals from one of the barrack windows, +caught his ear, and he turned his glance in that direction with a +restless anxiety, which he exerted himself in the instant afterwards to +repress; but this was the only mark of emotion he betrayed. + +The above dispositions having been hastily made, the adjutant and his +assistants once more retired. After the lapse of a minute, a tall +martial-looking man, habited in a blue military frock, and of handsome, +though stern, haughty, and inflexible features, entered the area. He +was followed by Major Blackwater, the captain of artillery, and +Adjutant Lawson. + +"Are the garrison all present, Mr. Lawson? are the officers all +present?" + +"All except those of the guard, sir," replied the Adjutant, touching +his hat with a submission that was scrupulously exacted on all +occasions of duty by his superior. + +The Governor passed his hand for a moment over his brows. It seemed to +those around him as if the mention of that guard had called up +recollections which gave him pain; and it might be so, for his eldest +son, Captain Frederick de Haldimar, had commanded the guard. Whither he +had disappeared, or in what manner, no one knew. + +"Are the artillery all present, Captain Wentworth?" again demanded the +Governor, after a moment of silence, and in his wonted firm +authoritative voice. + +"All present, sir," rejoined the officer, following the example of the +Adjutant, and saluting his chief. + +"Then let a drum-head court-martial be assembled immediately, Mr. +Lawson, and without reference to the roster let the senior officers be +selected." + +The Adjutant went round to the respective divisions, and in a low voice +warned Captain Blessington, and the four senior subalterns, for that +duty. One by one the officers, as they were severally called upon, left +their places in the square, and sheathing their swords, stepped into +that part of the area appointed as their temporary court. They were now +all assembled, and Captain Blessington, the senior of his rank in the +garrison, was preparing to administer the customary oaths, when the +prisoner Halloway advanced a pace or two in front of his escort, and +removing his cap, in a clear, firm, but respectful voice, thus +addressed the Governor:-- + +"Colonel de Haldimar, that I am no traitor, as I have already told you, +the Almighty God, before whom I swore allegiance to his Majesty, can +bear me witness. Appearances, I own, are against me; but, so far from +being a traitor, I would have shed my last drop of blood in defence of +the garrison and your family.--Colonel de Haldimar," he pursued, after +a momentary pause, in which he seemed to be struggling to subdue the +emotion which rose, despite of himself, to his throat, "I repeat, I am +no traitor, and I scorn the imputation--but here is my best answer to +the charge. This wound, (and he unbuttoned his jacket, opened his +shirt, and disclosed a deep scar upon his white chest,) this wound I +received in defence of my captain's life at Quebec. Had I not loved +him, I should not so have exposed myself, neither but for that should I +now stand in the situation of shame and danger, in which my comrades +behold me." + +Every heart was touched by this appeal--this bold and manly appeal to +the consideration of the Governor. The officers, especially, who were +fully conversant with the general merit of Halloway, were deeply +affected, and Charles de Haldimar--the young, the generous, the feeling +Charles de Haldimar,--even shed tears. + +"What mean you, prisoner?" interrogated the Governor, after a short +pause, during which he appeared to be weighing and deducing inferences +from the expressions just uttered. "What mean you, by stating, but for +that (alluding to your regard for Captain de Haldimar) you would not +now be in this situation of shame and danger?" + +The prisoner hesitated a moment; and then rejoined, but in a tone that +had less of firmness in it than before,--"Colonel de Haldimar, I am not +at liberty to state my meaning; for, though a private soldier, I +respect my word, and have pledged myself to secrecy." + +"You respect your word, and have pledged yourself to secrecy! What mean +you, man, by this rhodomontade? To whom can you have pledged yourself, +and for what, unless it be to some secret enemy without the walls? +Gentlemen, proceed to your duty: it is evident that the man is a +traitor, even from his own admission.--On my life," he pursued, more +hurriedly, and speaking in an under tone, as if to himself, "the fellow +has been bribed by, and is connected with--." The name escaped not his +lips; for, aware of the emotion he was betraying, he suddenly checked +himself, and assumed his wonted stern and authoritative bearing. + +Once more the prisoner addressed the Governor in the same clear firm +voice in which he had opened his appeal. + +"Colonel de Haldimar, I have no connection with any living soul without +the fort; and again I repeat, I am no traitor, but a true and loyal +British soldier, as my services in this war, and my comrades, can well +attest. Still, I seek not to shun that death which I have braved a +dozen times at least in the ---- regiment. All that I ask is, that I +may not be tried--that I may not have the shame of hearing sentence +pronounced against me YET; but if nothing should occur before eight +o'clock to vindicate my character from this disgrace, I will offer up +no further prayer for mercy. In the name of that life, therefore, which +I once preserved to Captain de Haldimar, at the price of my own blood, +I entreat a respite from trial until then." + +"In the name of God and all his angels, let mercy reach your soul, and +grant his prayer!" + +Every ear was startled--every heart touched by the plaintive, +melancholy, silver tones of the voice that faintly pronounced the last +appeal, and all recognised it for that of the young, interesting, and +attached wife of the prisoner. Again the latter turned his gaze towards +the window whence the sounds proceeded, and by the glare of the torches +a tear was distinctly seen by many coursing down his manly cheek. The +weakness was momentary. In the next instant he closed his shirt and +coat, and resuming his cap, stepped back once more amid his guard, +where he remained stationary, with the air of one who, having nothing +further to hope, has resolved to endure the worst that can happen with +resignation and fortitude. + +After the lapse of a few moments, again devoted to much apparent deep +thought and conjecture, the Governor once more, and rather hurriedly, +resumed,-- + +"In the event, prisoner, of this delay in your trial being granted, +will you pledge yourself to disclose the secret to which you have +alluded? Recollect, there is nothing but that which can save your +memory from being consigned to infamy for ever; for who, among your +comrades, will believe the idle denial of your treachery, when there is +the most direct proof against you? If your secret die with you, +moreover, every honest man will consider it as having been one so +infamous and injurious to your character, that you were ashamed to +reveal it." + +These suggestions of the Colonel were not without their effect; for, in +the sudden swelling of the prisoner's chest, as allusion was made to +the disgrace that would attach to his memory, there was evidence of a +high and generous spirit, to whom obloquy was far more hateful than +even death itself. + +"I do promise," he at length replied, stepping forward, and uncovering +himself as before,--"if no one appear to justify my conduct at the hour +I have named, a full disclosure of all I know touching this affair +shall be made. And may God, of his infinite mercy, grant, for Captain +de Haldimar's sake, as well as mine, I may not then be wholly deserted!" + +There was something so peculiarly solemn and impressive in the manner +in which the unhappy man now expressed himself, that a feeling of the +utmost awe crept into the bosoms of the surrounding throng; and more +than one veteran of the grenadiers, the company to which Halloway +belonged, was heard to relieve his chest of the long pent-up sigh that +struggled for release. + +"Enough, prisoner," rejoined the Governor; "on this condition do I +grant your request; but recollect,--your disclosure ensures no hope of +pardon, unless, indeed, you have the fullest proof to offer in your +defence. Do you perfectly understand me?" + +"I do," replied the soldier firmly; and again he placed his cap on his +head, and retired a step or two back among the guard. + +"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be removed, and conducted to one of the +private cells. Who is the subaltern of the guard?" + +"Ensign Fortescue," was the answer. + +"Then let Ensign Fortescue keep the key of the cell himself. Tell him, +moreover, I shall hold him individually responsible for his charge." + +Once more the prisoner was marched out of the area; and, as the +clanking sound of his chains became gradually fainter in the distance, +the same voice that had before interrupted the proceedings, pronounced +a "God be praised!--God be praised!" with such melody of sorrow in its +intonations that no one could listen to it unmoved. Both officers and +men were more or less affected, and all hoped--they scarcely knew why +or what--but all hoped something favourable would occur to save the +life of the brave and unhappy Frank Halloway. + +Of the first interruption by the wife of the prisoner the Governor had +taken no notice; but on this repetition of the expression of her +feelings he briefly summoned, in the absence of the Adjutant, the +sergeant-major of the regiment to his side. + +"Sergeant-major Bletson, I desire that, in future, on all occasions of +this kind, the women of the regiment may be kept out of the way. Look +to it, sir!" + +The sergeant-major, who had stood erect as his own halbert, which he +held before him in a saluting position, during this brief admonition of +his colonel, acknowledged, by a certain air of deferential respect and +dropping of the eyes, unaccompanied by speech of any kind, that he felt +the reproof, and would, in future, take care to avoid all similar cause +for complaint. He then stalked stiffly away, and resumed, in a few +hasty strides, his position in rear of the troops. + +"Hard-hearted man!" pursued the same voice: "if my prayers of gratitude +to Heaven give offence, may the hour never come when my lips shall +pronounce their bitterest curse upon your severity!" + +There was something so painfully wild--so solemnly prophetic--in these +sounds of sorrow as they fell faintly upon the ear, and especially +under the extraordinary circumstances of the night, that they might +have been taken for the warnings of some supernatural agency. During +their utterance, not even the breathing of human life was to be heard +in the ranks. In the next instant, however, Sergeant-major Bletson was +seen repairing, with long and hasty strides, to the barrack whence the +voice proceeded, and the interruption was heard no more. + +Meanwhile the officers, who had been summoned from the ranks for the +purpose of forming the court-martial, still lingered in the centre of +the square, apparently waiting for the order of their superior, before +they should resume their respective stations. As the quick and +comprehensive glance of Colonel de Haldimar now embraced the group, he +at once became sensible of the absence of one of the seniors, all of +whom he had desired should be selected for the court-martial. + +"Mr. Lawson," he remarked, somewhat sternly, as the Adjutant now +returned from delivering over his prisoner to Ensign Fortescue, "I +thought I understood from your report the officers were all present!" + +"I believe, sir, my report will be found perfectly correct," returned +the Adjutant, in a tone which, without being disrespectful, marked his +offended sense of the implication. + +"And Lieutenant Murphy--" + +"Is here, sir," said the Adjutant, pointing to a couple of files of the +guard, who were bearing a heavy burden, and following into the square. +"Lieutenant Murphy," he pursued, "has been shot on the ramparts; and I +have, as directed by Captain Blessington, caused the body to be brought +here, that I may receive your orders respecting the interment." As he +spoke, he removed a long military grey cloak, which completely +enshrouded the corpse, and disclosed, by the light of the still +brightly flaming torches of the gunners, the features of the +unfortunate Murphy. + +"How did he meet his death?" enquired the governor; without, however, +manifesting the slightest surprise, or appearing at all moved at the +discovery. + +"By a rifle shot fired from the common, near the old bomb proof," +observed Captain Blessington, as the adjutant looked to him for the +particular explanation he could not render himself. + +"Ah! this reminds me," pursued the austere commandant,--"there was a +shot fired also from the ramparts. By whom, and at what?" + +"By me, sir," said Lieutenant Valletort, coming forward from the ranks, +"and at what I conceived to be an Indian, lurking as a spy upon the +common." + +"Then, Lieutenant Sir Everard Valletort, no repetition of these +firings, if you please; and let it be borne in mind by all, that +although, from the peculiar nature of the service in which we are +engaged, I so far depart from the established regulations of the army +as to permit my officers to arm themselves with rifles, they are to be +used only as occasion may require in the hour of conflict, and not for +the purpose of throwing a whole garrison into alarm by trials of skill +and dexterity upon shadows at this unseasonable hour." + +"I was not aware, sir," returned Sir Everard proudly, and secretly +galled at being thus addressed before the men, "it could be deemed a +military crime to destroy an enemy at whatever hour he might present +himself, and especially on such an occasion as the present. As for my +firing at a shadow, those who heard the yell that followed the second +shot, can determine that it came from no shadow, but from a fierce and +vindictive enemy. The cry denoted even something more than the ordinary +defiance of an Indian: it seemed to express a fiendish sentiment of +personal triumph and revenge." + +The governor started involuntarily. "Do you imagine, Sir Everard +Valletort, the aim of your rifle was true--that you hit him?" + +This question was asked so hurriedly, and in a tone so different from +that in which he had hitherto spoken, that the officers around +simultaneously raised their eyes to those of their colonel with an +expression of undissembled surprise. He observed it, and instantly +resumed his habitual sternness of look and manner. + +"I rather fear not, sir," replied Sir Everard, who had principally +remarked the emotion; "but may I hope (and this was said with +emphasis), in the evident disappointment you experience at my want of +success, my offence may be overlooked?" + +The governor fixed his penetrating eyes on the speaker, as if he would +have read his inmost mind; and then calmly, and even impressively, +observed,-- + +"Sir Everard Valletort, I do overlook the offence, and hope you may as +easily forgive yourself. It were well, however, that your indiscretion, +which can only find its excuse in your being so young an officer, had +not been altogether without some good result. Had you killed or +disabled the--the savage, there might have been a decent palliative +offered; but what must be your feelings, sir, when you reflect, the +death of yon officer," and he pointed to the corpse of the unhappy +Murphy, "is, in a great degree, attributable to yourself? Had you not +provoked the anger of the savage, and given a direction to his aim by +the impotent and wanton discharge of your own rifle, this accident +would never have happened." + +This severe reproving of an officer, who had acted from the most +praiseworthy of motives, and who could not possibly have anticipated +the unfortunate catastrophe that had occurred, was considered +especially harsh and unkind by every one present; and a low and almost +inaudible murmur passed through the company to which Sir Everard was +attached. For a minute or two that officer also appeared deeply pained, +not more from the reproof itself than from the new light in which the +observation of his chief had taught him to view, for the first time, +the causes that had led to the fall of Murphy. Finding, however, that +the governor had no further remark to address to him, he once more +returned to his station in the ranks. + +"Mr. Lawson," resumed the commandant, turning to the adjutant, "let +this victim be carried to the spot on which he fell, and there +interred. I know no better grave for a soldier than beneath the sod +that has been moistened with his blood. Recollect," he continued, as +the adjutant once more led the party out of the area,--"no firing, Mr. +Lawson. The duty must be silently performed, and without the risk of +provoking a forest of arrows, or a shower of bullets from the savages. +Major Blackwater," he pursued, as soon as the corpse had been removed, +"let the men pile their arms even as they now stand, and remain ready +to fall in at a minute's notice. Should any thing extraordinary happen +before the morning, you will, of course, apprise me." He then strode +out of the area with the same haughty and measured step that had +characterised his entrance. + +"Our colonel does not appear to be in one of his most amiable moods +to-night," observed Captain Blessington, as the officers, after having +disposed of their respective companies, now proceeded along the +ramparts to assist at the last funeral offices of their unhappy +associate. "He was disposed to be severe, and must have put you, in +some measure, out of conceit with your favourite rifle, Valletort." + +"True," rejoined the Baronet, who had already rallied from the +momentary depression of his spirits, "he hit me devilish hard, I +confess, and was disposed to display more of the commanding officer +than quite suits my ideas of the service. His words were as caustic as +his looks; and could both have pierced me to the quick, there was no +inclination on his part wanting. By my soul I could .... but I forgive +him. He is the father of my friend: and for that reason will I chew the +cud of my mortification, nor suffer, if possible, a sense of his +unkindness to rankle at my heart. At all events, Blessington, my mind +is made up, and resign or exchange I certainly shall the instant I can +find a decent loop-hole to creep out of." + +Sir Everard fancied the ear of his captain was alone listening to these +expressions of his feeling, or in all probability he would not have +uttered them. As he concluded the last sentence, however, he felt his +arm gently grasped by one who walked a pace or two silently in their +rear. He turned, and recognised Charles de Haldimar. + +"I am sure, Valletort, you will believe how much pained I have been at +the severity of my father; but, indeed, there was nothing personally +offensive intended. Blessington can tell you as well as myself it is +his manner altogether. Nay, that although he is the first in seniority +after Blackwater, the governor treats him with the same distance and +hauteur he would use towards the youngest ensign in the service. Such +are the effects of his long military habits, and his ideas of the +absolutism of command. Am I not right, Blessington?" + +"Quite right, Charles. Sir Everard may satisfy himself his is no +solitary instance of the stern severity of your father. Still, I +confess, notwithstanding the rigidity of manner which he seems, on all +occasions, to think so indispensable to the maintenance of authority in +a commanding officer, I never knew him so inclined to find fault as he +is to-night." + +"Perhaps," observed Valletort, good humouredly, "his conscience is +rather restless; and he is willing to get rid of it and his spleen +together. I would wager my rifle against the worthless scalp of the +rascal I fired at to-night, that this same stranger, whose asserted +appearance has called us from our comfortable beds, is but the creation +of his disturbed dreams. Indeed, how is it possible any thing formed of +flesh and blood could have escaped us with the vigilant watch that has +been kept on the ramparts? The old gentleman certainly had that +illusion strongly impressed on his mind when he so sapiently spoke of +my firing at a shadow." + +"But the gate," interrupted Charles de Haldimar, with something of mild +reproach in his tones,--"you forget, Valletort, the gate was found +unlocked, and that my brother is missing. HE, at least, was flesh and +blood, as you say, and yet he has disappeared. What more probable, +therefore, than that this stranger is at once the cause and the agent +of his abduction?" + +"Impossible, Charles," observed Captain Blessington; "Frederick was in +the midst of his guard. How, therefore, could he be conveyed away +without the alarm being given? Numbers only could have succeeded in so +desperate an enterprise; and yet there is no evidence, or even +suspicion, of more than one individual having been here." + +"It is a singular affair altogether," returned Sir Everard, musingly. +"Of two things, however, I am satisfied. The first is, that the +stranger, whoever he may be, and if he really has been here, is no +Indian; the second, that he is personally known to the governor, who +has been, or I mistake much, more alarmed at his individual presence +than if Ponteac and his whole band had suddenly broken in upon us. Did +you remark his emotion, when I dwelt on the peculiar character of +personal triumph and revenge which the cry of the lurking villain +outside seemed to express? and did you notice the eagerness with which +he enquired if I thought I had hit him? Depend upon it, there is more +in all this than is dreamt of in our philosophy." + +"And it was your undisguised perception of that emotion," remarked +Captain Blessington, "that drew down his severity upon your own head. +It was, however, too palpable not to be noticed by all; and I dare say +conjecture is as busily and as vaguely at work among our companions as +it is with us. The clue to the mystery, in a great degree, now dwells +with Frank Halloway; and to him we must look for its elucidation. His +disclosure will be one, I apprehend, full of ignominy to himself, but +of the highest interest and importance to us all. And yet I know not +how to believe the man the traitor he appears." + +"Did you remark that last harrowing exclamation of his wife?" observed +Charles de Haldimar, in a tone of unspeakable melancholy. "How +fearfully prophetic it sounded in my ears. I know not how it is," he +pursued, "but I wish I had not heard those sounds; for since that +moment I have had a sad strange presentiment of evil at my heart. +Heaven grant my poor brother may make his appearance, as I still trust +he will, at the hour Halloway seems to expect, for if not, the latter +most assuredly dies. I know my father well; and, if convicted by a +court martial, no human power can alter the destiny that awaits Frank +Halloway." + +"Rally, my dear Charles, rally," said Sir Everard, affecting a +confidence he did not feel himself; "indulge not in these idle and +superstitious fancies. I pity Halloway from my soul, and feel the +deepest interest in his pretty and unhappy wife; but that is no reason +why one should attach importance to the incoherent expressions wrung +from her in the agony of grief." + +"It is kind of you, Valletort, to endeavour to cheer my spirits, when, +if the truth were confessed, you acknowledge the influence of the same +feelings. I thank you for the attempt, but time alone can show how far +I shall have reason, or otherwise, to lament the occurrences of this +night." + +They had now reached that part of the ramparts whence the shot from Sir +Everard's rifle had been fired. Several men were occupied in digging a +grave in the precise spot on which the unfortunate Murphy had stood +when he received his death-wound; and into this, when completed, the +body, enshrouded in the cloak already alluded to, was deposited by his +companions. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +While the adjutant was yet reading, in a low and solemn voice, the +service for the dead, a fierce and distant yell, as if from a legion of +devils, burst suddenly from the forest, and brought the hands of the +startled officers instinctively to their swords. This appalling cry +lasted, without interruption, for many minutes, and was then as +abruptly checked as it had been unexpectedly delivered. A considerable +pause succeeded, and then again it rose with even more startling +vehemence than before. By one unaccustomed to those devilish sounds, no +distinction could have been made in the two several yells that had been +thus savagely pealed forth; but those to whom practice and long +experience in the warlike habits and customs of the Indians had +rendered their shouts familiar, at once divined, or fancied they +divined, the cause. The first was, to their conception, a yell +expressive at once of vengeance and disappointment in pursuit,--perhaps +of some prisoner who had escaped from their toils; the second, of +triumph and success,--in all probability, indicative of the recapture +of that prisoner. For many minutes afterwards the officers continued to +listen, with the most aching attention, for a repetition of the cry, or +even fainter sounds, that might denote either a nearer approach to the +fort, or the final departure of the Indians. After the second yell, +however, the woods, in the heart of which it appeared to have been +uttered, were buried in as profound a silence as if they had never yet +echoed back the voice of man; and all at length became satisfied that +the Indians, having accomplished some particular purpose, had retired +once more to their distant encampments for the night. Captain Erskine +was the first who broke the almost breathless silence that prevailed +among themselves. + +"On my life De Haldimar is a prisoner with the Indians. He has been +attempting his escape,--has been detected,--followed, and again fallen +into their hands. I know their infernal yells but too well. The last +expressed their savage joy at the capture of a prisoner; and there is +no one of us missing but De Haldimar." + +"Not a doubt of it," said Captain Blessington; "the cry was certainly +what you describe it, and Heaven only knows what will be the fate of +our poor friend." + +No other officer spoke, for all were oppressed by the weight of their +own feelings, and sought rather to give indulgence to speculation in +secret, than to share their impressions with their companions. Charles +de Haldimar stood a little in the rear, leaning his head upon his hand +against the box of the sentry, (who was silently, though anxiously, +pacing his walk,) and in an attitude expressive of the deepest +dejection and sorrow. + +"I suppose I must finish Lawson's work, although I am but a poor hand +at this sort of thing," resumed Captain Erskine, taking up the prayer +book the adjutant had, in hastening on the first alarm to get the men +under arms, carelessly thrown on the grave of the now unconscious +Murphy. + +He then commenced the service at the point where Mr. Lawson had so +abruptly broken off, and went through the remainder of the prayers. A +very few minutes sufficed for the performance of this solemn duty, +which was effected by the faint dim light of the at length dawning day, +and the men in attendance proceeded to fill up the grave of their +officer. + +Gradually the mists, that had fallen during the latter hours of the +night, began to ascend from the common, and disperse themselves in air, +conveying the appearance of a rolling sheet of vapour retiring Back +upon itself, and disclosing objects in succession, until the eye could +embrace all that came within its extent of vision. As the officers yet +lingered near the rude grave of their companion, watching with +abstracted air the languid and almost mechanical action of their jaded +men, as they emptied shovel after shovel of the damp earth over the +body of its new tenant, they were suddenly startled by an expression of +exultation from Sir Everard Valletort. + +"By Jupiter, I have pinked him," he exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew my +rifle could not err; and as for my sight, I have carried away too many +prizes in target-shooting to have been deceived in that. How delighted +the old governor will be, Charles, to hear this. No more lecturing, I +am sure, for the next six months at least;" and the young officer +rubbed his hands together, at the success of his shot, with as much +satisfaction and unconcern for the future, as if he had been in his own +native England; in the midst of a prize-ring. + +Roused by the observation of his friend, De Haldimar quitted his +position near the sentry box, and advanced to the outer edge of the +rampart. To him, as to his companions, the outline of the old bomb +proof was now distinctly visible, but it was sometime before they could +discover, in the direction in which Valletort pointed, a dark speck +upon the common; and this so indistinctly, they could scarcely +distinguish it with the naked eye. + +"Your sight is quite equal to your aim, Sir Everard," remarked +Lieutenant Johnstone, one of Erskine's subalterns, "and both are +decidedly superior to mine; yet I used to be thought a good rifleman +too, and have credit for an eye no less keen than that of an Indian. +You have the advantage of me, however; for I honestly admit I never +could have picked off yon fellow in the dark as you have done." + +As the dawn increased, the dark shadow of a human form, stretched at +its length upon the ground, became perceptible; and the officers, with +one unanimous voice, bore loud testimony to the skill and dexterity of +him who had, under such extreme disadvantages, accomplished the death +of their skulking enemy. + +"Bravo, Valletort," said Charles de Haldimar, recovering his spirits, +as much from the idea, now occurring to him, that this might indeed be +the stranger whose appearance had so greatly disturbed his father, as +from the gratification he felt in the praises bestowed on his friend. +"Bravo, my dear fellow;" then approaching, and in a half whisper, "when +next I write to Clara, I shall request her, with my cousin's +assistance, to prepare a chaplet of bays, wherewith I shall myself +crown you as their proxy. But what is the matter now, Valletort? Why +stand you there gazing upon the common, as if the victim of your +murderous aim was rising from his bloody couch, to reproach you with +his death? Tell me, shall I write to Clara for the prize, or will you +receive it from her own hands?" + +"Bid her rather pour her curses on my head; and to those, De Haldimar, +add your own," exclaimed Sir Everard, at length raising himself from +the statue-like position he had assumed. "Almighty God," he pursued, in +the same tone of deep agony, "what have I done? Where, where shall I +hide myself?" + +As he spoke he turned away from his companions, and covering his eyes +with his hand, with quick and unequal steps, even like those of a +drunken man, walked, or rather ran, along the rampart, as if fearful of +being overtaken. + +The whole group of officers, and Charles de Haldimar in particular, +were struck with dismay at the language and action of Sir Everard; and +for a moment they fancied that fatigue, and watching, and excitement, +had partially affected his brain. But when, after the lapse of a minute +or two, they again looked out upon the common, the secret of his +agitation was too faithfully and too painfully explained. + +What had at first the dusky and dingy hue of a half-naked Indian, was +now perceived, by the bright beams of light just gathering in the east, +to be the gay and striking uniform of a British officer. Doubt as to +who that officer was there could be none, for the white sword-belt +suspended over the right shoulder, and thrown into strong relief by the +field of scarlet on which it reposed, denoted the wearer of this +distinguishing badge of duty to be one of the guard. + +To comprehend effectually the feelings of the officers, it would be +necessary that one should have been not merely a soldier, but a soldier +under the same circumstances. Surrounded on every hand by a fierce and +cruel enemy--prepared at every moment to witness scenes of barbarity +and bloodshed in their most appalling shapes--isolated from all society +beyond the gates of their own fortress, and by consequence reposing on +and regarding each other as vital links in the chain of their wild and +adventurous existence,--it can easily be understood with what sincere +and unaffected grief they lamented the sudden cutting off even of those +who least assimilated in spirit and character with themselves. Such, in +a great degree, had been the case in the instance of the officer over +whose grave they were now met to render the last offices of +companionship, if not of friendship. Indeed Murphy--a rude, vulgar, and +illiterate, though brave Irishman--having risen from the ranks, the +coarseness of which he had never been able to shake off, was little +calculated, either by habits or education, to awaken feelings, except +of the most ordinary description, in his favour; and he and Ensign +Delme were the only exceptions to those disinterested and tacit +friendships that had grown up out of circumstances in common among the +majority. If, therefore, they could regret the loss of such a companion +as Murphy, how deep and heartfelt must have been the sorrow they +experienced when they beheld the brave, generous, manly, amiable, and +highly-talented Frederick de Haldimar--the pride of the garrison, and +the idol of his family--lying extended, a cold, senseless corpse, slain +by the hand of the bosom friend of his own brother!--Notwithstanding +the stern severity and distance of the governor, whom few +circumstances, however critical or exciting, could surprise into +relaxation of his habitual stateliness, it would have been difficult to +name two young men more universally liked and esteemed by their brother +officers than were the De Haldimars--the first for the qualities +already named--the second, for those retiring, mild, winning manners, +and gentle affections, added to extreme and almost feminine beauty of +countenance for which he was remarkable. Alas, what a gloomy picture +was now exhibited to the minds of all!--Frederick de Haldimar a corpse, +and slain by the hand of Sir Everard Valletort! What but disunion could +follow this melancholy catastrophe? and how could Charles de Haldimar, +even if his bland nature should survive the shock, ever bear to look +again upon the man who had, however innocently or unintentionally, +deprived him of a brother whom he adored? + +These were the impressions that passed through the minds of the +compassionating officers, as they directed their glance alternately +from the common to the pale and marble-like features of the younger De +Haldimar, who, with parted lips and stupid gaze, continued to fix his +eyes upon the inanimate form of his ill-fated brother, as if the very +faculty of life itself had been for a period suspended. At length, +however, while his companions watched in silence the mining workings of +that grief which they feared to interrupt by ill-timed observations, +even of condolence, the death-like hue, which had hitherto suffused the +usually blooming cheek of the young officer, was succeeded by a flush +of the deepest dye, while his eyes, swollen by the tide of blood now +rushing violently to his face, appeared to be bursting from their +sockets. The shock was more than his delicate frame, exhausted as it +was by watching and fatigue, could bear. He tottered, reeled, pressed +his hand upon his head, and before any one could render him assistance, +fell senseless on the ramparts. + +During the interval between Sir Everard Valletort's exclamation, and +the fall of Charles de Haldimar, the men employed at the grave had +performed their duty, and were gazing with mingled astonishment and +concern, both on the body of their murdered officer, and on the dumb +scene acting around them. Two of these were now despatched for a +litter, with which they speedily re-appeared. On this Charles de +Haldimar, already delirious with the fever of intense excitement, was +carefully placed, and, followed by Captain Blessington and Lieutenant +Johnstone, borne to his apartment in the small range of buildings +constituting the officers' barracks. Captain Erskine undertook the +disagreeable office of communicating these distressing events to the +governor; and the remainder of the officers once more hastened to join +or linger near their respective companies, in readiness for the order +which it was expected would be given to despatch a numerous party of +the garrison to secure the body of Captain de Haldimar. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The sun was just rising above the horizon, in all that peculiar +softness of splendour which characterises the early days of autumn in +America, as Captain Erskine led his company across the drawbridge that +communicated with the fort. It was the first time it had been lowered +since the investment of the garrison by the Indians; and as the dull +and rusty chains performed their service with a harsh and grating +sound, it seemed as if an earnest were given of melancholy boding. +Although the distance to be traversed was small, the risk the party +incurred was great; for it was probable the savages, ever on the alert, +would not suffer them to effect their object unmolested. It was perhaps +singular, and certainly contradictory, that an officer of the +acknowledged prudence and forethought ascribed to the +governor--qualities which in a great degree neutralised his excessive +severity in the eyes of his troops--should have hazarded the chance of +having his garrison enfeebled by the destruction of a part, if not of +the whole, of the company appointed to this dangerous duty; but with +all his severity, Colonel de Haldimar was not without strong affection +for his children. The feelings of the father, therefore, in a great +degree triumphed over the prudence of the commander; and to shield the +corpse of his son from the indignities which he well knew would be +inflicted on it by Indian barbarity, he had been induced to accede to +the earnest prayer of Captain Erskine, that he might be permitted to +lead out his company for the purpose of securing the body. Every means +were, however, taken to cover the advance, and ensure the retreat of +the detachment. The remainder of the troops were distributed along the +rear of the ramparts, with instructions to lie flat on their faces +until summoned by their officers from that position; which was to be +done only in the event of close pursuit from the savages. Artillerymen +were also stationed at the several guns that flanked the rear of the +fort, and necessarily commanded both the common and the outskirt of the +forest, with orders to fire with grape-shot at a given signal. Captain +Erskine's instructions were, moreover, if attacked, to retreat back +under the guns of the fort slowly and in good order, and without +turning his back upon the enemy. + +Thus confident of support, the party, after traversing the drawbridge +with fixed bayonets, inclined to the right, and following the winding +of the ditch by which it was surrounded, made the semi-circuit of the +rampart until they gained the immediate centre of the rear, and in a +direct line with the bomb-proof. Here their mode of advance was +altered, to guard more effectually against the enemy with whom they +might possibly have to contend. The front and rear ranks of the +company, consisting in all of ninety men, were so placed as to leave +space in the event of attack, of a portion of each wheeling inwards so +as to present in an instant three equal faces of a square. As the rear +was sufficiently covered by the cannon of the fort to defeat any +attempt to turn their flanks, the manoeuvre was one that enabled them +to present a fuller front in whatever other quarter they might be +attacked; and had this additional advantage, that in the advance by +single files a narrower front was given to the aim of the Indians, who, +unless they fired in an oblique direction, could only, of necessity, +bring down two men (the leading files) at a time. + +In this order, and anxiously overlooked by their comrades, whose eyes +alone peered from above the surface of the rampart on which they lay +prostrate, the detachment crossed the common; one rank headed by +Captain Erskine, the other by Lieutenant Johnstone. They had now +approached within a few yards of the unfortunate victim, when Captain +Erskine commanded a halt of his party; and two files were detached from +the rear of each rank, to place the body on a litter with which they +had provided themselves. He and Johnstone also moved in the same +direction in advance of the men, prepared to render assistance if +required. The corpse lay on its face, and in no way despoiled of any of +its glittering habiliments; a circumstance that too well confirmed the +fact of De Haldimar's death having been accomplished by the ball from +Sir Everard Valletort's rifle. It appeared, however, the ill-fated +officer had struggled much in the agonies of death; for the left leg +was drawn Up into an unnatural state of contraction, and the right +hand, closely compressed, grasped a quantity of grass and soil, which +had evidently been torn up in a paroxysm of suffering and despair. + +The men placed the litter at the side of the body, which they now +proceeded to raise. As they were in the act of depositing it on this +temporary bier, the plumed hat fell from the head, and disclosed, to +the astonishment of all, the scalpless crown completely saturated in +its own clotted blood and oozing brains. + +An exclamation of horror and disgust escaped at the same moment from +the lips of the two officers, and the men started back from their +charge as if a basilisk had suddenly appeared before them. Captain +Erskine pursued:--"What the devil is the meaning of all this, +Johnstone?" + +"What, indeed!" rejoined his lieutenant, with a shrug of the shoulders, +that was intended to express his inability to form any opinion on the +subject. + +"Unless it should prove," continued Erskine, "as I sincerely trust it +may, that poor Valletort is not, after all, the murderer of his friend. +It must be so. De Haldimar has been slain by the same Indian who killed +Murphy.--Do you recollect his scalp cry? He was in the act of +despoiling his victim of this trophy of success, when Sir Everard +fired. Examine the body well, Mitchell, and discover where the wound +lies." + +The old soldier to whom this order was addressed now prepared, with the +assistance of his comrades, to turn the body upon its back, when +suddenly the air was rent with terrific yells, that seemed to be +uttered in their very ears, and in the next instant more than a hundred +dark and hideous savages sprang simultaneously to their feet within the +bomb-proof, while every tree along the skirt of the forest gave back +the towering form of a warrior. Each of these, in addition to his +rifle, was armed with all those destructive implements of warfare which +render the Indians of America so formidable and so terrible an enemy. + +"Stand to your arms, men," shouted Captain Erskine, recovering from his +first and unavoidable, though but momentary, surprise. "First and +fourth sections, on your right and left backwards wheel:--Quick, men, +within the square, for your lives." As he spoke, he and Lieutenant +Johnstone sprang hastily back, and in time to obtain admittance within +the troops, who had rapidly executed the manoeuvre commanded. Not so +with Mitchell and his companions. On the first alarm they had quitted +the body of the mutilated officer, and flown to secure their arms, but +even while in the act of stooping to take them up, they had been +grappled by a powerful and vindictive foe; and the first thing they +beheld on regaining their upright position was a dusky Indian at the +side, and a gleaming tomahawk flashing rapidly round the head of each. + +"Fire not, on your lives," exclaimed Captain Erskine hastily, as he saw +several of the men in front levelling, in the excitement of the moment, +their muskets at the threatening savages. "Prepare for attack," he +pursued; and in the next instant each man dropped on his right knee, +and a barrier of bristling bayonets seemed to rise from the very bowels +of the earth. Attracted by the novelty of the sight, the bold and +daring warriors, although still retaining their firm grasp of the +unhappy soldiers, were for a moment diverted from their bloody purpose, +and temporarily suspended the quick and rotatory motion of their +weapons. Captain Erskine took advantage of this pause to seize the +halbert of one of his sergeants, to the extreme point of which he +hastily attached a white pocket handkerchief, that was loosely thrust +into the breast of his uniform; this he waved on high three several +times, and then relinquishing the halbert, dropped also on his knee +within the square. + +"The dog of a Saganaw asks for mercy," said a voice from within the +bomb-proof, and speaking in the dialect of the Ottawas. "His pale flag +bespeaks the quailing of his heart, and his attitude denotes the +timidity of the hind. His warriors are like himself, and even now upon +their knees they call upon their Manitou to preserve them from the +vengeance of the red-skins. But mercy is not for dogs like these. Now +is the time to make our tomahawks warm in their blood; and every head +that we count shall be a scalp upon our war poles." + +As he ceased, one universal and portentous yell burst from the +fiend-like band; and again the weapons of death were fiercely +brandished around the heads of the stupified soldiers who had fallen +into their power. + +"What can they be about?" anxiously exclaimed Captain Erskine, in the +midst of this deafening clamour, to his subaltern.--"Quiet, man; damn +you, quiet, or I'll cut you down," he pursued, addressing one of his +soldiers, whose impatience caused him to bring his musket half up to +the shoulder. And again he turned his head in the direction of the +fort:--"Thank God, here it comes at last,--I feared my signal had not +been noticed." + +While he yet spoke, the loud roaring of a cannon from the ramparts was +heard, and a shower of grape-shot passed over the heads of the +detachment, and was seen tearing up the earth around the bomb-proof, +and scattering fragments of stone and wood into the air. The men +simultaneously and unbidden gave three cheers. + +In an instant the scene was changed. As if moved by some mechanical +impulse, the fierce band that lined the bomb-proof sank below the +surface, and were no longer visible, while the warriors in the forest +again sought shelter behind the trees. The captured soldiers were also +liberated without injury, so sudden and startling had been the terror +produced in the savages by the lightning flash that announced its heavy +messengers of destruction. Discharge after discharge succeeded without +intermission; but the guns had been levelled so high, to prevent injury +to their own men, they had little other effect than to keep the Indians +from the attack. The rush of bullets through the close forest, and the +crashing of trees and branches as they fell with startling force upon +each other, were, with the peals of artillery, the only noises now to +be heard; for not a yell, not a word was uttered by the Indians after +the first discharge; and but for the certainty that existed in every +mind, it might have been supposed the whole of them had retired. + +"Now is your time," cried Captain Erskine; "bring in the litter to the +rear, and stoop as much as possible to avoid the shot." + +The poor half-strangled fellows, however, instead of obeying the order +of their captain, looked round in every direction for the enemy by whom +they had been so rudely handled, and who had glided from them almost as +imperceptibly and swiftly as they had first approached. It seemed as if +they apprehended that any attempt to remove the body would be visited +by those fierce devils with the same appalling and ferocious +threatenings. + +"Why stand ye there, ye dolts," continued their captain, "looking +around as if ye were bewitched? Bring the litter in to the +rear.--Mitchell, you old fool, are you grown a coward in your age? Are +you not ashamed to set such an example to your comrades?" + +The doubt thus implied of the courage of his men, who, in fact, were +merely stupified with the scene they had gone through, had, as Captain +Erskine expected, the desired effect. They now bent themselves to the +litter, on which they had previously deposited their muskets, and with +a self-possession that contrasted singularly with their recent air of +wild astonishment, bore it to the rear at the risk of being cut in two +at every moment by the fire from the fort. + +One fierce yell, instinctively proffered by several of the lurking band +in the forest, marked their disappointment and rage at the escape of +their victims; but all attempt at uncovering themselves, so as to be +enabled to fire, was prevented by the additional showers of grape which +that yell immediately brought upon them. + +The position in which Captain Erskine now found himself was highly +critical. Before him, and on either flank, was a multitude of savages, +who only awaited the cessation of the fire from the fort to commence +their fierce and impetuous attack. That that fire could not long be +sustained was evident, since ammunition could ill be spared for the +present inefficient purpose, where supplies of all kinds were so +difficult to be obtained; and, if he should attempt a retreat, the +upright position of his men exposed them to the risk of being swept +away by the ponderous metal, that already fanned their cheeks with the +air it so rapidly divided. Suddenly, however, the fire from the +batteries was discontinued, and this he knew to be a signal for +himself. He gave an order in a low voice, and the detachment quitted +their recumbent and defensive position, still remaining formed in +square. At the same instant, a gun flashed from the fort; but not as +before was heard the rushing sound of the destructive shot crushing the +trees in its resistless course. The Indians took courage at this +circumstance, for they deemed the bullets of their enemies were +expended; and that they were merely discharging their powder to keep up +the apprehension originally produced. Again they showed themselves, +like so many demons, from behind their lurking places; and yells and +shouts of the most terrific and threatening character once more rent +the air, and echoed through the woods. Their cries of anticipated +triumph were, however, but of short duration. Presently, a hissing +noise was heard in the air; and close to the bomb-proof, and at the +very skirt of the forest, they beheld a huge globe of iron fall +perpendicularly to the earth, to the outer part of which was attached +what they supposed to be a reed, that spat forth innumerable sparks of +fire, without however, seeming to threaten the slightest injury. +Attracted by the novel sight, a dozen warriors sprang to the spot, and +fastened their gaze upon it with all the childish wonder and curiosity +of men in a savage state. One, more eager and restless than his +fellows, stooped over it to feel with his hand of what it was composed. +At that moment it burst, and limbs, and head, and entrails, were seen +flying in the air, with the fragments of the shell, and prostrate and +struggling forms lay writhing on every hand in the last, fierce agonies +of death. + +A yell of despair and a shout of triumph burst at the same moment from +the adverse parties. Taking advantage of the terror produced, by this +catastrophe, in the savages, Captain Erskine caused the men bearing the +corpse to retreat, with all possible expedition, under the ramparts of +the fort. He waited until they got nearly half way, and then threw +forward the wheeling sections, that had covered this movement, once +more into single file, in which order he commenced his retreat. Step by +step, and almost imperceptibly, the men paced backwards, ready, at a +moment's notice, to reform the square. Partly recovered from the terror +and surprise produced by the bursting of the shell, the Indians were +quick in perceiving this movement: filled with rage at having been so +long baulked of their aim, they threw themselves once more impetuously +from their cover; and, with stimulating yells, at length opened their +fire. Several of Captain Erskine's men were wounded by this discharge; +when, again, and furiously the cannon opened from the fort. It was then +that the superiority of the artillery was made manifest. Both right and +left of the retreating files the ponderous shot flew heavily past, +carrying death and terror to the Indians; while not a man of those who +intervened was scathed or touched in its progress. The warriors in the +forest were once more compelled to shelter themselves behind the trees; +but in the bomb-proof, where they were more secure, they were also more +bold. From this a galling fire, mingled with the most hideous yells, +was now kept up; and the detachment, in their slow retreat, suffered +considerably. Several men had been killed; and, about twenty, including +Lieutenant Johnstone, wounded, when again, one of those murderous +globes fell, hissing in the very centre of the bomb-proof. In an +instant, the Indian fire was discontinued; and their dark and pliant +forms were seen hurrying with almost incredible rapidity over the +dilapidated walls, and flying into the very heart of the forest, so +that when the shell exploded, a few seconds afterwards, not a warrior +was to be seen. From this moment the attack was not renewed, and +Captain Erskine made good his retreat without farther molestation. + +"Well, old buffers!" exclaimed one of the leading files, as the +detachment, preceded by its dead and wounded, now moved along the moat +in the direction of the draw-bridge, "how did you like the grip of them +black savages?--I say, Mitchell, old Nick will scarcely know the face +of you, it's so much altered by fright.--Did you see," turning to the +man in his rear, "how harum-scarum he looked, when the captain called +out to him to come off?" + +"Hold your clapper, you spooney, and be damned to you!" exclaimed the +angry veteran.--"Had the Ingian fastened his paw upon your ugly neck as +he did upon mine, all the pitiful life your mother ever put into you +would have been spirited away from very fear; so you needn't brag." + +"Sure, and if any of ye had a grain of spunk, ye would have fired, and +freed a fellow from the clutch of them hell thieves," muttered another +of the men at the litter. "All the time, the devil had me by the +throat, swinging his tommyhawk about my head, I saw ye dancing up and +down in the heavens, instead of being on your marrow bones on the +common." + +"And didn't I want to do it?" rejoined the first speaker. "Ask Tom +Winkler here, if the captain didn't swear he'd cut the soul out of my +body if I even offered so much as to touch the trigger of my musket." + +"Faith, and lucky he did," replied his covering man (for the ranks had +again joined), "since but for that, there wouldn't be at this moment so +much as a hair of the scalp of one of you left." + +"And how so, Mr. Wiseacre?" rejoined his comrade. + +"How so! Because the first shot that we fired would have set the devils +upon them in right earnest--and then their top-knots wouldn't have been +worth a brass farthing. They would have been scalped before they could +say Jack Robinson." + +"It was a hell of a risk," resumed another of the litter men, "to give +four men a chance of having their skull pieces cracked open like so +many egg-shells, and all to get possession of a dead officer." + +"And sure, you beast," remarked a different voice in a tone of anger, +"the dead body of the brave captain was worth a dozen such rotten +carcasses with all the life in them. What matter would it be if ye had +all been scalped?" Then with a significant half glance to the rear, +which was brought up by their commander, on whose arm leaned the +slightly wounded Johnstone, "Take care the captain doesn't hear ye +prating after that fashion, Will Burford." + +"By Jasus," said a good-humoured, quaint looking Irishman, who had been +fixing his eyes on the litter during this pithy and characteristic +colloquy; "it sames to me, my boys, that ye have caught the wrong cow +by the horns, and that all your pains has been for nothing at all, at +all. By the holy pope, ye are all wrong; it's like bringing salt butter +to Cork, or coals to your Newcastle, as ye call it. Who the divil ever +heard of the officer wearing ammunition shoes?" + +The men all turned their gaze on that part of the vestment of the +corpse to which their attention had been directed by this remark, when +it was at once perceived, although it had hitherto escaped the +observation even of the officers, that, not only the shoes were those +usually worn by the soldiers, and termed ammunition or store shoes, but +also, the trowsers were of the description of coarse grey, peculiar to +that class. + +"By the piper that played before Moses, and ye're right, Dick Doherty," +exclaimed another Irishman; "sure, and it isn't the officer at all! +Just look at the great black fist of him too, and never call me Phil +Shehan, if it ever was made for the handling of an officer's spit." + +"Well said, Shehan," observed the man who had so warmly reproved Will +Burford, and who had formerly been servant to De Haldimar; "the +captain's hand is as white and as soft as my cross-belt, or, what's +saying a great deal more, as Miss Clara's herself, heaven bless her +sweet countenance! and Lieutenant Valletort's nigger's couldn't well be +much blacker nor this." + +"What a set of hignoramuses ye must be," grunted old Mitchell, "not to +see that the captain's hand is only covered with dirt; and as for the +ammunition shoes and trowsers, why you know our officers wear any thing +since we have been cooped up in this here fort." + +"Yes, by the holy poker," (and here we must beg to refer the reader to +the soldier's vocabulary for any terms that may be, in the course of +this dialogue, incomprehensible to him or her,)--"Yes, by the holy +poker, off duty, if they like it," returned Phil Shehan; "but it isn't +even the colonel's own born son that dare to do so while officer of the +guard." + +"Ye are right, comrade," said Burford; "there would soon be hell and +tommy to pay if he did." + +At this point of their conversation, one of the leading men at the +litter, in turning to look at its subject, stumbled over the root of a +stump that lay in his way, and fell violently forward. The sudden +action destroyed the equilibrium of the corpse, which rolled off its +temporary bier upon the earth, and disclosed, for the first time, a +face begrimmed with masses of clotted blood, which had streamed forth +from the scalped brain during the night. + +"It's the divil himself," said Phil Shehan, making the sign of the +cross, half in jest, half in earnest: "for it isn't the captin at all, +and who but the divil could have managed to clap on his rigimintals?" + +"No, it's an Ingian," remarked Dick Burford, sagaciously; "it's an +Ingian that has killed the captain, and dressed himself in his clothes. +I thought he smelt strong, when I helped to pick him up." + +"And that's the reason why the bloody heathens wouldn't let us carry +him off," said another of the litter men. "I thought they wouldn't ha' +made such a rout about the officer, when they had his scalp already in +their pouch-belts." + +"What a set of prating fools ye are," interrupted the leading sergeant; +"who ever saw an Ingian with light hair? and sure this hair in the neck +is that of a Christian." + +At that moment Captain Erskine, attracted by the sudden halt produced +by the falling of the body, came quickly up to the front. + +"What is the meaning of all this, Cassidy?" he sternly demanded of the +sergeant; "why is this halt without my orders, and how comes the body +here?" + +"Carter stumbled against a root, sir, and the body rolled over upon the +ground." + +"And was the body to roll back again?" angrily rejoined his +captain.--"What mean ye, fellows, by standing there; quick, replace it +upon the litter, and mind this does not occur again." + +"They say, sir," said the sergeant, respectfully, as the men proceeded +to their duty, "that it is not Captain de Haldimar after all, but an +Ingian." + +"Not Captain de Haldimar! are ye all mad? and have the Indians, in +reality, turned your brains with fear?" + +What, however, was his own surprise, and that of Lieutenant Johnstone, +when, on a closer examination of the corpse, which the men had now +placed with its face uppermost, they discovered the bewildering fact +that it was not, indeed, Captain de Haldimar who lay before them, but a +stranger, dressed in the uniform of that officer. + +There was no time to solve, or even to dwell on the singular mystery; +for the Indians, though now retired, might be expected to rally and +renew the attack. Once more, therefore, the detachment moved forward; +the officers dropping as before to the rear, to watch any movements of +the enemy should he re-appear. Nothing, however, occurred to interrupt +their march; and in a few minutes the heavy clanking sound of the +chains of the drawbridge, as it was again raised by its strong pullies, +and the dull creaking sound of the rusty bolts and locks that secured +the ponderous gate, announced the detachment was once more safely +within the fort. + +While the wounded men were being conveyed to the hospital, a group, +comprising almost all the officers of the garrison, hastened to meet +Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Johnstone. Congratulations on the escape +of the one, and compliments, rather than condolences, on the accident +of the other, which the arm en echarpe denoted to be slight, were +hastily and warmly proffered. These felicitations were the genuine +ebullitions of the hearts of men who really felt a pride, unmixed with +jealousy, in the conduct of their fellows; and so cool and excellent +had been the manner in which Captain Erskine had accomplished his +object, that it had claimed the undivided admiration of all who had +been spectators of the affair, and had, with the aid of their +telescopes, been enabled to follow the minutest movements of the +detachment. + +"By heaven!" he at length replied, his chest swelling with gratified +pride at the warm and generous approval of his companions, "this more +than repays me for every risk. Yet, to be sincere, the credit is not +mine, but Wentworth's. But for you, my dear fellow," grasping and +shaking the hand of that officer, "we should have rendered but a +Flemish account of ourselves. How beautifully those guns covered our +retreat! and the first mortar that sent the howling devils flying in +air like so many Will-o'the-wisps, who placed that, Wentworth?" + +"I did," replied the officer, with a quickness that denoted a natural +feeling of exultation; "but Bombardier Kitson's was the most effective. +It was his shell that drove the Indians finally out of the bomb-proof, +and left the coast clear for your retreat." + +"Then Kitson, and his gunners also, merit our best thanks," pursued +Captain Erskine, whose spirits, now that his detachment was in safety, +were more than usually exhilarated by the exciting events of the last +hour; "and what will be more acceptable, perhaps, they shall each have +a glass of my best old Jamaica before they sleep,--and such stuff is +not to be met with every day in this wilderness of a country. But, +confound my stupid head! where are Charles de Haldimar and Sir Everard +Valletort?" + +"Poor Charles is in a high fever, and confined to his bed," remarked +Captain Blessington, who now came up adding his congratulations in a +low tone, that marked the despondency of his heart; "and Sir Everard I +have just left on the rampart with the company, looking, as he well +may, the very image of despair." + +"Run to them, Sumners, my dear boy," said Erskine, hastily addressing +himself to a young ensign who stood near him; "run quickly, and relieve +them of their error. Say it is not De Haldimar who has been killed, +therefore they need not make themselves any longer uneasy on that +score." + +The officers gave a start of surprise. Sumners, however, hastened to +acquit himself of the pleasing task assigned him, without waiting to +hear the explanation of the singular declaration. + +"Not De Haldimar!" eagerly and anxiously exclaimed Captain Blessington; +"who then have you brought to us in his uniform, which I clearly +distinguished from the rampart as you passed? Surely you would not +tamper with us at such a moment, Erskine?" + +"Who it is, I know not more than Adam," rejoined the other; "unless, +indeed, it be the devil himself. All I do know, is, it is not our +friend De Haldimar; although, as you observe, he most certainly wears +his uniform. But you shall see and judge for yourselves, gentlemen. +Sergeant Cassidy," he enquired of that individual, who now came to ask +if the detachment was to be dismissed, "where have you placed the +litter?" + +"Under the piazza of the guard-room, Sir," answered the sergeant. + +These words had scarcely been uttered, when a general and hasty +movement of the officers, anxious to satisfy themselves by personal +observation it was not indeed De Haldimar who had fallen, took place in +the direction alluded to, and in the next moment they were at the side +of the litter. + +A blanket had been thrown upon the corpse to conceal the loathsome +disfigurement of the face, over which masses of thick coagulated blood +were laid in patches and streaks, that set all recognition at defiance. +The formation of the head alone, which was round and short, denoted it +to be not De Haldimar's. Not a feature was left undefiled; and even the +eyes were so covered, it was impossible to say whether their lids were +closed or open. More than one officer's cheek paled with the sickness +that rose to his heart as he gazed on the hideous spectacle; yet, as +the curiosity of all was strongly excited to know who the murdered man +really was who had been so unaccountably inducted in the uniform of +their lost companion, they were resolved to satisfy themselves without +further delay. A basin of warm water and a sponge were procured from +the guard-room of Ensign Fortescue, who now joined them, and with these +Captain Blessington proceeded to remove the disguise. + +In the course of this lavation, it was discovered the extraordinary +flow of blood and brains had been produced by the infliction of a deep +wound on the back of the head, by the sharp and ponderous tomahawk of +an Indian. It was the only blow that had been given; and the +circumstance of the deceased having been found lying on his face, +accounted for the quantity of gore, that, trickling downwards, had so +completely disguised every feature. As the coat of thick encrusted +matter gave way beneath the frequent application of the moistening +sponge, the pallid hue of the countenance denoted the murdered man to +be a white. All doubt, however, was soon at an end. The ammunition +shoes, the grey trowsers, the coarse linen, and the stiff leathern +stock encircling the neck, attested the sufferer to be a soldier of the +garrison; but it was not until the face had been completely denuded of +its unsightly covering, and every feature fully exposed, that that +soldier was at length recognised to be Harry Donellan, the trusty and +attached servant of Captain de Haldimar. + +While yet the officers stood apart, gazing at the corpse, and forming a +variety of conjectures, as vague as they were unsatisfactory, in regard +to their new mystery, Sir Everard Valletort, pale and breathless with +the speed he had used, suddenly appeared among them. + +"God of heaven! can it be true--and is it really not De Haldimar whom I +have shot?" wildly asked the agitated young man. "Who is this, +Erskine?" he continued, glancing at the litter. "Explain, for pity's +sake, and quickly." + +"Compose yourself, my dear Valletort," replied the officer addressed. +"You see this is not De Haldimar, but his servant Donellan. Neither has +the latter met his death from your rifle; there is no mark of a bullet +about him. It was an Indian tomahawk that did his business; and I will +stake my head against a hickory nut the blow came from the same rascal +at whom you fired, and who gave back the shot and the scalp halloo." + +This opinion was unanimously expressed by the remainder of the +officers. Sir Everard was almost as much overpowered by his joy, as he +had previously been overwhelmed by his despair, and he grasped and +shook the hand of Captain Erskine, who had thus been the means of +relieving his conscience, with an energy of gratitude and feeling that +almost drew tears from the eyes of that blunt but gallant officer. + +"Thank God, thank God!" he fervently exclaimed: "I have not then even +the death of poor Donellan to answer for;" and hastening from the +guard-room, he pursued his course hurriedly and delightedly to the +barrack-room of his friend. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The hour fixed for the trial of the prisoner Halloway had now arrived, +and the officers composing the court were all met in the mess-room of +the garrison, surrounding a long table covered with green cloth, over +which were distributed pens, ink, and paper for taking minutes of the +evidence, and such notes of the proceedings as the several members +might deem necessary in the course of the trial. Captain Blessington +presided; and next him, on either hand, were the first in seniority, +the two junior occupying the lowest places. The demeanour of the +several officers, serious and befitting the duty they were met to +perform, was rendered more especially solemn from the presence of the +governor, who sat a little to the right of the president, and without +the circle, remained covered, and with his arms folded across his +chest. At a signal given by the president to the orderly in waiting, +that individual disappeared from the room, and soon afterwards Frank +Halloway, strongly ironed, as on the preceding night, was ushered in by +several files of the guard, under Ensign Fortescue himself. + +The prisoner having been stationed a few paces on the left of the +president, that officer stood up to administer the customary oath. His +example was followed by the rest of the court, who now rose, and +extending each his right hand upon the prayer book, repeated, after the +president, the form of words prescribed by military law. They then, +after successively touching the sacred volume with their lips, once +more resumed their seats at the table. + +The prosecutor was the Adjutant Lawson, who now handed over to the +president a paper, from which the latter officer read, in a clear and +distinct voice, the following charges, viz.-- + +"1st. For having on the night of the --th September 1763, while on duty +at the gate of the Fortress of Detroit, either admitted a stranger into +the garrison himself, or suffered him to obtain admission, without +giving the alarm, or using the means necessary to ensure his +apprehension, such conduct being treasonable, and in breach of the +articles of war. + +"2d. For having been accessary to the abduction of Captain Frederick de +Haldimar and private Harry Donellan, the disappearance of whom from the +garrison can only be attributed to a secret understanding existing +between the prisoner and the enemy without the walls, such conduct +being treasonable, and in breach of the articles of war." + +"Private Frank Halloway," continued Captain Blessington, after having +perused these two short but important charges, "you have heard what has +been preferred against you; what say you, therefore? Are you guilty, or +not guilty?" + +"Not guilty," firmly and somewhat exultingly replied the prisoner, +laying his hand at the same time on his swelling heart. + +"Stay, sir," sternly observed the governor, addressing the president; +"you have not read ALL the charges." + +Captain Blessington took up the paper from the table, on which he had +carelessly thrown it, after reading the accusations above detailed, and +perceived, for the first time, that a portion had been doubled back. +His eye now glanced over a third charge, which had previously escaped +his attention. + +"Prisoner," he pursued, after the lapse of a minute, "there is a third +charge against you, viz. for having, on the night of the --th Sept. +1763, suffered Captain De Haldimar to unclose the gate of the fortress, +and, accompanied by his servant, private Harry Donellan, to pass your +post without the sanction of the governor, such conduct being in direct +violation of a standing order of the garrison, and punishable with +death." + +The prisoner started. "What!" he exclaimed, his cheek paling for the +first time with momentary apprehension; "is this voluntary confession +of my own to be turned into a charge that threatens my life? Colonel de +Haldimar, is the explanation which I gave you only this very hour, and +in private, to be made the public instrument of my condemnation? Am I +to die because I had not firmness to resist the prayer of my captain +and of your son, Colonel de Haldimar?" + +The president looked towards the governor, but a significant motion of +the head was the only reply; he proceeded,-- + +"Prisoner Halloway, what plead you to this charge? Guilty, or not +guilty?" + +"I see plainly," said Halloway, after the pause of a minute, during +which he appeared to be summoning all his energies to his aid; "I see +plainly that it is useless to strive against my fate. Captain de +Haldimar is not here, and I must die. Still I shall not have the +disgrace of dying as a traitor, though I own I have violated the orders +of the garrison." + +"Prisoner," interrupted Captain Blessington, "whatever you may have to +urge, you had better reserve for your defence. Meanwhile, what answer +do you make to the last charge preferred?--Are you guilty, or not +guilty?" + +"Guilty," said Halloway, in a tone of mingled pride and sorrow, "guilty +of having listened to the earnest prayer of my captain, and suffered +him, in violation of my orders, to pass my post. Of the other charges I +am innocent." + +The court listened with the most profound attention and interest to the +words of the prisoner, and they glanced at each other in a manner that +marked their sense of the truth they attached to his declaration. + +"Halloway, prisoner," resumed Captain Blessington, mildly, yet +impressively; "recollect the severe penalty which the third charge, no +less than the others, entails, and recall your admission. Be advised by +me," he pursued, observing his hesitation. "Withdraw your plea, then, +and substitute that of not guilty to the whole." + +"Captain Blessington," returned the prisoner with deep emotion, "I feel +all the kindness of your motive; and if any thing can console me in my +present situation, it is the circumstance of having presiding at my +trial an officer so universally beloved by the whole corps. Still," and +again his voice acquired its wonted firmness, and his cheek glowed with +honest pride, "still, I say, I scorn to retract my words. Of the two +first charges I am as innocent as the babe unborn. To the last I plead +guilty; and vain would it be to say otherwise, since the gate was found +open while I was on duty, and I know the penalty attached to the +disobedience of orders." + +After some further but ineffectual remonstrance on the part of the +president, the pleas of the prisoner were recorded, and the examination +commenced. Governor de Haldimar was the first witness. + +That officer, having been sworn, stated, that on the preceding night he +had been intruded upon in his apartment by a stranger, who could have +obtained admission only through the gate of the fortress, by which also +he must have made good his escape. That it was evident the prisoner had +been in correspondence with their enemies; since, on proceeding to +examine the gate it had been found unlocked, while the confusion +manifested by him on being accused, satisfied all who were present of +the enormity of his guilt. Search had been made every where for the +keys, but without success. + +The second charge was supported by presumptive evidence alone; for +although the governor swore to the disappearance of his son, and the +murder of his servant, and dwelt emphatically on the fact of their +having been forcibly carried off with the connivance of the prisoner, +still there was no other proof of this, than the deductions drawn from +the circumstances already detailed. To meet this difficulty, however, +the third charge had been framed. + +In proof of this the governor stated, that the prisoner, on being +interrogated by him immediately subsequent to his being relieved from +his post, had evinced such confusion and hesitation, as to leave no +doubt whatever of his guilt; that, influenced by the half promise of +communication, which the court had heard as well as himself, he had +suffered the trial of the prisoner to be delayed until the present +hour, strongly hoping he might then be induced to reveal the share he +had borne in these unworthy and treasonable practices; that, with a +view to obtain this disclosure, so essential to the safety of the +garrison, he had, conjointly with Major Blackwater, visited the cell of +the prisoner, to whom he related the fact of the murder of Donellan, in +the disguise of his master's uniform, conjuring him, at the same time, +if he regarded his own life, and the safety of those who were most dear +to him, to give a clue to the solution of this mysterious circumstance, +and disclose the nature and extent of his connection with the enemy +without; that the prisoner however resolutely denied, as before, the +guilt imputed to him, but having had time to concoct a plausible story, +stated, (doubtless with a view to shield himself from the severe +punishment he well knew to be attached to his offence,) that Captain de +Haldimar himself had removed the keys from the guard-room, opened the +gate of the fortress, and accompanied by his servant, dressed in a +coloured coat, had sallied forth upon the common. "And this," +emphatically pursued the governor, "the prisoner admits he permitted, +although well aware that, by an order of long standing for the security +of the garrison, such a fragrant dereliction of his duty subjected him +to the punishment of death." + +Major Blackwater was the next witness examined. His testimony went to +prove the fact of the gate having been found open, and the confusion +manifested by the prisoner. It also substantiated that part of the +governor's evidence on the third charge, which related to the +confession recently made by Halloway, on which that charge had been +framed. + +The sergeant of the guard, and the governor's orderly having severally +corroborated the first portions of Major Blackwater's evidence, the +examination on the part of the prosecution terminated; when the +president called on the prisoner Halloway for his defence. The latter, +in a clear, firm, and collected tone, and in terms that surprised his +auditory, thus addressed the Court:-- + +"Mr. President, and gentlemen,--Although, standing before you in the +capacity of a private soldier, and, oh! bitter and humiliating +reflection, in that most wretched and disgraceful of all situations, a +suspected traitor, I am not indeed what I seem to be. It is not for me +here to enter into the history of my past life; neither will I tarnish +the hitherto unsullied reputation of my family by disclosing my true +name. Suffice it to observe, I am a gentleman by birth; and although, +of late years, I have known all the hardships and privations attendant +on my fallen fortunes, I was once used to bask in the luxuries of +affluence, and to look upon those who now preside in judgment over me +as my equals. A marriage of affection,--a marriage with one who had +nothing but her own virtues and her own beauty to recommend her, drew +upon me the displeasure of my family, and the little I possessed, +independently of the pleasure of my relations, was soon dissipated. My +proud soul scorned all thought of supplication to those who had +originally spurned my wife from their presence; and yet my heart bled +for the privations of her who, alike respectable in family, was, both +from sex and the natural delicacy, of her frame, so far less +constituted to bear up against the frowns of adversity than myself. Our +extremity had now become great,--too great for human endurance; when, +through the medium of the public prints, I became acquainted with the +glorious action that had been fought in this country by the army under +General Wolfe. A new light burst suddenly upon my mind, and visions of +after prosperity constantly presented themselves to my view. The field +of honour was open before me, and there was a probability I might, by +good conduct, so far merit the approbation of my superiors, as to +obtain, in course of time, that rank among themselves to which by birth +and education I was so justly entitled to aspire. Without waiting to +consult my Ellen, whose opposition I feared to encounter until +opposition would be fruitless, I hastened to Lieutenant Walgrave, the +recruiting officer of the regiment,--tendered my services,--was +accepted and approved,--received the bounty money,--and became +definitively a soldier, under the assumed name of Frank Halloway. + +"It would be tedious and impertinent, gentlemen," resumed the prisoner, +after a short pause, "to dwell on the humiliations of spirit to which +both my wife and myself were subjected at our first introduction to our +new associates, who, although invariably kind to us, were, +nevertheless, ill suited, both by education and habit, to awaken any +thing like congeniality of feeling or similarity of pursuit. Still we +endeavoured, as much as possible, to lessen the distance that existed +between us; and from the first moment of our joining the regiment, +determined to adopt the phraseology and manners of those with whom an +adverse destiny had so singularly connected us. In this we succeeded; +for no one, up to the present moment, has imagined either my wife or +myself to be other than the simple and unpretending Frank and Ellen +Halloway. + +"On joining the regiment in this country," pursued the prisoner, after +another pause, marked by much emotion, "I had the good fortune to be +appointed to the grenadier company. Gentlemen, you all know the amiable +qualities of Captain de Haldimar. But although, unlike yourselves, I +have learnt to admire that officer only at a distance, my devotion to +his interests has been proportioned to the kindness with which I have +ever been treated by him; and may I not add, after this avowal of my +former condition, my most fervent desire has all along been to seize +the first favourable opportunity of performing some action that would +eventually elevate me to a position in which I might, without blushing +for the absence of the ennobling qualities of birth and condition, avow +myself his friend, and solicit that distinction from my equal which was +partially extended to me by my superior? The opportunity I sought was +not long wanting. At the memorable affair with the French general, +Levi, at Quebec, in which our regiment bore so conspicuous a part, I +had the good fortune to save the life of my captain. A band of Indians, +as you all, gentlemen, must recollect, had approached our right flank +unperceived, and while busily engaged with the French in front, we were +compelled to divide our fire between them and our new and fierce +assailants. The leader of that band was a French officer, who seemed +particularly to direct his attempts against the life of Captain de +Haldimar. He was a man of powerful proportions and gigantic stature--" + +"Hold!" said the governor, starting suddenly from the seat in which he +had listened with evident impatience to this long outline of the +prisoner's history. "Gentlemen," addressing the court, "that is the +very stranger who was in my apartment last night,--the being with whom +the prisoner is evidently in treacherous correspondence, and all this +absurd tale is but a blind to deceive your judgment, and mitigate his +own punishment. Who is there to prove the man he has just described was +the same who aimed at Captain de Haldimar's life at Quebec?" + +A flush of deep indignation overspread the features of the prisoner, +whose high spirit, now he had avowed his true origin, could ill brook +the affront thus put upon his veracity. + +"Colonel de Haldimar!" he proudly replied, while his chains clanked +with the energy and force with which he drew up his person into an +attitude of striking dignity; "for once I sink the private soldier, and +address you in the character of the gentleman and your equal. I have a +soul, Sir, notwithstanding my fallen fortunes, as keenly alive to +honour as your own; and not even to save my wretched life, would I be +guilty of the baseness you now attribute to me. You have asked," he +pursued, in a more solemn tone, "what proof I have to show this +individual to be the same who attempted the life of Captain de +Haldimar. To Captain de Haldimar himself, should Providence have spared +his days, I shall leave the melancholy task of bearing witness to all I +here advance, when I shall be no more. Nay, Sir," and his look partook +at once of mingled scorn and despondency, "well do I know the fate that +awaits me; for in these proceedings--in that third charge--I plainly +read my death-warrant. But what, save my poor and wretched wife, have I +to regret? Colonel de Haldimar," he continued, with a vehemence meant +to check the growing weakness which the thought of his unfortunate +companion called up to his heart, "I saved the life of your son, even +by your own admission, no matter whose the arm that threatened his +existence; and in every other action in which I have been engaged, +honourable mention has ever been made of my conduct. Now, Sir, I ask +what has been my reward? So far from attending to the repeated +recommendations of my captain for promotion, even in a subordinate +rank, have you once deemed it necessary to acknowledge my services by +even a recognition of them in any way whatever?" + +"Mr. President, Captain Blessington," interrupted the governor, +haughtily, "are we met here to listen to such language from a private +soldier? You will do well, Sir, to exercise your prerogative, and stay +such impertinent matter, which can have no reference whatever to the +defence of the prisoner." + +"Prisoner," resumed the president, who, as well as the other members of +the court, had listened with the most profound and absorbing interest +to the singular disclosure of him whom they still only knew as Frank +Halloway, "this language cannot be permitted; you must confine yourself +to your defence." + +"Pardon me, gentlemen," returned Halloway, in his usual firm but +respectful tone of voice; "pardon me, if, standing on the brink of the +grave as I do, I have so far forgotten the rules of military discipline +as to sink for a moment the soldier in the gentleman; but to be taxed +with an unworthy fabrication, and to be treated with contumely when +avowing the secret of my condition, was more than human pride and human +feeling could tolerate." + +"Confine yourself, prisoner, to your defence," again remarked Captain +Blessington, perceiving the restlessness with which the governor +listened to these bold and additional observations of Halloway. + +Again the governor interposed:--"What possible connexion can there be +between this man's life, and the crime with which he stands charged? +Captain Blessington, this is trifling with the court, who are assembled +to try the prisoner for his treason, and not to waste their time in +listening to a history utterly foreign to the subject." + +"The history of my past life--Colonel de Haldimar," proudly returned +the prisoner, "although tedious and uninteresting to you, is of the +utmost importance to myself; for on that do I ground the most essential +part of my defence. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence +against me on the two first charges; and as those alone can reflect +dishonour on my memory, it is for the wisdom of this court to determine +whether that evidence is to be credited in opposition to the solemn +declaration of him, who, in admitting one charge, equally affecting his +life with the others, repudiates as foul those only which would attaint +his honour. Gentlemen," he pursued, addressing the court, "it is for +you to determine whether my defence is to be continued or not; yet, +whatever be my fate, I would fain remove all injurious impression from +the minds of my judges; and this can only be done by a simple detail of +circumstances, which may, by the unprejudiced, be as simply believed." + +Here the prisoner paused: when, after some low and earnest conversation +among the members of the court, two or three slips of written paper +were passed to the President. He glanced his eye hurriedly over them, +and then directed Halloway to proceed with his defence. + +"I have stated," pursued the interesting soldier, "that the officer who +led the band of Indians was a man of gigantic stature, and of +apparently great strength. My attention was particularly directed to +him from this circumstance, and as I was on the extreme flank of the +grenadiers, and close to Captain de Haldimar, had every opportunity of +observing his movements principally pointed at that officer. He first +discharged a carbine, the ball of which killed a man of the company at +his (Captain de Haldimar's) side; and then, with evident rage at having +been defeated in his aim, he took a pistol from his belt, and advancing +with rapid strides to within a few paces of his intended victim, +presented it in the most deliberate manner. At that moment, gentlemen, +(and it was but the work of a moment,) a thousand confused and almost +inexplicable feelings rose to my heart. The occasion I had long sought +was at length within my reach; but even the personal considerations, +which had hitherto influenced my mind, were sunk in the anxious desire +I entertained to preserve the life of an officer so universally +beloved, and so every way worthy of the sacrifice. While yet the pistol +remained levelled, I sprang before Captain de Haldimar, received the +ball in my breast, and had just strength sufficient to fire my musket +at this formidable enemy when I sank senseless to the earth. + +"It will not be difficult for you, gentlemen, who have feeling minds, +to understand the pleasurable pride with which, on being conveyed to +Captain de Haldimar's own apartments in Quebec, I found myself almost +overwhelmed by the touching marks of gratitude showered on me by his +amiable relatives. Miss Clara de Haldimar, in particular, like a +ministering angel, visited my couch of suffering at almost every hour, +and always provided with some little delicacy, suitable to my +condition, of which I had long since tutored myself to forget even the +use. But what principally afforded me pleasure, was to remark the +consolations which she tendered to my poor drooping Ellen, who, already +more than half subdued by the melancholy change in our condition in +life, frequently spent hours together in silent grief at the side of my +couch, and watching every change in my countenance with all the intense +anxiety of one who feels the last stay on earth is about to be severed +for ever. Ah! how I then longed to disclose to this kind and +compassionating being the true position of her on whom she lavished her +attention, and to make her known, not as the inferior honored by her +notice, but as the equal alike worthy of her friendship and deserving +of her esteem; but the wide, wide barrier that divided the wife of the +private soldier from the daughter and sister of the commissioned +officer sealed my lips, and our true condition continued unrevealed. + +"Gentlemen," resumed Halloway, after a short pause, "if I dwell on +these circumstances, it is with a view to show how vile are the charges +preferred against me. Is it likely, with all the incentives to good +conduct I have named, I should have proved a traitor to my country? +And, even if so, what to gain, I would ask; and by what means was a +correspondence with the enemy to be maintained by one in my humble +station? As for the second charge, how infamous, how injurious is it to +my reputation, how unworthy to be entertained! From the moment of my +recovery from that severe wound, every mark of favour that could be +bestowed on persons in our situation had been extended to my wife and +myself, by the family of Colonel de Haldimar; and my captain, knowing +me merely as the simple and low born Frank Halloway, although still the +preserver of his life, has been unceasing in his exertions to obtain +such promotion as he thought my conduct generally, independently of my +devotedness to his person, might claim. How these applications were +met, gentlemen, I have already stated; but notwithstanding Colonel de +Haldimar has never deemed me worthy of the promotion solicited, that +circumstance could in no way weaken my regard and attachment for him +who had so often demanded it. How then, in the name of heaven, can a +charge so improbable, so extravagant, as that of having been +instrumental in the abduction of Captain de Haldimar, be entertained? +and who is there among you, gentlemen, who will for one moment believe +I could harbour a thought so absurd as that of lending myself to the +destruction of one for whom I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice +of my blood? And now," pursued the prisoner, after another short pause, +"I come to the third charge,--that charge which most affects my life, +but impugns neither my honour nor my fidelity. That God, before whom I +know I shall shortly appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement, +and before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to relate is +true. + +"Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I heard a voice +distinctly on the outside of the rampart, near my post, calling in a +low and subdued tone on the name of Captain de Haldimar. The accents, +hastily and anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female. For a +moment I continued irresolute how to act, and hesitated whether or not +I should alarm the garrison; but, at length, presuming it was some +young female of the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it +occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize that officer +himself. While I yet hesitated whether to leave my post for a moment +for the purpose, a man crossed the parade a few yards in my front; it +was Captain de Haldimar's servant, Donellan, then in the act of +carrying some things from his master's apartment to the guard-room. I +called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished to see the +captain of the guard immediately. In the course of a few minutes he +came up to my post, when I told him what I had heard. At that moment, +the voice again repeated his name, when he abruptly left me and turned +to the left of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart. Soon +afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above me, sharply +calling out 'Hist, hist!' as if the person on the outside, despairing +of success, was in the act of retreating. A moment or two of silence +succeeded, when a low conversation ensued between the parties. The +distance was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds; yet +it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but in the language of +the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with which, as you are well aware, +gentlemen, Captain de Haldimar is familiar. This had continued about +ten minutes, when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the +rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house. Soon +afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my post, accompanied by +his servant Donellan; the former had the keys of the gate in his hand, +and he told me that he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some +business of the last importance to the safety of the garrison. + +"At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe penalty attached +to the infringement of an order, the observation of which had so +especially been insisted upon by the governor, whose permission, +however, I ventured respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be +obtained, if the business was really of the importance he described it. +Captain de Haldimar, however, declared he well knew the governor would +not accord that permission, unless he was positively acquainted with +the nature and extent of the danger to be apprehended; and of these, he +said, he was not himself sufficiently aware. All argument of this +nature proving ineffectual, he attempted to enforce his authority, not +only in his capacity of officer of the guard, but also as my captain, +ordering me, on pain of confinement, not to interfere with or attempt +to impede his departure. This, however, produced no better result; for +I knew that, in this instance, I was amenable to the order of the +governor alone, and I again firmly refused to violate my duty. + +"Finding himself thwarted in his attempt to enforce my obedience, +Captain de Haldimar, who seemed much agitated and annoyed by what he +termed my obstinacy, now descended to entreaty; and in the name of that +life which I had preserved to him, and of that deep gratitude which he +had ever since borne to me, conjured me not to prevent his departure. +'Halloway,' he urged, 'your life, my life, my father's life,--the life +of my sister Clara perhaps, who nursed you in illness, and who has ever +treated your wife with attention and kindness,--all these depend upon +your compliance with my request. 'Hear me,' he pursued, following up +the impression which he clearly perceived he had produced in me by this +singular and touching language: 'I promise to be back within the hour; +there is no danger attending my departure, and here will I be before +you are relieved from your post; no one can know I have been absent, +and your secret will remain with Donellan and myself. Do you think,' he +concluded, 'I would encourage a soldier of my regiment to disobey a +standing order of the garrison, unless there was some very +extraordinary reason for my so doing? But there is no time to be lost +in parley. Halloway! I entreat you to offer no further opposition to my +departure. I pledge myself to be back before you are relieved.'" + +"Gentlemen," impressively continued the prisoner, after a pause, during +which each member of the court seemed to breathe for the first time, so +deeply had the attention of all been riveted by the latter part of this +singular declaration, "how, under these circumstances, could I be +expected to act? Assured by Captain de Haldimar, in the most solemn +manner, that the existence of those most dear to his heart hung on my +compliance with his request, how could I refuse to him, whose life I +had saved, and whose character I so much esteemed, a boon so earnestly, +nay, so imploringly solicited? I acceded to his prayer, intimating, at +the same time, if he returned not before another sentinel should +relieve me, the discovery of my breach of duty must be made, and my +punishment inevitable. His last words, however, were to assure me he +should return at the hour he had named, and when I closed the gate upon +him it was under the firm impression his absence would only prove of +the temporary nature he had stated.--Gentlemen," abruptly concluded +Halloway, "I have nothing further to add; if I have failed in my duty +as a soldier, I have, at least, fulfilled that of a man; and although +the violation of the first entail upon me the punishment of death, the +motives which impelled me to that violation will not, I trust, be +utterly lost sight of by those by whom my punishment is to be awarded." + +The candid, fearless, and manly tone in which Halloway had delivered +this long and singular statement, however little the governor appeared +to be affected by it, evidently made a deep impression on the court, +who had listened with undiverted attention to the close. Some +conversation again ensued, in a low tone, among several members, when +two slips of written paper were passed up, as before, to the president. +These elicited the following interrogatories:-- + +"You have stated, prisoner, that Captain de Haldimar left the fort +accompanied by his servant Donellan. How were they respectively +dressed?" + +"Captain de Haldimar in his uniform; Donellan, as far as I could +observe, in his regimental clothing also, with this difference, that he +wore his servant's round glazed hat and his grey great coat." + +"How then do you account for the extraordinary circumstance of Donellan +having been found murdered in his master's clothes? Was any allusion +made to a change of dress before they left the fort?" + +"Not the slightest," returned the prisoner; "nor can I in any way +account for this mysterious fact. When they quitted the garrison, each +wore the dress I have described." + +"In what manner did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan effect their +passage across the ditch?" continued the president, after glancing at +the second slip of paper. "The draw-bridge was evidently not lowered, +and there were no other means at hand to enable him to effect his +object with promptitude. How do you explain this, prisoner?" + +When this question was put, the whole body of officers, and the +governor especially, turned their eyes simultaneously on Halloway, for +on his hesitation or promptness in replying seemed to attach much of +the credit they were disposed to accord his statement. Halloway +observed it, and coloured. His reply, however, was free, unfaltering, +and unstudied. + +"A rope with which Donellan had provided himself, was secured to one of +the iron hooks that support the pullies immediately above the gate. +With this they swung themselves in succession to the opposite bank." + +The members of the court looked at each other, apparently glad that an +answer so confirmatory of the truth of the prisoner's statement, had +been thus readily given. + +"Were they to have returned in the same manner?" pursued the president, +framing his interrogatory from the contents of another slip of paper, +which, at the suggestion of the governor, had been passed to him by the +prosecutor, Mr. Lawson. + +"They were," firmly replied the prisoner. "At least I presumed they +were, for, I believe in the hurry of Captain de Haldimar's departure, +he never once made any direct allusion to the manner of his return; nor +did it occur to me until this moment how they were to regain possession +of the rope, without assistance from within." + +"Of course," observed Colonel de Haldimar, addressing the president, +"the rope still remains. Mr. Lawson, examine the gate, and report +accordingly." + +The adjutant hastened to acquit himself of this laconic order, and soon +afterwards returned, stating not only that there was no rope, but that +the hook alluded to had disappeared altogether. + +For a moment the cheek of the prisoner paled; but it was evidently less +from any fear connected with his individual existence, than from the +shame he felt at having been detected in a supposed falsehood. He +however speedily recovered his self-possession, and exhibited the same +character of unconcern by which his general bearing throughout the +trial had been distinguished. + +On this announcement of the adjutant, the governor betrayed a movement +of impatience, that was meant to convey his utter disbelief of the +whole of the prisoner's statement, and his look seemed to express to +the court it should also arrive, and without hesitation, at the same +conclusion. Even all authoritative as he was, however, he felt that +military etiquette and strict discipline prevented his interfering +further in this advanced state of the proceedings. + +"Prisoner," again remarked Captain Blessington, "your statement in +regard to the means employed by Captain de Haldimar in effecting his +departure, is, you must admit, unsupported by appearances. How happens +it the rope is no longer where you say it was placed? No one could have +removed it but yourself. Have you done so? and if so, can you produce +it, or say where it is to be found?" + +"Captain Blessington," replied Halloway, proudly, yet respectfully, "I +have already invoked that great Being, before whose tribunal I am so +shortly to appear, in testimony of the truth of my assertion; and +again, in his presence, do I repeat, every word I have uttered is true. +I did not remove the rope, neither do I know what is become of it. I +admit its disappearance is extraordinary, but a moment's reflection +must satisfy the court I would not have devised a tale, the falsehood +of which could at once have been detected on an examination such as +that which has just been instituted. When Mr. Lawson left this room +just now, I fully expected he would have found the rope lying as it had +been left. What has become of it, I repeat, I know not; but in the +manner I have stated did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan cross the +ditch. I have nothing further to add," he concluded once more, drawing +up his fine tall person, the native elegance of which could not be +wholly disguised even in the dress of a private soldier; "nothing +further to disclose. Yet do I repel with scorn the injurious +insinuation against my fidelity, suggested in these doubts. I am +prepared to meet my death as best may become a soldier, and, let me +add, as best may become a proud and well born gentleman; but humanity +and common justice should at least be accorded to my memory. I am an +unfortunate man, but no traitor." + +The members were visibly impressed by the last sentences of the +prisoner. No further question however was asked, and he was again +removed by the escort, who had been wondering spectators of the scene, +to the cell he had so recently occupied. The room was then cleared of +the witnesses and strangers, the latter comprising nearly the whole of +the officers off duty, when the court proceeded to deliberate on the +evidence, and pass sentence on the accused. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Although the young and sensitive De Haldimar had found physical relief +in the summary means resorted to by the surgeon, the moral wound at his +heart not only remained unsoothed, but was rendered more acutely +painful by the wretched reflections, which, now that he had full +leisure to review the past, and anticipate the future in all the gloom +attached to both, so violently assailed him. From the moment when his +brother's strange and mysterious disappearance had been communicated by +the adjutant in the manner we have already seen, his spirits had been +deeply and fearfully depressed. Still he had every reason to expect, +from the well-known character of Halloway, the strong hope expressed by +the latter might be realised; and that, at the hour appointed for +trial, his brother would be present to explain the cause of his +mysterious absence, justify the conduct of his subordinate, and +exonerate him from the treachery with which he now stood charged. Yet, +powerful as this hope was, it was unavoidably qualified by dispiriting +doubt; for a nature affectionate and bland, as that of Charles de +Haldimar, could not but harbour distrust, while a shadow of +uncertainty, in regard to the fate of a brother so tenderly loved, +remained. He had forced himself to believe as much as possible what he +wished, and the effort had, to a certain extent succeeded; but there +had been something so solemn and so impressive in the scene that had +passed when the prisoner was first brought up for trial, something so +fearfully prophetic in the wild language of his unhappy wife, he had +found it impossible to resist the influence of the almost superstitious +awe they had awakened in his heart. + +What the feelings of the young officer were subsequently, when in the +person of the murdered man on the common, the victim of Sir Everard +Valletort's aim, he recognised that brother, whose disappearance had +occasioned him so much inquietude, we shall not attempt to describe: +their nature is best shown in the effect they produced--the almost +overwhelming agony of body and mind, which had borne him, like a +stricken plant, unresisting to the earth. But now that, in the calm and +solitude of his chamber, he had leisure to review the fearful events +conspiring to produce this extremity, his anguish of spirit was even +deeper than when the first rude shock of conviction had flashed upon +his understanding. A tide of suffering, that overpowered, without +rendering him sensible of its positive and abstract character, had, in +the first instance, oppressed his faculties, and obscured his +perception; but now, slow, sure, stinging, and gradually succeeding +each other, came every bitter thought and reflection of which that tide +was composed; and the generous heart of Charles de Haldimar was a prey +to feelings that would have wrung the soul, and wounded the +sensibilities of one far less gentle and susceptible than himself. + +Between Sir Everard Valletort and Charles de Haldimar, who, it has +already been remarked, were lieutenants in Captain Blessington's +company, a sentiment of friendship had been suffered to spring up +almost from the moment of Sir Everard's joining. The young men were +nearly of the same age; and although the one was all gentleness, the +other all spirit and vivacity, not a shade of disunion had at any +period intervened to interrupt the almost brotherly attachment +subsisting between them, and each felt the disposition of the other was +the one most assimilated to his own. In fact, Sir Everard was far from +being the ephemeral character he was often willing to appear. Under a +semblance of affectation, and much assumed levity of manner, never, +however, personally offensive, he concealed a brave, generous, warm, +and manly heart, and talents becoming the rank he held in society, such +as would not have reflected discredit on one numbering twice his years. +He had entered the army, as most young men of rank usually did at that +period, rather for the agremens it held forth, than with any serious +view to advancement in it as a profession. Still he entertained the +praiseworthy desire of being something more than what is, among +military men, emphatically termed a feather-bed soldier; and, contrary +to the wishes of his fashionable mother, who would have preferred +seeing him exhibit his uniform in the drawing-rooms of London, had +purchased the step into his present corps from a cavalry regiment at +home. Not that we mean, however, to assert he was not a feather-bed +soldier in its more literal sense: no man that ever glittered in gold +and scarlet was fonder of a feather-bed than the young baronet; and, in +fact, his own observations, recorded in the early part of this volume, +sufficiently prove his predilection for an indulgence which, we take +it, in no way impugned his character as a soldier. Sir Everard would +have fought twenty battles in the course of the month, if necessary, +and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his service, +provided only he had been suffered to press his downy couch to what is +termed a decent hour in the day. But he had an innate and, perhaps, it +may be, an instinctive horror of drills and early rising; a pastime in +which the martinets and disciplinarians of the last century were very +much given to indulge. He frequently upheld an opinion that must have +been little less than treason in the eyes of a commander so strict as +Colonel de Haldimar, that an officer who rose at eight, with all his +faculties refreshed and invigorated, might evince as much of the true +bearing of the soldier in the field, as he who, having quitted his +couch at dawn, naturally felt the necessity of repose at a moment when +activity and exertion were most required. + +We need scarcely state, Sir Everard's theories on this important +subject were seldom reduced to practice; for, even long before the +Indians had broken out into open acts of hostility, when such +precautions were rendered indispensable, Colonel de Haldimar had never +suffered either officer or man to linger on his pillow after the first +faint dawn had appeared. This was a system to which Sir Everard could +never reconcile himself. He had quitted England with a view to active +service abroad, it is true, but he had never taken "active service" in +its present literal sense, and, as he frequently declared to his +companions, he preferred giving an Indian warrior a chance for his +scalp any hour after breakfast, to rising at daybreak, when, from very +stupefaction, he seldom knew whether he stood on his head or his heels. +"If the men must be drilled," he urged, "with a view to their health +and discipline, why not place them under the direction of the adjutant +or the officer of the day, whoever he might chance to be, and not +unnecessarily disturb a body of gentlemen from their comfortable +slumbers at that unconscionable hour?" Poor Sir Everard! this was the +only grievance of which he complained, and he complained bitterly. +Scarcely a morning passed without his inveighing loudly against the +barbarity of such a custom; threatening at the same time, amid the +laughter of his companions, to quit the service in disgust at what he +called so ungentlemanly and gothic a habit. All he waited for, he +protested, was to have an opportunity of bearing away the spoils of +some Indian chief, that, on his return to England, he might afford his +lady mother an opportunity of judging with her own eyes of the sort of +enemy he had relinquished the comforts of home to contend against, and +exhibiting to her very dear friends the barbarous proofs of the prowess +of her son. Though these observations were usually made half in jest +half in earnest, there was no reason to doubt the young and lively +baronet was, in truth, heartily tired of a service which seemed to +offer nothing but privations and annoyances, unmixed with even the +chances of obtaining those trophies to which he alluded; and, but for +two motives, there is every probability he would have seriously availed +himself of the earliest opportunity of retiring. The first of these was +his growing friendship for the amiable and gentle Charles de Haldimar; +the second the secret, and scarcely to himself acknowledged, interest +which had been created in his heart for his sister Clara; whom he only +knew from the glowing descriptions of his friend, and the strong +resemblance she was said to bear to him by the other officers. + +Clara de Haldimar was the constant theme of her younger brother's +praise. Her image was ever uppermost in his thoughts--her name ever +hovering on his lips; and when alone with his friend Valletort, it was +his delight to dwell on the worth and accomplishments of his amiable +and beloved sister. Then, indeed, would his usually calm blue eye +sparkle with the animation of his subject, while his colouring cheek +marked all the warmth and sincerity with which he bore attestation to +her gentleness and her goodness. The heart of Charles de Haldimar, +soldier as he was, was pure, generous, and unsophisticated as that of +the sister whom he so constantly eulogized; and, while listening to his +eloquent praises, Sir Everard learnt to feel an interest in a being +whom all had declared to be the counterpart of her brother, as well in +personal attraction as in singleness of nature. With all his affected +levity, and notwithstanding his early initiation into fashionable +life--that matter-of-fact life which strikes at the existence of our +earlier and dearer illusions--there was a dash of romance in the +character of the young baronet which tended much to increase the +pleasure he always took in the warm descriptions of his friend. The +very circumstance of her being personally unknown to him, was, with Sir +Everard, an additional motive for interest in Miss de Haldimar. + +Imagination and mystery generally work their way together; and as there +was a shade of mystery attached to Sir Everard's very ignorance of the +person of one whom he admired and esteemed from report alone, +imagination was not slow to improve the opportunity, and to endow the +object with characteristics, which perhaps a more intimate knowledge of +the party might have led him to qualify. In this manner, in early +youth, are the silken and willing fetters of the generous and the +enthusiastic forged. We invest some object, whose praises, whispered +secretly in the ear, have glided imperceptibly to the heart, with all +the attributes supplied by our own vivid and readily according +imaginations; and so accustomed do we become to linger on the picture, +we adore the semblance with an ardour which the original often fails to +excite. When, however, the high standard of our fancy's fair creation +is attained, we worship as something sacred that which was to our +hearts a source of pure and absorbing interest, hallowed by the very +secrecy in which such interest was indulged. Even where it fails, so +unwilling are we to lose sight of the illusion to which our thoughts +have fondly clung, so loth to destroy the identity of the semblance +with its original, that we throw a veil over that reason which is then +so little in unison with our wishes, and forgive much in consideration +of the very mystery which first gave a direction to our interest, and +subsequently chained our preference. How is it to be lamented, that +illusions so dear, and images so fanciful, should find their level with +time; or that intercourse with the world, which should be the means +rather of promoting than marring human happiness, should leave on the +heart so little vestige of those impressions which characterize the +fervency of youth; and which, dispassionately considered, constitute +the only true felicity of riper life! It is then that man, in all the +vigour and capacity of his intellectual nature, feels the sentiment of +love upon him in all its ennobling force. It is then that his impetuous +feelings, untinged by the romance which imposes its check upon the more +youthful, like the wild flow of the mighty torrent, seeks a channel +wherein they may empty themselves; and were he to follow the guidance +of those feelings, of which in that riper life he seems ashamed as of a +weakness unworthy his sex, in the warm and glowing bosom of Nature's +divinity--WOMAN--would he pour forth the swollen tide of his affection; +and acknowledge, in the fullness of his expanding heart, the vast +bounty of Providence, who had bestowed on him so invaluable--so +unspeakably invaluable, a blessing.--But no; in the pursuit of +ambition, in the acquisition of wealth, in the thirst after power, and +the craving after distinction, nay, nineteen times out of twenty, in +the most frivolous occupations, the most unsatisfactory amusements, do +the great mass of the maturer man sink those feelings; divested of +which, we become mere plodders on the earth, mere creatures of +materialism: nor is it until after age and infirmity have overtaken +them, they look back with regret to that real and substantial, but +unenjoyed happiness, which the occupied heart and the soul's communion +alone can bestow. Then indeed, when too late, are they ready to +acknowledge the futility of those pursuits, the inadequacy of those +mere ephemeral pleasures, to which in the full meridian of their +manhood they sacrificed, as a thing unworthy of their dignity, the +mysterious charm of woman's influence and woman's beauty. + +We do not mean to say Clara de Haldimar would have fallen short of the +high estimate formed of her worth by the friend of her brother; neither +is it to be understood, Sir Everard suffered this fair vision of his +fancy to lead him into the wild and labyrinthian paths of boyish +romance; but certain it is, the floating illusions, conjured up by his +imagination, exercised a mysterious influence over his heart, that +hourly acquired a deeper and less equivocal character. It might have +been curiosity in the first instance, or that mere repose of the fancy +upon an object of its own creation, which was natural to a young man +placed like himself for the moment out of the pale of all female +society. It has been remarked, and justly, there is nothing so +dangerous to the peace of the human heart as solitude. It is in +solitude, our thoughts, taking their colouring from our feelings, +invest themselves with the power of multiplying ideal beauty, until we +become in a measure tenants of a world of our own creation, from which +we never descend, without loathing and disgust, into the dull and +matter-of-fact routine of actual existence. Hence the misery of the +imaginative man!--hence his little sympathy with the mass, who, tame +and soulless, look upon life and the things of life, not through the +refining medium of ideality, but through the grossly magnifying optics +of mere sense and materialism. + +But, though we could, and perhaps may, at some future period, write +volumes on this subject, we return for the present from a digression +into which we have been insensibly led by the temporary excitement of +our own feelings. + +Whatever were the impressions of the young baronet, and however he +might have been inclined to suffer the fair image of the gentle Clara, +such as he was perhaps wont to paint it, to exercise its spell upon his +fancy, certain it is, he never expressed to her brother more than that +esteem and interest which it was but natural he should accord to the +sister of his friend. Neither had Charles de Haldimar, even amid all +his warmth of commendation, ever made the slightest allusion to his +sister, that could be construed into a desire she should awaken any +unusual or extraordinary sentiment of preference. Much and fervently as +he desired such an event, there was an innate sense of decorum, and it +may be secret pride, that caused him to abstain from any observation +having the remotest tendency to compromise the spotless delicacy of his +adored sister; and such he would have considered any expression of his +own hopes and wishes, where no declaration of preference had been +previously made. There was another motive for this reserve on the part +of the young officer. The baronet was an only child, and would, on +attaining his majority, of which he wanted only a few months, become +the possessor of a large fortune. His sister Clara, on the contrary, +had little beyond her own fair fame and the beauty transmitted to her +by the mother she had lost. Colonel de Haldimar was a younger son, and +had made his way through life with his sword, and an unblemished +reputation alone,--advantages he had shared with his children, for the +two eldest of whom his interest and long services had procured +commissions in his own regiment. + +But even while Charles de Haldimar abstained from all expression of his +hopes, he had fully made up his mind that Sir Everard and his sister +were so formed for each other, it was next to an impossibility they +could meet without loving. In one of his letters to the latter, he had +alluded to his friend in terms of so high and earnest panegyric, that +Clara had acknowledged, in reply, she was prepared to find in the young +baronet one whom she should regard with partiality, if it were only on +account of the friendship subsisting between him and her brother. This +admission, however, was communicated in confidence, and the young +officer had religiously preserved his sister's secret. + +These and fifty other recollections now crowded on the mind of the +sufferer, only to render the intensity of his anguish more complete; +among the bitterest of which was the certainty that the mysterious +events of the past night had raised up an insuperable barrier to this +union; for how could Clara de Haldimar become the wife of him whose +hands were, however innocently, stained with the life-blood of her +brother! To dwell on this, and the loss of that brother, was little +short of madness, and yet De Haldimar could think of nothing else; nor +for a period could the loud booming of the cannon from the ramparts, +every report of which shook his chamber to its very foundations, call +off his attention from a subject which, while it pained, engrossed +every faculty and absorbed every thought. At length, towards the close, +he called faintly to the old and faithful soldier, who, at the foot of +the bed, stood watching every change of his master's countenance, to +know the cause of the cannonade. On being informed the batteries in the +rear were covering the retreat of Captain Erskine, who, in his attempt +to obtain the body, had been surprised by the Indians, a new direction +was temporarily given to his thoughts, and he now manifested the utmost +impatience to know the result. + +In a few minutes Morrison, who, in defiance of the surgeon's strict +order not on any account to quit the room, had flown to obtain some +intelligence which he trusted might remove the anxiety of his suffering +master, again made his appearance, stating the corpse was already +secured, and close under the guns of the fort, beneath which the +detachment, though hotly assailed from the forest, were also fast +retreating. + +"And is it really my brother, Morrison? Are you quite certain that it +is Captain de Haldimar?" asked the young officer, in the eager accents +of one who, with the fullest conviction on his mind, yet grasps at the +faintest shadow of a consoling doubt. "Tell me that it is not my +brother, and half of what I possess in the world shall be yours." + +The old soldier brushed a tear from his eye. "God bless you, Mr. de +Haldimar, I would give half my grey hairs to be able to do so; but it +is, indeed, too truly the captain who has been killed. I saw the very +wings of his regimentals as he lay on his face on the litter." + +Charles de Haldimar groaned aloud. "Oh God! oh God! would I had never +lived to see this day." Then springing suddenly up in his +bed.--"Morrison, where are my clothes? I insist on seeing my +slaughtered brother myself." + +"Good Heaven, sir, consider," said the old man approaching the bed, and +attempting to replace the covering which had been spurned to its very +foot,--"consider you are in a burning fever, and the slightest cold may +kill you altogether. The doctor's orders are, you were on no account to +get up." + +The effort made by the unfortunate youth was momentary. Faint from the +blood he had lost, and giddy from the excitement of his feelings, he +sank back exhausted on his pillow, and wept like a child. + +Old Morrison shed tears also; for his heart bled for the sufferings of +one whom he had nursed and played with even in early infancy, and whom, +although his master, he regarded with the affection he would have borne +to his own child. As he had justly observed, he would have willingly +given half his remaining years to be able to remove the source of the +sorrow which so deeply oppressed him. + +When this violent paroxysm had somewhat subsided, De Haldimar became +more composed; but his was rather that composure which grows out of the +apathy produced by overwhelming grief, than the result of any relief +afforded to his suffering heart by the tears he had shed. He had +continued some time in this faint and apparently tranquil state, when +confused sounds in the barrack-yard, followed by the raising of the +heavy drawbridge, announced the return of the detachment. Again he +started up in his bed and demanded his clothes, declaring his intention +to go out and receive the corpse of his murdered brother. All +opposition on the part of the faithful Morrison was now likely to prove +fruitless, when suddenly the door opened, and an officer burst +hurriedly into the room. + +"Courage! courage! my dear De Haldimar; I am the bearer of good news. +Your brother is not the person who has been slain." + +Again De Haldimar sank back upon his pillow, overcome by a variety of +conflicting emotions. A moment afterwards, and he exclaimed +reproachfully, yet almost gasping with the eagerness of his manner,-- + +"For God's sake, Sumners--in the name of common humanity, do not trifle +with my feelings. If you would seek to lull me with false hopes, you +are wrong. I am prepared to hear and bear the worst at present; but to +be undeceived again would break my heart." + +"I swear to you by every thing I have been taught to revere as sacred," +solemnly returned Ensign Sumners, deeply touched by the affliction he +witnessed, "what I state is strictly true. Captain Erskine himself sent +me to tell you." + +"What, is he only wounded then?" and a glow of mingled hope and +satisfaction was visible even through the flush of previous excitement +on the cheek of the sufferer. "Quick, Morrison, give me my +clothes.--Where is my brother, Sumners?" and again he raised up his +debilitated frame with the intention of quitting his couch. + +"De Haldimar, my dear De Haldimar, compose yourself, and listen to me. +Your brother is still missing, and we are as much in the dark about his +fate as ever. All that is certain is, we have no positive knowledge of +his death; but surely that is a thousand times preferable to the horrid +apprehensions under which we have all hitherto laboured." + +"What mean you, Sumners? or am I so bewildered by my sufferings as not +to comprehend you clearly?--Nay, nay, forgive me; but I am almost +heart-broken at this loss, and scarcely know what I say. But what is it +you mean? I saw my unhappy brother lying on the common with my own +eyes. Poor Valletort, himself--" here a rush of bitter recollections +flashed on the memory of the young man, and the tears coursed each +other rapidly down his cheek. His emotion lasted for a few moments, and +he pursued,--"Poor Valletort himself saw him, for he was nearly as much +overwhelmed with affliction as I was; and even Morrison beheld him +also, not ten minutes since, under the very walls of the fort; nay, +distinguished the wings of his uniform: and yet you would persuade me +my brother, instead of being brought in a corpse, is still missing and +alive. This is little better than trifling with my wretchedness, +Sumners," and again he sank back exhausted on his pillow. + +"I can easily forgive your doubts, De Haldimar," returned the +sympathizing Sumners, taking the hand of his companion, and pressing it +gently in his own; "for, in truth, there is a great deal of mystery +attached to the whole affair. I have not seen the body myself; but I +distinctly heard Captain Erskine state it certainly was not your +brother, and he requested me to apprise both Sir Everard Valletort and +yourself of the fact." + +"Who is the murdered man, then? and how comes he to be clad in the +uniform of one of our officers? Pshaw! it is too absurd to be credited. +Erskine is mistaken--he must be mistaken--it can be no other than my +poor brother Frederick. Sumners, I am sick, faint, with this cruel +uncertainty: go, my dear fellow, at once, and examine the body; then +return to me, and satisfy my doubts, if possible." + +"Most willingly, if you desire it," returned Sumners, moving towards +the door; "but believe me, De Haldimar, you may make your mind tranquil +on the subject;--Erskine spoke with certainty." + +"Have you seen Valletort?" asked De Haldimar, while an involuntary +shudder pervaded his fame. + +"I have. He flew on the instant to make further enquiries; and was in +the act of going to examine the body of the murdered man when I came +here.--But here he is himself, and his countenance is the harbinger of +any thing but a denial of my intelligence." + +"Oh, Charles, what a weight of misery has been removed from my heart!" +exclaimed that officer, now rushing to the bedside of his friend, and +seizing his extended hand,--"Your brother, let us hope, still lives." + +"Almighty God, I thank thee!" fervently ejaculated De Haldimar; and +then, overcome with joy, surprise, and gratitude, he again sank back +upon his pillow, sobbing and weeping violently. + +Sumners had, with delicate tact, retired the moment Sir Everard made +his appearance; for he, as well as the whole body of officers, was +aware of the close friendship that subsisted between the young men, and +he felt, at such a moment, the presence of a third person must be a +sort of violation of the sacredness of their interview. + +For some minutes the young baronet stood watching in silence, and with +his friend's hand closely clasped in his own, the course of those tears +which seemed to afford so much relief to the overcharged heart of the +sufferer. At length they passed gradually away; and a smile, expressive +of the altered state of his feelings, for the first time animated the +flushed but handsome features of the younger De Haldimar. + +We shall not attempt to paint all that passed between the friends +during the first interesting moments of an interview which neither had +expected to enjoy again, or the delight and satisfaction with which +they congratulated themselves on the futility of those fears, which, if +realised, must have embittered every future moment of their lives with +the most harrowing recollections. Sir Everard, particularly, felt, and +was not slow to express, his joy on this occasion; for, as he gazed +upon the countenance of his friend, he was more than ever inclined to +confess an interest in the sister he was said so much to resemble. + +With that facility with which in youth the generous and susceptible are +prone to exchange their tears for smiles, as some powerful motive for +the reaction may prompt, the invalid had already, and for the moment, +lost sight of the painful past in the pleasurable present, so that his +actual excitement was strongly in contrast with the melancholy he had +so recently exhibited. Never had Charles de Haldimar appeared so +eminently handsome; and yet his beauty resembled that of a frail and +delicate woman, rather than that of one called to the manly and arduous +profession of a soldier. It was that delicate and Medor-like beauty +which might have won the heart and fascinated the sense of a second +Angelica. The light brown hair flowing in thick and natural waves over +a high white forehead; the rich bloom of the transparent and downy +cheek; the large, blue, long, dark-lashed eye, in which a shade of +languor harmonised with the soft but animated expression of the whole +countenance,--the dimpled mouth,--the small, clear, and even +teeth,--all these now characterised Charles de Haldimar; and if to +these we add a voice rich, full, and melodious, and a smile sweet and +fascinating, we shall be at no loss to account for the readiness with +which Sir Everard suffered his imagination to draw on the brother for +those attributes he ascribed to the sister. + +It was while this impression was strong upon his fancy, he took +occasion to remark, in reply to an observation of De Haldimar's, +alluding to the despair with which his sister would have been seized, +had she known one brother had fallen by the hand of the friend of the +other. + +"The grief of my own heart, Charles, on this occasion, would have been +little inferior to her own. The truth is, my feelings during the last +three hours have let me into a secret, of the existence of which I was, +in a great degree, ignorant until then: I scarcely know how to express +myself, for the communication is so truly absurd and romantic you will +not credit it." He paused, hesitated, and then, as if determined to +anticipate the ridicule he seemed to feel would be attached to his +confession, with a forced half laugh pursued: "The fact is, Charles, I +have been so much used to listen to your warm and eloquent praises of +your sister, I have absolutely, I will not say fallen in love with +(that would be going too far), but conceived so strong an interest in +her, that my most ardent desire would be to find favour in her eyes. +What say you, my friend? are you inclined to forward my suit; and if +so, is there any chance for me, think you, with herself?" + +The breast of Charles de Haldimar, who had listened with deep and +increasing attention to this avowal, swelled high with pleasurable +excitement, and raising himself up in his bed with one hand, while he +grasped one of Sir Everard's with the other, he exclaimed with a +transport of affection too forcible to be controlled,-- + +"Oh, Valletort, Valletort! this is, indeed, all that was wanting to +complete my happiness. My sister Clara I adore with all the affection +of my nature; I love her better than my own life, which is wrapped up +in hers. She is an angel in disposition,--all that is dear, tender, and +affectionate,--all that is gentle and lovely in woman; one whose +welfare is dearer far to me than my own, and without whose presence I +could not live. Valletort, that prize,--that treasure, that dearer half +of myself, is yours,--yours for ever. I have long wished you should +love, each other, and I felt, when you met, you would. If I have +hitherto forborne from expressing this fondest wish of my heart, it has +been from delicacy--from a natural fear of compromising the purity of +my adored Clara. Now, however, you have confessed yourself interested, +by a description that falls far short of the true peril of that dear +girl, I can no longer disguise my gratification and delight. +Valletort," he concluded, impressively, "there is no other man on earth +to whom I would say so much; but you were formed for each other, and +you will, you must, be the husband of my sister." + +If the youthful and affectionate De Haldimar was happy, Sir Everard was +no less so; for already, with the enthusiasm of a young man of twenty, +he painted to himself the entire fruition of those dreams of happiness +that had so long been familiarised to his imagination. One doubt alone +crossed his mind. + +"But if your sister should have decided differently, Charles," he at +length remarked, as he gently quitted the embrace of his friend: "who +knows if her heart may not already throb for another; and even if not, +it is possible she may judge me far less flatteringly than you do." + +"Valletort, your fears are groundless. Having admitted thus far, I will +even go farther, and add, you have been the subject of one of my +letters to Clara, who, in her turn, 'confesses a strong interest in one +of whom she has heard so much.' She writes playfully, of course, but it +is quite evident to me she is prepared to like you." + +"Indeed! But, Charles, liking is many degrees removed you know from +loving; besides, I understand there are two or three handsome and +accomplished fellows among the garrison of Michilimackinac, and your +sister's visit to her cousin may not have been paid altogether with +impunity." + +"Think not thus meanly of Clara's understanding, Valletort. There must +be something more than mere beauty and accomplishment to fix the heart +of my sister. The dark eyed and elegant Baynton, and the musical and +sonnetteering Middleton, to whom you, doubtless, allude, are very +excellent fellows in their way; but handsome and accomplished as they +are, they are not exactly the men to please Clara de Haldimar." + +"But, my dear Charles, you forget also any little merit of my own is +doubly enhanced in your eyes, by the sincerity of the friendship +subsisting between us; your sister may think very differently." + +"Psha, Valletort! these difficulties are all of your own creation," +returned his friend, impatiently; "I know the heart of Clara is +disengaged. What would you more?" + +"Enough, De Haldimar; I will no longer doubt my own prospects. If she +but approve me, my whole life shall be devoted to the happiness of your +sister." + +A single knock was now heard at the door of the apartment; it was +opened, and a sergeant appeared at the entrance. + +"The company are under arms for punishment parade, Lieutenant +Valletort," said the man, touching his cap. + +In an instant, the visionary prospects of the young men gave place to +the stern realities connected with that announcement of punishment. The +treason of Halloway,--the absence of Frederick de Haldimar,--the +dangers by which they were beset,--and the little present probability +of a re-union with those who were most dear to them,--all these +recollections now flashed across their minds with the rapidity of +thought; and the conversation that had so recently passed between them +seemed to leave no other impression than what is produced from some +visionary speculation of the moment. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +As the bells of the fort tolled the tenth hour of morning, the groups +of dispersed soldiery, warned by the rolling of the assembly drum, once +more fell into their respective ranks in the order described in the +opening of this volume, Soon afterwards the prisoner Halloway was +reconducted into the square by a strong escort, who took their stations +as before in the immediate centre, where the former stood principally +conspicuous to the observation of his comrades. His countenance was +paler, and had less, perhaps, of the indifference he had previously +manifested; but to supply this there was a certain subdued air of calm +dignity, and a composure that sprang, doubtless, from the consciousness +of the new character in which he now appeared before his superiors. +Colonel de Haldimar almost immediately followed, and with him were the +principal staff of the garrison, all of whom, with the exception of the +sick and wounded and their attendants, were present to a man. The +former took from the hands of the governor, Lawson, a large packet, +consisting of several sheets of folded paper closely written upon. +These were the proceedings of the court martial. + +After enumerating the several charges, and detailing the evidence of +the witnesses examined, the adjutant came at length to the finding and +sentence of the court, which were as follows:-- + + +"The court having duly considered the evidence adduced against the +prisoner private Frank Halloway, together with what he has urged in his +defence, are of opinion,--" + +"That with regard to the first charge, it is not proved." + +"That with regard to the second charge, it is not proved." + +"That with regard to the third charge, even by his own voluntary +confession, the prisoner is guilty." + +"The court having found the prisoner private Frank Halloway guilty of +the third charge preferred against him, which is hi direct violation of +a standing order of the garrison, entailing capital punishment, do +hereby sentence him, the said prisoner, private Frank Halloway, to be +shot to death at such time and place as the officer commanding may deem +fit to appoint." + +Although the utmost order pervaded the ranks, every breath had been +suspended, every ear stretched during the reading of the sentence; and +now that it came arrayed in terror and in blood, every glance was +turned in pity on its unhappy victim. But Halloway heard it with the +ears of one who has made up his mind to suffer; and the faint half +smile that played upon his lip spoke more in scorn than in sorrow. +Colonel de Haldimar pursued:-- + +"The court having found it imperatively incumbent on them to award the +punishment of death to the prisoner, private Frank Halloway, at the +same time gladly avail themselves of their privilege by strongly +recommending him to mercy. The court cannot, in justice to the +character of the prisoner, refrain from expressing their unanimous +conviction, that notwithstanding the mysterious circumstances which +have led to his confinement and trial, he is entirely innocent of the +treachery ascribed to him. The court have founded this conviction on +the excellent character, both on duty and in the field, hitherto borne +by the prisoner,--his well-known attachment to the officer with whose +abduction be stands charged,--and the manly, open, and (as the court +are satisfied) correct history given of his former life. It is, +moreover, the impression of the court, that, as stated by the prisoner, +his guilt on the third charge has been the result only of his +attachment for Captain de Haldimar. And for this, and the reasons above +assigned, do they strongly recommend the prisoner to mercy." + + (Signed) + + NOEL BLESSINGTON, + Captain and President. + + Sentence approved and confirmed. + + CHARLES DE HALDIMAR, + Colonel Commandant. + + +While these concluding remarks of the court were being read, the +prisoner manifested the deepest emotion. If a smile of scorn had +previously played upon his lip, it was because he fancied the court, +before whom he had sought to vindicate his fame, had judged him with a +severity not inferior to his colonel's; but now that, in the presence +of his companions, he heard the flattering attestation of his services, +coupled even as it was with the sentence that condemned him to die, +tears of gratitude and pleasure rose despite of himself to his eyes; +and it required all his self-command to enable him to abstain from +giving expression to his feelings towards those who had so generously +interpreted the motives of his dereliction from duty. But when the +melancholy and startling fact of the approval and confirmation of the +sentence met his ear, without the slightest allusion to that mercy +which had been so urgently recommended, he again overcame his weakness, +and exhibited his wonted air of calm and unconcern. + +"Let the prisoner be removed, Mr. Lawson," ordered the governor, whose +stern and somewhat dissatisfied expression of countenance was the only +comment on the recommendation for mercy. + +The order was promptly executed. Once more Halloway left the square, +and was reconducted to the cell he had occupied since the preceding +night. + +"Major Blackwater," pursued the governor, "let a detachment consisting +of one half the garrison be got in readiness to leave the fort within +the hour. Captain Wentworth, three pieces of field artillery will be +required. Let them be got ready also." He then retired from the area +with the forbidding dignity and stately haughtiness of manner that was +habitual to him; while the officers, who had just received his +commands, prepared to fulfil the respective duties assigned them. + +Since the first alarm of the garrison no opportunity had hitherto been +afforded the officers to snatch the slightest refreshment. Advantage +was now taken of the short interval allowed by the governor, and they +all repaired to the mess-room, where their breakfast had long since +been provided. + +"Well, Blessington," remarked Captain Erskine, as he filled his plate +for the third time from a large haunch of smoke-dried venison, for +which his recent skirmish with the Indians had given him an unusual +relish, "so it appears your recommendation of poor Halloway to mercy is +little likely to be attended to. Did you remark how displeased the +colonel looked as he bungled through it? One might almost be tempted to +think he had an interest in the man's death, so determined does he +appear to carry his point." + +Although several of his companions, perhaps, felt and thought the same, +still there was no one who would have ventured to avow his real +sentiments in so unqualified a manner. Indeed such an observation +proceeding from the lips of any other officer would have excited the +utmost surprise; but Captain Erskine, a brave, bold, frank, and +somewhat thoughtless soldier, was one of those beings who are +privileged to say any thing. His opinions were usually expressed +without ceremony; and his speech was not the most circumspect NOW, as +since his return to the fort he had swallowed, fasting, two or three +glasses of a favourite spirit, which, without intoxicating, had greatly +excited him. + +"I remarked enough," said Captain Blessington, who sat leaning his head +on one hand, while with the other he occasionally, and almost +mechanically, raised a cup filled with a liquid of a pale blood colour +to his lips,--"quite enough to make me regret from my very soul I +should have been his principal judge. Poor Halloway, I pity him much; +for, on my honour, I believe him to be the gentleman he represents +himself." + +"A finer fellow does not live," remarked the last remaining officer of +the grenadiers. "But surely Colonel de Haldimar cannot mean to carry +the sentence into effect. The recommendation of a court, couched in +such terms as these, ought alone to have some weight with him." + +"It is quite clear, from the fact of his having been remanded to his +cell, the execution of the poor fellow will be deferred at least," +observed one of Captain Erskine's subalterns. "If the governor had +intended he should suffer immediately, he would have had him shot the +moment after his sentence was read. But what is the meaning and object +of this new sortie? and whither are we now going? Do you know, Captain +Erskine, our company is again ordered for this duty?" + +"Know it, Leslie! of course I do; and for that reason am I paying my +court to the more substantial part of the breakfast. Come, Blessington, +my dear fellow, you have quite lost your appetite, and we may have +sharp work before we get back. Follow my example: throw that nasty +blood-thickening sassafras away, and lay a foundation from this +venison. None sweeter is to be found in the forests of America. A few +slices of that, and then a glass each of my best Jamaica, and we shall +have strength to go through the expedition, if its object be the +capture of the bold Ponteac himself." + +"I presume the object is rather to seek for Captain de Haldimar," said +Lieutenant Boyce, the officer of grenadiers; "but in that case why not +send out his own company?" + +"Because the Colonel prefers trusting to cooler heads and more +experienced arms," good-humouredly observed Captain Erskine. +"Blessington is our senior, and his men are all old stagers. My lads, +too, have had their mettle up already this morning, and there is +nothing like that to prepare men for a dash of enterprise. It is with +them as with blood horses, the more you put them on their speed the +less anxious are they to quit the course. Well, Johnstone, my brave +Scot, ready for another skirmish?" he asked, as that officer now +entered to satisfy the cravings of an appetite little inferior to that +of his captain. + +"With 'Nunquam non paratus' for my motto," gaily returned the young +man, "it were odd, indeed, if a mere scratch like this should prevent +me from establishing my claim to it by following wherever my gallant +captain leads." + +"Most courteously spoken, and little in the spirit of a man yet +smarting under the infliction of a rifle wound, it must be confessed," +remarked Lieutenant Leslie. "But, Johnstone, you should bear in mind a +too close adherence to that motto has been, in some degree, fatal to +your family." + +"No reflections, Leslie, if you please," returned his brother +subaltern, slightly reddening. "If the head of our family was +unfortunate enough to be considered a traitor to England, he was not +so, at least, to Scotland; and Scotland was the land of his birth. But +let his political errors be forgotten. Though the winged spur no longer +adorn the booted heel of an Earl of Annandale, the time may not be far +distant when some liberal and popular monarch of England shall restore +a title forfeited neither through cowardice nor dishonour, but from an +erroneous sense of duty." + +"That is to say," muttered Ensign Delme, looking round for approval as +he spoke, "that our present king is neither liberal nor popular. Well, +Mr. Johnstone, were such an observation to reach the ears of Colonel de +Haldimar you would stand a very fair chance of being brought to a court +martial." + +"That is to say nothing of the kind, sir," somewhat fiercely retorted +the young Scot; "but any thing I do say you are at liberty to repeat to +Colonel de Haldimar, or whom you will. I cannot understand, Leslie, why +you should have made any allusion to the misfortunes of my family at +this particular moment, and in this public manner. I trust it was not +with a view to offend me;" and he fixed his large black eyes upon his +brother subaltern, as if he would have read every thought of his mind. + +"Upon my honour, Johnstone, I meant nothing of the kind," frankly +returned Leslie. "I merely meant to hint that as you had had your share +of service this morning, you might, at least, have suffered me to +borrow your spurs, while you reposed for the present on your laurels." + +"There are my gay and gallant Scots," exclaimed Captain Erskine, as he +swallowed off a glass of the old Jamaica which lay before him, and with +which he usually neutralised the acidities of a meat breakfast, +"Settled like gentlemen and lads of spirit as ye are," he pursued, as +the young men cordially shook each other's hand across the table. "What +an enviable command is mine, to have a company of brave fellows who +would face the devil himself were it necessary; and two hot and +impatient subs., who are ready to cut each other's throat for the +pleasure of accompanying me against a set of savages that are little +better than so many devils. Come, Johnstone, you know the Colonel +allows us but one sub. at a time, in consequence of our scarcity of +officers, therefore it is but fair Leslie should have his turn. It will +not be long, I dare say, before we shall have another brush with the +rascals." + +"In my opinion," observed Captain Blessington, who had been a silent +and thoughtful witness of what was passing around him, "neither Leslie +nor Johnstone would evince so much anxiety, were they aware of the +true-nature of the duty for which our companies have been ordered. +Depend upon it, it is no search after Captain de Haldimar in which we +are about to be engaged; for much as the colonel loves his son, he +would on no account compromise the safety of the garrison, by sending a +party into the forest, where poor De Haldimar, if alive, is at all +likely to be found." + +"Faith you are right, Blessington; the governor is not one to run these +sort of risks on every occasion. My chief surprise, indeed, is, that he +suffered me to venture even upon the common; but if we are not designed +for some hostile expedition, why leave the fort at all?" + +"The question will need no answer, if Halloway be found to accompany +us." + +"Psha! why should Halloway be taken out for the purpose? If he be shot +at all, he will be shot on the ramparts, in the presence of, and as an +example to, the whole garrison. Still, on reflection, I cannot but +think it impossible the sentence should be carried into full effect, +after the strong, nay, the almost unprecedented recommendation to mercy +recorded on the face of the proceedings." + +Captain Blessington shook his head despondingly. "What think you, +Erskine, of the policy of making an example, which may be witnessed by +the enemy as well as the garrison? It is evident, from his demeanour +throughout, nothing will convince the colonel that Halloway is not a +traitor, and he may think it advisable to strike terror in the minds of +the savages, by an execution which will have the effect of showing the +treason of the soldier to have been discovered." + +In this opinion many of the officers now concurred; and as the fate of +the unfortunate Halloway began to assume a character of almost +certainty, even the spirit of the gallant Erskine, the least subdued by +the recent distressing events, was overclouded; and all sank, as if by +one consent, into silent communion with their thoughts, as they almost +mechanically completed the meal, at which habit rather than appetite +still continued them. Before any of them had yet risen from the table, +a loud and piercing scream met their ears from without; and so quick +and universal was the movement it produced, that its echo had scarcely +yet died away in distance, when the whole of the breakfast party had +issued from the room, and were already spectators of the cause. + +The barracks of the officers, consisting of a range of low buildings, +occupied the two contiguous sides of a square, and in the front of +these ran a narrow and covered piazza, somewhat similar to those +attached to the guardhouses in England, which description of building +the barracks themselves most resembled. On the other two faces of the +square stood several block-houses, a style of structure which, from +their adaptation to purposes of defence as well as of accommodation, +were every where at that period in use in America, and are even now +continued along the more exposed parts of the frontier. These, capable +of containing each a company of men, were, as their name implies, +formed of huge masses of roughly-shapen timber, fitted into each other +at the extremities by rude incisions from the axe, and filled in with +smaller wedges of wood. The upper part of these block-houses projected +on every side several feet beyond the ground floor, and over the whole +was a sheathing of planks, which, as well as those covering the +barracks of the officers, were painted of a brick-red colour. Unlike +the latter, they rose considerably above the surface of the ramparts; +and, in addition to the small window to be seen on each side of each +story of the block-house, were numerous smaller square holes, +perforated for the discharge of musketry. Between both these barracks +and the ramparts there was just space sufficient to admit of the +passage of artillery of a heavy calibre; and at each of the four +angles, composing the lines of the fort, was an opening of several feet +in extent, not only to afford the gunners room to work their batteries, +but to enable them to reach their posts with greater expedition in the +event of any sudden emergency. On the right, on entering the fort over +the drawbridge, were the block-houses of the men; and immediately in +front, and on the left, the barracks of the officers, terminated at the +outer extremity by the guard-house, and at the inner by the quarters of +the commanding officer. + +As the officers now issued from the mess-room nearly opposite to the +gate, they observed, at that part of the barracks which ran at right +angles with it, and immediately in front of the apartment of the +younger De Haldimar, whence he had apparently just issued, the +governor, struggling, though gently, to disengage himself from a +female, who, with disordered hair and dress, lay almost prostrate upon +the piazza, and clasping his booted leg with an energy evidently +borrowed from the most rooted despair. The quick eye of the haughty man +had already rested on the group of officers drawn by the scream of the +supplicant. Numbers, too, of the men, attracted by the same cause, were +collected in front of their respective block-houses, and looking from +the windows of the rooms in which they were also breakfasting, +preparatory to the expedition. Vexed and irritated beyond measure, at +being thus made a conspicuous object of observation to his inferiors, +the unbending governor made a violent and successful effort to +disengage his leg; and then, without uttering a word, or otherwise +noticing the unhappy being who lay extended at his feet, he stalked +across the parade to his apartments at the opposite angle, without +appearing to manifest the slightest consciousness of the scene that had +awakened such universal attention. + +Several of the officers, among whom was Captain Blessington, now +hastened to the assistance of the female, whom all had recognised, from +the first, to be the interesting and unhappy wife of Halloway. Many of +the comrades of the latter, who had been pained and pitying spectators +of the scene, also advanced for the same purpose; but, on perceiving +their object anticipated by their superiors, they withdrew to the +blocks-houses, whence they had issued. Never was grief more forcibly +depicted, than in the whole appearance of this unfortunate woman; never +did anguish assume a character more fitted to touch the soul, or to +command respect. Her long fair hair, that had hitherto been hid under +the coarse mob-cap, usually worn by the wives of the soldiers, was now +divested of all fastening, and lay shadowing a white and polished +bosom, which, in her violent struggles to detain the governor, had +burst from its rude but modest confinement, and was now displayed in +all the dazzling delicacy of youth and sex. If the officers gazed for a +moment with excited look upon charms that had long been strangers to +their sight, and of an order they had little deemed to find in Ellen +Halloway, it was but the involuntary tribute rendered by nature unto +beauty. The depth and sacredness of that sorrow, which had left the +wretched woman unconscious of her exposure, in the instant afterwards +imposed a check upon admiration, which each felt to be a violation of +the first principles of human delicacy, and the feeling was repressed +almost in the moment that gave it birth. + +They were immediately in front of the room occupied by Charles de +Haldimar, in the piazza of which were a few old chairs, on which the +officers were in the habit of throwing themselves during the heat of +the day. On one of these Captain Blessington, assisted by the officer +of grenadiers, now seated the suffering and sobbing wife of Halloway. +His first care was to repair the disorder of her dress; and never was +the same office performed by man with greater delicacy, or absence of +levity by those who witnessed it. This was the first moment of her +consciousness. The inviolability of modesty for a moment rose paramount +even to the desolation of her heart, and putting rudely aside the hand +that reposed unavoidably upon her person, the poor woman started from +her seat, and looked wildly about her, as if endeavouring to identify +those by whom she was surrounded. But when she observed the pitying +gaze of the officers fixed upon her, in earnestness and commiseration, +and heard the benevolent accents of the ever kind Blessington exhorting +her to composure, her weeping became more violent, and her sobs more +convulsive. Captain Blessington threw an arm round her waist to prevent +her from falling; and then motioning to two or three women of the +company to which her husband was attached, who stood at a little +distance, in front of one of the block-houses, prepared to deliver her +over to their charge. + +"No, no, not yet!" burst at length from the lips of the agonised woman, +as she shrank from the rude but well-intentioned touch of the +sympathising assistants, who had promptly answered the signal; then, as +if obeying some new direction of her feelings, some new impulse of her +grief, she liberated herself from the slight grasp of Captain +Blessington, turned suddenly round, and, before any one could +anticipate the movement, entered an opening on the piazza, raised the +latch of a door situated at its extremity, and was, in the next +instant, in the apartment of the younger De Haldimar. + +The scene that met the eyes of the officers, who now followed close +after her, was one well calculated to make an impression on the hearts +even of the most insensible. In the despair and recklessness of her +extreme sorrow, the young wife of Halloway had already thrown herself +upon her knees at the bedside of the sick officer; and, with her hands +upraised and firmly clasped together, was now supplicating him in +tones, contrasting singularly in their gentleness with the depth of the +sorrow that had rendered her thus regardless of appearances, and +insensible to observation. + +"Oh, Mr. de Haldimar!" she implored, "in the name of God and of our +blessed Saviour, if you would save me from madness, intercede for my +unhappy husband, and preserve him from the horrid fate that awaits him. +You are too good, too gentle, too amiable, to reject the prayer of a +heart-broken woman. Moreover, Mr. de Haldimar," she proceeded, with +deeper energy, while she caught and pressed, between her own white and +bloodless hands, one nearly as delicate that lay extended near her, +"consider all my dear but unfortunate husband has done for your family. +Think of the blood he once spilt in the defence of your brother's life; +that brother, through whom alone, oh God! he is now condemned to die. +Call to mind the days and nights of anguish I passed near his couch of +suffering, when yet writhing beneath the wound aimed at the life of +Captain de Haldimar. Almighty Providence!" she pursued, in the same +impassioned yet plaintive voice, "why is not Miss Clara here to plead +the cause of the innocent, and to touch the stubborn heart of her +merciless father? She would, indeed, move heaven and earth to save the +life of him to whom she so often vowed eternal gratitude and +acknowledgment. Ah, she little dreams of his danger now; or, if prayer +and intercession could avail, my husband should yet live, and this +terrible struggle at my heart would be no more." + +Overcome by her emotion, the unfortunate woman suffered her aching head +to droop upon the edge of the bed, and her sobbing became so painfully +violent, that all who heard her expected, at every moment, some fatal +termination to her immoderate grief. Charles de Haldimar was little +less affected; and his sorrow was the more bitter, as he had just +proved the utter inefficacy of any thing in the shape of appeal to his +inflexible father. + +"Mrs. Halloway, my dear Mrs. Halloway, compose yourself," said Captain +Blessington, now approaching, and endeavouring to raise her gently from +the floor, on which she still knelt, while her hands even more firmly +grasped that of De Haldimar. "You are ill, very ill, and the +consequences of this dreadful excitement may be fatal. Be advised by +me, and retire. I have desired my room to be prepared for you, and +Sergeant Wilmot's wife shall remain with you as long as you may require +it." + +"No, no, no!" she again exclaimed with energy; "what care I for my own +wretched life--my beloved and unhappy husband is to die. Oh God! to die +without guilt--to be cut off in his youth--to be shot as a traitor--and +that simply for obeying the wishes of the officer whom he loved!--the +son of the man who now spurns all supplication from his presence. It is +inhuman--it is unjust--and Heaven will punish the hard-hearted man who +murders him--yes, murders him! for such a punishment for such an +offence is nothing less than murder." Again she wept bitterly, and as +Captain Blessington still essayed to soothe and raise her:--"No, no! I +will not leave this spot," she continued; "I will not quit the side of +Mr. de Haldimar, until he pledges himself to intercede for my poor +husband. It is his duty to save the life of him who saved his brother's +life; and God and human justice are with my appeal. Oh, tell me, then, +Mr. de Haldimar,--if you would save my wretched heart from +breaking,--tell me you will intercede for, and obtain the pardon of, my +husband!" + +As she concluded this last sentence in passionate appeal, she had risen +from her knees; and, conscious only of the importance of the boon +solicited, now threw herself upon the breast of the highly pained and +agitated young officer. Her long and beautiful hair fell floating over +his face, and mingled with his own, while her arms were wildly clasped +around him, in all the energy of frantic and hopeless adjuration. + +"Almighty God!" exclaimed the agitated young man, as he made a feeble +and fruitless effort to raise the form of the unhappy woman; "what +shall I say to impart comfort to this suffering being? Oh, Mrs. +Halloway," he pursued, "I would willingly give all I possess in this +world to be the means of saving your unfortunate husband,--and as much +for his own sake as for yours would I do this; but, alas! I have not +the power. Do not think I speak without conviction. My father has just +been with me, and I have pleaded the cause of your husband with an +earnestness I should scarcely have used had my own life been at stake. +But all my entreaties have been in vain. He is obstinate in the belief +my brother's strange absence, and Donellan's death, are attributable +only to the treason of Halloway. Still there is a hope. A detachment is +to leave the fort within the hour, and Halloway is to accompany them. +It may be, my father intends this measure only with a view to terrify +him into a confession of guilt; and that he deems it politic to make +him undergo all the fearful preliminaries without carrying the sentence +itself into effect." + +The unfortunate woman said no more. When she raised her heaving chest +from that of the young officer, her eyes, though red and shrunk to half +their usual size with weeping, were tearless; but on her countenance +there was an expression of wild woe, infinitely more distressing to +behold, in consequence of the almost unnatural check so suddenly +imposed upon her feelings. She tottered, rather than walked, through +the group of officers, who gave way on either hand to let her pass; and +rejecting all assistance from the women who had followed into the room, +and who now, in obedience to another signal from Captain Blessington, +hastened to her support, finally gained the door, and quitted the +apartment. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The sun was high in the meridian, as the second detachment, commanded +by Colonel de Haldimar in person, issued from the fort of Detroit. It +was that soft and hazy season, peculiar to the bland and beautiful +autumns of Canada, when the golden light of Heaven seems as if +transmitted through a veil of tissue, and all of animate and inanimate +nature, expanding and fructifying beneath its fostering influence, +breathes the most delicious languor and voluptuous repose. It was one +of those still, calm, warm, and genial days, which in those regions +come under the vulgar designation of the Indian summer; a season that +is ever hailed by the Canadian with a satisfaction proportioned to the +extreme sultriness of the summer, and the equally oppressive rigour of +the winter, by which it is immediately preceded and followed. It is +then that Nature, who seems from the creation to have bestowed all of +grandeur and sublimity on the stupendous Americas, looks gladly and +complacently on her work; and, staying the course of parching suns and +desolating frosts, loves to luxuriate for a period in the broad and +teeming bosom of her gigantic offspring. It is then that the +forest-leaves, alike free from the influence of the howling hurricane +of summer, and the paralysing and unfathomable snows of winter, cleave, +tame and stirless in their varying tints, to the parent branch; while +the broad rivers and majestic lakes exhibit a surface resembling rather +the incrustation of the polished mirror than the resistless, viewless +particles of which the golden element is composed. It is then that, +casting its satisfied glance across those magnificent rivers, the eye +beholds, as if reflected from a mirror (so similar in production and +appearance are the contiguous shores), both the fertility of cultivated +and the rudeness of uncultivated nature, that every where surround and +diversify the view. The tall and sloping banks, covered with verdure to +the very sands, that unite with the waters lying motionless at their +base; the continuous chain of neat farm-houses (we speak principally of +Detroit and its opposite shores); the luxuriant and bending orchards, +teeming with fruits of every kind and of every colour; the ripe and +yellow corn vying in hue with the soft atmosphere, which reflects and +gives full effect to its abundance and its richness,--these, with the +intervening waters unruffled, save by the lazy skiff, or the light bark +canoe urged with the rapidity of thought along its surface by the +slight and elegantly ornamented paddle of the Indian; or by the sudden +leaping of the large salmon, the unwieldy sturgeon, the bearded +cat-fish, or the delicately flavoured maskinonge, and fifty other +tenants of their bosom;--all these contribute to form the foreground of +a picture bounded in perspective by no less interesting, though perhaps +ruder marks of the magnificence of that great architect--Nature, on +which the eye never lingers without calm; while feelings, at once +voluptuous and tender, creep insensibly over the heart, and raise the +mind in adoration to the one great and sole Cause by which the +stupendous whole has been produced. + +Such a day as that we have just described was the ---- of September, +1763, when the chief portion of the English garrison of Detroit issued +forth from the fortifications in which they had so long been cooped up, +and in the presumed execution of a duty undeniably the most trying and +painful that ever fell to the lot of soldier to perform. The heavy dull +movement of the guns, as they traversed the drawbridge resembled in +that confined atmosphere the rumbling of low and distant thunder; and +as they shook the rude and hollow sounding planks, over which they were +slowly dragged, called up to every heart the sad recollection of the +service for which they had been required. Even the tramp of the men, as +they moved heavily and measuredly across the yielding bridge, seemed to +wear the character of the reluctance with which they proceeded on so +hateful a duty; and more than one individual, as he momentarily turned +his eye upon the ramparts, where many of his comrades were grouped +together watching the departure of the detachment, testified by the +significant and mournful movement of his head how much he envied their +exemption from the task. + +The direct military road runs in a straight line from the fort to the +banks of the Detroit, and the eastern extremity of the town. Here it is +intersected by the highway running parallel with the river, and +branching off at right angles on either hand; the right, leading in the +direction of the more populous states; the left, through the town, and +thence towards the more remote and western parts, where European +influence has yet been but partially extended. The only difference +between its present and former character is, that what is now a +flourishing commercial town was then a mere village; while the adjacent +country, at present teeming with every mark of vegetation, bore no +other evidence of fertility than what was afforded by a few scattered +farm-houses, many of which skirted various parts of the forest. Along +this road the detachment now wended its slow and solemn course, and +with a mournful pageantry of preparation that gave fearful earnest of +the tragedy expected to be enacted. + +In front, and dragged by the hands of the gunners, moved two of the +three three-pounders, that had been ordered for the duty. Behind these +came Captain Blessington's company, and in their rear, the prisoner +Halloway, divested of his uniform, and clad in a white cotton jacket, +and cap of the same material. Six rank and file of the grenadiers +followed, under the command of a corporal, and behind these again, came +eight men of the same company; four of whom bore on their shoulders a +coffin, covered with a coarse black pall that had perhaps already +assisted at fifty interments; while the other four carried, in addition +to their own, the muskets of their burdened comrades. After these, +marched a solitary drummer-boy; whose tall bear-skin cap attested him +to be of the grenadiers also, while his muffled instrument marked the +duty for which he had been selected. Like his comrades, none of whom +exhibited their scarlet uniforms, he wore the collar of his great coat +closely buttoned beneath his chin, which was only partially visible +above the stiff leathern stock that encircled his neck. Although his +features were half buried in his huge cap and the high collar of his +coat, there was an air of delicacy about his person that seemed to +render him unsuited to such an office; and more than once was Captain +Erskine, who followed immediately behind him at the head of his +company, compelled to call sharply to the urchin, threatening him with +a week's drill unless he mended his feeble and unequal pace, and kept +from under the feet of his men. The remaining gun brought up the rear +of the detachment, who marched with fixed bayonets and two balls in +each musket; the whole presenting a front of sections, that completely +filled up the road along which they passed. Colonel de Haldimar, +Captain Wentworth, and the Adjutant Lawson followed in the extreme rear. + +An event so singular as that of the appearance of the English without +their fort, beset as they were by a host of fierce and dangerous +enemies, was not likely to pass unnoticed by a single individual in the +little village of Detroit. We have already observed, that most of the +colonist settlers had been cruelly massacred at the very onset of +hostilities. Not so, however, with the Canadians, who, from their +anterior relations with the natives, and the mutual and tacit good +understanding that subsisted between both parties, were suffered to +continue in quiet and unmolested possession of their homes, where they +preserved an avowed neutrality, never otherwise infringed than by the +assistance secretly and occasionally rendered to the English troops, +whose gold they were glad to receive in exchange for the necessaries of +life. + +Every dwelling of the infant town had commenced giving up its tenants, +from the moment when the head of the detachment was seen traversing the +drawbridge; so that, by the time it reached the highway, and took its +direction to the left, the whole population of Detroit were already +assembled in groups, and giving expression to their several +conjectures, with a vivacity of language and energy of gesticulation +that would not have disgraced the parent land itself. As the troops +drew nearer, however, they all sank at once into a silence, as much the +result of certain unacknowledged and undefined fears, as of the respect +the English had ever been accustomed to exact. The men removed their +short dingy clay pipes from their mouths with one hand, and uncovered +themselves with the other, while the women made their hasty reverence +with the air of people who seek to propitiate by an act of civility; +even the very children scraped and bowed, as if they feared the +omission might be fatal to them, and, clinging to the hands and dress +of their parents, looked up occasionally to their countenances to +discover whether the apprehensions of their own fluttering and timid +hearts were likely to be realised. Still there was sufficient of +curiosity with all to render them attentive spectators of the passing +troop. Hitherto, it had been imagined, the object of the English was an +attack on the encampments of their enemies; but when the gaze of each +adult inhabitant fell on the unaccoutred form of the lone soldier, who, +calm though pale, now moved among his comrades in the ignominious garb +of death, they could no longer doubt its true destination. + +The aged made the sign of the cross, and mumbled over a short prayer +for the repose of his soul, while the more youthful indulged in +half-breathed ejaculations of pity and concern that so fine and +interesting a man should be doomed to so dreadful a fate. + +At the farther extremity of the town, and at a bend in the road, which +branched off more immediately towards the river, stood a small public +house, whose creaking sign bore three ill executed fleurs-de-lis, +apologetic emblems of the arms of France. The building itself was +little more than a rude log hut, along the front of which ran a plank, +supported by two stumps of trees, and serving as a temporary +accommodation both for the traveller and the inmate. On this bench +three persons, apparently attracted by the beauty of the day and the +mildness of the autumnal sun, were now seated, two of whom were +leisurely puffing their pipes, while the third, a female, was employed +in carding wool, a quantity of which lay in a basket at her feet, while +she warbled, in a low tone, one of the simple airs of her native land. +The elder of the two men, whose age might be about fifty, offered +nothing particularly remarkable in his appearance: he was dressed in +one of those thick coats made of the common white blanket, which, even +to this day, are so generally worn by the Canadians, while his hair, +cut square upon the forehead, and tied into a club of nearly a foot +long, fell into the cape, or hood, attached to it: his face was ruddy +and shining as that of any rival Boniface among the race of the +hereditary enemies of his forefathers; and his thick short neck, and +round fat person, attested he was no more an enemy to the good things +of this world than themselves, while he was as little oppressed by its +cares: his nether garments were of a coarse blue homespun, and his feet +were protected by that rudest of all rude coverings, the Canadian +shoe-pack. This was composed of a single piece of stiff brown leather, +curved and puckered round the sides and front, where it was met by a +tongue of softer material, which helped to confine it in that position, +and to form the shoe. A bandana handkerchief fell from his neck upon +his chest; the covering of which was so imperfectly drawn, as to +disclose a quantity of long, coarse, black, and grisly hair. + +His companion was habited in a still more extraordinary manner. His +lower limbs were cased, up to the mid-thigh, in leathern leggings, the +seam of which was on the outside, leaving a margin, or border, of about +an inch wide, which had been slit into innumerable small fringes, +giving them an air of elegance and lightness: a garter of leather, +curiously wrought, with the stained quills of the porcupine, encircled +each leg, immediately under the knee, where it was tied in a bow, and +then suffered to hang pendant half way down the limb; to the fringes of +the leggings, moreover, were attached numerous dark-coloured horny +substances, emitting, as they rattled against each other, at the +slightest movement of the wearer, a tinkling sound, resembling that +produced by a number of small thin delicate brass bells; these were the +tender hoofs of the wild deer, dried, scraped, and otherwise prepared +for this ornamental purpose. Upon his large feet he wore mocassins, +made of the same pliant material with his leggings, and differing in +shape from the foot-gear of his companion in this particular only, that +they had no tongue introduced into the front: they were puckered +together by a strong sinew of the deer, until they met along the instep +in a seam concealed by the same ornamental quill-work that decorated +the garters: a sort of flap, fringed like the leggings, was folded back +from the ankle, upon the sides of the foot, and the whole was confined +by a strong though neat leathern thong, made of smoked deer-skin also, +which, after passing once or twice under the foot, was then tightly +drawn several times round the ankle, where it was finally secured. Two +strips of leather, about an inch and a half in width, attached to the +outer side of each legging, were made fast at their opposite +extremities to a strong girdle, encircling the loins, and supporting a +piece of coarse blue cloth, which, after passing completely under the +body, fell in short flaps both before and behind. The remainder of the +dress consisted of a cotton shirt, figured and sprigged on a dark +ground, that fell unconfined over the person; a close deer-skin +hunting-coat, fringed also at its edges; and a coarse common felt hat, +in the string of which (for there was no band) were twisted a number of +variegated feathers, furnished by the most beautiful and rare of the +American autumnal birds. Outside this hunting-coat, and across the +right shoulder, was flung an ornamented belt, to which were appended, +on the left side, and in a line with the elbow, a shot-pouch, made of +the untanned hide of some wild animal, and a flask for powder, formed +of the horn of the buffalo; on which, highly polished for this purpose, +were inscribed, with singular accuracy of proportion, a variety of +figures, both of men, and birds, and beasts, and fishes; two or three +small horn measures for powder, and a long thin wire, intended to serve +as a pricker for the rifle that reclined against the outside of the +hut, were also attached to this belt by strips of deer-skin of about +six inches in length. Into another broad leathern belt, that confined +the hunting coat, was thrust a tomahawk, the glittering head of which +was uppermost, and unsheathed: while at the opposite side, and half +supporting the powder-horn, the huge handle of a knife, whose blade was +buried in a strong leathern sheath, was distinctly visible. + +The form and face of this individual were in perfect keeping with the +style of his costume, and the formidable character of his equipment. +His stature was considerably beyond that of the ordinary race of men, +and his athletic and muscular limbs united the extremes of strength and +activity in a singular degree. His features, marked and prominent, wore +a cast of habitual thought, strangely tinctured with ferocity; and the +general expression of his otherwise not unhandsome countenance was +repellent and disdainful. At the first glance he might have been taken +for one of the swarthy natives of the soil; but though time and +constant exposure to scorching suns had given to his complexion a dusky +hue, still there were wanting the quick, black, penetrating eye; the +high cheek-bone; the straight, coarse, shining, black hair; the small +bony hand and foot; and the placidly proud and serious air, by which +the former is distinguished. His own eye was of a deep bluish grey; his +hair short, dark, and wavy; his hands large and muscular; and so far +from exhibiting any of the self-command of the Indian, the constant +play of his features betrayed each passing thought with the same +rapidity with which it was conceived. But if any doubt could have +existed in the mind of him who beheld this strangely accoutred figure, +it would have been instantly dispelled by a glance at his lower limbs. +We have already stated the upper part of his leggings terminated about +mid-thigh; from this to the hip, that portion of the limb was +completely bare, and disclosed, at each movement of the garment that +was suffered to fall loosely over it, not the swarthy and +copper-coloured flesh of the Indian, but the pale though sun-burnt skin +of one of a more temperate clime. His age might be about forty-five. + +At the moment when the English detachment approached the bend in the +road, these two individuals were conversing earnestly together, pausing +only to puff at intervals thick and wreathing volumes of smoke from +their pipes, which were filled with a mixture of tobacco and +odoriferous herbs. Presently, however, sounds that appeared familiar to +his ear arrested the attention of the wildly accoutred being we have +last described. It was the heavy roll of the artillery carriages +already advancing along the road, and somewhat in the rear of the hut. +To dash his pipe to the ground, seize and cock and raise his rifle to +his shoulder, and throw himself forward in the eager attitude of one +waiting until the object of his aim should appear in sight, was but the +work of a moment. Startled by the suddenness of the action, his male +companion moved a few paces also from his seat, to discover the cause +of this singular movement. The female, on the contrary, stirred not, +but ceasing for a moment the occupation in which she had been engaged, +fixed her dark and brilliant eyes upon the tall and picturesque form of +the rifleman, whose active and athletic limbs, thrown into powerful +relief by the distention of each nerve and muscle, appeared to engross +her whole admiration and interest, without any reference to the cause +that had produced this abrupt and hostile change in his movements. It +was evident that, unlike the other inhabitants of the town, this group +had been taken by surprise, and were utterly unprepared to expect any +thing in the shape of interruption. + +For upwards of a minute, during which the march of the men became +audible even to the ears of the female, the formidable warrior, for +such his garb denoted him to be, continued motionless in the attitude +he had at first assumed--his right cheek reposing on the ornamented +stock of his rifle, and his quick and steady eye fixed in one +undeviating line with the sight near the breech, and that which +surmounted the extreme end of the deadly weapon. No sooner, however, +had the head of the advancing column come within sight, than the +trigger was pulled, and the small and ragged bullet sped hissing from +the grooved and delicate barrel. A triumphant cry was next pealed from +the lips of the warrior,--a cry produced by the quickly repeated +application and removal of one hand to and from the mouth, while the +other suffered the butt end of the now harmless weapon to fall loosely +upon the earth. He then slowly and deliberately withdrew within the +cover of the hut. + +This daring action, which had been viewed by the leading troops with +astonishment not unmingled with alarm, occasioned a temporary confusion +in the ranks, for all believed they had fallen into an ambuscade of the +Indians. A halt was instantly commanded by Captain Blessington, in +order to give time to the governor to come up from the rear, while he +proceeded with one of the leading sections to reconnoitre the front of +the hut. To his infinite surprise, however, he found neither enemy, nor +evidence that an enemy had been there. The only individuals visible +were the Canadian already alluded to, and the dark-eyed female. Both +were seated on the bench;--the one smoking his pipe with a well assumed +appearance of unconcern--the other carding her wool, but with a hand +that by a close observer might be seen to tremble in its office, and a +cheek that was paler considerably than at the moment when we first +placed her before the imagination of the reader. Both, however, started +with unaffected surprise on seeing Captain Blessington and his little +force turn the corner of the house from the main road; and certain +looks of recognition passed between all parties, that proved them to be +no strangers to each other. + +"Ah, monsieur," said the Canadian, in a mingled dialect, neither French +nor English, but partaking in some degree of the idiom of both, while +he attempted an ease and freedom of manner that was too miserably +affected to pass current with the mild but observant officer whom he +addressed, "how much surprise I am, and glad to see you. It is a long +times since you came out of de fort. I hope de governeur and de officir +be all very well. I was tinking to go to-day to see if you want any +ting. I have got some nice rum of the Jamaique for Capitaine Erskine. +Will you please to try some?" While speaking, the voluble host of the +Fleur de lis had risen from his seat, laid aside his pipe, and now +stood with his hands thrust into the pockets of his blanket coat. + +"It is, indeed, a long time since we have been here, master Francois," +somewhat sarcastically and drily replied Captain Blessington; "and you +have not visited us quite so often latterly yourself, though well aware +we were in want of fresh provisions. I give you all due credit, +however, for your intention of coming to-day, but you see we have +anticipated you. Still this is not the point. Where is the Indian who +fired at us just now? and how is it we find you leagued with our +enemies?" + +"What, sir, is it you say?" asked the Canadian, holding up his hands +with feigned astonishment "Me league myself with de savage. Upon my +honour I did not see nobody fire, or I should tell you. I love de +English too well to do dem harms." + +"Come, come, Francois, no nonsense. If I cannot make you confess, there +is one not far from me who will. You know Colonel de Haldimar too well +to imagine he will be trifled with in this manner: if he detects you in +a falsehood, he will certainly cause you to be hanged up at the first +tree. Take my advice, therefore, and say where you have secreted this +Indian; and recollect, if we fall into an ambuscade, your life will be +forfeited at the first shot we hear fired." + +At this moment the governor, followed by his adjutant, came rapidly up +to the spot. Captain Blessington communicated the ill success of his +queries, when the former cast on the terrified Canadian one of those +severe and searching looks which he so well knew how to assume. + +"Where is the rascal who fired at us, sirrah? tell me instantly, or you +have not five minutes to live." + +The heart of mine host of the Fleur de lis quailed within him at this +formidable threat; and the usually ruddy hue of his countenance had now +given place to an ashy paleness. Still, as he had positively denied all +knowledge of the matter on which he was questioned, he appeared to feel +his safety lay in adhering to his original statement. Again, therefore, +he assured the governor, on his honour (laying his hand upon his heart +as he spoke), that what he had already stated was the fact. + +"Your honour--you pitiful trading scoundrel--how dare you talk to me of +your honour? Come, sir, confess at once where you have secreted this +fellow, or prepare to die." + +"If I may be so bold, your Honour," said one of Captain Blessington's +men, "the Frenchman lies. When the Ingian fired among us, this fellow +was peeping under his shoulder and watching us also. If I had not seen +him too often at the fort to be mistaken in his person, I should have +known him, at all events, by his blanket coat and red handkerchief." + +This blunt statement of the soldier, confirmed as it was the instant +afterwards by one of his comrades, was damning proof against the +Canadian, even if the fact of the rifle being discharged from the front +of the hut had not already satisfied all parties of the falsehood of +his assertion. + +"Come forward, a couple of files, and seize this villain," resumed the +governor with his wonted sternness of manner. "Mr. Lawson, see if his +hut does not afford a rope strong enough to hang the traitor from one +of his own apple trees." + +Both parties proceeded at the same moment to execute the two distinct +orders of their chief. The Canadian was now firmly secured in the grasp +of the two men who had given evidence against him, when, seeing all the +horror of the summary and dreadful fate that awaited him, he confessed +the individual who had fired had been sitting with him the instant +previously, but that he knew no more of him than of any other savage +occasionally calling at the Fleur de lis. He added, that on discharging +the rifle he had bounded across the palings of the orchard, and fled in +the direction of the forest. He denied, on interrogation, all knowledge +or belief of an enemy waiting in ambush; stating, moreover, even the +individual in question had not been aware of the sortie of the +detachment until apprised of their near approach by the heavy sound of +the gun-carriages. + +"Here are undeniable proofs of the man's villany, sir," said the +adjutant, returning from the hut and exhibiting objects of new and +fearful interest to the governor. "This hat and rope I found secreted +in one of the bed-rooms of the auberge. The first is evidently +Donellan's; and from the hook attached to the latter, I apprehend it to +be the same stated to have been used by Captain de Haldimar in crossing +the ditch." + +The governor took the hat and rope from the hands of his subordinate, +examined them attentively, and after a few moments of deep musing, +during which his countenance underwent several rapid though scarcely +perceptible changes, turned suddenly and eagerly to the soldier who had +first convicted the Canadian in his falsehood, and demanded if he had +seen enough of the man who had fired to be able to give even a general +description of his person. + +"Why yes, your Honour, I think I can; for the fellow stood long enough +after firing his piece, for a painter to have taken him off from head +to foot. He was a taller and larger man by far than our biggest +grenadier, and that is poor Harry Donellan, as your Honour knows. But +as for his dress, though I could see it all, I scarcely can tell how to +describe it. All I know is, he was covered with smoked deer-skin, in +some such fashion as the great chief Ponteac, only, instead of having +his head bare and shaved, he wore a strange outlandish sort of a hat, +covered over with wild birds' feathers in front." + +"Enough," interrupted the governor, motioning the man to silence; then, +in an undertone to himself,--"By Heaven, the very same." A shade of +disappointment, not unmingled with suppressed alarm, passed rapidly +across his brow; it was but momentary. "Captain Blessington," he +ordered quickly and impatiently, "search the hut and grounds for this +lurking Indian, who is, no doubt, secreted in the neighbourhood. Quick, +quick, sir; there is no time to be lost." Then in an angry and +intimidating tone to the Canadian, who had already dropped on his +knees, supplicating mercy, and vociferating his innocence in the same +breath,--"So, you infernal scoundrel, this is the manner in which you +have repaid our confidence. Where is my son, sir? or have you already +murdered him, as you did his servant? Tell me, you villain, what have +you to say to these proofs of your treachery? But stay, I shall take +another and fitter opportunity to question you. Mr. Lawson, secure this +traitor properly, and let him be conveyed to the centre of the +detachment." + +The mandate was promptly obeyed; and, in despite of his own unceasing +prayers and protestations of innocence, and the tears and entreaties of +his dark-eyed daughter Babette, who had thrown herself on her knees at +his side, the stout arms of mine host of the Fleur de lis were soon +firmly secured behind his back with the strong rope that had been found +under such suspicious circumstances in his possession. Before he was +marched off, however, two of the men who had been sent in pursuit, +returned from the orchard, stating that further search was now +fruitless. They had penetrated through a small thicket at the extremity +of the grounds, and had distinctly seen a man answering the description +given by their comrades, in full flight towards the forest skirting the +heights in front. + +The governor was evidently far from being satisfied with the result of +a search too late instituted to leave even a prospect of success. +"Where are the Indians principally encamped, sirrah?" he sternly +demanded of his captive; "answer me truly, or I will carry off this +wench as well, and if a single hair of a man of mine be even singed by +a shot from a skulking enemy, you may expect to see her bayoneted +before your eyes." + +"Ah, my God! Monsieur le Gouverneur," exclaimed the affrighted +aubergiste, "as I am an honest man, I shall tell de truth, but spare my +child. They are all in de forest, and half a mile from de little river +dat runs between dis and de Pork Island." + +"Hog Island, I suppose you mean." + +"Yes sir, de Hog Island is de one I means." + +"Conduct him to the centre, and let him be confronted with the +prisoner," directed the governor, addressing his adjutant; "Captain +Blessington, your men may resume their stations in the ranks." + +The order was obeyed; and notwithstanding the tears and supplications +of the now highly excited Babette, who flung herself upon his neck, and +was only removed by force, the terrified Canadian was borne off from +his premises by the troops. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +While this scene was enacting in front of the Fleur de lis, one of a +far more touching and painful nature was passing in the very heart of +the detachment itself. At the moment when the halt was ordered by +Captain Blessington, a rumour ran through the ranks that they had +reached the spot destined for the execution of their ill-fated comrade. +Those only in the immediate front were aware of the true cause; but +although the report of the rifle had been distinctly heard by all, it +had been attributed by those in the rear to the accidental discharge of +one of their own muskets. A low murmur, expressive of the opinion +generally entertained, passed gradually from rear to front, until it at +length reached the ears of the delicate drummer boy who marched behind +the coffin. His face was still buried in the collar of his coat; and +what was left uncovered of his features by the cap, was in some degree +hidden by the forward drooping of his head upon his chest. Hitherto he +had moved almost mechanically along, tottering and embarrassing himself +at every step under the cumbrous drum that was suspended from a belt +round his neck over the left thigh; but now there was a certain +indescribable drawing up of the frame, and tension of the whole person, +denoting a concentration of all the moral and physical energies,--a +sudden working up, as it were, of the intellectual and corporeal being +to some determined and momentous purpose. + +At the first halt of the detachment, the weary supporters of the coffin +had deposited their rude and sombre burden upon the earth, preparatory +to its being resumed by those appointed to relieve them. The dull sound +emitted by the hollow fabric, as it touched the ground, caught the ear +of him for whom it was destined, and he turned to gaze upon the sad and +lonely tenement so shortly to become his final resting place. There was +an air of calm composure and dignified sorrow upon his brow, that +infused respect into the hearts of all who beheld him; and even the men +selected to do the duty of executioners sought to evade his glance, as +his steady eye wandered from right to left of the fatal rank. His +attention, however, was principally directed towards the coffin, which +lay before him; on this he gazed fixedly for upwards of a minute. He +then turned his eyes in the direction of the fort, shuddered, heaved a +profound sigh, and looking up to heaven with the apparent fervour that +became his situation, seemed to pray for a moment or two inwardly and +devoutly. The thick and almost suffocating breathing of one immediately +beyond the coffin, was now distinctly heard by all. Halloway started +from his attitude of devotion, gazed earnestly on the form whence it +proceeded, and then wildly extending his arms, suffered a smile of +satisfaction to illumine his pale features. All eyes were now turned +upon the drummer boy, who, evidently labouring under convulsive +excitement of feeling, suddenly dashed his cap and instrument to the +earth, and flew as fast as his tottering and uncertain steps would +admit across the coffin, and into the arms extended to receive him. + +"My Ellen! oh, my own devoted, but too unhappy Ellen!" passionately +exclaimed the soldier, as he clasped the slight and agitated form of +his disguised wife to his throbbing heart. "This, this, indeed, is joy +even in death. I thought I could have died more happily without you, +but nature tugs powerfully at my heart; and to see you once more, to +feel you once more HERE" (and he pressed her wildly to his chest) "is +indeed a bliss that robs my approaching fate of half its terror." + +"Oh Reginald! my dearly beloved Reginald! my murdered husband!" +shrieked the unhappy woman; "your Ellen will not survive you. Her heart +is already broken, though she cannot weep; but the same grave shall +contain us both. Reginald, do you believe me? I swear it; the same +grave shall contain us both." + +Exhausted with the fatigue and excitement she had undergone, the +faithful and affectionate creature now lay, without sense or motion, in +the arms of her wretched husband. Halloway bore her, unopposed, a pace +or two in advance, and deposited her unconscious form on the fatal +coffin. + +No language of ours can render justice to the trying character of the +scene. All who witnessed it were painfully affected, and over the +bronzed cheek of many a veteran coursed a tear, that, like that of +Sterne's recording angel, might have blotted out a catalogue of sins. +Although each was prepared to expect a reprimand from the governor, for +suffering the prisoner to quit his station in the ranks, humanity and +nature pleaded too powerfully in his behalf, and neither officer nor +man attempted to interfere, unless with a view to render assistance. +Captain Erskine, in particular, was deeply pained, and would have given +any thing to recall the harsh language he had used towards the supposed +idle and inattentive drummer boy. Taking from a pocket in his uniform a +small flask of brandy, which he had provided against casualties, the +compassionating officer slightly raised the head of the pale and +unconscious woman with one hand, while with the other he introduced a +few drops between her parted lips. Halloway knelt at the opposite side +of the coffin; one hand searching, but in vain, the suspended pulse of +his inanimate wife; the other, unbuttoning the breast of the drum-boy's +jacket, which, with every other part of the equipment, she wore beneath +the loose great coat so effectually accomplishing her disguise. + +Such was the position of the chief actors in this truly distressing +drama, at the moment when Colonel de Haldimar came up with his new +prisoner, to mark what effect would be produced on Halloway by his +unexpected appearance. His own surprise and disappointment may be +easily conceived, when, in the form of the recumbent being who seemed +to engross universal attention, he recognised, by the fair and +streaming hair, and half exposed bosom, the unfortunate being whom, +only two hours previously, he had spurned from his feet in the costume +of her own sex, and reduced, by the violence of her grief, to almost +infantine debility. Question succeeded question to those around, but +without eliciting any clue to the means by which this mysterious +disguise had been effected. No one had been aware, until the truth was +so singularly and suddenly revealed, the supposed drummer was any other +than one of the lads attached to the grenadiers; and as for the other +facts, they spoke too plainly to the comprehension of the governor to +need explanation. Once more, however, the detachment was called to +order. Halloway struck his hand violently upon his brow, kissed the wan +lips of his still unconscious wife, breathing, as he did so, a half +murmured hope she might indeed be the corpse she appeared. He then +raised himself from the earth with a light and elastic vet firm +movement, and resumed the place he had previously occupied, where, to +his surprise, he beheld a second victim bound, and, apparently, devoted +to the same death. When the eyes of the two unhappy men met, the +governor closely watched the expression of the countenance of each; but +although the Canadian started on beholding the soldier, it might be +merely because he saw the latter arrayed in the garb of death, and +followed by the most unequivocal demonstrations of a doom to which he +himself was, in all probability, devoted. As for Halloway, his look +betrayed neither consciousness nor recognition; and though too proud to +express complaint or to give vent to the feelings of his heart, his +whole soul appeared to be absorbed in the unhappy partner of his +luckless destiny. Presently he saw her borne, and in the same state of +insensibility, in the arms of Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Leslie, +towards the hut of his fellow prisoner, and he heard the former officer +enjoin the weeping girl, Babette, to whose charge they delivered her +over, to pay every attention to her her situation might require. The +detachment then proceeded. + +The narrow but deep and rapid river alluded to by the Canadian, as +running midway between the town and Hog Island, derived its source far +within the forest, and formed the bed of one of those wild, dark, and +thickly wooded ravines so common in America. As it neared the Detroit, +however, the abruptness of its banks was so considerably lessened, as +to render the approach to it on the town side over an almost +imperceptible slope. Within a few yards of its mouth, as we have +already observed in our introductory chapter, a rude but strong wooden +bridge, over which lay the high road, had been constructed by the +French; and from the centre of this, all the circuit of intermediate +clearing, even to the very skirt of the forest, was distinctly +commanded by the naked eye. To the right, on approaching it from the +town, lay the adjacent shores of Canada, washed by the broad waters of +the Detroit, on which it was thrown into strong relief, and which, at +the distance of about a mile in front, was seen to diverge into two +distinct channels, pursuing each a separate course, until they again +met at the western extremity of Hog Island. On the left, and in the +front, rose a succession of slightly undulating hills, which, at a +distance of little more than half a mile, terminated in an elevation +considerably above the immediate level of the Detroit side of the +ravine. That, again, was crowned with thick and overhanging forest, +taking its circular sweep, as we have elsewhere shown, around the fort. +The intermediate ground was studded over with rude stumps of trees, and +bore, in various directions, distinct proofs of the spoliation wrought +among the infant possessions of the murdered English settlers. The view +to the rear was less open; the town being partially hidden by the +fruit-laden orchards that lined the intervening high road, and hung +principally on its left. This was not the case with the fort. Between +these orchards and the distant forest lay a line of open country, fully +commanded by its cannon, even to the ravine we have described, and in a +sweep that embraced every thing from the bridge itself to the forest, +in which all traces of its source was lost. + +When the detachment had arrived within twenty yards of the bridge, they +were made to file off to the left, until the last gun had come up. They +were then fronted; the rear section of Captain Erskine's company +resting on the road, and the left flank, covered by the two first guns +pointed obliquely, both in front and rear, to guard against surprise, +in the event of any of the Indians stealing round to the cover of the +orchards. The route by which they had approached this spot was upwards +of two miles in extent; but, as they now filed off into the open +ground, the leading sections observed, in a direct line over the +cleared country, and at the distance of little more than three quarters +of a mile, the dark ramparts of the fortress that contained their +comrades, and could even distinguish the uniforms of the officers and +men drawn up in line along the works, where they were evidently +assembled to witness the execution of the sentence on Halloway. + +Such a sight as that of the English so far from their fort, was not +likely to escape the notice of the Indians. Their encampment, as the +Canadian had truly stated, lay within the forest, and beyond the +elevated ground already alluded to; and to have crossed the ravine, or +ventured out of reach of the cannon of the fort, would have been to +have sealed the destruction of the detachment. But the officer to whom +their security was entrusted, although he had his own particular views +for venturing thus far, knew also at what point to stop; and such was +the confidence of his men in his skill and prudence, they would have +fearlessly followed wherever he might have chosen to lead. Still, even +amid all the solemnity of preparation attendant on the duty they were +out to perform, there was a natural and secret apprehensiveness about +each, that caused him to cast his eyes frequently and fixedly on that +part of the forest which was known to afford cover to their merciless +foes. At times they fancied they beheld the dark and flitting forms of +men gliding from tree to tree along the skirt of the wood; but when +they gazed again, nothing of the kind was to be seen, and the illusion +was at once ascribed to the heavy state of the atmosphere, and the +action of their own precautionary instincts. + +Meanwhile the solemn tragedy of death was preparing in mournful +silence. On the centre of the bridge, and visible to those even within +the fort, was placed the coffin of Halloway, and at twelve paces in +front were drawn up the six rank and file on whom had devolved, by lot, +the cruel duty of the day. With calm and fearless eye the prisoner +surveyed the preparations for his approaching end; and whatever might +be the inward workings of his mind, there was not among the assembled +soldiery one individual whose countenance betrayed so little of sorrow +and emotion as his own. With a firm step, when summoned, he moved +towards the fatal coffin, dashing his cap to the earth as he advanced, +and baring his chest with the characteristic contempt of death of the +soldier. When he had reached the centre of the bridge, he turned facing +his comrades, and knelt upon the coffin. Captain Blessington, who, +permitted by the governor, had followed him with a sad heart and heavy +step, now drew a Prayer-book from his pocket, and read from it in a low +voice. He then closed the volume, listened to something the prisoner +earnestly communicated to him, received a small packet which he drew +from the bosom of his shirt, shook him long and cordially by the hand, +and then hastily resumed his post at the head of the detachment. + +The principal inhabitants of the village, led by curiosity, had +followed at a distance to witness the execution of the condemned +soldier: and above the heads of the line, and crowning the slope, were +collected groups of both sexes and of all ages, that gave a still more +imposing character to the scene. Every eye was now turned upon the +firing party, who only awaited the signal to execute their melancholy +office, when suddenly, in the direction of the forest, and upon the +extreme height, there burst the tremendous and deafening yells of +upwards of a thousand savages. For an instant Halloway was forgotten in +the instinctive sense of individual danger, and all gazed eagerly to +ascertain the movements of their enemy. Presently a man, naked to the +waist, his body and face besmeared with streaks of black and red paint, +and his whole attitude expressing despair and horror, was seen flying +down the height with a rapidity proportioned to the extreme peril in +which he stood. At about fifty paces in his rear followed a dozen +bounding, screaming Indians, armed with uplifted tomahawks, whose +anxiety in pursuit lent them a speed that even surpassed the efforts of +flight itself. It was evident the object of the pursued was to reach +the detachment, that of the pursuers to prevent him. The struggle was +maintained for a few moments with equality, but in the end the latter +were triumphant, and at each step the distance that separated them +became less. At the first alarm, the detachment, with the exception of +the firing party, who still occupied their ground, had been thrown into +square, and, with a gun planted in each angle, awaited the attack +momentarily expected. But although the heights were now alive with the +dusky forms of naked warriors, who, from the skirt of the forest, +watched the exertions of their fellows, the pursuit of the wretched +fugitive was confined to these alone. Foremost of the latter, and +distinguished by his violent exertions and fiendish cries, was the tall +and wildly attired warrior of the Fleur de lis. At every bound he took +he increased the space that divided him from his companions, and +lessened that which kept him from his panting and nearly exhausted +victim. Already were they descending the nearest of the undulating +hills, and both now became conspicuous objects to all around; but +principally the pursuer, whose gigantic frame and extraordinary speed +riveted every eye, even while the interest of all was excited for the +wretched fugitive alone. + +At that moment Halloway, who had been gazing on the scene with an +astonishment little inferior to that of his comrades, sprang suddenly +to his feet upon the coffin, and waving his hand in the direction of +the pursuing enemy, shouted aloud in a voice of mingled joy and +triumph,-- + +"Ha! Almighty God, I thank thee! Here, here comes one who alone has the +power to snatch me from my impending doom." + +"By Heaven, the traitor confesses, and presumes to triumph in his +guilt," exclaimed the voice of one, who, while closely attending to +every movement of the Indians, was also vigilantly watching the effect +likely to be produced on the prisoner by this unexpected interruption. +"Corporal, do your duty." + +"Stay, stay--one moment stay!" implored Halloway with uplifted hands. + +"Do your duty, sir," fiercely repeated the governor. + +"Oh stop--for God's sake, stop! Another moment and he will be here, and +I--" + +He said no more--a dozen bullets penetrated his body--one passed +directly through his heart. He leaped several feet in the air, and then +fell heavily, a lifeless bleeding corpse, across the coffin. + +Meanwhile the pursuit of the fugitive was continued, but by the warrior +of the Fleur de lis alone. Aware of their inefficiency to keep pace +with this singular being, his companions had relinquished the chace, +and now stood resting on the brow of the hill where the wretched +Halloway had first recognised his supposed deliverer, watching eagerly, +though within musket shot of the detachment, the result of a race on +which so much apparently depended. Neither party, however, attempted to +interfere with the other, for all eyes were now turned on the flying +man and his pursuer with an interest that denoted the extraordinary +efforts of the one to evade and the other to attain the accomplishment +of his object. Although the exertions of the former had been +stupendous, such was the eagerness and determination of the latter, +that at each step he gained perceptibly on his victim. The immediate +course taken was in a direct line for the ravine, which it evidently +was the object of the fugitive to clear at its nearest point. Already +had he approached within a few paces of its brink, and every eye was +fastened on the point where it was expected the doubtful leap would be +taken, when suddenly, as if despairing to accomplish it at a bound, he +turned to the left, and winding along its bank, renewed his efforts in +the direction of the bridge. This movement occasioned a change in the +position of the parties which was favourable to the pursued. Hitherto +they had been so immediately on a line with each other, it was +impossible for the detachment to bring a musket to bear upon the +warrior, without endangering him whose life they were anxious to +preserve. For a moment or two his body was fairly exposed, and a dozen +muskets were discharged at intervals from the square, but all without +success. Recovering his lost ground, he soon brought the pursued again +in a line between himself and the detachment, edging rapidly nearer to +him as he advanced, and uttering terrific yells, that were echoed back +from his companions on the brow of the hill. It was evident, however, +his object was the recapture, not the destruction, of the flying man, +for more than once did he brandish his menacing tomahawk in rapid +sweeps around his head, as if preparing to dart it, and as often did he +check the movement. The scene at each succeeding moment became more +critical and intensely interesting. The strength of the pursued was now +nearly exhausted, while that of his formidable enemy seemed to suffer +no diminution. Leap after leap he took with fearful superiority, +sideling as he advanced. Already had he closed upon his victim, while +with a springing effort a large and bony hand was extended to secure +his shoulder in his grasp. The effort was fatal to him; for in reaching +too far he lost his balance, and fell heavily upon the sward. A shout +of exultation burst from the English troops, and numerous voices now +encouraged the pursued to renew his exertions. The advice was not lost; +and although only a few seconds had elapsed between the fall and +recovery of his pursuer, the wretched fugitive had already greatly +increased the distance that separated them. A cry of savage rage and +disappointment burst from the lips of the gigantic warrior; and +concentrating all his remaining strength and speed into one final +effort, he bounded and leapt like a deer of the forest whence he came. +The opportunity for recapture, however, had been lost in his fall, for +already the pursued was within a few feet of the high road, and on the +point of turning the extremity of the bridge. One only resource was now +left: the warrior suddenly checked himself in his course, and remained +stationary; then raising and dropping his glittering weapon several +times in a balancing position, he waited until the pursued had gained +the highest point of the open bridge. At that moment the glittering +steel, aimed with singular accuracy and precision, ran whistling +through the air, and with such velocity of movement as to be almost +invisible to the eyes of those who attempted to follow it in its +threatening course. All expected to see it enter into the brain against +which it had been directed; but the fugitive had marked the movement in +time to save himself by stooping low to the earth, while the weapon, +passing over him, entered with a deadly and crashing sound into the +brain of the weltering corpse. This danger passed, he sprang once more +to his feet, nor paused again in his flight, until, faint and +exhausted, he sank without motion under the very bayonets of the firing +party. + +A new direction was now given to the interest of the assembled and +distinct crowds that had witnessed these startling incidents. Scarcely +had the wretched man gained the protection of the soldiery, when a +shriek divided the air, so wild, so piercing, and so unearthly, that +even the warrior of the Fleur de lis seemed to lose sight of his +victim, in the harrowing interest produced by that dreadful scream. All +turned their eyes for a moment in the quarter whence it proceeded; when +presently, from behind the groups of Canadians crowning the slope, was +seen flying, with the rapidity of thought, one who resembled rather a +spectre than a being of earth;--it was the wife of Halloway. Her long +fair hair was wild and streaming--her feet, and legs, and arms were +naked--and one solitary and scanty garment displayed rather than +concealed the symmetry of her delicate person. She flew to the fatal +bridge, threw herself on the body of her bleeding husband, and +imprinting her warm kisses on his bloody lips, for a moment or two +presented the image of one whose reason has fled for ever. Suddenly she +started from the earth; her face, her hands, and her garment so +saturated with the blood of her husband, that a feeling of horror crept +throughout the veins of all who beheld her. She stood upon the coffin, +and across the corpse--raised her eyes and hands imploringly to +Heaven--and then, in accents wilder even than her words, uttered an +imprecation that sounded like the prophetic warning of some unholy +spirit. + +"Inhuman murderer!" she exclaimed, in tones that almost paralysed the +ears on which it fell, "if there be a God of justice and of truth, he +will avenge this devilish deed. Yes, Colonel de Haldimar, a prophetic +voice whispers to my soul, that even as I have seen perish before my +eyes all I loved on earth, without mercy and without hope, so even +shall you witness the destruction of your accursed race. +Here--here--here," and she pointed downwards, with singular energy of +action, to the corpse of her husband, "here shall their blood flow till +every vestige of his own is washed away; and oh, if there be spared one +branch of thy detested family, may it only be that they may be reserved +for some death too horrible to be conceived!" + +Overcome by the frantic energy with which she had uttered these +appalling words, she sank backwards, and fell, uttering another shriek, +into the arms of the warrior of the Fleur de lis. + +"Hear you this, Colonel de Haldimar?" shouted the latter in a fierce +and powerful voice, and in the purest English accent; "hear you the +curse and prophecy of this heart-broken woman? You have slain her +husband, but she has found another. Ay, she shall be my bride, if only +for her detestation of yourself. When next you see us here," he +thundered, "tremble for your race. Ha, ha, ha! no doubt this is another +victim of your cold and calculating guile; but it shall be the last. By +Heaven, my very heart leaps upward in anticipation of thy coming hour. +Woman, thy hatred to this man has made me love thee; yes, thou shall be +my bride, and with my plans of vengeance will I woo thee. By this kiss +I swear it." + +As he spoke, he bent his face over that of the pale and inanimate +woman, and pressed his lips to hers, yet red and moist with blood spots +from the wounds of her husband. Then wresting, with a violent effort, +his reeking tomahawk from the cranched brain of the unfortunate +soldier, and before any one could recover sufficiently from the effect +of the scene altogether to think even of interfering, he bore off his +prize in triumph, and fled, with nearly the same expedition he had +previously manifested, in the direction of the forest. + + + + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wacousta: A Tale of the Pontiac +Conspiracy--Volume 1, by John Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA--VOLUME 1 *** + +***** This file should be named 4719.txt or 4719.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/7/1/4719/ + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from Charles Franks +and the distributed proofers. 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Thus, we usually do not +keep etexts in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +The "legal small print" and other information about this book +may now be found at the end of this file. Please read this +important information, as it gives you specific rights and +tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used. + + + + + + + + + + + +WACOUSTA; + or, +THE PROPHECY. + + + +Volume One of Three + + +Preface + +It is well known to every man conversant with the earlier +history of this country that, shortly subsequent to the +cession of the Canadas to England by France, Ponteac, +the great head of the Indian race of that period, had +formed a federation of the various tribes, threatening +extermin ation to the British posts established along +the Western frontier. These were nine in number, and the +following stratagem was resorted to by the artful chief +to effect their reduction. Investing one fort with his +warriors, so as to cut off all communication with the +others, and to leave no hope of succor, his practice was +to offer terms of surrender, which never were kept in +the honorable spirit in which the far more noble and +generous Tecumseh always acted with his enemies, and +thus, in turn, seven of these outposts fell victims to +their confidence in his truth. + +Detroit and Michilimaclcinac, or Mackinaw as it is now +called, remained, and all the ingenuity of the chieftain +was directed to the possession of these strongholds. The +following plan, well worthy of his invention, was at +length determined upon. During a temporary truce, and +while Ponteac was holding forth proposals for an ultimate +and durable peace, a game of lacrosse was arranged by +him to take place simultaneously on the common or clearing +on which rested the forts of Michilimackinac and Detroit. +The better to accomplish their object, the guns of the +warriors had been cut short and given to their women, +who were instructed to conceal them under their blankets, +and during the game, and seemingly without design, to +approach the drawbridge of the fort. This precaution +taken, the players were to approach and throw over their +ball, permission to regain which they presumed would not +be denied. On approaching the drawbridge they were with +fierce yells to make a general rush, and, securing the +arms concealed by the women, to massacre the unprepared +garrison. + +The day was fixed; the game commenced, and was proceeded +with in the manner previously arranged. The ball was +dexterously hurled into the fort, and permission asked +to recover it. It was granted. The drawbridge was lowered, +and the Indians dashed forward for the accomplishment of +their work of blood. How different the results in the +two garrisons! At Detroit, Ponteac and his warriors had +scarcely crossed the drawbridge when, to their astonishment +and disappointment, they beheld the guns of the ramparts +depressed--the artillerymen with lighted matches at their +posts and covering the little garrison, composed of a +few companies of the 42nd Highlanders, who were also +under arms, and so distributed as to take the enemy most +at an advantage. Suddenly they withdrew and without other +indication of their purpose than what had been expressed +in their manner, and carried off the missing ball. Their +design had been discovered and made known by means of +significant warnings to the Governor by an Indian woman +who owed a debt of gratitude to his family, and was +resolved, at all hazards, to save them. + +On the same day the same artifice was resorted to at +Michilimackinac, and with the most complete success. +There was no guardian angel there to warn them of danger, +and all fell beneath the rifle, the tomahawk, the war-club, +and the knife, one or two of the traders--a Mr. Henry +among the rest--alone excepted. + +It was not long after this event when the head of the +military authorities in the Colony, apprised of the fate +of these captured posts, and made acquainted with the +perilous condition of Fort Detroit, which was then reduced +to the last extremity, sought an officer who would +volunteer the charge of supplies from Albany to Buffalo, +and thence across the lake to Detroit, which, if possible, +he was to relieve. That volunteer was promptly found in +my maternal grandfather, Mr. Erskine, from Strabane, in +the North of Ireland, then an officer in the Commissariat +Department. The difficulty of the undertaking will be +obvious to those who understand the danger attending a +journey through the Western wilderness, beset as it was +by the warriors of Ponteac, ever on the lookout to prevent +succor to the garrison, and yet the duty was successfully +accomplished. He left Albany with provisions and ammunition +sufficient to fill several Schnectady boats--I think +seven--and yet conducted his charge with such prudence +and foresight, that notwithstanding the vigilance of +Ponteac, he finally and after long watching succeeded, +under cover of a dark and stormy night, in throwing into +the fort. the supplies of which the remnant of the gallant +"Black Watch," as the 42nd was originally named, and a +company of whom, while out reconnoitering, had been +massacred at a spot in the vicinity of the town, thereafter +called the Bloody Run, stood so greatly in need. This +important service rendered, Mr. Erskine, in compliance +with the instructions he had received, returned to Albany, +where he reported the success of the expedition. + +The colonial authorities were not regardless of his +interests. When the Ponteac confederacy had been dissolved, +and quiet and security restored in that remote region, +large tracts of land were granted to Mr. Erskine, and +other privileges accorded which eventually gave him the +command of nearly a hundred thousand dollars--enormous +sum to have been realized at that early period of the +country. But it was not destined that he should retain +this. The great bulk of his capital was expended on almost +the first commercial shipping that ever skimmed the +surface of Lakes Huron and Erie. Shortly prior to the +Revolution, he was possessed of seven vessels of different +tonnage, and the trade in which he had embarked, and of +which he was the head, was rapidly increasing his already +large fortune, when one of those autumnal hurricanes, +which even to this day continue to desolate the waters +of the treacherous lake last named, suddenly arose and +buried beneath its engulfing waves not less than six of +these schooners laden with such riches, chiefly furs, of +the West as then were most an object of barter. + +Mr. Erskine, who had married the daughter of one of the +earliest settlers from France, and of a family well known +in history, a lady who had been in Detroit during the +siege of the British garrison by Ponteac, now abandoned +speculation, and contenting himself with the remnant of +his fortune, established himself near the banks of the +river, within a short distance of the Bloody Run. Here +he continued throughout the Revolution. Early, however, +in the present century, he quitted Detroit and repaired +to the Canadian shore, where on a property nearly opposite, +which he obtained in exchange, and which in honor of his +native country he named Strabane--known as such to this +day--he passed the autumn of his days. The last time I +beheld him was a day or two subsequent to the affair of +the Thames, when General Harrison and Colonel Johnson +were temporary inmates of his dwelling. + +My father, of a younger branch of the Annandale family, +the head of which was attainted in the Scottish rebellion +of 1745, was an officer of Simcoe's well-known Rangers, +in which regiment, and about the same period, the present +Lord Hardinge commenced his services in this country. +Being quartered at Fort Erie, he met and married at the +house of one of the earliest Canadian merchants a daughter +of Mr. Erskine, then on a visit to her sister, and by +her had eight children, of whom I am the oldest and only +survivor. Having a few years after his marriage been +ordered to St. Joseph's, near Michilimackinac, my father +thought it expedient to leave me with Mr. Erskine at +Detroit, where I received the first rudiments of my +education. But here I did not remain long, for it was +during the period of the stay of the detachment of Simcoe's +Rangers at St. Joseph that Mr. Erskine repaired with his +family to the Canadian shore, where on the more elevated +and conspicuous part of his grounds which are situated +nearly opposite the foot of Hog Island, so repeatedly +alluded to in "Wacousta," he had caused a flag-staff to +be erected, from which each Sabbath day proudly floated +the colors under which he had served, and which he never +could bring himself to disown. + +It was at Strabane that the old lady, with whom I was a +great favorite, used to enchain my young interest by +detailing various facts connected with the seige she so +well remembered, and infused into me a longing to grow +up to manhood that I might write a book about it. The +details of the Ponteac plan for the capture of the two +forts were what she most enlarged upon, and although a +long lapse of years of absence from the scene, and ten +thousand incidents of a higher and more immediate importance +might have been supposed to weaken the recollections of +so early a period of life, the impression has ever vividly +remained. Hence the first appearance of "Wacousta" in +London in 1832, more than a quarter of a century later. +The story is founded solely on the artifice of Ponteac +to possess himself of those two last British forts. All +else is imaginary. + +It is not a little curious that I, only a few years +subsequent to the narration by old Mrs. Erskine of the +daring and cunning feats of Ponteac, and his vain attempt +to secure the fort of Detroit, should myself have entered +it in arms. But it was so. I had ever hated school with +a most bitter hatred, and I gladly availed myself of an +offer from General Brock to obtain for me a commission +in the King's service. Meanwhile I did duty as a cadet +with the gallant 41st regiment, to which the English +edition of "Wacousta" was inscribed, and was one of the +guard of honor who took possession of the fort. The duty +of a sentinel over the British colors, which had just +been hoisted was assigned to me, and I certainly felt +not a little proud of the distinction. + +Five times within half a century had the flag of that +fortress been changed. First the lily of France, then +the red cross of England, and next the stars and stripes +of America had floated over its ramparts; and then again +the red cross, and lastly the stars. On my return to this +country a few years since, I visited those scenes of +stirring excitement in which my boyhood had been passed, +but I looked in vain for the ancient fortifications which +had given a classical interest to that region. The +unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them, +destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had +risen the only fortress in America at all worthy to give +antiquity to the scene, streets had been laid out and +made, and houses had been built, leaving not a trace of +its existence save the well that formerly supplied the +closely beseiged garrison with water; and this, half +imbedded in the herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling +house of mean appearance, was rather to be guessed at +than seen; while at the opposite extremity of the city, +where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run, +cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every +trace of the past. + +Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a +consistent tale--the one as involving an improbability, +the other a geographical error. It has been assumed that +the startling feat accomplished by that man of deep +revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt +for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and +kiss the dust at the instigation of their superiors, and +yet arrogate to themselves a claim to be considered +gentlemen and men of honor and independence--it has, I +repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in +connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible. +No one who has ever seen these erections on the small +forts of that day would pronounce the same criticism. +Never very lofty, they were ascended at least one-third +of their height by means of small projections nailed to +them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently +compelled to clear the flag lines entangled at the truck; +therefore a strong and active man, such as Wacousta is +described to have been, might very well have been supposed, +in his strong anxiety for revenge and escape with his +victim, to have doubled his strength and activity on so +important an occasion, rendering that easy of attainment +by himself which an ordinary and unexcited man might deem +impossible. I myself have knocked down a gate, almost +without feeling the resistance, in order to escape the +stilettos of assassins. + +The second objection is to the narrowness attributed in +the tale to the river St. Clair. This was done in the +license usually accorded to a writer of fiction, in order +to give greater effect to the scene represented as having +occurred there, and, of course, in no way intended as a +geographical description of the river, nor was it necessary. +In the same spirit and for the same purpose it has been +continued. + +It will be seen that at the termination of the tragedy +enacted at the bridge, by which the Bloody Run was in +those days crossed, that the wretched wife of the condemned +soldier pronounced a curse that could not, of course, +well be fulfilled in the course of the tale. Some few +years ago I published in Canada--I might as well have +done so in Kamschatka--the continuation, which was to +have been dedicated to the last King of England, but +which, after the death of that monarch, was inscribed to +Sir John Harvey, whose letter, as making honorable mention +of a gallant and beloved brother, I feel it a duty to +the memory of the latter to subjoin. + + GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, N.B., + + Major Richardson, Montreal. + + November 26th, 1839. + + "Dear Sir;--I am favored with your very interesting + communication of the 2nd instant, by which I learn + that you are the brother of two youths whose gallantry + and merits--and with regard to one of them, his + suferings--during the late war, excited my warmest + admiration and sympathy. I beg you to believe that I + am far from insensible to the affecting proofs which + you have made known to me of this grateful recollection + of any little service I may have had it in my power + to render them; and I will add that the desire which + I felt to serve the father will be found to extend + itself to the son, if your nephew should ever find + himself under circumstances to require from me any + service which it may be within my power to render him." + + "With regard to your very flattering proposition to + inscribe your present work to me, I can only say that, + independent of the respect to which the author of so + very charming a production as 'Wacousta' is entitled, + the interesting facts and circumstances so unexpectedly + brought to my knowledge and recollection would ensure + a ready acquiescence on my part." + + "I remain, dear sir your very faithful servant" + + "(Signed) J. HARVEY. " + +The "Prophecy Fulfilled," which, however, has never been +seen out of the small country in which it appeared--Detroit, +perhaps, alone excepted--embraces and indeed is intimately +connected with the Beauchamp tragedy, which took place +at or near Weisiger's Hotel, in Frankfort, Kentucky, +where I had been many years before confined as a prisoner +of war. While connecting it with the "Prophecy Fulfilled," +and making it subservient to the end I had in view, I +had not read or even heard of the existence of a work of +the same character, which had already appeared from the +pen of an American author. Indeed, I have reason to +believe that the "Prophecy Fulfilled," although not +published until after a lapse of years, was the first +written. No similarity of treatment of the subject exists +between the two versions, and this, be it remembered, I +remark without in the slightest degree impugning the +merit of the production of my fellow-laborer in the same +field. + +THE AUTHOR. + +New York City, January 1st, 1851. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTORY + +As we are about to introduce our readers to scenes with +which the European is little familiarised, some few +cursory remarks, illustrative of the general features of +the country into which we have shifted our labours, may +not be deemed misplaced at the opening of this volume. + +Without entering into minute geographical detail, it may +be necessary merely to point out the outline of such +portions of the vast continent of America as still +acknowledge allegiance to the English crown, in order +that the reader, understanding the localities, may enter +with deeper interest into the incidents of a tale connected +with a ground hitherto untouched by the wand of the modern +novelist. + +All who have ever taken the trouble to inform themselves +of the features of a country so little interesting to +the majority of Englishmen in their individual character +must be aware,--and for the information of those who are +not, we state,--that that portion of the northern continent +of America which is known as the United States is divided +from the Canadas by a continuous chain of lakes and +rivers, commencing at the ocean into which they empty +themselves, and extending in a north-western direction +to the remotest parts of these wild regions, which have +never yet been pressed by other footsteps than those of +the native hunters of the soil. First we have the +magnificent St. Lawrence, fed from the lesser and tributary +streams, rolling her sweet and silver waters into the +foggy seas of the Newfoundland.--But perhaps it will +better tend to impress our readers with a panoramic +picture of the country in which our scene of action is +more immediately laid, by commencing at those extreme +and remote points of our Canadian possessions to which +their attention will be especially directed in the course +of our narrative. + +The most distant of the north-western settlements of +America is Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians, +and preserved by the Americans, who possess the fort even +to this hour. It is situated at the head of the Lakes +Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of St. +Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States +as an independent republic, an English garrison has been +maintained, with a view of keeping the original fortress +in check. From the lakes above mentioned we descend into +the River Sinclair, which, in turn, disembogues itself +into the lake of the same name. This again renders tribute +to the Detroit, a broad majestic river, not less than a +mile in breadth at its source, and progressively widening +towards its mouth until it is finally lost in the beautiful +Lake Erie, computed at about one hundred and sixty miles +in circumference. From the embouchure of this latter lake +commences the Chippawa, better known in Europe from the +celebrity of its stupendous falls of Niagara, which form +an impassable barrier to the seaman, and, for a short +space, sever the otherwise uninterrupted chain connecting +the remote fortresses we have described with the Atlantic. +At a distance of a few miles from the falls, the Chippawa +finally empties itself into the Ontario, the most splendid +of the gorgeous American lakes, on the bright bosom of +which, during the late war, frigates, seventy-fours, and +even a ship of one hundred and twelve guns, manned by a +crew of one thousand men, reflected the proud pennants +of England! At the opposite extremity of this magnificent +and sea-like lake, which is upwards of two hundred miles +in circumference, the far-famed St. Lawrence takes her +source; and after passing through a vast tract of country, +whose elevated banks bear every trace of fertility and +cultivation, connects itself with the Lake Champlain, +celebrated, as well as Erie, for a signal defeat of our +flotilla during the late contest with the Americans. +Pushing her bold waters through this somewhat inferior +lake, the St. Lawrence pursues her course seaward with +impetuosity, until arrested near La Chine by rock-studded +shallows, which produce those strong currents and eddies, +the dangers of which are so beautifully expressed in the +Canadian Boat Song,--a composition that has rendered the +"rapids" almost as familiar to the imagination of the +European as the falls of Niagara themselves. Beyond La +Chine the St. Lawrence gradually unfolds herself into +greater majesty and expanse, and rolling past the busy +commercial town of Montreal, is once more increased in +volume by the insignificant lake of St. Peter's, nearly +opposite to the settlement of Three Rivers, midway between +Montreal and Quebec. From thence she pursues her course +unfed, except by a few inferior streams, and gradually +widens as she rolls past the capital of the Canadas, +whose tall and precipitous battlements, bristled with +cannon, and frowning defiance from the clouds in which +they appear half imbedded, might be taken by the imaginative +enthusiast for the strong tower of the Spirit of those +stupendous scenes. From this point the St. Lawrence +increases in expanse, until, at length, after traversing +a country where the traces of civilisation become gradually +less and less visible, she finally merges in the gulf, +from the centre of which the shores on either hand are +often invisible to the naked eye; and in this manner is +it imperceptibly lost in that misty ocean, so dangerous +to mariners from its deceptive and almost perpetual fogs. + +In following the links of this extensive chain of lakes +and rivers, it must be borne in recollection, that, +proceeding seaward from Michilimackinac and its contiguous +district, all that tract of country which lies to the +right constitutes what is now known as the United States +of America, and all on the left the two provinces of +Upper and Lower Canada, tributary to the English government, +subject to the English laws, and garrisoned by English +troops. The several forts and harbours established along +the left bank of the St. Lawrence, and throughout that +portion of our possessions which is known as Lower Canada, +are necessarily, from the improved condition and more +numerous population of that province, on a larger scale +and of better appointment; but in Upper Canada, where +the traces of civilisation are less evident throughout, +and become gradually more faint as we advance westward, +the fortresses and harbours bear the same proportion In +strength and extent to the scantiness of the population +they are erected to protect. Even at the present day, +along that line of remote country we have selected for +the theatre of our labours, the garrisons are both few +in number and weak in strength, and evidence of cultivation +is seldom to be found at any distance in the interior; +so that all beyond a certain extent of clearing, continued +along the banks of the lakes and rivers, is thick, +impervious, rayless forest, the limits of which have +never yet been explored, perhaps, by the natives themselves. + +Such being the general features of the country even at +the present day, it will readily be comprehended how much +more wild and desolate was the character they exhibited +as far back as the middle of the last century, about +which period our story commences. At that epoch, it will +be borne in mind, what we have described as being the +United States were then the British colonies of America +dependent on the mother-country; while the Canadas, on +the contrary, were, or had very recently been, under the +dominion of France, from whom they had been wrested after +a long struggle, greatly advanced in favour of England +by the glorious battle fought on the plains of Abraham, +near Quebec, and celebrated for the defeat of Montcalm +and the death of Wolfe. + +The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the +strong hold of Quebec having, in every instance, been +met by discomfiture and disappointment, the French, in +despair, relinquished the contest, and, by treaty, ceded +their claims to the Canadas,--an event that was hastened +by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded +by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of +General Amherst. Still, though conquered as a people, +many of the leading men in the country, actuated by that +jealousy for which they were remarkable, contrived to +oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest +by those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary +enemies; and in furtherance of this object, paid agents, +men of artful and intriguing character, were dispersed +among the numerous tribes of savages, with a view of +exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors. +The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of +those countries immediately bordering on the hunting +grounds and haunts of the natives, with whom they carried +on an extensive traffic in furs, had established a +communionship of interest between themselves and those +savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to +account the vindictive views of the former. The whole of +the province of Upper Canada at that time possessed but +a scanty population, protected in its most flourishing +and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief object +of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of +a few companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of +the natives, who, although apparently inclining to +acknowledge the change of neighbours, and professing +amity, were, it was well known, too much in the interest +of their old friends the French, and even the French +Canadians themselves, not to be regarded with the most +cautious distrust. + +These stockade forts were never, at any one period, nearer +to each other than from one hundred and fifty to two +hundred miles, so that, in the event of surprise or alarm, +there was little prospect of obtaining assistance from +without. Each garrison, therefore, was almost wholly +dependent on its own resources; and, when surrounded +unexpectedly by numerous bands of hostile Indians, had +no other alternative than to hold out to the death. +Capitulation was out of the question; for, although the +wile and artifice of the natives might induce them to +promise mercy, the moment their enemies were in their +power promises and treaties were alike broken, and +indiscriminate massacre ensued. Communication by water +was, except during a period of profound peace, almost +impracticable; for, although of late years the lakes of +Canada have been covered with vessels of war, many of +them, as we have already remarked, of vast magnitude, +and been the theatres of conflicts that would not have +disgraced the salt waters of ocean itself, at the period +to which our story refers the flag of England was seen +to wave only on the solitary mast of some ill-armed and +ill-manned gunboat, employed rather for the purpose of +conveying despatches from fort to fort, than with any +serious view to acts either of aggression or defence. + +In proportion as the colonies of America, now the United +States, pushed their course of civilisation westward, in +the same degree did the numerous tribes of Indians, who +had hitherto dwelt more seaward, retire upon those of +their own countrymen, who, buried in vast and impenetrable +forests, had seldom yet seen the face of the European +stranger; so that, in the end, all the more central parts +of those stupendous wilds became doubly peopled. Hitherto, +however, that civilisation had not been carried beyond +the state of New York; and all those countries which +have, since the American revolution, been added to the +Union under the names of Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, +Michigan, &c., were, at the period embraced by our story, +inhospitable and unproductive woods, subject only to the +dominion of the native, and as yet unshorn by the axe of +the cultivator. A few portions only of the opposite shores +of Michigan were occupied by emigrants from the Canadas, +who, finding no one to oppose or molest them, selected +the most fertile spots along the banks of the river; and +of the existence of these infant settlements, the English +colonists, who had never ventured so far, were not even +aware until after the conquest of Canada by the mother- +country. This particular district was the centre around +which the numerous warriors, who had been driven westward +by the colonists, had finally assembled; and rude villages +and encampments rose far and near for a circuit of many +miles around this infant settlement and fort of the +Canadians, to both of which they had given the name of +Detroit, after the river on whose elevated banks they +stood. Proceeding westward from this point, and along +the tract of country that diverged from the banks of the +Lakes Huron, Sinclair, and Michigan, all traces of that +partial civilisation were again lost in impervious wilds, +tenanted only by the fiercest of the Indian tribes, whose +homes were principally along the banks of that greatest +of American waters, the Lake Superior, and in the country +surrounding the isolated fort of Michilimackinac, the +last and most remote of the European fortresses in Canada. + +When at a later period the Canadas were ceded to us by +France, those parts of the opposite frontier which we +have just described became also tributary to the English +crown, and were, by the peculiar difficulties that existed +to communication with the more central and populous +districts, rendered especially favourable to the exercise +of hostile intrigue by the numerous active French emissaries +every where dispersed among the Indian tribes. During +the first few years of the conquest, the inhabitants of +Canada, who were all either European French, or immediate +descendants of that nation, were, as might naturally be +expected, more than restive under their new governors, +and many of the most impatient spirits of the country +sought every opportunity of sowing the seeds of distrust +and jealousy in the hearts of the natives. By these people +it was artfully suggested to the Indians, that their new +oppressors were of the race of those who had driven them +from the sea, and were progressively advancing on their +territories until scarce a hunting ground or a village +would be left to them. They described them, moreover, as +being the hereditary enemies of their great father, the +King of France, with whose governors they had buried the +hatchet for ever, and smoked the calumet of perpetual +peace. Fired by these wily suggestions, the high and +jealous spirit of the Indian chiefs took the alarm, and +they beheld with impatience the "Red Coat," or "Saganaw," +[Footnote: This word thus pronounced by themselves, in +reference to the English soldiery, is, in all probability, +derived from the original English settlers in Saganaw +Bay.] usurping, as they deemed it, those possessions +which had so recently acknowledged the supremacy of the +pale flag of their ancient ally. The cause of the Indians, +and that of the Canadians, became, in some degree, +identified as one, and each felt it was the interest, +and it may be said the natural instinct, of both, to hold +communionship of purpose, and to indulge the same jealousies +and fears. Such was the state of things in 1763, the +period at which our story commences,--an epoch fruitful +in designs of hostility and treachery on the part of the +Indians, who, too crafty and too politic to manifest +their feelings by overt acts declaratory of the hatred +carefully instilled into their breasts, sought every +opportunity to compass the destruction of the English, +wherever they were most vulnerable to the effects of +stratagem. Several inferior forts situated on the Ohio +had already fallen into their hands, when they summoned +all their address and cunning to accomplish the fall of +the two important though remote posts of Detroit and +Michilimackinac. For a length of time they were baffled +by the activity and vigilance of the respective governors +of these forts, who had had too much fatal experience in +the fate of their companions not to be perpetually on +the alert against their guile; but when they had at +length, in some degree, succeeded in lulling the suspicions +of the English, they determined on a scheme, suggested +by a leading chief, a man of more than ordinary character, +which promised fair to rid them altogether of a race they +so cordially detested. We will not, however, mar the +interest of our tale, by anticipating, at this early +stage, either the nature or the success of a stratagem +which forms the essential groundwork of our story. + +While giving, for the information of the many, what, we +trust, will not be considered a too compendious outline +of the Canadas, and the events connected with them, we +are led to remark, that, powerful as was the feeling of +hostility cherished by the French Canadians towards the +English when the yoke of early conquest yet hung heavily +on them, this feeling eventually died away under the mild +influence of a government that preserved to them the +exercise of all their customary privileges, and abolished +all invidious distinctions between the descendants of +France and those of the mother-country. So universally, +too, has this system of conciliation been pursued, we +believe we may with safety aver, of all the numerous +colonies that have succumbed to the genius and power of +England, there are none whose inhabitants entertain +stronger feelings of attachment and loyalty to her than +those of Canada; and whatever may be the transient +differences,--differences growing entirely out of +circumstances and interests of a local character, and in +no way tending to impeach the acknowledged fidelity of +the mass of French Canadians,--whatever, we repeat, may +be the ephemeral differences that occasionally spring up +between the governors of those provinces and individual +members of the Houses of Assembly, they must, in no way, +be construed into a general feeling of disaffection +towards the English crown. + +In proportion also as the Canadians have felt and +acknowledged the beneficent effects arising from a change +of rulers, so have the Indian tribes been gradually weaned +from their first fierce principle of hostility, until +they have subsequently become as much distinguished by +their attachment to, as they were three quarters of a +century ago remarkable for their untameable aversion for, +every thing that bore the English name, or assumed the +English character. Indeed, the hatred which they bore +to the original colonists has been continued to their +descendants, the subjects of the United States; and the +same spirit of union subsisted between the natives and +British troops, and people of Canada, during the late +American war, that at an earlier period of the history +of that country prevailed so powerfully to the disadvantage +of England. + +And now we have explained a course of events which were +in some measure necessary to the full understanding of +the country by the majority of our readers, we shall, in +furtherance of the same object, proceed to sketch a few +of the most prominent scenes more immediately before us. + +The fort of Detroit, as it was originally constructed by +the French, stands in the middle of a common, or description +of small prairie, bounded by woods, which, though now +partially thinned in their outskirts, were at that period +untouched by the hand of civilisation. Erected at a +distance of about half a mile from the banks of the river, +which at that particular point are high and precipitous, +it stood then just far enough from the woods that swept +round it in a semicircular form to be secure from the +rifle of the Indian; while from its batteries it commanded +a range of country on every hand, which no enemy unsupported +by cannon could traverse with impunity. Immediately in +the rear, and on the skirt of the wood, the French had +constructed a sort of bomb-proof, possibly intended to +serve as a cover to the workmen originally employed in +clearing the woods, but long since suffered to fall into +decay. Without the fortification rose a strong and triple +line of pickets, each of about two feet and a half in +circumference, and so fitted into each other as to leave +no other interstices than those which were perforated +for the discharge of musketry. They were formed of the +hardest and most knotted pines that could be procured; +the sharp points of which were seasoned by fire until +they acquired nearly the durability and consistency of +iron. Beyond these firmly imbedded pickets was a ditch, +encircling the fort, of about twenty feet in width, and +of proportionate depth, the only communication over which +to and from the garrison was by means of a drawbridge, +protected by a strong chevaux-de-frise. The only gate +with which the fortress was provided faced the river; on +the more immediate banks of which, and to the left of +the fort, rose the yet infant and straggling village that +bore the name of both. Numerous farm-houses, however, +almost joining each other, contributed to form a continuity +of many miles along the borders of the river, both on +the right and on the left; while the opposite shores of +Canada, distinctly seen in the distance, presented, as +far as the eye could reach, the same enlivening character +of fertility. The banks, covered with verdure on either +shore, were more or less undulating at intervals; but in +general they were high without being abrupt, and picturesque +without being bold, presenting, in their partial +cultivation, a striking contrast to the dark, tall, and +frowning forests bounding every point of the perspective. + +At a distance of about five miles on the left of the town +the course of the river was interrupted by a small and +thickly wooded island, along whose sandy beach occasionally +rose the low cabin or wigwam which the birch canoe, +carefully upturned and left to dry upon the sands, attested +to be the temporary habitation of the wandering Indian. +That branch of the river which swept by the shores of +Canada was (as at this day) the only navigable one for +vessels of burden, while that on the opposite coast +abounded in shallows and bars, affording passage merely +to the light barks of the natives, which seemed literally +to skim the very surface of its waves. Midway, between +that point of the continent which immediately faced the +eastern extremity of the island we have just named and +the town of Detroit, flowed a small tributary river, the +approaches to which, on either hand, were over a slightly +sloping ground, the view of which could be entirely +commanded from the fort. The depth of this river, now +nearly dried up, at that period varied from three to ten +or twelve feet; and over this, at a distance of about +twenty yards from the Detroit, into which it emptied +itself, rose, communicating with the high road, a bridge, +which will more than once be noticed in the course of +our tale. Even to the present hour it retains the name +given to it during these disastrous times; and there are +few modern Canadians, or even Americans, who traverse +the "Bloody Bridge," especially at the still hours of +advanced night, without recalling to memory the tragic +events of those days, (handed down as they have been by +their fathers, who were eye-witnesses of the transaction,) +and peopling the surrounding gloom with the shades of +those whose life-blood erst crimsoned the once pure waters +of that now nearly exhausted stream; and whose mangled +and headless corpses were slowly borne by its tranquil +current into the bosom of the parent river, where all +traces of them finally disappeared. + +These are the minuter features of the scene we have +brought more immediately under the province of our pen. +What Detroit was in 1763 it nearly is at the present day, +with this difference, however, that many of those points +which were then in a great degree isolated and rude are +now redolent with the beneficent effects of improved +cultivation; and in the immediate vicinity of that +memorable bridge, where formerly stood merely the occasional +encampment of the Indian warrior, are now to be seen +flourishing farms and crops, and other marks of agricultural +industry. Of the fort of Detroit itself we will give the +following brief history:--It was, as we have already +stated, erected by the French while in the occupancy of +the country by which it is more immediately environed; +subsequently, and at the final cession of the Canadas, +it was delivered over to England, with whom it remained +until the acknowledgement of the independence of the +colonists by the mother-country, when it hoisted the +colours of the republic; the British garrison marching +out, and crossing over into Canada, followed by such of +the loyalists as still retained their attachment to the +English crown. At the commencement of the late war with +America it was the first and more immediate theatre of +conflict, and was remarkable, as well as Michilimackinac, +for being one of the first posts of the Americans that +fell into our hands. The gallant daring, and promptness +of decision, for which the lamented general, Sir Isaac +Brock, was so eminently distinguished, achieved the +conquest almost as soon as the American declaration of +war had been made known in Canada; and on this occasion +we ourselves had the good fortune to be selected as part +of the guard of honour, whose duty it was to lower the +flag of America, and substitute that of England in its +place. On the approach, however, of an overwhelming army +of the enemy in the autumn of the ensuing year it was +abandoned by our troops, after having been dismantled +and reduced, in its more combustible parts, to ashes. +The Americans, who have erected new fortifications on +the site of the old, still retain possession of a post +to which they attach considerable importance, from the +circumstance of its being a key to the more western +portions of the Union. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +It was during the midnight watch, late in September, +1763, that the English garrison of Detroit, in North +America, was thrown into the utmost consternation by the +sudden and mysterious introduction of a stranger within +its walls. The circumstance at this moment was particularly +remarkable; for the period was so fearful and pregnant +with events of danger, the fort being assailed on every +side by a powerful and vindictive foe, that a caution +and vigilance of no common kind were unceasingly exercised +by the prudent governor for the safety of those committed +to his charge. A long series of hostilities had been +pursued by the North-American Indians against the subjects +of England, within the few years that had succeeded to +the final subjection of the Canadas to her victorious +arms; and many and sanguinary were the conflicts in which +the devoted soldiery were made to succumb to the cunning +and numbers of their savage enemies. In those lone regions, +both officers and men, in their respective ranks, were, +by a communionship of suffering, isolation, and peculiarity +of duty, drawn towards each other with feelings of almost +fraternal affection; and the fates of those who fell were +lamented with sincerity of soul, and avenged, when +opportunity offered, with a determination prompted equally +by indignation and despair. This sentiment of union, +existing even between men and officers of different corps, +was, with occasional exceptions, of course doubly +strengthened among those who fought under the same colours, +and acknowledged the same head; and, as it often happened +in Canada, during this interesting period, that a single +regiment was distributed into two or three fortresses, +each so far removed from the other that communication +could with the utmost facility be cut off, the anxiety +and uncertainty of these detachments became proportioned +to the danger with which they knew themselves to be more +immediately beset. The garrison of Detroit, at the date +above named, consisted of a third of the ---- regiment, +the remainder of which occupied the forts of +Michilimackinac and Niagara, and to each division of +this regiment was attached an officer's command of +artillery. It is true that no immediate overt act of +hostility had for some time been perpetrated by the +Indians, who were assembled in force around the former +garrison; but the experienced officer to whom the command +had been intrusted was too sensible of the craftiness of +the surrounding hordes to be deceived, by any outward +semblance of amity, into neglect of those measures of +precaution which were so indispensable to the surety of +his trust. + +In this he pursued a line of policy happily adapted to +the delicate nature of his position. Unwilling to excite +the anger or wound the pride of the chiefs, by any outward +manifestation of distrust, he affected to confide in the +sincerity of their professions, and, by inducing his +officers to mix occasionally in their councils, and his +men in the amusements of the inferior warriors, contrived +to impress the conviction that he reposed altogether on +their faith. But, although these acts were in some degree +coerced by the necessity of the times, and a perfect +knowledge of all the misery that must accrue to them in +the event of their provoking the Indians into acts of +open hostility, the prudent governor took such precautions +as were deemed efficient to defeat any treacherous attempt +at violation of the tacit treaty on the part of the +natives. The officers never ventured out, unless escorted +by a portion of their men, who, although appearing to be +dispersed among the warriors, still kept sufficiently +together to be enabled, in a moment of emergency, to +afford succour not only to each other but to their +superiors. On these occasions, as a further security +against surprise, the troops left within were instructed +to be in readiness, at a moment's warning, to render +assistance, if necessary, to their companions, who seldom, +on any occasion, ventured out of reach of the cannon of +the fort, the gate of which was hermetically closed, +while numerous supernumerary sentinels were posted along +the ramparts, with a view to give the alarm if any thing +extraordinary was observed to occur without. + +Painful and harassing as were the precautions it was +found necessary to adopt on these occasions, and little +desirous as were the garrison to mingle with the natives +on such terms, still the plan was pursued by the Governor +from the policy already named: nay, it was absolutely +essential to the future interests of England that the +Indians should be won over by acts of confidence and +kindness; and so little disposition had hitherto been +manifested by the English to conciliate, that every thing +was to be apprehended from the untameable rancour with +which these people were but too well disposed to repay +a neglect at once galling to their pride and injurious +to their interests. + +Such, for a term of many months, had been the trying and +painful duty that had devolved on the governor of Detroit; +when, in the summer of 1763, the whole of the western +tribes of Indians, as if actuated by one common impulse, +suddenly threw off the mask, and commenced a series of +the most savage trespasses upon the English settlers in +the vicinity of the several garrisons, who were cut off +in detail, without mercy, and without reference to either +age or sex. On the first alarm the weak bodies of troops, +as a last measure of security, shut themselves up in +their respective forts, where they were as incapable of +rendering assistance to others as of receiving it +themselves. In this emergency the prudence and forethought +of the governor of Detroit were eminently conspicuous; +for, having long foreseen the possibility of such a +crisis, he had caused a plentiful supply of all that was +necessary to the subsistence and defence of the garrison +to be provided at an earlier period, so that, if foiled +in their attempts at stratagem, there was little chance +that the Indians would speedily reduce them by famine. +To guard against the former, a vigilant watch was constantly +kept by the garrison both day and night, while the +sentinels, doubled in number, were constantly on the +alert. Strict attention, moreover, was paid to such parts +of the ramparts as were considered most assailable by a +cunning and midnight enemy; and, in order to prevent any +imprudence on the part of the garrison, all egress or +ingress was prohibited that had not the immediate sanction +of the chief. With this view the keys of the gate were +given in trust to the officer of the guard; to whom, +however, it was interdicted to use them unless by direct +and positive order of the Governor. In addition to this +precaution, the sentinels on duty at the gate had strict +private instructions not to suffer any one to pass either +in or out unless conducted by the governor in person; +and this restriction extended even to the officer of the +guard. + +Such being the cautious discipline established in the +fort, the appearance of a stranger within its walls at +the still hour of midnight could not fail to be regarded +as an extraordinary event, and to excite an apprehension +which could scarcely have been surpassed had a numerous +and armed band of savages suddenly appeared among them. +The first intimation of this fact was given by the violent +ringing of an alarm bell; a rope communicating with which +was suspended in the Governor's apartments, for the +purpose of arousing the slumbering soldiers in any case +of pressing emergency. Soon afterwards the Governor +himself was seen to issue from his rooms into the open +area of the parade, clad in his dressing-gown, and bearing +a lamp in one hand and a naked sword in the other. His +countenance was pale; and his features, violently agitated, +betrayed a source of alarm which those who were familiar +with his usual haughtiness of manner were ill able to +comprehend. + +"Which way did he go?--why stand ye here?--follow--pursue +him quickly--let him not escape, on your lives!" + +These sentences, hurriedly and impatiently uttered, were +addressed to the two sentinels who, stationed in front +of his apartments, had, on the first sound of alarm from +the portentous bell, lowered their muskets to the charge, +and now stood immovable in that position. + +"Who does your honour mane?" replied one of the men, +startled, yet bringing his arms to the recover, in +salutation of his chief. + +"Why, the man--the stranger--the fellow who has just +passed you." + +"Not a living soul has passed us since our watch commenced, +your honour," observed the second sentinel; "and we have +now been here upwards of an hour." + +"Impossible, sirs: ye have been asleep on your posts, or +ye must have seen him. He passed this way, and could not +have escaped your observation had ye been attentive to +your duty." + +"Well, sure, and your honour knows bist," rejoined the +first sentinel; "but so hilp me St. Patrick, as I have +sirved man and boy in your honour's rigimint this twilve +years, not even the fitch of a man has passed me this +blissed night. And here's my comrade, Jack Halford, who +will take his Bible oath to the same, with all due +difirince to your honour." + +The pithy reply to this eloquent attempt at exculpation +was a brief "Silence, sirrah, walk about!" + +The men brought their muskets once more, and in silence, +to the shoulder, and, in obedience to the command of +their chief, resumed the limited walk allotted to them; +crossing each other at regular intervals in the semicircular +course that enfiladed, as it were, the only entrance to +the Governor's apartments. + +Meanwhile every thing was bustle and commotion among the +garrison, who, roused from sleep by the appalling sound +of the alarm bell at that late hour, were hastily arming. +Throughout the obscurity might be seen the flitting forms +of men, whose already fully accoutred persons proclaimed +them to be of the guard; while in the lofty barracks, +numerous lights flashing to and fro, and moving with +rapidity, attested the alacrity with which the troops +off duty were equipping themselves for some service of +more than ordinary interest. So noiseless, too, was this +preparation, as far as speech was concerned, that the +occasional opening and shutting of pans, and ringing of +ramrods to ascertain the efficiency of the muskets, might +be heard distinctly in the stillness of the night at a +distance of many furlongs. + +HE, however, who had touched the secret spring of all +this picturesque movement, whatever might be his +gratification and approval of the promptitude with which +the summons to arms had been answered by his brave troops, +was far from being wholly satisfied with the scene he +had conjured up. Recovered from the first and irrepressible +agitation which had driven him to sound the tocsin of +alarm, he felt how derogatory to his military dignity +and proverbial coolness of character it might be considered, +to have awakened a whole garrison from their slumbers, +when a few files of the guard would have answered his +purpose equally well. Besides, so much time had been +suffered to elapse, that the stranger might have escaped; +and if so, how many might be disposed to ridicule his +alarm, and consider it as emanating from an imagination +disturbed by sleep, rather than caused by the actual +presence of one endowed like themselves with the faculties +of speech and motion. For a moment he hesitated whether +he should not countermand the summons to arms which had +been so precipitately given; but when he recollected the +harrowing threat that had been breathed in his ear by +his midnight visiter,--when he reflected, moreover, that +even now it was probable he was lurking within the +precincts of the fort with a view to the destruction of +all that it contained,--when, in short, he thought of +the imminent danger that must attend them should he be +suffered to escape,--he felt the necessity of precaution, +and determined on his measures, even at the risk of +manifesting a prudence which might be construed +unfavourably. On re-entering his apartments, he found +his orderly, who, roused by the midnight tumult, stood +waiting to receive the commands of his chief. + +"Desire Major Blackwater to come to me immediately." + +The mandate was quickly obeyed. In a few seconds a short, +thick-set, and elderly officer made his appearance in a +grey military undress frock. + +"Blackwater, we have traitors within the fort. Let diligent +search be made in every part of the barracks for a +stranger, an enemy, who has managed to procure admittance +among us: let every nook and cranny, every empty cask, +be examined forthwith; and cause a number of additional +sentinels to be stationed along the ramparts, in order +to intercept his escape." + +"Good Heaven, is it possible?" said the Major, wiping +the perspiration from his brows, though the night was +unusually chilly for the season of the year:--" how could +he contrive to enter a place so vigilantly guarded?" + +"Ask me not HOW, Blackwater," returned the Governor +seriously; "let it suffice that he has been in this very +room, and that ten minutes since he stood where you now +stand." + +The Major looked aghast.--"God bless me, how singular! +How could the savage contrive to obtain admission? or +was he in reality an Indian?" + +"No more questions, MAJOR Blackwater. Hasten to distribute +the men, and let diligent search be made every where; +and recollect, neither officer nor man courts his pillow +until dawn." + +The "Major" emphatically prefixed to his name was a +sufficient hint to the stout officer that the doubts thus +familiarly expressed were here to cease, and that he was +now addressed in the language of authority by his superior, +who expected a direct and prompt compliance with his +orders. He therefore slightly touched his hat in salutation, +and withdrew to make the dispositions that had been +enjoined by his Colonel. + +On regaining the parade, he caused the men, already +forming into companies and answering to the roll-call of +their respective non-commissioned officers, to be wheeled +into square, and then in a low but distinct voice stated +the cause of alarm; and, having communicated the orders +of the Governor, finished by recommending to each the +exercise of the most scrutinising vigilance; as on the +discovery of the individual in question, and the means +by which he had contrived to procure admission, the safety +of the whole garrison, it was evident, must depend. + +The soldiers now dispersed in small parties throughout +the interior of the fort, while a select body were +conducted to the ramparts by the officers themselves, +and distributed between the sentinels already posted +there, in such numbers, and at such distances, that it +appeared impossible any thing wearing the human form +could pass them unperceived, even in the obscurity that +reigned around. + +When this duty was accomplished, the officers proceeded +to the posts of the several sentinels who had been planted +since the last relief, to ascertain if any or either of +them had observed aught to justify the belief that an +enemy had succeeded in scaling the works. To all their +enquiries, however, they received a negative reply, +accompanied by a declaration, more or less positive with +each, that such had been their vigilance during the watch, +had any person come within their beat, detection must +have been inevitable. The first question was put to the +sentinel stationed at the gate of the fort, at which +point the whole of the officers of the garrison were, +with one or two exceptions, now assembled. The man at +first evinced a good deal of confusion; but this might +arise from the singular fact of the alarm that had been +given, and the equally singular circumstance of his being +thus closely interrogated by the collective body of his +officers: he, however, persisted in declaring that he +had been in no wise inattentive to his duty, and that no +cause for alarm or suspicion had occurred near his post. +The officers then, in order to save time, separated into +two parties, pursuing opposite circuits, and arranging +to meet at that point of the ramparts which was immediately +in the rear, and overlooking the centre of the semicircular +sweep of wild forest we have described as circumventing +the fort. + +"Well, Blessington, I know not what you think of this +sort of work," observed Sir Everard Valletort, a young +lieutenant of the ---- regiment, recently arrived from +England, and one of the party who now traversed the +rampart to the right; "but confound me if I would not +rather be a barber's apprentice in London, upon nothing, +and find myself, than continue a life of this kind much +longer. It positively quite knocks me up; for what with +early risings, and watchings (I had almost added prayings), +I am but the shadow of my former self." + +"Hist, Valletort, hist! speak lower," said Captain +Blessington, the senior officer present, "or our search +must be in vain. Poor fellow!" he pursued, laughing low +and good humouredly at the picture of miseries thus +solemnly enumerated by his subaltern;--"how much, in +truth, are you to be pitied, who have so recently basked +in all the sunshine of enjoyment at home. For our parts, +we have lived so long amid these savage scenes, that we +have almost forgotten what luxury, or even comfort, means. +Doubt not, my friend, that in time you will, like us, be +reconciled to the change." + +"Confound me for an idiot, then, if I give myself time," +replied Sir Everard affectedly. "It was only five minutes +before that cursed alarm bell was sounded in my ears, +that I had made up my mind fully to resign or exchange +the instant I could do so with credit to myself; and, I +am sure, to be called out of a warm bed at this unseasonable +hour offers little inducement for me to change my opinion." + +"Resign or exchange with credit to yourself!" sullenly +observed a stout tall officer of about fifty, whose spleen +might well be accounted for in his rank of "Ensign" Delme. +"Methinks there can be little credit in exchanging or +resigning, when one's companions are left behind, and in +a post of danger." + +"By Jasus, and ye may say that with your own pritty +mouth," remarked another veteran, who answered to the +name of Lieutenant Murphy; "for it isn't now, while we +are surrounded and bediviled by the savages, that any +man of the ---- rigimint should be after talking of bating +a retrate." + +"I scarcely understand you, gentlemen," warmly and quickly +retorted Sir Everard, who, with all his dandyism and +effeminacy of manner, was of a high and resolute spirit. +"Do either of you fancy that I want courage to face a +positive danger, because I may not happen to have any +particular vulgar predilection for early rising?" + +"Nonsense, Valletort, nonsense," interrupted, in accents +of almost feminine sweetness, his friend Lieutenant +Charles de Haldimar, the youngest son of the Governor: +"Murphy is an eternal echo of the opinions of those who +look forward to promotion; and as for Delme--do you not +see the drift of his observation? Should you retire, as +you have threatened, of course another lieutenant will +be appointed in your stead; but, should you chance to +lose your scalp during the struggle with the savages, +the step goes in the regiment, and he, being the senior +ensign, obtains promotion in consequence." + +"Ah!" observed Captain Blessington, "this is indeed the +greatest curse attached to the profession of a soldier. +Even among those who most esteem, and are drawn towards +each other as well by fellowship in pleasure as +companionship in danger, this vile and debasing principle +--this insatiable desire for personal advancement--is +certain to intrude itself; since we feel that over the +mangled bodies of our dearest friends and companions, we +can alone hope to attain preferment and distinction." + +A moment or two of silence ensued, in the course of which +each individual appeared to be bringing home to his own +heart the application of the remark just uttered; and +which, however they might seek to disguise the truth from +themselves, was too forcible to find contradiction from +the secret monitor within. And yet of those assembled +there was not one, perhaps, who would not, in the hour +of glory and of danger, have generously interposed his +own frame between that of his companion and the steel or +bullet of an enemy. Such are the contradictory elements +which compose a soldier's life. + +This conversation, interrupted only by occasional +questioning of the sentinels whom they passed in their +circuit, was carried on in an audible whisper, which the +close approximation of the parties to each other, and +the profound stillness of the night, enabled them to hear +with distinctness. + +"Nay, nay, De Haldimar," at length observed Sir Everard, +in reply to the observation of his friend, "do not imagine +I intend to gratify Mr. Delme by any such exhibition as +that of a scalpless head; but, if such be his hope, I +trust that the hour which sees my love-locks dangling at +the top of an Indian pole may also let daylight into his +own carcass from a rifle bullet or a tomahawk." + +"And yit, Captin, it sames to me," observed Lieutenant +Murphy, in allusion to the remark of Blessington rather +than in reply to the last speaker,--"it sames to me, I +say, that promotion in ony way is all fair and honourable +in times of hardship like thase; and though we may drop +a tare over our suparior when the luck of war, in the +shape of a tommyhawk, knocks him over, still there can +be no rason why we shouldn't stip into his shoes the viry +nixt instant; and it's that, we all know, that we fight +for. And the divil a bitter chance any man of us all has +of promotion thin yoursilf, Captin: for it'll be mighty +strange if our fat Major doesn't git riddlid like a +cullinder through and through with the bullits from the +Ingians' rifles before we have quite done with this +business, and thin you will have the rigimintal majority, +Captin; and it may be that one Liftinint Murphy, who is +now the sanior of his rank, may come in for the vacant +captincy." + +"And Delme for the lieutenancy," said Charles de Haldimar +significantly. "Well, Murphy, I am happy to find that +you, at least, have hit on another than Sir Everard +Valletort: one, in fact, who will render the promotion +more general than it would otherwise have been. Seriously, +I should be sorry if any thing happened to our worthy +Major, who, with all his bustling and grotesque manner, +is as good an officer and as brave a soldier as any his +Majesty's army in Canada can boast. For my part, I say, +perish all promotion for ever, if it is only to be obtained +over the dead bodies of those with whom I have lived so +long and shared so many dangers!" + +"Nobly uttered, Charles," said Captain Blessington: "the +sentiment is, indeed, one well worthy of our present +position; and God knows we are few enough in number +already, without looking forward to each other's death +as a means of our own more immediate personal advancement. +With you, therefore, I repeat, perish all my hopes of +promotion, if it is only to be obtained over the corpses +of my companions! And let those who are most sanguine in +their expectations beware lest they prove the first to +be cut off, and that even before they have yet enjoyed +the advantages of the promotion they so eagerly covet." + +This observation, uttered without acrimony, had yet enough +of delicate reproach in it to satisfy Lieutenant Murphy +that the speaker was far from approving the expression +of such selfish anticipations at a moment like the present, +when danger, in its most mysterious guise, lurked around, +and threatened the safety of all most dear to them. + +The conversation now dropped, and the party pursued their +course in silence. They had just passed the last sentinel +posted in their line of circuit, and were within a few +yards of the immediate rear of the fortress, when a sharp +"Hist!" and sudden halt of their leader, Captain +Blessington, threw them all into an attitude of the most +profound attention. + +"Did you hear?" he asked in a subdued whisper, after a +few seconds of silence, in which he had vainly sought to +catch a repetition of the sound. + +"Assuredly," he pursued, finding that no one answered, +"I distinctly heard a human groan." + +"Where?--in what direction?" asked Sir Everard and De +Haldimar in the same breath. + +"Immediately opposite to us on the common. But see, here +are the remainder of the party stationary, and listening +also." + +They now stole gently forward a few paces, and were soon +at the side of their companions, all of whom were straining +their necks and bending their heads in the attitude of +men listening attentively. + +"Have you heard any thing, Erskine?" asked Captain +Blessington in the same low whisper, and addressing the +officer who led the opposite party. + +"Not a sound ourselves, but here is Sir Everard's black +servant, Sambo, who has just riveted our attention, by +declaring that he distinctly heard a groan towards the +skirt of the common." + +"He is right," hastily rejoined Blessington; "I heard it +also." + +Again a death-like silence ensued, during which the eyes +of the party were strained eagerly in the direction of +the common. The night was clear and starry, yet the dark +shadow of the broad belt of forest threw all that part +of the waste which came within its immediate range into +impenetrable obscurity. + +"Do you see any thing?" whispered Valletort to his friend, +who stood next him: "look--look!" and he pointed with +his finger. + +"Nothing," returned De Haldimar, after an anxious gaze +of a minute, "but that dilapidated old bomb-proof." + +"See you not something dark, and slightly moving immediately +in a line with the left angle of the bomb-proof?" + +De Haldimar looked again.--"I do begin to fancy I see +something," he replied; "but so confusedly and indistinctly, +that I know not whether it be not merely an illusion of +my imagination. Perhaps it is a stray Indian dog devouring +the carcass of the wolf you shot yesterday." + +"Be it dog or devil, here is for a trial of his +vulnerability.--Sambo, quick, my rifle." + +The young negro handed to his master one of those long +heavy rifles, which the Indians usually make choice of +for killing the buffalo, elk, and other animals whose +wildness renders them difficult of approach. He then, +unbidden, and as if tutored to the task, placed himself +in a stiff upright position in front of his master, with +every nerve and muscle braced to the most inflexible +steadiness. The young officer next threw the rifle on +the right shoulder of the boy for a rest, and prepared +to take his aim on the object that had first attracted +his attention. + +"Make haste, massa,--him go directly,--Sambo see him +get up." + +All was breathless attention among the group of officers; +and when the sharp ticking sound produced by the cocking +of the rifle of their companion fell on their ears, they +bent their gaze upon the point towards which the murderous +weapon was levelled with the most aching and intense +interest. + +"Quick, quick, massa,--him quite up," again whispered +the boy. + +The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the crack +of the rifle, followed by a bright blaze of light, sounded +throughout the stillness of the night with exciting +sharpness. For an instant all was hushed; but scarcely +had the distant woods ceased to reverberate the +spirit-stirring echoes, when the anxious group of officers +were surprised and startled by a sudden flash, the report +of a second rifle from the common, and the whizzing of +a bullet past their ears. This was instantly succeeded +by a fierce, wild, and prolonged cry, expressive at once +of triumph and revenge. It was that peculiar cry which +an Indian utters when the reeking scalp has been wrested +from his murdered victim. + +"Missed him, as I am a sinner," exclaimed Sir Everard, +springing to his feet, and knocking the butt of his rifle +on the ground with a movement of impatience. "Sambo, you +young scoundrel, it was all your fault,--you moved your +shoulder as I pulled the trigger. Thank Heaven, however, +the aim of the Indian appears to have been no better, +although the sharp whistling of his ball proves his piece +to have been well levelled for a random shot." + +"His aim has been too true," faintly pronounced the voice +of one somewhat in the rear of his companions. "The ball +of the villain has found a lodgment in my breast. God +bless ye all, my boys; may your fates be more lucky than +mine!" While he yet spoke, Lieutenant Murphy sank into +the arms of Blessington and De Haldimar, who had flown +to him at the first intimation of his wound, and was in +the next instant a corpse. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +"To your companies, gentlemen, to your companies on the +instant. There is treason in the fort, and we had need +of all our diligence and caution. Captain de Haldimar is +missing, and the gate has been found unlocked. Quick, +gentlemen, quick; even now the savages may be around us, +though unseen." + +"Captain de Haldimar missing!--the gate unlocked!" +exclaimed a number of voices. "Impossible!--surely we +are not betrayed by our own men." + +"The sentinel has been relieved, and is now in irons," +resumed the communicator of this startling piece of +intelligence. It was the adjutant of the regiment. + +"Away, gentlemen, to your posts immediately," said Captain +Blessington, who, aided by De Haldimar, hastened to +deposit the stiffening body of the unfortunate Murphy, +which they still supported, upon the rampart. Then +addressing the adjutant, "Mr. Lawson, let a couple of +files be sent immediately to remove the body of their +officer." + +"That shot which I heard from the common, as I approached, +was not fired at random, then, I find," observed the +adjutant, as they all now hastily descended to join their +men.--"Who has fallen?" + +"Murphy, of the grenadiers," was the reply of one near +him. + +"Poor fellow! our work commences badly," resumed Mr. +Lawson: "Murphy killed, and Captain de Haldimar missing. +We had few officers enough to spare before, and their +loss will be severely felt; I greatly fear, too, these +casualties may have a tendency to discourage the men." + +"Nothing more easy than to supply their place, by promoting +some of our oldest sergeants," observed Ensign Delme, +who, as well as the ill-fated Murphy, had risen from the +ranks. "If they behave themselves well, the King will +confirm their appointments." + +"But my poor brother, what of him, Lawson? what have you +learnt connected with his disappearance?" asked Charles +de Haldimar with deep emotion. + +"Nothing satisfactory, I am sorry to say," returned the +adjutant; "in fact, the whole affair is a mystery which +no one can unravel; even at this moment the sentinel, +Frank Halloway, who is strongly suspected of being privy +to his disappearance, is undergoing a private examination +by your father the governor." + +"Frank Halloway!" repeated the youth with a start of +astonishment; "surely Halloway could never prove a +traitor,--and especially to my brother, whose life he +once saved at the peril of his own." + +The officers had now gained the parade, when the "Fall +in, gentlemen, fall in," quickly pronounced by Major +Blackwater, prevented all further questioning on the part +of the younger De Haldimar. + +The scene, though circumscribed in limit, was picturesque +in effect, and might have been happily illustrated by +the pencil of the painter. The immediate area of the +parade was filled with armed men, distributed into three +divisions, and forming, with their respective ranks facing +outwards, as many sides of a hollow square, the mode of +defence invariably adopted by the Governor in all cases +of sudden alarm. The vacant space, which communicated +with the powder magazine, was left open to the movements +of three three-pounders, which were to support each face +in the event of its being broken by numbers. Close to +these, and within the square, stood the number of gunners +necessary to the duty of the field-pieces, each of which +was commanded by a bombardier. At the foot of the ramparts, +outside the square, and immediately opposite to their +several embrasures, were stationed the gunners required +for the batteries, under a non-commissioned officer also, +and the whole under the direction of a superior officer +of that arm, who now walked to and fro, conversing in a +low voice with Major Blackwater. One gunner at each of +these divisions of the artillery held in his hand a +blazing torch, reflecting with picturesque yet gloomy +effect the bright bayonets and equipment of the soldiers, +and the anxious countenances of the women and invalids, +who, bending eagerly through the windows of the surrounding +barracks, appeared to await the issue of these preparations +with an anxiety increased by the very consciousness of +having no other parts than those of spectators to play +in the scene that was momentarily expected. + +In a few minutes from the falling in of the officers with +their respective companies, the clank of irons was heard +in the direction of the guard-room, and several forms +were seen slowly advancing into the area already occupied +as we have described. This party was preceded by the +Adjutant Lawson, who, advancing towards Major Blackwater, +communicated a message, that was followed by the command +of the latter officer for the three divisions to face +inwards. The officer of artillery also gave the word to +his men to form lines of single files immediately in the +rear of their respective guns, leaving space enough for +the entrance of the approaching party, which consisted +of half a dozen files of the guard, under a non-commissioned +officer, and one whose manacled limbs, rather than his +unaccoutred uniform, attested him to be not merely a +prisoner, but a prisoner confined for some serious and +flagrant offence. + +This party now advanced through the vacant quarter of +the square, and took their stations immediately in the +centre. Here the countenances of each, and particularly +that of the prisoner, who was, if we may so term it, the +centre of that centre, were thrown into strong relief by +the bright glare of the torches as they were occasionally +waved in air, to disencumber them of their dross, so that +the features of the prisoner stood revealed to those +around as plainly as if it had been noonday. Not a sound, +not a murmur, escaped from the ranks: but, though the +etiquette and strict laws of military discipline chained +all speech, the workings of the inward mind remained +unchecked; and as they recognised in the prisoner Frank +Halloway, one of the bravest and boldest in the field, +and, as all had hitherto imagined, one of the most devoted +to his duty, an irrepressible thrill of amazement and +dismay crept throughout the frames, and for a moment +blanched the cheeks of those especially who belonged to +the same company. On being summoned from their fruitless +search after the stranger, to fall in without delay, it +had been whispered among the men that treason had crept +into the fort, and a traitor, partly detected in his +crime, had been arrested and thrown into irons; but the +idea of Frank Halloway being that traitor was the last +that could have entered into their thoughts, and yet they +now beheld him covered with every mark of ignominy, and +about to answer his high offence, in all human probability, +with his life. + +With the officers the reputation of Halloway for courage +and fidelity stood no less high; but, while they secretly +lamented the circumstance of his defalcation, they could +not disguise from themselves the almost certainty of his +guilt, for each, as he now gazed upon the prisoner, +recollected the confusion and hesitation of manner he +had evinced when questioned by them preparatory to their +ascending to the ramparts. + +Once more the suspense of the moment was interrupted by +the entrance of other forms into the area. They were +those of the Adjutant, followed by a drummer, bearing +his instrument, and the Governor's orderly, charged with +pens, ink, paper, and a book which, from its peculiar +form and colour, every one present knew to be a copy of +the Articles of War. A variety of contending emotions +passed through the breasts of many, as they witnessed +the silent progress of these preparations, rendered +painfully interesting by the peculiarity of their position, +and the wildness of the hour at which they thus found +themselves assembled together. The prisoner himself was +unmoved: he stood proud, calm, and fearless amid the +guard, of whom he had so recently formed one; and though +his countenance was pale, as much, perhaps, from a sense +of the ignominious character in which he appeared as from +more private considerations, still there was nothing to +denote either the abjectness of fear or the consciousness +of merited disgrace. Once or twice a low sobbing, that +proceeded at intervals from one of the barrack windows, +caught his ear, and he turned his glance in that direction +with a restless anxiety, which he exerted himself in the +instant afterwards to repress; but this was the only mark +of emotion he betrayed. + +The above dispositions having been hastily made, the +adjutant and his assistants once more retired. After the +lapse of a minute, a tall martial-looking man, habited +in a blue military frock, and of handsome, though stern, +haughty, and inflexible features, entered the area. He +was followed by Major Blackwater, the captain of artillery, +and Adjutant Lawson. + +"Are the garrison all present, Mr. Lawson? are the officers +all present? " + +"All except those of the guard, sir," replied the Adjutant, +touching his hat with a submission that was scrupulously +exacted on all occasions of duty by his superior. + +The Governor passed his hand for a moment over his brows. +It seemed to those around him as if the mention of that +guard had called up recollections which gave him pain; +and it might be so, for his eldest son, Captain Frederick +de Haldimar, had commanded the guard. Whither he had +disappeared, or in what manner, no one knew. + +"Are the artillery all present, Captain Wentworth?" again +demanded the Governor, after a moment of silence, and in +his wonted firm authoritative voice. + +"All present, sir," rejoined the officer, following the +example of the Adjutant, and saluting his chief. + +"Then let a drum-head court-martial be assembled +immediately, Mr. Lawson, and without reference to the +roster let the senior officers be selected." + +The Adjutant went round to the respective divisions, and +in a low voice warned Captain Blessington, and the four +senior subalterns, for that duty. One by one the officers, +as they were severally called upon, left their places in +the square, and sheathing their swords, stepped into that +part of the area appointed as their temporary court. They +were now all assembled, and Captain Blessington, the +senior of his rank in the garrison, was preparing to +administer the customary oaths, when the prisoner Halloway +advanced a pace or two in front of his escort, and removing +his cap, in a clear, firm, but respectful voice, thus +addressed the Governor:-- + +"Colonel de Haldimar, that I am no traitor, as I have +already told you, the Almighty God, before whom I swore +allegiance to his Majesty, can bear me witness. Appearances, +I own, are against me; but, so far from being a traitor, +I would have shed my last drop of blood in defence of +the garrison and your family.--Colonel de Haldimar," he +pursued, after a momentary pause, in which he seemed to +be struggling to subdue the emotion which rose, despite +of himself, to his throat, "I repeat, I am no traitor, +and I scorn the imputation--but here is my best answer +to the charge. This wound, (and he unbuttoned his jacket, +opened his shirt, and disclosed a deep scar upon his +white chest,) this wound I received in defence of my +captain's life at Quebec. Had I not loved him, I should +not so have exposed myself, neither but for that should +I now stand in the situation of shame and danger, in +which my comrades behold me." + +Every heart was touched by this appeal--this bold and +manly appeal to the consideration of the Governor. The +officers, especially, who were fully conversant with the +general merit of Halloway, were deeply affected, and +Charles de Haldimar--the young, the generous, the feeling +Charles de Haldimar,--even shed tears. + +"What mean you, prisoner?" interrogated the Governor, +after a short pause, during which he appeared to be +weighing and deducing inferences from the expressions +just uttered. "What mean you, by stating, but for that +(alluding to your regard for Captain de Haldimar) you +would not now be in this situation of shame and danger?" + +The prisoner hesitated a moment; and then rejoined, but +in a tone that had less of firmness in it than +before,--"Colonel de Haldimar, I am not at liberty to +state my meaning; for, though a private soldier, I respect +my word, and have pledged myself to secrecy." + +"You respect your word, and have pledged yourself to +secrecy! What mean you, man, by this rhodomontade? To +whom can you have pledged yourself, and for what, unless +it be to some secret enemy without the walls? Gentlemen, +proceed to your duty: it is evident that the man is a +traitor, even from his own admission.--On my life," he +pursued, more hurriedly, and speaking in an under tone, +as if to himself, "the fellow has been bribed by, and is +connected with--." The name escaped not his lips; for, +aware of the emotion he was betraying, he suddenly checked +himself, and assumed his wonted stern and authoritative +bearing. + +Once more the prisoner addressed the Governor in the same +clear firm voice in which he had opened his appeal. + +"Colonel de Haldimar, I have no connection with any living +soul without the fort; and again I repeat, I am no traitor, +but a true and loyal British soldier, as my services in +this war, and my comrades, can well attest. Still, I seek +not to shun that death which I have braved a dozen times +at least in the ---- regiment. All that I ask is, that +I may not be tried--that I may not have the shame of +hearing sentence pronounced against me YET; but if nothing +should occur before eight o'clock to vindicate my character +from this disgrace, I will offer up no further prayer +for mercy. In the name of that life, therefore, which I +once preserved to Captain de Haldimar, at the price of +my own blood, I entreat a respite from trial until then." + +"In the name of God and all his angels, let mercy reach +your soul, and grant his prayer!" + +Every ear was startled--every heart touched by the +plaintive, melancholy, silver tones of the voice that +faintly pronounced the last appeal, and all recognised +it for that of the young, interesting, and attached wife +of the prisoner. Again the latter turned his gaze towards +the window whence the sounds proceeded, and by the glare +of the torches a tear was distinctly seen by many coursing +down his manly cheek. The weakness was momentary. In the +next instant he closed his shirt and coat, and resuming +his cap, stepped back once more amid his guard, where he +remained stationary, with the air of one who, having +nothing further to hope, has resolved to endure the worst +that can happen with resignation and fortitude. + +After the lapse of a few moments, again devoted to much +apparent deep thought and conjecture, the Governor once +more, and rather hurriedly, resumed,-- + +"In the event, prisoner, of this delay in your trial +being granted, will you pledge yourself to disclose the +secret to which you have alluded? Recollect, there is +nothing but that which can save your memory from being +consigned to infamy for ever; for who, among your comrades, +will believe the idle denial of your treachery, when +there is the most direct proof against you? If your secret +die with you, moreover, every honest man will consider +it as having been one so infamous and injurious to your +character, that you were ashamed to reveal it." + +These suggestions of the Colonel were not without their +effect; for, in the sudden swelling of the prisoner's +chest, as allusion was made to the disgrace that would +attach to his memory, there was evidence of a high and +generous spirit, to whom obloquy was far more hateful +than even death itself. + +"I do promise," he at length replied, stepping forward, +and uncovering himself as before,--"if no one appear to +justify my conduct at the hour I have named, a full +disclosure of all I know touching this affair shall be +made. And may God, of his infinite mercy, grant, for +Captain de Haldimar's sake, as well as mine, I may not +then be wholly deserted!" + +There was something so peculiarly solemn and impressive +in the manner in which the unhappy man now expressed +himself, that a feeling of the utmost awe crept into the +bosoms of the surrounding throng; and more than one +veteran of the grenadiers, the company to which Halloway +belonged, was heard to relieve his chest of the long +pent-up sigh that struggled for release. + +"Enough, prisoner," rejoined the Governor; "on this +condition do I grant your request; but recollect,--your +disclosure ensures no hope of pardon, unless, indeed, +you have the fullest proof to offer in your defence. Do +you perfectly understand me? " + +"I do," replied the soldier firmly; and again he placed +his cap on his head, and retired a step or two back among +the guard. + +"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be removed, and conducted +to one of the private cells. Who is the subaltern of +the guard?" + +"Ensign Fortescue," was the answer. + +"Then let Ensign Fortescue keep the key of the cell +himself. Tell him, moreover, I shall hold him individually +responsible for his charge." + +Once more the prisoner was marched out of the area; and, +as the clanking sound of his chains became gradually +fainter in the distance, the same voice that had before +interrupted the proceedings, pronounced a "God be praised!-- +God be praised!" with such melody of sorrow in its +intonations that no one could listen to it unmoved. Both +officers and men were more or less affected, and all +hoped--they scarcely knew why or what--but all hoped +something favourable would occur to save the life of the +brave and unhappy Frank Halloway. + +Of the first interruption by the wife of the prisoner +the Governor had taken no notice; but on this repetition +of the expression of her feelings he briefly summoned, +in the absence of the Adjutant, the sergeant-major of +the regiment to his side. + +"Sergeant-major Bletson, I desire that, in future, on +all occasions of this kind, the women of the regiment +may be kept out of the way. Look to it, sir!" + +The sergeant-major, who had stood erect as his own halbert, +which he held before him in a saluting position, during +this brief admonition of his colonel, acknowledged, by +a certain air of deferential respect and dropping of the +eyes, unaccompanied by speech of any kind, that he felt +the reproof, and would, in future, take care to avoid +all similar cause for complaint. He then stalked stiffly +away, and resumed, in a few hasty strides, his position +in rear of the troops. + +"Hard-hearted man!" pursued the same voice: "if my prayers +of gratitude to Heaven give offence, may the hour never +come when my lips shall pronounce their bitterest curse +upon your severity!" + +There was something so painfully wild--so solemnly +prophetic--in these sounds of sorrow as they fell faintly +upon the ear, and especially under the extraordinary +circumstances of the night, that they might have been +taken for the warnings of some supernatural agency. During +their utterance, not even the breathing of human life +was to be heard in the ranks. In the next instant, however, +Sergeant-major Bletson was seen repairing, with long and +hasty strides, to the barrack whence the voice proceeded, +and the interruption was heard no more. + +Meanwhile the officers, who had been summoned from the +ranks for the purpose of forming the court-martial, still +lingered in the centre of the square, apparently waiting +for the order of their superior, before they should resume +their respective stations. As the quick and comprehensive +glance of Colonel de Haldimar now embraced the group, he +at once became sensible of the absence of one of the +seniors, all of whom he had desired should be selected +for the court-martial. + +"Mr. Lawson," he remarked, somewhat sternly, as the +Adjutant now returned from delivering over his prisoner +to Ensign Fortescue, "I thought I understood from your +report the officers were all present!" + +"I believe, sir, my report will be found perfectly +correct," returned the Adjutant, in a tone which, without +being disrespectful, marked his offended sense of the +implication. + +"And Lieutenant Murphy--" + +"Is here, sir," said the Adjutant, pointing to a couple +of files of the guard, who were bearing a heavy burden, +and following into the square. "Lieutenant Murphy," he +pursued, "has been shot on the ramparts; and I have, as +directed by Captain Blessington, caused the body to be +brought here, that I may receive your orders respecting +the interment." As he spoke, he removed a long military +grey cloak, which completely enshrouded the corpse, and +disclosed, by the light of the still brightly flaming +torches of the gunners, the features of the unfortunate +Murphy. + +"How did he meet his death?" enquired the governor; +without, however, manifesting the slightest surprise, or +appearing at all moved at the discovery. + +"By a rifle shot fired from the common, near the old bomb +proof," observed Captain Blessington, as the adjutant +looked to him for the particular explanation he could +not render himself. + +"Ah! this reminds me," pursued the austere +commandant,--"there was a shot fired also from the +ramparts. By whom, and at what?" + +"By me, sir," said Lieutenant Valletort, coming forward +from the ranks, "and at what I conceived to be an Indian, +lurking as a spy upon the common." + +"Then, Lieutenant Sir Everard Valletort, no repetition +of these firings, if you please; and let it be borne in +mind by all, that although, from the peculiar nature of +the service in which we are engaged, I so far depart from +the established regulations of the army as to permit my +officers to arm themselves with rifles, they are to be +used only as occasion may require in the hour of conflict, +and not for the purpose of throwing a whole garrison into +alarm by trials of skill and dexterity upon shadows at +this unseasonable hour." + +"I was not aware, sir," returned Sir Everard proudly, +and secretly galled at being thus addressed before the +men, "it could be deemed a military crime to destroy an +enemy at whatever hour he might present himself, and +especially on such an occasion as the present. As for my +firing at a shadow, those who heard the yell that followed +the second shot, can determine that it came from no +shadow, but from a fierce and vindictive enemy. The cry +denoted even something more than the ordinary defiance +of an Indian: it seemed to express a fiendish sentiment +of personal triumph and revenge." + +The governor started involuntarily. "Do you imagine, Sir +Everard Valletort, the aim of your rifle was true--that +you hit him?" + +This question was asked so hurriedly, and in a tone so +different from that in which he had hitherto spoken, that +the officers around simultaneously raised their eyes to +those of their colonel with an expression of undissembled +surprise. He observed it, and instantly resumed his +habitual sternness of look and manner. + +"I rather fear not, sir," replied Sir Everard, who had +principally remarked the emotion; "but may I hope (and +this was said with emphasis), in the evident disappointment +you experience at my want of success, my offence may be +overlooked?" + +The governor fixed his penetrating eyes on the speaker, +as if he would have read his inmost mind; and then calmly, +and even impressively, observed,-- + +"Sir Everard Valletort, I do overlook the offence, and +hope you may as easily forgive yourself. It were well, +however, that your indiscretion, which can only find its +excuse in your being so young an officer, had not been +altogether without some good result. Had you killed or +disabled the--the savage, there might have been a decent +palliative offered; but what must be your feelings, sir, +when you reflect, the death of yon officer," and he +pointed to the corpse of the unhappy Murphy, "is, in a +great degree, attributable to yourself? Had you not +provoked the anger of the savage, and given a direction +to his aim by the impotent and wanton discharge of your +own rifle, this accident would never have happened." + +This severe reproving of an officer, who had acted from +the most praiseworthy of motives, and who could not +possibly have anticipated the unfortunate catastrophe +that had occurred, was considered especially harsh and +unkind by every one present; and a low and almost inaudible +murmur passed through the company to which Sir Everard +was attached. For a minute or two that officer also +appeared deeply pained, not more from the reproof itself +than from the new light in which the observation of his +chief had taught him to view, for the first time, the +causes that had led to the fall of Murphy. Finding, +however, that the governor had no further remark to +address to him, he once more returned to his station in +the ranks. + +"Mr. Lawson," resumed the commandant, turning to the +adjutant, "let this victim be carried to the spot on +which he fell, and there interred. I know no better grave +for a soldier than beneath the sod that has been moistened +with his blood. Recollect," he continued, as the adjutant +once more led the party out of the area,--"no firing, +Mr. Lawson. The duty must be silently performed, and +without the risk of provoking a forest of arrows, or a +shower of bullets from the savages. Major Blackwater," +he pursued, as soon as the corpse had been removed, "let +the men pile their arms even as they now stand, and remain +ready to fall in at a minute's notice. Should any thing +extraordinary happen before the morning, you will, of +course, apprise me." He then strode out of the area with +the same haughty and measured step that had characterised +his entrance. + +"Our colonel does not appear to be in one of his most +amiable moods to-night," observed Captain Blessington, +as the officers, after having disposed of their respective +companies, now proceeded along the ramparts to assist at +the last funeral offices of their unhappy associate. +"He was disposed to be severe, and must have put you, in +some measure, out of conceit with your favourite rifle, +Valletort." + +"True," rejoined the Baronet, who had already rallied +from the momentary depression of his spirits, "he hit me +devilish hard, I confess, and was disposed to display +more of the commanding officer than quite suits my ideas +of the service. His words were as caustic as his looks; +and could both have pierced me to the quick, there was +no inclination on his part wanting. By my soul I could. +...but I forgive him. He is the father of my friend: +and for that reason will I chew the cud of my mortification, +nor suffer, if possible, a sense of his unkindness to +rankle at my heart. At all events, Blessington, my mind +is made up, and resign or exchange I certainly shall the +instant I can find a decent loop-hole to creep out of." + +Sir Everard fancied the ear of his captain was alone +listening to these expressions of his feeling, or in all +probability he would not have uttered them. As he concluded +the last sentence, however, he felt his arm gently grasped +by one who walked a pace or two silently in their rear. +He turned, and recognised Charles de Haldimar. + +"I am sure, Valletort, you will believe how much pained +I have been at the severity of my father; but, indeed, +there was nothing personally offensive intended. Blessington +can tell you as well as myself it is his manner altogether. +Nay, that although he is the first in seniority after +Blackwater, the governor treats him with the same distance +and hauteur he would use towards the youngest ensign in +the service. Such are the effects of his long military +habits, and his ideas of the absolutism of command. Am +I not right, Blessington?" + +"Quite right, Charles. Sir Everard may satisfy himself +his is no solitary instance of the stern severity of your +father. Still, I confess, notwithstanding the rigidity +of manner which he seems, on all occasions, to think so +indispensable to the maintenance of authority in a +commanding officer, I never knew him so inclined to find +fault as he is to-night." + +"Perhaps," observed Valletort, good humouredly, "his +conscience is rather restless; and he is willing to get +rid of it and his spleen together. I would wager my rifle +against the worthless scalp of the rascal I fired at +to-night, that this same stranger, whose asserted appearance +has called us from our comfortable beds, is but the +creation of his disturbed dreams. Indeed, how is it +possible any thing formed of flesh and blood could have +escaped us with the vigilant watch that has been kept on +the ramparts? The old gentleman certainly had that illusion +strongly impressed on his mind when he so sapiently spoke +of my firing at a shadow." + +"But the gate," interrupted Charles de Haldimar, with +something of mild reproach in his tones,--"you forget, +Valletort, the gate was found unlocked, and that my +brother is missing. HE, at least, was flesh and blood, +as you say, and yet he has disappeared. What more probable, +therefore, than that this stranger is at once the cause +and the agent of his abduction?" + +"Impossible, Charles," observed Captain Blessington; +"Frederick was in the midst of his guard. How, therefore, +could he be conveyed away without the alarm being given? +Numbers only could have succeeded in so desperate an +enterprise; and yet there is no evidence, or even suspicion, +of more than one individual having been here." + +"It is a singular affair altogether," returned Sir Everard, +musingly. "Of two things, however, I am satisfied. The +first is, that the stranger, whoever he may be, and if +he really has been here, is no Indian; the second, that +he is personally known to the governor, who has been, or +I mistake much, more alarmed at his individual presence +than if Ponteac and his whole band had suddenly broken +in upon us. Did you remark his emotion, when I dwelt on +the peculiar character of personal triumph and revenge +which the cry of the lurking villain outside seemed to +express? and did you notice the eagerness with which he +enquired if I thought I had hit him? Depend upon it, +there is more in all this than is dreamt of in our +philosophy." + +"And it was your undisguised perception of that emotion," +remarked Captain Blessington, "that drew down his severity +upon your own head. It was, however, too palpable not to +be noticed by all; and I dare say conjecture is as busily +and as vaguely at work among our companions as it is with +us. The clue to the mystery, in a great degree, now dwells +with Frank Halloway; and to him we must look for its +elucidation. His disclosure will be one, I apprehend, +full of ignominy to himself, but of the highest interest +and importance to us all. And yet I know not how to +believe the man the traitor he appears." + +"Did you remark that last harrowing exclamation of his +wife?" observed Charles de Haldimar, in a tone of +unspeakable melancholy. "How fearfully prophetic it +sounded in my ears. I know not how it is," he pursued, +"but I wish I had not heard those sounds; for since that +moment I have had a sad strange presentiment of evil at +my heart. Heaven grant my poor brother may make his +appearance, as I still trust he will, at the hour Halloway +seems to expect, for if not, the latter most assuredly +dies. I know my father well; and, if convicted by a court +martial, no human power can alter the destiny that awaits +Frank Halloway." + +"Rally, my dear Charles, rally," said Sir Everard, +affecting a confidence he did not feel himself; "indulge +not in these idle and superstitious fancies. I pity +Halloway from my soul, and feel the deepest interest in +his pretty and unhappy wife; but that is no reason why +one should attach importance to the incoherent expressions +wrung from her in the agony of grief." + +"It is kind of you, Valletort, to endeavour to cheer my +spirits, when, if the truth were confessed, you acknowledge +the influence of the same feelings. I thank you for the +attempt, but time alone can show how far I shall have +reason, or otherwise, to lament the occurrences of this +night." + +They had now reached that part of the ramparts whence +the shot from Sir Everard's rifle had been fired. Several +men were occupied in digging a grave in the precise spot +on which the unfortunate Murphy had stood when he received +his death-wound; and into this, when completed, the body, +enshrouded in the cloak already alluded to, was deposited +by his companions. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +While the adjutant was yet reading, in a low and solemn +voice, the service for the dead, a fierce and distant +yell, as if from a legion of devils, burst suddenly from +the forest, and brought the hands of the startled officers +instinctively to their swords. This appalling cry lasted, +without interruption, for many minutes, and was then as +abruptly checked as it had been unexpectedly delivered. +A considerable pause succeeded, and then again it rose +with even more startling vehemence than before. By one +unaccustomed to those devilish sounds, no distinction +could have been made in the two several yells that had +been thus savagely pealed forth; but those to whom practice +and long experience in the warlike habits and customs of +the Indians had rendered their shouts familiar, at once +divined, or fancied they divined, the cause. The first +was, to their conception, a yell expressive at once of +vengeance and disappointment in pursuit,--perhaps of some +prisoner who had escaped from their toils; the second, +of triumph and success,--in all probability, indicative +of the recapture of that prisoner. For many minutes +afterwards the officers continued to listen, with the +most aching attention, for a repetition of the cry, or +even fainter sounds, that might denote either a nearer +approach to the fort, or the final departure of the +Indians. After the second yell, however, the woods, in +the heart of which it appeared to have been uttered, were +buried in as profound a silence as if they had never yet +echoed back the voice of man; and all at length became +satisfied that the Indians, having accomplished some +particular purpose, had retired once more to their distant +encampments for the night. Captain Erskine was the first +who broke the almost breathless silence that prevailed +among themselves. + +"On my life De Haldimar is a prisoner with the Indians. +He has been attempting his escape,--has been +detected,--followed, and again fallen into their hands. +I know their infernal yells but too well. The last +expressed their savage joy at the capture of a prisoner; +and there is no one of us missing but De Haldimar." + +"Not a doubt of it," said Captain Blessington; "the cry +was certainly what you describe it, and Heaven only knows +what will be the fate of our poor friend." + +No other officer spoke, for all were oppressed by the +weight of their own feelings, and sought rather to give +indulgence to speculation in secret, than to share their +impressions with their companions. Charles de Haldimar +stood a little in the rear, leaning his head upon his +hand against the box of the sentry, (who was silently, +though anxiously, pacing his walk,) and in an attitude +expressive of the deepest dejection and sorrow. + +"I suppose I must finish Lawson's work, although I am +but a poor hand at this sort of thing," resumed Captain +Erskine, taking up the prayer book the adjutant had, in +hastening on the first alarm to get the men under arms, +carelessly thrown on the grave of the now unconscious +Murphy. + +He then commenced the service at the point where Mr. +Lawson had so abruptly broken off, and went through the +remainder of the prayers. A very few minutes sufficed +for the performance of this solemn duty, which was effected +by the faint dim light of the at length dawning day, and +the men in attendance proceeded to fill up the grave of +their officer. + +Gradually the mists, that had fallen during the latter +hours of the night, began to ascend from the common, and +disperse themselves in air, conveying the appearance of +a rolling sheet of vapour retiring Back upon itself, and +disclosing objects in succession, until the eye could +embrace all that came within its extent of vision. As +the officers yet lingered near the rude grave of their +companion, watching with abstracted air the languid and +almost mechanical action of their jaded men, as they +emptied shovel after shovel of the damp earth over the +body of its new tenant, they were suddenly startled by +an expression of exultation from Sir Everard Valletort. + +"By Jupiter, I have pinked him," he exclaimed triumphantly. +"I knew my rifle could not err; and as for my sight, I +have carried away too many prizes in target-shooting to +have been deceived in that. How delighted the old governor +will be, Charles, to hear this. No more lecturing, I am +sure, for the next six months at least;" and the young +officer rubbed his hands together, at the success of his +shot, with as much satisfaction and unconcern for the +future, as if he had been in his own native England; in +the midst of a prize-ring. + +Roused by the observation of his friend, De Haldimar +quitted his position near the sentry box, and advanced +to the outer edge of the rampart. To him, as to his +companions, the outline of the old bomb proof was now +distinctly visible, but it was sometime before they could +discover, in the direction in which Valletort pointed, +a dark speck upon the common; and this so indistinctly, +they could scarcely distinguish it with the naked eye. + +"Your sight is quite equal to your aim, Sir Everard," +remarked Lieutenant Johnstone, one of Erskine's subalterns, +"and both are decidedly superior to mine; yet I used to +be thought a good rifleman too, and have credit for an +eye no less keen than that of an Indian. You have the +advantage of me, however; for I honestly admit I never +could have picked off yon fellow in the dark as you have +done." + +As the dawn increased, the dark shadow of a human form, +stretched at its length upon the ground, became perceptible; +and the officers, with one unanimous voice, bore loud +testimony to the skill and dexterity of him who had, +under such extreme disadvantages, accomplished the death +of their skulking enemy. + +"Bravo, Valletort," said Charles de Haldimar, recovering +his spirits, as much from the idea, now occurring to him, +that this might indeed be the stranger whose appearance +had so greatly disturbed his father, as from the +gratification he felt in the praises bestowed on his +friend. "Bravo, my dear fellow;" then approaching, and +in a half whisper, "when next I write to Clara, I shall +request her, with my cousin's assistance, to prepare a +chaplet of bays, wherewith I shall myself crown you as +their proxy. But what is the matter now, Valletort? Why +stand you there gazing upon the common, as if the victim +of your murderous aim was rising from his bloody couch, +to reproach you with his death? Tell me, shall I write +to Clara for the prize, or will you receive it from her +own hands?" + +"Bid her rather pour her curses on my head; and to those, +De Haldimar, add your own," exclaimed Sir Everard, at +length raising himself from the statue-like position he +had assumed. "Almighty God," he pursued, in the same tone +of deep agony, "what have I done? Where, where shall I +hide myself?" + +As he spoke he turned away from his companions, and +covering his eyes with his hand, with quick and unequal +steps, even like those of a drunken man, walked, or rather +ran, along the rampart, as if fearful of being overtaken. + +The whole group of officers, and Charles de Haldimar in +particular, were struck with dismay at the language and +action of Sir Everard; and for a moment they fancied that +fatigue, and watching, and excitement, had partially +affected his brain. But when, after the lapse of a minute +or two, they again looked out upon the common, the secret +of his agitation was too faithfully and too painfully +explained. + +What had at first the dusky and dingy hue of a half-naked +Indian, was now perceived, by the bright beams of light +just gathering in the east, to be the gay and striking +uniform of a British officer. Doubt as to who that officer +was there could be none, for the white sword-belt suspended +over the right shoulder, and thrown into strong relief +by the field of scarlet on which it reposed, denoted the +wearer of this distinguishing badge of duty to be one of +the guard. + +To comprehend effectually the feelings of the officers, +it would be necessary that one should have been not merely +a soldier, but a soldier under the same circumstances. +Surrounded on every hand by a fierce and cruel +enemy--prepared at every moment to witness scenes of +barbarity and bloodshed in their most appalling +shapes--isolated from all society beyond the gates of +their own fortress, and by consequence reposing on and +regarding each other as vital links in the chain of their +wild and adventurous existence,--it can easily be understood +with what sincere and unaffected grief they lamented the +sudden cutting off even of those who least assimilated +in spirit and character with themselves. Such, in a great +degree, had been the case in the instance of the officer +over whose grave they were now met to render the last +offices of companionship, if not of friendship. Indeed +Murphy--a rude, vulgar, and illiterate, though brave +Irishman--having risen from the ranks, the coarseness of +which he had never been able to shake off, was little +calculated, either by habits or education, to awaken +feelings, except of the most ordinary description, in +his favour; and he and Ensign Delme were the only exceptions +to those disinterested and tacit friendships that had +grown up out of circumstances in common among the majority. +If, therefore, they could regret the loss of such a +companion as Murphy, how deep and heartfelt must have +been the sorrow they experienced when they beheld the +brave, generous, manly, amiable, and highly-talented +Frederick de Haldimar--the pride of the garrison, and +the idol of his family--lying extended, a cold, senseless +corpse, slain by the hand of the bosom friend of his own +brother!--Notwithstanding the stern severity and distance +of the governor, whom few circumstances, however critical +or exciting, could surprise into relaxation of his habitual +stateliness, it would have been difficult to name two +young men more universally liked and esteemed by their +brother officers than were the De Haldimars--the first +for the qualities already named--the second, for those +retiring, mild, winning manners, and gentle affections, +added to extreme and almost feminine beauty of countenance +for which he was remarkable. Alas, what a gloomy picture +was now exhibited to the minds of all!--Frederick de +Haldimar a corpse, and slain by the hand of Sir Everard +Valletort! What but disunion could follow this melancholy +catastrophe? and how could Charles de Haldimar, even if +his bland nature should survive the shock, ever bear to +look again upon the man who had, however innocently or +unintentionally, deprived him of a brother whom he adored? + +These were the impressions that passed through the minds +of the compassionating officers, as they directed their +glance alternately from the common to the pale and +marble-like features of the younger De Haldimar, who, +with parted lips and stupid gaze, continued to fix his +eyes upon the inanimate form of his ill-fated brother, +as if the very faculty of life itself had been for a +period suspended. At length, however, while his companions +watched in silence the mining workings of that grief +which they feared to interrupt by ill-timed observations, +even of condolence, the death-like hue, which had hitherto +suffused the usually blooming cheek of the young officer, +was succeeded by a flush of the deepest dye, while his +eyes, swollen by the tide of blood now rushing violently +to his face, appeared to be bursting from their sockets. +The shock was more than his delicate frame, exhausted as +it was by watching and fatigue, could bear. He tottered, +reeled, pressed his hand upon his head, and before any +one could render him assistance, fell senseless on the +ramparts. + +During the interval between Sir Everard Valletort's +exclamation, and the fall of Charles de Haldimar, the +men employed at the grave had performed their duty, and +were gazing with mingled astonishment and concern, both +on the body of their murdered officer, and on the dumb +scene acting around them. Two of these were now despatched +for a litter, with which they speedily re-appeared. On +this Charles de Haldimar, already delirious with the +fever of intense excitement, was carefully placed, and, +followed by Captain Blessington and Lieutenant Johnstone, +borne to his apartment in the small range of buildings +constituting the officers' barracks. Captain Erskine +undertook the disagreeable office of communicating these +distressing events to the governor; and the remainder of +the officers once more hastened to join or linger near +their respective companies, in readiness for the order +which it was expected would be given to despatch a numerous +party of the garrison to secure the body of Captain de +Haldimar. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The sun was just rising above the horizon, in all that +peculiar softness of splendour which characterises the +early days of autumn in America, as Captain Erskine led +his company across the drawbridge that communicated with +the fort. It was the first time it had been lowered since +the investment of the garrison by the Indians; and as +the dull and rusty chains performed their service with +a harsh and grating sound, it seemed as if an earnest +were given of melancholy boding. Although the distance +to be traversed was small, the risk the party incurred +was great; for it was probable the savages, ever on the +alert, would not suffer them to effect their object +unmolested. It was perhaps singular, and certainly +contradictory, that an officer of the acknowledged prudence +and forethought ascribed to the governor--qualities +which in a great degree neutralised his excessive severity +in the eyes of his troops--should have hazarded the +chance of having his garrison enfeebled by the destruction +of a part, if not of the whole, of the company appointed +to this dangerous duty; but with all his severity, Colonel +de Haldimar was not without strong affection for his +children. The feelings of the father, therefore, in a +great degree triumphed over the prudence of the commander; +and to shield the corpse of his son from the indignities +which he well knew would be inflicted on it by Indian +barbarity, he had been induced to accede to the earnest +prayer of Captain Erskine, that he might be permitted to +lead out his company for the purpose of securing the +body. Every means were, however, taken to cover the +advance, and ensure the retreat of the detachment. The +remainder of the troops were distributed along the rear of +the ramparts, with instructions to lie flat on their +faces until summoned by their officers from that position; +which was to be done only in the event of close pursuit +from the savages. Artillerymen were also stationed at +the several guns that flanked the rear of the fort, and +necessarily commanded both the common and the outskirt +of the forest, with orders to fire with grape-shot at a +given signal. Captain Erskine's instructions were, +moreover, if attacked, to retreat back under the guns of +the fort slowly and in good order, and without turning +his back upon the enemy. + +Thus confident of support, the party, after traversing +the drawbridge with fixed bayonets, inclined to the right, +and following the winding of the ditch by which it was +surrounded, made the semi-circuit of the rampart until +they gained the immediate centre of the rear, and in a +direct line with the bomb-proof. Here their mode of +advance was altered, to guard more effectually against +the enemy with whom they might possibly have to contend. +The front and rear ranks of the company, consisting in +all of ninety men, were so placed as to leave space in +the event of attack, of a portion of each wheeling inwards +so as to present in an instant three equal faces of a +square. As the rear was sufficiently covered by the +cannon of the fort to defeat any attempt to turn their +flanks, the manoeuvre was one that enabled them to present +a fuller front in whatever other quarter they might be +attacked; and had this additional advantage, that in the +advance by single files a narrower front was given to +the aim of the Indians, who, unless they fired in an +oblique direction, could only, of necessity, bring down +two men (the leading files) at a time. + +In this order, and anxiously overlooked by their comrades, +whose eyes alone peered from above the surface of the +rampart on which they lay prostrate, the detachment +crossed the common; one rank headed by Captain Erskine, +the other by Lieutenant Johnstone. They had now approached +within a few yards of the unfortunate victim, when Captain +Erskine commanded a halt of his party; and two files were +detached from the rear of each rank, to place the body +on a litter with which they had provided themselves. He +and Johnstone also moved in the same direction in advance +of the men, prepared to render assistance if required. +The corpse lay on its face, and in no way despoiled of +any of its glittering habiliments; a circumstance that +too well confirmed the fact of De Haldimar's death having +been accomplished by the ball from Sir Everard Valletort's +rifle. It appeared, however, the ill-fated officer had +struggled much in the agonies of death; for the left leg +was drawn Up into an unnatural state of contraction, and +the right hand, closely compressed, grasped a quantity +of grass and soil, which had evidently been torn up in +a paroxysm of suffering and despair. + +The men placed the litter at the side of the body, which +they now proceeded to raise. As they were in the act of +depositing it on this temporary bier, the plumed hat fell +from the head, and disclosed, to the astonishment of all, +the scalpless crown completely saturated in its own +clotted blood and oozing brains. + +An exclamation of horror and disgust escaped at the same +moment from the lips of the two officers, and the men +started back from their charge as if a basilisk had +suddenly appeared before them. Captain Erskine pursued:-- +"What the devil is the meaning of all this, Johnstone?" + +"What, indeed!" rejoined his lieutenant, with a shrug of +the shoulders, that was intended to express his inability +to form any opinion on the subject + +"Unless it should prove," continued Erskine, "as I +sincerely trust it may, that poor Valletort is not, after +all, the murderer of his friend. It must be so. De +Haldimar has been slain by the same Indian who killed +Murphy.--Do you recollect his scalp cry? He was in the +act of despoiling his victim of this trophy of success, +when Sir Everard fired. Examine the body well, Mitchell, +and discover where the wound lies." + +The old soldier to whom this order was addressed now +prepared, with the assistance of his comrades, to turn +the body upon its back, when suddenly the air was rent +with terrific yells, that seemed to be uttered in their +very ears, and in the next instant more than a hundred +dark and hideous savages sprang simultaneously to their +feet within the bomb-proof, while every tree along the +skirt of the forest gave back the towering form of a +warrior. Each of these, in addition to his rifle, was +armed with all those destructive implements of warfare +which render the Indians of America so formidable and so +terrible an enemy. + +"Stand to your arms, men," shouted Captain Erskine, +recovering from his first and unavoidable, though but +momentary, surprise. "First and fourth sections, on your +right and left backwards wheel:--Quick, men, within the +square, for your lives." As he spoke, he and Lieutenant +Johnstone sprang hastily back, and in time to obtain +admittance within the troops, who had rapidly executed +the manoeuvre commanded. Not so with Mitchell and his +companions. On the first alarm they had quitted the body +of the mutilated officer, and flown to secure their arms, +but even while in the act of stooping to take them up, +they had been grappled by a powerful and vindictive foe; +and the first thing they beheld on regaining their upright +position was a dusky Indian at the side, and a gleaming +tomahawk flashing rapidly round the head of each. + +"Fire not, on your lives," exclaimed Captain Erskine +hastily, as he saw several of the men in front levelling, +in the excitement of the moment, their muskets at the +threatening savages. "Prepare for attack," he pursued; +and in the next instant each man dropped on his right +knee, and a barrier of bristling bayonets seemed to rise +from the very bowels of the earth. Attracted by the +novelty of the sight, the bold and daring warriors, +although still retaining their firm grasp of the unhappy +soldiers, were for a moment diverted from their bloody +purpose, and temporarily suspended the quick and rotatory +motion of their weapons. Captain Erskine took advantage +of this pause to seize the halbert of one of his sergeants, +to the extreme point of which he hastily attached a white +pocket handkerchief, that was loosely thrust into the +breast of his uniform; this he waved on high three several +times, and then relinquishing the halbert, dropped also +on his knee within the square. + +"The dog of a Saganaw asks for mercy," said a voice from +within the bomb-proof, and speaking in the dialect of +the Ottawas. "His pale flag bespeaks the quailing of his +heart, and his attitude denotes the timidity of the hind. +His warriors are like himself, and even now upon their +knees they call upon their Manitou to preserve them from +the vengeance of the red-skins. But mercy is not for dogs +like these. Now is the time to make our tomahawks warm +in their blood; and every head that we count shall be a +scalp upon our war poles." + +As he ceased, one universal and portentous yell burst +from the fiend-like band; and again the weapons of death +were fiercely brandished around the heads of the stupified +soldiers who had fallen into their power. + +"What can they be about?" anxiously exclaimed Captain +Erskine, in the midst of this deafening clamour, to his +subaltern.--"Quiet, man; damn you, quiet, or I'll cut +you down," he pursued, addressing one of his soldiers, +whose impatience caused him to bring his musket half up +to the shoulder. And again he turned his head in the +direction of the fort:--"Thank God, here it comes at +last,--I feared my signal had not been noticed." + +While he yet spoke, the loud roaring of a cannon from +the ramparts was heard, and a shower of grape-shot passed +over the heads of the detachment, and was seen tearing +up the earth around the bomb-proof, and scattering +fragments of stone and wood into the air. The men +simultaneously and unbidden gave three cheers. + +In an instant the scene was changed. As if moved by some +mechanical impulse, the fierce band that lined the +bomb-proof sank below the surface, and were no longer +visible, while the warriors in the forest again sought +shelter behind the trees. The captured soldiers were also +liberated without injury, so sudden and startling had +been the terror produced in the savages by the lightning +flash that announced its heavy messengers of destruction. +Discharge after discharge succeeded without intermission; +but the guns had been levelled so high, to prevent injury +to their own men, they had little other effect than to +keep the Indians from the attack. The rush of bullets +through the close forest, and the crashing of trees and +branches as they fell with startling force upon each +other, were, with the peals of artillery, the only noises +now to be heard; for not a yell, not a word was uttered +by the Indians after the first discharge; and but for +the certainty that existed in every mind, it might have +been supposed the whole of them had retired. + +"Now is your time," cried Captain Erskine; "bring in the +litter to the rear, and stoop as much as possible to +avoid the shot." + +The poor half-strangled fellows, however, instead of +obeying the order of their captain, looked round in every +direction for the enemy by whom they had been so rudely +handled, and who had glided from them almost as +imperceptibly and swiftly as they had first approached. +It seemed as if they apprehended that any attempt to +remove the body would be visited by those fierce devils +with the same appalling and ferocious threatenings. + +"Why stand ye there, ye dolts," continued their captain, +"looking around as if ye were bewitched? Bring the litter +in to the rear.--Mitchell, you old fool, are you grown +a coward in your age? Are you not ashamed to set such an +example to your comrades?" + +The doubt thus implied of the courage of his men, who, +in fact, were merely stupified with the scene they had +gone through, had, as Captain Erskine expected, the +desired effect. They now bent themselves to the litter, +on which they had previously deposited their muskets, +and with a self-possession that contrasted singularly +with their recent air of wild astonishment, bore it to +the rear at the risk of being cut in two at every moment +by the fire from the fort. + +One fierce yell, instinctively proffered by several of +the lurking band in the forest, marked their disappointment +and rage at the escape of their victims; but all attempt +at uncovering themselves, so as to be enabled to fire, +was prevented by the additional showers of grape which +that yell immediately brought upon them. + +The position in which Captain Erskine now found himself +was highly critical. Before him, and on either flank, +was a multitude of savages, who only awaited the cessation +of the fire from the fort to commence their fierce and +impetuous attack. That that fire could not long be +sustained was evident, since ammunition could ill be +spared for the present inefficient purpose, where supplies +of all kinds were so difficult to be obtained; and, if +he should attempt a retreat, the upright position of his +men exposed them to the risk of being swept away by the +ponderous metal, that already fanned their cheeks with +the air it so rapidly divided. Suddenly, however, the +fire from the batteries was discontinued, and this he +knew to be a signal for himself. He gave an order in a +low voice, and the detachment quitted their recumbent +and defensive position, still remaining formed in square. +At the same instant, a gun flashed from the fort; but +not as before was heard the rushing sound of the destructive +shot crushing the trees in its resistless course. The +Indians took courage at this circumstance, for they deemed +the bullets of their enemies were expended; and that they +were merely discharging their powder to keep up the +apprehension originally produced. Again they showed +themselves, like so many demons, from behind their lurking +places; and yells and shouts of the most terrific and +threatening character once more rent the air, and echoed +through the woods. Their cries of anticipated triumph +were, however, but of short duration. Presently, a +hissing noise was heard in the air; and close to the +bomb-proof, and at the very skirt of the forest, they +beheld a huge globe of iron fall perpendicularly to the +earth, to the outer part of which was attached what they +supposed to be a reed, that spat forth innumerable sparks +of fire, without however, seeming to threaten the slightest +injury. Attracted by the novel sight, a dozen warriors +sprang to the spot, and fastened their gaze upon it with +all the childish wonder and curiosity of men in a savage +state. One, more eager and restless than his fellows, +stooped over it to feel with his hand of what it was +composed. At that moment it burst, and limbs, and head, +and entrails, were seen flying in the air, with the +fragments of the shell, and prostrate and struggling +forms lay writhing on every hand in the last, fierce +agonies of death. + +A yell of despair and a shout of triumph burst at the +same moment from the adverse parties. Taking advantage +of the terror produced, by this catastrophe, in the +savages, Captain Erskine caused the men bearing the corpse +to retreat, with all possible expedition, under the +ramparts of the fort. He waited until they got nearly +half way, and then threw forward the wheeling sections, +that had covered this movement, once more into single +file, in which order he commenced his retreat. Step by +step, and almost imperceptibly, the men paced backwards, +ready, at a moment's notice, to reform the square. Partly +recovered from the terror and surprise produced by the +bursting of the shell, the Indians were quick in perceiving +this movement: filled with rage at having been so long +baulked of their aim, they threw themselves once more +impetuously from their cover; and, with stimulating yells, +at length opened their fire. Several of Captain Erskine's +men were wounded by this discharge; when, again, and +furiously the cannon opened from the fort. It was then +that the superiority of the artillery was made manifest. +Both right and left of the retreating files the ponderous +shot flew heavily past, carrying death and terror to the +Indians; while not a man of those who intervened was +scathed or touched in its progress. The warriors in the +forest were once more compelled to shelter themselves +behind the trees; but in the bomb-proof, where they were +more secure, they were also more bold. From this a +galling fire, mingled with the most hideous yells, was +now kept up; and the detachment, in their slow retreat, +suffered considerably. Several men had been killed; and, +about twenty, including Lieutenant Johnstone, wounded, +when again, one of those murderous globes fell, hissing +in the very centre of the bomb-proof. In an instant, the +Indian fire was discontinued; and their dark and pliant +forms were seen hurrying with almost incredible rapidity +over the dilapidated walls, and flying into the very +heart of the forest, so that when the shell exploded, a +few seconds afterwards, not a warrior was to be seen. +From this moment the attack was not renewed, and Captain +Erskine made good his retreat without farther molestation. + +"Well, old buffers!" exclaimed one of the leading files, +as the detachment, preceded by its dead and wounded, now +moved along the moat in the direction of the draw-bridge, +"how did you like the grip of them black savages?--I say, +Mitchell, old Nick will scarcely know the face of you, +it's so much altered by fright.--Did you see," turning +to the man in his rear, "how harum-scarum he looked, when +the captain called out to him to come off?" + +"Hold your clapper, you spooney, and be damned to you!" +exclaimed the angry veteran.--"Had the Ingian fastened +his paw upon your ugly neck as he did upon mine, all the +pitiful life your mother ever put into you would have +been spirited away from very fear; so you needn't brag." + +"Sure, and if any of ye had a grain of spunk, ye would +have fired, and freed a fellow from the clutch of them +hell thieves," muttered another of the men at the litter. +"All the time, the devil had me by the throat, swinging +his tommyhawk about my head, I saw ye dancing up and down +in the heavens, instead of being on your marrow bones on +the common." + +"And didn't I want to do it?" rejoined the first speaker. +"Ask Tom Winkler here, if the captain didn't swear he'd +cut the soul out of my body if I even offered so much as +to touch the trigger of my musket." + +"Faith, and lucky he did," replied his covering man (for +the ranks had again joined), "since but for that, there +wouldn't be at this moment so much as a hair of the scalp +of one of you left." + +"And how so, Mr. Wiseacre?" rejoined his comrade. + +"How so! Because the first shot that we fired would have +set the devils upon them in right earnest--and then their +top-knots wouldn't have been worth a brass farthing. +They would have been scalped before they could say Jack +Robinson." + +"It was a hell of a risk," resumed another of the litter +men, "to give four men a chance of having their skull +pieces cracked open like so many egg-shells, and all to +get possession of a dead officer." + +"And sure, you beast," remarked a different voice in a +tone of anger, "the dead body of the brave captain was +worth a dozen such rotten carcasses with all the life in +them. What matter would it be if ye had all been scalped?" +Then with a significant half glance to the rear, which +was brought up by their commander, on whose arm leaned +the slightly wounded Johnstone, "Take care the captain +doesn't hear ye prating after that fashion, Will Burford." + +"By Jasus," said a good-humoured, quaint looking Irishman, +who had been fixing his eyes on the litter during this +pithy and characteristic colloquy; "it sames to me, my +boys, that ye have caught the wrong cow by the horns, +and that all your pains has been for nothing at all, at +all. By the holy pope, ye are all wrong; it's like bringing +salt butter to Cork, or coals to your Newcastle, as ye +call it. Who the divil ever heard of the officer wearing +ammunition shoes?" + +The men all turned their gaze on that part of the vestment +of the corpse to which their attention had been directed +by this remark, when it was at once perceived, although +it had hitherto escaped the observation even of the +officers, that, not only the shoes were those usually +worn by the soldiers, and termed ammunition or store +shoes, but also, the trowsers were of the description of +coarse grey, peculiar to that class. + +"By the piper that played before Moses, and ye're right, +Dick Doherty," exclaimed another Irishman; "sure, and it +isn't the officer at all! Just look at the great black +fist of him too, and never call me Phil Shehan, if it +ever was made for the handling of an officer's spit." + +"Well said, Shehan," observed the man who had so warmly +reproved Will Burford, and who had formerly been servant +to De Haldimar; "the captain's hand is as white and as +soft as my cross-belt, or, what's saying a great deal +more, as Miss Clara's herself, heaven bless her sweet +countenance! and Lieutenant Valletort's nigger's couldn't +well be much blacker nor this." + +"What a set of hignoramuses ye must be," grunted old +Mitchell, "not to see that the captain's hand is only +covered with dirt; and as for the ammunition shoes and +trowsers, why you know our officers wear any thing since +we have been cooped up in this here fort." + +"Yes, by the holy poker," (and here we must beg to refer +the reader to the soldier's vocabulary for any terms that +may be, in the course of this dialogue, incomprehensible +to him or her,)--"Yes, by the holy poker, off duty, if +they like it," returned Phil Shehan; "but it isn't even +the colonel's own born son that dare to do so while +officer of the guard." + +"Ye are right, comrade," said Burford; "there would soon +be hell and tommy to pay if he did." + +At this point of their conversation, one of the leading +men at the litter, in turning to look at its subject, +stumbled over the root of a stump that lay in his way, +and fell violently forward. The sudden action destroyed +the equilibrium of the corpse, which rolled off its +temporary bier upon the earth, and disclosed, for the +first time, a face begrimmed with masses of clotted blood, +which had streamed forth from the scalped brain during +the night. + +"It's the divil himself," said Phil Shehan, making the +sign of the cross, half in jest, half in earnest: "for +it isn't the captin at all, and who but the divil could +have managed to clap on his rigimintals?" + +"No, it's an Ingian," remarked Dick Burford, sagaciously; +"it's an Ingian that has killed the captain, and dressed +himself in his clothes. I thought he smelt strong, when +I helped to pick him up." + +"And that's the reason why the bloody heathens wouldn't +let us carry him off," said another of the litter men. +"I thought they wouldn't ha' made such a rout about the +officer, when they had his scalp already in their +pouch-belts." + +"What a set of prating fools ye are," interrupted the +leading sergeant; "who ever saw an Ingian with light +hair? and sure this hair in the neck is that of a +Christian." + +At that moment Captain Erskine, attracted by the sudden +halt produced by the falling of the body, came quickly +up to the front. + +"What is the meaning of all this, Cassidy?" he sternly +demanded of the sergeant; "why is this halt without my +orders, and how comes the body here?" + +"Carter stumbled against a root, sir, and the body rolled +over upon the ground." + +"And was the body to roll back again?" angrily rejoined +his captain.--"What mean ye, fellows, by standing there; +quick, replace it upon the litter, and mind this does +not occur again." + +"They say, sir," said the sergeant, respectfully, as the +men proceeded to their duty, "that it is not Captain de +Haldimar after all, but an Ingian." + +"Not Captain de Haldimar! are ye all mad? and have the +Indians, in reality, turned your brains with fear?" + +What, however, was his own surprise, and that of Lieutenant +Johnstone, when, on a closer examination of the corpse, +which the men had now placed with its face uppermost, +they discovered the bewildering fact that it was not, +indeed, Captain de Haldimar who lay before them, but a +stranger, dressed in the uniform of that officer. + +There was no time to solve, or even to dwell on the +singular mystery; for the Indians, though now retired, +might be expected to rally and renew the attack. Once +more, therefore, the detachment moved forward; the officers +dropping as before to the rear, to watch any movements +of the enemy should he re-appear. Nothing, however, +occurred to interrupt their march; and in a few minutes +the heavy clanking sound of the chains of the drawbridge, +as it was again raised by its strong pullies, and the +dull creaking sound of the rusty bolts and locks that +secured the ponderous gate, announced the detachment was +once more safely within the fort. + +While the wounded men were being conveyed to the hospital, +a group, comprising almost all the officers of the +garrison, hastened to meet Captain Erskine and Lieutenant +Johnstone. Congratulations on the escape of the one, +and compliments, rather than condolences, on the accident +of the other, which the arm en echarpe denoted to be +slight, were hastily and warmly proffered. These +felicitations were the genuine ebullitions of the hearts +of men who really felt a pride, unmixed with jealousy, +in the conduct of their fellows; and so cool and excellent +had been the manner in which Captain Erskine had +accomplished his object, that it had claimed the undivided +admiration of all who had been spectators of the affair, +and had, with the aid of their telescopes, been enabled +to follow the minutest movements of the detachment. + +"By heaven!" he at length replied, his chest swelling +with gratified pride at the warm and generous approval +of his companions, "this more than repays me for every +risk. Yet, to be sincere, the credit is not mine, but +Wentworth's. But for you, my dear fellow," grasping and +shaking the hand of that officer, "we should have rendered +but a Flemish account of ourselves. How beautifully those +guns covered our retreat! and the first mortar that sent +the howling devils flying in air like so many +Will-o'the-wisps, who placed that, Wentworth?" + +"I did," replied the officer, with a quickness that +denoted a natural feeling of exultation; "but Bombardier +Kitson's was the most effective. It was his shell that +drove the Indians finally out of the bomb-proof, and left +the coast clear for your retreat." + +"Then Kitson, and his gunners also, merit our best thanks," +pursued Captain Erskine, whose spirits, now that his +detachment was in safety, were more than usually exhilarated +by the exciting events of the last hour; "and what will +be more acceptable, perhaps, they shall each have a glass +of my best old Jamaica before they sleep,--and such stuff +is not to be met with every day in this wilderness of a +country. But, confound my stupid head! where are Charles +de Haldimar and Sir Everard Valletort?" + +"Poor Charles is in a high fever, and confined to his +bed," remarked Captain Blessington, who now came up adding +his congratulations in a low tone, that marked the +despondency of his heart; "and Sir Everard I have just +left on the rampart with the company, looking, as he well +may, the very image of despair." + +"Run to them, Sumners, my dear boy," said Erskine, hastily +addressing himself to a young ensign who stood near him; +"run quickly, and relieve them of their error. Say it is +not De Haldimar who has been killed, therefore they need +not make themselves any longer uneasy on that score." + +The officers gave a start of surprise. Sumners, however, +hastened to acquit himself of the pleasing task assigned +him, without waiting to hear the explanation of the +singular declaration. + +"Not De Haldimar!" eagerly and anxiously exclaimed Captain +Blessington; "who then have you brought to us in his +uniform, which I clearly distinguished from the rampart +as you passed? Surely you would not tamper with us at +such a moment, Erskine?" + +"Who it is, I know not more than Adam," rejoined the +other; "unless, indeed, it be the devil himself. All I +do know, is, it is not our friend De Haldimar; although, +as you observe, he most certainly wears his uniform. +But you shall see and judge for yourselves, gentlemen. +Sergeant Cassidy," he enquired of that individual, who +now came to ask if the detachment was to be dismissed, +"where have you placed the litter?" + +"Under the piazza of the guard-room, Sir," answered the +sergeant. + +These words had scarcely been uttered, when a general +and hasty movement of the officers, anxious to satisfy +themselves by personal observation it was not indeed De +Haldimar who had fallen, took place in the direction +alluded to, and in the next moment they were at the side +of the litter. + +A blanket had been thrown upon the corpse to conceal the +loathsome disfigurement of the face, over which masses +of thick coagulated blood were laid in patches and streaks, +that set all recognition at defiance. The formation of +the head alone, which was round and short, denoted it to +be not De Haldimar's. Not a feature was left undefiled; +and even the eyes were so covered, it was impossible to +say whether their lids were closed or open. More than +one officer's cheek paled with the sickness that rose to +his heart as he gazed on the hideous spectacle; yet, as +the curiosity of all was strongly excited to know who +the murdered man really was who had been so unaccountably +inducted in the uniform of their lost companion, they +were resolved to satisfy themselves without further delay. +A basin of warm water and a sponge were procured from +the guard-room of Ensign Fortescue, who now joined them, +and with these Captain Blessington proceeded to remove +the disguise. + +In the course of this lavation, it was discovered the +extraordinary flow of blood and brains had been produced +by the infliction of a deep wound on the back of the +head, by the sharp and ponderous tomahawk of an Indian. +It was the only blow that had been given; and the +circumstance of the deceased having been found lying on +his face, accounted for the quantity of gore, that, +trickling downwards, had so completely disguised every +feature. As the coat of thick encrusted matter gave way +beneath the frequent application of the moistening sponge, +the pallid hue of the countenance denoted the murdered +man to be a white. All doubt, however, was soon at an +end. The ammunition shoes, the grey trowsers, the coarse +linen, and the stiff leathern stock encircling the neck, +attested the sufferer to be a soldier of the garrison; +but it was not until the face had been completely denuded +of its unsightly covering, and every feature fully exposed, +that that soldier was at length recognised to be Harry +Donellan, the trusty and attached servant of Captain de +Haldimar. + +While yet the officers stood apart, gazing at the corpse, +and forming a variety of conjectures, as vague as they +were unsatisfactory, in regard to their new mystery, Sir +Everard Valletort, pale and breathless with the speed he +had used, suddenly appeared among them. + +"God of heaven! can it be true--and is it really not De +Haldimar whom I have shot?" wildly asked the agitated +young man. "Who is this, Erskine?" he continued, glancing +at the litter. "Explain, for pity's sake, and quickly." + +"Compose yourself, my dear Valletort," replied the officer +addressed. "You see this is not De Haldimar, but his +servant Donellan. Neither has the latter met his death +from your rifle; there is no mark of a bullet about him. +It was an Indian tomahawk that did his business; and I +will stake my head against a hickory nut the blow came +from the same rascal at whom you fired, and who gave back +the shot and the scalp halloo." + +This opinion was unanimously expressed by the remainder +of the officers. Sir Everard was almost as much overpowered +by his joy, as he had previously been overwhelmed by his +despair, and he grasped and shook the hand of Captain +Erskine, who had thus been the means of relieving his +conscience, with an energy of gratitude and feeling that +almost drew tears from the eyes of that blunt but gallant +officer. + +"Thank God, thank God!" he fervently exclaimed: "I have +not then even the death of poor Donellan to answer for;" +and hastening from the guard-room, he pursued his course +hurriedly and delightedly to the barrack-room of his +friend. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +The hour fixed for the trial of the prisoner Halloway +had now arrived, and the officers composing the court +were all met in the mess-room of the garrison, surrounding +a long table covered with green cloth, over which were +distributed pens, ink, and paper for taking minutes of +the evidence, and such notes of the proceedings as the +several members might deem necessary in the course of +the trial. Captain Blessington presided; and next him, +on either hand, were the first in seniority, the two +junior occupying the lowest places. The demeanour of the +several officers, serious and befitting the duty they +were met to perform, was rendered more especially solemn +from the presence of the governor, who sat a little to +the right of the president, and without the circle, +remained covered, and with his arms folded across his +chest. At a signal given by the president to the orderly +in waiting, that individual disappeared from the room, +and soon afterwards Frank Halloway, strongly ironed, as +on the preceding night, was ushered in by several files +of the guard, under Ensign Fortescue himself. + +The prisoner having been stationed a few paces on the +left of the president, that officer stood up to administer +the customary oath. His example was followed by the rest +of the court, who now rose, and extending each his right +hand upon the prayer book, repeated, after the president, +the form of words prescribed by military law. They then, +after successively touching the sacred volume with their +lips, once more resumed their seats at the table. + +The prosecutor was the Adjutant Lawson, who now handed +over to the president a paper, from which the latter +officer read, in a clear and distinct voice, the following +charges, viz.-- + +"1st. For having on the night of the --th September 1763, +while on duty at the gate of the Fortress of Detroit, +either admitted a stranger into the garrison himself, or +suffered him to obtain admission, without giving the +alarm, or using the means necessary to ensure his +apprehension, such conduct being treasonable, and in +breach of the articles of war. + +"2d. For having been accessary to the abduction of Captain +Frederick de Haldimar and private Harry Donellan, the +disappearance of whom from the garrison can only be +attributed to a secret understanding existing between +the prisoner and the enemy without the walls, such conduct +being treasonable, and in breach of the articles of war." + +"Private Frank Halloway," continued Captain Blessington, +after having perused these two short but important charges, +"you have heard what has been preferred against you; what +say you, therefore? Are you guilty, or not guilty?" + +"Not guilty," firmly and somewhat exultingly replied the +prisoner, laying his hand at the same time on his swelling +heart. + +"Stay, sir," sternly observed the governor, addressing +the president; "you have not read ALL the charges." + +Captain Blessington took up the paper from the table, on +which he had carelessly thrown it, after reading the +accusations above detailed, and perceived, for the first +time, that a portion had been doubled back. His eye now +glanced over a third charge, which had previously escaped +his attention. + +"Prisoner," he pursued, after the lapse of a minute, +"there is a third charge against you, viz. for having, +on the night of the --th Sept. 1763, suffered Captain +De Haldimar to unclose the gate of the fortress, and, +accompanied by his servant, private Harry Donellan, to +pass your post without the sanction of the governor, such +conduct being in direct violation of a standing order of +the garrison, and punishable with death." + +The prisoner started. "What!" he exclaimed, his cheek +paling for the first time with momentary apprehension; +"is this voluntary confession of my own to be turned into +a charge that threatens my life? Colonel de Haldimar, is +the explanation which I gave you only this very hour, +and in private, to be made the public instrument of my +condemnation? Am I to die because I had not firmness to +resist the prayer of my captain and of your son, Colonel +de Haldimar?" + +The president looked towards the governor, but a significant +motion of the head was the only reply; he proceeded,-- + +"Prisoner Halloway, what plead you to this charge? Guilty, +or not guilty?" + +"I see plainly," said Halloway, after the pause of a +minute, during which he appeared to be summoning all his +energies to his aid; "I see plainly that it is useless +to strive against my fate. Captain de Haldimar is not +here, and I must die. Still I shall not have the disgrace +of dying as a traitor, though I own I have violated the +orders of the garrison." + +"Prisoner," interrupted Captain Blessington, "whatever +you may have to urge, you had better reserve for your +defence. Meanwhile, what answer do you make to the last +charge preferred?--Are you guilty, or not guilty?" + +"Guilty," said Halloway, in a tone of mingled pride and +sorrow, "guilty of having listened to the earnest prayer +of my captain, and suffered him, in violation of my +orders, to pass my post. Of the other charges I am +innocent." + +The court listened with the most profound attention and +interest to the words of the prisoner, and they glanced +at each other in a manner that marked their sense of the +truth they attached to his declaration. + +"Halloway, prisoner," resumed Captain Blessington, mildly, +yet impressively; "recollect the severe penalty which +the third charge, no less than the others, entails, and +recall your admission. Be advised by me," he pursued, +observing his hesitation. "Withdraw your plea, then, and +substitute that of not guilty to the whole." + +"Captain Blessington," returned the prisoner with deep +emotion, "I feel all the kindness of your motive; and if +any thing can console me in my present situation, it is +the circumstance of having presiding at my trial an +officer so universally beloved by the whole corps. Still," +and again his voice acquired its wonted firmness, and +his cheek glowed with honest pride, "still, I say, I +scorn to retract my words. Of the two first charges I am +as innocent as the babe unborn. To the last I plead +guilty; and vain would it be to say otherwise, since the +gate was found open while I was on duty, and I know the +penalty attached to the disobedience of orders." + +After some further but ineffectual remonstrance on the +part of the president, the pleas of the prisoner were +recorded, and the examination commenced. Governor de +Haldimar was the first witness. + +That officer, having been sworn, stated, that on the +preceding night he had been intruded upon in his apartment +by a stranger, who could have obtained admission only +through the gate of the fortress, by which also he must +have made good his escape. That it was evident the prisoner +had been in correspondence with their enemies; since, on +proceeding to examine the gate it had been found unlocked, +while the confusion manifested by him on being accused, +satisfied all who were present of the enormity of his +guilt. Search had been made every where for the keys, +but without success. + +The second charge was supported by presumptive evidence +alone; for although the governor swore to the disappearance +of his son, and the murder of his servant, and dwelt +emphatically on the fact of their having been forcibly +carried off with the connivance of the prisoner, still +there was no other proof of this, than the deductions +drawn from the circumstances already detailed. To meet +this difficulty, however, the third charge had been +framed. + +In proof of this the governor stated, that the prisoner, +on being interrogated by him immediately subsequent to +his being relieved from his post, had evinced such +confusion and hesitation, as to leave no doubt whatever +of his guilt; that, influenced by the half promise of +communication, which the court had heard as well as +himself, he had suffered the trial of the prisoner to be +delayed until the present hour, strongly hoping he might +then be induced to reveal the share he had borne in these +unworthy and treasonable practices; that, with a view to +obtain this disclosure, so essential to the safety of +the garrison, he had, conjointly with Major Blackwater, +visited the cell of the prisoner, to whom he related the +fact of the murder of Donellan, in the disguise of his +master's uniform, conjuring him, at the same time, if he +regarded his own life, and the safety of those who were +most dear to him, to give a clue to the solution of this +mysterious circumstance, and disclose the nature and +extent of his connection with the enemy without; that +the prisoner however resolutely denied, as before, the +guilt imputed to him, but having had time to concoct a +plausible story, stated, (doubtless with a view to shield +himself from the severe punishment he well knew to be +attached to his offence,) that Captain de Haldimar himself +had removed the keys from the guard-room, opened the gate +of the fortress, and accompanied by his servant, dressed +in a coloured coat, had sallied forth upon the common. +"And this," emphatically pursued the governor, "the prisoner +admits he permitted, although well aware that, by an +order of long standing for the security of the garrison, +such a fragrant dereliction of his duty subjected him to +the punishment of death." + +Major Blackwater was the next witness examined. His +testimony went to prove the fact of the gate having been +found open, and the confusion manifested by the prisoner. +It also substantiated that part of the governor's evidence +on the third charge, which related to the confession +recently made by Halloway, on which that charge had been +framed. + +The sergeant of the guard, and the governor's orderly +having severally corroborated the first portions of Major +Blackwater's evidence, the examination on the part of +the prosecution terminated; when the president called on +the prisoner Halloway for his defence. The latter, in a +clear, firm, and collected tone, and in terms that +surprised his auditory, thus addressed the Court:-- + +"Mr. President, and gentlemen,--Although, standing before +you in the capacity of a private soldier, and, oh! bitter +and humiliating reflection, in that most wretched and +disgraceful of all situations, a suspected traitor, I am +not indeed what I seem to be. It is not for me here to +enter into the history of my past life; neither will I +tarnish the hitherto unsullied reputation of my family +by disclosing my true name. Suffice it to observe, I am +a gentleman by birth; and although, of late years, I have +known all the hardships and privations attendant on my +fallen fortunes, I was once used to bask in the luxuries +of affluence, and to look upon those who now preside in +judgment over me as my equals. A marriage of affection,--a +marriage with one who had nothing but her own virtues +and her own beauty to recommend her, drew upon me the +displeasure of my family, and the little I possessed, +independently of the pleasure of my relations, was soon +dissipated. My proud soul scorned all thought of +supplication to those who had originally spurned my wife +from their presence; and yet my heart bled for the +privations of her who, alike respectable in family, was, +both from sex and the natural delicacy, of her frame, so +far less constituted to bear up against the frowns of +adversity than myself. Our extremity had now become +great,--too great for human endurance; when, through the +medium of the public prints, I became acquainted with +the glorious action that had been fought in this country +by the army under General Wolfe. A new light burst suddenly +upon my mind, and visions of after prosperity constantly +presented themselves to my view. The field of honour was +open before me, and there was a probability I might, by +good conduct, so far merit the approbation of my superiors, +as to obtain, in course of time, that rank among themselves +to which by birth and education I was so justly entitled +to aspire. Without waiting to consult my Ellen, whose +opposition I feared to encounter until opposition would +be fruitless, I hastened to Lieutenant Walgrave, the +recruiting officer of the regiment,--tendered my +services,--was accepted and approved,--received the bounty +money,--and became definitively a soldier, under the +assumed name of Frank Halloway. + +"It would be tedious and impertinent, gentlemen," resumed +the prisoner, after a short pause, "to dwell on the +humiliations of spirit to which both my wife and myself +were subjected at our first introduction to our new +associates, who, although invariably kind to us, were, +nevertheless, ill suited, both by education and habit, +to awaken any thing like congeniality of feeling or +similarity of pursuit. Still we endeavoured, as much as +possible, to lessen the distance that existed between +us; and from the first moment of our joining the regiment, +determined to adopt the phraseology and manners of those +with whom an adverse destiny had so singularly connected +us. In this we succeeded; for no one, up to the present +moment, has imagined either my wife or myself to be other +than the simple and unpretending Frank and Ellen Halloway. + +"On joining the regiment in this country," pursued the +prisoner, after another pause, marked by much emotion, +"I had the good fortune to be appointed to the grenadier +company. Gentlemen, you all know the amiable qualities +of Captain de Haldimar. But although, unlike yourselves, +I have learnt to admire that officer only at a distance, +my devotion to his interests has been proportioned to +the kindness with which I have ever been treated by him; +and may I not add, after this avowal of my former condition, +my most fervent desire has all along been to seize the +first favourable opportunity of performing some action +that would eventually elevate me to a position in which +I might, without blushing for the absence of the ennobling +qualities of birth and condition, avow myself his friend, +and solicit that distinction from my equal which was +partially extended to me by my superior? The opportunity +I sought was not long wanting. At the memorable affair +with the French general, Levi, at Quebec, in which our +regiment bore so conspicuous a part, I had the good +fortune to save the life of my captain. A band of Indians, +as you all, gentlemen, must recollect, had approached +our right flank unperceived, and while busily engaged +with the French in front, we were compelled to divide +our fire between them and our new and fierce assailants. +The leader of that band was a French officer, who seemed +particularly to direct his attempts against the life of +Captain de Haldimar. He was a man of powerful proportions +and gigantic stature--" + +"Hold!" said the governor, starting suddenly from the +seat in which he had listened with evident impatience to +this long outline of the prisoner's history. "Gentlemen," +addressing the court, "that is the very stranger who was +in my apartment last night,--the being with whom the +prisoner is evidently in treacherous correspondence, and +all this absurd tale is but a blind to deceive your +judgment, and mitigate his own punishment. Who is there +to prove the man he has just described was the same who +aimed at Captain de Haldimar's life at Quebec?" + +A flush of deep indignation overspread the features of +the prisoner, whose high spirit, now he had avowed his +true origin, could ill brook the affront thus put upon +his veracity. + +"Colonel de Haldimar!" he proudly replied, while his +chains clanked with the energy and force with which he +drew up his person into an attitude of striking dignity; +"for once I sink the private soldier, and address you in +the character of the gentleman and your equal. I have +a soul, Sir, notwithstanding my fallen fortunes, as keenly +alive to honour as your own; and not even to save my +wretched life, would I be guilty of the baseness you now +attribute to me. You have asked," he pursued, in a more +solemn tone, "what proof I have to show this individual +to be the same who attempted the life of Captain de +Haldimar. To Captain de Haldimar himself, should Providence +have spared his days, I shall leave the melancholy task +of bearing witness to all I here advance, when I shall +be no more. Nay, Sir," and his look partook at once of +mingled scorn and despondency, "well do I know the fate +that awaits me; for in these proceedings--in that third +charge--I plainly read my death-warrant. But what, save +my poor and wretched wife, have I to regret? Colonel de +Haldimar," he continued, with a vehemence meant to check +the growing weakness which the thought of his unfortunate +companion called up to his heart, "I saved the life of +your son, even by your own admission, no matter whose +the arm that threatened his existence; and in every other +action in which I have been engaged, honourable mention +has ever been made of my conduct. Now, Sir, I ask what +has been my reward? So far from attending to the repeated +recommendations of my captain for promotion, even in a +subordinate rank, have you once deemed it necessary to +acknowledge my services by even a recognition of them in +any way whatever?" + +"Mr. President, Captain Blessington," interrupted the +governor, haughtily, "are we met here to listen to such +language from a private soldier? You will do well, Sir, +to exercise your prerogative, and stay such impertinent +matter, which can have no reference whatever to the +defence of the prisoner." + +"Prisoner," resumed the president, who, as well as the +other members of the court, had listened with the most +profound and absorbing interest to the singular disclosure +of him whom they still only knew as Frank Halloway, "this +language cannot be permitted; you must confine yourself +to your defence." + +"Pardon me, gentlemen," returned Halloway, in his usual +firm but respectful tone of voice; "pardon me, if, standing +on the brink of the grave as I do, I have so far forgotten +the rules of military discipline as to sink for a moment +the soldier in the gentleman; but to be taxed with an +unworthy fabrication, and to be treated with contumely +when avowing the secret of my condition, was more than +human pride and human feeling could tolerate." + +"Confine yourself, prisoner, to your defence," again +remarked Captain Blessington, perceiving the restlessness +with which the governor listened to these bold and +additional observations of Halloway. + +Again the governor interposed:--"What possible connexion +can there be between this man's life, and the crime with +which he stands charged? Captain Blessington, this is +trifling with the court, who are assembled to try the +prisoner for his treason, and not to waste their time in +listening to a history utterly foreign to the subject." + +"The history of my past life--Colonel de Haldimar," +proudly returned the prisoner, "although tedious and +uninteresting to you, is of the utmost importance to +myself; for on that do I ground the most essential part +of my defence. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence +against me on the two first charges; and as those alone +can reflect dishonour on my memory, it is for the wisdom +of this court to determine whether that evidence is to +be credited in opposition to the solemn declaration of +him, who, in admitting one charge, equally affecting his +life with the others, repudiates as foul those only which +would attaint his honour. Gentlemen," he pursued, addressing +the court, "it is for you to determine whether my defence +is to be continued or not; yet, whatever be my fate, I +would fain remove all injurious impression from the minds +of my judges; and this can only be done by a simple detail +of circumstances, which may, by the unprejudiced, be as +simply believed." + +Here the prisoner paused: when, after some low and earnest +conversation among the members of the court, two or three +slips of written paper were passed to the President. He +glanced his eye hurriedly over them, and then directed +Halloway to proceed with his defence. + +"I have stated," pursued the interesting soldier, "that +the officer who led the band of Indians was a man of +gigantic stature, and of apparently great strength. My +attention was particularly directed to him from this +circumstance, and as I was on the extreme flank of the +grenadiers, and close to Captain de Haldimar, had every +opportunity of observing his movements principally pointed +at that officer. He first discharged a carbine, the ball +of which killed a man of the company at his (Captain de +Haldimar's) side; and then, with evident rage at having +been defeated in his aim, he took a pistol from his belt, +and advancing with rapid strides to within a few paces +of his intended victim, presented it in the most deliberate +manner. At that moment, gentlemen, (and it was but the +work of a moment,) a thousand confused and almost +inexplicable feelings rose to my heart. The occasion I +had long sought was at length within my reach; but even +the personal considerations, which had hitherto influenced +my mind, were sunk in the anxious desire I entertained +to preserve the life of an officer so universally beloved, +and so every way worthy of the sacrifice. While yet the +pistol remained levelled, I sprang before Captain de +Haldimar, received the ball in my breast, and had just +strength sufficient to fire my musket at this formidable +enemy when I sank senseless to the earth. + +"It will not be difficult for you, gentlemen, who have +feeling minds, to understand the pleasurable pride with +which, on being conveyed to Captain de Haldimar's own +apartments in Quebec, I found myself almost overwhelmed +by the touching marks of gratitude showered on me by his +amiable relatives. Miss Clara de Haldimar, in particular, +like a ministering angel, visited my couch of suffering +at almost every hour, and always provided with some little +delicacy, suitable to my condition, of which I had long +since tutored myself to forget even the use. But what +principally afforded me pleasure, was to remark the +consolations which she tendered to my poor drooping Ellen, +who, already more than half subdued by the melancholy +change in our condition in life, frequently spent hours +together in silent grief at the side of my couch, and +watching every change in my countenance with all the +intense anxiety of one who feels the last stay on earth +is about to be severed for ever. Ah! how I then longed +to disclose to this kind and compassionating being the +true position of her on whom she lavished her attention, +and to make her known, not as the inferior honored by +her notice, but as the equal alike worthy of her friendship +and deserving of her esteem; but the wide, wide barrier +that divided the wife of the private soldier from the +daughter and sister of the commissioned officer sealed +my lips, and our true condition continued unrevealed. + +"Gentlemen," resumed Halloway, after a short pause, "if +I dwell on these circumstances, it is with a view to show +how vile are the charges preferred against me. Is it +likely, with all the incentives to good conduct I have +named, I should have proved a traitor to my country? And, +even if so, what to gain, I would ask; and by what means +was a correspondence with the enemy to be maintained by +one in my humble station? As for the second charge, how +infamous, how injurious is it to my reputation, how +unworthy to be entertained! From the moment of my recovery +from that severe wound, every mark of favour that could +be bestowed on persons in our situation had been extended +to my wife and myself, by the family of Colonel de +Haldimar; and my captain, knowing me merely as the simple +and low born Frank Halloway, although still the preserver +of his life, has been unceasing in his exertions to obtain +such promotion as he thought my conduct generally, +independently of my devotedness to his person, might +claim. How these applications were met, gentlemen, I have +already stated; but notwithstanding Colonel de Haldimar +has never deemed me worthy of the promotion solicited, +that circumstance could in no way weaken my regard and +attachment for him who had so often demanded it. How +then, in the name of heaven, can a charge so improbable, +so extravagant, as that of having been instrumental in +the abduction of Captain de Haldimar, be entertained? +and who is there among you, gentlemen, who will for one +moment believe I could harbour a thought so absurd as +that of lending myself to the destruction of one for whom +I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice of my blood? +And now," pursued the prisoner, after another short pause, +"I come to the third charge,--that charge which most +affects my life, but impugns neither my honour nor my +fidelity. That God, before whom I know I shall shortly +appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement, and +before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to +relate is true. + +"Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I +heard a voice distinctly on the outside of the rampart, +near my post, calling in a low and subdued tone on the +name of Captain de Haldimar. The accents, hastily and +anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female. +For a moment I continued irresolute how to act, and +hesitated whether or not I should alarm the garrison; +but, at length, presuming it was some young female of +the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it +occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize +that officer himself. While I yet hesitated whether to +leave my post for a moment for the purpose, a man crossed +the parade a few yards in my front; it was Captain de +Haldimar's servant, Donellan, then in the act of carrying +some things from his master's apartment to the guard-room. +I called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished +to see the captain of the guard immediately. In the course +of a few minutes he came up to my post, when I told him +what I had heard. At that moment, the voice again repeated +his name, when he abruptly left me and turned to the left +of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart. Soon +afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above +me, sharply calling out 'Hist, hist!' as if the person +on the outside, despairing of success, was in the act of +retreating. A moment or two of silence succeeded, when +a low conversation ensued between the parties. The distance +was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds; +yet it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but +in the language of the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with +which, as you are well aware, gentlemen, Captain de +Haldimar is familiar. This had continued about ten minutes, +when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the +rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house. +Soon afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my +post, accompanied by his servant Donellan; the former +had the keys of the gate in his hand, and he told me that +he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some business +of the last importance to the safety of the garrison. + +"At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe +penalty attached to the infringement of an order, the +observation of which had so especially been insisted upon +by the governor, whose permission, however, I ventured +respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be +obtained, if the business was really of the importance +he described it. Captain de Haldimar, however, declared +he well knew the governor would not accord that permission, +unless he was positively acquainted with the nature and +extent of the danger to be apprehended; and of these, he +said, he was not himself sufficiently aware. All argument +of this nature proving ineffectual, he attempted to +enforce his authority, not only in his capacity of officer +of the guard, but also as my captain, ordering me, on +pain of confinement, not to interfere with or attempt to +impede his departure. This, however, produced no better +result; for I knew that, in this instance, I was amenable +to the order of the governor alone, and I again firmly +refused to violate my duty. + +"Finding himself thwarted in his attempt to enforce my +obedience, Captain de Haldimar, who seemed much agitated +and annoyed by what he termed my obstinacy, now descended +to entreaty; and in the name of that life which I had +preserved to him, and of that deep gratitude which he +had ever since borne to me, conjured me not to prevent +his departure. 'Halloway,' he urged, 'your life, my +life, my father's life,--the life of my sister Clara +perhaps, who nursed you in illness, and who has ever +treated your wife with attention and kindness,--all these +depend upon your compliance with my request. 'Hear me,' +he pursued, following up the impression which he clearly +perceived he had produced in me by this singular and +touching language: 'I promise to be back within the hour; +there is no danger attending my departure, and here will +I be before you are relieved from your post; no one can +know I have been absent, and your secret will remain with +Donellan and myself. Do you think,' he concluded, 'I +would encourage a soldier of my regiment to disobey a +standing order of the garrison, unless there was some +very extraordinary reason for my so doing? But there is +no time to be lost in parley. Halloway! I entreat you +to offer no further opposition to my departure. I pledge +myself to be back before you are relieved.'" + +"Gentlemen," impressively continued the prisoner, after +a pause, during which each member of the court seemed to +breathe for the first time, so deeply had the attention +of all been riveted by the latter part of this singular +declaration, "how, under these circumstances, could I be +expected to act? Assured by Captain de Haldimar, in the +most solemn manner, that the existence of those most dear +to his heart hung on my compliance with his request, how +could I refuse to him, whose life I had saved, and whose +character I so much esteemed, a boon so earnestly, nay, +so imploringly solicited? I acceded to his prayer, +intimating, at the same time, if he returned not before +another sentinel should relieve me, the discovery of my +breach of duty must be made, and my punishment inevitable. +His last words, however, were to assure me he should +return at the hour he had named, and when I closed the +gate upon him it was under the firm impression his absence +would only prove of the temporary nature he had +stated.--Gentlemen," abruptly concluded Halloway, "I have +nothing further to add; if I have failed in my duty as +a soldier, I have, at least, fulfilled that of a man; +and although the violation of the first entail upon me +the punishment of death, the motives which impelled me +to that violation will not, I trust, be utterly lost +sight of by those by whom my punishment is to be awarded." + +The candid, fearless, and manly tone in which Halloway +had delivered this long and singular statement, however +little the governor appeared to be affected by it, +evidently made a deep impression on the court, who had +listened with undiverted attention to the close. Some +conversation again ensued, in a low tone, among several +members, when two slips of written paper were passed up, +as before, to the president. These elicited the following +interrogatories:-- + +"You have stated, prisoner, that Captain de Haldimar left +the fort accompanied by his servant Donellan. How were +they respectively dressed?" + +"Captain de Haldimar in his uniform; Donellan, as far as +I could observe, in his regimental clothing also, with +this difference, that he wore his servant's round glazed +hat and his grey great coat." + +"How then do you account for the extraordinary circumstance +of Donellan having been found murdered in his master's +clothes? Was any allusion made to a change of dress before +they left the fort?" + +"Not the slightest," returned the prisoner; "nor can I +in any way account for this mysterious fact. When they +quitted the garrison, each wore the dress I have described." + +"In what manner did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan +effect their passage across the ditch?" continued the +president, after glancing at the second slip of paper. +"The draw-bridge was evidently not lowered, and there +were no other means at hand to enable him to effect his +object with promptitude. How do you explain this, prisoner?" + +When this question was put, the whole body of officers, +and the governor especially, turned their eyes +simultaneously on Halloway, for on his hesitation or +promptness in replying seemed to attach much of the credit +they were disposed to accord his statement. Halloway +observed it, and coloured. His reply, however, was free, +unfaltering, and unstudied. + +"A rope with which Donellan had provided himself, was +secured to one of the iron hooks that support the pullies +immediately above the gate. With this they swung themselves +in succession to the opposite bank." + +The members of the court looked at each other, apparently +glad that an answer so confirmatory of the truth of the +prisoner's statement, had been thus readily given. + +"Were they to have returned in the same manner?" pursued +the president, framing his interrogatory from the contents +of another slip of paper, which, at the suggestion of +the governor, had been passed to him by the prosecutor, +Mr. Lawson. + +"They were," firmly replied the prisoner. "At least I +presumed they were, for, I believe in the hurry of Captain +de Haldimar's departure, he never once made any direct +allusion to the manner of his return; nor did it occur +to me until this moment how they were to regain possession +of the rope, without assistance from within." + +"Of course," observed Colonel de Haldimar, addressing +the president, "the rope still remains. Mr. Lawson, +examine the gate, and report accordingly." + +The adjutant hastened to acquit himself of this laconic +order, and soon afterwards returned, stating not only +that there was no rope, but that the hook alluded to had +disappeared altogether. + +For a moment the cheek of the prisoner paled; but it was +evidently less from any fear connected with his individual +existence, than from the shame he felt at having been +detected in a supposed falsehood. He however speedily +recovered his self-possession, and exhibited the same +character of unconcern by which his general bearing +throughout the trial had been distinguished. + +On this announcement of the adjutant, the governor betrayed +a movement of impatience, that was meant to convey his +utter disbelief of the whole of the prisoner's statement, +and his look seemed to express to the court it should +also arrive, and without hesitation, at the same conclusion. +Even all authoritative as he was, however, he felt that +military etiquette and strict discipline prevented his +interfering further in this advanced state of the +proceedings. + +"Prisoner," again remarked Captain Blessington, "your +statement in regard to the means employed by Captain de +Haldimar in effecting his departure, is, you must admit, +unsupported by appearances. How happens it the rope is +no longer where you say it was placed? No one could have +removed it but yourself. Have you done so? and if so, +can you produce it, or say where it is to be found?" + +"Captain Blessington," replied Halloway, proudly, yet +respectfully, "I have already invoked that great Being, +before whose tribunal I am so shortly to appear, in +testimony of the truth of my assertion; and again, in +his presence, do I repeat, every word I have uttered is +true. I did not remove the rope, neither do I know what +is become of it. I admit its disappearance is extraordinary, +but a moment's reflection must satisfy the court I would +not have devised a tale, the falsehood of which could at +once have been detected on an examination such as that +which has just been instituted. When Mr. Lawson left this +room just now, I fully expected he would have found the +rope lying as it had been left. What has become of it, +I repeat, I know not; but in the manner I have stated +did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan cross the ditch. I +have nothing further to add," he concluded once more, +drawing up his fine tall person, the native elegance of +which could not be wholly disguised even in the dress of +a private soldier; "nothing further to disclose. Yet do +I repel with scorn the injurious insinuation against my +fidelity, suggested in these doubts. I am prepared to +meet my death as best may become a soldier, and, let me +add, as best may become a proud and well born gentleman; +but humanity and common justice should at least be accorded +to my memory. I am an unfortunate man, but no traitor." + +The members were visibly impressed by the last sentences +of the prisoner. No further question however was asked, +and he was again removed by the escort, who had been +wondering spectators of the scene, to the cell he had so +recently occupied. The room was then cleared of the +witnesses and strangers, the latter comprising nearly +the whole of the officers off duty, when the court +proceeded to deliberate on the evidence, and pass sentence +on the accused. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Although the young and sensitive De Haldimar had found +physical relief in the summary means resorted to by the +surgeon, the moral wound at his heart not only remained +unsoothed, but was rendered more acutely painful by the +wretched reflections, which, now that he had full leisure +to review the past, and anticipate the future in all the +gloom attached to both, so violently assailed him. From +the moment when his brother's strange and mysterious +disappearance had been communicated by the adjutant in +the manner we have already seen, his spirits had been +deeply and fearfully depressed. Still he had every reason +to expect, from the well-known character of Halloway, +the strong hope expressed by the latter might be realised; +and that, at the hour appointed for trial, his brother +would be present to explain the cause of his mysterious +absence, justify the conduct of his subordinate, and +exonerate him from the treachery with which he now stood +charged. Yet, powerful as this hope was, it was unavoidably +qualified by dispiriting doubt; for a nature affectionate +and bland, as that of Charles de Haldimar, could not but +harbour distrust, while a shadow of uncertainty, in regard +to the fate of a brother so tenderly loved, remained. He +had forced himself to believe as much as possible what +he wished, and the effort had, to a certain extent +succeeded; but there had been something so solemn and so +impressive in the scene that had passed when the prisoner +was first brought up for trial, something so fearfully +prophetic in the wild language of his unhappy wife, he +had found it impossible to resist the influence of the +almost superstitious awe they had awakened in his heart. + +What the feelings of the young officer were subsequently, +when in the person of the murdered man on the common, +the victim of Sir Everard Valletort's aim, he recognised +that brother, whose disappearance had occasioned him so +much inquietude, we shall not attempt to describe: their +nature is best shown in the effect they produced--the +almost overwhelming agony of body and mind, which had +borne him, like a stricken plant, unresisting to the +earth. But now that, in the calm and solitude of his +chamber, he had leisure to review the fearful events +conspiring to produce this extremity, his anguish of +spirit was even deeper than when the first rude shock of +conviction had flashed upon his understanding. A tide of +suffering, that overpowered, without rendering him sensible +of its positive and abstract character, had, in the first +instance, oppressed his faculties, and obscured his +perception; but now, slow, sure, stinging, and gradually +succeeding each other, came every bitter thought and +reflection of which that tide was composed; and the +generous heart of Charles de Haldimar was a prey to +feelings that would have wrung the soul, and wounded the +sensibilities of one far less gentle and susceptible than +himself. + +Between Sir Everard Valletort and Charles de Haldimar, +who, it has already been remarked, were lieutenants in +Captain Blessington's company, a sentiment of friendship +had been suffered to spring up almost from the moment of +Sir Everard's joining. The young men were nearly of the +same age; and although the one was all gentleness, the +other all spirit and vivacity, not a shade of disunion +had at any period intervened to interrupt the almost +brotherly attachment subsisting between them, and each +felt the disposition of the other was the one most +assimilated to his own. In fact, Sir Everard was far from +being the ephemeral character he was often willing to +appear. Under a semblance of affectation, and much assumed +levity of manner, never, however, personally offensive, +he concealed a brave, generous, warm, and manly heart, +and talents becoming the rank he held in society, such +as would not have reflected discredit on one numbering +twice his years. He had entered the army, as most young +men of rank usually did at that period, rather for the +agremens it held forth, than with any serious view to +advancement in it as a profession. Still he entertained +the praiseworthy desire of being something more than what +is, among military men, emphatically termed a feather-bed +soldier; and, contrary to the wishes of his fashionable +mother, who would have preferred seeing him exhibit his +uniform in the drawing-rooms of London, had purchased +the step into his present corps from a cavalry regiment +at home. Not that we mean, however, to assert he was not +a feather-bed soldier in its more literal sense: no man +that ever glittered in gold and scarlet was fonder of a +feather-bed than the young baronet; and, in fact, his +own observations, recorded in the early part of this +volume, sufficiently prove his predilection for an +indulgence which, we take it, in no way impugned his +character as a soldier. Sir Everard would have fought +twenty battles in the course of the month, if necessary, +and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his +service, provided only he had been suffered to press his +downy couch to what is termed a decent hour in the day. +But he had an innate and, perhaps, it may be, an instinctive +horror of drills and early rising; a pastime in which +the martinets and disciplinarians of the last century +were very much given to indulge. He frequently upheld an +opinion that must have been little less than treason in +the eyes of a commander so strict as Colonel de Haldimar, +that an officer who rose at eight, with all his faculties +refreshed and invigorated, might evince as much of the +true bearing of the soldier in the field, as he who, +having quitted his couch at dawn, naturally felt the +necessity of repose at a moment when activity and exertion +were most required. + +We need scarcely state, Sir Everard's theories on this +important subject were seldom reduced to practice; for, +even long before the Indians had broken out into open +acts of hostility, when such precautions were rendered +indispensable, Colonel de Haldimar had never suffered +either officer or man to linger on his pillow after the +first faint dawn had appeared. This was a system to which +Sir Everard could never reconcile himself. He had quitted +England with a view to active service abroad, it is true, +but he had never taken "active service" in its present +literal sense, and, as he frequently declared to his +companions, he preferred giving an Indian warrior a chance +for his scalp any hour after breakfast, to rising at +daybreak, when, from very stupefaction, he seldom knew +whether he stood on his head or his heels. "If the men +must be drilled," he urged, "with a view to their health +and discipline, why not place them under the direction +of the adjutant or the officer of the day, whoever he +might chance to be, and not unnecessarily disturb a body +of gentlemen from their comfortable slumbers at that +unconscionable hour?" Poor Sir Everard! this was the +only grievance of which he complained, and he complained +bitterly. Scarcely a morning passed without his inveighing +loudly against the barbarity of such a custom; threatening +at the same time, amid the laughter of his companions, +to quit the service in disgust at what he called so +ungentlemanly and gothic a habit. All he waited for, he +protested, was to have an opportunity of bearing away +the spoils of some Indian chief, that, on his return to +England, he might afford his lady mother an opportunity +of judging with her own eyes of the sort of enemy he had +relinquished the comforts of home to contend against, +and exhibiting to her very dear friends the barbarous +proofs of the prowess of her son. Though these observations +were usually made half in jest half in earnest, there +was no reason to doubt the young and lively baronet was, +in truth, heartily tired of a service which seemed to +offer nothing but privations and annoyances, unmixed with +even the chances of obtaining those trophies to which he +alluded; and, but for two motives, there is every +probability he would have seriously availed himself of +the earliest opportunity of retiring. The first of these +was his growing friendship for the amiable and gentle +Charles de Haldimar; the second the secret, and scarcely +to himself acknowledged, interest which had been created +in his heart for his sister Clara; whom he only knew from +the glowing descriptions of his friend, and the strong +resemblance she was said to bear to him by the other +officers. + +Clara de Haldimar was the constant theme of her younger +brother's praise. Her image was ever uppermost in his +thoughts--her name ever hovering on his lips; and when +alone with his friend Valletort, it was his delight to +dwell on the worth and accomplishments of his amiable +and beloved sister. Then, indeed, would his usually calm +blue eye sparkle with the animation of his subject, while +his colouring cheek marked all the warmth and sincerity +with which he bore attestation to her gentleness and her +goodness. The heart of Charles de Haldimar, soldier as +he was, was pure, generous, and unsophisticated as that +of the sister whom he so constantly eulogized; and, while +listening to his eloquent praises, Sir Everard learnt to +feel an interest in a being whom all had declared to be +the counterpart of her brother, as well in personal +attraction as in singleness of nature. With all his +affected levity, and notwithstanding his early initiation +into fashionable life--that matter-of-fact life which +strikes at the existence of our earlier and dearer +illusions--there was a dash of romance in the character +of the young baronet which tended much to increase the +pleasure he always took in the warm descriptions of his +friend. The very circumstance of her being personally +unknown to him, was, with Sir Everard, an additional +motive for interest in Miss de Haldimar. + +Imagination and mystery generally work their way together; +and as there was a shade of mystery attached to Sir +Everard's very ignorance of the person of one whom he +admired and esteemed from report alone, imagination was +not slow to improve the opportunity, and to endow the +object with characteristics, which perhaps a more intimate +knowledge of the party might have led him to qualify. In +this manner, in early youth, are the silken and willing +fetters of the generous and the enthusiastic forged. We +invest some object, whose praises, whispered secretly in +the ear, have glided imperceptibly to the heart, with +all the attributes supplied by our own vivid and readily +according imaginations; and so accustomed do we become +to linger on the picture, we adore the semblance with an +ardour which the original often fails to excite. When, +however, the high standard of our fancy's fair creation +is attained, we worship as something sacred that which +was to our hearts a source of pure and absorbing interest, +hallowed by the very secresy in which such interest was +indulged. Even where it fails, so unwilling are we to +lose sight of the illusion to which our thoughts have +fondly clung, so loth to destroy the identity of the +semblance with its original, that we throw a veil over +that reason which is then so little in unison with our +wishes, and forgive much in consideration of the very +mystery which first gave a direction to our interest, +and subsequently chained our preference. How is it to +be lamented, that illusions so dear, and images so +fanciful, should find their level with time; or that +intercourse with the world, which should be the means +rather of promoting than marring human happiness, should +leave on the heart so little vestige of those impressions +which characterize the fervency of youth; and which, +dispassionately considered, constitute the only true +felicity of riper life! It is then that man, in all the +vigour and capacity of his intellectual nature, feels +the sentiment of love upon him in all its ennobling force. +It is then that his impetuous feelings, untinged by the +romance which imposes its check upon the more youthful, +like the wild flow of the mighty torrent, seeks a channel +wherein they may empty themselves; and were he to follow +the guidance of those feelings, of which in that riper +life he seems ashamed as of a weakness unworthy his sex, +in the warm and glowing bosom of Nature's divinity-- +WOMAN--would he pour forth the swollen tide of his +affection; and acknowledge, in the fullness of his expanding +heart, the vast bounty of Providence, who had bestowed +on him so invaluable--so unspeakably invaluable, a +blessing.--But no; in the pursuit of ambition, in the +acquisition of wealth, in the thirst after power, and +the craving after distinction, nay, nineteen times out +of twenty, in the most frivolous occupations, the most +unsatisfactory amusements, do the great mass of the +maturer man sink those feelings; divested of which, we +become mere plodders on the earth, mere creatures of +materialism: nor is it until after age and infirmity have +overtaken them, they look back with regret to that real +and substantial, but unenjoyed happiness, which the +occupied heart and the soul's communion alone can bestow. +Then indeed, when too late, are they ready to acknowledge +the futility of those pursuits, the inadequacy of those +mere ephemeral pleasures, to which in the full meridian +of their manhood they sacrificed, as a thing unworthy of +their dignity, the mysterious charm of woman's influence +and woman's beauty. + +We do not mean to say Clara de Haldimar would have fallen +short of the high estimate formed of her worth by the +friend of her brother; neither is it to be understood, +Sir Everard suffered this fair vision of his fancy to +lead him into the wild and labyrinthian paths of boyish +romance; but certain it is, the floating illusions, +conjured up by his imagination, exercised a mysterious +influence over his heart, that hourly acquired a deeper +and less equivocal character. It might have been curiosity +in the first instance, or that mere repose of the fancy +upon an object of its own creation, which was natural to +a young man placed like himself for the moment out of +the pale of all female society. It has been remarked, +and justly, there is nothing so dangerous to the peace +of the human heart as solitude. It is in solitude, our +thoughts, taking their colouring from our feelings, invest +themselves with the power of multiplying ideal beauty, +until we become in a measure tenants of a world of our +own creation, from which we never descend, without loathing +and disgust, into the dull and matter-of-fact routine of +actual existence. Hence the misery of the imaginative +man!--hence his little sympathy with the mass, who, tame +and soulless, look upon life and the things of life, not +through the refining medium of ideality, but through the +grossly magnifying optics of mere sense and materialism. + +But, though we could, and perhaps may, at some future +period, write volumes on this subject, we return for the +present from a digression into which we have been insensibly +led by the temporary excitement of our own feelings. + +Whatever were the impressions of the young baronet, and +however he might have been inclined to suffer the fair +image of the gentle Clara, such as he was perhaps wont +to paint it, to exercise its spell upon his fancy, certain +it is, he never expressed to her brother more than that +esteem and interest which it was but natural he should +accord to the sister of his friend. Neither had Charles +de Haldimar, even amid all his warmth of commendation, +ever made the slightest allusion to his sister, that +could be construed into a desire she should awaken any +unusual or extraordinary sentiment of preference. Much +and fervently as he desired such an event, there was an +innate sense of decorum, and it may be secret pride, that +caused him to abstain from any observation having the +remotest tendency to compromise the spotless delicacy of +his adored sister; and such he would have considered any +expression of his own hopes and wishes, where no declaration +of preference had been previously made. There was another +motive for this reserve on the part of the young officer. +The baronet was an only child, and would, on attaining +his majority, of which he wanted only a few months, become +the possessor of a large fortune. His sister Clara, on +the contrary, had little beyond her own fair fame and +the beauty transmitted to her by the mother she had lost. +Colonel de Haldimar was a younger son, and had made his +way through life with his sword, and an unblemished +reputation alone,--advantages he had shared with his +children, for the two eldest of whom his interest and +long services had procured commissions in his own regiment. + +But even while Charles de Haldimar abstained from all +expression of his hopes, he had fully made up his mind +that Sir Everard and his sister were so formed for each +other, it was next to an impossibility they could meet +without loving. In one of his letters to the latter, he +had alluded to his friend in terms of so high and earnest +panegyric, that Clara had acknowledged, in reply, she +was prepared to find in the young baronet one whom she +should regard with partiality, if it were only on account +of the friendship subsisting between him and her brother. +This admission, however, was communicated in confidence, +and the young officer had religiously preserved his +sister's secret. + +These and fifty other recollections now crowded on the +mind of the sufferer, only to render the intensity of +his anguish more complete; among the bitterest of which +was the certainty that the mysterious events of the past +night had raised up an insuperable barrier to this union; +for how could Clara de Haldimar become the wife of him +whose hands were, however innocently, stained with the +life-blood of her brother! To dwell on this, and the loss +of that brother, was little short of madness, and yet De +Haldimar could think of nothing else; nor for a period +could the loud booming of the cannon from the ramparts, +every report of which shook his chamber to its very +foundations, call off his attention from a subject which, +while it pained, engrossed every faculty and absorbed +every thought. At length, towards the close, he called +faintly to the old and faithful soldier, who, at the foot +of the bed, stood watching every change of his master's +countenance, to know the cause of the cannonade. On being +informed the batteries in the rear were covering the +retreat of Captain Erskine, who, in his attempt to obtain +the body, had been surprised by the Indians, a new +direction was temporarily given to his thoughts, and he +now manifested the utmost impatience to know the result. + +In a few minutes Morrison, who, in defiance of the +surgeon's strict order not on any account to quit the +room, had flown to obtain some intelligence which he +trusted might remove the anxiety of his suffering master, +again made his appearance, stating the corpse was already +secured, and close under the guns of the fort, beneath +which the detachment, though hotly assailed from the +forest, were also fast retreating. + +"And is it really my brother, Morrison? Are you quite +certain that it is Captain de Haldimar?" asked the young +officer, in the eager accents of one who, with the fullest +conviction on his mind, yet grasps at the faintest shadow +of a consoling doubt. "Tell me that it is not my brother, +and half of what I possess in the world shall be yours." + +The old soldier brushed a tear from his eye. "God bless +you, Mr. de Haldimar, I would give half my grey hairs to +be able to do so; but it is, indeed, too truly the captain +who has been killed. I saw the very wings of his regimentals +as he lay on his face on the litter." + +Charles de Haldimar groaned aloud. "Oh God! oh God! would +I had never lived to see this day." Then springing suddenly +up in his bed.--"Morrison, where are my clothes? I insist +on seeing my slaughtered brother myself." + +"Good Heaven, sir, consider," said the old man approaching +the bed, and attempting to replace the covering which +had been spurned to its very foot,--"consider you are in +a burning fever, and the slightest cold may kill you +altogether. The doctor's orders are, you were on no +account to get up." + +The effort made by the unfortunate youth was momentary. +Faint from the blood he had lost, and giddy from the +excitement of his feelings, he sank back exhausted on +his pillow, and wept like a child. + +Old Morrison shed tears also; for his heart bled for the +sufferings of one whom he had nursed and played with even +in early infancy, and whom, although his master, he regarded +with the affection he would have borne to his own child. As +he had justly observed, he would have willingly given half +his remaining years to be able to remove the source of the +sorrow which so deeply oppressed him. + +When this violent paroxysm had somewhat subsided, De +Haldimar became more composed; but his was rather that +composure which grows out of the apathy produced by +overwhelming grief, than the result of any relief afforded +to his suffering heart by the tears he had shed. He had +continued some time in this faint and apparently tranquil +state, when confused sounds in the barrack-yard, followed +by the raising of the heavy drawbridge, announced the +return of the detachment. Again he started up in his bed +and demanded his clothes, declaring his intention to go +out and receive the corpse of his murdered brother. All +opposition on the part of the faithful Morrison was now +likely to prove fruitless, when suddenly the door opened, +and an officer burst hurriedly into the room. + +"Courage! courage! my dear De Haldimar; I am the bearer +of good news. Your brother is not the person who has been +slain." + +Again De Haldimar sank back upon his pillow, overcome by +a variety of conflicting emotions. A moment afterwards, +and he exclaimed reproachfully, yet almost gasping with +the eagerness of his manner,-- + +"For God's sake, Sumners--in the name of common humanity, +do not trifle with my feelings. If you would seek to +lull me with false hopes, you are wrong. I am prepared +to hear and bear the worst at present; but to be undeceived +again would break my heart." + +"I swear to you by every thing I have been taught to +revere as sacred," solemnly returned Ensign Sumners, +deeply touched by the affliction he witnessed, "what I +state is strictly true. Captain Erskine himself sent me +to tell you." + +"What, is he only wounded then?" and a glow of mingled +hope and satisfaction was visible even through the flush +of previous excitement on the cheek of the sufferer. +"Quick, Morrison, give me my clothes.--Where is my brother, +Sumners?" and again he raised up his debilitated frame +with the intention of quitting his couch. + +"De Haldimar, my dear De Haldimar, compose yourself, and +listen to me. Your brother is still missing, and we are +as much in the dark about his fate as ever. All that is +certain is, we have no positive knowledge of his death; +but surely that is a thousand times preferable to the +horrid apprehensions under which we have all hitherto +laboured." + +"What mean you, Sumners? or am I so bewildered by my +sufferings as not to comprehend you clearly?--Nay, nay, +forgive me; but I am almost heart-broken at this loss, +and scarcely know what I say. But what is it you mean? +I saw my unhappy brother lying on the common with my own +eyes. Poor Valletort, himself--" here a rush of bitter +recollections flashed on the memory of the young man, +and the tears coursed each other rapidly down his cheek. +His emotion lasted for a few moments, and he pursued,--"Poor +Valletort himself saw him, for he was nearly as much +overwhelmed with affliction as I was; and even Morrison +beheld him also, not ten minutes since, under the very +walls of the fort; nay, distinguished the wings of his +uniform: and yet you would persuade me my brother, instead +of being brought in a corpse, is still missing and alive. +This is little better than trifling with my wretchedness, +Sumners," and again he sank back exhausted on his pillow. + +"I can easily forgive your doubts, De Haldimar," returned +the sympathizing Sumners, taking the hand of his companion, +and pressing it gently in his own; "for, in truth, there +is a great deal of mystery attached to the whole affair. +I have not seen the body myself; but I distinctly heard +Captain Erskine state it certainly was not your brother, +and he requested me to apprise both Sir Everard Valletort +and yourself of the fact." + +"Who is the murdered man, then? and how comes he to be +clad in the uniform of one of our officers? Pshaw! it is +too absurd to be credited. Erskine is mistaken--he must +be mistaken--it can be no other than my poor brother +Frederick. Sumners, I am sick, faint, with this cruel +uncertainty: go, my dear fellow, at once, and examine +the body; then return to me, and satisfy my doubts, if +possible." + +"Most willingly, if you desire it," returned Sumners, +moving towards the door; "but believe me, De Haldimar, +you may make your mind tranquil on the subject;--Erskine +spoke with certainty." + +"Have you seen Valletort?" asked De Haldimar, while an +involuntary shudder pervaded his fame. + +"I have. He flew on the instant to make further enquiries; +and was in the act of going to examine the body of the +murdered man when I came here.--But here he is himself, +and his countenance is the harbinger of any thing but a +denial of my intelligence." + +"Oh, Charles, what a weight of misery has been removed +from my heart!" exclaimed that officer, now rushing to +the bedside of his friend, and seizing his extended +hand,--"Your brother, let us hope, still lives." + +"Almighty God, I thank thee!" fervently ejaculated De +Haldimar; and then, overcome with joy, surprise, and +gratitude, he again sank back upon his pillow, sobbing +and weeping violently. + +Sumners had, with delicate tact, retired the moment Sir +Everard made his appearance; for he, as well as the whole +body of officers, was aware of the close friendship that +subsisted between the young men, and he felt, at such a +moment, the presence of a third person must be a sort of +violation of the sacredness of their interview. + +For some minutes the young baronet stood watching in +silence, and with his friend's hand closely clasped in +his own, the course of those tears which seemed to afford +so much relief to the overcharged heart of the sufferer. +At length they passed gradually away; and a smile, +expressive of the altered state of his feelings, for the +first time animated the flushed but handsome features of +the younger De Haldimar. + +We shall not attempt to paint all that passed between +the friends during the first interesting moments of an +interview which neither had expected to enjoy again, or +the delight and satisfaction with which they congratulated +themselves on the futility of those fears, which, if +realised, must have embittered every future moment of +their lives with the most harrowing recollections. Sir +Everard, particularly, felt, and was not slow to express, +his joy on this occasion; for, as he gazed upon the +countenance of his friend, he was more than ever inclined +to confess an interest in the sister he was said so much +to resemble. + +With that facility with which in youth the generous and +susceptible are prone to exchange their tears for smiles, +as some powerful motive for the reaction may prompt, the +invalid had already, and for the moment, lost sight of +the painful past in the pleasurable present, so that his +actual excitement was strongly in contrast with the +melancholy he had so recently exhibited. Never had Charles +de Haldimar appeared so eminently handsome; and yet his +beauty resembled that of a frail and delicate woman, +rather than that of one called to the manly and arduous +profession of a soldier. It was that delicate and Medor-like +beauty which might have won the heart and fascinated the +sense of a second Angelica. The light brown hair flowing +in thick and natural waves over a high white forehead; +the rich bloom of the transparent and downy cheek; the +large, blue, long, dark-lashed eye, in which a shade of +languor harmonised with the soft but animated expression +of the whole countenance,--the dimpled mouth,--the small, +clear, and even teeth,--all these now characterised +Charles de Haldimar; and if to these we add a voice rich, +full, and melodious, and a smile sweet and fascinating, +we shall be at no loss to account for the readiness with +which Sir Everard suffered his imagination to draw on +the brother for those attributes he ascribed to the +sister. + +It was while this impression was strong upon his fancy, +he took occasion to remark, in reply to an observation +of De Haldimar's, alluding to the despair with which his +sister would have been seized, had she known one brother +had fallen by the hand of the friend of the other. + +"The grief of my own heart, Charles, on this occasion, +would have been little inferior to her own. The truth +is, my feelings during the last three hours have let me +into a secret, of the existence of which I was, in a +great degree, ignorant until then: I scarcely know how +to express myself, for the communication is so truly +absurd and romantic you will not credit it." He paused, +hesitated, and then, as if determined to anticipate the +ridicule he seemed to feel would be attached to his +confession, with a forced half laugh pursued: "The fact +is, Charles, I have been so much used to listen to your +warm and eloquent praises of your sister, I have absolutely, +I will not say fallen in love with (that would be going +too far), but conceived so strong an interest in her, +that my most ardent desire would be to find favour in +her eyes. What say you, my friend? are you inclined to +forward my suit; and if so, is there any chance for me, +think you, with herself?" + +The breast of Charles de Haldimar, who had listened with +deep and increasing attention to this avowal, swelled +high with pleasurable excitement, and raising himself up +in his bed with one hand, while he grasped one of Sir +Everard's with the other, he exclaimed with a transport +of affection too forcible to be controlled,-- + +"Oh, Valletort, Valletort! this is, indeed, all that +was wanting to complete my happiness. My sister Clara +I adore with all the affection of my nature; I love her +better than my own life, which is wrapped up in hers. +She is an angel in disposition,--all that is dear, tender, +and affectionate,--all that is gentle and lovely in woman; +one whose welfare is dearer far to me than my own, and +without whose presence I could not live. Valletort, that +prize,--that treasure, that dearer half of myself, is +yours,--yours for ever. I have long wished you should +love, each other, and I felt, when you met, you would. +If I have hitherto forborne from expressing this fondest +wish of my heart, it has been from delicacy--from a +natural fear of compromising the purity of my adored +Clara. Now, however, you have confessed yourself interested, +by a description that falls far short of the true peril +of that dear girl, I can no longer disguise my gratification +and delight. Valletort," he concluded, impressively, +"there is no other man on earth to whom I would say so +much; but you were formed for each other, and you will, +you must, be the husband of my sister." + +If the youthful and affectionate De Haldimar was happy, +Sir Everard was no less so; for already, with the enthusiasm +of a young man of twenty, he painted to himself the entire +fruition of those dreams of happiness that had so long +been familiarised to his imagination. One doubt alone +crossed his mind. + +"But if your sister should have decided differently, +Charles," he at length remarked, as he gently quitted +the embrace of his friend: "who knows if her heart may +not already throb for another; and even if not, it is +possible she may judge me far less flatteringly than you +do." + +"Valletort, your fears are groundless. Having admitted +thus far, I will even go farther, and add, you have been +the subject of one of my letters to Clara, who, in her +turn, 'confesses a strong interest in one of whom she +has heard so much.' She writes playfully, of course, but +it is quite evident to me she is prepared to like you." + +"Indeed! But, Charles, liking is many degrees removed +you know from loving; besides, I understand there are +two or three handsome and accomplished fellows among the +garrison of Michilimackinac, and your sister's visit to +her cousin may not have been paid altogether with impunity." + +"Think not thus meanly of Clara's understanding, Valletort. +There must be something more than mere beauty and +accomplishment to fix the heart of my sister. The dark +eyed and elegant Baynton, and the musical and sonnetteering +Middleton, to whom you, doubtless, allude, are very +excellent fellows in their way; but handsome and +accomplished as they are, they are not exactly the men +to please Clara de Haldimar." + +"But, my dear Charles, you forget also any little merit +of my own is doubly enhanced in your eyes, by the sincerity +of the friendship subsisting between us; your sister may +think very differently." + +"Psha, Valletort! these difficulties are all of your own +creation," returned his friend, impatiently; "I know the +heart of Clara is disengaged. What would you more?" + +"Enough, De Haldimar; I will no longer doubt my own +prospects. If she but approve me, my whole life shall be +devoted to the happiness of your sister." + +A single knock was now heard at the door of the apartment; +it was opened, and a sergeant appeared at the entrance. + +"The company are under arms for punishment parade, +Lieutenant Valletort," said the man, touching his cap. + +In an instant, the visionary prospects of the young men +gave place to the stern realities connected with that +announcement of punishment. The treason of Halloway,--the +absence of Frederick de Haldimar,--the dangers by which +they were beset,--and the little present probability of +a re-union with those who were most dear to them,--all +these recollections now flashed across their minds with +the rapidity of thought; and the conversation that had +so recently passed between them seemed to leave no other +impression than what is produced from some visionary +speculation of the moment. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +As the bells of the fort tolled the tenth hour of morning, +the groups of dispersed soldiery, warned by the rolling +of the assembly drum, once more fell into their respective +ranks in the order described in the opening of this +volume, Soon afterwards the prisoner Halloway was +reconducted into the square by a strong escort, who took +their stations as before in the immediate centre, where +the former stood principally conspicuous to the observation +of his comrades. His countenance was paler, and had less, +perhaps, of the indifference he had previously manifested; +but to supply this there was a certain subdued air of +calm dignity, and a composure that sprang, doubtless, +from the consciousness of the new character in which he +now appeared before his superiors. Colonel de Haldimar +almost immediately followed, and with him were the +principal staff of the garrison, all of whom, with the +exception of the sick and wounded and their attendants, +were present to a man. The former took from the hands of +the governor, Lawson, a large packet, consisting of +several sheets of folded paper closely written upon. +These were the proceedings of the court martial. + +After enumerating the several charges, and detailing the +evidence of the witnesses examined, the adjutant came at +length to the finding and sentence of the court, which +were as follows:-- + +"The court having duly considered the evidence adduced +against the prisoner private Frank Halloway, together +with what he has urged in his defence, are of opinion,--" + +"That with regard to the first charge, it is not proved." + +"That with regard to the second charge, it is not proved." + +"That with regard to the third charge, even by his own +voluntary confession, the prisoner is guilty." + +"The court having found the prisoner private Frank Halloway +guilty of the third charge preferred against him, which +is hi direct violation of a standing order of the garrison, +entailing capital punishment, do hereby sentence him, +the said prisoner, private Frank Halloway, to be shot to +death at such time and place as the officer commanding +may deem fit to appoint." + +Although the utmost order pervaded the ranks, every breath +had been suspended, every ear stretched during the reading +of the sentence; and now that it came arrayed in terror +and in blood, every glance was turned in pity on its +unhappy victim. But Halloway heard it with the ears of +one who has made up his mind to suffer; and the faint +half smile that played upon his lip spoke more in scorn +than in sorrow. Colonel de Haldimar pursued:-- + +"The court having found it imperatively incumbent on them +to award the punishment of death to the prisoner, private +Frank Halloway, at the same time gladly avail themselves +of their privilege by strongly recommending him to mercy. +The court cannot, in justice to the character of the +prisoner, refrain from expressing their unanimous +conviction, that notwithstanding the mysterious +circumstances which have led to his confinement and trial, +he is entirely innocent of the treachery ascribed to him. +The court have founded this conviction on the excellent +character, both on duty and in the field, hitherto borne +by the prisoner,--his well-known attachment to the officer +with whose abduction be stands charged,--and the manly, +open, and (as the court are satisfied) correct history +given of his former life. It is, moreover, the impression +of the court, that, as stated by the prisoner, his guilt +on the third charge has been the result only of his +attachment for Captain de Haldimar. And for this, and +the reasons above assigned, do they strongly recommend +the prisoner to mercy." + + (Signed) + + NOEL BLESSINGTON, + Captain and President. + + Sentence approved and confirmed. + + CHARLES DE HALDIMAR, + Colonel Commandant. + +While these concluding remarks of the court were being +read, the prisoner manifested the deepest emotion. If a +smile of scorn had previously played upon his lip, it +was because he fancied the court, before whom he had +sought to vindicate his fame, had judged him with a +severity not inferior to his colonel's; but now that, in +the presence of his companions, he heard the flattering +attestation of his services, coupled even as it was with +the sentence that condemned him to die, tears of gratitude +and pleasure rose despite of himself to his eyes; and it +required all his self-command to enable him to abstain +from giving expression to his feelings towards those who +had so generously interpreted the motives of his dereliction +from duty. But when the melancholy and startling fact of +the approval and confirmation of the sentence met his +ear, without the slightest allusion to that mercy which +had been so urgently recommended, he again overcame his +weakness, and exhibited his wonted air of calm and +unconcern. + +"Let the prisoner be removed, Mr. Lawson," ordered the +governor, whose stern and somewhat dissatisfied expression +of countenance was the only comment on the recommendation +for mercy. + +The order was promptly executed. Once more Halloway left +the square, and was reconducted to the cell he had occupied +since the preceding night. + +"Major Blackwater," pursued the governor, "let a detachment +consisting of one half the garrison be got in readiness +to leave the fort within the hour. Captain Wentworth, +three pieces of field artillery will be required. Let +them be got ready also." He then retired from the area +with the forbidding dignity and stately haughtiness of +manner that was habitual to him; while the officers, who +had just received his commands, prepared to fulfil the +respective duties assigned them. + +Since the first alarm of the garrison no opportunity had +hitherto been afforded the officers to snatch the slightest +refreshment. Advantage was now taken of the short interval +allowed by the governor, and they all repaired to the +mess-room, where their breakfast had long since been +provided. + +"Well, Blessington," remarked Captain Erskine, as he +filled his plate for the third time from a large haunch +of smoke-dried venison, for which his recent skirmish +with the Indians had given him an unusual relish, "so it +appears your recommendation of poor Halloway to mercy is +little likely to be attended to. Did you remark how +displeased the colonel looked as he bungled through it? +One might almost be tempted to think he had an interest +in the man's death, so determined does he appear to carry +his point." + +Although several of his companions, perhaps, felt and +thought the same, still there was no one who would have +ventured to avow his real sentiments in so unqualified +a manner. Indeed such an observation proceeding from +the lips of any other officer would have excited the +utmost surprise; but Captain Erskine, a brave, bold, +frank, and somewhat thoughtless soldier, was one of those +beings who are privileged to say any thing. His opinions +were usually expressed without ceremony; and his speech +was not the most circumspect NOW, as since his return to +the fort he had swallowed, fasting, two or three glasses +of a favourite spirit, which, without intoxicating, had +greatly excited him. + +"I remarked enough," said Captain Blessington, who sat +leaning his head on one hand, while with the other he +occasionally, and almost mechanically, raised a cup filled +with a liquid of a pale blood colour to his lips,--"quite +enough to make me regret from my very soul I should have +been his principal judge. Poor Halloway, I pity him much; +for, on my honour, I believe him to be the gentleman he +represents himself." + +"A finer fellow does not live," remarked the last remaining +officer of the grenadiers. "But surely Colonel de Haldimar +cannot mean to carry the sentence into effect. The +recommendation of a court, couched in such terms as these, +ought alone to have some weight with him." + +"It is quite clear, from the fact of his having been +remanded to his cell, the execution of the poor fellow +will be deferred at least," observed one of Captain +Erskine's subalterns." If the governor had intended he +should suffer immediately, he would have had him shot +the moment after his sentence was read. But what is the +meaning and object of this new sortie? and whither are +we now going? Do you know, Captain Erskine, our company +is again ordered for this duty?" + +"Know it, Leslie! of course I do; and for that reason am +I paying my court to the more substantial part of the +breakfast. Come, Blessington, my dear fellow, you have +quite lost your appetite, and we may have sharp work +before we get back. Follow my example: throw that nasty +blood-thickening sassafras away, and lay a foundation +from this venison. None sweeter is to be found in the +forests of America. A few slices of that, and then a +glass each of my best Jamaica, and we shall have strength +to go through the expedition, if its object be the capture +of the bold Ponteac himself." + +"I presume the object is rather to seek for Captain de +Haldimar," said Lieutenant Boyce, the officer of grenadiers; +"but in that case why not send out his own company?" + +"Because the Colonel prefers trusting to cooler heads +and more experienced arms," good-humouredly observed +Captain Erskine. "Blessington is our senior, and his +men are all old stagers. My lads, too, have had their +mettle up already this morning, and there is nothing like +that to prepare men for a dash of enterprise. It is with +them as with blood horses, the more you put them on their +speed the less anxious are they to quit the course. +Well, Johnstone, my brave Scot, ready for another skirmish?" +he asked, as that officer now entered to satisfy the +cravings of an appetite little inferior to that of his +captain. + +"With 'Nunquam non paratus' for my motto," gaily returned +the young man, "it were odd, indeed, if a mere scratch +like this should prevent me from establishing my claim +to it by following wherever my gallant captain leads." + +"Most courteously spoken, and little in the spirit of a +man yet smarting under the infliction of a rifle wound, +it must be confessed," remarked Lieutenant Leslie. "But, +Johnstone, you should bear in mind a too close adherence +to that motto has been, in some degree, fatal to your +family." + +"No reflections, Leslie, if you please," returned his +brother subaltern, slightly reddening. "If the head of +our family was unfortunate enough to be considered a +traitor to England, he was not so, at least, to Scotland; +and Scotland was the land of his birth. But let his +political errors be forgotten. Though the winged spur no +longer adorn the booted heel of an Earl of Annandale, +the time may not be far distant when some liberal and +popular monarch of England shall restore a title forfeited +neither through cowardice nor dishonour, but from an +erroneous sense of duty." + +"That is to say," muttered Ensign Delme, looking round +for approval as he spoke, "that our present king is +neither liberal nor popular. Well, Mr. Johnstone, were +such an observation to reach the ears of Colonel de +Haldimar you would stand a very fair chance of being +brought to a court martial." + +"That is to say nothing of the kind, sir," somewhat +fiercely retorted the young Scot; "but any thing I do +say you are at liberty to repeat to Colonel de Haldimar, +or whom you will. I cannot understand, Leslie, why you +should have made any allusion to the misfortunes of my +family at this particular moment, and in this public +manner. I trust it was not with a view to offend me;" +and he fixed his large black eyes upon his brother +subaltern, as if he would have read every thought of his +mind. + +"Upon my honour, Johnstone, I meant nothing of the kind," +frankly returned Leslie. "I merely meant to hint that +as you had had your share of service this morning, you +might, at least, have suffered me to borrow your spurs, +while you reposed for the present on your laurels." + +"There are my gay and gallant Scots," exclaimed Captain +Erskine, as he swallowed off a glass of the old Jamaica +which lay before him, and with which he usually neutralised +the acidities of a meat breakfast, "Settled like gentlemen +and lads of spirit as ye are," he pursued, as the young +men cordially shook each other's hand across the table. +"What an enviable command is mine, to have a company of +brave fellows who would face the devil himself were it +necessary; and two hot and impatient subs., who are ready +to cut each other's throat for the pleasure of accompanying +me against a set of savages that are little better than +so many devils. Come, Johnstone, you know the Colonel +allows us but one sub. at a time, in consequence of our +scarcity of officers, therefore it is but fair Leslie +should have his turn. It will not be long, I dare say, +before we shall have another brush with the rascals." + +"In my opinion," observed Captain Blessington, who had +been a silent and thoughtful witness of what was passing +around him, "neither Leslie nor Johnstone would evince +so much anxiety, were they aware of the true-nature of +the duty for which our companies have been ordered. Depend +upon it, it is no search after Captain de Haldimar in +which we are about to be engaged; for much as the colonel +loves his son, he would on no account compromise the +safety of the garrison, by sending a party into the +forest, where poor De Haldimar, if alive, is at all likely +to be found." + +"Faith you are right, Blessington; the governor is not +one to run these sort of risks on every occasion. My +chief surprise, indeed, is, that he suffered me to venture +even upon the common; but if we are not designed for some +hostile expedition, why leave the fort at all?" + +"The question will need no answer, if Halloway be found +to accompany us." + +"Psha! why should Halloway be taken out for the purpose? +If he be shot at all, he will be shot on the ramparts, +in the presence of, and as an example to, the whole +garrison. Still, on reflection, I cannot but think it +impossible the sentence should be carried into full +effect, after the strong, nay, the almost unprecedented +recommendation to mercy recorded on the face of the +proceedings." + +Captain Blessington shook his head despondingly. "What +think you, Erskine, of the policy of making an example, +which may be witnessed by the enemy as well as the +garrison? It is evident, from his demeanour throughout, +nothing will convince the colonel that Halloway is not +a traitor, and he may think it advisable to strike terror +in the minds of the savages, by an execution which will +have the effect of showing the treason of the soldier to +have been discovered." + +In this opinion many of the officers now concurred; and +as the fate of the unfortunate Halloway began to assume +a character of almost certainty, even the spirit of the +gallant Erskine, the least subdued by the recent distressing +events, was overclouded; and all sank, as if by one +consent, into silent communion with their thoughts, as +they almost mechanically completed the meal, at which +habit rather than appetite still continued them. Before +any of them had yet risen from the table, a loud and +piercing scream met their ears from without; and so quick +and universal was the movement it produced, that its echo +had scarcely yet died away in distance, when the whole +of the breakfast party had issued from the room, and were +already spectators of the cause. + +The barracks of the officers, consisting of a range of +low buildings, occupied the two contiguous sides of a +square, and in the front of these ran a narrow and covered +piazza, somewhat similar to those attached to the +guardhouses in England, which description of building +the barracks themselves most resembled. On the other +two faces of the square stood several block-houses, a +style of structure which, from their adaptation to purposes +of defence as well as of accommodation, were every where +at that period in use in America, and are even now +continued along the more exposed parts of the frontier. +These, capable of containing each a company of men, were, +as their name implies, formed of huge masses of +roughly-shapen timber, fitted into each other at the +extremities by rude incisions from the axe, and filled +in with smaller wedges of wood. The upper part of these +block-houses projected on every side several feet beyond +the ground floor, and over the whole was a sheathing of +planks, which, as well as those covering the barracks of +the officers, were painted of a brick-red colour. Unlike +the latter, they rose considerably above the surface of +the ramparts; and, in addition to the small window to be +seen on each side of each story of the block-house, were +numerous smaller square holes, perforated for the discharge +of musketry. Between both these barracks and the ramparts +there was just space sufficient to admit of the passage +of artillery of a heavy calibre; and at each of the four +angles, composing the lines of the fort, was an opening +of several feet in extent, not only to afford the gunners +room to work their batteries, but to enable them to reach +their posts with greater expedition in the event of any +sudden emergency. On the right, on entering the fort +over the drawbridge, were the block-houses of the men; +and immediately in front, and on the left, the barracks +of the officers, terminated at the outer extremity by +the guard-house, and at the inner by the quarters of the +commanding officer. + +As the officers now issued from the mess-room nearly +opposite to the gate, they observed, at that part of the +barracks which ran at right angles with it, and immediately +in front of the apartment of the younger De Haldimar, +whence he had apparently just issued, the governor, +struggling, though gently, to disengage himself from a +female, who, with disordered hair and dress, lay almost +prostrate upon the piazza, and clasping his booted leg +with an energy evidently borrowed from the most rooted +despair. The quick eye of the haughty man had already +rested on the group of officers drawn by the scream of +the supplicant. Numbers, too, of the men, attracted by +the same cause, were collected in front of their respective +block-houses, and looking from the windows of the rooms +in which they were also breakfasting, preparatory to the +expedition. Vexed and irritated beyond measure, at being +thus made a conspicuous object of observation to his +inferiors, the unbending governor made a violent and +successful effort to disengage his leg; and then, without +uttering a word, or otherwise noticing the unhappy being +who lay extended at his feet, he stalked across the parade +to his apartments at the opposite angle, without appearing +to manifest the slightest consciousness of the scene that +had awakened such universal attention. + +Several of the officers, among whom was Captain Blessington, +now hastened to the assistance of the female, whom all +had recognised, from the first, to be the interesting +and unhappy wife of Halloway. Many of the comrades of +the latter, who had been pained and pitying spectators +of the scene, also advanced for the same purpose; but, +on perceiving their object anticipated by their superiors, +they withdrew to the blocks-houses, whence they had +issued. Never was grief more forcibly depicted, than in +the whole appearance of this unfortunate woman; never +did anguish assume a character more fitted to touch the +soul, or to command respect. Her long fair hair, that +had hitherto been hid under the coarse mob-cap, usually +worn by the wives of the soldiers, was now divested of +all fastening, and lay shadowing a white and polished +bosom, which, in her violent struggles to detain the +governor, had burst from its rude but modest confinement, +and was now displayed in all the dazzling delicacy of +youth and sex. If the officers gazed for a moment with +excited look upon charms that had long been strangers to +their sight, and of an order they had little deemed to +find in Ellen Halloway, it was but the involuntary tribute +rendered by nature unto beauty. The depth and sacredness +of that sorrow, which had left the wretched woman +unconscious of her exposure, in the instant afterwards +imposed a check upon admiration, which each felt to be +a violation of the first principles of human delicacy, +and the feeling was repressed almost in the moment that +gave it birth. + +They were immediately in front of the room occupied by +Charles de Haldimar, in the piazza of which were a few +old chairs, on which the officers were in the habit of +throwing themselves during the heat of the day. On one +of these Captain Blessington, assisted by the officer of +grenadiers, now seated the suffering and sobbing wife of +Halloway. His first care was to repair the disorder of +her dress; and never was the same office performed by +man with greater delicacy, or absence of levity by those +who witnessed it. This was the first moment of her +consciousness. The inviolability of modesty for a moment +rose paramount even to the desolation of her heart, and +putting rudely aside the hand that reposed unavoidably +upon her person, the poor woman started from her seat, +and looked wildly about her, as if endeavouring to identify +those by whom she was surrounded. But when she observed +the pitying gaze of the officers fixed upon her, in +earnestness and commiseration, and heard the benevolent +accents of the ever kind Blessington exhorting her to +composure, her weeping became more violent, and her sobs +more convulsive. Captain Blessington threw an arm round +her waist to prevent her from falling; and then motioning +to two or three women of the company to which her husband +was attached, who stood at a little distance, in front +of one of the block-houses, prepared to deliver her over +to their charge. + +"No, no, not yet!" burst at length from the lips of the +agonised woman, as she shrank from the rude but +well-intentioned touch of the sympathising assistants, +who had promptly answered the signal; then, as if obeying +some new direction of her feelings, some new impulse of +her grief, she liberated herself from the slight grasp +of Captain Blessington, turned suddenly round, and, before +any one could anticipate the movement, entered an opening +on the piazza, raised the latch of a door situated at +its extremity, and was, in the next instant, in the +apartment of the younger De Haldimar. + +The scene that met the eyes of the officers, who now +followed close after her, was one well calculated to make +an impression on the hearts even of the most insensible. +In the despair and recklessness of her extreme sorrow, +the young wife of Halloway had already thrown herself +upon her knees at the bedside of the sick officer; and, +with her hands upraised and firmly clasped together, was +now supplicating him in tones, contrasting singularly in +their gentleness with the depth of the sorrow that had +rendered her thus regardless of appearances, and insensible +to observation. + +"Oh, Mr. de Haldimar!" she implored, "in the name of God +and of our blessed Saviour, if you would save me from +madness, intercede for my unhappy husband, and preserve +him from the horrid fate that awaits him. You are too +good, too gentle, too amiable, to reject the prayer of +a heart-broken woman. Moreover, Mr. de Haldimar," she +proceeded, with deeper energy, while she caught and +pressed, between her own white and bloodless hands, one +nearly as delicate that lay extended near her, "consider +all my dear but unfortunate husband has done for your +family. Think of the blood he once spilt in the defence +of your brother's life; that brother, through whom alone, +oh God! he is now condemned to die. Call to mind the days +and nights of anguish I passed near his couch of suffering, +when yet writhing beneath the wound aimed at the life of +Captain de Haldimar. Almighty Providence!" she pursued, +in the same impassioned yet plaintive voice, "why is not +Miss Clara here to plead the cause of the innocent, and +to touch the stubborn heart of her merciless father? She +would, indeed, move heaven and earth to save the life of +him to whom she so often vowed eternal gratitude and +acknowledgment. Ah, she little dreams of his danger now; +or, if prayer and intercession could avail, my husband +should yet live, and this terrible struggle at my heart +would be no more." + +Overcome by her emotion, the unfortunate woman suffered +her aching head to droop upon the edge of the bed, and +her sobbing became so painfully violent, that all who +heard her expected, at every moment, some fatal termination +to her immoderate grief. Charles de Haldimar was little +less affected; and his sorrow was the more bitter, as he +had just proved the utter inefficacy of any thing in the +shape of appeal to his inflexible father. + +"Mrs. Halloway, my dear Mrs. Halloway, compose yourself," +said Captain Blessington, now approaching, and endeavouring +to raise her gently from the floor, on which she still +knelt, while her hands even more firmly grasped that of +De Haldimar. "You are ill, very ill, and the consequences +of this dreadful excitement may be fatal. Be advised by +me, and retire. I have desired my room to be prepared +for you, and Sergeant Wilmot's wife shall remain with +you as long as you may require it." + +"No, no, no!" she again exclaimed with energy; "what care +I for my own wretched life--my beloved and unhappy husband +is to die. Oh God! to die without guilt--to be cut off +in his youth--to be shot as a traitor--and that simply +for obeying the wishes of the officer whom he loved!--the +son of the man who now spurns all supplication from his +presence. It is inhuman--it is unjust--and Heaven will +punish the hard-hearted man who murders him--yes, murders +him! for such a punishment for such an offence is nothing +less than murder." Again she wept bitterly, and as Captain +Blessington still essayed to soothe and raise her:--"No, +no! I will not leave this spot," she continued; "I will +not quit the side of Mr. de Haldimar, until he pledges +himself to intercede for my poor husband. It is his duty +to save the life of him who saved his brother's life; +and God and human justice are with my appeal. Oh, tell +me, then, Mr. de Haldimar,--if you would save my wretched +heart from breaking,--tell me you will intercede for, +and obtain the pardon of, my husband!" + +As she concluded this last sentence in passionate appeal, +she had risen from her knees; and, conscious only of the +importance of the boon solicited, now threw herself upon +the breast of the highly pained and agitated young officer. +Her long and beautiful hair fell floating over his face, +and mingled with his own, while her arms were wildly +clasped around him, in all the energy of frantic and +hopeless adjuration. + +"Almighty God!" exclaimed the agitated young man, as he +made a feeble and fruitless effort to raise the form of +the unhappy woman; "what shall I say to impart comfort +to this suffering being? Oh, Mrs. Halloway," he pursued, +"I would willingly give all I possess in this world to +be the means of saving your unfortunate husband,--and as +much for his own sake as for yours would I do this; but, +alas! I have not the power. Do not think I speak without +conviction. My father has just been with me, and I have +pleaded the cause of your husband with an earnestness I +should scarcely have used had my own life been at stake. +But all my entreaties have been in vain. He is obstinate +in the belief my brother's strange absence, and Donellan's +death, are attributable only to the treason of Halloway. +Still there is a hope. A detachment is to leave the fort +within the hour, and Halloway is to accompany them. It +may be, my father intends this measure only with a view +to terrify him into a confession of guilt; and that he +deems it politic to make him undergo all the fearful +preliminaries without carrying the sentence itself into +effect." + +The unfortunate woman said no more. When she raised her +heaving chest from that of the young officer, her eyes, +though red and shrunk to half their usual size with +weeping, were tearless; but on her countenance there was +an expression of wild woe, infinitely more distressing +to behold, in consequence of the almost unnatural check +so suddenly imposed upon her feelings. She tottered, +rather than walked, through the group of officers, who +gave way on either hand to let her pass; and rejecting +all assistance from the women who had followed into the +room, and who now, in obedience to another signal from +Captain Blessington, hastened to her support, finally +gained the door, and quitted the apartment. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The sun was high in the meridian, as the second detachment, +commanded by Colonel de Haldimar in person, issued from +the fort of Detroit. It was that soft and hazy season, +peculiar to the bland and beautiful autumns of Canada, +when the golden light of Heaven seems as if transmitted +through a veil of tissue, and all of animate and inanimate +nature, expanding and fructifying beneath its fostering +influence, breathes the most delicious languor and +voluptuous repose. It was one of those still, calm, warm, +and genial days, which in those regions come under the +vulgar designation of the Indian summer; a season that +is ever hailed by the Canadian with a satisfaction +proportioned to the extreme sultriness of the summer, +and the equally oppressive rigour of the winter, by which +it is immediately preceded and followed. It is then that +Nature, who seems from the creation to have bestowed all +of grandeur and sublimity on the stupendous Americas, +looks gladly and complacently on her work; and, staying +the course of parching suns and desolating frosts, loves +to luxuriate for a period in the broad and teeming bosom +of her gigantic offspring. It is then that the +forest-leaves, alike free from the influence of the +howling hurricane of summer, and the paralysing and +unfathomable snows of winter, cleave, tame and stirless +in their varying tints, to the parent branch; while the +broad rivers and majestic lakes exhibit a surface resembling +rather the incrustation of the polished mirror than the +resistless, viewless particles of which the golden element +is composed. It is then that, casting its satisfied +glance across those magnificent rivers, the eye beholds, +as if reflected from a mirror (so similar in production +and appearance are the contiguous shores), both the +fertility of cultivated and the rudeness of uncultivated +nature, that every where surround and diversify the view. +The tall and sloping banks, covered with verdure to the +very sands, that unite with the waters lying motionless +at their base; the continuous chain of neat farm-houses +(we speak principally of Detroit and its opposite shores); +the luxuriant and bending orchards, teeming with fruits +of every kind and of every colour; the ripe and yellow +corn vying in hue with the soft atmosphere, which reflects +and gives full effect to its abundance and its +richness,--these, with the intervening waters unruffled, +save by the lazy skiff, or the light bark canoe urged +with the rapidity of thought along its surface by the +slight and elegantly ornamented paddle of the Indian; or +by the sudden leaping of the large salmon, the unwieldly +sturgeon, the bearded cat-fish, or the delicately flavoured +maskinonge, and fifty other tenants of their bosom;--all +these contribute to form the foreground of a picture +bounded in perspective by no less interesting, though +perhaps ruder marks of the magnificence of that great +architect--Nature, on which the eye never lingers without +calm; while feelings, at once voluptuous and tender, +creep insensibly over the heart, and raise the mind in +adoration to the one great and sole Cause by which the +stupendous whole has been produced. + +Such a day as that we have just described was the ---- +of September, 1763, when the chief portion of the English +garrison of Detroit issued forth from the fortifications +in which they had so long been cooped up, and in the +presumed execution of a duty undeniably the most trying +and painful that ever fell to the lot of soldier to +perform. The heavy dull movement of the guns, as they +traversed the drawbridge resembled in that confined +atmosphere the rumbling of low and distant thunder; and +as they shook the rude and hollow sounding planks, over +which they were slowly dragged, called up to every heart +the sad recollection of the service for which they had +been required. Even the tramp of the men, as they moved +heavily and measuredly across the yielding bridge, seemed +to wear the character of the reluctance with which they +proceeded on so hateful a duty; and more than one +individual, as he momentarily turned his eye upon the +ramparts, where many of his comrades were grouped together +watching the departure of the detachment, testified by +the significant and mournful movement of his head how +much he envied their exemption from the task. + +The direct military road runs in a straight line from +the fort to the banks of the Detroit, and the eastern +extremity of the town. Here it is intersected by the +highway running parallel with the river, and branching +off at right angles on either hand; the right, leading +in the direction of the more populous states; the left, +through the town, and thence towards the more remote and +western parts, where European influence has yet been but +partially extended. The only difference between its +present and former character is, that what is now a +flourishing commercial town was then a mere village; +while the adjacent country, at present teeming with every +mark of vegetation, bore no other evidence of fertility +than what was afforded by a few scattered farm-houses, +many of which skirted various parts of the forest. Along +this road the detachment now wended its slow and solemn +course, and with a mournful pageantry of preparation that +gave fearful earnest of the tragedy expected to be enacted. + +In front, and dragged by the hands of the gunners, moved +two of the three three-pounders, that had been ordered +for the duty. Behind these came Captain Blessington's +company, and in their rear, the prisoner Halloway, divested +of his uniform, and clad in a white cotton jacket, and +cap of the same material. Six rank and file of the +grenadiers followed, under the command of a corporal, +and behind these again, came eight men of the same company; +four of whom bore on their shoulders a coffin, covered +with a coarse black pall that had perhaps already assisted +at fifty interments; while the other four carried, in +addition to their own, the muskets of their burdened +comrades. After these, marched a solitary drummer-boy; +whose tall bear-skin cap attested him to be of the +grenadiers also, while his muffled instrument marked the +duty for which he had been selected. Like his comrades, +none of whom exhibited their scarlet uniforms, he wore +the collar of his great coat closely buttoned beneath +his chin, which was only partially visible above the +stiff leathern stock that encircled his neck. Although +his features were half buried in his huge cap and the +high collar of his coat, there was an air of delicacy +about his person that seemed to render him unsuited to +such an office; and more than once was Captain Erskine, +who followed immediately behind him at the head of his +company, compelled to call sharply to the urchin, +threatening him with a week's drill unless he mended his +feeble and unequal pace, and kept from under the feet of +his men. The remaining gun brought up the rear of the +detachment, who marched with fixed bayonets and two balls +in each musket; the whole presenting a front of sections, +that completely filled up the road along which they +passed. Colonel de Haldimar, Captain Wentworth, and the +Adjutant Lawson followed in the extreme rear. + +An event so singular as that of the appearance of the +English without their fort, beset as they were by a host +of fierce and dangerous enemies, was not likely to pass +unnoticed by a single individual in the little village +of Detroit. We have already observed, that most of the +colonist settlers had been cruelly massacred at the very +onset of hostilities. Not so, however, with the Canadians, +who, from their anterior relations with the natives, and +the mutual and tacit good understanding that subsisted +between both parties, were suffered to continue in quiet +and unmolested possession of their homes, where they +preserved an avowed neutrality, never otherwise infringed +than by the assistance secretly and occasionally rendered +to the English troops, whose gold they were glad to +receive in exchange for the necessaries of life. + +Every dwelling of the infant town had commenced giving +up its tenants, from the moment when the head of the +detachment was seen traversing the drawbridge; so that, +by the time it reached the highway, and took its direction +to the left, the whole population of Detroit were already +assembled in groups, and giving expression to their +several conjectures, with a vivacity of language and +energy of gesticulation that would not have disgraced +the parent land itself. As the troops drew nearer, however, +they all sank at once into a silence, as much the result +of certain unacknowledged and undefined fears, as of the +respect the English had ever been accustomed to exact. +The men removed their short dingy clay pipes from their +mouths with one hand, and uncovered themselves with the +other, while the women made their hasty reverence with +the air of people who seek to propitiate by an act of +civility; even the very children scraped and bowed, as +if they feared the omission might be fatal to them, and, +clinging to the hands and dress of their parents, looked +up occasionally to their countenances to discover whether +the apprehensions of their own fluttering and timid hearts +were likely to be realised. Still there was sufficient +of curiosity with all to render them attentive spectators +of the passing troop. Hitherto, it had been imagined, +the object of the English was an attack on the encampments +of their enemies; but when the gaze of each adult inhabitant +fell on the unaccoutred form of the lone soldier, who, +calm though pale, now moved among his comrades in the +ignominious garb of death, they could no longer doubt +its true destination. + +The aged made the sign of the cross, and mumbled over a +short prayer for the repose of his soul, while the more +youthful indulged in half-breathed ejaculations of pity +and concern that so fine and interesting a man should be +doomed to so dreadful a fate. + +At the farther extremity of the town, and at a bend in +the road, which branched off more immediately towards +the river, stood a small public house, whose creaking +sign bore three ill executed fleurs-de-lis, apologetic +emblems of the arms of France. The building itself was +little more than a rude log hut, along the front of which +ran a plank, supported by two stumps of trees, and serving +as a temporary accommodation both for the traveller and +the inmate. On this bench three persons, apparently +attracted by the beauty of the day and the mildness of +the autumnal sun, were now seated, two of whom were +leisurely puffing their pipes, while the third, a female, +was employed in carding wool, a quantity of which lay in +a basket at her feet, while she warbled, in a low tone, +one of the simple airs of her native land. The elder of +the two men, whose age might be about fifty, offered +nothing particularly remarkable in his appearance: he +was dressed in one of those thick coats made of the common +white blanket, which, even to this day, are so generally +worn by the Canadians, while his hair, cut square upon +the forehead, and tied into a club of nearly a foot long, +fell into the cape, or hood, attached to it: his face +was ruddy and shining as that of any rival Boniface among +the race of the hereditary enemies of his forefathers; +and his thick short neck, and round fat person, attested +he was no more an enemy to the good things of this world +than themselves, while he was as little oppressed by its +cares: his nether garments were of a coarse blue homespun, +and his feet were protected by that rudest of all rude +coverings, the Canadian shoe-pack. This was composed of +a single piece of stiff brown leather, curved and puckered +round the sides and front, where it was met by a tongue +of softer material, which helped to confine it in that +position, and to form the shoe. A bandana handkerchief +fell from his neck upon his chest; the covering of which +was so imperfectly drawn, as to disclose a quantitity of +long, coarse, black, and grisly hair. + +His companion was habited in a still more extraordinary +manner. His lower limbs were cased, up to the mid-thigh, +in leathern leggings, the seam of which was on the outside, +leaving a margin, or border, of about an inch wide, which +had been slit into innumerable small fringes, giving them +an air of elegance and lightness: a garter of leather, +curiously wrought, with the stained quills of the porcupine, +encircled each leg, immediately under the knee, where it +was tied in a bow, and then suffered to hang pendant half +way down the limb; to the fringes of the leggings, +moreover, were attached numerous dark-coloured horny +substances, emitting, as they rattled against each other, +at the slightest movement of the wearer, a tinkling sound, +resembling that produced by a number of small thin delicate +brass bells; these were the tender hoofs of the wild +deer, dried, scraped, and otherwise prepared for this +ornamental purpose. Upon his large feet he wore mocassins, +made of the same pliant material with his leggings, and +differing in shape from the foot-gear of his companion +in this particular only, that they had no tongue introduced +into the front: they were puckered together by a strong +sinew of the deer, until they met along the instep in a +seam concealed by the same ornamental quill-work that +decorated the garters: a sort of flap, fringed like the +leggings, was folded back from the ankle, upon the sides +of the foot, and the whole was confined by a strong though +neat leathern thong, made of smoked deer-skin also, which, +after passing once or twice under the foot, was then +tightly drawn several times round the ankle, where it +was finally secured. Two strips of leather, about an inch +and a half in width, attached to the outer side of each +legging, were made fast at their opposite extremities to +a strong girdle, encircling the loins, and supporting a +piece of coarse blue cloth, which, after passing completely +under the body, fell in short flaps both before and +behind. The remainder of the dress consisted of a cotton +shirt, figured and sprigged on a dark ground, that fell +unconfined over the person; a close deer-skin hunting-coat, +fringed also at its edges; and a coarse common felt hat, +in the string of which (for there was no band) were +twisted a number of variegated feathers, furnished by +the most beautiful and rare of the American autumnal +birds. Outside this hunting-coat, and across the right +shoulder, was flung an ornamented belt, to which were +appended, on the left side, and in a line with the elbow, +a shot-pouch, made of the untanned hide of some wild +animal, and a flask for powder, formed of the horn of +the buffalo; on which, highly polished for this purpose, +were inscribed, with singular accuracy of proportion, a +variety of figures, both of men, and birds, and beasts, +and fishes; two or three small horn measures for powder, +and a long thin wire, intended to serve as a pricker for +the rifle that reclined against the outside of the hut, +were also attached to this belt by strips of deer-skin +of about six inches in length. Into another broad leathern +belt, that confined the hunting coat, was thrust a +tomahawk, the glittering head of which was uppermost, +and unsheathed: while at the opposite side, and half +supporting the powder-horn, the huge handle of a knife, +whose blade was buried in a strong leathern sheath, was +distinctly visible. + +The form and face of this individual were in perfect +keeping with the style of his costume, and the formidable +character of his equipment. His stature was considerably +beyond that of the ordinary race of men, and his athletic +and muscular limbs united the extremes of strength and +activity in a singular degree. His features, marked and +prominent, wore a cast of habitual thought, strangely +tinctured with ferocity; and the general expression of +his otherwise not unhandsome countenance was repellent +and disdainful. At the first glance he might have been +taken for one of the swarthy natives of the soil; but +though time and constant exposure to scorching suns had +given to his complexion a dusky hue, still there were +wanting the quick, black, penetrating eye; the high +cheek-bone; the straight, coarse, shining, black hair; +the small bony hand and foot; and the placidly proud and +serious air, by which the former is distinguished. His +own eye was of a deep bluish grey; his hair short, dark, +and wavy; his hands large and muscular; and so far from +exhibiting any of the self-command of the Indian, the +constant play of his features betrayed each passing +thought with the same rapidity with which it was conceived. +But if any doubt could have existed in the mind of him +who beheld this strangely accoutred figure, it would have +been instantly dispelled by a glance at his lower limbs. +We have already stated the upper part of his leggings +terminated about mid-thigh; from this to the hip, that +portion of the limb was completely bare, and disclosed, +at each movement of the garment that was suffered to fall +loosely over it, not the swarthy and copper-coloured +flesh of the Indian, but the pale though sun-burnt skin +of one of a more temperate clime. His age might be about +forty-five. + +At the moment when the English detachment approached the +bend in the road, these two individuals were conversing +earnestly together, pausing only to puff at intervals +thick and wreathing volumes of smoke from their pipes, +which were filled with a mixture of tobacco and odoriferous +herbs. Presently, however, sounds that appeared familiar +to his ear arrested the attention of the wildly accoutred +being we have last described. It was the heavy roll of +the artillery carriages already advancing along the road, +and somewhat in the rear of the hut. To dash his pipe to +the ground, seize and cock and raise his rifle to his +shoulder, and throw himself forward in the eager attitude +of one waiting until the object of his aim should appear +in sight, was but the work of a moment. Startled by the +suddenness of the action, his male companion moved a few +paces also from his. seat, to discover the cause of this +singular movement. The female, on the contrary, stirred +not, but ceasing for a moment the occupation in which +she had been engaged, fixed her dark and brilliant eyes +upon the tall and picturesque form of the rifleman, whose +active and athletic limbs, thrown into powerful relief +by the distention of each nerve and muscle, appeared to +engross her whole admiration and interest, without any +reference to the cause that had produced this abrupt and +hostile change in his movements. It was evident that, +unlike the other inhabitants of the town, this group had +been taken by surprise, and were utterly unprepared to +expect any thing in the shape of interruption. + +For upwards of a minute, during which the march of the +men became audible even to the ears of the female, the +formidable warrior, for such his garb denoted him to be, +continued motionless in the attitude he had at first +assumed--his right cheek reposing on the ornamented stock +of his rifle, and his quick and steady eye fixed in one +undeviating line with the sight near the breech, and that +which surmounted the extreme end of the deadly weapon. +No sooner, however, had the head of the advancing column +come within sight, than the trigger was pulled, and the +small and ragged bullet sped hissing from the grooved +and delicate barrel. A triumphant cry was next pealed +from the lips of the warrior,--a cry produced by the +quickly repeated application and removal of one hand to +and from the mouth, while the other suffered the butt +end of the now harmless weapon to fall loosely upon the +earth. He then slowly and deliberately withdrew within +the cover of the hut. + +This daring action, which had been viewed by the leading +troops with astonishment not unmingled with alarm, +occasioned a temporary confusion in the ranks, for all +believed they had fallen into an ambuscade of the Indians. +A halt was instantly commanded by Captain Blessington, +in order to give time to the governor to come up from +the rear, while he proceeded with one of the leading +sections to reconnoitre the front of the hut. To his +infinite surprise, however, he found neither enemy, nor +evidence that an enemy had been there. The only individuals +visible were the Canadian already alluded to, and the +dark-eyed female. Both were seated on the bench;--the +one smoking his pipe with a well assumed appearance of +unconcern--the other carding her wool, but with a hand +that by a close observer might be seen to tremble in its +office, and a cheek that was paler considerably than at +the moment when we first placed her before the imagination +of the reader. Both, however, started with unaffected +surprise on seeing Captain Blessington and his little +force turn the corner of the house from the main road; +and certain looks of recognition passed between all +parties, that proved them to be no strangers to each +other. + +"Ah, monsieur," said the Canadian, in a mingled dialect, +neither French nor English, but partaking in some degree +of the idiom of both, while he attempted an ease and +freedom of manner that was too miserably affected to pass +current with the mild but observant officer whom he +addressed, "how much surprise I am, and glad to see you. +It is a long times since you came out of de fort. I hope +de governeur and de officir be all very well. I was +tinking to go to-day to see if you want any ting. I have +got some nice rum of the Jamaique for Capitaine Erskine. +Will you please to try some?" While speaking, the voluble +host of the Fleur de lis had risen from his seat, laid +aside his pipe, and now stood with his hands thrust into +the pockets of his blanket coat + +"It is, indeed, a long time since we have been here, +master Francois," somewhat sarcastically and drily replied +Captain Blessington; "and you have not visited us quite +so often latterly yourself, though well aware we were in +want of fresh provisions. I give you all due credit, +however, for your intention of coming to-day, but you +see we have anticipated you. Still this is not the point. +Where is the Indian who fired at us just now? and how is +it we find you leagued with our enemies?" + +"What, sir, is it you say?" asked the Canadian, holding +up his hands with feigned astonishment "Me league myself +with de savage. Upon my honour I did not see nobody fire, +or I should tell you. I love de English too well to do +dem harms." + +"Come, come, Francois, no nonsense. If I cannot make you +confess, there is one not far from me who will. You know +Colonel de Haldimar too well to imagine he will be trifled +with in this manner: if he detects you in a falsehood, +he will certainly cause you to be hanged up at the first +tree. Take my advice, therefore, and say where you have +secreted this Indian; and recollect, if we fall into an +ambuscade, your life will be forfeited at the first shot +we hear fired." + +At this moment the governor, followed by his adjutant, +came rapidly up to the spot. Captain Blessington +communicated the ill success of his queries, when the +former cast on the terrified Canadian one of those severe +and searching looks which he so well knew how to assume. + +"Where is the rascal who fired at us, sirrah? tell me +instantly, or you have not five minutes to live." + +The heart of mine host of the Fleur de lis quailed within +him at this formidable threat; and the usually ruddy hue +of his countenance had now given place to an ashy paleness. +Still, as he had positively denied all knowledge of the +matter on which he was questioned, he appeared to feel +his safety lay in adhering to his original statement. +Again, therefore, he assured the governor, on his honour +(laying his hand upon his heart as he spoke), that what +he had already stated was the fact. + +"Your honour--you pitiful trading scoundrel--how dare +you talk to me of your honour? Come, sir, confess at once +where you have secreted this fellow, or prepare to die." + +"If I may be so bold, your Honour," said one of Captain +Blessington's men, "the Frenchman lies. When the Ingian +fired among us, this fellow was peeping under his shoulder +and watching us also. If I had not seen him too often at +the fort to be mistaken in his person, I should have +known him, at all events, by his blanket coat and red +handkerchief." + +This blunt statement of the soldier, confirmed as it was +the instant afterwards by one of his comrades, was damning +proof against the Canadian, even if the fact of the rifle +being discharged from the front of the hut had not already +satisfied all parties of the falsehood of his assertion. + +"Come forward, a couple of files, and seize this villain," +resumed the governor with his wonted sternness of manner. +"Mr. Lawson, see if his hut does not afford a rope strong +enough to hang the traitor from one of his own apple +trees." + +Both parties proceeded at the same moment to execute the +two distinct orders of their chief. The Canadian was +now firmly secured in the grasp of the two men who had +given evidence against him, when, seeing all the horror +of the summary and dreadful fate that awaited him, he +confessed the individual who had fired had been sitting +with him the instant previously, but that he knew no more +of him than of any other savage occasionally calling at +the Fleur de lis. He added, that on discharging the rifle +he had bounded across the palings of the orchard, and +fled in the direction of the forest. He denied, on +interrogation, all knowledge or belief of an enemy waiting +in ambush; stating, moreover, even the individual in +question had not been aware of the sortie of the detachment +until apprised of their near approach by the heavy sound +of the gun-carriages. + +"Here are undeniable proofs of the man's villany, sir," +said the adjutant, returning from the hut and exhibiting +objects of new and fearful interest to the governor. +"This hat and rope I found secreted in one of the bed-rooms +of the auberge. The first is evidently Donellan's; and +from the hook attached to the latter, I apprehend it to +be the same stated to have been used by Captain de Haldimar +in crossing the ditch." + +The governor took the hat and rope from the hands of his +subordinate, examined them attentively, and after a few +moments of deep musing, during which his countenance +underwent several rapid though scarcely perceptible +changes, turned suddenly and eagerly to the soldier who +had first convicted the Canadian in his falsehood, and +demanded if he had seen enough of the man who had fired +to be able to give even a general description of his +person. + +"Why yes, your Honour, I think I can; for the fellow +stood long enough after firing his piece, for a painter +to have taken him off from head to foot. He was a taller +and larger man by far than our biggest grenadier, and +that is poor Harry Donellan, as your Honour knows. But +as for his dress, though I could see it all, I scarcely +can tell how to describe it. All I know is, he was covered +with smoked deer-skin, in some such fashion as the great +chief Ponteac, only, instead of having his head bare and +shaved, he wore a strange outlandish sort of a hat, +covered over with wild birds' feathers in front." + +"Enough," interrupted the governor, motioning the man to +silence; then, in an undertone to himself,--"By Heaven, +the very same." A shade of disappointment, not unmingled +with suppressed alarm, passed rapidly across his brow; +it was but momentary. "Captain Blessington," he ordered +quickly and impatiently, "search the hut and grounds for +this lurking Indian, who is, no doubt, secreted in the +neighbourhood. Quick, quick, sir; there is no time to be +lost." Then in an angry and intimidating tone to the +Canadian, who had already dropped on his knees, supplicating +mercy, and vociferating his innocence in the same breath, +--"So, you infernal scoundrel, this is the manner in +which you have repaid our confidence. Where is my son, +sir? or have you already murdered him, as you did his +servant? Tell me, you villain, what have you to say to +these proofs of your treachery? But stay, I shall take +another and fitter opportunity to question you. Mr. +Lawson, secure this traitor properly, and let him be +conveyed to the centre of the detachment." + +The mandate was promptly obeyed; and, in despite of his +own unceasing prayers and protestations of innocence, +and the tears and entreaties of his dark-eyed daughter +Babette, who had thrown herself on her knees at his side, +the stout arms of mine host of the Fleur de lis were soon +firmly secured behind his back with the strong rope that +had been found under such suspicious circumstances in +his possession. Before he was marched off, however, two +of the men who had been sent in pursuit, returned from +the orchard, stating that further search was now fruitless. +They had penetrated through a small thicket at the +extremity of the grounds, and had distinctly seen a man +answering the description given by their comrades, in +full flight towards the forest skirting the heights in +front. + +The governor was evidently far from being satisfied with +the result of a search too late instituted to leave even +a prospect of success. "Where are the Indians principally +encamped, sirrah?" he sternly demanded of his captive; +"answer me truly, or I will carry off this wench as well, +and if a single hair of a man of mine be even singed by +a shot from a skulking enemy, you may expect to see her +bayoneted before your eyes." + +"Ah, my God! Monsieur le Gouverneur," exclaimed the +affrighted aubergiste, "as I am an honest man, I shall +tell de truth, but spare my child. They are all in de +forest, and half a mile from de little river dat runs +between dis and de Pork Island." + +"Hog Island, I suppose you mean." + +"Yes sir, de Hog Island is de one I means." + +"Conduct him to the centre, and let him be confronted +with the prisoner," directed the governor, addressing +his adjutant; "Captain Blessington, your men may resume +their stations in the ranks." + +The order was obeyed; and notwithstanding the tears and +supplications of the now highly excited Babette, who +flung herself upon his neck, and was only removed by +force, the terrified Canadian was borne off from his +premises by the troops. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +While this scene was enacting in front of the Fleur de +lis, one of a far more touching and painful nature was +passing in the very heart of the detachment itself. At +the moment when the halt was ordered by Captain Blessington, +a rumour ran through the ranks that they had reached the +spot destined for the execution of their ill-fated comrade. +Those only in the immediate front were aware of the true +cause; but although the report of the rifle had been +distinctly heard by all, it had been attributed by those +in the rear to the accidental discharge of one of their +own muskets. A low murmur, expressive of the opinion +generally entertained, passed gradually from rear to +front, until it at length reached the ears of the delicate +drummer boy who marched behind the coffin. His face was +still buried in the collar of his coat; and what was left +uncovered of his features by the cap, was in some degree +hidden by the forward drooping of his head upon his chest. +Hitherto he had moved almost mechanically along, tottering +and embarrassing himself at every step under the cumbrous +drum that was suspended from a belt round his neck over +the left thigh; but now there was a certain indescribable +drawing up of the frame, and tension of the whole person, +denoting a concentration of all the moral and physical +energies,--a sudden working up, as it were, of the +intellectual and corporeal being to some determined and +momentous purpose. + +At the first halt of the detachment, the weary supporters +of the coffin had deposited their rude and sombre burden +upon the earth, preparatory to its being resumed by those +appointed to relieve them. The dull sound emitted by the +hollow fabric, as it touched the ground, caught the ear +of him for whom it was destined, and he turned to gaze +upon the sad and lonely tenement so shortly to become +his final resting place. There was an air of calm composure +and dignified sorrow upon his brow, that infused respect +into the hearts of all who beheld him; and even the men +selected to do the duty of executioners sought to evade +his glance, as his steady eye wandered from right to left +of the fatal rank. His attention, however, was principally +directed towards the coffin, which lay before him; on +this he gazed fixedly for upwards of a minute. He then +turned his eyes in the direction of the fort, shuddered, +heaved a profound sigh, and looking up to heaven with +the apparent fervour that became his situation, seemed +to pray for a moment or two inwardly and devoutly. The +thick and almost suffocating breathing of one immediately +beyond the coffin, was now distinctly heard by all. +Halloway started from his attitude of devotion, gazed +earnestly on the form whence it proceeded, and then wildly +extending his arms, suffered a smile of satisfaction to +illumine his pale features. All eyes were now turned upon +the drummer boy, who, evidently labouring under convulsive +excitement of feeling, suddenly dashed his cap and +instrument to the earth, and flew as fast as his tottering +and uncertain steps would admit across the coffin, and +into the arms extended to receive him. + +"My Ellen! oh, my own devoted, but too unhappy Ellen!" +passionately exclaimed the soldier, as he clasped the +slight and agitated form of his disguised wife to his +throbbing heart. "This, this, indeed, is joy even in +death. I thought I could have died more happily without +you, but nature tugs powerfully at my heart; and to see +you once more, to feel you once more HERE" (and he pressed +her wildly to his chest) "is indeed a bliss that robs my +approaching fate of half its terror." + +"Oh Reginald! my dearly beloved Reginald! my murdered +husband!" shrieked the unhappy woman; "your Ellen will +not survive you. Her heart is already broken, though she +cannot weep; but the same grave shall contain us both. +Reginald, do you believe me? I swear it; the same grave +shall contain us both." + +Exhausted with the fatigue and excitement she had undergone, +the faithful and affectionate creature now lay, without +sense or motion, in the arms of her wretched husband. +Halloway bore her, unopposed, a pace or two in advance, +and deposited her unconscious form on the fatal coffin. + +No language of ours can render justice to the trying +character of the scene. All who witnessed it were painfully +affected, and over the bronzed cheek of many a veteran +coursed a tear, that, like that of Sterne's recording +angel, might have blotted out a catalogue of sins. Although +each was prepared to expect a reprimand from the governor, +for suffering the prisoner to quit his station in the +ranks, humanity and nature pleaded too powerfully in his +behalf, and neither officer nor man attempted to interfere, +unless with a view to render assistance. Captain Erskine, +in particular, was deeply pained, and would have given +any thing to recall the harsh language he had used towards +the supposed idle and inattentive drummer boy. Taking +from a pocket in his uniform a small flask of brandy, +which he had provided against casualties, the +compassionating officer slightly raised the head of the +pale and unconscious woman with one hand, while with the +other he introduced a few drops between her parted lips. +Halloway knelt at the opposite side of the coffin; one +hand searching, but in vain, the suspended pulse of his +inanimate wife; the other, unbuttoning the breast of the +drum-boy's jacket, which, with every other part of the +equipment, she wore beneath the loose great coat so +effectually accomplishing her disguise. + +Such was the position of the chief actors in this truly +distressing drama, at the moment when Colonel de Haldimar +came up with his new prisoner, to mark what effect would +be produced on Halloway by his unexpected appearance. +His own surprise and disappointment may be easily conceived, +when, in the form of the recumbent being who seemed to +engross universal attention, he recognised, by the fair +and streaming hair, and half exposed bosom, the unfortunate +being whom, only two hours previously, he had spurned +from his feet in the costume of her own sex, and reduced, +by the violence of her grief, to almost infantine debility. +Question succeeded question to those around, but without +eliciting any clue to the means by which this mysterious +disguise had been effected. No one had been aware, until +the truth was so singularly and suddenly revealed, the +supposed drummer was any other than one of the lads +attached to the grenadiers; and as for the other facts, +they spoke too plainly to the comprehension of the governor +to need explanation. Once more, however, the detachment +was called to order. Halloway struck his hand violently +upon his brow, kissed the wan lips of his still unconscious +wife, breathing, as he did so, a half murmured hope she +might indeed be the corpse she appeared. He then raised +himself from the earth with a light and elastic vet firm +movement, and resumed the place he had previously occupied, +where, to his surprise, he beheld a second victim bound, +and, apparently, devoted to the same death. When the eyes +of the two unhappy men met, the governor closely watched +the expression of the countenance of each; but although +the Canadian started on beholding the soldier, it might +be merely because he saw the latter arrayed in the garb +of death, and followed by the most unequivocal +demonstrations of a doom to which he himself was, in all +probability, devoted. As for Halloway, his look betrayed +neither consciousness nor recognition; and though too +proud to express complaint or to give vent to the feelings +of his heart, his whole soul appeared to be absorbed in +the unhappy partner of his luckless destiny. Presently +he saw her borne, and in the same state of insensibility, +in the arms of Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Leslie, +towards the hut of his fellow prisoner, and he heard the +former officer enjoin the weeping girl, Babette, to whose +charge they delivered her over, to pay every attention +to her her situation might require. The detachment then +proceeded. + +The narrow but deep and rapid river alluded to by the +Canadian, as running midway between the town and Hog +Island, derived its source far within the forest, and +formed the bed of one of those wild, dark, and thickly +wooded ravines so common in America. As it neared the +Detroit, however, the abruptness of its banks was so +considerably lessened, as to render the approach to it +on the town side over an almost imperceptible slope. +Within a few yards of its mouth, as we have already +observed in our introductory chapter, a rude but strong +wooden bridge, over which lay the high road, had been +constructed by the French; and from the centre of this, +all the circuit of intermediate clearing, even to the +very skirt of the forest, was distinctly commanded by +the naked eye. To the right, on approaching it from the +town, lay the adjacent shores of Canada, washed by the +broad waters of the Detroit, on which it was thrown into +strong relief, and which, at the distance of about a mile +in front, was seen to diverge into two distinct channels, +pursuing each a separate course, until they again met at +the western extremity of Hog Island. On the left, and in +the front, rose a succession of slightly undulating hills, +which, at a distance of little more than half a mile, +terminated in an elevation considerably above the immediate +level of the Detroit side of the ravine. That, again, +was crowned with thick and overhanging forest, taking +its circular sweep, as we have elsewhere shown, around +the fort. The intermediate ground was studded over with +rude stumps of trees, and bore, in various directions, +distinct proofs of the spoliation wrought among the infant +possessions of the murdered English settlers. The view +to the rear was less open; the town being partially hidden +by the fruit-laden orchards that lined the intervening +high road, and hung principally on its left. This was +not the case with the fort. Between these orchards and +the distant forest lay a line of open country, fully +commanded by its cannon, even to the ravine we have +described, and in a sweep that embraced every thing from +the bridge itself to the forest, in which all traces of +its source was lost. + +When the detachment had arrived within twenty yards of +the bridge, they were made to file off to the left, until +the last gun had come up. They were then fronted; the +rear section of Captain Erskine's company resting on the +road, and the left flank, covered by the two first guns +pointed obliquely, both in front and rear, to guard +against surprise, in the event of any of the Indians +stealing round to the cover of the orchards. The route +by which they had approached this spot was upwards of +two miles in extent; but, as they now filed off into the +open ground, the leading sections observed, in a direct +line over the cleared country, and at the distance of +little more than three quarters of a mile, the dark +ramparts of the fortress that contained their comrades, +and could even distinguish the uniforms of the officers +and men drawn up in line along the works, where they were +evidently assembled to witness the execution of the +sentence on Halloway. + +Such a sight as that of the English so far from their +fort, was not likely to escape the notice of the Indians. +Their encampment, as the Canadian had truly stated, lay +within the forest, and beyond the elevated ground already +alluded to; and to have crossed the ravine, or ventured +out of reach of the cannon of the fort, would have been +to have sealed the destruction of the detachment. But +the officer to whom their security was entrusted, although +he had his own particular views for venturing thus far, +knew also at what point to stop; and such was the confidence +of his men in his skill and prudence, they would have +fearlessly followed wherever he might have chosen to +lead. Still, even amid all the solemnity of preparation +attendant on the duty they were out to perform, there +was a natural and secret apprehensiveness about each, +that caused him to cast his eyes frequently and fixedly +on that part of the forest which was known to afford +cover to their merciless foes. At times they fancied they +beheld the dark and flitting forms of men gliding from +tree to tree along the skirt of the wood; but when they +gazed again, nothing of the kind was to be seen, and the +illusion was at once ascribed to the heavy state of the +atmosphere, and the action of their own precautionary +instincts. + +Meanwhile the solemn tragedy of death was preparing in +mournful silence. On the centre of the bridge, and visible +to those even within the fort, was placed the coffin of +Halloway, and at twelve paces in front were drawn up the +six rank and file on whom had devolved, by lot, the cruel +duty of the day. With calm and fearless eye the prisoner +surveyed the preparations for his approaching end; and +whatever might be the inward workings of his mind, there +was not among the assembled soldiery one individual whose +countenance betrayed so little of sorrow and emotion as +his own. With a firm step, when summoned, he moved towards +the fatal coffin, dashing his cap to the earth as he +advanced, and baring his chest with the characteristic +contempt of death of the soldier. When he had reached +the centre of the bridge, he turned facing his comrades, +and knelt upon the coffin. Captain Blessington, who, +permitted by the governor, had followed him with a sad +heart and heavy step, now drew a Prayer-book from his +pocket, and read from it in a low voice. He then closed +the volume, listened to something the prisoner earnestly +communicated to him, received a small packet which he +drew from the bosom of his shirt, shook him long and +cordially by the hand, and then hastily resumed his post +at the head of the detachment. + +The principal inhabitants of the village, led by curiosity, +had followed at a distance to witness the execution of +the condemned soldier: and above the heads of the line, +and crowning the slope, were collected groups of both +sexes and of all ages, that gave a still more imposing +character to the scene. Every eye was now turned upon +the firing party, who only awaited the signal to execute +their melancholy office, when suddenly, in the direction +of the forest, and upon the extreme height, there burst +the tremendous and deafening yells of upwards of a thousand +savages. For an instant Halloway was forgotten in the +instinctive sense of individual danger, and all gazed +eagerly to ascertain the movements of their enemy. +Presently a man, naked to the waist, his body and face +besmeared with streaks of black and red paint, and his +whole attitude expressing despair and horror, was seen +flying down the height with a rapidity proportioned to +the extreme peril in which he stood. At about fifty paces +in his rear followed a dozen bounding, screaming Indians, +armed with uplifted tomahawks, whose anxiety in pursuit +lent them a speed that even surpassed the efforts of +flight itself. It was evident the object of the pursued +was to reach the detachment, that of the pursuers to +prevent him. The struggle was maintained for a few moments +with equality, but in the end the latter were triumphant, +and at each step the distance that separated them became +less. At the first alarm, the detachment, with the +exception of the firing party, who still occupied their +ground, had been thrown into square, and, with a gun +planted in each angle, awaited the attack momentarily +expected. But although the heights were now alive with +the dusky forms of naked warriors, who, from the skirt +of the forest, watched the exertions of their fellows, +the pursuit of the wretched fugitive was confined to +these alone. Foremost of the latter, and distinguished +by his violent exertions and fiendish cries, was the tall +and wildly attired warrior of the Fleur de lis. At every +bound he took he increased the space that divided him +from his companions, and lessened that which kept him +from his panting and nearly exhausted victim. Already +were they descending the nearest of the undulating hills, +and both now became conspicuous objects to all around; +but principally the pursuer, whose gigantic frame and +extraordinary speed riveted every eye, even while the +interest of all was excited for the wretched fugitive +alone. + +At that moment Halloway, who had been gazing on the scene +with an astonishment little inferior to that of his +comrades, sprang suddenly to his feet upon the coffin, +and waving his hand in the direction of the pursuing +enemy, shouted aloud in a voice of mingled joy and +triumph,-- + +"Ha! Almighty God, I thank thee! Here, here comes one +who alone has the power to snatch me from my impending +doom." + +"By Heaven, the traitor confesses, and presumes to triumph +in his guilt," exclaimed the voice of one, who, while +closely attending to every movement of the Indians, was +also vigilantly watching the effect likely to be produced +on the prisoner by this unexpected interruption. "Corporal, +do your duty." + +"Stay, stay--one moment stay!" implored Halloway with +uplifted hands. + +"Do your duty, sir," fiercely repeated the governor. + +"Oh stop--for God's sake, stop! Another moment and he +will be here, and I--" + +He said no more--a dozen bullets penetrated his body--one +passed directly through his heart. He leaped several feet +in the air, and then fell heavily, a lifeless bleeding +corpse, across the coffin. + +Meanwhile the pursuit of the fugitive was continued, +but by the warrior of the Fleur de lis alone. Aware of +their inefficiency to keep pace with this singular being, +his companions had relinquished the chace, and now stood +resting on the brow of the hill where the wretched Halloway +had first recognised his supposed deliverer, watching +eagerly, though within musket shot of the detachment, +the result of a race on which so much apparently depended. +Neither party, however, attempted to interfere with the +other, for all eyes were now turned on the flying man +and his pursuer with an interest that denoted the +extraordinary efforts of the one to evade and the other +to attain the accomplishment of his object. Although the +exertions of the former had been stupendous, such was +the eagerness and determination of the latter, that at +each step he gained perceptibly on his victim. The +immediate course taken was in a direct line for the +ravine, which it evidently was the object of the fugitive +to clear at its nearest point. Already had he approached +within a few paces of its brink, and every eye was fastened +on the point where it was expected the doubtful leap +would be taken, when suddenly, as if despairing to +accomplish it at a bound, he turned to the left, and +winding along its bank, renewed his efforts in the +direction of the bridge. This movement occasioned a change +in the position of the parties which was favourable to +the pursued. Hitherto they had been so immediately on a +line with each other, it was impossible for the detachment +to bring a musket to bear upon the warrior, without +endangering him whose life they were anxious to preserve. +For a moment or two his body was fairly exposed, and a +dozen muskets were discharged at intervals from the +square, but all without success. Recovering his lost +ground, he soon brought the pursued again in a line +between himself and the detachment, edging rapidly nearer +to him as he advanced, and uttering terrific yells, that +were echoed back from his companions on the brow of the +hill. It was evident, however, his object was the recapture, +not the destruction, of the flying man, for more than +once did he brandish his menacing tomahawk in rapid sweeps +around his head, as if preparing to dart it, and as often +did he check the movement. The scene at each succeeding +moment became more critical and intensely interesting. +The strength of the pursued was now nearly exhausted, +while that of his formidable enemy seemed to suffer no +diminution. Leap after leap he took with fearful +superiority, sideling as he advanced. Already had he +closed upon his victim, while with a springing effort a +large and bony hand was extended to secure his shoulder +in his grasp. The effort was fatal to him; for in reaching +too far he lost his balance, and fell heavily upon the +sward. A shout of exultation burst from the English +troops, and numerous voices now encouraged the pursued +to renew his exertions. The advice was not lost; and +although only a few seconds had elapsed between the fall +and recovery of his pursuer, the wretched fugitive had +already greatly increased the distance that separated +them. A cry of savage rage and disappointment burst from +the lips of the gigantic warrior; and concentrating all +his remaining strength and speed into one final effort, +he bounded and leapt like a deer of the forest whence he +came. The opportunity for recapture, however, had been +lost in his fall, for already the pursued was within a +few feet of the high road, and on the point of turning +the extremity of the bridge. One only resource was now +left: the warrior suddenly checked himself in his course, +and remained stationary; then raising and dropping his +glittering weapon several times in a balancing position, +he waited until the pursued had gained the highest point +of the open bridge. At that moment the glittering steel, +aimed with singular accuracy and precision, ran whistling +through the air, and with such velocity of movement as +to be almost invisible to the eyes of those who attempted +to follow it in its threatening course. All expected to +see it enter into the brain against which it had been +directed; but the fugitive had marked the movement in +time to save himself by stooping low to the earth, while +the weapon, passing over him, entered with a deadly and +crashing sound into the brain of the weltering corpse. +This danger passed, he sprang once more to his feet, nor +paused again in his flight, until, faint and exhausted, +he sank without motion under the very bayonets of the +firing party. + +A new direction was now given to the interest of the +assembled and distinct crowds that had witnessed these +startling incidents. Scarcely had the wretched man gained +the protection of the soldiery, when a shriek divided +the air, so wild, so piercing, and so unearthly, that +even the warrior of the Fleur de lis seemed to lose sight +of his victim, in the harrowing interest produced by that +dreadful scream. All turned their eyes for a moment in +the quarter whence it proceeded; when presently, from +behind the groups of Canadians crowning the slope, was +seen flying, with the rapidity of thought, one who +resembled rather a spectre than a being of earth;--it +was the wife of Halloway. Her long fair hair was wild +and streaming--her feet, and legs, and arms were naked--and +one solitary and scanty garment displayed rather than +concealed the symmetry of her delicate person. She flew +to the fatal bridge, threw herself on the body of her +bleeding husband, and imprinting her warm kisses on his +bloody lips, for a moment or two presented the image of +one whose reason has fled for ever. Suddenly she started +from the earth; her face, her hands, and her garment so +saturated with the blood of her husband, that a feeling +of horror crept throughout the veins of all who beheld +her. She stood upon the coffin, and across the +corpse--raised her eyes and hands imploringly to Heaven--and +then, in accents wilder even than her words, uttered an +imprecation that sounded like the prophetic warning of +some unholy spirit. + +"Inhuman murderer!" she exclaimed, in tones that almost +paralysed the ears on which it fell, "if there be a God +of justice and of truth, he will avenge this devilish +deed. Yes, Colonel de Haldimar, a prophetic voice whispers +to my soul, that even as I have seen perish before my +eyes all I loved on earth, without mercy and without +hope, so even shall you witness the destruction of your +accursed race. Here--here--here," and she pointed +downwards, with singular energy of action, to the corpse +of her husband, "here shall their blood flow till every +vestige of his own is washed away; and oh, if there be +spared one branch of thy detested family, may it only be +that they may be reserved for some death too horrible to +be conceived!" + +Overcome by the frantic energy with which she had uttered +these appalling words, she sank backwards, and fell, +uttering another shriek, into the arms of the warrior of +the Fleur de lis. + +"Hear you this, Colonel de Haldimar?" shouted the latter +in a fierce and powerful voice, and in the purest English +accent; "hear you the curse and prophecy of this +heart-broken woman? You have slain her husband, but she +has found another. Ay, she shall be my bride, if only +for her detestation of yourself. When next you see us +here," he thundered, "tremble for your race. Ha, ha, ha! +no doubt this is another victim of your cold and calculating +guile; but it shall be the last. By Heaven, my very +heart leaps upward in anticipation of thy coming hour. +Woman, thy hatred to this man has made me love thee; yes, +thou shall be my bride, and with my plans of vengeance +will I woo thee. By this kiss I swear it." + +As he spoke, he bent his face over that of the pale and +inanimate woman, and pressed his lips to hers, yet red +and moist with blood spots from the wounds of her husband. +Then wresting, with a violent effort, his reeking tomahawk +from the cranched brain of the unfortunate soldier, and +before any one could recover sufficiently from the effect +of the scene altogether to think even of interfering, he +bore off his prize in triumph, and fled, with nearly the +same expedition he had previously manifested, in the +direction of the forest. + + + + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + + + + +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Wacousta (Volume I), by John Richardson +*********This file should be named wcst110.txt or wcst110.zip********* + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, wcst111.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wcst110a.txt + +This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan + +More information about this book is at the top of this file. + +We are now trying to release all our etexts one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. 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