initial commit of ebook 4912HEADmain

1 files changed, 21044 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/wcstc10.txt b/old/wcstc10.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eaa454c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/wcstc10.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,21044 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wacousta, by John Richardson
+#4 in our series by John Richardson
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
+copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
+this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
+
+This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
+Gutenberg file.  Please do not remove it.  Do not change or edit the
+header without written permission.
+
+Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
+eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file.  Included is
+important information about your specific rights and restrictions in
+how the file may be used.  You can also find out about how to make a
+donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
+
+
+**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
+
+**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Wacousta
+       or The Prophecy
+
+Author: John Richardson
+
+Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4912]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on March 25, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA ***
+
+
+
+
+This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from
+Charles Franks and the distributed proofers.
+
+
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+WACOUSTA;
+  or
+THE PROPHECY.
+
+Volume Two of Three
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+It was on the evening of that day, so fertile in melancholy
+incident, to which our first volume has been devoted,
+that the drawbridge of Detroit was, for the third time
+since the investment of the garrison, lowered; not, as
+previously, with a disregard of the intimation that might
+be given to those without by the sullen and echoing rattle
+of its ponderous chains, but with a caution attesting
+how much secrecy of purpose was sought to be preserved.
+There was, however, no array of armed men within the
+walls, that denoted an expedition of a hostile character.
+Overcome with the harassing duties of the day, the chief
+portion of the troops had retired to rest, and a few
+groups of the guard alone were to be seen walking up and
+down in front of their post, apparently with a view to
+check the influence of midnight drowsiness, but, in
+reality, to witness the result of certain preparations
+going on by torchlight in the centre of the barrack
+square.
+
+In the midst of an anxious group of officers, comprising
+nearly all of that rank within the fort, stood two
+individuals, attired in a costume having nothing in common
+with the gay and martial habiliments of the former. They
+were tall, handsome young men, whose native elegance of
+carriage was but imperfectly hidden under an equipment
+evidently adopted for, and otherwise fully answering,
+the purpose of disguise. A blue cotton shell jacket,
+closely fitting to the person, trowsers of the same
+material, a pair of strong deer-skin mocassins, and a
+coloured handkerchief tied loosely round the collar of
+a checked shirt, the whole surmounted by one of those
+rough blanket coats, elsewhere described, formed the
+principal portion of their garb. Each, moreover, wore a
+false queue of about nine inches in length, the effect
+of which was completely to change the character of the
+countenance, and lend to the features a Canadian-like
+expression. A red worsted cap, resembling a bonnet de
+nuit, was thrown carelessly over the side of the head,
+which could, at any moment, when deeper disguise should
+be deemed necessary, command the additional protection
+of the rude hood that fell back upon the shoulders from
+the collar of the coat to which it was attached. They
+were both well armed. Into a broad belt, that encircled
+the jacket of each, were thrust a brace of pistols and
+a strong dagger; the whole so disposed, however, as to
+be invisible when the outer garment was closed: this,
+again, was confined by a rude sash of worsted of different
+colours, not unlike, in texture and quality, what is worn
+by our sergeants at the present day. They were otherwise
+armed, however, and in a less secret manner. Across the
+right shoulder of each was thrown a belt of worsted also,
+to which were attached a rude powder horn and shot pouch,
+with a few straggling bullets, placed there as if rather
+by accident than design. Each held carelessly in his left
+hand, and with its butt resting on the earth, a long gun;
+completing an appearance, the attainment of which had,
+in all probability, been sedulously sought,--that of a
+Canadian duck-hunter.
+
+A metamorphosis so ludicrously operated in the usually
+elegant costume of two young English officers,--for such
+they were,--might have been expected to afford scope to
+the pleasantry of their companions, and to call forth
+those sallies which the intimacy of friendship and the
+freemasonry of the profession would have fully justified.
+But the events that had occurred in such rapid succession,
+since the preceding midnight, were still painfully
+impressed on the recollection of all, and some there were
+who looked as if they never would smile again; neither
+laugh nor jeering, therefore, escaped the lips of one of
+the surrounding group. Every countenance wore a cast of
+thought,--a character of abstraction, ill suited to the
+indulgence of levity; and the little conversation that
+passed between them was in a low and serious tone. It
+was evident some powerful and absorbing dread existed in
+the mind of each, inducing him rather to indulge in
+communion with his own thoughts and impressions, than to
+communicate them to others. Even the governor himself
+had, for a moment, put off the dignity and distance of
+his usually unapproachable nature, to assume an air of
+unfeigned concern, and it might be dejection, contrasting
+strongly with his habitual haughtiness. Hitherto he had
+been walking to and fro, a little apart from the group,
+and with a hurriedness and indecision of movement that
+betrayed to all the extreme agitation of his mind. For
+once, however, he appeared to be insensible to observation,
+or, if not insensible, indifferent to whatever comments
+might be formed or expressed by those who witnessed his
+undissembled emotion. He was at length interrupted by
+the adjutant, who communicated something in a low voice.
+
+"Let him be brought up, Mr. Lawson," was the reply. Then
+advancing into the heart of the group, and addressing
+the two adventurers, he enquired, in a tone that startled
+from its singular mildness, "if they were provided with
+every thing they required."
+
+An affirmative reply was given, when the governor, taking
+the taller of the young men aside, conversed with him
+earnestly, and in a tone of affection strangely blended
+with despondency. The interview, however, was short, for
+Mr. Lawson now made his appearance, conducting an individual
+who has already been introduced to our readers. It was
+the Canadian of the Fleur de lis. The adjutant placed a
+small wooden crucifix in the hands of the governor.
+
+"Francois," said the latter, impressively, "you know the
+terms on which I have consented to spare your life. Swear,
+then, by this cross; that you will be faithful to your
+trust; that neither treachery nor evasion shall be
+practised; and that you will, to the utmost of your power,
+aid in conveying these gentlemen to their destination.
+Kneel and swear it."
+
+"I do swear it!" fervently repeated the aubergiste,
+kneeling and imprinting his lips with becoming reverence
+on the symbol of martyrdom. "I swear to do dat I shall
+engage, and may de bon Dieu have mercy to my soul as I
+shall fulfil my oat."
+
+"Amen," pronounced the governor, "and may Heaven deal by
+you even as you deal by us. Bear in mind, moreover, that
+as your treachery will be punished, so also shall your
+fidelity be rewarded. But the night wears apace, and ye
+have much to do." Then turning to the young officers who
+were to be his companions,--"God bless you both; may your
+enterprise be successful! I fear," offering his hand to
+the younger, "I have spoken harshly to you, but at a
+moment like the present you will no longer cherish a
+recollection of the unpleasant past."
+
+The only answer was a cordial return of his own pressure.
+The Canadian in his turn now announced the necessity for
+instant departure, when the young men, following his
+example, threw their long guns carelessly over the left
+shoulder. Low, rapid, and fervent adieus were uttered on
+both sides; and although the hands of the separating
+parties met only in a short and hurried grasp, there was
+an expression in the touch of each that spoke to their
+several hearts long after the separation had actually
+taken place.
+
+"Stay one moment!" exclaimed a voice, as the little party
+now moved towards the gateway; "ye are both gallantly
+enough provided without, but have forgotten there is
+something quite as necessary to sustain the inward man.
+Duck shooting, you know, is wet work. The last lips that
+were moistened from this," he proceeded, as the younger
+of the disguised men threw the strap of the proffered
+canteen over his shoulder, "were those of poor Ellen
+Halloway."
+
+The mention of that name, so heedlessly pronounced by
+the brave but inconsiderate Erskine, produced a startling
+effect on the taller of the departing officers. He struck
+his brow violently with his hand, uttered a faint groan,
+and bending his head upon his chest, stood in an attitude
+expressive of the deep suffering of his mind. The governor,
+too, appeared agitated; and sounds like those of suppressed
+sobs came from one who lingered at the side of him who
+had accepted the offer of the canteen. The remainder of
+the officers preserved a deep and mournful silence.
+
+"It is times dat we should start," again observed the
+Canadian, "or we shall be taken by de daylight before we
+can clear de river."
+
+This intimation once more aroused the slumbering energies
+of the taller officer. Again he drew up his commanding
+figure, extended his hand to the governor in silence,
+and turning abruptly round, hastened to follow close in
+the footsteps of his conductor.
+
+"You will not forget all I have said to you," whispered
+the voice of one who had reserved his parting for the
+last, and who now held the hand of the younger adventurer
+closely clasped in his own. "Think, oh, think how much
+depends on the event of your dangerous enterprise."
+
+"When you behold me again," was the reply, "it will be
+with smiles on my lip and gladness in my heart; for if
+we fail, there is that within me, which whispers I shall
+never see you more. But keep up your spirits, and hope
+for the best. We embark under cheerless auspices, it is
+true; but let us trust to Providence for success in so
+good a cause,--God bless you!"
+
+In the next minute he had joined his companions; who,
+with light and noiseless tread, were already pursuing
+their way along the military road that led to the eastern
+extremity of the town. Soon afterwards, the heavy chains
+of the drawbridge were heard grating on the ear, in
+despite of the evident caution used in restoring it to
+its wonted position, and all again was still.
+
+It had at first been suggested their course should be
+held in an angular direction across the cleared country
+alluded to in our last chapter, in order to avoid all
+chance of recognition in the town; but as this might have
+led them into more dangerous contact with some of the
+outlying parties of Indians, who were known to prowl
+around the fort at night, this plan had been abandoned
+for the more circuitous and safe passage by the village.
+Through this our little party now pursued their way, and
+without encountering aught to impede their progress. The
+simple mannered inhabitants had long since retired to
+rest, and neither light nor sound denoted the existence
+of man or beast within its precincts. At length they
+reached that part of the road which turned off abruptly
+in the direction of the Fleur de lis. The rude hut threw
+its dark shadows across their path, but all was still
+and deathlike as in the village they had just quitted.
+Presently, however, as they drew nearer, they beheld,
+reflected from one of the upper windows, a faint light
+that fell upon the ground immediately in front of the
+auberge; and, at intervals, the figure of a human being
+approaching and receding from it as if in the act of
+pacing the apartment.
+
+An instinctive feeling of danger rose at the same moment
+to the hearts of the young officers; and each, obeying
+the same impulse, unfastened one of the large horn buttons
+of his blanket coat, and thrust his right hand into the
+opening.
+
+"Francois, recollect your oath," hastily aspirated the
+elder, as he grasped the hand of their conductor rather
+in supplication than in threat; "if there be aught to
+harm us here, your own life will most assuredly pay the
+forfeit of your faith."
+
+"It is noting but a womans," calmly returned the Canadian;
+"it is my Babette who is sorry at my loss. But I shall
+come and tell you directly."
+
+He then stole gently round the corner of the hut, leaving
+his anxious companions in the rear of the little building,
+and completely veiled in the obscurity produced by the
+mingling shadows of the hut itself, and a few tall pear
+trees that overhung the paling of the orchard at some
+yards from the spot on which they stood.
+
+They waited some minutes to hear the result of the
+Canadian's admittance into his dwelling; but although
+each with suppressed breathing sought to catch those
+sounds of welcome with which a daughter might be supposed
+to greet a parent so unexpectedly restored, they listened
+in vain. At length, however, while the ears of both were
+on the rack to drink in the tones of a human voice, a
+faint scream floated on the hushed air, and all again
+was still.
+
+"Good!" whispered the elder of the officers; "that scream
+is sweeter to my ear than the softest accents of woman's
+love. It is evident the ordinary tones of speech cannot
+find their way to us here from the front of the hut. The
+faintness of yon cry, which was unquestionably that of
+a female, is a convincing proof of it."
+
+"Hist!" urged his companion, in the same almost inaudible
+whisper, "what sound was that?"
+
+Both again listened attentively, when the noise was
+repeated. It came from the orchard, and resembled the
+sound produced by the faint crash of rotten sticks and
+leaves under the cautious but unavoidably rending tread
+of a human foot. At intervals it ceased, as if the person
+treading, alarmed at his own noise, was apprehensive of
+betraying his approach; and then recommenced, only to be
+checked in the same manner. Finally it ceased altogether.
+
+For upwards of five minutes the young men continued to
+listen for a renewal of the sound, but nothing was now
+audible, save the short and fitful gusts of a rising wind
+among the trees of the orchard.
+
+"It must have been some wild animal in search of its
+prey," again whispered the younger officer; "had it been
+a man, we should have heard him leap the paling before
+this."
+
+"By Heaven, we are betrayed,--here he is," quickly rejoined
+the other, in the same low tone. "Keep close to the hut,
+and stand behind me. If my dagger fail, you must try
+your own. But fire not, on your life, unless there be
+more than two, for the report of a pistol will be the
+destruction of ourselves and all that are dear to us."
+
+Each with uplifted arm now stood ready to strike, even
+while his heart throbbed with a sense of danger, that
+had far more than the mere dread of personal suffering
+or death to stimulate to exertion in self-defence.
+Footsteps were now distinctly heard stealing round that
+part of the hut which bordered on the road; and the young
+men turned from the orchard, to which their attention
+had previously been directed, towards the new quarter
+whence they were intruded upon.
+
+It was fortunate this mode of approach had been selected.
+That part of the hut which rested on the road was so
+exposed as to throw the outline of objects into strong
+relief, whereas in the direction of the thickly wooded
+orchard all was impenetrable gloom. Had the intruder
+stolen unannounced upon the alarmed but determined officers
+by the latter route, the dagger of the first would in
+all probability have been plunged to its hilt in his
+bosom. As it was, each had sufficient presence of mind
+to distinguish, as it now doubled the corner of the hut,
+and reposed upon the road, the stout square-set figure
+of the Canadian. The daggers were instantly restored to
+their sheaths, and each, for the first time since the
+departure of their companion, respired freely.
+
+"It is quite well," whispered the latter as he approached.
+"It was my poor Babette, who tought I was gone to be
+kill. She scream so loud, as if she had seen my ghost.
+But we must wait a few minute in de house, and you shall
+see how glad my girl is to see me once again."
+
+"Why this delay, Francois? why not start directly?" urged
+the taller officer; "we shall never clear the river in
+time; and if the dawn catches us in the waters of the
+Detroit, we are lost for ever."
+
+"But you see I am not quite prepare yet," was the answer.
+"I have many tings to get ready for de canoe, which I
+have not use for a long times. But you shall not wait
+ten minute, if you do not like. Dere is a good fire, and
+Babette shall give you some ting to eat while I get it
+all ready."
+
+The young men hesitated. The delay of the Canadian, who
+had so repeatedly urged the necessity for expedition
+while in the fort, had, to say the least of it, an
+appearance of incongruity. Still it was evident, if
+disposed to harm them, he had full opportunity to do so
+without much risk of effectual opposition from themselves.
+Under all circumstances, therefore, it was advisable
+rather to appear to confide implicitly in his truth,
+than, by manifesting suspicion, to pique his self-love,
+and neutralize whatever favourable intentions he might
+cherish in their behalf. In this mode of conduct they
+were confirmed, by a recollection of the sacredness
+attached by the religion of their conductor to the oath
+so solemnly pledged on the symbol of the cross, and by
+a conviction of the danger of observation to which they
+stood exposed, if, as they had apprehended, it was actually
+a human footstep they had heard in the orchard. This
+last recollection suggested a remark.
+
+"We heard a strange sound within the orchard, while
+waiting here for your return," said the taller officer;
+"it was like the footstep of a man treading cautiously
+over rotten leaves and branches. How do you account for
+it?"
+
+"Oh, it was my pigs," replied the Canadian, without
+manifesting the slightest uneasiness at the information.
+"They run about in de orchard for de apples what blows
+down wid de wind."
+
+"It could not be a pig we heard," pursued his questioner;
+"but another thing, Francois, before we consent to enter
+the hut,--how will you account to your daughter for our
+presence? and what suspicion may she not form at seeing
+two armed strangers in company with you at this unseasonable
+hour."
+
+"I have tell her," replied the Canadian, "dat I have
+bring two friends, who go wid me in de canoe to shoot de
+ducks for two tree days. You know, sir, I go always in
+de fall to kill de ducks wid my friends, and she will
+not tink it strange."
+
+"You have managed well, my brave fellow; and now we follow
+you in confidence. But in the name of Heaven, use all
+possible despatch, and if money will lend a spur to your
+actions, you shall have plenty of it when our enterprise
+has been accomplished."
+
+Our adventurers followed their conductor in the track by
+which he had so recently rejoined them. As they turned
+the corner of the hut, the younger, who brought up the
+rear, fancied he again heard a sound in the direction of
+the orchard, resembling that of one lightly leaping to
+the ground. A gust of wind, however, passing rapidly at
+the moment through the dense foliage, led him to believe
+it might have been produced by the sullen fall of one of
+the heavy fruits it had detached in its course. Unwilling
+to excite new and unnecessary suspicion in his companion,
+he confined the circumstance to his own breast, and
+followed into the hut.
+
+After ascending a flight of about a dozen rude steps,
+they found themselves in a small room, furnished with no
+other ceiling than the sloping roof itself, and lighted
+by an unwieldy iron lamp, placed on a heavy oak table,
+near the only window with which the apartment was provided.
+This latter had suffered much from the influence of time
+and tempest; and owing to the difficulty of procuring
+glass in so remote a region, had been patched with slips
+of paper in various parts. The two corner and lower panes
+of the bottom sash were out altogether, and pine shingles,
+such as are used even at the present day for covering
+the roofs of dwelling houses, had been fitted into the
+squares, excluding air and light at the same time. The
+centre pane of this tier was, however, clear and free
+from flaw of every description. Opposite to the window
+blazed a cheerful wood fire, recently supplied with fuel;
+and at one of the inner corners of the room was placed
+a low uncurtained bed, that exhibited marks of having
+been lain in since it was last made. On a chair at its
+side were heaped a few dark-looking garments, the precise
+nature of which were not distinguishable at a cursory
+and distant glance.
+
+Such were the more remarkable features of the apartment
+into which our adventurers were now ushered. Both looked
+cautiously around on entering, as if expecting to find
+it tenanted by spirits as daring as their own; but, with
+the exception of the daughter of their conductor, whose
+moist black eyes expressed, as much by tears as by smiles,
+the joy she felt at this unexpected return of her parent,
+no living object met their enquiring glance. The Canadian
+placed a couple of rush-bottomed chairs near the fire,
+invited his companions to seat themselves until he had
+completed his preparation for departure, and then, desiring
+Babette to hasten supper for the young hunters, quitted
+the room and descended the stairs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The position of the young men was one of embarrassment;
+for while the daughter, who was busied in executing the
+command of her father, remained in the room, it was
+impossible they could converse together without betraying
+the secret of their country, and, as a result of this,
+the falsehood of the character under which they appeared.
+Long residence in the country had, it is true, rendered
+the patois of that class of people whom they personated
+familiar to one, but the other spoke only the pure and
+native language of which it was a corruption. It might
+have occurred to them at a cooler moment, and under less
+critical circumstances, that, even if their disguise had
+been penetrated, it was unlikely a female, manifesting
+so much lively affection for her parent, would have done
+aught to injure those with whom he had evidently connected
+himself. But the importance attached to their entire
+security from danger left them but little room for
+reflections of a calming character, while a doubt of that
+security remained.
+
+One singularity struck them both. They had expected the
+young woman, urged by a natural curiosity, would have
+commenced a conversation, even if they did not; and he
+who spoke the patois was prepared to sustain it as well
+as his anxious and overcharged spirit would enable him;
+and as he was aware the morning had furnished sufficient
+incident of fearful interest, he had naturally looked
+for a verbal re-enactment of the harrowing and dreadful
+scene. To their surprise, however, they both remarked
+that, far from evincing a desire to enter into conversation,
+the young woman scarcely ever looked at them, but lingered
+constantly near the table, and facing the window. Still,
+to avoid an appearance of singularity on their own parts
+as far as possible, the elder of the officers motioned
+to his companion, who, following his example, took a
+small pipe and some tobacco from a compartment in his
+shot pouch, and commenced puffing the wreathing smoke
+from his lips,--an occupation, more than any other,
+seeming to justify their silence.
+
+The elder officer sat with his back to the window, and
+immediately in front of the fire; his companion, at a
+corner of the rude hearth, and in such a manner that,
+without turning his head, he could command every part of
+the room at a glance. In the corner facing him stood the
+bed already described. A faint ray of the fire-light fell
+on some minute object glittering in the chair, the contents
+of which were heaped up in disorder. Urged by that wayward
+curiosity, which is sometimes excited, even under
+circumstances of the greatest danger and otherwise
+absorbing interest, the young man kicked the hickory log
+that lay nearest to it with his mocassined foot, and
+produced a bright crackling flame, the reflection of
+which was thrown entirely upon the object of his gaze;
+it was a large metal button, on which the number of his
+regiment was distinctly visible. Unable to check his
+desire to know further, he left his seat, to examine the
+contents of the chair. As he moved across the room, he
+fancied he heard a light sound from without; his companion,
+also, seemed to manifest a similar impression by an almost
+imperceptible start; but the noise was so momentary, and
+so fanciful, neither felt it worth his while to pause
+upon the circumstance. The young officer now raised the
+garments from the chair: they consisted of a small grey
+great-coat, and trowsers, a waistcoat of coarse white
+cloth, a pair of worsted stockings, and the half-boots
+of a boy; the whole forming the drum-boy's equipment,
+worn by the wretched wife of Halloway when borne senseless
+into the hut on that fatal morning. Hastily quitting a
+dress that called up so many dreadful recollections, and
+turning to his companion with a look that denoted
+apprehension, lest he too should have beheld these
+melancholy remembrances of the harrowing scene, the young
+officer hastened to resume his seat. In the act of so
+doing, his eye fell upon the window, at which the female
+still lingered. Had a blast from Heaven struck his sight,
+the terror of his soul could not have been greater. He
+felt his cheek to pale, and his hair to bristle beneath
+his cap, while the checked blood crept slowly and coldly,
+as if its very function had been paralysed; still he had
+presence of mind sufficient not to falter in his step,
+or to betray, by any extraordinary movement, that his
+eye had rested on any thing hateful to behold.
+
+His companion had emptied his first pipe, and was in the
+act of refilling it, when he resumed his seat. He was
+evidently impatient at the delay of the Canadian, and
+already were his lips opening to give utterance to his
+disappointment, when he felt his foot significantly
+pressed by that of his friend. An instinctive sense of
+something fearful that was to ensue, but still demanding
+caution on his part, prevented him from turning hastily
+round to know the cause. Satisfied, however, there was
+danger, though not of an instantaneous character, he put
+his pipe gently by, and stealing his hand under his coat,
+again grasped the hilt of his dagger. At length he slowly
+and partially turned his head, while his eyes inquiringly
+demanded of his friend the cause of his alarm.
+
+Partly to aid in concealing his increasing paleness, and
+partly with a view to render it a medium for the conveyance
+of subdued sound, the hand of the latter was raised to
+his face in such a manner that the motion of his lips
+could not be distinguished from behind.
+
+"We are betrayed," he scarcely breathed. "If you can
+command yourself, turn and look at the window; but for
+God's sake arm yourself with resolution, or look not at
+all: first draw the hood over your head, and without any
+appearance of design. Our only chance of safety lies in
+this,--that the Canadian may still be true, and that our
+disguise may not be penetrated."
+
+In despite of his native courage,--and this had often
+been put to honourable proof,--he, thus mysteriously
+addressed, felt his heart to throb violently. There was
+something so appalled in the countenance of his
+friend--something so alarming in the very caution he had
+recommended--that a vague dread of the horrible reality
+rushed at once to his mind, and for a moment his own
+cheek became ashy pale, and his breathing painfully
+oppressed. It was the natural weakness of the physical
+man, over which the moral faculties had, for an instant,
+lost their directing power. Speedily recovering himself,
+the young man prepared to encounter the alarming object
+which had already so greatly intimidated his friend.
+Carefully drawing the blanket hood over his head, he rose
+from his seat, and, with the energetic movement of one
+who has formed some desperate determination, turned his
+back to the fire-place, and threw his eyes rapidly and
+eagerly upon the window. They fell only on the rude
+patchwork of which it was principally composed. The
+female had quitted the room.
+
+"You must have been deceived," he whispered, keeping his
+eye still bent upon the window, and with so imperceptible
+a movement of the lips that sound alone could have betrayed
+he was speaking,--"I see nothing to justify your alarm.
+Look again."
+
+The younger officer once more directed his glance towards
+the window, and with a shuddering of the whole person,
+as he recollected what had met his eye when he last looked
+upon it. "It is no longer there, indeed," he returned in
+the same scarcely audible tone. "Yet I could not be
+mistaken; it was between those two corner squares of wood
+in the lower sash."
+
+"Perhaps it was merely a reflection produced by the lamp
+on the centre pane," rejoined his friend, still keeping
+his eye riveted on the suspicious point.
+
+"Impossible! but I will examine the window from the spot
+on which I stood when I first beheld it."
+
+Again he quitted his seat, and carelessly crossed the
+room. As he returned he threw his glance upon the pane,
+when, to his infinite horror and surprise, the same
+frightful vision presented itself.
+
+"God of Heaven!" he exclaimed aloud, and unable longer
+to check the ebullition of his feelings,--"what means
+this?--Is my brain turned? and am I the sport of my own
+delusive fancy?--Do you not see it NOW?"
+
+No answer was returned. His friend stood mute and
+motionless, with his left hand grasping his gun, and his
+right thrust into the waist of his coat. His eye grew
+upon the window, and his chest heaved, and his cheek
+paled and flushed alternately with the subdued emotion
+of his heart. A human face was placed close to the
+unblemished glass, and every feature was distinctly
+revealed by the lamp that still lay upon the table. The
+glaring eye was fixed on the taller of the officers; but
+though the expression was unfathomably guileful, there
+was nothing that denoted any thing like a recognition of
+the party. The brightness of the wood fire had so far
+subsided as to throw the interior of the room into partial
+obscurity, and under the disguise of his hood it was
+impossible for one without to distinguish the features
+of the taller officer. The younger, who was scarcely an
+object of attention, passed comparatively unnoticed.
+
+Fatigued and dimmed with the long and eager tension of
+its nerves, the eye of the latter now began to fail him.
+For a moment he closed it; and when again it fell upon
+the window; it encountered nothing but the clear and
+glittering pane. For upwards of a minute he and his friend
+still continued to rivet their gaze, but the face was no
+longer visible.
+
+Why is it that what is called the "human face divine" is
+sometimes gifted with a power to paralyse, that the most
+loathsome reptile in the creation cannot attain? Had a
+hyena or cougar of the American forest, roaring for prey,
+appeared at that window, ready to burst the fragile
+barrier, and fasten its talons in their hearts, its
+presence would not have struck such sickness to the soul
+of our adventurers as did that human face. It is that
+man, naturally fierce and inexorable, is alone the enemy
+of his own species. The solution of this problem--this
+glorious paradox in nature, we leave to profounder
+philosophers to resolve. Sufficient for us be it to know,
+and to deplore that it is so.
+
+Footsteps were now heard upon the stairs; and the officers,
+aroused to a full sense of their danger, hastily and
+silently prepared themselves for the encounter.
+
+"Drop a bullet into your gun," whispered the elder,
+setting the example himself. "We may be obliged to have
+recourse to it at last. Yet make no show of hostility
+unless circumstances satisfy us we are betrayed; then,
+indeed, all that remains for us will be to sell our lives
+as dearly as we can. Hist! he is here."
+
+The door opened; and at the entrance, which was already
+filled up in the imaginations of the young men with a
+terrible and alarming figure, appeared one whose return
+had been anxiously and long desired. It was a relief,
+indeed, to their gallant but excited hearts to behold
+another than the form they had expected; and although,
+for the moment, they knew not whether the Canadian came
+in hostility or in friendship, each quitted the attitude
+of caution into which he had thrown himself, and met him
+midway in his passage through the room. There was nothing
+in the expression of his naturally open and good-humoured
+countenance to denote he was at all aware of the causes
+for alarm that had operated so powerfully on themselves.
+He announced with a frank look and unfaltering voice
+every thing was in readiness for their departure.
+
+The officers hesitated; and the taller fixed his eyes
+upon those of mine host, as if his gaze would have
+penetrated to the innermost recesses of his heart. Could
+this be a refinement of his treachery? and was he really
+ignorant of the existence of the danger which threatened
+them? Was it not more probable his object was to disarm
+their fears, that they might be given unprepared and,
+therefore, unresisting victims to the ferocity of their
+enemies? Aware as he was, that they were both well provided
+with arms, and fully determined to use them with effect,
+might not his aim be to decoy them to destruction without,
+lest the blood spilt under his roof, in the desperation
+of their defence, should hereafter attest against him,
+and expose him to the punishment he would so richly merit?
+Distracted by these doubts, the young men scarcely knew
+what to think or how to act; and anxious as they had
+previously been to quit the hut, they now considered the
+moment of their doing so would be that of their destruction.
+The importance of the enterprise on which they were
+embarked was such as to sink all personal considerations.
+If they had felt the influence of intimidation on their
+spirits, it arose less from any apprehension of consequences
+to themselves, than from the recollection of the dearer
+interests involved in their perfect security from discovery.
+
+"Francois," feelingly urged the taller officer, again
+adverting to his vow, "you recollect the oath you so
+solemnly pledged upon the cross of your Saviour. Tell
+me, then, as you hope for mercy, have you taken that oath
+only that you might the more securely betray us to our
+enemies? What connection have you with them at this
+moment? and who is HE who stood looking through that
+window not ten minutes since?"
+
+"As I shall hope for mercy in my God," exclaimed the
+Canadian with unfeigned astonishment, "I have not see
+nobody. But what for do you tink so? It is not just. I
+have given my oat to serve you, and I shall do it."
+
+There was candour both in the tone and countenance of
+the man as he uttered these words, half in reproach, half
+in justification; and the officers no longer doubted.
+
+"You must forgive our suspicions at a moment like the
+present," soothingly observed the younger; "yet, Francois,
+your daughter saw and exchanged signals with the person
+we mean. She left the room soon after he made his
+appearance. What has become of her?"
+
+The Canadian gave a sudden start, looked hastily round,
+and seemed to perceive for the first time the girl was
+absent. He then put a finger to his lip to enjoin silence,
+advanced to the table, and extinguished the light. Desiring
+his companions, in a low whisper, to tread cautiously
+and follow, he now led the way with almost noiseless step
+to the entrance of the hut. At the threshold of the door
+were placed a large well-filled sack, a light mast and
+sail, and half a dozen paddles. The latter burden he
+divided between the officers, on whose shoulders he
+carefully balanced them. The sack he threw across his
+own; and, without expressing even a regret that an
+opportunity of bidding adieu to his child was denied him,
+hastily skirted the paling of the orchard until, at the
+further extremity, he had gained the high road.
+
+The heavens were obscured by passing clouds driven rapidly
+by the wind, during the short pauses of which our
+adventurers anxiously and frequently turned to listen if
+they were pursued. Save the rustling of the trees that
+lined the road, and the slight dashing of the waters on
+the beach, however, no sound was distinguishable. At
+length they gained the point whence they were to start.
+It was the fatal bridge, the events connected with which
+were yet so painfully fresh in their recollection.
+
+"Stop one minutes here," whispered the Canadian, throwing
+his sack upon the sand near the mouth of the lesser river;
+"my canoe is chain about twenty yards up de bridge. I
+shall come to you directly." Then cautioning the officers
+to keep themselves concealed under the bridge, he moved
+hastily under the arch, and disappeared in the dark shadow
+which it threw across the rivulet.
+
+The extremities of the bridge rested on the banks of the
+little river in such a manner as to leave a narrow passage
+along the sands immediately under the declination of the
+arch. In accordance with the caution of their conductor,
+the officers had placed themselves under it; and with
+their backs slightly bent forward to meet the curvature
+of the bridge, so that no ray of light could pass between
+their bodies and the fabric itself, now awaited the
+arrival of the vessel on which their only hope depended.
+We shall not attempt to describe their feelings on finding
+themselves, at that lone hour of the night, immediately
+under a spot rendered fearfully memorable by the tragic
+occurrences of the morning. The terrible pursuit of the
+fugitive, the execution of the soldier, the curse and
+prophecy of his maniac wife, and, above all, the forcible
+abduction and threatened espousal of that unhappy woman
+by the formidable being who seemed to have identified
+himself with the evils with which they stood menaced,--all
+rushed with rapid tracery on the mind, and excited the
+imagination, until each, filled with a sentiment not
+unallied to superstitious awe, feared to whisper forth
+his thoughts, lest in so doing he should invoke the
+presence of those who had principally figured in the
+harrowing and revolting scene.
+
+"Did you not hear a noise?" at length whispered the elder,
+as he leaned himself forward, and bent his head to the
+sand, to catch more distinctly a repetition of the sound.
+
+"I did; there again! It is upon the bridge, and not unlike
+the step of one endeavouring to tread lightly. It may be
+some wild beast, however."
+
+"We must not be taken by surprise," returned his companion.
+"If it be a man, the wary tread indicates consciousness
+of our presence. If an animal, there can be no harm in
+setting our fears at rest."
+
+Cautiously stealing from his lurking-place, the young
+officer emerged into the open sands, and in a few measured
+noiseless strides gained the extremity of the bridge.
+The dark shadow of something upon its centre caught his
+eye, and a low sound like that of a dog lapping met his
+ear. While his gaze yet lingered on the shapeless object,
+endeavouring to give it a character, the clouds which
+had so long obscured it passed momentarily from before
+the moon, and disclosed the appalling truth. It was a
+wolf-dog lapping up from the earth, in which they were
+encrusted, the blood and brains of the unfortunate Frank
+Halloway.
+
+Sick and faint at the disgusting sight, the young man
+rested his elbow on the railing that passed along the
+edge of the bridge, and, leaning his head on his hand
+for a moment, forgot the risk of exposure he incurred,
+in the intenseness of the sorrow that assailed his soul.
+His heart and imagination were already far from the spot
+on which he stood, when he felt an iron hand upon his
+shoulder. He turned, shuddering with an instinctive
+knowledge of his yet unseen visitant, and beheld standing
+over him the terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis.
+
+"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the savage in a low triumphant
+tone, "the place of our meeting is well timed, though
+somewhat singular, it must be confessed. Nay," he fiercely
+added, grasping as in a vice the arm that was already
+lifted to strike him, "force me not to annihilate you on
+the spot. Ha! hear you the cry of my wolf-dog?" as that
+animal now set up a low but fearful howl; "it is for your
+blood he asks, but your hour is not yet come."
+
+"No, by Heaven, is it not!" exclaimed a voice; a rapid
+and rushing sweep was heard through the air for an instant,
+and then a report like a stunning blow. The warrior
+released his grasp--placed his hand upon his tomahawk,
+but without strength to remove it from his belt tottered
+a pace or two backwards--and then fell, uttering a cry
+of mingled pain and disappointment, at his length upon
+the earth.
+
+"Quick, quick to our cover!" exclaimed the younger officer,
+as a loud shout was now heard from the forest in reply
+to the yell of the fallen warrior. "If Francois come not,
+we are lost; the howl of that wolf-dog alone will betray
+us, even if his master should be beyond all chance of
+recovery."
+
+"Desperate diseases require desperate remedies," was the
+reply; "there is little glory in destroying a helpless
+enemy, but the necessity is urgent, and we must leave
+nothing to chance." As he spoke, he knelt upon the huge
+form of the senseless warrior, whose scalping knife he
+drew from its sheath, and striking a firm and steady
+blow, quitted not the weapon until he felt his hand
+reposing on the chest of his enemy.
+
+The howl of the wolf-dog, whose eyes glared like two
+burning coals through the surrounding gloom, was now
+exchanged to a fierce and snappish bark. He made a leap
+at the officer while in the act of rising from the body;
+but his fangs fastened only in the chest of the shaggy
+coat, which he wrung with the strength and fury
+characteristic of his peculiar species. This new and
+ferocious attack was fraught with danger little inferior
+to that which they had just escaped, and required the
+utmost promptitude of action. The young man seized the
+brute behind the neck in a firm and vigorous grasp, while
+he stooped upon the motionless form over which this novel
+struggle was maintained, and succeeded in making himself
+once more master of the scalping knife. Half choked by
+the hand that unflinchingly grappled with him, the savage
+animal quitted his hold and struggled violently to free
+himself. This was the critical moment. The officer drew
+the heavy sharp blade, from the handle to the point,
+across the throat of the infuriated beast, with a force
+that divided the principal artery. He made a desperate
+leap upwards, spouting his blood over his destroyer, and
+then fell gasping across the body of his master. A low
+growl, intermingled with faint attempts to bark, which
+the rapidly oozing life rendered more and more indistinct,
+succeeded; and at length nothing but a gurgling sound
+was distinguishable.
+
+Meanwhile the anxious and harassed officers had regained
+their place of concealment under the bridge, where they
+listened with suppressed breathing for the slightest
+sound to indicate the approach of the canoe. At intervals
+they fancied they could hear a noise resembling the
+rippling of water against the prow of a light vessel,
+but the swelling cries of the rushing band, becoming at
+every instant more distinct, were too unceasingly kept
+up to admit of their judging with accuracy.
+
+They now began to give themselves up for lost, and many
+and bitter were the curses they inwardly bestowed on the
+Canadian, when the outline of a human form was seen
+advancing along the sands, and a dark object upon the
+water. It was their conductor, dragging the canoe along,
+with all the strength and activity of which he was capable.
+
+"What the devil have you been about all this time,
+Francois?" exclaimed the taller officer, as he bounded
+to meet him. "Quick, quick, or we shall be too late. Hear
+you not the blood-hounds on their scent?" Then seizing
+the chain in his hand, with a powerful effort he sent
+the canoe flying through the arch to the very entrance
+of the river. The burdens that had been deposited on the
+sands were hastily flung in, the officers stepping lightly
+after. The Canadian took the helm, directing the frail
+vessel almost noiselessly through the water, and with
+such velocity, that when the cry of the disappointed
+savages was heard resounding from the bridge, it had
+already gained the centre of the Detroit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+Two days had succeeded to the departure of the officers
+from the fort, but unproductive of any event of importance.
+About daybreak, however, on the morning of the third,
+the harassed garrison were once more summoned to arms,
+by an alarm from the sentinels planted in rear of the
+works; a body of Indians they had traced and lost at
+intervals, as they wound along the skirt of the forest,
+in their progress from their encampment, were at length
+developing themselves in force near the bomb proof. With
+a readiness which long experience and watchfulness had
+rendered in some degree habitual to them, the troops flew
+to their respective posts; while a few of the senior
+officers, among whom was the governor, hastened to the
+ramparts to reconnoitre the strength and purpose of their
+enemies. It was evident the views of these latter were
+not immediately hostile; for neither were they in their
+war paint, nor were their arms of a description to carry
+intimidation to a disciplined and fortified soldiery.
+Bows, arrows, tomahawks, war clubs, spears, and scalping
+knives, constituted their warlike equipments, but neither
+rifle nor fire-arms of any kind were discernible. Several
+of their leaders, distinguishable by a certain haughty
+carriage and commanding gesticulation, were collected
+within the elevated bomb-proof, apparently holding a
+short but important conference apart from their people,
+most of whom stood or lay in picturesque attitudes around
+the ruin. These also had a directing spirit. A tall and
+noble looking warrior, wearing a deer-skin hunting frock
+closely girded around his loins, appeared to command the
+deference of his colleagues, claiming profound attention
+when he spoke himself, and manifesting his assent or
+dissent to the apparently expressed opinions of the lesser
+chiefs merely by a slight movement of the head.
+
+"There he is indeed!" exclaimed Captain Erskine, speaking
+as one who communes with his own thoughts, while he kept
+his telescope levelled on the form of the last warrior;
+"looking just as noble as when, three years ago, he
+opposed himself to the progress of the first English
+detachment that had ever penetrated to this part of the
+world. What a pity such a fine fellow should be so
+desperate and determined an enemy!"
+
+"True; you were with Major Rogers on that expedition,"
+observed the governor, in a tone now completely divested
+of the haughtiness which formerly characterised his
+address to his officers. "I have often heard him speak
+of it. You had many difficulties to contend against, if
+I recollect."
+
+"We had indeed, sir," returned the frank-hearted Erskine,
+dropping the glass from his eye. "So many, in fact, that
+more than once, in the course of our progress through
+the wilderness, did I wish myself at head-quarters with
+my company. Never shall I forget the proud and determined
+expression of Ponteac's countenance, when he told Rogers,
+in his figurative language, 'he stood in the path in
+which he travelled.' "
+
+"Thank Heaven, he at least stands not in the path in
+which OTHERS travel," musingly rejoined the governor.
+"But what sudden movement is that within the ruin?"
+
+"The Indians are preparing to show a white flag," shouted
+an artillery-man from his station in one of the embrasures
+below.
+
+The governor and his officers received this intelligence
+without surprise: the former took the glass from Captain
+Erskine, and coolly raised it to his eye. The consultation
+had ceased; and the several chiefs, with the exception
+of their leader and two others, were now seen quitting
+the bomb-proof to join their respective tribes. One of
+those who remained, sprang upon an elevated fragment of
+the ruin, and uttered a prolonged cry, the purport of
+which,--and it was fully understood from its peculiar
+nature,--was to claim attention from the fort. He then
+received from the hands of the other chief a long spear,
+to the end of which was attached a piece of white linen.
+This he waved several times above his head; then stuck
+the barb of the spear firmly into the projecting fragment.
+Quitting his elevated station, he next stood at the side
+of the Ottawa chief, who had already assumed the air and
+attitude of one waiting to observe in what manner his
+signal would be received.
+
+"A flag of truce in all its bearings, by Jupiter!" remarked
+Captain Erskine. "Ponteac seems to have acquired a few
+lessons since we first met."
+
+"This is evidently the suggestion of some European,"
+observed Major Blackwater; "for how should he understand
+any thing of the nature of a white flag? Some of those
+vile spies have put him up to this."
+
+"True enough, Blackwater; and they appear to have found
+an intelligent pupil," observed Captain Wentworth. "I
+was curious to know how he would make the attempt to
+approach us; but certainly never once dreamt of his having
+recourse to so civilised a method. Their plot works well,
+no doubt; still we have the counter-plot to oppose to
+it."
+
+"We must foil them with their own weapons," remarked the
+governor, "even if it be only with a view to gain time.
+Wentworth, desire one of your bombardiers to hoist the
+large French flag on the staff."
+
+The order was promptly obeyed. The Indians made a
+simultaneous movement expressive of their satisfaction;
+and in the course of a minute, the tall warrior, accompanied
+by nearly a dozen inferior chiefs, was seen slowly
+advancing across the common, towards the group of officers.
+
+"What generous confidence the fellow has, for an Indian!"
+observed Captain Erskine, who could not dissemble his
+admiration of the warrior. "He steps as firmly and as
+proudly within reach of our muskets, as if he was leading
+in the war-dance."
+
+"How strange," mused Captain Blessington, "that one who
+meditates so deep a treachery, should have no apprehension
+of it in others!"
+
+"It is a compliment to the honour of our flag," observed
+the governor, "which it must be our interest to encourage.
+If, as you say, Erskine, the man is really endowed with
+generosity, the result of this affair will assuredly call
+it forth."
+
+"If it prove otherwise, sir," was the reply, "we must
+only attribute his perseverance to the influence which
+that terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis is said to
+exercise over his better feelings. By the by, I see
+nothing of him among this flag of truce party. It could
+scarcely be called a violation of faith to cut off such
+a rascally renegade. Were he of the number of those
+advancing, and Valletort's rifle within my reach, I know
+not what use I might not be tempted to make of the last."
+
+Poor Erskine was singularly infelicitous in touching,
+and ever unconsciously, on a subject sure to give pain
+to more than one of his brother officers. A cloud passed
+over the brow of the governor, but it was one that
+originated more in sorrow than in anger. Neither had he
+time to linger on the painful recollections hastily and
+confusedly called up by the allusion made to this formidable
+and mysterious being, for the attention of all was now
+absorbed by the approaching Indians. With a bold and
+confiding carriage the fierce Ponteac moved at the head
+of his little party, nor hesitated one moment in his
+course, until he got near the brink of the ditch, and
+stood face to face with the governor, at a distance that
+gave both parties not only the facility of tracing the
+expression of each other's features, but of conversing
+without effort. There he made a sudden stand, and thrusting
+his spear into the earth, assumed an attitude as devoid
+of apprehension as if he had been in the heart of his
+own encampment.
+
+"My father has understood my sign," said the haughty
+chief. "The warriors of a dozen tribes are far behind
+the path the Ottawa has just travelled; but when the red
+skin comes unarmed, the hand of the Saganaw is tied behind
+his back."
+
+"The strong hold of the Saganaw is his safeguard," replied
+the governor, adopting the language of the Indian. "When
+the enemies of his great father come in strength, he
+knows how to disperse them; but when a warrior throws
+himself unarmed into his power, he respects his confidence,
+and his arms hang rusting at his side."
+
+"The talk of my father is big," replied the warrior, with
+a scornful expression that seemed to doubt the fact of
+so much indifference as to himself; "but when it is a
+great chief who directs the nations, and that chief his
+sworn enemy, the temptation to the Saganaw may be strong."
+
+"The Saganaw is without fear," emphatically rejoined the
+governor; "he is strong in his own honour; and he would
+rather die under the tomahawk of the red skin, than
+procure a peace by an act of treachery."
+
+The Indian paused; cold, calm looks of intelligence passed
+between him and his followers, and a few indistinct and
+guttural sentences were exchanged among themselves.
+
+"But our father asks not why our mocassins have brushed
+the dew from off the common," resumed the chief; "and
+yet it is long since the Saganaw and the red skin have
+spoken to each other, except through the war whoop. My
+father must wonder to see the great chief of the Ottawas
+without the hatchet in his hand."
+
+"The hatchet often wounds those who use it unskilfully,"
+calmly returned the governor. "The Saganaw is not blind.
+The Ottawas, and the other tribes, find the war paint
+heavy on their skins. They see that my young men are not
+to be conquered, and they have sent the great head of
+all the nations to sue for peace."
+
+In spite of the habitual reserve and self-possession of
+his race, the haughty warrior could not repress a movement
+of impatience at the bold and taunting language of his
+enemy, and for a moment there was a fire in his eye that
+told how willingly he would have washed away the insult
+in his blood. The same low guttural exclamations that
+had previously escaped their lips, marked the sense
+entertained of the remark by his companions.
+
+"My father is right," pursued the chief, resuming his
+self-command; "the Ottawas, and the other tribes, ask
+for peace, but not because they are afraid of war. When
+they strike the hatchet into the war post, they leave it
+there until their enemies ask them to take it out."
+
+"Why come they now, then, to ask for peace?" was the cool
+demand.
+
+The warrior hesitated, evidently at a loss to give a
+reply that could reconcile the palpable contradiction of
+his words.
+
+"The rich furs of our forests have become many," he at
+length observed, "since we first took up the hatchet
+against the Saganaw; and every bullet we keep for our
+enemies is a loss to our trade. We once exchanged furs
+with the children of our father of the pale flag. They
+gave us, in return, guns, blankets, powder, ball, and
+all that the red man requires in the hunting season.
+These are all expended; and my young men would deal with
+the Saganaw as they did with the French."
+
+"Good; the red skins would make peace; and although the
+arm of the Saganaw is strong, he will not turn a deaf
+ear to their desire."
+
+"All the strong holds of the Saganaw, except two, have
+fallen before the great chief of the Ottawas!" proudly
+returned the Indian, with a look of mingled scorn and
+defiance. "They, too, thought themselves beyond the
+reach of our tomahawks; but they were deceived. In less
+than a single moon nine of them have fallen, and the
+tents of my young warriors are darkened with their scalps;
+but this is past. If the red skin asks for peace, it is
+because he is tired of seeing the blood of the Saganaw
+on his tomahawk. Does my father hear?"
+
+"We will listen to the great chief of the Ottawas, and
+hear what he has to say," returned the governor, who, as
+well as the officers at his side, could with difficulty
+conceal their disgust and sorrow at the dreadful
+intelligence thus imparted of the fates of their companions.
+"But peace," he pursued with dignity, "can only be made
+in the council room, and under the sacred pledge of the
+calumet. The great chief has a wampum belt on his shoulder,
+and a calumet in his hand. His aged warriors, too, are
+at his side. What says the Ottawa? Will he enter? If so,
+the gate of the Saganaw shall be open to him."
+
+The warrior started; and for a moment the confidence that
+had hitherto distinguished him seemed to give place to
+an apprehension of meditated treachery. He, however,
+speedily recovered himself, and observed emphatically,
+"It is the great head of all the nations whom my father
+invites to the council seat. Were he to remain in the
+hands of the Saganaw, his young men would lose their
+strength. They would bury the hatchet for ever in despair,
+and hide their faces in the laps of their women."
+
+"Does the Ottawa chief see the pale flag on the strong
+hold of his enemies. While that continues to fly, he is
+safe as if he were under the cover of his own wigwam. If
+the Saganaw could use guile like the fox" (and this was
+said with marked emphasis), "what should prevent him from
+cutting off the Ottawa and his chiefs, even where they
+now stand?"
+
+A half smile of derision passed over the dark cheek of
+the Indian. "If the arm of an Ottawa is strong," he said,
+"his foot is not less swift. The short guns of the chiefs
+of the Saganaw" (pointing to the pistols of the officers)
+"could not reach us; and before the voice of our father
+could be raised, or his eye turned, to call his warriors
+to his side, the Ottawa would be already far on his way
+to the forest."
+
+"The great chief of the Ottawas shall judge better of
+the Saganaw," returned the governor.--"He shall see
+that his young men are ever watchful at their posts:--Up,
+men, and show yourselves."
+
+A second or two sufficed to bring the whole, of Captain
+Erskine's company, who had been lying flat on their faces,
+to their feet on the rampart. The Indians were evidently
+taken by surprise, though they evinced no fear. The low
+and guttural "Ugh!" was the only expression they gave to
+their astonishment, not unmingled with admiration.
+
+But, although the chiefs preserved their presence of
+mind, the sudden appearance of the soldiers had excited
+alarm among their warriors, who, grouped in and around
+the bomb-proof, were watching every movement of the
+conferring parties, with an interest proportioned to the
+risk they conceived their head men had incurred in
+venturing under the very walls of their enemies. Fierce
+yells were uttered; and more than a hundred dusky warriors,
+brandishing their tomahawks in air, leaped along the
+skirt of the common, evidently only awaiting the signal
+of their great chief, to advance and cover his retreat.
+At the command of the governor, however, the men had
+again suddenly disappeared from the surface of the rampart;
+so that when the Indians finally perceived their leader
+stood unharmed and unmolested, on the spot he had previously
+occupied, the excitement died away, and they once more
+assumed their attitude of profound attention.
+
+"What thinks the great chief of the Ottawas now?" asked
+the governor;--"did he imagine that the young white men
+lie sleeping like beavers in their dams, when the hunter
+sets his traps to catch them?--did he imagine that they
+foresee not the designs of their enemies? and that they
+are not always on the watch to prevent them?"
+
+"My father is a great warrior," returned the Indian; "and
+if his arm is full of strength, his head is fall of
+wisdom. The chiefs will no longer hesitate;--they will
+enter the strong hold of the Saganaw, and sit with him
+in the council."
+
+He next addressed a few words, and in a language not
+understood by those upon the walls, to one of the younger
+of the Indians. The latter acknowledged his sense and
+approbation of what was said to him by an assentient and
+expressive "Ugh!" which came from his chest without any
+apparent emotion of the lips, much in the manner of a
+modern ventriloquist. He then hastened, with rapid and
+lengthened boundings, across the common towards his band.
+After the lapse of a minute or two from reaching them,
+another simultaneous cry arose, differing in expression
+from any that had hitherto been heard. It was one denoting
+submission to the will, and compliance with some conveyed
+desire, of their superior.
+
+"Is the gate of the Saganaw open?" asked the latter, as
+soon as his ear had been greeted with the cry we have
+just named. "The Ottawa and the other great chiefs are
+ready;--their hearts are bold, and they throw themselves
+into the hands of the Saganaw without fear."
+
+"The Ottawa chief knows the path," drily rejoined the
+governor: "when he comes in peace, it is ever open to
+him; but when his young men press it with the tomahawk
+in their hands, the big thunder is roused to anger, and
+they are scattered away like the leaves of the forest in
+the storm." "Even now," he pursued, as the little band of
+Indians moved slowly round the walls, "the gate of the
+Saganaw opens for the Ottawa and the other chiefs."
+
+"Let the most vigilant caution be used every where along
+the works, but especially in the rear," continued the
+governor, addressing Captain Blessington, on whom the
+duty of the day had devolved. "We are safe, while their
+chiefs are with us; but still it will be necessary to
+watch the forest closely. We cannot be too much on our
+guard. The men had better remain concealed, every twentieth
+file only standing up to form a look-out chain. If any
+movement of a suspicious nature be observed, let it be
+communicated by the discharge of a single musket, that
+the drawbridge may be raised on the instant." With the
+delivery of these brief instructions he quitted the
+rampart with the majority of his officers.
+
+Meanwhile, hasty preparations had been made in the
+mess-room to receive the chiefs. The tables had been
+removed, and a number of clean rush mats, manufactured,
+after the Indian manner, into various figures and devices,
+spread carefully upon the floor. At the further end from
+the entrance was placed a small table and chair, covered
+with scarlet cloth. This was considerably elevated above
+the surface of the floor, and intended for the governor.
+On either side of the room, near these, were ranged a
+number of chairs for the accommodation of the inferior
+officers.
+
+Major Blackwater received the chiefs at the gate. With
+a firm, proud step, rendered more confident by his very
+unwillingness to betray any thing like fear, the tall,
+and, as Captain Erskine had justly designated him, the
+noble-looking Ponteac trod the yielding planks that might
+in the next moment cut him off from his people for ever.
+The other chiefs, following the example of their leader,
+evinced the same easy fearlessness of demeanour, nor
+glanced once behind them to see if there was any thing
+to justify the apprehension of hidden danger.
+
+The Ottawa was evidently mortified at not being received
+by the governor in person. "My father is not here!" he
+said fiercely to the major:--"how is this? The Ottawa
+and the other chiefs are kings of all their tribes. The
+head of one great people should be received only by the
+head of another great people!"
+
+"Our father sits in the council-hall," returned the major.
+"He has taken his seat, that he may receive the warriors
+with becoming honour. But I am the second chief, and our
+father has sent me to receive them."
+
+To the proud spirit of the Indian this explanation scarcely
+sufficed. For a moment he seemed to struggle, as if
+endeavouring to stifle his keen sense of an affront put
+upon him. At length he nodded his head haughtily and
+condescendingly, in token of assent; and gathering up
+his noble form, and swelling out his chest, as if with
+a view to strike terror as well as admiration into the
+hearts of those by whom he expected to be surrounded,
+stalked majestically forward at the head of his
+confederates.
+
+An indifferent observer, or one ignorant of these people,
+would have been at fault; but those who understood the
+workings of an Indian's spirit could not have been deceived
+by the tranquil exterior of these men. The rapid, keen,
+and lively glance--the suppressed sneer of exultation--the
+half start of surprise--the low, guttural, and almost
+inaudible "Ugh!"--all these indicated the eagerness with
+which, at one sly but compendious view, they embraced
+the whole interior of a fort which it was of such vital
+importance to their future interests they should become
+possessed of, yet which they had so long and so
+unsuccessfully attempted to subdue. As they advanced into
+the square, they looked around, expecting to behold the
+full array of their enemies; but, to their astonishment,
+not a soldier was to be seen. A few women and children
+only, in whom curiosity had overcome a natural loathing
+and repugnance to the savages, were peeping from the
+windows of the block houses. Even at a moment like the
+present, the fierce instinct of these latter was not to
+be controlled. One of the children, terrified at the wild
+appearance of the warriors, screamed violently, and clung
+to the bosom of its mother for protection. Fired at the
+sound, a young chief raised his hand to his lips, and
+was about to peal forth his terrible war whoop in the
+very centre of the fort, when the eye of the Ottawa
+suddenly arrested him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+There were few forms of courtesy observed by the warriors
+towards the English officers on entering the council
+room. Ponteac, who had collected all his native haughtiness
+into one proud expression of look and figure, strode in
+without taking the slightest notice even of the governor.
+The other chiefs imitated his example, and all took their
+seats upon the matting in the order prescribed by their
+rank among the tribes, and their experience in council.
+The Ottawa chief sat at the near extremity of the room,
+and immediately facing the governor. A profound silence
+was observed for some minutes after the Indians had seated
+themselves, during which they proceeded to fill their
+pipes. The handle of that of the Ottawa chief was
+decorated with numerous feathers fancifully disposed.
+
+"This is well," at length observed the governor. "It is
+long since the great chiefs of the nations have smoked
+the sweet grass in the council hall of the Saganaw. What
+have they to say, that their young men may have peace to
+hunt the beaver, and to leave the print of their mocassins
+in the country of the Buffalo?--What says the Ottawa
+chief?"
+
+"The Ottawa chief is a great warrior," returned the other,
+haughtily; and again repudiating, in the indomitableness
+of his pride, the very views that a more artful policy
+had first led him to avow. "He has already said that,
+within a single moon, nine of the strong holds of the
+Saganaw have fallen into his hands, and that the scalps
+of the white men fill the tents of his warriors. If the
+red skins wish for peace, it is because they are sick
+with spilling the blood of their enemies. Does my father
+hear?"
+
+"The Ottawa has been cunning, like the fox," calmly
+returned the governor. "He went with deceit upon his
+lips, and said to the great chiefs of the strong holds
+of the Saganaw,--'You have no more forts upon the lakes;
+they have all fallen before the red skins: they gave
+themselves into our hands; and we spared their lives,
+and sent them down to the great towns near the salt lake.'
+But this was false: the chiefs of the Saganaw, believing
+what was said to them, gave up their strong holds; but
+their lives were not spared, and the grass of the Canadas
+is yet moist with their blood. Does the Ottawa hear?"
+
+Amazement and stupefaction sat for a moment on the features
+of the Indians. The fact was as had been stated; and yet,
+so completely had the several forts been cut off from
+all communication, it was deemed almost impossible one
+could have received tidings of the fate of the other,
+unless conveyed through the Indians themselves.
+
+"The spies of the Saganaw have been very quick to escape
+the vigilance of the red skins," at length replied the
+Ottawa; "yet they have returned with a lie upon their
+lips. I swear by the Great Spirit, that nine of the strong
+holds of the Saganaw have been destroyed. How could the
+Ottawa go with deceit upon his lips, when his words were
+truth?"
+
+"When the red skins said so to the warriors of the last
+forts they took, they said true; but when they went to
+the first, and said that all the rest had fallen, they
+used deceit. A great nation should overcome their enemies
+like warriors, and not seek to beguile them with their
+tongues under the edge of the scalping knife!"
+
+"Why did the Saganaw come into the country of the red
+skins?" haughtily demanded the chief. "Why did they take
+our hunting grounds from us? Why have they strong places
+encircling the country of the Indians, like a belt of
+wampum round the waist of a warrior?"
+
+"This is not true," rejoined the governor. "It was not
+the Saganaw, but the warriors of the pale flag, who first
+came and took away the hunting grounds, and built the
+strong places. The great father of the Saganaw had beaten
+the great father of the pale flag quite out of the Canadas,
+and he sent his young men to take their place and to make
+peace with the red skins, and to trade with them, and to
+call them brothers."
+
+"The Saganaw was false," retorted the Indian. "When a
+chief of the Saganaw came for the first time with his
+warriors into the country of the Ottawas, the chief of
+the Ottawas stood in his path, and asked him why, and
+from whom, he came? That chief was a bold warrior, and
+his heart was open, and the Ottawa liked him; and when
+he said he came to be friendly with the red skins, the
+Ottawa believed him, and he shook him by the hand, and
+said to his young men, 'Touch not the life of a Saganaw;
+for their chief is the friend of the Ottawa chief, and
+his young men shall be the friends of the red warriors.'
+Look," he proceeded, marking his sense of the discovery
+by another of those ejaculatory "Ughs!" so expressive of
+surprise in an Indian, "at the right hand of my father
+I see a chief," pointing to Captain Erskine, "who came
+with those of the Saganaw who first entered the country
+of the Detroit;--ask that chief if what the Ottawa says
+is not true. When the Saganaw said he came only to remove
+the warriors of the pale flag, that he might be friendly
+and trade with the red skins, the Ottawa received the
+belt of wampum he offered, and smoked the pipe of peace
+with him, and he made his men bring bags of parched corn
+to his warriors who wanted food, and he sent to all the
+nations on the lakes, and said to them, 'The Saganaw must
+pass unhurt to the strong hold on the Detroit.' But for
+the Ottawa, not a Saganaw would have escaped; for the
+nations were thirsting for their blood, and the knives
+of the warriors were eager to open their scalps. Ask the
+chief who sits at the right hand of my father," he again
+energetically repeated, "if what the Ottawa says is not
+true."
+
+"What the Ottawa says is true," rejoined the governor;
+"for the chief who sits on my right hand has often said
+that, but for the Ottawa, the small number of the warriors
+of the Saganaw must have been cut off; and his heart is
+big with kindness to the Ottawa for what he did. But if
+the great chief meant to be friendly, why did he declare
+war after smoking the pipe of peace with the Saganaw?
+Why did he destroy the wigwams of the settlers, and carry
+off the scalps even of their weak women and children?
+All this has the Ottawa done; and yet he says that he
+wished to be friendly with my young men. But the Saganaw
+is not a fool. He knows the Ottawa chief had no will of
+his own. On the right hand of the Ottawa sits the great
+chief of the Delawares, and on his left the great chief
+of the Shawanees. They have long been the sworn enemies
+of the Saganaw; and they came from the rivers that run
+near the salt lake to stir up the red skins of the Detroit
+to war. They whispered wicked words in the ear of the
+Ottawa chief, and he determined to take up the bloody
+hatchet. This is a shame to a great warrior. The Ottawa
+was a king over all the tribes in the country of the
+fresh lakes, and yet he weakly took council like a woman
+from another."
+
+"My father lies!" fiercely retorted the warrior, half
+springing to his feet, and involuntarily putting his hand
+upon his tomahawk. "If the settlers of the Saganaw have
+fallen," he resumed in a calmer tone, while he again sank
+upon his mat, "it is because they did not keep their
+faith with the red skins. When they came weak, and were
+not yet secure in their strong holds, their tongues were
+smooth and full of soft words; but when they became strong
+under the protection of their thunder, they no longer
+treated the red skins as their friends, and they laughed
+at them for letting them come into their country." "But,"
+he pursued, elevating his voice, "the Ottawa is a great
+chief, and he will be respected." Then adverting in
+bitterness to the influence supposed to be exercised over
+him,--"What my father has said is false. The Shawanees
+and the Delawares are great nations; but the Ottawas are
+greater than any, and their chiefs are full of wisdom.
+The Shawanees and the Delawares had no talk with the
+Ottawa chief to make him do what his own wisdom did not
+tell him."
+
+"Then, if the talk came not from the Shawanees and the
+Delawares, it came from the spies of the warriors of the
+pale flag. The great father of the French was angry with
+the great father of the Saganaw, because he conquered
+his warriors in many battles; and he sent wicked men to
+whisper lies of the Saganaw into the ears of the red
+skins, and to make them take up the hatchet against them.
+There is a tall spy at this moment in the camp of the
+red skins," he pursued with earnestness, and yet paling
+as he spoke. "It is said he is the bosom friend of the
+great chief of the Ottawas. But I will not believe it.
+The head of a great nation would not be the friend of a
+spy--of one who is baser than a dog. His people would
+despise him; and they would say, 'Our chief is not fit
+to sit in council, or to make war; for he is led by the
+word of a pale face who is without honour.'"
+
+The swarthy cheek of the Indian reddened, and his eye
+kindled into fire. "There is no spy, but a great warrior,
+in the camp of the Ottawas," he fiercely replied. "Though
+he came from the country that lies beyond the salt lake,
+he is now a chief of the red skins, and his arm is mighty,
+and his heart is big. Would my father know why he has
+become a chief of the Ottawas?" he pursued with scornful
+exultation. "When the strong holds of the Saganaw fell,
+the tomahawk of the 'white warrior' drank more blood than
+that of a red skin, and his tent is hung around with
+poles bending under the weight of the scalps he has taken.
+When the great chief of the Ottawas dies, the pale face
+will lead his warriors, and take the first seat in the
+council. The Ottawa chief is his friend."
+
+"If the pale face be the friend of the Ottawa," pursued
+the governor, in the hope of obtaining some particular
+intelligence in regard to this terrible and mysterious
+being, "why is he not here to sit in council with the
+chiefs? Perhaps," he proceeded tauntingly, as he fancied
+he perceived a disinclination on the part of the Indian
+to account for the absence of the warrior, "the pale face
+is not worthy to take his place among the head men of
+the council. His arm may be strong like that of a warrior,
+but his head may be weak like that of a woman; or, perhaps,
+he is ashamed to show himself before the pale faces, who
+have turned him out of their tribe."
+
+"My father lies!" again unceremoniously retorted the
+warrior. "If the friend of the Ottawa is not here, it is
+because his voice cannot speak. Does my father recollect
+the bridge on which he killed his young warrior? Does he
+recollect the terrible chase of the pale face by the
+friend of the Ottawa? Ugh!" he continued, as his attention
+was now diverted to another object of interest, "that
+pale face was swifter than any runner among the red skins,
+and for his fleetness he deserved to live to be a great
+hunter in the Canadas; but fear broke his heart,--fear
+of the friend of the Ottawa chief. The red skins saw
+him fall at the feet of the Saganaw without life, and
+they saw the young warriors bear him off in their arms.
+Is not the Ottawa right?" The Indian paused, threw his
+eye rapidly along the room, and then, fixing it on the
+governor, seemed to wait with deep but suppressed interest
+for his reply.
+
+"Peace to the bones of a brave warrior!" seriously and
+evasively returned the governor: "the pale face is no
+longer in the land of the Canadas, and the young warriors
+of the Saganaw are sorry for his loss; but what would
+the Ottawa say of the bridge? and what has the pale
+warrior, the friend of the Ottawa, to do with it?"
+
+A gleam of satisfaction pervaded the countenance
+of the Indian, as he eagerly bent his
+ear to receive the assurance that the fugitive
+was no more; but when allusion was again
+made to the strange warrior, his brow became
+overcast, and he replied with mingled haughtiness
+and anger,--
+
+"Does my father ask? He has dogs of spies among the
+settlers of the pale flag, but the tomahawk of the red
+skins will find them out, and they shall perish even as
+the Saganaw themselves. Two nights ago, when the warriors
+of the Ottawas were returning from their scout upon the
+common, they heard the voice of Onondato, the great
+wolf-dog of the friend of the Ottawa chief. The voice
+came from the bridge where the Saganaw killed his young
+warrior, and it called upon the red skins for assistance.
+My young men gave their war cry, and ran like wild deer
+to destroy the enemies of their chief; but when they
+came, the spies had fled, and the voice of Onondato was
+low and weak as that of a new fawn; and when the warriors
+came to the other end of the bridge, they found the pale
+chief lying across the road and covered over with blood.
+They thought he was dead, and their cry was terrible;
+for the pale warrior is a great chief, and the Ottawas
+love him; but when they looked again, they saw that the
+blood was the blood of Onondato, whose throat the spies
+of the Saganaw had cut, that he might not hunt them and
+give them to the tomahawk of the red skins."
+
+Frequent glances, expressive of their deep interest in
+the announcement of this intelligence, passed between
+the governor and his officers. It was clear the party
+who had encountered the terrible warrior of the Fleur de
+lis were not spies (for none were employed by the garrison),
+but their adventurous companions who had so recently
+quitted them. This was put beyond all doubt by the night,
+the hour, and the not less important feet of the locality;
+for it was from the bridge described by the Indian, near
+which the Canadian had stated his canoe to be chained,
+they were to embark on their perilous and uncertain
+enterprise. The question of their own escape from danger
+in this unlooked for collision with so powerful and
+ferocious an enemy, and of the fidelity of the Canadian,
+still remained involved in doubt, which it might be
+imprudent, if not dangerous, to seek to have resolved by
+any direct remark on the subject to the keen and observant
+warrior. The governor removed this difficulty by artfully
+observing,--
+
+"The great chief of the Ottawas has said they were the
+spies of the Saganaw who killed the pale warrior. His
+young men has found them, then; or how could he know they
+were spies?"
+
+"Is there a warrior among the Saganaw who dares to show
+himself in the path of the red skins, unless he come in
+strength and surrounded by his thunder?" was the sneering
+demand. "But my father is wrong, if he supposes the friend
+of the Ottawa is killed. No," he pursued fiercely, "the
+dogs of spies could not kill him; they were afraid to
+face so terrible a warrior. They came behind him in the
+dark, and they struck him on the head like cowards and
+foxes as they were. The warrior of the pale face, and
+the friend of the Ottawa chief, is sick, but not dead.
+He lies without motion in his tent, and his voice cannot
+speak to his friend to tell him who were his enemies,
+that he may bring their scalps to hang up within his
+wigwam. But the great chief will soon be well, and his
+arm will be stronger than ever to spill the blood of the
+Saganaw as he has done before."
+
+"The talk of the Ottawa chief is strange," returned the
+governor, emphatically and with dignity. "He says he
+conies to smoke the pipe of peace with the Saganaw, and
+yet he talks of spilling their blood as if it was water
+from the lake. What does the Ottawa mean?"
+
+"Ugh!" exclaimed the Indian, in his surprise. "My father
+is right, but the Ottawa and the Saganaw have not yet
+smoked together. When they have, the hatchet will be
+buried for ever. Until then, they are still enemies."
+
+During this long and important colloquy of the leading
+parties, the strictest silence had been preserved by the
+remainder of the council. The inferior chiefs had
+continued deliberately puffing the smoke from their curled
+lips, as they sat cross-legged on their mats, and nodding
+their heads at intervals in confirmation of the occasional
+appeal made by the rapid glance of the Ottawa, and uttering
+their guttural "Ugh!" whenever any observation of the
+parlant parties touched their feelings, or called forth
+their surprise. The officers had been no less silent and
+attentive listeners, to a conversation on the issue of
+which hung so many dear and paramount interests. A pause
+in the conference gave them an opportunity of commenting
+in a low tone on the communication made, in the strong
+excitement of his pride, by the Ottawa chief, in regard
+to the terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis; who, it was
+evident, swayed the councils of the Indians, and
+consequently exercised an influence over the ultimate
+destinies of the English, which it was impossible to
+contemplate without alarm. It was evident to all, from
+whatsoever cause it might arise, this man cherished a
+rancour towards certain individuals in the fort, inducing
+an anxiety in its reduction scarcely equalled by that
+entertained on the part of the Indians themselves. Beyond
+this, however, all was mystery and doubt; nor had any
+clue been given to enable them to arrive even at a well
+founded apprehension of the motives which had given birth
+to the vindictiveness of purpose, so universally ascribed
+to him even by the savages themselves.
+
+The chiefs also availed themselves of this pause in the
+conversation of the principals, to sustain a low and
+animated discussion. Those of the Shawanee and Delaware
+nations were especially earnest; and, as they spoke across
+the Ottawa, betrayed, by their vehemence of gesture, the
+action of some strong feeling upon their minds, the
+precise nature of which could not be ascertained from
+their speech at the opposite extremity of the room. The
+Ottawa did not deign to join in their conversation, but
+sat smoking his pipe in all the calm and forbidding
+dignity of a proud Indian warrior conscious of his own
+importance.
+
+"Does the great chief of the Ottawas, then, seek for
+peace in his heart at length?" resumed the governor; "or
+is he come to the strong hold of Detroit, as he went to
+the other strong holds, with deceit on his lips?"
+
+The Indian slowly removed his pipe from his mouth, fixed
+his keen eye searchingly on that of the questioner for
+nearly a minute, and then briefly and haughtily said,
+"The Ottawa chief has spoken."
+
+"And do the great chiefs of the Shawanees, and the great
+chiefs of the Delawares, and the great chiefs of the
+other nations, ask for peace also?" demanded the governor.
+"If so, let them speak for themselves, and for their
+warriors."
+
+We will not trespass on the reader, on whom we have
+already inflicted too much of this scene, by a transcript
+of the declarations of the inferior chiefs. Suffice it
+to observe, each in his turn avowed motives similar to
+those of the Ottawa for wishing the hatchet might be
+buried for ever, and that their young men should mingle
+once more in confidence, not only with the English troops,
+but with the settlers, who would again be brought into
+the country at the cessation of hostilities. When each
+had spoken, the Ottawa passed the pipe of ceremony, with
+which he was provided, to the governor.
+
+The latter put it to his lips, and commenced smoking.
+The Indians keenly, and half furtively, watched the act;
+and looks of deep intelligence, that escaped not the
+notice of the equally anxious and observant officers,
+passed among them.
+
+"The pipe of the great chief of the Ottawas smokes well,"
+calmly remarked the governor; "but the Ottawa chief, in
+his hurry to come and ask for peace, has made a mistake.
+The pipe and all its ornaments are red like blood: it
+is the pipe of war, and not the pipe of peace. The great
+chief of the Ottawas will be angry with himself; he has
+entered the strong hold of the Saganaw, and sat in the
+council, without doing any good for his young men. The
+Ottawa must come again."
+
+A deep but subdued expression of disappointment passed
+over the features of the chiefs. They watched the
+countenances of the officers, to see whether the
+substitution of one pipe for the other had been attributed,
+in their estimation, to accident or design. There was
+nothing, however, to indicate the slightest doubt of
+their sincerity.
+
+"My father is right," replied the Indian, with an appearance
+of embarrassment, which, whether natural or feigned, had
+nothing suspicious in it. "The great chief of the Ottawas
+has been foolish, like an old woman. The young chiefs of
+his tribe will laugh at him for this. But the Ottawa
+chief will come again, and the other chiefs with him,
+for, as my father sees, they all wish for peace; and that
+my father may know all the nations wish for peace, as
+well as their head men, the warriors of the Ottawa, and
+of the Shawanee, and of the Delaware, shall play at ball
+upon the common, to amuse his young men, while the chiefs
+sit in council with the chiefs of the Saganaw. The red
+skins shall come naked, and without their rifles and
+their tomahawks; and even the squaws of the warriors
+shall come upon the common, to show the Saganaw they may
+be without fear. Does my father hear?"
+
+"The Ottawa chief says well," returned the governor; "but
+will the pale friend of the Ottawa come also to take his
+seat in the council hall? The great chief has said the
+pale warrior has become the second chief among the Ottawas;
+and that when he is dead, the pale warrior will lead the
+Ottawas, and take the first seat in the council. He, too,
+should smoke the pipe of peace with the Saganaw, that
+they may know he is no longer their enemy."
+
+The Indian hesitated, uttering merely his quick ejaculatory
+"Ugh!" in expression of his surprise at so unexpected a
+requisition. "The pale warrior, the friend of the Ottawa,
+is very sick," he at length said; "but if the Great Spirit
+should give him back his voice before the chiefs come
+again to the council, the pale face will come too. If my
+father does not see him then, he will know the friend of
+the Ottawa chief is very sick."
+
+The governor deemed it prudent not to press the question
+too closely, lest in so doing he should excite suspicion,
+and defeat his own object. "When will the Ottawa and the
+other chiefs come again?" he asked; "and when will their
+warriors play at ball upon the common, that the Saganaw
+may see them and be amused?"
+
+"When the sun has travelled so many times," replied
+Ponteac, holding up three fingers of his left hand. "Then
+will the Ottawa and the other chiefs bring their young
+warriors and their women."
+
+"It is too soon," was the reply;. "the Saganaw must have
+time to collect their presents, that they may give them
+to the young warriors who are swiftest in the race, and
+the most active at the ball. The great chief of the
+Ottawas, too, must let the settlers of the pale flag,
+who are the friends of the red skins, bring in food for
+the Saganaw, that a great feast may be given to the
+chiefs, and to the warriors, and that the Saganaw may
+make peace with the Ottawas and the other nations as
+becomes a great people. In twice so many days," holding
+up three of his fingers in imitation of the Indian, "the
+Saganaw will be ready to receive the chiefs in council,
+that they may smoke the pipe of peace, and bury the
+hatchet for ever. What says the great chief of the
+Ottawas?"
+
+"It is good," was the reply of the Indian, his eye lighting
+up with deep and exulting expression. "The settlers of
+the pale flag shall bring food to the Saganaw. The Ottawa
+chief will send them, and he will desire his young men
+not to prevent them. In so many days, then," indicating
+with his fingers, "the great chiefs will sit again in
+council with the Saganaw, and the Ottawa chief will not
+be a fool to bring the pipe he does not want."
+
+With this assurance the conference terminated. Ponteac
+raised his tall frame from the mat on which he had been
+squatted, nodded condescendingly to the governor, and
+strode haughtily into the square or area of the fort.
+The other chiefs followed his example; and to Major
+Blackwater was again assigned the duty of accompanying
+them without the works. The glance of the savages, and
+that of Ponteac in particular, was less wary than at
+their entrance. Each seemed to embrace every object on
+which the eye could rest, as if to fix its position
+indelibly in his memory. The young chief, who had been
+so suddenly and opportunely checked while in the very
+act of pealing forth his terrible war whoop, again looked
+up at the windows of the block house, in quest of those
+whom his savage instinct had already devoted in intention
+to his tomahawk, but they were no longer there. Such was
+the silence that reigned every where, the fort appeared
+to be tenanted only by the few men of the guard, who
+lingered near their stations, attentively watching the
+Indians, as they passed towards the gate. A very few
+minutes sufficed to bring the latter once more in the
+midst of their warriors, whom, for a few moments, they
+harangued earnestly, when the whole body again moved off
+in the direction of their encampment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The week that intervened between the visit of the chiefs
+and the day appointed for their second meeting in council,
+was passed by the garrison in perfect freedom from alarm,
+although, as usual, in diligent watchfulness and
+preparations for casualties. In conformity with his
+promise, the Indian had despatched many of the Canadian
+settlers, with such provisions as the country then
+afforded, to the governor, and these, happy to obtain
+the gold of the troops in return for what they could
+conveniently spare, were not slow in availing themselves
+of the permission. Dried bears' meat, venison, and Indian
+corn, composed the substance of these supplies, which
+were in sufficient abundance to produce a six weeks'
+increase to the stock of the garrison. Hitherto they had
+been subsisting, in a great degree, upon salt provisions;
+the food furtively supplied by the Canadians being
+necessarily, from their dread of detection, on so limited
+a scale, that a very small portion of the troops had been
+enabled to profit by it. This, therefore, was an important
+and unexpected benefit, derived from the falling in of
+the garrison with the professed views of the savages;
+and one which, perhaps, few officers would, like Colonel
+de Haldimar, have possessed the forethought to have
+secured. But although it served to relieve the animal
+wants of the man, there was little to remove his moral
+inquietude. Discouraged by the sanguinary character of
+the warfare in which they seemed doomed to be for ever
+engaged, and harassed by constant watchings,--seldom
+taking off their clothes for weeks together,--the men
+had gradually been losing their energy of spirit, in the
+contemplation of the almost irremediable evils by which
+they were beset; and looked forward with sad and
+disheartening conviction to a fate, that all things tended
+to prove to them was unavoidable, however the period of
+its consummation might be protracted. Among the officers,
+this dejection, although proceeding from a different
+cause, was no less prevalent; and notwithstanding they
+sought to disguise it before their men, when left to
+themselves, they gave unlimited rein to a despondency
+hourly acquiring strength, as the day fixed on for the
+second council with the Indians drew near.
+
+At length it came, that terrible and eventful day, and,
+as if in mockery of those who saw no beauty in its golden
+beams, arrayed in all the gorgeous softness of its autumnal
+glory. Sad and heavy were the hearts of many within that
+far distant and isolated fort, as they rose, at the first
+glimmering of light above the horizon, to prepare for
+the several duties assigned them. All felt the influence
+of a feeling that laid prostrate the moral energies even
+of the boldest: but there was one young officer in
+particular, who exhibited a dejection, degenerating almost
+into stupefaction; and more than once, when he received
+an order from his superior, hesitated as one who either
+heard not, or, in attempting to perform it, mistook the
+purport of his instructions, and executed some entirely
+different duty. The countenance of this officer, whose
+attenuated person otherwise bore traces of languor and
+debility, but too plainly marked the abstractedness and
+terror of his mind, while the set stiff features and
+contracted muscles of the face contributed to give an
+expression of vacuity, that one who knew him not might
+have interpreted unfavourably. Several times, during the
+inspection of his company at the early parade, he was
+seen to raise his head, and throw forward his ear, as if
+expecting to catch the echo of some horrible and appalling
+cry, until the men themselves remarked, and commented,
+by interchange of looks, on the singular conduct of their
+officer, whose thoughts had evidently no connection with
+the duty he was performing, or the spot on which he stood.
+
+When this customary inspection had been accomplished,--how
+imperfectly, has been seen,--and the men dismissed from
+their ranks, the same young officer was observed, by one
+who followed his every movement with interest, to ascend
+that part of the rampart which commanded an unbroken view
+of the country westward, from the point where the encampment
+of the Indians was supposed to lie, down to the bridge
+on which the terrible tragedy of Halloway's death had
+been so recently enacted. Unconscious of the presence of
+two sentinels, who moved to and fro near their respective
+posts, on either side of him, the young officer folded
+his arms, and gazed in that direction for some minutes,
+with his whole soul riveted on the scene. Then, as if
+overcome by recollections called up by that on which he
+gazed, he covered his eyes hurriedly with his hands, and
+betrayed, by the convulsed movement of his slender form,
+he was weeping bitterly. This paroxysm past, he uncovered
+his face, sank with one knee upon the ground, and upraising
+his clasped hands, as if in appeal to his God, seemed to
+pray deeply and fervently. In this attitude he continued
+for some moments, when he became sensible of the approach
+of an intruder. He raised himself from his knee, turned,
+and beheld one whose countenance was stamped with a
+dejection scarcely inferior to his own. It was Captain
+Blessington.
+
+"Charles, my dear Charles!" exclaimed the latter hurriedly,
+as he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the emaciated
+De Haldimar, "consider you are not alone. For God's sake,
+check this weakness! There are men observing you on every
+side, and your strange manner has already been the subject
+of remark in the company."
+
+"When the heart is sick, like mine," replied the youth,
+in a tone of fearful despondency, "it is alike reckless
+of forms, and careless of appearances. I trust, however,"
+and here spoke the soldier, "there are few within this
+fort who will believe me less courageous, because I have
+been seen to bend my knee in supplication to my God. I
+did not think that YOU, Blessington, would have been the
+first to condemn the act."
+
+"I condemn it, Charles! you mistake me, indeed you do,"
+feelingly returned his captain, secretly pained at the
+mild reproach contained in the concluding sentence; "but
+there are two things to be considered. In the first
+instance, the men, who are yet in ignorance of the great
+evils with which we are threatened, may mistake the cause
+of your agitation; you were in tears just now, Charles,
+and the sentinels must have remarked it as well as myself.
+I would not have them to believe that one of their officers
+was affected by the anticipation of coming disaster, in
+a way their own hearts are incapable of estimating. You
+understand me, Charles? I would not have them too much
+discouraged by an example that may become infectious."
+
+"I DO understand you, Blessington," and a forced and
+sickly smile played for a moment over the wan yet handsome
+features of the young officer; "you would not have me
+appear a weeping coward in their eyes."
+
+"Nay, dear Charles, I did not say it."
+
+"But you meant it, Blessington; yet, think not,"--and he
+warmly pressed the hand of his captain,--"think not, I
+repeat, I take your hint in any other than the friendly
+light in which it was intended. That I have been no
+coward, however, I hope I have given proof more than once
+before the men, most of whom have known me from my very
+cradle; yet, whatever they may think, is to me, at this
+moment, a matter of utter indifference. Blessington,"
+and again the tears rolled from his fixed eyes over his
+cheek, while he pointed with his finger to the western
+horizon, "I have neither thought nor feeling for myself;
+my whole heart lies buried there. Oh, God of Heaven!" he
+pursued after a pause, and again raising his eyes in
+supplication, "avert the dreadful destiny that awaits my
+beloved sister."
+
+"Charles, Charles, if only for that sister's sake, then,
+calm an agitation which, if thus indulged in, will
+assuredly destroy you. All will yet be well. The delay
+obtained by your father has been sufficient for the
+purpose proposed. Let us hope for the best: if we are
+deceived in our expectation, it will then be time enough
+to indulge in a grief, which could scarcely be exceeded,
+were the fearful misgivings of your mind to be realised
+before your eyes."
+
+"Blessington," returned the young officer,--and his
+features exhibited the liveliest image of despair,--"all
+hope has long since been extinct within my breast. See
+you yon theatre of death?" he mournfully pursued, pointing
+to the fatal bridge, which was thrown into full relief
+against the placid bosom of the Detroit: "recollect you
+the scene that was acted on it? As for me, it is ever
+present to my mind,--it haunts me in my thoughts by day,
+and in my dreams by night. I shall never forget it while
+memory is left to curse me with the power of retrospection.
+On the very spot on which I now stand was I borne in a
+chair, to witness the dreadful punishment; you see the
+stone at my feet, I marked it by that. I saw you conduct
+Halloway to the centre of the bridge; I beheld him kneel
+to receive his death; I saw, too, the terrible race for
+life, that interrupted the proceedings; I marked the
+sudden upspring of Halloway to his feet upon the coffin,
+and the exulting waving of his hand, as he seemed to
+recognise the rivals for mastery in that race. Then was
+heard the fatal volley, and I saw the death-struggle of
+him who had saved my brother's life. I could have died,
+too, at that moment; and would to Providence I had! but
+it was otherwise decreed. My aching interest was, for a
+moment, diverted by the fearful chase now renewed upon
+the height; and, in common with those around me, I watched
+the efforts of the pursuer and the pursued with painful
+earnestness and doubt as to the final result. Ah,
+Blessington, why was not this all? The terrible shriek,
+uttered at the moment when the fugitive fell, apparently
+dead, at the feet of the firing party, reached us even
+here. I felt as if my heart must have burst, for I knew
+it to be the shriek of poor Ellen Halloway,--the suffering
+wife,--the broken-hearted woman who had so recently, in
+all the wild abandonment of her grief, wetted my pillow,
+and even my cheek, with her burning tears, while
+supplicating an intercession with my father for mercy,
+which I knew it would be utterly fruitless to promise.
+Oh, Blessington," pursued the sensitive and affectionate
+young officer, "I should vainly attempt to paint all that
+passed in my mind at that dreadful moment. Nothing but
+the depth of my despair gave me strength to support the
+scene throughout. I saw the frantic and half-naked woman
+glide like a phantom past the troops, dividing the air
+with the rapidity of thought. I knew it to be Ellen; for
+the discovery of her exchange of clothes with one of the
+drum boys of the grenadiers was made soon after you left
+the fort. I saw her leap upon the coffin, and, standing
+over the body of her unhappy husband, raise her hands to
+heaven in adjuration, and my heart died within me. I
+recollected the words she had spoken on a previous
+occasion, during the first examination of Halloway, and
+I felt it to be the prophetic denunciation, then threatened,
+that she was now uttering on all the race of De Haldimar.
+I saw no more, Blessington. Sick, dizzy, and with every
+faculty of my mind annihilated, I turned away from the
+horrid scene, and was again borne to my room. I tried to
+give vent to my overcharged heart in tears; but the power
+was denied me, and I sank at once into that stupefaction
+which you have since remarked in me, and which has been
+increasing every hour. What additional cause I have had
+for the indulgence of this confirmed despondency you are
+well acquainted with. It is childish, it is unsoldierlike,
+I admit: but, alas! that dreadful scene is eternally
+before my eyes, and absorbs my mind, to the exclusion of
+every other feeling. I have not a thought or a care but
+for the fate that too certainly awaits those who are most
+dear to me; and if this be a weakness, it is one I shall
+never have the power to shake off. In a word, Blessington,
+I am heart-broken."
+
+Captain Blessington was deeply affected; for there was
+a solemnity in the voice and manner of the young officer
+that carried conviction to the heart; and it was some
+moments before he could so far recover himself as to
+observe,--
+
+"That scene, Charles, was doubtless a heart-rending one
+to us all; for I well recollect, on turning to remark
+the impression made on my men when the wretched Ellen
+Halloway pronounced her appalling curse to have seen the
+large tears coursing each other over the furrowed cheeks
+of some of our oldest soldiers: and if THEY could feel
+thus, how much more acute must have been the grief of
+those immediately interested in its application!"
+
+"THEIR tears were not for the denounced race of De
+Haldimar," returned the youth,--"they were shed for
+their unhappy comrade--they were wrung from their stubborn
+hearts by the agonising grief of the wife of Halloway."
+
+"That this was the case in part, I admit," returned
+Captain Blessington. "The feelings of the men partook of
+a mixed character. It was evident that grief for Halloway,
+compassion for his wife, secret indignation and, it may
+be, disgust at the severity of your father, and sorrow
+for his innocent family, who were included in that
+denunciation, predominated with equal force in their
+hearts at the same moment. There was an expression that
+told how little they would have pitied any anguish of
+mind inflicted on their colonel, provided his children,
+whom they loved, were not to be sacrificed to its
+accomplishment."
+
+"You admit, then, Blessington, although indirectly,"
+replied the young De Haldimar in a voice of touching
+sorrow, "that the consummation of the sacrifice IS to be
+looked for. Alas! it is that on which my mind perpetually
+lingers; yet, Heaven knows, my fears are not for myself."
+
+"You mistake me, dearest Charles. I look upon the
+observations of the unhappy woman as the ravings of a
+distracted mind--the last wild outpourings of a broken
+heart, turning with animal instinct on the hand that has
+inflicted its death-blow."
+
+"Ah, why did she except no one member of that family!"
+said the unhappy De Haldimar, pursuing rather the chain
+of his reflections than replying to the observation of
+his captain. "Had the weight of her malediction fallen
+on all else than my adored sister, I could have borne
+the infliction, and awaited the issue with resignation,
+if not without apprehension. But my poor gentle and
+unoffending Clara,--alike innocent of the cause, and
+ignorant of the effect,--what had she done to be included
+in this terrible curse?--she, who, in the warm and generous
+affection of her nature, had ever treated Ellen Halloway
+rather as a sister than as the dependant she always
+appeared." Again he covered his eyes with his hands, to
+conceal the starting tears.
+
+"De Haldimar," said Captain Blessington reprovingly, but
+mildly, "this immoderate grief is wrong--it is unmanly,
+and should be repressed. I can feel and understand the
+nature of your sorrow; but others may not judge so
+favourably. We shall soon be summoned to fall in; and I
+would not that Mr. Delme, in particular, should notice
+an emotion he is so incapable of understanding."
+
+The hand of the young officer dropped from his face to
+the hilt of his sword. His cheek became scarlet; and even
+through the tears which he half choked himself to command,
+there was an unwonted flashing from his blue eye, that
+told how deeply the insinuation had entered into his
+heart.
+
+"Think you, Captain Blessington," he proudly retorted,
+"there is an officer in the fort who should dare to taunt
+me with my feelings as you have done? I came here, sir,
+in the expectation I should be alone. At a fitting hour
+I shall be found where Captain Blessington's subaltern
+should be--with his company."
+
+"De Haldimar--dear De Haldimar, forgive me!" returned
+his captain. "Heaven knows I would not, on any
+consideration, wantonly inflict pain on your sensitive
+heart. My design was to draw you out of this desponding
+humour; and with this view I sought to arouse your pride,
+but certainly not to wound your feelings. De Haldimar,"
+he concluded, with marked expression, "you must not,
+indeed, feel offended with one who has known and esteemed
+you from very boyhood. Friendship and interest in your
+deep affliction of spirit alone brought me here--the same
+feelings prompted my remark. Do you not believe me?"
+
+"I do," impressively returned the young man, grasping
+the hand that was extended to him in amity. "It is I,
+rather, Blessington, who should ask you to forgive my
+petulance; but, indeed, indeed," and again his tone
+faltered, and his eye was dimmed, "I am more wretched
+even than I am willing to confess. Pardon my silly
+conduct--it was but the vain and momentary flashing of
+the soldier's spirit impatient of an assumed imputation,
+and the man less than the profession is to be taxed with
+it. But it is past; and already do you behold me once
+more the tame and apprehensive being I must ever continue
+until all is over."
+
+"What can I possibly urge to console one who seems so
+willing to nurse into conviction all the melancholy
+imaginings of a diseased mind," observed Captain
+Blessington, in a voice that told how deeply he felt for
+the situation of his young friend. "Recollect, dearest
+Charles, the time that has been afforded to our friends.
+More than a week has gone by since they left the fort,
+and a less period was deemed sufficient for their purpose.
+Before this they must have gained their destination. In
+fact, it is my positive belief they have; for there could
+be nothing to detect them in their disguise. Had I the
+famous lamp of Aladdin," he pursued, in a livelier tone,
+"over the history of which Clara and yourself used to
+spend so many hours in childhood, I have no doubt I could
+show them to you quietly seated within the fort, recounting
+their adventures to Clara and her cousin, and discoursing
+of their absent friends."
+
+"Would I to Heaven you had the power to do so!" replied
+De Haldimar, smiling faintly at the conceit, while a ray
+of hope beamed for a moment upon his sick soul; "for
+then, indeed, would all my fears for the present be at
+rest. But you forget, Blessington, the encounter stated
+to have taken place between them and that terrible stranger
+near the bridge. Besides, is it not highly probable the
+object of their expedition was divined by that singular
+and mysterious being, and that means have been taken to
+intercept their passage? If so, all hope is at an end."
+
+"Why persevere in viewing only the more sombre side of
+the picture?" returned his friend. "In your anxiety to
+anticipate evil, Charles, you have overlooked one important
+fact. Ponteac distinctly stated that his ruffian friend
+was still lying deprived of consciousness and speech
+within his tent, and yet two days had elapsed since the
+encounter was said to have taken place. Surely we have
+every reason then to infer they were beyond all reach of
+pursuit, even admitting, what is by no means probable
+the recovery of the wretch immediately after the return
+of the chiefs from the council."
+
+A gleam of satisfaction, but so transient as to be scarcely
+noticeable, passed over the pale features of the youthful
+De Haldimar. He looked his thanks to the kind officer
+who was thus solicitous to tender him consolation; and
+was about to reply, when the attention of both was diverted
+by the report of a musket from the rear of the fort.
+Presently afterwards, the word was passed along the chain
+of sentinels, upon the ramparts, that the Indians were
+issuing in force from the forest upon the common near
+the bomb-proof. Then was heard, as the sentinel at the
+gate delivered the password, the heavy roll of the drum
+summoning to arms.
+
+"Ha! here already!" said Captain Blessington, as, glancing
+towards the forest, he beheld the skirt of the wood now
+alive with dusky human forms: "Ponteac's visit is earlier
+than we had been taught to expect; but we are as well
+prepared to receive him now, as later; and, in fact, the
+sooner the interview is terminated, the sooner we shall
+know what we have to depend upon. Come, Charles, we must
+join the company, and let me entreat you to evince less
+despondency before the men. It is hard, I know, to
+sustain an artificial character under such disheartening
+circumstances; still, for example's sake, it must be
+done."
+
+"What I can I will do, Blessington," rejoined the youth,
+as they both moved from the ramparts; "but the task is,
+in truth, one to which I find myself wholly unequal. How
+do I know that, even at this moment, my defenceless,
+terrified, and innocent sister may not be invoking the
+name and arm of her brother to save her from destruction."
+
+"Trust in Providence, Charles. Even although our worst
+apprehensions be realised, as I fervently trust they will
+not, your sister may be spared. The Canadian could not
+have been unfaithful, or we should have learnt something
+of his treachery from the Indians. Another week will
+confirm us in the truth or fallacy of our impressions.
+Until then, let us arm our hearts with hope. Trust me,
+we shall yet see the laughing eyes of Clara fill with
+tears of affection, as I recount to her all her too
+sensitive and too desponding brother has suffered for
+her sake."
+
+De Haldimar made no reply. He deeply felt the kind
+intention of his captain, but was far from cherishing
+the hope that had been recommended. He sighed heavily,
+pressed the arm, on which he leaned, in gratitude for
+the motive, and moved silently with his friend to join
+their company below the rampart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Meanwhile the white flag had again been raised by the
+Indians upon the bomb-proof; and this having been readily
+met by a corresponding signal from the fort, a numerous
+band of savages now issued from the cover with which
+their dark forms had hitherto been identified, and spread
+themselves far and near upon the common. On this occasion
+they were without arms, offensive or defensive, of any
+kind, if we may except the knife which was always carried
+at the girdle, and which constituted a part rather of
+their necessary dress than of their warlike equipment.
+These warriors might have been about five hundred in
+number, and were composed chiefly of picked men from the
+nations of the Ottawas, the Delawares, and the Shawanees;
+each race being distinctly recognisable from the others
+by certain peculiarities of form and feature which
+individualised, if we may so term it, the several tribes.
+Their only covering was the legging before described,
+composed in some instances of cloth, but principally of
+smoked deerskin, and the flap that passed through the
+girdle around the loins, by which the straps attached to
+the leggings were secured. Their bodies, necks, and arms
+were, with the exception of a few slight ornaments,
+entirely naked; and even the blanket, that served them
+as a couch by night and a covering by day, had, with one
+single exception, been dispensed with, apparently with
+a view to avoid any thing like encumbrance in their
+approaching sport. Each individual was provided with a
+stout sapling of about three feet in length, curved, and
+flattened at the root extremity, like that used at the
+Irish hurdle; which game, in fact, the manner of
+ball-playing among the Indians in every way resembled.
+
+Interspersed among these warriors were a nearly equal
+number of squaws. These were to be seen lounging carelessly
+about in small groups, and were of all ages; from the
+hoary-headed, shrivelled-up hag, whose eyes still sparkled
+with a fire that her lank and attenuated frame denied,
+to the young girl of twelve, whose dark and glowing cheek,
+rounded bust, and penetrating glance, bore striking
+evidence of the precociousness of Indian beauty. These
+latter looked with evident interest on the sports of the
+younger warriors, who, throwing down their hurdles, either
+vied with each other in the short but incredibly swift
+foot-race, or indulged themselves in wrestling and leaping;
+while their companions, abandoned to the full security
+they felt to be attached to the white flag waving on the
+fort, lay at their lazy length upon the sward, ostensibly
+following the movements of the several competitors in
+these sports, but in reality with heart and eye directed
+solely to the fortification that lay beyond. Each of
+these females, in addition to the machecoti, or petticoat,
+which in one solid square of broad-cloth was tightly
+wrapped around the loins, also carried a blanket loosely
+thrown around the person, but closely confined over the
+shoulders in front, and reaching below the knee. There
+was an air of constraint in their movements, which accorded
+ill with the occasion of festivity for which they were
+assembled; and it was remarkable, whether it arose from
+deference to those to whom they were slaves, as well as
+wives and daughters, or from whatever other cause it
+might be, none of them ventured to recline themselves
+upon the sward in imitation of the warriors.
+
+When it had been made known to the governor that the
+Indians had begun to develop themselves in force upon
+the common unarmed, yet redolent with the spirit that
+was to direct their meditated sports, the soldiers were
+dismissed from their respective companies to the ramparts;
+where they were now to be seen, not drawn up in formidable
+and hostile array, but collected together in careless
+groups, and simply in their side-arms. This reciprocation
+of confidence on the part of the garrison was acknowledged
+by the Indians by marks of approbation, expressed as much
+by the sudden and classic disposition of their fine forms
+into attitudes strikingly illustrative of their admiration
+and pleasure, as by the interjectional sounds that passed
+from one to the other of the throng. From the increased
+alacrity with which they now lent themselves to the
+preparatory and inferior amusements of the day, it was
+evident their satisfaction was complete.
+
+Hitherto the principal chiefs had, as on the previous
+occasion, occupied the bomb-proof; and now, as then, they
+appeared to be deliberating among themselves, but evidently
+in a more energetic and serious manner. At length they
+separated, when Ponteac, accompanied by the chiefs who
+had attended him on the former day, once more led in the
+direction of the fort. The moment of his advance was the
+signal for the commencement of the principal game. In an
+instant those of the warriors who lay reclining on the
+sward sprang to their feet, while the wrestlers and racers
+resumed their hurdles, and prepared themselves for the
+trial of mingled skill and swiftness. At first they formed
+a dense group in the centre of the common; and then,
+diverging in two equal files both to the right and to
+the left of the immediate centre, where the large ball
+was placed, formed an open chain, extending from the
+skirt of the forest to the commencement of the village.
+On the one side were ranged the Delawares and the Shawanees,
+and on the other the more numerous nation of the Ottawas.
+The women of these several tribes, apparently much
+interested in the issue of an amusement in which the
+manliness and activity of their respective friends were
+staked, had gradually and imperceptibly gained the front
+of the fort, where they were now huddled in groups at
+about twenty paces from the drawbridge, and bending
+eagerly forward to command the movements of the
+ball-players.
+
+In his circuit round the walls, Ponteac was seen to remark
+the confiding appearance of the unarmed soldiery with a
+satisfaction that was not sought to be disguised; and
+from the manner in which he threw his glance along each
+face of the rampart, it was evident his object was to
+embrace the numerical strength collected there. It was
+moreover observed, when he passed the groups of squaws
+on his way to the gate, he addressed some words in a
+strange tongue to the elder matrons of each.
+
+Once more the dark warriors were received at the gate by
+Major Blackwater; and, as with firm but elastic tread,
+they moved across the square, each threw his fierce eyes
+rapidly and anxiously around, and with less of concealment
+in his manner than had been manifested on the former
+occasion. On every hand the same air of nakedness and
+desertion met their gaze. Not even a soldier of the
+guard was to be seen; and when they cast their eyes
+upwards to the windows of the blockhouses, they were
+found to be tenantless as the area through which they
+passed. A gleam of fierce satisfaction pervaded the
+swarthy countenances of the Indians; and the features of
+Ponteac, in particular, expressed the deepest exultation.
+Instead of leading his party, he now brought up the rear;
+and when arrived in the centre of the fort, he, without
+any visible cause for the accident, stumbled, and fell
+to the earth. The other chiefs for a moment lost sight
+of their ordinary gravity, and marked their sense of the
+circumstance by a prolonged sound, partaking of the
+mingled character of a laugh and a yell. Startled at
+the cry, Major Blackwater, who was in front, turned to
+ascertain the cause. At that moment Ponteac sprang lightly
+again to his feet, responding to the yell of his
+confederates by another even more startling, fierce, and
+prolonged than their own. He then stalked proudly to the
+head of the party, and even preceded Major Blackwater
+into the council room.
+
+In this rude theatre of conference some changes had been
+made since their recent visit, which escaped not the
+observation of the quick-sighted chiefs. Their mats lay
+in the position they had previously occupied, and the
+chairs of the officers were placed as before, but the
+room itself had been considerably enlarged. The slight
+partition terminating the interior extremity of the
+mess-room, and dividing it from that of one of the
+officers, had been removed; and midway through this,
+extending entirely across, was drawn a curtain of scarlet
+cloth, against which the imposing figure of the governor,
+elevated as his seat was above those of the other officers,
+was thrown into strong relief. There was another change,
+that escaped not the observation of the Indians, and that
+was, not more than one half of the officers who had been
+present at the first conference being now in the room.
+Of these latter, one had, moreover, been sent away by
+the governor the moment the chiefs were ushered in.
+
+"Ugh!" ejaculated the proud leader, as he took his seat
+unceremoniously, and yet not without reluctance, upon
+the mat. "The council-room of my father is bigger than
+when the Ottawa was here before, yet the number of his
+chiefs is not so many."
+
+"The great chief of the Ottawas knows that the Saganaw
+has promised the red skins a feast," returned the governor.
+"Were he to leave it to his young warriors to provide
+it, he would not be able to receive the Ottawa like a
+great chief, and to make peace with him as he could wish."
+
+"My father has a great deal of cloth, red, like the blood
+of a pale face," pursued the Indian, rather in demand
+than in observation, as he pointed with his finger to
+the opposite end of the room. "When the Ottawa was here
+last, he did not see it."
+
+"The great chief of the Ottawas knows that the great
+father of the Saganaw has a big heart to make presents
+to the red skins. The cloth the Ottawa sees there is
+sufficient to make leggings for the chiefs of all the
+nations."
+
+Apparently satisfied with this reply, the fierce Indian
+uttered one of his strong guttural and assentient "ughs,"
+and then commenced filling the pipe of peace, correct on
+the present occasion in all its ornaments, which was
+handed to him by the Delaware chief. It was remarked by
+the officers this operation took up an unusually long
+portion of his time, and that he frequently turned his
+ear, like a horse stirred by the huntsman's horn, with
+quick and irrepressible eagerness towards the door.
+
+"The pale warrior, the friend of the Ottawa chief, is
+not here," said the governor, as he glanced his eye along
+the semicircle of Indians. "How is this? Is his voice
+still sick, that he cannot come; or has the great chief
+of the Ottawas forgotten to tell him?"
+
+"The voice of the pale warrior is still sick, and he
+cannot speak," replied the Indian. "The Ottawa chief is
+very sorry; for the tongue of his friend the pale face
+is full of wisdom."
+
+Scarcely had the last words escaped his lips, when a wild
+shrill cry from without the fort rang on the ears of the
+assembled council, and caused a momentary commotion among
+the officers. It arose from a single voice, and that
+voice could not be mistaken by any who had heard it once
+before. A second or two, during which the officers and
+chiefs kept their eyes intently fixed on each other,
+passed anxiously away, and then nearer to the gate,
+apparently on the very drawbridge itself, was pealed
+forth the wild and deafening yell of a legion of devilish
+voices. At that sound, the Ottawa and the other chiefs
+sprang to their feet, and their own fierce cry responded
+to that yet vibrating on the ears of all. Already were
+their gleaming tomahawks brandished wildly over their
+heads, and Ponteac had even bounded a pace forward to
+reach the governor with the deadly weapon, when, at the
+sudden stamping of the foot of the latter upon the floor,
+the scarlet cloth in the rear was thrown aside, and twenty
+soldiers, their eyes glancing along the barrels of their
+levelled muskets, met the startled gaze of the astonished
+Indians.
+
+An instant was enough to satisfy the keen chief of the
+true state of the case. The calm composed mien of the
+officers, not one of whom had even attempted to quit his
+seat, amid the din by which his ears were so alarmingly
+assailed,--the triumphant, yet dignified, and even severe
+expression of the governor's countenance; and, above all,
+the unexpected presence of the prepared soldiery,--all
+these at once assured him of the discovery of his treachery,
+and the danger that awaited him. The necessity for an
+immediate attempt to join his warriors without, was now
+obvious to the Ottawa; and scarcely had he conceived the
+idea before it was sought to be executed. In a single
+spring he gained the door of the mess-room, and, followed
+eagerly and tumultuously by the other chiefs, to whose
+departure no opposition was offered, in the next moment
+stood on the steps of the piazza that ran along the front
+of the building whence he had issued.
+
+The surprise of the Indians on reaching this point, was
+now too powerful to be dissembled; and, incapable either
+of advancing or receding, they remained gazing on the
+scene before them with an air of mingled stupefaction,
+rage, and alarm. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since
+they had proudly strode through the naked area of the
+fort; and yet, even in that short space of time, its
+appearance had been entirely changed. Not a part was
+there now of the surrounding buildings that was not
+redolent with human life, and hostile preparation. Through
+every window of the officers' low rooms, was to be seen
+the dark and frowning muzzle of a field-piece, bearing
+upon the gateway; and behind these were artillerymen,
+holding their lighted matches, supported again by files
+of bayonets, that glittered in their rear. In the
+block-houses the same formidable array of field-pieces
+and muskets was visible; while from the four angles of
+the square, as many heavy guns, that had been artfully
+masked at the entrance of the chiefs, seemed ready to
+sweep away every thing that should come before them. The
+guard-room near the gate presented the same hostile front.
+The doors of this, as well as of the other buildings,
+had been firmly secured within; but from every window
+affording cover to the troops, gleamed a line of bayonets
+rising above the threatening field-pieces, pointed, at
+a distance of little more than twelve feet, directly upon
+the gateway. In addition to his musket, each man of the
+guard moreover held a hand grenade, provided with a short
+fuze that could be ignited in a moment from the matches
+of the gunners, and with immediate effect. The soldiers
+in the block-houses were similarly provided.
+
+Almost magic as was the change thus suddenly effected in
+the appearance of the garrison, it was not the most
+interesting feature in the exciting scene. Choking up
+the gateway, in which they were completely wedged, and
+crowding the drawbridge, a dense mass of dusky Indians
+were to be seen casting their fierce glances around; yet
+paralysed in their movements by the unlooked-for display
+of a resisting force, threatening instant annihilation
+to those who should attempt either to advance or to
+recede. Never, perhaps, were astonishment and disappointment
+more forcibly depicted on the human countenance, than as
+they were now exhibited by these men, who had already,
+in imagination, secured to themselves an easy conquest.
+They were the warriors who had so recently been engaged
+in the manly yet innocent exercise of the ball; but,
+instead of the harmless hurdle, each now carried a short
+gun in one hand and a gleaming tomahawk in the other.
+After the first general yelling heard in the council-room,
+not a sound was uttered. Their burst of rage and triumph
+had evidently been checked by the unexpected manner of
+their reception, and they now stood on the spot on which
+the further advance of each had been arrested, so silent
+and motionless, that, but for the rolling of their dark
+eyes, as they keenly measured the insurmountable barriers
+that were opposed to their progress, they might almost
+have been taken for a wild group of statuary.
+
+Conspicuous at the head of these was he who wore the
+blanket; a tall warrior, on whom rested the startled eye
+of every officer and soldier who was so situated as to
+behold him. His face was painted black as death; and as
+he stood under the arch of the gateway, with his white
+turbaned head towering far above those of his companions,
+this formidable and mysterious enemy might have been
+likened to the spirit of darkness presiding over his
+terrible legions.
+
+In order to account for the extraordinary appearance of
+the Indians, armed in every way for death, at a moment
+when neither gun nor tomahawk was apparently within miles
+of their reach, it will be necessary to revert to the
+first entrance of the chiefs into the fort. The fall of
+Ponteac had been the effect of design; and the yell pealed
+forth by him, on recovering his feet, as if in taunting
+reply to the laugh of his comrades, was in reality a
+signal intended for the guidance of the Indians without.
+These, now following up their game with increasing spirit,
+at once changed the direction of their line, bringing
+the ball nearer to the fort. In their eagerness to effect
+this object, they had overlooked the gradual secession
+of the unarmed troops, spectators of their sport from
+the ramparts, until scarcely more than twenty stragglers
+were left. As they neared the gate, the squaws broke up
+their several groups, and, forming a line on either hand
+of the road leading to the drawbridge, appeared to separate
+solely with a view not to impede the action of the players.
+For an instant a dense group collected around the ball,
+which had been driven to within a hundred yards of the
+gate, and fifty hurdles were crossed in their endeavours
+to secure it, when the warrior, who formed the solitary
+exception to the multitude, in his blanket covering, and
+who had been lingering in the extreme rear of the party,
+came rapidly up to the spot where the well-affected
+struggle was maintained. At his approach, the hurdles of
+the other players were withdrawn, when, at a single blow
+from his powerful arm, the ball was seen flying into the
+air in an oblique direction, and was for a moment lost
+altogether to the view. When it again met the eye, it
+was descending perpendicularly into the very centre of
+the fort.
+
+With the fleetness of thought now commenced a race that
+had ostensibly for its object the recovery of the lost
+ball; and in which, he who had driven it with such
+resistless force outstripped them all. Their course lay
+between the two lines of squaws; and scarcely had the
+head of the bounding Indians reached the opposite extremity
+of those lines, when the women suddenly threw back their
+blankets, and disclosed each a short gun and a tomahawk.
+To throw away their hurdles and seize upon these, was
+the work of an instant. Already, in imagination, was the
+fort their own; and, such was the peculiar exultation of
+the black and turbaned warrior, when he felt the planks
+of the drawbridge bending beneath his feet, all the
+ferocious joy of his soul was pealed forth in the terrible
+cry which, rapidly succeeded by that of the other Indians,
+had resounded so fearfully through the council-room. What
+their disappointment was, when, on gaining the interior,
+they found the garrison prepared for their reception,
+has already been shown.
+
+"Secure that traitor, men!" exclaimed the governor,
+advancing into the square, and pointing to the black
+warrior, whose quick eye was now glancing on every side,
+to discover some assailable point in the formidable
+defences of the troops.
+
+A laugh of scorn and derision escaped the lips of the
+warrior. "Is there a man--are there any ten men, even
+with Governor de Haldimar at their head, who will be bold
+enough to attempt it?" he asked. "Nay!" he pursued,
+stepping boldly a pace or two in front of the wondering
+savages,--"here I stand singly, and defy your whole
+garrison!"
+
+A sudden movement among the soldiers in the guard-room
+announced they were preparing to execute the order of
+their chief. The eye of the black warrior sparkled with
+ferocious pleasure; and he made a gesture to his followers,
+which was replied to by the sudden tension of their
+hitherto relaxed forms into attitudes of expectance and
+preparation.
+
+"Stay, men; quit not your cover for your lives!" commanded
+the governor, in a loud deep voice:--"keep the barricades
+fast, and move not."
+
+A cloud of anger and disappointment passed over the
+features of the black warrior. It was evident the object
+of his bravado was to draw the troops from their defences,
+that they might be so mingled with their enemies as to
+render the cannon useless, unless friends and foes (which
+was by no means probable) should alike be sacrificed.
+The governor had penetrated the design in time to prevent
+the mischief.
+
+In a moment of uncontrollable rage, the savage warrior
+aimed his tomahawk at the head of the governor. The latter
+stepped lightly aside, and the steel sank with such force
+into one of the posts supporting the piazza, that the
+quivering handle snapped close off at its head. At that
+moment, a single shot, fired from the guard-house, was
+drowned in the yell of approbation which burst from the
+lips of the dark crowd. The turban of the warrior was,
+however, seen flying through the air, carried away by
+the force of the bullet which had torn it from his head.
+He himself was unharmed.
+
+"A narrow escape for us both, Colonel de Haldimar," he
+observed, as soon as the yell had subsided, and with an
+air of the most perfect unconcern. "Had my tomahawk obeyed
+the first impulse of my heart, I should have cursed myself
+and died: as it is, I have reason to avoid all useless
+exposure of my own life, at present. A second bullet may
+be better directed; and to die, robbed of my revenge,
+would ill answer the purpose of a life devoted to its
+attainment. Remember my pledge!"
+
+At the hasty command of the governor, a hundred muskets
+were raised to the shoulders of his men; but, before a
+single eye could glance along the barrel, the formidable
+and active warrior had bounded over the heads of the
+nearest Indians into a small space that was left unoccupied;
+when, stooping suddenly to the earth, he disappeared
+altogether from the view of his enemies. A slight movement
+in the centre of the numerous band crowding the gateway,
+and extending even beyond the bridge, was now discernible:
+it was like the waving of a field of standing corn,
+through which some animal rapidly winds its tortuous
+course, bending aside as the object advances, and closing
+again when it has passed. After the lapse of a minute,
+the terrible warrior was seen to spring again to his
+feet, far in the rear of the band; and then, uttering a
+fierce shout of exultation, to make good his retreat
+towards the forest.
+
+Meanwhile, Ponteac and the other chiefs of the council
+continued rooted to the piazza on which they had rushed
+at the unexpected display of the armed men behind the
+scarlet curtain. The loud "Waugh" that burst from the
+lips of all, on finding themselves thus foiled in their
+schemes of massacre, had been succeeded, the instant
+afterwards, by feelings of personal apprehension, which
+each, however, had collectedness enough to disguise. Once
+the Ottawa made a movement as if he would have cleared
+the space that kept him from his warriors; but the
+emphatical pointing of the finger of Colonel de Haldimar
+to the levelled muskets of the men in the block-houses
+prevented him, and the attempt was not repeated. It was
+remarked by the officers, who also stood on the piazza,
+close behind the chiefs, when the black warrior threw
+his tomahawk at the governor, a shade of displeasure
+passed over the features of the Ottawa; and that, when
+he found the daring attempt was not retaliated on his
+people, his countenance had been momentarily lighted up
+with a satisfied expression, apparently marking his sense
+of the forbearance so unexpectedly shown.
+
+"What says the great chief of the Ottawas now?" asked
+the governor calmly, and breaking a profound silence that
+had succeeded to the last fierce yell of the formidable
+being just departed. "Was the Saganaw not right, when he
+said the Ottawa came with guile in his heart, and with
+a lie upon his lips? But the Saganaw is not a fool, and
+he can read the thoughts of his enemies upon their faces,
+and long before their lips have spoken."
+
+"Ugh!" ejaculated the Indian; "my father is a great chief,
+and his head is full of wisdom. Had he been feeble, like
+the other chiefs of the Saganaw, the strong-hold of the
+Detroit must have fallen, and the red skins would have
+danced their war-dance round the scalps of his young men,
+even in the council-room where they came to talk of
+peace."
+
+"Does the great chief of the Ottawas see the big thunder
+of the Saganaw?" pursued the governor: "if not, let him
+open his eyes and look. The Saganaw has but to move his
+lips, and swifter than the lightning would the pale faces
+sweep away the warriors of the Ottawa, even where they
+now stand: in less time than the Saganaw is now speaking,
+would they mow them down like the grass of the Prairie."
+
+"Ugh!" again exclaimed the chief, with mixed doggedness
+and fierceness: "if what my father says is true, why does
+he not pour out his anger upon the red skins?"
+
+"Let the great chief of the Ottawas listen," replied the
+governor with dignity. "When the great chiefs of all the
+nations that are in league with the Ottawas came last to
+the council, the Saganaw knew that they carried deceit
+in their hearts, and that they never meant to smoke the
+pipe of peace, or to bury the hatchet in the ground. The
+Saganaw might have kept them prisoners, that their warriors
+might be without a head; but he had given his word to
+the great chief of the Ottawas, and the word of a Saganaw
+is never broken. Even now, while both the chiefs and
+the warriors are in his power,--he will not slay them,
+for he wishes to show the Ottawa the desire of the Saganaw
+is to be friendly with the red skins, and not to destroy
+them. Wicked men from the Canadas have whispered lies in
+the ear of the Ottawa; but a great chief should judge
+for himself, and take council only from the wisdom of
+his own heart. The Ottawa and his warriors may go," he
+resumed, after a short pause; "the path by which they
+came is again open to them. Let them depart in peace;
+the big thunder of the Saganaw shall not harm them."
+
+The countenance of the Indian, who had clearly seen the
+danger of his position, wore an expression of surprise
+which could not be dissembled: low exclamations passed
+between him and his companions; and, then pointing to
+the tomahawk that lay half buried in the wood, he said,
+doubtingly,--
+
+"It was the pale face, the friend of the great chief of
+the Ottawas, who struck the hatchet at my father. The
+Ottawa is not a fool to believe the Saganaw can sleep
+without revenge."
+
+"The great chief of the Ottawas shall know us better,"
+was the reply. "The young warriors of the Saganaw might
+destroy their enemies where they now stand, but they seek
+not their blood. When the Ottawa chief takes council from
+his own heart, and not from the lips of a cowardly dog
+of a pale face, who strikes his tomahawk and then flies,
+his wisdom will tell him to make peace with the Saganaw,
+whose warriors are without treachery, even as they are
+without fear."
+
+Another of those deep interjectional "ughs" escaped the
+chest of the proud Indian.
+
+"What my father says is good," he returned; "but the pale
+face is a great warrior, and the Ottawa chief is his
+friend. The Ottawa will go."
+
+He then addressed a few sentences, in a tongue unknown
+to the officers, to the swarthy and anxious crowd in
+front. These were answered by a low, sullen, yet assentient
+grunt, from the united band, who now turned, though with
+justifiable caution and distrust, and recrossed the
+drawbridge without hinderance from the troops. Ponteac
+waited until the last Indian had departed, and then making
+a movement to the governor, which, with all its haughtiness,
+was meant to mark his sense of the forbearance and good
+faith that had been manifested, once more stalked proudly
+and calmly across the area, followed by the remainder of
+the chiefs. The officers who were with the governor
+ascended to the ramparts, to follow their movements; and
+it was not before their report had been made, that the
+Indians were immerging once more into the heart of the
+forest, the troops were withdrawn from their formidable
+defences, and the gate of the fort again firmly secured.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+While the reader is left to pause over the rapid succession
+of incidents resulting from the mysterious entrance of
+the warrior of the Fleur de lis into the English fort,
+be it our task to explain the circumstances connected
+with the singular disappearance of Captain de Haldimar,
+and the melancholy murder of his unfortunate servant.
+
+It will be recollected that the ill-fated Halloway, in
+the course of his defence before the court-martial,
+distinctly stated the voice of the individual who had
+approached his post, calling on the name of Captain de
+Haldimar, on the night of the alarm, to have been that
+of a female, and that the language in which they
+subsequently conversed was that of the Ottawa Indians.
+This was strictly the fact; and the only error into which
+the unfortunate soldier had fallen, had reference merely
+to the character and motives of the party. He had naturally
+imagined, as he had stated, it was some young female of
+the village, whom attachment for his officer had driven
+to the desperate determination of seeking an interview;
+nor was this impression at all weakened by the subsequent
+discourse of the parties in the Indian tongue, with which
+it was well known most of the Canadians, both male and
+female, were more or less conversant. The subject of that
+short, low, and hurried conference was, indeed, one that
+well warranted the singular intrusion; and, in the
+declaration of Halloway, we have already seen the importance
+and anxiety attached by the young officer to the
+communication. Without waiting to repeat the motives
+assigned for his departure, and the prayers and
+expostulations to which he had recourse to overcome the
+determination and sense of duty of the unfortunate
+sentinel, let us pass at once to the moment when, after
+having cleared the ditch, conjointly with his faithful
+follower, in the manner already shown, Captain de Haldimar
+first stood side by side with his midnight visitant.
+
+The night, it has elsewhere been observed, was clear and
+starry, so that objects upon the common, such as the rude
+stump that here and there raised its dark low head above
+the surface, might be dimly seen in the distance. To
+obviate the danger of discovery by the sentinels, appeared
+to be the first study of the female; for, when Captain
+de Haldimar, followed by his servant, had reached the
+spot on which she stood, she put the forefinger of one
+hand to her lips, and with the other pointed to his booted
+foot. A corresponding signal showed that the lightness
+of the material offered little risk of betrayal. Donellan,
+however, was made to doff his heavy ammunition shoes;
+and, with this precaution, they all stole hastily along,
+under the shadows of the projecting ramparts, until they
+had gained the extreme rear. Here the female suddenly
+raised her tall figure from the stooping position in
+which she, as well as her companions, had performed the
+dangerous circuit; and, placing her finger once more
+significantly on her lips, led in the direction of the
+bomb-proof, unperceived by the sentinels, most of whom,
+it is probable, had, up to the moment of the alarm
+subsequently given, been too much overcome by previous
+watching and excitement to have kept the most vigilant
+look-out.
+
+Arrived at the skirt of the forest, the little party drew
+up within the shadow of the ruin, and a short and earnest
+dialogue ensued, in Indian, between the female and the
+officer. This was succeeded by a command from the latter
+to his servant, who, after a momentary but respectful
+expostulation, which, however, was utterly lost on him
+to whom it was addressed, proceeded to divest himself of
+his humble apparel, assuming in exchange the more elegant
+uniform of his superior. Donellan, who was also of the
+grenadiers, was remarkable for the resemblance he bore,
+in figure, to Captain de Haldimar; wanting, it is true,
+the grace and freedom of movement of the latter, but
+still presenting an outline which, in an attitude of
+profound repose, might, as it subsequently did, have set
+even those who were most intimate with the officer at
+fault.
+
+"This is well," observed the female, as the young man
+proceeded to induct himself in the grey coat of his
+servant, having previously drawn the glazed hat close
+over his waving and redundant hair: "if the Saganaw is
+ready, Oucanasta will go."
+
+"Sure, and your honour does not mane to lave me behind!"
+exclaimed the anxious soldier, as his captain now
+recommended him to stand closely concealed near the ruin
+until his return. "Who knows what ambuscade the she-divil
+may not lade your honour into; and thin who will you have
+to bring you out of it?"
+
+"No, Donellan, it must not be: I first intended it, as
+you may perceive by my bringing you out; but the expedition
+on which I am going is of the utmost importance to us
+all, and too much precaution cannot be taken. I fear no
+ambuscade, for I can depend on the fidelity of my guide;
+but the presence of a third person would only embarrass,
+without assisting me in the least. You must remain behind;
+the woman insists upon it, and there is no more to be
+said."
+
+"To ould Nick with the ugly winch, for her pains!" half
+muttered the disappointed soldier to himself. "I wish it
+may be as your honour says; but my mind misgives me sadly
+that evil will come of this. Has your honour secured the
+pistols?"
+
+"They are here," returned his captain, placing a hand on
+either chest. "And now, Donellan, mark me: I know nothing
+that can detain me longer than an hour; at least the
+woman assures me, and I believe her, that I may be back
+then; but it is well to guard against accidents. You must
+continue here for the hour, and for the hour only. If I
+come not then, return to the fort without delay, for the
+rope must be removed, and the gate secured, before Halloway
+is relieved. The keys you will find in the pocket of my
+uniform: when you have done with them, let them be hung
+up in their proper place in the guard-room. My father
+must not know either that Halloway suffered me to pass
+the gate, or that you accompanied me."
+
+"Lord love us! your honour talks as if you nivir would
+return, giving such a heap of orders!" exclaimed the
+startled man; "but if I go back alone, as I trust in
+heaven I shall not, how am I to account for being dressed
+in your honour's rigimintals?"
+
+"I tell you, Donellan," impatiently returned the officer,
+"that I shall be back; but I only wish to guard against
+accidents. The instant you get into the fort, you will
+take off my clothes and resume your own. Who the devil
+is to see you in the uniform, unless it be Halloway?"
+
+"If the Saganaw would not see the earth red with the
+blood of his race, he will go," interrupted the female.
+"Oucanasta can feel the breath of the morning fresh upon
+her cheek, and the council of the chiefs must be begun."
+
+"The Saganaw is ready, and Oucanasta shall lead the way,"
+hastily returned the officer. "One word more, Donellan;"
+and he pressed the hand of his domestic kindly: "should
+I not return, you must, without committing Halloway or
+yourself, cause my father to be apprised that the Indians
+meditate a deep and treacherous plan to get possession
+of the fort. What that plan is, I know not yet myself,
+neither does this woman know; but she says that I shall
+hear it discussed unseen, even in the heart of their own
+encampment. All you have to do is to acquaint my father
+with the existence of danger. And now be cautious: above
+all things, keep close under the shadow of the bomb-proof;
+for there are scouts constantly prowling about the common,
+and the glittering of the uniform in the starlight may
+betray you."
+
+"But why may I not follow your honour?" again urged the
+faithful soldier; "and where is the use of my remaining
+here to count the stars, and hear the 'All's well!' from
+the fort, when I could be so much better employed in
+guarding your honour from harm? What sort of protection
+can that Ingian woman afford, who is of the race of our
+bitterest enemies, them cursed Ottawas, and your honour
+venturing, too, like a spy into the very heart of the
+blood-hounds? Ah, Captain de Haldimar, for the love of
+God, do not trust yourself alone with her, or I am sure
+I shall never see your honour again!"
+
+The last words (unhappily too prophetic) fell only on
+the ear of him who uttered them. The female and the
+officer had already disappeared round an abrupt angle of
+the bomb-proof; and the soldier, as directed by his
+master, now drew up his tall figure against the ruin,
+where he continued for a period immovable, as if he had
+been planted there in his ordinary character of sentinel,
+listening, until they eventually died away in distance,
+to the receding footsteps of his master; and then ruminating
+on the several apprehensions that crowded on his mind,
+in regard to the probable issue of his adventurous project.
+
+Meanwhile, Captain de Haldimar and his guide trod the
+mazes of the forest, with an expedition that proved the
+latter to be well acquainted with its bearings. On quitting
+the bomb-proof, she had struck into a narrow winding
+path, less seen than felt in the deep gloom pervading
+the wood, and with light steps bounded over obstacles
+that lay strewed in their course, emitting scarcely more
+sound than would have been produced by the slimy crawl
+of its native rattlesnake. Not so, however, with the less
+experienced tread of her companion. Wanting the pliancy
+of movement given to it by the light mocassin, the booted
+foot of the young officer, despite of all his precaution,
+fell heavily to the ground, producing such a rustling
+among the dried leaves, that, had an Indian ear been
+lurking any where around, his approach must inevitably
+have been betrayed. More than once, too, neglecting to
+follow the injunction of his companion, who moved in a
+stooping posture, with her head bent over her chest, his
+hat was caught in the closely matted branches, and fell
+sullenly and heavily to the earth, evidently much to the
+discomfiture of his guide.
+
+At length they stood on the verge of a dark and precipitous
+ravine, the abrupt sides of which were studded with
+underwood, so completely interwoven, that all passage
+appeared impracticable. What, however, seemed an
+insurmountable obstacle, proved, in reality, an inestimable
+advantage; for it was by clinging to this, in imitation
+of the example set him by his companion, the young officer
+was prevented from rolling into an abyss, the depth of
+which was lost in the profound obscurity that pervaded
+the scene. Through the bed of this dark dell rolled a
+narrow stream, so imperceptible to the eye in the "living
+darkness," and so noiseless in its course, that it was
+not until warned by his companion he stood on the very
+brink of it, Captain de Haldimar was made sensible of
+its existence. Both cleared it at a single bound, in
+which the activity of the female was not the least
+conspicuous, and, clambering up the opposite steep,
+secured their footing, by the aid of the same underwood
+that had assisted them in their descent.
+
+On gaining the other summit, which was not done without
+detaching several loose stones from their sandy bed, they
+again, fell into the path, which had been lost sight of
+in traversing the ravine. They had proceeded along this
+about half a mile, when the female suddenly stopped, and
+pointing to a dim and lurid atmosphere that now began to
+show itself between the thin foliage, whispered that in
+the opening beyond stood the encampment of the Indians.
+She then seated herself on the trunk of a fallen tree,
+that lay at the side of the almost invisible path they
+had hitherto pursued, and motioning to her companion to
+unboot himself, proceeded to unlace the fastenings of
+her mocassins.
+
+"The foot of the Saganaw must fall like the night dew on
+the prairie," she observed: "the ear of the red skin is
+quicker than the lightning, and he will know that a pale
+face is near, if he hear but his tread upon a blade of
+grass."
+
+Gallantry in the civilised man is a sentiment that never
+wholly abandons him; and in whatever clime he may be
+thrown, or under whatever circumstances he may be
+placed,--be it called forth by white or by blackamoor,--it
+is certain to influence his conduct: it is a refinement,
+of that instinctive deference to the weaker sex, which
+nature has implanted in him for the wisest of purposes;
+and which, while it tends to exalt those to whom its
+influence is extended, fails not to reflect a corresponding
+lustre on himself.
+
+The young officer had, at the first suggestion of his
+guide, divested himself of his boots, prepared to perform
+the remainder of the journey merely in his stockings,
+but his companion now threw herself on her knees before
+him, and, without further ceremony, proceeded to draw
+over his foot one of the mocassins she had just
+relinquished.
+
+"The feet of the Saganaw are soft as those of a young
+child," she remarked, in a voice of commiseration; "but
+the mocassins of Oucanasta shall protect them from the
+thorns of the forest."
+
+This was too un-European,--too much reversing the
+established order of things, to be borne patiently. As
+if he had felt the dignity of his manhood offended by
+the proposal, the officer drew his foot hastily back,
+declaring, as he sprang from the log, he did not care
+for the thorns, and could not think of depriving a female,
+who must be much more sensible of pain than himself.
+
+Oucanasta, however, was not to be outdone in politeness.
+She calmly reseated herself on the log, drew her right
+foot over her left knee, caught one of the hands of her
+companion, and placing it upon the naked sole, desired
+him to feel how impervious to attack of every description
+was that indurated portion of the lower limb.
+
+This practical argument was not without its weight, and
+had more effect in deciding the officer than a volume of
+remonstrance. Most men love to render tribute to a delicate
+and pretty foot. Some, indeed, go so far as to connect
+every thing feminine with these qualities, and to believe
+that nothing can be feminine without them. For our parts,
+we confess, that, although no enemies to a pretty foot,
+it is by no means a sine qua non in our estimate of female
+perfection; being in no way disposed, where the head and
+heart are gems, to undervalue these in consideration of
+any deficiency in the heels. Captain de Haldimar probably
+thought otherwise; for when he had passed his unwilling
+hand over the foot of Oucanasta, which, whatever her face
+might have been, was certainly any thing but delicate,
+and encountered numerous ragged excrescences and raspy
+callosities that set all symmetry at defiance, a wonderful
+revolution came over his feelings; and, secretly determining
+the mocassins would be equally well placed on his own
+feet, he no longer offered any opposition.
+
+This important point arranged, the officer once more
+followed his guide in silence. Gradually the forest, as
+they advanced, became lighter with the lurid atmosphere
+before alluded to; and at length, through the trees,
+could be indistinctly seen the Indian fires from which
+it proceeded. The young man was now desired by his
+conductress to use the utmost circumspection in making
+the circuit of the wood, in order to gain a position
+immediately opposite to the point where the path they
+had hitherto pursued terminated in the opening. This,
+indeed, was the most dangerous and critical part of the
+undertaking. A false step, or the crackling of a decayed
+branch beneath the foot, would have been sufficient to
+betray proximity, in which case his doom was sealed.
+
+Fortunate did he now deem himself in having yielded to
+the counsel of his guide. Had he retained his unbending
+boot, it must have crushed whatever it pressed; whereas,
+the pliant mocassin, yielding to the obstacles it
+encountered, enabled him to pass noiselessly over them.
+Still, while exempt from danger on this score, another,
+scarcely less perplexing, became at every instant more
+obvious; for, as they drew nearer to the point which the
+female sought to gain, the dim light of the half-slumbering
+fires fell so immediately upon their path, that had a
+single human eye been turned in that direction, their
+discovery was inevitable. It was with a beating heart,
+to which mere personal fear, however, was a stranger,
+that Captain de Haldimar performed this concluding stage
+of his adventurous course; but, at a moment when he
+considered detection unavoidable, and was arming himself
+with resolution to meet the event, the female suddenly
+halted, placing, in the act, the trunk of an enormous
+beech between her companion and the dusky forms within,
+whose very breathing could be heard by the anxious officer.
+Without uttering a word, she took his hand, and, drawing
+him gently forward, disappeared altogether from his view.
+The young man followed, and in the next moment found
+himself in the bowelless body of the tree itself; into
+which, on the side of the encampment, both light and
+sound were admitted by a small aperture formed by the
+natural decay of the wood.
+
+The Indian pressed her lips to the ear of her companion,
+and rather breathed than said,--"The Saganaw will see
+and hear every thing from this in safety; and what he
+hears let him treasure in his heart. Oucanasta must go.
+When the council is over she will return, and lead him
+back to his warriors."
+
+With this brief intimation she departed, and so noiselessly,
+that the young officer was not aware of her absence until
+some minutes of silence had satisfied him she must be
+gone. His first care then was to survey, through the
+aperture that lay in a level with his eye, the character
+of the scene before him. The small plain, in which lay
+the encampment of the Indians, was a sort of oasis of
+the forest, girt round with a rude belt of underwood,
+and somewhat elevated, so as to present the appearance
+of a mound, constructed on the first principles of art.
+This was thickly although irregularly studded with tents,
+some of which were formed of large coarse mats thrown
+over poles disposed in a conical shape, while others were
+more rudely composed of the leafy branches of the forest.
+
+Within these groups of human forms lay, wrapped in their
+blankets, stretched at their lazy length. Others, with
+their feet placed close to the dying embers of their
+fires, diverged like so many radii from their centre,
+and lay motionless in sleep, as if life and consciousness
+were wholly extinct. Here and there was to be seen a
+solitary warrior securing, with admirable neatness, and
+with delicate ligatures formed of the sinew of the deer,
+the guiding feather, or fashioning the bony barb of his
+long arrow; while others, with the same warlike spirit
+in view, employed themselves in cutting and greasing
+small patches of smoked deerskin, which were to secure
+and give a more certain direction to the murderous bullet.
+Among the warriors were interspersed many women, some of
+whom might be seen supporting in their laps the heavy
+heads of their unconscious helpmates, while they occupied
+themselves, by the firelight, in parting the long black
+matted hair, and maintaining a destructive warfare against
+the pigmy inhabitants of that dark region. These signs
+of life and activity in the body of the camp generally
+were, however, but few and occasional; but, at the spot
+where Captain de Haldimar stood concealed, the scene was
+different. At a few yards from the tree stood a sort of
+shed, composed of tall poles placed upright in the earth,
+and supporting a roof formed simply of rude boughs, the
+foliage of which had been withered by time. This simple
+edifice might be about fifty feet in circumference. In
+the centre blazed a large fire that had been newly fed,
+and around this were assembled a band of swarthy warriors,
+some twenty or thirty in number, who, by their proud,
+calm, and thoughtful bearing, might at once be known to
+be chiefs.
+
+The faces of most of these were familiar to the young
+officer, who speedily recognised them for the principals
+of the various tribes Ponteac had leagued in arms against
+his enemies. That chief himself, ever remarkable for
+his haughty eye and commanding gesture, was of the number
+of those present; and, a little aloof from his inferiors,
+sat, with his feet stretched towards the fire, and half
+reclining on his side in an attitude of indolence; yet
+with his mind evidently engrossed by deep and absorbing
+thought. From some observations that distinctly met his
+ear, Captain de Haldimar gathered, the party were only
+awaiting the arrival of an important character, without
+whose presence the leading chief was unwilling the
+conference should begin. The period of the officer's
+concealment had just been long enough to enable him to
+fix all these particulars in his mind, when suddenly the
+faint report of a distant rifle was heard echoing throughout
+the wood. This was instantly succeeded by a second, that
+sounded more sharply on the ear; and then followed a long
+and piercing cry, that brought every warrior, even of
+those who slept, quickly to his feet.
+
+An anxious interval of some minutes passed away in the
+fixed and listening attitudes, which the chiefs especially
+had assumed, when a noise resembling that of some animal
+forcing its way rapidly through the rustling branches,
+was faintly heard in the direction in which the shots
+had been fired. This gradually increased as it evidently
+approached the encampment, and then, distinctly, could
+be heard the light yet unguarded boundings of a human
+foot. At every moment the rustling of the underwood,
+rapidly divided by the approaching form, became more
+audible; and so closely did the intruder press upon the
+point in which Captain de Haldimar was concealed, that
+that officer, fancying he had been betrayed, turned
+hastily round, and, grasping one of the pistols he had
+secreted in his chest, prepared himself for a last and
+deadly encounter. An instant or two was sufficient to
+re-assure him. The form glided hastily past, brushing
+the tree with its garments in its course, and clearing,
+at a single bound, the belt of underwood that divided
+the encampment from the tall forest, stood suddenly among
+the group of anxious and expectant chiefs.
+
+This individual, a man of tall stature, was powerfully
+made. He wore a jerkin, or hunting-coat, of leather; and
+his arms were, a rifle which had every appearance of
+having just been discharged, a tomahawk reeking with
+blood, and a scalping-knife, which, in the hurry of some
+recent service it had been made to perform, had missed
+its sheath, and was thrust naked into the belt that
+encircled his loins. His countenance wore an expression
+of malignant triumph; and as his eye fell on the assembled
+throng, its self-satisfied and exulting glance seemed to
+give them to understand he came not without credentials
+to recommend him to their notice. Captain de Haldimar
+was particularly struck by the air of bold daring and
+almost insolent recklessness pervading every movement of
+this man; and it was difficult to say whether the
+haughtiness of bearing peculiar to Ponteac himself, was
+not exceeded by that of this herculean warrior.
+
+By the body of chiefs his appearance had been greeted
+with a mere general grunt of approbation; but the
+countenance of the leader expressed a more personal
+interest. All seemed to expect he had something of moment
+to communicate; but as it was not consistent with the
+dignity of Indian etiquette to enquire, they waited calmly
+until it should please their new associate to enter on
+the history of his exploits. In pursuance of an invitation
+from Ponteac, he now took his seat on the right hand of
+that chief, and immediately facing the tree, from which
+Captain de Haldimar, strongly excited both by the reports
+of the shots that had been fired, and the sight of the
+bloody tomahawk of the recently arrived Indian, gazed
+earnestly and anxiously on the swarthy throng.
+
+Glancing once more triumphantly round the circle, who
+sat smoking their pipes in calm and deliberative silence,
+the latter now observed the eye of a young chief, who
+sat opposite to him, intently riveted on his left shoulder.
+He raised his hand to the part, withdrew it, looked at
+it, and found it wet with blood. A slight start of surprise
+betrayed his own unconsciousness of the accident; yet,
+secretly vexed at the discovery which had been made, and
+urged probably by one of his wayward fits, he demanded
+haughtily and insultingly of the young chief, if that
+was the first time he had ever looked on the blood of a
+warrior.
+
+"Does my brother feel pain?" was the taunting reply. "If
+he is come to us with a trophy, it is not without being
+dearly bought. The Saganaw has spilt his blood."
+
+"The weapons of the Saganaw, like those of the smooth
+face of the Ottawa, are without sting," angrily retorted
+the other. "They only prick the skin like a thorn; but
+when Wacousta drinks the blood of his enemy," and he
+glanced his eye fiercely at the young man, "it is the
+blood next his heart."
+
+"My brother has always big words upon his lips," returned
+the young chief, with a scornful sneer at the implied
+threat against himself. "But where are his proofs?"
+
+For a moment the eye of the party thus challenged kindled
+into flame, while his lips were firmly compressed together;
+and as he half bent himself forward, to scan with greater
+earnestness the features of his questioner, his right
+hand sank to his left side, tightly grasping the handle
+of his scalping-knife. The action was but momentary.
+Again he drew himself up, puffed the smoke deliberately
+from his bloody tomahawk, and, thrusting his right hand
+into his bosom, drew leisurely forth a reeking scalp,
+which he tossed insolently across the fire into the lap
+of the young chief. A loud and general "ugh!" testified
+the approbation of the assembled group, at the unequivocal
+answer thus given to the demand of the youth. The eye
+of the huge warrior sparkled with a deep and ferocious
+exultation.
+
+"What says the smooth face of the Ottawas now?" he
+demanded, in the same insolent strain. "Does it make his
+heart sick to look upon the scalp of a great chief?"
+
+The young man quietly turned the horrid trophy over
+several times in his hand, examining it attentively in
+every part. Then tossing it back with contemptuous coolness
+to its owner, he replied,--
+
+"The eyes of my brother are weak with age. He is not
+cunning, like a red skin. The Ottawa has often seen the
+Saganaw in their fort, and he knows their chiefs have
+fine hair like women; but this is like the bristles of
+the fox. My brother has not slain a great chief, but a
+common warrior."
+
+A flush of irrepressible and threatening anger passed
+over the features of the vast savage.
+
+"Is it for a boy," he fiercely asked, "whose eyes know
+not yet the colour of blood, to judge of the enemies that
+fall by the tomahawk of Wacousta? but a great warrior
+never boasts of actions that he does not achieve. It is
+the son of the great chief of the Saganaw whom he has
+slain. If the smooth face doubts it, and has courage to
+venture, even at night, within a hundred yards of the
+fort, he will see a Saganaw without a scalp; and he will
+know that Saganaw by his dress--the dress," he pursued,
+with a low emphatic laugh, "that Oucanasta, the sister
+of the smooth face, loved so much to look upon."
+
+Quicker than thought was the upspringing of the young
+Indian to his feet. With a cheek glowing, an eye flashing,
+and his gleaming tomahawk whirling rapidly round his
+head, he cleared at a single bound the fire that separated
+him from his insulter. The formidable man who had thus
+wantonly provoked the attack, was equally prompt in
+meeting it. At the first movement of the youth, he too
+had leapt to his feet, and brandished the terrible weapon
+that served in the double capacity of pipe and hatchet.
+A fierce yell escaped the lips of each, as they thus met
+in close and hostile collision, and the scene for the
+moment promised to be one of the most tragic character;
+but before either could find an assailable point on which
+to rest his formidable weapon, Ponteac himself had thrown
+his person between them, and in a voice of thunder
+commanded the instant abandonment of their purpose.
+Exasperated even as they now mutually were, the influence
+of that authority, for which the great chief of the
+Ottawas was well known, was not without due effect on
+the combatants. His anger was principally directed against
+the assailant, on whom the tones of his reproving voice
+produced a change the intimidation of his powerful opponent
+could never have effected. The young chief dropped the
+point of his tomahawk, bowed his head in submission, and
+then resuming his seat, sat during the remainder of the
+night with his arms folded, and his head bent in silence
+over his chest.
+
+"Our brother has done well," said Ponteac, glancing
+approvingly at him who had exhibited the reeking trophy,
+and whom he evidently favoured. "He is a great chief,
+and his words are truth. We heard the report of his rifle,
+and we also heard the cry that told he had borne away
+the scalp of an enemy. But we will think of this to-morrow.
+Let us now commence our talk."
+
+Our readers will readily imagine the feelings of Captain
+de Haldimar during this short but exciting scene. From
+the account given by the warrior, there could be no doubt
+the murdered man was the unhappy Donellan; who, probably,
+neglecting the caution given him, had exposed himself to
+the murderous aim of this fierce being, who was apparently
+a scout sent for the purpose of watching the movements
+of the garrison. The direction of the firing, the allusion
+made to the regimentals, nay, the scalp itself, which he
+knew from the short crop to be that of a soldier, and
+fancied he recognised from its colour to be that of his
+servant, formed but too conclusive evidence of the fact;
+and, bitterly and deeply, as he gazed on this melancholy
+proof of the man's sacrifice of life to his interest,
+did he repent that he had made him the companion of his
+adventure, or that, having done so, he had not either
+brought him away altogether, or sent him instantly back
+to the fort. Commiseration for the fate of the unfortunate
+Donellan naturally induced a spirit of personal hostility
+towards his destroyer; and it was with feelings strongly
+excited in favour of him whom he now discovered to be
+the brother of his guide, that he saw him spring fiercely
+to the attack of his gigantic opponent. There was an
+activity about the young chief amply commensurate with
+the greater physical power of his adversary; while the
+manner in which he wielded his tomahawk, proved him to
+be any thing but the novice in the use of the formidable
+weapon the other had represented him. It was with a
+feeling of disappointment, therefore, which the peculiarity
+of his own position could not overcome, he saw Ponteac
+interpose himself between the parties.
+
+Presently, however, a subject of deeper and more absorbing
+interest than even the fate of his unhappy follower
+engrossed every faculty of his mind, and riveted both
+eye and ear in painful tension to the aperture in his
+hiding-place. The chiefs had resumed their places, and
+the silence of a few minutes had succeeded to the fierce
+affray of the warriors, when Ponteac, in a calm and
+deliberate voice, proceeded to state he had summoned all
+the heads of the nations together, to hear a plan he had
+to offer for the reduction of the last remaining forts
+of their enemies, Michilimackinac and Detroit. He pointed
+out the tediousness of the warfare in which they were
+engaged; the desertion of the hunting-grounds by their
+warriors; and their consequent deficiency in all those
+articles of European traffic which they were formerly in
+the habit of receiving in exchange for their furs. He
+dwelt on the beneficial results that would accrue to them
+all in the event of the reduction of those two important
+fortresses; since, in that case, they would be enabled
+to make such terms with the English as would secure to
+them considerable advantages; while, instead of being
+treated with the indignity of a conquered people, they
+would be enabled to command respect from the imposing
+attitude this final crowning of their successes would
+enable them to assume. He stated that the prudence and
+vigilance of the commanders of these two unreduced
+fortresses were likely long to baffle, as had hitherto
+been the case, every open attempt at their capture; and
+admitted he had little expectation of terrifying them
+into a surrender by the same artifice that had succeeded
+with the forts on the Ohio and the lower lakes. The plan,
+however, which he had to propose, was one he felt assured
+would be attended with success. He would disclose that
+plan, and the great chiefs should give it the advantage
+of their deliberation.
+
+Captain de Haldimar was on the rack. The chief had
+gradually dropped his voice as he explained his plan,
+until at length it became so low, that undistinguishable
+sounds alone reached the ear of the excited officer. For
+a moment he despaired of making himself fully master of
+the important secret; but in the course of the deliberation
+that ensued, the blanks left unsupplied in the discourse
+of the leader were abundantly filled up. It was what the
+reader has already seen. The necessities of the Indians
+were to be urged as a motive for their being tired of
+hostilities. A peace was to be solicited; a council held;
+a ball-playing among the warriors proposed, as a mark of
+their own sincerity and confidence during that council;
+and when the garrison, lulled into security, should be
+thrown entirely off their guard, the warriors were to
+seize their guns and tomahawks, with which (the former
+cut short, for the better concealment of their purpose)
+their women would be provided, rush in, under pretext of
+regaining their lost ball, when a universal massacre of
+men, women, and children was to ensue, until nothing
+wearing the garb of a Saganaw should be left.
+
+It would be tedious to follow the chief through all the
+minor ramifications of his subtle plan. Suffice it they
+were of a nature to throw the most wary off his guard;
+and so admirably arranged was every part, so certain did
+it appear their enemies must give into the snare, that
+the oldest chiefs testified their approbation with a
+vivacity of manner and expression little wont to
+characterize the deliberative meetings of these reserved
+people. But deepest of all was the approval of the tall
+warrior who had so recently arrived. To him had the
+discourse of the leader been principally directed, as
+one whose counsel and experience were especially wanting
+to confirm him in his purpose. He was the last who spoke;
+but, when he did, it was with a force--an energy--that
+must have sunk every objection, even if the plan had not
+been so perfect and unexceptionable in its concoction as
+to have precluded a possibility of all negative argument.
+During the delivery of his animated speech, his swarthy
+countenance kindled into fierce and rapidly varying
+expression. A thousand dark and complicated passions
+evidently struggled at his heart; and as he dwelt leisurely
+and emphatically on the sacrifice of human life that must
+inevitably attend the adoption of the proposed measure,
+his eye grew larger, his chest expanded, nay, his very
+nostril appeared to dilate with unfathomably guileful
+exultation. Captain de Haldimar thought he had never
+gazed on any thing wearing the human shape half so
+atrociously savage.
+
+Long before the council was terminated, the inferior
+warriors, who had been so suddenly aroused from their
+slumbering attitudes, had again retired to their tents,
+and stretched their lazy length before the embers of
+their fires. The weary chiefs now prepared to follow
+their example. They emptied the ashes from the bowls of
+their pipe-tomahawks, replaced them carefully at their
+side, rose, and retired to their respective tents. Ponteac
+and the tall warrior alone remained. For a time they
+conversed earnestly together. The former listened
+attentively to some observations made to him by his
+companion, in the course of which, the words "chief of
+the Saganaw--fort--spy--enemy," and two or three others
+equally unconnected, were alone audible to the ear of
+him who so attentively sought to catch the slightest
+sound. He then thrust his hand under his hunting-coat,
+and, as if in confirmation of what he had been stating,
+exhibited a coil of rope and the glossy boot of an English
+officer. Ponteac uttered one of his sharp ejaculating
+"ughs!" and then rising quickly from his seat, followed
+by his companion, soon disappeared in the heart of the
+encampment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+How shall we attempt to paint all that passed through
+the mind of Captain de Haldimar during this important
+conference of the fierce chiefs?--where find language to
+convey the cold and thrilling horror with which he listened
+to the calm discussion of a plan, the object of which
+was the massacre, not only of a host of beings endeared
+to him by long communionship of service, but of those
+who were wedded to his heart by the dearer ties of
+affection and kindred? As Ponteac had justly observed,
+the English garrisons, strong in their own defences, were
+little likely to be speedily reduced, while their enemies
+confined themselves to overt acts of hostility; but,
+against their insidious professions of amity who could
+oppose a sufficient caution? His father, the young officer
+was aware, had all along manifested a spirit of conciliation
+towards the Indians, which, if followed up by the government
+generally, must have had the effect of preventing the
+cruel and sanguinary war that had so recently desolated
+this remote part of the British possessions. How likely,
+therefore, was it, having this object always in view, he
+should give in to the present wily stratagem, where such
+plausible motives for the abandonment of their hostile
+purpose were urged by the perfidious chiefs! From the
+few hasty hints already given him by his guide,--that
+kind being, who evidently sought to be the saviour of
+the devoted garrisons,--he had gathered that a deep and
+artful plan was to be submitted to the chiefs by their
+leader; but little did he imagine it was of the finished
+nature it now proved to be. Any other than the present
+attempt, the vigilance and prudence of his experienced
+father, he felt, would have rendered abortive; but there
+was so much speciousness in the pleas that were to be
+advanced in furtherance of their assumed object, he could
+not but admit the almost certainty of their influence,
+even on him.
+
+Sick and discouraged as he was at the horrible perspective
+thus forced on his mental view, the young officer had
+not, for some moments, presence of mind to reflect that
+the danger of the garrison existed only so long as he
+should be absent from it. At length, however, the cheering
+recollection came, and with it the mantling rush of blood,
+to his faint heart. But, short was the consoling hope:
+again he felt dismay in every fibre of his frame; for he
+now reflected, that although his opportune discovery of
+the meditated scheme would save one fort, there was no
+guardian angel to extend, as in this instance, its
+protecting influence to the other; and within that other
+there breathed those who were dearer far to him than his
+own existence;--beings, whose lives were far more precious
+to him than any even in the garrison of which he was a
+member. His sister Clara, whom he loved with a love little
+inferior to that of his younger brother; and one, even
+more dearly loved than Clara,--Madeline de Haldimar, his
+cousin and affianced bride,--were both inmates of
+Michilimackinac, which was commanded by the father of
+the latter, a major in the ---- regiment. With Madeline
+de Haldimar he had long since exchanged his vows of
+affection; and their nuptials, which were to have taken
+place about the period when the present war broke out,
+had only been suspended because all communication between
+the two posts had been entirely cut off by the enemy.
+
+Captain de Haldimar had none of the natural weakness and
+timidity of character which belonged to the gentler and
+more sensitive Charles. Sanguine and full of enterprise,
+he seldom met evils half way; but when they did come, he
+sought to master them by the firmness and collectedness
+with which he opposed his mind to their infliction. If
+his heart was now racked with the most acute suffering--his
+reason incapacitated from exercising its calm deliberative
+power, the seeming contradiction arose not from any
+deficiency in his character, but was attributable wholly
+to the extraordinary circumstances of the moment.
+
+It was a part of the profound plan of the Ottawa chief,
+that it should be essayed on the two forts on the same
+day; and it was a suggestion of the murderer of poor
+Donellan, that a parley should be obtained, through the
+medium of a white flag, the nature of which he explained
+to them, as it was understood among their enemies. If
+invited to the council, then they were to enter, or not,
+as circumstances might induce; but, in any case, they
+were to go unprovided with the pipe of peace, since this
+could not be smoked without violating every thing held
+most sacred among themselves. The red, or war-pipe, was
+to be substituted as if by accident; and, for the success
+of the deception, they were to presume on the ignorance
+of their enemies. This, however, was not important, since
+the period of their first parley was to be the moment
+chosen for the arrangement of a future council, and the
+proposal of a ball-playing upon the common. Three days
+were to be named as the interval between the first
+conference of Ponteac with the governor and the definitive
+council which was to ensue; during which, however, it
+was so arranged, that, before the lip of a red skin should
+touch the pipe of peace, the ball-players should rush in
+and massacre the unprepared soldiery, while the chiefs
+despatched the officers in council.
+
+It was the proximity of the period allotted for the
+execution of their cruel scheme that mainly contributed
+to the dismay of Captain de Haldimar. The very next day
+was appointed for carrying into effect the first part of
+the Indian plan: and how was it possible that a messenger,
+even admitting he should elude the vigilance of the enemy,
+could reach the distant post of Michilimackinac within
+the short period on which hung the destiny of that devoted
+fortress. In the midst of the confused and distracting
+images that now crowded on his brain, came at length one
+thought, redolent with the brightest colourings of hope.
+On his return to the garrison, the treachery of the
+Indians being made known, the governor might so far, and
+with a view of gaining time, give in to the plan of his
+enemies, as to obtain such delay as would afford the
+chance of communication between the forts. The attempt,
+on the part of those who should be selected for this
+purpose, would, it is true, be a desperate one: still
+it must be made; and, with such incentives to exertion
+as he had, how willingly would he propose his own services!
+
+The more he dwelt on this mode of defeating the subtle
+designs of the enemy, the more practicable did it appear.
+Of his own safe return to the fort he entertained not a
+doubt; for he knew and relied on the Indian woman, who
+was bound to him by a tie of gratitude, which her conduct
+that night evidently denoted to be superior even to the
+interests of her race. Moreover, as he had approached
+the encampment unnoticed while the chiefs were yet awake
+to every thing around them, how little probability was
+there of his return being detected while all lay wrapped
+in the most profound repose. It is true that, for a
+moment, his confidence deserted him as he recurred to
+the earnest dialogue of the two Indians, and the sudden
+display of the rope and boot, the latter of which articles
+he had at once recognised to be one of those he had so
+recently worn; but his apprehensions on that score were
+again speedily set to rest, when he reflected, had any
+suspicion existed in the minds of these men that an enemy
+was lurking near them, a general alarm would have been
+spread, and hundreds of warriors despatched to scour the
+forest.
+
+The night was now rapidly waning away, and already the
+cold damp air of an autumnal morning was beginning to
+make itself felt. More than half an hour had elapsed
+since the departure of Ponteac and his companion, and
+yet Oucanasta came not. With a sense of the approach of
+day came new and discouraging thoughts, and, for some
+minutes, the mind of the young officer became petrified
+with horror, as he reflected on the bare possibility of
+his escape being intercepted. The more he lingered on
+this apprehension, the more bewildered were his ideas;
+and already, in horrible perspective, he beheld the
+destruction of his nearest and dearest friends, and the
+host of those who were humbler followers, and partakers
+in the same destiny. Absolutely terrified with the
+misgivings of his own heart, he, in the wildness and
+unconnectedness of his purpose, now resolved to make the
+attempt to return alone, although he knew not even the
+situation of the path he had so recently quitted. He had
+actually moved a pace forward on his desperate enterprise,
+when he felt a band touching the extended arm with which
+he groped to find the entrance to his hiding-place. The
+unexpected collision sent a cold shudder through his
+frame; and such was the excitement to which he had worked
+himself up, it was not without difficulty he suppressed
+an exclamation, that must inevitably have sealed his
+doom. The soft tones of Oucanasta's voice re-assured him.
+
+"The day will soon dawn," she whispered; "the Saganaw
+must go."
+
+With the return of hope came the sense of all he owed to
+the devotedness of this kind woman. He grasped the hand
+that still lingered on his arm, pressed it affectionately
+in his own, and then placed it in silence on his throbbing
+heart. The breathing of Oucanasta became deeper, and the
+young officer fancied he could feel her trembling with
+agitation. Again, however, and in a tone of more subdued
+expression, she whispered that he must go.
+
+There was little urging necessary to induce a prompt
+compliance with the hint. Cautiously emerging from his
+concealment, Captain de Haldimar now followed close in
+the rear of his guide, who took the same circuit of the
+forest to reach the path that led towards the fort. This
+they speedily gained, and then pursued their course in
+silence, until they at length arrived at the log where
+the exchange of mocassins had been made.
+
+"Here the Saganaw may take breath," she observed, as she
+seated herself on the fallen tree; "the sleep of the red
+skin is sound, and there is no one upon the path but
+Oucanasta."
+
+Anxious as he felt to secure his return to the fort,
+there was an implied solicitation in the tones of her to
+whom he owed so much, that prevented Captain de Haldimar
+from offering an objection, which he feared might be
+construed into slight.
+
+For a moment or two the Indian remained with her arms
+folded, and her head bent over her chest; and then, in
+a low, deep, but tremulous voice, observed,--
+
+"When the Saganaw saved Oucanasta from perishing in the
+angry waters, there was a girl of the pale faces with
+him, whose skin was like the snows of the Canadian winter,
+and whose hair was black like the fur of the squirrel.
+Oucanasta saw," she pursued, dropping her voice yet lower,
+"that the Saganaw was loved by the pale girl, and her
+own heart was very sick, for the Saganaw had saved her
+life, and she loved him too. But she knew she was very
+foolish, and that an Indian girl could never be the wife
+of a handsome chief of the Saganaw; and she prayed to
+the Great Spirit of the red skins to give her strength
+to overcome her feelings; but the Great Spirit was angry
+with her, and would not hear her." She paused a moment,
+and then abruptly demanded, "Where is that pale girl now?"
+
+Captain de Haldimar had often been rallied, not only by
+his brother-officers, but even by his sister and Madeline
+de Haldimar herself, on the conquest he had evidently
+made of the heart of this Indian girl. The event to which
+she had alluded had taken place several months previous
+to the breaking out of hostilities. Oucanasta was
+directing her frail bark, one evening, along the shores
+of the Detroit, when one of those sudden gusts of wind,
+so frequent in these countries, upset the canoe, and left
+its pilot struggling amid the waves. Captain de Haldimar,
+who happened to be on the bank at the moment with his
+sister and cousin, was an eye-witness of her danger, and
+instantly flew down the steep to her assistance. Being
+an excellent swimmer, he was not long in gaining the
+spot, where, exhausted with the exertion she had made,
+and encumbered with her awkward machecoti, the poor girl
+was already on the point of perishing. But for his timely
+assistance, indeed, she must have sunk to the bottom;
+and, since that period, the grateful being had been
+remarked for the strong but unexpressed attachment she
+felt for her deliverer. This, however, was the first
+moment Captain de Haldimar became acquainted with the
+extent of feelings, the avowal of which not a little
+startled and surprised, and even annoyed him. The last
+question, however, suggested a thought that kindled every
+fibre of his being into expectancy,--Oucanasta might be
+the saviour of those he loved; and he felt that, if time
+were but afforded her, she would. He rose from the log,
+dropped on one knee before the Indian, seized both her
+hands with eagerness, and then in tones of earnest
+supplication whispered,--
+
+"Oucanasta is right: the pale girl with the skin like
+snow, and hair like the fur of the squirrel, is the bride
+of the Saganaw. Long before he saved the life of Oucanasta,
+he knew and loved that pale girl. She is dearer to the
+Saganaw than his own blood; but she is in the fort beyond
+the great lake, and the tomahawks of the red skins will
+destroy her; for the warriors of that fort have no one
+to tell them of their danger. What says the red girl?
+will she go and save the lives of the sister and the wife
+of the Saganaw."
+
+The breathing of the Indian became deeper; and Captain
+de Haldimar fancied she sighed heavily, as she replied,--
+
+"Oucanasta is but a weak woman, and her feet are not
+swift like those of a runner among the red skins; but
+what the Saganaw asks, for his sake she will try. When
+she has seen him safe to his own fort, she will go and
+prepare herself for the journey. The pale girl shall lay
+her head on the bosom of the Saganaw, and Oucanasta will
+try to rejoice in her happiness."
+
+In the fervour of his gratitude, the young officer caught
+the drooping form of the generous Indian wildly to his
+heart; his lips pressed hers, and during the kiss that
+followed, the heart of the latter bounded and throbbed,
+as if it would have passed from her own into the bosom
+of her companion.
+
+Never was a kiss less premeditated, less unchaste.
+Gratitude, not passion, had called it forth; and had
+Madeline de Haldimar been near at the moment, the feeling
+that had impelled the seeming infidelity to herself would
+have been regarded as an additional claim on her affection.
+On the whole, however, it was a most unfortunate and
+ill-timed kiss, and, as is often the case under such
+circumstances, led to the downfall of the woman. In the
+vivacity of his embrace, Captain de Haldimar had drawn
+his guide so far forward upon the log, that she lost her
+balance, and fell with a heavy and reverberating crash
+among the leaves and dried sticks that were strewed
+thickly around.
+
+Scarcely a second elapsed when the forest was alive with
+human yells, that fell achingly on the ears of both; and
+bounding warriors were heard on every hand, rapidly
+dividing the dense underwood they encountered in their
+pursuit.
+
+Quick as thought the Indian had regained her feet. She
+grasped the hand of her companion; and hurrying, though
+not without caution, along the path, again stood on the
+brow of the ravine through which they had previously
+passed.
+
+"The Saganaw must go alone," she whispered. "The red
+skins are close upon our trail, but they will find only
+an Indian woman, when they expect a pale face. Oucanasta
+will save her friend."
+
+Captain de Haldimar did as he was desired. Clinging to
+the bushes that lined the face of the precipitous descent,
+he managed once more to gain the bed of the ravine. For
+a moment he paused to listen to the sounds of his pursuers,
+whose footsteps were now audible on the eminence he had
+just quitted; and then, gathering himself up for the leap
+that was to enable him to clear the rivulet, he threw
+himself heavily forward. His feet alighted upon an elevated
+and yielding substance, that gave way with a crashing
+sound that echoed far and near throughout the forest,
+and he felt himself secured as if in a trap. Although
+despairing of escape, he groped with his hands to discover
+what it was that thus detained him, and found he had
+fallen through a bark canoe, the bottom of which had been
+turned upwards. The heart of the fugitive now sank within
+him: there could be no doubt that his retreat was
+intercepted. The canoe had been placed there since he
+last passed through the ravine: and it was evident, from
+the close and triumphant yell that followed the rending
+of the frail bark, such a result had been anticipated.
+
+Stunned as he was by the terrific cries of the savages,
+and confused as were his ideas, Captain de Haldimar had
+still presence of mind to perceive the path itself offered
+him no further security. He therefore quitted it altogether,
+and struck, in an oblique direction, up the opposite face
+of the ravine. Scarcely had he gone twenty yards, when
+he heard the voices of several Indians conversing earnestly
+near the canoe he had just quitted; and presently afterwards
+he could distinctly hear them ascending the opposite brow
+of the ravine by the path he recently congratulated
+himself on having abandoned. To advance or to recede was
+now equally impracticable; for, on every side, he was
+begirt by enemies, into whose hands a single false step
+must inevitably betray him. What would he not have given
+for the presence of Oucanasta, who was so capable of
+advising him in this difficulty! but, from the moment of
+his descending into the ravine, he had utterly lost sight
+of her.
+
+The spot on which he now rested was covered with thick
+brushwood, closely interwoven at their tops, but affording
+sufficient space beneath for a temporary close concealment;
+so that, unless some Indian should touch him with his
+foot, there was little seeming probability of his being
+discovered by the eye. Under this he crept, and lay,
+breathless and motionless, with his head raised from the
+ground, and his ear on the stretch for the slightest
+noise. For several minutes he remained in this position,
+vainly seeking to catch the sound of a voice, or the fall
+of a footstep; but the most deathlike silence had succeeded
+to the fierce yellings that had so recently rent the
+forest. At times he fancied he could distinguish faint
+noises in the direction of the encampment; and so certain
+was he of this, he at length came to the conclusion that
+the Indians, either baffled in their search, had
+relinquished the pursuit, or, having encountered Oucanasta,
+had been thrown on a different scent. His first intention
+had been to lie concealed until the following night, when
+the warriors, no longer on the alert, should leave the
+path once more open to him; but now that the conviction
+of their return was strong on his mind, he changed his
+determination, resolving to make the best of his way to
+the fort with the aid of the approaching dawn. With this
+view he partly withdrew his body from beneath its canopy
+of underwood; but, scarcely had he done so, when a hundred
+tongues, like the baying of so many blood-hounds, again
+rent the air with their wild cries, which seemed to rise
+up from the very bowels of the earth, and close to the
+appalled ear of the young officer.
+
+Scarcely conscious of what he did, Captain de Haldimar
+grasped one of his pistols, for he fancied he felt the
+hot breathing of human life upon his cheek. With a sickly
+sensation of fear, he turned to satisfy himself whether
+it was not an illusion of his heated imagination. What,
+however, was his dismay, when he beheld bending over him
+a dark and heavy form, the outline of which alone was
+distinguishable in the deep gloom in which the ravine
+remained enveloped! Desperation was in the heart of the
+excited officer: he cocked his pistol; but scarcely had
+the sharp ticking sound floated on the air, when he felt
+a powerful hand upon his chest; and, with as much facility
+as if he had been a child, was he raised by that invisible
+hand to his feet. A dozen warriors now sprang to the
+assistance of their comrade, when the whole, having
+disarmed and bound their prisoner, led him back in triumph
+to their encampment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The fires of the Indians were nearly now extinct; but
+the faint light of the fast dawning day threw a ghastly,
+sickly, hue over the countenances of the savages, which
+rendered them even more terrific in their war paint. The
+chiefs grouped themselves immediately around their
+prisoner, while the inferior warriors, forming an outer
+circle, stood leaning their dark forms upon their rifles,
+and following, with keen and watchful eye, every movement
+of their captive. Hitherto the unfortunate officer had
+been too much engrossed by his despair to pay any immediate
+attention to the individual who had first discovered and
+seized him. It was sufficient for him to know all hope
+of the safety of the garrison had perished with his
+captivity: and, with that recklessness of life which
+often springs from the very consciousness of inability
+to preserve it, he now sullenly awaited the death which
+he expected at each moment would be inflicted. Suddenly
+his ear was startled by an interrogatory, in English,
+from one who stood behind him.
+
+With a movement of surprise, Captain de Haldimar turned
+to examine his questioner. It was the dark and ferocious
+warrior who had exhibited the scalp of his ill-fated
+servant. For a moment the officer fixed his eyes firmly
+and unshrinkingly on those of the savage, seeking to
+reconcile the contradiction that existed between his
+dress and features and the purity of the English he had
+just spoken. The other saw his drift, and, impatient of
+the scrutiny, again repeated, as he fiercely pulled the
+strong leathern thong by which the prisoner now found
+himself secured to his girdle,--
+
+"Who and what are you?--whence come you?--and for what
+purpose are you here?" Then, as if struck by some sudden
+recollection, he laid his hand upon the shoulder of his
+victim; and, while his eye grew upon his features, he
+pursued, in a tone of vehemence,--"Ha! by Heaven, I
+should know that face!--the cursed lines of the blood
+of De Haldimar are stamped upon that brow! But stay, one
+proof and I am satisfied." While he yet spoke he dashed
+the menial hat of his captive to the earth, put aside
+his hair, and then, with fiendish exultation, pursued,--"It
+is even so. Do you recollect the battle of the plains of
+Abraham, Captain de Haldimar?--Recollect you the French
+officer who aimed so desperately at your life, and whose
+object was defeated by a soldier of your regiment? I am
+that officer: my victim escaped me then, but not for
+ever. The hour of vengeance is nearly now arrived, and
+your capture is the pledge of my success. Hark, how the
+death-cry of all his hated race will ring in madness on
+your father's ear!"
+
+Amazement, stupefaction, and horror, filled the mind of
+the wretched officer at this extraordinary declaration.
+He perfectly recollected that the individual who had
+evinced so much personal hostility on the occasion alluded
+to, was indeed a man wearing the French uniform, although
+at the head of a band of savages, and of a stature and
+strength similar to those of him who now so fiercely
+avowed himself the bitter and deadly foe of all his race.
+If this were so, and his tone and language left little
+room for doubt, the doom of the ill-fated garrison was
+indeed irrevocably sealed. This mysterious enemy evidently
+possessed great influence in the councils of the Indians;
+and while the hot breath of his hatred continued to fan
+the flame of fierce hostility that had been kindled in
+the bosom of Ponteac, whose particular friend he appeared
+to be, there would be no end to the atrocities that must
+follow. Great, however, as was the dismay of Captain de
+Haldimar, who, exhausted with the adventures of the night,
+presented a ghastly image of anxiety and fatigue, it was
+impossible for him to repress the feelings of indignation
+with which the language of this fierce man had inspired
+him.
+
+"If you are in reality a French officer," he said, "and
+not an Englishman, as your accent would denote, the
+sentiments you have now avowed may well justify the
+belief, that you have been driven with ignominy from a
+service which your presence must eternally have disgraced.
+There is no country in Europe that would willingly claim
+you for its subject. Nay, even the savage race, with whom
+you are now connected, would, if apprised of your true
+nature, spurn you as a thing unworthy to herd even with
+their wolf-dogs."
+
+A fierce sardonic laugh burst from the lips of the warrior,
+but this was so mingled with rage as to give an almost
+devilish expression to his features.
+
+"Ignominy--ignominy!" he repeated, while his right hand
+played convulsively with the handle of his tomahawk; "is
+it for a De Haldimar to taunt me with ignominy? Fool!"
+he pursued, after a momentary pause, "you have sealed
+your doom." Then abruptly quitting the handle of his
+weapon, he thrust his hand into his bosom, and again
+drawing forth the reeking scalp of Donellan, he dashed
+it furiously in the face of his prisoner. "Not two hours
+since," he exclaimed, "I cheered myself with the thought
+that the scalp of a De Haldimar was in my pouch. Now,
+indeed, do I glory in my mistake. The torture will be
+a more fitting death for you."
+
+Had an arm of the insulted soldier been at liberty, the
+offence would not have gone unavenged even there; for
+such was the desperation of his heart, that he felt he
+could have hugged the death struggle with his insolent
+captor, notwithstanding the fearful odds, nor quitted
+him until one or both should have paid the debt of fierce
+enmity with life. As it was he could only betray, by his
+flashing eye, excited look, and the impatient play of
+his foot upon the ground, the deep indignation that
+consumed his heart.
+
+The tall savage exulted in the mortification he had
+awakened, and as his eye glanced insolently from head to
+foot along his enemy, its expression told how much he
+laughed at the impotence of his anger. Suddenly, however,
+a change passed over his features. The mocassin of the
+officer had evidently attracted his attention, and he
+now demanded, in a more serious and imperative tone,--
+
+"Ha! what means this disguise? Who is the wretch whom I
+have slain, mistaking him for a nobler victim; and how
+comes it that an officer of the English garrison appears
+here in the garb of a servant? By heaven, it is so! you
+are come as a spy into the camp of the Indians to steal
+away the councils of the chiefs. Speak, what have you
+heard?"
+
+With these questions returned the calm and self-possession
+of the officer. He at once saw the importance of his
+answer, on which hung not merely his own last faint chance
+of safety, but that also of his generous deliverer.
+Struggling to subdue the disgust which he felt at holding
+converse with this atrocious monster, he asked in turn,--
+
+"Am I then the only one whom the warriors have overtaken
+in their pursuit?"
+
+"There was a woman, the sister of that boy," and he
+pointed contemptuously to the young chief who had so
+recently assailed him, and who now, in common with his
+followers, stood impatiently listening to a colloquy that
+was unintelligible to all. "Speak truly, was SHE not the
+traitress who conducted you here?"
+
+"Had you found me here," returned the officer, with
+difficulty repressing his feelings, "there might have
+been some ground for the assertion; but surely the councils
+of the chiefs could not be overheard at the distant point
+at which you discovered me."
+
+"Why then were you there in this disguise?--and who is
+he," again holding up the bloody scalp, "whom I have
+despoiled of this?"
+
+"There are few of the Ottawa Indians," returned Captain
+de Haldimar, "who are ignorant I once saved that young
+woman's life. Is it then so very extraordinary an attachment
+should have been the consequence? The man whom you slew
+was my servant. I had brought him out with me for protection
+during my interview with the woman, and I exchanged my
+uniform with him for the same purpose. There is nothing
+in this, however, to warrant the supposition of my being
+a spy."
+
+During the delivery of these more than equivocal sentences,
+which, however, he felt were fully justified by
+circumstances, the young officer had struggled to appear
+calm and confident; but, despite of his exertions, his
+consciousness caused his cheek to colour, and his eye to
+twinkle, beneath the searching glance of his ferocious
+enemy. The latter thrust his hand into his chest, and
+slowly drew forth the rope he had previously exhibited
+to Ponteac.
+
+"Do you think me a fool, Captain de Haldimar," he observed,
+sneeringly, "that you expect so paltry a tale to be palmed
+successfully on my understanding? An English officer is
+not very likely to run the risk of breaking his neck by
+having recourse to such a means of exit from a besieged
+garrison, merely to intrigue with an Indian woman, when
+there are plenty of soldiers' wives within, and that too
+at an hour when he knows the scouts of his enemies are
+prowling in the neighbourhood. Captain de Haldimar," he
+concluded, slowly and deliberately, "you have lied."
+
+Despite of the last insult, his prisoner remained calm.
+The very observation that had just been made afforded
+him a final hope of exculpation, which, if it benefited
+not himself, might still be of service to the generous
+Oucanasta.
+
+"The onus of such language," he observed coolly and with
+dignity, "falls not on him to whom it is addressed, but
+on him who utters it. Yet one who professes to have been
+himself a soldier, must see in this very circumstance a
+proof of my innocence. Had I been sent out as a spy to
+reconnoitre the movements, and to overhear the councils
+of our enemies, the gate would have been open for my
+egress; but that rope is in itself an evidence I must
+have stolen forth unknown to the garrison."
+
+Whether it was that the warrior had his own particular
+reasons for attaching truth to this statement, or that
+he merely pretended to do so, Captain de Haldimar saw
+with secret satisfaction his last argument was conclusive.
+
+"Well, be it so," retorted the savage, while a ferocious
+smile passed over his swarthy features; "but, whether
+you have been here as a spy, or have merely ventured out
+in prosecution of an intrigue, it matters not. Before
+the sun has travelled far in the meridian you die; and
+the tomahawk of your father's deadly foe--of--of--of
+Wacousta, as I am called, shall be the first to drink
+your blood."
+
+The officer made a final effort at mercy. "Who or what
+you are, or whence your hatred of my family, I know not,"
+he said; "but surely I have never injured you: wherefore,
+then, this insatiable thirst for my blood? If you are,
+indeed, a Christian and a soldier, let your heart be
+touched with humanity, and procure my restoration to my
+friends. You once attempted my life in honourable combat,
+why not wait, then, until a fitting opportunity shall
+give not a bound and defenceless victim to your steel,
+but one whose resistance may render him a conquest worthy
+of your arm?"
+
+"What! and be balked of the chance of my just revenge?
+Hear me, Captain de Haldimar," he pursued, in that low,
+quick, deep tone that told all the strong excitement of
+his heart:--"I have, it is true, no particular enmity to
+yourself, further than that you are a De Haldimar; but
+hell does not supply a feeling half so bitter as my enmity
+to your proud father; and months, nay years, have I passed
+in the hope of such an hour as this. For this have I
+forsworn my race, and become--what you now behold me--a
+savage both in garb and character. But this matters not,"
+he continued, fiercely and impatiently, "your doom is
+sealed; and before another sun has risen, your stern
+father's gaze shall be blasted with the sight of the
+mangled carcase of his first born. Ha! ha! ha!" and he
+laughed low and exultingly; "even now I think I see him
+withering, if heart so hard can wither, beneath this
+proof of my undying hate."
+
+"Fiend!--monster!--devil!" exclaimed the excited officer,
+now losing sight of all considerations of prudence in
+the deep horror inspired by his captor:--"Kill me--torture
+me--commit any cruelty on me, if such be your savage
+will; but outrage not humanity by the fulfilment of your
+last disgusting threat. Suffer not a father's heart to
+be agonised--a father's eye to be blasted--with a view
+of the mangled remains of him to whom he has given life."
+
+Again the savage rudely pulled the thong that bound his
+prisoner to his girdle, and removing his tomahawk from
+his belt, and holding its sullied point close under the
+eye of the former, exclaimed, as he bent eagerly over
+him,--
+
+"See you this, Captain de Haldimar? At the still hour of
+midnight, while you had abandoned your guard to revel in
+the arms of your Indian beauty, I stole into the fort by
+means of the same rope that you had used in quitting it.
+Unseen by the sentinels I gained your father's apartment.
+It was the first time we had met for twenty years; and
+I do believe that had the very devil presented himself
+in my place, he would have been received with fewer marks
+of horror. Oh, how that proud man's eye twinkled beneath
+this glittering blade! He attempted to call out, but my
+look paralysed his tongue, and cold drops of sweat stole
+rapidly down his brow and cheek. Then it was that my
+seared heart once more beat with the intoxication of
+triumph. Your father was alone and unarmed, and throughout
+the fort not a sound was to be heard, save the distant
+tread of the sentinels. I could have laid him dead, at
+my feet at a single blow, and yet have secured my retreat.
+But no, that was not my object. I came to taunt him with
+the promise of my revenge--to tell him the hour of my
+triumph was approaching fast; and, ha!" he concluded,
+laughing hideously as he passed his large rude hand
+through the wavy hair of the now uncovered officer," this
+is, indeed, a fair and unexpected first earnest of the
+full redemption of my pledge. No--no!" he continued, as
+if talking to himself, "he must not die. Tantulus-like,
+he shall have death ever apparently within his grasp;
+but, until all his race have perished before his eyes,
+he shall not attain it."
+
+Hitherto the Indians had preserved an attitude of calm,
+listening to the interrogatories put to the prisoner with
+that wonder and curiosity with which a savage people hear
+a language different from their own; and marking the
+several emotions that were elicited in the course of the
+animated colloquy of the pale faces. Gradually, however,
+they became impatient under its duration; and many of
+them, in the excitement produced by the fierce manner of
+him who was called Wacousta, fixed their dark eyes upon
+the captive, while they grasped the handles of their
+tomahawks, as if they would have disputed with the former
+the privilege of dying his weapon first in his blood.
+When they saw the warrior hold up his menacing blade to
+the eye of his victim, while he passed his hand through
+the redundant hair, they at once inferred the sacrifice
+was about to be completed, and rushing furiously forward,
+they bounded, and leaped, and yelled, and brandished
+their own weapons in the most appalling manner.
+
+Already had the unhappy officer given himself self up
+for lost; fifty bright tomahawks were playing about his
+head at the same instant, and death--that death which is
+never without terror to the young, however brave they
+may be in the hour of generous conflict--seemed to have
+arrived at last. He raised his eyes to Heaven, committing
+his soul to his God in the same silent prayer that he
+offered up for the preservation of his friends and
+comrades; and then bending them upon the earth, summoned
+all his collectedness and courage to sustain him through
+the trial. At the very moment, however when he expected
+to feel the crashing steel within his brain, he felt
+himself again violently pulled by the thong that secured
+his hands. In the next instant he was pressed close to
+the chest of his vast enemy, who, with one arm encircling
+his prisoner, and the other brandishing his fierce blade
+in rapid evolutions round his head, kept the yelling band
+at bay, with the evident unshaken determination to maintain
+his sole and acknowledged right to the disposal of his
+captive.
+
+For several moments the event appeared doubtful; but,
+notwithstanding his extreme agility in the use of a
+weapon, in the management of which he evinced all the
+dexterity of the most practised native, the odds were
+fearfully against Wacousta; and while his flashing eye
+and swelling chest betrayed his purpose rather to perish
+himself than suffer the infringement of his claim, it
+was evident that numbers must, in the end, prevail against
+him. On an appeal to Ponteac, however, of which he now
+suddenly bethought himself, the authority of the latter
+was successfully exerted, and he was again left in the
+full and undisturbed possession of his prisoner.
+
+A low and earnest conversation now ensued among the
+chiefs, in which, as before, Wacousta bore a principal
+part. When this was terminated, several Indians approached
+the unhappy officer, and unfastening the thong with which
+his hands were firmly and even painfully girt, deprived
+him both of coat, waistcoat, and shirt. He was then bound
+a second time in the same manner, his body besmeared with
+paint, and his head so disguised as to give him the
+caricature semblance of an Indian warrior. When these
+preparations were completed, he was led to the tree in
+which he had been previously concealed, and there firmly
+secured. Meanwhile Wacousta, at the head of a numerous
+band of warriors, had departed once more in the direction
+of the fort.
+
+With the rising of the sun now vanished all traces of
+the mist that had fallen since the early hours of morning,
+leaving the unfortunate officer ample leisure to survey
+the difficulties of his position. He had fancied, from
+the course taken by his guide the previous night, that
+the plain or oasis, as we have elsewhere termed it, lay
+in the very heart of the forest; but that route now proved
+to have been circuitous. The tree to which he was bound
+was one of a slight belt, separating the encampment from
+the open grounds which extended towards the river, and
+which was so thin and scattered on that side as to leave
+the clear silver waters of the Detroit visible at intervals.
+Oh, what would he not have given, at that cheering sight,
+to have had his limbs free, and his chance of life staked
+on the swiftness of his flight! While he had imagined
+himself begirt by interminable forest, he felt as one
+whose very thought to elude those who were, in some
+degree, the deities of that wild scene, must be paralysed
+in its first conception. But here was the vivifying,
+picture of civilised nature. Corn fields, although trodden
+down and destroyed--dwelling houses, although burnt or
+dilapidated--told of the existence of those who were of
+the same race with himself; and notwithstanding these
+had perished even as he must perish, still there was
+something in the aspect of the very ruins of their
+habitations which, contrasted with the solemn gloom of
+the forest, carried a momentary and indefinable consolation
+to his spirit. Then there was the ripe and teeming
+orchard, and the low whitewashed cabin of the Canadian
+peasant, to whom the offices of charity, and the duties
+of humanity, were no strangers; and who, although the
+secret enemies of his country, had no motive for personal
+hostility towards himself. Then, on the river itself,
+even at that early hour, was to be seen, fastened to the
+long stake driven into its bed, or secured by the rude
+anchor of stone appended to a cable of twisted bark, the
+light canoe or clumsy periagua of the peasant fisherman,
+who, ever and anon, drew up from its deep bosom the
+shoal-loving pickerel or pike, or white or black bass,
+or whatever other tenant of these waters might chance to
+affix itself to the traitorous hook. It is true that his
+view of these objects was only occasional and indistinct;
+but his intimate acquaintance with the localities beyond
+brought every thing before Captain de Haldimar's eye;
+and even while he sighed to think they were for ever cut
+off from his reach, he already, in idea, followed the
+course of flight he should pursue were the power but
+afforded him.
+
+From this train of painful and exciting thought the
+wretched captive was aroused, by a faint but continued
+yelling in a distant part of the forest, and in the
+direction that had been taken by Wacousta and his warriors.
+Then, after a short interval, came the loud booming of
+the cannon of the fort, carried on with a spirit and
+promptitude that told of some pressing and dangerous
+emergency, and fainter afterwards the sharp shrill reports
+of the rifles, bearing evidence the savages were already
+in close collision with the garrison. Various were the
+conjectures that passed rapidly through the mind of the
+young officer, during a firing that had called almost
+every Indian in the encampment away to the scene of
+action, save the two or three young Ottawas who had been
+left to guard his own person, and who lay upon the sward
+near him, with head erect and ear sharply set, listening
+to the startling sounds of conflict. What the motive of
+the hurried departure of the Indians was he knew not;
+but he had conjectured the object of the fierce Wacousta
+was to possess himself of the uniform in which his wretched
+servant was clothed, that no mistake might occur in his
+identity, when its true owner should be exhibited in it,
+within view of the fort, mangled and disfigured, in the
+manner that fierce and mysterious man had already
+threatened. It was exceedingly probable the body of
+Donellan had been mistaken for his own, and that in the
+anxiety of his father to prevent the Indians from carrying
+it off, the cannon had been directed to open upon them.
+But if this were the case, how were the reports of the
+rifles, and the fierce yellings that continued, save at
+intervals, to ring throughout the forest to be accounted
+for? The bullets of the Indians evidently could not reach
+the fort, and they were too wily, and attached too much
+value to their ammunition, to risk a shot that was not
+certain of carrying a wound with it. For a moment the
+fact itself flashed across his mind, and he attributed
+the fire of small arms to the attack and defence of a
+party that had been sent out for the purpose of securing
+the body, supposed to be his own; yet, if so, again how
+was he to account for his not hearing the report of a
+single musket? His ear was too well practised not to know
+the sharp crack of the rifle from the heavy dull discharge
+of the musket, and as yet the former only had been
+distinguishable, amid the intervals that ensued between
+each sullen booming of the cannon. While this impression
+continued on the mind of the anxious officer, he caught,
+with the avidity of desperation, at the faint and improbable
+idea that his companions might be able to penetrate to
+his place of concealment, and procure his liberation;
+but when he found the firing, instead of drawing nearer,
+was confined to the same spot, and even more fiercely
+kept up by the Indians towards the close, he again gave
+way to his despair, and resigning himself to his fate,
+no longer sought comfort in vain speculation as to its
+cause. His ear now caught the report of the last shell
+as it exploded, and then all was still and hushed, as if
+what he had so recently heard was but a dream.
+
+The first intimation given him of the return of the
+savages was the death howl, set up by the women within
+the encampment. Captain de Haldimar turned his eyes,
+instinct with terror, towards the scene, and beheld the
+warriors slowly issuing from the opposite side of the
+forest into the plain, and bearing in silence the dead
+and stiffened forms of those who had been cut down by
+the destructive fire from the fort. Their mien was sullen
+and revengeful, and more than one dark and gleaming eye
+did he encounter turned upon him, with an expression that
+seemed to say a separate torture should avenge the death
+of each of their fallen comrades.
+
+The early part of the morning wore away in preparation
+for the interment of the slain. These were placed in
+rows under the council shed, where they were attended by
+their female relatives, who composed the features and
+confined the limbs, while the gloomy warriors dug, within
+the limit of the encampment, rude graves, of a depth just
+sufficient to receive the body. When these were completed,
+the dead were deposited, with the usual superstitious
+ceremonies of these people, in their several receptacles,
+after which a mound of earth was thrown up over each,
+and the whole covered with round logs, so disposed as to
+form a tomb of semicircular shape: at the head of each
+grave was finally planted a pole, bearing various devices
+in paint, intended to illustrate the warlike achievements
+of the defunct parties.
+
+Captain de Haldimar had followed the course of these
+proceedings with a beating heart; for too plainly had he
+read in the dark and threatening manner both of men and
+women, that the retribution about to be wreaked upon
+himself would be terrible indeed. Much as he clung to
+life, and bitterly as he mourned his early cutting off
+from the affections hitherto identified with his existence,
+his wretchedness would have been less, had he not been
+overwhelmed by the conviction that, with him, must perish
+every chance of the safety of those, the bare recollection
+of whom made the bitterness of death even more bitter.
+Harrowing as were these reflections, he felt that immediate
+destruction, since it could not be avoided, would be
+rather a blessing than otherwise. But such, evidently,
+was not the purpose of his relentless enemy. Every
+species of torment which his cruel invention could supply
+would, he felt convinced, be exercised upon his frame;
+and with this impression on his mind, it would have
+required sterner nerves than his, not to have shrunk from
+the very anticipation of so dreadful an ordeal.
+
+It was now noon, and yet no visible preparation was making
+for the consummation of the sacrifice. This, Captain de
+Haldimar imputed to the absence of the fierce Wacousta,
+whom he had not seen since the return of the warriors
+from their skirmish. The momentary disappearance of this
+extraordinary and ferocious man was, however, fraught
+with no consolation to his unfortunate prisoner, who felt
+he was only engaged in taking such measures as would
+render not only his destruction more certain, but his
+preliminary sufferings more complicated and protracted.
+While he was thus indulging in fruitless speculation as
+to the motive for his absence, he fancied he heard the
+report of a rifle, succeeded immediately afterwards by
+the war-whoop, at a considerable distance, and in the
+direction of the river. In this impression he was confirmed,
+by the sudden upstarting to their feet of the young
+Indians to whose custody he had been committed, who now
+advanced to the outer edge of the belt of forest, with
+the apparent object of obtaining a more unconfined view
+of the open ground that lay beyond. The rapid gliding of
+spectral forms from the interior of the encampment in
+the same direction, denoted, moreover, that the Indians
+generally had heard, and were attracted by the same sound.
+
+Presently afterwards, repeated "waughs!" and
+"Wacousta!--Wacousta!" from those who had reached the
+extreme skirt of the forest, fell on the dismayed ear of
+the young officer. It was evident, from the peculiar
+tones in which these words were pronounced, that they
+beheld that warrior approaching them with some communication
+of interest; and, sick at heart, and filled with
+irrepressible dismay, Captain de Haldimar felt his pulse
+to throb more violently as each moment brought his enemy
+nearer to him.
+
+A startling interest was now created among the Indians;
+for, as the savage warrior neared the forest, his lips
+pealed forth that peculiar cry which is meant to announce
+some intelligence of alarm. Scarcely had its echoes died
+away in the forest, when the whole of the warriors rushed
+from the encampment towards the clearing. Directed by
+the sound, Captain de Haldimar bent his eyes upon the
+thin skirt of wood that lay immediately before him, and
+at intervals could see the towering form of that vast
+warrior bounding, with incredible speed, up the sloping
+ground that led from the town towards the forest. A ravine
+lay before him; but this he cleared, with a prodigious
+effort, at a single leap; and then, continuing his way
+up the slope, amid the low guttural acclamations of the
+warriors at his extraordinary dexterity and strength,
+finally gained the side of Ponteac, then leaning carelessly
+against a tree at a short distance from the prisoner.
+
+A low and animated conversation now ensued between these
+two important personages, which at moments assumed the
+character of violent discussion. From what Captain de
+Haldimar could collect, the Ottawa chief was severely
+reproving his friend for the inconsiderate ardour which
+had led him that morning into collision with those whom
+it was their object to lull into security by a careful
+avoidance of hostility, and urging the possibility of
+their plan being defeated in consequence. He moreover
+obstinately refused the pressing request of Wacousta, in
+regard to some present enterprise which the latter had
+just suggested, the precise nature of which, however,
+Captain de Haldimar could not learn. Meanwhile, the rapid
+flitting of numerous forms to and from the encampment,
+arrayed in all the fierce panoply of savage warfare,
+while low exclamations of excitement occasionally caught
+his ear, led the officer to infer, strange and unusual
+as such an occurrence was, that either the detachment
+already engaged, or a second, was advancing on their
+position. Still, this offered little chance of security
+for himself; for more than once, during his long conference
+with Ponteac, had the fierce Wacousta bent his eye in
+ferocious triumph on his victim, as if he would have
+said,--"Come what will--whatever be the result--you, at
+least, shall not escape me." Indeed, so confident did
+the latter feel that the instant of attack would be the
+signal of his own death, that, after the first momentary
+and instinctive cheering of his spirit, he rather regretted
+the circumstance of their approach; or, if he rejoiced
+at all, it was only because it afforded him the prospect
+of immediate death, instead of being exposed to all the
+horror of a lingering and agonising suffering from the
+torture.
+
+While the chiefs were yet earnestly conversing, the alarm
+cry, previously uttered by Wacousta, was repeated, although
+in a low and subdued tone, by several of the Indians who
+stood on the brow of the eminence. Ponteac started suddenly
+to the same point; but Wacousta continued for a moment
+or two rooted to the spot on which he stood, with the
+air of one in doubt as to what course he should pursue.
+He then abruptly raised his head, fixed his dark and
+menacing eye on his captive, and was already in the act
+of approaching him, when the earnest and repeated demands
+for his presence, by the Ottawa chief, drew him once more
+to the outskirt of the wood.
+
+Again Captain de Haldimar breathed freely. The presence
+of that fierce man had been a clog upon the vital functions
+of his heart; and, to be relieved from it, even at a
+moment like the present, when far more important interests
+might be supposed to occupy his mind, was a gratification,
+of which not even the consciousness of impending death
+could wholly deprive him. From the continued pressing of
+the Indians towards one particular point in the clearing,
+he now conjectured, that, from that point, the advance
+of the troops was visible. Anxious to obtain even a
+momentary view of those whom he deemed himself fated
+never more to mingle with in this life, he raised himself
+upon his feet, and stretched his neck and bent his eager
+glance in the direction by which Wacousta had approached;
+but, so closely were the dark warriors grouped among the
+trees, he found it impossible. Once or twice, however,
+he thought he could distinguish the gleaming of the
+English bayonets in the bright sunshine, as they seemed
+to file off in a parallel line with the ravine. Oh, how
+his generous heart throbbed at that moment; and how
+ardently did he wish that he could have stood in the
+position of the meanest soldier in those gallant ranks!
+Perhaps his own brave and devoted grenadiers were of the
+number, burning with enthusiasm to be led against the
+captors or destroyers of their officer; and this thought
+added to his wretchedness still more.
+
+While the unfortunate prisoner, thus strongly excited,
+bent his whole soul on the scene before him, he fancied
+he heard the approach of a cautious footstep. He turned
+his head as well as his confined position would admit,
+and beheld, close behind him, a dark Indian, whose eyes
+alone were visible above the blanket in which his person
+was completely enveloped. His right arm was uplifted,
+and the blade of a scalping knife glittered in his hand.
+A cold shudder ran through the veins of the young officer,
+and he closed his eyes, that he might not see the blow
+which he felt was about to be directed at his heart. The
+Indian glanced hurriedly yet cautiously around, to see
+if he was observed; and then, with the rapidity of thought,
+divided, first the thongs that secured the legs, and then
+those which confined the arms of the defenceless captive.
+When Captain de Haldimar, full of astonishment at finding
+himself once more at liberty, again unclosed his eyes,
+they fell on the not unhandsome features of the young
+chief, the brother of Oucanasta.
+
+"The Saganaw is the prisoner of Wacousta," said the Indian
+hastily; "and Wacousta is the enemy of the young Ottawa
+chief. The warriors of the pale faces are there" (and he
+pointed directly before him). "If the Saganaw has a bold
+heart and a swift foot, he may save his life:" and, with
+this intimation, he hurried away in the same cautious
+manner, and was in the next instant seen making a circuit
+to arrive at the point at which the principal strength
+of the Indians was collected.
+
+The position of Captain de Haldimar had now attained its
+acme of interest; for on his own exertions alone depended
+every thing that remained to be accomplished. With
+wonderful presence of mind he surveyed all the difficulties
+of his course, while he availed himself at the same moment
+of whatever advantages were within his grasp. On the
+approach of Wacousta, the young Indians, to whose custody
+he had been committed, had returned to their post; but
+no sooner had that warrior, obeying the call of Ponteac,
+again departed, than they once more flew to the extreme
+skirt of the forest, after first satisfying themselves
+the ligatures which confined their prisoner were secure.
+Either with a view of avoiding unnecessary encumbrance
+in their course, or through hurry and inadvertence, they
+had left their blankets near the foot of the tree. The
+first thought of the officer was to seize one of these;
+for, in order to gain the point whence his final effort
+to join the detachment must be made, it was necessary he
+should pass through the body of scattered Indians who
+stood immediately in his way; and the disguise of the
+blanket could alone afford him a reasonable chance of
+moving unnoticed among them. Secretly congratulating
+himself on the insulting mockery that had inducted his
+upper form in the disguising warpaint of his enemies, he
+now drew the protecting blanket close up to his eyes;
+and then, with every nerve braced up, every faculty of
+mind and body called into action, commenced his dangerous
+enterprise.
+
+He had not, however, taken more than two or three steps
+in advance, when, to his great discomfiture and alarm,
+he beheld the formidable Wacousta approaching from a
+distance, evidently in search of his prisoner. With the
+quickness of thought he determined on his course. To
+appear to avoid him would be to excite the suspicion of
+the fierce warrior; and, desperate as the alternative
+was, he resolved to move undeviatingly forward. At each
+step that drew him nearer to his enemy, the beating of
+his heart became more violent; and had it not been for
+the thick coat of paint in which he was invested, the
+involuntary contraction of the muscles of his face must
+inevitably have betrayed him. Nay, even as it was, had
+the keen eye of the warrior fallen on him, such was the
+agitation of the officer, he felt he must have been
+discovered. Happily, however, Wacousta, who evidently
+took him for some inferior warrior hastening to the point
+where his fellows were already assembled, passed without
+deigning to look at him, and so close, their forms almost
+touched. Captain de Haldimar now quickened his pace. It
+was evident there was no time to be lost; for Wacousta,
+on finding him gone, would at once give the alarm, when
+a hundred warriors would be ready on the instant to
+intercept his flight. Taking the precaution to disguise
+his walk by turning in his toes after the Indian manner,
+he reached, with a beating heart, the first of the numerous
+warriors who were collected within the belt of forest,
+anxiously watching the movements of the detachment in
+the plain below. To his infinite joy he found that each
+was too much intent on what was passing in the distance,
+to heed any thing going on near themselves; and when he
+at length gained the extreme opening, and stood in a line
+with those who were the farthest advanced, without having
+excited a single suspicion in his course, he could scarcely
+believe the evidence of his senses.
+
+Still the most difficult part of the enterprise remained
+to be completed. Hitherto he had moved under the friendly
+cover of the underwood, the advantage of which had been
+to conceal that part of his regimental trousers which
+the blanket left exposed; and if he moved forward into
+the clearing, the quick glance of an Indian would not be
+slow in detecting the difference between these and his
+own ruder leggings. There was no alternative now but to
+commence his flight from the spot on which he stood; and
+for this he prepared himself. At one rapid and comprehensive
+view he embraced the immediate localities before him. On
+the other side of the ravine he could now distinctly see
+the English troops, either planning, as he conceived,
+their own attack, or waiting in the hope of drawing the
+Indians from their cover. It was evident that to reach
+them the ravine must be crossed, unless the more circuitous
+route by the bridge, which was hid from his view by an
+intervening hillock, should be preferred; but as the
+former had been cleared by Wacousta in his ascent, and
+was the nearest point by which the detachment could be
+approached, to this did he now direct his undivided
+attention.
+
+While he yet paused with indecision, at one moment fancying
+the time for starting was not yet arrived, and at the
+next that he had suffered it to pass away, the powerful
+and threatening voice of Wacousta was heard proclaiming
+the escape of his captive. Low but expressive exclamations
+from the warriors marked their sense of the importance
+of the intelligence; and many of them hastily dispersed
+themselves in pursuit. This was the critical moment for
+action: for, as the anxious officer had rather wished
+than expected, those Indians who had been immediately in
+front, and whose proximity he most dreaded, were among
+the number of those who dashed into the heart of the
+forest--Captain de Haldimar now stood alone, and full
+twenty paces in front of the nearest of the savages. For
+a moment he played with his mocassined foot to satisfy
+himself, of the power and flexibility of its muscles,
+and then committing himself to his God, dashed the blanket
+suddenly from his shoulders, and, with eye and heart
+fixed on the distant soldiery, darted down the declivity
+with a speed of which he had never yet believed himself
+capable. Scarcely, however, had his fleeing form appeared
+in the opening, when a tremendous and deafening yell rent
+the air, and a dozen wild and naked warriors followed
+instantly in pursuit. Attracted by that yell, the terrible
+Wacousta, who had been seeking his victim in a different
+quarter, bounded forward to the front with an eye flashing
+fire, and a brow compressed into the fiercest hate; and
+so stupendous were his efforts, so extraordinary was his
+speed, that had it not been for the young Ottawa chief,
+who was one of the pursuing party, and who, under the
+pretence of assisting in the recapture of the prisoner,
+sought every opportunity of throwing himself before, and
+embarrassing the movements of his enemy, it is highly
+probable the latter would have succeeded. Despite of
+these obstacles, however, the fierce Wacousta, who had
+been the last to follow, soon left the foremost of his
+companions far behind him; and but for his sudden fall,
+while in the very act of seizing the arm of his prisoner,
+his gigantic efforts must have been crowned with the
+fullest success. But the reader has already seen how
+miraculously Captain de Haldimar, reduced to the last
+stage of debility, as much from inanition as from the
+unnatural efforts of his flight, finally accomplished
+his return to the detachment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+At the western extremity of the lake Huron, and almost
+washed by the waters of that pigmy ocean, stands the fort
+of Michilimackinac. Constructed on a smaller scale, and
+garrisoned by a less numerical force, the defences of
+this post, although less formidable than those of the
+Detroit, were nearly similar, at the period embraced by
+our story, both in matter and in manner. Unlike the latter
+fortress, however, it boasted none of the advantages
+afforded by culture; neither, indeed, was there a single
+spot in the immediate vicinity that was not clad in the
+eternal forest of these regions. It is true, that art
+and laborious exertion had so far supplied the deficiencies
+of nature as to isolate the fort, and throw it under the
+protecting sweep of its cannon; but, while this afforded
+security, it failed to produce any thing like a pleasing
+effect to the eye. The very site on which the fortress
+now stood had at one period been a portion of the wilderness
+that every where around was only terminated by the sands
+on the lake shore: and, although time and the axe of the
+pioneer had in some degree changed its features, still
+there was no trace of that blended natural scenery that
+so pleasingly diversified the vicinity of the sister
+fort. Here and there, along the imperfect clearing, and
+amid the dark and thickly studded stumps of the felled
+trees, which in themselves were sufficient to give the
+most lugubrious character to the scene, rose the rude
+log cabin of the settler; but, beyond this, cultivation
+appeared to have lost her power in proportion with the
+difficulties she had to encounter. Even the two Indian
+villages, L'Arbre-Croche and Chabouiga, situate about a
+mile from the fort, with which they formed nearly an
+equilateral triangle, were hid from the view of the
+garrison by the dark dense forest, in the heart of which
+they were embedded.
+
+Lake ward the view was scarcely less monotonous; but it
+was not, as in the rear, that monotony which is never
+occasionally broken in upon by some occurrence of interest.
+If the eye gazed long and anxiously for the white sail
+of the well known armed vessel, charged at stated intervals
+with letters and tidings of those whom time, and distance,
+and danger, far from estranging, rendered more dear to
+the memory, and bound more closely to the heart, it was
+sure of being rewarded at last; and then there was no
+picture on which it could love to linger so well as that
+of the silver waves bearing that valued vessel in safety
+to its wonted anchorage in the offing. Moreover, the
+light swift bark canoes of the natives often danced
+joyously on its surface; and while the sight was offended
+at the savage, skulking among the trees of the forest,
+like some dark spirit moving cautiously in its course of
+secret destruction, and watching the moment when he might
+pounce unnoticed on his unprepared victim, it followed,
+with momentary pleasure and excitement, the activity and
+skill displayed by the harmless paddler, in the swift
+and meteor-like race that set the troubled surface of
+the Huron in a sheet of hissing foam. Nor was this all.
+When the eye turned wood-ward, it fell heavily, and
+without interest, upon a dim and dusky point, known to
+enter upon savage scenes and unexplored countries; whereas,
+whenever it reposed upon the lake, it was with an eagerness
+and energy that embraced the most vivid recollections of
+the past, and led the imagination buoyantly over every
+well-remembered scene that had previously been traversed,
+and which must be traversed again before the land of the
+European could be pressed once more. The forest, in a
+word, formed, as it were, the gloomy and impenetrable
+walls of the prison-house, and the bright lake that lay
+before it the only portal through which happiness and
+liberty could be again secured.
+
+The principal entrance into the fort, which presented
+four equal sides of a square, was from the forest; but,
+immediately opposite to this, and behind the apartments
+of the commanding officer, there was another small gate
+that opened upon the lake shore; but which, since the
+investment of the place, had been kept bolted and locked,
+with a precaution befitting the danger to which the
+garrison was exposed. Still, there were periods, even
+now, when its sullen hinges were to be heard moaning on
+the midnight breeze; for it served as a medium of
+communication between the besieged and others who were
+no less critically circumstanced than themselves.
+
+The very day before the Indians commenced their simultaneous
+attack on the several posts of the English, the only
+armed vessel that had been constructed on these upper
+lakes, serving chiefly as a medium of communication
+between Detroit and Michilimackinac, had arrived with
+despatches and letters from the former fort. A
+well-concerted plan of the savages to seize her in her
+passage through the narrow waters of the river Sinclair
+had only been defeated by the vigilance of her commander;
+but, ever since the breaking out of the war, she had been
+imprisoned within the limits of the Huron. Laborious
+indeed was the duty of the devoted crew. Several attempts
+had been renewed by the Indians to surprise them; but,
+although their little fleets stole cautiously and
+noiselessly, at the still hour of midnight, to the spot
+where, at the last expiring rays of twilight, they had
+beheld her carelessly anchored, and apparently lulled
+into security, the subject of their search was never to
+be met with. No sooner were objects on the shore rendered
+indistinct to the eye, than the anchor was silently
+weighed, and, gliding wherever the breeze might choose
+to carry her, the light bark was made to traverse the
+lake, with every sail set, until dawn. None, however,
+were suffered to slumber in the presumed security afforded
+by this judicious flight. Every man was at his post; and,
+while a silence so profound was preserved, that the noise
+of a falling pin might have been heard upon her decks,
+every thing was in readiness to repel an attack of their
+enemies, should the vessel, in her course, come accidentally
+in collision with their pigmy fleets. When morning broke,
+and no sign of their treacherous foes was visible, the
+vessel was again anchored, and the majority of the crew
+suffered to retire to their hammocks, while the few whose
+turn of duty it chanced to be, kept a vigilant look-out,
+that, on the slightest appearance of alarm, their slumbering
+comrades might again be aroused to energy and action.
+
+Severe and harassing as had been the duty on board this
+vessel for many months,--at one moment exposed to the
+assaults of the savages, at another assailed by the
+hurricanes that are so prevalent and so dangerous on the
+American lakes,--the situation of the crew was even less
+enviable than that of the garrison itself. What chiefly
+contributed to their disquietude, was the dreadful
+consciousness that, however their present efforts might
+secure a temporary safety, the period of their fall was
+only protracted. A few months more must bring with them
+all the severity of the winter of those climes, and then,
+blocked up in a sea of ice,--exposed to all the rigour
+of cold,--all the miseries of hunger,--what effectual
+resistance could they oppose to the numerous bands of
+Indians who, availing themselves of the defenceless
+position of their enemies, would rush from every quarter
+to their destruction.
+
+At the outset of these disheartening circumstances the
+officer had summoned his faithful crew together, and
+pointing out the danger and uncertainty of their position,
+stated that two chances of escape still remained to them.
+The first was, by an attempt to accomplish the passage
+of the river Sinclair during some dark and boisterous
+night, when the Indians would be least likely to suspect
+such an intention: it was at this point that the efforts
+of their enemies were principally to be apprehended; but
+if, under cover of storm and darkness, they could accomplish
+this difficult passage, they would easily gain the Detroit,
+and thence pass into lake Erie, at the further extremity
+of which they might, favoured by Providence, effect a
+landing, and penetrate to the inhabited parts of the
+colony of New York. The other alternative was,--and he
+left it to themselves to determine,--to sink the vessel
+on the approach of winter, and throw themselves into the
+fort before them, there to await and share the destiny
+of its gallant defenders.
+
+With the generous enthusiasm of their profession, the
+noble fellows had determined on the latter course. With
+their officer they fully coincided in opinion, that their
+ultimate hopes of life depended on the safe passage of
+the Sinclair; for it was but too obvious, that soon or
+late, unless some very extraordinary revolution should
+be effected in the intentions of the Indians, the fortress
+must be starved into submission. Still, as it was
+tolerably well supplied with provisions, this gloomy
+prospect was remote, and they were willing to run all
+chances with their friends on shore, rather than desert
+them in their extremity. The determination expressed by
+them, therefore, was, that when they could no longer keep
+the lake in safety, they would, if the officer permitted
+it, scuttle the vessel, and attempt an entrance into the
+fort, where they would share the fate of the troops,
+whatever it might chance to be.
+
+No sooner was this resolution made known, than their
+young commander sought an opportunity of communicating
+with the garrison, This, however, was no very easy task;
+for, so closely was the fort hemmed in by the savages,
+it was impossible to introduce a messenger within its
+walls; and so sudden had been the cutting off of all
+communication between the vessel and the shore, that the
+thought had not even occurred to either commander to
+establish the most ordinary intelligence by signal. In
+this dilemma recourse was had to an ingenious expedient.
+The dispatches of the officer were enclosed in one of
+the long tin tubes in which were generally deposited the
+maps and charts of the schooner, and to this, after having
+been carefully soldered, was attached an inch rope of
+several hundred fathoms in length: the case was then put
+into one of the ship's guns, so placed as to give it the
+elevation of a mortar; thus prepared, advantage was taken
+of a temporary absence of the Indians to bring the vessel
+within half a mile of the shore, and when the attention
+of the garrison, naturally attracted by this unusual
+movement, was sufficiently awakened, that opportunity
+was chosen for the discharge of the gun; and as the
+quantity of powder had been proportionably reduced for
+the limited range, the tube was soon safely deposited
+within the rampart. The same means were adopted in
+replying; and one end of the rope remaining attached to
+the schooner, all that was necessary was to solder up
+the tube as before, and throw it over the ramparts upon
+the sands, whence it was immediately pulled over her side
+by the watchful mariners.
+
+As the dispatch conveyed to the garrison, among other
+subjects of interest, bore the unwelcome intelligence
+that the supplies of the crew were nearly expended, an
+arrangement was proposed by which, at stated intervals,
+a more immediate communication with the former might be
+effected. Whenever, therefore, the wind permitted, the
+vessel was kept hovering in sight during the day, beneath
+the eyes of the savages, and on the approach of evening
+an unshotted gun was discharged, with a view of drawing
+their attention more immediately to her movements; every
+sail was then set, and under a cloud of canvass the course
+of the schooner was directed towards the source of the
+Sinclair, as if an attempt to accomplish that passage
+was to be made during the night. No sooner, however,
+had the darkness fairly set in, than the vessel was put
+about, and, beating against the wind, generally contrived
+to reach the offing at a stated hour, when a boat, provided
+with muffled oars, was sent off to the shore. This ruse
+had several times deceived the Indians, and it was on
+these occasions that the small gate to which we have
+alluded was opened, for the purpose of conveying the
+necessary supplies.
+
+The buildings of the fort consisted chiefly of block-houses,
+the internal accommodations of which were fully in keeping
+with their rude exterior, being but indifferently provided
+with the most ordinary articles of comfort, and fitted
+up as the limited resources of that wild and remote
+district could supply. The best and most agreeably situated
+of these, if a choice could be made, was that of the
+commanding officer. This building rose considerably
+above the others, and overhanging that part of the rampart
+which skirted the shores of the Huron, commanded a full
+view of the lake, even to its extremity of frowning and
+belting forest.
+
+To this block-house there were two staircases; the
+principal leading to the front entrance from the
+barrack-square, the other opening in the rear, close
+under the rampart, and communicating by a few rude steps
+with the small gate that led upon the sands. In the lower
+part of this building, appropriated by the commanding
+officer to that exclusive purpose, the official duties
+of his situation were usually performed; and on the
+ground-floor a large room, that extended from front to
+rear of the block-house on one side of the passage, had
+formerly been used as a hall of council with the Indian
+chiefs. The floor above this comprised both his own
+private apartments and those set apart for the general
+use of the family; but, above all, and preferable from
+their cheerful view over the lake, were others, which
+had been reserved for the exclusive accommodation of Miss
+de Haldimar. This upper floor consisted of two sleeping
+apartments, with a sitting-room, the latter extending
+the whole length of the block-house and opening immediately
+upon the lake, from the only two windows with which that
+side of the building was provided. The principal staircase
+led into one of the bed-rooms, and both of the latter
+communicated immediately with the sitting-room, which
+again, in its turn, opened, at the opposite extremity,
+on the narrow staircase that led to the rear of the
+block-house.
+
+The furniture of this apartment, which might be taken as
+a fair sample of the best the country could afford, was
+wild, yet simple, in the extreme. Neat rush mats, of an
+oblong square, and fantastically put together, so as to
+exhibit in the weaving of the several coloured reeds both
+figures that were known to exist in the creation, and
+those which could have no being save in the imagination
+of their framers, served as excellent substitutes for
+carpets, while rush bottomed chairs, the product of Indian
+ingenuity also, occupied those intervals around the room
+that were unsupplied by the matting. Upon the walls were
+hung numerous specimens both of the dress and of the
+equipments of the savages, and mingled with these were
+many natural curiosities, the gifts of Indian chiefs to
+the commandant at various periods before the war.
+
+Nothing could be more unlike the embellishments of a
+modern European boudoir than those of this apartment,
+which had, in some degree, been made the sanctum of its
+present occupants. Here was to be seen the scaly carcass
+of some huge serpent, extending its now harmless length
+from the ceiling to the floor--there an alligator, stuffed
+after the same fashion; and in various directions the
+skins of the beaver, the marten, the otter, and an
+infinitude of others of that genus, filled up spaces that
+were left unsupplied by the more ingenious specimens of
+Indian art. Head-dresses tastefully wrought in the shape
+of the crowning bays of the ancients, and composed of
+the gorgeous feathers of the most splendid of the forest
+birds--bows and quivers handsomely, and even elegantly
+ornamented with that most tasteful of Indian decorations,
+the stained quill of the porcupine; war clubs of massive
+iron wood, their handles covered with stained horsehair
+and feathers curiously mingled together--machecotis,
+hunting coats, mocassins, and leggings, all worked in
+porcupine quill, and fancifully arranged,--these, with
+many others, had been called into requisition to bedeck
+and relieve the otherwise rude and naked walls of the
+apartment.
+
+Nor did the walls alone reflect back the picture of savage
+ingenuity, for on the various tables, the rude polish of
+which was hid from view by the simple covering of green
+baize, which moreover constituted the garniture of the
+windows, were to be seen other products of their art.
+Here stood upon an elevated stand a model of a bark canoe,
+filled with its complement of paddlers carved in wood
+and dressed in full costume; the latter executed with
+such singular fidelity of feature, that although the
+speaking figures sprung not from the experienced and
+classic chisel of the sculptor but from the rude scalping
+knife of the savage, the very tribe to which they belonged
+could be discovered at a glance by the European who was
+conversant with the features of each: then there were
+handsomely ornamented vessels made of the birch bark,
+and filled with the delicate sugars which the natives
+extract from the maple tree in early spring; these of
+all sizes, even to the most tiny that could well be
+imagined, were valuable rather as exquisite specimens of
+the neatness with which those slight vessels could be
+put together, sewn as they were merely with strips of
+the same bark, than from any intrinsic value they possessed.
+Covered over with fantastic figures, done either in paint,
+or in quill work artfully interwoven into the fibres of
+the bark, they presented, in their smooth and polished
+surface, strong evidence of the address of the savages
+in their preparation of this most useful and abundant
+produce of the country. Interspersed with these, too,
+were numerous stands filled with stuffed birds, some of
+which combined in themselves every variety and shade of
+dazzling plumage; and numerous rude cases contained the
+rarest specimens of the American butterfly, most of which
+were of sizes and tints that are no where equalled in
+Europe. One solitary table alone was appropriated to
+whatever wore a transatlantic character in this wild and
+museum-like apartment. On this lay a Spanish guitar, a
+few pieces of old music, a collection of English and
+French books, a couple of writing-desks, and, scattered
+over the whole, several articles of unfinished needle-work.
+
+Such was the apartment in which Madeline and Clara de
+Haldimar were met at the moment we have selected for
+their introduction to our readers. It was the morning of
+that day on which the second council of the chiefs, the
+result of which has already been seen, was held at Detroit.
+The sun had risen bright and gorgeously above the adjacent
+forest, throwing his golden beams upon the calm glassy
+waters of the lake; and now, approaching rapidly towards
+the meridian, gradually diminished the tall bold shadows
+of the block-houses upon the shore. At the distance of
+about a mile lay the armed vessel so often alluded to;
+her light low hull dimly seen in the hazy atmosphere that
+danced upon the waters, and her attenuated masts and
+sloping yards, with their slight tracery of cordage,
+recalling rather the complex and delicate ramifications
+of the spider's web, than the elastic yet solid machinery
+to which the lives of those within had so often been
+committed in sea and tempest. Upon the strand, and close
+opposite to the small gate which now stood ajar, lay one
+of her boats, the crew of which had abandoned her with
+the exception only of a single individual, apparently
+her cockswain, who, with the tiller under his arm, lay
+half extended in the stern-sheets, his naked chest exposed,
+and his tarpaulin hat shielding his eyes from the sun
+while he indulged in profound repose. These were the only
+objects that told of human life. Everywhere beyond the
+eye rested on the faint outline of forest, that appeared
+like the softened tracing of a pencil at the distant
+junction of the waters with the horizon.
+
+The windows that commanded this prospect were now open;
+and through that which was nearest to the gate, half
+reclined the elegant, slight, and somewhat petite form
+of a female, who, with one small and delicately formed
+hand supporting her cheek, while the other played almost
+unconsciously with an open letter, glanced her eye
+alternately, and with an expression of joyousness, towards
+the vessel that lay beyond, and the point in which the
+source of the Sinclair was known to lie. It was Clara de
+Haldimar.
+
+Presently the vacant space at the same window was filled
+by another form, but of less girlish appearance--one that
+embraced all the full rich contour of the Medicean Venus,
+and a lazy languor in its movements that harmonised with
+the speaking outlines of the form, and without which the
+beauty of the whole would have been at variance and
+imperfect. Neither did the face belie the general expression
+of the figure. The eyes, of a light hazel, were large,
+full, and somewhat prominent--the forehead broad, high,
+and redolent with an expression of character--and the
+cheek rich in that peculiar colour which can be likened
+only to the downy hues of the peach, and is, in itself,
+a physical earnest of the existence of deep, but not
+boisterous--of devoted, but not obtrusive affections;
+an impression that was not, in the present instance,
+weakened by the full and pouting lip, and the rather
+heavy formation of the lower face. The general expression,
+moreover, of a countenance which, closely analysed, could
+not be termed beautiful, marked a mind at once ardent in
+its conceptions, and steady and resolute in its silent
+accomplishments of purpose. She was of the middle height.
+
+Such was the person of Madeline de Haldimar; but attractive,
+or rather winning, as were her womanly attributes, her
+principal power lay in her voice,--the beauty, nay, the
+voluptuousness of which nothing could surpass. It was
+impossible to listen to the slow, full, rich, deep, and
+melodious tones that fell trembling from her lips upon
+the ear, and not feel, aye shudder, under all their
+fascination on the soul. In such a voice might the
+Madonna of Raphael have been supposed to offer up her
+supplications from the gloomy precincts of the cloister.
+No wonder that Frederick de Haldimar loved her, and loved
+her with all the intense devotedness of his own glowing
+heart. His cousin was to him a divinity whom he worshipped
+in the innermost recesses of his being; and his, in
+return, was the only ear in which the accents of that
+almost superhuman voice had breathed the thrilling
+confession of an attachment, which its very tones announced
+could be deep and imperishable as the soul in which it
+had taken root. Often in the hours that preceded the
+period when they were to have been united heart and mind
+and thought in one common destiny, would he start from
+her side, his brain whirling with very intoxication, and
+then obeying another wild impulse, rush once more into
+her embrace; and clasping his beloved Madeline to his
+heart, entreat her again to pour forth all the melody of
+that confession in his enraptured ear. Artless and
+unaffected as she was generous and impassioned, the fond
+and noble girl never hesitated to gratify him whom alone
+she loved; and deep and fervent was the joy of the soldier,
+when he found that each passionate entreaty, far from
+being met with caprice, only drew from the lips of his
+cousin warmer and more affectionate expressions of her
+attachment. Such expressions, coming from any woman,
+must have been rapturous and soothing in the extreme;
+but, when they flowed from a voice whose very sound was
+melody, they acted on the heart of Captain de Haldimar
+with a potency that was as irresistible as the love itself
+which she inspired.
+
+Such was the position of things just before the commencement
+of the Indian war. Madeline de Haldimar had been for some
+time on a visit to Detroit, and her marriage with her
+cousin was to have taken place within a few days. The
+unexpected arrival of intelligence from Michilimackinac
+that her father was dangerously ill, however, retarded
+the ceremony; and, up to the present period, their
+intercourse had been completely suspended. If Madeline
+de Haldimar was capable of strong attachment to her lover,
+the powerful ties of nature were no less deeply rooted
+in her heart, and commiseration and anxiety for her father
+now engrossed every faculty of her mind. She entreated
+her cousin to defer the solemnisation of their nuptials
+until her parent should be pronounced out of danger, and,
+having obtained his consent to the delay, instantly set
+off for Michilimackinac, accompanied by her cousin Clara,
+whom, she had prevailed on the governor to part with
+until her own return. Hostilities were commenced very
+shortly afterwards, and, although Major de Haldimar
+speedily recovered from his illness, the fair cousins
+were compelled to share the common imprisonment of the
+garrison.
+
+When Miss de Haldimar joined her more youthful cousin at
+the window, through which the latter was gazing thoughtfully
+on the scene before her, she flung her arm around her
+waist with the protecting manner of a mother. The mild
+blue eyes of Clara met those that were fastened in
+tenderness upon her, and a corresponding movement on her
+part brought the more matronly form of her cousin into
+close and affectionate contact with her own.
+
+"Oh, Madeline, what a day is this!" she exclaimed; "and
+how often on my bended knees have I prayed to Heaven that
+it might arrive! Our trials are ended at last, and
+happiness and joy are once more before us. There is the
+boat that is to conduct us to the vessel, which, in its
+turn, is to bear me to the arms of my dear father, and
+you to those of the lover who adores you. How beautiful
+does that fabric appear to me now! Never did I feel half
+the pleasure in surveying it I do at this moment."
+
+"Dear, dear girl!" exclaimed Miss de Haldimar,--and she
+pressed her closer and in silence to her heart: then,
+after a slight pause, during which the mantling glow upon
+her brow told how deeply she desired the reunion alluded
+to by her cousin--"that, indeed, will be an hour of
+happiness to us both, Clara; for irrevocably as our
+affections have been pledged, it would be silly in the
+extreme to deny that I long most ardently to be restored
+to him who is already my husband. But, tell me," she
+concluded, with an archness of expression that caused
+the long-lashed eyes of her companion to sink beneath
+her own, "are you quite sincere in your own case? I know
+how deeply you love your father and your brothers, but
+do these alone occupy your attention? Is there not a
+certain friend of Charles whom you have some little
+curiosity to see also?"
+
+"How silly, Madeline!" and the cheek of the young girl
+became suffused with a deeper glow; "you know I have
+never seen this friend of my brother, how then can I
+possibly feel more than the most ordinary interest in
+him? I am disposed to like him, certainly, for the mere
+reason that Charles does; but this is all."
+
+"Well, Clara, I will not pretend to decide; but certain
+it is, this is the last letter you received from Charles,
+and that it contains the strongest recommendations of
+his friend to your notice. Equally certain is it, that
+scarcely a day has passed, since we have been shut up
+here, that you have not perused and re-perused it half
+a dozen times. Now, as I am confessedly one who should
+know something of these matters, I must be suffered to
+pronounce these are strong symptoms, to say the very
+least. Ah! Clara, that blush declares you guilty.--But,
+who have we here? Middleton and Baynton."
+
+The eyes of the cousins now fell upon the ramparts
+immediately under the window. Two officers, one apparently
+on duty for the day, were passing at the moment; and, as
+they heard their names pronounced, stopped, looked up,
+and saluted the young ladies with that easy freedom of
+manner, which, unmixed with either disrespect or effrontery,
+so usually characterises the address of military men.
+
+"What a contrast, by heaven!" exclaimed he who wore the
+badge of duty suspended over his chest, throwing himself
+playfully into a theatrical attitude, expressive at once
+of admiration and surprise, while his eye glanced
+intelligently over the fair but dissimilar forms of the
+cousins. "Venus and Psyche in the land of the Pottowatamies
+by all that is magnificent! Come, Middleton, quick, out
+with that eternal pencil of yours, and perform your
+promise."
+
+"And what may that promise be?" asked Clara, laughingly,
+and without adverting to the hyperbolical compliment of
+the dark-eyed officer who had just spoken.
+
+"You shall hear," pursued the lively captain of the guard.
+"While making the tour of the ramparts just now, to visit
+my sentries, I saw Middleton leaning most sentimentally
+against one of the boxes in front, his notebook in one
+hand and his pencil in the other. Curious to discover
+the subject of his abstraction, I stole cautiously behind
+him, and saw that he was sketching the head of a tall
+and rather handsome squaw, who, in the midst of a hundred
+others, was standing close to the gateway watching the
+preparations of the Indian ball-players. I at once taxed
+him with having lost his heart; and rallying him on his
+bad taste in devoting his pencil to any thing that had
+a red skin, never combed its hair, and turned its toes
+in while walking, pronounced his sketch to be an absolute
+fright. Well, will you believe what I have to add? The
+man absolutely flew into a tremendous passion with me,
+and swore that she was a Venus, a Juno, a Minerva, a
+beauty of the first water in short; and finished by
+promising, that when I could point out any woman who was
+superior to her in personal attraction, he would on the
+instant write no less than a dozen consecutive sonnets
+in her praise. I now call upon him to fulfil his promise,
+or maintain the superiority of his Indian beauty."
+
+Before the laughing Middleton could find time to reply
+to the light and unmeaning rattle of his friend, the
+quick low roll of a drum was heard from the front. The
+signal was understood by both officers, and they prepared
+to depart.
+
+"This is the hour appointed for the council," said Captain
+Baynton, looking at his watch, "and I must be with my
+guard, to receive the chiefs with becoming honour. How
+I pity you, Middleton, who will have the infliction of
+one of their great big talks, as Murphy would call it,
+dinned into your ear for the next two hours at least!
+Thank heaven, my tour of duty exempts me from that; and
+by way of killing an hour, I think I shall go and carry
+on a flirtation with your Indian Minerva, alias Venus,
+alias Juno, while you are discussing the affairs of the
+nation with closed doors. But hark! there is the assembly
+drum again. We must be off. Come, Middleton, come.--Adieu!"
+waving his hand to the cousins, "we shall meet at dinner."
+
+"What an incessant talker Baynton is!" observed Miss de
+Haldimar, as the young men now disappeared round an angle
+of the rampart; "but he has reminded me of what I had
+nearly forgotten, and that is to give orders for dinner.
+My father has invited all the officers to dine with him
+to day, in commemoration of the peace which is being
+concluded. It will be the first time we shall have all
+met together since the commencement of this cruel war,
+and we must endeavour, Clara, to do honour to the feast."
+
+"I hope," timidly observed her cousin, shuddering as she
+spoke, "that none of those horrid chiefs will be present,
+Madeline; for, without any affectation of fear whatever,
+I feel that I could not so far overcome my disgust as to
+sit at the same table with them. There was a time, it is
+true, when I thought nothing of these things; but, since
+the war, I have witnessed and heard so much of their
+horrid deeds, that I shall never be able to endure the
+sight of an Indian face again. Ah!" she concluded, turning
+her eyes upon the lake, while she clung more closely to
+the embrace of her companion; "would to Heaven, Madeline,
+that we were both at this moment gliding in yonder vessel,
+and in sight of my father's fort!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+The eyes of Miss de Haldimar followed those of her cousin,
+and rested on the dark hull of the schooner, with which
+so many recollections of the past and anticipations of
+the future were associated in their minds. When they had
+last looked upon it, all appearance of human life had
+vanished from its decks; but now there was strong evidence
+of unusual bustle and activity. Numerous persons could
+be seen moving hastily to and fro, their heads just
+peering above the bulwarks; and presently they beheld a
+small boat move from the ship's side, and shoot rapidly
+ahead, in a direct line with the well-known bearings of
+the Sinclair's source. While they continued to gaze on
+this point, following the course of the light vessel,
+and forming a variety of conjectures as to the cause of
+a movement, especially remarkable from the circumstance
+of the commander being at that moment in the fort, whither
+he had been summoned to attend the council, another and
+scarcely perceptible object was dimly seen, at the distance
+of about half a mile in front of the boat. With the aid
+of a telescope, which had formed one of the principal
+resources of the cousins during their long imprisonment,
+Miss de Haldimar now perceived a dark and shapeless mass
+moving somewhat heavily along the lake, and in a line
+with the schooner and the boat. This was evidently
+approaching; for each moment it loomed larger upon the
+hazy water, increasing in bulk in the same proportion
+that the departing skiff became less distinct: still, it
+was impossible to discover, at that distance, in what
+manner it was propelled. Wind there was none, not as much
+as would have changed the course of a feather dropping
+through space; and, except where the dividing oars of
+the boatmen had agitated the waters, the whole surface
+of the lake was like a sea of pale and liquid gold.
+
+At length the two dark bodies met, and the men in the
+boat were seen to lie upon their oars, while one in the
+stem seemed to be in the act of attaching a rope to the
+formless matter. For a few moments there was a cessation
+of all movement; and then again the active and sturdy
+rowing of the boatmen was renewed, and with an exertion
+of strength even more vigorous than that they had previously
+exhibited. Their course was now directed towards the
+vessel; and, as it gradually neared that fabric, the rope
+by which the strange-looking object was secured, could
+be distinctly though faintly seen with the telescope. It
+was impossible to say whether the latter, whatever it
+might be, was urged by some invisible means, or merely
+floated in the wake of the boat; for, although the waters
+through which it passed ran rippling and foaming from
+their course, this effect might have been produced by
+the boat which preceded it. As it now approached the
+vessel, it presented the appearance of a dense wood of
+evergreens, the overhanging branches of which descended
+close to the water's edge, and baffled every attempt of
+the cousins to discover its true character. The boat had
+now arrived within a hundred yards of the schooner, when
+a man was seen to rise from its bows, and, putting both
+his hands to his mouth, after the manner of sailors in
+hailing, to continue in that position for some moments,
+apparently conversing with those who were grouped along
+the nearest gangway. Then were observed rapid movements
+on the decks; and men were seen hastening aloft, and
+standing out upon the foremast yards. This, however, had
+offered no interruption to the exertions of the boatmen,
+who still kept plying with a vigour that set even the
+sail-less vessel in motion, as the foaming water, thrown
+from their bending oar-blades, dashed angrily against
+her prow. Soon afterwards both the boat and her prize
+disappeared on the opposite side of the schooner, which,
+now lying with her broadside immediately on a line with
+the shore, completely hid them from the further view of
+the cousins.
+
+"Look!--Look!" said Clara, clinging sensitively and with
+alarm to the almost maternal bosom against which she
+reposed, while she pointed with her finger to another
+dark mass that was moving through the lake in a circular
+sweep from the point of wood terminating the clearing on
+the right of the fort.
+
+Miss de Haldimar threw the glass on the object to which
+her attention was now directed. It was evidently some
+furred animal, and presented all the appearance either
+of a large water-rat or a beaver, the latter of which it
+was pronounced to be as a nearer approach rendered its
+shape more distinct. Ever and anon, too, it disappeared
+altogether under the water; and, when it again came in
+sight, it was always several yards nearer. Its course,
+at first circuitous, at length took a direct line with
+the stern of the boat, where the sailor who was in charge
+still lay extended at his drowsy length, his tarpaulin
+hat shading his eyes, and his arms folded over his
+uncovered and heaving chest, while he continued to sleep
+as profoundly as if he had been comfortably berthed in
+his hammock in the middle of the Atlantic.
+
+"What a large bold animal it is," remarked Clara, in die
+tone of one who wishes to be confirmed in an impression
+but indifferently entertained. "See how close it approaches
+the boat! Mad that lazy sailor but his wits about him,
+he might easily knock it on the head with his oar. It
+is--it is a beaver, Madeline; I can distinguish its head
+even with the naked eye."
+
+"Heaven grant it may be a beaver," answered Miss de
+Haldimar, in a voice so deep and full of meaning, that
+it made her cousin startle and turn paler even than
+before. "Nay, Clara, dearest, command yourself, nor give
+way to what may, after all, prove a groundless cause of
+alarm. Yet, I know not how it is, my heart misgives me
+sadly; for I like not the motions of this animal, which
+are strangely and unusually bold. But this is not all:
+a beaver or a rat might ruffle the mere surface of the
+water, yet this leaves behind it a deep and gurgling
+furrow, as if the element had been ploughed to its very
+bottom. Observe how the lake is agitated and discoloured
+wherever it has passed. Moreover, I dislike this sudden
+bustle on board the schooner, knowing, as I do, there is
+not an officer present to order the movements now visibly
+going forward. The men are evidently getting up the
+anchor; and see how her sails are loosened, apparently
+courting the breeze, as if she would fly to avoid some
+threatened danger. Would to Heaven this council scene
+were over; for I do, as much as yourself, dearest Clara,
+distrust these cruel Indians!"
+
+A significant gesture from her trembling cousin again
+drew her attention from the vessel to the boat. The
+animal, which now exhibited the delicate and glossy fur
+of the beaver, had gained the stern, and remained stationary
+within a foot of her quarter. Presently the sailor made
+a sluggish movement, turning himself heavily on his side,
+and with his face towards his curious and daring visitant.
+In the act the tarpaulin hat had fallen from his eyes,
+but still he awoke not. Scarcely had he settled himself
+in his new position, when, to the infinite horror of the
+excited cousins, a naked human hand was raised from
+beneath the surface of the lake, and placed upon the
+gunwale of the boat Then rose slowly, and still covered
+with its ingenious disguise, first the neck, then the
+shoulders, and finally the form, even to the midwaist,
+of a dark and swarthy Indian, who, stooping low and
+cautiously over the sailor, now reposed the hand that
+had quitted the gunwale upon his form, while the other
+was thrust searchingly into the belt encircling his waist.
+
+Miss de Haldimar would have called out, to apprise the
+unhappy man of his danger; but her voice refused its
+office, and her cousin was even less capable of exertion
+than herself. The deep throbbings of their hearts were
+now audible to each; for the dreadful interest they took
+in the scene, had excited their feelings to the most
+intense stretch of agony. At the very moment, however,
+when, with almost suspended animation, they expected to
+see the knife of the savage driven into the chest of the
+sleeping and unsuspecting sailor, the latter suddenly
+started up, and, instinct with the full sense of the
+danger by which he was menaced, in less time than we take
+to describe it, seized the tiller of his rudder, the only
+available instrument within his reach, and directing a
+powerful blow at the head of his amphibious enemy, laid
+him, without apparent life or motion, across the boat.
+
+"Almighty God! what can this mean?" exclaimed Miss de
+Haldimar, as soon as she could recover her presence of
+mind. "There is some fearful treachery in agitation; and
+a cloud now hangs over all, that will soon burst with
+irresistible fury on our devoted heads. Clara, my love,"
+and she conducted the almost fainting girl to a seat,
+"wait here until I return. The moment is critical, and
+my father must be apprised of what we have seen. Unless
+the gates of the fort be instantly closed, we are lost."
+
+"Oh, Madeline, leave me not alone," entreated the sinking
+Clara. "We will go together. Perhaps I may be of service
+to you below."
+
+"The thought is good; but have you strength and courage
+to face the dark chiefs in the council-room. If so, hasten
+there, and put my father on his guard, while I fly across
+the parade, and warn Captain Baynton of the danger."
+
+With these words she drew the arm of her agitated cousin
+within her own, and, rapidly traversing the apartment,
+gained the bed-room which opened close upon the head of
+the principal staircase. Already were they descending
+the first steps, when a loud cry, that sent a thrill of
+terror through their blood, was heard from without the
+fort. For a moment Miss de Haldimar continued irresolute;
+and leaning against the rude balustrade for support,
+passed her hand rapidly across her brow, as if to collect
+her scattered energies. The necessity for prompt and
+immediate action was, however, evident; and she alone
+was capable of exertion. Speechless with alarm, and
+trembling in every joint, the unhappy Clara had now lost
+all command of her limbs; and, clinging close to the side
+of her cousin, by her wild looks alone betrayed
+consciousness had not wholly deserted her. The energy of
+despair lent more than woman's strength to Miss de
+Haldimar. She caught the fainting girl in her arms,
+retraced her way to the chamber, and depositing her burden
+on the bed, emphatically enjoined her on no account to
+move until her return. She then quitted the room, and
+rapidly descended the staircase.
+
+For some moments all was still and hushed as the waveless
+air; and then again a loud chorus of shouts was heard
+from the ramparts of the fort. The choked breathing of
+the young girl became more free, and the blood rushed
+once more from her oppressed heart to the extremities.
+Never did tones of the human voice fall more gratefully
+on the ear of mariner cast on some desert island, than
+did those on that of the highly excited Clara. It was
+the loud laugh of the soldiery, who, collected along the
+line of rampart in front, were watching the progress of
+the ball-players. Cheered by the welcome sounds, she
+raised herself from the bed to satisfy her eye her ear
+had not deceived her. The windows of both bed-chambers
+looked immediately on the barrack square, and commanded
+a full view of the principal entrance. From that at which
+she now stood, the revived but still anxious girl could
+distinctly see all that was passing in front. The ramparts
+were covered with soldiers, who, armed merely with their
+bayonets, stood grouped in careless attitudes--some with
+their wives leaning on their arms--others with their
+children upraised, that they might the better observe
+the enlivening sports without--some lay indolently with
+their legs overhanging the works--others, assuming
+pugilistic attitudes, dealt their harmless blows at each
+other,--and all were blended together, men, women, and
+children, with that heedlessness of thought that told
+how little of distrust existed within their breasts. The
+soldiers of the guard, too, exhibited the same air of
+calm and unsuspecting confidence; some walking to and
+fro within the square, while the greater portion either
+mixed with their comrades above, or, with arms folded,
+legs carelessly crossed, and pipe in mouth, leant lazily
+against the gate, and gazed beyond the lowered drawbridge
+on the Indian games.
+
+A mountain weight seemed to have been removed from the
+breast of Clara at this sight, as she now dropped upon
+her knees before the window, and raised her hands in
+pious acknowledgment to Heaven.
+
+"Almighty God, I thank thee," she fervently exclaimed,
+her eye once more lighting up, and her cheek half suffused
+with blushes at her late vague and idle fears; while she
+embraced, at a single glance, the whole of the gladdening
+and inspiriting scene.
+
+While her soul was yet upturned whither her words had
+gone before, her ears were again assailed by sounds that
+curdled her blood, and made her spring to her feet as if
+stricken by a bullet through the heart; or powerfully
+touched by some electric fluid. It was the well-known
+and devilish war-cry of the savages, startling the very
+air through which it passed, and falling like a deadly
+blight upon the spirit. With a mechanical and desperate
+effort at courage, the unhappy girl turned her eyes below,
+and there met images of death in their most appalling
+shapes. Hurry and confusion and despair were every where
+visible; for a band of Indians were already in the fort,
+and these, fast succeeded by others, rushed like a torrent
+into the square, and commenced their dreadful work of
+butchery. Many of the terrified soldiers, without thinking
+of drawing their bayonets, flew down the ramparts in
+order to gain their respective block-houses for their
+muskets: but these every where met death from the crashing
+tomahawk, short rifle, or gleaming knife;--others who
+had presence of mind sufficient to avail themselves of
+their only weapons of defence, rushed down in the fury
+of desperation on the yelling fiends, resolved to sell
+their lives as dearly as possible; and for some minutes
+an obstinate contest was maintained: but the vast
+superiority of the Indian numbers triumphed; and although
+the men fought with all the fierceness of despair, forcing
+their way to the block-houses, their mangled corpses
+strewed the area in every direction. Neither was the
+horrid butchery confined to these. Women clinging to
+their husbands for protection, and, in the recklessness
+of their despair, impeding the efforts of the latter in
+their self-defence--children screaming in terror, or
+supplicating mercy on their bonded knees--infants clasped
+to their parents' breasts,--all alike sunk under the
+unpitying steel of the blood-thirsty savages. At the
+guard-house the principal stand had been made; for at
+the first rush into the fort, the men on duty had gained
+their station, and, having made fast the barricades,
+opened their fire upon the enemy. Mixed pele-mele as they
+were with the Indians, many of the English were shot by
+their own comrades, who, in the confusion of the moment,
+were incapable of taking a cool and discriminating aim.
+These, however, were finally overcome. A band of desperate
+Indians rushed upon the main door, and with repeated
+blows from their tomahawks and massive war-clubs, succeeded
+in demolishing it, while others diverted the fire of
+those within. The door once forced, the struggle was soon
+over. Every man of the guard perished; and their scalpless
+and disfigured forms were thrown out to swell the number
+of those that already deluged the square with their blood.
+
+Even amid all the horrors of this terrific scene, the
+agonised Clara preserved her consciousness. The very
+imminence of the danger endued her with strength to
+embrace it under all its most disheartening aspects; and
+she, whose mind had been wrought up to the highest pitch
+of powerful excitement by the mere preliminary threatenings,
+was comparatively collected under the catastrophe itself.
+Death, certain death, to all, she saw was inevitable;
+and while her perception at once embraced the futility
+of all attempts at escape from the general doom, she
+snatched from despair the power to follow its gloomy
+details without being annihilated under their weight.
+
+The confusion of the garrison had now reached its acme
+of horror. The shrieks of women and the shrill cries of
+children, as they severally and fruitlessly fled from
+the death certain to overtake them in the end,--the
+cursings of the soldiers, the yellings of the Indians,
+the reports of rifles, and the crashings of tomahawks;--
+these, with the stamping of human feet in the death
+struggle maintained in the council-room below between
+the chiefs and the officers, and which shook the block-house
+to its very foundation, all mixed up in terrible chorus
+together, might have called up a not inapt image of hell
+to the bewildered and confounding brain. And yet the sun
+shone in yellow lustre, and all Nature smiled, and wore
+an air of calm, as if the accursed deed had had the
+sanction of Heaven, and the spirits of light loved to
+look upon the frightful atrocities then in perpetration.
+
+In the first distraction of her spirit, Clara had utterly
+lost all recollection of her cousin; but now that she
+had, with unnatural desperation, brought her mind to bear
+upon the fiercest points of the grim reality, she turned
+her eye every where amid the scene of death in search of
+the form of her beloved Madeline, whom she did not remember
+to have seen cross the parade in pursuance of the purpose
+she had named. While she yet gazed fearfully from the
+window, loud bursts of mingled anguish and rage, that
+were almost drowned in the fiercer yells with which they
+were blended, ascended from the ground floor of the
+block-house. These had hitherto been suppressed, as if
+the desperate attack of the chiefs on the officers had
+been made with closed doors. Now, however, there was an
+evident outburst of all parties into the passage; and
+there the struggle appeared to be desperately and fearfully
+maintained. In the midst of that chaotic scene, the loud
+and piercing shriek of a female rose far above the
+discordant yell even of the savages. There was an instant
+of pause, and then the crashing of a skull was heard,
+and the confusion was greater than before, and shrieks,
+and groans, and curses, and supplications rent the air.
+
+The first single shriek came from Madeline de Haldimar,
+and vibrated through every chord of the heart on which
+it sank. Scarcely conscious of what she did, Clara,
+quitting the window, once more gained the top of the
+staircase, and at the extremity of her voice called on
+the name of her cousin in the most piteous accents. She
+was answered by a loud shout from the yelling band; and
+presently bounding feet and screaming voices were heard
+ascending the stairs. The terrified girl fancied at the
+moment she heard a door open on the floor immediately
+below her, and some one dart suddenly up the flight
+communicating with the spot on which she stood. Without
+waiting to satisfy herself, she rushed with all the
+mechanical instinct of self-preservation back into her
+own apartment. As she passed the bed-room window, she
+glanced once more hastily into the area below, and there
+beheld a sight that, filling her soul with despair,
+paralysed all further exertion. A tall savage was bearing
+off the apparently lifeless form of her cousin through
+the combatants in the square, her white dress stained
+all over with blood, and her beautiful hair loosened and
+trailing on the ground. She followed with her burning
+eyes until they passed the drawbridge, and finally
+disappeared behind the intervening rampart, and then
+bowing her head between her hands, and sinking upon her
+knees, she reposed her forehead against the sill of the
+window, and awaited unshrinkingly, yet in a state of
+inconceivable agony, the consummation of her own unhappy
+destiny.
+
+The sounds of ascending feet were now heard in the passage
+without; and presently, while the clangour of a thousand
+demons seemed to ring throughout the upper part of the
+building, a man rushed furiously into the room. The blood
+of the young girl curdled in her veins. She mechanically
+grasped the ledge of the window on which her aching head
+still reposed, and with her eyes firmly closed, to shut
+out from view the fiend whose sight she dreaded, even
+more than the death which threatened her, quietly awaited
+the blow that was to terminate at once her misery and
+her life. Scarcely, however, had the feet of the intruder
+pressed the sanctuary of her bedchamber, when the heavy
+door, strongly studded with nails, was pushed rapidly
+to, and bolt and lock were heard sliding into their
+several sockets. Before Clara could raise her head to
+discover the cause of this movement, she felt herself
+firmly secured in the grasp of an encircling arm, and
+borne hastily through the room. An instinctive sense of
+something worse even than death now flashed across the
+mind of the unhappy girl; and while she feared to unclose
+her eyes, she struggled violently to disengage herself.
+
+"Clara! dear Miss de Haldimar, do you not know me?"
+exclaimed her supporter, while, placing her for a moment
+on a seat, he proceeded to secure the fastenings of the
+second door, that led from the bed-chamber into the larger
+apartment.
+
+Re-assured by the tones of a voice which, even in that
+dreadful moment of trial and destruction, were familiar
+to her ear, the trembling girl opened her eyes wildly
+upon her protector. A slight scream of terror marked her
+painful sense of the recognition. It was Captain Baynton
+whom she beheld: but how unlike the officer who a few
+minutes before had been conversing with her from the
+ramparts. His fine hair, matted with blood, now hung
+loosely and disfiguringly over his eyes, and his pallid
+face and brow were covered with gore spots, the evident
+spatterings from the wounds of others; while a stream
+that issued from one side of his head attested he himself
+had not escaped unhurt in the cruel melee. A skirt and
+a lappel had been torn from his uniform, which, together
+with other portions of his dress, were now stained in
+various parts by the blood continually flowing from his
+wound.
+
+"Oh, Captain Baynton," murmured the fainting girl, her
+whole soul sinking within her, as she gazed shudderingly
+on his person, "is there no hope for us? must we die?"
+
+"No, by Heaven, not while I have strength to save you,"
+returned the officer, with energy. "If the savages have
+not penetrated to the rear, we may yet escape. I saw the
+postern open just now, on my passage round the rampart,
+and the boat of the schooner upon the strand. Ha!" he
+exclaimed, as he flew to the window, and cast his eye
+rapidly below, "we are lost! The gate is still clear,
+and not an Indian to be seen; but the coward sailor is
+pulling for his life towards the vessel. But hold! another
+boat is now quitting the ship's side. See, how manfully
+they give themselves to the oars: in a few minutes they
+will be here. Come, Clara, let us fly!" and again he
+caught her in his arms, and bore her across the room.
+"Hark, hear you not the exulting yellings of the monsters?
+They are forcing the outer door: mark how they redouble
+their efforts to break it open! That passed, but one more
+barrier remains between us and inevitable and instant
+death."
+
+"And my cousin, my uncle!" shrieked the unhappy girl, as
+the officer now bore her rapidly down the back staircase.
+
+"Oh, ask me not!" exclaimed Baynton: "were I to linger
+again on all I have witnessed, I should go mad. All, all
+have perished! but, hark!"
+
+A tremendous yell now bursting from the passage, announced
+at once, the triumph of the savages in having effected
+an entrance into the bed-room, and their disappointment
+at finding their pursuit baulked by a second door.
+Presently afterwards their heavy weapons were to be heard
+thundering at this new obstacle, in the most furious
+manner. This gave new stimulus to the exertions of the
+generous officer. Each winding of the staircase was
+familiar to him, and he now descended it with a rapidity
+which, considering the burden that reposed against his
+chest, could only have been inspired by his despair. The
+flight terminated at a door that led directly upon the
+rampart, without communicating with any of the passages
+of the building; and in this consisted the principal
+facility of escape: for, in order to reach them, the
+savages must either make the circuit of the block-house,
+or overtake them in the course they were now following.
+In this trying emergency, the presence of mind of the
+young officer, wounded and bleeding as he was, did not
+desert him. On quitting the larger apartment above, he
+had secured the outside fastenings of a small door at
+the top of the stairs, and having now gained the bottom,
+he took a similar precaution. All that remained was to
+unclose the bolts of the ponderous door that opened upon
+their final chance of escape: this was speedily done,
+but here the feelings of the officer were put to a severe
+test. A rude partition divided him from the fatal
+council-room; and while he undid the fastenings, the
+faint and dying groans of his butchered brother officers
+rung in his ears, even at the moment that he felt his
+feet dabbling in the blood that oozed through the
+imperfectly closed planks of which the partition was
+composed. As for Clara, she was insensible to all that
+was passing. From the moment of the Indian yell, announcing
+their entry into the bed-room, she had fainted.
+
+The huge door came now creaking back upon its hinges,
+when the sounds of the yet unfinished conflict in front,
+which had hitherto been deadened in their descent through
+the remote staircase, rang once more fiercely and
+startlingly upon the ear. A single glance satisfied
+Captain Baynton the moment for exertion was come, and
+that the way to the lake shore, which, by some strange
+oversight, both the Indians and the men had overlooked,
+was perfectly clear. He clasped his unconscious burden
+closer to his chest, and then, setting his life upon the
+cast, hastened down the few steps that led to the rampart,
+and dashed rapidly through the postern; in the next minute
+he stood on the uttermost verge of the sands, unharmed
+and onfollowed. He cast his eyes anxiously along the
+surface of the lake; but such was the excitement and
+confusion of his mind, produced by the horrid recollection
+of the past scene, it was not until he had been abruptly
+hailed from it, he could see a boat, at the distance of
+about two hundred yards, the crew of which were lying on
+their oars. It was the long boat of the schooner, which,
+prevented from a nearer approach by a sand bar that ran
+along the lake to a considerable extent, had taken her
+station there to receive the fugitives. Two tall young
+men in the dress, yet having little the mien, of common
+sailors, were standing up in her stern; and one of these,
+with evident anxiety in his manner, called on Baynton by
+name to make the best of his way to the boat. At that
+moment a loud and frantic yell came from the block-house
+the latter had just quitted. In the wild impulse of his
+excited feelings, he answered with a cheer of defiance,
+as he turned to discover the precise point whence it
+proceeded. The windows of the apartment so recently
+occupied by the unhappy cousins, were darkened with savage
+forms, who now pealed forth their mingled fury and
+disappointment in the most terrific manner.
+
+"Fly, fly, Baynton, or you are lost!" exclaimed the same
+voice from the boat; "the devils are levelling from the
+windows."
+
+While he yet spake several shots came whizzing along the
+waters, and a spent ball even struck the now rapidly
+fleeing officer in the back; but the distance was too
+great for serious injury. The guns of the savages had
+been cut so short for their desperate enterprise, that
+they carried little further than a horse pistol.
+
+Again, in the desperation of his feelings, and heedless
+of the danger he was drawing on himself and charge, the
+officer turned fiercely round and shouted, at his utmost
+lungs, a peal of triumph in the ears of his enemies.
+Scarcely, however, had the sounds escaped his lips, when
+two hideously painted Indians sprang through the postern,
+and, silent as the spectres they resembled, rushed down
+the sands, and thence into the lake. Loud shouts from
+the windows above were again pealed forth, and from the
+consternation visible on the features of those within
+the boat, the nearly exhausted Baynton learnt all the
+risk he incurred. Summoning all his strength, he now made
+the most desperate efforts to reach his friends. The lake
+was little more than knee deep from the shore to the bar,
+but, encumbered as he was, the difficulty opposed to his
+movements was immeasurably against him, and yet he seemed
+generously resolved rather to perish than relinquish his
+charge. Already were his pursuers, now closely followed
+by a numerous band, within twenty yards of him, when the
+two young men, each armed with a cutlass and pistol,
+sprang from the boat upon the sand bar: as the Indians
+came on they fired deliberately at them, but both missed
+their aim. Encouraged by this failure, the fearless devils
+dashed eagerly on, brandishing their gleaming tomahawks,
+but littering not a sound. Already was the unfortunate
+Baynton within a few feet of the bar, when he felt that
+the savages were immediately upon him.
+
+"Take, take, for God's sake take her!" he cried, as with
+a desperate effort he threw the light form of the still
+unconscious girl into the arms of one of the young men.
+"My strength is quite exhausted, and I can do no more."
+
+For the first time a yell burst from the lips of the
+pursuing savages, as they saw him, to whom the guardianship
+of the wretched Clara was now confided, suddenly spring
+from the sand bar into the lake, and in a few rapid
+strokes gain the side of the boat. Leaving the hapless
+Baynton to be disposed of by his companion, the foremost
+darted upon the bank, burning with disappointment, and
+resolved to immolate another victim. For a moment he
+balanced his tomahawk, and then, with the rapidity of
+thought, darted it at the covered head of the youth who
+still lingered on the bar. A well-timed movement of the
+latter averted the blow, and the whizzing steel passed
+harmlessly on. A gutteral "Ugh!" marked the disappointment
+of the Indian, now reduced to his scalping-knife; but
+before he could determine whether to advance or to retreat,
+his opponent had darted upon him, and, with a single blow
+from his cutlass, cleft his skull nearly asunder. The
+next instantaneous purpose of the victor was to advance
+to the rescue of the exhausted Baynton; but, when he
+turned to look for him, he saw the mangled form of what
+had once been that gallant and handsome officer floating,
+without life or motion, on the blood-stained surface of
+the Huron, while his fiendish murderer, calmly awaiting
+the approach of his companions, held up the reeking scalp,
+in triumph, to the view of the still yelling groups within
+the block-house.
+
+"Noble, generous, self-devoted fellow!" exclaimed the
+youth, as he fixed his burning tearless eye for a moment
+on the unfortunate victim; "even you, then, are not spared
+to tell the horrid story of this butchery; yet is the
+fate of the fallen far, far more enviable than that of
+those who have survived this day." He then committed his
+cutlass to its sheath; and, leaping into the deep water
+that lay beyond the bar, was, in a few seconds, once more
+in the stern of the boat.
+
+Meanwhile, the numerous band, who followed their two
+first fierce comrades into the lake, bounded rapidly
+forward; and, so active were their movements, that, at
+almost the same moment when the second of the youths had
+gained his temporary place of refuge, they stood yelling
+and screaming on the sand bar he had just quitted. Two
+or three, excited to desperation by the blood they had
+seen spilt, plunged unhesitatingly into the opposite
+depths of the lake; and the foremost of these was the
+destroyer of the ill-fated Baynton. With his bloody
+scalping-knife closely clutched between his teeth, and
+his tomahawk in his right hand, this fierce warrior
+buffeted the waves lustily with one arm, and, noiselessly
+as in the early part of his pursuit, urged his way towards
+the boat. In the stern of this a few planks from the
+schooner had been firmly lashed, to serve as a shield
+against the weapons of the savages, and was so arranged
+as to conceal all within while retiring from the shore.
+A small aperture had, however, been bored for the purpose
+of observing the movements of the enemy without risk.
+Through this an eye was now directed, while only the
+blades of the oars were to be seen projecting from the
+boat's sides as they reposed in their rowlocks. Encouraged
+by the seeming apathy and inertness of the crew, the
+swimming savages paused not to consider of consequences,
+but continued their daring course as if they had apprehended
+neither risk nor resistance. Presently a desperate splash
+was heard near the stern of the boat, and the sinuous
+form of the first savage was raised above the gunwale,
+his grim face looking devilish in its war-paint, and his
+fierce eyes gleaming and rolling like fire-balls in their
+sockets. Scarcely was he seen, however, when he had again
+disappeared. A blow from the cutlass that had destroyed
+his companion descended like lightning on his naked and
+hairless head; and, in the agony of death, he might be
+seen grinding his teeth against the knife which the
+instinctive ferocity of his nature forbade his
+relinquishing. A yell of fury burst from the savages on
+the bar, and presently a shower of bullets ran whistling
+through the air. Several were heard striking the rude
+rampart in the stem; but, although the boat was scarcely
+out of pistol-shot, the thickness of the wood prevented
+all injury to those within. Another fierce yell followed
+this volley; and then nearly a score of warriors, giving
+their guns in charge to their companions, plunged furiously
+into the water; and, with an air of the most infuriated
+determination, leaped rather than swam along its surface.
+
+"Now, then, my lads, give way," said he at the look-out;
+"there are more than a dozen of the devils in full cry;
+and our only chance is in flight! Ha! another here!" as,
+turning to issue these directions, he chanced to see the
+dark hand of a savage at that moment grasping the gunwale
+of the boat, as if with a view to retard her movements
+until the arrival of his companions.
+
+A heavy blow from his cutlass accompanied these words.
+The fingers, divided at their very roots, rolled to the
+bottom of the boat, and the carcase of the savage dropped,
+with a yell of anguish, far in the rear. The heavy
+oar-blades of the seamen now made play, dashing the lake
+away in sheets of foam; and, in less than five minutes,
+the heads of the swimming savages were seen mingling like
+so many rats upon the water, as they returned once more
+in disappointment from their fruitless pursuit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The sun had gone down, as he had risen, in all the
+gloriousness of his autumnal splendour, and twilight was
+now fast descending on the waters of the Huron. A slight
+breeze was just beginning to make itself felt from the
+land, the gradual rising of which was hailed by many an
+anxious heart, as the schooner, which had been making
+vain attempts to quit her anchorage during the day, now
+urged her light bows through the slightly curling element.
+A death-like silence, interrupted only by the low gruff
+voice of a veteran seaman, as he issued, in technical
+language, the necessary orders for the management of the
+vessel, prevailed every where along her decks. The dress
+and general appearance of this individual announced him
+for a petty officer of the royal service; and it was
+evident, from the tone of authority with which he spoke,
+he was now in the enjoyment of a temporary command. The
+crew, consisting of about thirty souls, and chiefly
+veterans of the same class, were assembled along the
+gangways, each man wearing a brace of pistols in the
+belt, which, moreover, secured a naked cutlass around
+his loins; and these now lingered near the several guns
+that were thrown out from their gloomy looking ports, as
+if ready for some active service. But, although the arming
+of these men indicated hostile preparation, there was
+none of that buoyancy of movement and animation of feature
+to be observed, which so usually characterise the
+indomitable daring of the British sailor. Some stood
+leaning their heads pensively on their hands against the
+rigging and hammocks that were stowed away along the
+bulwarks, after the fashion of war ships in boarding;
+others, with arms tightly folded across their chests,
+spirted the tobacco juice thoughtfully from their closed
+teeth into the receding waters; while not a few gazed
+earnestly and despondingly on the burning fort in the
+distance, amid the rolling volumes of smoke and flame
+from which, ever and anon, arose the fiendish yell of
+those who, having already sacked, were now reducing it
+to ashes. Nor was this the only object of their attention.
+On the sand bank alluded to in our last chapter were to
+be dimly seen through the growing dusk, the dark outlines
+of many of the savages, who, frantic with rage at their
+inability to devote them to the same doom, were still
+unwilling to quit a spot which approached them nearest
+to the last surviving objects of their enmity. Around
+this point, were collected numerous canoes, filled also
+with warriors; and, at the moment when the vessel, obeying
+the impulse given by her flowing sails, glided from her
+anchorage, these followed, scudding in her wake, and made
+a show of attacking her in the stern. The sudden yawing
+of the schooner, however, in bringing her tier of bristling
+ports into view, had checked the ardour of the pursuing
+fleet; and the discharge of a single gun, destroying in
+its course three of their canoes, and carrying death
+among those who directed them, had driven them back, in
+the greatest hurry and confusion, to their yelling and
+disappointed comrades.
+
+The after-deck of the schooner presented a different,
+though not less sombre and discouraging, scene. On a pile
+of mattresses lay the light and almost inanimate form of
+Clara de Haldimar; her fair and redundant hair overshadowing
+her pallid brow and cheek, and the dress she had worn at
+the moment of her escape from the fort still spotted with
+the blood of her generous but unfortunate preserver.
+Close at her side, with her hands clasped in his, while
+he watched the expression of deep suffering reflected
+from each set feature, and yet with the air of one
+pre-occupied with some other subject of painful interest,
+sat, on an empty shot-box, the young man in sailor's
+attire, whose cutlass had performed the double service
+of destroying his own immediate opponent, and avenging
+the death of the devoted Baynton. At the head of the rude
+couch, and leaning against a portion of the schooner's
+stern-work, stood his companion, who from delicacy appeared
+to have turned away his eyes from the group below, merely
+to cast them vacantly on the dark waters through which
+the vessel was now beginning to urge her course.
+
+Such was the immediate position of this little party,
+when the gun fired at the Indians was heard booming
+heavily along the lake. The loud report, in exciting
+new sources of alarm, seemed to have dissipated the spell
+that had hitherto chained the energies and perception of
+the still weak, but now highly excited girl.
+
+"Oh, Captain Baynton, where are we?" she exclaimed,
+starting up suddenly in terror, and throwing her arms
+around him, who sat at her side, as if she would have
+clung to him for protection. "Is the horrid massacre not
+finished yet? Where is Madeline? where is my cousin? Oh,
+I cannot leave the fort without her."
+
+"Ha! where indeed is she?" exclaimed the youth, as he
+clasped his trembling and scarcely conscious burden to
+his chest, "Almighty God, where is she?" Then, after a
+short pause, and in a voice of tender but exquisite
+anguish, "Clara, my beloved sister, do you not know me?
+It is not Baynton but your brother, who now clasps you
+to his breaking heart."
+
+A deluge of tears was the only answer of the wretched
+girl. They were the first she had shed,--the first marks
+of consciousness she had exhibited. Hitherto her heart
+had been oppressed; every fibre of her brain racked almost
+to bursting, and filled only with ghastly flitting visions
+of the dreadful horrors she had seen perpetrated, she
+had continued, since the moment of her fainting in the
+block-house, as one bereft of all memory of the past, or
+apprehension of the present. But now, the full outpouring
+of her grief relieved her overcharged brain and heart,
+even while the confused images floating before her
+recollection acquired a more tangible and painful character.
+She raised herself a moment from the chest on which her
+burning head reposed, looked steadfastly in the face that
+hung anxiously over her own, and saw indeed that it was
+her brother. She tried to speak, but she could not utter
+a word, for the memory of all that had occurred that
+fatal morning rushed with mountain weight upon her fainting
+spirit, and again she wept, and more bitterly than before.
+
+The young man pressed her in silence to his chest; nor
+was it until she had given full vent to her grief, that
+he ventured to address her on the subject of his own
+immediate sorrows. At length, when she appeared somewhat
+more calm, he observed, in a voice broken by emotion,--
+
+"Clara, dearest, what account have you to give me of
+Madeline? Has she shared the fate of all? or have you
+reason to suppose her life has been spared?"
+
+Another burst of tears succeeded to these questions, for
+coupled with the name of her cousin arose all the horrid
+associations connected with her loss. As soon, however,
+as she could compose herself, she briefly stated all she
+had witnessed of the affair, from the moment when the
+boat of the schooner was seen to meet the strange looking
+object on the water, to that when she had beheld her
+ill-fated cousin borne away apparently lifeless in the
+arms of the tall Indian by whom she had been captured.
+
+During this recital, the heart of Captain de Haldimar,
+--for it was he,--beat audibly against the cheek that
+still reposed on his breast; but when his sister had, in
+a faint voice, closed her melancholy narrative with the
+manner of her cousin's disappearance, he gave a sudden
+start, uttering at the same time an exclamation of joy.
+
+"Thank God, she still lives!" he cried, pressing his
+sister once more in fondness to his heart; then turning
+to his companion, who, although seemingly abstracted,
+had been a silent and attentive witness of the scene,--"By
+Heaven! Valletort, there is yet a hope. She it was indeed
+whom we saw borne out of the fort, and subsequently made
+to walk by the cruel Indian who had charge of her."
+
+"Valletort, Valletort," murmured Clara unconsciously,
+her sick heart throbbing with she knew not what. "How is
+this, Frederick?--Where, then, is Captain Baynton? and
+how came you here?"
+
+"Alas! Clara, poor Baynton is no more. Even at the moment
+when he confided the unconscious burden, preserved at
+the peril of his own life, to the arms of Sir Everard
+here, he fell beneath the tomahawk of a pursuing savage.
+Poor, noble, generous Baynton," he continued, mournfully;
+"to him, indeed, Clara, are you indebted for your life;
+yet was it purchased at the price of his own."
+
+Again the pained and affectionate girl wept bitterly,
+and her brother proceeded:--
+
+"The strange object you saw on the lake, my love, was
+nothing more than a canoe disguised with leafy boughs,
+in which Sir Everard Valletort and myself, under the
+guidance of old Francois of the Fleur de lis, whom you
+must recollect, have made the dangerous passage of the
+Sinclair in the garb of duck hunters,--which latter we
+had only discarded on reaching the schooner, in order to
+assume another we conceived better suited to our purpose.
+Alas!" and he struck his hand violently against his brow,
+"had we made directly for the shore without touching the
+vessel at all, there might have been time to save those
+we came to apprise of their danger. Do you not think
+there was, Valletort?"
+
+"Most assuredly not," returned his companion, anxious to
+remove the impression of self-blame that existed in the
+mind of Captain de Haldimar. "From the moment of our
+reaching the schooner, which lay immediately in our route,
+to that when the shout was raised by the savages as they
+rushed into the fort, there was scarcely an interval of
+three minutes; and it would have required a longer period
+to have enabled us even to gain the shore."
+
+"Thank, thank you for that!" exclaimed the officer,
+drawing himself up with the air of one who breathes more
+freely. "I would not, for the wealth and honours of the
+united world, that such a cause for self-reproach should
+linger on my mind. By Heaven! it would break my heart to
+think we had been in time to save them, and yet had lost
+the opportunity through even one moment of neglect." Then
+turning once more to his sister,--"Now, Clara, that I
+see you in safety, I have another sacred duty to perform.
+I must leave you, but not alone."
+
+"What mean you, Frederick?" exclaimed his agitated sister,
+clinging more closely to his embrace. "Scarce have we
+met, and you talk of leaving me. Oh, whither would you
+go?"
+
+"Surely, my love," and he spoke half reproachfully,
+although with tenderness of accent, "my meaning must be
+obvious. But what do I say? You know it not. Madeline
+still lives. We saw her, as we pulled towards the shore,
+led across the clearing in the direction of Chabouiga.
+Hear me, then: the canoe in which we came is still towing
+from the vessel's stern, and in this do I mean to embark,
+without further loss of time, in search of her who is
+dearer to me than existence. I know," he pursued with
+emotion, "I have but little hope of rescuing, even if I
+do succeed in finding her; but at least I shall not have
+to suffer under the self-reproach of having neglected
+the only chance that now lies within my reach. If she
+be doomed to die, I shall then have nothing left to live
+for--except you, Clara," he concluded, after a pause,
+pressing the weeping girl to his heart, as he remarked
+how much she seemed pained by the declaration.
+
+Having placed his sister once more on the couch, and
+covered her with a cloak that had been brought from the
+cabin of the unfortunate commander, Captain de Haldimar
+now rose from his humble seat, and grasping the hand of
+his friend,--
+
+"Valletort," he said, "I commit this dear girl to your
+keeping. Hitherto we have been equal sharers in an
+enterprise having for its object the preservation of our
+mutual companions and friends. At present, interests of
+a more personal nature occupy my attention; and to these
+must I devote myself alone. I trust you will reach Detroit
+in safety; and when you have delivered my unfortunate
+sister into the arms of her father, you will say to him
+from me, I could not survive the loss of that being to
+whom I had sworn eternal fidelity and affection. Francois
+must be my only companion on this occasion. Nay," he
+continued, pointing to his sister, in answer to the rising
+remonstrance of the baronet," will you desert the precious
+charge I have confided to your keeping? Recollect,
+Valletort," in a more subdued tone, "that besides yourself,
+there will be none near her but rude and uneducated
+sailors;--honest men enough in their way, it is true;
+but not the sort of people to whom I should like to
+confide my poor sister."
+
+The warm and silent pressure by Sir Everard of his hand
+announced his participation in the sentiment; and Captain
+de Haldimar now hastened forward to apprise the Canadian
+of his purpose. He found mine host of the Fleur de lis
+seated in the forecastle of the schooner; and with an
+air of the most perfect unconcern discussing a substantial
+meal, consisting of dried uncooked venison, raw onions,
+and Indian corn bread, the contents of a large bag or
+wallet that lay at his feet. No sooner, however, had the
+impatient officer communicated his design, asking at the
+same time if he might expect his assistance in the
+enterprise, than the unfinished meal of the Canadian was
+discontinued, the wallet refilled, and the large greasy
+clasp-knife with which the portions had been separated,
+closed and thrust into a pocket of his blanket coat.
+
+"I shall go to de devils for you, capitaine, if we must,"
+he said, as he raised his portly form, not without effort,
+from the deck, slapping the shoulder of the officer at
+the same time somewhat rudely with his hand. There was
+nothing, however, offensively familiar in this action.
+It expressed merely the devotedness of heart with which
+the man lent himself to the service to which he had
+pledged himself, and was rather complimentary than
+otherwise to him to whom it was directed. Captain de
+Haldimar took it in the light in which we have just shown
+it, and he grasped and shook the rough hand of the Canadian
+with an earnestness highly gratifying to the latter.
+
+Every thing was now in readiness for their departure.
+The canoe, still covered with its streaming boughs, was
+drawn close up to the gangway, and a few hasty necessaries
+thrown in. While this was passing, the officer had again
+assumed his disguise of a duck-hunter; and he now appeared
+in the blanket costume in which we introduced Sir Everard
+and himself at the opening of this volume.
+
+"If I may be so bold as to put in my oar, your
+honour,"--said the veteran boatswain, on whom the command
+of the schooner had fallen, as he now advanced, rolling
+his quid in his mouth, and dropping his hat on his
+shoulder, while the fingers of the hand which clutched
+it were busily occupied in scratching his bald head,--"if
+I may be so bold, there is another chap here as might
+better sarve your honour's purpose than that 'ere fat
+Canadian, who seems to think only of stuffing while his
+betters are fasting."
+
+"And who is he, my good Mullins?" asked Captain de
+Haldimar.
+
+"Why, that 'ere Ingian, your honour, as began the butchery
+in the fort, yonder, by trying to kill Jack Fuller while
+he laid asleep this morning, waiting for the captain in
+the jolly boat. Jack never seed him coming, until he felt
+his black hands upon his throat, and then he ups with
+the tiller at his noddle, and sends him floundering across
+the boat's thwarts like a flat-fish. I thought, your
+honour, seeing as how I have got the command of the
+schooner, of tying him up to the mainmast, and giving
+him two or three round dozen or so, and then sending him
+to swim among the mascannungy with a twenty-four pound
+shot in his neckcloth; but, seeing as how your honour is
+going among them savages agin, I thought as how some good
+might be done with him, if your honour could contrive to
+keep him in tow, and close under your lee quarter, to
+prevent his escape."
+
+"At all events," returned the officer, after a pause of
+some moments, during which he appeared to be deliberating
+on his course of action, "it may be dangerous to keep
+him in the vessel; and yet, if we take him ashore, he
+may be the means of our more immediate destruction;
+unless, indeed, as you observe, he can be so secured as
+to prevent the possibility of escape: but that I very
+much doubt indeed. Where is he, Mullins? I should like
+to see and question him."
+
+"He shall be up, your honour, in no time," replied the
+sailor, once more resuming his hat, and moving a pace or
+two forward. Then addressing two or three men in the
+starboard gangway in the authoritative tone of command:
+--"Bear a hand there, my men, and cast off the lashings
+of that black Ingian, and send him aft, here, to the
+officer."
+
+The order was speedily executed. In a few minutes the
+Indian stood on the quarter-deck, his hands firmly secured
+behind, and his head sunk upon his chest in sullen
+despondency. In the increasing gloom in which objects
+were now gradually becoming more and more indistinct, it
+was impossible for Captain de Haldimar to distinguish
+his features; but there was something in the outline of
+the Indian's form that impressed him with the conviction
+he had seen it before. Advancing a pace or two forward,
+he pronounced, in an emphatic and audible whisper, the
+name of "Oucanasta!"
+
+The Indian gave an involuntary start,--uttered a deep
+interjectional "Ugh!"--and, raising his head from his
+chest, fixed his eye heavily on the officer.
+
+"Hookynaster!--Hookynaster!" growled Jack Fuller, who
+had followed to hear the examination of his immediate
+captive: "why, your honour, that jaw-breaking name reminds
+me as how the chap had a bit of a paper when I chucked
+him into the jolly boat, stuck in his girdle. It was
+covered over with pencil-marks, as writing like; but all
+was rubbed out agin, except some such sort of a name as
+that."
+
+"Where is it?--what have you done with it?" hastily asked
+Captain de Haldimar.
+
+"Here, in my backy-box, your honour. I kept it safe,
+thinking as how it might sarve to let us know all about
+it afterwards."
+
+The sailor now drew from the receptacle just named a
+dirty piece of folded paper, deeply impregnated with the
+perfume of stale and oft rechewed quids of coarse tobacco;
+and then, with the air of one conscious of having "rendered
+the state some service," hitched up his trowsers with
+one hand, while with the other he extended the important
+document.
+
+To glance his eye hurriedly over the paper by the light
+of a dark lanthorn that had meanwhile been brought upon
+deck, unclasp his hunting-knife, and divide the ligatures
+of the captive, and then warmly press his liberated hands
+within his own, were, with Captain de Haldimar, but the
+work of a minute.
+
+"Hilloa! which the devil way does the wind blow now?"
+muttered Fuller, the leer of self-satisfaction that had
+hitherto played in his eye rapidly giving place to an
+air of seriousness and surprise; an expression that was
+not at all diminished by an observation from his new
+commander.
+
+"I tell you what it is, Jack," said the latter,
+impressively; "I don't pretend to have more gumption (qu.
+discernment?) than my messmates; but I can see through
+a millstone as clear as any man as ever heaved a lead in
+these here lakes; and may I never pipe boatswain's whistle
+again, if you 'ar'n't, some how or other, in the wrong
+box. That 'ere Ingian's one of us!"
+
+The feelings of Captain de Haldimar may easily be
+comprehended by our readers, when, on glancing at the
+paper, he found himself confirmed in the impression
+previously made on him by the outline of the captive's
+form. The writing, nearly obliterated by damp, had been
+rudely traced by his own pencil on a leaf torn from his
+pocket-book. In the night of his visit to the Indian
+encampment, and at the moment when, seated on the fatal
+log, Oucanasta had generously promised her assistance in
+at least rescuing his betrothed bride. They were addressed
+to Major de Haldimar, and briefly stated that a treacherous
+plan was in contemplation by the enemy to surprise the
+fort, which the bearer, Oucanasta (the latter word strongly
+marked), would fully explain, if she could possibly obtain
+access within. From the narrative entered into by Clara,
+who had particularly dwelt on the emotions of fear that
+had sprung up in her own and cousin's heart by the sudden
+transformation of a supposed harmless beaver into a fierce
+and threatening savage, he had no difficulty in solving
+the enigma.
+
+The Indian, in whom he had recognised the young chief
+who had saved him from the fury of Wacousta, had evidently
+been won upon by his sister to perform a service which
+offered so much less difficulty to a warrior than to a
+woman; and it was clear, that, finding all other means
+of communication with the fort, undiscovered by his own
+people, impracticable, he had availed himself of the
+opportunity, when he saw the boat waiting on the strand,
+to assume a disguise so well adapted to insure success.
+It was no remarkable thing in these countries, to see
+both the beaver and the otter moving on the calm surface
+of the waters in the vicinity of the forts, even at
+mid-day; and occupied as the Indians were, to a man, at
+that moment with their cruel projects, it was by no means
+likely that their attention should have been called off
+from these to so apparently unimportant a circumstance.
+The act that had principally alarmed the cousins, and
+terminated, as we have seen, in the sudden attack of the
+sailor, had evidently been misconceived. The hand supposed
+to be feeling for the heart of the sluggard, had, in all
+probability, been placed on his chest with a view to
+arouse him from his slumber; while that which was believed
+to have been dropped to the handle of his knife, was, in
+reality, merely seeking the paper that contained the
+announcement, which, if then delivered, might have saved
+the garrison.
+
+Such was the tram of conjecture that now passed through
+the mind of the officer; but, although he thus placed
+the conduct of the Indian in the most favourable light,
+his impression received no confirmation from the lips of
+the latter. Sullen and doggedly, notwithstanding the
+release from his bonds, the Ottawa hung his head upon
+his chest, with his eyes riveted on the deck, and
+obstinately refused to answer every question put to him
+by his deliverer. This, however, did not the less tend
+to confirm Captain de Haldimar in his belief. He knew
+enough of the Indian character, to understand the indignant
+and even revengeful spirit likely to be aroused by the
+treatment the savage had met with in return for his
+intended services. He was aware that, without pausing to
+reflect on the fact, that the sailor, ignorant of his
+actual purpose, could merely have seen in him an enemy
+in the act of attempting his life, the chief would only
+consider and inflame himself over the recollection of
+the blow inflicted; and that, with the true obstinacy of
+his race, he would rather suffer captivity or death
+itself, than humble the haughty pride of his nature, by
+condescending to an explanation with those by whom he
+felt himself so deeply injured. Still, even amid all his
+own personal griefs,--griefs that rendered the boon in
+some degree at present valueless,--Captain de Haldimar
+could not forget that the youth, no matter by what motive
+induced, had rescued him from a dreadful death on a
+previous occasion. With the generous warmth, therefore,
+of a grateful mind, he now sought to impress on the Indian
+the deep sense of obligation under which he laboured;
+explaining at the same time the very natural error into
+which the sailor had fallen, and concluding with a
+declaration that he was free to quit the vessel in the
+canoe in which he himself was about to take his departure
+for the shore, in search of her whom his sister had
+pledged herself, at all hazards, to save.
+
+The address of the officer, touching and impressive as
+language ever is that comes from the heart, was not
+altogether without effect on the Indian. Several times
+he interrupted him with a short, quick, approving "Ugh!"
+and when he at length received the assurance that he was
+no longer a prisoner, he raised his eyes rapidly, although
+without moving his head, to the countenance of his
+deliverer. Already were his lips opening to speak for
+the first time, when the attention of the group around
+him was arrested by his giving a sudden start of surprise.
+At the same moment he raised his head, stretched his
+neck, threw forward his right ear, and, uttering a loud
+and emphatic "Waugh!" pointed with his finger over the
+bows of the vessel.
+
+All listened for upwards of a minute in mute suspense;
+and then a faint and scarcely distinguishable sound was
+heard in the direction in which he pointed. Scarcely had
+it floated on the air, when a shrill, loud, and prolonged
+cry, of peculiar tendency, burst hurriedly and eagerly
+from the lips of the captive; and, spreading over the
+broad expanse of water, seemed to be re-echoed back from
+every point of the surrounding shore.
+
+Great was the confusion that followed this startling yell
+on the decks of the schooner. "Cut the hell-fiend
+down!"--"Chuck him overboard!"--" We are betrayed!"--"Every
+man to his gun!"--"Put the craft about!" were among the
+numerous exclamations that now rose simultaneously from
+at least twenty lips, and almost drowned the loud shriek
+that burst again from the wretched Clara de Haldimar.
+
+"Stop, Mullins!--Stop, men!" shouted Captain de Haldimar,
+firmly, as the excited boatswain, with two or three of
+his companions,--now advanced with the intention of
+laying violent hands on the Indian. "I will answer for
+his fidelity with my life. If he be false, it will be
+time enough to punish him afterwards; but let us calmly
+await the issue like men. Hear me," he proceeded, as he
+remarked their incredulous, uncertain, and still threatening
+air;--"this Indian saved me from the tomahawks of his
+tribe not a week ago; and, even now, he has become our
+captive in the act of taking a note from me to the
+garrison, to warn them of their danger. But for that
+slumbering fool," he added, bitterly, pointing to Fuller,
+who slept when he should have watched, "your fort would
+not now have been what it is,--a mass of smoking ruins.
+He has an ocean of blood upon his soul, that all the
+waters of the Huron can never wash out!"
+
+Struck by the vehement manner of the officer, and the
+disclosure he had just made, the sailors sunk once more
+into inaction and silence. The boatswain alone spoke.
+
+"I thought, your honour, as how Jack Fuller, who sartainly
+is a better hand at a snooze than a watch, had got into
+a bit of a mess; but, shiver my topsails, if I think it's
+quite fair to blame him, neither, for clapping a stopper
+on the Indian's cable, seeing as how he was expecting a
+shot between wind and water. Still, as the chap turns
+out to be an honest chap, and has saved your honour's
+life above all, I don't much care if I give him a grip.
+Here, old fellow, tip us your fist!"
+
+Without seeming to understand that his cry had been
+productive of general and intense alarm throughout the
+vessel, the Indian had viewed the sudden rushing of the
+crew towards him as an act of gratuitous hostility; and,
+without shrinking from the attack, had once more resumed
+his original air of dogged sullenness. It was evident
+to him, from the discussion going on, that some violence,
+about to be offered to his person, had only been prevented
+by the interference of the officer. With the natural
+haughtiness of his savage nature, he therefore rejected
+the overtures of the sailor, whose hand he had observed
+among the first that were raised against him.
+
+While the angry boatswain was yet rolling his quid within
+his capacious jaws, racking his brain for the strongest
+language wherein to give vent to his indignation, his
+ears were suddenly saluted by a low but clear "Hilloa!"
+from the bows of the schooner.
+
+"Ay, ay!" was the brief response.
+
+"There's something approaching us ahead, on the weather
+fore quarter," continued the same voice, which was that
+of the man on the look-out.
+
+The most profound silence now pervaded the deck. Every
+individual, including Captain de Haldimar and the boatswain,
+had flown to the gangway of the quarter indicated, which
+was on the side occupied by the couch of the unfortunate
+Clara. Presently a noise like that produced by a single
+paddle rapidly dividing the water, was heard by every
+anxious ear. Night had long since thrown her mantle over
+the surrounding waste; and all that was to be seen
+reflected from the bosom of the gradually darkening river,
+scarcely ruffled by the yet incipient breeze, were a few
+straggling stars, that here and there appeared in the
+overcast heavens. Hitherto no object could be discovered
+by those who strained their eyes eagerly and painfully
+through the gloom, although the sounds became at each
+moment more distinct. It was evident the party, guided
+by the noise of the rippling waves that fell from the
+bows of the schooner, was enabled to follow up a course,
+the direct clue to which had been indicated by the cry
+of the captive. Every man stood near his gun on the
+starboard battery, and the burning matches hanging over
+their respective buckets ready to be seized at a moment's
+notice. Still, but little room for apprehension existed;
+for the practised ear of the mariners could easily tell
+that a solitary bark alone approached; and of one, or
+even ten, they entertained no fear. Suddenly, as the
+course of the vessel was now changed a point to windward,
+--a movement that brought her bows more off the adjacent
+shore,--the sound, in which all were more or less
+interested, was heard not more than twenty yards off,
+and in a line with the gangway at which the principal of
+the crew were assembled. In the next minute the low hull
+of a canoe came in sight, and then a tall and solitary
+human figure was seen in the stern, bending alternately
+to the right and to the left, as the paddle was rapidly
+and successively changed from side to side.
+
+Another deep and exulting "Ugh!" was now heaved from the
+chest of the Indian, who stood calmly on the spot on
+which he had first rested, while Fuller prepared a coil
+of rope to throw to the active steersman.
+
+"Avast there, Jack!" growled the boatswain, addressing
+the sailor; "how can the stranger keep the bow of his
+craft on, and grapple at the same time? Just pass one
+end of the coil round your waist, and swing yourself
+gently into her."
+
+The head of the canoe was now near enough for the purpose.
+The sailor did as he was desired, having previously
+divested himself of his shoes, and leaping forward,
+alighted on what appeared to be a bundle of blankets
+stowed away in her bows. No sooner, however, had he
+secured his footing, when with another desperate leap,
+and greatly to the astonishment of all around, he bounded
+once more to the deck of the schooner, his countenance
+exhibiting every mark of superstitious alarm. In the act
+of quitting the canoe he had spurned her violently several
+feet from the vessel, which the silent steersman was
+again making every effort to reach.
+
+"Why what the devil's the matter with you now?" exclaimed
+the rough boatswain, who, as well as Captain de Haldimar
+and the rest of the crew, had quitted the gangway to
+learn the cause of this extraordinary conduct. "Damn my
+eyes, if you ar'n't worse scared than when the Ingian
+stood over you in the jolly boat."
+
+"Scared, ay, to be sure I am; and so would you be scared
+too, if you'd a see'd what I did. May I never touch the
+point at Portsmouth, if I a'n't seen her ghost."
+
+"Where?--whose ghost?--what ghost?--what do you mean,
+Jack?" exclaimed several of the startled men in the same
+breath, while the superstitious dread so common to mariners
+drew them still closer in the group that encircled their
+companion.
+
+"Well, then, as I am a miserable sinner," returned the
+man, impressively, and in a low tone, "I see'd in the
+bows of the canoe,--and the hand that steered it was not
+made of flesh and blood like ours,--what do you think?--
+the ghost of---"
+
+Captain de Haldimar heard no more. At a single bound he
+had gained the ship's side. He strained his eyes anxiously
+over the gangway in search of the canoe, but it was gone.
+A death-like silence throughout the deck followed the
+communication of the sailor, and in that pause the sound
+of the receding boat could be heard, not urged, as it
+had approached, by one paddle, but by two. The heart of
+the officer throbbed almost to suffocation; and his
+firmness, hitherto supported by the manly energies of
+his nature, now failed him quite. Heedless of appearances,
+regardless of being overlooked, he tottered like a drunken
+man for support against the mainmast. For a moment or
+two he leant his head upon his hand, with the air of one
+immersed in the most profound abstraction; while the
+crew, at once alarmed and touched by the deep distress
+into which this mysterious circumstance had plunged him,
+stood silently and respectfully watching his emotion.
+Suddenly he started from his attitude of painful repose,
+like one awaking from a dream, and demanded what had
+become of the Indian.
+
+Every one looked around, but the captive was nowhere to
+be seen. Search was made below, both in the cabin and in
+the fore decks, and men were sent up aloft to see if he
+had secreted himself in the rigging; but all returned,
+stating he was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared
+from the vessel altogether, yet no one knew how; for he
+had not been observed to stir from the spot on which he
+had first planted himself. It was plain, however, he had
+joined the mysterious party in the canoe, from the fact
+of the second paddle having been detected; and all attempts
+at pursuit, without endangering the vessel on the shallows,
+whither the course of the fugitives was now directed,
+was declared by the boatswain utterly impracticable.
+
+The announcement of the Indian's disappearance seemed to
+put the climax to the despair of the unfortunate officer.
+--"Then is our every hope lost!" he groaned aloud, as,
+quitting the centre of the vessel, he slowly traversed
+the deck, and once more stood at the side of his no less
+unhappy and excited sister. For a moment or two he remained
+with his arms folded across his chest, gazing on the dark
+outline of her form; and then, in a wild paroxysm of
+silent tearless grief, threw himself suddenly on the edge
+of the couch, and clasping her in a long close embrace
+to his audibly beating heart, lay like one bereft of all
+sense and consciousness of surrounding objects.
+
+
+
+
+END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+WACOUSTA;
+  or
+THE PROPHECY.
+
+Volume Three of Three
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The night passed away without further event on board the
+schooner, yet in all the anxiety that might be supposed
+incident to men so perilously situated. Habits of long-since
+acquired superstition, too powerful to be easily shaken
+off, moreover contributed to the dejection of the mariners,
+among whom there were not wanting those who believed the
+silent steersman was in reality what their comrade had
+represented,--an immaterial being, sent from the world
+of spirits to warn them of some impending evil. What
+principally gave weight to this impression were the
+repeated asseverations of Fuller, during the sleepless
+night passed by all on deck, that what he had seen was
+no other, could be no other, than a ghost! exhibiting in
+its hueless, fleshless cheek, the well-known lineaments
+of one who was supposed to be no more: and, if the story
+of their comrade had needed confirmation among men in
+whom faith in, rather than love for, the marvellous was
+a constitutional ingredient, the terrible effect that
+seemed to have been produced on Captain de Haldimar by
+the same mysterious visitation would have been more than
+conclusive. The very appearance of the night, too,
+favoured the delusion. The heavens, comparatively clear
+at the moment when the canoe approached the vessel, became
+suddenly enveloped in the deepest gloom at its departure,
+as if to enshroud the course of those who, having so
+mysteriously approached, had also so unaccountably
+disappeared. Nor had this threatening state of the
+atmosphere the counterbalancing advantage of storm and
+tempest to drive them onward through the narrow waters
+of the Sinclair, and enable them, by anticipating the
+pursuit of their enemies, to shun the Scylla and Charybdis
+that awaited their more leisure advance. The wind increased
+not; and the disappointed seamen remarked, with dismay,
+that their craft scarcely made more progress than at the
+moment when she first quitted her anchorage.
+
+It was now near the first hours of day; and although,
+perhaps, none slept, there were few who were not apparently
+at rest, and plunged in the most painful reflections.
+Still occupying her humble couch, and shielded from the
+night air merely by the cloak that covered her own
+blood-stained garments, lay the unhappy Clara, her deep
+groans and stifled sobs bursting occasionally from her
+pent-up heart, and falling on the ears of the mariners
+like sounds of fearful import, produced by the mysterious
+agency that already bore such undivided power over their
+thoughts. On the bare deck, at her side, lay her brother,
+his face turned upon the planks, as if to shut out all
+objects from eyes he had not the power to close; and,
+with one arm supporting his heavy brow, while the other,
+cast around the restless form of his beloved sister,
+seemed to offer protection and to impart confidence, even
+while his lips denied the accents of consolation. Seated
+on an empty hen-coop at their head, was Sir Everard
+Valletort, his back reposing against the bulwarks of the
+vessel, his arms folded across his chest, and his eyes
+bent mechanically on the man at the helm, who stood within
+a few paces of him,--an attitude of absorption, which
+he, ever and anon, changed to one of anxious and enquiring
+interest, whenever the agitation of Clara was manifested
+in the manner already shown.
+
+The main deck and forecastle of the vessel presented a
+similar picture of mingled unquietness and repose. Many
+of the seamen might be seen seated on the gun-carriages,
+with their cheeks pressing the rude metal that served
+them for a pillow. Others lay along the decks, with their
+heads resting on the elevated hatches; while not a few,
+squatted on their haunches with their knees doubled up
+to their very chins, supported in that position the aching
+head that rested between their rough and horny palms.
+A first glance might have induced the belief that all
+were buried in the most profound slumber; but the quick
+jerking of a limb,--the fitful, sudden shifting of a
+position,--the utter absence of that deep breathing which
+indicates the unconsciousness of repose, and the occasional
+spirting of tobacco juice upon the deck,--all these
+symptoms only required to be noticed, to prove the living
+silence that reigned throughout was not born either of
+apathy or sleep.
+
+At the gangway at which the canoe had approached now
+stood the individual already introduced to our readers
+as Jack Fuller. The same superstitious terror that caused
+his flight had once more attracted him to the spot where
+the subject of his alarm first appeared to him; and,
+without seeming to reflect that the vessel, in her slow
+but certain progress, had left all vestige of the mysterious
+visitant behind, he continued gazing over the bulwarks
+on the dark waters, as if he expected at each moment to
+find his sight stricken by the same appalling vision. It
+was at the moment when he had worked up his naturally
+dull imagination to its highest perception of the
+supernatural, that he was joined by the rugged boatswain,
+who had passed the greater part of the night in pacing
+up and down the decks, watching the aspect of the heavens,
+and occasionally tauting a rope or squaring a light yard,
+unassisted, as the fluttering of the canvass in the wind
+rendered the alteration necessary.
+
+"Well, Jack!" bluntly observed the latter in a gruff
+whisper that resembled the suppressed growling of a
+mastiff, "what the hell are ye thinking of now?--Not got
+over your flumbustification yet, that ye stand here,
+looking as sanctified as an old parson!"
+
+"I'll tell ye what it is, Mr. Mullins," returned the
+sailor, in the same key; "you may make as much game on
+me as you like; but these here strange sort of doings
+are somehow quizzical; and, though I fears nothing in
+the shape of flesh and blood, still, when it comes to
+having to do with those as is gone to Davy Jones's locker
+like, it gives a fellow an all-overishness as isn't quite
+the thing. You understand me?"
+
+"I'm damned if I do!" was the brief but energetic rejoinder.
+
+"Well, then," continued Fuller, "if I must out with it,
+I must. I think that 'ere Ingian must have been the devil,
+or how could he come so sudden and unbeknownst upon me,
+with the head of a 'possum: and then, agin, how could he
+get away from the craft without our seeing him? and how
+came the ghost on board of the canoe?"
+
+"Avast there, old fellow; you means not the head of a
+'possum, but a beaver: but that 'ere's all nat'r'l enough,
+and easily 'counted for; but you hav'n't told us whose
+ghost it was, after all."
+
+"No; the captain made such a spring to the gunwale, as
+frighted it all out of my head: but come closer, Mr.
+Mullins, and I'll whisper it in your ear.--Hark! what
+was that?"
+
+"I hears nothing," said the boatswain, after a pause.
+
+"It's very odd," continued Fuller; "but I thought as how
+I heard it several times afore you came."
+
+"There's something wrong, I take it, in your upper story,
+Jack Fuller," coolly observed his companion; "that 'ere
+ghost has quite capsized you."
+
+"Hark, again!" repeated the sailor. "Didn't you hear it
+then? A sort of a groan like."
+
+"Where, in what part?" calmly demanded the boatswain,
+though in the same suppressed tone in which the dialogue
+had been, carried on.
+
+"Why, from the canoe that lies alongside there. I heard
+it several times afore."
+
+"Well, damn my eyes, if you a'rn't turned a real coward
+at last," politely remarked Mr. Mullins. "Can't the poor
+fat devil of a Canadian snooze a bit in his hammock,
+without putting you so completely out of your reckoning?"
+
+"The Canadian--the Canadian!" hurriedly returned Fuller:
+"why, don't you see him there, leaning with his back to
+the main-mast, and as fast asleep as if the devil himself
+couldn't wake him?"
+
+"Then it was the devil, you heard, if you like," quaintly
+retorted Mullins: "but bear a hand, and tell us all about
+this here ghost."
+
+"Hark, again! what was that?" once more enquired the
+excited sailor.
+
+"Only a gust of wind passing through the dried boughs of
+the canoe," said the boatswain: "but since we can get
+nothing out of that crazed noddle of yours, see if you
+can't do something with your hands. That 'ere canoe
+running alongside, takes half a knot off the ship's way.
+Bear a hand then, and cast off the painter, and let her
+drop astarn, that she may follow in our wake. Hilloa!
+what the hell's the matter with the man now?"
+
+And well might he ask. With his eyeballs staring, his
+teeth chattering, his body half bent, and his arms thrown
+forward, yet pendent as if suddenly arrested in that
+position while in the act of reaching the rope, the
+terrified sailor stood gazing on the stern of the canoe;
+in which, by the faint light of the dawning day, was to
+be seen an object well calculated to fill the least
+superstitious heart with terror and dismay. Through an
+opening in the foliage peered the pale and spectral face
+of a human being, with its dull eyes bent fixedly and
+mechanically upon the vessel. In the centre of the wan
+forehead was a dark incrustation, as of blood covering
+the superficies of a newly closed wound. The pallid mouth
+was partially unclosed, so as to display a row of white
+and apparently lipless teeth; and the features were
+otherwise set and drawn, as those of one who is no longer
+of earth. Around the head was bound a covering so close,
+as to conceal every part save the face; and once or twice
+a hand was slowly raised, and pressed upon the blood spot
+that dimmed the passing fairness of the brow. Every other
+portion of the form was invisible.
+
+"Lord have mercy upon us!" exclaimed the boatswain, in
+a voice that, now elevated to more than its natural tone,
+sounded startlingly on the stillness of the scene; "sure
+enough it is, indeed, a ghost!"
+
+"Ha! do you believe me now?" returned Fuller, gaining
+confidence from the admission of his companion, and in
+the same elevated key. "It is, as I hope to be saved,
+the ghost I see'd afore."
+
+The commotion on deck was now every where universal. The
+sailors started to their feet, and, with horror and alarm
+visibly imprinted on their countenances, rushed tumultuously
+towards the dreaded gangway.
+
+"Make way--room, fellows!" exclaimed a hurried voice;
+and presently Captain de Haldimar, who had bounded like
+lightning from the deck, appeared with eager eye and
+excited cheek among them. To leap into the bows of the
+canoe, and disappear under the foliage, was the work of
+a single instant. All listened breathlessly for the
+slightest sound; and then every heart throbbed with the
+most undefinable emotions, as his lips were heard giving
+utterance to the deep emotion of his own spirit,--
+
+"Madeline, oh, my own lost Madeline!" he exclaimed with
+almost frantic energy of passion: "do I then press you
+once more in madness to my doting heart? Speak, speak to
+me--for God's sake speak, or I shall go mad! Air, air,
+--she wants air only--she cannot be dead."
+
+These last words were succeeded by the furious rending
+asunder of the fastenings that secured the boughs, and
+presently the whole went overboard, leaving revealed the
+tall and picturesque figure of the officer; whose left
+arm encircled while it supported the reclining and
+powerless form of one who well resembled, indeed, the
+spectre for which she had been mistaken, while his right
+hand was busied in detaching the string that secured a
+portion of the covering round her throat. At length it
+fell from her shoulders; and the well known form of
+Madeline de Haldimar, clad even in the vestments in which
+they had been wont to see her, met the astonished gaze
+of the excited seamen. Still there were some who doubted
+it was the corporeal woman whom they beheld; and several
+of the crew who were catholics even made the sign of the
+cross as the supposed spirit was now borne up the gangway
+in the arms of the pained yet gratified De Haldimar: nor
+was it until her feet were seen finally resting on the
+deck, that Jack Fuller could persuade himself it was
+indeed Miss de Haldimar, and not her ghost, that lay
+clasped to the heart of the officer.
+
+With the keen rush of the morning air upon her brow
+returned the suspended consciousness of the bewildered
+Madeline. The blood came slowly and imperceptibly to her
+cheek; and her eyes, hitherto glazed, fixed, and
+inexpressive, looked enquiringly, yet with stupid
+wonderment, around. She started from the embrace of her
+lover, gazed alternately at his disguise, at himself,
+and at Clara; and then passing her hand several times
+rapidly across her brow, uttered an hysteric scream, and
+threw herself impetuously forward on the bosom of the
+sobbing girl; who, with extended arms, parted lips, and
+heaving bosom, sat breathlessly awaiting the first dawn
+of the returning reason of her more than sister.
+
+We should vainly attempt to paint all the heart-rending
+misery of the scene exhibited in the gradual restoration
+of Miss de Haldimar to her senses. From a state of torpor,
+produced by the freezing of every faculty into almost
+idiocy, she was suddenly awakened to all the terrors of
+the past and the deep intonations of her rich voice were
+heard only in expressions of agony, that entered into
+the most iron-hearted of the assembled seamen; while they
+drew from the bosom of her gentle and sympathising cousin
+fresh bursts of desolating grief. Imagination itself
+would find difficulty in supplying the harrowing effect
+upon all, when, with upraised hands, and on her bended
+knees, her large eyes turned wildly up to heaven, she
+invoked in deep and startling accents the terrible
+retribution of a just God on the inhuman murderers of
+her father, with whose life-blood her garments were
+profusely saturated; and then, with hysteric laughter,
+demanded why she alone had been singled out to survive
+the bloody tragedy. Love and affection, hitherto the
+first principles of her existence, then found no entrance
+into her mind. Stricken, broken-hearted, stultified to
+all feeling save that of her immediate wretchedness, she
+thought only of the horrible scenes through which she
+had passed; and even he, whom at another moment she could
+have clasped in an agony of fond tenderness to her beating
+bosom,--he to whom she had pledged her virgin faith, and
+was bound by the dearest of human ties,--he whom she had
+so often longed to behold once more, and had thought of,
+the preceding day, with all the tenderness of her
+impassioned and devoted soul,--even he did not, in the
+first hours of her terrible consciousness, so much as
+command a single passing regard. All the affections were
+for a period blighted in her bosom. She seemed as one
+devoted, without the power of resistance, to a grief
+which calcined and preyed upon all other feelings of the
+mind. One stunning and annihilating reflection seemed to
+engross every principle of her being; nor was it for
+hours after she had been restored to life and recollection
+that a deluge of burning tears, giving relief to her
+heart and a new direction to her feelings, enabled her
+at length to separate the past from, and in some degree
+devote herself to, the present. Then, indeed, for the
+first time did she perceive and take pleasure in the
+presence of her lover; and clasping her beloved and
+weeping Clara to her heart, thank her God, in all the
+fervour of true piety, that she at least had been spared
+to shed a ray of comfort on her distracted spirit. But
+we will not pain the reader by dwelling on a scene that
+drew tears even from the rugged and flint-nerved boatswain
+himself; for, although we should linger on it with minute
+anatomical detail, no powers of language we possess could
+convey the transcript as it should be. Pass we on,
+therefore, to the more immediate incidents of our narrative.
+
+The day now rapidly developing, full opportunity was
+afforded the mariners to survey the strict nature of
+their position. To all appearance they were yet in the
+middle of the lake, for around them lay the belting sweep
+of forest that bounded the perspective of the equidistant
+circle, of which their bark was the focus or immediate
+centre. The wind was dying gradually away, and when at
+length the sun rose, in all his splendour, there was
+scarce air enough in the heavens to keep the sails from
+flapping against the masts, or to enable the vessel to
+obey her helm. In vain was the low and peculiar whistle
+of the seamen heard, ever and anon, in invocation of the
+departing breeze. Another day, calm and breathless as
+the preceding, had been chartered from the world of light;
+and their hearts failed them, as they foresaw the difficulty
+of their position, and the almost certainty of their
+retreat being cut off. It was while labouring under the
+disheartening consciousness of danger, peculiar to all,
+that the anxious boatswain summoned Captain de Haldimar
+and Sir Everard Valletort, by a significant beck of the
+finger, to the side of the deck opposite to that on which
+still lay the suffering and nearly broken-hearted girls.
+
+"Well, Mullins, what now?" enquired the former, as he
+narrowly scanned the expression of the old man's features:
+"that clouded brow of yours, I fear me, bodes no agreeable
+information."
+
+"Why, your honour, I scarcely knows what to say about
+it; but seeing as I'm the only officer in the ship, now
+our poor captain is killed, God bless him! I thought I
+might take the liberty to consult with your honours as
+to the best way of getting out of the jaws of them sharks
+of Ingians; and two heads, as the saying is, is always
+better than one."
+
+"And now you have the advantage of three," observed the
+officer, with a sickly smile; "but I fear, Mullins, that
+if your own be not sufficient for the purpose, ours will
+be of little service. You must take counsel from your
+own experience and knowledge of nautical matters."
+
+"Why, to be sure, your honour," and the sailor rolled
+his quid from one cheek to the other, "I think I may say
+as how I'll venture to steer the craft with any man on
+the Canada lakes, and bring her safe into port too; but
+seeing as how I'm only a petty officer, and not yet
+recommended by his worship the governor for the full
+command, I thought it but right to consult with my
+superiors, not as to the management of the craft, but
+the best as is to be done. What does your honour think
+of making for the high land over the larboard bow yonder,
+and waiting for the chance of the night-breeze to take
+us through the Sinclair?"
+
+"Do whatever you think best," returned the officer. "For
+my part, I scarcely can give an opinion. Yet how are we
+to get there? There does not appear to be a breath of
+wind."
+
+"Oh, that's easily managed; we have only to brail and
+furl up a little, to hide our cloth from the Ingians,
+and then send the boats a-head to tow the craft, while
+some of us lend a hand at her own sweeps. We shall get
+close under the lee of the land afore night, and then we
+must pull up agin along shore, until we get within a mile
+or so of the head of the river."
+
+"But shall we not be seen by our enemies?" asked Sir
+Everard; "and will they not be on the watch for our
+movements, and intercept our retreat?"
+
+"Now that's just the thing, your honour, as they're not
+likely to do, if so be as we bears away for yon headlands.
+I knows every nook and sounding round the lake; and odd
+enough if I didn't, seeing as how the craft circumnavigated
+it, at least, a dozen times since we have been cooped up
+here. Poor Captain Danvers! (may the devil damn his
+murderers, I say, though it does make a commander of me
+for once;) he used always to make for that 'ere point,
+whenever he wished to lie quiet; for never once did we
+see so much as a single Ingian on the headland. No, your
+honour, they keeps all at t'other side of the lake, seeing
+as how that is the main road from Mackina' to Detroit."
+
+"Then, by all means, do so," eagerly returned Captain de
+Haldimar. "Oh, Mullins! take us but safely through, and
+if the interest of my father can procure you a king's
+commission, you shall not want it, believe me."
+
+"And if half my fortune can give additional stimulus to
+exertion, it shall be shared, with pleasure, between
+yourself and crew," observed Sir Everard.
+
+"Thank your honours,--thank your honours," said the
+boatswain, somewhat electrified by these brilliant offers.
+"The lads may take the money, if they like; all I cares
+about is the king's commission. Give me but a swab on my
+shoulder, and the money will come fast enough of itself.
+But, still, shiver my topsails, if I wants any bribery
+to make me do my duty; besides, if 'twas only for them
+poor girls alone, I would go through fire and water to
+sarve them. I'm not very chicken-hearted in my old age,
+your honours, but I don't recollect the time when I
+blubbered so much as I did when Miss Madeline come aboard.
+But I can't bear to think of it; and now let us see and
+get all ready for towing."
+
+Every thing now became bustle and activity on board the
+schooner. The matches, no longer required for the moment,
+were extinguished, and the heavy cutlasses and pistols
+unbuckled from the loins of the men, and deposited near
+their respective guns. Light forms flew aloft, and,
+standing out upon the yards, loosely furled the sails
+that had previously been hauled and clewed up; but, as
+this was an operation requiring little time in so small
+a vessel, those who were engaged in it speedily glided
+to the deck again, ready for a more arduous service.
+The boats had, meanwhile, been got forward, and into
+these the sailors sprang, with an alacrity that could
+scarcely have been expected from men who had passed not
+only the preceding night, but many before it, in utter
+sleeplessness and despair. But the imminence of the
+danger, and the evident necessity existing for exertion,
+aroused them to new energy; and the hitherto motionless
+vessel was now made to obey the impulse given by the tow
+ropes of the boats, in a manner that proved their crews
+to have entered on their toil with the determination of
+men, resolved to devote themselves in earnest to their
+task. Nor was the spirit of action confined to these.
+The long sweeps of the schooner had been shipped, and
+such of the crew as remained on board laboured effectually
+at them,--a service, in which they were essentially aided,
+not only by mine host of the Fleur de lis, but by the
+young officers themselves.
+
+At mid-day the headlands were seen looming largely in
+the distance, while the immediate shores of the ill-fated
+fortress were momentarily, and in the same proportion,
+disappearing under the dim line of horizon in the rear.
+More than half their course, from the spot whence they
+commenced towing, had been completed, when the harassed
+men were made to quit their oars, in order to partake of
+the scanty fare of the vessel, consisting chiefly of
+dried bear's meat and venison. Spirit of any description
+they had none; but, unlike their brethren of the Atlantic,
+when driven to extremities in food, they knew not what
+it was to poison the nutritious properties of the latter
+by sipping the putrid dregs of the water-cask, in quantities
+scarce sufficient to quench the fire of their parched
+palates. Unslaked thirst was a misery unknown to the
+mariners of these lakes: it was but to cast their buckets
+deep into the tempting element, and water, pure, sweet,
+and grateful as any that ever bubbled from the moss-clad
+fountain of sylvan deity, came cool and refreshing to
+their lips, neutralising, in a measure, the crudities of
+the coarsest food. It was to this inestimable advantage
+the crew of the schooner had been principally indebted
+for their health, during the long series of privation,
+as far as related to fresh provisions and rest, to which
+they had been subjected. All appeared as vigorous in
+frame, and robust in health, as at the moment when they
+had last quitted the waters of the Detroit; and but for
+the inward sinking of the spirit, reflected in many a
+bronzed and furrowed brow, there was little to show they
+had been exposed to any very extraordinary trials.
+
+Their meal having been hastily dispatched, and sweetened
+by a draught from the depths of the Huron, the seamen
+once more sprang into their boats, and devoted themselves,
+heart and soul, to the completion of their task, pulling
+with a vigour that operated on each and all with a tendency
+to encouragement and hope. At length the vessel, still
+impelled by her own sweeps, gradually approached the
+land; and at rather more than an hour before sunset was
+so near that the moment was deemed arrived when, without
+danger of being perceived, she might be run up along the
+shore to the point alluded to by the boatswain. Little
+more than another hour was occupied in bringing her to
+her station; and the red tints of departing day were
+still visible in the direction of the ill-fated fortress
+of Michilimackinac, when the sullen rumbling of the cable,
+following the heavy splash of the anchor, announced the
+place of momentary concealment had been gained.
+
+The anchorage lay between two projecting headlands; to
+the outermost extremities of which were to be seen,
+overhanging the lake, the stately birch and pine, connected
+at their base by an impenetrable brushwood, extending to
+the very shore, and affording the amplest concealment,
+except from the lake side and the banks under which the
+schooner was moored. From the first quarter, however,
+little danger was incurred, as any canoes the savages
+might send in discovery of their course, must unavoidably
+be seen the moment they appeared over the line of the
+horizon, while, on the contrary, their own vessel, although
+much larger, resting on and identified with the land,
+must be invisible, except on a very near approach. In
+the opposite direction they were equally safe; for, as
+Mullins had truly remarked, none, save a few wandering
+hunters, whom chance occasionally led to the spot, were
+to be met with in a part of the country that lay so
+completely out of the track of communication between the
+fortresses. It was, however, but to double the second
+headland in their front, and they came within view of
+the Sinclair, the head of which was situated little more
+than a league beyond the spot where they now lay. Thus
+secure for the present, and waiting only for the rising
+of the breeze, of which the setting sun had given promise,
+the sailors once more snatched their hasty refreshment,
+while two of their number were sent aloft to keep a
+vigilant look-out along the circuit embraced by the
+enshrouding headlands.
+
+During the whole of the day the cousins had continued on
+deck clasped in each other's arms, and shedding tears of
+bitterness, and heaving the most heart-rending sobs at
+intervals, yet but rarely conversing. The feelings of
+both were too much oppressed to admit of the utterance
+of their grief. The vampire of despair had banqueted on
+their hearts. Their vitality had been sucked, as it were,
+by its cold and bloodless lips; and little more than the
+withered rind, that had contained the seeds of so many
+affections, had been left. Often had Sir Everard and De
+Haldimar paused momentarily from the labour of their
+oars, to cast an eye of anxious solicitude on the scarcely
+conscious girls, wishing, rather than expecting, to find
+the violence of their desolation abated, and that, in
+the full expansion of unreserved communication, they were
+relieving their sick hearts from the terrible and crushing
+weight of woe that bore them down. Captain de Haldimar
+had even once or twice essayed to introduce the subject
+himself, in the hope that some fresh paroxysm, following
+their disclosures, would remove the horrible stupefaction
+of their senses; but the wild look and excited manner of
+Madeline, whenever he touched on the chord of her
+affliction, had as often caused him to desist.
+
+Towards the evening, however, her natural strength of
+character came in aid of his quiescent efforts to soothe
+her; and she appeared not only more composed, but more
+sensible of the impression produced by surrounding objects.
+As the last rays of the sun were tinging the horizon,
+she drew up her form in a sitting position against the
+bulwarks, and, raising her clasped hands to heaven, while
+her eyes were bent long and fixedly on the distant west,
+appeared for some minutes wholly lost in that attitude
+of absorption. Then she closed her eyes; and through the
+swollen lids came coursing, one by one, over her quivering
+cheek, large tears, that seemed to scald a furrow where
+they passed. After this she became more calm--her
+respiration more free; and she even consented to taste
+the humble meal which the young man now offered for the
+third time. Neither Clara nor herself had eaten food
+since the preceding morning; and the weakness of their
+frames contributed not a little to the increasing
+despondency of their spirits; but, notwithstanding several
+attempts previously made, they had rejected what was
+offered them, with insurmountable loathing. When they
+had now swallowed a few morsels of the sliced venison
+ham, prepared with all the delicacy the nearly exhausted
+resources of the vessel could supply, accompanied by a
+small portion of the cornbread of the Canadian, Captain
+de Haldimar prevailed on them to swallow a few drops of
+the spirit that still remained in the canteen given them
+by Erskine on their departure from Detroit. The genial
+liquid sent a kindling glow to their chilled hearts, and
+for a moment deadened the pungency of their anguish; and
+then it was that Miss de Haldimar entered briefly on the
+horrors she had witnessed, while Clara, with her arm
+encircling her waist, fixed her dim and swollen eyes,
+from which a tear ever and anon rolled heavily to her
+lap, on those of her beloved cousin,
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Without borrowing the affecting language of the unhappy
+girl--a language rendered even more touching by the
+peculiar pathos of her tones, and the searching agony of
+spirit that burst at intervals through her narrative--
+we will merely present our readers with a brief summary
+of what was gleaned from her melancholy disclosure. On
+bearing her cousin to the bedroom, after the terrifying
+yell first heard from without the fort, she had flown
+down the front stairs of the blockhouse, in the hope of
+reaching the guardroom in time to acquaint Captain Baynton
+with what she and Clara had witnessed from their window.
+Scarcely, however, had she gained the exterior of the
+building, when she saw that officer descending from a
+point of the rampart immediately on her left, and almost
+in a line with the block-house. He was running to overtake
+and return the ball of the Indian players, which had, at
+that moment, fallen into the centre of the fort, and was
+now rolling rapidly away from the spot on which Miss de
+Haldimar stood. The course of the ball led the pursuing
+officer out of the reach of her voice; and it was not
+until he had overtaken and thrown it again over the
+rampart, she could succeed in claiming his attention. No
+sooner, however, had he heard her hurried statement,
+than, without waiting to take the orders of his commanding
+officer, he prepared to join his guard, and give directions
+for the immediate closing of the gates. But the opportunity
+was now lost. The delay occasioned by the chase and
+recovery of the ball had given the Indians time to approach
+the gates in a body, while the unsuspicious soldiery
+looked on without so much as dreaming to prevent them;
+and Captain Baynton had scarcely moved forward in execution
+of his purpose, when the yelling fiends were seen already
+possessing themselves of the drawbridge, and exhibiting
+every appearance of fierce hostility. Wild, maddened at
+the sight, the almost frantic Madeline, alive only to
+her father's danger, rushed back towards the council-room,
+whence the startling yell from without had already been
+echoed, and where the tramp of feet, and the clashing of
+weapons, were distinguishable.
+
+Cut off from his guard, by the rapid inundation of
+warriors, Captain Baynton had at once seen the futility
+of all attempts to join the men, and his first impression
+evidently had been to devote himself to the preservation
+of the cousins. With this view he turned hastily to Miss
+de Haldimar, and hurriedly naming the back staircase of
+the block-house, urged her to direct her flight to that
+quarter. But the excited girl had neither consideration
+nor fear for herself; she thought only of her father:
+and, even while the fierceness of contest was at its
+height within, she suddenly burst into the council-room.
+The confusion and horror of the scene that met her eyes
+no language can render: blood was flowing in every
+direction, and dying and dead officers, already stripped
+of their scalps, were lying strewed about the room.
+Still the survivors fought with all the obstinacy of
+despair, and many of the Indians had shared the fate of
+their victims. Miss de Haldimar attempted to reach her
+father, then vigorously combating with one of the most
+desperate of the chiefs; but, before she could dart
+through the intervening crowd, a savage seized her by
+the hair, and brandished a tomahawk rapidly over her
+neck. At that moment Captain Baynton sent his glittering
+blade deep into the heart of the Indian, who, relinquishing
+his grasp, fell dead at the feet of his intended victim.
+The devoted officer then threw his left arm round her
+waist, and, parrying with his sword-arm the blows of
+those who sought to intercept his flight, dragged his
+reluctant burden towards the door. Hotly pressed by the
+remaining officers, nearly equal in number, the Indians
+were now compelled to turn and defend themselves in front,
+when Captain Baynton took that opportunity of getting
+once more into the corridor, not, however, without having
+received a severe wound immediately behind the right ear,
+and leaving a skirt and lappel of his uniform in the
+hands of two savages who had successively essayed to
+detain him. At that moment the band without had succeeded
+in forcing open the door of the guard-room; and the
+officer saw, at a glance, there was little time left for
+decision. In hurried and imploring accents he besought
+Miss de Haldimar to forget every thing but her own danger,
+and to summon resolution to tear herself from the scene:
+but prayer and entreaty, and even force, were alike
+employed in vain. Clinging firmly to the rude balustrades,
+she refused to be led up the staircase, and wildly
+resisting all his efforts to detach her hands, declared
+she would again return to the scene of death, in which
+her beloved parent was so conspicuous an actor. While he
+was yet engaged in this fruitless attempt to force her
+from the spot, the door of the council-room was suddenly
+burst open, and a group of bleeding officers, among whom
+was Major de Haldimar, followed by their yelling enemies,
+rushed wildly into the passage, and, at the very foot of
+the stairs where they yet stood, the combat was renewed.
+From that moment Miss de Haldimar lost sight of her
+generous protector. Meanwhile the tumult of execrations,
+and groans, and yells, was at its height; and one by one
+she saw the unhappy officers sink beneath weapons yet
+reeking with the blood of their comrades, until not more
+than three or four, including her father and the commander
+of the schooner, were left. At length Major de Haldimar,
+overcome by exertion, and faint from wounds, while his
+wild eye darted despairingly on his daughter, had his
+sword-arm desperately wounded, when the blade dropped to
+the earth, and a dozen weapons glittered above his head.
+The wild shriek that had startled Clara then burst from
+the agonised heart of her maddened cousin, and she darted
+forward to cover her father's head with her arms. But
+her senses failed her in the attempt; and the last thing
+she recollected was falling over the weltering form of
+Middleton, who pressed her, as she lay there, in the
+convulsive energy of death, to his almost pulseless heart.
+
+A vague consciousness of being raised from the earth,
+and borne rapidly through the air, came over her even in
+the midst of her insensibility, but without any definite
+perception of the present, or recollection of the past,
+until she suddenly, when about midway between the fort
+and the point of wood that led to Chabouiga, opened her
+eyes, and found herself in the firm grasp of an Indian,
+whose features, even in the hasty and fearful glance she
+cast at the countenance, she fancied were not unfamiliar
+to her. Not another human being was to be seen in the
+clearing at that moment; for all the savages, including
+even the women assembled outside, were now within the
+fort assisting in the complex horrors of murder, fire,
+and spoliation. In the wild energy of returning reason
+and despair, the wretched girl struggled violently to
+free herself; and so far with success, that the Indian,
+whose strength was evidently fast failing him, was
+compelled to quit his hold, and suffer her to walk. No
+sooner did Miss de Haldimar feel her feet touching the
+ground, when she again renewed her exertions to free
+herself, and return to the fort; but the Indian held her
+firmly secured by a leathern thong he now attached to
+her waist, and every attempt proved abortive. He was
+evidently much disconcerted at her resistance; and more
+than once she expected, and almost hoped, the tomahawk
+at his side would be made to revenge him for the test to
+which his patience was subjected; but Miss de Haldimar
+looked in vain for the expression of ferocity and impatience
+that might have been expected from him at such a moment.
+There was an air of mournfulness, and even kindness,
+mingled with severity, on his smooth brow that harmonised
+ill with the horrible atrocities in which he had, to all
+appearance, covered as he was with blood, been so recent
+and prominent an actor. The Indian remarked her surprise;
+and then looking hurriedly, yet keenly, around, and
+finding no living being near them, suddenly tore the
+shirt from his chest, and emphatically pronouncing the
+names "Oucanasta," "De Haldimar," disclosed to the still
+struggling captive the bosom of a woman. After which,
+pointing in the direction of the wood, and finally towards
+Detroit, she gave Miss de Haldimar to understand that
+was the course intended to be pursued.
+
+In a moment the resistance of the latter ceased. She at
+once recognised the young Indian woman whom her cousin
+had rescued from death: and aware, as she was, of the
+strong attachment that had subsequently bound her to her
+preserver, she was at no loss to understand how she might
+have been led to devote herself to the rescue of one
+whom, it was probable, she knew to be his affianced wife.
+Once, indeed, a suspicion of a different nature crossed
+her mind; for the thought occurred to her she had only
+been saved from the general doom to be made the victim
+of private revenge--that it was only to glut the jealous
+vengeance of the woman at a more deliberative hour, she
+had been made a temporary captive. The apprehension,
+however, was no sooner formed than extinguished. Bitterly,
+deeply as she had reason to abhor the treachery and
+cunning of the dark race to which her captor belonged,
+there was an expression of openness and sincerity, and
+even imploringness, in the countenance of Oucanasta,
+which, added to her former knowledge of the woman, at
+once set this fear at rest, inducing her to look upon
+her rather in the character of a disinterested saviour,
+than in that of a cruel and vindictive enemy, goaded on
+to the indulgence of malignant hate by a spirit of rivalry
+and revenge. Besides, even were her cruellest fears to
+be realised, what could await her worse than the past?
+If she could even succeed in getting away, it would only
+be to return upon certain death; and death only could
+await her, however refined the tortures accompanying its
+infliction, in the event of her quietly following and
+yielding herself up to the guidance of one who offered
+this slight consolation, at least, that she was of her
+own sex. But Miss de Haldimar was willing to attribute
+more generous motives to the Indian; and fortified in
+her first impression, she signified by signs, that seemed
+to be perfectly intelligible to her companion, she
+appreciated her friendly intentions, and confided wholly
+in her.
+
+No longer checked in her efforts, Oucanasta now directed
+her course towards the wood, still holding the thong that
+remained attached to Miss de Haldimar's waist, probably
+with a view to deceive any individuals from the villages
+on whom they might chance to fall, into a belief that
+the English girl was in reality her prisoner. No sooner,
+however, had they entered the depths of the forest, when,
+instead of following the path that led to Chabouiga,
+Oucanasta took a direction to the left, and then moving
+nearly on a parallel line with the course of the lake,
+continued her flight as rapidly as the rude nature of
+the underwood, and the unpractised feet of her companion,
+would permit. They had travelled in this manner for
+upwards of four hours, without meeting a breathing thing,
+or even so much as exchanging a sound between themselves,
+when, at length, the Indian stopped at the edge of a deep
+cavern-like excavation in the earth, produced by the
+tearing up, by the wild tempest, of an enormous pine.
+Into this she descended, and presently reappeared with
+several blankets, and two light painted paddles. Then
+unloosing the thong from the waist of the exhausted girl,
+she proceeded to disguise her in one of the blankets in
+the manner already shown, securing it over the head,
+throat, and shoulders with the badge of captivity, now
+no longer necessary for her purpose. She then struck off
+at right angles from the course they had previously
+pursued; and in less than twenty minutes both stood on
+the lake shore, apparently at a great distance from the
+point whence they had originally set out. The Indian
+gazed for a moment anxiously before her; and then, with
+an exclamation, evidently meant to convey a sense of
+pleasure and satisfaction, pointed forward upon the lake.
+Miss de Haldimar followed, with eager and aching eyes,
+the direction of her finger, and beheld the well-known
+schooner evidently urging her flight towards the entrance
+of the Sinclair. Oh, how her sick heart seemed ready to
+burst at that moment! When she had last gazed upon it
+was from the window of her favourite apartment; and even
+while she held her beloved Clara clasped fondly in her
+almost maternal embrace, she had dared to indulge the
+fairest images that ever sprung into being at the creative
+call of woman's fancy. How bitter had been the reverse!
+and what incidents to fill up the sad volume of the
+longest life of sorrow and bereavement had not Heaven
+awarded her in lieu! In one short hour the weight of a
+thousand worlds had fallen on and crushed her heart; and
+when and how was the panacea to be obtained to restore
+one moment's cessation from suffering to her agonised
+spirit? Alas! she felt at that moment, that, although
+she should live a thousand years, the bitterness and
+desolation of her grief must remain. From the vessel she
+turned her eyes away upon the distant shore, which it
+was fast quitting, and beheld a column of mingled flame
+and smoke towering far above the horizon, and attesting
+the universal wreck of what had so long been endeared to
+her as her home. And she had witnessed all this, and yet
+had strength to survive it!
+
+The courage of the unhappy girl had hitherto been sustained
+by no effort of volition of her own. From the moment
+when, discovering a friend in Oucanasta, she had yielded
+herself unresistingly to the guidance of that generous
+creature, her feelings had been characterised by an
+obtuseness strongly in contrast with the high excitement
+that had distinguished her previous manner. A dreamy
+recollection of some past horror, it is true, pursued
+her during her rapid and speechless flight; but any
+analysis of the causes conducing to that horror, her
+subjugated faculties were unable to enter upon. Even as
+one who, under the influence of incipient slumber, rejects
+the fantastic images that rise successively and indistinctly
+to the slothful brain, until, at length, they weaken,
+fade, and gradually die away, leaving nothing but a
+formless and confused picture of the whole; so was it
+with Miss de Haldimar. Had she been throughout alive to
+the keen recollections associated with her flight, she
+could not have stirred a foot in furtherance of her own
+safety, even if she would. The mere instinct of
+self-preservation would never have won one so truly
+devoted to the generous purpose of her deliverer, had
+not the temporary stupefaction of her mind prevented all
+desire of opposition. It is true, in the moment of her
+discovery of the sex of Oucanasta, she had been able to
+exercise her reflecting powers; but they were only in
+connection with the present, and wholly abstract and
+separate from the past. She had followed her conductor
+almost without consciousness, and with such deep absorption
+of spirit, that she neither once conjectured whither they
+were going, nor what was to be the final issue of their
+flight. But now, when she stood on the lake shore,
+suddenly awakened, as if by some startling spell, to
+every harrowing recollection, and with her attention
+assisted by objects long endeared, and rendered familiar
+to her gaze--when she beheld the vessel that had last
+borne her across the still bosom of the Huron, fleeing
+for ever from the fortress where her arrival had been so
+joyously hailed--when she saw that fortress itself
+presenting the hideous spectacle of a blackened mass of
+ruins fast crumbling into nothingness--when, in short,
+she saw nothing but what reminded her of the terrific
+past, the madness of reason returned, and the desolation
+of her heart was complete. And then, again, when she
+thought of her generous, her brave, her beloved, and too
+unfortunate father, whom she had seen perish at her
+feet--when she thought of her own gentle Clara, and the
+sufferings and brutalities to which, if she yet lived,
+she must inevitably be exposed, and of the dreadful fate
+of the garrison altogether, the most menial of whom was
+familiar to her memory, brought up, as she had been,
+among them from her childhood--when she dwelt on all
+these things, a faintness, as of death, came over her,
+and she sank without life on the beach. Of what passed
+afterwards she had no recollection. She neither knew how
+she had got into the canoe, nor what means the Indian
+had taken to secure her approach to the schooner. She
+had no consciousness of having been removed to the bark
+of the Canadian, nor did she even remember having risen
+and gazed through the foliage on the vessel at her side;
+but she presumed, the chill air of morning having partially
+restored pulsation, she had moved instinctively from her
+recumbent position to the spot in which her spectre-like
+countenance had been perceived by Fuller. The first moment
+of her returning reason was that when, standing on the
+deck of the schooner, she found herself so unexpectedly
+clasped to the heart of her lover.
+
+Twilight had entirely passed away when Miss de Haldimar
+completed her sad narrative; and already the crew, roused
+to exertion by the swelling breeze, were once more engaged
+in weighing the anchor, and setting and trimming the
+sails of the schooner, which latter soon began to shoot
+round the concealing headland into the opening of the
+Sinclair. A deathlike silence prevailed throughout the
+decks of the little bark, as her bows, dividing the waters
+of the basin that formed its source, gradually immerged
+into the current of that deep but narrow river; so narrow,
+indeed, that from its centre the least active of the
+mariners might have leaped without difficulty to either
+shore. This was the most critical part of the dangerous
+navigation. With a wide sea-board, and full command of
+their helm, they had nothing to fear; but so limited was
+the passage of this river, it was with difficulty the
+yards and masts of the schooner could be kept disengaged
+from the projecting boughs of the dense forest that lined
+the adjacent shores to their very junction with the water.
+The darkness of the night, moreover, while it promised
+to shield them from the observation of the savages,
+contributed greatly to perplex their movements; for such
+was the abruptness with which the river wound itself
+round in various directions, that it required a man
+constantly on the alert at the bows to apprise the helmsman
+of the course he should steer, to avoid collision with
+the shores. Canopies of weaving branches met in various
+directions far above their heads, and through these the
+schooner glided with a silence that might have called up
+the idea of a Stygian freight. Meanwhile, the men stood
+anxiously to their guns, concealing the matches in their
+water-buckets as before; and, while they strained both
+ear and eye through the surrounding; gloom to discover
+the slightest evidence of danger, grasped the handles of
+their cutlasses with a firm hand, ready to unsheathe them
+at the first intimation of alarm.
+
+At the suggestion of the boatswain, who hinted at the
+necessity of having cleared decks, Captain de Haldimar
+had prevailed on his unfortunate relatives to retire to
+the small cabin arranged for their reception; and here
+they were attended by an aged female, who had long followed
+the fortunes of the crew, and acted in the twofold
+character of laundress and sempstress. He himself, with
+Sir Everard, continued on deck watching the progress of
+the vessel with an anxiety that became more intense at
+each succeeding hour. Hitherto their course had been
+unimpeded, save by the obstacles already enumerated; and
+they had now, at about an hour before dawn, gained a
+point that promised a speedy termination to their dangers
+and perplexities. Before them lay a reach in the river,
+enveloped in more than ordinary gloom, produced by the
+continuous weaving of the tops of the overhanging trees;
+and in the perspective, a gleam of relieving light,
+denoting the near vicinity of the lake that lay at the
+opposite extremity of the Sinclair, whose name it also
+bore. This was the narrowest part of the river; and so
+approximate were its shores, that the vessel in her course
+could not fail to come in contact both with the obtruding
+foliage of the forest and the dense bullrushes skirting
+the edge of either bank.
+
+"If we get safe through this here place," said the
+boatswain, in a rough whisper to his anxious and attentive
+auditors," I think as how I'll venture to answer for the
+craft. I can see daylight dancing upon the lake already.
+Ten minutes more and she will be there." Then turning to
+the man at the helm,--"Keep her in the centre of the
+stream, Jim. Don't you see you're hugging the weather
+shore?"
+
+"It would take the devil himself to tell which is the
+centre," growled the sailor, in the same suppressed tone.
+"One might steer with one's eyes shut in such a queer
+place as this and never be no worser off than with them
+open."
+
+"Steady her helm, steady," rejoined Mullins, "it's as
+dark as pitch, to be sure, but the passage is straight
+as an arrow, and with a steady helm you can't miss it.
+Make for the light ahead."
+
+"Abaft there!" hurriedly and loudly shouted the man on
+the look-out at the bows, "there's a tree lying across
+the river, and we're just upon it."
+
+While he yet spoke, and before the boatswain could give
+such instructions as the emergency required, the vessel
+suddenly struck against the obstacle in question; but
+the concussion was not of the violent nature that might
+have been anticipated. The course of the schooner, at no
+one period particularly rapid, had been considerably
+checked since her entrance into the gloomy arch, in the
+centre of which her present accident had occurred; so
+that it was without immediate injury to her hull and
+spars she had been thus suddenly brought to. But this
+was not the most alarming part of the affair. Captain de
+Haldimar and Sir Everard both recollected, that, in making
+the same passage, not forty-eight hours previously, they
+had encountered no obstacle of the kind, and a misgiving
+of danger rose simultaneously to the hearts of each. It
+was, however, a thing of too common occurrence in these
+countries, where storm and tempest were so prevalent and
+partial, to create more than a mere temporary alarm; for
+it was quite as probable the barrier had been interposed
+by some fitful outburst of Nature, as that it arose from
+design on the part of their enemies: and when the vessel
+had continued stationary for some minutes, without the
+prepared and expectant crew discovering the slightest
+indication of attack, the former impression was preserved
+by the officers--at least avowedly to those around.
+
+"Bear a hand, my lads, and cut away," at length ordered
+the boatswain, in a low but clear tone; "half a dozen at
+each end of the stick, and we shall soon clear a passage
+for the craft."
+
+A dozen sailors grasped their axes, and hastened forward
+to execute the command. They sprang lightly from the
+entangled bows of the schooner, and diverging in equal
+numbers moved to either extremity of the fallen tree.
+
+"This is sailing through the heart of the American forest
+with a vengeance," muttered Mullins, whose annoyance at
+their detention was strongly manifested as he paced up
+and down the deck. "Shiver my topsails, if it isn't bad
+enough to clear the Sinclair at any time, much more so
+when one's running for one's life, and not a whisper's
+length from one's enemies. Do you know, Captain," abruptly
+checking his movement, and familiarly placing his hand
+on the shoulder of De Haldimar, "the last time we sailed
+through this very reach I couldn't help telling poor
+Captain Danvers, God rest his soul, what a nice spot it
+was for an Ingian ambuscade, if they had only gumption
+enough to think of it."
+
+"Hark!" said the officer, whose heart, eye, and ear were
+painfully on the alert, "what rustling is that we hear
+overhead?"
+
+"It's Jack Fuller, no doubt, your honour; I sent him up
+to clear away the branches from the main topmast rigging."
+Then raising his head, and elevating his voice, "Hilloa!
+aloft there!"
+
+The only answer was a groan, followed by a deeper commotion
+among the rustling foliage.
+
+"Why, what the devil's the matter with you now, Jack?"
+pursued the boatswain, in a voice of angry vehemence.
+"Are ye scared at another ghost, and be damned to you,
+that ye keep groaning there after that fashion?"
+
+At that moment a heavy dull mass was heard tumbling
+through the upper rigging of the schooner towards the
+deck, and presently a human form fell at the very feet
+of the small group, composed of the two officers and the
+individual who had last spoken.
+
+"A light, a light!" shouted the boatswain; "the foolish
+chap has lost his hold through fear, and ten to one if
+he hasn't cracked his skull-piece for his pains. Quick
+there with a light, and let's see what we can do for him."
+
+The attention of all had been arrested by the sound of
+the falling weight, and as one of the sailors now advanced,
+bearing a dark lantern from below, the whole of the crew,
+with the exception of those employed on the fallen tree,
+gathered themselves in a knot round the motionless form
+of the prostrate man. But no sooner had their eyes
+encountered the object of their interest, when each
+individual started suddenly and involuntarily back, baring
+his cutlass, and drawing forth his pistol, the whole
+presenting a group of countenances strongly marked by
+various shades of consternation and alarm, even while
+their attitudes were those of men prepared for some fierce
+and desperate danger. It was indeed Fuller whom they had
+beheld, but not labouring, as the boatswain had imagined,
+under the mere influence of superstitious fear. He was
+dead, and the blood flowing from a deep wound, inflicted
+by a sharp instrument in his chest, and the scalped head,
+too plainly told the manner of his death, and the danger
+that awaited them all.
+
+A pause ensued, but it was short. Before any one could
+find words to remark on the horrible circumstance, the
+appalling war-cry of the savages burst loudly from every
+quarter upon the ears of the devoted crew. In the
+desperation of the moment, several of the men clutched
+their cutlasses between their teeth, and seizing the
+concealed matches, rushed to their respective stations
+at the guns. It was in vain the boatswain called out to
+them, in a voice of stern authority, to desist, intimating
+that their only protection lay in the reservation of the
+fire of their batteries. Goaded and excited, beyond the
+power of resistance, to an impulse that set all
+subordination at defiance, they applied the matches, and
+almost at the same instant the terrific discharge of both
+broadsides took place, rocking the vessel to the water's
+edge, and reverberating, throughout, the confined space
+in which she lay, like the deadly explosion of some deeply
+excavated mine.
+
+Scarcely had the guns been fired, when the seamen became
+sensible of their imprudence. The echoes were yet
+struggling to force a passage through the dense forest,
+when a second yell of the Indians announced the fiercest
+joy and triumph, unmixed by disaster, at the result; and
+then the quick leaping of many forms could be heard, as
+they divided the crashing underwood, and rushed forward
+to close with their prey. It was evident, from the
+difference of sound, their first cry had been pealed
+forth while lying prostrate on the ground, and secure
+from the bullets, whose harmless discharge that cry was
+intended to provoke; for now the voices seemed to rise
+progressively from the earth, until they reached the
+level of each individual height, and were already almost
+hotly breathing in the ears of those they were destined
+to fill with illimitable dismay.
+
+"Shiver my topsails, but this comes of disobeying orders,"
+roared the boatswain, in a voice of mingled anger and
+vexation. "The Ingians are quite as cunning as ourselves,
+and arn't to be frighted that way. Quick, every cutlass
+and pistol to his gangway, and let's do our best. Pass
+the word forward for the axemen to return to quarters."
+
+Recovered from their first paroxysm of alarm, the men at
+length became sensible of the presence of a directing
+power, which, humble as it was, their long habits of
+discipline had taught them to respect, and, headed on
+the one side by Captain de Haldimar, and on the other by
+Sir Everard Valletort, neither of whom, however, entertained
+the most remote chance of success, flew, as commanded,
+to their respective gangways. The yell of the Indians
+had again ceased, and all was hushed into stillness; but
+as the anxious and quicksighted officers gazed over the
+bulwarks, they fancied they could perceive, even through
+the deep gloom that every where prevailed, the forms of
+men,--resting in cautious and eager attitudes, on the
+very verge of the banks, and at a distance of little more
+than half pistol shot. Every heart beat with expectancy,
+--every eye was riveted intently in front, to watch and
+meet the first movements of their foes, but not a sound
+of approach was audible to the equally attentive ear. In
+this state of aching suspense they might have continued
+about five minutes, when suddenly their hearts were made
+to quail by a third cry, that came, not as previously,
+from the banks of the river, but from the very centre of
+their own decks, and from the top-mast and riggings of
+the schooner. So sudden and unexpected too was this fresh
+danger, that before the two parties had time to turn,
+and assume a new posture of defence, several of them had
+already fallen under the butchering blades of their
+enemies. Then commenced a desperate but short conflict,
+mingled with yellings, that again were answered from
+every point; and rapidly gliding down the pendant ropes,
+were to be seen the active and dusky forms of men, swelling
+the number of the assailants, who had gained the deck in
+the same noiseless manner, until resistance became almost
+hopeless.
+
+"Ha! I hear the footsteps of our lads at last," exclaimed
+Mullins exultingly to his comrades, as he finished
+despatching a third savage with his sturdy weapon. "Quick,
+men, quick, up with hatchet and cutlass, and take them
+in the rear. If we are to die, let's die--" game, he
+would perhaps have added, but death arrested the word
+upon his lips; and his corpse rolled along the deck,
+until its further progress was stopped by the stiffened
+body of the unhappy Fuller.
+
+Notwithstanding the fall of their brave leader, and the
+whoopings of their enemies, the flagging spirits of the
+men were for a moment excited by the announcement of the
+return even of the small force of the axemen, and they
+defended themselves with a courage and determination
+worthy of a better result; but when, by the lurid light
+of the torches, now lying burning about the decks, they
+turned and beheld not their companions, but a fresh band
+of Indians, at whose pouch-belts dangled the reeking
+scalps of their murdered friends, they at once relinquished
+the combat as hopeless, and gave themselves unresistingly
+up to be bound by their captors.
+
+Meanwhile the cousins experienced a renewal of all those
+horrors from which their distracted minds had been
+temporarily relieved; and, petrified with alarm, as they
+lay in the solitary berth that contained them both,
+endured sufferings infinitely more terrible than death
+itself. The early part of the tumult they had noticed
+almost without comprehending its cause, and but for the
+terrific cry of the Indians that had preceded them, would
+have mistaken the deafening broadsides for the blowing
+up of the vessel, so tremendous and violent bad been the
+concussion. Nay, there was a moment when Miss de Haldimar
+felt a pang of deep disappointment and regret at the
+misconception; for, with the fearful recollection of past
+events, so strongly impressed on her bleeding heart, she
+could not but acknowledge, that to be engulfed in one
+general and disastrous explosion, was mercy compared with
+the alternative of falling into the hands of those to
+whom her loathing spirit bad been too fatally taught to
+deny even the commonest attributes of humanity. As for
+Clara, she had not the power to think, or to form a
+conjecture on the subject:--she was merely sensible of
+a repetition of the horrible scenes from which she had
+so recently been snatched, and with a pale cheek, a fixed
+eye, and an almost pulseless heart, lay without motion
+in the inner side of the berth. The piteous spectacle of
+her cousin's alarm lent a forced activity to the despair
+of Miss de Haldimar, in whom apprehension produced that
+strong energy of excitement that sometimes gives to
+helplessness the character of true courage. With the
+increasing clamour of appalling conflict on deck, this
+excitement grew at every moment stronger, until it finally
+became irrepressible, so that at length, when through
+the cabin windows there suddenly streamed a flood of
+yellow light, extinguishing that of the lamp that threw
+its flickering beams around the cabin, she flung herself
+impetuously from the berth, and, despite of the aged and
+trembling female who attempted to detain her, burst open
+the narrow entrance to the cabin, and rushed up the steps
+communicating with the deck.
+
+The picture that here met her eyes was at once graphic
+and fearful in the extreme. On either side of the river
+lines of streaming torches were waved by dusky warriors
+high above their heads, reflecting the grim countenances,
+not only of those who bore them, but of dense groups in
+their rear, whose numbers were alone concealed by the
+foliage of the forest in which they stood. From the
+branches that wove themselves across the centre of the
+river, and the topmast and rigging of the vessel, the
+same strong yellow light, produced by the bark of the
+birch tree steeped in gum, streamed down upon the decks
+below, rendering each line and block of the schooner as
+distinctly visible as if it had been noon on the sunniest
+of those far distant lakes. The deck itself was covered
+with the bodies of slain men--sailors, and savages mixed
+together; and amid these were to be seen fierce warriors,
+reclining triumphantly and indolently on their rifles,
+while others were occupied in securing the arms of their
+captives with leathern thongs behind their backs. The
+silence that now prevailed was strongly in contrast with,
+and even more fearful than, the horrid shouts by which
+it had been preceded; and, but for the ghastly countenances
+of the captives, and the quick rolling eyes of the savages,
+Miss de Haldimar might have imagined herself the sport
+of some extraordinary and exciting illusion. Her glance
+over these prominent features in the tragedy had been
+cursory, yet accurate. It now rested on one that had more
+immediate and terrifying interest for herself. At a few
+paces in front of the companion ladder, and with their
+backs turned towards her, stood two individuals, whose
+attitudes denoted the purpose of men resolved to sell
+with their lives alone a passage to a tall fierce-looking
+savage, whose countenance betrayed every mark of triumphant
+and deadly passion, while he apparently hesitated whether
+his uplifted arm should stay the weapon it wielded. These
+individuals were Captain de Haldimar and Sir Everard
+Valletort; and to the former of these the attention of
+the savage was more immediately and exultingly directed;
+so much so, indeed, that Miss de Haldimar thought she
+could read in the ferocious expression of his features
+the death-warrant of her cousin. In the wild terror of
+the moment she gave a piercing scream that was answered
+by a hundred yelling voices, and rushing between her
+lover and his enemy, threw herself wildly and supplicatingly
+at the feet of the latter. Uttering a savage laugh, the
+monster spurned her from him with his foot, when, quick
+as thought, a pistol was discharged within a few inches
+of his face; but with a rapidity equal to that of his
+assailant, he bent aside his head, and the ball passed
+harmlessly on. The yell that followed was terrific; and
+while it was yet swelling into fulness, Captain de Haldimar
+felt an iron hand furiously grappling his throat, and,
+ere the grasp was relinquished, he again stood the bound
+and passive victim of the warrior of the Fleur de lis.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The interval that succeeded to the last council-scene of
+the Indians was passed by the officers of Detroit in a
+state of inexpressible anxiety and doubt. The fears
+entertained for the fate of their companions, who had
+set out in the perilous and almost forlorn hope of reaching
+Michilimackinac, in time to prevent the consummation of
+the threatened treachery, had, in some degree, if not
+wholly, been allayed by the story narrated by the Ottawa
+chief. It was evident, from his statement, the party had
+again met, and been engaged in fearful struggle with the
+gigantic warrior they had all so much reason to recollect;
+and it was equally apparent, that in that struggle they
+had been successful. But still, so many obstacles were
+likely to be opposed to their navigation of the several
+lakes and rivers over which lay their course, it was
+almost feared, even if they eventually escaped unharmed
+themselves, they could not possibly reach the fort in
+time to communicate the danger that awaited their friends.
+It is true, the time gained by Governor de Haldimar on
+the first occasion had afforded a considerable interval,
+of which advantage might be taken; but it was also, on
+the other hand, uncertain whether Ponteac had commanded
+the same delay in the council of the chiefs investing
+Michilimackinac, to which he had himself assented. Three
+days were sufficient to enable an Indian warrior to
+perform the journey by land; and it was chiefly on this
+vague and uncertain ground they based whatever little of
+hope was entertained on the subject.
+
+It had been settled at the departure of the adventurers,
+that the instant they effected a communication with the
+schooner on Lake Huron, Francois should be immediately
+sent back, with instructions so to contrive the period
+of his return, that his canoe should make its appearance
+soon after daybreak at the nearest extremity of Hog
+Island, the position of which has been described in our
+introductory chapter. From this point a certain signal,
+that could be easily distinguished with the aid of a
+telescope, was to be made from the canoe, which, without
+being of a nature to attract the attention of the savages,
+was yet to be such as could not well be mistaken by the
+garrison. This was a precaution adopted, not only with
+the view of giving the earliest intimation of the result
+of the enterprise, but lest the Canadian should be
+prevented, by any closer investment on the part of the
+Indians, from communicating personally with the fort in
+the way he had been accustomed.
+
+It will easily be comprehended therefore, that, as the
+period approached when they might reasonably look for
+the return of Francois, if he should return at all, the
+nervous anxiety of the officers became more and more
+developed. Upwards of a week had elapsed since the
+departure of their friends; and already, for the last
+day or two, their impatience had led them, at early dawn,
+and with beating hearts, to that quarter of the rampart
+which overlooked the eastern extremity of Hog Island.
+Hitherto, however, their eager watching had been in vain.
+As far as our recollection of the Canadian tradition of
+this story serves us, it must have been on the fourth
+night after the final discomfiture of the plans of Ponteac,
+and the tenth from the departure of the adventurers, that
+the officers were assembled in the mess-room, partaking
+of the scanty and frugal supper to which their long
+confinement had reduced them. The subject of their
+conversation, as it was ever of their thoughts, was the
+probable fate of their companions; and many and various,
+although all equally melancholy, were the conjectures
+offered as to the result. There was on the countenance
+of each, that deep and fixed expression of gloom, which,
+if it did not indicate any unmanliness of despair, told
+at least that hope was nearly extinct: but more especially
+was this remarkable in the young but sadly altered Charles
+de Haldimar, who, with a vacant eye and a pre-occupied
+manner, seemed wholly abstracted from the scene before
+him.
+
+All was silence in the body of the fort. The men off duty
+had long since retired to rest in their clothes, and only
+the "All's well!" of the sentinels was heard at intervals
+of a quarter of an hour, as the cry echoed from mouth to
+mouth in the line of circuit. Suddenly, however, between
+two of those intervals, and during a pause in the languid
+conversation of the officers, the sharp challenge of a
+sentinel was heard, and then quick steps on the rampart,
+as of men hastening to the point whence the challenge
+had been given. The officers, whom this new excitement
+seemed to arouse into fresh activity, hurriedly quitted
+the room; and, with as little noise as possible, gained
+the spot where the voice had been heard. Several men were
+bending eagerly over the rampart, and, with their muskets
+at the recover, riveting their gaze on a dark and motionless
+object that lay on the verge of the ditch immediately
+beneath them.
+
+"What have you here, Mitchell?" asked Captain Blessington,
+who was in command of the guard, and who had recognised
+the gruff voice of the veteran in the challenge just
+given.
+
+"An American burnt log, your honour," muttered the soldier,
+"if one was to judge from its stillness; but if it is,
+it must have rolled there within the last minute; for
+I'll take my affidavy it wasn't here when I passed last
+in my beat."
+
+"An American burnt log, indeed! it's some damned rascal
+of a spy, rather," remarked Captain Erskine. "Who knows
+but it may be our big friend, come to pay us a visit
+again? And yet he is not half long enough for him, either.
+Can't you try and tickle him with the bayonet, any of
+you fellows, and see whether he is made of flesh and
+blood?"
+
+Although this observation was made almost without object,
+it being totally impossible for any musket, even with
+the addition of its bayonet, to reach more than half way
+across the ditch, the several sentinels threw themselves
+on their chests, and, stretching over the rampart as far
+as possible, made the attempt to reach the suspicious
+looking object that lay beyond. No sooner, however, had
+their arms been extended in such a manner as to be utterly
+powerless, when the dark mass was seen to roll away in
+an opposite direction, and with such rapidity that, before
+the men could regain their feet and level their muskets,
+it had entirely disappeared from their view.
+
+"Cleverly managed, to give the red skin his due," half
+laughingly observed Captain Erskine, while his brother
+officers continued to fix their eyes in astonishment on
+the spot so recently occupied by the strange object; "but
+what the devil could be his motive for lying there so
+long? Not playing the eaves-dropper, surely; and yet, if
+he meant to have picked off a sentinel, what was to have
+prevented him from doing it sooner?"
+
+"He had evidently no arms," said Ensign Delme.
+
+"No, nor legs either, it would appear," resumed the
+literal Erskine. "Curse me if I ever saw any thing in
+the shape of a human form bundled together in that manner."
+
+"I mean he had no fire-arms--no rifle," pursued Delme.
+
+"And if he had, he certainly would have rifled one of us
+of a life," continued the captain, laughing at his own
+conceit. "But come, the bird is flown, and we have only
+to thank ourselves for having been so egregiously duped.
+Had Valletort been here, he would have given a different
+account of him."
+
+"Hist! listen!" exclaimed Lieutenant Johnstone, calling
+the attention of the party to a peculiar and low sound
+in the direction in which the supposed Indian had departed.
+
+It was repeated, and in a plaintive tone, indicating a
+desire to propitiate. Soon afterwards a human form was
+seen advancing slowly, but without show either of
+concealment or hostility in its movements. It finally
+remained stationary on the spot where the dark and
+shapeless mass had been first perceived.
+
+"Another Oucanasta for De Haldimar, no doubt," observed
+Captain Erskine, after a moment's pause. "These grenadiers
+carry every thing before them as well in love as in war."
+
+The error of the good-natured officer was, however,
+obvious to all but himself. The figure, which was now
+distinctly traced in outline for that of a warrior, stood
+boldly and fearlessly on the brink of the ditch, holding
+up its left arm, in the hand of which dangled something
+that was visible in the starlight, and pointing
+energetically to this pendant object with the other.
+
+A voice from one of the party now addressed the Indian
+in two several dialects, but without eliciting a reply.
+He either understood not, or would not answer the question
+proposed, but continued pointing significantly to the
+indistinct object which he still held forth in an elevated
+position.
+
+"The governor must be apprised of this," observed Captain
+Blessington to De Haldimar, who was his subaltern of the
+guard. "Hasten, Charles, to acquaint your father, and
+receive his orders."
+
+The young officer willingly obeyed the injunction of his
+superior. A secret and indefinable hope rushed through
+his mind, that as the Indian came not in hostility, he
+might be the bearer of some communication from their
+friends; and he moved rapidly towards that part of the
+building occupied by his father.
+
+The light of a lamp suspended over the piazza leading to
+the governor's rooms reflecting strongly on his regimentals,
+he passed unchallenged by the sentinels posted there,
+and uninterruptedly gained a door that opened on a narrow
+passage, at the further extremity of which was the
+sitting-room usually occupied by his parent. This again
+was entered from the same passage by a second door, the
+upper part of which was of common glass, enabling any
+one on the outside to trace with facility every object
+within when the place was lighted up.
+
+A glance was sufficient to satisfy the youth his father
+was not in the room; although there was strong evidence
+he had not retired for the night. In the middle of the
+floor stood an oaken table, and on this lay an open
+writing desk, with a candle on each side, the wicks of
+which had burnt so long as to throw a partial gloom over
+the surrounding wainscotting. Scattered about the table
+and desk were a number of letters that had apparently
+been just looked at or read; and in the midst of these
+an open case of red morocco, containing a miniature.
+The appearance of these letters, thus left scattered
+about by one who was scrupulously exact in the arrangement
+of his papers, added to the circumstance of the neglected
+and burning candles, confirmed the young officer in an
+impression that his father, overcome by fatigue, had
+retired into his bed-room, and fallen unconsciously
+asleep. Imagining, therefore, he could not, without
+difficulty, succeed in making himself heard, and deeming
+the urgency of the case required it, he determined to
+wave the usual ceremony of knocking, and penetrate to
+his father's bedroom unannounced. The glass door being
+without fastening within, easily yielded to his pressure
+of the latch; but as he passed by the table, a strong
+and natural feeling of curiosity induced him to cast his
+eye upon the miniature. To his infinite surprise, nay,
+almost terror, he discovered it was that of his mother--the
+identical portrait which his sister Clara had worn in
+her bosom from infancy, and which he had seen clasped
+round her neck on the very deck of the schooner in which
+she sailed for Michilimackinac. He felt there could be
+no mistake, for only one miniature of the sort had ever
+been in possession of the family, and that the one just
+accounted for. Almost stupified at what he saw, and
+scarcely crediting the evidence of his senses, the young
+officer glanced his eye hurriedly along one of the open
+letters that lay around. It was in the well remembered
+hand-writing of his mother, and commenced, "Dear, dearest
+Reginald." After this followed expressions of endearment
+no woman might address except to an affianced lover, or
+the husband of her choice; and his heart sickened while
+he read. Scarcely, however, had he scanned half a dozen
+lines, when it occurred to him he was violating some
+secret of his parents; and, discontinuing the perusal
+with an effort, he prepared to acquit himself of his
+mission.
+
+On raising his eyes from the paper he was startled by
+the appearance of his father, who, with a stern brow and
+a quivering lip, stood a few paces from the table,
+apparently too much overcome by his indignation to be
+able to utter a sentence.
+
+Charles de Haldimar felt all the awkwardness of his
+position. Some explanation of his conduct, however, was
+necessary; and he stammered forth the fact of the portrait
+having riveted his attention, from its striking resemblance
+to that in his sister's possession.
+
+"And to what do these letters bear resemblance?" demanded
+the governor, in a voice that trembled in its attempt to
+be calm, while he fixed his penetrating eye on that of
+his son. "THEY, it appears, were equally objects of
+attraction with you."
+
+"The letters were in the hand-writing of my mother; and
+I was irresistibly led to glance at one of them," replied
+the youth, with the humility of conscious wrong. "The
+action was involuntary, and no sooner committed than
+repented of. I am here, my father, on a mission of
+importance, which must account for my presence."
+
+"A mission of importance!" repeated the governor, with
+more of sorrow than of anger in the tone in which he now
+spoke. "On what mission are you here, if it be not to
+intrude unwarrantably on a parent's privacy?"
+
+The young officer's cheek flushed high, as he proudly
+answered:--"I was sent by Captain Blessington, sir, to
+take your orders in regard to an Indian who is now without
+the fort under somewhat extraordinary circumstances, yet
+evidently without intention of hostility. It is supposed
+he bears some message from my brother."
+
+The tone of candour and offended pride in which this
+formal announcement of duty was made seemed to banish
+all suspicion from the mind of the governor; and he
+remarked, in a voice that had more of the kindness that
+had latterly distinguished his address to his son, "Was
+this, then, Charles, the only motive for your abrupt
+intrusion at this hour? Are you sure no inducement of
+private curiosity was mixed up with the discharge of your
+duty, that you entered thus unannounced? You must admit,
+at least, I found you employed in a manner different from
+what the urgency of your mission would seem to justify."
+
+There was lurking irony in this speech; yet the softened
+accents of his father, in some measure, disarmed the
+youth of the bitterness he would have flung into his
+observation,--"That no man on earth, his parent excepted,
+should have dared to insinuate such a doubt with impunity."
+
+For a moment Colonel de Haldimar seemed to regard his
+son with a surprised but satisfied air, as if he had not
+expected the manifestation of so much spirit, in one whom
+he had been accustomed greatly to undervalue.
+
+"I believe you, Charles," he at length observed; "forgive
+the justifiable doubt, and think no more of the subject.
+Yet, one word," as the youth was preparing to depart;
+"you have read that letter" (and he pointed to that which
+had principally arrested the attention of the officer):
+"what impression has it given you of your mother? Answer
+me sincerely. MY name," and his faint smile wore something
+of the character of triumph, "is not REGINALD, you know."
+
+The pallid cheek of the young man flushed at this question.
+His own undisguised impression was, that his mother had
+cherished a guilty love for another than her husband. He
+felt the almost impiety of such a belief, but he could
+not resist the conviction that forced itself on his mind;
+the letter in her handwriting spoke for itself; and though
+the idea was full of wretchedness, he was unable to
+conquer it. Whatever his own inference might be, however,
+he could not endure the thought of imparting it to his
+father; he, therefore, answered evasively.
+
+"Doubtless my mother had some dear relative of the name,
+and to him was this letter addressed; perhaps a brother,
+or an uncle. But I never knew," he pursued, with a look
+of appeal to his father, "that a second portrait of my
+mother existed. This is the very counterpart of Clara's."
+
+"It may be the same," remarked the governor, but in a
+tone of indecision, that dented his faith in what he
+uttered.
+
+"Impossible, my father. I accompanied Clara, if you
+recollect, as far as Lake Sinclair; and when I quitted
+the deck of the schooner to return, I particularly remarked
+my sister wore her mother's portrait, as usual, round
+her neck."
+
+"Well, no matter about the portrait," hurriedly rejoined
+the governor; "yet, whatever your impression, Charles,"
+and he spoke with a warmth that was far from habitual to
+him, "dare not to sully the memory of your mother by a
+doubt of her purity. An accident has given this letter
+to your inspection, but breathe not its contents to a
+human creature; above all, respect the being who gave
+you birth. Go, tell Captain Blessington to detain the
+Indian; I will join you immediately."
+
+Strongly, yet confusedly, impressed with the singularity
+of the scene altogether, and more particularly with his
+father's strange admonition, the young officer quitted
+the room, and hastened to rejoin his companions. On
+reaching the rampart he found that the Indian, during
+his long absence, had departed; yet not without depositing,
+on the outer edge of the ditch, the substance to which
+he had previously directed their attention. At the moment
+of De Haldimar's approach, the officers were bending over
+the rampart, and, with straining eyes, endeavouring to
+make out what it was, but in vain; something was just
+perceptible in the withered turf, but what that something
+was no one could succeed in discovering.
+
+"Whatever this be, we must possess ourselves of it," said
+Captain Blessington: "it is evident, from the energetic
+manner of him who left it, it is of importance. I think
+I know who is the best swimmer and climber of our party."
+
+Several voices unanimously pronounced the name of
+"Johnstone."
+
+"Any thing for a dash of enterprise," said that officer,
+whose slight wound had been perfectly healed. "But what
+do you propose that the swimmer and climber should do,
+Blessington?"
+
+"Secure yon parcel, without lowering the drawbridge."
+
+"What! and be scalped in the act? Who knows if it be not
+a trick after all, and that the rascal who placed it
+there is not lying within a few feet, ready to pounce
+upon me the instant I reach the bank."
+
+"Never mind," said Erskine, laughingly, "we will revenge
+your death, my boy."
+
+"Besides, consider the nunquam non paratus, Johnstone,"
+slily remarked Lieutenant Leslie.
+
+"What, again, Leslie?" energetically responded the young
+Scotsman. "Yet think not I hesitate, for I did but jest:
+make fast a rope round my loins, and I think I will answer
+for the result."
+
+Colonel de Haldimar now made his appearance. Having
+heard a brief statement of the facts, and approving of
+the suggestion of Captain Blessington, a rope was procured,
+and made fast under the shoulders of the young officer,
+who had previously stripped himself of his uniform and
+shoes. He then suffered himself to drop gently over the
+edge of the rampart, his companions gradually lowering
+the rope, until a deep and gasping aspiration, such as
+is usually wrung from one coming suddenly in contact with
+cold water, announced he had gained the surface of the
+ditch. The rope was then slackened, to give him the
+unrestrained command of his limbs; and in the next instant
+he was seen clambering up the opposite elevation.
+
+Although the officers, indulging in a forced levity, in
+a great degree meant to encourage their companion, had
+treated his enterprise with indifference, they were far
+from being without serious anxiety for the result. They
+had laughed at the idea, suggested by him, of being
+scalped; whereas, in truth, they entertained the
+apprehension far more powerfully than he did himself.
+The artifices resorted to by the savages, to secure an
+isolated victim, were so many and so various, that
+suspicion could not but attach to the mysterious occurrence
+they had just witnessed. Willing even as they were to
+believe their present visitor, whoever he was, came not
+in a spirit of enmity, they could not altogether divest
+themselves of a fear that it was only a subtle artifice
+to decoy one of them within the reach of their traitorous
+weapons. They, therefore, watched the movements of their
+companion with quickening pulses; and it was with a lively
+satisfaction they saw him, at length, after a momentary
+search, descend once more into the ditch, and, with a
+single powerful impulsion of his limbs, urge himself back
+to the foot of the rampart. Neither feet nor hands were
+of much service, in enabling him to scale the smooth and
+slanting logs that composed the exterior surface of the
+works; but a slight jerk of the well secured rope, serving
+as a signal to his friends, he was soon dragged once more
+to the summit of the rampart, without other injury than
+a couple of slight bruises.
+
+"Well, what success?" eagerly asked Leslie and Captain
+Erskine in the same breath, as the dripping Johnstone
+buried himself in the folds of a capacious cloak procured
+during his absence.
+
+"You shall hear," was the reply; "but first, gentlemen,
+allow me, if you please, to enjoy, with yourselves, the
+luxury of dry clothes. I have no particular ambition to
+contract an American ague fit just now; yet, unless you
+take pity on me, and reserve my examination for a future
+moment, there is every probability I shall not have a
+tooth left by to-morrow morning."
+
+No one could deny the justice of the remark, for the
+teeth of the young man were chattering as he spoke. It
+was not, therefore, until after he had changed his dress,
+and swallowed a couple of glasses of Captain Erskine's
+never failing spirit, that they all repaired once more
+to the mess-room, when Johnstone anticipated all questions,
+by the production of the mysterious packet.
+
+After removing several wrappers of bark, each of which
+was secured by a thong of deerskin, Colonel de Haldimar,
+to whom the successful officer had handed his prize, at
+length came to a small oval case of red morocco, precisely
+similar, in size and form, to that which had so recently
+attracted the notice of his son. For a moment he hesitated,
+and his cheek was observed to turn pale, and his hand to
+tremble; but quickly subduing his indecision, he hurriedly
+unfastened the clasp, and disclosed to the astonished
+view of the officers the portrait of a young and lovely
+woman, habited in the Highland garb.
+
+Exclamations of various kinds burst from the lips of the
+group of officers. Several knew it to be the portrait of
+Mrs. de Haldimar; others recognised it from the striking
+likeness it bore to Clara and to Charles; all knew it
+had never been absent from the possession of the former
+since her mother's death; and feeling satisfied as they
+did that its extraordinary appearance among them, at the
+present moment, was an announcement of some dreadful
+disaster, their countenances wore an impress of dismay
+little inferior to that of the wretched Charles, who,
+agonized beyond all attempt at description, had thrown
+himself into a seat in the rear of the group, and sat
+like one bewildered, with his head buried in his hands.
+
+"Gentlemen," at length observed Colonel de Haldimar, in
+a voice that proved how vainly his natural emotion was
+sought to be subdued by his pride, "this, I fear me, is
+an unwelcome token. It comes to announce to a father the
+murder of his child; to us all, the destruction of our
+last remaining friends and comrades."
+
+"God forbid!" solemnly aspirated Captain Blessington.
+After a pause of a moment or two he pursued: "I know not
+why, sir; but my impression is, the appearance of this
+portrait, which we all recognise for that worn by Miss
+de Haldimar, bears another interpretation."
+
+Colonel de Haldimar shook his head.--"I have but too
+much reason to believe," he observed, smiling in mournful
+bitterness, "it has been conveyed to us not in mercy but
+in revenge."
+
+No one ventured to question why; for notwithstanding all
+were aware that in the mysterious ravisher of the wife
+of Halloway Colonel de Haldimar had a fierce and inexorable
+private enemy, no allusion had ever been made by that
+officer himself to the subject.
+
+"Will you permit me to examine the portrait and envelopes,
+Colonel?" resumed Captain Blessington: "I feel almost
+confident, although I confess I have no other motive for
+it than what springs from a recollection of the manner
+of the Indian, that the result will bear me out in my
+belief the bearer came not in hostility but in friendship."
+
+"By my faith, I quite agree with Blessington," said
+Captain Erskine; "for, in addition to the manner of the
+Indian, there is another evidence in favour of his
+position. Was it merely intended in the light in which
+you consider it, Colonel, the case or the miniature itself
+might have been returned, but certainly not the metal in
+which it is set. The savages are fully aware of the value
+of gold, and would not so easily let it slip through
+their fingers."
+
+"And wherefore thus carefully wrapped up?" remarked
+Lieutenant Johnstone, "unless it had been intended it
+should meet with no injury on the way. I certainly think
+the portrait never would have been conveyed, in its
+present perfect state, by an enemy."
+
+"The fellow seemed to feel, too, that he came in the
+character of one whose intentions claimed all immunity
+from harm," remarked Captain Wentworth. "He surely never
+would have stood so fearlessly on the brink of the ditch,
+and within pistol shot, had he not been conscious of
+rendering some service to those connected with us."
+
+To these several observations of his officers, Colonel
+de Haldimar listened attentively; and although he made
+no reply, it was evident he felt gratified at the eagerness
+with which each sought to remove the horrible impression
+he had stated to have existed in his own mind. Meanwhile,
+Captain Blessington had turned and examined the miniature
+in fifty different ways, but without succeeding in
+discovering any thing that could confirm him in his
+original impression. Vexed and disappointed, he at length
+flung it from him on the table, and sinking into a seat
+at the side of the unfortunate Charles, pressed the hand
+of the youth in significant silence.
+
+Finding his worst fears now confirmed. Colonel de
+Haldimar, for the first time, cast a glance towards his
+son, whose drooping head, and sorrowing attitude, spoke
+volumes to his heart. For a moment his own cheek blanched,
+and his eye was seen to glisten with the first tear ever
+witnessed there by those around him. Subduing his emotion,
+however, he drew up his person to its lordly height, as
+if that act reminded him the commander was not to be lost
+in the father, and quitting the room with a heavy brow
+and step, recommended to his officers the repose of which
+they appeared to stand so much in need. But not one was
+there who felt inclined to court the solitude of his
+pillow. No sooner were the footsteps of the governor
+heard dying away in the distance, when fresh lights were
+ordered, and several logs of wood heaped on the slackening
+fire. Around this the officers now grouped, and throwing
+themselves back in their chairs, assumed the attitudes
+of men seeking to indulge rather in private reflection
+than in personal converse.
+
+The grief of the wretched Charles de Haldimar, hitherto
+restrained by the presence of his father, and encouraged
+by the touching evidences of interest afforded him by
+the ever-considerate Blessington, now burst forth audibly.
+No attempt was made by the latter officer to check the
+emotion of his young friend. Knowing his passionate
+fondness for his sister, he was not without fear that
+the sudden shock produced by the appearance of her
+miniature might destroy his reason, even if it affected
+not his life; and as the moment was now come when tears
+might be shed without exciting invidious remark in the
+only individual who was likely to make it, he sought to
+promote them as much as possible. Too much occupied in
+their own mournful reflections to bestow more than a
+passing notice on the weakness of their friend, the group
+round the fireplace scarcely seemed to have regarded his
+emotion.
+
+This violent paroxysm past, De Haldimar breathed more
+freely; and, after listening to several earnest observations
+of Captain Blessington, who still held out the possibility
+of something favourable turning up, on a re-examination
+of the portrait by daylight, he was so far composed as
+to be able to attend to the summons of the sergeant of
+the guard, who came to say the relief were ready, and
+waiting to be inspected before they were finally marched
+off. Clasping the extended hand of his captain between
+his own, with a pressure indicative of his deep gratitude,
+De Haldimar now proceeded to the discharge of his duty;
+and having caught up the portrait, which still lay on
+the table, and thrust it into the breast of his uniform,
+he repaired hurriedly to rejoin his guard, from which
+circumstances alone had induced his unusually long absence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+The remainder of that night was passed by the unhappy De
+Haldimar in a state of indescribable wretchedness. After
+inspecting the relief, he had thrown himself on his rude
+guard-bed; and, drawing his cloak over his eyes, given
+full rein to the wanderings of his excited imagination.
+It was in vain the faithful old Morrison, who never
+suffered his master to mount a guard without finding some
+one with whom to exchange his tour of duty, when he
+happened not to be in orders himself, repeatedly essayed,
+as he sat stirring the embers of the fire, to enter into
+conversation with him. The soul of the young officer was
+sick, past the endurance even of that kind voice; and,
+more than once, he impetuously bade him be silent, if he
+wished to continue where he was; or, if not, to join his
+comrades in the next guard-room. A sigh was the only
+respectful but pained answer to these sharp remonstrances;
+and De Haldimar, all absorbed even as he was in his own
+grief, felt it deeply; for he knew the old man loved him,
+and he could not bear the idea of appearing to repay with
+slight the well-intentioned efforts of one whom he had
+always looked upon more as a dependant on his family than
+as the mere rude soldier. Still he could not summon
+courage to disclose the true nature of his grief, which
+the other merely ascribed to general causes and vague
+apprehensions of a yet unaccomplished evil. Morrison had
+ever loved his sister with an affection in no way inferior
+to that which he bore towards himself. He had also nursed
+her in childhood; and his memory was ever faithful to
+trace, as his tongue was to dwell on, those gentle and
+amiable qualities, which, strongly marked at an earlier
+period of her existence, had only undergone change,
+inasmuch as they had become matured and more forcibly
+developed in womanhood. Often, latterly, had the grey-haired
+veteran been in the habit of alluding to her; for he saw
+the subject was one that imparted a mournful satisfaction
+to the youth; and, with a tact that years, more than deep
+reading of the human heart, had given him, he ever made
+a point of adverting to their re-union as an event
+admitting not of doubt.
+
+Hitherto the affectionate De Haldimar had loved to listen
+to these sounds of comfort; for, although they carried
+no conviction to his mind, impressed as he was with the
+terrible curse of Ellen Halloway, and the consequent
+belief that his family were devoted to some fearful doom,
+still they came soothingly and unctuously to his sick
+soul; and, all deceptive even as he felt them to be, he
+found they created a hope which, while certain to be
+dispelled by calm after-reflection, carried a momentary
+solace to his afflicted spirit. But, now that he had
+every evidence his adored sister was no more, and that
+the illusion of hope was past for ever, to have heard
+her name even mentioned by one who, ignorant of the
+fearful truth the events of that night had elucidated,
+was still ready to renew a strain every chord of which
+had lost its power of harmony, was repugnant beyond
+bearing to his heart. At one moment he resolved briefly
+to acquaint the old man with the dreadful fact, but
+unwillingness to give pain prevented him; and, moreover,
+he felt the grief the communication would draw from the
+faithful servitor of his family must be of so unchecked
+a nature as to render his own sufferings even more poignant
+than they were. Neither had he (independently of all
+other considerations) resolution enough to forego the
+existence of hope in another, even although it had passed
+entirely away from himself. It was for these reasons he
+had so harshly and (for him) unkindly checked, the attempt
+of the old man at a conversation which he, at every
+moment, felt would be made to turn on the ill-fated Clara.
+
+Miserable as he felt his position to be, it was not
+without satisfaction he again heard the voice of his
+sergeant summoning him to the inspection of another
+relief. This duty performed, and anxious to avoid the
+paining presence of his servant, he determined, instead
+of returning to his guard-room, to consume the hour that
+remained before day in pacing the ramparts. Leaving word
+with his subordinate, that, in the event of his being
+required, he might be found without difficulty, he ascended
+to that quarter of the works where the Indian had been
+first seen who had so mysteriously conveyed the sad token
+he still retained in his breast. It was on the same side
+with that particular point whence we have already stated
+a full view of the bridge with its surrounding scenery,
+together with the waters of the Detroit, where they were
+intersected by Hog Island, were distinctly commanded. At
+either of those points was stationed a sentinel, whose
+duty it was to extend his beat between the boxes used
+now rather as lines of demarcation than as places of
+temporary shelter, until each gained that of his next
+comrade, when they again returned to their own, crossing
+each other about half way: a system of precaution pursued
+by the whole of the sentinels in the circuit of the
+rampart.
+
+The ostensible motive of the officer in ascending the
+works, was to visit his several posts; but no sooner had
+he found himself between the points alluded to, which
+happened to be the first in his course, than he seemed
+to be riveted there by a species of fascination. Not that
+there was any external influence to produce this effect,
+for the utmost stillness reigned both within and around
+the fort; and, but for the howling of some Indian wolf-dog
+in the distance, or the low and monotonous beat of their
+drums in the death-dance, there was nought that gave
+evidence of the existence of the dreadful enemy by whom
+they were beset. But the whole being of the acutely
+suffering De Haldimar was absorbed in recollections
+connected with the spot on which he stood. At one
+extremity was the point whence he had witnessed the
+dreadful tragedy of Halloway's death; at the other, that
+on which had been deposited the but too unerring record
+of the partial realisation of the horrors threatened at
+the termination of that tragedy; and whenever he attempted
+to pass each of these boundaries, he felt as if his limbs
+repugned the effort.
+
+In the sentinels, his appearance among them excited but
+little surprise; for it was no uncommon thing for the
+officers of the guard to spend the greatest part of the
+night in visiting, in turn, the several more exposed
+points of the ramparts; and that it was now confined to
+one particular part, seemed not even to attract their
+notice. It was, therefore, almost wholly unremarked by
+his men, that the heart-stricken De Haldimar paced his
+quick and uncertain walk with an imagination filled with
+the most fearful forebodings, and with a heart throbbing
+with the most painful excitement. Hitherto, since the
+discovery of the contents of the packet, his mind had
+been so exclusively absorbed in stupifying grief for his
+sister, that his perception seemed utterly incapable of
+outstepping the limited sphere drawn around it; but now,
+other remembrances, connected with the localities, forced
+themselves upon his attention; and although, in all these,
+there was nothing that was not equally calculated to
+carry dismay and sorrow to his heart, still, in dividing
+his thoughts with the one supreme agony that bowed him
+down, they were rather welcomed than discarded. His mind
+was as a wheel, embracing grief within grief, multiplied
+to infinitude; and the wider and more diffusive the
+circle, the less powerful was the concentration of
+sickening heart and brain on that which was the more
+immediate axis of the whole.
+
+Reminded, for the first time, as he pursued his measured
+but aimless walk, by the fatal portrait which he more
+than once pressed with feverish energy to his lips, of
+the singular discovery he had made that night in the
+apartments of his father, he was naturally led, by a
+chain of consecutive thought, into a review of the whole
+of the extraordinary scene. The fact of the existence of
+a second likeness of his mother was one that did not now
+fail to reawaken all the unqualified surprise he had
+experienced at the first discovery. So far from having
+ever heard his father make the slightest allusion to this
+memorial of his departed mother, he perfectly recollected
+his repeatedly recommending to Clara the safe custody of
+a treasure, which, if lost, could never be replaced. What
+could be the motive for this mystery?--and why had he
+sought to impress him with the belief it was the identical
+portrait worn by his sister which had so unintentionally
+been exposed to his view? Why, too, had he evinced so
+much anxiety to remove from his mind all unfavourable
+impressions in regard to his mother? Why have been so
+energetic in his caution not to suffer a taint of impurity
+to attach to her memory? Why should he have supposed the
+possibility of such impression, unless there had been
+sufficient cause for it? In what, moreover, originated
+his triumphant expression of feature, when, on that
+occasion, he reminded him that HIS name was not Reginald?
+Who, then, was this Reginald? Then came the recollection
+of what had been repeated to him of the parting scene
+between Halloway and his wife. In addressing her ill-fated
+husband, she had named him Reginald. Could it be possible
+this was the same being alluded to by his father? But
+no; his youth forbade the supposition, being but two
+years older than his brother Frederick; yet might be not,
+in some way or other, be connected with the Reginald of
+the letter? Why, too, had his father shown such unrelenting
+severity in the case of this unfortunate victim?--a
+severity which had induced more than one remark from his
+officers, that it looked as if he entertained some personal
+feeling of enmity towards a man who had done so much for
+his family, and stood so high in the esteem of all who
+knew him.
+
+Then came another thought. At the moment of his execution,
+Halloway had deposited a packet in the hands of Captain
+Blessington;--could these letters--could that portrait
+be the same? Certain it was, by whatever means obtained,
+his father could not have had them long in his possession;
+for it was improbable letters of so old a date should
+have occupied his attention NOW, when many years had
+rolled over the memory of his mother. And then, again,
+what was the meaning of the language used by the implacable
+enemy of his father, that uncouth and ferocious warrior
+of the Fleur de lis, not only on the occasion of the
+execution of Halloway, but afterwards to his brother,
+during his short captivity; and, subsequently, when,
+disguised as a black, he penetrated, with the band of
+Ponteac, into the fort, and aimed his murderous weapon
+at his father's head. What had made him the enemy of his
+family? and where and how had originated his father's
+connection with so extraordinary and so savage a being?
+Could he, in any way, be implicated with his mother? But
+no; there was something revolting, monstrous, in the
+thought: besides, had not his father stood forward the
+champion of her innocence?--had he not declared, with an
+energy carrying conviction with every word, that she was
+untainted by guilt? And would he have done this, had he
+had reason to believe in the existence of a criminal love
+for him who evidently was his mortal foe? Impossible.
+
+Such were the questions and solutions that crowded on
+and distracted the mind of the unhappy De Haldimar, who,
+after all, could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion.
+It was evident there was a secret,--yet, whatever its
+nature, it was one likely to go down with his father to
+the grave; for, however humiliating the reflection to a
+haughty parent, compelled to vindicate the honour of a
+mother to her son, and in direct opposition to evidence
+that scarcely bore a shadow of misinterpretation, it was
+clear he had motives for consigning the circumstance to
+oblivion, which far outweighed any necessity he felt of
+adducing other proofs of her innocence than those which
+rested on his own simple yet impressive assertion.
+
+In the midst of these bewildering doubts, De Haldimar
+heard some one approaching in his rear, whose footsteps
+he distinguished from the heavy pace of the sentinels.
+He turned, stopped, and was presently joined by Captain
+Blessington.
+
+"Why, dearest Charles," almost querulously asked the kind
+officer, as he passed his arm through that of his
+subaltern,--"why will you persist in feeding this love
+of solitude? What possible result can it produce, but an
+utter prostration of every moral and physical energy?
+Come, come, summon a little fortitude; all may not yet
+be so hopeless as you apprehend. For my own part, I feel
+convinced the day will dawn upon some satisfactory solution
+of the mystery of that packet."
+
+"Blessington, my dear Blessington!"--and De Haldimar
+spoke with mournful energy,--"you have known me from my
+boyhood, and, I believe, have ever loved me; seek not,
+therefore, to draw me from the present temper of my mind;
+deprive me not of an indulgence which, melancholy as it
+is, now constitutes the sole satisfaction I take in
+existence."
+
+"By Heaven! Charles, I will not listen to such language.
+You absolutely put my patience to the rack."
+
+"Nay, then, I will urge no more," pursued the young
+officer. "To revert, therefore, to a different subject.
+Answer me one question with sincerity. What were the
+contents of the packet you received from poor Halloway
+previous to his execution? and in whose possession are
+they now?"
+
+Pleased to find the attention of his young friend diverted
+for the moment from his sister, Captain Blessington
+quickly rejoiced, he believed the packet contained letters
+which Halloway had stated to him were of a nature to
+throw some light on his family connections. He had,
+however, transferred it, with the seal unbroken, as
+desired by the unhappy man, to Colonel de Haldimar.
+
+An exclamation of surprise burst involuntarily from the
+lips of the youth. "Has my father ever made any allusion
+to that packet since?" he asked.
+
+"Never," returned Captain Blessington; "and, I confess,
+his failing to do so has often excited my astonishment.
+But why do you ask?"
+
+De Haldimar energetically pressed the arm of his captain,
+while a heavy sigh burst from his oppressed heart "This
+very night, Blessington, on entering my father's apartment
+to apprise him of what was going on here, I saw,--I can
+scarcely tell you what, but certainly enough to convince
+me, from what you have now stated, Halloway was, in some
+degree or other, connected with our family. Tell me,"
+he anxiously pursued, "was there a portrait enclosed with
+the letters?"
+
+"I cannot state with confidence, Charles," replied his
+friend; "but if I might judge from the peculiar form and
+weight of the packet, I should be inclined to say not.
+Have you seen the letters, then?"
+
+"I have seen certain letters which, I have reason to
+believe, are the same," returned De Haldimar. "They were
+addressed to 'Reginald;' and Halloway, I think you have
+told me, was so called by his unhappy wife."
+
+"There can be little doubt they are the same," said
+Captain Blessington; "but what were their contents, and
+by whom written, that you deem they prove a connection
+between the unhappy soldier and your family?"
+
+De Haldimar felt the blood rise into his cheek, at this
+natural but unexpected demand. "I am sure, Blessington,"
+he replied, after a pause, "you will not think me capable
+of unworthy mystery towards yourself but the contents of
+these letters are sacred, inasmuch as they relate only
+to circumstances connected with my father's family."
+
+"This is singular indeed," exclaimed Captain Blessington,
+in a tone that marked his utter and unqualified astonishment
+at what had now been disclosed to him; "but surely,
+Charles," he pursued, "if the packet handed me by Halloway
+were the same you allude to, he would have caused the
+transfer to have been made before the period chosen by
+him for that purpose."
+
+"But the name," pursued De Haldimar; "how are we to
+separate the identity of the packets, when we recur to
+that name of 'Reginald?'"
+
+"True," rejoined the musing Blessington; "there is a
+mystery in this that baffles all my powers of penetration.
+Were I in possession of the contents of the letters, I
+might find some clue to solve the enigma: but---"
+
+"You surely do not mean this as a reproach, Blessington?"
+fervently interrupted the youth. "More I dare not, cannot
+say, for the secret is not my own; and feelings, which
+it would be dishonour to outrage, alone bind me to silence.
+What little I have revealed to you even now, has been
+uttered in confidence. I hope you have so understood it."
+
+"Perfectly, Charles. What you have stated, goes no further;
+but we have been too long absent from our guard, and I
+confess I have no particular fancy for remaining in this
+chill night-air. Let us return."
+
+De Haldimar made no opposition, and they both prepared
+to quit the rampart. As they passed the sentinel stationed
+at that point where the Indian had been first seen, their
+attention was directed by him to a fire that now suddenly
+rose, apparently at a great distance, and rapidly increased
+in volume. The singularity of this occurrence riveted
+the officers for a moment in. silent observation; until
+Captain Blessington at length ventured a remark, that,
+judging from the direction, and the deceptive nature of
+the element at night, he should incline to think it was
+the hut of the Canadian burning.
+
+"Which is another additional proof, were any such wanting,
+that every thing is lost," mournfully urged the ever
+apprehensive De Haldimar. "Francois has been detected in
+rendering aid to our friends; and the Indians, in all
+probability, after having immolated their victim, are
+sacrificing his property to their rage."
+
+During this exchange of opinions, the officers had again
+moved to the opposite point of the limited walk of the
+younger. Scarcely had they reached it, and before Captain
+Blessington could find time to reply to the fears of his
+friend, when a loud and distant booming like that of a
+cannon was heard in the direction of the fire. The alarm
+was given hastily by the sentinels, and sounds of
+preparation and arming were audible in the course of a
+minute or two every where throughout the fort. Startled
+by the report, which they had half inclined to imagine
+produced by the discharge of one of their own guns, the
+half slumbering officers had quitted the chairs in which
+they had passed the night in the mess-room, and were soon
+at the side of their more watchful companions, then
+anxiously listening for a repetition of the sound.
+
+The day was just beginning to dawn, and as the atmosphere
+cleared gradually away, it was perceived the fire rose
+not from the hut of the Canadian, but at a point
+considerably beyond it. Unusual as it was to see a large
+fire of this description, its appearance became an object
+of minor consideration, since it might be attributed to
+some caprice or desire on the part of the Indians to
+excite apprehension in their enemies. But how was the
+report which had reached their ears to be accounted for?
+It evidently could only have been produced by the discharge
+of a cannon; and if so, where could the Indians have
+procured it? No such arm had recently been in their
+possession; and if it were, they were totally unacquainted
+with the manner of serving it.
+
+As the day became more developed, the mystery was resolved.
+Every telescope in the fort had been called into
+requisition; and as they were now levelled in the direction
+of the fire, sweeping the line of horizon around,
+exclamations of surprise escaped the lips of several.
+
+"The fire is at the near extremity of the wood on Hog
+Island," exclaimed Lieutenant Johnstone. "I can distinctly
+see the forms of a multitude of savages dancing round it
+with hideous gestures and menacing attitudes."
+
+"They are dancing their infernal war dance," said Captain
+Wentworth. "How I should like to be able to discharge a
+twenty-four pound battery, loaded with grape, into the
+very heart of the devilish throng."
+
+"Do you see any prisoners?--Are any of our friends among
+them?" eagerly and tremblingly enquired De Haldimar of
+the officer who had last spoken.
+
+Captain Wentworth made a sweep of his glass along the
+shores of the island; but apparently without success. He
+announced that he could discover nothing but a vast number
+of bark canoes lying dry and upturned on the beach.
+
+"It is an unusual hour for their war dance," observed
+Captain Blessington. "My experience furnishes me with no
+one instance in which it has not been danced previous to
+their retiring to rest."
+
+"Unless," said Lieutenant Boyce, "they should have been
+thus engaged all night; in which case the singularity
+may be explained."
+
+"Look, look," eagerly remarked Lieutenant Johnstone--"see
+how they are flying to their canoes, bounding and leaping
+like so many devils broke loose from their chains. The
+fire is nearly deserted already."
+
+"The schooner--the schooner!" shouted Captain Erskine.
+"By Heaven, our own gallant schooner! see how beautifully
+she drives past the island. It was her gun we heard,
+intended as a signal to prepare us for her appearance."
+
+A thrill of wild and indescribable emotion passed through
+every heart. Every eye was turned upon the point to which
+attention was now directed. The graceful vessel, with
+every stitch of canvass set, was shooting rapidly past
+the low bushes skirting the sands that still concealed
+her hull; and in a moment or two she loomed largely and
+proudly on the bosom of the Detroit, the surface of which
+was slightly curled with a north-western breeze.
+
+"Safe, by Jupiter!" exclaimed the delighted Erskine,
+dropping the glass upon the rampart, and rubbing his
+hands together with every manifestation of joy.
+
+"The Indians are in chase," said Lieutenant Boyce; "upwards
+of fifty canoes are following in the schooner's wake.
+But Danvers will soon give us an account of their
+Lilliputian fleet."
+
+"Let the troops be held in readiness for a sortie, Mr.
+Lawson," said the governor, who had joined his officers
+just as the schooner cleared the island; "we must cover
+their landing, or, with this host of savages in pursuit,
+they will never effect it alive."
+
+During the whole of this brief but exciting scene, the
+heart of Charles de Haldimar beat audibly. A thousand
+hopes and fears rushed confusedly on his mind, and he
+was as one bewildered by, and scarcely crediting what he
+saw. Could Clara,--could his cousin--could his
+brother--could his friend be on board? He scarcely dared
+to ask himself these questions; still it was with a
+fluttering heart, in which hope, however, predominated,
+that he hastened to execute an order of his captain, that
+bore immediate reference to his duty as subaltern of the
+guard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Meanwhile the schooner dashed rapidly along, her hull
+occasionally hid from the view of those assembled on the
+ramparts by some intervening orchard or cluster of houses,
+but her tall spars glittering in their covering of white
+canvass, and marking the direction of her course. At
+length she came to a point in the river that offered no
+other interruption to the eye than what arose from the
+presence of almost all the inhabitants of the village,
+who, urged by curiosity and surprise, were to be seen
+crowding the intervening bank. Here the schooner was
+suddenly put about, and the English colours, hitherto
+concealed by the folds of the canvass, were at length
+discovered proudly floating in the breeze.
+
+Immediately over the gateway of the fort there was an
+elevated platform, approached by the rampart, of which
+it formed a part, by some half dozen rude steps on either
+side; and on this platform was placed a long eighteen
+pounder, that commanded the whole extent of road leading
+from the drawbridge to the river. Hither the officers
+had all repaired, while the schooner was in the act of
+passing the town; and now that, suddenly brought up in
+the wind's eye, she rode leisurely in the offing, every
+movement on her decks was plainly discernible with the
+telescope.
+
+"Where the devil can Danvers have hid all his crew?"
+first spoke Captain Erskine; "I count but half a dozen
+hands altogether on deck, and these are barely sufficient
+to work her."
+
+"Lying concealed, and ready, no doubt, to give the canoes
+a warm reception," observed Lieutenant Johnstone; "but
+where can our friends be? Surely, if there, they would
+show themselves to us."
+
+There was truth in this remark; and each felt discouraged
+and disappointed that they did not appear.
+
+"There come the whooping hell fiends," said Major
+Blackwater. "By Heaven! the very water is darkened with
+the shadows of their canoes."
+
+Scarcely had he spoken, when the vessel was suddenly
+surrounded by a multitude of savages, whose fierce shouts
+rent the air, while their dripping paddles, gleaming like
+silver in the rays of the rising sun, were alternately
+waved aloft in triumph, and then plunged into the troubled
+element, which they spurned in fury from their blades.
+
+"What can Danvers be about? Why does he not either open
+his fire, or crowd sail and away from them?" exclaimed
+several voices.
+
+The detachment is in readiness, sir," said Mr. Lawson,
+ascending the platform, and addressing Major Blackwater.
+
+"The deck, the deck!" shouted Erskine.
+
+Already the eyes of several were bent in the direction
+alluded to by the last speaker, while those whose attention
+had been diverted by the approaching canoes glanced
+rapidly to the same point. To the surprise and consternation
+of all, the tall and well-remembered form of the warrior
+of the Fleur de lis was seen towering far above the
+bulwarks of the schooner; and with an expression in the
+attitude he had assumed, which no one could mistake for
+other than that of triumphant defiance. Presently he
+drew from the bosom of his hunting coat a dark parcel,
+and springing into the rigging of the main-mast, ascended
+with incredible activity to the point where the English
+ensign was faintly floating in the breeze. This he tore
+furiously away, and rending it into many pieces, cast
+the fragments into the silver element beneath him, on
+whose bosom they were seen to float among the canoes of
+the savages, many of whom possessed themselves, with
+eagerness, of the gaudy coloured trophies. The dark parcel
+was now unfolded by the active warrior, who, after having
+waved it several times round his head, commenced attaching
+it to the lines whence the English ensign had so recently
+been torn. It was a large black flag, the purport of
+which was too readily comprehended by the excited officers.
+
+"D--n the ruffian! can we not manage to make that, flag
+serve as his own winding sheet?" exclaimed Captain Erskine.
+"Come, Wentworth, give us a second edition of the sortie
+firing; I know no man who understands pointing a gun
+better than yourself, and this eighteen pounder might do
+some mischief."
+
+The idea was instantly caught at by the officer of
+artillery, who read his consent in the eye of Colonel de
+Haldimar. His companions made way on either side; and
+several gunners, who were already at their stations,
+having advanced to work the piece at the command of their
+captain, it was speedily brought to bear upon the schooner.
+
+"This will do, I think," said Wentworth, as, glancing
+his experienced eye carefully along the gun, he found it
+pointed immediately on the gigantic frame of the warrior.
+"If this chain-shot miss him, it will be through no fault
+of mine."
+
+Every eye was now riveted on the main-mast of the schooner,
+where the warrior was still engaged in attaching the
+portentous flag. The gunner, who held the match, obeyed
+the silent signal of his captain; and the massive iron
+was heard rushing past the officers, bound on its murderous
+mission. A moment or two of intense anxiety elapsed; and
+when at length the rolling volumes of smoke gradually
+floated away, to the dismay and disappointment of all,
+the fierce warrior was seen standing apparently unharmed
+on the same spot in the rigging. The shot had, however,
+been well aimed, for a large rent in the outstretched
+canvass, close at his side, and about mid-height of his
+person, marked the direction it had taken. Again he tore
+away, and triumphantly waved the black flag around his
+head, while from his capacious lungs there burst yells
+of defiance and scorn, that could be distinguished for
+his own even at that distance. This done, he again secured
+the death symbol to its place; and gliding to the deck
+by a single rope, appeared to give orders to the few men
+of the crew who were to be seen; for every stitch of
+canvass was again made to fill, and the vessel, bounding
+forward before the breeze then blowing upon her quarter,
+shot rapidly behind the town, and was finally seen to
+cast anchor in the navigable channel that divides Hog
+Island from the shores of Canada.
+
+At the discharge of the eighteen pounder, the river had
+been suddenly cleared, as if by magic, of every canoe;
+while, warned by the same danger, the groups of inhabitants,
+assembled on the bank, had rushed for shelter to their
+respective homes; so that, when the schooner disappeared,
+not a vestige of human life was to be seen along that
+vista so recently peopled with human forms. An order from
+Colonel de Haldimar to the adjutant, countermanding the
+sortie, was the first interruption to the silence that
+had continued to pervade the little band of officers;
+and two or three of these having hastened to the western
+front of the rampart, in order to obtain a more distinct
+view of the movements of the schooner, their example was
+speedily followed by the remainder, all of whom now
+quitted the platform, and repaired to the same point.
+
+Here, with the aid of their telescopes, they again
+distinctly commanded a view of the vessel, which lay
+motionless close under the sandy beach of the island,
+and exhibiting all the technicalities of skill in the
+disposition of sails and yards peculiar to the profession.
+In vain, however, was every eye strained to discover,
+among the multitude of savages that kept momentarily
+leaping to her deck, the forms of those in whom they were
+most interested. A group of some half dozen men, apparently
+common sailors, and those, in all probability, whose
+services had been compelled in the working of the vessel,
+were the only evidences that civilised man formed a
+portion of that grotesque assemblage. These, with their
+arms evidently bound behind their backs, and placed on
+one of the gangways, were only visible at intervals, as
+the band of savages that surrounded them, brandishing
+their tomahawks around their heads, occasionally left an
+opening in their circle. The formidable warrior of the
+Fleur de lis was no longer to be seen, although the flag
+which he had hoisted still fluttered in the breeze.
+
+"All is lost, then," ejaculated the governor, with a
+mournfulness of voice and manner that caused many of his
+officers to turn and regard him with surprise. "That
+black flag announces the triumph of my foe in the too
+certain destruction of my children. Now, indeed," he
+concluded in a lower tone, "for the first time, does the
+curse of Ellen Halloway sit heavily on my soul."
+
+A deep sigh burst from one immediately behind him. The
+governor turned suddenly round, and beheld his son. Never
+did human countenance wear a character of more poignant
+misery than that of the unhappy Charles at the moment.
+Attracted by the report of the cannon, he had flown to
+the rampart to ascertain the cause, and had reached his
+companions only to learn the strong hope so recently
+kindled in his breast was fled for ever. His cheek, over
+which hung his neglected hair, was now pale as marble,
+and his lips bloodless and parted; yet, notwithstanding
+this intensity of personal sorrow, a tear had started to
+his eye, apparently wrung from him by this unusual
+expression of dismay in his father.
+
+"Charles--my son--my only now remaining child," murmured
+the governor with emotion, as he remarked, and started
+at the death-like image of the youth; "look not thus, or
+you will utterly unman me."
+
+A sudden and involuntary impulse caused him to extend
+his arms. The young officer sprang forward into the
+proffered embrace, and sank his head upon the cheek of
+his father. It was the first time he had enjoyed that
+privilege since his childhood; and even overwhelmed as
+he was by his affliction, he felt it deeply.
+
+This short but touching scene was witnessed by their
+companions, without levity in any, and with emotion by
+several. None felt more gratified at this demonstration
+of parental affection for the sensitive boy, than
+Blessington and Erskine.
+
+"I cannot yet persuade myself," observed the former
+officer, as the colonel again assumed that dignity of
+demeanour which had been momentarily lost sight of in
+the ebullition of his feelings,--"I cannot yet persuade
+myself things are altogether so bad as they appear. It
+is true the schooner is in the possession of the enemy,
+but there is nothing to prove our friends are on board."
+
+"If you had reason to know HIM into whose hands she has
+fallen, as I do, you would think differently, Captain
+Blessington," returned the governor. "That mysterious
+being," he pursued, after a short pause, "would never
+have made this parade of his conquest, had it related
+merely to a few lives, which to him are of utter
+insignificance. The very substitution of yon black flag,
+in his insolent triumph, was the pledge of redemption of
+a threat breathed in my ear within this very fort: on
+what occasion I need not state, since the events connected
+with that unhappy night are still fresh in the recollections
+of us all. That he is my personal enemy, gentlemen, it
+would be vain to disguise from you; although who he is,
+or of what nature his enmity, it imports not now to enter
+upon Suffice it, I have little doubt my children are in
+his power; but whether the black flag indicates they are
+no more, or that the tragedy is only in preparation, I
+confess I am at a loss to understand."
+
+Deeply affected by the evident despondency that had
+dictated these unusual admissions on the part of their
+chief, the officers were forward to combat the inferences
+he had drawn: several coinciding in the opinion now
+expressed by Captain Wentworth, that the fact of the
+schooner having fallen into the hands of the savages by
+no means implied the capture of the fort whence she came;
+since it was not at all unlikely she had been chased
+during a calm by the numerous canoes into the Sinclair,
+where, owing to the extreme narrowness of the river, she
+had fallen an easy prey.
+
+"Moreover," observed Captain Blessington, "it is highly
+improbable the ferocious warrior could have succeeded in
+capturing any others than the unfortunate crew of the
+schooner; for had this been the case, he would not have
+lost the opportunity of crowning his triumph by exhibiting
+his victims to our view in some conspicuous part of the
+vessel."
+
+"This, I grant you," rejoined the governor, "to be one
+solitary circumstance in our favour; but may it not,
+after all, merely prove that our worst apprehensions are
+already realised?"
+
+"He is not one, methinks, since vengeance seems his aim,
+to exercise it in so summary, and therefore merciful, a
+manner. Depend upon it, colonel, had any of those in whom
+we are more immediately interested, fallen into his hands,
+he would not have failed to insult and agonize us by an
+exhibition of his prisoners."
+
+"You are right, Blessington," exclaimed Charles de
+Haldimar, in a voice that his choking feelings rendered
+almost sepulchral; "he is not one to exercise his vengeance
+in a summary, and merciful manner. The deed is yet
+unaccomplished, for even now the curse of Ellen Halloway
+rings again in my ear, and tells me the atoning blood
+must be spilt on the grave of her husband."
+
+The peculiar tone in which these words were uttered,
+caused every one present to turn and regard the speaker,
+for they recalled the prophetic language of the unhappy
+woman. There was now a wildness of expression in his
+handsome features, marking the mind utterly dead to hope,
+yet struggling to work itself up to passive endurance of
+the worst. Colonel de Haldimar sighed painfully, as he
+bent his eye half reproachfully on the dull and attenuated
+features of his son; and although he spoke not, his look
+betrayed the anguish that allusion had called up to his
+heart.
+
+"Forgive me, my father," exclaimed the youth, grasping a
+hand that was reluctantly extended. "I meant it not in
+unkindness; but indeed I have ever had the conviction
+strongly impressed on my spirit. I know I appear weak,
+childish, unsoldierlike; yet can it be wondered at, when
+I have been so often latterly deceived by false hopes, that
+now my heart has room for no other tenant than despair.
+I am very wretched," he pursued, with affecting despondency;
+"in the presence of my companions do I admit it, but they
+all know how I loved my sister. Can they then feel surprise,
+that having lost not only her, but my brother and my friend,
+I should be the miserable thing I am."
+
+Colonel de Haldimar turned away, much affected; and
+throwing his back against the sentry box near him, passed
+his hand over his eyes, and remained for a few moments
+motionless.
+
+"Charles, Charles, is this your promise to me?" whispered
+Captain Blessington, as he approached and took the hand
+of his unhappy friend. "Is this the self-command you
+pledged yourself to exercise? For Heaven's sake, agitate
+not your father thus, by the indulgence of a grief that
+can have no other tendency than to render him equally
+wretched. Be advised by me, and quit the rampart. Return
+to your guard, and endeavour to compose yourself."
+
+"Ha! what new movement is that on the part of the savages?"
+exclaimed Captain Erskine, who had kept his glass to his
+eye mechanically, and chiefly with a view of hiding the
+emotion produced in him by the almost infantine despair
+of the younger De Haldimar: "surely it is--yet, no, it
+cannot be--yes, see how they are dragging several prisoners
+from the wood to the beach. I can distinctly see a man
+in a blanket coat, and two others considerably taller,
+and apparently sailors. But look, behind them are two
+females in European dress. Almighty Heaven! there can be
+no doubt."
+
+A painful pause ensued. Every other glass and eye was
+levelled in the same direction; and, even as Erskine had
+described it, a party of Indians were seen, by those who
+had the telescopes, conducting five prisoners towards a
+canoe that lay in the channel communicating from the
+island with the main land on the Detroit shore. Into the
+bottom of these they were presently huddled, so that only
+their heads and shoulders were visible above the gunwale
+of the frail bark. Presently a tall warrior was seen
+bounding from the wood towards the beach. The crowd of
+gesticulating Indians made way, and the warrior was seen
+to stoop and apply his shoulder to the canoe, one half
+of which was high and dry upon the sands. The heavily
+laden vessel obeyed the impetus with a rapidity that
+proved the muscular power of him who gave it. Like some
+wild animal, instinct with life, it lashed the foaming
+waters from its bows, and left a deep and gurgling furrow
+where it passed. As it quitted the shore, the warrior
+sprang lightly in, taking his station at the stern; and
+while his tall and remarkable figure bent nimbly to the
+movement, he dashed his paddle from right to left
+alternately in the stream, with a quickness that rendered
+it almost invisible to the eye. Presently the canoe
+disappeared round an intervening headland, and the officers
+lost sight of it altogether.
+
+"The portrait, Charles; what have you done with the
+portrait?" exclaimed Captain Blessington, actuated by a
+sudden recollection, and with a trepidation in his voice
+and manner that spoke volumes of despair to the younger
+De Haldimar. "This is our only hope of solving the mystery.
+Quick, give me the portrait, if you have it."
+
+The young officer hurriedly tore the miniature from the
+breast of his uniform, and pitched it through the interval
+that separated him from his captain, who stood a few feet
+off; but with so uncertain and trembling an aim, it missed
+the hand extended to secure it, and fell upon the very
+stone the youth had formerly pointed out to Blessington,
+as marking the particular spot on which he stood during
+the execution of Halloway. The violence of the fall
+separated the back of the frame from the picture itself,
+when suddenly a piece of white and crumpled paper,
+apparently part of the back of a letter, yet cut to the
+size and shape of the miniature, was exhibited to the
+view of all.
+
+"Ha!" resumed the gratified Blessington, as he stooped
+to possess himself of the prize; "I knew the miniature
+would be found to contain some intelligence from our
+friends. It is only this moment it occurred to me to take
+it to pieces, but accident has anticipated my purpose.
+May the omen prove a good one! But what have we here?"
+
+With some difficulty, the anxious officer now succeeded
+in making out the characters, which, in default of pen
+or pencil, had been formed by the pricking of a fine pin
+on the paper. The broken sentences, on which the whole
+of the group now hung with greedy ear, ran nearly as
+follows:--"All is lost. Michilimackinac is taken. We are
+prisoners, and doomed to die within eight and forty hours.
+Alas! Clara and Madeline are of our number. Still there
+is a hope, if my father deem it prudent to incur the
+risk. A surprise, well managed, may do much; but it must
+be tomorrow night; forty-eight hours more, and it will
+be of no avail. He who will deliver this is our friend,
+and the enemy of my father's enemy. He will be in the
+same spot at the same hour to-morrow night, and will
+conduct the detachment to wherever we may chance to be.
+If you fail in your enterprise, receive our last prayers
+for a less disastrous fate. God bless you all!"
+
+The blood ran coldly through every vein during the perusal
+of these important sentences, but not one word of comment
+was offered by an individual of the group. No explanation
+was necessary. The captives in the canoe, the tall warrior
+in its stern, all sufficiently betrayed the horrible
+truth.
+
+Colonel de Haldimar at length turned an enquiring look
+at his two captains, and then addressing the adjutant,
+asked--
+
+"What companies are off duty to-day, Mr. Lawson?"
+
+"Mine," said Blessington, with an energy that denoted
+how deeply rejoiced he felt at the fact, and without
+giving the adjutant time to reply.
+
+"And mine," impetuously added Captain Erskine; "and, by
+G--! I will answer for them; they never embarked on a
+duty of the sort with greater zeal than they will on this
+occasion."
+
+"Gentlemen, I thank you," said Colonel de Haldimar, with
+deep emotion, as he stepped forward and grasped in turn
+the hands of the generous-hearted officers. "To Heaven,
+and to your exertions, do I commit my children."
+
+"Any artillery, colonel?" enquired the officer of that
+corps.
+
+"No, Wentworth, no artillery. Whatever remains to be
+done, must be achieved by the bayonet alone, and under
+favour of the darkness. Gentlemen, again I thank you for
+this generous interest in my children--this forwardness
+in an enterprise on which depend the lives of so many
+dear friends. I am not one given to express warm emotion,
+but I do, indeed, appreciate this conduct deeply." He
+then moved away, desiring Mr. Lawson, as he quitted the
+rampart, to cause the men for this service to be got in
+instant readiness.
+
+Following the example of their colonel, Captains Blessington
+and Erskine quitted the rampart also, hastening to satisfy
+themselves by personal inspection of the efficiency in
+all respects of their several companies; and in a few
+minutes, the only individual to be seen in that quarter
+of the works was the sentinel, who had been a silent and
+pained witness of all that had passed among his officers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Doubtless, many of our readers are prepared to expect
+that the doom of the unfortunate Frank Halloway was, as
+an officer of his regiment had already hinted, the fruit
+of some personal pique and concealed motive of vengeance;
+and that the denouement of our melancholy story will
+afford evidence of the governor's knowledge of the true
+character of him, who, under an assumed name, excited
+such general interest at his trial and death, not only
+among his military superiors, but those with whom his
+adverse destiny had more immediately associated him. It
+has already been urged to us, by one or two of our critical
+friends to whom we have submitted what has been thus far
+written in our tale, that, to explain satisfactorily and
+consistently the extreme severity of the governor, some
+secret and personally influencing motive must be assigned;
+but to these we have intimated, what we now repeat,--namely,
+that we hope to bear out our story, by natural explanation
+and simple deduction. Who Frank Halloway really was, or
+what the connection existing between him and the mysterious
+enemy of the family of De Haldimar, the sequel of our
+narrative will show; but whatever its nature, and however
+well founded the apprehension of the governor of the
+formidable being hitherto known as the warrior of the
+Fleur de lis, and however strong his conviction that the
+devoted Halloway and his enemy were in secret
+correspondence, certain it is, that, to the very hour of
+the death of the former, he knew him as no other than
+the simple private soldier.
+
+To have ascribed to Colonel de Haldimar motives that
+would have induced his eagerly seeking the condemnation
+of an innocent man, either to gratify a thirst of vengeance,
+or to secure immunity against personal danger, would have
+been to have painted him, not only as a villain, but a
+coward. Colonel de Haldimar was neither; but, on the
+contrary, what is understood in worldly parlance and the
+generally received acceptation of the terms, a man of
+strict integrity and honour, as well as of the most
+undisputed courage. Still, he was a severe and a haughty
+man,--one whose military education had been based on the
+principles of the old school--and to whom the command of
+a regiment afforded a field for the exercise of an orthodox
+despotism, that could not be passed over without the
+immolation of many a victim on its rugged surface. Without
+ever having possessed any thing like acute feeling, his
+heart, as nature had formed it, was moulded to receive
+the ordinary impressions of humanity; and had he been
+doomed to move in the sphere of private life, if he had
+not been distinguished by any remarkable sensibilities,
+he would not, in all probability, have been conspicuous
+for any extraordinary cruelties. Sent into the army,
+however, at an early age, and with a blood not remarkable
+for its mercurial aptitudes, he had calmly and deliberately
+imbibed all the starched theories and standard prejudices
+which a mind by no means naturally gifted was but too well
+predisposed to receive; and he was among the number of
+those (many of whom are indigenous to our soil even at the
+present day) who look down from a rank obtained, upon that
+which has been just quitted, with a contempt, and coldness,
+and consciousness of elevation, commensurate only with the
+respect paid to those still above them, and which it belongs
+only to the little-minded to indulge in.
+
+As a subaltern, M. de Haldimar had ever been considered
+a pattern of rigid propriety and decorum of conduct. Not
+the shadow of military crime had ever been laid to his
+charge. He was punctual at all parades and drills; kept
+the company to which he was attached in a perfect hot
+water of discipline; never missed his distance in marching
+past, or failed in a military manoeuvre; paid his mess-bill
+regularly to the hour, nay, minute, of the settling day;
+and was never, on any one occasion, known to enter the
+paymaster's office, except on the well-remembered 24th
+of each month; and, to crown all, he had never asked,
+consequently never obtained, a day's leave from his
+regiment, although he had served in it so long, that
+there was now but one man living who had entered it with
+him. With all these qualities, Ensign de Haldimar promised
+to make an excellent soldier; and, as such, was encouraged
+by the field-officers of the corps, who unhesitatingly
+pronounced him a lad of discernment and talent, who would
+one day rival them in all the glorious privileges of
+martinetism. It was even remarked, as an evidence of his
+worth, that, when promoted to a lieutenancy, he looked
+down upon the ensigns with that becoming condescension
+which befitted his new rank; and up to the captains with
+the deferential respect he felt to be due to that third
+step in the five-barred gate of regimental promotion, on
+which his aspiring but chained foot had not yet succeeded
+in reposing. What, therefore, he became when he had
+succeeded in clambering to the top, and looked down from
+the lordly height he had after many years of plodding
+service obtained, we must leave it to the imaginations
+of our readers to determine. We reserve it to a future
+page, to relate more interesting particulars.
+
+Sufficient has been shown, however, from this outline of
+his character, as well as from the conversations among
+his officers, elsewhere transcribed, to account for the
+governor's conduct in the case of Halloway. That the
+recommendation of his son, Captain de Haldimar, had not
+been attended to, arose not from any particular ill-will
+towards the unhappy man, but simply because he had always
+been in the habit of making his own selections from the
+ranks, and that the present recommendation had been warmly
+urged by one who he fancied pretended to a discrimination
+superior to his own, in pointing out merits that had
+escaped his observation. It might be, too, that there
+was a latent pride about the manner of Halloway that
+displeased and dissatisfied one who looked upon his
+subordinates as things that were amenable to the haughtiness
+of his glance,--not enough of deference in his demeanour,
+or of supplicating obsequiousness in his speech, to
+entitle him to the promotion prayed for. Whatever the
+motive, there was nothing of personality to influence
+him in the rejection of the appeal made in favour of one
+who had never injured him; but who, on the contrary, as
+the whole of the regiment could attest, had saved the
+life of his son.
+
+Rigid disciplinarian as he was, and holding himself
+responsible for the safety of the garrison it was but
+natural, when the discovery had been made of the
+unaccountable unfastening of the gate of the fort,
+suspicion of no ordinary kind should attach to the sentinel
+posted there; and that he should steadily refuse all
+credence to a story wearing so much appearance of
+improbability. Proud, and inflexible, and bigoted to
+first impressions, his mind was closed against those
+palliating circumstances, which, adduced by Halloway in
+his defence, had so mainly contributed to stamp the
+conviction of his moral innocence on the minds of his
+judges and the attentive auditory; and could he even have
+conquered his pride so far as to have admitted the belief
+of that innocence, still the military crime of which he
+had been guilty, in infringing a positive order of the
+garrison, was in itself sufficient to call forth all the
+unrelenting severity of his nature. Throughout the whole
+of the proceedings subsequently instituted, he had acted
+and spoken from a perfect conviction of the treason of
+the unfortunate soldier, and with the fullest impression
+of the falsehood of all that had been offered in his
+defence. The considerations that influenced the minds of
+his officers, found no entrance into his proud breast,
+which was closed against every thing but his own dignified
+sense of superior judgment. Could he, like them, have
+given credence to the tale of Halloway, or really have
+believed that Captain de Haldimar, educated under his
+own military eye, could have been so wanting in
+subordination, as not merely to have infringed a positive
+order of the garrison, but to have made a private soldier
+of that garrison accessary to his delinquency, it is more
+than probable his stern habits of military discipline
+would have caused him to overlook the offence of the
+soldier, in deeper indignation at the conduct of the
+infinitely more culpable officer; but not one word did
+he credit of a statement, which he assumed to have been
+got up by the prisoner with the mere view of shielding
+himself from punishment: and when to these suspicions of
+his fidelity was attached the fact of the introduction
+of his alarming visitor, it must be confessed his motives
+for indulging in this belief were not without foundation.
+
+The impatience manifested during the trial of Halloway
+was not a result of any desire of systematic persecution,
+but of a sense of wounded dignity. It was a thing unheard
+of, and unpardonable in his eyes, for a private soldier
+to assert, in his presence, his honour and his
+respectability in extenuation, even while admitting the
+justice of a specific charge; and when he remarked the
+Court listening with that profound attention, which the
+peculiar history of the prisoner had excited, he could
+not repress the manifestation of his anger. In justice
+to him, however, it must be acknowledged that, in causing
+the charge, to which the unfortunate man pleaded guilty,
+to be framed, he had only acted from the conviction that,
+on the two first, there was not sufficient evidence to
+condemn one whose crime was as clearly established, to
+his judgment, as if he had been an eye-witness of the
+treason. It is true, he availed himself of Halloway's
+voluntary confession, to effect his condemnation; but
+estimating him as a traitor, he felt little delicacy was
+necessary to be observed on that score.
+
+Much of the despotic military character of Colonel de
+Haldimar had been communicated to his private life; so
+much, indeed, that his sons,--both of whom, it has been
+seen, were of natures that belied their origin from so
+stern a stock,--were kept at nearly as great a distance
+from him as any other subordinates of his regiment. But
+although he seldom indulged in manifestations of parental
+regard towards those whom he looked upon rather as
+inferiors in military rank, than as beings connected with
+him by the ties of blood, Colonel de Haldimar was not
+without that instinctive love for his children, which
+every animal in the creation feels for its offspring.
+He, also, valued and took a pride in, because they
+reflected a certain degree of lustre upon himself, the
+talents and accomplishments of his eldest son, who,
+moreover, was a brave, enterprising officer, and, only
+wanted, in his father's estimation, that severity of
+carriage and hauteur of deportment, befitting HIS son,
+to render him perfect. As for Charles,--the gentle, bland,
+winning, universally conciliating Charles,--he looked
+upon him as a mere weak boy, who could never hope to
+arrive at any post of distinction, if only by reason of
+the extreme delicacy of his physical organisation; and
+to have shown any thing like respect for his character,
+or indulged in any expression of tenderness for one so
+far below his estimate of what a soldier, a child of his,
+ought to be, would have been a concession of which his
+proud nature was incapable. In his daughter Clara, however,
+the gentleness of sex claimed that warmer affection which
+was denied to him, who resembled her in almost every
+attribute of mind and person. Colonel de Haldimar doated
+on his daughter with a tenderness, for which few, who
+were familiar with his harsh and unbending nature, ever
+gave him credit. She was the image of one on whom all of
+love that he had ever known had been centered; and he
+had continued in Clara an affection, that seemed in itself
+to form a portion, distinct and apart, of his existence.
+
+We have already seen, as stated by Charles de Haldimar
+to the unfortunate wife of Halloway, with what little
+success he had pleaded in the interview he had requested
+of his father, for the preserver of his gallant brother's
+life; and we have also seen how equally inefficient was
+the lowly and supplicating anguish of that wretched being,
+when, on quitting the apartment of his son, Colonel de
+Haldimar had so unexpectedly found himself clasped in
+her despairing embrace. There was little to be expected
+from an intercession on the part of one claiming so little
+ascendancy over his father's heart, as the universally
+esteemed young officer; still less from one who, in her
+shriek of agony, had exposed the haughty chief to the
+observation both of men and officers, and under
+circumstances that caused his position to border on the
+ludicrous. But however these considerations might have
+failed in effect, there was another which, as a soldier,
+he could not wholly overlook. Although he had offered
+no comment on the extraordinary recommendation to mercy
+annexed to the sentence of the prisoner, it had had a
+certain weight with him; and he felt, all absolute even
+as he was, he could not, without exciting strong
+dissatisfaction among his troops, refuse attention to a
+document so powerfully worded, and bearing the signature
+and approval of so old and valued an officer as Captain
+Blessington. His determination, therefore, had been
+formed, even before his visit to his son, to act as
+circumstances might require; and, in the mean while, he
+commanded every preparation for the execution to be made.
+
+In causing a strong detachment to be marched to the
+conspicuous point chosen for his purpose, he had acted
+from a conviction of the necessity of showing the enemy
+the treason of the soldier had been detected; reserving
+to himself the determination of carrying the sentence
+into full effect, or pardoning the condemned, as the
+event might warrant. Not one moment, meanwhile, did he
+doubt the guilt of Halloway, whose description of the
+person of his enemy was, in itself, to him, confirmatory
+evidence of his treason. It is doubtful whether he would,
+in any way, have been influenced by the recommendation
+of the Court, had the first charges been substantiated;
+but as there was nothing but conjecture to bear out these,
+and as the prisoner had been convicted only on the ground
+of suffering Captain de Haldimar to quit the fort contrary
+to orders, he felt he might possibly go too far in carrying
+the capital punishment into effect, in decided opposition
+to the general feeling of the garrison,--both of officers
+and men.
+
+When the shot was subsequently fired from the hut of the
+Canadian, and the daring rifleman recognised as the same
+fearful individual who had gained access to his apartment
+the preceding night, conviction of the guilt of Halloway
+came even deeper home to the mind of the governor. It
+was through Francois alone that a communication was kept
+up secretly between the garrison and several of the
+Canadians without the fort; and the very fact of the
+mysterious warrior having been there so recently after
+his daring enterprise, bore evidence that whatever treason
+was in operation, had been carried on through the
+instrumentality of mine host of the Fleur de lis. In
+proof, moreover, there was the hat of Donellan, and the
+very rope Halloway had stated to be that by which the
+unfortunate officer had effected his exit. Colonel de
+Haldimar was not one given to indulge in the mysterious
+or to believe in the romantic. Every thing was plain
+matter of fact, as it now appeared before him; and he
+thought it evident, as though it had been written in
+words of fire, that if his son and his unfortunate servant
+had quitted the fort in the manner represented, it was
+no less certain they had been forced off by a party, at
+the head of whom was his vindictive enemy, and with the
+connivance of Halloway. We have seen, that after the
+discovery of the sex of the supposed drummer-boy when
+the prisoners were confronted together, Colonel de Haldimar
+had closely watched the expression of their countenances,
+but failed in discovering any thing that could be traced
+into evidence of a guilty recognition. Still he conceived
+his original impression to have been too forcibly borne
+out, even by the events of the last half hour, to allow
+this to have much weight with him; and his determination
+to carry the thing through all its fearful preliminary
+stages became more and more confirmed.
+
+In adopting this resolution in the first instance, he
+was not without a hope that Halloway, standing, as he
+must feel himself to be, on the verge of the grave, might
+be induced to make confession of his guilt, and communicate
+whatever particulars might prove essential not only to
+the safety of the garrison generally, but to himself
+individually, as far as his personal enemy was concerned.
+With this view, he had charged Captain Blessington, in
+the course of their march from the hut to the fatal
+bridge, to promise a full pardon, provided he should make
+such confession of his crime as would lead to a just
+appreciation of the evils likely to result from the
+treason that had in part been accomplished. Even in making
+this provision, however, which was met by the prisoner
+with solemn yet dignified reiteration of his innocence,
+Colonel de Haldimar had not made the refusal of pardon
+altogether conclusive in his own mind: still, in adopting
+this plan, there was a chance of obtaining a confession;
+and not until there was no longer a prospect of the
+unhappy man being led into that confession, did he feel
+it imperative on him to stay the progress of the tragedy.
+
+What the result would have been, had not Halloway, in
+the strong excitement of his feelings, sprung to his feet
+upon the coffin, uttering the exclamation of triumph
+recorded in the last pages of our first volume, is scarcely
+doubtful. However much the governor might have contemned
+and slighted a credulity in which he in no way participated
+himself, he had too much discrimination not to perceive,
+that to have persevered in the capital punishment would
+have been to have rendered himself personally obnoxious
+to the comrades of the condemned, whose dispirited air
+and sullen mien, he clearly saw, denounced the punishment
+as one of unnecessary rigour. The haughty commander was
+not one to be intimidated by manifestations of discontent;
+neither was he one to brook a spirit of insubordination,
+however forcibly supported; but he had too much experience
+and military judgment, not to determine that this was
+riot a moment, by foregoing an act of compulsory clemency,
+to instil divisions in the garrison, when the safety of
+all so much depended on the cheerfulness and unanimity
+with which they lent themselves to the arduous duties of
+defence.
+
+However originating in policy, the lenity he might have
+been induced to have shown, all idea of the kind was
+chased from his mind by the unfortunate action of the
+prisoner. At the moment when the distant heights resounded
+with the fierce yells of the savages, and leaping forms
+came bounding down the slope, the remarkable warrior of
+the Fleur de lis--the fearful enemy who had whispered
+the most demoniac vengeance in his ears the preceding
+night--was the only one that met and riveted the gaze of
+the governor. He paused not to observe or to think who
+the flying man could be of whom the mysterious warrior
+was in pursuit,--neither did it, indeed, occur to him
+that it was a pursuit at all. But one idea suggested
+itself to his mind, and that was an attempt at rescue of
+the condemned on the part of his accomplice; and when at
+length Halloway, who had at once, as if by instinct,
+recognised his captain in the fugitive, shouted forth
+his gratitude to Heaven that "he at length approached
+who alone had the power to save him," every shadow of
+mercy was banished from the mind of the governor, who,
+labouring under a natural misconception of the causes of
+his exulting shout, felt that justice imperatively demanded
+her victim, and no longer hesitated in awarding the doom
+that became the supposed traitor. It was under this
+impression that he sternly gave and repeated the fatal
+order to fire; and by this misjudged and severe, although
+not absolutely cruel act, not only destroyed one of the
+noblest beings that ever wore a soldier's uniform, but
+entailed upon himself and family that terrific curse of
+his maniac wife, which rang like a prophetic warning in
+the ears of all, and was often heard in the fitful
+starlings of his own ever-after troubled slumbers.
+
+What his feelings were, when subsequently he discovered,
+in the wretched fugitive, the son whom he already believed
+to have been numbered with the dead, and heard from his
+lips a confirmation of all that had been advanced by the
+unhappy Halloway, we shall leave it to our readers to
+imagine. Still, even amid his first regret, the rigid
+disciplinarian was strong within him; and no sooner had
+the detachment regained the fort, after performing the
+last offices of interment over their ill-fated comrade,
+than Captain de Haldimar received an intimation, through
+the adjutant, to consider himself under close arrest for
+disobedience of orders. Finally, however, he succeeded
+in procuring an interview with his father; in the course
+of which, disclosing the plot of the Indians, and the
+short period allotted for its being carried into execution,
+he painted in the most gloomy colours the alarming,
+dangers which threatened them all, and finished by urgently
+imploring his father to suffer him to make the attempt
+to reach their unsuspecting friends at Michilimackinac.
+Fully impressed with the difficulties attendant on a
+scheme that offered so few feasible chances of success,
+Colonel de Haldimar for a period denied his concurrence;
+but when at length the excited young man dwelt on the
+horrors that would inevitably await his sister and
+betrothed cousin, were they to fall into the hands of
+the savages, these considerations were found to be
+effective. An after-arrangement included Sir Everard
+Valletort, who had expressed a strong desire to share
+his danger in the enterprise; and the services of the
+Canadian, who had been brought back a prisoner to the
+fort, and on whom promises and threats were bestowed in
+an equally lavish manner, were rendered available. In
+fact, without the assistance of Francois, there was little
+chance of their effecting in safety the navigation of
+the waters through which they were to pass to arrive at
+the fort. He it was, who, when summoned to attend a
+conference among the officers, bearing on the means to
+be adopted, suggested the propriety of their disguising
+themselves as Canadian duck hunters; in which character
+they might expect to pass unmolested, even if encountered
+by any outlying parties of the savages. With the doubts
+that had previously been entertained of the fidelity of
+Francois, there was an air of forlorn hope given to the
+enterprise; still, as the man expressed sincere earnestness
+of desire to repay the clemency accorded him, by a faithful
+exercise of his services, and as the object sought was
+one that justified the risk, there was, notwithstanding,
+a latent hope cherished by all parties, that the event
+would prove successful. We have already seen to what
+extent their anticipations were realised.
+
+Whether it was that he secretly acknowledged the too
+excessive sternness of his justice in regard to Halloway
+(who still, in the true acceptation of facts, had been
+guilty of a crime that entailed the penalty he had paid),
+or that the apprehensions that arose to his heart in
+regard to her on whom he yearned with all a father's
+fondness governed his conduct, certain it is, that, from
+the hour of the disclosure made by his son, Colonel de
+Haldimar became an altered man. Without losing any thing
+of that dignity of manner, which had hitherto been
+confounded with the most repellent haughtiness of bearing,
+his demeanour towards his officers became more courteous;
+and although, as heretofore, he kept himself entirely
+aloof, except when occasions of duty brought them together,
+still, when they did meet, there was more of conciliation
+in his manner, and less of austerity in his speech. There
+was, moreover, a dejection in his eye, strongly in contrast
+with his former imperious glance; and more than one
+officer remarked, that, if his days were devoted to the
+customary practical arrangements for defence, his pallid
+countenance betokened that his nights were nights rather
+of vigil than of repose.
+
+However natural and deep the alarm entertained for the
+fate of the sister fort, there could be no apprehension
+on the mind of Colonel de Haldimar in regard to his own;
+since, furnished with the means of foiling his enemies
+with their own weapons of cunning and deceit, a few
+extraordinary precautions alone were necessary to secure
+all immunity from danger. Whatever might be the stern
+peculiarities of his character,--and these had originated
+chiefly in an education purely military,--Colonel de
+Haldimar was an officer well calculated to the important
+trust reposed in him; for, combining experience with
+judgment in all matters relating to the diplomacy of war,
+and being fully conversant with the character and habits
+of the enemy opposed to him, he possessed singular aptitude
+to seize whatever advantages might present themselves.
+
+The prudence and caution of his policy have already been
+made manifest in the two several council scenes with the
+chiefs recorded in our second volume. It may appear
+singular, that, with the opportunity thus afforded him
+of retaining the formidable Ponteac,--the strength and
+sinew of that long protracted and ferocious war,--in his
+power, he should have waved his advantage; but here
+Colonel de Haldimar gave evidence of the tact which so
+eminently distinguished his public conduct throughout.
+He well knew the noble, fearless character of the chief;
+and felt, if any hold was to be secured over him, it was
+by grappling with his generosity, and not by the exercise
+of intimidation. Even admitting that Ponteac continued
+his prisoner, and that the troops, pouring their destructive
+fire upon the mass of enemies so suddenly arrested on
+the drawbridge, had swept away the whole, still they were
+but as a mite among the numerous nations that were leagued
+against the English; and to these nations, it was evident,
+they must, sooner or later, succumb.
+
+Colonel de Haldimar knew enough of the proud but generous
+nature of the Ottawa, to deem that the policy he proposed
+to pursue in the last council scene would not prove
+altogether without effect on that warrior. It was well
+known to him, that much pains had been taken to instil
+into the minds of the Indians the belief that the English
+were resolved on their final extirpation; and as certain
+slights, offered to them at various periods, had given
+a colouring of truth to this assertion, the formidable
+league which had already accomplished the downfall of so
+many of the forts had been the consequence of these artful
+representations. Although well aware that the French had
+numerous emissaries distributed among the fierce tribes,
+it was not until after the disclosure made by the haughty
+Ponteac, at the close of the first council scene, that
+he became apprised of the alarming influence exercised
+over the mind of that warrior himself by his own terrible
+and vindictive enemy. The necessity of counteracting that
+influence was obvious; and he felt this was only to be
+done (if at all) by some marked and extraordinary evidence
+of the peaceful disposition of the English. Hence his
+determination to suffer the faithless chiefs and their
+followers to depart unharmed from the fort, even at the
+moment when the attitude assumed by the prepared garrison
+fully proved to the assailants their designs had been
+penetrated and their schemes rendered abortive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+With the general position of the encampment of the
+investing Indians, the reader has been made acquainted
+through the narrative of Captain de Haldimar. It was, as
+has been shown, situate in a sort of oasis close within
+the verge of the forest, and (girt by an intervening
+underwood which Nature, in her caprice, had fashioned
+after the manner of a defensive barrier) embraced a space
+sufficient to contain the tents of the fighting men,
+together with their women and children. This, however,
+included only the warriors and inferior chiefs. The
+tents of the leaders were without the belt of underwood,
+and principally distributed at long intervals on that
+side of the forest which skirted the open country towards
+the river; forming, as it were, a chain of external
+defences, and sweeping in a semicircular direction round
+the more dense encampment of their followers. At its
+highest elevation the forest shot out suddenly into a
+point, naturally enough rendered an object of attraction
+from whatever part it was commanded.
+
+Darkness was already beginning to spread her mantle over
+the intervening space, and the night fires of the Indians
+were kindling into brightness, glimmering occasionally
+through the wood with that pale and lambent light peculiar
+to the fire-fly, of which they offered a not inapt
+representation, when suddenly a lofty tent, the brilliant
+whiteness of which was thrown into strong relief by the
+dark field on which it reposed, was seen to rise at a
+few paces from the abrupt point in the forest just
+described, and on the extreme summit of a ridge, beyond
+which lay only the western horizon in golden perspective.
+
+The opening of this tent looked eastward and towards the
+fort; and on its extreme summit floated a dark flag,
+which at intervals spread itself before the slight evening
+breeze, but oftener hung drooping and heavily over the
+glittering canvass. One solitary pine, whose trunk exceeded
+not the ordinary thickness of a man's waist, and standing
+out as a landmark on the ridge, rose at the distance of
+a few feet from the spot on which the tent had been
+erected; and to this was bound the tall and elegant figure
+of one dressed in the coarse garb of a sailor. The arms
+and legs of this individual were perfectly free; but a
+strong rope, rendered doubly secure after the manner of
+what is termed "whipping" among seamen, after having been
+tightly drawn several times around his waist, and then
+firmly knotted behind, was again passed round the tree,
+to which the back of the prisoner was closely lashed;
+thus enabling, or rather compelling, him to be a spectator
+of every object within the tent.
+
+Layers of bark, over which were spread the dressed skins
+of the bear and the buffalo, formed the floor and carpet
+of the latter; and on these, in various parts, and in
+characteristic attitudes, reposed the forms of three
+human beings;--one, the formidable warrior of the Fleur
+de lis. Attired in the garb in which we first introduced
+him to our readers, and with the same weapons reposing
+at his side, the haughty savage lay at his lazy length;
+his feet reaching beyond the opening of the tent, and
+his head reposing on a rude pillow formed of a closely
+compressed pack of skins of wild animals, over which was
+spread a sort of mantle or blanket. One hand was introduced
+between the pillow and his head, the other grasped the
+pipe tomahawk he was smoking; and while the mechanical
+play of his right foot indicated pre-occupation of thought,
+his quick and meaning eye glanced frequently and alternately
+upon the furthest of his companions, the prisoner without,
+and the distant fort.
+
+Within a few feet of the warrior lay, extended on a
+buffalo skin, the delicate figure of a female, whose
+hair, complexion, and hands, denoted her European
+extraction. Her dress was entirely Indian, however;
+consisting of a machecoti with leggings, mocassins, and
+shirt of printed cotton studded with silver brooches,--all
+of which were of a quality and texture to mark the wearer
+as the wife of a chief; and her fair hair, done up in a
+club behind, reposed on a neck of dazzling whiteness.
+Her eyes were large, blue, but wild and unmeaning; her
+countenance vacant; and her movements altogether mechanical.
+A wooden bowl filled with hominy,--a preparation of Indian
+corn,--was at her side; and from this she was now in
+the act of feeding herself with a spoon of the same
+material, but with a negligence and slovenliness that
+betrayed her almost utter unconsciousness of the action.
+
+At the further side of the tent there was another woman,
+even more delicate in appearance than the one last
+mentioned. She, too, was blue-eyed, and of surpassing
+fairness of skin. Her attitude denoted a mind too powerfully
+absorbed in grief to be heedful of appearances; for she
+sat with her knees drawn up to her chin, and rocking her
+body to and fro with an undulating motion that seemed to
+have its origin in no effort of volition of her own.
+Her long fair hair hung negligently over her shoulders;
+and a blanket drawn over the top of her head like a veil,
+and extending partly over the person, disclosed here and
+there portions of an apparel which was strictly European,
+although rent, and exhibiting in various places stains
+of blood. A bowl similar to that of her companion, and
+filled with the same food, was at her side; but this was
+untasted.
+
+"Why does the girl refuse to eat?" asked the warrior of
+her next him, as he fiercely rolled a volume of smoke
+from his lips. "Make her eat, for I would speak to her
+afterwards."
+
+"Why does the girl refuse to eat?" responded the woman
+in the same tone, dropping her spoon as she spoke, and
+turning to the object of remark with a vacant look. "It
+is good," she pursued, as she rudely shook the arm of
+the heedless sufferer. "Come, girl, eat."
+
+A shriek burst from the lips of the unhappy girl, as,
+apparently roused from her abstraction, she suffered the
+blanket to fall from her head, and staring wildly at her
+questioner, faintly demanded,--
+
+"Who, in the name of mercy, are you, who address me in
+this horrid place in my own tongue? Speak; who are you?
+Surely I should know that voice for that of Ellen, the
+wife of Frank Halloway!"
+
+A maniac laugh was uttered by the wretched woman. This
+continued offensively for a moment; and she observed, in
+an infuriated tone and with a searching eye,--"No, I am
+not the wife of Halloway. It is false. I am the wife of
+Wacousta. This is my husband!" and as she spoke she sprang
+nimbly to her feet, and was in the next instant lying
+prostrate on the form of the warrior; her arms thrown
+wildly around him, and her lips imprinting kisses on his
+cheek.
+
+But Wacousta was in no mood to suffer her endearments.
+He for the first time seemed alive to the presence of
+her who lay beyond, and, to whose whole appearance a
+character of animation had been imparted by the temporary
+excitement of her feelings. He gazed at her a moment,
+with the air of one endeavouring to recall the memory of
+days long gone by; and as he continued to do so, his eye
+dilated, his chest heaved, and his countenance alternately
+flushed and paled. At length he threw the form that
+reposed upon his own, violently, and even savagely, from
+him; sprang eagerly to his feet; and clearing the space
+that divided him from the object of his attention at a
+single step, bore her from the earth in his arms with as
+much ease as if she had been an infant, and then returning
+to his own rude couch, placed his horror-stricken victim
+at his side.
+
+"Nay, nay," he urged sarcastically, as she vainly struggled
+to free herself; "let the De Haldimar portion of your
+blood rise up in anger if it will; but that of Clara
+Beverley, at least--."
+
+"Gracious Providence! where am I, that I hear the name
+of my sainted mother thus familiarly pronounced?"
+interrupted the startled girl; "and who are you,"--turning
+her eyes wildly on the swarthy countenance of the warrior,
+--"who are you, I ask, who, with the mien and in the garb
+of a savage of these forests, appear thus acquainted with
+her name?"
+
+The warrior passed his hand across his brow for a moment,
+as if some painful and intolerable reflection had been
+called up by the question; but he speedily recovered his
+self-possession, and, with an expression of feature that
+almost petrified his auditor, vehemently observed,--
+
+"You ask who I am! One who knew your mother long before
+the accursed name of De Haldimar had even been whispered
+in her ear; and whom love for the one and hatred for the
+other has rendered the savage you now behold! But," he
+continued, while a fierce and hideous smile lighted up
+every feature, "I overlook my past sufferings in my
+present happiness. The image of Clara Beverley, even
+such as my soul loved her in its youth, is once more
+before me in her child; THAT child shall be my wife!"
+
+"Your wife! monster;--never!" shrieked the unhappy girl,
+again vainly attempting to disengage herself from the
+encircling arm of the savage. "But," she pursued, in a
+tone of supplication, while the tears coursed each other
+down her cheek, "if you ever loved my mother as you say
+you have, restore her children to their home; and, if
+saints may be permitted to look down from heaven in
+approval of the acts of men, she whom you have loved will
+bless you for the deed."
+
+A deep groan burst from the vast chest of Wacousta; but,
+for a moment, he answered not. At length he observed,
+pointing at the same time with his finger towards the
+cloudless vault above their heads,--"Do you behold yon
+blue sky, Clara de Haldimar?"
+
+"I do;--what mean you?" demanded the trembling girl, in
+whom a momentary hope had been excited by the subdued
+manner of the savage.
+
+"Nothing," he coolly rejoined; "only that were your mother
+to appear there at this moment, clad in all the attributes
+ascribed to angels, her prayer would not alter the destiny
+that awaits you. Nay, nay; look not thus sorrowfully,"
+he pursued, as, in despite of her efforts to prevent him,
+he imprinted a burning kiss upon her lips. "Even thus
+was I once wont to linger on the lips of your mother;
+but hers ever pouted to be pressed by mine; and not with
+tears, but with sunniest smiles, did she court them." He
+paused; bent his head over the face of the shuddering
+girl; and gazing fixedly for a few minutes on her
+countenance, while he pressed her struggling form more
+closely to his own, exultingly pursued, as if to himself,
+--"Even as her mother was, so is she. Ye powers of hell!
+who would have ever thought a time would come when both
+my vengeance and my love would be gratified to the utmost?
+How strange it never should have occurred to me he had
+a daughter!"
+
+"What mean you, fierce, unpitying man?" exclaimed the
+terrified Clara, to whom a full sense of the horror of
+her position had lent unusual energy of character. "Surely
+you will not detain a poor defenceless woman in your
+hands,--the child of her you say you have loved. But it
+is false!--you never knew her, or you would not now reject
+my prayer."
+
+"Never knew her!" fiercely repeated Wacousta. Again he
+paused. "Would I had never known her! and I should not
+now be the outcast wretch I am," he added, slowly and
+impressively. Then once more elevating his voice,--"Clara
+de Haldimar, I have loved your mother as man never loved
+woman; and I have hated your father" (grinding his teeth
+with fury as he spoke) "as man never hated man. That
+love, that hatred are unquenched--unquenchable. Before
+me I see at once the image of her who, even in death,
+has lived enshrined in my heart, and the child of him
+who is my bitterest foe. Clara de Haldimar, do you
+understand me now?"
+
+"Almighty Providence! is there no one to save me?--can
+nothing touch your stubborn heart?" exclaimed the affrighted
+girl; and she turned her swimming eyes on those of the
+warrior, in appeal; but his glance caused her own to sink
+in confusion. "Ellen Halloway," she pursued, after a
+moment's pause, and in the wild accents of despair, "if
+you are indeed the wife of this man, as you say you are,
+oh! plead for me with him; and in the name of that
+kindness, which I once extended to yourself, prevail on
+him to restore me to my father!"
+
+"Ellen Halloway!--who calls Ellen Halloway?" said the
+wretched woman, who had again resumed her slovenly meal
+on the rude couch, apparently without consciousness of
+the scene enacting at her side. "I am not Ellen Halloway:
+they said so; but it is not true. My husband was Reginald
+Morton: but he went for a soldier, and was killed; and
+I never saw him more."
+
+"Reginald Morton! What mean you, woman?--What know you
+of Reginald Morton?" demanded Wacousta, with frightful
+energy, as, leaning over the shrinking form of Clara, he
+violently grasped and shook the shoulder of the unhappy
+maniac.
+
+"Stop; do not hurt me, and I will tell you all, sir,"
+she almost screamed. "Oh, sir, Reginald Morton was my
+husband once; but he was kinder than you are. He did not
+look so fiercely at me; nor did he pinch me so."
+
+"What of him?--who was he?" furiously repeated Wacousta,
+as he again impatiently shook the arm of the wretched
+Ellen. "Where did you know him?--Whence came he?"
+
+"Nay, you must not be jealous of poor Reginald:" and, as
+she uttered these words in a softening and conciliating
+tone, her eye was turned upon those of the warrior with
+a mingled expression of fear and cunning. "But he was
+very good and very handsome, and generous; and we lived
+near each other, and we loved each other at first sight.
+But his family were very proud, and they quarrelled with
+him because he married me; and then we became very poor,
+and Reginald went for a soldier, and--; but I forget the
+rest, it is so long ago." She pressed her hand to her
+brow, and sank her head upon her chest.
+
+"Ellen, woman, again I ask you where he came from? this
+Reginald Morton that you have named. To what county did
+he belong?"
+
+"Oh, we were both Cornish," she answered, with a vivacity
+singularly in contrast with her recent low and monotonous
+tone; "but, as I said before, he was of a great family,
+and I only a poor clergyman's daughter."
+
+"Cornish!--Cornish, did you say?" fiercely repeated the
+dark Wacousta, while an expression of loathing and disgust
+seemed for a moment to convulse his features; "then is
+it as I had feared. One word more. Was the family seat
+called Morton Castle?"
+
+"It was," unhesitatingly returned the poor woman, yet
+with the air of one wondering to hear a name repeated,
+long forgotten even by herself. "It was a beautiful castle
+too, on a lovely ridge of hills; and it commanded such
+a nice view of the sea, close to the little port of -----;
+and the parsonage stood in such a sweet valley, close
+under the castle; and we were all so happy." She paused,
+again put her hand to her brow, and pressed it with force,
+as if endeavouring to pursue the chain of connection in
+her memory, but evidently without success.
+
+"And your father's name was Clayton?" said the warrior,
+enquiringly; "Henry Clayton, if I recollect aright?"
+
+"Ha! who names my father?" shrieked the wretched woman.
+"Yes, sir, it was Clayton--Henry Clayton--the kindest,
+the noblest of human beings. But the affliction of his
+child, and the persecutions of the Morton family, broke
+his heart. He is dead, sir, and Reginald is dead too;
+and I am a poor lone widow in the world, and have no one
+to love me." Here the tears coursed each other rapidly
+down her faded cheek, although her eyes were staring and
+motionless.
+
+"It is false!" vociferated the warrior, who, now he had
+gained all that was essential to the elucidation of his
+doubts, quitted the shoulder he had continued to press
+with violence in his nervous hand, and once more extended
+himself at his length; "in me you behold the uncle of
+your husband. Yes, Ellen Clayton, you have been the wife
+of two Reginald Mortons. Both," he pursued with unutterable
+bitterness, while he again started up and shook his
+tomahawk menacingly in the direction of the fort,--"both
+have been the victims of yon cold-blooded governor; but
+the hour of our reckoning is at hand. Ellen," he fiercely
+added, "do you recollect the curse you pronounced on the
+family of that haughty man, when he slaughtered your
+Reginald. By Heaven! it shall be fulfilled; but first
+shall the love I have so long borne the mother be
+transferred to the child."
+
+Again he sought to encircle the waist of her whom, in
+the strong excitement of his rage, he had momentarily
+quitted; but the unutterable disgust and horror produced
+in the mind of the unhappy Clara lent an almost supernatural
+activity to her despair. She dexterously eluded his grasp,
+gained her feet, and with tottering steps and outstretched
+arms darted through the opening of the tent, and piteously
+exclaiming, "Save me! oh, for God's sake, save me!" sank
+exhausted, and apparently lifeless, on the chest of the
+prisoner without.
+
+To such of our readers as, deceived by the romantic nature
+of the attachment stated to have been originally entertained
+by Sir Everard Valletort for the unseen sister of his
+friend, have been led to expect a tale abounding in
+manifestations of its progress when the parties had
+actually met, we at once announce disappointment. Neither
+the lover of amorous adventure, nor the admirer of witty
+dialogue, should dive into these pages. Room for the
+exercise of the invention might, it is true, be found;
+but ours is a tale of sad reality, and our heroes and
+heroines figure under circumstances that would render
+wit a satire upon the understanding, and love a reflection
+upon the heart. Within the bounds of probability have
+we, therefore, confined ourselves.
+
+What the feelings of the young Baronet must have been,
+from the first moment when he received from the hands of
+the unfortunate Captain Baynton (who, although an officer
+of his own corps, was personally a stranger to him,) that
+cherished sister of his friend, on whose ideal form his
+excited imagination had so often latterly loved to linger,
+up to the present hour, we should vainly attempt to paint.
+There are emotions of the heart, it would be mockery in
+the pen to trace. From the instant of his first contributing
+to preserve her life, on that dreadful day of blood, to
+that when the schooner fell into the hands of the savages,
+few words had passed between them, and these had reference
+merely to the position in which they found themselves,
+and whenever Sir Everard felt he could, without indelicacy
+or intrusion, render himself in the slightest way
+serviceable to her. The very circumstances under which
+they had met, conduced to the suppression, if not utter
+extinction, of all of passion attached to the sentiment
+with which he had been inspired. A new feeling had
+quickened in his breast; and it was with emotions more
+assimilated to friendship than to love that he now regarded
+the beautiful but sorrow-stricken sister of his bosom
+friend. Still there was a softness, a purity, a delicacy
+and tenderness in this new feeling, in which the influence
+of sex secretly though unacknowledgedly predominated;
+and even while sensible it would have been a profanation
+of every thing most sacred and delicate in nature to have
+admitted a thought of love within his breast at such a
+moment, he also felt he could have entertained a voluptuous
+joy in making any sacrifice, even to the surrender of
+life itself, provided the tranquillity of that gentle
+and suffering being could be by it ensured.
+
+Clara, in her turn, had been in no condition to admit so
+exclusive a power as that of love within her soul. She
+had, it is true, even amid the desolation of her shattered
+spirit, recognised in the young officer the original of
+a portrait so frequently drawn by her brother, and dwelt
+on by herself. She acknowledged, moreover, the fidelity
+of the painting: but however she might have felt and
+acted under different circumstances, absorbed as was her
+heart, and paralysed her imagination, by the harrowing
+scenes she had gone through, she, too, had room but for
+one sentiment in her fainting soul, and that was friendship
+for the friend of her brother; on whom, moreover, she
+bestowed that woman's gratitude, which could not fail to
+be awakened by a recollection of the risks he had
+encountered, conjointly with Frederick, to save her from
+destruction. During their passage across lake Huron, Sir
+Everard had usually taken his seat on the deck, at that
+respectful distance which he conceived the delicacy of
+the position of the unfortunate cousins demanded; but in
+such a manner that, while he seemed wholly abstracted
+from them, his eye had more than once been detected by
+Clara fixed on hers, with an affectionateness of interest
+she could not avoid repaying with a glance of recognition
+and approval. These, however, were the only indications
+of regard that had passed between them.
+
+If, however, a momentary and irrepressible flashing of
+that sentiment, which had, at an earlier period, formed
+a portion of their imaginings, did occasionally steal
+over their hearts while there was a prospect of reaching
+their friends in safety, all manifestation of its power
+was again finally suppressed when the schooner fell into
+the hands of the savages. Become the immediate prisoners
+of Wacousta, they had been surrendered to that ferocious
+chief to be dealt with as he might think proper; and, on
+disembarking from the canoe in which their transit to
+the main land had been descried that morning from the
+fort, had been separated from their equally unfortunate
+and suffering companions. Captain de Haldimar, Madeline,
+and the Canadian, were delivered over to the custody of
+several choice warriors of the tribe in which Wacousta
+was adopted; and, bound hand and foot, were, at that
+moment, in the war tent of the fierce savage, which, as
+Ponteac had once boasted to the governor, was every where
+hung around with human scalps, both of men, of women,
+and of children. The object of this mysterious man, in
+removing Clara to the spot we have described, was one
+well worthy of his ferocious nature. His vengeance had
+already devoted her to destruction; and it was within
+view of the fort, which contained the father whom he
+loathed, he had resolved his purpose should be accomplished.
+A refinement of cruelty, such as could scarcely have been
+supposed to enter the breast even of such a remorseless
+savage as himself, had caused him to convey to the same
+spot, him whom he rather suspected than knew to be the
+lover of the young girl. It was with the view of harrowing
+up the soul of one whom he had recognised as the officer
+who had disabled him on the night of the rencontre on
+the bridge, that he had bound Sir Everard to the tree,
+whence, as we have already stated, he was a compelled
+spectator of every thing that passed within the tent;
+and yet with that free action of limb which only tended
+to tantalize him the more amid his unavailable efforts
+to rid himself of his bonds,--a fact that proved not only
+the dire extent to which the revenge of Wacousta could
+be carried, but the actual and gratuitous cruelty of his
+nature.
+
+One must have been similarly circumstanced, to understand
+all the agony of the young man during this odious scene,
+and particularly at the fierce and repeated declaration
+of the savage that Clara should be his bride. More than
+once had he essayed to remove the ligatures which confined
+his waist; but his unsuccessful attempts only drew an
+occasional smile of derision from his enemy, as he glanced
+his eye rapidly towards him. Conscious at length of the
+inutility of efforts, which, without benefiting her for
+whom they were principally prompted, rendered him in some
+degree ridiculous even in his own eyes, the wretched
+Valletort desisted altogether, and with his head sunk
+upon his chest, and his eyes closed, sought at least to
+shut out a scene which blasted his sight, and harrowed
+up his very soul.
+
+But when Clara, uttering her wild cry for protection,
+and rushing forth from the tent, sank almost unconsciously
+in his embrace, a thrill of inexplicable joy ran through
+each awakened fibre of his frame. Bending eagerly forward,
+he had extended his arms to receive her; and when he felt
+her light and graceful form pressing upon his own as its
+last refuge--when he felt her heart beating against
+his--when he saw her head drooping on his shoulder, in
+the wild recklessness of despair,--even amid that scene
+of desolation and grief he could not help enfolding her
+in tumultuous ecstasy to his breast. Every horrible danger
+was for an instant forgotten in the soothing consciousness
+that he at length encircled the form of her, whom in many
+an hour of solitude he had thus pictured, although under
+far different circumstances, reposing confidingly on him.
+There was delight mingled with agony in his sensation of
+the wild throb of her bosom against his own; and even
+while his soul fainted within him, as he reflected on
+the fate that awaited her, he felt as if he could himself
+now die more happily.
+
+Momentary, however, was the duration of this scene.
+Furious with anger at the evident disgust of his victim,
+Wacousta no sooner saw her sink into the arms of her
+lover, than with that agility for which he was remarkable
+he was again on his feet, and stood in the next instant
+at her side. Uniting to the generous strength of his
+manhood all that was wrung from his mingled love and
+despair, the officer clasped his hands round the waist
+of the drooping Clara; and with clenched teeth, and feet
+firmly set, seemed resolved to defy every effort of the
+warrior to remove her. Not a word was uttered on either
+side; but in the fierce smile that curled the lip of the
+savage, there spoke a language even more terrible than
+the words that smile implied. Sir Everard could not
+suppress an involuntary shudder; and when at length
+Wacousta, after a short but violent struggle, succeeded
+in again securing and bearing off his prize, the
+wretchedness of soul of the former was indescribable.
+
+"You see 'tis vain to struggle against your destiny,
+Clara de Haldimar," sneered the warrior. "Ours is but a
+rude nuptial couch, it is true; but the wife of an Indian
+chief must not expect the luxuries of Europe in the heart
+of an American wilderness."
+
+"Almighty Heaven! where am I?" exclaimed the wretched
+girl, again unclosing her eyes to all the horror of her
+position; for again she lay at the side, and within the
+encircling arm, of her enemy. "Oh, Sir Everard Valletort,
+I thought I was with you, and that you had saved me from
+this monster. Where is my brother?--Where are Frederick
+and Madeline?--"Why have they deserted me?--Ah! my
+heart will break. I cannot endure this longer, and live."
+
+"Clara, Miss de Haldimar," groaned Sir Everard, in a
+voice of searching agony; "could I lay down my life for
+you, I would; but you see these bonds. Oh God! oh God!
+have pity on the innocent; and for once incline the heart
+of yon fierce monster to the whisperings of mercy." As
+he uttered the last sentence, he attempted to sink on
+his knees in supplication to Him he addressed, but the
+tension of the cord prevented him; yet were his hands
+clasped, and his eyes upraised to heaven, while his
+countenance beamed with an expression of fervent enthusiasm.
+
+"Peace, babbler! or, by Heaven! that prayer shall be your
+last," vociferated Wacousta. "But no," he pursued to
+himself, dropping at the same time the point of his
+upraised tomahawk; "these are but the natural writhings
+of the crushed worm; and the longer protracted they are,
+the more complete will be my vengeance." Then turning to
+the terrified girl,--"You ask, Clara de Haldimar, where
+you are? In the tent of your mother's lover, I reply,--at
+the side of him who once pressed her to his heart, even
+as I now press you, and with a fondness that was only
+equalled by her own. Come, dear Clara," and his voice
+assumed a tone of tenderness that was even more revolting
+than his natural ferocity, "let me woo you to the affection
+she once possessed. It was a heart of fire in which her
+image stood enshrined,--it is a heart of fire still, and
+well worthy of her child."
+
+"Never, never!" shrieked the agonised girl. "Kill me,
+murder me, if you will; but oh! if you have pity, pollute
+not my ear with the avowal of your detested love. But
+again I repeat, it is false that my mother ever knew you.
+She never could have loved so fierce, so vindictive a
+being as yourself."
+
+"Ha! do you doubt me still?" sternly demanded the savage.
+Then drawing the shuddering girl still closer to his vast
+chest,--"Come hither, Clara, while to convince you I
+unfold the sad history of my life, and tell you more of
+your parents than you have ever known. When," he pursued
+solemnly, "you have learnt the extent of my love for the
+one, and of my hatred for the other, and the wrongs I
+have endured from both, you will no longer wonder at the
+spirit of mingled love and vengeance that dictates my
+conduct towards yourself. Listen, girl," he continued
+fiercely, "and judge whether mine are injuries to be
+tamely pardoned, when a whole life has been devoted to
+the pursuit of the means of avenging them."
+
+Irresistibly led by a desire to know what possible
+connection could have existed between her parents and
+this singular and ferocious man, the wretched girl gave
+her passive assent. She even hoped that, in the course
+of his narrative, some softening recollections would pass
+over his mind, the effect of which might be to predispose
+him to mercy. Wacousta buried his face for a few moments
+in his large hand, as if endeavouring to collect and
+concentrate the remembrances of past years. His countenance,
+meanwhile, had undergone a change; for there was now a
+shade of melancholy mixed with the fierceness of expression
+usually observable there. This, however, was dispelled
+in the course of his narrative, and as various opposite
+passions were in turn powerfully and severally developed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+"It is now four and twenty years," commenced Wacousta,
+"since your father and myself first met as subalterns in
+the regiment he now commands, when, unnatural to say, an
+intimacy suddenly sprang up between us which, as it was
+then to our brother officers, has since been a source of
+utter astonishment to myself. Unnatural, I repeat, for
+fire and ice are not more opposite than were the elements
+of which our natures were composed. He, all coldness,
+prudence, obsequiousness, and forethought. I, all
+enthusiasm, carelessness, impetuosity, and independence.
+Whether this incongruous friendship--friendship! no, I
+will not so far sully the sacred name as thus to term
+the unnatural union that subsisted between us;--whether
+this intimacy, then, sprang from the adventitious
+circumstance of our being more frequently thrown together
+as officers of the same company,--for we were both attached
+to the grenadiers,--or that my wild spirit was soothed
+by the bland amenity of his manners, I know not. The
+latter, however, is not improbable; for proud, and haughty,
+and dignified, as the colonel NOW is, such was not THEN
+the character of the ensign; who seemed thrown out of
+one of Nature's supplest moulds, to fawn, and cringe,
+and worm his way to favour by the wily speciousness of
+his manners. Oh God!" pursued Wacousta, after a momentary
+pause, and striking his palm against his forehead, "that
+I ever should have been the dupe of such a cold-blooded
+hypocrite!
+
+"I have said our intimacy excited surprise among our
+brother officers. It did; for all understood and read
+the character of your father, who was as much disliked
+and distrusted for the speciousness of his false nature,
+as I was generally esteemed for the frankness and warmth
+of mine. No one openly censured the evident preference
+I gave him in my friendship; but we were often sarcastically
+termed the Pylades and Orestes of the regiment, until my
+heart was ready to leap into my throat with impatience
+at the bitterness in which the taunt was conceived; and
+frequently in my presence was allusion made to the blind
+folly of him, who should take a cold and slimy serpent
+to his bosom only to feel its fangs darted into it at
+the moment when most fostered by its genial heat. All,
+however, was in vain. On a nature like mine, innuendo
+was likely to produce an effect directly opposite to that
+intended; and the more I found them inclined to be severe
+on him I called my friend, the more marked became my
+preference. I even fancied that because I was rich,
+generous, and heir to a title, their observations were
+prompted by jealousy of the influence he possessed over
+me, and a desire to supplant him only for their interests'
+sake. Bitterly have I been punished for the illiberality
+of such an opinion. Those to whom I principally allude
+were the subalterns of the regiment, most of whom were
+nearly of our own age. One or two of the junior captains
+were also of this number; but, by the elders (as we termed
+the seniors of that rank) and field officers, Ensign de
+Haldimar was always regarded as a most prudent and
+promising young officer.
+
+"What conduced, in a great degree, to the establishment
+of our intimacy was the assistance I always received from
+my brother subaltern in whatever related to my military
+duties. As the lieutenant of the company, the more
+immediate responsibility attached to myself; but being
+naturally of a careless habit, or perhaps considering
+all duty irksome to my impatient nature that was not duty
+in the field, I was but too often guilty of neglecting
+it. On these occasions my absence was ever carefully
+supplied by your father, who, in all the minutiae of
+regimental economy, was surpassed by no other officer in
+the corps; so that credit was given to me, when, at the
+ordinary inspections, the grenadiers were acknowledged
+to be the company the most perfect in equipment and
+skilful in manoeuvre. Deeply, deeply," again mused
+Wacousta, "have these services been repaid.
+
+"As you have just learnt, Cornwall is the country of my
+birth. I was the eldest of the only two surviving children
+of a large family; and, as heir to the baronetcy of the
+proud Mortons, was looked up to by lord and vassal as
+the future perpetuator of the family name. My brother
+had been designed for the army; but as this was a profession
+to which I had attached my inclinations, the point was
+waved in my favour, and at the age of eighteen I first
+joined the ---- regiment, then quartered in the Highlands
+of Scotland. During my boyhood I had ever accustomed
+myself to athletic exercises, and loved to excite myself
+by encountering danger in its most terrific forms. Often
+had I passed whole days in climbing the steep and
+precipitous crags which overhang the sea in the
+neighbourhood of Morton Castle, ostensibly in the pursuit
+of the heron or the seagull, but self-acknowledgedly for
+the mere pleasure of grappling with the difficulties they
+opposed to me. Often, too, in the most terrific tempests,
+when sea and sky have met in one black and threatening
+mass, and when the startled fishermen have in vain
+attempted to dissuade me from my purpose, have I ventured,
+in sheer bravado, out of sight of land, and unaccompanied
+by a human soul. Then, when wind and tide have been
+against me on my return, have I, with my simple sculls
+alone, caused my faithful bark to leap through the foaming
+brine as though a press of canvass had impelled her on.
+Oh, that this spirit of adventure had never grown with
+my growth and strengthened with my strength!" sorrowfully
+added the warrior, again apostrophising himself: "then
+had I never been the wretch I am.
+
+"The wild daring by which my boyhood had been marked was
+again powerfully awakened by the bold and romantic scenery
+of the Scottish Highlands; and as the regiment was at
+that time quartered in a part of these mountainous
+districts, where, from the disturbed nature of the times,
+society was difficult of attainment, many of the officers
+were driven from necessity, as I was from choice, to
+indulge in the sports of the chase. On one occasion a
+party of four of us set out early in the morning in
+pursuit of deer, numbers of which we knew were to be met
+with in the mountainous tracts of Bute and Argyleshire.
+The course we happened to take lay through a succession
+of dark deep glens, and over frowning rocks; the
+difficulties of access to which only stirred up my dormant
+spirit of enterprise the more. We had continued in this
+course for many hours, overcoming one difficulty only to
+be encountered by another, and yet without meeting a
+single deer; when, at length, the faint blast of a horn
+was heard far above our heads in the distance, and
+presently a noble stag was seen to ascend a ledge of
+rocks immediately in front of us. To raise my gun to my
+shoulder and fire was the work of a moment, after which
+we all followed in pursuit. On reaching the spot where
+the deer had first been seen, we observed traces of blood,
+satisfying us he had been wounded; but the course taken
+in his flight was one that seemed to defy every human
+effort to follow in. It was a narrow pointed ledge,
+ascending boldly towards a huge cliff that projected
+frowningly from the extreme summit, and on either side
+lay a dark, deep, and apparently fathomless ravine; to
+look even on which was sufficient to appal the stoutest
+heart, and unnerve the steadiest brain. For me, however,
+long accustomed to dangers of the sort, it had no terror.
+This was a position in which I had often wished once more
+to find myself placed, and I felt buoyant and free as
+the deer itself I intended to pursue. In vain did my
+companions (and your father was one) implore me to abandon
+a project so wild and hazardous. I bounded forward, and
+they turned shuddering away, that their eyes might not
+witness the destruction that awaited me. Meanwhile,
+balancing my long gun in my upraised hands, I trod the
+dangerous path with a buoyancy and elasticity of limb,
+a lightness of heart, and a fearlessness of consequences,
+that surprised even myself. Perhaps it was to the latter
+circumstance I owed my safety, for a single doubt of my
+security might have impelled a movement that would not
+have failed to have precipitated me into the yawning gulf
+below. I had proceeded in this manner about five hundred
+yards, when I came to the termination of the ledge, from
+the equally narrow transverse extremity of which branched
+out three others; the whole contributing to form a figure
+resembling that of a trident. Pausing here for a moment,
+I applied the hunting horn, with which I was provided,
+to my lips. This signal, announcing my safety, was speedily
+returned by my friends below in a cheering and lively
+strain, that seemed to express at once surprise and
+satisfaction; and inspirited by the sound, I prepared to
+follow up my perilous chase. Along the ledge I had
+quitted I had remarked occasional traces where the stricken
+deer had passed; and the same blood-spots now directed
+me at a point where, but for these, I must have been
+utterly at fault. The centre of these new ridges, and
+the narrowest, was that taken by the animal, and on that
+I once more renewed my pursuit. As I continued to advance
+I found the ascent became more precipitous, and the
+difficulties opposed to my progress momentarily more
+multiplied. Still, nothing daunted, I continued my course
+towards the main body of rock that now rose within a
+hundred yards. How. this was to be gained I knew not;
+for it shelved out abruptly from the extreme summit,
+overhanging the abyss, and presenting an appearance which
+I cannot more properly render than by comparing it to
+the sounding-boards placed over the pulpits of our English
+churches. Still I was resolved to persevere to the close,
+and I but too unhappily succeeded." Again Wacousta paused.
+A tear started to his eye, but this he impatiently brushed
+away with his swarthy hand.
+
+"It was evident to me," he again resumed, "that there
+must be some opening through which the deer had effected
+his escape to the precipitous height above; and I felt
+a wild and fearful triumph in following him to his cover,
+over passes which it was my pleasure to think none of
+the hardy mountaineers themselves would have dared to
+venture upon with impunity. I paused not to consider of
+the difficulty of bearing away my prize, even if I
+succeeded in overtaking it. At every step my excitement
+and determination became stronger, and I felt every fibre
+of my frame to dilate, as when, in my more boyish days,
+I used to brave, in my gallant skiff, the mingled fury
+of the warring elements of sea and storm. Suddenly, while
+my mind was intent only on the dangers I used then to
+hold in such light estimation, I found my further progress
+intercepted by a fissure in the crag. It was not the
+width of this opening that disconcerted me, for it exceeded
+not ten feet; but I came upon it so unadvisedly, that,
+in attempting to check my forward motion, I had nearly
+lost my equipoise, and fallen into the abyss that now
+yawned before and on either side of me. To pause upon
+the danger, would, I felt, be to ensure it. Summoning
+all my dexterity into a single bound, I cleared the chasm;
+and with one buskined foot (for my hunting costume was
+strictly Highland) clung firmly to the ledge, while I
+secured my balance with the other. At this point the
+rock became gradually broader, so that I now trod the
+remainder of the rude path in perfect security, until I
+at length found myself close to the vast mass of which
+these ledges were merely ramifications or veins: but
+still I could discover no outlet by which the wounded
+deer could have escaped. While I lingered, thoughtfully,
+for a moment, half in disappointment, half in anger, and
+with my back leaning against the rock, I fancied I heard
+a rustling, as of the leaves and branches of underwood,
+on that part which projected like a canopy, far above
+the abyss. I bent my eye eagerly and fixedly on the spot
+whence the sound proceeded, and presently could distinguish
+the blue sky appearing through an aperture, to which was,
+the instant afterwards, applied what I conceived to be
+a human face. No sooner, however, was it seen than
+withdrawn; and then the rustling of leaves was heard
+again, and all was still as before.
+
+"Why did my evil genius so will it," resumed Wacousta,
+after another pause, during which he manifested deep
+emotion, "that I should have heard those sounds and seen
+that face? But for these I should have returned to my
+companions, and my life might have been the life--the
+plodding life--of the multitude; things that are born
+merely to crawl through existence and die, knowing not
+at the moment of death why or how they have lived at all.
+But who may resist the destiny that presides over him
+from the cradle to the grave? for, although the mass may
+be, and are, unworthy of the influencing agency of that
+Unseen Power, who will presume to deny there are those
+on whom it stamps its iron seal, even from the moment of
+their birth to that which sees all that is mortal of them
+consigned to the tomb? What was it but destiny that
+whispered to me what I had seen was the face of a woman?
+I had not traced a feature, nor could I distinctly state
+that it was a human countenance I had beheld; but mine
+was ever an imagination into which the wildest improbability
+was scarce admitted that it did not grow into conviction
+in the instant.
+
+"A new direction was now given to my feelings. I felt a
+presentiment that my adventure, if prosecuted, would
+terminate in some extraordinary and characteristic manner;
+and obeying, as I ever did, the first impulse of my heart,
+I prepared to grapple once more with the difficulties
+that yet remained to be surmounted. In order to do this,
+it was necessary that my feet and hands should be utterly
+without incumbrance; for it was only by dint of climbing
+that I could expect to reach that part of the projecting
+rock to which my attention had been directed. Securing
+my gun between some twisted roots that grew out of and
+adhered to the main body of the rock, I commenced the
+difficult ascent; and, after considerable effort, found
+myself at length immediately under the aperture. My
+progress along the lower superficies of this projection
+was like that of a crawling reptile. My back hung suspended
+over the chasm, into which one false movement of hand or
+foot, one yielding of the roots entwined in the rock,
+must inevitably have precipitated me; and, while my toes
+wormed themselves into the tortuous fibres of the latter,
+I passed hand over hand beyond my head, until I had
+arrived within a foot or two of the point I desired to
+reach. Here, however, a new difficulty occurred. A slight
+projection of the rock, close to the aperture, impeded
+my further progress in the manner hitherto pursued; and,
+to pass this, I was compelled to drop my whole weight,
+suspended by one vigorous arm, while, with the other, I
+separated the bushes that concealed the opening. A
+violent exertion of every muscle now impelled me upward,
+until at length I had so far succeeded as to introduce
+my head and shoulders through the aperture; after which
+my final success was no longer doubtful. If I have been
+thus minute in the detail of the dangerous nature of this
+passage," continued Wacousta, gloomily, "it is not without
+reason. I would have you to impress the whole of the
+localities upon your imagination, that you may the better
+comprehend, from a knowledge of the risks I incurred,
+how little I have merited the injuries under which I have
+writhed for years."
+
+Again one of those painful pauses with which his narrative
+was so often broken, occurred; and, with an energy that
+terrified her whom he addressed, Wacousta pursued--"Clara
+de Haldimar, it was here--in this garden--this paradise
+--this oasis of the rocks in which I now found myself,
+that I first saw and loved your mother. Ha! you start:
+you believe me now.--Loved her!" he continued, after
+another short pause--"oh, what a feeble word is love to
+express the concentration of mighty feelings that flowed
+like burning lava through my veins! Who shall pretend to
+give a name to the emotion that ran thrillingly--madly
+through my excited frame, when first I gazed on her, who,
+in every attribute of womanly beauty, realised all my
+fondest fancy ever painted?--Listen to me, Clara," he
+pursued, in a fiercer tone, and with a convulsive pressure
+of the form he still encircled:--"If, in my younger days,
+my mind was alive to enterprise, and loved to contemplate
+danger in its most appalling forms, this was far from
+being the master passion of my soul; nay, it was the
+strong necessity I felt of pouring into some devoted
+bosom the overflowing fulness of my heart, that made me
+court in solitude those positions of danger with which
+the image of woman was ever associated. How often, while
+tossed by the raging elements, now into the blue vault
+of heaven, now into the lowest gulfs of the sea, have I
+madly wished to press to my bounding bosom the being of
+my fancy's creation, who, all enamoured and given to her
+love, should, even amid the danger that environed her,
+be alive but to one consciousness,--that of being with
+him on whom her life's hope alone reposed! How often,
+too, while bending over some dark and threatening precipice,
+or standing on the utmost verge of some tall projecting
+cliff, my aching head (aching with the intenseness of
+its own conceptions) bared to the angry storm, and my
+eye fixed unshrinkingly on the boiling ocean far beneath
+my feet, has my whole soul--my every faculty, been bent
+on that ideal beauty which controlled every sense! Oh,
+imagination, how tyrannical is thy sway--how exclusive
+thy power--how insatiable thy thirst! Surrounded by
+living beauty, I was insensible to its influence; for,
+with all the perfection that reality can attain on earth,
+there was ever to be found some deficiency, either physical
+or moral, that defaced the symmetry and destroyed the
+loveliness of the whole; but, no sooner didst thou, with
+magic wand, conjure up one of thy embodiments, than my
+heart became a sea of flame, and was consumed in the
+vastness of its own fires.
+
+"It was in vain that my family sought to awaken me to a
+sense of the acknowledged loveliness of the daughters of
+more than one ancient house in the county, with one of
+whom an alliance was, in many respects, considered
+desirable. Their beauty, or rather their whole, was
+insufficient to stir up into madness the dormant passions
+of my nature; and although my breast was like a glowing
+furnace, in which fancy cast all the more exciting images
+of her coinage to secure the last impress of the heart's
+approval, my outward deportment to some of the fairest
+and loveliest of earth's realities was that of one on
+whom the influence of woman's beauty could have no power.
+From my earliest boyhood I had loved to give the rein to
+these feelings, until they at length rendered me their
+slave. Woman was the idol that lay enshrined within my
+inmost heart; but it was woman such as I had not yet met
+with, yet felt must somewhere exist in the creation. For
+her I could have resigned title, fortune, family, every
+thing that is dear to man, save the life, through which
+alone the reward of such sacrifice could have been tasted,
+and to this phantom I had already yielded up all the
+manlier energies of my nature; but, deeply as I felt the
+necessity of loving something less unreal, up to the
+moment of my joining the regiment, my heart had never
+once throbbed for created woman.
+
+"I have already said that, on gaining the summit of the
+rock, I found myself in a sort of oasis of the mountains.
+It was so. Belted on every hand by bold and precipitous
+crags, that seemed to defy the approach even of the
+wildest animals, and putting utterly at fault the
+penetration and curiosity of man, was spread a carpet of
+verdure, a luxuriance of vegetation, that might have put
+to shame the fertility of the soft breeze-nourished
+valleys of Italy and Southern France. Time, however, is
+not given me to dwell on the mingled beauty and wildness
+of a scene, so consonant with my ideas of the romantic
+and the picturesque. Let me rather recur to her (although
+my heart be lacerated once more in the recollection) who
+was the presiding deity of the whole,--the being after
+whom, had I had the fabled power of Prometheus, I should
+have formed and animated the sharer of that sweet wild
+solitude, nor once felt that fancy, to whom I was so
+largely a debtor, had in aught been cheated of what she
+had, for a series of years, so rigidly claimed.
+
+"At about twenty yards from the aperture, and on a bank,
+formed of turf, covered with moss, and interspersed with
+roses and honeysuckles, sat this divinity of the oasis.
+She, too, was clad in the Highland dress, which gave an
+air of wildness and elegance to her figure that was in
+classic harmony with the surrounding scenery. At the
+moment of my appearance she was in the act of dressing
+the wounded shoulder of a stag, that had recently been
+shot; and from the broad tartan riband I perceived attached
+to its neck, added to the fact of the tameness of the
+animal, I presumed that this stag, evidently a favourite
+of its mistress, was the same I had fired at and wounded.
+The rustling I made among the bushes had attracted her
+attention; she raised her eyes from the deer, and,
+beholding me, started to her feet, uttering a cry of
+terror and surprise. Fearing to speak, as if the sound
+of my own voice were sufficient to dispel the illusion
+that fascinated both eye and heart into delicious tension
+on her form, yet with my soul kindled into all that wild
+uncontrollable love which had been the accumulation of
+years of passionate imagining, I stood for some moments
+as motionless as the rock out of which I appeared to
+grow. It seemed as though I had not the power to think
+or act, so fully was every faculty of my being filled
+with the consciousness that I at length gazed upon her
+I was destined to love for ever.
+
+"It was this utter immobility on my own part, that ensured
+me a continuance of the exquisite happiness I then enjoyed.
+The first movement of the startled girl had been to fly
+towards her dwelling, which stood at a short distance,
+half imbedded in the same clustering roses and honey-suckles
+that adorned her bank of moss; but when she remarked my
+utter stillness, and apparent absence of purpose, she
+checked the impulse that would have directed her departure,
+and stopped, half in curiosity, half in fear, to examine
+me once more. At that moment all my energies appeared to
+be restored; I threw myself into an attitude expressive
+of deep contrition for the intrusion of which I had been
+unconsciously guilty, and dropping on one knee, and
+raising my clasped hands, inclined them towards her in
+token of mingled deprecation of her anger, and respectful
+homage to herself. At first she hesitated,--then gradually
+and timidly retrod her way to the seat she had so abruptly
+quitted in her alarm. Emboldened by this movement, I made
+a step or two in advance, but no sooner had I done so
+than she again took to flight. Once more, however, she
+turned to behold me, and again I had dropped on my knee,
+and was conjuring her, with the same signs, to remain
+and bless me with her presence. Again she returned to
+her seat, and again I advanced. Scarcely less timid,
+however, than the deer, which followed her every movement,
+she fled a third time,--a third time looked back, and
+was again induced, by my supplicating manner, to return.
+Frequently was this repeated, before I finally found
+myself at the feet, and pressing the hand--(oh God! what
+torture in the recollection!)--yes, pressing the hand of
+her for whose smile I would, even at that moment, have
+sacrificed my soul; and every time she fled, the classic
+disposition of her graceful limbs, and her whole natural
+attitude of alarm, could only be compared with those of
+one of the huntresses of Diana, intruded on in her woodland
+privacy by the unhallowed presence of some daring mortal.
+Such was your mother, Clara de Haldimar; yes, even such
+as I have described her was Clara Beverley."
+
+Again Wacousta paused, and his pause was longer than
+usual, as, with his large hand again covering his face,
+he seemed endeavouring to master the feelings which these
+recollections had called up. Clara scarcely breathed.
+Unmindful of her own desolate position, her soul was
+intent only on a history that related so immediately to
+her beloved mother, of whom all that she had hitherto
+known was, that she was a native of Scotland, and that
+her father had married her while quartered in that country.
+The deep emotion of the terrible being before her, so
+often manifested in the course of what he had already
+given of his recital, added to her knowledge of the facts
+just named, scarcely left a doubt of the truth of his
+statement on her mind. Her ear was now bent achingly
+towards him, in expectation of a continuance of his
+history, but he still remained in the same attitude of
+absorption. An irresistible impulse caused her to extend
+her hand, and remove his own from his eyes: they were
+filled with tears; and even while her mind rapidly embraced
+the hope that this manifestation of tenderness was but
+the dawning of mercy towards the children of her he had
+once loved, her kind nature could not avoid sympathizing
+with him, whose uncouthness of appearance and savageness
+of nature was, in some measure, lost sight of in the fact
+of the powerful love he yet apparently acknowledged.
+
+But no sooner did Wacousta feel the soft pressure of her
+hand, and meet her eyes turned on his with an expression
+of interest, than the most rapid transition was effected
+in his feelings. He drew the form of the weakly resisting
+girl closer to his heart; again imprinted a kiss upon
+her lips; and then, while every muscle in his iron frame
+seemed quivering with emotion, exclaimed,--"By Heaven!
+that touch, that glance, were Clara Beverley's all over!
+Oh, let me linger on the recollection, even such as they
+were, when her arms first opened to receive me in that
+sweet oasis of the Highlands. Yes, Clara," he proceeded
+more deliberately, as he scanned her form with an eye
+that made her shudder, "such as your mother was, so are
+you; the same delicacy of proportion; the same graceful
+curvature of limb, only less rounded, less womanly. But
+you must be younger by about two years than she then was.
+Your age cannot exceed seventeen; and time will supply
+what your mere girlhood renders you deficient in."
+
+There was a cool licence of speech--a startling freedom
+of manner--in the latter part of this address, that
+disappointed not less than it pained and offended the
+unhappy Clara. It seemed to her as if the illusion she
+had just created, were already dispelled by his language,
+even as her own momentary interest in the fierce man had
+also been destroyed from the same cause. She shuddered;
+and sighing bitterly, suffered her tears to force themselves
+through her closed lids upon her pallid cheek. This
+change in her appearance seemed to act as a check on the
+temporary excitement of Wacousta. Again obeying one of
+these rapid transitions of feeling, for which he was
+remarkable, he once more assumed an expression of
+seriousness, and thus continued his narrative.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+"It boots not now, Clara, to enter upon all that succeeded
+to my first introduction to your mother. It would take
+long to relate, not the gradations of our passion, for
+that was like the whirlwind of the desert, sudden and
+devastating from the first; but the burning vow, the
+plighted faith, the reposing confidence, the unchecked
+abandonment that flew from the lips, and filled the heart
+of each, sealed, as they were, with kisses, long, deep,
+enervating, even such as I had ever pictured that divine
+pledge of human affection should be. Yes, Clara de
+Haldimar, your mother was the child of nature THEN.
+Unspoiled by the forms, unvitiated by the sophistries of
+a world with which she had never mixed, her intelligent
+innocence made the most artless avowals to my enraptured
+ear,--avowals that the more profligate minded woman of
+society would have blushed to whisper even to herself.
+And for these I loved her to my own undoing.
+
+"Blind vanity, inconceivable folly!" continued Wacousta,
+again pressing his forehead with force; "how could I be
+so infatuated as not to perceive, that although her heart
+was filled with a new and delicious passion, it was less
+the individual than the man she loved. And how could it
+be otherwise, since I was the first, beside her father,
+she had ever seen or recollected to have seen? Still,
+Clara de Haldimar," he pursued, with haughty energy, "I
+was not always the rugged being I now appear. Of surpassing
+strength I had ever been, and fleet of foot, but not then
+had I attained to my present gigantic stature; neither
+was my form endowed with the same Herculean rudeness;
+nor did my complexion wear the swarthy hue of the savage;
+nor had my features been rendered repulsive, from the
+perpetual action of those fierce passions which have
+since assailed my soul. My physical faculties had not
+yet been developed to their present grossness of maturity,
+neither had my moral energies acquired that tone of
+ferocity which often renders me hideous, even in my own
+eyes. In a word, the milk of my nature (for, with all my
+impetuosity of character, I was generous-hearted and
+kind) had not yet been turned to gall by villainy and
+deceit. My form had then all that might attract--my
+manners all that might win--my enthusiasm of speech all
+that might persuade--and my heart all that might interest
+a girl fashioned after nature's manner, and tutored in
+nature's school. In the regiment, I was called the handsome
+grenadier; but there was another handsomer than I,--a
+sly, insidious, wheedling, false, remorseless villain.
+That villain, Clara de Haldimar, was your father.
+
+"But wherefore," continued Wacousta, chafing with the
+recollection, "wherefore do I, like a vain and puling
+schoolboy, enter into this abasing contrast of personal
+advantages? The proud eagle soars not more above the
+craven kite, than did my soul, in all that was manly and
+generous, above that of yon false governor; and who should
+have prized those qualities, if it were not the woman
+who, bred in solitude, and taught by fancy to love all
+that was generous and noble in the heart of man, should
+have considered mere beauty of feature as dust in the
+scale, when opposed to sentiments which can invest even
+deformity with loveliness? In all this I may appear vain;
+I am only just.
+
+"I have said that your mother had been brought up in
+solitude, and without having seen the face of another
+man than her father. Such was the case;--Colonel Beverley,
+of English name, but Scottish connections, was an old
+gentleman of considerable eccentricity of character. He
+had taken a part in the rebellion of 1715; but sick and
+disgusted with an issue by which his fortunes had been
+affected, and heart-broken by the loss of a beloved wife,
+whose death had been accelerated by circumstances connected
+with the disturbed nature of the times, he had resolved
+to bury himself and child in some wild, where the face
+of man, whom he loathed, might no more offend his sight.
+This oasis of the mountains was the spot selected for
+his purpose; for he had discovered it some years previously,
+on an occasion, when, closely pursued by some of the
+English troops, and separated from his followers, he had
+only effected his escape by venturing on the ledges of
+rock I have already described. After minute subsequent
+search, at the opposite extremity of the oblong belt of
+rocks that shut it in on every hand, he had discovered
+an opening, through which the transport of such
+necessaries as were essential to his object might be
+effected; and, causing one of his dwelling houses to be
+pulled down, he had the materials carried across the
+rocks on the shoulders of the men employed to re-erect
+them in his chosen solitude. A few months served to
+complete these arrangements, which included a garden
+abounding in every fruit and flower that could possibly
+live in so elevated a region; and; this, in time, under
+his own culture, and that of his daughter, became the
+Eden it first appeared to me.
+
+"Previous to their entering on this employment, the
+workmen had been severally sworn to secresy; and when
+all was declared ready for his reception, the colonel
+summoned them a second time to his presence; when, after
+making a handsome present to each, in addition to his
+hire, he found no difficulty in prevailing on them to
+renew their oath that they would preserve the most
+scrupulous silence in regard to the place of his retreat.
+He then took advantage of a dark and tempestuous night
+to execute his project; and, attended only by an old
+woman and her daughter, faithful dependants of the family,
+set out in quest of his new abode, leaving all his
+neighbours to discuss and marvel at the singularity of
+his disappearance. True to his text, however, not even
+a boy was admitted into his household: and here they had
+continued to live, unseeing and unseen by man, except
+when a solitary and distant mountaineer occasionally
+flitted among the rocks below in pursuit of his game.
+Fruits and vegetables composed their principal diet; but
+once a fortnight the old woman was dispatched through
+the opening already mentioned, which was at other times
+so secured by her master, that no hand but his own could
+remove the intricate fastenings. This expedition had
+for its object the purchase of bread and animal food at
+the nearest market; and every time she sallied forth an
+oath was administered to the crone, the purport of which
+was, not only that she would return, unless prevented by
+violence or death, but that she would not answer any
+questions put to her, as to who she was, whence she came,
+or for whom the fruits of her marketing were intended.
+
+"Meanwhile, wrapped up in his books, which were chiefly
+classic authors, or writers on abstruse sciences, the
+misanthropical colonel paid little or no attention to
+the cultivation of the intellect of his daughter, whom
+he had merely instructed in the elementary branches of
+education; in all which, however, she evinced an aptitude
+and perfectability that indicated quickness of genius
+and a capability of far higher attainments. Books he
+principally withheld from her, because they brought the
+image of man, whom he hated, and wished she should also
+hate, too often in flattering colours before her; and
+had any work treating of love been found to have crept
+accidentally into his own collection, it would instantly
+and indignantly have been committed to the flames.
+
+"Thus left to the action of her own heart--the guidance
+of her own feelings--it was but natural your mother should
+have suffered her imagination to repose on an ideal
+happiness, which, although in some degree destitute of
+shape and character, was still powerfully felt. Nature
+is too imperious a law-giver to be thwarted in her
+dictates; and however we may seek to stifle it, her
+inextinguishable voice will make itself heard, whether
+it be in the lonely desert or in the crowded capital.
+Possessed of a glowing heart and warm sensibilities,
+Clara Beverley felt the energies of her being had not
+been given to her to be wasted on herself. In her dreams
+by night, and her thoughts by day, she had pictured a
+being endowed with those attributes which were the fruit
+of her own fertility of conception. If she plucked a
+flower, (and all this she admitted at our first interview,"
+groaned Wacousta,) "she was sensible of the absence of
+one to whom that flower might be given. If she gazed at
+the star-studded canopy of heaven, or bent her head over
+the frowning precipices by which she was every where
+surrounded, she felt the absence of him with whom she
+could share the enthusiasm excited by the contemplation
+of the one, and to whom she could impart the mingled
+terror and admiration produced by the dizzying depths of
+the other. What dear acknowledgments (alas! too deceitful,)
+flowed from her guileless lips, even during that first
+interview. With a candour and unreservedness that spring
+alone from unsophisticated manners and an untainted heart,
+she admitted, that the instant she beheld me, she felt
+she had found the being her fancy had been so long tutored
+to linger on, and her heart to love. She was sure I was
+come to be her husband (for she had understood from her
+aged attendant that a man who loved a woman wished to be
+her husband); and she was glad her pet stag had been
+wounded, since it had been the means of procuring her
+such happiness. She was not cruel enough to take pleasure
+in the sufferings of the poor animal; for she would nurse
+it, and it would soon be well again; but she could not
+help rejoicing in its disaster, since that circumstance
+had been the cause of my finding her out, and loving her
+even as she loved me. And all this was said with her head
+reclining on my chest, and her beautiful countenance
+irradiated with a glow that had something divine in the
+simplicity of purpose it expressed.
+
+"On my demanding to know whether it was not her face I
+had seen at the opening in the cliff, she replied that
+it was. Her stag often played the truant, and passed
+whole hours away from her, rambling beyond the precincts
+of the solitude that contained its mistress; but no sooner
+was the small silver bugle, which she wore across her
+shoulder, applied to her lips, than 'Fidelity' (thus she
+had named him) was certain to obey the call, and to come
+bounding up the line of cliff to the main rock, into
+which it effected its entrance at a point that had escaped
+my notice. It was her bugle I had heard in the course of
+my pursuit of the animal; and, from the aperture through
+which I had effected my entrance, she had looked out to
+see who was the audacious hunter she had previously
+observed threading a passage, along which her stag itself
+never appeared without exciting terror in her bosom. The
+first glimpse she had caught of my form was at the moment
+when, after having sounded my own bugle, I cleared the
+chasm; and this was a leap she had so often trembled to
+see taken by 'Fidelity,' that she turned away and shuddered
+when she saw it fearlessly adventured on by a human being.
+A feeling of curiosity had afterwards induced her to
+return and see if the bold hunter had cleared the gulf,
+or perished in his mad attempt; but when she looked
+outward from the highest pinnacle of her rocky prison,
+she could discover no traces of him whatever. It then
+occurred to her, that, if successful in his leap, his
+progress must have been finally arrested by the impassable
+rock that terminated the ridge; in which case she might
+perchance obtain a nearer sight of his person. With this
+view she had removed the bushes enshrouding the aperture;
+and, bending low to the earth, thrust her head partially
+through it. Scarcely had she done so, however, when she
+beheld me immediately, though far beneath her, with my
+back reposing against the rock, and my eyes apparently
+fixed on hers.
+
+"Filled with a variety of opposite sentiments, among
+which unfeigned alarm was predominant, she had
+instantaneously removed her head; and, closing the aperture
+as noiselessly as possible, returned to the moss-covered
+seat on which I had first surprised her; where, while
+she applied dressings of herbs to the wound of her
+favourite, she suffered her mind to ruminate on the
+singularity of the appearance of a man so immediately in
+the vicinity of their retreat. The supposed impracticability
+of the ascent I had accomplished, satisfied, even while
+(as she admitted) it disappointed her. I must of necessity
+retrace my way over the dangerous ridge. Great, therefore,
+was her surprise, when, after having been attracted by
+the rustling noise of the bushes over the aperture, she
+presently saw the figure of the same hunter emerge from
+the abyss it overhung. Terror had winged her flight; but
+it was terror mingled with a delicious emotion entirely
+new to her. It was that emotion, momentarily increasing
+in power, that induced her to pause, look back, hesitate
+in her course, and finally be won, by my supplicating
+manner, to return and bless me with her presence.
+
+"Two long and delicious hours," pursued Wacousta, after
+another painful pause of some moments, "did we pass in
+this manner; exchanging thought, and speech, and heart,
+as if the term of our acquaintance had been coeval with
+the first dawn of our intellectual life; when suddenly
+a small silver toned bell was heard from the direction
+of the house, hid from the spot--on which we sat by the
+luxuriant foliage of an intervening laburnum. This sound
+seemed to dissipate the dreamy calm that had wrapped the
+soul of your mother into forgetfulness. She started
+suddenly up, and bade me, if I loved her, begone; as that
+bell announced her required attendance on her father,
+who, now awakened from the mid-day slumber in which he
+ever indulged, was about to take his accustomed walk
+around the grounds; which was little else, in fact, than
+a close inspection of the walls of his natural castle.
+I rose to obey her; our eyes met, and she threw herself
+into my extended arms. We whispered anew our vows of
+eternal love. She called me her husband, and I pronounced
+the endearing name of wife. A burning kiss sealed the
+compact; and, on her archly observing that the sleep of
+her father continued about two hours at noon, and that
+the old woman and her daughter were always occupied within
+doors, I promised to repeat my visit every second day
+until she finally quitted her retreat to be my own for
+life. Again the bell was rung; and this time with a
+violence that indicated impatience of delay. I tore
+myself from her arms, darted to the aperture, and kissing
+my hand in reply to the graceful waving of her scarf as
+she half turned in her own flight, sunk finally from her
+view; and at length, after making the same efforts, and
+mastering the same obstacles that had marked and opposed
+my advance, once more found myself at the point whence
+I had set out in pursuit of the wounded deer.
+
+"Many were the congratulations I received from my
+companions, whom I found waiting my return. They had
+endured the three hours of my absence with intolerable
+anxiety and alarm; until, almost despairing of beholding
+me again, they had resolved on going back without me.
+They said they had repeatedly sounded their horns; but
+meeting with no answer from mine, had been compelled to
+infer either that I had strayed to a point whence return
+to them was impracticable, or that I must have perished
+in the abyss. I readily gave in to the former idea;
+stating I had been led by the traces of the wounded deer
+to a considerable distance, and over passes which it had
+proved a work of time and difficulty to surmount, yet
+without securing my spoil. All this time there was a glow
+of animation on my cheek, and a buoyancy of spirit in my
+speech, that accorded ill, the first, with the fatigue
+one might have been supposed to experience in so perilous
+a chase; the second, with the disappointment attending
+its result. Your father, ever cool and quick of penetration,
+was the first to observe this; and when he significantly
+remarked, that, to judge from my satisfied countenance,
+my time had been devoted to the pursuit of more interesting
+game, I felt for a moment as if he was actually master
+of my secret, and was sensible my features underwent a
+change. I, however, parried the attack, by replying
+indifferently, that if he should have the hardihood to
+encounter the same dangers, he would, if successful,
+require no other prompter than the joy of self-preservation
+to lend the same glow of satisfaction to his own features.
+Nothing further was said on the subject; but conversing
+on indifferent topics, we again threaded the mazes of
+rock and underwood we had passed at an early hour, and
+finally gained the town in which we were quartered.
+
+"During dinner, as on our way home, although my voice
+occasionally mixed with the voices of my companions, my
+heart was far away, and full of the wild but innocent
+happiness in which it had luxuriated. At length, the more
+freely to indulge in the recollection, I stole at an
+early hour from the mess-room, and repaired to my own
+apartments. In the course of the morning, I had hastily
+sketched an outline of your mother's features in pencil,
+with a view to assist me in the design of a miniature I
+purposed painting from memory. This was an amusement of
+which I was extremely and in which I had attained
+considerable excellence; being enabled, from memory alone,
+to give a most correct representation of any object that
+particularly fixed my attention. She had declared utter
+ignorance of the art herself, her father having studiously
+avoided instructing her in it from some unexplained
+motive; yet as she expressed the most unbounded admiration
+of those who possessed it, it was my intention to surprise
+her with a highly finished likeness of herself at my next
+visit. With this view I now set to work; and made such
+progress, that before I retired to rest I had completed
+all but the finishing touches, to which I purposed devoting
+a leisure hour or two by daylight on the morrow.
+
+"While occupied the second day in its completion, it
+occurred to me I was in orders for duty on the following,
+which was that of my promised visit to the oasis; and I
+despatched my servant with my compliments to your father,
+and a request that he would be so obliging as to take my
+guard for me on the morrow, and I would perform his duty
+when next his name appeared on the roster. Some time
+afterwards I heard the door of the room in which I sat
+open, and some one enter. Presuming it to be my servant,
+returned from the execution of the message with which he
+had just been charged, I paid no attention to the
+circumstance; but finding, presently, he did not speak,
+I turned round with a view of demanding what answer he
+had brought. To my surprise, however, I beheld not my
+servant, but your father. He was standing looking over
+my shoulder at the work on which I was engaged; and
+notwithstanding in the instant he resumed the cold, quiet,
+smirking look that usually distinguished him, I thought
+I could trace the evidence of some deep emotion which my
+action had suddenly dispelled. He apologised for his
+intrusion, although we were on those terms that rendered
+apology unnecessary, but said he had just received my
+message, and preferred coming in person to assure me how
+happy he should feel to take my duty, or to render me
+any other service in his power. I thought he laid unusual
+emphasis on the last sentence; yet I thanked him warmly,
+stating that the only service I should now exact of him
+would be to take my guard, as I was compelled to be absent
+nearly the whole of the following morning. He observed,
+with a smile, he hoped I was not going to venture my neck
+on those dangerous precipices a second time, after the
+narrow escape I had had on the preceding day. As he spoke,
+I thought his eye met mine with a sly yet scrutinizing
+glance; and, not wishing to reply immediately to his
+question, I asked him what he thought of the work with
+which I was endeavouring to beguile an idle hour. He took
+it up, and I watched the expression of his handsome
+countenance with the anxiety of a lover who wishes that
+all should think his mistress beautiful as he does himself.
+It betrayed a very indefinite sort of admiration; and
+yet it struck me there was an eagerness in his dilating
+eye that contrasted strongly with the calm and unconcern
+of his other features. At length I asked him, laughingly,
+what he thought of my Cornish cousin. He replied, cautiously
+enough, that since it was the likeness of a cousin, and
+he dwelt emphatically on the word, he could not fail to
+admire it. Candour, however, compelled him to admit, that
+had I not declared the original to be one so closely
+connected with me, he should have said the talent of so
+perfect an artist might have been better employed.
+Whatever, however, his opinion of the lady might be,
+there could be no question that the painting was exquisite;
+yet, he confessed, he could not but be struck with the
+singularity of the fact of a Cornish girl appearing in
+the full costume of a female Highlander. This, I replied,
+was mere matter of fancy and association, arising from
+my having been so much latterly in the habit of seeing
+that dress principally worn. He smiled one of his then
+damnable soft smiles of assent, and here the conversation
+terminated, and he left me.
+
+"The next day saw me again at the side of your mother,
+who received me with the same artless demonstrations of
+affection. There was a mellowed softness in her countenance,
+and a tender languor in her eye, I had not remarked the
+preceding day. Then there was more of the vivacity and
+playfulness of the young girl; now, more of the deep
+fervour and the composed serenity of the thoughtful woman.
+This change was too consonant to my taste--too flattering
+to my self-love--not to be rejoiced in; and as I pressed
+her yielding form in silent rapture to my own, I more
+than ever felt she was indeed the being for whom my
+glowing heart had so long yearned. After the first full
+and unreserved interchange of our souls' best feelings,
+our conversation turned upon lighter topics; and I took
+an opportunity to produce the fruit of my application
+since we had parted. Never shall I forget the surprise
+and delight that animated her beautiful countenance when
+first she gazed upon the miniature. The likeness was
+perfect, even to the minutest shading of her costume;
+and so forcibly and even childishly did this strike her,
+that it was with difficulty I could persuade her she was
+not gazing on some peculiar description of mirror that
+reflected back her living image. She expressed a strong
+desire to retain it; and to this I readily assented:
+stipulating only to retain it until my next visit, in
+order that I might take an exact copy for myself. With
+a look of the fondest love, accompanied by a pressure on
+mine of lips that distilled dewy fragrance where they
+rested, she thanked me for a gift which she said would
+remind her, in absence, of the fidelity with which her
+features had been engraven on my heart. She admitted,
+moreover, with a sweet blush, that she herself had not
+been idle. Although her pencil could not call up my
+image in the same manner, her pen had better repaid her
+exertions; and, in return for the portrait, she would
+give me a letter she had written to beguile her loneliness
+on the preceding day. As she spoke she drew a sealed
+packet from the bosom of her dress, and placing it in my
+hand, desired me not to read it until I had returned to
+my home. But there was an expression of sweet confusion
+in her lovely countenance, and a trepidation in her
+manner, that, half disclosing the truth, rendered me
+utterly impatient of the delay imposed; and eagerly
+breaking the seal, I devoured rather than read its
+contents.
+
+"Accursed madness of recollection!" pursued Wacousta,
+again striking his brow violently with his hand,--"why
+is it that I ever feel thus unmanned while recurring to
+those letters? Oh! Clara de Haldimar, never did woman
+pen to man such declarations of tenderness and attachment
+as that too dear but faithless letter of your mother
+contained. Words of fire, emanating from the guilelessness
+of innocence, glowed in every line; and yet every sentence
+breathed an utter unconsciousness of the effect those
+words were likely to produce. Mad, wild, intoxicated, I
+read the letter but half through; and, as it fell from
+my trembling hand, my eye turned, beaming with the fires
+of a thousand emotions, upon that of the worshipped
+writer. That glance was more than her own could meet.
+A new consciousness seemed to be stirred up in her soul.
+Her eye dropped beneath its long and silken fringe--her
+cheek became crimson--her bosom heaved--and, all
+confidingness, she sank her head upon my chest, which
+heaved scarcely less wildly than her own.
+
+"Had I been a cold-blooded villain--a selfish and
+remorseless seducer," continued Wacousta with vehemence
+--"what was to have prevented my triumph at that moment?
+But I came not to blight the flower that had long been
+nurtured, though unseen, with the life-blood of my own
+being. Whatever I may be NOW, I was THEN the soul of
+disinterestedness and honour; and had she reposed on the
+bosom of her own father, that devoted and unresisting
+girl could not have been pressed there with holier
+tenderness. But even to this there was too soon a term.
+The hour of parting at length arrived, announced, as
+before, by the small bell of her father, and I again tore
+myself from her arms; not, however, without first
+securing the treasured letter, and obtaining a promise
+from your mother that I should receive another at each
+succeeding visit."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+"Nearly a month passed away in this manner; and at each
+interview our affection seemed to increase. The days of
+our meeting were ever days of pure and unalloyed happiness;
+while the alternate ones of absence were, on my part,
+occupied chiefly with reading the glowing letters given
+me at each parting by your mother. Of all these, however,
+there was not one so impassioned, so natural, so every
+way devoted, as the first. Not that she who wrote them
+felt less, but that the emotion excited in her bosom by
+the manifestation of mine on that occasion, had imparted
+a diffidence to her style of expression, plainly indicating
+the source whence it sprung.
+
+"One day, while preparing to set out on my customary
+excursion, a report suddenly reached me that the route
+had arrived for the regiment, who were to march from ----
+within three days. This intelligence I received with
+inconceivable delight; for it had been settled between
+your mother and myself, that this should be the moment
+chosen for her departure. It was not to be supposed (and
+I should have been both pained and disappointed had it
+been otherwise,) that she would consent to abandon her
+parent without some degree of regret; but, having foreseen
+this objection from the first, I had gradually prepared
+her for the sacrifice. This was the less difficult, as
+he appeared never to have treated her with affection,
+--seldom with the marked favour that might have been
+presumed to distinguish the manner of a father towards
+a lovely and only daughter. Living for himself and the
+indulgence of his misanthropy alone, he cared little for
+the immolation of his child's happiness on its unhallowed
+shrine; and this was an act of injustice I had particularly
+dwelt upon; upheld in truth, as it was, by the knowledge
+she herself possessed, that no consideration could induce
+him to bestow her hand on any one individual of a race
+he so cordially detested; and this was not without
+considerable weight in her decision.
+
+"With a glowing cheek, and a countenance radiant with
+happiness, did your mother receive my proposal to prepare
+for her departure on the following day. She was sufficiently
+aware, even through what I had stated myself, that there
+were certain ceremonies of the Church to be performed,
+in order to give sanctity to our union, and ensure her
+own personal respectability in the world; and these, I
+told her, would be solemnised by the chaplain of the
+regiment. She implicitly confided in me; and she was
+right; for I loved her too well to make her my mistress,
+while no barrier existed to her claim to a dearer title.
+And had she been the daughter of a peasant, instead of
+a high-born gentleman, finding her as I had found her,
+and loving her as I did love her, I should have acted
+precisely in the same way.
+
+"The only difficulty that now occurred was the manner of
+her flight. The opening before alluded to as being the
+point whence the old woman made her weekly sally to the
+market town, was of so intricate and labyrinthian a
+character that none but the colonel understood the secret
+of its fastenings; and the bare thought of my venturing
+with her on the route by which I had hitherto made my
+entry into the oasis, was one that curdled my blood with
+fear. I could absolutely feel my flesh to contract whenever
+I painted the terrible risk that would be incurred in
+adopting a plan I had once conceived,--namely, that of
+lashing your mother to my back, while I again effected
+my descent to the ledge beneath, in the manner I had
+hitherto done. I felt that, once on the ridge, I might,
+without much effort, attain the passage of the fissure
+already described; for the habit of accomplishing this
+leap had rendered it so perfectly familiar to me, that
+I now performed it with the utmost security and ease;
+but to imagine our united weight suspended over the abyss,
+as it necessarily must be in the first stage of our
+flight, when even the dislodgment of a single root or
+fragment of the rock was sufficient to ensure the horrible
+destruction of her whom I loved better than my own life,
+had something too appalling in it to suffer me to dwell
+on the idea for more than a moment. I had proposed, as
+the most feasible and rational plan, that the colonel
+should be compelled to give us egress through the secret
+passage, when we might command the services of the old
+woman to guide us through the passes that led to the
+town; but to this your mother most urgently objected,
+declaring that she would rather encounter any personal
+peril that might attend her escape, in a different manner,
+than appear to be a participator in an act of violence
+against her parent whose obstinacy of character she
+moreover knew too well to leave a hope of his being
+intimidated into the accomplishment of our object, even
+by a threat of death itself. This plan I was therefore
+compelled to abandon; and as neither of us were able to
+discover the passage by which the deer always effected
+its entrance, I was obliged to fix upon one, which it
+was agreed should be put in practice on the following
+day.
+
+"On my return, I occupied myself with preparations for
+the reception of her who was so speedily to become my
+wife. Unwilling that she should be seen by any of my
+companions, until the ceremony was finally performed, I
+engaged apartments in a small retired cottage, distant
+about half a mile from the furthest extremity of the
+town, where I purposed she should remain until the regiment
+finally quitted the station. This point secured, I
+hastened to the quarters of the chaplain, to engage his
+services for the following evening; but he was from home
+at the time, and I repaired to my own rooms, to prepare
+the means of escape for your mother. These occupied me
+until a very late hour; and when at length I retired to
+rest, it was only to indulge in the fondest imaginings
+that ever filled the heart of a devoted lover. Alas!
+(and the dark warrior again sighed heavily) the day-dream
+of my happiness was already fast drawing to a close.
+
+"At half an hour before noon, I was again in the oasis;
+your mother was at the wonted spot; and although she
+received me with her sunniest smiles, there were traces
+of tears upon her cheek. I kissed them eagerly away, and
+sought to dissipate the partial gloom that was again
+clouding her brow. She observed it pained me to see her
+thus, and she made a greater effort to rally. She implored
+me to forgive her weakness; but it was the first time
+she was to be separated from her parent; and conscious
+as she was that it was to be for ever, she could not
+repress the feeling that rose, despite of herself, to
+her heart. She had, however, prepared a letter, at my
+suggestion, to be left on her favourite moss seat, where
+it was likely she would first be sought by her father,
+to assure him of her safety, and of her prospects of
+future happiness; and the consciousness that he would
+labour under no harrowing uncertainty in regard to her
+fate, seemed, at length, to soothe and satisfy her heart.
+
+"I now led her to the aperture, where I had left the
+apparatus provided for my purpose: this consisted of a
+close netting, about four feet in depth, with a board
+for a footstool at the bottom, and furnished at intervals
+with hoops, so as to keep it full and open. The top of
+this netting was provided with two handles, to which were
+attached the ends of a cord many fathoms in length; the
+whole of such durability, as to have borne weights equal
+to those of three ordinary sized men, with which I had
+proved it prior to my setting out. My first care was to
+bandage the eyes of your mother, (who willingly and
+fearlessly submitted to all I proposed,) that she might
+not see, and become faint with seeing, the terrible chasm
+over which she was about to be suspended. I then placed
+her within the netting, which, fitting closely to her
+person, and reaching under her arms, completely secured
+her; and my next urgent request was, that she would not,
+on any account, remove the bandage, or make the slightest
+movement, when she found herself stationary below, until
+I had joined her. I then dropped her gently through the
+aperture, lowering fathom after fathom of the rope, the
+ends of which I had firmly secured round the trunk of a
+tree, as an additional safeguard, until she finally came
+on a level with that part of the cliff on which I had
+reposed when first she beheld me. As she still hung
+immediately over the abyss, it was necessary to give a
+gradual impetus to her weight, to enable her to gain the
+landing-place. I now, therefore, commenced swinging her
+to and fro, until she at length came so near the point
+desired, that I clearly saw the principal difficulty was
+surmounted. The necessary motion having been given to
+the balance, with one vigorous and final impulsion I
+dexterously contrived to deposit her several feet from
+the edge of the lower rock, when, slackening the rope on
+the instant, I had the inexpressible satisfaction to see
+that she remained firm and stationary. The waving of her
+scarf immediately afterwards (a signal previously agreed
+upon), announced she had sustained no injury in this
+rather rude collision with the rock, and I in turn
+commenced my descent.
+
+"Fearing to cast away the ends of the rope, lest their
+weight should by any chance effect the balance of the
+footing your mother had obtained, I now secured them
+around my loins, and accomplishing my descent in the
+customary manner, speedily found myself once more at the
+side of my heart's dearest treasure. Here the transport
+of my joy was too great to be controlled; I felt that
+NOW my prize was indeed secured to me for ever; and I
+burst forth into the most passionate exclamations of
+tenderness, and falling on my knees, raised my hands to
+Heaven in fervent gratitude for the success with which
+my enterprise had been crowned. Another would have been
+discouraged at the difficulties still remaining; but with
+these I was become too familiar, not to feel the utmost
+confidence in encountering them, even with the treasure
+that was equally perilled with myself. For a moment I
+removed the bandage from the eyes of your mother, that
+she might behold not only the far distant point whence
+she had descended, but the frowning precipice I had daily
+been in the habit of climbing to be blest with her
+presence. She did so,--and her cheek paled, for the first
+time, with a sense of the danger I had incurred; then
+turning her soft and beautiful eyes on mine, she smiled
+a smile that seemed to express how much her love would
+repay me. Again our lips met, and we were happy even in
+that lonely spot, beyond all language to describe. Once
+more, at length, I prepared to execute the remainder of
+my task; and I again applied the bandage to her eyes,
+saying that, although the principal danger was over,
+still there was another I could not bear she should look
+upon. Again she smiled, and with a touching sweetness of
+expression that fired my blood, observing at the same
+time she feared no danger while she was with me, but that
+if my object was to prevent her from looking at me, the
+most efficient way certainly was to apply a bandage to
+her eyes. Oh! woman, woman!" groaned Wacousta, in fierce
+anguish of spirit, "who shall expound the complex riddle
+of thy versatile nature?
+
+"Disengaging the rope from the handles of the netting,
+I now applied to these a broad leathern belt taken from
+the pouches of two of my men, and stooping with my back
+to the cherished burden with which I was about to charge
+myself, passed the centre of the belt across my chest,
+much in the manner in which, as you are aware, Indian
+women carry their infant children. As an additional
+precaution, I had secured the netting round my waist by
+a strong lacing of cord, and then raising myself to my
+full height, and satisfying myself of the perfect freedom
+of action of my limbs, seized a long balancing pole I
+had left suspended against the rock at my last visit,
+and commenced my descent of the sloping ridge. On
+approaching the horrible chasm, a feeling of faintness
+came over me, despite of the confidence with which I had
+previously armed myself. This, however, was but momentary.
+Sensible that every thing depended on rapidity of movement,
+I paused not in my course; but, quickening my pace as I
+gradually drew nearer, gave the necessary impetus to my
+motion, and cleared the gap with a facility far exceeding
+what had distinguished my first passage, and which was
+the fruit of constant practice alone. Here my balance
+was sustained by the pole; and at length I had the
+inexpressible satisfaction to find myself at the very
+extremity of the ridge, and immediately at the point
+where I had left my companions in my first memorable
+pursuit. Alas!" continued the warrior, again interrupting
+himself with one of those fierce exclamations of impatient
+anguish that so frequently occurred in his narrative,
+"what subject for rejoicing was there in this? Better
+far we had been dashed to pieces in the abyss, than I
+should have lived to curse the hour when first my spirit
+of adventure led me to traverse it." Again he resumed:--
+
+"In the deep transport of my joy, I once more threw myself
+on my knees in speechless thanksgiving to Providence for
+the complete success of my undertaking. Your mother, whom
+I had previously released from her confinement, did the
+same; and at that moment the union of our hearts seemed
+to be cemented by a divine influence, manifested in the
+fulness of the gratitude of each. I then raised her from
+the earth, imprinting a kiss upon her fair brow, that
+was hallowed by the purity of the feeling I had so recently
+indulged in; and throwing over her shoulders the mantle
+of a youth, which I had secreted near the spot, enjoined
+her to follow me closely in the path I was about to
+pursue. As she had hitherto encountered no fatigue, and
+was, moreover, well provided with strong buskins I had
+brought for the purpose, I thought it advisable to
+discontinue the use of the netting, which must attract
+notice, and cause us, perhaps, to be followed, in the
+event of our being met by any of the hunters that usually
+traversed these parts. To carry her in my arms, as I
+should have preferred, might have excited the same
+curiosity, and I was therefore compelled to decide upon
+her walking; reserving to myself, however, the sweet task
+of bearing her in my embrace over the more difficult
+parts of our course.
+
+"I have not hitherto found it necessary to state,"
+continued Wacousta, his brow lowering with fierce and
+gloomy thought, "that more than once, latterly, on my
+return from the oasis, which was usually at a stated
+hour, I had observed a hunter hovering near the end of
+the ledge, yet quickly retreating as I advanced. There
+was something in the figure of this man that recalled to
+my recollection the form of your father; but ever, on my
+return to quarters, I found him in uniform, and exhibiting
+any thing but the appearance of one who had recently been
+threading his weary way among rocks and fastnesses.
+Besides, the improbability of this fact was so great,
+that it occupied not my attention beyond the passing
+moment. On the present occasion, however, I saw the same
+hunter, and was more forcibly than ever struck by the
+resemblance to my friend. Prior to my quitting the point
+where I had liberated your mother from the netting, I
+had, in addition to the disguise of the cloak, found it
+necessary to make some alteration in the arrangement of
+her hair; the redundancy of which, as it floated gracefully
+over her polished neck, was in itself sufficient to betray
+her sex. With this view I had removed her plumed bonnet.
+It was the first time I had seen her without it; and so
+deeply impressed was I by the angel-like character of
+the extreme feminine beauty she, more than ever, then
+exhibited, that I knelt in silent adoration for some
+moments at her feet, my eyes and countenance alone
+expressing the fervent and almost holy emotion of my
+enraptured soul. Had she been a divinity, I could not
+have worshipped her with a purer feeling. While I yet
+knelt, I fancied I heard a sound behind me; and, turning
+quickly, beheld the head of a man peering above a point
+of rock at some little distance. He immediately, on
+witnessing my action, sank again beneath it, but not in
+sufficient time to prevent my almost assuring myself that
+it was the face of your father I had beheld. My first
+impulse was to bound forward, and satisfy myself who it
+really was who seemed thus ever on the watch to intercept
+my movements; but a second rapid reflection convinced
+me, that, having been discovered, it was most likely the
+intruder had already effected his retreat, and that any
+attempt at pursuit might not only alarm your mother, but
+compromise her safety. I determined, however, to tax your
+father with the fact on my return to quarters; and, from
+the manner in which he met the charge, to form my own
+conclusion.
+
+"Meanwhile we pursued our course; and after an hour's
+rather laborious exertion, at length emerged from the
+succession of glens and rocks that lay in our way; when,
+skirting the valley in which the town was situated, we
+finally reached the cottage where I had secured my lodging.
+Previous to entering it, I had told your mother, that
+for the few hours that would intervene before the marriage
+ceremony could be performed, I should, by way of lulling
+the curiosity of her hostess, introduce her as a near
+relative of my own. This I did accordingly; and, having
+seen that every thing was comfortably arranged for her
+convenience, and recommending her strongly to the care
+of the old woman, I set off once more in search of the
+chaplain of the regiment Before I could reach his residence,
+however, I was met by a sergeant of my company, who came
+running towards me, evidently with some intelligence of
+moment. He stated, that my presence was required without
+delay. The grenadiers, with the senior subaltern, were
+in orders for detachment for an important service; and
+considerable displeasure had been manifested by the
+colonel at my absence, especially as of late I had greatly
+neglected my military duties. He had been looking for
+me every where, he said, but without success, when Ensign
+de Haldimar had pointed out to him in what direction it
+was likely I might be found.
+
+"At a calmer moment, I should have been startled at the
+last observation; but my mind was too much engrossed with
+the principal subject of my regret, to pay any attention
+to the circumstance. It was said the detachment would be
+occupied in this duty a week or ten days, at least; and
+how was I to absent myself from her whom I so fondly
+loved for this period, without even being permitted first
+to see and account to her for my absence? There was
+torture in the very thought; and in the height of my
+impatience, I told the sergeant he might give my compliments
+to the colonel, and say I would see the service d--d
+rather than inconvenience myself by going out on this
+duty at so short a notice; that I had private business
+of the highest importance to myself to transact, and
+could not absent myself. As the man, however, prepared
+coolly to depart, it suddenly occurred to me, that I
+might prevail on your father to take my duty now, as on
+former occasions he had willingly done, and I countermanded
+my message to the colonel; desiring him, however, to find
+out Ensign de Haldimar, and say that I requested to see
+him immediately at my quarters, whither I was now proceeding
+to change my dress.
+
+"With a beating heart did I assume an uniform that
+appeared, at that moment, hideous in my eyes; yet I was
+not without a hope I might yet get off this ill-timed
+duty. Before I had completed my equipment, your father
+entered; and when I first glanced my eye full upon his,
+I thought his countenance exhibited evidences of confusion.
+This immediately reminded me of the unknown hunter, and
+I asked him if he was not the person I described. His
+answer was not a positive denial, but a mixture of raillery
+and surprise that lulled my doubts, enfeebled as they
+were by the restored calm of his features. I then told
+him that I had a particular favour to ask of him, which,
+in consideration of our friendship, I trusted he would
+not refuse; and that was, to take my duty in the expedition
+about to set forth. His manner implied concern; and he
+asked, with a look that had much deliberate expression
+in it, 'if I was aware that it was a duty in which blood
+was expected to be shed? He could not suppose that any
+consideration would induce me to resign my duty to another
+officer, when apprised of this fact.' All this was said
+with the air of one really interested in my honour; but
+in my increasing impatience, I told him I wanted none of
+his cant; I simply asked him a favour, which he would
+grant or decline as he thought proper. This was a harshness
+of language I had never indulged in; but my mind was sore
+under the existing causes of my annoyance, and I could
+not bear to have my motives reflected on at a moment when
+my heart was torn with all the agonies attendant on the
+position in which I found myself placed. His cheek paled
+and flushed more than once, before he replied, 'that in
+spite of my unkindness his friendship might induce him
+to do much for me, even as he had hitherto done, but that
+on the present occasion it rested not with him. In order
+to justify himself he would no longer disguise the fact
+from me, that the colonel had declared, in the presence
+of the whole regiment, I should take my duty regularly
+in future, and not be suffered to make a convenience of
+the service any longer. If, however, he could do any
+thing for me during my absence, I had but to command him.
+
+"While I was yet giving vent, in no very measured terms,
+to the indignation I felt at being made the subject of
+public censure by the colonel, the same sergeant came
+into the room, announcing that the company were only
+waiting for me to march, and that the colonel desired my
+instant presence. In the agitation of my feelings, I
+scarcely knew what I did, putting several portions of my
+regimental equipment on so completely awry, that your
+father noticed and rectified the errors I had committed;
+while again, in the presence of the sergeant, I expressed
+the deepest regret he could not relieve me from a duty
+that was hateful to the last degree.
+
+"Torn with agony at the thought of the uncertainty in
+which I was compelled to leave her, whom I so fondly
+adored, I had now no. other alternative than to make a
+partial confidant of your father. I told him that in the
+cottage which I pointed out he would find the original
+of the portrait he had seen me painting on a former
+occasion,--the Cornish cousin, whose beauty he professed
+to hold so cheaply. More he should know of her on my
+return; but at present I confided her to his honour, and
+begged he would prove his friendship for me by rendering
+her whatever attention she might require in her humble
+abode. With these hurried injunctions he promised to
+comply; and it has often occurred to me since, although
+I did not remark it at the time, that while his voice
+and manner were calm, there was a burning glow upon his
+handsome cheek, and a suppressed exultation in his eye,
+that I had never observed on either before. I then quitted
+the room; and hastening to my company with a gloom on--my
+brow that indicated the wretchedness of my inward spirit,
+was soon afterwards on the march from ----."
+
+Again the warrior seemed agitated with the most violent
+emotion; he buried his face in his hands; and the silence
+that ensued was longer than any he had previously indulged
+in. At length he made an effort to arouse himself; and
+again exhibiting his swarthy features, disclosed a brow,
+not clouded, as before, by grief, but animated with the
+fiercest and most appalling passions, while he thus
+impetuously resumed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+"If, hitherto, Clara de Haldimar, I have been minute in
+the detail of all that attended my connection with your
+mother, it has been with a view to prove to you how deeply
+I have been injured; but I have now arrived at a part of
+my history, when to linger on the past would goad me into
+madness, and render me unfit for the purpose to which I
+have devoted myself. Brief must be the probing of wounds,
+that nearly five lustres have been insufficient to heal;
+brief the tale that reveals the infamy of those who have
+given you birth, and the utter blighting of the fairest
+hopes of one whose only fault was that of loving, "not
+too wisely, but too well."
+
+"Will you credit the monstrous truth," he added, in a
+fierce but composed whisper, while he bent eagerly over
+the form of the trembling yet attentive girl, "when I
+tell you that, on my return from that fatal expedition,
+during my continuance on which her image had never once
+been absent from my mind, I found Clara Beverley the wife
+of De Haldimar? Yes," continued Wacousta, his wounded
+feeling and mortified pride chafing, by the bitter
+recollection, into increasing fury, while his countenance
+paled in its swarthiness, "the wife, the wedded wife of
+yon false and traitorous governor! Well may you look
+surprised, Clara de Haldimar: such damnable treachery as
+this may startle his own blood in the veins of another,
+nor find its justification even in the devotedness of
+woman's filial piety. To what satanic arts so calculating
+a villain could have had recourse to effect his object
+I know not; but it is not the less true, that she, from
+whom my previous history must have taught you to expect
+the purity of intention and conduct of an angel, became
+his wife,--and I a being accursed among men. Even as our
+common mother is said to have fallen in the garden of
+Eden, tempted by the wily beauty of the devil, so did
+your mother fall, seduced by that of the cold, false,
+traitorous De Haldimar. "Here the agitation of Wacousta
+became terrific. The labouring of his chest was like that
+of one convulsed with some racking agony and the swollen
+veins and arteries of his head seemed to threaten the
+extinction of life in some fearful paroxysm. At length
+he burst into a violent fit of tears, more appalling, in
+one of his iron nature, than the fury which had preceded
+it,--and it was many minutes before he could so far
+compose himself as to resume.
+
+"Think not, Clara de Haldimar, I speak without the proof.
+Her own words confessed, her own lips avowed it, and yet
+I neither slew her, nor her paramour, nor myself. On my
+return to the regiment I had flown to the cottage, on
+the wings of the most impatient and tender love that ever
+filled the bosom of man for woman. To my enquiries the
+landlady replied, that my cousin had been married two
+days previously, by the military chaplain, to a handsome
+young officer, who had visited her soon after my departure,
+and was constantly with her from that moment; and that
+immediately after the ceremony they had left, but she
+knew not whither. Wild, desperate, almost bereft of
+reason, and with a heart bounding against my bosom, as
+if each agonising throb were to be its last, I ran like
+a maniac back into the town, nor paused till I found
+myself in the presence of your father. My mind was a
+volcano, but still I attempted to be calm, even while I
+charged him, in the most outrageous terms, with his
+villainy. Deny it he could not; but, far from excusing
+it, he boldly avowed and justified the step he had taken,
+intimating, with a smile full of meaning, there was
+nothing in a connection with the family of De Haldimar
+to reflect disgrace on the cousin of Sir Reginald Morton;
+and that; the highest compliment he could pay his friend
+was to attach himself to one whom that friend had declared
+to be so near a relative of his own. There was a coldness
+of taunt in these remarks, that implied his sense of the
+deception I had practised on him, in regard to the true
+nature of the relationship; and for a moment, while my
+hand firmly grasped the hilt of my sword, I hesitated
+whether I should not cut him down at my feet: I had
+self-command, however, to abstain from the outrage, and
+I have often since regretted I had. My own blood could
+have been but spilt in atonement for my just revenge;
+and as for the obloquy attached to the memory of the
+assassin, it could not have been more bitter than that
+which has followed me through life. But what do I say?"
+fiercely continued the warrior, an exulting ferocity
+sparkling in his eye, and animating his countenance; "had
+he fallen, then my vengeance were but half complete. No;
+it is now he shall feel the deadly venom in his heart,
+that has so long banqueted on mine.
+
+"Determined to know from her own lips," he pursued, to
+the shuddering Clara, whose hopes, hitherto strongly
+excited, now, began again to fade beneath the new aspect
+given to the strange history of this terrible man;--
+"determined to satisfy myself from her own acknowledgment,
+whether all I had heard was not an imposition, I summoned
+calmness enough to desire that your mother might confirm
+in person the alienation of her affection, as nothing
+short of that could convince me of the truth. He left
+the room, and presently re-appeared, conducting her in
+from another: I thought she looked more beautiful than
+ever, but, alas! I had the inexpressible horror to
+discover, before a word was uttered, that all the fondness
+of her nature was indeed transferred to your father. How
+I endured the humiliation of that scene has often been
+a source of utter astonishment to myself; but I did endure
+it. To my wild demand, how she could so soon have forgotten
+her vows, and falsified her plighted engagements, she
+replied, timidly and confusedly, she had not yet known
+her own heart; but if she had pained me by her conduct,
+she was sorry for it, and hoped I would forgive her. She
+would always be happy to esteem me as a friend, but she
+loved her Charles far, far better than she had ever loved
+me. This damning admission, couched in the same language
+of simplicity that had first touched and won my affection,
+was like boiling lead upon my brain. In a transport of
+madness I sprang towards her, caught her in my arms, and
+swore she should accompany me back to the oasis--when I
+had taken her there, to be regained by my detested rival,
+if he could; but that he should not eat the fruit I had
+plucked at so much peril to myself. She struggled to
+disengage herself, calling on your father by the most
+endearing epithets to free her from my embrace. He
+attempted it, and I struck him senseless to the floor at
+a single blow with the flat of my sabre, which in my
+extreme fury I had unsheathed. Instead, however, of
+profiting by the opportunity thus afforded to execute my
+threat, a feeling of disgust and contempt came over me,
+for the woman, whose inconstancy had been the cause of
+my committing myself in this ungentlemanly manner; and
+bestowing deep but silent curses on her head, I rushed
+from the house in a state of frenzy. How often since have
+I regretted that I had not pursued my first impulse, and
+borne her to some wild, where, forgetting one by whose
+beauty of person her eye alone had been seduced, her
+heart might have returned to its allegiance to him who
+had first awakened the sympathies of her soul, and would
+have loved her with a love blending the fiercest fires
+of the eagle with the gentlest devotedness of the dove.
+But destiny had differently ordained.
+
+"Did my injuries end here?" pursued the dark warrior, as
+his eye kindled with rage. "No: for weeks I was insensible
+to any thing but the dreadful shock my soul had sustained.
+A heavy stupor weighed me down, and for a period it was
+supposed my reason was overthrown: no such mercy was
+reserved for me. The regiment had quitted the Highlands,
+and were now stationary in ----, whither I had accompanied
+it in arrest. The restoration of my faculties was the
+signal for new persecutions. Scarcely had the medical
+officers reported me fit to sustain the ordeal, when a
+court-martial was assembled to try me on a variety of
+charges. Who was my prosecutor? Listen, Clara," and he
+shook her violently by the arm. "He who had robbed me of
+all that gave value to life, and incentive to honour,--he
+who, under the guise of friendship, had stolen into the
+Eden of my love, and left it barren of affection. In a
+word, yon detested governor, to whose inhuman cruelty
+even the son of my brother has, by some strange fatality
+of coincidence, so recently fallen a second sacrifice.
+Curses, curses on him," he pursued, with frightful
+vehemence, half rising as he spoke, and holding forth
+his right arm in a menacing attitude; "but the hour of
+retribution is at hand, and revenge, the exclusive passion
+of the gods, shall at length be mine. In no other country
+in the world--under no other circumstances than the
+present--could I have so secured it.
+
+"What were the charges preferred against me?" he continued,
+with a violence that almost petrified the unhappy girl.
+"Hear them, and judge whether I have not cause for the
+inextinguishable hate that rankles at my heart. Every
+trifling disobedience of orders--every partial neglect
+of duty that could be raked up--was tortured into a
+specific charge; and, as I have already admitted I had
+latterly transgressed not a little in this respect, these
+were numerous enough. Yet they were but preparatory to
+others of greater magnitude. Next succeeded one that
+referred to the message I had given, and countermanded,
+to the sergeant of my company, when in the impatience of
+my disappointment I had desired him to tell the colonel
+I would see the service d--d rather than inconvenience
+myself at that moment for it. This was unsupported by
+other evidence, however, and therefore failed in the
+proof. But the web was too closely woven around to admit
+of my escaping.--Will you, can you believe any thing half
+so atrocious, as that your father should have called on
+this same man not only to prove the violent and
+insubordinate language I had used in reference to the
+commanding officer in my own rooms, but also to substantiate
+a charge of cowardice, grounded on the unwillingness I
+had expressed to accompany the expedition, and the
+extraordinary trepidation I had evinced, while preparing
+for the duty, manifested, as it was stated to be, by the
+various errors he had rectified in my equipment with his
+own hand? Yes, even this pitiful charge was one of the
+many preferred; but the severest was that which he had
+the unblushing effrontery to make the subject of public
+investigation, rather than of private redress--the blow
+I had struck him in his own apartments. And who was his
+witness in this monstrous charge?--your mother, Clara.
+Yea, I stood as a criminal in her presence; and yet she
+came forward to tender an evidence that was to consign
+me to a disgraceful sentence. My vile prosecutor had,
+moreover, the encouragement, the sanction of his colonel
+throughout, and by him he was upheld in every contemptible
+charge his ingenuity could devise. Do you not anticipate
+the result?--I was found guilty, and dismissed the service.
+
+"How acted my brother officers, when, previously to the
+trial, I alluded to the damnable treachery of your father?
+Did they condemn his conduct, or sympathise with me in
+my misfortune?--No; they shrugged their shoulders, and
+coldly observed, I ought to have known better than to
+trust one against whom they had so often cautioned me;
+but that as I had selected him for my friend, I should
+have bestowed a whole, and not a half confidence upon
+him. He had had the hypocrisy to pretend to them he had
+violated no trust, since he had honourably espoused a
+lady whom I had introduced to him as a cousin, and in
+whom I appeared to have no other interest than that of
+relationship. Not, they said, that they believed he
+actually did entertain that impression; but still the
+excuse was too plausible, and had been too well studied
+by my cunning rival, to be openly refuted. As for the
+mere fact of his supplanting me, they thought it an
+excellent thing,--a ruse d'amour for which they never
+would have given him credit; and although they admitted
+it was provoking enough to be ousted out of one's mistress
+in that cool sort of way, still I should not so far have
+forgotten myself as to have struck him while he was
+unarmed, when it was so easy to have otherwise fastened
+an insult on him. Such," bitterly pursued Wacousta, "was
+the consolation I received from men, who, a few short
+weeks before, had been sedulous to gain and cultivate my
+friendship,--but even this was only vouchsafed antecedent
+to my trial. When the sentence was promulgated, announcing
+my dismissal from the service, every back was turned upon
+me, as though I had been found guilty of some dishonourable
+action or some disgraceful crime; and, on the evening of
+the same day, when I threw from me for ever an uniform
+that I now loathed from my inmost soul, there was not
+one among those who had often banqueted at my expense,
+who had the humanity to come to me and say, 'Sir Reginald
+Morton, farewell.'
+
+"What agonies of mind I endured,--what burning tears I
+nightly shed upon a pillow I was destined to press in
+freezing loneliness,--what hours of solitude I passed,
+far from the haunts of my fellow-men, and forming plans
+of vengeance,--it would take much longer time to relate
+than I have actually bestowed on my unhappy history. To
+comprehend their extent and force, you must understand
+the heart of fire in which the deep sense of injury had
+taken root; but the night wears away, and briefly told
+must be the remainder of my tale. The rebellion of
+forty-five saw me in arms in the Scottish ranks; and, in
+one instance, opposed to the regiment from which I had
+been so ignominiously expelled. Never did revenge glow
+like a living fire in the heart of man as it did in mine;
+for the effect of my long brooding in solitude had been
+to inspire me with a detestation, not merely for those
+who had been most rancorous in their enmity, but for
+every thing that wore the uniform, from the commanding
+officer down to the meanest private. Every blow that I
+dealt, every life that I sacrificed, was an insult washed
+away from my attainted honour; but him whom I most sought
+in the melee I never could reach. At length the corps to
+which I had attached myself was repulsed; and I saw, with
+rage in my heart, that my enemy still lived to triumph
+in the fruit of his villainy.
+
+"Although I was grown considerably in stature at this
+period, and was otherwise greatly altered in appearance,
+I had been recognised in the action by numbers of the
+regiment; and, indeed, more than once I had, in the
+intoxication of my rage, accompanied the blow that slew
+or maimed one of my former associates with a declaration
+of the name of him who inflicted it. The consequence was,
+I was denounced as a rebel and an outlaw, and a price
+was put upon my head. Accustomed, however, as I had ever
+been, to rocks and fastnesses, I had no difficulty in
+eluding the vigilance of those who were sent in pursuit
+of me; and thus compelled to live wholly apart from my
+species, I at length learned to hate them, and to know
+that man is the only enemy of man upon earth.
+
+"A change now came ever the spirit of my vengeance; for
+about this period your mother died. I had never ceased
+to love, even while I despised her; and notwithstanding,
+had she, after her flagrant inconstancy, thrown herself
+into my arms, I should have rejected her with scorn,
+still I was sensible no other woman could ever supply
+her place in my affection. She was, in truth, the only
+being I had ever looked upon with fondness; and deeply
+even as I had been injured by her, I wept her memory with
+many a scalding tear. This, however, only increased my
+hatred for him who had rioted in her beauty, and supplanted
+me in her devotedness. I had the means of learning,
+occasionally, all that passed in the regiment; and the
+same account that brought me the news of your mother's
+death also gave me the intelligence that three children
+had been the fruit of her union with De Haldimar. How,"
+pursued Wacousta, with bitter energy, "shall I express
+the deep loathing I felt for those children? It seemed
+to me as if their existence had stamped a seal of infamy
+on my own brow; and I hated them, even in their childhood,
+as the offspring of an abhorred, and, as it appeared to
+me, an unnatural union. I heard, moreover (and this gave
+me pleasure), that their father doated on them; and from
+that moment I resolved to turn his cup of joy into
+bitterness, even as he had turned mine. I no longer sought
+his life; for the jealousy that had half impelled that
+thirst existed no longer: but, deeming his cold nature
+at least accessible through his parental affection, I
+was resolved that in his children he should suffer a
+portion of the agonies he had inflicted on me. I waited,
+however, until they should be grown up to an age when
+the heart of the parent would be more likely to mourn
+their loss; and then I was determined my vengeance should
+be complete.
+
+"Circumstances singularly favoured my design. Many years
+afterwards, the regiment formed one of the expedition
+against Quebec under General Wolfe. They were commanded
+by your father, who, in the course of promotion, had
+obtained the lieutenant-colonelcy; and I observed by the
+army list, that a subaltern of the same name, whom I
+presumed to be his eldest son, was in the corps. Here
+was a field for my vengeance beyond any I could have
+hoped for. I contrived to pass over into Cornwall, the
+ban of outlawry being still unrepealed; and having procured
+from my brother a sum sufficient for my necessities, and
+bade him an eternal farewell, embarked in a fishing-boat
+for the coast of France, whence I subsequently took a
+passage to this country. At Montreal I found the French
+general, who gladly received my allegiance as a subject
+of France, and gave me a commission in one of the provincial
+corps that usually served in concert with our Indian
+allies. With the general I soon became a favourite; and,
+as a mark of his confidence at the attack on Quebec, he
+entrusted me with the command of a detached irregular
+force, consisting partly of Canadians and partly of
+Indians, intended to harass the flanks of the British
+army. This gave me an opportunity of being at whatever
+point of the field I might think most favourable to my
+design; and I was too familiar with the detested uniform
+of the regiment not to be able to distinguish it from
+afar. In a word, Clara, for I am weary of my own tale,
+in that engagement I had an opportunity of recognising
+your brother. He struck me by his martial appearance as
+he encouraged his grenadiers to the attack of the French
+columns; and, as I turned my eye upon him in admiration,
+I was stung to the soul by his resemblance to his father.
+Vengeance thrilled throughout every fibre of my frame at
+that moment. The opportunity I had long sought was at
+length arrived; and already, in anticipation, I enjoyed
+the conquest his fall would occasion to my enemy. I rushed
+within a few feet of my victim; but the bullet aimed at
+his heart was received in the breast of a faithful soldier,
+who had flown to intercept it. How I cursed the meddler
+for his officiousness!"
+
+"Oh, that soldier was your nephew," eagerly interrupted
+Clara, pointing towards her companion, who had fallen
+into a profound slumber, "the husband of this unfortunate
+woman. Frank Halloway (for by that name was he alone
+known in the regiment) loved my brother as though he had
+been of the same blood. He it was who flew to receive
+the ball that was destined for another. But I nursed him
+on his couch of suffering, and with my own hands prepared
+his food and dressed his wound. Oh, if pity can touch
+your heart (and I will not believe that a heart that once
+felt as you say yours has felt can be inaccessible to
+pity), let the recollection of your nephew's devotedness
+to my mother's child disarm you of vengeance, and induce
+you to restore us!"
+
+"Never!" thundered Wacousta,--"never! The very circumstance
+you have now named is an additional incentive to my
+vengeance. My nephew saved the life of your brother at
+the hazard of his own; and how has he been rewarded for
+the generous deed? By an ignominious death, inflicted,
+perhaps, for some offence not more dishonouring than
+those which have thrown me an outcast upon these wilds;
+and that at the command and in the presence of the father
+of him whose life he was fool enough to preserve. Yet,
+what but ingratitude of the grossest nature could a Morton
+expect at the hands of the false family of De Haldimar!
+They were destined to be our bane, and well have they
+fulfilled the end for which they were created."
+
+"Almighty Providence!" aspirated the sinking Clara, as
+she turned her streaming eyes to heaven; "can it be that
+the human heart can undergo such change? Can this be the
+being who once loved my mother with a purity and tenderness
+of affection that angels themselves might hallow with
+approval; or is all that I have heard but a bewildering
+dream?"
+
+"No, Clara," calmly and even solemnly returned the warrior;
+"it is no dream, but a reality--a sad, dreadful,
+heart-rending reality; yet, if I am that altered being,
+to whom is the change to be ascribed? Who turned the
+generous current of my blood into a river of overflowing
+gall? Who, when my cup was mantling with the only bliss
+I coveted upon earth, traitorously emptied it, and
+substituted a heart-corroding poison in its stead? Who
+blighted my fair name, and cast me forth an alien in the
+land of my forefathers? Who, in a word, cut me off from
+every joy that existence can impart to man? Who did all
+this? Your father! But these are idle words. What I have
+been, you know; what I now am, and through what agency
+I have been rendered what I now am, you know also. Not
+more fixed is fate than my purpose. Your brother dies
+even on the spot on which my nephew died; and you, Clara,
+shall be my bride; and the first thing your children
+shall be taught to lisp shall be curses on the vile name
+of De Haldimar!"
+
+"Once more, in the name of my sainted mother, I implore
+you to have mercy," shrieked the unhappy Clara. "Oh!"
+she continued, with vehement supplication, "let the days
+of your early love be brought back to' your memory, that
+your heart may be softened; and cut yourself not wholly
+off from your God, by the commission of such dreadful
+outrages. Again I conjure you, restore us to my father."
+
+"Never!" savagely repeated Wacousta. "I have passed years
+of torture in the hope of such an hour as this; and now
+that fruition is within my grasp, may I perish if I forego
+it! Ha, sir!" turning from the almost fainting Clara to
+Sir Everard, who had listened with deep attention to the
+history of this extraordinary man;--"for this," and he
+thrust aside the breast of his hunting coat, exhibiting
+the scar of a long but superficial wound,--"for this do
+you owe me a severe reckoning. I would recommend you,
+however,"--and he spoke in mockery,--"when next you drive
+a weapon into the chest of an unresisting enemy, to be
+more certain of your aim. Had that been as true as the
+blow from the butt of your rifle, I should not have lived
+to triumph in this hour. I little deemed," he pursued,
+still addressing the nearly heart-broken officer in the
+same insolent strain, "that my intrigue with that dark-eyed
+daughter of the old Canadian would have been the means
+of throwing your companion so speedily into my power,
+after his first narrow escape. Your disguise was well
+managed, I confess; and but that there is an instinct
+about me, enabling me to discover a De Haldimar, as a
+hound does the deer, by scent, you might have succeeded
+in passing for what you. appeared. But" (and his tone
+suddenly changed its irony for fierceness) "to the point,
+sir. That you are the lover of this girl I clearly
+perceive, and death were preferable to a life embittered
+by the recollection that she whom we love reposes in the
+arms of another. No such kindness is meant you, however.
+To-morrow you shall return to the fort; and, when there,
+you may tell your colonel, that, in exchange for a certain
+miniature and letters, which, in the hurry of departure,
+I dropped in his apartment, some ten days since, Sir
+Reginald Morton, the outlaw, has taken his daughter Clara
+to wife, but without the solemnisation of those tedious
+forms that bound himself in accursed union with her
+mother. Oh! what would I not give," he continued, bitterly,
+"to witness the pang inflicted on his false heart, when
+first the damning truth arrests his ear. Never did I know
+the triumph of my power until now; for what revenge can
+be half so sweet as that which attains a loathed enemy
+through the dishonour of his child? But, hark! what mean
+those sounds?"
+
+A loud yelling was now heard at some distance in rear of
+the tent. Presently the bounding of many feet on the turf
+was distinguishable; and then, at intervals, the peculiar
+cry that announces the escape of a prisoner. Wacousta
+started to his feet, and fiercely grasping his tomahawk,
+advanced to the front of the tent, where he seemed to
+listen for a moment attentively, as if endeavouring to
+catch the direction of the pursuit.
+
+"Ha! by Heaven!" he exclaimed, "there must be treachery
+in this, or yon slippery captain would not so soon be at
+his flight again, bound as I had bound him." Then uttering
+a deafening yell, and rushing past Sir Everard, near whom
+he paused an instant, as if undecided whether he should
+not first dispose of him, as a precautionary measure, he
+flew with the speed of an antelope in the direction in
+which he was guided by the gradually receding sounds.
+
+"The knife, Miss de Haldimar," exclaimed Sir Everard,
+after a few moments of breathless and intense anxiety.
+"See, there is one in the belt that Ellen Halloway has
+girt around her loins. Quick, for Heaven's sake, quick;
+our only chance of safety is in this."
+
+With an activity arising from her despair, the unhappy
+Clara sprang from the rude couch on which she had been
+left by Wacousta, and, stooping over the form of the
+maniac, extended her hand to remove the weapon from her
+side; but Ellen, who had been awakened from her long
+slumber by the yells just uttered, seemed resolute to
+prevent it. A struggle for its possession now ensued
+between these frail and delicate beings; in which Clara,
+however, had the advantage, not only from the recumbent
+position of her opponent, but from the greater security
+of her grasp. At length, with a violent effort, she
+contrived to disengage it from the sheath, around which
+Ellen had closely clasped both her hands; but, with the
+quickness of thought, the latter were again clenched
+round the naked blade, and without any other evident
+motive than what originated in the obstinacy of her
+madness, the unfortunate woman fiercely attempted to
+wrest it away. In the act of doing so, her hands were
+dreadfully cut; and Clara, shocked at the sight of the
+blood she had been the means of shedding, lost all the
+energy she had summoned, and sunk senseless at the feet
+of the maniac, who now began to utter the most piteous
+cries.
+
+"Oh, God! we are lost," exclaimed Sir Everard; "the voice
+of that wretched woman has alarmed our enemy, and even
+now I hear him approaching. Quick, Clara, give me the
+knife. But no, it is now too late; he is here."
+
+At that instant, the dark form of a warrior rushed
+noiselessly to the spot on which he stood. The officer
+turned his eyes in desperation on his enemy, but a single
+glance was sufficient to assure him it was not Wacousta.
+The Indian paused not in his course, but passing close
+round the tree to which the baronet was attached, made
+a circular movement, that brought him in a line with the
+direction that had been taken by his enemy; and again
+they were left alone.
+
+A new fear now oppressed the heart of the unfortunate
+Valletort, even to agony: Clara still lay senseless,
+speechless, before him; and his impression was, that, in
+the struggle, Ellen Halloway had murdered her. The latter
+yet continued her cries; and, as she held up her hands,
+he could see by the fire-light they were covered with
+blood. An instinctive impulse caused him to bound forward
+to the assistance of the motionless Clara; when, to his
+infinite surprise and joy, he discovered the cord, which
+had bound him to the tree, to be severed. The Indian who
+had just passed had evidently been his deliverer; and a
+sudden flash of recollection recalled the figure of the
+young warrior that had escaped from the schooner and was
+supposed to have leaped into the canoe of Oucanasta at
+the moment when Madeline de Haldimar was removed into
+that of the Canadian.
+
+In a transport of conflicting feelings, Sir Everard now
+raised the insensible Clara from the ground; and, having
+satisfied himself she had sustained no serious injury,
+prepared for a flight which he felt to be desperate, if
+not altogether hopeless. There was not a moment to be
+lost, for the cries of the wretched Ellen increased in
+violence, as she seemed sensible she was about to be left
+utterly alone; and ever and anon, although afar off, yet
+evidently drawing nearer, was to be heard the fierce
+denouncing yell of Wacousta. The spot on which the officer
+stood, was not far from that whence his unfortunate friend
+had commenced his flight on the first memorable occasion;
+and as the moon shone brightly in the cloudless heavens,
+there could be no mistake in the course he was to pursue.
+Dashing down the steep, therefore, with all the speed
+his beloved burden would enable him to attain, he made
+immediately for the bridge, over which his only chance
+of safety lay.
+
+It unfortunately happened, however, that, induced either
+by the malice of her insanity, or really terrified at
+the loneliness of her position, the wretched Ellen Halloway
+had likewise quitted the tent, and now followed close in
+the rear of the fugitives, still uttering the same piercing
+cries of anguish. The voice of Wacousta was also again
+heard in the distance; and Sir Everard had the inexpressible
+horror to find that, guided by the shrieks of the maniac
+woman, he was now shaping his course, not to the tent
+where he had left his prisoners, but in an oblique
+direction towards the bridge; where he evidently hoped
+to intercept them. Aware of the extreme disadvantages
+under which be laboured in a competition of speed with
+his active enemy, the unhappy officer would have here
+terminated the struggle, had he not been partially
+sustained by the hope that the detachment prayed for by
+De Haldimar, through the friendly young chief, to whom
+he owed his own liberation, might be about this time on
+its way to attempt their rescue. This thought supported
+his faltering resolution, although nearly exhausted with
+his efforts--compelled, as he was, to sustain the motionless
+form of the slowly reviving Clara; and he again braced
+himself to the unequal flight The moon still shone
+beautifully bright, and he could now distinctly see the
+bridge over which he was to pass; but notwithstanding he
+strained his eyes as he advanced, no vestige of a British
+uniform was to be seen in the open space that lay beyond.
+Once he turned to regard his pursuers. Ellen was a few
+yards only in his rear; and considerably beyond her rose,
+in tall relief against the heavens, the gigantic form of
+the warrior. The pursuit of the latter was now conducted
+with a silence that terrified even more than the yells
+he had previously uttered; and he gained so rapidly on
+his victims, that the tread of his large feet was now
+distinctly audible. Again the officer, with despair in
+his heart, made the most incredible exertions to reach
+the bridge, without seeming to reflect that, even when
+there, no security was offered him against his enemy.
+Once, as he drew nearer, he fancied he saw the dark heads
+of human beings peering from under that part of the arch
+which had afforded cover to De Haldimar and himself oh
+the memorable occasion of their departure with the
+Canadian; and, convinced that the warriors of Wacousta
+had been sent there to lie in ambuscade and intercept
+his retreat, his hopes were utterly paralysed; and although
+he stopped not, his flight was rather mechanical than
+the fruit of any systematic plan of escape.
+
+He had now gained the extremity of the bridge, with Ellen
+Halloway and Wacousta close in his rear, when suddenly
+the heads of many men were once more distinguishable,
+even in the shadow of the arch that overhung the sands
+of the river. Three individuals detached themselves from
+the group and leaping upon the further extremity of the
+bridge, moved rapidly to meet him. Meanwhile the baronet
+had stopped suddenly, as if in doubt whether to advance
+or to recede. His suspense was but momentary. Although
+the persons of these men were disguised as Indian warriors,
+the broad moonlight that beamed full on their countenances,
+disclosed the well-remembered features of Blessington,
+Erskine, and Charles de Haldimar. The latter sprang before
+his companions, and, uttering a cry of joy, sank in
+speechless agony on the neck of his still unconscious
+sister.
+
+"For God's sake, free me, De Haldimar!" exclaimed the
+excited baronet, disengaging his charge from the embrace
+of his friend. This is no moment for congratulation.
+Erskine, Blessington, see you not who is behind me? Be
+upon your guard; defend your lives!" And as he spoke, he
+rushed forward with" feint and tottering steps to place
+his companions between the unhappy girl and the danger
+that threatened her.
+
+The swords of the officers were drawn; but instead of
+advancing upon the formidable being, who stood as if
+paralysed at this unexpected rencontre, the two seniors
+contented themselves with assuming a defensive
+attitude,--retiring slowly and gradually towards the
+other extremity of the bridge.
+
+Overcome by his emotion, Charles de Haldimar had not
+noticed this action of his companions, and stood apparently
+riveted to the spot. The voice of Blessington calling on
+him by name to retire, seemed to arouse the dormant
+consciousness of the unhappy maniac. She uttered a
+piercing shriek, and, springing forward, sank on her
+knees at his feet, exclaiming, as she forcibly detained
+him by his dress,--
+
+"Almighty Heaven! where am I? surely that was Captain
+Blessington's kind voice I heard; and you--you are Charles
+de Haldimar. Oh! save my husband; plead for him with
+your father!----but no," she continued wildly,--"he is
+dead--he is murdered! Behold these hands all covered with
+his blood! Oh!----"
+
+"Ha! another De Haldimar!" exclaimed Wacousta, recovering
+his slumbering energies, "this spot seems indeed fated
+for our meeting. More than thrice have I been balked of
+my just revenge, but now will I secure it. Thus, Ellen,
+do I avenge your husband's and my nephew's death. My own
+wrongs demand another sacrifice. But, ha! where is she?
+where is Clara? where is my bride?"
+
+Bounding over the ill-fated De Haldimar, who lay, even
+in death, firmly clasped in the embrace of the wretched
+Ellen, the fierce man dashed furiously forward to renew
+his pursuit of the fugitives. But suddenly the extremity
+of the bridge was filled with a column of armed men, that
+kept issuing from the arch beneath. Sensible of his
+danger, he sought to make good his retreat; but when he
+turned for the purpose, the same formidable array met
+his view at the opposite extremity; and both parties now
+rapidly advanced in double quick time, evidently with a
+view of closing upon and taking him prisoner. In this
+dilemma, his only hope was in the assistance that might
+be rendered him by his warriors. A yell, so terrific as
+to be distinctly heard in the fort itself, burst from
+his vast chest, and rolled in prolonged echoes through
+the forest. It was faintly answered from the encampment,
+and met by deep but noiseless curses from the exasperated
+soldiery, whom the sight of their murdered officer was
+momentarily working into frenzy.
+
+"Kill him not, for your lives!--I command you, men, kill
+him not!" muttered Captain Blessington with suppressed
+passion, as his troops were preparing to immolate him on
+their clustering bayonets. "Such a death were, indeed,
+mercy to such a villain."
+
+"Ha! ha!" laughed Wacousta in bitter scorn; "who is there
+of all your accursed regiment who will dare to take him
+alive?" Then brandishing his tomahawk around him, to
+prevent their finally closing, he dealt his blows with
+such astonishing velocity, that no unguarded point was
+left about his person; and more than one soldier was
+brought to the earth in the course of the unequal struggle."
+
+"By G--d!" said Captain Erskine, "are the two best
+companies of the regiment to be kept at bay by a single
+desperado? Shame on ye, fellows! If his hands are too
+many for you, lay him by the heels."
+
+This ruse was practised with success. In attempting to
+defend himself from the attack of those who sought to
+throw him down, the warrior necessarily left his upper
+person exposed; when advantage was taken to close with
+him and deprive him of the play of his arms. It was not,
+however, without considerable difficulty, that they
+succeeded in disarming and binding his hands; after which
+a strong cord being fastened round his waist, he was
+tightly lashed to a gun, which, contrary to the original
+intention of the governor, had been sent out with the
+expedition. The retreat of the detachment then commenced
+rapidly; but it was not without being hotly pursued by
+the band of warriors the yell of Wacousta had summoned
+in pursuit, that they finally gained the fort: under what
+feelings of sorrow for the fate of an officer so beloved,
+we leave it to our readers to imagine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The morning of the next day dawned on few who had pressed
+their customary couches--on none, whose feverish pulse
+and bloodshot eye failed to attest the utter sleeplessness
+in which the night had been passed. Numerous groups of
+men were to be seep assembling after the reveille, in
+various parts of the barrack square--those who had borne
+a part in the recent expedition commingling with those
+who had not, and recounting to the latter, with mournful
+look and voice, the circumstances connected with the
+bereavement of their universally lamented officer. As
+none, however, had seen the blow struck that deprived
+him of life, although each had heard the frantic
+exclamations of a voice that had been recognised for
+Ellen Halloway's, much of the marvellous was necessarily
+mixed up with truth in their narrative,--some positively
+affirming Mr. de Haldimar had not once quitted his party,
+and declaring that nothing short of a supernatural agency
+could have transported him unnoticed to the fatal spot,
+where, in their advance, they had beheld him murdered.
+The singular appearance of Ellen Halloway also, at that
+moment, on the very bridge on which she had pronounced
+her curse on the family of De Haldimar, and in company
+with the terrible and mysterious being who had borne her
+off in triumph on that occasion to the forest, and under
+circumstances calculated to excite the most superstitious
+impressions, was not without its weight in determining
+their rude speculations; and all concurred in opinion,
+that the death of the unfortunate young officer was a
+judgment on their colonel for the little mercy he had
+extended to the noble-hearted Halloway.
+
+Then followed allusion to their captive, whose gigantic
+stature and efforts at escape, tremendous even as the
+latter were, were duly exaggerated by each, with the very
+laudable view of claiming a proportionate share of credit
+for his own individual exertions; and many and various
+were the opinions expressed as to the manner of death he
+should be made to suffer. Among the most conspicuous of
+the orators were those with whom our readers have already
+made slight acquaintance in our account of the sortie by
+Captain Erskine's company for the recovery of the supposed
+body of Frederick de Haldimar. One was for impaling him
+alive, and setting him up to rot on the platform above
+the gate. Another for blowing him from the muzzle of a
+twenty-four pounder, into the centre of the first band
+of Indians that approached the fort, that thus perceiving
+they had lost the strength and sinew of their cunning
+war, they might be the more easily induced to propose
+terms of peace. A third was of opinion he ought to be
+chained to the top of the flag-staff, as a target, to be
+shot at with arrows only, contriving never to touch a
+mortal part. A fourth would have had him tied naked over
+the sharp spikes that constituted the chevaux-de-frize
+garnishing the sides of the drawbridge. Each devised some
+new death--proposed some new torture; but all were of
+opinion, that simply to be shot, or even to be hanged,
+was too merciful a punishment for the wretch who had so
+wantonly and inhumanly butchered the kind-hearted,
+gentle-mannered officer, whom they had almost all known
+and loved from his very boyhood; and they looked forward,
+with mingled anxiety and vengeance, to the moment when,
+summoned as it was expected he shortly would be, before
+the assembled garrison, he would be made to expiate the
+atrocity with his blood.
+
+While the men thus gave indulgence to their indignation
+and their grief, their officers were even mere painfully
+affected. The body of the ill-fated Charles had been
+borne to his apartment, where, divested of its disguise,
+it had again been inducted in such apparel as was deemed
+suited to the purpose. Extended on the very bed on which
+he lay at the moment when she, whose maniac raving, and
+forcible detention, had been the immediate cause of his
+destruction, had preferred her wild but fruitless
+supplication for mercy, he exhibited, even in death, the
+same delicate beauty that had characterised him on that
+occasion; yet, with a mildness and serenity of expression
+on his still, pale features, strongly in contrast with
+the agitation and glow of excitement that then distinguished
+him. Never was human loveliness in death so marked as in
+Charles de Haldimar; and but for the deep wound that,
+dividing his clustering locks, had entered from the very
+crown of the head to the opening of his marble brow, one
+ignorant of his fate might have believed he but profoundly
+slept. Several women of the regiment were occupied in
+those offices about the corpse, which women alone are
+capable of performing at such moments, and as they did
+so, suffered their tears to flow silently yet abundantly
+over him, who was no longer sensible either of human
+grief or of human joy. Close at the head of the bed stood
+an old man, with his face buried in his hands; the latter
+reposing against the wainscoting of the room. He, too,
+wept, but his weeping was more audible, more painful,
+and accompanied by suffocating sobs. It was the humble,
+yet almost paternally attached servant of the defunct--
+the veteran Morrison.
+
+Around the bed were grouped nearly all the officers,
+standing in attitudes indicative of anxiety and interest,
+and gazing mournfully on the placid features of their
+ill-fated friend. All, on entering, moved noiselessly
+over the rude floor, as though fearful of disturbing the
+repose of one who merely slumbered; and the same precaution
+was extended to the brief but heartfelt expressions of
+sorrow that passed, from one to the other, as they gazed
+on all that remained of the gentle De Haldimar. At length
+the preparations of the women having been completed, they
+retired from the room, leaving one of their number only,
+rather out of respect than necessity, to remain by the
+corpse. When they were departed, this woman, the wife of
+one of Blessington's sergeants, and the same who had been
+present at the scene between Ellen Halloway and the
+deceased, cut off a large lock of his beautiful hair,
+and separating it into small tresses, handed one to each
+of the officers. This considerate action, although
+unsolicited on the part of the latter, deeply touched
+them, as indicating a sense of the high estimation in
+which the youth bad been held. It was a tribute to the
+memory of him they mourned, of the purest kind; and each,
+as he received his portion, acknowledged with a mournful
+but approving look, or nod, or word, the motive that bad
+prompted the offering. Nor was it a source of less
+satisfaction, melancholy even as that satisfaction was,
+to perceive that, after having set aside another lock,
+probably for the sister of the deceased, she selected
+and consigned to the bosom of her dress a third, evidently
+intended for herself. The whole scene was in striking
+contrast with the almost utter absence of all preparation
+or concern that had preceded the interment of Murphy, on
+a former occasion. In one, the rude soldier was mourned,
+--in the other, the gentle friend was lamented; nor the
+latter alone by the companions to whom intimacy had
+endeared him, but by those humbler dependants, who knew
+him only through those amiable attributes of character,
+which were ever equally extended to all. Gradually the
+officers now moved away in the same noiseless manner in
+which they had approached, either in pursuance of their
+several duties, or to make their toilet of the morning.
+Two only of their number remained near the couch of death.
+
+"Poor unfortunate De Haldimar!" observed one of these,
+in a low tone, as if speaking to himself; "too fatally,
+indeed, have your forebodings been realised; and what I
+considered as the mere despondency of a mind crashed into
+feebleness by an accumulation of suffering, was, after
+all, but the first presentiment of a death no human power
+might avert. By Heaven! I would give up half my own being
+to be able to reanimate that form once more,--but the
+wish is vain."
+
+"Who shall announce the intelligence to his sister?"
+sighed his companion. "Never will that already nearly
+heart-broken girl be able to survive the shock of her
+brother's death. Blessington, you alone are fitted to
+such a task; and, painful as it is, you must undertake
+it. Is the colonel apprised of the dreadful truth, do
+you know?"
+
+"He is. It was told him at the moment of our arrival last
+night; but from the little outward emotion displayed by
+him, I should be tempted to infer he had almost anticipated
+some such catastrophe."
+
+"Poor, poor Charles!" bitterly exclaimed Sir Everard
+Valletort--for it was he. "What would I not give to recal
+the rude manner in which I spurned you from me last night.
+But, alas! what could I do, laden with such a trust, and
+pursued, without the power of defence, by such an enemy?
+Little, indeed, did I imagine what was so speedily to be
+your doom! Blessington," he pursued, with increased
+emotion, "it grieves me to wretchedness to think that
+he, whom I loved as though he had been my twin brother,
+should have perished with his last thoughts, perhaps,
+lingering on the seeming unkindness with which I had
+greeted him after so anxious an absence."
+
+"Nay, if there be blame, it must attach to me," sorrowfully
+observed Captain Blessington. "Had Erskine and myself
+not retired before the savage, as we did, our unfortunate
+friend would in all probability have been alive at this
+very hour. But in our anxiety to draw the former into
+the ambuscade we had prepared for him, we utterly overlooked
+that Charles was not retreating with us."
+
+"How happened it," demanded Sir Everard, his attention
+naturally directed to the subject by the preceding remarks,
+"that you lay thus in ambuscade, when the object of the
+expedition, as solicited by Frederick de Haldimar, was
+an attempt to reach us in the encampment of the Indians?"
+
+"It certainly was under that impression we left the fort;
+but, on coming to the spot where the friendly Indian lay
+waiting to conduct us, he proposed the plan we subsequently
+adopted as the most likely, not only to secure the escape
+of the prisoners, whom he pledged himself to liberate,
+but to defend ourselves with advantage against Wacousta
+and the immediate guard set over them, should they follow
+in pursuit. Erskine approving, as well as myself, of
+the plan, we halted at the bridge, and disposed of our
+men under each extremity; so that, if attacked by the
+Indians in front, we might be enabled to throw them into
+confusion by taking them in rear, as they flung themselves
+upon the bridge. The event seemed to answer our
+expectations. The alarm raised in the encampment satisfied
+us the young Indian had contrived to fulfil his promise;
+and we momentarily looked for the appearance of those
+whose flight we naturally supposed would be directed
+towards the bridge. To our great surprise, however, we
+remarked that the sounds of pursuit, instead of approaching
+us, seemed to take an opposite direction, apparently
+towards the point whence we had seen the prisoners
+disembarked in the morning. At length, when almost tempted
+to regret we had not pushed boldly on, in conformity with
+our first intention, we heard the shrill cries of a woman;
+and, not long afterwards, the sounds of human feet rushing
+down the slope. What our sensations were, you may imagine;
+for we all believed it to be either Clara or Madeline de
+Haldimar fleeing alone, and pursued by our ferocious
+enemies. To show ourselves would, we were sensible, be
+to ensure the death of the pursued, before we could
+possibly come up; and, although it was with difficulty
+we repressed the desire to rush forward to the rescue,
+our better judgment prevailed. Finally we saw you approach,
+followed closely by what appeared to be a mere boy of an
+Indian, and, at a considerable distance, by the tall
+warrior of the Fleur de lis. We imagined there was time
+enough for you to gain the bridge; and finding your more
+formidable pursuer was only accompanied by the youth
+already alluded to, conceived at that moment the design
+of making him our prisoner. Still there were half a dozen
+muskets ready to be levelled on him should he approach
+too near to his fugitives, or manifest any other design
+than that of simply recapturing them. How well our plan
+succeeded you are aware; but, alas!" and he glanced
+sorrowfully at the corpse, "why was our success to be
+embittered by so great a sacrifice?"
+
+"Ah, would to Heaven that he at least had been spared,"
+sighed Sir Everard, as he took the wan white hand of his
+friend in his own; "and yet I know not: he looks so calm,
+so happy in death, it is almost selfish to repine he has
+escaped the horrors that still await us in this dreadful
+warfare. But what of Frederick and Madeline de Haldimar?
+From the statement you have given, they must have been
+liberated by the young Ottawa before he came to me; yet,
+what could have induced them to have taken a course of
+flight so opposite to that which promised their only
+chance of safety?"
+
+"Heaven only knows," returned Captain Blessington. "I
+fear they have again been recaptured by the savages; in
+which case their doom is scarcely doubtful; unless,
+indeed, our prisoner of last night be given up in exchange
+for them."
+
+"Then will their liberty be purchased at a terrible
+price," remarked the baronet. "Will you believe,
+Blessington, that that man, whose enmity to our colonel
+seems almost devilish, was once an officer in this very
+regiment?"
+
+"You astonish me, Valletort.--Impossible! and yet it
+has always been apparent to me they were once associates."
+
+"I heard him relate his history only last night to Clara,
+whom he had the audacity to sully with proposals to become
+his bride," pursued the baronet. "His tale was a most
+extraordinary one. He narrated it, however, only up to
+the period when the life of De Haldimar was attempted by
+him at Quebec. But with his subsequent history we are
+all acquainted, through the fame of his bloody atrocities
+in all the posts that have fallen into the hands of
+Ponteac. That man, savage and even fiendish as he now
+is, was once possessed of the noblest qualities. I am
+sorry to say it; but Colonel de Haldimar has brought this
+present affliction upon himself. At some future period
+I will tell you all."
+
+"Alas!" said Captain Blessington, "poor Charles, then,
+has been made to pay the penalty of his father's errors;
+and, certainly, the greatest of these was his dooming
+the unfortunate Halloway to death in the manner he did."
+
+"What think you of the fact of Halloway
+being the nephew of this extraordinary man,
+and both of high family?" demanded Sir
+Everard.
+
+"Indeed!" and was the latter, then, aware of the
+connection?"
+
+"Not until last night," replied Sir Everard. "Some
+observations made by the wretched wife of Halloway, in
+the course of which she named his true name, (which was
+that of the warrior also,) first indicated the fact to
+the latter. But, what became of that unfortunate
+creature?--was she brought in?"
+
+"I understand not," said Captain Blessington. "In the
+confusion and hurry of securing our prisoner, and the
+apprehension of immediate attack from his warriors, Ellen
+was entirely overlooked. Some of my men say they left
+her lying, insensible, on the spot whence they had raised
+the body of our unfortunate friend, which they had some
+difficulty in releasing from her convulsive embrace. But,
+hark! there is the first drum for parade, and I have not
+yet exchanged my Indian garb."
+
+Captain Blessington now quitted the room, and Sir Everard,
+relieved from the restraining presence of his companions,
+gave free vent to his emotion, throwing himself upon the
+body of his friend, and giving utterance to the feelings
+of anguish that oppressed his heart.
+
+He had continued some minutes in this position, when he
+fancied he felt the warm tears of a human being bedewing
+a hand that reposed on the neck of his unfortunate friend.
+He looked up, and, to his infinite surprise, beheld Clara
+de Haldimar standing before him at the opposite side of
+the bed. Her likeness to her brother, at that moment,
+was so striking, that, for a second or two, the
+irrepressible thought passed through the mind of the
+officer, it was not a living being he gazed upon, but
+the immaterial spirit of his friend. The whole attitude
+and appearance of the wretched girl, independently of
+the fact of her noiseless entrance, tended to favour the
+delusion. Her features, of an ashy paleness, seemed fixed,
+even as those of the corpse beneath him; and, but for
+the tears that coursed silently down her cheek, there
+was scarcely an outward evidence of emotion. Her dress
+was a simple white robe, fastened round her waist with
+a pale blue riband; and over her shoulders hung her
+redundant hair, resembling in colour, and disposed much
+in the manner of that of her brother, which had been
+drawn negligently down to conceal the wound on his brow.
+For some moments the baronet gazed at her in speechless
+agony. Her tranquil exterior was torture to him; for he,
+feared it betokened some alienation of reason. He would
+have preferred to witness the most hysteric convulsion
+of grief, rather than that traitorous calm; and yet he
+had not the power to seek to remove it.
+
+"You are surprised to see me here, mingling my grief with
+yours, Sir Everard," she at length observed, with the
+same calm mien, and in tones of touching sweetness. "I
+came, with my father's permission, to take a last farewell
+of him whose death has broken my heart. I expected to be
+alone; but--Nay, do not go," she added, perceiving that
+the officer was about to depart. "Had you not been here,
+I should have sent for you; for we have both a sacred
+duty to perform. May I not ask your hand?"
+
+More and more dismayed at her collected manner, the young
+officer gazed at her with the deepest sorrow depicted in
+every line of his own countenance. He extended his hand,
+and Clara, to his surprise, grasped and pressed it firmly.
+
+"It was the wish of this poor boy that his Clara should
+be the wife of his friend, Sir Everard. Did he ever
+express such to you?"
+
+"It was the fondest desire of his heart," returned the
+baronet, unable to restrain the emotion of joy that
+mingled, despite of himself, with his worst apprehensions.
+
+"I need not ask how you received his proposal," continued
+Clara, with the same calmness of manner. "Last night,"
+she pursued solemnly, "I was the bride of the murderer
+of my brother, of the lover of my mother,--tomorrow night
+I may be the bride of death; but to-night I am the bride
+of my brother's friend. Yes, here am I come to pledge
+myself to the fulfilment of his wish. If you deem a
+heart-broken girl not unworthy of you, I am your wife,
+Sir Everard; and, recollect, it is a solemn pledge, that
+which a sister gives over the lifeless body of a brother,
+beloved as this has been."
+
+"Oh, Clara--dearest Clara," passionately exclaimed the
+excited young man, "if a life devoted to your happiness
+can repay you for this, count upon it as you would upon
+your eternal salvation. In you will I love both my friend
+and the sister he has bequeathed to me. Clara, my
+betrothed wife, summon all the energies of your nature
+to sustain this cruel shock; and exert yourself for him
+who will be to you both a brother and a husband."
+
+As he spoke he drew the unresisting girl towards him,
+and, locking her in his embrace, pressed, for the first
+time, the lips, which it had maddened him the preceding
+night to see polluted by the forcible kisses of Wacousta.
+But Clara shared not, but merely suffered his momentary
+happiness. Her cheek wore not the crimson of excitement,
+neither were her tears discontinued. She seemed as one
+who mechanically submitted to what she had no power of
+resistance to oppose; and even in the embrace of her
+affianced husband, she exhibited the same deathlike calm
+that had startled him at her first appearance. Religion
+could not hallow a purer feeling than that which had
+impelled the action of the young officer. The very
+consciousness of the sacred pledge having been exchanged
+over the corpse of his friend, imparted a holiness of
+fervour to his mind; and even while he pressed her, whom
+he secretly swore to love with all the affection of a
+fond brother and a husband united, he felt that if the
+spirit of him, who slept unconscious of the scene, were
+suffered to linger near, it would be to hallow it with
+approval.
+
+"And now," said Clara at length, yet without attempting
+to disengage herself,--"now that we are united, I would
+be alone with my brother. My husband, leave me."
+
+Deeply touched at the name of husband, Sir Everard could
+not refrain from imprinting another kiss on the lips that
+uttered it. He then gently disengaged himself from his
+lovely but suffering charge, whom he deposited with her
+head resting on the bed; and making a significant motion
+of his hand to the woman, who, as well as old Morrison,
+had been spectators of the whole scene, stole gently from
+the apartment, under what mingled emotions of joy and
+grief it would be difficult to describe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+It was the eighth hour of morning, and both officers and
+men, quitting their ill-relished meal, were to be seen
+issuing to the parade, where the monotonous roll of the
+assemblee now summoned them. Presently the garrison was
+formed in the order we have described in our first volume;
+that is to say, presenting three equal sides of a square.
+The vacant space fronted the guard-house, near one
+extremity of which was to be seen a flight of steps
+communicating with the rampart, where the flag-staff was
+erected. Several men were employed at this staff, passing
+strong ropes through iron pulleys that were suspended
+from the extreme top, while in the basement of the staff
+itself, to a height of about twenty feet, were stuck at
+intervals strong wooden pegs, serving as steps to the
+artillerymen for greater facility in clearing, when foul,
+the lines to which the colours were attached. The latter
+had been removed; and, from the substitution of a cord
+considerably stronger than that which usually appeared
+there, it seemed as if some far heavier weight was about
+to be appended to it. Gradually the men, having completed
+their unusual preparations, quitted the rampart, and the
+flagstaff, which was of tapering pine, was left totally
+unguarded.
+
+The "Attention!" of Major Blackwater to the troops, who
+had been hitherto standing in attitudes of expectancy
+that rendered the injunction almost superfluous, announced
+the approach of the governor. Soon afterwards that officer
+entered the area, wearing his characteristic dignity of
+manner, yet exhibiting every evidence of one who had
+suffered deeply. Preparation for a drum-head court-martial,
+as in the first case of Halloway, had already been made
+within the square, and the only actor wanting in the
+drama was he who was to be tried.
+
+Once Colonel de Haldimar made an effort to command his
+appearance, but the huskiness of his voice choked his
+utterance, and he was compelled to pause. After the lapse
+of a few moments, he again ordered, but in a voice that
+was remarked to falter,--
+
+"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be brought forth."
+
+The feeling of suspense that ensued between the delivery
+and execution of this command was painful throughout the
+ranks. All were penetrated with curiosity to behold a
+man who had several times appeared to them under the most
+appalling circumstances, and against whom the strongest
+feeling of indignation had been excited for his barbarous
+murder of Charles de Haldimar. It was with mingled awe
+and anger they now awaited his approach. At length the
+captive was seen advancing from the cell in which he had
+been confined, his gigantic form towering far above those
+of the guard of grenadiers by whom he was surrounded;
+and with a haughtiness in his air, and insolence in his
+manner, that told he came to confront his enemy with a
+spirit unsubdued by the fate that too probably awaited
+him.
+
+Many an eye was turned upon the governor at that moment.
+He was evidently struggling for composure to meet the
+scene he felt it to be impossible to avoid; and he turned
+pale and paler as his enemy drew near.
+
+At length the prisoner stood nearly in the same spot
+where his unfortunate nephew had lingered on a former
+occasion. He was unchained; but his hands were firmly
+secured behind his back. He threw himself into an attitude
+of carelessness, resting on one foot, and tapping the
+earth with the other; riveting his eye, at the same time,
+with an expression of the most daring insolence, on the
+governor, while his swarthy cheek was moreover lighted
+up with a smile of the deepest scorn.
+
+"You are Reginald Morton the outlaw, I believe," at length
+observed the governor in an uncertain tone, that, however,
+acquired greater firmness as he proceeded,--"one whose
+life has already been forfeited through his treasonable
+practices in Europe, and who has, moreover, incurred the
+penalty of an ignominious death, by acting in this country
+as a spy of the enemies of England. What say you, Reginald
+Morton, that you should not be convicted in the death
+that awaits the traitor?"
+
+"Ha! ha! by Heaven, such cold, pompous insolence amuses
+me," vociferated Wacousta. "It reminds me of Ensign de
+Haldimar of nearly five and twenty years back, who was
+then as cunning a dissembler as he is now." Suddenly
+changing his ribald tone to one of scorn and rage:--"You
+BELIEVE me, you say, to be Reginald Morton the outlaw.
+Well do you know it. I am that Sir Reginald Morton, who
+became an outlaw, not through his own crimes, but through
+your villainy. Ay, frown as you may, I heed it not. You
+may award me death, but shall not chain my tongue. To
+your whole regiment do I proclaim you for a false,
+remorseless villain." Then turning his flashing eye along
+the ranks:--"I was once an officer in this corps, and
+long before any of you wore the accursed uniform. That
+man, that fiend, affected to be my friend; and under the
+guise of friendship, stole into the heart I loved better
+than my own life. Yes," fervently pursued the excited
+prisoner, stamping violently with his foot upon the earth,
+"he robbed me of my affianced wife; and for that I resented
+an outrage that should have banished him to some lone
+region, where he might never again pollute human nature
+with his presence--he caused me to be tried by a
+court-martial, and dismissed the service. Then, indeed,
+I became the outlaw he has described, but not until then.
+Now, Colonel de Haldimar, that I have proclaimed your
+infamy, poor and inefficient as the triumph be, do your
+worst--I ask no mercy. Yesterday I thought that years of
+toilsome pursuit of the means of vengeance were about to
+be crowned with success; but fate has turned the tables
+on me and I yield."
+
+To all but the baronet and Captain Blessington this
+declaration was productive of the utmost surprise. Every
+eye was turned upon the colonel. He grew impatient under
+the scrutiny, and demanded if the court, who meanwhile
+had been deliberating, satisfied of the guilt of the
+prisoner, had come to a decision in regard to his
+punishment. An affirmative answer was given, and Colonel
+de Haldimar proceeded.
+
+"Reginald Morton, with the private misfortunes of your
+former life we have nothing to do. It is the decision of
+this court, who are merely met out of form, that you
+suffer immediate death by hanging, as a just recompense
+for your double treason to your country. There," and he
+pointed to the flag-staff, "will you be exhibited to the
+misguided people whom your wicked artifices have stirred
+up into hostility against us. When they behold your fate,
+they will take warning from your example; and, finding
+we have heads and arms not to suffer offence with impunity,
+be more readily brought to obedience."
+
+"I understand your allusion," coolly rejoined Wacousta,
+glancing earnestly at, and apparently measuring with his
+eye, the dimensions of the conspicuous scaffold on which
+he was to suffer. "You had ever a calculating head, De
+Haldimar, where any secret villainy, any thing to promote
+your own selfish ends, was to be gained by it; but your
+calculation seems now, methinks, at fault"
+
+Colonel de Haldimar looked at him enquiringly.
+
+"You have STILL a son left," pursued the prisoner with
+the same recklessness of manner, and in a tone denoting
+allusion to him who was no more, that caused an universal
+shudder throughout the ranks. "He is in the hands of the
+Ottawa Indians, and I am the friend of their great chief,
+inferior only in power among the tribe to himself. Think
+you that he will see me hanged up like a dog, and fail
+to avenge my disgraceful death?"
+
+"Ha! presumptuous renegade, is this the deep game you
+have in view? Hope you then to stipulate for the
+preservation of a life every way forfeited to the offended
+justice of your country? Dare you to cherish the belief,
+that, after the horrible threats so often denounced by
+you, you will again be let loose upon a career of crime
+and blood?"
+
+"None of your cant, de Haldimar, as I once observed to
+you before," coolly retorted Wacousta, with bitter sarcasm.
+"Consult your own heart, and ask if its catalogue of
+crime be not far greater than my own: yet I ask not my
+life. I would but have the manner of my fate altered,
+and fain would die the death of the soldier I WAS before
+you rendered me the wretch I AM. Methinks the boon is
+not so great, if the restoration of your son be the
+price."
+
+"Do you mean, then," eagerly returned the governor, "that
+if the mere mode of your death be changed, my son shall
+be restored?"
+
+"I do," was the calm reply.
+
+"What pledge have we of the fact? What faith can we repose
+in the word of a fiend, whose brutal vengeance has already
+sacrificed the gentlest life that ever animated human
+clay?" Here the emotion of the governor almost choked,
+his utterance, and considerable agitation and murmuring
+were manifested in the ranks.
+
+"Gentle, said you?" replied the prisoner, musingly; "then
+did he resemble his mother, whom I loved, even as his
+brother resembles you whom I have had so much reason to
+hate. Had I known the boy to be what you describe, I
+might have felt some touch of pity even while I delayed
+not to strike his death blow; but the false moonlight
+deceived me, and the detested name of De Haldimar,
+pronounced by the lips of my nephew's wife--that wife
+whom your cold-blooded severity had widowed and driven
+mad--was in itself sufficient to ensure his doom."
+
+"Inhuman ruffian!" exclaimed the governor, with increasing
+indignation; "to the point. What pledge have you to offer
+that my son will be restored?"
+
+"Nay, the pledge is easily given, and without much risk.
+You have only to defer my death until your messenger
+return from his interview with Ponteac. If Captain de
+Haldimar accompany him back, shoot me as I have requested;
+if he come not, then it is but to hang me after all."
+
+"Ha! I understand you; this is but a pretext to gain
+time, a device to enable your subtle brain to plan some
+mode of escape."
+
+"As you will, Colonel de Haldimar," calmly retorted
+Wacousta; and again he sank into silence, with the air
+of one utterly indifferent to results.
+
+"Do you mean," resumed the colonel, "that a request from
+yourself to the Ottawa chief will obtain the liberation
+of my son?"
+
+"Unless the Indian be false as yourself, I do."
+
+"And of the lady who is with him?" continued the colonel,
+colouring with anger.
+
+"Of both."
+
+"How is the message to be conveyed?"
+
+"Ha, sir!" returned the prisoner, drawing himself up to
+his full height, "now are you arrived at a point that is
+pertinent. My wampum belt will be the passport, and the
+safeguard of him you send; then for the communication.
+There are certain figures, as you are aware, that, traced
+on bark, answer the same purpose among the Indians with
+the European language of letters. Let my hands be cast
+loose," he pursued, but in a tone in which agitation and
+excitement might be detected, "and if bark be brought
+me, and a burnt stick or coal, I will give you not only
+a sample of Indian ingenuity, but a specimen of my own
+progress in Indian acquirements."
+
+"What, free your hands, and thus afford you a chance of
+escape?" observed the governor, doubtingly.
+
+Wacousta bent his stedfast gaze on him for a few moments,
+as if he questioned he had heard aright. Then bursting
+into a wild and scornful laugh,--"By Heaven!" he exclaimed,
+"this is, indeed, a high compliment you pay me at the
+expense of these fine fellows. What, Colonel de Haldimar
+afraid to liberate an unarmed prisoner, hemmed in by a
+forest of bayonets? This is good; gentlemen," and he bent
+himself in sarcastic reverence to the astonished troops,
+"I beg to offer you my very best congratulations on the
+high estimation in which you are held by your colonel."
+
+"Peace, sirrah!" exclaimed the governor, enraged beyond
+measure at the insolence of him who thus held him up to
+contempt before his men, "or, by Heaven, I will have your
+tongue cut out!--Mr. Lawson, let what this fellow requires
+be procured immediately." Then addressing Lieutenant
+Boyce, who commanded the immediate guard over the prisoner,
+--"Let his hands be liberated, sir, and enjoin your men
+to be watchful of the movements of this supple traitor.
+His activity I know of old to be great, and he seems to
+have doubled it since he assumed that garb."
+
+The command was executed, and the prisoner stood, once
+more, free and unfettered in every muscular limb. A deep
+and unbroken silence ensued; and the return of the adjutant
+was momentarily expected. Suddenly a loud scream was
+heard, and the slight figure of a female, clad in white,
+came rushing from the piazza in which the apartment of
+the deceased De Haldimar was situated. It was Clara.
+The guard of Wacousta formed the fourth front of the
+square; but they were drawn up somewhat in the distance,
+so as to leave an open space of several feet at the
+angles. Through one of these the excited girl now passed
+into the area, with a wildness in her air and appearance
+that riveted every eye in painful interest upon her. She
+paused not until she had gained the side of the captive,
+at whose feet she now sank in an attitude expressive of
+the most profound despair.
+
+"Tiger!--monster!" she raved, "restore my brother!--give
+me back the gentle life you have taken, or destroy my
+own! See, I am a weak defenceless girl: can you not
+strike?--you who have no pity for the innocent. But
+come," she pursued, mournfully, regaining her feet and
+grasping his iron hand,--"come and see the sweet calm
+face of him you have slain:--come with me, and behold
+the image of Clara Beverley; and, if you ever loved her
+as you say you did, let your soul be touched with remorse
+for your crime."
+
+The excitement and confusion produced by this unexpected
+interruption was great. Murmurs of compassion for the
+unhappy Clara, and of indignation against the prisoner,
+were no longer sought to be repressed by the men; while
+the officers, quitting their places in the ranks, grouped
+themselves indiscriminately in the foreground. One, more
+impatient than his companions, sprang forward, and forcibly
+drew away the delicate, hand that still grasped that of
+the captive. It was Sir Everard Valletort.
+
+"Clara, my beloved wife!" he exclaimed, to the astonishment
+of all who heard him, "pollute not your lips by further
+communion with such a wretch; his heart is as inaccessible
+to pity as the rugged rocks on which his spring-life was
+passed. For Heaven's sake,--for my sake,--linger not
+within his reach. There is death in his very presence."
+
+"Your wife, sir!" haughtily observed the governor, with
+irrepressible astonishment and indignation in his voice;
+"what mean you?--Gentlemen, resume your places in the
+ranks.--Clara--Miss de Haldimar, I command you to retire
+instantly to your apartment.--We will discourse of this
+later, Sir Everard Valletort. I trust you have not dared
+to offer an indignity to my child."
+
+While he was yet turned to that officer, who had taken
+his post, as commanded, in the inner angle of the square,
+and with a countenance that denoted the conflicting
+emotions of his soul, he was suddenly startled by the
+confused shout and rushing forward of the whole body,
+both of officers and men. Before he had time to turn, a
+loud and well-remembered yell burst upon his ear. The
+next moment, to his infinite surprise and horror, he
+beheld the bold warrior rapidly ascending the very staff
+that had been destined for his scaffold, and with Clara
+in his arms.
+
+Great was the confusion that ensued. To rush forward and
+surround the flag-staff, was the immediate action of the
+troops. Many of the men raised their muskets, and in the
+excitement of the moment, would have fired, had they not
+been restrained by their officers, who pointed out the
+certain destruction it would entail on the unfortunate
+Clara. With the rapidity of thought, Wacousta had snatched
+up his victim, while the attention of the troops was
+directed to the singular conversation passing between
+the governor and Sir Everard Valletort, and darting
+through one of the open angles already alluded to, had
+gained the rampart before they had recovered from the
+stupor produced by his daring action. Stepping lightly
+upon the pegs, he had rapidly ascended to the utmost
+height of these, before any one thought of following him;
+and then grasping in his teeth the cord which was to have
+served for his execution, and holding Clara firmly against
+his chest, while he embraced the smooth staff with knees
+and feet closely compressed around it, accomplished the
+difficult ascent with an ease that astonished all who
+beheld him. Gradually, as he approached the top, the
+tapering pine waved to and fro; and at each moment it
+was expected, that, yielding to their united weight, it
+would snap asunder, and precipitate both Clara and himself,
+either upon the rampart, or into the ditch beyond.
+
+More than one officer now attempted to follow the fugitive
+in his adventurous course; but even Lieutenant Johnstone,
+the most active and experienced in climbing of the party,
+was unable to rise more than a few yards above the pegs
+that afforded a footing, add the enterprise was abandoned
+as an impossibility. At length Wacousta was seen to gain
+the extreme summit. For a moment he turned his gaze
+anxiously beyond the town, in the direction of the bridge;
+and, after pealing forth one of his terrific yells,
+exclaimed, exultingly, as he turned his eye upon his
+enemy:--
+
+"Well, colonel, what think you of this sample of Indian
+ingenuity? Did I not tell you," he continued, in mockery,
+"that, if my hands were but free, I would give you a
+specimen of my progress in Indian acquirements?"
+
+"If you would avoid a death even more terrible than that
+of hanging," shouted the governor, in a voice of mingled
+rage and terror, "restore my daughter."
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!--excellent!" vociferated the savage. "You
+threaten largely, my good governor; but your threats are
+harmless as those of a weak besieging army before an
+impregnable fortress. It is for the strongest, however,
+to propose his terms.--If I restore this girl to life,
+will you pledge yourself to mine?"
+
+"Never!" thundered Colonel de Haldimar, with unusual
+energy.--"Men, procure axes; cut the flag-staff down,
+since this is the only means left of securing yon insolent
+traitor! Quick to your work: and mark, who first seizes
+him shall have promotion on the spot."
+
+Axes were instantly procured, and two of the men now lent
+themselves vigorously to the task. Wacousta seemed to
+watch these preparations with evident anxiety; and to
+all it appeared as if his courage had been paralysed by
+this unexpected action. No sooner, however, had the axemen
+reached the heart of the staff, than, holding Clara forth
+over the edge of the rampart, he shouted,--
+
+"One stroke more, and she perishes!"
+
+Instantaneously the work was discontinued. A silence of
+a few moments ensued. Every eye was turned upward,--every
+heart beat with terror to see the delicate girl, held by
+a single arm, and apparently about to be precipitated
+from that dizzying height. Again Wacousta shouted,--
+
+"Life for life, De Haldimar! If I yield her shall I live?"
+
+"No terms shall be dictated to me by a rebel, in the
+heart of my own fort," returned the governor. "Restore
+my child, and we will then consider what mercy may be
+extended to you."
+
+"Well do I know what mercy dwells in such a heart as
+yours," gloomily remarked the prisoner; "but I come."
+
+"Surround the staff, men," ordered the governor, in a
+low tone. "The instant he descends, secure him: lash him
+in every limb, nor suffer even his insolent tongue to be
+longer at liberty."
+
+"Boyce, for God's sake open the gate, and place men in
+readiness to lower the drawbridge," implored Sir Everard
+of the officer of the guard, and in a tone of deep emotion
+that was not meant to be overheard by the governor. "I
+fear the boldness of this vengeful man may lead him to
+some desperate means of escape."
+
+While the officer whom he addressed issued a command,
+the responsibility of which he fancied he might, under
+the peculiar circumstances of the moment, take upon
+himself, Wacousta began his descent, not as before, by
+adhering to the staff, but by the rope which he held in
+his left hand, while he still supported the apparently
+senseless Clara against his right chest with the other.
+
+"Now, Colonel de Haldimar, I hope your heart is at rest,"
+he shouted, as he rapidly glided by the cord; "enjoy your
+triumph as best may suit your pleasure."
+
+Every eye followed his movement with interest; every
+heart beat lighter at the certainty of Clara being again
+restored, and without other injury than the terror she
+must have experienced in such a scene. Each congratulated
+himself on the favourable termination of the terrible
+adventure, yet were all ready to spring upon and secure
+the desperate author of the wrong. Wacousta had now
+reached the centre of the flag-staff. Pausing for a
+moment, he grappled it with his strong and nervous feet,
+on which he apparently rested, to give a momentary relief
+to the muscles of his left arm. He then abruptly abandoned
+his hold, swinging himself out a few yards from the staff,
+and returning again, dashed his feet against it with a
+force that caused the weakened mass to vibrate to its
+very foundation. Impelled by his weight, and the violence
+of his action, the creaking pine gave way; its lofty top
+gradually bending over the exterior rampart until it
+finally snapped asunder, and fell with a loud crash across
+the ditch.
+
+"Open the gate, down with the drawbridge!" exclaimed the
+excited governor.
+
+"Down with the drawbridge," repeated Sir Everard to the
+men already stationed there ready to let loose at the
+first order. The heavy chains rattled sullenly through
+the rusty pulleys, and to each the bridge seemed an hour
+descending. Before it had reached its level, it was
+covered with the weight of many armed men rushing confusedly
+to the front; and the foremost of these leaped to the
+earth before it had sunk into its customary bed. Sir
+Everard Valletort and Lieutenant Johnstone were in the
+front, both armed with their rifles, which had been
+brought them before Wacousta commenced his descent.
+Without order or combination, Erskine, Blessington, and
+nearly half of their respective companies, followed as
+they could; and dispersing as they advanced, sought only
+which could outstep his fellows in the pursuit.
+
+Meanwhile the fugitive, assisted in his fall by the
+gradual rending asunder of the staff, had obeyed the
+impulsion first given to his active form, until, suddenly
+checking himself by the rope, he dropped with his feet
+downward into the centre of the ditch. For a moment he
+disappeared, then came again uninjured to the surface;
+and in the face of more than fifty men, who, lining the
+rampart with their muskets levelled to take him at
+advantage the instant he should reappear, seemed to laugh
+their efforts to scorn. Holding Clara before him as a
+shield, through which the bullets of his enemies must
+pass before they could attain him, he impelled his gigantic
+form with a backward movement towards the opposite bank,
+which he rapidly ascended; and, still fronting his enemies,
+commenced his flight in that manner with a speed which
+(considering the additional weight of the drenched garments
+of both) was inconceivable. The course taken by him was
+not through the town, but circuitously across the common
+until he arrived on that immediate line whence, as we
+have before stated, the bridge was distinctly visible
+from the rampart; on which, nearly the whole of the
+remaining troops, in defiance of the presence of their
+austere chief, were now eagerly assembled, watching, with
+unspeakable interest, the progress of the chase.
+
+Desperate as were the exertions of Wacousta, who evidently
+continued this mode of flight from a conviction that the
+instant his person was left exposed the fire-arms of his
+pursuers would be brought to bear upon him, the two
+officers in front, animated by the most extraordinary
+exertions, were rapidly gaining upon him. Already was
+one within fifty yards of him, when a loud yell was heard
+from the bridge. This was fiercely answered by the fleeing
+man, and in a manner that implied his glad sense of.
+coming rescue. In the wild exultation of the moment, he
+raised Clara high above his head, to show her in triumph
+to the governor, whose person his keen eye could easily
+distinguish among those crowded upon the rampart. In the
+gratified vengeance of. that hour, he seemed utterly to
+overlook the actions of those who were so near him. During
+this brief scene, Sir Everard had dropped upon one knee,
+and supporting his elbow on the other, aimed his rifle
+at the heart of the ravisher of his wife. An exulting
+shout burst from the pursuing troops. Wacousta bounded
+a few feet in air, and placing his hand to his side,
+uttered another yell, more appalling than any that had
+hitherto escaped him. His flight was now uncertain and
+wavering. He staggered as one who had received a mortal
+wound; and discontinuing his unequal mode of retreat,
+turned his back upon his pursuers, and threw all his
+remaining energies into a final effort at escape.
+
+Inspirited by the success of his shot, and expecting
+momentarily to see him fall weakened with the loss of
+blood, the excited Valletort redoubled his exertions. To
+his infinite joy, he found that the efforts of the fugitive
+became feebler at each moment Johnstone was about twenty
+paces behind him, and the pursuing party at about the
+same distance from Johnstone. The baronet had now reached
+his enemy, and already was the butt of his rifle raised
+with both hands with murderous intent, when suddenly
+Wacousta, every feature distorted with rage and pain,
+turned like a wounded lion at bay, and eluding the blow,
+deposited the unconscious form of his victim upon the
+sward. Springing upon his infinitely weaker pursuer, he
+grappled him furiously by the throat, exclaiming through
+his clenched teeth:--
+
+"Nay then, since you will provoke your fate--be it so.
+Die like a dog, and be d--d, for having balked me--of my
+just revenge!"
+
+As he spoke, he hurled the gasping officer to the earth
+with a violence that betrayed the dreadful excitement of
+his soul, and again hastened to assure himself of his
+prize.
+
+Meanwhile, Lieutenant Johnstone had come up, and, seeing
+his companion struggling as he presumed, with advantage,
+with his severely wounded enemy, made it his first care
+to secure the unhappy girl; for whose recovery the pursuit
+had been principally instituted. Quitting his rifle, he
+now essayed to raise her in his arms. She was without
+life or consciousness, and the impression on his mind
+was that she was dead.
+
+While in the act of raising her, the terrible Wacousta
+stood at his side, his vast chest heaving forth a laugh
+of mingled rage and contempt. Before the officer could
+extricate, with a view of defending himself, his arms
+were pinioned as though in a vice; and ere he could
+recover from his surprise, he felt himself lifted up and
+thrown to a considerable distance. When he opened his
+eyes a moment afterwards, he was lying amid the moving
+feet of his own men.
+
+From the instant of the closing of the unfortunate
+Valletort with his enemy, the Indians, hastening to the
+assistance of their chief, had come up, and a desultory
+fire had already commenced, diverting, in a great degree,
+the attention of the troops from the pursued. Emboldened
+by this new aspect of things Wacousta now deliberately
+grasped the rifle that had been abandoned by Johnstone;
+and raising it to his shoulder, fired among the group
+collected on the ramparts. For a moment he watched the
+result of his shot, and then, pealing forth another fierce
+yell, he hurled the now useless weapon into the very
+heart of his pursuers; and again raising Clara in his
+arms, once more commenced his retreat, which, under cover
+of the fire of his party, was easily effected.
+
+"Who has fallen?" demanded the governor of his adjutant,
+perceiving that some one had been hit at his side, yet
+without taking his eyes off his terrible enemy.
+
+"Mr. Delme, sir," was the reply. "He has been shot through
+the heart, and his men are bearing him from the rampart."
+
+"This must not be," resumed the governor with energy.
+"Private feelings must no longer be studied at the expense
+of the public good. That pursuit is hopeless; and already
+too many of my officers have fallen. Desire the retreat
+to be sounded, Mr. Lawson. Captain Wentworth, let one or
+two covering guns be brought to bear upon the savages.
+They are gradually increasing hi numbers; and if we delay,
+the party will be wholly cut off."
+
+In issuing these orders, Colonel de Haldimar evinced a
+composedness that astonished all who heard him. But
+although his voice was calm, despair was upon his brow.
+Still he continued to gaze fixedly on the retreating form
+of his enemy, until he finally disappeared behind the
+orchard of the Canadian of the Fleur de lis.
+
+Obeying the summons from the fort, the troops without
+now commenced their retreat, bearing off the bodies of
+their fallen officers and several of their comrades who
+had fallen by the Indian fire. There was a show of
+harassing them on their return; but they were too near
+the fort to apprehend much danger. Two or three
+well-directed discharges of artillery effectually checked
+the onward progress of the savages; and, in the course
+of a minute, they had again wholly disappeared.
+
+In gloomy silence, and with anger and disappointment in
+their hearts, the detachment now re-entered the fort.
+Johnstone was only severely bruised; Sir Everard Valletort
+not dead. Both were conveyed to the same room, where they
+were instantly attended by the surgeon, who pronounced
+the situation of the latter hopeless.
+
+Major Blackwater, Captains Blessington and Erskine,
+Lieutenants Leslie and Boyce, and Ensigns Fortescue and
+Summers, were now the only regimental officers that
+remained of thirteen originally comprising the strength
+of the garrison. The whole of these stood grouped around
+their colonel, who seemed transfixed to the spot he had
+first occupied on the rampart, with his arms folded, and
+his gaze bent in the direction in which he had lost sight
+of Wacousta and his child.
+
+Hitherto the morning had been cold and cheerless, and
+objects in the far distance were but indistinctly seen
+through a humid atmosphere. At about half an hour before
+mid-day the air became more rarified, and, the murky
+clouds gradually disappearing, left the blue autumnal
+sky without spot or blemish. Presently, as the bells of
+the fort struck twelve, a yell as of a legion of devils
+rent the air; and, riveting their gaze in that direction,
+all beheld the bridge, hitherto deserted, suddenly covered
+with a multitude of savages, among whom were several
+individuals attired in the European garb, and evidently
+prisoners. Each officer had a telescope raised to his
+eye, and each prepared himself, shudderingly, for some
+horrid consummation. Presently the bridge was cleared of
+all but a double line of what appeared to be women, armed
+with war-clubs and tomahawks. Along the line were now
+seen to pass, in slow succession, the prisoners that had
+previously been observed. At each step they took (and it
+was evident they had been compelled to run the gauntlet),
+a blow was inflicted by some one or other of the line,
+until the wretched victims were successively despatched.
+A loud yell from the warriors, who, although hidden from
+view by the intervening orchards, were evidently merely
+spectators in the bloody drama, announced each death.
+These yells were repeated, at intervals, to about the
+number of thirty, when, suddenly, the bridge was again
+deserted as before.
+
+After the lapse of a minute, the tall figure of a warrior
+was seen to advance, holding a female in his arms. No
+one could mistake, even at that distance, the gigantic
+proportions of Wacousta,--as he stood in the extreme
+centre of the bridge, in imposing relief against the
+flood that glittered like a sea of glass beyond. From
+his chest there now burst a single yell; but, although
+audible, it was fainter than any remembered ever to have
+been heard from him by the garrison. He then advanced to
+the extreme edge of the bridge; and, raising the form of
+the female far above his head with his left hand, seemed
+to wave her in vengeful triumph. A second warrior was
+seen upon the bridge, and stealing cautiously to the same
+point. The right hand of the first warrior was now raised
+and brandished in air; in the next instant it descended
+upon the breast of the female, who fell from his arms
+into the ravine beneath. Yells of triumph from the Indians,
+and shouts of execration from the soldiers, mingled
+faintly together. At that moment the arm of the second
+warrior was raised, and a blade was seen to glitter in
+the sunshine. His arm descended, and Wacousta was observed
+to stagger forward and fall. heavily into the abyss into
+which his victim had the instant before been precipitated.
+Another loud yell, but of disappointment and anger, was
+heard drowning that of exultation pealed by the triumphant
+warrior, who, darting to the open extremity of the bridge,
+directed his flight along the margin of the river, where
+a light canoe was ready to receive him. Into this he
+sprang, and, seizing the paddle, sent the waters foaming
+from its sides; and, pursuing his way across the river,
+had nearly gained the shores of Canada before a bark was
+to be seen following in pursuit.
+
+How felt--how acted Colonel de Haldimar throughout this
+brief but terrible scene? He uttered not a word. With
+his arms still folded across his breast, he gazed upon
+the murder of his child; but he heaved not a groan, he
+shed not a tear. A momentary triumph seemed to, irradiate
+his pallid features, when he saw the blow struck that
+annihilated his enemy; but it was again instantly shaded
+by an expression of the most profound despair.
+
+"It is done, gentlemen," he at length remarked. "The
+tragedy is closed, the curse of Ellen Halloway is fulfilled,
+and I am--childless!--Blackwater," he pursued, endeavouring
+to stifle the emotion produced by the last reflection,
+"pay every attention to the security of the garrison,
+see that the drawbridge is again properly chained up,
+and direct that the duties of the troops be prosecuted
+in every way as heretofore."
+
+Leaving his officers to wonder at and pity that apathy
+of mind that could mingle the mere forms of duty with
+the most heart-rending associations, Colonel de Haldimar
+now quitted the rampart; and, with a head that was remarked
+for the first time to droop over his chest, paced his
+way musingly to his apartments.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Night had long since drawn her circling mantle over the
+western hemisphere; and deeper, far deeper than the gloom
+of that night was the despair which filled every bosom
+of the devoted garrison, whose fortunes it has fallen to
+our lot to record. A silence, profound as that of death,
+pervaded the ramparts and exterior defences of the
+fortress, interrupted only, at long intervals, by the
+customary "All's well!" of the several sentinels; which,
+after the awful events of the day, seemed to many who
+now heard it as if uttered in mockery of their hopelessness
+of sorrow. The lights within the barracks of the men
+had been long since extinguished; and, consigned to a
+mere repose of limb, in which the eye and heart shared
+not, the inferior soldiery pressed their rude couches
+with spirits worn out by a succession of painful
+excitements, and frames debilitated, by much abstinence
+and watching. It was an hour at which sleep was wont to
+afford them the blessing of a temporary forgetfulness of
+endurances that weighed the more heavily as they were
+believed to be endless and without fruit; but sleep had
+now apparently been banished from all; for the low and
+confused murmur that met the ear from the several
+block-houses was continuous and general, betraying at
+times, and in a louder key, words that bore reference to
+the tragic occurrences of the day.
+
+The only lights visible in the fort proceeded from the
+guard-house and a room adjoining that of the ill-fated
+Charles de Haldimar. Within the latter were collected,
+with the exception of the governor, and grouped around
+a bed on which lay one of their companions in a nearly
+expiring state, the officers of the garrison, reduced
+nearly one third in number since we first offered them
+to the notice of our readers. The dying man was Sir
+Everard Valletort, who, supported by pillows, was
+concluding a narrative that had chained the earnest
+attention of his auditory, even amid the deep and heartfelt
+sympathy perceptible in each for the forlorn and hopeless
+condition of the narrator. At the side of the unhappy
+baronet, and enveloped in a dressing gown, as if recently
+out of bed, sat, reclining in a rude elbow chair, one
+whose pallid countenance denoted, that, although far less
+seriously injured, he, too, had suffered severely:--it
+was Lieutenant Johnstone.
+
+The narrative was at length closed; and the officer,
+exhausted by the effort he had made in his anxiety to
+communicate every particular to his attentive and surprised
+companions, had sunk back upon his pillow, when, suddenly,
+the loud and unusual "Who comes there?" of the sentinel
+stationed on the rampart above the gateway, arrested
+every ear. A moment of pause succeeded, when again was
+heard the "Stand, friend!" evidently given in reply to
+the familiar answer to the original challenge. Then were
+audible rapid movements in the guard-house, as of men
+aroused from temporary slumber, and hastening to the
+point whence the voice proceeded.
+
+Silently yet hurriedly the officers now quitted the
+bedside of the dying man, leaving only the surgeon and
+the invalid Johnstone behind them; and, flying to the
+rampart, stood in the next minute confounded with the
+guard, who were already grouped round the challenging
+sentinel, bending their gaze eagerly in the direction of
+the road.
+
+"What now, man?--whom have you challenged?" asked Major
+Blackwater.
+
+"It is I--De Haldimar," hoarsely exclaimed one of four
+dark figures that, hitherto, unnoticed by the officers,
+stood immediately beyond the ditch, with a burden deposited
+at their feet. "Quick, Blackwater, let us in for God's
+sake! Each succeeding minute may bring a scouting party
+on our track. Lower the drawbridge!"
+
+"Impossible!" exclaimed the major: "after all that has
+passed, it is more than my commission is worth to lower
+the bridge without permission. Mr. Lawson, quick to the
+governor, and report that Captain de Haldimar is here:
+with whom shall he say?" again addressing the impatient
+and almost indignant officer.
+
+"With Miss de Haldimar, Francois the Canadian, and one
+to whom we all owe our lives," hurriedly returned the
+officer; "and you may add," he continued gloomily, "the
+corpse of my sister. But while we stand in parley here,
+we are lost: Lawson, fly to my father, and tell him we
+wait for entrance."
+
+With nearly the speed enjoined the adjutant departed.
+Scarcely a minute elapsed when he again stood upon the
+rampart, and advancing closely to the major, whispered
+a few words in his ear.
+
+"Good God! can it be possible? When? How came this? but
+we will enquire later. Open the gate; down with the
+bridge, Leslie," addressing the officer of the guard.
+
+The command was instantly obeyed. The officers flew to
+receive the fugitives; and as the latter crossed the
+drawbridge, the light of a lantern, that had been brought
+from the guard-room, flashed full upon the harassed
+countenances of Captain and Miss de Haldimar, Francois
+the Canadian, and the devoted Oucanasta.
+
+Silent and melancholy was the greeting that took place
+between the parties: the voice spoke not; the hand alone
+was eloquent; but it was in the eloquence of sorrow only
+that it indulged. Pleasure, even in this almost despaired
+of re-union, could not be expressed; and even the eye
+shrank from mutual encounter, as if its very glance at
+such a moment were sacrilege. Recalled to a sense of her
+situation by the preparation of the men to raise the
+bridge, the Indian woman was the first to break the
+silence.
+
+"The Saganaw is safe within his fort, and the girl of
+the pale faces will lay her head upon his bosom," she
+remarked solemnly. "Oucanasta will go to her solitary
+wigwam among the red skins."
+
+The heart of Madeline de Haldimar was oppressed by the
+weight of many griefs; yet she could not see the generous
+preserver of her life, and the rescuer of the body of
+her ill-fated cousin, depart without emotion. Drawing a
+ring, of some value and great beauty, from her finger,
+which she had more than once observed the Indian to
+admire, she placed it on her hand; and then, throwing
+herself on the bosom of the faithful creature, embraced
+her with deep manifestations of affection, but without
+uttering a word.
+
+Oucanasta was sensibly gratified: she raised her large
+eyes to heaven as if in thankfulness; and by the light
+of the lantern, which fell upon her dark but expressive
+countenance, tears were to be seen starting unbidden from
+their source.
+
+Released from the embrace of her, whose life she had
+twice preserved at imminent peril to her own, the Indian
+again prepared to depart; but there was another, who,
+like Madeline, although stricken by many sorrows, could
+not forego the testimony of his heart's gratitude.
+Captain de Haldimar, who, during this short scene, had
+despatched a messenger to his room for the purpose, now
+advanced to the poor girl, bearing a short but elegantly
+mounted dagger, which he begged her to deliver as a token
+of his friendship to the young chief her brother. He then
+dropped on one knee at her feet, and raising her hand,
+pressed it fervently against his heart; an action which,
+even to the untutored mind of the Indian, bore evidence
+only of the feeling that prompted it, A heavy sigh escaped
+her labouring chest; and as the officer now rose and
+quitted her hand, she turned slowly and with dignity from
+him, and crossing the drawbridge, was in a few minutes
+lost in the surrounding gloom.
+
+Our readers have, doubtless, anticipated the communication
+made to Major Blackwater by the Adjutant Lawson. Bowed
+down to the dust by the accomplishment of the curse of
+Ellen Halloway, the inflexibility of Colonel de Haldimar's
+pride was not proof against the utter annihilation wrought
+to his hopes as a father by the unrelenting hatred of
+the enemy his early falsehood and treachery had raised
+up to him. When the adjutant entered his apartment, the
+stony coldness of his cheek attested he had been dead
+some hours.
+
+We pass over the few days of bitter trial that succeeded
+to the restoration of Captain de Haldimar and his bride
+to their friends; days, during which were consigned to
+the same grave the bodies of the governor, his lamented
+children, and the scarcely less regretted Sir Everard
+Valletort. The funeral service was attempted by Captain
+Blessington; but the strong affection of that excellent
+officer, for three of the defunct parties at least, was
+not armed against the trial. He had undertaken a task
+far beyond his strength; and scarcely had commenced, ere
+he was compelled to relinquish the performance of the
+ritual to the adjutant. A large grave had been dug close
+under the rampart, and near the fatal flag-staff, to
+receive the bodies of their deceased friends; and, as
+they were lowered successively into their last earthly
+resting place, tears fell unrestrainedly over the bronzed
+cheeks of the oldest soldiers, while many a female sob
+blended with and gave touching solemnity to the scene.
+
+On the morning of the third day from this quadruple
+interment, notice was given by one of the sentinels that
+an Indian was approaching the fort, making signs as if
+in demand for a parley. The officers, headed by Major
+Blackwater, now become the commandant of the place,
+immediately ascended the rampart, when the stranger was
+at once recognised by Captain de Haldimar for the young
+Ottawa, the preserver of his life, and the avenger of
+the deaths of those they mourned, in whose girdle was
+thrust, in seeming pride, the richly mounted dagger that
+officer had caused to be conveyed to him through his no
+less generous sister. A long conference ensued, in the
+language of the Ottawas, between the parties just named,
+the purport of which was of high moment to the garrison,
+now nearly reduced to the last extremity. The young chief
+had come to apprise them, that, won by the noble conduct
+of the English, on a late occasion, when his warriors
+were wholly in their power, Ponteac had expressed a
+generous determination to conclude a peace with the
+garrison, and henceforth to consider them as his friends.
+This he had publicly declared in a large council of the
+chiefs, held the preceding night; and the motive of the
+Ottawa's coming was, to assure the English, that, on this
+occasion, their great leader was perfectly sincere in a
+resolution, at which he had the more readily arrived,
+now that his terrible coadjutor and vindictive adviser
+was no more. He prepared them for the coming of Ponteac
+and the principal chiefs of the league to demand a council
+on the morrow; and, with this final communication, again
+withdrew.
+
+The Ottawa was right Within a week from that period the
+English were to be seen once more issuing from their
+fort; and, although many months elapsed before the wounds
+of their suffering hearts were healed, still were they
+grateful to Providence for their final preservation from
+a doom that had fallen, without exception, on every
+fortress on the line of frontier in which they lay.
+
+Time rolled on; and, in the course of years, Oucanasta
+might be seen associating with and bearing curious
+presents, the fruits of Indian ingenuity, to the daughters
+of De Haldimar, now become the colonel of the ----
+regiment; while her brother, the chief, instructed his
+sons in the athletic and active exercises peculiar to
+his race. As for poor Ellen Halloway, search had been
+made for her, but she never was heard of afterwards.
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wacousta, by John Richardson
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA ***
+
+This file should be named wcstc10.txt or wcstc10.zip
+Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, wcstc11.txt
+VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wcstc10a.txt
+
+This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan
+
+Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we usually do not
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+We are now trying to release all our eBooks 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 eBooks is at
+Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month.  A
+preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment
+and editing by those who wish to do so.
+
+Most people start at our Web sites at:
+http://gutenberg.net or
+http://promo.net/pg
+
+These Web sites include award-winning information about Project
+Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new
+eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!).
+
+
+Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement
+can get to them as follows, and just download by date.  This is
+also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the
+indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an
+announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter.
+
+http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext03 or
+ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext03
+
+Or /etext02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90
+
+Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want,
+as it appears in our Newsletters.
+
+
+Information about Project Gutenberg (one page)
+
+We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work.  The
+time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours
+to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright
+searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc.   Our
+projected audience is one hundred million readers.  If the value
+per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2
+million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text
+files per month:  1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+
+We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002
+If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total
+will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end.
+
+The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks!
+This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers,
+which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users.
+
+Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated):
+
+eBooks Year Month
+
+    1  1971 July
+   10  1991 January
+  100  1994 January
+ 1000  1997 August
+ 1500  1998 October
+ 2000  1999 December
+ 2500  2000 December
+ 3000  2001 November
+ 4000  2001 October/November
+ 6000  2002 December*
+ 9000  2003 November*
+10000  2004 January*
+
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created
+to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium.
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people
+and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut,
+Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois,
+Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts,
+Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
+Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
+Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South
+Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West
+Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
+
+We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones
+that have responded.
+
+As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list
+will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states.
+Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state.
+
+In answer to various questions we have received on this:
+
+We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally
+request donations in all 50 states.  If your state is not listed and
+you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have,
+just ask.
+
+While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are
+not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting
+donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to
+donate.
+
+International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about
+how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made
+deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are
+ways.
+
+Donations by check or money order may be sent to:
+
+Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+PMB 113
+1739 University Ave.
+Oxford, MS 38655-4109
+
+Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment
+method other than by check or money order.
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by
+the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN
+[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154.  Donations are
+tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law.  As fund-raising
+requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be
+made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states.
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+You can get up to date donation information online at:
+
+http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html
+
+
+***
+
+If you can't reach Project Gutenberg,
+you can always email directly to:
+
+Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com>
+
+Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message.
+
+We would prefer to send you information by email.
+
+
+**The Legal Small Print**
+
+
+(Three Pages)
+
+***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START***
+Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers.
+They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with
+your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from
+someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our
+fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement
+disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how
+you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to.
+
+*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK
+By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept
+this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive
+a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by
+sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person
+you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical
+medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request.
+
+ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS
+This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks,
+is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart
+through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project").
+Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright
+on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and
+distribute it in the United States without permission and
+without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth
+below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook
+under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark.
+
+Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market
+any commercial products without permission.
+
+To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable
+efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain
+works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any
+medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other
+things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged
+disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer
+codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES
+But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below,
+[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may
+receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims
+all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including
+legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR
+UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT,
+INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE
+OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE
+POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
+
+If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of
+receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any)
+you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that
+time to the person you received it from. If you received it
+on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and
+such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement
+copy. If you received it electronically, such person may
+choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to
+receive it electronically.
+
+THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS
+TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
+PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or
+the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the
+above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you
+may have other legal rights.
+
+INDEMNITY
+You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation,
+and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated
+with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
+texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including
+legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the
+following that you do or cause:  [1] distribution of this eBook,
+[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook,
+or [3] any Defect.
+
+DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm"
+You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by
+disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this
+"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg,
+or:
+
+[1]  Only give exact copies of it.  Among other things, this
+     requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the
+     eBook or this "small print!" statement.  You may however,
+     if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable
+     binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form,
+     including any form resulting from conversion by word
+     processing or hypertext software, but only so long as
+     *EITHER*:
+
+     [*]  The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and
+          does *not* contain characters other than those
+          intended by the author of the work, although tilde
+          (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may
+          be used to convey punctuation intended by the
+          author, and additional characters may be used to
+          indicate hypertext links; OR
+
+     [*]  The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at
+          no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent
+          form by the program that displays the eBook (as is
+          the case, for instance, with most word processors);
+          OR
+
+     [*]  You provide, or agree to also provide on request at
+          no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the
+          eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC
+          or other equivalent proprietary form).
+
+[2]  Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this
+     "Small Print!" statement.
+
+[3]  Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the
+     gross profits you derive calculated using the method you
+     already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  If you
+     don't derive profits, no royalty is due.  Royalties are
+     payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation"
+     the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were
+     legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent
+     periodic) tax return.  Please contact us beforehand to
+     let us know your plans and to work out the details.
+
+WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?
+Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of
+public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed
+in machine readable form.
+
+The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time,
+public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses.
+Money should be paid to the:
+"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or
+software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at:
+hart@pobox.com
+
+[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only
+when distributed free of all fees.  Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by
+Michael S. Hart.  Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be
+used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be
+they hardware or software or any other related product without
+express permission.]
+
+*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END*
+