"This good place to hear," said the Indian, in a low suppressed tone. "Now, open ear."

What a scene was that, which now presented itself to my senses! I can see it, at this distance of time, after years of peaceful happiness, and years of toil and adventure. The morning, or it might be better to say the night, was not very dark in itself; but the gloom of the woods being added to the obscurity of the hour, it lent an intensity of blackness to the trunks of the trees, that gave to each a funereal and solemn aspect. It was impossible to see for any distance, and the objects that were visible were only those that were nearest at hand. Notwithstanding, one might imagine the canopied space beneath the tops of the trees, and fancy it, in the majesty of its gloomy vastness. Of sounds there were literally none, when the Indian first bade me listen. The stillness was so profound, that I thought I heard the sighing of the night air among the upper branches of the loftier trees. This might have been mere imagination; nevertheless, all above the summits of the giant oaks, maples and pines, formed a sort of upper world as regarded us; a world with which we had little communication, during our sojourn in the woods below. The raven, and the eagle, and the hawk, sailed in that region, above the clouds of leaves beneath them, and occasionally stooped, perhaps, to strike their quarry; but, to all else, it was inaccessible, and to a degree invisible.

But, my present concern is with the world I was in; and, what a world it was! Solemn, silent, dark, vast and mysterious. I listened in vain, to catch the footstep of some busy squirrel, for the forest was alive with the smaller animals, by night quite as much as by day; but everything, at that moment, seemed stilled to the silence of death.

"I can hear nothing, Trackless," I whispered—"Why are you out here?"

"You hear, soon—wake me up, and I hear twice. Soon come ag'in."

It did soon come again. It was a human cry, escaping from human lips in their agony! I heard it once only; but, should I live to be a hundred, it would not be forgotten. I often hear it in my sleep, and twenty times have I awoke since, fancying that agonizing call was in my ears. It was long, loud, piercing, and the word 'help' was as distinct as tongue could make it.

"Great God!" I exclaimed—"some one is set upon, and calls for aid in his extremity. Let us arouse our friends, and go to his assistance. I cannot remain here, Susquesus, with such a cry in my ears."

"Best go, t'ink too," answered the Onondago. "No need call, though; two better than four. Stop minute."

I did remain stationary that brief space, listening with agonized uncertainty, while the Indian entered the hut, and returned, bringing out his rifle and my own. Arming ourselves, and shutting the door of the cabin, to exclude the night-air, at least, Susquesus led off, with his noiseless step, in a south-west direction, or that in which we had heard the sound.

Our march was too swift and earnest to admit of discourse. The Onondago had admonished me to make as little noise as possible; and, between the anxiety I felt, and the care taken to comply, there was, indeed, but little opportunity for conversing. My feelings were wrought up to a high pitch; but my confidence in my companion being great, I followed in his footsteps, as diligently as my skill would allow. Susquesus rather trod on air than walked; yet I kept close at his heels, until we had gone, as I should think, fully half a mile in the direction from which that awful cry had come. Here Susquesus halted, saying to me, in a low voice—

"No far from here—best stop."

I submitted, in all things, to the directions of my Indian guide. The latter had selected the dark shadows of two or three young pines for our cover, where, by getting within their low branches, we were completely concealed from any eye that was distant from us eight or ten feet. No sooner were we thus posted, than the Onondago pointed to the trunk of a fallen tree, and we took our seats silently on it. I observed that my companion kept his thumb on the cock of his rifle, while his fore-finger was passed around the trigger. It is scarcely necessary to say that I observed the same precaution.

"This good," said Susquesus, in a voice so low and soft that it could not attract more attention than a whisper; "this very good—hear him ag'in, soon; then know."

A stifled groan was heard, and that almost as soon as my companion ceased to speak. I felt my blood curdle at these frightful evidences of human suffering; and an impulse of humanity caused me to move, as if about to rise. The hand of Trackless checked the imprudence.

"No good," he said, sternly. "Sit still. Warrior know how to sit still."

"But, Heavenly Providence! There is some one in agony, quite near us, man. Did you not hear a groan Trackless?"

"To be sure, hear him.—What of that? Pain make groan come, alway, from pale-face."

"You think, then, it is a white-man who suffers? if so, it must be one of our party, as there is no one else near us. If I hear it again, I must go to his relief, Onondago."

"Why you behave like squaw? What of little groan? Sartain, he pale-face; Injin never groan on war-path. Why he groan, you t'ink? Cause Huron meet him. That reason he groan. You groan, too, no sit still. Injin know time to shoot—know time not to shoot."

I had every disposition to call aloud, to inquire who needed succour; yet the admonitions of my companion, aided as they, were by the gloomy mysteries of that vast forest, in the hour of deepest night, enabled me to command the impulse. Three times, notwithstanding, was that groan repeated; and, as it appeared to me, each time more and more faintly. I thought, too, when all was still in the forest—when we sat ourselves in breathless expectation of what might next reach our ears—attentive to each sighing of the night-air, and distrustful even of the rustling leaf—that the last groan of all, though certainly the faintest of any we had heard, was much the nearest. Once, indeed, I heard, or fancied I heard, the word 'water,' murmured in a low, smothered tone, almost in my ear. I thought, too, I knew the voice; that it was familiar to me; though I could not decide, in the state of my feelings, exactly to whom, it belonged.

In this manner we passed what, to me, were two of the most painful hours of my life, waiting the slow return of light. My own impatience was nearly ungovernable; though the Indian sat, the whole of that time, seemingly as insensible as the log which formed his seat, and almost as motionless. At length this intensely anxious, and even physically painful watch, drew near its end. Signs of day gleamed through the canopy of leaves, and the rays of dull light appeared to struggle downward, rendering objects dimly discernible.

It was not long ere we could ascertain that we had so completely covered ourselves, as to be in a position where the branches of the pines completely shut out the view of objects beyond. This was favourable to reconnoitring, however, previously to quitting our concealment, and enabled us to have some care of ourselves while attending to the duties of humanity.

Susquesus used the greatest caution in looking around before he left the cover. I was close at his side, peeping through such openings as offered; for my curiosity was so intense, that I almost forgot the causes for apprehension. It was not long before I heard the familiar Indian interjection, "hugh!" from my companion; a proof that something had caught his eye, of a more than ordinarily exciting character. He pointed in the way I was to look, and there, indeed, I beheld one of those frightful instances of barbarous cruelty, that the usages of savage warfare have sanctioned, as far back as our histories extend, among the forest warriors of this continent. The tops of two saplings had been brought down near each other, by main force, the victim's hands attached firmly to upper branches of each, and the trees permitted to fly back to their natural positions, or as near them as the revolting means of junction would allow. I could scarce believe my senses, when my sight first revealed the truth. But there hung the victim, suspended by his arms, at an elevation of at least ten or fifteen feet from the earth. I confess I sincerely hoped he was dead, and the motionless attitude of the body gave me reason to think it might be so. Still, the cries for "help," uttered wildly, hopelessly, in the midst of a vast and vacant forest, the groans extorted by suffering, must have been his. He had probably been thus suspended and abandoned, while alive!

Even the Onondago could not restrain me, after I fully saw and understood the nature of the cruelty which had been exercised on the miserable victim who was thus suspended directly before my eyes, and I broke out of the cover, ready, I am willing to confess, to pull trigger on the first hostile red-man I saw. Fortunately for myself, most probably, the place had long been deserted. As the back of the sufferer was towards me, I could not tell who he was; but his dress was coarse, and of the description that belongs to the lowest class. Blood had flowed freely from his head, and I made no doubt he had been scalped; though the height at which he hung, and the manner in which his head had fallen forward upon his breast, prevented me front ascertaining the fact at once, by the aid of sight. Thus much did I perceive, however, ere the Indian joined me.

"See!" said Susquesus, whose quick eye never let anything escape it long, "told you so; Huron been here."

As this was said, the Indian pointed significantly at the naked skin, which was visible between the heavy, coarse shoes of the victim, and the trowsers he wore, when I discovered it was black. Moving quickly in front, so as to get a view of the face, I recognised the distorted features of Petrus, or Pete, Guert Ten Eyck's negro. This man had been left with the surveyors, it will be remembered, and he had either fallen into the hands of his captors, while at the hut, engaged in his ordinary duties, or he had been met in the forest while going to, or coming from those he served, and had thus been treated. We never ascertained the facts, which remain in doubt to this hour.

"Give me your tomahawk, Trackless," I cried, as soon as horror would permit me to speak, "that I may cut down this sapling, and liberate the unfortunate creature!"

"No good—better so," answered the Indian. "Bear—wolf can't get him, now. Let black-skin hang—good as bury—no safe stay here long. Look round and count Huron, then go."

"Look round and count the Hurons," I thought to myself; "and in what manner is this to be done?" By this time, however, it was sufficiently light to see foot-prints, if any there were, and the Onondago set about examining such traces of what had passed at that terrible spot, as might be intelligible to one of his experience.

At the foot of a huge oak, that grew a few yards from the fatal saplings, we found the two wooden, covered pails in which we knew Pete had been accustomed to carry food to Mr. Traverse and the chain-bearers. They were empty, but whether the provisions they unquestionably had contained fell to the share of those for whom they were intended, or to that of the captors, we never learned. No traces of bones, potato-skins, or other fragments were discovered; and, if the Hurons had seized the provisions, they doubtless transferred them to their own repositories, without stopping to eat. Susquesus detected proof that the victim had been seated at the foot of the oak, and that he had been seized at that spot. There were the marks of many feet there, and some proofs of a slight scuffle. Blood, too, was to be traced on the leaves, from the foot of the oak, to the place where poor Pete was suspended; a proof that he had been hurt, previously to being abandoned to his cruel fate.

But the point of most interest with Trackless was to ascertain the number of our foes. This might be done, in some measure, according to his view of the matter, by means of the foot-prints. There was no want of such signs, the leaves being much disturbed in places, though after a short but anxious search, my companion thought it wisest to repair to the hut, lest those it contained might be surprised in their sleep. He gave me to understand that the enemy did not appear to be numerous at that spot, three or four at most, though it was quite possible, nay highly probable, that they had separated, and that their whole force was not present at this miserable scene.

It was broad daylight when we came in sight of the hut again, and I perceived Jaap was up and busy with his pots and kettles near the spring. No one else was visible, and we inferred that Guert and Dirck were still on their pallets. We took a long and distrustful survey of the forest around the cabin, from the height where we stood, ere we ventured to approach it any nearer. Discovering no signs of danger, and the forest being quite clear of underbrush or cover of any sort, large trees excepted, for some distance from the hut, we then advanced without apprehension. This open character of the woods near our dwelling was felt to be a very favourable circumstance, rendering it impossible for an enemy to get very near us by daylight, without being seen. It was owing to the fact that we had used so much of the smaller timber, in our own operations, while the negroes had burned most of the underbrush for fuel.

Sure enough, I found my two friends fast asleep, and certainly much exposed. When aroused and told all that had occurred to me and the Indian, their surprise was great, nor was their horror less. Jaap, who, missing us on rising, supposed we had gone in pursuit of game, had followed us into the hut, and heard my communications. His indignation was great, at the idea of one of his own colour's being thus treated, and I heard him vowing vengeance between his set teeth, in terms that were by no means measured.

"By St. Nicholas!" exclaimed Guert, who had now finished dressing, and who accompanied me out into the open air, M my poor fellow shall be revenged, if the rifle will do it! Scalped, too, do you say, Corny?"

"As far as we could ascertain, suspended as he was from the tree. But, scalped he must be, as an Indian never permits a dead captive to escape this mutilation."

"And you have been out in the forest three hours, you tell me, Corny?—You and Trackless?"

"About that time, I should judge. The heart must have been of stone, that could resist those cries!"

"I do not blame you, Littlepage, though it would have been kinder, and wiser, had you taken your friends with you. We must stick together, in future, let what may happen. Poor Petrus! I wonder Doortje should have hinted nothing of that nigger's fate!"

We then held a long consultation on the subject of our mode of proceeding, next. It is unnecessary to dwell on this conference, as its conclusions will be seen in the events of the narrative; but it was brought to a close by a very sudden interruption, and that was the sound of an axe in the forest. The blows came in the direction of the scene of Pete's murder, and we had collected our rifles, and were preparing to move towards the suspected point, when we saw Jaap staggering along, coming to the hut, beneath the load of his friend's body. The fellow had stolen away, unseen, on this pious duty, and had executed it with success. In a minute or two he reached the spring, and began to wash away the revolting remains of the massacre from the head of the Huron's victim.

We now ascertained that poor Pete had been badly cut by knives, as well as scalped, and suspended in the manner related. Both arms appeared to be dislocated, and the only relief to our feelings, was in the hope that an attempt to inflict so much suffering must have soon defeated itself. Guert, in particular, expressed his hope that such was the case, though the awful sounds of the past night were still too fresh in my ears to enable me to believe all I could wish on that subject A grave was dug, and we buried the body at once, rolling a large log or two on the spot, in order to prevent wild beasts from disinterring it. Jaap worked hard in the performance of these rites, and Guert Ten Eyck actually repeated the Lord's Prayer and the Creed over the grave, when the body was placed in it, with a fervour and earnestness that a little surprised me.

"He was but a nigger, Corny, it is true," said the Albanian, a little apologetically perhaps, after all was over, "but he was a very goot nigger, in the first place; then, he had a soul, as well as a white man—Pete had his merits, as well as a Tominie, and I trust they will not be forgotten in the last great account. He was an excellent cook, as you must have seen, and I never knew a nigger that had more of the dog-like fidelity to his master. The fellow never got into a frolic without coming honestly to ask leave; though, to be sure, I was not a hard master, in these particulars, on reasonable occasions."

We next ate our breakfasts, with as much appetite as we could. Shouldering our packs, and placing all around, and in the hut, as much as possible in the condition in which we had found the place, we then commenced our march, Susquesus leading, as usual.

We went in quest of the surveyors, who were supposed to be in the south-east corner of the Patent, employed as usual, and ignorant of all that had passed. At first, we had thought of discharging our rifles, as signals to bring them in; but these signals might apprize our enemies, as well as our friends, of our presence, and the distance was too great, moreover, to render it probable the reports could be heard by those for whom alone they would be intended.

The route we took was determined by our general knowledge of the quarter of the Patent in which the surveyors ought now to be, as well as by the direction in which the body of Pete had been found. The poor fellow was certainly either going to, or coming from the party, and being in constant communication with them, he doubtless knew where they were at work. Then the different trails of the surveyors were easily enough found by Trackless, and he told us that the most recent led off in the direction I have named. Towards the south-east, therefore, we held our way, marching, as before, in Indian file; the Onondago leading, and the negro bringing up the rear.



CHAPTER XXVI.

"'Tis too horrible! The weariest and most loathed worldly life That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment Can lay on nature, is a paradise, To what we fear of death."

Measure for Measure.

We were not long in reaching the point of the Patent in which the surveyors had been at work, after which we could have but little difficulty in finding their present actual position. The marked trees were guides that told the whole story of their labours. For an hour and a half, however, we moved rapidly forward, Susquesus on the lead, silent, earnest, watchful, and I fear I must add, revengeful. Not a syllable had been uttered during the whole of that time, though our senses were keenly on the alert; and we avoided everything like a cover that might conceal an ambush. Suddenly the Indian halted; at the next instant he was behind a tree. Each of us imitated him, quick as thought, for this was our previous training in the event of encountering an enemy; and we all well knew the importance of a cover in forest warfare. Still, no foe could be seen. After examining around us in every direction, for a minute or two, and finding the woods vacant and silent as ever, Guert and I quitted our own trees, and joined the Trackless, at the foot of his own huge pine.

"Why this, Susquesus?" demanded the Albanian, sharply; for he began to suspect a little acting, got up to magnify the Indian's usefulness; "here is neither pale-face nor red-skin. Have done with this folly, and let us go forward."

"No good—warrior been here; p'rhaps gone, p'rhaps no; soon see. Open eye, and look."

As a gesture accompanied this speech, we did look again, and this time in the right direction. At the distance of a hundred yards from us was a chestnut, that might be seen from its roots to its branches. On the ground, partly concealed by the tree, and partly exposed, was the leg of a man, placed as the limb would be apt to lie, on the supposition that its owner lay on his back, asleep. It showed a moccasin, and the usual legging of an Indian; but the thigh, and all the rest of the frame, was concealed. The quick eye of the Onondago had caught this small object, even at that distance, comprehended it at a glance, when he instantly sought a cover, as described. Guert and I had some difficulty at first, even after it was pointed out to us, in recognising this object; but it soon became distinct and intelligible.

"Is that a red-skin's leg?" asked Guert, dropping the muzzle of his rifle, as if about to try his skill on it.

"Don't know," answered the Indian; "got leggin, got moccasin; can't see colour. Look most pale-face; leg big."

What there was to enable one, at that distance, to distinguish between the leg of a white man and the leg of an Indian, at first greatly exceeded our means of conjecturing; but the Onondago explained it, when asked, in his own usual, sententious manner, by saying:

"Toe turn out—Injin turn in—no like, at all. Pale-face big; Injin no very big."

The first was true enough in walking, and it did seem probable that the difference might exist in sleep. Guert now declared there was no use in hesitating any longer; if asleep he would approach the chestnut cautiously, and capture the stranger, if an Indian, before he could rise; and if a white man, it must be some one belonging to our own set, who was taking a nap, probably, after a fatiguing march. Susquesus must have satisfied himself, by this time, that there was no immediate danger; for merely saying, "all go together," he quitted the cover, and led down towards the chestnut with a rapid but noiseless step. As we moved in a body all five of us reached the tree at the same instant, where we found Sam, one of our own hunters, and whom we supposed to be with Mr. Traverse, stretched on his back, dead; with a wound in his breast that had been inflicted by a knife. He, too, had been scalped!

The looks we exchanged, said all that could be said on the subject of the gravity of this new discovery. Susquesus, alone, was undisturbed; I rather think he expected what he found. After examining the body, he seemed satisfied, simply saying, "kill, last night."

That poor Sam had been dead several hours was pretty certain, and the circumstance removed all apprehension of any immediate danger from his destroyers. The ruthless warriors of the woods seldom remained long near the spot they had desolated, but passed on, like the tornado, or the tempest. Guert, who was ever prompt when anything was to be done, pointed to a natural hollow in the earth; one of those cavities that are so common in the forest, and which are usually attributed to the upturning of trees in remote ages, and suggested that we should use it as a grave. The body was accordingly laid in the hole, and we covered it in the best manner we could; succeeding in placing over it something like a foot deep of light loam, together with several flat stones; rolling logs on all, as we had done at the grave of Pete. By this time Guert's feelings were so thoroughly aroused, that, in addition to the prayer and the creed, which he again repeated, in a very decorous and devout manner, he concluded the whole ceremony by a brief address. Nor was Guert anything but serious in what he did, or said, on either of these solemn occasions; his words, like his acts, being purely the impulses of a simple mind, which possesses longings after devotion and scriptural truths, without knowing exactly how to express them; and this, moreover, in spite of the mere animal propensities, and gay habits of his physical conformation, and constitutional tendencies.

"Deat', my friends," said Guert, most seriously, becoming Dutch, as usual, as he became interested; "Deat' is a sutten visiter. He comes like a thief in the night, as you must all have often he'rt the Tominie say; and happy is he whose loins are girlet, and whose lamp is trimmed. Such, I trust, is the case with each of you; for, it is not to be concealet, that we are likely to have serious work before us. Here have been Injins, beyont a question; and they are Injins, too, that are out on the war-path, in search of English scalps; or, what is of equal importance to Mr. Follock and myself, Dutch scalps in the pargain; which makes it so much the more necessary for every man to be on his guart, and to stant up to his work, when it may come, as the pull-tog stants up to the ox. Got forpit t'at I should preach revenge over t'e grave of a frient; but the soltier fights none the worse for knowing t'at he has peen injuret in his feelin's, as has certainly peen the case with ourselves. Perhaps I ought to say a wort in behalf of the teat, as this is the last, and only time, that a fellow-creature will ever have occasion to speak of him. Sam was an excellent hunter, as his worst enemy must allow; and now he is gone, few petter remain pehint. He had one weakness, which, stanting over his grave, an honest man ought not to try to conceal; he dit love liquor; put, in this, he was not alone. Nevertheless, he was honest; and his wort might pass where many a man's pont would be wort'less; and I leave him in the merciful hants of his Creator. My frients, I haf but little more to say, and that is this—that life is uncertain, and deat' is sure. Samuel has gone before us, only a little while; and may we all be equally preparet to meet our great account. Amen."

Did any one smile at this address! Far from it! Singular, disconnected, and unsophisticated as it may seem to certain persons, it had one great merit that is not always discernible in the speeches of those who officiate at the most elaborate funeral rites. Guert was sincere, though he might not be either logical or very clear. This was apparent in his countenance, his voice, his whole manner. For myself, I will allow, I saw nothing particularly out of place, in this address, at the time, nor do I now regard it as either irreverent or unseasonable.

We left the grave of the hunter, in the depths of that interminable forest, as the ship passes away from the spot on the ocean where she has dropped her dead. At some future day, perhaps, the plough-share may turn up the bones, and the husbandman ruminate on the probable fate of the lonely man, whose remains will then again be brought to the light of day. As we left the spot, the Indian detained us a moment, to put us on our guard.

"Huron do that," he said, meaningly—"No see difference, eh? Saw no hang up like Pete."

"That is true enough, Susquesus," Guert answered; for Guert, by his age, his greater familiarity with the woods, his high courage and his personal prowess, had now assumed, unresistingly on our part, a sort of chieftainship over us, "Can you tell us the reason, however?"

"Muss, you call him, back sore—that all. Know him well; don't love flog. No Injin love flog."

"And you think, then, Jaap's prisoner has had a hand in this, and that the war-path is open to revenge as well as public service—that we are hunted less for our scalps than to put a plaster on the Huron's back?"

"Sartain. T'ree canoe go by on lake—t'at Muss, you call him—know him, well. He no want sleep till back get well. See how he use nigger! Hang him on tree—only kill pale-face and take away scalp."

"Do you suppose that he made this difference in the treatment of his two captives, on account of the colour? That he was so cruel to Petrus because Jaap, another nigger, had flogged him?"

"Sartain—just so. Back feel better after t'at. Good for back to hang nigger. Jaap see, some time."

I will do my fellow the justice to say, that in the way of courage, few men were his equals. As I have said before, he only feared spooks, or Dutch ghosts; for the awe he had of me was so blended with love, as not to deserve the name of fear. In general, unless the weather happened to be cold, his face was of a deep, glistening black; coffin-colour, as the boys sometimes called it; but, I observed, notwithstanding his nerve and his keen desire to be revenged for the cruel treatment bestowed on his companion and brother, that his skin now assumed a greyish hue, such as is seen only in hard frosts, as a rule, in the people of his race. It was evident that the Trackless' manner of speaking had produced an effect, and I have always thought the impresssion then made on Jaap was of infinite service to us, by setting in motion, and keeping in lively activity, every faculty of his mind and body. I had a specimen of this, as we moved off, Jaap walking for some distance close at my heels, in order to make me the repository of his griefs and solicitude.

"I hopes, Masser Corny, sah," commenced the negro, "you doesn't t'ink anyt'ing of what dis here Injin say?"

"I think, Jaap, it will be necessary for you to keep you eyes open, and by no means to fall into the hands of your friend Muss, as you call him, or he may serve you even worse than he served poor Pete. I hope, too, this will be warning to you, of the necessity of treating your prisoners kindly, should you ever make another."

"I don't t'ink, Masser Corny, you consider pretty much, sah. What good it do a nigger to captivate an Injin, if he let him go ag'in, and don't lick him little? Only little, Masser Corny. Ebbery t'ing so handy too, sah—rope all ready, back bare, and feelin' up, like, after such a time in takin' 'e varmint, sah!"

"Well, Jaap, what is done, is done, and there is no use in regretting it, in words. Of one thing, however, you may be certain; no mercy will be shown you, should this fellow, Muss, be actually out here, on our heels, and should you be so unfortunate as to fall into his hands."

The negro growled out his discontent, and I could see that his mind was made up to give stout battle, ere his wool should be disturbed by the knife of a savage. A moment later, he stepped aside, and respectfully permitted Dirck to take his proper place, next to me, in the line.

We may have proceeded two miles from the spot where we had buried Sam, the hunter, when on rising a little hillock, the Indian tossed his arm, the sign that a new discovery was made. This time, however, the gesture was rather made in exultation than in horror. As he came to a dead halt at the same instant, we all closed eagerly up, and got an early view of the cause of this exhibition of feeling.

The ground fell away, in a sort of swell, for some distance in our front; and, the trees being all of the largest size, and totally without underbrush, the place had somewhat of the appearance of a vast, forest edifice, to which the canopy of leaves above formed the roof, and the stems of oaks, lindens, beeches and maples, might be supposed to be the columns that upheld it. Within this wide, gloomy, yet not unpleasant hall, a sombre light prevailed, like that which is cast through the casements of an edifice of the ancient style of architecture, rendering everything mellow and grave. A spring of sweet water gushed from a rock, and near it were seated, in a circle, Mr. Traverse and his two chain-bearers, seemingly taking their morning's meal; or, rather, reclining after it, with the pail, platters and fragments before them; like men reposing after appeasing their hunger, and passing a few minutes in idle talk. Tom, the second hunter and axe-man, lay asleep, a little apart.

"Here has been even no alarm, thank Got," said Guert, cheerfully, "and we are in time to let them know their danger. I will give the call; it will sound sweetly to their ears!"

"No call," said Trackless, quickly; "hollow no good, now. Soon get there, and tell him, in low voice."

As this was clearly prudent, we pushed forward in a body, taking no pains, however, to conceal our approach, but making somewhat of a measured tread, with our footsteps. A strange sensation came over me, as we advanced, and I found that neither of the surveyors stirred! A suspicion of the dread truth forced itself on my mind; but I can hardly say that the shock was any the less, when, on getting near, we saw by the pallid countenances, fixed, glassy eyes, and fallen jaws, that all our friends were dead. The savage ingenuity of Indians had propped the bodies in reclining positions, and thrown them into attitudes that had a horrible resemblance to the species of indulgence that I have just described.

"Holy Heaven!" exclaimed Guert, dropping the butt of his rifle on the ground; "we are too late!"

No one else spoke. On removing the caps, it was found that each man had been scalped, and that all of those, whom we had left a few days before, proud of their strength and instinct with life, had departed in spirit, soon to be seen no more. Jumper, the other Indian, alone remained to be accounted for. Rifle-balls had been at work here, each of the four having been shot; Mr. Traverse, in no less than three places.

I will confess, that a suspicion of the Oneida crossed my mind, now, for the first time; and I did not scruple to mention it to my companions, as soon as either of us had power to speak, or listen.

"No true," said Trackless, positively. "Jumper poor Injin—that so—love rum—no rascal, to kill friend. Musohoeenah warrior to do so. Just like him. No; Jumper fool—love rum—no bad Injin."

Where, then, was Jumper? He alone, of all whom we had left behind us, remained to be found. We made a long search for his body, but without any success. Susquesus examined the trails, and the bodies, and gave it as his opinion that the surveyor and chain-bearers might have been killed about three or four hours; and that the murderers, for such, in our eyes, they who had done the foul deed were to be accounted, had not been away from the place more than twenty minutes, when we arrived. This might well have happened, and we not hear the rifles; as the distance from the hut was several miles; and, two hours before, we must have been not far from the place where we had passed the night. That the attack occurred after daylight, was reasonably certain; and, as Pete was surely seized while alive, some intelligence might have been obtained from him, that directed the savages to the point where the outlying party would probably be expecting him. Nevertheless, this, was pretty much conjecture, and we never knew which victim fell first, or whether the negro was taken at all, near the spot where he was gibbeted. The infernal cruelty of his conquerors may have kept him as a prisoner, for some time before the final catastrophe, and caused them to carry him about with them as a captive, in order to subject the wretch to as much misery as possible, for, as Susquesus said, Muss' 'back very sore.'

We buried poor Traverse, and his chain-bearers, near the spring, using one of the same natural hollows in the earth as that in which we had interred the hunter. On a search, it was ascertained that their arms and ammunition had been carried off, and that the pockets of the dead men had been rifled. The American Indian is seldom a thief, in the ordinary sense of the term; but, he treats the property of those whom he slays as his own. In this particular, he does not differ materially from the civilized soldier, I believe, plunder being usually considered as a legitimate benefit of war. The Hurons had laid their hands on the compass and chains, for we could discover neither; but they had left the field-book and notes of Traverse, as things that, to them, were useless. In other respects, the visit of the savages to this fatal spot left the appearance of having been hurried.

On this occasion, Guert made no attempts at morals, or eloquence. The shock had disqualified us all for anything of the sort, and we discharged our duties with the earnest diligence, and grave thoughtfulness, of men who did not know but the next moment might bring themselves into the midst of a scene of deadly strife. We worked hard, and a little hastily, and were soon ready to depart. It was determined, on a hurried consultation, to follow the trail of the Hurons, as the most certain method of surprising them, on the one hand, and of preventing them from surprising us, on the other. The Indian would have no difficulty in pursuing the very obvious trail that was left, and which bore all the proofs of having been left by a dozen men.

The reader, who is unacquainted with the usages of the American savage, is not to suppose that this party had moved through the forest, in a disorderly group, regardless of the nature of the vestiges of their passage left behind them. The native warrior never does that; usually he marches in a line of single files, which has obtained the name of Indian file with us; and, whenever there are strong reasons for concealing his numbers, it is his practice for each succeeding man to follow, as nearly as possible, in the footsteps of the warrior who precedes him; thereby rendering a computation difficult, if not impossible. In this manner our foes had evidently marched; but Susquesus, who had been busy examining the marks around the spring, the whole time we were occupied in burying the dead, gave it as his opinion that our enemies could not number less than a dozen warriors. This was not very pleasing intelligence, since it would render success in a conflict next to hopeless. So, at least, I viewed the matter, though Guert saw things differently. This highly intrepid man could not find it in his heart to abandon the idea of driving foes so ruthless out of the country; and, I do believe, he would have faced a hundred savages at once when we quitted the spring.

The Onondago had no difficulty in following the trail, which led us, at first, for some distance in a line towards Ravensnest, then made a sudden inclination in the direction of the hut. It was probably owing to this circuit, and want of settled purpose in the Hurons, that we did not encounter them on our advance towards the "bloody spring," as the spot where Traverse was slain has been subsequently called.

It was not long ere we found ourselves quite near our own trail, though, perhaps fortunately for us, we did not actually strike it. Had our movement been discovered, doubtless the enemy would have got into our rear, a position in which Indians are always most formidable. As it was, however, we possessed that great advantage ourselves, and pursued our way with so much the greater confidence, knowing full well that danger was only to be apprehended in our front, the quarter on which all our eyes were fixed.

Although our return-march was swift, it was silent as that of a train of mourners. Mourners we were, indeed, for it was not possible for human hearts to be so obdurate as to feel insensible to the amount of misery that our late companions must have suffered, and to the suddenness of their fates. No one spoke, and Susquesus had never found us so close on his heels as we kept ourselves all that morning. The foot of the file-leader was scarcely out of its place, ere that of his successor covered the same spot!

The trail led us quite close to the hut, which we reached as near as might be to noon. On approaching the cabin, we used the utmost caution lest our enemies might then be in it, in ambush. The trail did not extend quite to the building, however, but diverged in a westerly direction, from a point that may have been a hundred yards distant from our habitation, though in full view of it. Here we found the signs of a gathering of the party into a cluster, and we inferred that a counsel had been held on the subject of once more going to the hut, or of turning aside to pursue some other object. Susquesus made a close examination at this spot, and gave it as his opinion, again, that the hostiles must, at least, number the dozen he had already mentioned. Leaving us to watch the signs about our dwelling, from covers we took for that purpose, he followed the trail for half a mile, in order to make certain it did not approach the log-house on its opposite side. So far from this proving to be the case, however, he ascertained that it led off in a straight line towards Ravensnest. This was, if anything, more unpleasant news to Guert and myself, than if the Onondago had brought back a confirmation of his first suspicion that the Hurons might be waiting for us, in our own temporary house. Complaints were useless, however, and we smothered our apprehensions as well as we could.

Susquesus was not a warrior to confide entirely in the signs of an open march. Experienced woodsmen frequently left their trails visible expressly to deceive; and the Onondago, who personally knew Muss, as Jaap called his prisoner, was fully aware that he had to deal with a profoundly artful foe. Not satisfied with even what he had seen, he cautioned us about quitting the cover, except under his guidance, and then commenced a mode of approach that was purely Indian, and which, in its way, had much of the merit of the approaches of more civilized besiegers, by means of their entrenchments and zig-zags. Our advance was regulated in this way. Each man was told to select the nearest tree that led him towards the hut, and to pass from the old to the new cover, in as rapid and sudden a manner as his agility would allow. By observing this precaution, and by using great activity, we had got within twenty yards of the door of the cabin, in the course of ten minutes. Guert could not submit to this slow, and, as he called it, unmanly procedure any longer; but quitting his cover, he now walked straight and steadily to the door of the cabin, threw it open, and announced to us that the place was empty. Susquesus made another close examination around the building, and told us he felt quite certain that the spot had not been visited since we had left it that morning. That was grateful intelligence to us all, since it was the only probable clue by which our enemies could have learned our return to the Patent at all.

The question now arose as to future proceedings. Nothing was to be gained by remaining on the property, while prudence, and the danger of our friends, united to call us away. We felt it would be a most hazardous thing to attempt reaching Ravensnest; though we felt it was a hazard we were bound to incur. While the matter was talked over, those among us who had any appetite, profited by the halt, to dine. An Indian on a war-path, is equally ready to eat, or to fast; his powers of endurance, both ways, more especially when the food is game, amounting to something wonderful.

While Susquesus, and Jaap, in particular, were performing their parts in a very serious manner, in this way, and the rest of us were picking up a few morsels, more like men whose moral feelings cheeked their physical propensities, I caught a distant glimpse of a man's form, as it glided among the trees, at some distance from us. Surprise and awe were so strong in me, that I did not speak, but pointed with a finger eagerly in the necessary direction, in order to let the Onondago see the same object too. Susquesus was not slow in detecting the stranger, however; for I think he must have seen him, even before he was descried by myself. Instead of manifesting any emotion, however, the Onondago did not even cease to eat; but merely nodded his head, and muttered, "Good—now hear news—Jumper come."

Sure enough, it was Jumper; and his appearance in the flesh, not only alive, but unharmed, produced a general shout among us as he came in, on such a long, loping gait, as usually marked a runner's movement. In a moment he was among us, calm, collected, and without motion. He gave no salutation, but seated himself quietly on a log, waiting to be questioned, before he spoke; impatience being a womanly weakness.

"Jumper, my honest fellow," cried Guert, not without emotion, for joy was struggling powerfully with his organs of speech, "you are heartily welcome! These devils incarnate, the Hurons, have not injured you, at least!"

Liquor had rendered Jumper's faculties somewhat obtuse, in general, though he was now perfectly sober. He gave a sort of dull look of recognition at the speaker, and muttered his answer in a low, sluggish tone:

"Plenty Huron," he said; "clearin' full. Pale-face in fort send Jumper with message."

We should have overwhelmed the fellow with questions, had he not unfolded a corner of his calico shirt, and exhibited several letters, each of which was soon in the hand of the individual to whom it was addressed. Guert, Dirck, and myself, severally got his communication; while there was a fourth, in the handwriting of Herman Mordaunt, that bore the superscription of poor Traverse's name. Subsequent events have placed it in my power to give copies of all the letters, thus received. My own was in the following words:

"My dearest father is so much occupied, as to desire me to write you this note. Mr. Bulstrode sent an express, yesterday, who was bearer of the sad tidings from Ticonderoga. He also announced his own approach; and we expect him, in a horse-litter, this evening. Reports are flying about the settlement, that savages have been seen in our own woods. I endeavour to hope that this is only one of those idle rumours, of which we have had so many, lately. My father however, is taking all necessary precautions, and he desires me to urge on you the necessity of collecting all your party, should you be again at Mooseridge, and of joining us without delay. We have heard of your safety, and gallant conduct, through the man sent forward by Mr. Bulstrode; his master having heard of you all, safe in a canoe on the lake, the night after the battle, through a Mr. Lee; a gentleman of great eccentricity of character, though, it is said, of much talent, with whom papa happens to be acquainted. I trust this note will find you at your hut, and that we shall see you all, with the least possible delay.

"ANNEKE."

This, certainly, was not a note to appease the longings of a lover; though I had infinite gratification in seeing the pretty characters that had been traced by Anne Mordaunt's hand, and of kissing the page over which that hand must have passed. But, there was a postscript, the part of a letter in which a woman is said always to give the clearest insight into her true thoughts. It was in these words, viz.:—

"I see that I have underscored the 'me,' where I speak of papa's desire that I should write to you, in preference to another. We have gone through one dreadful scene, in company, and, I confess, Corny, I should feel far happier, if another is to occur, that you and yours, should be with us, here, behind the defences of this house, than exposed, as you otherwise might be, in the forest. Come to us, then, I repeat, with the least possible delay."

This postscript afforded me far more satisfaction than the body of the note; and I was quite as ready to comply with Anneke's request, as the dear girl, herself, could be to urge it. Guert's letter was as follows:—

"Mr. Mordaunt has commanded Anneke and myself to write to those of your party, with whom he fancies each has the most influence, to urge you to come to Ravensnest, as speedily as possible. We have received most melancholy news; and a panic prevails among the poor people of this settlement. We learn that Mr. Bulstrode, accompanied by Mr. Worden, is within a few hours' journey of us, and the families of the vicinity are coming to us, frightened and weeping. I do not know that I feel much alarmed, myself; my great dependence is on a merciful Providence; but, the dread Being on whom I rely, works through human agents; and, I know of none in whom I can place more confidence, than on Guert Ten Eyck.

"MARY WALLACE."

"By St. Nicholas! Corny, these are such summonses as a man never hesitates about obeying," cried Guert, rising, and beginning to replace his knapsack. "By using great diligence, we may reach the Nest, yet, before the family goes to bed, and make not only them, but ourselves, so much the more comfortable and secure."

Guert had a willing auditor, in me; nor was Dirck at all backward about complying. The letters certainly much quickened our impulses; though, in fact, there remained nothing else to do; unless, indeed, we intended to lie out, exposed to all the risks of a vindictive and savage warfare. Dirck's' letter was from Herman Mordaunt; and it told the truth in plainer language than it had been related by either of the ladies. Here it is.

"Dear Dirck,—The savages are certainly approaching us, my young kinsman; and it is for the good of us all to unite our forces. Come in, for God's sake, with your whole party, as speedily as possible. I have had scouts out, and they have all come in with reports that the signs of trails, in the forest, abound. I expect, at least a hundred warriors will be upon us, by to-morrow, and am making my preparations accordingly. In approaching the Nest, I would advise you to enter the ravine north of the house, and to keep within its cover until you get to its southern termination. This will bring you within a hundred rods of the gate, and greatly increase your chances of entering, should we happen to be invested when you get here. God bless you, dear Dirck, and guide you all safely to your friends.

"HERMAN MORDAUNT.

"Ravensnest, July 11th, 1758."

Guert and I read this letter hastily, before we commenced our march. Then, abandoning the hut, and all it contained, to the mercy of any who might pass that way, we set off for our point of destination, on a quick step, carrying little besides our arms, ammunition, and the food that was necessary to assure our strength.

As before, Trackless led, keeping the Jumper a little on his flank; the danger of encountering foes being now considered to be greatly increased. It was true, we were still in the rear of the party that had committed the deeds at Mooseridge; but the Onondago no longer followed its trail; pursuing a different course, or one that led directly to his object.



CHAPTER XXVII.

"My father had a daughter lov'd a man, As it might be perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship."

Viola.

As the reader must, by this time, have a pretty accurate idea of our manner of marching in the wilderness, I shall not dwell on this part of our proceedings any longer. On we went, and at a rapid rate, the guide having abandoned the common route, which had got to be a pretty visible trail, and taking another on which, as it appeared to me, he had no other clue than an instinct. Guert had told Susquesus of the ravine, and how desirable it was to reach it, getting for an answer a quiet nod of the head, and a low ejaculation. It was understood, however, that we were to approach Herman Mordaunt's fortress, by that avenue.

It was past the turn of the day when we quitted Mooseridge, and none of us hoped to reach Ravensnest before dark. It fell out, as we expected, night drawing its veil over the scene, about half an hour before the Trackless plunged into the northern, or forest-end of the ravine. Thus far, we had got no evidence whatever of the proximity of foes. Our march had been silent, rapid, and watchful, but it proved to be perfectly undisturbed. We knew, however, that the critical portion of it was still before us; and just as the sun set, we had made a halt, in order to look to our arms. It may now be well to say a word or two on the subject of the position of Herman Mordaunt's 'garrison,' as well as of the adjacent settlement. I call Ravensnest the 'garrison,' for that is the word which New York custom has long applied to the fortress itself, as well as those who defend it. Some critics pretend there is authority to justify the practice, and I see by the dictionaries that they are not entirely in the wrong.

The Nest stood quite half a mile from the nearest point of the forest, a belt of trees that fringed the margin, and which filled the cavity of the ravine, excepted. Near it, and in plain sight, was the heart of the settlement itself, which extended, in an east and west direction, fully four miles. This area, however, was cleared only in a settlement fashion; having patches of virgin forest scattered pretty profusely over its surface. The mill-lot, as Jason's purchase was termed, lay at the most distant extremity of the view, but, as yet, the axe had not been applied to it. I had remarked in my last visit to the place, that, standing before Herman Mordaunt's door, something like a dozen log cabins were to be seen at a time in different parts of the settlement, and that this number might have been increased to twenty, by varying the observer's position.

Of course, the whole of the open space was more or less disfigured by stumps, dead and girdled trees, charred stubs, log-heaps, brush, and all the other unseemly accompaniments of the first eight or ten years of the existence of a new settlement. This period, in the history of a country, may be likened to the hobbledehoy condition in ourselves, when we have lost the graces of childhood, without having attained the finished forms of men.

Herman Mordaunt's settlement would have been thought a strong country, in one sense, for a field fight, had there been men enough to contend with a hostile party of any force. But, I had heard him say that he had but about seventeen rifles and muskets that could be in the least relied on, inasmuch as some of his people were Europeans, and had no knowledge of fire-arms, while experience had shown that others, on the occurrence of an alarm, invariably fled to the woods, with their families, instead of rallying around the settlement colours. Such delinquencies usually take place, I believe, on all emergencies; love of life being even a stronger instinct than love of property. Here and there a sturdy fellow, however, would bar himself in, with a determination to go for the whole, under his own bark roof; and, occasionally, defences were made that would do credit to a hero.

It should be apparent to those who have any accurate notion of savage warfare, that the ravine, being, as it was, the only wooded spot near Herman Mordaunt's fortress, would be the place of all others most likely to contain an enemy who made his approaches against a garrison, by means of natural facilities alone. We were aware of this; and Guert, who took an active command among us, as we drew near to danger, issued his commands for every man to be on the alert, in order that there might be no confusion. We were instructed as to the manner of proceeding the moment an alarm was given; and Guert, who was a capital mimic, had previously taught us several calls and rallying signals, all of which were good imitations of the cries of different tenants of the woods, principally birds. These signals had their origin with the red-man, who often resorted to them, and were said to be more successfully practised by our own hunters and riflemen than even by those with whom they originated.

On entering the ravine, the order of our march was changed. While Susquesus and Jumper were still kept in advance, Guert, Dirck, Jaap and myself moved abreast, and quite close together. The density of the foliage, and the deep obscurity that prevailed in the bottom of this dell-like hollow, rendered this precaution necessary. It soon became so dark, indeed, that our only guide was the brook that gurgled along the bottom of the ravine, and which we knew issued into the open ground at its termination, to join a small river that meandered through some natural meadows to the westward of the Nest, but which, in the language of the country, was called a 'creek.' This abuse of good old English words, I am sorry to say, is getting to be only too common among us; yet, I have heard Americans boast that we speak the language better than the mother country! That we have no class among us that uses an unintelligible dialect, like that of Lancashire or Yorkshire, is true enough; and, that we have fewer persons who use decided vulgarisms, in the way of false grammar, than is the case in England, may be also accurate; but, it might be well for us to correct a great many faults into which we have certainly fallen, before we declaim with so much confidence about the purity of our English. [37] To return to the ravine.

We had gone so far in the hollow, dark dell, as to have reached a point where the faint light of the open ground and the stars in the firmament became visible to us, when we suddenly found ourselves alongside of the Trackless and Jumper. These Indians had halted; for their quick, jealous, eagle-like glances had detected the signs of enemies. Nor was this discovery very difficult to make, though some pains had actually been taken to conceal what was going on in our front. A party of some forty savages, every man of whom was in his war-paint, had lighted a fire beneath a shelving rock, and were gathered around it at supper. The fire had already done its duty, and was now merely smouldering, throwing a faint, flickering light on the dark, fierce features of the group that was clustered round. We might have approached the spot in any other direction, without seeing the danger in time to avoid it; but a kind Providence had carried the two Indians directly to a point where the dying embers immediately caught their attention, and where they halted as has been said. I do not think we were more than forty yards from this fearful band of savages, when they first met my eye; and, hardened as I had certainly somewhat become, by the service and scenes I had so lately gone through, I will confess that my blood was a little chilled at the sight.

Our conference was in whispers. There we stood, huddled together beneath a huge oak, the shade of which rendered the darkness that formed our only safeguard, so much the more intense. So close were we, in fact, that even Jaap's body was in absolute contact with my own. Susquesus proposed making a detour, by crossing the brook, which, fortunately, tumbled down some rocks at this point, making a very favourable noise, and thus pass our enemies, who would not probably end their meal until we had time to reach the 'garrison.' To this Guert applied his veto. He was of opinion, and I have always thought it was the decision of a man born to be a soldier, that we were exactly in the position we might desire to occupy, in order to be of great service to the family, and to strike the enemy with a panic. By attacking, we should certainly surprise the party in our front, and might make such an impression as would induce them to abandon the settlement. Both Dirck and myself coincided in this opinion, which even received the support of Jaap's voice.

"Yes, sah!—yes, Masser Corny, now 'e time to wengeance poor Pete!" he muttered, and that rather louder than was thought quite prudent.

As soon as the Trackless found how things were going, he and Jumper prepared for the conflict, as coolly as any of us. Our arrangements were very simple, and were soon made. We were to deliver a single fire from the spot where we stood, shout, and charge with the knife and tomahawk. No time was to be wasted, however; and, instead of remaining near the light, small as it was, we were to push for the mouth of the ravine, and thence make the best of our way, singly or in company, as chance should offer, to the gate of Ravensnest. In a moment we were in open files, and had our orders.

"Remember Traverse!" said Guert, sternly—"remember poor Sam, and all our murteret frients!"

The reader knows that Guert was apt to be very Dutch, when much excited. We did remember the dead; and I have often thought, but never knew precisely, that each of us sacrificed a victim to the manes of our lost companions, on that stern occasion. Our rifles rang, or cracked would be the better word, almost simultaneously; a yell arose from the savages around the fire; our own shouts mingled with that yell, and forward we went, endeavouring to make our numbers appear as if we were a hundred.

One retains but very indistinct notions of a charge like that, made as it was, in the dark, beyond its general characteristics. We swept directly among the slain and wounded, and I heard Jaap dealing one or two awful blows on the bodies; but no one opposed us. A moment after we had passed the smouldering fire, three or four shot were discharged at us, but there was no sign of their telling on any of our party. The distance from the fire to the mouth of the ravine, might have been a hundred yards; and the external light, or lesser darkness may be a better expression, served us for a guide. Thither we pushed, fast as we could, though by no means in compact order.

For this part of the affair, I can only speak for myself. I saw men moving swiftly among the trees, and I supposed them to be my companions; but we had become separated, it being understood that each man was now to shift for himself. As our rifles were discharged, and there was no time to reload them, there was little use, indeed, in any halt. Perceiving this, I did not issue from the ravine at the brook, but clinging more to its side, left it at a little height above the level of the adjacent plain. Here I paused to load, the cover being good, and the position every way favourable. While thus employed, I found time to look around me, and to ascertain the situation of things in the settlement, so far as the hour and the obscurity would permit.

The plain was glimmering with the remains of a dozen large fires, the ruins of so many log-houses and barns. Their light amounted to no more than to render the darkness of the night distinctly visible, and to afford some small clues to the extent of the ravages that had been already committed. The house of Ravensnest, however, was untouched. There it stood, looking dark and gloomy; for, having no external windows, no other light was to be seen than a single candle, that was probably placed in a loophole as a signal. Profound stillness reigned in and around the building, producing a species of mystery that was, in itself, under such circumstances, an element of force. There was not light enough to distinguish objects at any distance, and, having reloaded my rifle, I thought it wisest to make the best of my way to the gate. At that moment, the stillness in my rear seemed to possess something affirmatively fearful about it.

It was certainly a somewhat hazardous thing to break cover, at such a moment, and under such circumstances; but it was absolutely necessary to incur its risks. My first leap carried me half-way down the declivity, and I was soon on the level land. In my front were two men, one of whom seemed to me to be in the grasp of the other. As they were moving, though slowly, in the direction of the house, I ventured to ask 'Who goes there?'

"Oh, Corny, my lad, is that you?" answered Guert. "Got be praised! you seem unhurt, and are just in time to help me along with this Huron, on whom I blundered in the dark, and have disarmed and captured. Give him a kick or a push, if you please; for the fellow holds back like a hog."

I had too much knowledge of Indian vindictiveness, however, to adopt the means recommended; but seizing the captive by one arm, while Guert held the other, we ran him up to the abbatis that covered the gate of the "garrison," with very little difficulty. Here we found Herman Mordaunt and a dozen of his people, all armed, ready to receive Us. They were in expectation of our appearance, both on account of the hour, and on account of the clamour in the ravine, which had been distinctly heard at the house. In less than a minute everybody was in, safe and unharmed. The fact was, that our attack had been so sudden as to sweep everything before it, and the enemy had not time to recover from his panic, before we were all snugly housed. Once within the gate of Ravensnest we ran no risks, beyond those which were common to all such log fortresses in the warfare of the wilderness.

It would not be easy for a pen as unskilful as mine, to portray the change, from the gloom of the ravine, the short but bloody assault, the shouts, the rush, and the retreat, of the outer world, to the scene of domestic security we found within the Nest, embellished, as was the last, by woman's loveliness and graces, and, in many respects, by woman's elegance. Anneke and her friend received us in a bright, cheerful, comfortable apartment, that was rendered so much the more attractive by their tears and their smiles, neither of which were spared. I could see that both had been dreadfully agitated; but joy restored their colour, and brought back the smiles to their sweet faces. The situation of the place was such, perhaps, as to render cheerfulness neither very lasting nor very lively; but the tenderest female can find her heart suddenly so lightened from its burthen of apprehensions, as to be able to seem momentarily happy, even when environed by the horrors of war. Such, in a measure, was the character of the reception we now received, together with a thousand thanks for having so promptly answered their letters in person. The dear creatures had the ingenuity not to seem to ascribe that prompt obedience to their own requests, which we had manifested, to any care for ourselves, but solely to a wish to oblige and protect them. The reader will understand that all explanations still remained to be made, on both sides. These soon came, however; facts pressing themselves on the attention, at such times, with a weight that is irresistible. The ice was broken by Herman Mordaunt's entering the room, and speaking to us, like one who felt that a great omission had been made.

"We had closed the gate, and set the look-out at the loops again," he said, "before I ascertained that all your party is not here. I see nothing of Traverse and his chain-bearers, nor of Sam or Tom, your hunters! Surely, they are not left behind in the forest?"

Neither of us three spoke. Our looks must have told the sad story, for Herman Mordaunt seemed to understand us on the instant.

"No!" he exclaimed—"Can it be possible? Not all, surely!"

"All, Mr. Mordaunt, even to my poor slave, Petrus," answered Guert, solemnly. "They were set upon, while dispersed, I suppose, and have been murdered, while we were still absent, on our expedition."

The dear girls clasped their hands, and I thought Anneke's pallid lips moved, as if in prayer. Her father shook his head, and for some time he paced the room in silence. Then rousing himself, like one conscious of the necessity of calmness and exertion, he resumed the discourse.

"Thank God, Mr. Bulstrode reached us safely last evening, just after we despatched the runner; and he is beyond the reach of these demons for the present!"

After this we were enabled to converse more connectedly, exchanging such statements as enabled each party to understand the precise condition of the other. We were then carried to Bulstrode's room, for he had expressed a desire to see us, as soon as we could be spared. Our fellow campaigner received us in good spirits, for one in his situation, speaking of the events in front of Ticonderoga sensibly, and without any attempt to conceal the mortification that he felt, in common with the whole British empire. His hurt was by no means a bad one; likely to cripple him for a few weeks, but the leg was in no danger.

"I have had the resolution and address, Corny, to work my way into good quarters, this unexpected siege excepted," he observed to me, when the others had withdrawn, leaving us alone. "This rivalry of ours is a generous one, and may now have fair play. If we quit this Nest of Herman Mordaunt's without ascertaining the true state of Anneke's feelings, we shall deserve to be condemned to celibacy for the remainder of our days. There never were two such opportunities for wooing to advantage!"

"I confess our situation does not strike me as being quite as favourable, Mr. Bulstrode," I answered. "Anneke must have too many apprehensions on her own account, and on account of others, to be as sensible to the tender sentiments of love, as might be the case in the peace and security of Lilacsbush."

"Ah! It is very evident you know nothing of the female sex, Corny, by that remark. I will grant you, that unwooed previously, and without any foundation laid, if I may express myself so irreverently, your theory might turn out to be true; but not so under actual circumstances. Here is a young lady in her nineteenth year, who knows she is not only sought, but has long been sought, ay warmly, ardently sought, by two reasonably unobjectionable young men, placed in the very situation to have all her sensibilities excited, by one or the other, and, depend on it, the matter will be determined within this blessed week. If I should prove to be the fortunate man, I hope to be able to manifest a generous sympathy; and, vice versa, I shall expect the same. Though this sad, sad business before Ty has been a good preparative for humiliation."

I could not avoid smiling at Bulstrode's singular views of our suit; but, as Anneke was ever with me an engrossing theme, spite of our situation, which certainly was not particularly appropriate to love, I did not feel equal to quitting it abruptly. The matter was consequently pursued. As I asked Bulstrode to explain himself, I got from him the following account of his theory.

"Why, I reason in this wise, Corny. Anneke loves one of us two, beyond all question. That she loves, I will swear; her blushes, her beaming eyes, even her beauty is replete with the loveliness of the sentiment. Now, it is not possible that she should love any other person than one of us two, for the simple reason that she has no other suitor. I shall be frank with you, and confess that I think I am the favoured fellow, while, I dare say, you are just as sanguine and think it is yourself."

"I give you my honour, Major Bulstrode, so presuming, so improper a thought has never—"

"Yes, yes—I understand all that. You are not worthy of Anne Mordaunt's love, and therefore have never presumed to imagine that she could bestow it on such a poor, miserable, worthless, good-for-nothing a fellow as yourself. I have a great deal of the same very proper feeling; but, at the same time, each of us is quite confident of his own success, or he would have given up the pursuit long since."

"I do assure you, Bulstrode, anything but confidence mingles with my feelings on this subject. You may have reasons for your own security, but I can boast of none."

"I have no other than self-love, of which every man has a just portion for his own comfort and peace of mind. I say that hope is indispensable to love, and hope is allied to confidence. My reasoning on these points is very simple. And, now for the peculiar advantages we enjoy for bringing matters to a crisis. In the first place, I am hurt, you will understand; suffering under an honourable wound, received in open battle, fighting for king and country. Then, I have been brought fresh from the field, on my litter, into the presence of my mistress, bearing on my person the evidence of my risk, and, I hope, of my good conduct. There is not one woman in a thousand, if she hesitated between us, that would not decide in my favour, on these grounds alone. You have no notion, Corny, how the hearts of these sweet, gentle, devoted, generous little American girls melt to sympathy, and the sufferings of a poor wretch that they know adores them! Make a nurse of a female, and she is yours, nine times out of ten. This has been a master-stroke of mine, but I hope you will pardon it. Stratagems are excusable in love, as in war."

"I have no difficulty in understanding your policy, Bulstrode; though I confess to some in understanding your frankness. Such as it is, however, I trust you feel certain it will not be abused. Now, as to my situation, what peculiar countervailing advantages do I enjoy?"

"Those of a defender. Oh, that is a battering-ram of itself! This confounded assault on the settlement, which they tell me is rather serious, and may keep alive apprehensions for some days yet, is a most unlucky thing for me, while it is of great advantage to you. A wounded man cannot excite one-half the interest he otherwise might, when there is a chance that others may be slain, every minute. Then, the character of a defender is a great deal; and being a generous rival, as I have always told you, Corny, my advice is to make the most of it. I conceal nothing, and intend to do all I can with my wound."

It was scarcely possible not to laugh at this strangely frank, yet, I fully believe, strangely sincere communication; for Bulstrode was a humorist, with all his conventionalism and London notions, and was more addicted to saying precisely what he thought, than is common with men of his class. After sitting and chatting with him half an hour longer, on the subject of the late military operations, of which he spoke with both feeling and good sense, I took my leave for the night.

"God bless you, Corny," he said, squeezing my hand, as I left him; "improve the opportunity in your own way, for I assure you I shall do it in mine. It is present valour against past valour. If it were not my own case that is concerned, there is not a man living to whom I should more freely wish success."

And I believe Bulstrode did not exceed the truth in his declarations. That I should succeed with Anneke, he did not think, as was apparent to me by his general manner, and the consciousness he must have possessed of his own advantages in the way of rank and fortune, as well as in having Herman Mordaunt's good wishes. Oddly enough, in quitting my rival, and under circumstances so very peculiar, I was accidentally thrown into the presence of my mistress, and that, too, alone! Anneke was the sole occupant of the little room in which the girls habitually staid, when I returned to it; Guert having managed to induce Mary Wallace to walk with him in the court, the only place the ladies now possessed for exercise; while Herman Mordaunt, Mr. Worden, and Dirck, were together in the public-room, making some arrangement with the confused body of the settlers, who had crowded into the Nest, for the night-watch. I shall not stop to express the delight I felt at finding Anneke there; nor was it in any degree diminished, as I met the soft expression of her sweet eyes, and saw the blushes that suffused her cheek. The conversation I had just held, doubtless, had its effect; for I determined, at once, that so favourable an occasion for pressing my suit should not be lost. I was goaded on, if the truth must be told, by apprehension of Bulstrode's wound.

What I said precisely, in the commencement of that interview, is more than I could record, did I think it would redound to my advantage, as I fear it would not; but I made myself understood, which is more, I fancy, than happens to all lovers in such scenes. At first I was confused and a little incoherent, I suspect; but feeling so far got the better of these defects, as to enable me to utter what I wished to express. Towards the end, if I spoke in the least as warmly and distinctly as I felt, there must have been some slight touch of eloquence about my manner and language. This being the first occasion, too, on which I had ever had an opportunity of urging my suit very directly, there was so much to be said, so many things to be explained, and so many seemingly slighted occasions to account for, that Anneke had little else to do, for the first ten minutes, but to listen. I have always ascribed the self-possession which my companion was enabled to command during the remainder of this interview, to the time that was thus accorded her to rally her thoughts.

Dear, precious Anneke! How admirably did she behave that memorable night! It was certainly an extraordinary situation in which to speak of love; yet, I much question if the feelings be not more likely to be true and natural at such times, than when circumstances admit of more of the expedients of every-day life. I could see that my sweet listener was touched, from the moment I commenced, and that her countenance betrayed a tender interest in what I said. Presuming on this, or encouraged by her blushes and her downcast eyes, I ventured to take a hand, and perceived I was not repulsed. Then it was that I found words, that actually brought tears to my companion's eyes, and Anneke was enabled to answer me.

"This is so unusual—so extraordinary a time to speak of such things, Corny," she said, "that I hardly know what ought to be my reply. Of one thing, however, I feel certain; persons surrounded as we are by dangers that may, at any instant, involve our destruction, have an unusual demand on them for sincerity. Affectation, I hope, I am never much addicted to, and prudery I know you would condemn. I have a feeling uppermost, at this instant, that I wish to express, yet scarce know how—"

"Do not suppress it, beloved Anneke; be as generous as I am certain you are sincere."

"Corny, it is this. I know we are in danger—very great danger of being overcome; captured, perhaps slain, by the ruthless beings who are prowling around our dwelling, and that no one in this house can count on a single day of existence even with the ordinary vain security of man. Now, should anything befall you, after this, and I survive you, I should survive for the remainder of my days to mourn your loss, and to feel the keenest regrets that I had hesitated to own how much interest I have long felt in you, and how happy I have been with the consciousness of the preference that you so frankly and honestly avowed in my favour, months ago."

As the tears, as well as blushes of Anneke, accompanied these admissions, it was not possible for me to doubt what I heard. From that moment, a world of confidence, and a flow of pure, sweet, strong, natural feeling, bound us more and more closely together. Guert was in a happy mood to detain Mary Wallace, and business greatly befriended me, as respected the others. More than an hour had I Anne Mordaunt all to myself; and when the heart is open, how much can be uttered and understood, on such a subject as love, in an hour of unreserved confidence, and of strong feeling! Anneke admitted to me, before we separated, that she had often thought of the chivalrous boy, who had volunteered to do battle in her behalf, when she was little more than a child herself, and thought of him as a generous-minded girl would be apt to think of a lad, under the circumstances. This very early preference had been much quickened and increased by the affair of the lion, and our subsequent intercourse. Bulstrode, that formidable, encouraged rival, encouraged by her father if not by herself, had never interested her in the least, beyond the feeling natural to the affinity of blood; and I might have spared myself many hours of anxious concern, on his account, could I only have seen what was now so unreservedly told to me. Poor Bulstrode! a feeling of commiseration came over me, as I listened to my companion's assurances that he had never in the least touched her heart, while, at the same time, blushing very red, she confessed my own power over it. An expression to this effect even escaped her aloud—

"Have no concern on Mr. Bulstrode's account, Corny," Anneke answered, smiling archly, like one who had well weighed the pros and cons of the whole subject, in her own mind; "he may be a little mortified, but his fancy will soon be forgotten in rejoicing that he had not yielded to a passing inclination, and connected himself with a young, inexperienced American girl, who is hardly suited to move in the circles in which his wife must live—I do believe Mr. Bulstrode prefers me, just now, to any other female he may tappen to know; but his attachment, if it deserve the name, has not the heart in it, dear Corny, that I know is to be found in your's. We women are said to be quick in discovering when we are really loved, and I confess that my own little experience inclines me to believe that the remark does us no more than justice."

I then spoke of Guert, and expressed a hope that his sincere, obvious, manly devotion, might finally touch her heart, and that my new friend, towards whom, however, I began already to feel as towards an old friend, might finally meet with a return for a passion that I was persuaded was as deep and as sincere as my own; a comparison that I felt was as strong as any I could make in Guert's behalf.

"On this subject, you are not to expect me to say much, Corny," answered Anneke, smiling. "Every woman is the mistress of her own secrets on such a subject; and, did I know fully Mary Wallace's mind or wishes in reference to Mr. Ten Eyck, as I do not profess to know either, I should not feel at liberty to betray her, even to you. I have no longer any secret of my own, as respects Corny Littlepage, but must not be expected to be as weak in betraying my whole sex, as I have been in betraying myself!"

I was obliged to be satisfied with this sweet admission and with the knowledge that I had been long loved. When Anneke left me, which, at the expiration of more than an hour, she insisted on doing, under the consciousness of all that had passed between us, I had a good deal of difficulty in believing that I was not dreaming. This ecclaircissement was so sudden, so totally unexpected I fancy to us both, that well might it so seem to either; yet, I fancy we did not part without a deep conviction that both were happier than when we met. I solemnly declare, notwithstanding, that I felt sorrow, almost regret, on behalf of Bulstrode. The poor fellow had been so evidently confident of success, only an hour or two before, that I could not have acquainted him with my own success, had he been up, and able to prefer his own suit; in his actual situation, such a procedure would have appeared brutal.

As for Guert Ten Eyck, he rejoined me sadder and more despairing than ever.

"It struck me, Corny, that if Mary Wallace had the smallest inclination in my behalf, she would manifest it at a moment when we may all be said to be hanging between life and deaf. I have often heard it said that the woman who would trifle with a young fellow at a ball, or on a sleigh-ride, and use him like a dog, while every one was laughing and making merry, would come round like one of the weather-cocks on our Dutch barns, at a shift of the wind, the instant that distress or unhappiness alighted on her suitor. In other worts, that the very girl who would be capricious and uncertain, in happiness and prosperity, would suddenly become tender and truthful, as soon as sorrow touched the man who wished to have her. On the strength of this, then, I thought I would urge Mary, to the best of my poor abilities, and you know they are no great matter, Corny, to give me only a glimmering of hope; but without success. Not a syllable more could I get out of her than that the time was unseasonable to talk of such things; and I do think I should be ready to go and meet these Huron devils, hand to hand, were it not for the fact that the very girl who thus remonstrated, staid with me quite two hours, listening to what I had to say, though I spoke of nothing else. There was a crumb of comfort in that, lad, or I do not understand human nature."

There was, truly. Still, I could not but compare Anne Mordaunt's generous confessions, under the influence of the same facts, and fancy that the prospects of the simple-minded, warm-hearted, manly young Albanian, were far less flattering than my own.

[Footnote 37: It is northern American, to call a small 'lake' a 'pond,' a small 'river' a 'creek,' even though it should be an 'outlet,' instead of an 'inlet,' &c. &c. It is a more difficult thing than is commonly supposed, to make two great nations, each of which is disposed to innovate, speak the same language with precise uniformity. The Manhattanese, who have probably fewer of the peculiarities of the inhabitants of a capital than the population of any other town in the world of four hundred thousand souls, the consequences of a rapid growth, and of a people who have come principally from the country are much addicted to introducing new significations for words, which arise from their own provincial habits. In Manhattanese parlance, for instance, a 'square' is a 'park,' or, even a 'garden' is a 'park.' A promenade, on the water, is a 'battery!' It is a pity that, in this humour for change, they have not thought of altering the complex and imitative mine of their town.—EDITOR.]



CHAPTER XXVIII.

"Between two worlds life hovers like a star, 'Twixt night and morn, upon the horizon's verge: How little do we know that which we are! How less what we may be! The eternal surge Of time and tide rolls on, and bears afar Our bubbles: as the old burst, new emerge, Lashed from the foam of ages; while the graves Of empires heave but like some passing wave."

BYRON.

It was now announced by Herman Mordaunt in person, that the watch was set for the night, and that each man might seek his rest. The crowded state of the Nest was such, as to render it no easy matter to find a place in which to sleep, straw being our only beds. At length we found our pallets, such as they were; and, spite of all that had passed that evening, truth compels me to admit that I was soon in a profound sleep. There was no exception to this rule among the Mooseridge party, I believe, fatigue proving to to be more powerful, than either successful love, unsuccessful love, or personal apprehension.

It was about three o'clock, when I felt a significant pressure of the arm, such as one gives when he especially wishes to attract attention. It was Jason Newcome, employed in awakening the men of the house, without giving such an alarm as might reach the ears without. In a few minutes everybody was up and armed.

As the morning, just before the appearance of light, when sleep is heaviest, is the hour when savages usually attack, no one was surprised at these preparations, which were understood to be ordered by Herman Mordaunt, who was a-foot, and on the look-out himself, at a place favourable to observation. In the mean time, we men, three or four-and-twenty in all, assembled in the court, in waiting for a summons to the gate, or the loop. Jason had executed his trust so dexterously, that neither female nor child knew anything of our movement; all sleeping, or seeming to sleep in the security of a peaceful home. I took an occasion to compliment the ex-pedagogue and new miller, on the skill he had shown; and we fell into a low discourse, in consequence.

"I have been thinking that this warfare may put a new face on these settlements, Corny," continued Jason, after we had conversed some little time, "more especially as to the titles."

"I cannot see how they are to be affected, Mr. Newcome, unless the French should happen to conquer the colony, a thing not very likely to happen."

"That's just it; exactly what I mean, as to principle. Have not these Hurons conquered this particular settlement? I say they have. They are in possession of the whull of it, this house excepted; and it appears to me that if we ever get re-possession, it will be by another conquest. Now, what I want to know is this—does not conquest give the conquerors a right to the conquered territory? I have no books here, yet; but I'm dreadful forgetful, or I have read that such is the law."

I may say that this was the first direct demonstration that Jason ever made on the property of Herman Mordaunt. Since that time he has made many more, some of which I, or he who may be called on to continue this narrative, will probably relate; but I wish to record, here, this as the first in a long series of attempts which Jason Newcome has practised, in order to transfer the fee-simple of the mill-lot at Ravensnest, from the ownership of those in whom it is vested by law, to that of his own humble, but meritorious person.