by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VII.
IN THE FOREST.
"See, Peter!" Harold exclaimed; "there is a whole fleet of boatsahead."
"I sees 'em," Peter said, "and have seed 'em for the last quarter ofan hour. It's Schuyler, with the rest of what they calls their army.Steer a little out of the course; we must pass close by 'em. Theywon't suspect nothing wrong and will suppose we are merely carrying amessage."
In half an hour they were abreast of the flotilla, consisting offlatboats laden with troops. With them were two or three Indiancanoes. Peter steered so as to pass at a distance of a hundred andfifty yards. They rowed less strongly now, but still vigorously.There was a shout from the boat.
"All well on the island?"
"All well," Peter shouted back, waving his hand, and without furtherword the canoe passed on. "There! do you hear that?" Peter exclaimed."They're firing shots from the canoes to call their attention. Thechances are they won't hear them, for the rattle of their oars andthe talking and the row they're making are enough to drown the soundof a cannon. Now put it on again as hard as you can. Another hourwill take us to the landing place."
They could see, when the flotilla came up to the pursuing boats, thatthe canoes which accompanied it turned their heads and joined in thepursuit, but they were now near three miles ahead and there was nochance whatever of their being overtaken. They slackened their speedslightly as they approached the land, and rowed up to the landingplace without any signs of extraordinary haste. A few men wereloitering about.
"What's the news from the island?" one asked as they landed.
"All well there," Peter said.
"Did you see anything of Schuyler?"
"Yes, we met him about halfway across."
"What have you come for?"
"General Montgomery says that no spare flints have been sent over forthe firelocks."
"I'll swear that some went," one of the men exclaimed, "for I packeda sack of them myself in one of the boats."
"I s'pose they have been mislaid," Peter said. "Perhaps some of thestores have got heaped over 'em. Ef you are quite sartin, we have hadour journey for nothing."
"As sartin as life," the man replied. "I'll swear to the sackful offlints; and tarnation heavy they was, too."
"Well, then, I need not trouble about it further," Peter said. "We'lltake a rest and paddle back in an hour or two. Was there any marks onthe sack, so as I may tell the general how to look for it?"
"Marks!" the man repeated. "Why, it had 'Flints' written on it in bigblack letters six inches long. It must turn up, anyhow. They'll findit when they come to shift the stores."
Then, accompanied by his two companions, Peter strolled quietlythrough the little village. Stopping at a small store, he purchasedsome flour and tea; then he followed the road inland and was soon outof sight of the village; he stopped for a moment and then shook hishead.
"It's no use trying to hide our trail here," he said. "The road's aninch thick in dust, and do what we will they'll be able to see wherewe turn off. It's our legs as we have got to trust to for a bit.We've got a good half hour's start of the canoes; they were a longthree miles behind when we struck the shore."
Leaving the road, he led the way with a long, swinging stride acrossthe cultivated land. Twenty minutes' walk took them into the forest,which extended from the shore of the lake many miles inland.
"Take off your boots, Harold," he said as he entered the wood. "Themheels will leave marks that a redskin could pick up at a run. Nowtread, as near as you can, in the exact spot where the Seneca hastrodden before you. He'll follow in my track, and you may be surethat I'll choose the hardest bits of ground I can come across. There,the varmints are on shore!"
As he spoke an angry yell rose from the distant village. At a long,steady pace, which taxed to the utmost Harold's powers as a walker,they kept their way through the woods, not pursuing a straightcourse, but turning, winding, and zigzagging every few minutes.Harold could not but feel impatient at what seemed to him such a lossof time, especially when a yell from the edge of the wood told thatthe Indians had traced them thus far--showed, too, that they were farnearer than before. But, as Peter, afterward explained to him, allthis turning and winding made it necessary for the Indians to followevery step, as they would an animal, to guess the direction they hadtaken. The weather had been dry and the ground was hard; thereforethe most experienced trapper would be obliged to proceed very slowlyon the trail and would frequently be for a time at fault; whereas,had they continued in a straight line, the Indians could havefollowed at a run, contenting themselves with seeing the trail hereand there. They came across two or three little streams running downtoward the lake. These they followed, in some cases up, in othersdown, for a considerable distance, leaving the bed where the bushesgrew thick and hid the marks of their feet as they stepped out fromthe water. Harold would gladly have gone at a run, but Peter neverquickened his pace. He knew that the Indians could not pick up thetrail at a rate faster than that at which they were going, and thatgreat delay would be caused at each of the little streams, as itwould be uncertain whether they had passed up or down.
As the time passed the Indian yells, which had, when they firstentered the wood, sounded so alarmingly near, died away, and aperfect stillness reigned in the forest. It was late in the afternoonbefore Peter halted.
"We can rest now," he said. "It'll be hours before the critters canbe here. Now let us have some tea."
He began to look for some dried sticks. Harold offered to assist.
"You sit down," the scout said. "A nice sort of fire we should getwith sticks of your picking up! Why, we should have a smoke thatwould bring all the Injuns in the woods on to us. No, the sticks asthe Seneca and me'll pick up won't give as much smoke as you can putin a teacup; but I wouldn't risk even that if we was nigh the lake,for it might be seen by any redskins out in a canoe. But we are milesback from the lake, and there aint no other open space where theycould get a view over the tree-tops."
Harold watched the Indian and the scout collecting dry leaves andsticks, and took particular notice, for future use, of the kindswhich they selected. A light was struck with a flint and steel, andsoon a bright blaze sprang up, without, so far as Harold could see,the slightest smoke being given off. Then the hunter produced somefood from his wallet, and a tin pot. He had at the last spring theypassed filled a skin which hung on his shoulder with water, and thiswas soon boiling over the fire. A handful of tea was thrown in andthe pot removed. Some flour, mixed with water, was placed on a smalliron plate, which was put on the red-hot ashes. A few cakes werebaked, and with these, the cold venison, and the tea an ample mealwas made.
After nearly an hour's halt they again proceeded on their way. Aconsultation had taken place between Peter and the Seneca as to thebest course to be pursued. They could, without much difficulty orrisk, have continued the way through the woods beyond the lake, butit was important that they should reach the other side by the eveningof the following day, to give warning of the intended attack by theAmericans. There were, they knew, other redskins in the woods besidesthose on their trail, and the nearer they approached the shore thegreater the danger. They had determined that they would at allhazards endeavor to obtain another canoe and cross the lake. Untilnightfall they continued their course, and then, knowing that theirtrail could no longer be followed, they made down to the lake. Theywere many miles distant from it, and Harold was completely worn outwhen at last he saw a gleam of water through the trees. He was notyet to rest. Entering the lake, they began wading through it at a fewfeet from the edge.
After an hour's walking thus they entered the bushes, which thicklycovered the shore, and made their way through these until they cameto a spot sufficiently open for them to lie down; and Harold,wrapping himself in the blanket which he carried over his shoulder,was sound asleep in less than a minute. When he woke the sun wasshining brightly.
"Get up, youngster! We're in luck," the scout said. "Here's a canoewith two of the varmints maki
ng toward the shore. By the way they'regoing they'll land not far off."
The scout led the way, crawling on his hands and knees, to thewater's edge, to where the Seneca was sitting watching the canoethrough a cover of green leaves. The course that the boat was takingwould lead it to a point some three hundred yards from where theywere sitting.
"We shall have no difficulty in managing them," Harold said, andgrasped his rifle eagerly.
"Not too fast," Peter said. "The chances are that the varmints havefriends on shore. Like enough they have been out fishing."
The shore formed a slight sweep at this point, and the bushes inwhich they were hidden occupied the point at one extremity. In thecenter of the little bay there was a spot clear from bushes; to thisthe canoe was directed. As it approached the shore two other Indiansappeared at the water's edge. One of them asked a question, and inreply a paddler held up a large bunch of fish.
"Just as I thought. Like enough there are a dozen of them there,"said Peter.
On reaching the shore the men sprang out, taking their fish withthem. The canoe was fastened by its head-rope to the bushes, and theIndians moved a short distance inland.
"There is their smoke," Peter said, indicating a point some thirtyfeet from the lake, but so slight was it that, even when it waspointed out to him, Harold could hardly make out the light mistrising from among the bushes. Presently he looked round for theSeneca, but the Indian had disappeared.
"He's gone scouting," Peter said in answer to Harold's question. "Efthere are only four of them it would be an easy job, but I expectthere's more of the red varmints there."
In ten minutes the Seneca returned as noiselessly as he had gone. Heopened his hand and all the fingers twice; the third time he showedonly three fingers.
"Thirteen," Peter said. "Too many of them even for a suddenonslaught."
The Indian said a few words to Peter; the latter nodded, and DeerTail again quietly stole away.
"He's going to steal the boat," Peter said. "It's a risky job, forwhere it lies it can be seen by 'em as they sit. Now, you and me mustbe ready with our shooting irons to cover him, if need be. Ef he'sfound out before he gets the boat he'll take to the woods and leadthem away from us; but ef he's fairly in the boat, then we must doour best for him. Ef the wust comes to the wust, I reckon we can holdthese bushes agin 'em for some time; but in the end I don't disguisefrom ye, youngster, they'll beat us."
Harold now sat intently watching the canoe. It seemed an age to himbefore he saw a hand emerge from the bushes and take hold of thehead-rope. The motion given to the canoe was so slight as to bealmost imperceptible; it seemed as if it was only drifting gentlybefore the slight breeze which was creeping over the surface of thelake. Half its length had disappeared from the open space, when anIndian appeared by the edge of the water. He looked at the canoe,looked over the lake, and withdrew again. The hand had disappeared inthe bushes on his approach. The movement of the canoe, slight as itwas, had caught his eye, but, satisfied that it was caused only bythe wind, he had returned to his fire again. The hand appeared againthrough the bushes, and the canoe was drawn along until hidden fromthe sight of those sitting by the fire. Again the watchful Indianappeared, but the boat was lying quietly by the bushes at the fulllength of its head-rope. He stooped down to see that this wassecurely fastened and again retired. Harold held his breath,expecting that every moment the presence of the Seneca would bediscovered. Scarcely had the Indian disappeared than the Senecacrawled out from the bushes. With a sweep of his knife he cut therope of the canoe and noiselessly entered it, and as he did so gave ashove with his foot, which sent it dancing along the shore toward thespot where Harold and his companion were hidden. Then he seized thepaddle, and in half a dozen strokes brought it within reach of them.Harold and Peter stepped into it; as they did so there was a suddenshout. The Indian had again strolled down to look at the canoe, whosemovements, slight as they had been, had appeared suspicious to him.He now, to his astonishment, saw it at the point with two white menand an Indian on board. He had left his gun behind him and, utteringhis war-cry, bounded back for it.
"Round the p'int, quick!" Peter exclaimed. "They'll riddle us in theopen."
Two strokes took the canoe round the projecting point of bushes, andshe then darted along the shore, driven by the greatest efforts ofwhich the three paddlers were capable. Had the shore been open theIndians would have gained upon them, but they were unable to forcetheir way through the thick bushes at anything like the rate at whichthe canoe was flying over the water. The first start was upward of ahundred yards, and this was increased by fifty before the Indians,arriving at the point, opened fire. The distance was beyond anythinglike an accurate range with Indian guns. Several bullets struck thewater round the canoe.
"Now steer out," Peter said as the firing suddenly ceased. "They'remaking a _detour_ among the bushes, and 'll come down ahead of us ifwe keep near the shore."
Two or three more shots were fired, but without effect, and the canoesoon left the shore far behind.
"Now," Peter said, "I think we're safe. It's not likely they'veanother canoe anywhere near on this side, as most of 'em would havegone with the expedition. Ef the firing has been heard it will notattract much attention, being on this side, and I see nothing in theway of a boat out in the lake. Still, these redskins' eyes can see'most any distance. Now, chief," he went on to the Indian in hisnative language, "the young un and I'll lie down at the bottom of theboat; do you paddle quietly and easily, as ef you were fishing. Thecanoe with a single Indian in it will excite no suspicion, and evenef you see other canoes, you had better keep on in that way unlessyou see that any of 'em are intending to overhaul you."
The chief nodded assent. Peter and Harold stretched themselves atfull length in the canoe, and the Indian paddled quietly and steadilyon. For an hour not a word was spoken in the canoe. Harold severaltimes dozed off to sleep. At last the Seneca spoke:
"Many boats out on water--American army."
Harold was about to raise his head to look out when Peter exclaimed:"Lie close, Harold! Ef a head were shown now it would be wuss than efwe had sat up all the time. We know there are Injun canoes with theflats, and they may be watching us now. We may be a long way off, butthere's no saying how far a redskin's eyes can carry. Can you seewhere they are going to, chief?" he asked the Seneca. "Are theyheading for Isle-aux-Noix, as we heard 'em say they were going todo?"
The Seneca nodded.
"Going to island."
"Then," Peter said, "the sooner we're across the lake the better."
The Seneca again spoke, and after a consultation with Peter laid inhis paddle.
"What is he doing now?" Harold asked.
"Our course lies pretty near the same way as theirs," Peter said."The island is but a short distance from the shore, near the mouth ofthe Sorrel, so where we're going would take us right across theirline. We fooled them yesterday, but are not likely to do it againto-day. So the chief has stopped paddling and makes as if he werefishing. I doubt whether it will succeed, for he would hardly befishing so far out. But we'll soon see. It's better so than to turnand paddle in any other direction, as that would be sure to excitetheir suspicions."
The fleet of boats had already passed the spot where the canoe wouldhave crossed had she been going directly across the lake when she wasfirst seen, and was therefore now ahead of it. The great flotillakept on as if the canoe with its single occupant in its rear had notexcited suspicion. The Seneca, however, knew that sharp eyes must beupon him. The manner in which the canoe had baffled pursuit the daybefore must have inflicted a severe blow upon the pride of theIndians, and although, having driven them off the lake, they couldhave no reason for suspecting that their foes could have obtained afresh canoe, the Seneca knew that their vigilance would not sleep fora moment. Therefore, although bending over the side of the canoe asif watching his lines, his eyes were never off the boats.
"There are canoes making for the shore both ways," he said at last."It
is time that my white brother should take the paddle."
Peter and Harold at once sat up in the boat and looked round thelake, which at this point was about ten miles wide. The canoe wasfour miles from the eastern side; the flotilla was a mile further upthe lake and the same distance nearer to the western shore. Four orfive canoes were detaching themselves from the flotilla, apparentlyrowing direct for the shore. It would have been easy for the canoe tohave regained the eastern side long before she could have been cutoff, but here they might find the Chippewas. The Indians whose boatthey had taken would assuredly follow along the shores of the lake inhopes that something might occur to drive them back. Besides, hadthey landed there, they would be unable to carry in time the news ofthe approaching attack upon St. John's. For the same reason it wasimportant to land up the lake near the Canadian end.
Peter rapidly took in the situation. He saw that it was possible, andonly just possible, to reach the shore at a point opposite to that atwhich they now were before the hostile canoes could cut them off fromit. If they headed them there they would be obliged to run down tothe other end of the lake before effecting a landing, while he couldnot calculate on being able to beat all the canoes, most of whichcarried four paddlers, who would strain every nerve to retrieve theirfailure of the previous day.
Not a word was spoken as the boat darted through the water. Harold,unaccustomed to judge distances, could form no idea whether thedistant canoes would or would not intercept them. At present bothseemed to him to be running toward the shore on nearly parallelcourses, and the shorter distance that the Indians would have to rowseemed to place them far ahead. The courses, however, were notparallel, as the Indians were gradually turning their canoes tointercept the course of that which they were pursuing. As the minuteswent by and the boats converged more and more toward the same point,Harold saw how close the race would be. After twenty minutes' hardpaddling the boats were within a quarter of a mile of each other, andthe courses which they were respectively taking seemed likely tobring them together at about a quarter of a mile from the shore.There were three Indian canoes, and these kept well together. Soclose did the race appear that Harold expected every moment to seePeter sweep the head of the canoe round and make a stern chase of itby running down the lake. This Peter had no intention of doing. Thecanoes, he saw, traveled as fast as his own and could each spare aman to fire occasionally, while he and his companions would beobliged to continue paddling. Better accustomed to judge distancesthan Harold, he was sure, at the speed at which they were going, hewould be able to pass somewhat ahead of his foes.
"Row all you know, Harold," he said. "Now, chief, send her along."
Harold had been rowing to the utmost of his strength, but he felt bythe way the canoe quivered at every stroke that his companions wereonly now putting out their extreme strength. The boat seemed to flythrough the water, and he began to think for the first time that thecanoe would pass ahead of their pursuers. The latter were clearlyalso conscious of the fact, for they now turned their boats' headsmore toward the shore, so that the spot where the lines would meetwould be close to the shore itself. The canoes were now within twohundred yards of each other. The Indians were nearer to the shore,but the oblique line that they were following would give them aboutan equal distance to row to the point for which both were making.Harold could not see that there was the slightest difference in therate at which they were traveling. It seemed to him that the fourcanoes would all arrive precisely at the same moment at the land,which was now some five or six hundred yards distant.
Another two minutes' paddling, and when the canoes were but seventyor eighty yards apart, Peter, with a sweep with his paddle, turnedthe boat's head nearly half round and made obliquely for the shore,so throwing his pursuers almost astern of him. The shore was butthree hundred yards distant; they were but fifty ahead of theirpursuers. The latter gave a loud yell at seeing the change in theposition in the chase. They had, of course, foreseen the possibilityof such a movement, but had been powerless to prevent it. But theywere prepared, for on the instant one man in each canoe dropped hispaddle and, standing up, fired. It is a difficult thing to take aimwhen standing in a canoe dancing under the vigorous strokes of threepaddlers. It was the more difficult since the canoes were at themoment sweeping round to follow the movement of the chase. The threeballs whistled closely round the canoe, but no one was hit.
The loss of three paddlers for even so short a time checked the paceof the canoes. The Indians saw that they could not hope to overtaketheir foes, whose canoe was now but a few lengths from shore. Theydropped their paddles, and each man seized his rifle. Another moment,and the nine pieces would have poured their fire into the canoe aboutfifty yards ahead of them, when from the bushes on the shore threepuffs of smoke shot out, and three of the Indians fell, one of themupsetting his boat in his fall. A yell of surprise and dismay brokefrom them, the guns were thrown down, the paddles grasped again, andthe heads of the canoes turned from the shore. The Indians in theoverturned boat did not wait to right it, but scrambled into theother canoes, and both were soon paddling at the top of their speedfrom the shore, not without further damage, for the guns in thebushes again spoke out, and Peter and the Seneca added their fire theinstant they leaped from the boat to shore, and another of theIndians was seen to fall. Harold was too breathless when he reachedthe bank to be able to fire. He raised his gun, but his handstrembled with the exertion that he had undergone, and the beating ofhis heart and his short, panting breath rendered it impossible forhim to take a steady aim. A minute later Jake burst his way throughthe bushes.
"Ah, Massa Harold!" he exclaimed. "Bress de Lord dat we was here!What a fright you hab giben me, to be sure! We hab been watching youfor a long time. Ephraim and de redskin dey say dey saw little spotfar out on lake, behind all dose boats; den dey say other boats setoff in chase. For a long time Jake see nothing about dat, but at lasthe see dem. Den we hurry along de shore, so as to get near de placeto where de boats row; ebery moment me tink dat dey catch you up.Ephraim say no, bery close thing, but he tink you come along first,but dat we must shoot when dey come close. We stand watch for sometime, den Ephraim say dat you no able to get to dat point. You hab toturn along de shore, so we change our place and run along, and sure'nough de boat's head turns, and you come along in front of us. Denwe all shoot, and the redskins dey tumble over."
"Well, Jake, it is fortunate indeed that you were on the spot, forthey could scarcely have missed all of us. Besides, even if we hadgot to shore safely, they would have followed us, and the oddsagainst us would have been heavy."
"That ar war a close shave, Peter," Ephraim said; "an all-fired closeshave I call it."
"It war, Ephraim, and no mistake."
"Why didn't yer head down along the lake?"
"Because I got news that the colonists air going to attack St. John'sto-morrow, and I want to get to the fort in time to put 'em on theirguard. Besides, both sides of the lake are sure to be full of hostileInjuns. Those canoes paddled as fast as we did, and in the long runmight have worn us out."
"Did you have a fight on the lake two nights ago? Me and the redskinthought we heard firing."
"We had a skirmish with 'em," Peter said; "a pretty sharp shave itwar, too, but we managed to slip away from them. Altogether we've hadsome mighty close work, I can tell yer, and I thought more than onceas we were going to be wiped out."
While they were speaking the men had already started at a steady pacethrough the woods, away from the lake, having first drawn up thecanoe and carefully concealed it.
It was late at night when they reached Fort St. John. A message wasat once dispatched to a party of the Senecas who were at theirvillage, about sixteen miles away. They arrived in the morning and,together with a portion of the garrison, moved out and took theirplace in the wooded and marshy ground between the fort and the river.Scouts were sent along the Sorrel, and these returned about oneo'clock, saying that a large number of boats were coming down thelake from Isle-aux-Noix. It
had been determined to allow thecolonists to land without resistance, as the commander of the fortfelt no doubt of his ability, with the assistance of his Indianallies, to repulse their attack. Some twelve hundred men were landed,and these at once began to advance toward the fort, lead by their twogenerals, Schuyler and Montgomery. Scarcely had they entered theswamp, when from every bush a fire was opened upon them. The invaderswere staggered, but pushed forward, in a weak and undecided way, asfar as a creek which intercepted their path. In vain GeneralMontgomery endeavored to encourage them to advance. They wavered andsoon began to fall back, and in an hour from the time of theirlanding they were again gathered on the bank of the river. Here theythrew up a breastwork, and, as his numbers were greatly inferior, theBritish officer in command thought it unadvisable to attack them.After nightfall the colonists took to their boats and returned toIsle-aux-Noix, their loss in this their first attempt at the invasionof Canada being nine men.
A day or two later the Indians again attempted to induce GeneralCarleton to permit them to cross the frontier and carry the war intothe American settlements, and upon the general's renewed refusal theyleft the camp in anger and remained from that time altogether alooffrom the contest.
St. John's was now left with only its own small garrison. CaptainWilson was ordered to fall back with his company to Montreal, itbeing considered that the garrison of St. John's was sufficient todefend that place for a considerable time. As soon as the Indians hadmarched away, having sent word to the colonists that they should takeno further part in the fight, Montgomery--who was now in command,Schuyler having fallen sick--landed the whole of the force andinvested the fort. An American officer, Ethan Allen, had been sentwith a party to try to raise the colonists in rebellion in theneighborhood of Chamblee. He had with him 30 Americans and was joinedby 80 Canadians. Dazzled by the success which had attended thesurprise of Ticonderoga, he thought to repeat the stroke by theconquest of Montreal. He crossed the river in the night about threemiles below the city. Peter and some other scouts, who had beenwatching his movements, crossed higher up and brought the news, and36 men of the Twenty-sixth Regiment, Captain Wilson's company, and200 or 300 loyal Canadians, the whole under the command of MajorCampbell, attacked Ethan Allen. He was speedily routed and, with 38of his men, taken prisoner. The siege of St. John's made but littleprogress. The place was well provisioned, and the Americans encampedin the low, swampy ground around it suffered much from ill health.The men were mutinous and insolent, the officers incapable anddisobedient. So far the invasion of Canada, of which such greatthings had been hoped by the Americans, appeared likely to turn out acomplete failure.