CHAPTER FORTY THREE.
Quite dark. My head confused. The alligator's foot on my chest. No;it was the butt-end of a gun pushing me.
"Here! Don't! What's the matter?"
"I thought I should never get you to wake, sir. Come along. TheIndians are here."
I sprang out of the tent, with it gradually dawning upon me that I hadbeen sleeping heavily from early afternoon right into the darkness ofnight, and dreaming away in a heavily confused fashion of the variousobjects that had just filled my eyes and ears.
"You said the Indians were here?" I said, excitedly.
"Yes, my lad. Look!"
I gazed in the direction pointed out, and saw there was a bustle goingon at the block-house, where by a faint blaze men were throwing bucketsof water.
"Just caught it in time, sir," continued Morgan. "They mean mischiefnow."
"Yes, I know. They fired arrows at it blazing."
"How did you know when you were asleep?"
"My father expected they would; I heard him say so."
"Ah, well, they won't do it again. We're going to soak blankets, andlay all over the top."
"Morgan, look--look!" I exclaimed, as three fiery long-tailed starscame swiftly sailing through the air from one direction; and as if theyhad been sent as a signal, three more came from the opposite quarter,and directly after two more threes, and all fell blazing on differentparts of the block-house, the Indians evidently aiming for the spotwhere the first blaze appeared--that which was rapidly beingextinguished as I crept out of our tent.
These fiery arrows had no doubt been prepared with tufts of cottonsaturated with some resinous gum, which, after being lighted, burnedfuriously in its rapid passage through the air, and seemed to resist theefforts of those who were on the roof trying to extinguish the patchesof glowing fire. In fact their efforts soon became useless, for thefirst twelve arrows were followed by dozens more, and then by hundreds,till at one time quite a fiery shower descended on the doomed place;while, emboldened by their success, amidst a fierce yelling, some of theIndians ran from their cover, their progress being marked by tiny specksof light which seemed to glide like fireflies over the fields. Thenthey made a sudden dart, blazed out, and stuck in the sides of the fort.
This was repeated again and again before sharp orders were rung out, andfrom that moment whenever one of these sparks was seen gliding alongtoward the palisades, it was met by shot after shot, sometimes by aregular volley. Twice over as I watched I saw one of these sparks dropto the ground and begin to burn, showing by it the body of an Indian;but though scores of shots were fired, these were the only two whichchecked the savages, who, encouraged by their success, kept on runningin and shooting at the fort.
"Hard to hit a man running with a bullet," said Morgan, in answer to oneof my ejaculations of impatience.
"But why are you here, Morgan?" I said, suddenly, as I felt that mostof the defenders were either at work firing, or busy with buckets andwater.
"Because I was sent here, sir," said Morgan, gruffly.
And though I questioned him, he said no more, but chuckled a little whenI made a guess, and said that my father must have sent him to look afterme.
The men on the roof of the block-house worked splendidly amidst thefiery shower, though they were checked several times by the horriblemissiles taking effect, inflicting wounds and burning the poor fellows'clothing as well; but they returned to their duty as soon as theircomrades were passed down below into the fort, and wherever the flamesgot hold they were extinguished. But that which the falling arrows senthigh in air, to drop almost perpendicularly on the fort, failed to do,though shot with wondrous skill, was accomplished by the arrows sent inthe ordinary way point-blank against the walls.
I was watching the progress of the attack with Morgan, and we wereuttering congratulations about the admirable way in which the men on theroof worked, and how cleverly each fiery messenger was quenched nowalmost as soon as it fell, when there was a fresh attack.
"Yes; we've done 'em, clever as they are, this time, sir," said Morgan."I tell you what: if I'd had the management of that affair I'd have hadyoung Pomp up there."
"Where is he?" I said, for I had forgotten all about him.
"'Long of his father carrying water, sir. But as I was saying, I'd havehad young Pomp up there with a small bucket as he could handle easy,half full o' water, and set him to catch the arrows as they fell. He'squick as lightning, and I'll be bound to say he'd have caught the arrowsone by one in his bucket."
"Look--look!" I cried excitedly.
"Eh? What? Ah!" ejaculated Morgan, as evidently from behind one of thehouses, quite invisible in the darkness, we saw quite a little group ofspecks glide out, and almost simultaneously another group--and thereseemed to be about thirty in each--came out from the other side, the twoparties joining with almost military precision, and gliding as it wereover the fields till quite close in, when there was a perfect blaze oflight as a golden cloud of trailing lights was discharged straight atthe wooden wall of the fort, and in a few seconds it was wrapped in firefrom top to bottom.
A tremendous yell followed this successful discharge, but it was drownedby the rapid firing which succeeded, and as I looked on excitedly,longing to go and assist, and wondering why I had received no orders, Ihad the satisfaction of seeing figures flitting to and fro before theblazing pine-trunks, and hearing the hiss of the water as bucketfulafter bucketful was discharged.
"Why, Morgan!" I exclaimed suddenly; "the women and children?"
"Well, sir, they'd be safe enough."
"What, if the fire is not put out?"
"Oh, it'll be put out, my lad. Look, they're battering it now. Itaren't so fierce, but they don't happen to be there; the captain spoketo the governor this afternoon."
"To the General?"
"Yes, sir. We're getting to call him the governor now; and the captaintold him, I hear, that he was afraid the main attack would be on theblock-house, and it was settled to have all the women and children out;and they're all safe behind barricades in the middle there. Yonder, yousee."
"See? No," I said; "how can I see through this terrible darkness?"
"Darkness?" said Morgan, in a peculiar tone. "I was just thinking thatit was a bit lighter now, and yet they seem to be getting the fire a bitunder."
"Yes," I said; "and now the clouds of steam are rising; you can see themquite plainly now. Perhaps they are reflecting the light down upon thebuilding. Oh, look!"
I could hold back no longer, but started off at a run, closely followedby Morgan, so as to get to the other side and see what was going onthere.
For I had suddenly grasped the meaning of the light that had puzzled me.It was plain enough now. With their customary cunning, the Indians hadfired such a flight of fiery arrows that they had forced our people tocombine their forces to put out the blazing side of the block-house, andthen combining their own forces, the enemy had sent low down on theopposite side, after creeping close in, a tremendous discharge, which atonce took hold, and the flames as I got round were already running upthe building, fanned by the wind which seemed to be rising, and therewas a fluttering roar which sounded like the triumphant utterances ofthe flames.
"That comes of using pine-logs," said Morgan, in a low voice, as amidstthe shouting of orders, the tramp of men, and the hissing of the fire,volley after volley was fired from the palisades; but naturally theseshots sent forth into the darkness were aimless, and in imagination Icould see the enemy, after sending in their arrows, crawling awayunhurt.
The progress of this last fire was rapid. Something was done to checkit at first with the buckets, and the brave fellows on the roof madedesperate efforts by hanging the saturated blankets over the side, butthey were soon driven back by the heat and smoke; all but one, whom Isaw--after working desperately, the leader evidently of theshadowy-looking, blackened band--topple forward and fall into the flamesat the foot, just as a herculean black approached, bearin
g two bucketsof water.
Then there was a rush, a deal of confusion and shouting; and as I nearedI saw the black coming through the crowd bearing some one on hisshoulder.
I needed no telling that the slave, whoever he was, had dashed in anddragged the fallen man away, and, roused to enthusiasm by the daringact, I was approaching the group, when I heard murmurs running from oneto the other of the line of men we had approached, men whose duty it hadbeen to pass water from the well to those whose task it was to scatterthe fluid on the flames.
"What--what did they say, Morgan?" I whispered.
"Water's give out, sir."
"What! Just as it is needed most?"
"Ay, my lad, that's just when it would be sure to go. They've been toogenerous with it t'other side."
"But look!" I said; "the fire's getting firmer hold. Can nothing bedone?"
"Not that we can do, sir," said Morgan, sadly. "It's got it tight now."
It was too true. Started by the Indians' fiercely-blazing arrows, thepine-logs were beginning to blaze well now, dispiriting those who hadworked so bravely before; and, seeing that their attack hail beensuccessful, the Indians ceased now to send in their fiery flights, formoment by moment the flames increased, completely enveloping one cornerof the block-house, and displaying such fierce energy that we knew theplace was doomed.
And now, not to solve a puzzle that had troubled me, but of course tostrike fresh terror into their enemies, the Indians made it plain howthey had managed to keep up their supply of fiery shafts. For, all atonce, a house standing back in the plantation, on each of the threesides of the fort away from the river front, began to stand out clear inthe darkness of the night. One of them was the place from behind whichI had seen the two groups of sparks glide out, and in these they hadcunningly had parties preparing the fiery arrows ready to start alightfor others to discharge.
Yell after yell now arose from a distance as the three houses rapidlybegan to blaze and add to the lurid glare that was illumining the wholeinterior of the enclosure, while groups of smoke-blackened men werewatching the destruction going on.
"Better seek cover, my lads," cried Colonel Preston. "Get your pieces,and be ready. We can do no more there. It must burn."
The men showed their military training by rapidly getting their piledweapons, and taking their positions behind the barricades whichsurrounded the temporary quarters of the women and children.
"I don't think they'll attack," said Colonel Preston to the General, whocame up now.
"No," he said, calmly. "The men are standing well to their places roundthe palisades, but I have no fear of an assault to-night. By the way,how is Bruton?"
I heard the words, and my throat seemed to grow dry.
"Bruton? I don't know. Tired out, I suppose."
"What!" said the General; "didn't you know?"
"Nothing; only that we have all been working like slaves to put thatfire out."
"Great heavens, Preston, didn't you hear?"
"Hear?" cried the colonel, excitedly; "is he wounded?"
"Not wounded, but badly hurt, I fear. Didn't you see a man fall fromthe roof right into the flames?"
"Yes, but--"
"It was Bruton."
"Ah!"
I felt as if I should have dropped, but at that moment, as I was tryingto get over the horrible feeling of sickness, and to make my way to theplace the doctor had been forced to take as his temporary hospital, Ifelt a thrill of delight run through me, for a voice exclaimed--
"Gentlemen, are you all mad?"
"Bruton!" exclaimed Preston, hoarsely; "then you are not badly hurt?"
"Badly enough," said my father; "but look--look! Of what are youthinking?"
"Thinking?" cried the General. "We can do no more; the place isdoomed."
"But are we to be doomed too, man?" cried my father, furiously; and helooked as if he might have had the question he had first asked put tohim. For his face was blackened and wild, his long hair burned, and aterrible look of excitement was in his starting eyes.
"Doomed?" exclaimed the General and the colonel in a breath, as the mengathered round.
"Yes; the women--the children. This enclosure will be swept away. Haveyou forgotten the powder--the magazine?"
Mass' George: A Boy's Adventures in the Old Savannah Page 43