Wacousta

by John Richardson

  Pleased to find the attention of his young friend diverted for the moment from his sister, Captain Blessington quickly rejoined, he believed the packet contained letters which Halloway had stated to him were of a nature to throw some light on his family connections. He had, however, transferred it, with the seal unbroken, as desired by the unhappy man, to Colonel de Haldimar.

  An exclamation of surprise burst involuntarily from the lips of the youth. “Has my father ever made any allusion to that packet since?” he asked.

  “Never,” returned Captain Blessington; “and, I confess, his failing to do so has often excited my astonishment. But why do you ask?”

  De Haldimar energetically pressed the arm of his captain, while a heavy sigh burst from his oppressed heart. “This very night, Blessington, on entering my father’s apartment to apprise him of what was going on here, I saw,–I can scarcely tell you what, but certainly enough to convince me, from what you have now stated, Halloway was, in some degree or other, connected with our family. Tell me,” he anxiously pursued, “was there a portrait enclosed with the letters?”

  “I cannot state with confidence, Charles,” replied his friend; “but if I might judge from the peculiar form and weight of the packet, I should be inclined to say not. Have you seen the letters, then?”

  “I have seen certain letters which, I have reason to believe, are the same,” returned De Haldimar. “They were addressed to ‘Reginald;’ and Halloway, I think you have told me, was so called by his unhappy wife.”

  “There can be little doubt they are the same,” said Captain Blessington; “but what were their contents, and by whom written, that you deem they prove a connection between the unhappy soldier and your family?”

  De Haldimar felt the blood rise into his cheek, at this natural but unexpected demand. “I am sure, Blessington,” he replied, after a pause, “you will not think me capable of unworthy mystery towards yourself; but the contents of these letters are sacred, inasmuch as they relate only to circumstances connected with my father’s family.”

  “This is singular indeed,” exclaimed Captain Blessington, in a tone that marked his utter and unqualified astonishment at what had now been disclosed to him; “but surely, Charles,” he pursued, “if the packet handed me by Halloway were the same you allude to, he would have caused the transfer to have been made before the period chosen by him for that purpose.”

  “But the name,” pursued De Haldimar; “how are we to separate the identity of the packets, when we recur to that name of ‘Reginald?’”

  “True,” rejoined the musing Blessington; “there is a mystery in this that baffles all my powers of penetration. Were I in possession of the contents of the letters, I might find some clue to solve the enigma: but ____”

  “You surely do not mean this as a reproach, Blessington?” fervently interrupted the youth. “More I dare not, cannot say for the secret is not my own; and feelings, which it would be dishonour to outrage, alone bind me to silence. What little I have revealed to you even now, has been uttered in confidence. I hope you have so understood it.”

  “Perfectly, Charles. What you have stated, goes no further; but we have been too long absent from our guard, and I confess I have no particular fancy for remaining in this chill night-air. Let us return.”

  De Haldimar made no opposition, and they both prepared to quit the rampart. As they passed the sentinel stationed at that point where the Indian had been first seen, their attention was directed by him to a fire that now suddenly rose, apparently at a great distance, and rapidly increased in volume. The singularity of this occurrence riveted the officers for a moment in silent observation; until Captain Blessington at length ventured a remark, that, judging from the direction, and the deceptive nature of the element at night, he should incline to think it was the hut of the Canadian burning.

  “Which is another additional proof, were any such wanting, that every thing is lost,” mournfully urged the ever apprehensive De Haldimar. “François has been detected in rendering aid to our friends; and the Indians, in all probability, after having immolated their victim, are sacrificing his property to their rage.”

  During this exchange of opinions, the officers had again moved to the opposite point of the limited walk of the younger. Scarcely had they reached it, and before Captain Blessington could find time to reply to the fears of his friend, when a loud and distant booming like that of a cannon was heard in the direction of the fire. The alarm was given hastily by the sentinels, and sounds of preparation and arming were audible in the course of a minute or two every where throughout the fort. Startled by the report, which they had half inclined to imagine produced by the discharge of one of their own guns, the half slumbering officers had quitted the chairs in which they had passed the night in the mess-room, and were soon at the side of their more watchful companions, then anxiously listening for a repetition of the sound.

  The day was just beginning to dawn, and as the atmosphere cleared gradually away, it was perceived the fire rose not from the hut of the Canadian, but at a point considerably beyond it. Unusual as it was to see a large fire of this description, its appearance became an object of minor consideration, since it might be attributed to some caprice or desire on the part of the Indians to excite apprehension in their enemies. But how was the report which had reached their ears to be accounted for? It evidently could only have been produced by the discharge of a cannon; and if so, where could the Indians have procured it? No such arm had recently been in their possession; and if it were, they were totally unacquainted with the manner of serving it.

  As the day became more developed, the mystery was resolved. Every telescope in the fort had been called into requisition; and as they were now levelled in the direction of the fire, sweeping the line of horizon around, exclamations of surprise escaped the lips of several.

  “The fire is at the near extremity of the wood on Hog Island,” exclaimed Lieutenant Johnstone. “I can distinctly see the forms of a multitude of savages dancing round it with hideous gestures and menacing attitudes.”

  “They are dancing their infernal war dance,” said Captain Wentworth. “How I should like to be able to discharge a twenty-four pound battery loaded with grape, into the very heart of the devilish throng.”

  “Do you see any prisoners?–Are any of our friends among them?” eagerly and tremblingly enquired De Haldimar of the officer who had last spoken.

  Captain Wentworth made a sweep of his glass along the shores of the island; but apparently without success. He announced that he could discover nothing but a vast number of bark canoes lying dry and upturned on the beach.

  “It is an unusual hour for their war dance,” observed Captain Blessington. “My experience furnishes me with no one instance in which it has not been danced previous to their retiring to rest.”

  “Unless,” said Lieutenant Boyce, “they should have been thus engaged all night; in which case the singularity may be explained.”

  “Look, look,” eagerly remarked Lieutenant Johnstone–“see how they are flying to their canoes, bounding and leaping like so many devils broke loose from their chains. The fire is nearly deserted already.”

  “The schooner–the schooner!” shouted Captain Erskine. “By Heaven, our own gallant schooner! see how beautifully she drives past the island. It was her gun we heard, intended as a signal to prepare us for her appearance.”

  A thrill of wild and indescribable emotion passed through every heart. Every eye was turned upon the point to which attention was now directed. The graceful vessel, with every stitch of canvass set, was shooting rapidly past the low bushes skirting the sands that still concealed her hull; and in a moment or two she loomed largely and proudly on the bosom of the Détroit, the surface of which was slightly curled with a north western breeze.

  “Safe, by Jupiter!” exclaimed the delighted Erskine, dropping the glass upon the rampart, and rubbing his hands together with every manifestation of joy.

  “The Indians are in
chase,” said Lieutenant Boyce; “upwards of fifty canoes are following in the schooner’s wake. But Danvers will soon give us an account of their Lilliputian fleet.”

  “Let the troops be held in readiness for a sortie, Mr. Lawson,” said the governor, who had joined his officers just as the schooner cleared the island; “we must cover their landing, or, with this host of savages in pursuit, they will never effect it alive.”

  During the whole of this brief but exciting scene, the heart of Charles de Haldimar beat audibly. A thousand hopes and fears rushed confusedly on his mind, and he was as one bewildered by, and scarcely crediting what he saw. Could Clara,–could his cousin–could his brother–could his friend be on board? He scarcely dared to ask himself these questions; still it was with a fluttering heart, in which hope, however, predominated, that he hastened to execute an order of his captain, that bore immediate reference to his duty as subaltern of the guard.

  FIVE

  Meanwhile the schooner dashed rapidly along, her hull occasionally hid from the view of those assembled on the ramparts by some intervening orchard or cluster of houses, but her tall spars glittering in their covering of white canvass, and marking the direction of her course. At length she came to a point in the river that offered no other interruption to the eye than what arose from the presence of almost all the inhabitants of the village, who, urged by curiosity and surprise, were to be seen crowding the intervening bank. Here the schooner was suddenly put about, and the English colours, hitherto concealed by the folds of the canvass, were at length discovered proudly floating in the breeze.

  Immediately over the gateway of the fort there was an elevated platform, approached by the rampart, of which it formed a part, by some half dozen rude steps on either side; and on this platform was placed a long eighteen-pounder, that commanded the whole extent of road leading from the drawbridge to the river. Hither the officers had all repaired, while the schooner was in the act of passing the town; and now that, suddenly brought up in the wind’s eye, she rode leisurely in the offing, every movement on her decks was plainly discernible with the telescope.

  “Where the devil can Danvers have hid all his crew?” first spoke Captain Erskine; “I count but half a dozen hands altogether on deck, and these are barely sufficient to work her.”

  “Lying concealed, and ready, no doubt, to give the canoes a warm reception,” observed Lieutenant Johnstone; “but where can our friends be? Surely, if there, they would show themselves to us.”

  There was truth in this remark; and each felt discouraged and disappointed that they did not appear.

  “There come the whooping hell fiends,” said Major Blackwater. “By Heaven! the very water is darkened with the shadows of their canoes.”

  Scarcely had he spoken, when the vessel was suddenly surrounded by a multitude of savages, whose fierce shouts rent the air, while their dripping paddles, gleaming like silver in the rays of the rising sun, were alternately waved aloft in triumph, and then plunged into the troubled element, which they spurned in fury from their blades.

  “What can Danvers be about? Why does he not either open his fire, or crowd sail and away from them?” exclaimed several voices.

  “The detachment is in readiness, sir,” said Mr. Lawson, ascending the platform, and addressing Major Blackwater.

  “The deck, the deck!” shouted Erskine.

  Already the eyes of several were bent in the direction alluded to by the last speaker, while those whose attention had been diverted by the approaching canoes glanced rapidly to the same point. To the surprise and consternation of all, the tall and well-remembered form of the warrior of the Fleur de lis was seen towering far above the bulwarks of the schooner; and with an expression in the attitude he had assumed, which no one could mistake for other than that of triumphant defiance. Presently he drew from the bosom of his hunting coat a dark parcel, and springing into the rigging of the mainmast, ascended with incredible activity to the point where the English ensign was faintly floating in the breeze. This he tore furiously away, and rending it into many pieces, cast the fragments into the silver element beneath him, on whose bosom they were seen to float among the canoes of the savages, many of whom possessed themselves, with eagerness, of the gaudy coloured trophies. The dark parcel was now unfolded by the active warrior, who, after having waved it several times round his head, commenced attaching it to the lines whence the English ensign had so recently been torn. It was a large black flag, the purport of which was too readily comprehended by the excited officers.

  “D—n the ruffian! can we not manage to make that flag serve as his own winding sheet?” exclaimed Captain Erskine. “Come, Wentworth, give us a second edition of the sortie firing; I know no man who understands pointing a gun better than yourself, and this eighteen-pounder might do some mischief.”

  The idea was instantly caught at by the officer of artillery, who read his consent in the eye of Colonel de Haldimar. His companions made way on either side; and several gunners, who were already at their stations, having advanced to work the piece at the command of their captain, it was speedily brought to bear upon the schooner.

  “This will do, I think,” said Wentworth, as, glancing his experienced eye carefully along the gun, he found it pointed immediately on the gigantic frame of the warrior. “If this chain-shot miss him, it will be through no fault of mine.”

  Every eye was now riveted on the mainmast of the schooner, where the warrior was still engaged in attaching the portentous flag. The gunner, who held the match, obeyed the silent signal of his captain; and the massive iron was heard rushing past the officers, bound on its murderous mission. A moment or two of intense anxiety elapsed; and when at length the rolling volumes of smoke gradually floated away, to the dismay and disappointment of all, the fierce warrior was seen standing apparently unharmed on the same spot in the rigging. The shot had, however, been well aimed, for a large rent in the outstretched canvass, close at his side, and about mid-height of his person, marked the direction it had taken. Again he tore away, and triumphantly waved the black flag around his head, while from his capacious lungs there burst yells of defiance and scorn, that could be distinguished for his own even at that distance. This done, he again secured the death symbol to its place; and gliding to the deck by a single rope, appeared to give orders to the few men of the crew who were to be seen; for every stitch of canvass was again made to fill, and the vessel, bounding forward before the breeze then blowing upon her quarter, shot rapidly behind the town, and was finally seen to cast anchor in the navigable channel that divides Hog Island from the shores of Canada.

  At the discharge of the eighteen-pounder, the river had been suddenly cleared, as if by magic, of every canoe; while, warned by the same danger, the groups of inhabitants, assembled on the bank, had rushed for shelter to their respective homes; so that, when the schooner disappeared, not a vestige of human life was to be seen along that vista so recently peopled with human forms. An order from Colonel de Haldimar to the adjutant, countermanding the sortie, was the first interruption to the silence that had continued to pervade the little band of officers; and two or three of these having hastened to the western front of the rampart, in order to obtain a more distinct view of the movements of the schooner, their example was speedily followed by the remainder, all of whom now quitted the platform, and repaired to the same point.

  Here, with the aid of their telescopes, they again distinctly commanded a view of the vessel, which lay motionless close under the sandy beach of the island, and exhibiting all the technicalities of skill in the disposition of sails and yards peculiar to the profession. In vain, however, was every eye strained to discover, among the multitude of savages that kept momentarily leaping to her deck, the forms of those in whom they were most interested. A group of some half dozen men, apparently common sailors, and those, in all probability, whose services had been compelled in the working of the vessel, were the only evidences that civilised man formed a portion of that grotesque assemblage. The
se, with their arms evidently bound behind their backs, and placed on one of the gangways, were only visible at intervals, as the band of savages that surrounded them, brandishing their tomahawks around their heads, occasionally left an opening in their circle. The formidable warrior of the Fleur de lis was no longer to be seen, although the flag which he had hoisted still fluttered in the breeze.

  “All is lost, then,” ejaculated the governor, with a mournfulness of voice and manner that caused many of his officers to turn and regard him with surprise. “That black flag announces the triumph of my foe in the too certain destruction of my children. Now, indeed,” he concluded in a lower tone, “for the first time, does the curse of Ellen Halloway sit heavily on my soul.”

  A deep sigh burst from one immediately behind him. The governor turned suddenly round, and beheld his son. Never did human countenance wear a character of more poignant misery than that of the unhappy Charles at the moment. Attracted by the report of the cannon, he had flown to the rampart to ascertain the cause, and had reached his companions only to learn the strong hope so recently kindled in his breast was fled for ever. His cheek, over which hung his neglected hair, was now pale as marble, and his lips bloodless and parted; yet, notwithstanding this intensity of personal sorrow, a tear had started to his eye, apparently wrung from him by this unusual expression of dismay in his father.

  “Charles–my son–my only now remaining child,” murmured the governor with emotion, as he remarked, and started at the deathlike image of the youth; “look not thus, or you will utterly unman me.”

  A sudden and involuntary impulse caused him to extend his arms. The young officer sprang forward into the proffered embrace, and sank his head upon the cheek of his father. It was the first time he had enjoyed that privilege since his childhood; and even overwhelmed as he was by his affliction, he felt it deeply.