CHAPTER VI
THE RETURN
It was near the close of a day that had been marked by littledemonstration from the enemy, and the young officers, growing used tothe siege, attained a philosophical state of mind. They felt sure theycould hold the palisade against any number of enemies, and theforesight of Willet, Robert and Tayoga had been so great that by nopossibility could they be starved out. They began now to have acertain exultation. They were inside comfortable walls, with plentyto eat and drink, while the enemy was outside and must forage forgame.
"If it were not for Tayoga," said Wilton to Robert, "I should feelmore than satisfied with the situation. But the fate of your Onondagafriend sticks in my mind. Mr. Willet, who knows everything, says we'resurrounded completely, and I don't wish him to lose his life in anattempt to get through at a certain time, merely on a point of honor."
"It's no point of honor, Will. It's just the completion of a plan atthe time and place chosen. Do you see anything in that tall tree tothe east of the palisade?"
"Something appears to be moving up the trunk, but as it's on the farside, I catch only a glimpse of it."
"That's an Indian warrior, seeking a place for a shot at us. He'llreach the high fork, but he'll always keep well behind the body of thetree. It's really too far for a bullet, but I think it would be wisefor us to slip back under cover."
The sharpshooter reached his desired station and fired, but his bulletfell short. He tried three more, all without avail, and then Willetpicked him off with his long and deadly rifle. Robert shut his eyeswhen he saw the body begin its fall, but his vivid imagination, soeasily excited, made him hear its thump when it struck the earth.
"And so ends that attempt!" he said.
An hour later he saw a white flag among the trees, and when Willetmounted the palisade two French officers came forward. Robert saw atonce that they were De Courcelles and Jumonville, and his heart beathard. They linked him with Quebec, in which he had spent somemomentous days, and despite their treachery to him he did not feelhatred of them at that moment.
"Will you stay with me, Mr. Willet, and you also, Mr. Lennox, while Italk to them?" asked Captain Colden. "You know these Frenchmen betterthan I do, and their experience is so much greater than mine that Ineed your help."
Robert and the hunter assented gladly. Robert, in truth, was verycurious to hear what these old friends and enemies of his had to say,and he felt a thrill when the two recognized and saluted him in themost friendly fashion, just as if they had never meant him any harm.
"Chance brings about strange meetings between us, Mr. Lennox," said DeCourcelles. "It gives me pleasure to note that you have not yet takenany personal harm from our siege."
"Nor you nor Monsieur de Jumonville, from our successful defense,"replied Robert in the same spirit.
"You have us there. The points so far are in your favor, although onlysuperficially so, as I shall make clear to you presently."
Then De Courcelles turned his attention to Colden, who he saw was thenominal leader of the garrison.
"My name," he said, "is Auguste de Courcelles, a colonel in theservice of His Majesty, King Louis of France. My friend is CaptainFrancois de Jumonville, and we have the honor to lead the numerous andpowerful force of French and Indians now besieging you."
"And my name is Colden, Captain James Colden," replied the youngofficer. "I've heard of you from my friends, Mr. Lennox andMr. Willet, and I have the honor of asking you what I can do for you."
"You cannot do for us more than you can do for yourself, CaptainColden. We ask the surrender of your little fort, and of your littlegarrison, which we freely admit has defended itself mostgallantly. It's not necessary for us to make an assault. You're deepin the wilderness, we can hold you here all winter, and help cannotpossibly come to you. We guarantee you good treatment in Canada, whereyou will be held until the war is over."
Young Colden smiled. They were standing before the single gate in thepalisade, and he looked back at the solid buildings, erected by thehands of his own men, with the comfortable smoke curling up againstthe cold sky. And he looked also at the wintry forest that curved inevery direction.
"Colonel de Courcelles," he said, "it seems to me that we are in andyou are out. If it comes to holding us here all winter we who havegood houses can stand it much better than you who merely have theforest as a home, where you will be rained upon, snowed upon, hailedupon, and maybe frozen. Why should we exchange our warm house for yourcold forest?"
Colonel de Courcelles frowned. There was a humorous inflection inColden's tone that did not please him, and the young officer's wordsalso had a strong element of truth.
"It's not a time to talk about houses and forests," he said, somewhathaughtily. "We have here a formidable force capable of carrying yourfort, and, for that reason, we demand your surrender. Indians arealways inflamed by a long and desperate resistance and while Captainde Jumonville and I will do our best to restrain them, it's possiblethat they may escape from our control in the hour of victory."
Young Colden smiled again. With Willet at his right hand and Robert athis left, he acquired lightness of spirit.
"A demand and a threat together," he replied. "For the threat wedon't care. We don't believe you'll ever see that hour of victory inwhich you can't control your Indians, and there'll be no need for you,Colonel de Courcelles, to apologize for a massacre committed by yourallies, and which you couldn't help. We're also growing used torequests of surrender.
"There was your countryman, St. Luc, a very brave and skillful man, whoasked it of us, but we declined, and in the end we defeated him. Andif we beat St. Luc without the aid of a strong fort, why shouldn't webeat you with it, Colonel de Courcelles?"
Colonel de Courcelles frowned once more, and Captain de Jumonvillefrowned with him.
"You don't know the wilderness, Captain Colden," he said, "and youdon't give our demand the serious consideration to which it isentitled. Later on, the truth of what I tell you may bear heavily uponyou."
"I may not know the forest as you do, Colonel de Courcelles, but Ihave with me masters of woodcraft, Mr. Lennox and Mr. Willet, withwhom you're already acquainted."
"We've had passages of various kinds with Colonel de Courcelles, bothin the forest and at Quebec," said Robert, quietly.
Both De Courcelles and Jumonville flushed, and it became apparent thatthey were anxious to end the interview.
"This, I take it, is your final answer," the French Colonel said tothe young Philadelphia captain.
"It is, sir."
"Then what may occur rests upon the knees of the gods."
"It does, sir, and I'm as willing as you to abide by the result."
"And I have the honor of bidding you good day."
"An equally great honor is mine."
The two French officers were ceremonious. They lifted their fine,three-cornered hats, and bowed politely, and Colden, Willet and Robertwere not inferior in courtesy. Then the Frenchmen walked away into theforest, while the three Americans went inside the palisade, where theheavy gate was quickly shut behind them and fastened securely. Butbefore he turned back Robert thought he saw the huge figure ofTandakora in the forest.
When the French officers disappeared several shots were fired and thesavages uttered a long and menacing war whoop, but the young soldiershad grown used to such manifestations, and, instead of beingfrightened, they felt a certain defiant pleasure.
"Yells don't hurt us," said Wilton to Robert. "Instead I feel myQuaker blood rising in anger, and I'd rejoice if they were to attacknow. A very heavy responsibility rests upon me, Robert, since I've tofight not only for myself but for my ancestors who wouldn't fight atall. It rests upon me, one humble youth, to bring up the warlikeaverage of the family."
"You're one, Will, but you're not humble," laughed Robert. "I believethat jest of yours about the still, blood of generations burstingforth in you at last is not a jest wholly. When it comes to a pitchedbattle I expect to see you perform prodigie
s of valor."
"If I do it won't be Will Wilton, myself, and I won't be entitled toany credit. I'll be merely an instrument in the hands of fate, workingout the law of averages. But what do you think those French officersand their savage allies will do now, Robert, since Colden, so tospeak, has thrown a very hard glove in their faces?"
"Draw the lines tighter about Fort Refuge. It's cold in the forest,but they can live there for a while at least. They'll build fires andthrow up a few tepees, maybe for the French. But their anger and theirdesire to take us will make them watch all the more closely. They'lldraw tight lines around this snug little, strong little fort of ours."
"Which removes all possibility that your friend Tayoga will come atthe appointed time."
Robert glared at him.
"Will," he said, "I've discovered that you have a double nature,although the two are never struggling for you at the same time."
"That is I march tandem with my two natures, so to speak?"
"They alternate. At times you're a sensible boy."
"Boy? I'm older than you are!"
"One wouldn't think it. But a well bred Quaker never interrupts. As Isaid, you're quite sensible at times and you ought to thank me forsaying so. At other times your mind loves folly. It fairly swims anddives in the foolish pool, and it dives deepest when you're talkingabout Tayoga. I trust, foolish young, sir, that I've heard the lastword of folly from you about the arrival of Tayoga, or rather what youconceive will be his failure to arrive. Peace, not a word!"
"At least let me say this," protested Wilton. "I wish that I couldfeel the absolute confidence in any human being that you so obviouslyhave in the Onondaga."
The night came, white and beautiful. It was white, because the MilkyWay was at its brightest, which was uncommonly bright, and every starthat ever showed itself in that latitude came out and danced. Theheavens were full of them, disporting themselves in clusters onspangled seas, and the forest was all in light, paler than that ofday, but almost as vivid.
The Indians lighted several fires, well beyond rifle shot, and thesentinels on the palisade distinctly saw their figures passing backand forth before the blaze Robert also noticed the uniforms ofFrenchmen, and he thought it likely that De Courcelles and Jumonvillehad with them more soldiers than he had supposed at first. The firesburned at different points of the compass, and thus the fort wasencircled completely by them. Both young Lennox and Willet knew theyhad been lighted that way purposely, that is in order to show to thedefenders that a belt of fire and steel was drawn close about them.
To Wilton at least the Indian circle seemed impassable, and despitethe enormous confidence of Robert he now had none at all himself. Itwas impossible for Tayoga, even if he had triumphed over sleet andsnow and flood and storm, to pass so close a siege. He would notspeak of it again, but Robert had allowed himself to be deluded byfriendship. He felt sorry for his new friend, and he did not wish tosee his disappointment on the morrow.
Wilton was in charge of the guard until midnight, and then he sleptsoundly until dawn, awakening to a brilliant day, the fit successor ofsuch a brilliant night. The Indian fires were still burning and hecould see the warriors beside them sleeping or eating at leisure.They still formed a complete circle about the fort, and while theyoung Quaker felt safe inside the palisade, he saw no chance for afriend outside. Robert joined him presently but, respecting hisfeelings, the Philadelphian said nothing about Tayoga.
The winter, it seemed, was exerting itself to show how fine a day itcould produce. It was cold but dazzling. A gorgeous sun, all red andgold, was rising, and the light was so vivid and intense that theycould see far in the forest, bare of leaf. Robert clearly discernedboth De Courcelles and Jumonville about six hundred yards away,standing by one of the fires. Then he saw the gigantic figure ofTandakora, as the Ojibway joined them. Despite the cold, Tandakorawore little but the breechcloth, and his mighty chest and shoulderswere painted with many hideous devices. In the distance and in theglow of the flames his size was exaggerated until he looked like oneof the giants of ancient mythology.
Robert was quite sure the siege would never be raised if the voice ofthe Ojibway prevailed in the allied French and Indian councils.Tandakora had been wounded twice, once by the hunter and once by theOnondaga, and a mind already inflamed against the Americans and theHodenosaunee cherished a bitter personal hate. Robert knew thatWillet, Tayoga and he must be eternally on guard against his murderousattacks.
The savages built their fires higher, as if in defiance andtriumph. They could defend themselves against cold, because the forestfurnished unending fuel, but rain or hail, sleet or snow would bringsevere hardship. The day, however, favored them to the utmost. Ithad seemed at dawn that it could not be more brilliant, but as themorning advanced the world fairly glowed with color. The sky wasgolden save in the east, where it burned in red, and the trunks andblack boughs of the forest, to the last and least little twig, weretouched with it until they too were clothed in a luminous glow.
The besiegers seemed lazy, but Robert knew that the watch upon thefort and its approaches was never neglected for an instant. A foxcould not steal through their lines, unseen, and yet he never doubted.Tayoga would come, and moreover he would come at the timeappointed. Toward the middle of the morning the Indians shot somearrows that fell inside the palisade, and uttered a shout or two ofdefiance, but nobody was hurt, and nobody was stirred to action. Thedemonstration passed unanswered, and, after a while, Wilton calledRobert's attention to the fact that it was only two hours untilnoon. Robert did not reply, but he knew that the conditions could notbe more unfavorable. Rain or hail, sleet or snow might cover thepassage of a warrior, but the dazzling sunlight that enlarged twigstwo hundred yards away into boughs, seemed to make all such effortsvain. Yet he knew Tayoga, and he still believed.
Soon a stir came in the forest, and they heard a long, droningchant. A dozen warriors appeared coming out of the north, and theywere welcomed with shouts by the others.
"Hurons, I think," said Willet. "Yes, I'm sure of it. They'veundoubtedly sent away for help, and it's probable that other bandswill come about this time." He reckoned right, as in half an hour adetachment of Abenakis came, and they too were received with approvingshouts, after which food was given to them and they sat luxuriouslybefore the fires. Then three runners arrived, one from the north, onefrom the west, and one from the east, and a great shout of welcome wasuttered for each.
"What does it mean?" Wilton asked Robert.
"The runners were sent out by De Courcelles and Tandakora to rallymore strength for our siege. They've returned with the news thatfresh forces are coming, as the exultant shout from the warriorsproves."
The young Philadelphian's heart sank. He knew that it was only a halfhour until noon, and noon was the appointed time. Nor did the heavensgive any favoring sign. The whole mighty vault was a blaze of gold andblue. Nothing could stir in such a light and remain hidden from thewarriors. Wilton looked at his comrade and he caught a sudden glitterin his eyes. It was not the look of one who despaired. Instead it wasa flash of triumph, and the young Philadelphian wondered. Had Robertseen a sign, a sign that had escaped all others? He searched theforest everywhere with his own eyes, but he could detect nothingunusual. There were the French, and there were the Indians. There werethe new warriors, and there were the three runners resting by thefires.
The runners rose presently, and the one who had come out of the northtalked with Tandakora, the one who had come out of the west stood nearthe edge of the forest with an Abenaki chief and looked at thefort. The one who had come out of the east joined De Courcelleshimself and they came nearer to the fort than any of the others,although they remained just beyond rifle shot. Evidently De Courcelleswas explaining something to the Indian as once he pointed toward theblockhouse.
Wilton heard Robert beside him draw a deep breath, and he turned insurprise. The face of young Lennox was tense and his eyes fairlyblazed as he gazed at De Courcelles and the warrior. Then looking
backat the forest Robert uttered a sudden sharp, Ah! the release ofuncontrollable emotion, snapping like a pistol shot.
"Did you see it, Will? Did you see it?" he exclaimed. "It was quickerthan lightning!"
The Indian runner stooped, snatched the pistol from the belt of DeCourcelles, struck him such a heavy blow on the head with the butt ofit that he fell without a sound, and then his brown body shot forwardlike an arrow for the fort.
"Open the gate! Open the gate!" thundered Willet, and strong armsunbarred it and flung it back in an instant. The brown body of Tayogaflashed through, and, in another instant, it was closed and barredagain.
"He is here with five minutes to spare!" said Robert as he left thepalisade with Wilton, and went toward the blockhouse to greet hisfriend.
Tayoga, painted like a Micmac and stooping somewhat hitherto, drewhimself to his full height, held out his hand in the white man'sfashion to Robert, while his eyes, usually so calm, showed a passinggleam of triumph.
"I said, Tayoga, that you would be back on time, that is by noontoday," said Robert, "and though the task has been hard you're with usand you have a few minutes to spare. How did you deceive the sharpeyes of Tandakora?"
"I did not let him see me, knowing he would look through my disguise,but I asked the French colonel to come forward with me at once andinspect the fort, knowing that it was my only chance to enter here,and he agreed to do so. You saw the rest, and thus I have come. It isnot pleasant to those who besiege us, as your ears tell you."
Fierce yells of anger and disappointment were rising in theforest. Jumonville and two French soldiers had rushed forward, seizedthe reviving De Courcelles and were carrying him to one of the fires,where they would bind up his injured head. But inside the fort therewas only exultation at the arrival of Tayoga and admiration for hisskill. He insisted first on being allowed to wash off the Micmacpaint, enabling him to return to his true character. Then he took foodand drink.
"Tayoga," said Wilton, "I believed you could not come. I said so oftento Lennox. You would never have known my belief, because Lennox wouldnot have told it to you, but I feel that I must apologize to you forthe thought. I underrated you, but I underrated you because I did notbelieve any human being could do what you have done."
Tayoga smiled, showing his splendid white teeth. "Your thoughts didme no wrong," he said in his precise school English, "because theelements and chance itself seemed to have conspired against me."
Later he told what he had heard in the vale of Onondaga where thesachems and chiefs kept themselves well informed concerning themovements of the belligerent nations. The French were still the moreactive of the rival powers, and their energy and conquests werebringing the western tribes in great numbers to their flag. Throughoutthe Ohio country the warriors were on the side of the French who werecontinuing the construction of the powerful fortress at the junctionof the Alleghany and the Monongahela. The French were far down in theprovince of New York, and they held control of Lake Champlain and ofLake George also. More settlements had been cut off, and more womenand children had been taken prisoners into Canada.
But the British colonies and Great Britain too would move, so Tayogasaid. They were slow, much slower than Canada, but they had thegreater strength and the fifty sachems in the vale of Onondaga knewit. They could not be moved from their attitude of friendliness towardthe English, and the Mohawks openly espoused the English side. TheAmerican, Franklin, was very active, and a great movement against FortDuquesne would be begun, although it might not start until nextspring. An English force under an English general was coming acrossthe sea, and the might of England was gathering for a great blow.
The Onondaga had few changes in the situation to report, but he atleast brought news of the outside world, driving away from the youngsoldiers the feeling that they were cut off from the humanrace. Wilton was present when he was telling of these things and whenhe had finished Robert asked:
"How did you make your way through the great snow, Tayoga?"
"It is well to think long before of difficulties," he replied. "Lastyear when the winter was finished I hid a pair of snow shoes in thispart of the forest, and when the deep snow came I found them and usedthem."
Robert glanced at Wilton, whose eyes were widening.
"And the great rain and flood, how did you meet that obstacle?" askedRobert.
"That, too, was forethought. I have two canoes hidden in this region,and it was easy to reach one of them, in which I traveled with speedand comfort, until I could use it no longer. Then I hid it away againthat it might help me another time."
"And what did you do when the hurricane came, tearing up the bushes,cutting down the trees, and making the forest as dangerous as if itwere being showered by cannon balls?"
"I crept under a wide ledge of stone in the side of a hill, where Ilay snug, dry and safe."
Wilton looked at Tayoga and Robert, and then back at the Onondaga.
"Is this wizardry?" he cried.
"No," replied Robert.
"Then it's singular chance."
"Nor that either. It was the necessities that confronted Tayoga in theface of varied dangers, and my knowledge of what he would be likely todo in either case. Merely a rather fortunate use of the reasoningfaculties, Will."
Willet, who had come in, smiled.
"Don't let 'em make game of you, Mr. Wilton," he said, "but there'struth in what Robert tells you. He understands Tayoga so thoroughlythat he knows pretty well what he'll do in every crisis."
After the Onondaga had eaten he wrapped himself in blankets, went tosleep in one of the rooms of the blockhouse and slept twenty-fourhours. When he awoke he showed no signs of his tremendous journey andinfinite dangers. He was once more the lithe and powerful Tayoga ofthe Clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga of the great League ofthe Hodenosaunee.
The besiegers meanwhile undertook no movement, but, as if in defiance,they increased the fires in the red ring around the fort and theyshowed themselves ostentatiously. Robert several times saw DeCourcelles with a thick bandage about his head, and he knew that theFrenchman's mortification and rage at being tricked so by the Onondagamust be intense.
Now the weather began to grow very cold again, and Robert saw thenumber of tepees in the forest increase. The Indians, not contentwith the fires, were providing themselves with good shelters, and toevery one it indicated a long siege. There was neither snow, nor hail,but clear, bitter, intense cold, and again the timbers of theblockhouse and outbuildings popped as they contracted under the lowertemperature.
The horses were pretty well sheltered from the cold, and Willet, withhis usual foresight, had suggested before the siege closed in that agreat deal of grass be cut for them, though should the French andIndians hang on for a month or two, they would certainly become aproblem. Food for the men would last indefinitely, but a time mightarrive when none would be left for the horses.
"If the pinch comes," said Willet, "we know how to relieve it."
"How?" asked Colden.
"We'll eat the horses."
Colden made a wry face.
"It's often been done in Europe," said the hunter. "At the famoussieges of Leyden and Haarlem, when the Dutch held out so long againstthe Spanish, they'd have been glad enough to have had horseflesh."
"I look ahead again," said Robert, hiding a humorous gleam in his eyesfrom Colden, "and I see a number of young men behind a palisade whichthey have held gallantly for months. They come mostly fromPhiladelphia and they call themselves Quakers. They are thin, awfullythin, terribly thin, so thin that there is scarcely enough to make acircle for their belts. They have not eaten for four days, and theyare about to kill their last horse. When he is gone they will have tolive on fresh air and scenery."
"Now I know Lennox that you're drawing on your imagination and thatyou're a false prophet," said Colden.
"I hope my prediction won't come true, and I don't believe it will,"said Robert cheerfully.
Several nights later when there wa
s no moon, and no stars, Willet andTayoga slipped out of the fort. Colden was much opposed to theirgoing, fearing for their lives, and knowing, too, how great a lossthey would be if they were taken or slain, but the hunter and theOnondaga showed the utmost confidence, assuring him they would returnin safety.
Colden became quite uneasy for them after they had been gone somehours, and Robert, although he refused to show it, felt a trace ofapprehension. He knew their great skill in the forest, but Tandakorawas a master of woodcraft too, and the Frenchmen also were experiencedand alert. As he, Colden, Wilton and Carson watched at the palisade hewas in fear lest a triumphant shout from the Indian lines would showthat the hunter and the Onondaga had been trapped.
But the long hours passed without an alarm and about three o'clock inthe morning two shadows appeared at the palisade and whispered tothem. Robert felt great relief as Willet and Tayoga climbed silentlyover.
"We're half frozen," said the hunter. "Take us into the blockhouse andover the fire we'll tell you all we've seen."
They always kept a bed of live coals on the hearth in the mainbuilding, and the two who had returned bent over the grateful heat,warming their hands and faces. Not until they were in a normalphysical condition did Colden or Robert ask them any questions andthen Willet said:
"Their ring about the fort is complete, but in the darkness we wereable to slip through and then back again. I should judge that theyhave at least three hundred warriors and Tandakora is first amongthem. There are about thirty Frenchmen. De Courcelles has taken offhis bandage, but he still has a bruise where Tayoga struckhim. Peeping from the bushes I saw him and his face has grown moreevil. It was evident to me that the blow of Tayoga has inflamed hismind. He feels mortified and humiliated at the way in which he wasoutwitted, and, as Tandakora also nurses a personal hatred against us,it's likely that they'll keep up the siege all winter, if they thinkin the end they can get us.
"Their camp, too, shows increasing signs of permanency. They've builta dozen bark huts in which all the French, all the chiefs and some ofthe warriors sleep, and there are skin lodges for the rest. Oh, it'squite a village! And they've accumulated game, too, for a long time."
Colden looked depressed.
"We're not fulfilling our mission," he said. "We've come out here toprotect the settlers on the border, and give them a place ofrefuge. Instead, it looks as if we'd pass the winter fighting for ourown lives."
"I think I have a plan," said Robert, who had been very thoughtful.
"What is it?" asked Colden.
"I remember something I read in our Roman history in the school atAlbany. It was an event that happened a tremendously long time ago,but I fancy it's still useful as an example. Scipio took his army overto Africa to meet Hannibal, and one night his men set fire to thetents of the Carthaginians. They destroyed their camp, created aterrible tumult, and inflicted great losses."
Tayoga's eyes glistened.
"Then you mean," he said, "that we are to burn the camp of the Frenchand their allies?"
"No less."
"It is a good plan. If Great Bear and the captain agree to it we willdo it."
"It's fearfully risky," said Colden.
"If Great Bear and I can go out once and come back safely," saidTayoga, "we can do it twice."
The young captain looked at Willet.
"It's the best plan," said the hunter. "Robert hasn't read his Romanhistory in vain."
"Then it's agreed," said Colden, "and as soon as another night as darkas this comes we'll try it."
The plan being formed, they waited a week before a night, pitchyblack, arrived.
The Shadow of the North: A Story of Old New York and a Lost Campaign Page 7