CHAPTER IV
THE GODS AT PLAY
De Galissonniere gazed at the three faces, peering at him over thebrink, and then drew himself together jauntily. His position, perchedon the face of the cliff, was picturesque, and he made the most of it.
"I am glad to see you again Mr. Willet, Mr. Lennox and Tayoga, thebrave Onondaga," he said. "It's been a long time since we met inQuebec and much water has flowed under that bridge of Avignon, ofwhich we French sing, but I can't see that any one of you has changedmuch."
"Nor you," said Robert, catching his tone and acting as spokesmanfor the three. "The circumstances are unusual, Captain Louis deGalissonniere, and I'm sorry I can't invite you to come up on ourcrest, but it wouldn't be military to let you have a look at ourfortifications."
"I understand, and I do very well where I am. I wish to say first thatI am sorry to see you in such a plight."
"And we, Captain, regret to find you allied with such a savage asTandakora."
A quick flush passed over the young Frenchman's face, but he made noother sign.
"In war one cannot always choose," he replied. "I have come to receiveyour surrender, and I warn you very earnestly that it will be wise foryou to tender it. The Indians have lost one man already and they areinflamed. If they lose more I might not be able to control them."
"And if we yield ourselves you pledge us our lives, a transfer insafety to Canada where we are to remain as prisoners of war, untilsuch time as we may be exchanged?"
"All that I promise, and gladly."
"You're sure, Captain de Galissonniere, that you can carry out theconditions?"
"Absolutely sure. You are surrounded here on the peak, and you cannotget away. All we have to do is to keep the siege."
"That is true, but while you can wait so can we."
"But we have plenty of water, and you have none."
"You would urge us again to surrender on the ground that it would bethe utmost wisdom for us to do so?"
"It goes without saying, Mr. Lennox."
"Then, that being the case, we decline."
De Galissonniere looked up in astonishment at the young face thatgazed down at him. The answer he had expected was quite the reverse.
"You mean that you refuse?" he exclaimed.
"It is just what I meant."
"May I ask why, when you are in such a hopeless position?"
"Tayoga, Mr. Willet and I wish to see how long we can endure the pangsof thirst without total collapse. We've had quite a difference on thesubject. Tayoga says ten days, Mr. Willet twelve days, but I think wecan stand it a full two weeks."
De Galissonniere frowned.
"You are frivolous, Mr. Lennox," he said, "and this is not a time forlight talk. I don't know what you mean, but it seems to me you don'tappreciate the dire nature of your peril. I liked you and yourcomrades when I met you in Quebec and I do not wish to see you perishat the hands of the savages. That is why I have climbed up here tomake you this offer, which I have wrung from the reluctant Tandakora.It was he who assured me that the besieged were you. It pains me thatyou see fit to reject it."
"I know it was made out of a good heart," said Robert, seriously, "andwe thank you for the impulse that brought you here. Some day we may beable to repay it, but we decline because there are always chances. Youknow, Captain, that while we have life we always have hope. We may yetescape."
"I do not see wherein it is possible," said the young Frenchman, withactual reluctance in his tone. "But it is for you to decide what youwish to do. Farewell."
"Farewell, Captain de Galissonniere," said Robert, with the utmostsincerity. "I hope no bullet of ours will touch you."
The captain made a courteous gesture of good-by and slowly descendedthe slope, disappearing among the bushes in the gorge, whence came afierce and joyous shout.
"That was the cry of the savages when he told them our answer," saidWillet. "They don't want us to surrender. They think that by-and-bywe'll fall into their hands through exhaustion, and then they can worktheir will upon us."
"They don't know about that fountain, that pure, blessed fountain,"said Robert, "the finest fountain that gushes out anywhere in thisnorthern wilderness, the fountain that Tayoga's Areskoui has put herefor our especial benefit."
His heart had become very light and, as usual when his optimism wasat its height, words gushed forth. Water, and their ability to get itwhenever they wanted it, was the key to everything, and he paintedtheir situation in such bright colors that his two comrades could notkeep from sharing his enthusiasm.
"Truly, Dagaeoga did not receive the gift of words in vain," saidTayoga. "Golden speech flows from him, and it lifts up the mindsof those who hear. Manitou finds a use for everybody, even for theorator."
"Though it was a hard task, even for Manitou," laughed Robert.
They watched the whole afternoon without any demonstration from theenemy--they expected none--and toward evening the Onondaga, who wasgazing into the north, announced a dark shadow on the horizon.
"What is it?" asked Robert. "A cloud? I hope we won't have anotherstorm."
"It is no cloud," replied Tayoga. "It is something else that movesvery fast, and it comes in our direction. A little longer and I cantell what it is. Now I see; it is a flight of wild pigeons, a greatflock, hundreds of thousands, and millions, going south to escape thewinter."
"We've seen such flights often."
"So we have, but this is coming straight toward us, and I have a greatthought, Dagaeoga. Areskoui has not only forgiven us for our unknownsin--perhaps of omission--but he has also decided to put help in ourway, if we will use it. You see many dwarf trees at the southern edgeof the crest, and I believe that by dark they will be covered withpigeons, stopping for the night."
"And some of them will stop for our benefit, though we have bear meattoo! I see, Tayoga."
Robert watched the flying cloud, which had grown larger and blacker,and then he saw that Tayoga was right. It was an immense flock of wildpigeons, and, as the twilight fell, they covered the trees upon theircrest so thickly that the boughs bent beneath them. Young Lennox andthe Onondaga killed as many as they wished with sticks, and soon, fatand juicy, they were broiling over the coals.
"Tandakora will guess that the pigeons have fed us," said Robert, "andhe will not like it, but he will yet know nothing about the water."
They climbed down in turn in the darkness and took a drink, andRobert, who explored a little, found many vines loaded with wildgrapes, ripe and rich, which made a splendid dessert. Then he tooka number of the smaller but very tough stems, and knotting themtogether, with the assistance of Tayoga ran a strong rope from thecrest down to the fountain, thus greatly easing the descent for waterand the return.
"Now we can take two drinks where we took one before," he saidtriumphantly when the task was finished. "If you have your water thereis nothing like making it easy to be reached. Moreover, while it wassafe for an agile fellow like me, you and Dave, Tayoga, being stiffand clumsy, might have tumbled down the mountain and then I shouldhave been lonesome."
Willet, who had been keeping the watch alone, was inclined to thebelief that they might expect an attack in the night, if it shouldprove to be very dark. He felt able, however, should such an attemptcome, to detect the advance of the savages, either by sight orhearing, especially the latter, ear in such cases generally informinghim earlier than eye. But as neither Robert nor Tayoga was busy theyjoined him, and all three sat near the brink with their rifles acrosstheir knees, and their pistols loosened in their belts, ready fortheir foes should they come in numbers.
They talked a while in low tones, and then fell silent. The night hadcome, starless and moonless, favorable to the designs of Tandakora,but they felt intense satisfaction, nevertheless. It was partlyphysical. Robert's making of an easy road to the water, the coming ofthe pigeons, to be eaten, apparently sent by Areskoui, and the easewith which they believed they could hold their lofty fortress,combined to produce a victorious
state of mind. Robert looked over thebrink once or twice at the steep slope, and he felt that the warriorswould, in truth, be taking a mighty risk, if they came up that steeppath against the three.
He and Tayoga, in the heavy darkness, depended, like Willet, chieflyon ear. It was impossible to see to the bottom of the valley, wherethe dusk had rolled up like a sea, but, as the night was still, theyfelt sure they could hear anyone climbing up the peak. In order tomake themselves more comfortable they spread their blankets at thevery brink, and lay down upon them, thus being able to repose, and atthe same time watch without the risk of inviting a shot.
Young Lennox knew that the attack, if it came at all, would not comeuntil late, and restraining his naturally eager and impatient temper,he used all the patience that his strong will could summon, neverceasing meanwhile to lend an attentive ear to every sound of thenight. He heard the wind rise, moan a little while in the gorge andthen die; he heard a fitful breeze rustle the boughs on the slopes andthen grow still, and he heard his comrades move once or twice to easetheir positions, but no other sound came to him until nearly midnight,and then he heard the fall of a pebble on the slope, absolute proofto one experienced as he that it had been displaced by the incautiousfoot of a climbing enemy.
The rattling of the pebble was succeeded by a long interval ofsilence, and the lad understood that too. The warriors, to whom timewas nothing, fearing that suspicion had been aroused by the fall ofthe pebble, would wait until it had been lulled before resuming theiradvance. They would flatten themselves like lizards against the slope,not stirring an inch. But the three were as patient as they, and whilea full hour passed after the slip of the stone before the slightestsound came from the slope, they did not relax their vigilance aparticle. Then all three heard a slight rustle among the bushes andthey peered cautiously over.
They were able to discern the dim outline of figures among the bushesabout twenty feet below, and Wilier, who directed the defense,whispered that Tayoga and he would take aim, while Robert held hisfire in reserve. Then the Onondaga and he picked their targets inthe darkness and pulled trigger. Shouts, the fall of bodies and thecrackling of rifles came back. A half dozen bullets, fired almost atrandom, whistled over their heads and then Robert sent his own lead ata shadow which appeared very clearly among the bushes, a crashing fallfollowing at once.
Then the three, not waiting to reload, snatched out their pistols andheld themselves ready for a further attack, if it should come. But itdid not come. Even the rage of Tandakora had had enough. His secondrepulse had been bloodier than the first, and it had been proved withthe lives of his warriors that they could not storm that terriblesteep, in the face of three such redoubtable marksmen.
Robert heard a number of pebbles rolling now, but they were made bymen descending, and the three, certain of abundant leisure, reloadedtheir rifles. Their eyes told them nothing, but they were as sure asif they had seen them that the warriors had disappeared in the sea ofdarkness with which the gulf was filled. The lad breathed a long sighof relief.
"You're justified in your satisfaction," said Willet. "I think it'sthe last direct attack they'll make upon us. Now they'll try the slowmethods of siege and our exhaustion by thirst, and how it would maketheir venom rise if they knew anything about that glorious fountainof ours! Since it's to be a test of patience, we'd better make thingseasy for ourselves. I'll sit here and watch the slope, and, as thenight is turning cold, you and Tayoga, Robert, can build a fire."
There was a dip in the center of the crest, and in this they heapedthe fallen wood, which here as elsewhere in the wilderness wasabundant. Wood and water, two great requisites of primitive man, theyhad in plenty, and had it not been for their eagerness to go forwardwith their work they would have been content to stay indefinitely onthe peak.
The fire was soon blazing cheerfully. Warriors on the opposing peaksor crest might see it, but they did not care. No bullets from rivalheights could reach them and the light would appear to their enemiesas a beacon of defiance, a sort of challenge that was very pleasing toRobert's soul. He basked in the glow and heat of the coals, ate bearmeat and wild pigeon for a late supper, and discoursed on the strengthof their natural fortress.
"The peak was reared here by Areskoui for our especial benefit," hesaid. "It is in every sense a tower of strength, water even beingplaced in its side that we might not die of thirst."
"And yet we cannot stay here always," said the Onondaga. "Tomorrow wemust think of a way of escape."
"Let tomorrow take care of itself. Tayoga, you're too serious! You'remissing the pleasure of the night."
"Dagaeoga loves to talk and he talks well. His voice is pleasant in myear like to the murmur of a silver brook. Perhaps he is right. Lo! theclouds have gone, and I can see Tododaho on his star. Areskoui watchesover us by day and Tododaho by night. We are once more the favoritesof the Sun God and of the great Onondaga who went away to hiseverlasting star more than four centuries ago. Again I say Dagaeoga isright; I will enjoy the night, and let the morrow care for itself."
He drew the folds of his blanket to his chin and stretched his lengthbefore the fire. Having made up his mind to be satisfied, Tayoga wouldlet nothing interfere with such a laudable purpose. Soon he sleptpeacefully.
"You might follow him," said Willet.
"I don't think I can do it now," said Robert. "I've a restlessspirit."
"Then wander about the peak, and I'll take up my old place at the edgeof the slope."
Robert went back to the far side, where he had stretched his rope ofgrape vines down to the spring, and, craving their cool, fresh taste,he ate more of the grapes. He noticed then that they were uncommonlyplentiful. All along the cliff they trailed in great, rich clusters,black and glossy, fairly asking to be eaten. In places the vineshung in perfect mazes, and he looked at them questioningly. Thenthe thought came to him and he wondered why it had been so slow ofarrival. He returned to Willet and said:
"I don't think you need watch any longer here, Dave."
"Why?" was the hunter's astonished reply.
"Because we're going to leave the mountain."
"Leave the mountain! It's more likely, Robert, that your prudence hasleft you. If we went down the slope we'd go squarely into the horde,and then it would be a painful and lingering end for us."
"I don't mean the slope. We're to go down the other side of thecliff."
"Except here and near the bottom the mountain is as steep everywhereas the side of a house. The only way for us to get down is to falldown and then we'd stop too quick."
"We don't have to fall down, we'll climb down."
"Can't be done, Robert, my boy. There's not enough bushes."
"We don't need bushes, there are miles of grape vines as strong asleather. All we have to do is to knot them together securely and ourrope is ready. If we eased our way to the spring with vines then wecan finish the journey to the bottom of the cliff with them."
The hunter's gaze met that of the lad, and it was full of approval.
"I believe you've found the way, Robert," said Willet. "Wake Tayogaand see what he thinks."
The Onondaga received the proposal with enthusiasm, and he made thefurther suggestion that they build high the fire for the sake ofdeceiving the besiegers.
"And suppose we prop up two or three pieces of fallen tree trunkbefore it," added Robert. "Warriors watching on the opposite slopeswill take them for our figures and will not dream that we'reattempting to escape."
That idea, too, was adopted, and in a few minutes the fire was blazingand roaring, while a stream of sparks drifted up merrily from it to belost in the dusk. Near it the fragments of tree trunks set erect wouldpass easily, at a great distance and in the dark, for human beings.Then, while Willet watched, Robert and Tayoga knotted the vines withquick and dextrous hands, throwing the cable over a bough, and tryingevery knot with their double weight. A full two hours they toiled andthen they exulted.
"It will reach from the clump of bushes about the fountai
n to the nextclump below, which is low down," said Robert, "and from there we candescend without help."
They called Willet, and the three, leaving the crest which had beensuch a refuge for them and which they had defended so well, descendedto the fountain. At that point they secured their cable with infinitecare to the largest of the dwarf trees and let it drop over across abare space to the next clump of bushes below, a distance that seemedvery great, it was so steep. Robert claimed the honor of the firstdescent, but it was finally conceded to Tayoga, who was a triflelighter.
The Onondaga fastened securely upon his back his rifle and his packcontaining food, and then, grasping the cable firmly with both hands,he began to go down, while his friends watched with great anxiety. Hewas not obliged to swing clear his whole weight, but was able to bracehis feet against the cliff. Thus he steadied the vines, but Robert andWillet nevertheless breathed great sighs of relief, when he reachedthe bushes below, and detached himself from the cable.
"It is safe," he called back.
Robert went next and Willet followed. When the three were in thebushes, clinging to their tough and wiry strength, they found that thedifficulties, as they invariably do, had decreased. Below them theslope was not so steep by any means, and, by holding to the rockyoutcrops and scant bushes, they could make the full descent of themountain. While they rested for a little space where they were, Robertsuddenly began to laugh.
"Is Dagaeoga rejoicing so soon?" asked Tayoga
"Why shouldn't I laugh," replied Robert, "when we have such a goodjest?"
"What jest? I see none."
"Why, to think of Tandakora sitting at the foot of our peak andwatching there three or four days, waiting all the time for us to dieof hunger and thirst, and we far to the south. At least he'll see thatthe mountain doesn't get away, and Tandakora, I take it, has smallsense of humor. When he penetrates the full measure of the joke he'lllove us none the less. Perhaps, though, De Galissonniere will notmourn, because he knows that if we were taken after a siege he couldnot save us from the cruelty of the savages."
The hunter and the Onondaga were forced to laugh a little with him,and then, rested thoroughly, they resumed the descent, leaving theircable to tell its own tale, later on. The rest of the slope, althoughpossible, was slow and painful, testing their strength and skill tothe utmost, but they triumphed over everything and before day were ina gorge, with the entire height of the peak towering above them anddirectly between them and their enemies. Here they flung themselveson the ground and rested until day, when they began a rapid flightsouthward, curving about among the peaks, as the easiest way led them.
The air rapidly grew warmer, showing that the sudden winter had comeonly on the high mountains, and that autumn yet lingered on the lowerlevels. The gorgeous reds and yellows and browns and vivid shadesbetween returned, but there was a haze in the air and the west wasdusky.
"Storm will come again before night," said Tayoga.
"I think so too," said Willet, "and as I've no mind to be beaten aboutby it, suppose we build a spruce shelter in the gorge here and waituntil it passes."
The two lads were more than willing, feeling that the chance ofpursuit had passed for a long time at least, and they set to work withtheir sharp hatchets, rapidly making a crude but secure wickiup, asusual against the rocky side of a hill. Before the task was done thesky darkened much more, and far in the west thunder muttered.
"It's rolling down a gorge," said Robert, "and hark! you can hear italso in the south."
From a point, far distant from the first, came a like rumble, and,after a few moments of silence, a third rumble was heard to the east.Silence again and then the far rumble came from the south.
"That's odd," said Robert. "It isn't often that you hear thunder onall sides of you."
"Listen!" exclaimed Tayoga, whose face bore a rapt and extraordinarylook. The four rumbles again went around the horizon, coming from onepoint after the other in turn.
"It is no ordinary thunder," said the Onondaga in a tone of deepconviction.
"What is it, then?" asked Robert.
"It is Manitou, Areskoui, Tododaho and Hayowentha talking together.That is why we have the thunder north, east, south and west. Heartheir voices carrying all through the heavens!"
"Which is Manitou?"
"That I cannot tell. But the great gods talk, one with another, thoughwhat they say is not for us to know. It is not right that mere mortalslike ourselves should understand them, when they speak across infinitespace."
"It may be that you're right, Tayoga," said Willet.
The three did not yet go into the spruce shelter, because, contrary tothe signs, there was no rain. The wind moaned heavily and thick blackclouds swept up in an almost continuous procession from the westernhorizon, but they did not let a drop fall. The thunder at the fourpoints of the horizon went on, the reports moving from north to east,and thence to south and west, and then around and around, always inthe same direction. After every crash there was a long rumble in thegorges until the next crash came again. Now and then lightning flared.
"It is not a storm after all," said the Onondaga, "or, at least, if astorm should come it will not be until after night is at hand, whenthe great gods are through talking. Listen to the heavy booming,always like the sound of a thousand big guns at one time. Now thelightning grows and burns until it is at a white heat. The great godsnot only talk, but they are at play. They hurl thunderbolts throughinfinite space, and watch them fall. Then they send thunder rumblingthrough our mountains, and the sound is as soft to them as a whisperto us."
"Your idea is pretty sound, Tayoga," said Willet, who had imbibed morethan a little of the Iroquois philosophy, "and it does look as if thegods were at play because there is so much thunder and lightning andno rain. Look at that flash on the mountain toward the east! I thinkit struck. Yes, there goes a tree! When the gods play among the peaksit's just as well for us to stay down here in the gorge."
"But the crashes still run regularly from north to east and onaround," said Robert. "I suppose that when they finish talking, therain will come, and we'll have plenty of need for our spruce shelter."
The deep rumbling continued all through the rest of the afternoon.A dusk as of twilight arrived long before sunset, but it was of anunusually dull, grayish hue, and it affected Robert as if he werebreathing an air surcharged with gunpowder. It colored and intensifiedeverything. The peaks and ridges rose to greater heights, the gorgesand valleys were deeper, the reports of the thunder, extremely heavy,in fact, were doubled and tripled in fancy; all that Tayoga had saidabout the play of the gods was true. Tododaho, the great Onondaga,spoke across the void to Hayowentha, the great Mohawk, and Areskoui,the Sun God, conversed with Manitou, the All Powerful, Himself.
The imaginative lad felt awe but no fear. The gods at play in theheavens would not condescend to harm a humble mortal like himself andit was an actual pleasure because he was there to hear them. Justbefore the invisible sun went over the rim of the horizon, a brilliantred light shot for a minute or two from the west through the grayhaze, and fell on the faces of the three, sitting in silence beforetheir spruce shelter.
"It is Areskoui throwing off his most brilliant beams before he goes,"said Tayoga. "Now I think the play will soon be over, and we may lookfor the rain."
The crashes of thunder increased swiftly and greatly in violence, andthen, as the Onondaga had predicted, ceased abruptly. The silence thatfollowed was so heavy that it was oppressive. No current of air wasmoving anywhere. Not a leaf stirred. The grayish haze became thickerand every ridge and peak was hidden. Presently a sound like a sighcame down the gorge, but it soon grew.
"We'll go inside," said Tayoga, "because the deluge is at hand."
They crowded themselves into their crude little hut, and in fiveminutes the flood was upon them, pouring with such violence that someof it forced its way through the hasty thatch, but they were ableto protect themselves with their blankets, and they slept the nightthrough in a fair
degree of comfort.
In the morning they saw a world washed clean, bright and shining, andthey breathed an autumnal air wonderful in its purity. Feeling safenow from pursuit, they were no longer eager to flee. A brief councilof three decided that they would hang once more on the French andIndian flank. It had been their purpose to discover what was intendedby the formidable array they had seen, and it was their purpose yet.
They did not go back on their path, but they turned eastward into aland of little and beautiful lakes, through which one of the greatIndian trails from the northwest passed, and made a hidden campnear the shore of a sheet of water about a mile square, set in themountains like a gem. They had method in locating here, as the trailran through a gorge less than half a mile to the east of their camp,and they had an idea that the spy, Garay, might pass that way, two ofthem always abiding by the trail, while the third remained in theirsecluded camp or hunted game. Willet shot a deer and Tayoga broughtdown a rare wild turkey, while Robert caught some wonderful laketrout. So they had plenty of food, and they were content to wait.
They were sure that Garay had not yet gone, as the storms that hadthreatened them would certainly have delayed his departure, andneither the hunter nor the Onondaga could discover any traces offootsteps. Fortunately the air continued to turn warmer and the lowercountry in which they now were had all the aspects of Indian summer.Robert, shaken a little perhaps by the great hardships and dangersthrough which he had passed, though he may not have realized at thetime the weight upon his nerves, recovered quickly, and, as usual,passed, with the rebound, to the heights of optimism.
"What do you expect to get from Garay?" he asked Willet as he changedplaces with him on the trail.
"I'm not sure," replied the hunter, "but if we catch him we'll findsomething. We've got to take our bird first, and then we'll see. Hewent north and west with a message, and that being the case he's boundto take one back. I don't think Garay is a first-class woodsman and wemay be able to seize him."
Robert was pleased with the idea of the hunted turning into thehunters, and he and Tayoga now did most of the watching along thetrail, a watch that was not relaxed either by day or by night. Onthe sixth night the two youths were together, and Tayoga thought hediscerned a faint light to the north.
"It may be a low star shining over a hill," said Robert.
"I think it is the glow from a small camp fire," said the Onondaga.
"It's a question that's decided easily."
"You mean we'll stalk it, star or fire, whichever it may be?"
"That is what we're here for, Tayoga."
They began an exceedingly cautious advance toward the light, and itsoon became evident that it was a fire, though, as Tayoga had said, asmall one, set in a little valley and almost hidden by the surroundingfoliage. Now they redoubled their caution, using every forest art tomake a silent approach, as they might find a band of warriors aroundthe blaze, and they did not wish to walk with open eyes into anysuch deadly trap. Their delight was great when they saw only one mancrouched over the coals in a sitting posture, his head bent over hisknees; so that, in effect, only his back was visible, but they knewhim at once. It was Garay.
The heart of young Lennox flamed with anger and triumph. Here was thefellow who had tried to take his life in Albany, and, if he wishedrevenge, the moment was full of opportunity. Yet he could never fireat a man's back, and it was their cue, moreover, to take him alive.Garay's rifle was leaning against a log, six or eight feet from him,and his attitude indicated that he might be asleep. His clothing wasstained and torn, and he bore all the signs of a long journey andextreme weariness.
"See what it is to come into the forest and not be master of all itssecrets," whispered Tayoga. "Garay is the messenger of Onontio (theGovernor General of Canada) and Tandakora, and yet he sleeps, whenthose who oppose him are abroad."
"A man has to sleep some time or other," said Robert, "or at least awhite man must. We're not all like an Iroquois; we can't stay awakeforever if need be."
"If one goes to the land of Tarenyawagon when his enemies are at handhe must pay the price, Dagaeoga, and now the price that Garay is goingto pay will be a high one. Surely Manitou has delivered him, helpless,into our hands. Come, we will go closer."
They crept through the bushes until they could have reached out andtouched the spy with the muzzles of their rifles, and still he did notstir. Into that heavy and weary brain, plunged into dulled slumbers,entered no thought of a stalking foe. The fire sank and the bentback sagged a little lower. Garay had traveled hard and long. He wasanxious to get back to Albany with what he knew, and he felt sure thatthe northern forests contained only friends. He had built his firewithout apprehension, and sleep had overtaken him quickly.
A fox stirred in the thicket beyond the fire and looked suspiciouslyat the coals and the still figure beyond them. He did not see theother two figures in the bushes but his animosity as well as hissuspicion was aroused. He edged a little nearer, and then a slightsound in the thicket caused him to creep back. But he was an inquiringfox, and, although he buried himself under a bush, he still looked,staring with sharp, intent eyes.
He saw a shadow glide from the thicket, pick up the rifle of Garaywhich leaned against the fallen log, and then glide back, soundless.The curiosity of the fox now prevailed over his suspicion. The shadowhad not menaced him, and his vulpine intelligence told him that he wasnot concerned in the drama now about to unfold itself. He was merely aspectator, and, as he looked, he saw the shadow glide back and crouchbeside the sleeping man. Then a second shadow came and crouched on theother side.
What the fox saw was the approach of Robert and Tayoga, whom somewhimsical humor had seized. They intended to make the surprisecomplete and Robert, with a memory of the treacherous shot in Albany,was willing also to fill the soul of the spy with terror. Tayogaadroitly removed the pistol and knife from the belt of Garay, andRobert touched him lightly on the shoulder. Still he did not stir, andthen the youth brought his hand down heavily.
Garay uttered the sigh of one who comes reluctantly from the land ofsleep and who would have gone back through the portals which were onlyhalf opened, but Robert brought his hand down again, good and hard.Then his eyes flew open and he saw the calm face beside him, and thecalm eyes less than a foot away, staring straight into his own.It must be an evil dream, he thought at first, but it had all thesemblance of reality, and, when he turned his head in fear, he sawanother face on the other side of him, carved in red bronze, it tooonly a foot away and staring at him in stern accusation.
Then all the faculties of Garay, spy and attempted assassin, leapedinto life, and he uttered a yell of terror, springing to his feet, asif he had been propelled by a galvanic battery. Strong hands, seizinghim on either side, pulled him down again and the voice of Tayoga, ofthe clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great League ofthe Hodenosaunee said insinuatingly in his ear:
"Sit down, Achille Garay! Here are two who wish to talk with you!"
He fell back heavily and his soul froze within him, as he recognizedthe faces. His figure sagged, his eyes puffed out, and he waited insilent terror.
"I see that you recognize us, Achille Garay," said Robert, whosewhimsical humor was still upon him. "You'll recall that shot inAlbany. Perhaps you did not expect to meet my friend and me here inthe heart of the northern forests, but here we are. What have you tosay for yourself?"
Garay strove to speak, but the half formed words died on his lips.
"We wish explanations about that little affair in Albany," continuedhis merciless interlocutor, "and perhaps there is no better time thanthe present. Again I repeat, what have you to say? And you have alsobeen in the French and Indian camp. You bore a message to St. Luc andTandakora and beyond a doubt you bear another back to somebody. Wewant to know about that too. Oh, we want to know about many things!"
"I have no message," stammered Garay.
"Your word is not good. We shall find methods of making you talk. Youhave been amon
g the Indians and you ought to know something aboutthese methods. But first I must lecture you on your lack of woodcraft.It is exceedingly unwise to build a fire in the wilderness and goto sleep beside it, unless there is someone with you to watch. I'mashamed of you, Monsieur Garay, to have neglected such an elementarylesson. It made your capture easy, so ridiculously easy that itlacked piquancy and interest. Tayoga and I were not able to give ourfaculties and strength the healthy exercise they need. Come now, areyou ready to walk?"
"What are you going to do with me?" asked Garay in French, which bothof his captors understood and spoke.
"We haven't decided upon that," replied Robert maliciously, "butwhatever it is we'll make it varied and lively. It may please youto know that we've been waiting several days for you, but we scarcethought you'd go to sleep squarely in the trail, just where we'd besure to see you. Stand up now and march like a man, ready to meet anyfate. Fortune has turned against you, but you still have the chance toshow your Spartan courage and endurance."
"The warrior taken by his enemies meets torture and death with aheroic soul," said Tayoga solemnly.
Garay shivered.
"You'll save me from torture?" he said to Robert.
Young Lennox shook his head.
"I'd do so if it were left to me," he said, "but my friend, Tayoga,has a hard heart. In such matters as these he will not let me have myway. He insists upon the ancient practices of his nation. Also, DavidWillet, the hunter, is waiting for us, and he too is strong forextreme measures. You'll soon face him. Now, march straight to theright!"
Garay with a groan raised himself to his feet and walked unsteadily inthe direction indicated. Close behind him came the avenging two.
The Masters of the Peaks: A Story of the Great North Woods Page 6
