VII.
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER.
But the sacrifice of Guernache brought no peace to the colony. OurHuguenots were scarcely Christians. They were of a rude, wild temper,to which the constant civil wars prevailing in France had broughta prejudicial training. Our chronicler tells us nothing of theirdevotions. We hear sometimes that they prayed, but rather for thebenefit of the savages than their own. Their public religious serviceswere ostentatious ceremonials, designed to impress the red-men with anidea of their superior faith and worship. Laudonniere, who writesfor them, and was one of their number, seldom deals in a religiousphraseology, which he might reasonably be expected to have done as oneof a people leaving their homes for the sake of conscience. But there isgood reason to suppose that, with our Huguenots, as in the case of theNew England Puritans, the idea of religion was more properly the idea ofparty. It was a struggle for political power that moved the Dissenters,as well in France as England, quite as much as any feeling of denialor privation on the score of their religion. This pretext was madeto justify a cause which might have well found its sanction in itsintrinsic merits; but which it was deemed politic to urge on the highergrounds of conscience and duty to God. Certain it is that we do notanywhere see, in the history of the colony established by Coligny, anyproofs of that strong devotional sentiment which has been urged as themotive to its establishment. Doubtless, this was a prevailing motive,along with others, for Coligny himself; but the adventurers chosento begin the settlement for the reception of the persecuted sect inFlorida, were evidently not very deeply imbued with religion of anykind. They were a wild and reckless body of men, whose deeds were whollyin conflict with the pure and lovely profession of sentiment which hasbeen made in their behalf. How far their deeds are to be justified bythe provocations which they received, and the tyrannies which theyendured, may be a question; but there can be no question with regard tothe general temper which they exhibited--the tone of their minds--thefeelings of their hearts--by all of which they are shown as stubborn,insubordinate and selfish. It is not denied that they had greatprovocation to violence; but Laudonniere himself admits that they were,in all probability, "not so obedient to their captain as they shouldhave been." "Misfortune," he adds, "or rather the just judgment of Godwould have it that those which could not bee overcome by fire nor water,should be undone by their ownselves. This is the common fashion ofmen, which cannot continue in one state, and had rather to overthrowthemselves, than not to attempt some new thing dayly."
Not only was no peace in the colony after the execution of Guernache,but the evil spirit, in the mood of Captain Albert, was very far frombeing laid. "His madness," in the language of the chronicler, "seemed toincrease from day to day." He was not content to punish Guernache; hedetermined to extend his severities to the friends and associates ofthe unhappy victim. Some of these he only frowned upon and threatened;but his threats were apt to be fulfilled. Others he brought up forpunishment;--sympathy with his enemy, being a prime offence against thedignity and safety of our petty sovereign. Among those who had thusrendered themselves obnoxious, Lachane was necessarily a conspicuousobject. In the same unwise and violent spirit in which he had pursuedGuernache, Captain Albert was determined to proceed against this man,who was really equally inoffensive with Guernache, and quite as muchbeloved among the people. But the aspect of the two cases was notprecisely the same. The friends of Lachane, warned by the fate ofGuernache, were somewhat more upon their guard,--more watchful andsuspicious,--and inclined to make the support and maintenance of theone, a tribute to the manes of the other. Besides, Pierre Renaud, whohad some how been the deadly enemy of Guernache, had no hostility toLachane. The latter, too, had not so singularly offended the _amourpropre_ of Captain Albert, by his successful rivalry among the damselsof Audusta. They had not so decidedly shown the preference for him asthey had for the fiddler, over his superior. No doubt he was preferred,for he, too, like Guernache, was a person very superior in form andphysiognomy to Albert. But, if they felt any preference for the former,they had not so offensively declared it, as the indiscreet Monaletta haddone; and, with these qualifying circumstances, in his favor, Lachanewas brought up for judgment. His offence, such as it was, did not admitof denial. Some palliation was attempted by a reference to the claimsof Guernache, the excellence of his character, his usefulness, and thegeneral favor he had found equally among the red-men and his own people.These suggestions were unwisely made. They censured equally the justiceand the policy of the tyrant, and thus irritated anew his self-esteem.He thought himself exceedingly merciful, accordingly, in banishing theoffender, whom it was just as easy and quite as agreeable to him, tohang. Lachane was accordingly sentenced to perpetual exile to a desertisland along the sea. To this point he was conducted in melancholystate, by the trusted creatures of the despot.
It is not known to us at the present day, though the matter is still,probably, within the province of the antiquarian, to which of thenumerous sea islands of the neighborhood the unhappy man was banished.It was one divided from the colony, and from the main, by an arm ofthe sea of such breadth, and so open to the most violent action of thewaves, that any return of the exile by swimming, or without assistancefrom his comrades, was not apprehended or hoped for. His little desolatedomain is described as about three leagues from Fort Charles, as almostentirely barren, a mere realm of sand, treeless and herbless, withoutfoliage sufficient to shelter from sun and storm, or to provide againstfamine by its fruits. Should this island ever be identified with that ofLachane's place of exile, it should receive his name to the exclusion ofevery other.
Here, then, hopeless and companionless, was the unhappy victim destinedto remain, until death should bring him that escape which the mercy ofhis fellows had denied. Yet he was not to be abandoned wholly; a certainpittance of provisions was allowed him that he might not absolutelydie of famine. This allowance was calculated nicely against his merestnecessities. It was to be brought him on the return of every eighth day,and this period was that, accordingly, on which, alone, could he bepermitted to gaze upon the face of a fellow being and a countryman.
Certainly, a more cruel punishment, adopted in a mere wanton exerciseof despotic power, could not have been devised for any victim by theingenuity of any superior. Death, even the death by which Guernache hadperished, had been a doom more merciful; for if, as was the case, thecolonists at Fort Charles themselves had already begun to find theircondition of solitude almost beyond endurance--if they, living as theydid together, cheered by the exercise of old sports and homely converse,the ties and assurances of support and friendship, the consciousnessof strength--duties which were necessary and not irksome, and theinterchange of thoughts which enliven the desponding temper;--if,with all these resources in their favor, they had sunk into gloomydiscontent, eager for change, and anxious for the returning vessels ofRibault, that they might abandon for their old, the new home which theyfound so desolate; what must have been the sufferings and agonies of himwhom they had thus banished, even from such solace as they themselvespossessed--uncheered even by the familiar faces and the well-knownvoices of his fellows, and deprived of all the resources wherebyingenuity might devise some methods of relief, and totally unblessed byany of those exercises which might furnish a substitute for habitualemployments. No sentence, more than this, could have shown to ourFrenchmen so completely the utter absence of sympathy between themselvesand their commander; could have shown how slight was the value which heput upon their lives, and with what utter contempt he regarded theirfeelings and affections. Albert little dreamed how actively he was atwork, while thus feeding his morbid passions, in arousing the avengingspirit by which they were to be scourged and punished.
These rash and cruel proceedings of their chief produced a great andactive sensation among the colonists--a sensation not the less deep andactive, because a sense of their own danger kept them from its openexpression. Had Albert pardoned Lachane, or let him off with some slightpunishment, it is not improbable that the m
atter would have ended there;and the cruel proceedings against Guernache might have been forgiven ifnot forgotten. But these were kept alive by those which followed againsttheir other favorite; and some of the boldest, feeling how desperatetheir condition threatened to become, now ventured to expostulate withtheir superior upon his wanton and unwise severities. But they wereconfounded to find that they themselves incurred the danger of Lachane,in the attempt to plead against it. It was one of the miserableweaknesses in the character of Captain Albert, to suppose his authorityin danger whenever he was approached with the language of expostulation.To question his justice seemed to him to defy his power--to entreat formercy, such a showing of hostility as to demand punishment also. Heresented, as an impertinence to himself, all such approaches; and hisanswer to the prayers of his people was couched in the language ofcontumely and threat. They retired from his presence accordingly, withfeelings of increased dislike and disgust, and with a discontent whichwas the more dangerous as they succeeded most effectually in controllingits exhibition.
But if such was the state of the relations between Albert and hispeople, how much worse did they become, when, at the close of the firsteighth day after the banishment of Lachane, it was discovered that theorders for providing him with the allowance of food had been suspended,or countermanded. The captain was silent; and no one, unless at hisbidding, could venture to carry the poor exile his allotted pittance.The eighth day passed. The men murmured among themselves, and theirmurmurs soon encouraged the utterance of a bolder voice. Nicholas Barre,a man of great firmness and intelligence, one of their number, at lengthpresented himself before the captain. He boldly reminded him of thecondition of Lachane, and urged him to hasten his supplies of foodbefore he perished. But the self-esteem and consequence of Albert, underprovocation, became a sort of madness. He answered the suggestion withindignity and insult.
"Begone!" he exclaimed, "and trouble me no more with your complaints.What is it to me if the scoundrel does perish? I mean that he shallperish! He deserves his fate! I shall be glad when ye can tell me thathe no longer needs his allowance. Away! you deserve a like punishment.Let me hear another word on this subject, and the offender shall sharehis fate!"
The insulting answer was accompanied by all the tokens of brute angerand severity. The most furious oaths sufficed equally to show hisinsanity and earnestness. His, indeed, was now an insanity such asseizes usually upon those whom God is preparing for destruction. Barredeemed it only prudent to retire from the presence of a rage which itwas no longer politic to provoke; but, in his soul, the purpose wasalready taking form and strength, which contemplated resistance to atyranny so wild and reckless. He was not alone in this purpose. Thesentiment of resistance and disaffection was growing all around him, andit only needed one who should embody it for successful exercise. But,for this, time was requisite. To decide for action, on the part of aconspiracy, it is first required that what is the common sentiment shallbecome the common necessity.
"Meanwhile," said Barre, "our poor comrade must not starve!"
This was said to certain of his associates when they met that nightin secret. When two or three get together to complain of a tyranny,resistance is already begun. They echoed his sentiments, andarrangements were at once made for transmitting provisions to theexile. A canoe was procured for this purpose, and Barre, with one othercomrade, set forth secretly at midnight on their generous and perilousmission.
The night was calm and beautiful--the sea, unruffled by a breeze, laysmooth as a mirror between the lonely island and the main. Thoughbarren, and without shrub or tree, the island looked lovely also--avery realm of faery, in the silver smiling of the moon. With active andsinewy limbs, cheered by the sight, our adventurous comrades pulledtowards it, reaching it with little effort, the current favoring theircourse. What, however, was their surprise and consternation, when, onreaching the islet, there was no answer to their summons. Drawing theirboat upon the shore, they soon compassed the little empire with hastyfootsteps; but they found nothing of the exile. The islet lay bare andbright in the unshadowed moonlight, so that, whether asleep or dead,his prostrate form must still have been perceptible. What bewilderingimaginations seized upon the seekers? What had become of their comrade?Had he been carried off by the savages, by a foreign vessel, or, inhis desperation, had he cast himself into the devouring sea? What moreprobable? Yet, as there was no answer to their questioning, there was nosolution of their doubts. Hopeless of his fate, after a frequent and aweary search, and dreading the worst, they re-entered their canoe, andre-crossed the bay in safety--their hearts more than ever filled withdisgust and indignation at the cruelty and malice of their commander.
But their quest was not wholly hopeless. When they had reached the main,and while approaching the garrison, they were greatly surprised by thesudden appearance of a human form between the fortress and the river.They remembered the poor Guernache, and, for a moment, a fearfulsuperstition fastened upon their hearts. At first, the fugitive seemedto be approaching them; but, in an instant, wheeling about, as if inpanic, he darted into the woods, and sought concealment in the thicket.This re-inspired them. They gave chase instantly. The efforts of thepursued were feebly made, and they soon overtook him. To their greatrelief and surprise, they found him to be the person they had beenseeking--the banished and half-starved Lachane!
His story was soon told. He was nearly perished of hunger. Beyond thecrude berries and bitter roots which he had gathered in the woods, hehad not eaten for three days. The food which had been furnished him fromthe garrison had been partly carried from him by birds or beasts--heknew not which--while he slept; and, in the failure of his promisedsupplies, he had become desperate.
"For that matter," said the wretched exile, "I had become desperatebefore. Food was not my only or my chief want. I wanted shade from thedesolating sun. I wanted rescue from the heavy hand of fire upon mybrain; and, by day, I could scarcely keep from quenching the furnacethat seemed boiling in my blood, by plunging deep down into the bowelsof the sea. By night, when the fiery feeling passed away, then Iyearned, above all, for the face and voice of man. It was this cravingwhich made me resolve to brave the death which threatened me which-everway I turned--that, if I perished, it should still be in the struggleonce more to behold the people of my love."
How closely did they press the poor fellow to their hearts!
"You should not have perished," said Nicholas Barre, boldly. "I, forone, have become tired of this tyranny, under which we no longer breathein safety. I am resolved to bear it no longer than I can. There areothers who have resolved like me. But of this hereafter. Tell us,Lachane, how you contrived to swim across this great stretch of sea?"
"By the mercy of God which made me desperate--which made the seascalm--which gave me a favoring current, and which threw yon fragmentof a ship's spar within my reach. But I nearly sunk. Twice did I feelthe waters going over me; but I thought of France, and all, and thestrength came back to me. I can say no more. I am weak--very weak. Giveme to eat."
A flask of generous wine with which they had provided themselves,cheered and inspirited the sufferer. They laid him down at the foot of abroad palmetto, while one of them brought food from the canoe. Much itrejoiced them to see him eat. Ere he had satisfied his hunger, Lachanespoke again as follows:
"I rejoice to hear that you, and others, have resolved to submit nolonger to this tyranny. It was not the desire of food, or friendship,only, that strengthened me to throw myself into the sea, in thedesperate desire to see the garrison once more. But while my head flamedbeneath the sun's downward blaze upon that waste of sand, while mineeyes burned like living coals fresh from the furnace, and my bloodleaped and bounded like a mad thing about my temples and in all myveins, I saw all the terrible sufferings of our poor Guernache anew. Iheard his voice--his bitter reproaches--and then the terrible scream ofthe poor Indian woman when the heavy rods descended upon her shoulder.Then I felt that I had not done what my soul commanded!--that I hadabandoned my innoc
ent comrade like a lamb to the butcher. I swore to domyself justice--to seek the garrison at Fort Charles, if, for no otherpurpose, to have revenge upon Albert. I verily believe, _mes amis_, thatit was that oath that strengthened me in the sea--that lifted me whenthe waves went over me, and my heart was sinking with my body. I thoughtof the blows which might yet be struck for vengeance and freedom. Ithought of Guernache and his murderer,--and I rose,--I struck out. I hadno fear! I got a strength which I had not at the beginning; and I amhere; the merciful God be praised forever more--ready to strike a fairblow at the tyrant, though I die the moment after!"
"That blow must now be struck very soon," said Nicholas Barre. "We areno longer safe. Albert rules us just as it pleases him, by his merehumor, and not according to the laws or usages of France. Every daywitnesses against him. Some new tyranny--some new cruelty--adds hourlyto our afflictions, and makes life, on such terms, endurable no longer.We are not men if we submit to it."
"Hear me," said Lachane; "you have not laid the plan for his overthrow?"
"Not yet! But we are ready for it. All's ripe. The proper spirit is atwork."
"Let it work! All right; but look you, comrades, it is for this hand tostrike the blow. I demand the right, because Guernache was my closestfriend. I demand it in compensation for my own sufferings."
"It is yours, Lachane! You have the right!"
"Thanks, _mes amis_! And now for the plan. You have resolved on noneyourselves. Hearken to mine."
They lent willing ears, and Lachane continued. His counsel was thatCaptain Albert should be advised of an unusual multitude of deer onone of the "hunting islands" in the neighborhood. These islands areremarkable--some of them--for the luxuriance and beauty of theirforests. Here, the deer were accustomed to assemble in great numbers,particularly when pressed by clouds of Indian hunters along the main;nor were they loth to visit them at other seasons, when the tides werelow and the seas smooth. Swimming across the dividing rivers, and armsof the sea, at such periods, in little groups of five or ten, they foundhere an almost certain refuge and favorite browsing patches. To one ofthese islands, Barre, or some other less objectionable person, was tobeguile Captain Albert. His fondness for the chase was known, and wasgratified on all convenient occasions. He was to be advised of numerousherds upon the island, which passed to it the night before. They hadbeen seen crossing in the moonlight from the main. Lachane, meanwhile,possessing himself of the canoe which his friends had just employed,armed with weapons which they were to provide, was to place himself ina convenient shelter upon the island, and take such a position as wouldenable him to seize upon the first safe opportunity for striking theblow. Numerous details, not necessary for our purpose, but essential tothat of the conspirators, were suggested, discussed, and finally agreedupon, or rejected. Lachane simply concluded with repeating his demandfor the privilege of the first blow--a claim farther insisted upon,as, in the event of failure, he who had already incurred the doomof outlawry, and had offended against hope, might thus save othersharmless, who occupied a position of greater security. We need notfollow the arrangement of the parties. Enough, that, when they werediscussed fully, the three separated--Barre and his companion to regainthe fort, and Lachane to embark in the canoe, ere day should dawn, forthe destined islet where he was equally to find security and vengeance.
Everything succeeded to the wishes of the conspirators. Albert, whowas passionately fond of the chase, was easily persuaded by therepresentations of Barre and his comrades. The pinnace was fitted outat an early hour, and, attended by the two conspirators, and some halfdozen other persons, the greater number of whom were supposed to beas hostile to the tyrant as themselves, the Captain set forth, littledreaming that he should be the hunted instead of the hunter. PierreRenaud, by whom he was also accompanied, was the only person of theparty upon whom he could rely. But neither his creature nor himself hadthe slightest apprehension of the danger. The jealousies of the despotseemed for the moment entirely at rest, and, as if in the exercise of apleasant novelty, Albert threw aside all the terrors of his authority.He could jest when the fit was on him. He, too, had his moments of play;a sort of feline faculty, in the exercise of which the cat and the tigerseem positively amiable. His jests were echoed by his men, and theirlaughter gratified him. But there was one exception to the generalmirth, which arrested his attention. Nicholas Barre alone preserved astern, unbroken composure, which the gay humor of his superior failedentirely to overcome. Nothing so much vexes superiority as that itshould condescend in vain; and the silence and coldness of Barre, andthe utter insensibility with which he heard the good things of hiscaptain, and which occasioned the ready laughter of all the rest,finally extorted a comment from Albert, which gave full utterance tohis spleen.
"By my life, Lieutenant Barre,"--such was the rank of thisconspirator--"but that I know thee better, I should hold thee to be oneof those unhappy wretches to whom all merriment is a hateful thing--towhom a clever jest gives offence only, and whom a cheerful laugh sendsoff sullenly to bed. Pray, if it be not too serious a humor, tell us thecause of thy present dullness."
"Verily, Captain Albert," replied the person addressed, fixing his eyessteadily upon him, and speaking in the most deliberate accents, "I wasthinking of the deer that we shall strike to-day. Doubtless, he is evennow making as merry as thyself among his comrades--little dreaming thatthe hunter hath his thoughts already fixed upon the choice morsels ofhis flanks, which, a few hours hence, shall be smoking above the fire.Truly, are we but little wiser than the thoughtless deer. The merriestof us may be struck as soon. The man hath as few securities from themorrow as the beast that runs."
Captain Albert was not the most sagacious tyrant in the world, or themoral reflections of our conspirator might have tended to his disquiet.He saw no peculiar significance in the remark, though the matter of itwas all well remembered, when the subsequent events came to be known.Little, indeed, did the victim then dream of the fate which lay in waitfor him. He laughed at the shallow reflection of Barre, which seemed soequally mistimed and unmeaning, and his merriment increased with everystroke of the oar which sent the pinnace towards the scene chosen forthe tragedy. All his severities were thrown aside; never had he shownhimself more gracious; and, though his good humor was rather thecondescension of one who is secure in his authority, and can resumehis functions at any moment, than the proof of any sympathy with hiscomrades, yet he seemed willing for once that it should not lose any ofits pleasant quality by any frequent exhibition of his usual caprice.But for an occasional sarcasm in which he sometimes indulged, and bywhich he continued to keep alive the antipathies of the conspirators,the gentler mood in which he now suffered them to behold him, might haverendered them reluctant to prosecute their purpose. They might haverelented, even at the last moment, had they been prepared to believethat his present good humor was the fruit of any sincere relentingsin him. But he did not succeed to this extent, and, with a singlesignificant look to his comrades, the stern Nicholas Barre showed tothem that he, at least, was firm in the secret purpose which theyhad in view. His silence and gravity for a time served to amuse hissuperior, who exercised his wit at the expense of the sullen soldier,little dreaming, all the while, at what a price he should be required topay for his temporary indulgence. But as Barre continued in his mood,the pride of the haughty superior was at length hurt; and, when theyreached the shore, the insolence of Albert had resumed much of its oldascendancy.
Albert was the first to spring to land. He was impatient to begin thechase, of which he was passionately fond. The sport, as conducted inthat day and region, was after a very simple fashion. It consistedrather in a judicious distribution of the hunters, at various places ofwatch, than in the possession of any particular skill of weapon or speedof foot. The island was small--the woods not very dense or intricate,and the only outlet of escape was across the little arm of the sea whichseparated the island from the main. The hunters were required to watchthis passage, with a few other avenues from the forest. We ne
ed notobserve their order or arrangement. It will be enough to note that Barrechose as the sentinel left in charge of the boat one of the firmest ofthe conspirators. This was a person named Lamotte--a small but fieryspirit--a man of equal passion and vindictiveness, who had sufferedfrequent indignities from Albert, which his own inferior position as acommon soldier had compelled him to endure without complaint. But he wasnot the less sensible of his hurts, because not suffered to complainof them; and his hatred only assumed a more intense and unforgivingcharacter, because it seemed cut off from all the outlets to revenge.
The arrangements of the hunters all completed, they began to skirtslowly the woody region by which the centre of the island was chieflyoccupied. Gradually separating as they advanced, they finally, one byone, found their way into its recesses. A single dog which they carriedwith them, was now unleashed, and his eager tongue very soon gave noticeto the hunters that their victim was afoot. As the bay of the houndbecame more frequent, the blood of Albert became more and more excited,and, pressing forward, in advance of all his companions, the sinuositiesof the route pursued soon scattered the whole party. But this he didnot heed. The one consciousness,--that which appealed to his love ofsport,--led to a forgetfulness of all others; and it was no disquiet toour captain to find himself alone in forests where he had never trodbefore, particularly when his eager eye caught a glimpse of a fine herdof the sleek-skinned foresters, well-limbed, and nobly-headed, dartingsuddenly from cover into the occasional openings before him. A good shotwas Captain Albert. He fired, and had the joy to see tumbled, headlong,sprawling, in his tracks, one of the largest bucks of the herd. Heshouted his delight aloud;--shouted twice and clapped his hands!
His shouts were echoed, near at hand, by a voice at once strange andfamiliar! His instinct divined a sudden danger in this strange echo.He stopped short, even as he was about to bound forward to the spotin which the deer had fallen. Another shout!--but this was to hiscompanions! He was now confounded at the new echo and the fearful visionwhich this summons conjured up. At his side, and in his very ears,rose another shout--a shriek rather--much louder than his own--a wild,indescribable yell,--which sent a thrill of horror through his soul.At the same instant, a gaunt, wild man--a half-naked, half-famishedform--darted from the thicket and stood directly before him in his path!
"Ho! Ho! Ho!" howled the stranger.
"Guernache!" was the single word, forced from the guilty soul of thecriminal!
"Guernache! Yes! Guernache, in his friend Lachane! Both are here! Seeyou not? Look! Ho! Captain Albert,--look and see, and make yourselfready. Your time is short. You will hang and banish no longer!"
Wild with exulting fury was the face of the speaker--terrible thelanguage of his eyes--threatening the action of the uplifted arm. A keenblade flashed in his grasp, and the discovery which Albert made, that,in the wild man before him, he saw the person whom he had so wantonlyand cruelly decreed to perish, sufficed to make him nerveless. Thesurprise deprived him of resource, while his guilty conscience enfeebledhis arm, and took all courage from his soul. His match-lock was alreadydischarged. The _couteau de chasse_ was at his side; but, before thiscould be drawn, he must be hewn down by the already uplifted weapon ofhis foe. Besides, even if drawn, what could he hope, by its employment,against the superior muscle and vigor of Lachane? These thoughts passedwith a lightning-like rapidity through the brain of Albert. He felt thathe had met his fate! He shrunk back from its encounter, and sent up afeeble but a painful cry for his creature,--"Pierre Renaud!"
"Ha! ha! you cry for him in vain!" was the mocking answer of Lachane."Renaud, that miserable villain--that wretch after thy own heart andfashion--hath quite as much need of thee as thou of him! Ye will serveeach other never more to the prejudice of better men. Hark! hear younot? Even now they are dealing with him!"
And, sure enough, even as he spoke, the screams of one in mortal terror,interrupted by several heavy blows in quick succession, seemed toconfirm the truth of what Lachane had spoken. In that fearful momentAlbert remembered the words, now full of meaning, which Nicholas Barrehad spoken while they set forth. The hunter had indeed become thehunted. Lachane gave him little time for meditation.
"They have done with him! Prepare! To your knees, Captain Albert! I giveyou time to make your peace with God--such time as you gave my poorGuernache! Prepare!"
But, though Albert had not courage for combat, he yet found strengthenough for flight. He was slight of form, small, and tolerably swiftof foot. Flinging his now useless firelock to the ground, he suddenlydarted off through the forests, with a degree of energy and spiritwhich it tasked all the efforts of the less wieldy frame of Lachane toapproach. Life and death were on the event, and Albert succeeded ingaining the beach where the boat had been left before he was overtaken.But Lamotte, to whom the boat had been given in charge, pushed off, witha mocking yell of laughter, at his approach! His cries for succor wereunheeded. Lamotte himself would have slain the fugitive but that heknew Lachane had claimed for himself this privilege. His spear hadbeen uplifted as Albert drew nigh the water, but the shout of Lachane,emerging from the woods, warned him to desist. He used the weapon topush the pinnace into deep water, leaving Albert to his fate!
"Save me, Lamotte!" was the prayer, of the tyrant in his desperation,urged with every promise that he fancied might prove potent with thesoldier. But few moments were allowed him for entreaty, and they wereunavailing. Lamotte contented himself with looking on the event, readyto finish with his spear what Lachane might leave undone. Albert gazedaround him, and as Lachane came, with one shriek of terror, darted intothe sea. The avenger was close behind him. The water rose to the waistand finally to the neck of the fugitive. He turned in supplication, onlyto receive the stroke. The steel entered his shoulder, just below theneck. He staggered and fell forwards upon the slayer. The blade snappedin the fall, and the wounded man sunk down irretrievably beneath thewaters. Lachane raised the fragment of his sword to Heaven, while, withsomething of a Roman fervor, he ejaculated--
"Guernache! dear friend, behold! the hand of Lachane hath avenged theeupon thy murderer!"
The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida Page 9
