CHAPTER V
THE RUNNER
Fort Refuge, the stronghold raised by young arms, was the most distantpoint in the wilderness held by the Anglo-American forces, and for along time it was cut off entirely from the world. No message came outof the great forest that rimmed it round, but Colden had been told tobuild it and hold it until he had orders to leave it, and he and hismen waited patiently, until word of some kind should come or theyshould be attacked by the French and Indian forces that were gatheringcontinually in the north.
They saw the autumn reach its full glory. The wilderness glowed inintense yellows and reds. The days grew cool, and the nights cold, theair was crisp and fresh like the breath of life, the young men felttheir muscles expand and their courage rise, and they longed for theappearance of the enemy, sure that behind their stout palisade theywould be able to defeat whatever numbers came.
Tayoga left them early one morning for a visit to his people. Theleaves were falling then under a sharp west wind, and the sky had acold, hard tint of blue steel. Winter was not far away, but the daysuited a runner like Tayoga who wished to make speed through thewilderness. He stood for a moment or two at the edge of the forest, astrong, slender figure outlined against the brown, waved his hand tohis friends watching on the palisade, and then disappeared.
"A great Indian," said young Wilton thoughtfully. "I confess that Inever knew much about the red men or thought much about them until Imet him. I don't recall having come into contact with a finer mind ofits kind."
"Most of the white people make the mistake of undervaluing theIndians," said Robert, "but we'll learn in this war what a power theyare. If the Hodenosaunee had turned against us we'd have been beatenalready."
"At any rate, Tayoga is a noble type. Since I had to come into theforest I'm glad to meet such fellows as he. Do you think, Lennox, thathe'll get through safely?"
Robert laughed.
"Get through safely?" he repeated. "Why, Tayoga is the fastest runneramong the Indian nations, and they train for speed. He goes like thewind, he never tires, night and day are the same to him, he's so lightof foot that he could pass through a band of his own comrades and theywould never know he was there, and yet his own ears are so keen thathe can hear the leaves falling a hundred yards away. The path fromhere to the vale of Onondaga may be lined on either side with theFrench and the hostile tribes, standing as thick as trees in theforest, but he will flit between them as safely and easily as you andI would ride along a highroad into Philadelphia. He will arrive at thevale of Onondaga, unharmed, at the exact minute he intends to arrive,and he will return, reaching Fort Refuge also on the exact day, and atthe exact hour and minute he has already selected."
The young Quaker surveyed Robert with admiration and then laughed.
"What they tell of you is true," he said. "In truth that was a mostgorgeous and rounded speech you made about your friend. I don't recallfiner and more flowing periods! What vividness! What imagery! I'mproud to know you, Lennox!"
Robert reddened and then laughed.
"I do grow enthusiastic when I talk about Tayoga," he said, "butyou'll see that what I predict will come to pass. He's probably toldWillet just when he'll be back at Fort Refuge. We'll ask him."
The hunter informed them that Tayoga intended to take exactly tendays.
"This is Monday," he said. "He'll be here a week from next Thursday atnoon."
"But suppose something happens to detain him," said Wilton, "supposethe weather is too bad for traveling, or suppose a lot of other thingsthat can happen easily."
Willet shrugged his shoulders.
"In such a case as this where Tayoga is concerned," he said, "we don'tsuppose anything, we go by certainties. Before he left, Tayogasettled the day and the hour when he would return and it's not now aproblem or a question. He has disposed of the subject."
"I can't quite see it that way," said Wilton tenaciously. "I admitthat Tayoga is a wonderful fellow, but he cannot possibly tell theexact hour of his return from such a journey as the one he hasundertaken."
"You wait and see," said the hunter in the utmost good nature. "Youthink you know Tayoga, but you don't yet know him fully."
"If I were not a Quaker I'd wager a small sum of money that he doesnot come at the time appointed," said Wilton.
"Then it's lucky for your pocket that you're a Quaker," laughedWillet.
It turned much colder that very afternoon, and the raw edge of wintershowed. The wind from the northwest was bitter and the dead leavesfell in showers. At dusk a chilling rain began, and the youngsoldiers, shivering, were glad enough to seek the shelter of theblockhouse, where a great fire was blazing on the broad hearth. Theyhad made many rude camp stools and sitting down on one before theblaze Wilton let the pleasant warmth fall upon his face.
"I'm sorry for Tayoga," he said to Robert. "Just when you and Willetwere boasting most about him this winter rain had to come and he wasno more than fairly started. He'll have to hunt a den somewhere in theforest and crouch in it wrapped in his blanket."
Robert smiled serenely.
"Den! Crouch! Wrapped in his blanket! What do you mean?" he asked inhis mellow, golden voice. "Are you speaking of my friend, Tayoga, ofthe Clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great League ofthe Hodenosaunee? Can it be possible, Wilton, that you are referringto him, when you talk of such humiliating subterfuges?"
"I refer to him and none other, Lennox. I see him now, stumbling aboutin the deep forest, looking for shelter."
"No, Wilton, you don't see Tayoga. You merely see an idle figment of abrain that does not yet fully know my friend, the great young Onondaga.But _I_ see him, and I see him clearly. I behold a tall, strong figure,head slightly bent against the rain, eyes that see in the dark as wellas yours see in the brightest sunlight, feet that move surely andsteadily in the path, never stumbling and never veering, tirelessmuscles that carry him on without slackening."
"Dithyrambic again, Lennox. You are certainly loyal to your friend. Asfor me, I'm glad I'm not out there in the black and wet forest. Nohuman being can keep to his pace at such a time."
Robert again smiled serenely, but he said nothing more. His confidencewas unlimited. Presently he wrapped around his body a rude butserviceable overcoat of beaver skin that he had made for himself, andwent out. The cold, drizzling icy rain that creeps into one's veinswas still falling, and he shivered despite his furs. He looked towardthe northeast whither Tayoga's course took him, and he felt sorry forhis red comrade, but he never doubted that he was speeding on his waywith sure and unfaltering step.
The sentinels, mounted on the broad plank that ran behind thepalisade, were walking to and fro, wrapped to their eyes. A month ortwo earlier they might have left everything on such a night to takecare of itself, but now they knew far better. Captain Colden, with theterrible lesson of the battle in the bush, had become a strictdisciplinarian, and Willet was always at his elbow with unobtrusivebut valuable advice which the young Philadelphian had the good senseto welcome.
Robert spoke to them, and one or two referred to the Indian runner whohad gone east, saying that he might have had a better night for hisstart. The repetition of Wilton's words depressed Robert for a moment,but his heart came back with a bound. Nothing could defeatTayoga. Did he not know his red comrade? The wilderness was like atrimmed garden to him, and neither rain, nor hail, nor snow could stophim.
As he said the word "hail" to himself it came, pattering upon the deadleaves and the palisade in a whirlwind of white pellets. Again heshivered, and knowing it was no use to linger there returned inside,where most of the men had already gone to sleep. He stretched himselfon his blanket and followed them in slumber. When he awoke the nextmorning it was still hailing, and Wilton said in a serious tone thathe hoped Tayoga would give up the journey and come back to FortRefuge.
"I like that Onondaga," he said, "and I don't want him to freeze todeath in the forest. Why, the earth and all the trees are coated withice now, and even if a man lives
he is able to make no progress."
Once more Robert smiled serenely.
"You're thinking of the men you knew in Philadelphia, Will," hesaid. "They, of course, couldn't make such a flight through a whiteforest, but Tayoga is an altogether different kind of fellow. He'llmerely exert himself a little more, and go on as fast as ever."
Wilton looked at the vast expanse of glittering ice, and then drew thefolds of a heavy cloak more closely about his body.
"I rejoice," he said, "that it's the Onondaga and not myself who hasto make the great journey. I rejoice, too, that we have built thisfort. It's not Philadelphia, that fine, true, comfortable city, butit's shelter against the hard winter that I see coming so fast."
Colden, still following the advice of Willet, kept his men busy,knowing that idleness bred discontent and destroyed discipline. Atleast a dozen soldiers, taught by Willet and Robert, had developedinto excellent hunters, and as the game was abundant, owing to theabsence of Indians, they had killed deer, bear, panther and all theother kinds of animals that ranged these forests. The flesh of such aswere edible was cured and stored, as they foresaw the day when manypeople might be in Fort Refuge and the food would be needed. The skinsalso were dressed and were put upon the floor or hung upon thewalls. The young men working hard were happy nevertheless, as theywere continually learning new arts. And the life was healthy to anextraordinary degree. All the wounded were as whole as before, andeverybody acquired new and stronger muscles.
Their content would have been yet greater in degree had they been ableto learn what was going on outside, in that vast world where Franceand Britain and their colonies contended so fiercely for themastery. But they looked at the wall of the forest, and it was ablank. They were shut away from all things as completely as Crusoe onhis island. Nor would they hear a single whisper until Tayoga cameback--if he came back.
On the second day after the Onondaga's departure the air softened, butbecame darker. The glittering white of the forest assumed a moresomber tinge, clouds marched up in solemn procession from thesouthwest, and mobilized in the center of the heavens, a wind, touchedwith damp, blew. Robert knew very well what the elements portended andagain he was sorry for Tayoga, but as before, after the first fewmoments of discouragement his courage leaped up higher than ever. Hisbrilliant imagination at once painted a picture in which every detailwas vivid and full of life, and this picture was of a vast forest,trees and bushes alike clothed in ice, and in the center of it aslender figure, but straight, tall and strong, Tayoga himself speedingon like the arrow from the bow, never wavering, never weary. Then hismind allowed the picture to fade. Wilton might not believe Tayogacould succeed, but how could this young Quaker know Tayoga as he knewhim?
The clouds, having finished their mobilization in the center of theheavens, soon spread to the horizon on every side. Then a single greatwhite flake dropped slowly and gracefully from the zenith, fell withinthe palisade, and melted before the eyes of Robert and Wilton. But itwas merely a herald of its fellows which, descending at first likeskirmishers, soon thickened into companies, regiments, brigades,divisions and armies. Then all the air was filled with the flakes, andthey were so thick they could not see the forest.
"The first snow of the winter and a big one," said Wilton, "and againI give thanks for our well furnished fort. There may be greaterfortresses in Europe, and of a certainty there are many more famous,but there is none finer to me than this with its' stout log walls, itsstrong, broad roofs, and its abundance of supplies. Once more, though,I'm sorry for your friend, Tayoga. A runner may go fast over ice, ifhe's extremely sure of foot and his moccasins are good, but I know ofno way in which he can speed like the gull in its flight through deepsnow."
"Not through the snow, but he may be on it," said Robert.
"And how on it, wise but cryptic young sir?"
"Snow shoes."
"But he took none with him and had none to take."
"Which proves nothing. The Indians often hide in the forest articlesthey'll need at some far day. A canoe may be concealed in a thicket atthe creek's edge, a bow and arrows may be thrust away under a ledge,all awaiting the coming of their owner when he needs them most."
"The chance seems too small to me, Lennox. I can't think a pair ofsnow shoes will rise out of the forest just when Tayoga wants 'em,walk up to him and say: 'Please strap us on your feet.' I makeconcession freely that the Onondaga is a most wonderful fellow, but hecan't work miracles. He does not hold such complete mastery over thewilderness that it will obey his lightest whisper. I read fairy talesin my youth and they pleased me much, but alas! they were fairytales! The impossible doesn't happen!"
"Who's the great talker now? Your words were flowing then like thetrickling of water from a spout. But you're wrong, Will, about theimpossible. The impossible often happens. Great spirits like Tayogalove the impossible. It draws them on, it arouses their energy, theythink it worth while. I've seen Tayoga more than once since hestarted, as plainly as I see you, Will. Now, I shut my eyes and Ibehold him once more. He's in the forest. The snow is pouring down. Itlies a foot deep on the ground, the boughs bend with it, and sometimesthey crack under it with a report like that of a rifle. The tops ofthe bushes crowned with white bend their weight toward the ground, thepanthers, the wolves, and the wildcats all lie snug in theirdens. It's a dead world save for one figure. Squarely in the center ofit I see Tayoga, bent over a little, but flying straight forward at aspeed that neither you nor I could match, Will. His feet do not sinkin the snow. He skims upon it like a swallow through the air. His feetare encased in something long and narrow. He has on snow shoes and hegoes like the wind!"
"You do have supreme confidence in the Onondaga, Lennox!"
"So would you if you knew him as I do, Will, a truth I've told youseveral times already."
"But he can't provide for every emergency!"
"Must I tell you for the twentieth time that you don't know Tayoga asI know him?"
"No, Lennox, but I'll wait and see what happens."
The fall of snow lasted the entire day and the following night. Thewilderness was singularly beautiful, but it was also inaccessible,comfortable for those in the fort, but outside the snow lay nearly twofeet deep.
"I hope that vision of yours comes true," said Wilton to Robert, asthey looked at the forest. "They say the Highland Scotch can go intotrances or something of that kind, and look into the future, and Ibelieve the Indians claim the gift, but I've never heard that Englishand Americans assumed the possession of such powers."
"I'm no seer," laughed Robert. "I merely use my imagination andproduce for myself a picture of things two or three days ahead."
"Which comes to the same thing. Well, we'll see. I take so great aninterest in the journey of your Onondaga friend that somehow I feelmyself traveling along with him."
"I know I'm going with him or I wouldn't have seen him flying ahead onhis snow shoes. But come, Will, I've promised to teach you how to sewbuckskin with tendons and sinews, and I'm going to see that you doit."
The snow despite its great depth was premature, because on the fourthday soft winds began to blow, and all the following night a warm rainfell. It came down so fast that the whole earth was flooded, and theair was all fog and mist. The creek rose far beyond its banks, and thewater stood in pools and lakes in the forest.
"Now, in very truth, our friend Tayoga has been compelled to seek alair," said Wilton emphatically. "His snow shoes would be thesorriest of drags upon his feet in mud and water, and without them hewill sink to his knees. The wilderness has become impassable."
Robert laughed.
"I see no way out of it for him," said Wilton.
"But I do."
"Then what, in Heaven's name, is it?"
"I not only see the way for Tayoga, but I shut my eyes once more and Isee him using it. He has put away his snow shoes, and, going to thethick bushes at the edge of a creek, he has taken out his hiddencanoe. He has been in it some time, and with mighty sweeps of thepad
dle, that he knows so well how to use, it flies like a wild duckover the water. Now he passes from the creek into a river flowingeastward, and swollen by the floods to a vast width. The rain haspoured upon him, but he does not mind it. The powerful exercise withthe paddles dries his body, and sends the pleasant warmth throughevery vein. His feet and ankles rest, after his long flight on thesnow shoes, and his heart swells with pleasure, because it is one ofthe easiest parts of his journey. His rifle is lying by his side, andhe could seize it in a moment should an enemy appear, but the foreston either side of the stream is deserted, and he speeds on unhindered.There may be better canoemen in the world than Tayoga, but I doubtit."
"Come, come, Lennox! You go too far! I can admit the possibility ofthe snow shoes and their appearance at the very moment they're needed,but the evocation of a river and a canoe at the opportune instant putstoo high a strain upon credibility."
"Then don't believe it unless you wish to do so," laughed Robert, "butas for me I'm not only believing it, but I'm almost at the stage ofknowing it."
The flood was so great that all hunting ceased for the time, and themen stayed under shelter in the fort, while the fires were keptburning for the sake of both warmth and cheer. But they were on theedge of the great Ohio Valley, where changes in temperature are oftenrapid and violent. The warm rain ceased, the wind came out of thesouthwest cold and then colder. The logs of the buildings popped withthe contracting cold all through the following night and the next dawncame bright, clear and still, but far below zero. The ice was thickon the creek, and every new pool and lake was covered. The trees andbushes that had been dripping the day before were sheathed in silvermail. Breath curled away like smoke from the lips.
"If Tayoga stayed in his canoe," said Wilton, "he's frozen solidly inthe middle of the river, and he won't be able to move it until a thawcomes."
Robert laughed with genuine amusement and also with a certain scorn.
"I've told you many times, Will," he said, "that you didn't know allabout Tayoga, but now it seems that you know nothing about him."
"Well, then, wherein am I wrong, Sir Robert the Omniscient?" askedWilton.
"In your assumption that Tayoga would not foresee what wascoming. Having spent nearly all his life with nature he has naturallybeen forced to observe all of its manifestations, even the mostdelicate. And when you add to these necessities the powers of anexceedingly strong and penetrating mind you have developed facultiesthat can cope with almost anything. Tayoga foresaw this big freeze,and I can tell you exactly what he did as accurately as if I had beenthere and had seen it. He kept to the river and his canoe almost untilthe first thin skim of ice began to show. Then he paddled to land, andhid the canoe again among thick bushes. He raised it up a little onlow boughs in such a manner that it would not touch the water. Thus itwas safe from the ice, and so leaving it well hidden and in propercondition, and situation, he sped on."
"Of course you're a master with words, Robert, and the longer they arethe better you seem to like 'em, but how is the Onondaga to make speedover the ice which now covers the earth? Snow shoes, I take it, wouldnot be available upon such a smooth and tricky surface, and, at anyrate, he has left them far behind."
"In part of your assumption you're right, Will. Tayoga hasn't thesnow shoes now, and he wouldn't use 'em if he had 'em. He foresaw thepossibility of the freeze, and took with him in his pack a pair ofheavy moose skin moccasins with the hair on the outside. They're sorough they do not slip on the ice, especially when they inclose thefeet of a runner, so wiry, so agile and so experienced as Tayoga. Oncemore I close my eyes and I see his brown figure shooting through thewhite forest. He goes even faster than he did when he had on the snowshoes, because whenever he comes to a slope he throws himself backupon his heels and lets himself slide down the ice almost at the speedof a bird darting through the air."
"If you're right, Lennox, your red friend is not merely a marvel, buta series of marvels."
"I'm right, Will. I do not doubt it. At the conclusion of the tenthday when Tayoga arrives on the return from the vale of Onondaga youwill gladly admit the truth."
"There can be no doubt about my gladness, Lennox, if it should cometrue, but the elements seem to have conspired against him, and I'velearned that in the wilderness the elements count very heavily."
"Earth, fire and water may all join against him, but at the timeappointed he will come. I know it."
The great cold, and it was hard, fierce and bitter, lasted twodays. At night the popping of the contracting timbers sounded like acontinuous pistol fire, but Willet had foreseen everything. At hisinstance, Colden had made the young soldiers gather vast quantities offuel long ago from a forest which was filled everywhere with deadboughs and fallen timber, the accumulation of scores of years.
Then another great thaw came, and the fickle climate proceeded to showwhat it could do. When the thaw had been going on for a day and anight a terrific winter hurricane broke over the forest. Trees wereshattered as if their trunks had been shot through by huge cannonballs. Here and there long windrows were piled up, and vast areas werea litter of broken boughs.
"As I reckon, and allowing for the marvels you say he can perform,Tayoga is now in the vale of Onondaga, Lennox," said Wilton. "It'slucky that he's there in the comfortable log houses of his own people,because a man could scarcely live in the forest in such a storm asthis, as he would be beaten to death by flying timbers."
"This time, Will, you're wrong in both assumptions. Tayoga hasalready been to the vale of Onondaga. He has spent there the half daythat he allowed to himself, and now on the return journey has left thevale far behind him. I told you how sensitive he was to the changes ofthe weather, and he knew it was coming several hours before itarrived. He sought at once protection, probably a cleft in the rock,or an opening of two or three feet under a stony ledge. He is lyingthere now, just as snug and safe as you please, while this storm,which covers a vast area, rages over his head. There is much that isprimeval in Tayoga, and his comfort and safety make him fairly enjoythe storm. As he lies under the ledge with his blanket drawn aroundhim, he is warm and dry and his sense of comfort, contrasting hispleasant little den with the fierce storm without, becomes one ofluxury."
"I suppose of course, Lennox, that you can shut your eyes and see himonce more without any trouble."
"In all truth and certainty I can, Will. He is lying on a stone shelfwith a stone ledge above him. His blanket takes away the hardness ofthe stone that supports him. He sees boughs and sticks whirled past bythe storm, but none of them touches him. He hears the wind whistlingand screaming at a pitch so fierce that it would terrify one unused tothe forest, but it is only a song in the ears of Tayoga. It sootheshim, it lulls him, and knowing that he can't use the period of thestorm for traveling, he uses it for sleep, thus enabling him to takeless later on when the storm has ceased. So, after all, he losesnothing so far as his journey is concerned. Now his lids droop, hiseyes close, and he slumbers while the storm thunders past, unable totouch him."
"You do have the gift, Lennox. I believe that sometimes your words aremusic in your own ears, and inspire you to greater efforts. When thewar is over you must surely become a public man--one who is oftencalled upon to address the people."
"We'll fight the war first," laughed Robert.
The storm in its rise, its zenith and its decline lasted severalhours, and, when it was over, the forest looked like a wreck, butRobert knew that nature would soon restore everything. The foliage ofnext spring would cover up the ruin and new growth would take theplace of the old and broken. The wilderness, forever restoring whatwas lost, always took care of itself.
A day or two of fine, clear winter weather, not too cold, followed,and Willet went forth to scout. He was gone until the next morning andwhen he returned his face was very grave.
"There are Indians in the forest," he said, "not friendly warriors ofthe Hodenosaunee, but those allied with the enemy. I think aformidable Ojibway band under Tandakora is there,
and also otherIndians from the region of the Great Lakes. They may have startedagainst us some time back, but were probably halted by the badweather. They're in different bodies now, scattered perhaps forhunting, but they'll reunite before long."
"Did you see signs of any white men, Dave?" asked Robert.
"Yes, French officers and some soldiers are with 'em, but I don'tthink St. Luc is in the number. More likely it's De Courcelles andJumonville, whom we have such good cause to remember."
"I hope so, Dave, I'd rather fight against those two than againstSt. Luc."
"So would I, and for several reasons. St. Luc is a better leader thanthey are. They're able, but he's the best of all the French."
That afternoon two men who ventured a short distance from Fort Refugewere shot at, and one was wounded slightly, but both were able toregain the little fortress. Willet slipped out again, and reported theforest swarming with Indians, although there was yet no indication ofa preconcerted attack. Still, it was well for the garrison to keepclose and take every precaution.
"And this shuts out Tayoga," said Wilton regretfully to Robert. "Hemay make his way through rain and flood and sleet and snow andhurricane, but he can never pass those watchful hordes of Indians inthe woods."
Once more the Onondaga's loyal friend laughed. "The warriors turnTayoga back, Will?" he said. "He will pass through 'em just as ifthey were not there. The time will be up day after tomorrow at noon,and then he will be here."
"Even if the Indians move up and besiege us in regular form?"
"Even that, and even anything else. At noon day after tomorrow Tayogawill be here."
Another man who went out to bring in a horse that had been leftgrazing near the fort was fired upon, not with rifles or muskets butwith arrows, and grazed in the shoulder. He had, however, the presenceof mind to spring upon the animal's back and gallop for Fort Refuge,where the watchful Willet threw open the gate to the stockade, let himin, then quickly closed and barred it fast. A long fierce whining cry,the war whoop, came from the forest.
"The siege has closed in already," said Robert, "and it's well that wehave no other men outside."
"Except Tayoga," said Wilton.
"The barrier of the red army doesn't count so far as Tayoga isconcerned. How many times must I tell you, Will, that Tayoga will comeat the time appointed?"
After the shout from the woods there was a long silence that weighedupon the young soldiers, isolated thus in the wintry and desolatewilderness. They were city men, used to the streets and the sounds ofpeople, and their situation had many aspects that were weird andappalling. They were hundreds of miles from civilization, and aroundthem everywhere stretched a black forest, hiding a tenacious and cruelfoe. But on the other hand their stockade was stout, they had plentyof ammunition, water and provisions, and one victory already to theircredit. After the first moments of depression they recalled theircourage and eagerly awaited an attack.
But the attack did not come and Robert knew it would not be made, atleast not yet. The Indians were too wary to batter themselves topieces against the palisade, and the Frenchmen with them, skilled inforest war, would hold them back.
"Perhaps they've gone away, realizing that we're too strong for 'em,"said Wilton.
"That's just what we must guard against," said Robert. "The Indianfights with trick and stratagem. He always has more time than thewhite man, and he is wholly willing to wait. They want us to thinkthey've left, and then they'll cut off the incautious."
The afternoon wore on, and the silence which had grown oppressivepersisted. A light pleasant wind blew through the forest, which wasnow dry, and the dead bark and wintry branches rustled. To many of theyouths it became a forest of gloom and threat, and they askedimpatiently why the warriors did not come out and show themselves likemen. Certainly, it did not become Frenchmen, if they were there tolurk in the woods and seek ambush.
Willet was the pervading spirit of the defense. Deft in word andaction, acknowledging at all times that Colden was the commander, thussaving the young Philadelphian's pride in the presence of his men, hecontrived in an unobtrusive way to direct everything. The guards wereplaced at suitable intervals about the palisade, and were instructedto fire at anything suspicious, the others were compelled to stay inthe blockhouse and take their ease, in order that their nerves mightbe steady and true, when the time for battle came. The cooks were alsoinstructed to prepare an unusually bountiful supper for them.
Robert was Willet's right hand. Next to the hunter he knew most aboutthe wilderness, and the ways of its red people. There was nopossibility that the Indians had gone. Even if they did not undertaketo storm the fort they would linger near it, in the hope of cuttingoff men who came forth incautiously, and at night, especially if ithappened to be dark, they would be sure to come very close.
The palisade was about eight feet high, and the men stood on ahorizontal plank three feet from the ground, leaving only the head toproject above the shelter, and Willet warned them to be exceedinglycareful when the twilight came, since the besiegers would undoubtedlyuse the darkness as a cover for sharp-shooting. Then both he andRobert looked anxiously at the sun, which was just setting behind theblack waste.
"The night will be dark," said the hunter, "and that's bad. I'm afraidsome of our sentinels will be picked off. Robert, you and I must notsleep until tomorrow. We must stay on watch here all the while."
As he predicted, the night came down black and grim. Vast banks ofdarkness rolled up close to the palisade, and the forest showed butdimly. Then the warriors proved to the most incredulous that they hadnot gone far away. Scattered shots were fired from the woods, and onesentinel who in spite of warnings thrust his head too high above thepalisade, received a bullet through it falling back dead. It was aterrible lesson, but afterwards the others took no risks, althoughthey were anxious to fire on hostile figures that their fancy saw forthem among the trees. Willet, Robert and Colden compelled them towithhold their fire until a real and tangible enemy appeared.
Later in the night burning arrows were discharged in showers and fellwithin the palisade, some on the buildings. But they had pails, and anunfailing spring, and they easily put out the flames, although one manwas struck and suffered both a burn and a bruise.
Toward midnight a terrific succession of war whoops came, and a greatnumber of warriors charged in the darkness against the palisade. Thegarrison was ready, and, despite the darkness, poured forth such afierce fire that in a few minutes the horde vanished, leaving behindseveral still forms which they stole away later. Another of the youngPhiladelphians was killed, and before dawn he and his comrade who hadbeen slain earlier in the evening were buried behind the blockhouse.
At intervals in the remainder of the night the warriors fired eitherarrows or bullets, doing no farther damage except the slight woundingof one man, and when day came Willet and Robert, worn to the bone,sought a little rest and sleep in the blockhouse. They knew thatGolden could not be surprised while the sun was shining, and that thesavages were not likely to attempt anything serious until thefollowing night So they felt they were not needed for the present.
Robert slept until nearly noon, when he ate heartily of the abundantfood one of the young cooks had prepared, and learned that beyond anoccasional arrow or bullet the forest had given forth no threat. Hisown spirits rose high with the day, which was uncommonly brilliant,with a great sun shining in the center of the heavens, and not a cloudin the sky. Wilton was near the blockhouse and was confident aboutthe siege, but worried about Tayoga.
"You tell me that the Indians won't go away," he said, "and if you'reright, and I think you are, the Onondaga is surely shut off from FortRefuge."
Robert smiled.
"I tell you for the last time that he will come at the appointedhour," he said.
A long day began. Hours that seemed days in themselves passed, andquiet prevailed in the forest, although the young soldiers no longerhad any belief that the warriors had gone away.
The Shadow of the North: A Story of Old New York and a Lost Campaign Page 6
