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Title: Wacousta
       or The Prophecy

Author: John Richardson

Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4912]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on March 25, 2002]

Edition: 10

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WACOUSTA ***




This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan with help from
Charles Franks and the distributed proofers.





WACOUSTA;
   or,
THE PROPHECY.



Volume One of Three


Preface

It is well known to every man conversant with the earlier
history of this country that, shortly subsequent to the
cession of the Canadas to England by France, Ponteac,
the great head of the Indian race of that period, had
formed a federation of the various tribes, threatening
extermin ation to the British posts established along
the Western frontier. These were nine in number, and the
following stratagem was resorted to by the artful chief
to effect their reduction. Investing one fort with his
warriors, so as to cut off all communication with the
others, and to leave no hope of succor, his practice was
to offer terms of surrender, which never were kept in
the honorable spirit in which the far more noble and
generous Tecumseh always acted with his enemies, and
thus, in turn, seven of these outposts fell victims to
their confidence in his truth.

Detroit and Michilimaclcinac, or Mackinaw as it is now
called, remained, and all the ingenuity of the chieftain
was directed to the possession of these strongholds. The
following plan, well worthy of his invention, was at
length determined upon. During a temporary truce, and
while Ponteac was holding forth proposals for an ultimate
and durable peace, a game of lacrosse was arranged by
him to take place simultaneously on the common or clearing
on which rested the forts of Michilimackinac and Detroit.
The better to accomplish their object, the guns of the
warriors had been cut short and given to their women,
who were instructed to conceal them under their blankets,
and during the game, and seemingly without design, to
approach the drawbridge of the fort. This precaution
taken, the players were to approach and throw over their
ball, permission to regain which they presumed would not
be denied. On approaching the drawbridge they were with
fierce yells to make a general rush, and, securing the
arms concealed by the women, to massacre the unprepared
garrison.

The day was fixed; the game commenced, and was proceeded
with in the manner previously arranged. The ball was
dexterously hurled into the fort, and permission asked
to recover it. It was granted. The drawbridge was lowered,
and the Indians dashed forward for the accomplishment of
their work of blood. How different the results in the
two garrisons! At Detroit, Ponteac and his warriors had
scarcely crossed the drawbridge when, to their astonishment
and disappointment, they beheld the guns of the ramparts
depressed--the artillerymen with lighted matches at their
posts and covering the little garrison, composed of a
few companies of the 42nd Highlanders, who were also
under arms, and so distributed as to take the enemy most
at an advantage. Suddenly they withdrew and without other
indication of their purpose than what had been expressed
in their manner, and carried off the missing ball. Their
design had been discovered and made known by means of
significant warnings to the Governor by an Indian woman
who owed a debt of gratitude to his family, and was
resolved, at all hazards, to save them.

On the same day the same artifice was resorted to at
Michilimackinac, and with the most complete success.
There was no guardian angel there to warn them of danger,
and all fell beneath the rifle, the tomahawk, the war-club,
and the knife, one or two of the traders--a Mr. Henry
among the rest--alone excepted.

It was not long after this event when the head of the
military authorities in the Colony, apprised of the fate
of these captured posts, and made acquainted with the
perilous condition of Fort Detroit, which was then reduced
to the last extremity, sought an officer who would
volunteer the charge of supplies from Albany to Buffalo,
and thence across the lake to Detroit, which, if possible,
he was to relieve. That volunteer was promptly found in
my maternal grandfather, Mr. Erskine, from Strabane, in
the North of Ireland, then an officer in the Commissariat
Department. The difficulty of the undertaking will be
obvious to those who understand the danger attending a
journey through the Western wilderness, beset as it was
by the warriors of Ponteac, ever on the lookout to prevent
succor to the garrison, and yet the duty was successfully
accomplished. He left Albany with provisions and ammunition
sufficient to fill several Schnectady boats--I think
seven--and yet conducted his charge with such prudence
and foresight, that notwithstanding the vigilance of
Ponteac, he finally and after long watching succeeded,
under cover of a dark and stormy night, in throwing into
the fort. the supplies of which the remnant of the gallant
"Black Watch," as the 42nd was originally named, and a
company of whom, while out reconnoitering, had been
massacred at a spot in the vicinity of the town, thereafter
called the Bloody Run, stood so greatly in need. This
important service rendered, Mr. Erskine, in compliance
with the instructions he had received, returned to Albany,
where he reported the success of the expedition.

The colonial authorities were not regardless of his
interests. When the Ponteac confederacy had been dissolved,
and quiet and security restored in that remote region,
large tracts of land were granted to Mr. Erskine, and
other privileges accorded which eventually gave him the
command of nearly a hundred thousand dollars--enormous
sum to have been realized at that early period of the
country. But it was not destined that he should retain
this. The great bulk of his capital was expended on almost
the first commercial shipping that ever skimmed the
surface of Lakes Huron and Erie. Shortly prior to the
Revolution, he was possessed of seven vessels of different
tonnage, and the trade in which he had embarked, and of
which he was the head, was rapidly increasing his already
large fortune, when one of those autumnal hurricanes,
which even to this day continue to desolate the waters
of the treacherous lake last named, suddenly arose and
buried beneath its engulfing waves not less than six of
these schooners laden with such riches, chiefly furs, of
the West as then were most an object of barter.

Mr. Erskine, who had married the daughter of one of the
earliest settlers from France, and of a family well known
in history, a lady who had been in Detroit during the
siege of the British garrison by Ponteac, now abandoned
speculation, and contenting himself with the remnant of
his fortune, established himself near the banks of the
river, within a short distance of the Bloody Run. Here
he continued throughout the Revolution. Early, however,
in the present century, he quitted Detroit and repaired
to the Canadian shore, where on a property nearly opposite,
which he obtained in exchange, and which in honor of his
native country he named Strabane--known as such to this
day--he passed the autumn of his days. The last time I
beheld him was a day or two subsequent to the affair of
the Thames, when General Harrison and Colonel Johnson
were temporary inmates of his dwelling.

My father, of a younger branch of the Annandale family,
the head of which was attainted in the Scottish rebellion
of 1745, was an officer of Simcoe's well-known Rangers,
in which regiment, and about the same period, the present
Lord Hardinge commenced his services in this country.
Being quartered at Fort Erie, he met and married at the
house of one of the earliest Canadian merchants a daughter
of Mr. Erskine, then on a visit to her sister, and by
her had eight children, of whom I am the oldest and only
survivor. Having a few years after his marriage been
ordered to St. Joseph's, near Michilimackinac, my father
thought it expedient to leave me with Mr. Erskine at
Detroit, where I received the first rudiments of my
education. But here I did not remain long, for it was
during the period of the stay of the detachment of Simcoe's
Rangers at St. Joseph that Mr. Erskine repaired with his
family to the Canadian shore, where on the more elevated
and conspicuous part of his grounds which are situated
nearly opposite the foot of Hog Island, so repeatedly
alluded to in "Wacousta," he had caused a flag-staff to
be erected, from which each Sabbath day proudly floated
the colors under which he had served, and which he never
could bring himself to disown.

It was at Strabane that the old lady, with whom I was a
great favorite, used to enchain my young interest by
detailing various facts connected with the seige she so
well remembered, and infused into me a longing to grow
up to manhood that I might write a book about it. The
details of the Ponteac plan for the capture of the two
forts were what she most enlarged upon, and although a
long lapse of years of absence from the scene, and ten
thousand incidents of a higher and more immediate importance
might have been supposed to weaken the recollections of
so early a period of life, the impression has ever vividly
remained. Hence the first appearance of "Wacousta" in
London in 1832, more than a quarter of a century later.
The story is founded solely on the artifice of Ponteac
to possess himself of those two last British forts. All
else is imaginary.

It is not a little curious that I, only a few years
subsequent to the narration by old Mrs. Erskine of the
daring and cunning feats of Ponteac, and his vain attempt
to secure the fort of Detroit, should myself have entered
it in arms. But it was so. I had ever hated school with
a most bitter hatred, and I gladly availed myself of an
offer from General Brock to obtain for me a commission
in the King's service. Meanwhile I did duty as a cadet
with the gallant 41st regiment, to which the English
edition of "Wacousta" was inscribed, and was one of the
guard of honor who took possession of the fort. The duty
of a sentinel over the British colors, which had just
been hoisted was assigned to me, and I certainly felt
not a little proud of the distinction.

Five times within half a century had the flag of that
fortress been changed. First the lily of France, then
the red cross of England, and next the stars and stripes
of America had floated over its ramparts; and then again
the red cross, and lastly the stars. On my return to this
country a few years since, I visited those scenes of
stirring excitement in which my boyhood had been passed,
but I looked in vain for the ancient fortifications which
had given a classical interest to that region. The
unsparing hand of utilitarianism had passed over them,
destroying almost every vestige of the past. Where had
risen the only fortress in America at all worthy to give
antiquity to the scene, streets had been laid out and
made, and houses had been built, leaving not a trace of
its existence save the well that formerly supplied the
closely beseiged garrison with water; and this, half
imbedded in the herbage of an enclosure of a dwelling
house of mean appearance, was rather to be guessed at
than seen; while at the opposite extremity of the city,
where had been conspicuous for years the Bloody Run,
cultivation and improvement had nearly obliterated every
trace of the past.

Two objections have been urged against "Wacousta" as a
consistent tale--the one as involving an improbability,
the other a geographical error. It has been assumed that
the startling feat accomplished by that man of deep
revenge, who is not alone in his bitter hatred and contempt
for the base among those who, like spaniels, crawl and
kiss the dust at the instigation of their superiors, and
yet arrogate to themselves a claim to be considered
gentlemen and men of honor and independence--it has, I
repeat, been assumed that the feat attributed to him in
connection with the flag-staff of the fort was impossible.
No one who has ever seen these erections on the small
forts of that day would pronounce the same criticism.
Never very lofty, they were ascended at least one-third
of their height by means of small projections nailed to
them for footholds for the artillerymen, frequently
compelled to clear the flag lines entangled at the truck;
therefore a strong and active man, such as Wacousta is
described to have been, might very well have been supposed,
in his strong anxiety for revenge and escape with his
victim, to have doubled his strength and activity on so
important an occasion, rendering that easy of attainment
by himself which an ordinary and unexcited man might deem
impossible. I myself have knocked down a gate, almost
without feeling the resistance, in order to escape the
stilettos of assassins.

The second objection is to the narrowness attributed in
the tale to the river St. Clair. This was done in the
license usually accorded to a writer of fiction, in order
to give greater effect to the scene represented as having
occurred there, and, of course, in no way intended as a
geographical description of the river, nor was it necessary.
In the same spirit and for the same purpose it has been
continued.

It will be seen that at the termination of the tragedy
enacted at the bridge, by which the Bloody Run was in
those days crossed, that the wretched wife of the condemned
soldier pronounced a curse that could not, of course,
well be fulfilled in the course of the tale. Some few
years ago I published in Canada--I might as well have
done so in Kamschatka--the continuation, which was to
have been dedicated to the last King of England, but
which, after the death of that monarch, was inscribed to
Sir John Harvey, whose letter, as making honorable mention
of a gallant and beloved brother, I feel it a duty to
the memory of the latter to subjoin.

   GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, N.B.,

   Major Richardson, Montreal.

   November 26th, 1839.

   "Dear Sir;--I am favored with your very interesting
   communication of the 2nd instant, by which I learn
   that you are the brother of two youths whose gallantry
   and merits--and with regard to one of them, his
   suferings--during the late war, excited my warmest
   admiration and sympathy. I beg you to believe that I
   am far from insensible to the affecting proofs which
   you have made known to me of this grateful recollection
   of any little service I may have had it in my power
   to render them; and I will add that the desire which
   I felt to serve the father will be found to extend
   itself to the son, if your nephew should ever find
   himself under circumstances to require from me any
   service which it may be within my power to render him."

   "With regard to your very flattering proposition to
   inscribe your present work to me, I can only say that,
   independent of the respect to which the author of so
   very charming a production as 'Wacousta' is entitled,
   the interesting facts and circumstances so unexpectedly
   brought to my knowledge and recollection would ensure
   a ready acquiescence on my part."

   "I remain, dear sir your very faithful servant"

   "(Signed)   J. HARVEY. "

The "Prophecy Fulfilled," which, however, has never been
seen out of the small country in which it appeared--Detroit,
perhaps, alone excepted--embraces and indeed is intimately
connected with the Beauchamp tragedy, which took place
at or near Weisiger's Hotel, in Frankfort, Kentucky,
where I had been many years before confined as a prisoner
of war. While connecting it with the "Prophecy Fulfilled,"
and making it subservient to the end I had in view, I
had not read or even heard of the existence of a work of
the same character, which had already appeared from the
pen of an American author. Indeed, I have reason to
believe that the "Prophecy Fulfilled," although not
published until after a lapse of years, was the first
written. No similarity of treatment of the subject exists
between the two versions, and this, be it remembered, I
remark without in the slightest degree impugning the
merit of the production of my fellow-laborer in the same
field.

THE AUTHOR.

New York City, January 1st, 1851.




CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

As we are about to introduce our readers to scenes with
which the European is little familiarised, some few
cursory remarks, illustrative of the general features of
the country into which we have shifted our labours, may
not be deemed misplaced at the opening of this volume.

Without entering into minute geographical detail, it may
be necessary merely to point out the outline of such
portions of the vast continent of America as still
acknowledge allegiance to the English crown, in order
that the reader, understanding the localities, may enter
with deeper interest into the incidents of a tale connected
with a ground hitherto untouched by the wand of the modern
novelist.

All who have ever taken the trouble to inform themselves
of the features of a country so little interesting to
the majority of Englishmen in their individual character
must be aware,--and for the information of those who are
not, we state,--that that portion of the northern continent
of America which is known as the United States is divided
from the Canadas by a continuous chain of lakes and
rivers, commencing at the ocean into which they empty
themselves, and extending in a north-western direction
to the remotest parts of these wild regions, which have
never yet been pressed by other footsteps than those of
the native hunters of the soil. First we have the
magnificent St. Lawrence, fed from the lesser and tributary
streams, rolling her sweet and silver waters into the
foggy seas of the Newfoundland.--But perhaps it will
better tend to impress our readers with a panoramic
picture of the country in which our scene of action is
more immediately laid, by commencing at those extreme
and remote points of our Canadian possessions to which
their attention will be especially directed in the course
of our narrative.

The most distant of the north-western settlements of
America is Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians,
and preserved by the Americans, who possess the fort even
to this hour. It is situated at the head of the Lakes
Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of St.
Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States
as an independent republic, an English garrison has been
maintained, with a view of keeping the original fortress
in check. From the lakes above mentioned we descend into
the River Sinclair, which, in turn, disembogues itself
into the lake of the same name. This again renders tribute
to the Detroit, a broad majestic river, not less than a
mile in breadth at its source, and progressively widening
towards its mouth until it is finally lost in the beautiful
Lake Erie, computed at about one hundred and sixty miles
in circumference. From the embouchure of this latter lake
commences the Chippawa, better known in Europe from the
celebrity of its stupendous falls of Niagara, which form
an impassable barrier to the seaman, and, for a short
space, sever the otherwise uninterrupted chain connecting
the remote fortresses we have described with the Atlantic.
At a distance of a few miles from the falls, the Chippawa
finally empties itself into the Ontario, the most splendid
of the gorgeous American lakes, on the bright bosom of
which, during the late war, frigates, seventy-fours, and
even a ship of one hundred and twelve guns, manned by a
crew of one thousand men, reflected the proud pennants
of England! At the opposite extremity of this magnificent
and sea-like lake, which is upwards of two hundred miles
in circumference, the far-famed St. Lawrence takes her
source; and after passing through a vast tract of country,
whose elevated banks bear every trace of fertility and
cultivation, connects itself with the Lake Champlain,
celebrated, as well as Erie, for a signal defeat of our
flotilla during the late contest with the Americans.
Pushing her bold waters through this somewhat inferior
lake, the St. Lawrence pursues her course seaward with
impetuosity, until arrested near La Chine by rock-studded
shallows, which produce those strong currents and eddies,
the dangers of which are so beautifully expressed in the
Canadian Boat Song,--a composition that has rendered the
"rapids" almost as familiar to the imagination of the
European as the falls of Niagara themselves. Beyond La
Chine the St. Lawrence gradually unfolds herself into
greater majesty and expanse, and rolling past the busy
commercial town of Montreal, is once more increased in
volume by the insignificant lake of St. Peter's, nearly
opposite to the settlement of Three Rivers, midway between
Montreal and Quebec. From thence she pursues her course
unfed, except by a few inferior streams, and gradually
widens as she rolls past the capital of the Canadas,
whose tall and precipitous battlements, bristled with
cannon, and frowning defiance from the clouds in which
they appear half imbedded, might be taken by the imaginative
enthusiast for the strong tower of the Spirit of those
stupendous scenes. From this point the St. Lawrence
increases in expanse, until, at length, after traversing
a country where the traces of civilisation become gradually
less and less visible, she finally merges in the gulf,
from the centre of which the shores on either hand are
often invisible to the naked eye; and in this manner is
it imperceptibly lost in that misty ocean, so dangerous
to mariners from its deceptive and almost perpetual fogs.

In following the links of this extensive chain of lakes
and rivers, it must be borne in recollection, that,
proceeding seaward from Michilimackinac and its contiguous
district, all that tract of country which lies to the
right constitutes what is now known as the United States
of America, and all on the left the two provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada, tributary to the English government,
subject to the English laws, and garrisoned by English
troops. The several forts and harbours established along
the left bank of the St. Lawrence, and throughout that
portion of our possessions which is known as Lower Canada,
are necessarily, from the improved condition and more
numerous population of that province, on a larger scale
and of better appointment; but in Upper Canada, where
the traces of civilisation are less evident throughout,
and become gradually more faint as we advance westward,
the fortresses and harbours bear the same proportion In
strength and extent to the scantiness of the population
they are erected to protect. Even at the present day,
along that line of remote country we have selected for
the theatre of our labours, the garrisons are both few
in number and weak in strength, and evidence of cultivation
is seldom to be found at any distance in the interior;
so that all beyond a certain extent of clearing, continued
along the banks of the lakes and rivers, is thick,
impervious, rayless forest, the limits of which have
never yet been explored, perhaps, by the natives themselves.

Such being the general features of the country even at
the present day, it will readily be comprehended how much
more wild and desolate was the character they exhibited
as far back as the middle of the last century, about
which period our story commences. At that epoch, it will
be borne in mind, what we have described as being the
United States were then the British colonies of America
dependent on the mother-country; while the Canadas, on
the contrary, were, or had very recently been, under the
dominion of France, from whom they had been wrested after
a long struggle, greatly advanced in favour of England
by the glorious battle fought on the plains of Abraham,
near Quebec, and celebrated for the defeat of Montcalm
and the death of Wolfe.

The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the
strong hold of Quebec having, in every instance, been
met by discomfiture and disappointment, the French, in
despair, relinquished the contest, and, by treaty, ceded
their claims to the Canadas,--an event that was hastened
by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded
by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of
General Amherst. Still, though conquered as a people,
many of the leading men in the country, actuated by that
jealousy for which they were remarkable, contrived to
oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest
by those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary
enemies; and in furtherance of this object, paid agents,
men of artful and intriguing character, were dispersed
among the numerous tribes of savages, with a view of
exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors.
The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of
those countries immediately bordering on the hunting
grounds and haunts of the natives, with whom they carried
on an extensive traffic in furs, had established a
communionship of interest between themselves and those
savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to
account the vindictive views of the former. The whole of
the province of Upper Canada at that time possessed but
a scanty population, protected in its most flourishing
and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief object
of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of
a few companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of
the natives, who, although apparently inclining to
acknowledge the change of neighbours, and professing
amity, were, it was well known, too much in the interest
of their old friends the French, and even the French
Canadians themselves, not to be regarded with the most
cautious distrust.

These stockade forts were never, at any one period, nearer
to each other than from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred miles, so that, in the event of surprise or alarm,
there was little prospect of obtaining assistance from
without. Each garrison, therefore, was almost wholly
dependent on its own resources; and, when surrounded
unexpectedly by numerous bands of hostile Indians, had
no other alternative than to hold out to the death.
Capitulation was out of the question; for, although the
wile and artifice of the natives might induce them to
promise mercy, the moment their enemies were in their
power promises and treaties were alike broken, and
indiscriminate massacre ensued. Communication by water
was, except during a period of profound peace, almost
impracticable; for, although of late years the lakes of
Canada have been covered with vessels of war, many of
them, as we have already remarked, of vast magnitude,
and been the theatres of conflicts that would not have
disgraced the salt waters of ocean itself, at the period
to which our story refers the flag of England was seen
to wave only on the solitary mast of some ill-armed and
ill-manned gunboat, employed rather for the purpose of
conveying despatches from fort to fort, than with any
serious view to acts either of aggression or defence.

In proportion as the colonies of America, now the United
States, pushed their course of civilisation westward, in
the same degree did the numerous tribes of Indians, who
had hitherto dwelt more seaward, retire upon those of
their own countrymen, who, buried in vast and impenetrable
forests, had seldom yet seen the face of the European
stranger; so that, in the end, all the more central parts
of those stupendous wilds became doubly peopled. Hitherto,
however, that civilisation had not been carried beyond
the state of New York; and all those countries which
have, since the American revolution, been added to the
Union under the names of Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri,
Michigan, &c., were, at the period embraced by our story,
inhospitable and unproductive woods, subject only to the
dominion of the native, and as yet unshorn by the axe of
the cultivator. A few portions only of the opposite shores
of Michigan were occupied by emigrants from the Canadas,
who, finding no one to oppose or molest them, selected
the most fertile spots along the banks of the river; and
of the existence of these infant settlements, the English
colonists, who had never ventured so far, were not even
aware until after the conquest of Canada by the mother-
country. This particular district was the centre around
which the numerous warriors, who had been driven westward
by the colonists, had finally assembled; and rude villages
and encampments rose far and near for a circuit of many
miles around this infant settlement and fort of the
Canadians, to both of which they had given the name of
Detroit, after the river on whose elevated banks they
stood. Proceeding westward from this point, and along
the tract of country that diverged from the banks of the
Lakes Huron, Sinclair, and Michigan, all traces of that
partial civilisation were again lost in impervious wilds,
tenanted only by the fiercest of the Indian tribes, whose
homes were principally along the banks of that greatest
of American waters, the Lake Superior, and in the country
surrounding the isolated fort of Michilimackinac, the
last and most remote of the European fortresses in Canada.

When at a later period the Canadas were ceded to us by
France, those parts of the opposite frontier which we
have just described became also tributary to the English
crown, and were, by the peculiar difficulties that existed
to communication with the more central and populous
districts, rendered especially favourable to the exercise
of hostile intrigue by the numerous active French emissaries
every where dispersed among the Indian tribes. During
the first few years of the conquest, the inhabitants of
Canada, who were all either European French, or immediate
descendants of that nation, were, as might naturally be
expected, more than restive under their new governors,
and many of the most impatient spirits of the country
sought every opportunity of sowing the seeds of distrust
and jealousy in the hearts of the natives. By these people
it was artfully suggested to the Indians, that their new
oppressors were of the race of those who had driven them
from the sea, and were progressively advancing on their
territories until scarce a hunting ground or a village
would be left to them. They described them, moreover, as
being the hereditary enemies of their great father, the
King of France, with whose governors they had buried the
hatchet for ever, and smoked the calumet of perpetual
peace. Fired by these wily suggestions, the high and
jealous spirit of the Indian chiefs took the alarm, and
they beheld with impatience the "Red Coat," or "Saganaw,"
[Footnote: This word thus pronounced by themselves, in
reference to the English soldiery, is, in all probability,
derived from the original English settlers in Saganaw
Bay.] usurping, as they deemed it, those possessions
which had so recently acknowledged the supremacy of the
pale flag of their ancient ally. The cause of the Indians,
and that of the Canadians, became, in some degree,
identified as one, and each felt it was the interest,
and it may be said the natural instinct, of both, to hold
communionship of purpose, and to indulge the same jealousies
and fears. Such was the state of things in 1763, the
period at which our story commences,--an epoch fruitful
in designs of hostility and treachery on the part of the
Indians, who, too crafty and too politic to manifest
their feelings by overt acts declaratory of the hatred
carefully instilled into their breasts, sought every
opportunity to compass the destruction of the English,
wherever they were most vulnerable to the effects of
stratagem. Several inferior forts situated on the Ohio
had already fallen into their hands, when they summoned
all their address and cunning to accomplish the fall of
the two important though remote posts of Detroit and
Michilimackinac. For a length of time they were baffled
by the activity and vigilance of the respective governors
of these forts, who had had too much fatal experience in
the fate of their companions not to be perpetually on
the alert against their guile; but when they had at
length, in some degree, succeeded in lulling the suspicions
of the English, they determined on a scheme, suggested
by a leading chief, a man of more than ordinary character,
which promised fair to rid them altogether of a race they
so cordially detested. We will not, however, mar the
interest of our tale, by anticipating, at this early
stage, either the nature or the success of a stratagem
which forms the essential groundwork of our story.

While giving, for the information of the many, what, we
trust, will not be considered a too compendious outline
of the Canadas, and the events connected with them, we
are led to remark, that, powerful as was the feeling of
hostility cherished by the French Canadians towards the
English when the yoke of early conquest yet hung heavily
on them, this feeling eventually died away under the mild
influence of a government that preserved to them the
exercise of all their customary privileges, and abolished
all invidious distinctions between the descendants of
France and those of the mother-country. So universally,
too, has this system of conciliation been pursued, we
believe we may with safety aver, of all the numerous
colonies that have succumbed to the genius and power of
England, there are none whose inhabitants entertain
stronger feelings of attachment and loyalty to her than
those of Canada; and whatever may be the transient
differences,--differences growing entirely out of
circumstances and interests of a local character, and in
no way tending to impeach the acknowledged fidelity of
the mass of French Canadians,--whatever, we repeat, may
be the ephemeral differences that occasionally spring up
between the governors of those provinces and individual
members of the Houses of Assembly, they must, in no way,
be construed into a general feeling of disaffection
towards the English crown.

In proportion also as the Canadians have felt and
acknowledged the beneficent effects arising from a change
of rulers, so have the Indian tribes been gradually weaned
from their first fierce principle of hostility, until
they have subsequently become as much distinguished by
their attachment to, as they were three quarters of a
century ago remarkable for their untameable aversion for,
every thing that bore the English name, or assumed the
English character. Indeed, the hatred which they bore
to the original colonists has been continued to their
descendants, the subjects of the United States; and the
same spirit of union subsisted between the natives and
British troops, and people of Canada, during the late
American war, that at an earlier period of the history
of that country prevailed so powerfully to the disadvantage
of England.

And now we have explained a course of events which were
in some measure necessary to the full understanding of
the country by the majority of our readers, we shall, in
furtherance of the same object, proceed to sketch a few
of the most prominent scenes more immediately before us.

The fort of Detroit, as it was originally constructed by
the French, stands in the middle of a common, or description
of small prairie, bounded by woods, which, though now
partially thinned in their outskirts, were at that period
untouched by the hand of civilisation. Erected at a
distance of about half a mile from the banks of the river,
which at that particular point are high and precipitous,
it stood then just far enough from the woods that swept
round it in a semicircular form to be secure from the
rifle of the Indian; while from its batteries it commanded
a range of country on every hand, which no enemy unsupported
by cannon could traverse with impunity. Immediately in
the rear, and on the skirt of the wood, the French had
constructed a sort of bomb-proof, possibly intended to
serve as a cover to the workmen originally employed in
clearing the woods, but long since suffered to fall into
decay. Without the fortification rose a strong and triple
line of pickets, each of about two feet and a half in
circumference, and so fitted into each other as to leave
no other interstices than those which were perforated
for the discharge of musketry. They were formed of the
hardest and most knotted pines that could be procured;
the sharp points of which were seasoned by fire until
they acquired nearly the durability and consistency of
iron. Beyond these firmly imbedded pickets was a ditch,
encircling the fort, of about twenty feet in width, and
of proportionate depth, the only communication over which
to and from the garrison was by means of a drawbridge,
protected by a strong chevaux-de-frise. The only gate
with which the fortress was provided faced the river; on
the more immediate banks of which, and to the left of
the fort, rose the yet infant and straggling village that
bore the name of both. Numerous farm-houses, however,
almost joining each other, contributed to form a continuity
of many miles along the borders of the river, both on
the right and on the left; while the opposite shores of
Canada, distinctly seen in the distance, presented, as
far as the eye could reach, the same enlivening character
of fertility. The banks, covered with verdure on either
shore, were more or less undulating at intervals; but in
general they were high without being abrupt, and picturesque
without being bold, presenting, in their partial
cultivation, a striking contrast to the dark, tall, and
frowning forests bounding every point of the perspective.

At a distance of about five miles on the left of the town
the course of the river was interrupted by a small and
thickly wooded island, along whose sandy beach occasionally
rose the low cabin or wigwam which the birch canoe,
carefully upturned and left to dry upon the sands, attested
to be the temporary habitation of the wandering Indian.
That branch of the river which swept by the shores of
Canada was (as at this day) the only navigable one for
vessels of burden, while that on the opposite coast
abounded in shallows and bars, affording passage merely
to the light barks of the natives, which seemed literally
to skim the very surface of its waves. Midway, between
that point of the continent which immediately faced the
eastern extremity of the island we have just named and
the town of Detroit, flowed a small tributary river, the
approaches to which, on either hand, were over a slightly
sloping ground, the view of which could be entirely
commanded from the fort. The depth of this river, now
nearly dried up, at that period varied from three to ten
or twelve feet; and over this, at a distance of about
twenty yards from the Detroit, into which it emptied
itself, rose, communicating with the high road, a bridge,
which will more than once be noticed in the course of
our tale. Even to the present hour it retains the name
given to it during these disastrous times; and there are
few modern Canadians, or even Americans, who traverse
the "Bloody Bridge," especially at the still hours of
advanced night, without recalling to memory the tragic
events of those days, (handed down as they have been by
their fathers, who were eye-witnesses of the transaction,)
and peopling the surrounding gloom with the shades of
those whose life-blood erst crimsoned the once pure waters
of that now nearly exhausted stream; and whose mangled
and headless corpses were slowly borne by its tranquil
current into the bosom of the parent river, where all
traces of them finally disappeared.

These are the minuter features of the scene we have
brought more immediately under the province of our pen.
What Detroit was in 1763 it nearly is at the present day,
with this difference, however, that many of those points
which were then in a great degree isolated and rude are
now redolent with the beneficent effects of improved
cultivation; and in the immediate vicinity of that
memorable bridge, where formerly stood merely the occasional
encampment of the Indian warrior, are now to be seen
flourishing farms and crops, and other marks of agricultural
industry. Of the fort of Detroit itself we will give the
following brief history:--It was, as we have already
stated, erected by the French while in the occupancy of
the country by which it is more immediately environed;
subsequently, and at the final cession of the Canadas,
it was delivered over to England, with whom it remained
until the acknowledgement of the independence of the
colonists by the mother-country, when it hoisted the
colours of the republic; the British garrison marching
out, and crossing over into Canada, followed by such of
the loyalists as still retained their attachment to the
English crown. At the commencement of the late war with
America it was the first and more immediate theatre of
conflict, and was remarkable, as well as Michilimackinac,
for being one of the first posts of the Americans that
fell into our hands. The gallant daring, and promptness
of decision, for which the lamented general, Sir Isaac
Brock, was so eminently distinguished, achieved the
conquest almost as soon as the American declaration of
war had been made known in Canada; and on this occasion
we ourselves had the good fortune to be selected as part
of the guard of honour, whose duty it was to lower the
flag of America, and substitute that of England in its
place. On the approach, however, of an overwhelming army
of the enemy in the autumn of the ensuing year it was
abandoned by our troops, after having been dismantled
and reduced, in its more combustible parts, to ashes.
The Americans, who have erected new fortifications on
the site of the old, still retain possession of a post
to which they attach considerable importance, from the
circumstance of its being a key to the more western
portions of the Union.




CHAPTER II.

It was during the midnight watch, late in September,
1763, that the English garrison of Detroit, in North
America, was thrown into the utmost consternation by the
sudden and mysterious introduction of a stranger within
its walls. The circumstance at this moment was particularly
remarkable; for the period was so fearful and pregnant
with events of danger, the fort being assailed on every
side by a powerful and vindictive foe, that a caution
and vigilance of no common kind were unceasingly exercised
by the prudent governor for the safety of those committed
to his charge. A long series of hostilities had been
pursued by the North-American Indians against the subjects
of England, within the few years that had succeeded to
the final subjection of the Canadas to her victorious
arms; and many and sanguinary were the conflicts in which
the devoted soldiery were made to succumb to the cunning
and numbers of their savage enemies. In those lone regions,
both officers and men, in their respective ranks, were,
by a communionship of suffering, isolation, and peculiarity
of duty, drawn towards each other with feelings of almost
fraternal affection; and the fates of those who fell were
lamented with sincerity of soul, and avenged, when
opportunity offered, with a determination prompted equally
by indignation and despair. This sentiment of union,
existing even between men and officers of different corps,
was, with occasional exceptions, of course doubly
strengthened among those who fought under the same colours,
and acknowledged the same head; and, as it often happened
in Canada, during this interesting period, that a single
regiment was distributed into two or three fortresses,
each so far removed from the other that communication
could with the utmost facility be cut off, the anxiety
and uncertainty of these detachments became proportioned
to the danger with which they knew themselves to be more
immediately beset. The garrison of Detroit, at the date
above named, consisted of a third of the ---- regiment,
the remainder of which occupied the forts of
Michilimackinac and Niagara, and to each division of
this regiment was attached an officer's command of
artillery. It is true that no immediate overt act of
hostility had for some time been perpetrated by the
Indians, who were assembled in force around the former
garrison; but the experienced officer to whom the command
had been intrusted was too sensible of the craftiness of
the surrounding hordes to be deceived, by any outward
semblance of amity, into neglect of those measures of
precaution which were so indispensable to the surety of
his trust.

In this he pursued a line of policy happily adapted to
the delicate nature of his position. Unwilling to excite
the anger or wound the pride of the chiefs, by any outward
manifestation of distrust, he affected to confide in the
sincerity of their professions, and, by inducing his
officers to mix occasionally in their councils, and his
men in the amusements of the inferior warriors, contrived
to impress the conviction that he reposed altogether on
their faith. But, although these acts were in some degree
coerced by the necessity of the times, and a perfect
knowledge of all the misery that must accrue to them in
the event of their provoking the Indians into acts of
open hostility, the prudent governor took such precautions
as were deemed efficient to defeat any treacherous attempt
at violation of the tacit treaty on the part of the
natives. The officers never ventured out, unless escorted
by a portion of their men, who, although appearing to be
dispersed among the warriors, still kept sufficiently
together to be enabled, in a moment of emergency, to
afford succour not only to each other but to their
superiors. On these occasions, as a further security
against surprise, the troops left within were instructed
to be in readiness, at a moment's warning, to render
assistance, if necessary, to their companions, who seldom,
on any occasion, ventured out of reach of the cannon of
the fort, the gate of which was hermetically closed,
while numerous supernumerary sentinels were posted along
the ramparts, with a view to give the alarm if any thing
extraordinary was observed to occur without.

Painful and harassing as were the precautions it was
found necessary to adopt on these occasions, and little
desirous as were the garrison to mingle with the natives
on such terms, still the plan was pursued by the Governor
from the policy already named: nay, it was absolutely
essential to the future interests of England that the
Indians should be won over by acts of confidence and
kindness; and so little disposition had hitherto been
manifested by the English to conciliate, that every thing
was to be apprehended from the untameable rancour with
which these people were but too well disposed to repay
a neglect at once galling to their pride and injurious
to their interests.

Such, for a term of many months, had been the trying and
painful duty that had devolved on the governor of Detroit;
when, in the summer of 1763, the whole of the western
tribes of Indians, as if actuated by one common impulse,
suddenly threw off the mask, and commenced a series of
the most savage trespasses upon the English settlers in
the vicinity of the several garrisons, who were cut off
in detail, without mercy, and without reference to either
age or sex. On the first alarm the weak bodies of troops,
as a last measure of security, shut themselves up in
their respective forts, where they were as incapable of
rendering assistance to others as of receiving it
themselves. In this emergency the prudence and forethought
of the governor of Detroit were eminently conspicuous;
for, having long foreseen the possibility of such a
crisis, he had caused a plentiful supply of all that was
necessary to the subsistence and defence of the garrison
to be provided at an earlier period, so that, if foiled
in their attempts at stratagem, there was little chance
that the Indians would speedily reduce them by famine.
To guard against the former, a vigilant watch was constantly
kept by the garrison both day and night, while the
sentinels, doubled in number, were constantly on the
alert. Strict attention, moreover, was paid to such parts
of the ramparts as were considered most assailable by a
cunning and midnight enemy; and, in order to prevent any
imprudence on the part of the garrison, all egress or
ingress was prohibited that had not the immediate sanction
of the chief. With this view the keys of the gate were
given in trust to the officer of the guard; to whom,
however, it was interdicted to use them unless by direct
and positive order of the Governor. In addition to this
precaution, the sentinels on duty at the gate had strict
private instructions not to suffer any one to pass either
in or out unless conducted by the governor in person;
and this restriction extended even to the officer of the
guard.

Such being the cautious discipline established in the
fort, the appearance of a stranger within its walls at
the still hour of midnight could not fail to be regarded
as an extraordinary event, and to excite an apprehension
which could scarcely have been surpassed had a numerous
and armed band of savages suddenly appeared among them.
The first intimation of this fact was given by the violent
ringing of an alarm bell; a rope communicating with which
was suspended in the Governor's apartments, for the
purpose of arousing the slumbering soldiers in any case
of pressing emergency. Soon afterwards the Governor
himself was seen to issue from his rooms into the open
area of the parade, clad in his dressing-gown, and bearing
a lamp in one hand and a naked sword in the other. His
countenance was pale; and his features, violently agitated,
betrayed a source of alarm which those who were familiar
with his usual haughtiness of manner were ill able to
comprehend.

"Which way did he go?--why stand ye here?--follow--pursue
him quickly--let him not escape, on your lives!"

These sentences, hurriedly and impatiently uttered, were
addressed to the two sentinels who, stationed in front
of his apartments, had, on the first sound of alarm from
the portentous bell, lowered their muskets to the charge,
and now stood immovable in that position.

"Who does your honour mane?" replied one of the men,
startled, yet bringing his arms to the recover, in
salutation of his chief.

"Why, the man--the stranger--the fellow who has just
passed you."

"Not a living soul has passed us since our watch commenced,
your honour," observed the second sentinel; "and we have
now been here upwards of an hour."

"Impossible, sirs: ye have been asleep on your posts, or
ye must have seen him. He passed this way, and could not
have escaped your observation had ye been attentive to
your duty."

"Well, sure, and your honour knows bist," rejoined the
first sentinel; "but so hilp me St. Patrick, as I have
sirved man and boy in your honour's rigimint this twilve
years, not even the fitch of a man has passed me this
blissed night. And here's my comrade, Jack Halford, who
will take his Bible oath to the same, with all due
difirince to your honour."

The pithy reply to this eloquent attempt at exculpation
was a brief "Silence, sirrah, walk about!"

The men brought their muskets once more, and in silence,
to the shoulder, and, in obedience to the command of
their chief, resumed the limited walk allotted to them;
crossing each other at regular intervals in the semicircular
course that enfiladed, as it were, the only entrance to
the Governor's apartments.

Meanwhile every thing was bustle and commotion among the
garrison, who, roused from sleep by the appalling sound
of the alarm bell at that late hour, were hastily arming.
Throughout the obscurity might be seen the flitting forms
of men, whose already fully accoutred persons proclaimed
them to be of the guard; while in the lofty barracks,
numerous lights flashing to and fro, and moving with
rapidity, attested the alacrity with which the troops
off duty were equipping themselves for some service of
more than ordinary interest. So noiseless, too, was this
preparation, as far as speech was concerned, that the
occasional opening and shutting of pans, and ringing of
ramrods to ascertain the efficiency of the muskets, might
be heard distinctly in the stillness of the night at a
distance of many furlongs.

HE, however, who had touched the secret spring of all
this picturesque movement, whatever might be his
gratification and approval of the promptitude with which
the summons to arms had been answered by his brave troops,
was far from being wholly satisfied with the scene he
had conjured up. Recovered from the first and irrepressible
agitation which had driven him to sound the tocsin of
alarm, he felt how derogatory to his military dignity
and proverbial coolness of character it might be considered,
to have awakened a whole garrison from their slumbers,
when a few files of the guard would have answered his
purpose equally well. Besides, so much time had been
suffered to elapse, that the stranger might have escaped;
and if so, how many might be disposed to ridicule his
alarm, and consider it as emanating from an imagination
disturbed by sleep, rather than caused by the actual
presence of one endowed like themselves with the faculties
of speech and motion. For a moment he hesitated whether
he should not countermand the summons to arms which had
been so precipitately given; but when he recollected the
harrowing threat that had been breathed in his ear by
his midnight visiter,--when he reflected, moreover, that
even now it was probable he was lurking within the
precincts of the fort with a view to the destruction of
all that it contained,--when, in short, he thought of
the imminent danger that must attend them should he be
suffered to escape,--he felt the necessity of precaution,
and determined on his measures, even at the risk of
manifesting a prudence which might be construed
unfavourably. On re-entering his apartments, he found
his orderly, who, roused by the midnight tumult, stood
waiting to receive the commands of his chief.

"Desire Major Blackwater to come to me immediately."

The mandate was quickly obeyed. In a few seconds a short,
thick-set, and elderly officer made his appearance in a
grey military undress frock.

"Blackwater, we have traitors within the fort. Let diligent
search be made in every part of the barracks for a
stranger, an enemy, who has managed to procure admittance
among us: let every nook and cranny, every empty cask,
be examined forthwith; and cause a number of additional
sentinels to be stationed along the ramparts, in order
to intercept his escape."

"Good Heaven, is it possible?" said the Major, wiping
the perspiration from his brows, though the night was
unusually chilly for the season of the year:--" how could
he contrive to enter a place so vigilantly guarded?"

"Ask me not HOW, Blackwater," returned the Governor
seriously; "let it suffice that he has been in this very
room, and that ten minutes since he stood where you now
stand."

The Major looked aghast.--"God bless me, how singular!
How could the savage contrive to obtain admission? or
was he in reality an Indian?"

"No more questions, MAJOR Blackwater. Hasten to distribute
the men, and let diligent search be made every where;
and recollect, neither officer nor man courts his pillow
until dawn."

The "Major" emphatically prefixed to his name was a
sufficient hint to the stout officer that the doubts thus
familiarly expressed were here to cease, and that he was
now addressed in the language of authority by his superior,
who expected a direct and prompt compliance with his
orders. He therefore slightly touched his hat in salutation,
and withdrew to make the dispositions that had been
enjoined by his Colonel.

On regaining the parade, he caused the men, already
forming into companies and answering to the roll-call of
their respective non-commissioned officers, to be wheeled
into square, and then in a low but distinct voice stated
the cause of alarm; and, having communicated the orders
of the Governor, finished by recommending to each the
exercise of the most scrutinising vigilance; as on the
discovery of the individual in question, and the means
by which he had contrived to procure admission, the safety
of the whole garrison, it was evident, must depend.

The soldiers now dispersed in small parties throughout
the interior of the fort, while a select body were
conducted to the ramparts by the officers themselves,
and distributed between the sentinels already posted
there, in such numbers, and at such distances, that it
appeared impossible any thing wearing the human form
could pass them unperceived, even in the obscurity that
reigned around.

When this duty was accomplished, the officers proceeded
to the posts of the several sentinels who had been planted
since the last relief, to ascertain if any or either of
them had observed aught to justify the belief that an
enemy had succeeded in scaling the works. To all their
enquiries, however, they received a negative reply,
accompanied by a declaration, more or less positive with
each, that such had been their vigilance during the watch,
had any person come within their beat, detection must
have been inevitable. The first question was put to the
sentinel stationed at the gate of the fort, at which
point the whole of the officers of the garrison were,
with one or two exceptions, now assembled. The man at
first evinced a good deal of confusion; but this might
arise from the singular fact of the alarm that had been
given, and the equally singular circumstance of his being
thus closely interrogated by the collective body of his
officers: he, however, persisted in declaring that he
had been in no wise inattentive to his duty, and that no
cause for alarm or suspicion had occurred near his post.
The officers then, in order to save time, separated into
two parties, pursuing opposite circuits, and arranging
to meet at that point of the ramparts which was immediately
in the rear, and overlooking the centre of the semicircular
sweep of wild forest we have described as circumventing
the fort.

"Well, Blessington, I know not what you think of this
sort of work," observed Sir Everard Valletort, a young
lieutenant of the ---- regiment, recently arrived from
England, and one of the party who now traversed the
rampart to the right; "but confound me if I would not
rather be a barber's apprentice in London, upon nothing,
and find myself, than continue a life of this kind much
longer. It positively quite knocks me up; for what with
early risings, and watchings (I had almost added prayings),
I am but the shadow of my former self."

"Hist, Valletort, hist! speak lower," said Captain
Blessington, the senior officer present, "or our search
must be in vain. Poor fellow!" he pursued, laughing low
and good humouredly at the picture of miseries thus
solemnly enumerated by his subaltern;--"how much, in
truth, are you to be pitied, who have so recently basked
in all the sunshine of enjoyment at home. For our parts,
we have lived so long amid these savage scenes, that we
have almost forgotten what luxury, or even comfort, means.
Doubt not, my friend, that in time you will, like us, be
reconciled to the change."

"Confound me for an idiot, then, if I give myself time,"
replied Sir Everard affectedly. "It was only five minutes
before that cursed alarm bell was sounded in my ears,
that I had made up my mind fully to resign or exchange
the instant I could do so with credit to myself; and, I
am sure, to be called out of a warm bed at this unseasonable
hour offers little inducement for me to change my opinion."

"Resign or exchange with credit to yourself!" sullenly
observed a stout tall officer of about fifty, whose spleen
might well be accounted for in his rank of "Ensign" Delme.
"Methinks there can be little credit in exchanging or
resigning, when one's companions are left behind, and in
a post of danger."

"By Jasus, and ye may say that with your own pritty
mouth," remarked another veteran, who answered to the
name of Lieutenant Murphy; "for it isn't now, while we
are surrounded and bediviled by the savages, that any
man of the ---- rigimint should be after talking of bating
a retrate."

"I scarcely understand you, gentlemen," warmly and quickly
retorted Sir Everard, who, with all his dandyism and
effeminacy of manner, was of a high and resolute spirit.
"Do either of you fancy that I want courage to face a
positive danger, because I may not happen to have any
particular vulgar predilection for early rising?"

"Nonsense, Valletort, nonsense," interrupted, in accents
of almost feminine sweetness, his friend Lieutenant
Charles de Haldimar, the youngest son of the Governor:
"Murphy is an eternal echo of the opinions of those who
look forward to promotion; and as for Delme--do you not
see the drift of his observation? Should you retire, as
you have threatened, of course another lieutenant will
be appointed in your stead; but, should you chance to
lose your scalp during the struggle with the savages,
the step goes in the regiment, and he, being the senior
ensign, obtains promotion in consequence."

"Ah!" observed Captain Blessington, "this is indeed the
greatest curse attached to the profession of a soldier.
Even among those who most esteem, and are drawn towards
each other as well by fellowship in pleasure as
companionship in danger, this vile and debasing principle
--this insatiable desire for personal advancement--is
certain to intrude itself; since we feel that over the
mangled bodies of our dearest friends and companions, we
can alone hope to attain preferment and distinction."

A moment or two of silence ensued, in the course of which
each individual appeared to be bringing home to his own
heart the application of the remark just uttered; and
which, however they might seek to disguise the truth from
themselves, was too forcible to find contradiction from
the secret monitor within. And yet of those assembled
there was not one, perhaps, who would not, in the hour
of glory and of danger, have generously interposed his
own frame between that of his companion and the steel or
bullet of an enemy. Such are the contradictory elements
which compose a soldier's life.

This conversation, interrupted only by occasional
questioning of the sentinels whom they passed in their
circuit, was carried on in an audible whisper, which the
close approximation of the parties to each other, and
the profound stillness of the night, enabled them to hear
with distinctness.

"Nay, nay, De Haldimar," at length observed Sir Everard,
in reply to the observation of his friend, "do not imagine
I intend to gratify Mr. Delme by any such exhibition as
that of a scalpless head; but, if such be his hope, I
trust that the hour which sees my love-locks dangling at
the top of an Indian pole may also let daylight into his
own carcass from a rifle bullet or a tomahawk."

"And yit, Captin, it sames to me," observed Lieutenant
Murphy, in allusion to the remark of Blessington rather
than in reply to the last speaker,--"it sames to me, I
say, that promotion in ony way is all fair and honourable
in times of hardship like thase; and though we may drop
a tare over our suparior when the luck of war, in the
shape of a tommyhawk, knocks him over, still there can
be no rason why we shouldn't stip into his shoes the viry
nixt instant; and it's that, we all know, that we fight
for. And the divil a bitter chance any man of us all has
of promotion thin yoursilf, Captin: for it'll be mighty
strange if our fat Major doesn't git riddlid like a
cullinder through and through with the bullits from the
Ingians' rifles before we have quite done with this
business, and thin you will have the rigimintal majority,
Captin; and it may be that one Liftinint Murphy, who is
now the sanior of his rank, may come in for the vacant
captincy."

"And Delme for the lieutenancy," said Charles de Haldimar
significantly. "Well, Murphy, I am happy to find that
you, at least, have hit on another than Sir Everard
Valletort: one, in fact, who will render the promotion
more general than it would otherwise have been. Seriously,
I should be sorry if any thing happened to our worthy
Major, who, with all his bustling and grotesque manner,
is as good an officer and as brave a soldier as any his
Majesty's army in Canada can boast. For my part, I say,
perish all promotion for ever, if it is only to be obtained
over the dead bodies of those with whom I have lived so
long and shared so many dangers!"

"Nobly uttered, Charles," said Captain Blessington: "the
sentiment is, indeed, one well worthy of our present
position; and God knows we are few enough in number
already, without looking forward to each other's death
as a means of our own more immediate personal advancement.
With you, therefore, I repeat, perish all my hopes of
promotion, if it is only to be obtained over the corpses
of my companions! And let those who are most sanguine in
their expectations beware lest they prove the first to
be cut off, and that even before they have yet enjoyed
the advantages of the promotion they so eagerly covet."

This observation, uttered without acrimony, had yet enough
of delicate reproach in it to satisfy Lieutenant Murphy
that the speaker was far from approving the expression
of such selfish anticipations at a moment like the present,
when danger, in its most mysterious guise, lurked around,
and threatened the safety of all most dear to them.

The conversation now dropped, and the party pursued their
course in silence. They had just passed the last sentinel
posted in their line of circuit, and were within a few
yards of the immediate rear of the fortress, when a sharp
"Hist!" and sudden halt of their leader, Captain
Blessington, threw them all into an attitude of the most
profound attention.

"Did you hear?" he asked in a subdued whisper, after a
few seconds of silence, in which he had vainly sought to
catch a repetition of the sound.

"Assuredly," he pursued, finding that no one answered,
"I distinctly heard a human groan."

"Where?--in what direction?" asked Sir Everard and De
Haldimar in the same breath.

"Immediately opposite to us on the common. But see, here
are the remainder of the party stationary, and listening
also."

They now stole gently forward a few paces, and were soon
at the side of their companions, all of whom were straining
their necks and bending their heads in the attitude of
men listening attentively.

"Have you heard any thing, Erskine?" asked Captain
Blessington in the same low whisper, and addressing the
officer who led the opposite party.

"Not a sound ourselves, but here is Sir Everard's black
servant, Sambo, who has just riveted our attention, by
declaring that he distinctly heard a groan towards the
skirt of the common."

"He is right," hastily rejoined Blessington; "I heard it
also."

Again a death-like silence ensued, during which the eyes
of the party were strained eagerly in the direction of
the common. The night was clear and starry, yet the dark
shadow of the broad belt of forest threw all that part
of the waste which came within its immediate range into
impenetrable obscurity.

"Do you see any thing?" whispered Valletort to his friend,
who stood next him: "look--look!" and he pointed with
his finger.

"Nothing," returned De Haldimar, after an anxious gaze
of a minute, "but that dilapidated old bomb-proof."

"See you not something dark, and slightly moving immediately
in a line with the left angle of the bomb-proof?"

De Haldimar looked again.--"I do begin to fancy I see
something," he replied; "but so confusedly and indistinctly,
that I know not whether it be not merely an illusion of
my imagination. Perhaps it is a stray Indian dog devouring
the carcass of the wolf you shot yesterday."

"Be it dog or devil, here is for a trial of his
vulnerability.--Sambo, quick, my rifle."

The young negro handed to his master one of those long
heavy rifles, which the Indians usually make choice of
for killing the buffalo, elk, and other animals whose
wildness renders them difficult of approach. He then,
unbidden, and as if tutored to the task, placed himself
in a stiff upright position in front of his master, with
every nerve and muscle braced to the most inflexible
steadiness. The young officer next threw the rifle on
the right shoulder of the boy for a rest, and prepared
to take his aim on the object that had first attracted
his attention.

"Make haste, massa,--him go directly,--Sambo see him
get up."

All was breathless attention among the group of officers;
and when the sharp ticking sound produced by the cocking
of the rifle of their companion fell on their ears, they
bent their gaze upon the point towards which the murderous
weapon was levelled with the most aching and intense
interest.

"Quick, quick, massa,--him quite up," again whispered
the boy.

The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the crack
of the rifle, followed by a bright blaze of light, sounded
throughout the stillness of the night with exciting
sharpness. For an instant all was hushed; but scarcely
had the distant woods ceased to reverberate the
spirit-stirring echoes, when the anxious group of officers
were surprised and startled by a sudden flash, the report
of a second rifle from the common, and the whizzing of
a bullet past their ears. This was instantly succeeded
by a fierce, wild, and prolonged cry, expressive at once
of triumph and revenge. It was that peculiar cry which
an Indian utters when the reeking scalp has been wrested
from his murdered victim.

"Missed him, as I am a sinner," exclaimed Sir Everard,
springing to his feet, and knocking the butt of his rifle
on the ground with a movement of impatience. "Sambo, you
young scoundrel, it was all your fault,--you moved your
shoulder as I pulled the trigger. Thank Heaven, however,
the aim of the Indian appears to have been no better,
although the sharp whistling of his ball proves his piece
to have been well levelled for a random shot."

"His aim has been too true," faintly pronounced the voice
of one somewhat in the rear of his companions. "The ball
of the villain has found a lodgment in my breast. God
bless ye all, my boys; may your fates be more lucky than
mine!" While he yet spoke, Lieutenant Murphy sank into
the arms of Blessington and De Haldimar, who had flown
to him at the first intimation of his wound, and was in
the next instant a corpse.




CHAPTER III.

"To your companies, gentlemen, to your companies on the
instant. There is treason in the fort, and we had need
of all our diligence and caution. Captain de Haldimar is
missing, and the gate has been found unlocked. Quick,
gentlemen, quick; even now the savages may be around us,
though unseen."

"Captain de Haldimar missing!--the gate unlocked!"
exclaimed a number of voices. "Impossible!--surely we
are not betrayed by our own men."

"The sentinel has been relieved, and is now in irons,"
resumed the communicator of this startling piece of
intelligence. It was the adjutant of the regiment.

"Away, gentlemen, to your posts immediately," said Captain
Blessington, who, aided by De Haldimar, hastened to
deposit the stiffening body of the unfortunate Murphy,
which they still supported, upon the rampart. Then
addressing the adjutant, "Mr. Lawson, let a couple of
files be sent immediately to remove the body of their
officer."

"That shot which I heard from the common, as I approached,
was not fired at random, then, I find," observed the
adjutant, as they all now hastily descended to join their
men.--"Who has fallen?"

"Murphy, of the grenadiers," was the reply of one near
him.

"Poor fellow! our work commences badly," resumed Mr.
Lawson: "Murphy killed, and Captain de Haldimar missing.
We had few officers enough to spare before, and their
loss will be severely felt; I greatly fear, too, these
casualties may have a tendency to discourage the men."

"Nothing more easy than to supply their place, by promoting
some of our oldest sergeants," observed Ensign Delme,
who, as well as the ill-fated Murphy, had risen from the
ranks. "If they behave themselves well, the King will
confirm their appointments."

"But my poor brother, what of him, Lawson? what have you
learnt connected with his disappearance?" asked Charles
de Haldimar with deep emotion.

"Nothing satisfactory, I am sorry to say," returned the
adjutant; "in fact, the whole affair is a mystery which
no one can unravel; even at this moment the sentinel,
Frank Halloway, who is strongly suspected of being privy
to his disappearance, is undergoing a private examination
by your father the governor."

"Frank Halloway!" repeated the youth with a start of
astonishment; "surely Halloway could never prove a
traitor,--and especially to my brother, whose life he
once saved at the peril of his own."

The officers had now gained the parade, when the "Fall
in, gentlemen, fall in," quickly pronounced by Major
Blackwater, prevented all further questioning on the part
of the younger De Haldimar.

The scene, though circumscribed in limit, was picturesque
in effect, and might have been happily illustrated by
the pencil of the painter. The immediate area of the
parade was filled with armed men, distributed into three
divisions, and forming, with their respective ranks facing
outwards, as many sides of a hollow square, the mode of
defence invariably adopted by the Governor in all cases
of sudden alarm. The vacant space, which communicated
with the powder magazine, was left open to the movements
of three three-pounders, which were to support each face
in the event of its being broken by numbers. Close to
these, and within the square, stood the number of gunners
necessary to the duty of the field-pieces, each of which
was commanded by a bombardier. At the foot of the ramparts,
outside the square, and immediately opposite to their
several embrasures, were stationed the gunners required
for the batteries, under a non-commissioned officer also,
and the whole under the direction of a superior officer
of that arm, who now walked to and fro, conversing in a
low voice with Major Blackwater. One gunner at each of
these divisions of the artillery held in his hand a
blazing torch, reflecting with picturesque yet gloomy
effect the bright bayonets and equipment of the soldiers,
and the anxious countenances of the women and invalids,
who, bending eagerly through the windows of the surrounding
barracks, appeared to await the issue of these preparations
with an anxiety increased by the very consciousness of
having no other parts than those of spectators to play
in the scene that was momentarily expected.

In a few minutes from the falling in of the officers with
their respective companies, the clank of irons was heard
in the direction of the guard-room, and several forms
were seen slowly advancing into the area already occupied
as we have described. This party was preceded by the
Adjutant Lawson, who, advancing towards Major Blackwater,
communicated a message, that was followed by the command
of the latter officer for the three divisions to face
inwards. The officer of artillery also gave the word to
his men to form lines of single files immediately in the
rear of their respective guns, leaving space enough for
the entrance of the approaching party, which consisted
of half a dozen files of the guard, under a non-commissioned
officer, and one whose manacled limbs, rather than his
unaccoutred uniform, attested him to be not merely a
prisoner, but a prisoner confined for some serious and
flagrant offence.

This party now advanced through the vacant quarter of
the square, and took their stations immediately in the
centre. Here the countenances of each, and particularly
that of the prisoner, who was, if we may so term it, the
centre of that centre, were thrown into strong relief by
the bright glare of the torches as they were occasionally
waved in air, to disencumber them of their dross, so that
the features of the prisoner stood revealed to those
around as plainly as if it had been noonday. Not a sound,
not a murmur, escaped from the ranks: but, though the
etiquette and strict laws of military discipline chained
all speech, the workings of the inward mind remained
unchecked; and as they recognised in the prisoner Frank
Halloway, one of the bravest and boldest in the field,
and, as all had hitherto imagined, one of the most devoted
to his duty, an irrepressible thrill of amazement and
dismay crept throughout the frames, and for a moment
blanched the cheeks of those especially who belonged to
the same company. On being summoned from their fruitless
search after the stranger, to fall in without delay, it
had been whispered among the men that treason had crept
into the fort, and a traitor, partly detected in his
crime, had been arrested and thrown into irons; but the
idea of Frank Halloway being that traitor was the last
that could have entered into their thoughts, and yet they
now beheld him covered with every mark of ignominy, and
about to answer his high offence, in all human probability,
with his life.

With the officers the reputation of Halloway for courage
and fidelity stood no less high; but, while they secretly
lamented the circumstance of his defalcation, they could
not disguise from themselves the almost certainty of his
guilt, for each, as he now gazed upon the prisoner,
recollected the confusion and hesitation of manner he
had evinced when questioned by them preparatory to their
ascending to the ramparts.

Once more the suspense of the moment was interrupted by
the entrance of other forms into the area. They were
those of the Adjutant, followed by a drummer, bearing
his instrument, and the Governor's orderly, charged with
pens, ink, paper, and a book which, from its peculiar
form and colour, every one present knew to be a copy of
the Articles of War. A variety of contending emotions
passed through the breasts of many, as they witnessed
the silent progress of these preparations, rendered
painfully interesting by the peculiarity of their position,
and the wildness of the hour at which they thus found
themselves assembled together. The prisoner himself was
unmoved: he stood proud, calm, and fearless amid the
guard, of whom he had so recently formed one; and though
his countenance was pale, as much, perhaps, from a sense
of the ignominious character in which he appeared as from
more private considerations, still there was nothing to
denote either the abjectness of fear or the consciousness
of merited disgrace. Once or twice a low sobbing, that
proceeded at intervals from one of the barrack windows,
caught his ear, and he turned his glance in that direction
with a restless anxiety, which he exerted himself in the
instant afterwards to repress; but this was the only mark
of emotion he betrayed.

The above dispositions having been hastily made, the
adjutant and his assistants once more retired. After the
lapse of a minute, a tall martial-looking man, habited
in a blue military frock, and of handsome, though stern,
haughty, and inflexible features, entered the area. He
was followed by Major Blackwater, the captain of artillery,
and Adjutant Lawson.

"Are the garrison all present, Mr. Lawson? are the officers
all present? "

"All except those of the guard, sir," replied the Adjutant,
touching his hat with a submission that was scrupulously
exacted on all occasions of duty by his superior.

The Governor passed his hand for a moment over his brows.
It seemed to those around him as if the mention of that
guard had called up recollections which gave him pain;
and it might be so, for his eldest son, Captain Frederick
de Haldimar, had commanded the guard. Whither he had
disappeared, or in what manner, no one knew.

"Are the artillery all present, Captain Wentworth?" again
demanded the Governor, after a moment of silence, and in
his wonted firm authoritative voice.

"All present, sir," rejoined the officer, following the
example of the Adjutant, and saluting his chief.

"Then let a drum-head court-martial be assembled
immediately, Mr. Lawson, and without reference to the
roster let the senior officers be selected."

The Adjutant went round to the respective divisions, and
in a low voice warned Captain Blessington, and the four
senior subalterns, for that duty. One by one the officers,
as they were severally called upon, left their places in
the square, and sheathing their swords, stepped into that
part of the area appointed as their temporary court. They
were now all assembled, and Captain Blessington, the
senior of his rank in the garrison, was preparing to
administer the customary oaths, when the prisoner Halloway
advanced a pace or two in front of his escort, and removing
his cap, in a clear, firm, but respectful voice, thus
addressed the Governor:--

"Colonel de Haldimar, that I am no traitor, as I have
already told you, the Almighty God, before whom I swore
allegiance to his Majesty, can bear me witness. Appearances,
I own, are against me; but, so far from being a traitor,
I would have shed my last drop of blood in defence of
the garrison and your family.--Colonel de Haldimar," he
pursued, after a momentary pause, in which he seemed to
be struggling to subdue the emotion which rose, despite
of himself, to his throat, "I repeat, I am no traitor,
and I scorn the imputation--but here is my best answer
to the charge. This wound, (and he unbuttoned his jacket,
opened his shirt, and disclosed a deep scar upon his
white chest,) this wound I received in defence of my
captain's life at Quebec. Had I not loved him, I should
not so have exposed myself, neither but for that should
I now stand in the situation of shame and danger, in
which my comrades behold me."

Every heart was touched by this appeal--this bold and
manly appeal to the consideration of the Governor. The
officers, especially, who were fully conversant with the
general merit of Halloway, were deeply affected, and
Charles de Haldimar--the young, the generous, the feeling
Charles de Haldimar,--even shed tears.

"What mean you, prisoner?" interrogated the Governor,
after a short pause, during which he appeared to be
weighing and deducing inferences from the expressions
just uttered. "What mean you, by stating, but for that
(alluding to your regard for Captain de Haldimar) you
would not now be in this situation of shame and danger?"

The prisoner hesitated a moment; and then rejoined, but
in a tone that had less of firmness in it than
before,--"Colonel de Haldimar, I am not at liberty to
state my meaning; for, though a private soldier, I respect
my word, and have pledged myself to secrecy."

"You respect your word, and have pledged yourself to
secrecy! What mean you, man, by this rhodomontade? To
whom can you have pledged yourself, and for what, unless
it be to some secret enemy without the walls? Gentlemen,
proceed to your duty: it is evident that the man is a
traitor, even from his own admission.--On my life," he
pursued, more hurriedly, and speaking in an under tone,
as if to himself, "the fellow has been bribed by, and is
connected with--." The name escaped not his lips; for,
aware of the emotion he was betraying, he suddenly checked
himself, and assumed his wonted stern and authoritative
bearing.

Once more the prisoner addressed the Governor in the same
clear firm voice in which he had opened his appeal.

"Colonel de Haldimar, I have no connection with any living
soul without the fort; and again I repeat, I am no traitor,
but a true and loyal British soldier, as my services in
this war, and my comrades, can well attest. Still, I seek
not to shun that death which I have braved a dozen times
at least in the ---- regiment. All that I ask is, that
I may not be tried--that I may not have the shame of
hearing sentence pronounced against me YET; but if nothing
should occur before eight o'clock to vindicate my character
from this disgrace, I will offer up no further prayer
for mercy. In the name of that life, therefore, which I
once preserved to Captain de Haldimar, at the price of
my own blood, I entreat a respite from trial until then."

"In the name of God and all his angels, let mercy reach
your soul, and grant his prayer!"

Every ear was startled--every heart touched by the
plaintive, melancholy, silver tones of the voice that
faintly pronounced the last appeal, and all recognised
it for that of the young, interesting, and attached wife
of the prisoner. Again the latter turned his gaze towards
the window whence the sounds proceeded, and by the glare
of the torches a tear was distinctly seen by many coursing
down his manly cheek. The weakness was momentary. In the
next instant he closed his shirt and coat, and resuming
his cap, stepped back once more amid his guard, where he
remained stationary, with the air of one who, having
nothing further to hope, has resolved to endure the worst
that can happen with resignation and fortitude.

After the lapse of a few moments, again devoted to much
apparent deep thought and conjecture, the Governor once
more, and rather hurriedly, resumed,--

"In the event, prisoner, of this delay in your trial
being granted, will you pledge yourself to disclose the
secret to which you have alluded? Recollect, there is
nothing but that which can save your memory from being
consigned to infamy for ever; for who, among your comrades,
will believe the idle denial of your treachery, when
there is the most direct proof against you? If your secret
die with you, moreover, every honest man will consider
it as having been one so infamous and injurious to your
character, that you were ashamed to reveal it."

These suggestions of the Colonel were not without their
effect; for, in the sudden swelling of the prisoner's
chest, as allusion was made to the disgrace that would
attach to his memory, there was evidence of a high and
generous spirit, to whom obloquy was far more hateful
than even death itself.

"I do promise," he at length replied, stepping forward,
and uncovering himself as before,--"if no one appear to
justify my conduct at the hour I have named, a full
disclosure of all I know touching this affair shall be
made. And may God, of his infinite mercy, grant, for
Captain de Haldimar's sake, as well as mine, I may not
then be wholly deserted!"

There was something so peculiarly solemn and impressive
in the manner in which the unhappy man now expressed
himself, that a feeling of the utmost awe crept into the
bosoms of the surrounding throng; and more than one
veteran of the grenadiers, the company to which Halloway
belonged, was heard to relieve his chest of the long
pent-up sigh that struggled for release.

"Enough, prisoner," rejoined the Governor; "on this
condition do I grant your request; but recollect,--your
disclosure ensures no hope of pardon, unless, indeed,
you have the fullest proof to offer in your defence. Do
you perfectly understand me? "

"I do," replied the soldier firmly; and again he placed
his cap on his head, and retired a step or two back among
the guard.

"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be removed, and conducted
to one of the private cells. Who is the subaltern of
the guard?"

"Ensign Fortescue," was the answer.

"Then let Ensign Fortescue keep the key of the cell
himself. Tell him, moreover, I shall hold him individually
responsible for his charge."

Once more the prisoner was marched out of the area; and,
as the clanking sound of his chains became gradually
fainter in the distance, the same voice that had before
interrupted the proceedings, pronounced a "God be praised!--
God be praised!" with such melody of sorrow in its
intonations that no one could listen to it unmoved. Both
officers and men were more or less affected, and all
hoped--they scarcely knew why or what--but all hoped
something favourable would occur to save the life of the
brave and unhappy Frank Halloway.

Of the first interruption by the wife of the prisoner
the Governor had taken no notice; but on this repetition
of the expression of her feelings he briefly summoned,
in the absence of the Adjutant, the sergeant-major of
the regiment to his side.

"Sergeant-major Bletson, I desire that, in future, on
all occasions of this kind, the women of the regiment
may be kept out of the way. Look to it, sir!"

The sergeant-major, who had stood erect as his own halbert,
which he held before him in a saluting position, during
this brief admonition of his colonel, acknowledged, by
a certain air of deferential respect and dropping of the
eyes, unaccompanied by speech of any kind, that he felt
the reproof, and would, in future, take care to avoid
all similar cause for complaint. He then stalked stiffly
away, and resumed, in a few hasty strides, his position
in rear of the troops.

"Hard-hearted man!" pursued the same voice: "if my prayers
of gratitude to Heaven give offence, may the hour never
come when my lips shall pronounce their bitterest curse
upon your severity!"

There was something so painfully wild--so solemnly
prophetic--in these sounds of sorrow as they fell faintly
upon the ear, and especially under the extraordinary
circumstances of the night, that they might have been
taken for the warnings of some supernatural agency. During
their utterance, not even the breathing of human life
was to be heard in the ranks. In the next instant, however,
Sergeant-major Bletson was seen repairing, with long and
hasty strides, to the barrack whence the voice proceeded,
and the interruption was heard no more.

Meanwhile the officers, who had been summoned from the
ranks for the purpose of forming the court-martial, still
lingered in the centre of the square, apparently waiting
for the order of their superior, before they should resume
their respective stations. As the quick and comprehensive
glance of Colonel de Haldimar now embraced the group, he
at once became sensible of the absence of one of the
seniors, all of whom he had desired should be selected
for the court-martial.

"Mr. Lawson," he remarked, somewhat sternly, as the
Adjutant now returned from delivering over his prisoner
to Ensign Fortescue, "I thought I understood from your
report the officers were all present!"

"I believe, sir, my report will be found perfectly
correct," returned the Adjutant, in a tone which, without
being disrespectful, marked his offended sense of the
implication.

"And Lieutenant Murphy--"

"Is here, sir," said the Adjutant, pointing to a couple
of files of the guard, who were bearing a heavy burden,
and following into the square. "Lieutenant Murphy," he
pursued, "has been shot on the ramparts; and I have, as
directed by Captain Blessington, caused the body to be
brought here, that I may receive your orders respecting
the interment." As he spoke, he removed a long military
grey cloak, which completely enshrouded the corpse, and
disclosed, by the light of the still brightly flaming
torches of the gunners, the features of the unfortunate
Murphy.

"How did he meet his death?" enquired the governor;
without, however, manifesting the slightest surprise, or
appearing at all moved at the discovery.

"By a rifle shot fired from the common, near the old bomb
proof," observed Captain Blessington, as the adjutant
looked to him for the particular explanation he could
not render himself.

"Ah! this reminds me," pursued the austere
commandant,--"there was a shot fired also from the
ramparts. By whom, and at what?"

"By me, sir," said Lieutenant Valletort, coming forward
from the ranks, "and at what I conceived to be an Indian,
lurking as a spy upon the common."

"Then, Lieutenant Sir Everard Valletort, no repetition
of these firings, if you please; and let it be borne in
mind by all, that although, from the peculiar nature of
the service in which we are engaged, I so far depart from
the established regulations of the army as to permit my
officers to arm themselves with rifles, they are to be
used only as occasion may require in the hour of conflict,
and not for the purpose of throwing a whole garrison into
alarm by trials of skill and dexterity upon shadows at
this unseasonable hour."

"I was not aware, sir," returned Sir Everard proudly,
and secretly galled at being thus addressed before the
men, "it could be deemed a military crime to destroy an
enemy at whatever hour he might present himself, and
especially on such an occasion as the present. As for my
firing at a shadow, those who heard the yell that followed
the second shot, can determine that it came from no
shadow, but from a fierce and vindictive enemy. The cry
denoted even something more than the ordinary defiance
of an Indian: it seemed to express a fiendish sentiment
of personal triumph and revenge."

The governor started involuntarily. "Do you imagine, Sir
Everard Valletort, the aim of your rifle was true--that
you hit him?"

This question was asked so hurriedly, and in a tone so
different from that in which he had hitherto spoken, that
the officers around simultaneously raised their eyes to
those of their colonel with an expression of undissembled
surprise. He observed it, and instantly resumed his
habitual sternness of look and manner.

"I rather fear not, sir," replied Sir Everard, who had
principally remarked the emotion; "but may I hope (and
this was said with emphasis), in the evident disappointment
you experience at my want of success, my offence may be
overlooked?"

The governor fixed his penetrating eyes on the speaker,
as if he would have read his inmost mind; and then calmly,
and even impressively, observed,--

"Sir Everard Valletort, I do overlook the offence, and
hope you may as easily forgive yourself. It were well,
however, that your indiscretion, which can only find its
excuse in your being so young an officer, had not been
altogether without some good result. Had you killed or
disabled the--the savage, there might have been a decent
palliative offered; but what must be your feelings, sir,
when you reflect, the death of yon officer," and he
pointed to the corpse of the unhappy Murphy, "is, in a
great degree, attributable to yourself? Had you not
provoked the anger of the savage, and given a direction
to his aim by the impotent and wanton discharge of your
own rifle, this accident would never have happened."

This severe reproving of an officer, who had acted from
the most praiseworthy of motives, and who could not
possibly have anticipated the unfortunate catastrophe
that had occurred, was considered especially harsh and
unkind by every one present; and a low and almost inaudible
murmur passed through the company to which Sir Everard
was attached. For a minute or two that officer also
appeared deeply pained, not more from the reproof itself
than from the new light in which the observation of his
chief had taught him to view, for the first time, the
causes that had led to the fall of Murphy. Finding,
however, that the governor had no further remark to
address to him, he once more returned to his station in
the ranks.

"Mr. Lawson," resumed the commandant, turning to the
adjutant, "let this victim be carried to the spot on
which he fell, and there interred. I know no better grave
for a soldier than beneath the sod that has been moistened
with his blood. Recollect," he continued, as the adjutant
once more led the party out of the area,--"no firing,
Mr. Lawson. The duty must be silently performed, and
without the risk of provoking a forest of arrows, or a
shower of bullets from the savages. Major Blackwater,"
he pursued, as soon as the corpse had been removed, "let
the men pile their arms even as they now stand, and remain
ready to fall in at a minute's notice. Should any thing
extraordinary happen before the morning, you will, of
course, apprise me." He then strode out of the area with
the same haughty and measured step that had characterised
his entrance.

"Our colonel does not appear to be in one of his most
amiable moods to-night," observed Captain Blessington,
as the officers, after having disposed of their respective
companies, now proceeded along the ramparts to assist at
the last funeral offices of their unhappy associate.
"He was disposed to be severe, and must have put you, in
some measure, out of conceit with your favourite rifle,
Valletort."

"True," rejoined the Baronet, who had already rallied
from the momentary depression of his spirits, "he hit me
devilish hard, I confess, and was disposed to display
more of the commanding officer than quite suits my ideas
of the service. His words were as caustic as his looks;
and could both have pierced me to the quick, there was
no inclination on his part wanting. By my soul I could.
...but I forgive him. He is the father of my friend:
and for that reason will I chew the cud of my mortification,
nor suffer, if possible, a sense of his unkindness to
rankle at my heart. At all events, Blessington, my mind
is made up, and resign or exchange I certainly shall the
instant I can find a decent loop-hole to creep out of."

Sir Everard fancied the ear of his captain was alone
listening to these expressions of his feeling, or in all
probability he would not have uttered them. As he concluded
the last sentence, however, he felt his arm gently grasped
by one who walked a pace or two silently in their rear.
He turned, and recognised Charles de Haldimar.

"I am sure, Valletort, you will believe how much pained
I have been at the severity of my father; but, indeed,
there was nothing personally offensive intended. Blessington
can tell you as well as myself it is his manner altogether.
Nay, that although he is the first in seniority after
Blackwater, the governor treats him with the same distance
and hauteur he would use towards the youngest ensign in
the service. Such are the effects of his long military
habits, and his ideas of the absolutism of command. Am
I not right, Blessington?"

"Quite right, Charles. Sir Everard may satisfy himself
his is no solitary instance of the stern severity of your
father. Still, I confess, notwithstanding the rigidity
of manner which he seems, on all occasions, to think so
indispensable to the maintenance of authority in a
commanding officer, I never knew him so inclined to find
fault as he is to-night."

"Perhaps," observed Valletort, good humouredly, "his
conscience is rather restless; and he is willing to get
rid of it and his spleen together. I would wager my rifle
against the worthless scalp of the rascal I fired at
to-night, that this same stranger, whose asserted appearance
has called us from our comfortable beds, is but the
creation of his disturbed dreams. Indeed, how is it
possible any thing formed of flesh and blood could have
escaped us with the vigilant watch that has been kept on
the ramparts? The old gentleman certainly had that illusion
strongly impressed on his mind when he so sapiently spoke
of my firing at a shadow."

"But the gate," interrupted Charles de Haldimar, with
something of mild reproach in his tones,--"you forget,
Valletort, the gate was found unlocked, and that my
brother is missing. HE, at least, was flesh and blood,
as you say, and yet he has disappeared. What more probable,
therefore, than that this stranger is at once the cause
and the agent of his abduction?"

"Impossible, Charles," observed Captain Blessington;
"Frederick was in the midst of his guard. How, therefore,
could he be conveyed away without the alarm being given?
Numbers only could have succeeded in so desperate an
enterprise; and yet there is no evidence, or even suspicion,
of more than one individual having been here."

"It is a singular affair altogether," returned Sir Everard,
musingly. "Of two things, however, I am satisfied. The
first is, that the stranger, whoever he may be, and if
he really has been here, is no Indian; the second, that
he is personally known to the governor, who has been, or
I mistake much, more alarmed at his individual presence
than if Ponteac and his whole band had suddenly broken
in upon us. Did you remark his emotion, when I dwelt on
the peculiar character of personal triumph and revenge
which the cry of the lurking villain outside seemed to
express? and did you notice the eagerness with which he
enquired if I thought I had hit him? Depend upon it,
there is more in all this than is dreamt of in our
philosophy."

"And it was your undisguised perception of that emotion,"
remarked Captain Blessington, "that drew down his severity
upon your own head. It was, however, too palpable not to
be noticed by all; and I dare say conjecture is as busily
and as vaguely at work among our companions as it is with
us. The clue to the mystery, in a great degree, now dwells
with Frank Halloway; and to him we must look for its
elucidation. His disclosure will be one, I apprehend,
full of ignominy to himself, but of the highest interest
and importance to us all. And yet I know not how to
believe the man the traitor he appears."

"Did you remark that last harrowing exclamation of his
wife?" observed Charles de Haldimar, in a tone of
unspeakable melancholy. "How fearfully prophetic it
sounded in my ears. I know not how it is," he pursued,
"but I wish I had not heard those sounds; for since that
moment I have had a sad strange presentiment of evil at
my heart. Heaven grant my poor brother may make his
appearance, as I still trust he will, at the hour Halloway
seems to expect, for if not, the latter most assuredly
dies. I know my father well; and, if convicted by a court
martial, no human power can alter the destiny that awaits
Frank Halloway."

"Rally, my dear Charles, rally," said Sir Everard,
affecting a confidence he did not feel himself; "indulge
not in these idle and superstitious fancies. I pity
Halloway from my soul, and feel the deepest interest in
his pretty and unhappy wife; but that is no reason why
one should attach importance to the incoherent expressions
wrung from her in the agony of grief."

"It is kind of you, Valletort, to endeavour to cheer my
spirits, when, if the truth were confessed, you acknowledge
the influence of the same feelings. I thank you for the
attempt, but time alone can show how far I shall have
reason, or otherwise, to lament the occurrences of this
night."

They had now reached that part of the ramparts whence
the shot from Sir Everard's rifle had been fired. Several
men were occupied in digging a grave in the precise spot
on which the unfortunate Murphy had stood when he received
his death-wound; and into this, when completed, the body,
enshrouded in the cloak already alluded to, was deposited
by his companions.




CHAPTER IV.

While the adjutant was yet reading, in a low and solemn
voice, the service for the dead, a fierce and distant
yell, as if from a legion of devils, burst suddenly from
the forest, and brought the hands of the startled officers
instinctively to their swords. This appalling cry lasted,
without interruption, for many minutes, and was then as
abruptly checked as it had been unexpectedly delivered.
A considerable pause succeeded, and then again it rose
with even more startling vehemence than before. By one
unaccustomed to those devilish sounds, no distinction
could have been made in the two several yells that had
been thus savagely pealed forth; but those to whom practice
and long experience in the warlike habits and customs of
the Indians had rendered their shouts familiar, at once
divined, or fancied they divined, the cause. The first
was, to their conception, a yell expressive at once of
vengeance and disappointment in pursuit,--perhaps of some
prisoner who had escaped from their toils; the second,
of triumph and success,--in all probability, indicative
of the recapture of that prisoner. For many minutes
afterwards the officers continued to listen, with the
most aching attention, for a repetition of the cry, or
even fainter sounds, that might denote either a nearer
approach to the fort, or the final departure of the
Indians. After the second yell, however, the woods, in
the heart of which it appeared to have been uttered, were
buried in as profound a silence as if they had never yet
echoed back the voice of man; and all at length became
satisfied that the Indians, having accomplished some
particular purpose, had retired once more to their distant
encampments for the night. Captain Erskine was the first
who broke the almost breathless silence that prevailed
among themselves.

"On my life De Haldimar is a prisoner with the Indians.
He has been attempting his escape,--has been
detected,--followed, and again fallen into their hands.
I know their infernal yells but too well. The last
expressed their savage joy at the capture of a prisoner;
and there is no one of us missing but De Haldimar."

"Not a doubt of it," said Captain Blessington; "the cry
was certainly what you describe it, and Heaven only knows
what will be the fate of our poor friend."

No other officer spoke, for all were oppressed by the
weight of their own feelings, and sought rather to give
indulgence to speculation in secret, than to share their
impressions with their companions. Charles de Haldimar
stood a little in the rear, leaning his head upon his
hand against the box of the sentry, (who was silently,
though anxiously, pacing his walk,) and in an attitude
expressive of the deepest dejection and sorrow.

"I suppose I must finish Lawson's work, although I am
but a poor hand at this sort of thing," resumed Captain
Erskine, taking up the prayer book the adjutant had, in
hastening on the first alarm to get the men under arms,
carelessly thrown on the grave of the now unconscious
Murphy.

He then commenced the service at the point where Mr.
Lawson had so abruptly broken off, and went through the
remainder of the prayers. A very few minutes sufficed
for the performance of this solemn duty, which was effected
by the faint dim light of the at length dawning day, and
the men in attendance proceeded to fill up the grave of
their officer.

Gradually the mists, that had fallen during the latter
hours of the night, began to ascend from the common, and
disperse themselves in air, conveying the appearance of
a rolling sheet of vapour retiring Back upon itself, and
disclosing objects in succession, until the eye could
embrace all that came within its extent of vision. As
the officers yet lingered near the rude grave of their
companion, watching with abstracted air the languid and
almost mechanical action of their jaded men, as they
emptied shovel after shovel of the damp earth over the
body of its new tenant, they were suddenly startled by
an expression of exultation from Sir Everard Valletort.

"By Jupiter, I have pinked him," he exclaimed triumphantly.
"I knew my rifle could not err; and as for my sight, I
have carried away too many prizes in target-shooting to
have been deceived in that. How delighted the old governor
will be, Charles, to hear this. No more lecturing, I am
sure, for the next six months at least;" and the young
officer rubbed his hands together, at the success of his
shot, with as much satisfaction and unconcern for the
future, as if he had been in his own native England; in
the midst of a prize-ring.

Roused by the observation of his friend, De Haldimar
quitted his position near the sentry box, and advanced
to the outer edge of the rampart. To him, as to his
companions, the outline of the old bomb proof was now
distinctly visible, but it was sometime before they could
discover, in the direction in which Valletort pointed,
a dark speck upon the common; and this so indistinctly,
they could scarcely distinguish it with the naked eye.

"Your sight is quite equal to your aim, Sir Everard,"
remarked Lieutenant Johnstone, one of Erskine's subalterns,
"and both are decidedly superior to mine; yet I used to
be thought a good rifleman too, and have credit for an
eye no less keen than that of an Indian. You have the
advantage of me, however; for I honestly admit I never
could have picked off yon fellow in the dark as you have
done."

As the dawn increased, the dark shadow of a human form,
stretched at its length upon the ground, became perceptible;
and the officers, with one unanimous voice, bore loud
testimony to the skill and dexterity of him who had,
under such extreme disadvantages, accomplished the death
of their skulking enemy.

"Bravo, Valletort," said Charles de Haldimar, recovering
his spirits, as much from the idea, now occurring to him,
that this might indeed be the stranger whose appearance
had so greatly disturbed his father, as from the
gratification he felt in the praises bestowed on his
friend. "Bravo, my dear fellow;" then approaching, and
in a half whisper, "when next I write to Clara, I shall
request her, with my cousin's assistance, to prepare a
chaplet of bays, wherewith I shall myself crown you as
their proxy. But what is the matter now, Valletort? Why
stand you there gazing upon the common, as if the victim
of your murderous aim was rising from his bloody couch,
to reproach you with his death? Tell me, shall I write
to Clara for the prize, or will you receive it from her
own hands?"

"Bid her rather pour her curses on my head; and to those,
De Haldimar, add your own," exclaimed Sir Everard, at
length raising himself from the statue-like position he
had assumed. "Almighty God," he pursued, in the same tone
of deep agony, "what have I done? Where, where shall I
hide myself?"

As he spoke he turned away from his companions, and
covering his eyes with his hand, with quick and unequal
steps, even like those of a drunken man, walked, or rather
ran, along the rampart, as if fearful of being overtaken.

The whole group of officers, and Charles de Haldimar in
particular, were struck with dismay at the language and
action of Sir Everard; and for a moment they fancied that
fatigue, and watching, and excitement, had partially
affected his brain. But when, after the lapse of a minute
or two, they again looked out upon the common, the secret
of his agitation was too faithfully and too painfully
explained.

What had at first the dusky and dingy hue of a half-naked
Indian, was now perceived, by the bright beams of light
just gathering in the east, to be the gay and striking
uniform of a British officer. Doubt as to who that officer
was there could be none, for the white sword-belt suspended
over the right shoulder, and thrown into strong relief
by the field of scarlet on which it reposed, denoted the
wearer of this distinguishing badge of duty to be one of
the guard.

To comprehend effectually the feelings of the officers,
it would be necessary that one should have been not merely
a soldier, but a soldier under the same circumstances.
Surrounded on every hand by a fierce and cruel
enemy--prepared at every moment to witness scenes of
barbarity and bloodshed in their most appalling
shapes--isolated from all society beyond the gates of
their own fortress, and by consequence reposing on and
regarding each other as vital links in the chain of their
wild and adventurous existence,--it can easily be understood
with what sincere and unaffected grief they lamented the
sudden cutting off even of those who least assimilated
in spirit and character with themselves. Such, in a great
degree, had been the case in the instance of the officer
over whose grave they were now met to render the last
offices of companionship, if not of friendship. Indeed
Murphy--a rude, vulgar, and illiterate, though brave
Irishman--having risen from the ranks, the coarseness of
which he had never been able to shake off, was little
calculated, either by habits or education, to awaken
feelings, except of the most ordinary description, in
his favour; and he and Ensign Delme were the only exceptions
to those disinterested and tacit friendships that had
grown up out of circumstances in common among the majority.
If, therefore, they could regret the loss of such a
companion as Murphy, how deep and heartfelt must have
been the sorrow they experienced when they beheld the
brave, generous, manly, amiable, and highly-talented
Frederick de Haldimar--the pride of the garrison, and
the idol of his family--lying extended, a cold, senseless
corpse, slain by the hand of the bosom friend of his own
brother!--Notwithstanding the stern severity and distance
of the governor, whom few circumstances, however critical
or exciting, could surprise into relaxation of his habitual
stateliness, it would have been difficult to name two
young men more universally liked and esteemed by their
brother officers than were the De Haldimars--the first
for the qualities already named--the second, for those
retiring, mild, winning manners, and gentle affections,
added to extreme and almost feminine beauty of countenance
for which he was remarkable. Alas, what a gloomy picture
was now exhibited to the minds of all!--Frederick de
Haldimar a corpse, and slain by the hand of Sir Everard
Valletort! What but disunion could follow this melancholy
catastrophe? and how could Charles de Haldimar, even if
his bland nature should survive the shock, ever bear to
look again upon the man who had, however innocently or
unintentionally, deprived him of a brother whom he adored?

These were the impressions that passed through the minds
of the compassionating officers, as they directed their
glance alternately from the common to the pale and
marble-like features of the younger De Haldimar, who,
with parted lips and stupid gaze, continued to fix his
eyes upon the inanimate form of his ill-fated brother,
as if the very faculty of life itself had been for a
period suspended. At length, however, while his companions
watched in silence the mining workings of that grief
which they feared to interrupt by ill-timed observations,
even of condolence, the death-like hue, which had hitherto
suffused the usually blooming cheek of the young officer,
was succeeded by a flush of the deepest dye, while his
eyes, swollen by the tide of blood now rushing violently
to his face, appeared to be bursting from their sockets.
The shock was more than his delicate frame, exhausted as
it was by watching and fatigue, could bear. He tottered,
reeled, pressed his hand upon his head, and before any
one could render him assistance, fell senseless on the
ramparts.

During the interval between Sir Everard Valletort's
exclamation, and the fall of Charles de Haldimar, the
men employed at the grave had performed their duty, and
were gazing with mingled astonishment and concern, both
on the body of their murdered officer, and on the dumb
scene acting around them. Two of these were now despatched
for a litter, with which they speedily re-appeared. On
this Charles de Haldimar, already delirious with the
fever of intense excitement, was carefully placed, and,
followed by Captain Blessington and Lieutenant Johnstone,
borne to his apartment in the small range of buildings
constituting the officers' barracks. Captain Erskine
undertook the disagreeable office of communicating these
distressing events to the governor; and the remainder of
the officers once more hastened to join or linger near
their respective companies, in readiness for the order
which it was expected would be given to despatch a numerous
party of the garrison to secure the body of Captain de
Haldimar.




CHAPTER V.

The sun was just rising above the horizon, in all that
peculiar softness of splendour which characterises the
early days of autumn in America, as Captain Erskine led
his company across the drawbridge that communicated with
the fort. It was the first time it had been lowered since
the investment of the garrison by the Indians; and as
the dull and rusty chains performed their service with
a harsh and grating sound, it seemed as if an earnest
were given of melancholy boding. Although the distance
to be traversed was small, the risk the party incurred
was great; for it was probable the savages, ever on the
alert, would not suffer them to effect their object
unmolested. It was perhaps singular, and certainly
contradictory, that an officer of the acknowledged prudence
and forethought ascribed to the governor--qualities
which in a great degree neutralised his excessive severity
in the eyes of his troops--should have hazarded the
chance of having his garrison enfeebled by the destruction
of a part, if not of the whole, of the company appointed
to this dangerous duty; but with all his severity, Colonel
de Haldimar was not without strong affection for his
children. The feelings of the father, therefore, in a
great degree triumphed over the prudence of the commander;
and to shield the corpse of his son from the indignities
which he well knew would be inflicted on it by Indian
barbarity, he had been induced to accede to the earnest
prayer of Captain Erskine, that he might be permitted to
lead out his company for the purpose of securing the
body. Every means were, however, taken to cover the
advance, and ensure the retreat of the detachment. The
remainder of the troops were distributed along the rear of
the ramparts, with instructions to lie flat on their
faces until summoned by their officers from that position;
which was to be done only in the event of close pursuit
from the savages. Artillerymen were also stationed at
the several guns that flanked the rear of the fort, and
necessarily commanded both the common and the outskirt
of the forest, with orders to fire with grape-shot at a
given signal. Captain Erskine's instructions were,
moreover, if attacked, to retreat back under the guns of
the fort slowly and in good order, and without turning
his back upon the enemy.

Thus confident of support, the party, after traversing
the drawbridge with fixed bayonets, inclined to the right,
and following the winding of the ditch by which it was
surrounded, made the semi-circuit of the rampart until
they gained the immediate centre of the rear, and in a
direct line with the bomb-proof. Here their mode of
advance was altered, to guard more effectually against
the enemy with whom they might possibly have to contend.
The front and rear ranks of the company, consisting in
all of ninety men, were so placed as to leave space in
the event of attack, of a portion of each wheeling inwards
so as to present in an instant three equal faces of a
square. As the rear was sufficiently covered by the
cannon of the fort to defeat any attempt to turn their
flanks, the manoeuvre was one that enabled them to present
a fuller front in whatever other quarter they might be
attacked; and had this additional advantage, that in the
advance by single files a narrower front was given to
the aim of the Indians, who, unless they fired in an
oblique direction, could only, of necessity, bring down
two men (the leading files) at a time.

In this order, and anxiously overlooked by their comrades,
whose eyes alone peered from above the surface of the
rampart on which they lay prostrate, the detachment
crossed the common; one rank headed by Captain Erskine,
the other by Lieutenant Johnstone. They had now approached
within a few yards of the unfortunate victim, when Captain
Erskine commanded a halt of his party; and two files were
detached from the rear of each rank, to place the body
on a litter with which they had provided themselves. He
and Johnstone also moved in the same direction in advance
of the men, prepared to render assistance if required.
The corpse lay on its face, and in no way despoiled of
any of its glittering habiliments; a circumstance that
too well confirmed the fact of De Haldimar's death having
been accomplished by the ball from Sir Everard Valletort's
rifle. It appeared, however, the ill-fated officer had
struggled much in the agonies of death; for the left leg
was drawn Up into an unnatural state of contraction, and
the right hand, closely compressed, grasped a quantity
of grass and soil, which had evidently been torn up in
a paroxysm of suffering and despair.

The men placed the litter at the side of the body, which
they now proceeded to raise. As they were in the act of
depositing it on this temporary bier, the plumed hat fell
from the head, and disclosed, to the astonishment of all,
the scalpless crown completely saturated in its own
clotted blood and oozing brains.

An exclamation of horror and disgust escaped at the same
moment from the lips of the two officers, and the men
started back from their charge as if a basilisk had
suddenly appeared before them. Captain Erskine pursued:--
"What the devil is the meaning of all this, Johnstone?"

"What, indeed!" rejoined his lieutenant, with a shrug of
the shoulders, that was intended to express his inability
to form any opinion on the subject

"Unless it should prove," continued Erskine, "as I
sincerely trust it may, that poor Valletort is not, after
all, the murderer of his friend. It must be so. De
Haldimar has been slain by the same Indian who killed
Murphy.--Do you recollect his scalp cry? He was in the
act of despoiling his victim of this trophy of success,
when Sir Everard fired. Examine the body well, Mitchell,
and discover where the wound lies."

The old soldier to whom this order was addressed now
prepared, with the assistance of his comrades, to turn
the body upon its back, when suddenly the air was rent
with terrific yells, that seemed to be uttered in their
very ears, and in the next instant more than a hundred
dark and hideous savages sprang simultaneously to their
feet within the bomb-proof, while every tree along the
skirt of the forest gave back the towering form of a
warrior. Each of these, in addition to his rifle, was
armed with all those destructive implements of warfare
which render the Indians of America so formidable and so
terrible an enemy.

"Stand to your arms, men," shouted Captain Erskine,
recovering from his first and unavoidable, though but
momentary, surprise. "First and fourth sections, on your
right and left backwards wheel:--Quick, men, within the
square, for your lives." As he spoke, he and Lieutenant
Johnstone sprang hastily back, and in time to obtain
admittance within the troops, who had rapidly executed
the manoeuvre commanded. Not so with Mitchell and his
companions. On the first alarm they had quitted the body
of the mutilated officer, and flown to secure their arms,
but even while in the act of stooping to take them up,
they had been grappled by a powerful and vindictive foe;
and the first thing they beheld on regaining their upright
position was a dusky Indian at the side, and a gleaming
tomahawk flashing rapidly round the head of each.

"Fire not, on your lives," exclaimed Captain Erskine
hastily, as he saw several of the men in front levelling,
in the excitement of the moment, their muskets at the
threatening savages. "Prepare for attack," he pursued;
and in the next instant each man dropped on his right
knee, and a barrier of bristling bayonets seemed to rise
from the very bowels of the earth. Attracted by the
novelty of the sight, the bold and daring warriors,
although still retaining their firm grasp of the unhappy
soldiers, were for a moment diverted from their bloody
purpose, and temporarily suspended the quick and rotatory
motion of their weapons. Captain Erskine took advantage
of this pause to seize the halbert of one of his sergeants,
to the extreme point of which he hastily attached a white
pocket handkerchief, that was loosely thrust into the
breast of his uniform; this he waved on high three several
times, and then relinquishing the halbert, dropped also
on his knee within the square.

"The dog of a Saganaw asks for mercy," said a voice from
within the bomb-proof, and speaking in the dialect of
the Ottawas. "His pale flag bespeaks the quailing of his
heart, and his attitude denotes the timidity of the hind.
His warriors are like himself, and even now upon their
knees they call upon their Manitou to preserve them from
the vengeance of the red-skins. But mercy is not for dogs
like these. Now is the time to make our tomahawks warm
in their blood; and every head that we count shall be a
scalp upon our war poles."

As he ceased, one universal and portentous yell burst
from the fiend-like band; and again the weapons of death
were fiercely brandished around the heads of the stupified
soldiers who had fallen into their power.

"What can they be about?" anxiously exclaimed Captain
Erskine, in the midst of this deafening clamour, to his
subaltern.--"Quiet, man; damn you, quiet, or I'll cut
you down," he pursued, addressing one of his soldiers,
whose impatience caused him to bring his musket half up
to the shoulder. And again he turned his head in the
direction of the fort:--"Thank God, here it comes at
last,--I feared my signal had not been noticed."

While he yet spoke, the loud roaring of a cannon from
the ramparts was heard, and a shower of grape-shot passed
over the heads of the detachment, and was seen tearing
up the earth around the bomb-proof, and scattering
fragments of stone and wood into the air. The men
simultaneously and unbidden gave three cheers.

In an instant the scene was changed. As if moved by some
mechanical impulse, the fierce band that lined the
bomb-proof sank below the surface, and were no longer
visible, while the warriors in the forest again sought
shelter behind the trees. The captured soldiers were also
liberated without injury, so sudden and startling had
been the terror produced in the savages by the lightning
flash that announced its heavy messengers of destruction.
Discharge after discharge succeeded without intermission;
but the guns had been levelled so high, to prevent injury
to their own men, they had little other effect than to
keep the Indians from the attack. The rush of bullets
through the close forest, and the crashing of trees and
branches as they fell with startling force upon each
other, were, with the peals of artillery, the only noises
now to be heard; for not a yell, not a word was uttered
by the Indians after the first discharge; and but for
the certainty that existed in every mind, it might have
been supposed the whole of them had retired.

"Now is your time," cried Captain Erskine; "bring in the
litter to the rear, and stoop as much as possible to
avoid the shot."

The poor half-strangled fellows, however, instead of
obeying the order of their captain, looked round in every
direction for the enemy by whom they had been so rudely
handled, and who had glided from them almost as
imperceptibly and swiftly as they had first approached.
It seemed as if they apprehended that any attempt to
remove the body would be visited by those fierce devils
with the same appalling and ferocious threatenings.

"Why stand ye there, ye dolts," continued their captain,
"looking around as if ye were bewitched? Bring the litter
in to the rear.--Mitchell, you old fool, are you grown
a coward in your age? Are you not ashamed to set such an
example to your comrades?"

The doubt thus implied of the courage of his men, who,
in fact, were merely stupified with the scene they had
gone through, had, as Captain Erskine expected, the
desired effect. They now bent themselves to the litter,
on which they had previously deposited their muskets,
and with a self-possession that contrasted singularly
with their recent air of wild astonishment, bore it to
the rear at the risk of being cut in two at every moment
by the fire from the fort.

One fierce yell, instinctively proffered by several of
the lurking band in the forest, marked their disappointment
and rage at the escape of their victims; but all attempt
at uncovering themselves, so as to be enabled to fire,
was prevented by the additional showers of grape which
that yell immediately brought upon them.

The position in which Captain Erskine now found himself
was highly critical. Before him, and on either flank,
was a multitude of savages, who only awaited the cessation
of the fire from the fort to commence their fierce and
impetuous attack. That that fire could not long be
sustained was evident, since ammunition could ill be
spared for the present inefficient purpose, where supplies
of all kinds were so difficult to be obtained; and, if
he should attempt a retreat, the upright position of his
men exposed them to the risk of being swept away by the
ponderous metal, that already fanned their cheeks with
the air it so rapidly divided. Suddenly, however, the
fire from the batteries was discontinued, and this he
knew to be a signal for himself. He gave an order in a
low voice, and the detachment quitted their recumbent
and defensive position, still remaining formed in square.
At the same instant, a gun flashed from the fort; but
not as before was heard the rushing sound of the destructive
shot crushing the trees in its resistless course. The
Indians took courage at this circumstance, for they deemed
the bullets of their enemies were expended; and that they
were merely discharging their powder to keep up the
apprehension originally produced. Again they showed
themselves, like so many demons, from behind their lurking
places; and yells and shouts of the most terrific and
threatening character once more rent the air, and echoed
through the woods. Their cries of anticipated triumph
were, however, but of short duration. Presently, a
hissing noise was heard in the air; and close to the
bomb-proof, and at the very skirt of the forest, they
beheld a huge globe of iron fall perpendicularly to the
earth, to the outer part of which was attached what they
supposed to be a reed, that spat forth innumerable sparks
of fire, without however, seeming to threaten the slightest
injury. Attracted by the novel sight, a dozen warriors
sprang to the spot, and fastened their gaze upon it with
all the childish wonder and curiosity of men in a savage
state. One, more eager and restless than his fellows,
stooped over it to feel with his hand of what it was
composed. At that moment it burst, and limbs, and head,
and entrails, were seen flying in the air, with the
fragments of the shell, and prostrate and struggling
forms lay writhing on every hand in the last, fierce
agonies of death.

A yell of despair and a shout of triumph burst at the
same moment from the adverse parties. Taking advantage
of the terror produced, by this catastrophe, in the
savages, Captain Erskine caused the men bearing the corpse
to retreat, with all possible expedition, under the
ramparts of the fort. He waited until they got nearly
half way, and then threw forward the wheeling sections,
that had covered this movement, once more into single
file, in which order he commenced his retreat. Step by
step, and almost imperceptibly, the men paced backwards,
ready, at a moment's notice, to reform the square. Partly
recovered from the terror and surprise produced by the
bursting of the shell, the Indians were quick in perceiving
this movement: filled with rage at having been so long
baulked of their aim, they threw themselves once more
impetuously from their cover; and, with stimulating yells,
at length opened their fire. Several of Captain Erskine's
men were wounded by this discharge; when, again, and
furiously the cannon opened from the fort. It was then
that the superiority of the artillery was made manifest.
Both right and left of the retreating files the ponderous
shot flew heavily past, carrying death and terror to the
Indians; while not a man of those who intervened was
scathed or touched in its progress. The warriors in the
forest were once more compelled to shelter themselves
behind the trees; but in the bomb-proof, where they were
more secure, they were also more bold. From this a
galling fire, mingled with the most hideous yells, was
now kept up; and the detachment, in their slow retreat,
suffered considerably. Several men had been killed; and,
about twenty, including Lieutenant Johnstone, wounded,
when again, one of those murderous globes fell, hissing
in the very centre of the bomb-proof. In an instant, the
Indian fire was discontinued; and their dark and pliant
forms were seen hurrying with almost incredible rapidity
over the dilapidated walls, and flying into the very
heart of the forest, so that when the shell exploded, a
few seconds afterwards, not a warrior was to be seen.
From this moment the attack was not renewed, and Captain
Erskine made good his retreat without farther molestation.

"Well, old buffers!" exclaimed one of the leading files,
as the detachment, preceded by its dead and wounded, now
moved along the moat in the direction of the draw-bridge,
"how did you like the grip of them black savages?--I say,
Mitchell, old Nick will scarcely know the face of you,
it's so much altered by fright.--Did you see," turning
to the man in his rear, "how harum-scarum he looked, when
the captain called out to him to come off?"

"Hold your clapper, you spooney, and be damned to you!"
exclaimed the angry veteran.--"Had the Ingian fastened
his paw upon your ugly neck as he did upon mine, all the
pitiful life your mother ever put into you would have
been spirited away from very fear; so you needn't brag."

"Sure, and if any of ye had a grain of spunk, ye would
have fired, and freed a fellow from the clutch of them
hell thieves," muttered another of the men at the litter.
"All the time, the devil had me by the throat, swinging
his tommyhawk about my head, I saw ye dancing up and down
in the heavens, instead of being on your marrow bones on
the common."

"And didn't I want to do it?" rejoined the first speaker.
"Ask Tom Winkler here, if the captain didn't swear he'd
cut the soul out of my body if I even offered so much as
to touch the trigger of my musket."

"Faith, and lucky he did," replied his covering man (for
the ranks had again joined), "since but for that, there
wouldn't be at this moment so much as a hair of the scalp
of one of you left."

"And how so, Mr. Wiseacre?" rejoined his comrade.

"How so! Because the first shot that we fired would have
set the devils upon them in right earnest--and then their
top-knots wouldn't have been worth a brass farthing.
They would have been scalped before they could say Jack
Robinson."

"It was a hell of a risk," resumed another of the litter
men, "to give four men a chance of having their skull
pieces cracked open like so many egg-shells, and all to
get possession of a dead officer."

"And sure, you beast," remarked a different voice in a
tone of anger, "the dead body of the brave captain was
worth a dozen such rotten carcasses with all the life in
them. What matter would it be if ye had all been scalped?"
Then with a significant half glance to the rear, which
was brought up by their commander, on whose arm leaned
the slightly wounded Johnstone, "Take care the captain
doesn't hear ye prating after that fashion, Will Burford."

"By Jasus," said a good-humoured, quaint looking Irishman,
who had been fixing his eyes on the litter during this
pithy and characteristic colloquy; "it sames to me, my
boys, that ye have caught the wrong cow by the horns,
and that all your pains has been for nothing at all, at
all. By the holy pope, ye are all wrong; it's like bringing
salt butter to Cork, or coals to your Newcastle, as ye
call it. Who the divil ever heard of the officer wearing
ammunition shoes?"

The men all turned their gaze on that part of the vestment
of the corpse to which their attention had been directed
by this remark, when it was at once perceived, although
it had hitherto escaped the observation even of the
officers, that, not only the shoes were those usually
worn by the soldiers, and termed ammunition or store
shoes, but also, the trowsers were of the description of
coarse grey, peculiar to that class.

"By the piper that played before Moses, and ye're right,
Dick Doherty," exclaimed another Irishman; "sure, and it
isn't the officer at all! Just look at the great black
fist of him too, and never call me Phil Shehan, if it
ever was made for the handling of an officer's spit."

"Well said, Shehan," observed the man who had so warmly
reproved Will Burford, and who had formerly been servant
to De Haldimar; "the captain's hand is as white and as
soft as my cross-belt, or, what's saying a great deal
more, as Miss Clara's herself, heaven bless her sweet
countenance! and Lieutenant Valletort's nigger's couldn't
well be much blacker nor this."

"What a set of hignoramuses ye must be," grunted old
Mitchell, "not to see that the captain's hand is only
covered with dirt; and as for the ammunition shoes and
trowsers, why you know our officers wear any thing since
we have been cooped up in this here fort."

"Yes, by the holy poker," (and here we must beg to refer
the reader to the soldier's vocabulary for any terms that
may be, in the course of this dialogue, incomprehensible
to him or her,)--"Yes, by the holy poker, off duty, if
they like it," returned Phil Shehan; "but it isn't even
the colonel's own born son that dare to do so while
officer of the guard."

"Ye are right, comrade," said Burford; "there would soon
be hell and tommy to pay if he did."

At this point of their conversation, one of the leading
men at the litter, in turning to look at its subject,
stumbled over the root of a stump that lay in his way,
and fell violently forward. The sudden action destroyed
the equilibrium of the corpse, which rolled off its
temporary bier upon the earth, and disclosed, for the
first time, a face begrimmed with masses of clotted blood,
which had streamed forth from the scalped brain during
the night.

"It's the divil himself," said Phil Shehan, making the
sign of the cross, half in jest, half in earnest: "for
it isn't the captin at all, and who but the divil could
have managed to clap on his rigimintals?"

"No, it's an Ingian," remarked Dick Burford, sagaciously;
"it's an Ingian that has killed the captain, and dressed
himself in his clothes. I thought he smelt strong, when
I helped to pick him up."

"And that's the reason why the bloody heathens wouldn't
let us carry him off," said another of the litter men.
"I thought they wouldn't ha' made such a rout about the
officer, when they had his scalp already in their
pouch-belts."

"What a set of prating fools ye are," interrupted the
leading sergeant; "who ever saw an Ingian with light
hair? and sure this hair in the neck is that of a
Christian."

At that moment Captain Erskine, attracted by the sudden
halt produced by the falling of the body, came quickly
up to the front.

"What is the meaning of all this, Cassidy?" he sternly
demanded of the sergeant; "why is this halt without my
orders, and how comes the body here?"

"Carter stumbled against a root, sir, and the body rolled
over upon the ground."

"And was the body to roll back again?" angrily rejoined
his captain.--"What mean ye, fellows, by standing there;
quick, replace it upon the litter, and mind this does
not occur again."

"They say, sir," said the sergeant, respectfully, as the
men proceeded to their duty, "that it is not Captain de
Haldimar after all, but an Ingian."

"Not Captain de Haldimar! are ye all mad? and have the
Indians, in reality, turned your brains with fear?"

What, however, was his own surprise, and that of Lieutenant
Johnstone, when, on a closer examination of the corpse,
which the men had now placed with its face uppermost,
they discovered the bewildering fact that it was not,
indeed, Captain de Haldimar who lay before them, but a
stranger, dressed in the uniform of that officer.

There was no time to solve, or even to dwell on the
singular mystery; for the Indians, though now retired,
might be expected to rally and renew the attack. Once
more, therefore, the detachment moved forward; the officers
dropping as before to the rear, to watch any movements
of the enemy should he re-appear. Nothing, however,
occurred to interrupt their march; and in a few minutes
the heavy clanking sound of the chains of the drawbridge,
as it was again raised by its strong pullies, and the
dull creaking sound of the rusty bolts and locks that
secured the ponderous gate, announced the detachment was
once more safely within the fort.

While the wounded men were being conveyed to the hospital,
a group, comprising almost all the officers of the
garrison, hastened to meet Captain Erskine and Lieutenant
Johnstone. Congratulations on the escape of the one,
and compliments, rather than condolences, on the accident
of the other, which the arm en echarpe denoted to be
slight, were hastily and warmly proffered. These
felicitations were the genuine ebullitions of the hearts
of men who really felt a pride, unmixed with jealousy,
in the conduct of their fellows; and so cool and excellent
had been the manner in which Captain Erskine had
accomplished his object, that it had claimed the undivided
admiration of all who had been spectators of the affair,
and had, with the aid of their telescopes, been enabled
to follow the minutest movements of the detachment.

"By heaven!" he at length replied, his chest swelling
with gratified pride at the warm and generous approval
of his companions, "this more than repays me for every
risk. Yet, to be sincere, the credit is not mine, but
Wentworth's. But for you, my dear fellow," grasping and
shaking the hand of that officer, "we should have rendered
but a Flemish account of ourselves. How beautifully those
guns covered our retreat! and the first mortar that sent
the howling devils flying in air like so many
Will-o'the-wisps, who placed that, Wentworth?"

"I did," replied the officer, with a quickness that
denoted a natural feeling of exultation; "but Bombardier
Kitson's was the most effective. It was his shell that
drove the Indians finally out of the bomb-proof, and left
the coast clear for your retreat."

"Then Kitson, and his gunners also, merit our best thanks,"
pursued Captain Erskine, whose spirits, now that his
detachment was in safety, were more than usually exhilarated
by the exciting events of the last hour; "and what will
be more acceptable, perhaps, they shall each have a glass
of my best old Jamaica before they sleep,--and such stuff
is not to be met with every day in this wilderness of a
country. But, confound my stupid head! where are Charles
de Haldimar and Sir Everard Valletort?"

"Poor Charles is in a high fever, and confined to his
bed," remarked Captain Blessington, who now came up adding
his congratulations in a low tone, that marked the
despondency of his heart; "and Sir Everard I have just
left on the rampart with the company, looking, as he well
may, the very image of despair."

"Run to them, Sumners, my dear boy," said Erskine, hastily
addressing himself to a young ensign who stood near him;
"run quickly, and relieve them of their error. Say it is
not De Haldimar who has been killed, therefore they need
not make themselves any longer uneasy on that score."

The officers gave a start of surprise. Sumners, however,
hastened to acquit himself of the pleasing task assigned
him, without waiting to hear the explanation of the
singular declaration.

"Not De Haldimar!" eagerly and anxiously exclaimed Captain
Blessington; "who then have you brought to us in his
uniform, which I clearly distinguished from the rampart
as you passed? Surely you would not tamper with us at
such a moment, Erskine?"

"Who it is, I know not more than Adam," rejoined the
other; "unless, indeed, it be the devil himself. All I
do know, is, it is not our friend De Haldimar; although,
as you observe, he most certainly wears his uniform.
But you shall see and judge for yourselves, gentlemen.
Sergeant Cassidy," he enquired of that individual, who
now came to ask if the detachment was to be dismissed,
"where have you placed the litter?"

"Under the piazza of the guard-room, Sir," answered the
sergeant.

These words had scarcely been uttered, when a general
and hasty movement of the officers, anxious to satisfy
themselves by personal observation it was not indeed De
Haldimar who had fallen, took place in the direction
alluded to, and in the next moment they were at the side
of the litter.

A blanket had been thrown upon the corpse to conceal the
loathsome disfigurement of the face, over which masses
of thick coagulated blood were laid in patches and streaks,
that set all recognition at defiance. The formation of
the head alone, which was round and short, denoted it to
be not De Haldimar's. Not a feature was left undefiled;
and even the eyes were so covered, it was impossible to
say whether their lids were closed or open. More than
one officer's cheek paled with the sickness that rose to
his heart as he gazed on the hideous spectacle; yet, as
the curiosity of all was strongly excited to know who
the murdered man really was who had been so unaccountably
inducted in the uniform of their lost companion, they
were resolved to satisfy themselves without further delay.
A basin of warm water and a sponge were procured from
the guard-room of Ensign Fortescue, who now joined them,
and with these Captain Blessington proceeded to remove
the disguise.

In the course of this lavation, it was discovered the
extraordinary flow of blood and brains had been produced
by the infliction of a deep wound on the back of the
head, by the sharp and ponderous tomahawk of an Indian.
It was the only blow that had been given; and the
circumstance of the deceased having been found lying on
his face, accounted for the quantity of gore, that,
trickling downwards, had so completely disguised every
feature. As the coat of thick encrusted matter gave way
beneath the frequent application of the moistening sponge,
the pallid hue of the countenance denoted the murdered
man to be a white. All doubt, however, was soon at an
end. The ammunition shoes, the grey trowsers, the coarse
linen, and the stiff leathern stock encircling the neck,
attested the sufferer to be a soldier of the garrison;
but it was not until the face had been completely denuded
of its unsightly covering, and every feature fully exposed,
that that soldier was at length recognised to be Harry
Donellan, the trusty and attached servant of Captain de
Haldimar.

While yet the officers stood apart, gazing at the corpse,
and forming a variety of conjectures, as vague as they
were unsatisfactory, in regard to their new mystery, Sir
Everard Valletort, pale and breathless with the speed he
had used, suddenly appeared among them.

"God of heaven! can it be true--and is it really not De
Haldimar whom I have shot?" wildly asked the agitated
young man. "Who is this, Erskine?" he continued, glancing
at the litter. "Explain, for pity's sake, and quickly."

"Compose yourself, my dear Valletort," replied the officer
addressed. "You see this is not De Haldimar, but his
servant Donellan. Neither has the latter met his death
from your rifle; there is no mark of a bullet about him.
It was an Indian tomahawk that did his business; and I
will stake my head against a hickory nut the blow came
from the same rascal at whom you fired, and who gave back
the shot and the scalp halloo."

This opinion was unanimously expressed by the remainder
of the officers. Sir Everard was almost as much overpowered
by his joy, as he had previously been overwhelmed by his
despair, and he grasped and shook the hand of Captain
Erskine, who had thus been the means of relieving his
conscience, with an energy of gratitude and feeling that
almost drew tears from the eyes of that blunt but gallant
officer.

"Thank God, thank God!" he fervently exclaimed: "I have
not then even the death of poor Donellan to answer for;"
and hastening from the guard-room, he pursued his course
hurriedly and delightedly to the barrack-room of his
friend.




CHAPTER VI.

The hour fixed for the trial of the prisoner Halloway
had now arrived, and the officers composing the court
were all met in the mess-room of the garrison, surrounding
a long table covered with green cloth, over which were
distributed pens, ink, and paper for taking minutes of
the evidence, and such notes of the proceedings as the
several members might deem necessary in the course of
the trial. Captain Blessington presided; and next him,
on either hand, were the first in seniority, the two
junior occupying the lowest places. The demeanour of the
several officers, serious and befitting the duty they
were met to perform, was rendered more especially solemn
from the presence of the governor, who sat a little to
the right of the president, and without the circle,
remained covered, and with his arms folded across his
chest. At a signal given by the president to the orderly
in waiting, that individual disappeared from the room,
and soon afterwards Frank Halloway, strongly ironed, as
on the preceding night, was ushered in by several files
of the guard, under Ensign Fortescue himself.

The prisoner having been stationed a few paces on the
left of the president, that officer stood up to administer
the customary oath. His example was followed by the rest
of the court, who now rose, and extending each his right
hand upon the prayer book, repeated, after the president,
the form of words prescribed by military law. They then,
after successively touching the sacred volume with their
lips, once more resumed their seats at the table.

The prosecutor was the Adjutant Lawson, who now handed
over to the president a paper, from which the latter
officer read, in a clear and distinct voice, the following
charges, viz.--

"1st. For having on the night of the --th September 1763,
while on duty at the gate of the Fortress of Detroit,
either admitted a stranger into the garrison himself, or
suffered him to obtain admission, without giving the
alarm, or using the means necessary to ensure his
apprehension, such conduct being treasonable, and in
breach of the articles of war.

"2d. For having been accessary to the abduction of Captain
Frederick de Haldimar and private Harry Donellan, the
disappearance of whom from the garrison can only be
attributed to a secret understanding existing between
the prisoner and the enemy without the walls, such conduct
being treasonable, and in breach of the articles of war."

"Private Frank Halloway," continued Captain Blessington,
after having perused these two short but important charges,
"you have heard what has been preferred against you; what
say you, therefore? Are you guilty, or not guilty?"

"Not guilty," firmly and somewhat exultingly replied the
prisoner, laying his hand at the same time on his swelling
heart.

"Stay, sir," sternly observed the governor, addressing
the president; "you have not read ALL the charges."

Captain Blessington took up the paper from the table, on
which he had carelessly thrown it, after reading the
accusations above detailed, and perceived, for the first
time, that a portion had been doubled back. His eye now
glanced over a third charge, which had previously escaped
his attention.

"Prisoner," he pursued, after the lapse of a minute,
"there is a third charge against you, viz. for having,
on the night of the --th Sept. 1763, suffered Captain
De Haldimar to unclose the gate of the fortress, and,
accompanied by his servant, private Harry Donellan, to
pass your post without the sanction of the governor, such
conduct being in direct violation of a standing order of
the garrison, and punishable with death."

The prisoner started. "What!" he exclaimed, his cheek
paling for the first time with momentary apprehension;
"is this voluntary confession of my own to be turned into
a charge that threatens my life? Colonel de Haldimar, is
the explanation which I gave you only this very hour,
and in private, to be made the public instrument of my
condemnation? Am I to die because I had not firmness to
resist the prayer of my captain and of your son, Colonel
de Haldimar?"

The president looked towards the governor, but a significant
motion of the head was the only reply; he proceeded,--

"Prisoner Halloway, what plead you to this charge? Guilty,
or not guilty?"

"I see plainly," said Halloway, after the pause of a
minute, during which he appeared to be summoning all his
energies to his aid; "I see plainly that it is useless
to strive against my fate. Captain de Haldimar is not
here, and I must die. Still I shall not have the disgrace
of dying as a traitor, though I own I have violated the
orders of the garrison."

"Prisoner," interrupted Captain Blessington, "whatever
you may have to urge, you had better reserve for your
defence. Meanwhile, what answer do you make to the last
charge preferred?--Are you guilty, or not guilty?"

"Guilty," said Halloway, in a tone of mingled pride and
sorrow, "guilty of having listened to the earnest prayer
of my captain, and suffered him, in violation of my
orders, to pass my post. Of the other charges I am
innocent."

The court listened with the most profound attention and
interest to the words of the prisoner, and they glanced
at each other in a manner that marked their sense of the
truth they attached to his declaration.

"Halloway, prisoner," resumed Captain Blessington, mildly,
yet impressively; "recollect the severe penalty which
the third charge, no less than the others, entails, and
recall your admission. Be advised by me," he pursued,
observing his hesitation. "Withdraw your plea, then, and
substitute that of not guilty to the whole."

"Captain Blessington," returned the prisoner with deep
emotion, "I feel all the kindness of your motive; and if
any thing can console me in my present situation, it is
the circumstance of having presiding at my trial an
officer so universally beloved by the whole corps. Still,"
and again his voice acquired its wonted firmness, and
his cheek glowed with honest pride, "still, I say, I
scorn to retract my words. Of the two first charges I am
as innocent as the babe unborn. To the last I plead
guilty; and vain would it be to say otherwise, since the
gate was found open while I was on duty, and I know the
penalty attached to the disobedience of orders."

After some further but ineffectual remonstrance on the
part of the president, the pleas of the prisoner were
recorded, and the examination commenced. Governor de
Haldimar was the first witness.

That officer, having been sworn, stated, that on the
preceding night he had been intruded upon in his apartment
by a stranger, who could have obtained admission only
through the gate of the fortress, by which also he must
have made good his escape. That it was evident the prisoner
had been in correspondence with their enemies; since, on
proceeding to examine the gate it had been found unlocked,
while the confusion manifested by him on being accused,
satisfied all who were present of the enormity of his
guilt. Search had been made every where for the keys,
but without success.

The second charge was supported by presumptive evidence
alone; for although the governor swore to the disappearance
of his son, and the murder of his servant, and dwelt
emphatically on the fact of their having been forcibly
carried off with the connivance of the prisoner, still
there was no other proof of this, than the deductions
drawn from the circumstances already detailed. To meet
this difficulty, however, the third charge had been
framed.

In proof of this the governor stated, that the prisoner,
on being interrogated by him immediately subsequent to
his being relieved from his post, had evinced such
confusion and hesitation, as to leave no doubt whatever
of his guilt; that, influenced by the half promise of
communication, which the court had heard as well as
himself, he had suffered the trial of the prisoner to be
delayed until the present hour, strongly hoping he might
then be induced to reveal the share he had borne in these
unworthy and treasonable practices; that, with a view to
obtain this disclosure, so essential to the safety of
the garrison, he had, conjointly with Major Blackwater,
visited the cell of the prisoner, to whom he related the
fact of the murder of Donellan, in the disguise of his
master's uniform, conjuring him, at the same time, if he
regarded his own life, and the safety of those who were
most dear to him, to give a clue to the solution of this
mysterious circumstance, and disclose the nature and
extent of his connection with the enemy without; that
the prisoner however resolutely denied, as before, the
guilt imputed to him, but having had time to concoct a
plausible story, stated, (doubtless with a view to shield
himself from the severe punishment he well knew to be
attached to his offence,) that Captain de Haldimar himself
had removed the keys from the guard-room, opened the gate
of the fortress, and accompanied by his servant, dressed
in a coloured coat, had sallied forth upon the common.
"And this," emphatically pursued the governor, "the prisoner
admits he permitted, although well aware that, by an
order of long standing for the security of the garrison,
such a fragrant dereliction of his duty subjected him to
the punishment of death."

Major Blackwater was the next witness examined. His
testimony went to prove the fact of the gate having been
found open, and the confusion manifested by the prisoner.
It also substantiated that part of the governor's evidence
on the third charge, which related to the confession
recently made by Halloway, on which that charge had been
framed.

The sergeant of the guard, and the governor's orderly
having severally corroborated the first portions of Major
Blackwater's evidence, the examination on the part of
the prosecution terminated; when the president called on
the prisoner Halloway for his defence. The latter, in a
clear, firm, and collected tone, and in terms that
surprised his auditory, thus addressed the Court:--

"Mr. President, and gentlemen,--Although, standing before
you in the capacity of a private soldier, and, oh! bitter
and humiliating reflection, in that most wretched and
disgraceful of all situations, a suspected traitor, I am
not indeed what I seem to be. It is not for me here to
enter into the history of my past life; neither will I
tarnish the hitherto unsullied reputation of my family
by disclosing my true name. Suffice it to observe, I am
a gentleman by birth; and although, of late years, I have
known all the hardships and privations attendant on my
fallen fortunes, I was once used to bask in the luxuries
of affluence, and to look upon those who now preside in
judgment over me as my equals. A marriage of affection,--a
marriage with one who had nothing but her own virtues
and her own beauty to recommend her, drew upon me the
displeasure of my family, and the little I possessed,
independently of the pleasure of my relations, was soon
dissipated. My proud soul scorned all thought of
supplication to those who had originally spurned my wife
from their presence; and yet my heart bled for the
privations of her who, alike respectable in family, was,
both from sex and the natural delicacy, of her frame, so
far less constituted to bear up against the frowns of
adversity than myself. Our extremity had now become
great,--too great for human endurance; when, through the
medium of the public prints, I became acquainted with
the glorious action that had been fought in this country
by the army under General Wolfe. A new light burst suddenly
upon my mind, and visions of after prosperity constantly
presented themselves to my view. The field of honour was
open before me, and there was a probability I might, by
good conduct, so far merit the approbation of my superiors,
as to obtain, in course of time, that rank among themselves
to which by birth and education I was so justly entitled
to aspire. Without waiting to consult my Ellen, whose
opposition I feared to encounter until opposition would
be fruitless, I hastened to Lieutenant Walgrave, the
recruiting officer of the regiment,--tendered my
services,--was accepted and approved,--received the bounty
money,--and became definitively a soldier, under the
assumed name of Frank Halloway.

"It would be tedious and impertinent, gentlemen," resumed
the prisoner, after a short pause, "to dwell on the
humiliations of spirit to which both my wife and myself
were subjected at our first introduction to our new
associates, who, although invariably kind to us, were,
nevertheless, ill suited, both by education and habit,
to awaken any thing like congeniality of feeling or
similarity of pursuit. Still we endeavoured, as much as
possible, to lessen the distance that existed between
us; and from the first moment of our joining the regiment,
determined to adopt the phraseology and manners of those
with whom an adverse destiny had so singularly connected
us. In this we succeeded; for no one, up to the present
moment, has imagined either my wife or myself to be other
than the simple and unpretending Frank and Ellen Halloway.

"On joining the regiment in this country," pursued the
prisoner, after another pause, marked by much emotion,
"I had the good fortune to be appointed to the grenadier
company. Gentlemen, you all know the amiable qualities
of Captain de Haldimar. But although, unlike yourselves,
I have learnt to admire that officer only at a distance,
my devotion to his interests has been proportioned to
the kindness with which I have ever been treated by him;
and may I not add, after this avowal of my former condition,
my most fervent desire has all along been to seize the
first favourable opportunity of performing some action
that would eventually elevate me to a position in which
I might, without blushing for the absence of the ennobling
qualities of birth and condition, avow myself his friend,
and solicit that distinction from my equal which was
partially extended to me by my superior? The opportunity
I sought was not long wanting. At the memorable affair
with the French general, Levi, at Quebec, in which our
regiment bore so conspicuous a part, I had the good
fortune to save the life of my captain. A band of Indians,
as you all, gentlemen, must recollect, had approached
our right flank unperceived, and while busily engaged
with the French in front, we were compelled to divide
our fire between them and our new and fierce assailants.
The leader of that band was a French officer, who seemed
particularly to direct his attempts against the life of
Captain de Haldimar. He was a man of powerful proportions
and gigantic stature--"

"Hold!" said the governor, starting suddenly from the
seat in which he had listened with evident impatience to
this long outline of the prisoner's history. "Gentlemen,"
addressing the court, "that is the very stranger who was
in my apartment last night,--the being with whom the
prisoner is evidently in treacherous correspondence, and
all this absurd tale is but a blind to deceive your
judgment, and mitigate his own punishment. Who is there
to prove the man he has just described was the same who
aimed at Captain de Haldimar's life at Quebec?"

A flush of deep indignation overspread the features of
the prisoner, whose high spirit, now he had avowed his
true origin, could ill brook the affront thus put upon
his veracity.

"Colonel de Haldimar!" he proudly replied, while his
chains clanked with the energy and force with which he
drew up his person into an attitude of striking dignity;
"for once I sink the private soldier, and address you in
the character of the gentleman and your equal. I have
a soul, Sir, notwithstanding my fallen fortunes, as keenly
alive to honour as your own; and not even to save my
wretched life, would I be guilty of the baseness you now
attribute to me. You have asked," he pursued, in a more
solemn tone, "what proof I have to show this individual
to be the same who attempted the life of Captain de
Haldimar. To Captain de Haldimar himself, should Providence
have spared his days, I shall leave the melancholy task
of bearing witness to all I here advance, when I shall
be no more. Nay, Sir," and his look partook at once of
mingled scorn and despondency, "well do I know the fate
that awaits me; for in these proceedings--in that third
charge--I plainly read my death-warrant. But what, save
my poor and wretched wife, have I to regret? Colonel de
Haldimar," he continued, with a vehemence meant to check
the growing weakness which the thought of his unfortunate
companion called up to his heart, "I saved the life of
your son, even by your own admission, no matter whose
the arm that threatened his existence; and in every other
action in which I have been engaged, honourable mention
has ever been made of my conduct. Now, Sir, I ask what
has been my reward? So far from attending to the repeated
recommendations of my captain for promotion, even in a
subordinate rank, have you once deemed it necessary to
acknowledge my services by even a recognition of them in
any way whatever?"

"Mr. President, Captain Blessington," interrupted the
governor, haughtily, "are we met here to listen to such
language from a private soldier? You will do well, Sir,
to exercise your prerogative, and stay such impertinent
matter, which can have no reference whatever to the
defence of the prisoner."

"Prisoner," resumed the president, who, as well as the
other members of the court, had listened with the most
profound and absorbing interest to the singular disclosure
of him whom they still only knew as Frank Halloway, "this
language cannot be permitted; you must confine yourself
to your defence."

"Pardon me, gentlemen," returned Halloway, in his usual
firm but respectful tone of voice; "pardon me, if, standing
on the brink of the grave as I do, I have so far forgotten
the rules of military discipline as to sink for a moment
the soldier in the gentleman; but to be taxed with an
unworthy fabrication, and to be treated with contumely
when avowing the secret of my condition, was more than
human pride and human feeling could tolerate."

"Confine yourself, prisoner, to your defence," again
remarked Captain Blessington, perceiving the restlessness
with which the governor listened to these bold and
additional observations of Halloway.

Again the governor interposed:--"What possible connexion
can there be between this man's life, and the crime with
which he stands charged? Captain Blessington, this is
trifling with the court, who are assembled to try the
prisoner for his treason, and not to waste their time in
listening to a history utterly foreign to the subject."

"The history of my past life--Colonel de Haldimar,"
proudly returned the prisoner, "although tedious and
uninteresting to you, is of the utmost importance to
myself; for on that do I ground the most essential part
of my defence. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence
against me on the two first charges; and as those alone
can reflect dishonour on my memory, it is for the wisdom
of this court to determine whether that evidence is to
be credited in opposition to the solemn declaration of
him, who, in admitting one charge, equally affecting his
life with the others, repudiates as foul those only which
would attaint his honour. Gentlemen," he pursued, addressing
the court, "it is for you to determine whether my defence
is to be continued or not; yet, whatever be my fate, I
would fain remove all injurious impression from the minds
of my judges; and this can only be done by a simple detail
of circumstances, which may, by the unprejudiced, be as
simply believed."

Here the prisoner paused: when, after some low and earnest
conversation among the members of the court, two or three
slips of written paper were passed to the President. He
glanced his eye hurriedly over them, and then directed
Halloway to proceed with his defence.

"I have stated," pursued the interesting soldier, "that
the officer who led the band of Indians was a man of
gigantic stature, and of apparently great strength. My
attention was particularly directed to him from this
circumstance, and as I was on the extreme flank of the
grenadiers, and close to Captain de Haldimar, had every
opportunity of observing his movements principally pointed
at that officer. He first discharged a carbine, the ball
of which killed a man of the company at his (Captain de
Haldimar's) side; and then, with evident rage at having
been defeated in his aim, he took a pistol from his belt,
and advancing with rapid strides to within a few paces
of his intended victim, presented it in the most deliberate
manner. At that moment, gentlemen, (and it was but the
work of a moment,) a thousand confused and almost
inexplicable feelings rose to my heart. The occasion I
had long sought was at length within my reach; but even
the personal considerations, which had hitherto influenced
my mind, were sunk in the anxious desire I entertained
to preserve the life of an officer so universally beloved,
and so every way worthy of the sacrifice. While yet the
pistol remained levelled, I sprang before Captain de
Haldimar, received the ball in my breast, and had just
strength sufficient to fire my musket at this formidable
enemy when I sank senseless to the earth.

"It will not be difficult for you, gentlemen, who have
feeling minds, to understand the pleasurable pride with
which, on being conveyed to Captain de Haldimar's own
apartments in Quebec, I found myself almost overwhelmed
by the touching marks of gratitude showered on me by his
amiable relatives. Miss Clara de Haldimar, in particular,
like a ministering angel, visited my couch of suffering
at almost every hour, and always provided with some little
delicacy, suitable to my condition, of which I had long
since tutored myself to forget even the use. But what
principally afforded me pleasure, was to remark the
consolations which she tendered to my poor drooping Ellen,
who, already more than half subdued by the melancholy
change in our condition in life, frequently spent hours
together in silent grief at the side of my couch, and
watching every change in my countenance with all the
intense anxiety of one who feels the last stay on earth
is about to be severed for ever. Ah! how I then longed
to disclose to this kind and compassionating being the
true position of her on whom she lavished her attention,
and to make her known, not as the inferior honored by
her notice, but as the equal alike worthy of her friendship
and deserving of her esteem; but the wide, wide barrier
that divided the wife of the private soldier from the
daughter and sister of the commissioned officer sealed
my lips, and our true condition continued unrevealed.

"Gentlemen," resumed Halloway, after a short pause, "if
I dwell on these circumstances, it is with a view to show
how vile are the charges preferred against me. Is it
likely, with all the incentives to good conduct I have
named, I should have proved a traitor to my country? And,
even if so, what to gain, I would ask; and by what means
was a correspondence with the enemy to be maintained by
one in my humble station? As for the second charge, how
infamous, how injurious is it to my reputation, how
unworthy to be entertained! From the moment of my recovery
from that severe wound, every mark of favour that could
be bestowed on persons in our situation had been extended
to my wife and myself, by the family of Colonel de
Haldimar; and my captain, knowing me merely as the simple
and low born Frank Halloway, although still the preserver
of his life, has been unceasing in his exertions to obtain
such promotion as he thought my conduct generally,
independently of my devotedness to his person, might
claim. How these applications were met, gentlemen, I have
already stated; but notwithstanding Colonel de Haldimar
has never deemed me worthy of the promotion solicited,
that circumstance could in no way weaken my regard and
attachment for him who had so often demanded it. How
then, in the name of heaven, can a charge so improbable,
so extravagant, as that of having been instrumental in
the abduction of Captain de Haldimar, be entertained?
and who is there among you, gentlemen, who will for one
moment believe I could harbour a thought so absurd as
that of lending myself to the destruction of one for whom
I once cheerfully offered up the sacrifice of my blood?
And now," pursued the prisoner, after another short pause,
"I come to the third charge,--that charge which most
affects my life, but impugns neither my honour nor my
fidelity. That God, before whom I know I shall shortly
appear, can attest the sincerity of my statement, and
before him do I now solemnly declare what I am about to
relate is true.

"Soon after the commencement of my watch last night, I
heard a voice distinctly on the outside of the rampart,
near my post, calling in a low and subdued tone on the
name of Captain de Haldimar. The accents, hastily and
anxiously uttered, were apparently those of a female.
For a moment I continued irresolute how to act, and
hesitated whether or not I should alarm the garrison;
but, at length, presuming it was some young female of
the village with whom my captain was acquainted, it
occurred to me the most prudent course would be to apprize
that officer himself. While I yet hesitated whether to
leave my post for a moment for the purpose, a man crossed
the parade a few yards in my front; it was Captain de
Haldimar's servant, Donellan, then in the act of carrying
some things from his master's apartment to the guard-room.
I called to him, to say the sentinel at the gate wished
to see the captain of the guard immediately. In the course
of a few minutes he came up to my post, when I told him
what I had heard. At that moment, the voice again repeated
his name, when he abruptly left me and turned to the left
of the gate, evidently on his way to the rampart. Soon
afterwards I heard Captain de Haldimar immediately above
me, sharply calling out 'Hist, hist!' as if the person
on the outside, despairing of success, was in the act of
retreating. A moment or two of silence succeeded, when
a low conversation ensued between the parties. The distance
was so great I could only distinguish inarticulate sounds;
yet it seemed to me as if they spoke not in English, but
in the language of the Ottawa Indians, a tongue with
which, as you are well aware, gentlemen, Captain de
Haldimar is familiar. This had continued about ten minutes,
when I again heard footsteps hastily descending the
rampart, and moving in the direction of the guard-house.
Soon afterwards Captain de Haldimar re-appeared at my
post, accompanied by his servant Donellan; the former
had the keys of the gate in his hand, and he told me that
he must pass to the skirt of the forest on some business
of the last importance to the safety of the garrison.

"At first I peremptorily refused, stating the severe
penalty attached to the infringement of an order, the
observation of which had so especially been insisted upon
by the governor, whose permission, however, I ventured
respectfully to urge might, without difficulty, be
obtained, if the business was really of the importance
he described it. Captain de Haldimar, however, declared
he well knew the governor would not accord that permission,
unless he was positively acquainted with the nature and
extent of the danger to be apprehended; and of these, he
said, he was not himself sufficiently aware. All argument
of this nature proving ineffectual, he attempted to
enforce his authority, not only in his capacity of officer
of the guard, but also as my captain, ordering me, on
pain of confinement, not to interfere with or attempt to
impede his departure. This, however, produced no better
result; for I knew that, in this instance, I was amenable
to the order of the governor alone, and I again firmly
refused to violate my duty.

"Finding himself thwarted in his attempt to enforce my
obedience, Captain de Haldimar, who seemed much agitated
and annoyed by what he termed my obstinacy, now descended
to entreaty; and in the name of that life which I had
preserved to him, and of that deep gratitude which he
had ever since borne to me, conjured me not to prevent
his departure. 'Halloway,' he urged, 'your life, my
life, my father's life,--the life of my sister Clara
perhaps, who nursed you in illness, and who has ever
treated your wife with attention and kindness,--all these
depend upon your compliance with my request. 'Hear me,'
he pursued, following up the impression which he clearly
perceived he had produced in me by this singular and
touching language: 'I promise to be back within the hour;
there is no danger attending my departure, and here will
I be before you are relieved from your post; no one can
know I have been absent, and your secret will remain with
Donellan and myself. Do you think,' he concluded, 'I
would encourage a soldier of my regiment to disobey a
standing order of the garrison, unless there was some
very extraordinary reason for my so doing? But there is
no time to be lost in parley. Halloway! I entreat you
to offer no further opposition to my departure. I pledge
myself to be back before you are relieved.'"

"Gentlemen," impressively continued the prisoner, after
a pause, during which each member of the court seemed to
breathe for the first time, so deeply had the attention
of all been riveted by the latter part of this singular
declaration, "how, under these circumstances, could I be
expected to act? Assured by Captain de Haldimar, in the
most solemn manner, that the existence of those most dear
to his heart hung on my compliance with his request, how
could I refuse to him, whose life I had saved, and whose
character I so much esteemed, a boon so earnestly, nay,
so imploringly solicited? I acceded to his prayer,
intimating, at the same time, if he returned not before
another sentinel should relieve me, the discovery of my
breach of duty must be made, and my punishment inevitable.
His last words, however, were to assure me he should
return at the hour he had named, and when I closed the
gate upon him it was under the firm impression his absence
would only prove of the temporary nature he had
stated.--Gentlemen," abruptly concluded Halloway, "I have
nothing further to add; if I have failed in my duty as
a soldier, I have, at least, fulfilled that of a man;
and although the violation of the first entail upon me
the punishment of death, the motives which impelled me
to that violation will not, I trust, be utterly lost
sight of by those by whom my punishment is to be awarded."

The candid, fearless, and manly tone in which Halloway
had delivered this long and singular statement, however
little the governor appeared to be affected by it,
evidently made a deep impression on the court, who had
listened with undiverted attention to the close. Some
conversation again ensued, in a low tone, among several
members, when two slips of written paper were passed up,
as before, to the president. These elicited the following
interrogatories:--

"You have stated, prisoner, that Captain de Haldimar left
the fort accompanied by his servant Donellan. How were
they respectively dressed?"

"Captain de Haldimar in his uniform; Donellan, as far as
I could observe, in his regimental clothing also, with
this difference, that he wore his servant's round glazed
hat and his grey great coat."

"How then do you account for the extraordinary circumstance
of Donellan having been found murdered in his master's
clothes? Was any allusion made to a change of dress before
they left the fort?"

"Not the slightest," returned the prisoner; "nor can I
in any way account for this mysterious fact. When they
quitted the garrison, each wore the dress I have described."

"In what manner did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan
effect their passage across the ditch?" continued the
president, after glancing at the second slip of paper.
"The draw-bridge was evidently not lowered, and there
were no other means at hand to enable him to effect his
object with promptitude. How do you explain this, prisoner?"

When this question was put, the whole body of officers,
and the governor especially, turned their eyes
simultaneously on Halloway, for on his hesitation or
promptness in replying seemed to attach much of the credit
they were disposed to accord his statement. Halloway
observed it, and coloured. His reply, however, was free,
unfaltering, and unstudied.

"A rope with which Donellan had provided himself, was
secured to one of the iron hooks that support the pullies
immediately above the gate. With this they swung themselves
in succession to the opposite bank."

The members of the court looked at each other, apparently
glad that an answer so confirmatory of the truth of the
prisoner's statement, had been thus readily given.

"Were they to have returned in the same manner?" pursued
the president, framing his interrogatory from the contents
of another slip of paper, which, at the suggestion of
the governor, had been passed to him by the prosecutor,
Mr. Lawson.

"They were," firmly replied the prisoner. "At least I
presumed they were, for, I believe in the hurry of Captain
de Haldimar's departure, he never once made any direct
allusion to the manner of his return; nor did it occur
to me until this moment how they were to regain possession
of the rope, without assistance from within."

"Of course," observed Colonel de Haldimar, addressing
the president, "the rope still remains. Mr. Lawson,
examine the gate, and report accordingly."

The adjutant hastened to acquit himself of this laconic
order, and soon afterwards returned, stating not only
that there was no rope, but that the hook alluded to had
disappeared altogether.

For a moment the cheek of the prisoner paled; but it was
evidently less from any fear connected with his individual
existence, than from the shame he felt at having been
detected in a supposed falsehood. He however speedily
recovered his self-possession, and exhibited the same
character of unconcern by which his general bearing
throughout the trial had been distinguished.

On this announcement of the adjutant, the governor betrayed
a movement of impatience, that was meant to convey his
utter disbelief of the whole of the prisoner's statement,
and his look seemed to express to the court it should
also arrive, and without hesitation, at the same conclusion.
Even all authoritative as he was, however, he felt that
military etiquette and strict discipline prevented his
interfering further in this advanced state of the
proceedings.

"Prisoner," again remarked Captain Blessington, "your
statement in regard to the means employed by Captain de
Haldimar in effecting his departure, is, you must admit,
unsupported by appearances. How happens it the rope is
no longer where you say it was placed? No one could have
removed it but yourself. Have you done so? and if so,
can you produce it, or say where it is to be found?"

"Captain Blessington," replied Halloway, proudly, yet
respectfully, "I have already invoked that great Being,
before whose tribunal I am so shortly to appear, in
testimony of the truth of my assertion; and again, in
his presence, do I repeat, every word I have uttered is
true. I did not remove the rope, neither do I know what
is become of it. I admit its disappearance is extraordinary,
but a moment's reflection must satisfy the court I would
not have devised a tale, the falsehood of which could at
once have been detected on an examination such as that
which has just been instituted. When Mr. Lawson left this
room just now, I fully expected he would have found the
rope lying as it had been left. What has become of it,
I repeat, I know not; but in the manner I have stated
did Captain de Haldimar and Donellan cross the ditch. I
have nothing further to add," he concluded once more,
drawing up his fine tall person, the native elegance of
which could not be wholly disguised even in the dress of
a private soldier; "nothing further to disclose. Yet do
I repel with scorn the injurious insinuation against my
fidelity, suggested in these doubts. I am prepared to
meet my death as best may become a soldier, and, let me
add, as best may become a proud and well born gentleman;
but humanity and common justice should at least be accorded
to my memory. I am an unfortunate man, but no traitor."

The members were visibly impressed by the last sentences
of the prisoner. No further question however was asked,
and he was again removed by the escort, who had been
wondering spectators of the scene, to the cell he had so
recently occupied. The room was then cleared of the
witnesses and strangers, the latter comprising nearly
the whole of the officers off duty, when the court
proceeded to deliberate on the evidence, and pass sentence
on the accused.




CHAPTER VII.

Although the young and sensitive De Haldimar had found
physical relief in the summary means resorted to by the
surgeon, the moral wound at his heart not only remained
unsoothed, but was rendered more acutely painful by the
wretched reflections, which, now that he had full leisure
to review the past, and anticipate the future in all the
gloom attached to both, so violently assailed him. From
the moment when his brother's strange and mysterious
disappearance had been communicated by the adjutant in
the manner we have already seen, his spirits had been
deeply and fearfully depressed. Still he had every reason
to expect, from the well-known character of Halloway,
the strong hope expressed by the latter might be realised;
and that, at the hour appointed for trial, his brother
would be present to explain the cause of his mysterious
absence, justify the conduct of his subordinate, and
exonerate him from the treachery with which he now stood
charged. Yet, powerful as this hope was, it was unavoidably
qualified by dispiriting doubt; for a nature affectionate
and bland, as that of Charles de Haldimar, could not but
harbour distrust, while a shadow of uncertainty, in regard
to the fate of a brother so tenderly loved, remained. He
had forced himself to believe as much as possible what
he wished, and the effort had, to a certain extent
succeeded; but there had been something so solemn and so
impressive in the scene that had passed when the prisoner
was first brought up for trial, something so fearfully
prophetic in the wild language of his unhappy wife, he
had found it impossible to resist the influence of the
almost superstitious awe they had awakened in his heart.

What the feelings of the young officer were subsequently,
when in the person of the murdered man on the common,
the victim of Sir Everard Valletort's aim, he recognised
that brother, whose disappearance had occasioned him so
much inquietude, we shall not attempt to describe: their
nature is best shown in the effect they produced--the
almost overwhelming agony of body and mind, which had
borne him, like a stricken plant, unresisting to the
earth. But now that, in the calm and solitude of his
chamber, he had leisure to review the fearful events
conspiring to produce this extremity, his anguish of
spirit was even deeper than when the first rude shock of
conviction had flashed upon his understanding. A tide of
suffering, that overpowered, without rendering him sensible
of its positive and abstract character, had, in the first
instance, oppressed his faculties, and obscured his
perception; but now, slow, sure, stinging, and gradually
succeeding each other, came every bitter thought and
reflection of which that tide was composed; and the
generous heart of Charles de Haldimar was a prey to
feelings that would have wrung the soul, and wounded the
sensibilities of one far less gentle and susceptible than
himself.

Between Sir Everard Valletort and Charles de Haldimar,
who, it has already been remarked, were lieutenants in
Captain Blessington's company, a sentiment of friendship
had been suffered to spring up almost from the moment of
Sir Everard's joining. The young men were nearly of the
same age; and although the one was all gentleness, the
other all spirit and vivacity, not a shade of disunion
had at any period intervened to interrupt the almost
brotherly attachment subsisting between them, and each
felt the disposition of the other was the one most
assimilated to his own. In fact, Sir Everard was far from
being the ephemeral character he was often willing to
appear. Under a semblance of affectation, and much assumed
levity of manner, never, however, personally offensive,
he concealed a brave, generous, warm, and manly heart,
and talents becoming the rank he held in society, such
as would not have reflected discredit on one numbering
twice his years. He had entered the army, as most young
men of rank usually did at that period, rather for the
agremens it held forth, than with any serious view to
advancement in it as a profession. Still he entertained
the praiseworthy desire of being something more than what
is, among military men, emphatically termed a feather-bed
soldier; and, contrary to the wishes of his fashionable
mother, who would have preferred seeing him exhibit his
uniform in the drawing-rooms of London, had purchased
the step into his present corps from a cavalry regiment
at home. Not that we mean, however, to assert he was not
a feather-bed soldier in its more literal sense: no man
that ever glittered in gold and scarlet was fonder of a
feather-bed than the young baronet; and, in fact, his
own observations, recorded in the early part of this
volume, sufficiently prove his predilection for an
indulgence which, we take it, in no way impugned his
character as a soldier. Sir Everard would have fought
twenty battles in the course of the month, if necessary,
and yet not complained of the fatigue or severity of his
service, provided only he had been suffered to press his
downy couch to what is termed a decent hour in the day.
But he had an innate and, perhaps, it may be, an instinctive
horror of drills and early rising; a pastime in which
the martinets and disciplinarians of the last century
were very much given to indulge. He frequently upheld an
opinion that must have been little less than treason in
the eyes of a commander so strict as Colonel de Haldimar,
that an officer who rose at eight, with all his faculties
refreshed and invigorated, might evince as much of the
true bearing of the soldier in the field, as he who,
having quitted his couch at dawn, naturally felt the
necessity of repose at a moment when activity and exertion
were most required.

We need scarcely state, Sir Everard's theories on this
important subject were seldom reduced to practice; for,
even long before the Indians had broken out into open
acts of hostility, when such precautions were rendered
indispensable, Colonel de Haldimar had never suffered
either officer or man to linger on his pillow after the
first faint dawn had appeared. This was a system to which
Sir Everard could never reconcile himself. He had quitted
England with a view to active service abroad, it is true,
but he had never taken "active service" in its present
literal sense, and, as he frequently declared to his
companions, he preferred giving an Indian warrior a chance
for his scalp any hour after breakfast, to rising at
daybreak, when, from very stupefaction, he seldom knew
whether he stood on his head or his heels. "If the men
must be drilled," he urged, "with a view to their health
and discipline, why not place them under the direction
of the adjutant or the officer of the day, whoever he
might chance to be, and not unnecessarily disturb a body
of gentlemen from their comfortable slumbers at that
unconscionable hour?" Poor Sir Everard! this was the
only grievance of which he complained, and he complained
bitterly. Scarcely a morning passed without his inveighing
loudly against the barbarity of such a custom; threatening
at the same time, amid the laughter of his companions,
to quit the service in disgust at what he called so
ungentlemanly and gothic a habit. All he waited for, he
protested, was to have an opportunity of bearing away
the spoils of some Indian chief, that, on his return to
England, he might afford his lady mother an opportunity
of judging with her own eyes of the sort of enemy he had
relinquished the comforts of home to contend against,
and exhibiting to her very dear friends the barbarous
proofs of the prowess of her son. Though these observations
were usually made half in jest half in earnest, there
was no reason to doubt the young and lively baronet was,
in truth, heartily tired of a service which seemed to
offer nothing but privations and annoyances, unmixed with
even the chances of obtaining those trophies to which he
alluded; and, but for two motives, there is every
probability he would have seriously availed himself of
the earliest opportunity of retiring. The first of these
was his growing friendship for the amiable and gentle
Charles de Haldimar; the second the secret, and scarcely
to himself acknowledged, interest which had been created
in his heart for his sister Clara; whom he only knew from
the glowing descriptions of his friend, and the strong
resemblance she was said to bear to him by the other
officers.

Clara de Haldimar was the constant theme of her younger
brother's praise. Her image was ever uppermost in his
thoughts--her name ever hovering on his lips; and when
alone with his friend Valletort, it was his delight to
dwell on the worth and accomplishments of his amiable
and beloved sister. Then, indeed, would his usually calm
blue eye sparkle with the animation of his subject, while
his colouring cheek marked all the warmth and sincerity
with which he bore attestation to her gentleness and her
goodness. The heart of Charles de Haldimar, soldier as
he was, was pure, generous, and unsophisticated as that
of the sister whom he so constantly eulogized; and, while
listening to his eloquent praises, Sir Everard learnt to
feel an interest in a being whom all had declared to be
the counterpart of her brother, as well in personal
attraction as in singleness of nature. With all his
affected levity, and notwithstanding his early initiation
into fashionable life--that matter-of-fact life which
strikes at the existence of our earlier and dearer
illusions--there was a dash of romance in the character
of the young baronet which tended much to increase the
pleasure he always took in the warm descriptions of his
friend. The very circumstance of her being personally
unknown to him, was, with Sir Everard, an additional
motive for interest in Miss de Haldimar.

Imagination and mystery generally work their way together;
and as there was a shade of mystery attached to Sir
Everard's very ignorance of the person of one whom he
admired and esteemed from report alone, imagination was
not slow to improve the opportunity, and to endow the
object with characteristics, which perhaps a more intimate
knowledge of the party might have led him to qualify. In
this manner, in early youth, are the silken and willing
fetters of the generous and the enthusiastic forged. We
invest some object, whose praises, whispered secretly in
the ear, have glided imperceptibly to the heart, with
all the attributes supplied by our own vivid and readily
according imaginations; and so accustomed do we become
to linger on the picture, we adore the semblance with an
ardour which the original often fails to excite. When,
however, the high standard of our fancy's fair creation
is attained, we worship as something sacred that which
was to our hearts a source of pure and absorbing interest,
hallowed by the very secresy in which such interest was
indulged. Even where it fails, so unwilling are we to
lose sight of the illusion to which our thoughts have
fondly clung, so loth to destroy the identity of the
semblance with its original, that we throw a veil over
that reason which is then so little in unison with our
wishes, and forgive much in consideration of the very
mystery which first gave a direction to our interest,
and subsequently chained our preference. How is it to
be lamented, that illusions so dear, and images so
fanciful, should find their level with time; or that
intercourse with the world, which should be the means
rather of promoting than marring human happiness, should
leave on the heart so little vestige of those impressions
which characterize the fervency of youth; and which,
dispassionately considered, constitute the only true
felicity of riper life! It is then that man, in all the
vigour and capacity of his intellectual nature, feels
the sentiment of love upon him in all its ennobling force.
It is then that his impetuous feelings, untinged by the
romance which imposes its check upon the more youthful,
like the wild flow of the mighty torrent, seeks a channel
wherein they may empty themselves; and were he to follow
the guidance of those feelings, of which in that riper
life he seems ashamed as of a weakness unworthy his sex,
in the warm and glowing bosom of Nature's divinity--
WOMAN--would he pour forth the swollen tide of his
affection; and acknowledge, in the fullness of his expanding
heart, the vast bounty of Providence, who had bestowed
on him so invaluable--so unspeakably invaluable, a
blessing.--But no; in the pursuit of ambition, in the
acquisition of wealth, in the thirst after power, and
the craving after distinction, nay, nineteen times out
of twenty, in the most frivolous occupations, the most
unsatisfactory amusements, do the great mass of the
maturer man sink those feelings; divested of which, we
become mere plodders on the earth, mere creatures of
materialism: nor is it until after age and infirmity have
overtaken them, they look back with regret to that real
and substantial, but unenjoyed happiness, which the
occupied heart and the soul's communion alone can bestow.
Then indeed, when too late, are they ready to acknowledge
the futility of those pursuits, the inadequacy of those
mere ephemeral pleasures, to which in the full meridian
of their manhood they sacrificed, as a thing unworthy of
their dignity, the mysterious charm of woman's influence
and woman's beauty.

We do not mean to say Clara de Haldimar would have fallen
short of the high estimate formed of her worth by the
friend of her brother; neither is it to be understood,
Sir Everard suffered this fair vision of his fancy to
lead him into the wild and labyrinthian paths of boyish
romance; but certain it is, the floating illusions,
conjured up by his imagination, exercised a mysterious
influence over his heart, that hourly acquired a deeper
and less equivocal character. It might have been curiosity
in the first instance, or that mere repose of the fancy
upon an object of its own creation, which was natural to
a young man placed like himself for the moment out of
the pale of all female society. It has been remarked,
and justly, there is nothing so dangerous to the peace
of the human heart as solitude. It is in solitude, our
thoughts, taking their colouring from our feelings, invest
themselves with the power of multiplying ideal beauty,
until we become in a measure tenants of a world of our
own creation, from which we never descend, without loathing
and disgust, into the dull and matter-of-fact routine of
actual existence. Hence the misery of the imaginative
man!--hence his little sympathy with the mass, who, tame
and soulless, look upon life and the things of life, not
through the refining medium of ideality, but through the
grossly magnifying optics of mere sense and materialism.

But, though we could, and perhaps may, at some future
period, write volumes on this subject, we return for the
present from a digression into which we have been insensibly
led by the temporary excitement of our own feelings.

Whatever were the impressions of the young baronet, and
however he might have been inclined to suffer the fair
image of the gentle Clara, such as he was perhaps wont
to paint it, to exercise its spell upon his fancy, certain
it is, he never expressed to her brother more than that
esteem and interest which it was but natural he should
accord to the sister of his friend. Neither had Charles
de Haldimar, even amid all his warmth of commendation,
ever made the slightest allusion to his sister, that
could be construed into a desire she should awaken any
unusual or extraordinary sentiment of preference. Much
and fervently as he desired such an event, there was an
innate sense of decorum, and it may be secret pride, that
caused him to abstain from any observation having the
remotest tendency to compromise the spotless delicacy of
his adored sister; and such he would have considered any
expression of his own hopes and wishes, where no declaration
of preference had been previously made. There was another
motive for this reserve on the part of the young officer.
The baronet was an only child, and would, on attaining
his majority, of which he wanted only a few months, become
the possessor of a large fortune. His sister Clara, on
the contrary, had little beyond her own fair fame and
the beauty transmitted to her by the mother she had lost.
Colonel de Haldimar was a younger son, and had made his
way through life with his sword, and an unblemished
reputation alone,--advantages he had shared with his
children, for the two eldest of whom his interest and
long services had procured commissions in his own regiment.

But even while Charles de Haldimar abstained from all
expression of his hopes, he had fully made up his mind
that Sir Everard and his sister were so formed for each
other, it was next to an impossibility they could meet
without loving. In one of his letters to the latter, he
had alluded to his friend in terms of so high and earnest
panegyric, that Clara had acknowledged, in reply, she
was prepared to find in the young baronet one whom she
should regard with partiality, if it were only on account
of the friendship subsisting between him and her brother.
This admission, however, was communicated in confidence,
and the young officer had religiously preserved his
sister's secret.

These and fifty other recollections now crowded on the
mind of the sufferer, only to render the intensity of
his anguish more complete; among the bitterest of which
was the certainty that the mysterious events of the past
night had raised up an insuperable barrier to this union;
for how could Clara de Haldimar become the wife of him
whose hands were, however innocently, stained with the
life-blood of her brother! To dwell on this, and the loss
of that brother, was little short of madness, and yet De
Haldimar could think of nothing else; nor for a period
could the loud booming of the cannon from the ramparts,
every report of which shook his chamber to its very
foundations, call off his attention from a subject which,
while it pained, engrossed every faculty and absorbed
every thought. At length, towards the close, he called
faintly to the old and faithful soldier, who, at the foot
of the bed, stood watching every change of his master's
countenance, to know the cause of the cannonade. On being
informed the batteries in the rear were covering the
retreat of Captain Erskine, who, in his attempt to obtain
the body, had been surprised by the Indians, a new
direction was temporarily given to his thoughts, and he
now manifested the utmost impatience to know the result.

In a few minutes Morrison, who, in defiance of the
surgeon's strict order not on any account to quit the
room, had flown to obtain some intelligence which he
trusted might remove the anxiety of his suffering master,
again made his appearance, stating the corpse was already
secured, and close under the guns of the fort, beneath
which the detachment, though hotly assailed from the
forest, were also fast retreating.

"And is it really my brother, Morrison? Are you quite
certain that it is Captain de Haldimar?" asked the young
officer, in the eager accents of one who, with the fullest
conviction on his mind, yet grasps at the faintest shadow
of a consoling doubt. "Tell me that it is not my brother,
and half of what I possess in the world shall be yours."

The old soldier brushed a tear from his eye. "God bless
you, Mr. de Haldimar, I would give half my grey hairs to
be able to do so; but it is, indeed, too truly the captain
who has been killed. I saw the very wings of his regimentals
as he lay on his face on the litter."

Charles de Haldimar groaned aloud. "Oh God! oh God! would
I had never lived to see this day." Then springing suddenly
up in his bed.--"Morrison, where are my clothes? I insist
on seeing my slaughtered brother myself."

"Good Heaven, sir, consider," said the old man approaching
the bed, and attempting to replace the covering which
had been spurned to its very foot,--"consider you are in
a burning fever, and the slightest cold may kill you
altogether. The doctor's orders are, you were on no
account to get up."

The effort made by the unfortunate youth was momentary.
Faint from the blood he had lost, and giddy from the
excitement of his feelings, he sank back exhausted on
his pillow, and wept like a child.

Old Morrison shed tears also; for his heart bled for the
sufferings of one whom he had nursed and played with even
in early infancy, and whom, although his master, he regarded
with the affection he would have borne to his own child. As
he had justly observed, he would have willingly given half
his remaining years to be able to remove the source of the
sorrow which so deeply oppressed him.

When this violent paroxysm had somewhat subsided, De
Haldimar became more composed; but his was rather that
composure which grows out of the apathy produced by
overwhelming grief, than the result of any relief afforded
to his suffering heart by the tears he had shed. He had
continued some time in this faint and apparently tranquil
state, when confused sounds in the barrack-yard, followed
by the raising of the heavy drawbridge, announced the
return of the detachment. Again he started up in his bed
and demanded his clothes, declaring his intention to go
out and receive the corpse of his murdered brother. All
opposition on the part of the faithful Morrison was now
likely to prove fruitless, when suddenly the door opened,
and an officer burst hurriedly into the room.

"Courage! courage! my dear De Haldimar; I am the bearer
of good news. Your brother is not the person who has been
slain."

Again De Haldimar sank back upon his pillow, overcome by
a variety of conflicting emotions. A moment afterwards,
and he exclaimed reproachfully, yet almost gasping with
the eagerness of his manner,--

"For God's sake, Sumners--in the name of common humanity,
do not trifle with my feelings. If you would seek to
lull me with false hopes, you are wrong. I am prepared
to hear and bear the worst at present; but to be undeceived
again would break my heart."

"I swear to you by every thing I have been taught to
revere as sacred," solemnly returned Ensign Sumners,
deeply touched by the affliction he witnessed, "what I
state is strictly true. Captain Erskine himself sent me
to tell you."

"What, is he only wounded then?" and a glow of mingled
hope and satisfaction was visible even through the flush
of previous excitement on the cheek of the sufferer.
"Quick, Morrison, give me my clothes.--Where is my brother,
Sumners?" and again he raised up his debilitated frame
with the intention of quitting his couch.

"De Haldimar, my dear De Haldimar, compose yourself, and
listen to me. Your brother is still missing, and we are
as much in the dark about his fate as ever. All that is
certain is, we have no positive knowledge of his death;
but surely that is a thousand times preferable to the
horrid apprehensions under which we have all hitherto
laboured."

"What mean you, Sumners? or am I so bewildered by my
sufferings as not to comprehend you clearly?--Nay, nay,
forgive me; but I am almost heart-broken at this loss,
and scarcely know what I say. But what is it you mean?
I saw my unhappy brother lying on the common with my own
eyes. Poor Valletort, himself--" here a rush of bitter
recollections flashed on the memory of the young man,
and the tears coursed each other rapidly down his cheek.
His emotion lasted for a few moments, and he pursued,--"Poor
Valletort himself saw him, for he was nearly as much
overwhelmed with affliction as I was; and even Morrison
beheld him also, not ten minutes since, under the very
walls of the fort; nay, distinguished the wings of his
uniform: and yet you would persuade me my brother, instead
of being brought in a corpse, is still missing and alive.
This is little better than trifling with my wretchedness,
Sumners," and again he sank back exhausted on his pillow.

"I can easily forgive your doubts, De Haldimar," returned
the sympathizing Sumners, taking the hand of his companion,
and pressing it gently in his own; "for, in truth, there
is a great deal of mystery attached to the whole affair.
I have not seen the body myself; but I distinctly heard
Captain Erskine state it certainly was not your brother,
and he requested me to apprise both Sir Everard Valletort
and yourself of the fact."

"Who is the murdered man, then? and how comes he to be
clad in the uniform of one of our officers? Pshaw! it is
too absurd to be credited. Erskine is mistaken--he must
be mistaken--it can be no other than my poor brother
Frederick. Sumners, I am sick, faint, with this cruel
uncertainty: go, my dear fellow, at once, and examine
the body; then return to me, and satisfy my doubts, if
possible."

"Most willingly, if you desire it," returned Sumners,
moving towards the door; "but believe me, De Haldimar,
you may make your mind tranquil on the subject;--Erskine
spoke with certainty."

"Have you seen Valletort?" asked De Haldimar, while an
involuntary shudder pervaded his fame.

"I have. He flew on the instant to make further enquiries;
and was in the act of going to examine the body of the
murdered man when I came here.--But here he is himself,
and his countenance is the harbinger of any thing but a
denial of my intelligence."

"Oh, Charles, what a weight of misery has been removed
from my heart!" exclaimed that officer, now rushing to
the bedside of his friend, and seizing his extended
hand,--"Your brother, let us hope, still lives."

"Almighty God, I thank thee!" fervently ejaculated De
Haldimar; and then, overcome with joy, surprise, and
gratitude, he again sank back upon his pillow, sobbing
and weeping violently.

Sumners had, with delicate tact, retired the moment Sir
Everard made his appearance; for he, as well as the whole
body of officers, was aware of the close friendship that
subsisted between the young men, and he felt, at such a
moment, the presence of a third person must be a sort of
violation of the sacredness of their interview.

For some minutes the young baronet stood watching in
silence, and with his friend's hand closely clasped in
his own, the course of those tears which seemed to afford
so much relief to the overcharged heart of the sufferer.
At length they passed gradually away; and a smile,
expressive of the altered state of his feelings, for the
first time animated the flushed but handsome features of
the younger De Haldimar.

We shall not attempt to paint all that passed between
the friends during the first interesting moments of an
interview which neither had expected to enjoy again, or
the delight and satisfaction with which they congratulated
themselves on the futility of those fears, which, if
realised, must have embittered every future moment of
their lives with the most harrowing recollections. Sir
Everard, particularly, felt, and was not slow to express,
his joy on this occasion; for, as he gazed upon the
countenance of his friend, he was more than ever inclined
to confess an interest in the sister he was said so much
to resemble.

With that facility with which in youth the generous and
susceptible are prone to exchange their tears for smiles,
as some powerful motive for the reaction may prompt, the
invalid had already, and for the moment, lost sight of
the painful past in the pleasurable present, so that his
actual excitement was strongly in contrast with the
melancholy he had so recently exhibited. Never had Charles
de Haldimar appeared so eminently handsome; and yet his
beauty resembled that of a frail and delicate woman,
rather than that of one called to the manly and arduous
profession of a soldier. It was that delicate and Medor-like
beauty which might have won the heart and fascinated the
sense of a second Angelica. The light brown hair flowing
in thick and natural waves over a high white forehead;
the rich bloom of the transparent and downy cheek; the
large, blue, long, dark-lashed eye, in which a shade of
languor harmonised with the soft but animated expression
of the whole countenance,--the dimpled mouth,--the small,
clear, and even teeth,--all these now characterised
Charles de Haldimar; and if to these we add a voice rich,
full, and melodious, and a smile sweet and fascinating,
we shall be at no loss to account for the readiness with
which Sir Everard suffered his imagination to draw on
the brother for those attributes he ascribed to the
sister.

It was while this impression was strong upon his fancy,
he took occasion to remark, in reply to an observation
of De Haldimar's, alluding to the despair with which his
sister would have been seized, had she known one brother
had fallen by the hand of the friend of the other.

"The grief of my own heart, Charles, on this occasion,
would have been little inferior to her own. The truth
is, my feelings during the last three hours have let me
into a secret, of the existence of which I was, in a
great degree, ignorant until then: I scarcely know how
to express myself, for the communication is so truly
absurd and romantic you will not credit it." He paused,
hesitated, and then, as if determined to anticipate the
ridicule he seemed to feel would be attached to his
confession, with a forced half laugh pursued: "The fact
is, Charles, I have been so much used to listen to your
warm and eloquent praises of your sister, I have absolutely,
I will not say fallen in love with (that would be going
too far), but conceived so strong an interest in her,
that my most ardent desire would be to find favour in
her eyes. What say you, my friend? are you inclined to
forward my suit; and if so, is there any chance for me,
think you, with herself?"

The breast of Charles de Haldimar, who had listened with
deep and increasing attention to this avowal, swelled
high with pleasurable excitement, and raising himself up
in his bed with one hand, while he grasped one of Sir
Everard's with the other, he exclaimed with a transport
of affection too forcible to be controlled,--

"Oh, Valletort, Valletort! this is, indeed, all that
was wanting to complete my happiness. My sister Clara
I adore with all the affection of my nature; I love her
better than my own life, which is wrapped up in hers.
She is an angel in disposition,--all that is dear, tender,
and affectionate,--all that is gentle and lovely in woman;
one whose welfare is dearer far to me than my own, and
without whose presence I could not live. Valletort, that
prize,--that treasure, that dearer half of myself, is
yours,--yours for ever. I have long wished you should
love, each other, and I felt, when you met, you would.
If I have hitherto forborne from expressing this fondest
wish of my heart, it has been from delicacy--from a
natural fear of compromising the purity of my adored
Clara. Now, however, you have confessed yourself interested,
by a description that falls far short of the true peril
of that dear girl, I can no longer disguise my gratification
and delight. Valletort," he concluded, impressively,
"there is no other man on earth to whom I would say so
much; but you were formed for each other, and you will,
you must, be the husband of my sister."

If the youthful and affectionate De Haldimar was happy,
Sir Everard was no less so; for already, with the enthusiasm
of a young man of twenty, he painted to himself the entire
fruition of those dreams of happiness that had so long
been familiarised to his imagination. One doubt alone
crossed his mind.

"But if your sister should have decided differently,
Charles," he at length remarked, as he gently quitted
the embrace of his friend: "who knows if her heart may
not already throb for another; and even if not, it is
possible she may judge me far less flatteringly than you
do."

"Valletort, your fears are groundless. Having admitted
thus far, I will even go farther, and add, you have been
the subject of one of my letters to Clara, who, in her
turn, 'confesses a strong interest in one of whom she
has heard so much.' She writes playfully, of course, but
it is quite evident to me she is prepared to like you."

"Indeed! But, Charles, liking is many degrees removed
you know from loving; besides, I understand there are
two or three handsome and accomplished fellows among the
garrison of Michilimackinac, and your sister's visit to
her cousin may not have been paid altogether with impunity."

"Think not thus meanly of Clara's understanding, Valletort.
There must be something more than mere beauty and
accomplishment to fix the heart of my sister. The dark
eyed and elegant Baynton, and the musical and sonnetteering
Middleton, to whom you, doubtless, allude, are very
excellent fellows in their way; but handsome and
accomplished as they are, they are not exactly the men
to please Clara de Haldimar."

"But, my dear Charles, you forget also any little merit
of my own is doubly enhanced in your eyes, by the sincerity
of the friendship subsisting between us; your sister may
think very differently."

"Psha, Valletort! these difficulties are all of your own
creation," returned his friend, impatiently; "I know the
heart of Clara is disengaged. What would you more?"

"Enough, De Haldimar; I will no longer doubt my own
prospects. If she but approve me, my whole life shall be
devoted to the happiness of your sister."

A single knock was now heard at the door of the apartment;
it was opened, and a sergeant appeared at the entrance.

"The company are under arms for punishment parade,
Lieutenant Valletort," said the man, touching his cap.

In an instant, the visionary prospects of the young men
gave place to the stern realities connected with that
announcement of punishment. The treason of Halloway,--the
absence of Frederick de Haldimar,--the dangers by which
they were beset,--and the little present probability of
a re-union with those who were most dear to them,--all
these recollections now flashed across their minds with
the rapidity of thought; and the conversation that had
so recently passed between them seemed to leave no other
impression than what is produced from some visionary
speculation of the moment.




CHAPTER VIII.

As the bells of the fort tolled the tenth hour of morning,
the groups of dispersed soldiery, warned by the rolling
of the assembly drum, once more fell into their respective
ranks in the order described in the opening of this
volume, Soon afterwards the prisoner Halloway was
reconducted into the square by a strong escort, who took
their stations as before in the immediate centre, where
the former stood principally conspicuous to the observation
of his comrades. His countenance was paler, and had less,
perhaps, of the indifference he had previously manifested;
but to supply this there was a certain subdued air of
calm dignity, and a composure that sprang, doubtless,
from the consciousness of the new character in which he
now appeared before his superiors. Colonel de Haldimar
almost immediately followed, and with him were the
principal staff of the garrison, all of whom, with the
exception of the sick and wounded and their attendants,
were present to a man. The former took from the hands of
the governor, Lawson, a large packet, consisting of
several sheets of folded paper closely written upon.
These were the proceedings of the court martial.

After enumerating the several charges, and detailing the
evidence of the witnesses examined, the adjutant came at
length to the finding and sentence of the court, which
were as follows:--

"The court having duly considered the evidence adduced
against the prisoner private Frank Halloway, together
with what he has urged in his defence, are of opinion,--"

"That with regard to the first charge, it is not proved."

"That with regard to the second charge, it is not proved."

"That with regard to the third charge, even by his own
voluntary confession, the prisoner is guilty."

"The court having found the prisoner private Frank Halloway
guilty of the third charge preferred against him, which
is hi direct violation of a standing order of the garrison,
entailing capital punishment, do hereby sentence him,
the said prisoner, private Frank Halloway, to be shot to
death at such time and place as the officer commanding
may deem fit to appoint."

Although the utmost order pervaded the ranks, every breath
had been suspended, every ear stretched during the reading
of the sentence; and now that it came arrayed in terror
and in blood, every glance was turned in pity on its
unhappy victim. But Halloway heard it with the ears of
one who has made up his mind to suffer; and the faint
half smile that played upon his lip spoke more in scorn
than in sorrow. Colonel de Haldimar pursued:--

"The court having found it imperatively incumbent on them
to award the punishment of death to the prisoner, private
Frank Halloway, at the same time gladly avail themselves
of their privilege by strongly recommending him to mercy.
The court cannot, in justice to the character of the
prisoner, refrain from expressing their unanimous
conviction, that notwithstanding the mysterious
circumstances which have led to his confinement and trial,
he is entirely innocent of the treachery ascribed to him.
The court have founded this conviction on the excellent
character, both on duty and in the field, hitherto borne
by the prisoner,--his well-known attachment to the officer
with whose abduction be stands charged,--and the manly,
open, and (as the court are satisfied) correct history
given of his former life. It is, moreover, the impression
of the court, that, as stated by the prisoner, his guilt
on the third charge has been the result only of his
attachment for Captain de Haldimar. And for this, and
the reasons above assigned, do they strongly recommend
the prisoner to mercy."

   (Signed)

   NOEL BLESSINGTON,
      Captain and President.

   Sentence approved and confirmed.

   CHARLES DE HALDIMAR,
      Colonel Commandant.

While these concluding remarks of the court were being
read, the prisoner manifested the deepest emotion. If a
smile of scorn had previously played upon his lip, it
was because he fancied the court, before whom he had
sought to vindicate his fame, had judged him with a
severity not inferior to his colonel's; but now that, in
the presence of his companions, he heard the flattering
attestation of his services, coupled even as it was with
the sentence that condemned him to die, tears of gratitude
and pleasure rose despite of himself to his eyes; and it
required all his self-command to enable him to abstain
from giving expression to his feelings towards those who
had so generously interpreted the motives of his dereliction
from duty. But when the melancholy and startling fact of
the approval and confirmation of the sentence met his
ear, without the slightest allusion to that mercy which
had been so urgently recommended, he again overcame his
weakness, and exhibited his wonted air of calm and
unconcern.

"Let the prisoner be removed, Mr. Lawson," ordered the
governor, whose stern and somewhat dissatisfied expression
of countenance was the only comment on the recommendation
for mercy.

The order was promptly executed. Once more Halloway left
the square, and was reconducted to the cell he had occupied
since the preceding night.

"Major Blackwater," pursued the governor, "let a detachment
consisting of one half the garrison be got in readiness
to leave the fort within the hour. Captain Wentworth,
three pieces of field artillery will be required. Let
them be got ready also." He then retired from the area
with the forbidding dignity and stately haughtiness of
manner that was habitual to him; while the officers, who
had just received his commands, prepared to fulfil the
respective duties assigned them.

Since the first alarm of the garrison no opportunity had
hitherto been afforded the officers to snatch the slightest
refreshment. Advantage was now taken of the short interval
allowed by the governor, and they all repaired to the
mess-room, where their breakfast had long since been
provided.

"Well, Blessington," remarked Captain Erskine, as he
filled his plate for the third time from a large haunch
of smoke-dried venison, for which his recent skirmish
with the Indians had given him an unusual relish, "so it
appears your recommendation of poor Halloway to mercy is
little likely to be attended to. Did you remark how
displeased the colonel looked as he bungled through it?
One might almost be tempted to think he had an interest
in the man's death, so determined does he appear to carry
his point."

Although several of his companions, perhaps, felt and
thought the same, still there was no one who would have
ventured to avow his real sentiments in so unqualified
a manner. Indeed such an observation proceeding from
the lips of any other officer would have excited the
utmost surprise; but Captain Erskine, a brave, bold,
frank, and somewhat thoughtless soldier, was one of those
beings who are privileged to say any thing. His opinions
were usually expressed without ceremony; and his speech
was not the most circumspect NOW, as since his return to
the fort he had swallowed, fasting, two or three glasses
of a favourite spirit, which, without intoxicating, had
greatly excited him.

"I remarked enough," said Captain Blessington, who sat
leaning his head on one hand, while with the other he
occasionally, and almost mechanically, raised a cup filled
with a liquid of a pale blood colour to his lips,--"quite
enough to make me regret from my very soul I should have
been his principal judge. Poor Halloway, I pity him much;
for, on my honour, I believe him to be the gentleman he
represents himself."

"A finer fellow does not live," remarked the last remaining
officer of the grenadiers. "But surely Colonel de Haldimar
cannot mean to carry the sentence into effect. The
recommendation of a court, couched in such terms as these,
ought alone to have some weight with him."

"It is quite clear, from the fact of his having been
remanded to his cell, the execution of the poor fellow
will be deferred at least," observed one of Captain
Erskine's subalterns." If the governor had intended he
should suffer immediately, he would have had him shot
the moment after his sentence was read. But what is the
meaning and object of this new sortie? and whither are
we now going? Do you know, Captain Erskine, our company
is again ordered for this duty?"

"Know it, Leslie! of course I do; and for that reason am
I paying my court to the more substantial part of the
breakfast. Come, Blessington, my dear fellow, you have
quite lost your appetite, and we may have sharp work
before we get back. Follow my example: throw that nasty
blood-thickening sassafras away, and lay a foundation
from this venison. None sweeter is to be found in the
forests of America. A few slices of that, and then a
glass each of my best Jamaica, and we shall have strength
to go through the expedition, if its object be the capture
of the bold Ponteac himself."

"I presume the object is rather to seek for Captain de
Haldimar," said Lieutenant Boyce, the officer of grenadiers;
"but in that case why not send out his own company?"

"Because the Colonel prefers trusting to cooler heads
and more experienced arms," good-humouredly observed
Captain Erskine. "Blessington is our senior, and his
men are all old stagers. My lads, too, have had their
mettle up already this morning, and there is nothing like
that to prepare men for a dash of enterprise. It is with
them as with blood horses, the more you put them on their
speed the less anxious are they to quit the course.
Well, Johnstone, my brave Scot, ready for another skirmish?"
he asked, as that officer now entered to satisfy the
cravings of an appetite little inferior to that of his
captain.

"With 'Nunquam non paratus' for my motto," gaily returned
the young man, "it were odd, indeed, if a mere scratch
like this should prevent me from establishing my claim
to it by following wherever my gallant captain leads."

"Most courteously spoken, and little in the spirit of a
man yet smarting under the infliction of a rifle wound,
it must be confessed," remarked Lieutenant Leslie. "But,
Johnstone, you should bear in mind a too close adherence
to that motto has been, in some degree, fatal to your
family."

"No reflections, Leslie, if you please," returned his
brother subaltern, slightly reddening. "If the head of
our family was unfortunate enough to be considered a
traitor to England, he was not so, at least, to Scotland;
and Scotland was the land of his birth. But let his
political errors be forgotten. Though the winged spur no
longer adorn the booted heel of an Earl of Annandale,
the time may not be far distant when some liberal and
popular monarch of England shall restore a title forfeited
neither through cowardice nor dishonour, but from an
erroneous sense of duty."

"That is to say," muttered Ensign Delme, looking round
for approval as he spoke, "that our present king is
neither liberal nor popular. Well, Mr. Johnstone, were
such an observation to reach the ears of Colonel de
Haldimar you would stand a very fair chance of being
brought to a court martial."

"That is to say nothing of the kind, sir," somewhat
fiercely retorted the young Scot; "but any thing I do
say you are at liberty to repeat to Colonel de Haldimar,
or whom you will. I cannot understand, Leslie, why you
should have made any allusion to the misfortunes of my
family at this particular moment, and in this public
manner. I trust it was not with a view to offend me;"
and he fixed his large black eyes upon his brother
subaltern, as if he would have read every thought of his
mind.

"Upon my honour, Johnstone, I meant nothing of the kind,"
frankly returned Leslie. "I merely meant to hint that
as you had had your share of service this morning, you
might, at least, have suffered me to borrow your spurs,
while you reposed for the present on your laurels."

"There are my gay and gallant Scots," exclaimed Captain
Erskine, as he swallowed off a glass of the old Jamaica
which lay before him, and with which he usually neutralised
the acidities of a meat breakfast, "Settled like gentlemen
and lads of spirit as ye are," he pursued, as the young
men cordially shook each other's hand across the table.
"What an enviable command is mine, to have a company of
brave fellows who would face the devil himself were it
necessary; and two hot and impatient subs., who are ready
to cut each other's throat for the pleasure of accompanying
me against a set of savages that are little better than
so many devils. Come, Johnstone, you know the Colonel
allows us but one sub. at a time, in consequence of our
scarcity of officers, therefore it is but fair Leslie
should have his turn. It will not be long, I dare say,
before we shall have another brush with the rascals."

"In my opinion," observed Captain Blessington, who had
been a silent and thoughtful witness of what was passing
around him, "neither Leslie nor Johnstone would evince
so much anxiety, were they aware of the true-nature of
the duty for which our companies have been ordered. Depend
upon it, it is no search after Captain de Haldimar in
which we are about to be engaged; for much as the colonel
loves his son, he would on no account compromise the
safety of the garrison, by sending a party into the
forest, where poor De Haldimar, if alive, is at all likely
to be found."

"Faith you are right, Blessington; the governor is not
one to run these sort of risks on every occasion. My
chief surprise, indeed, is, that he suffered me to venture
even upon the common; but if we are not designed for some
hostile expedition, why leave the fort at all?"

"The question will need no answer, if Halloway be found
to accompany us."

"Psha! why should Halloway be taken out for the purpose?
If he be shot at all, he will be shot on the ramparts,
in the presence of, and as an example to, the whole
garrison. Still, on reflection, I cannot but think it
impossible the sentence should be carried into full
effect, after the strong, nay, the almost unprecedented
recommendation to mercy recorded on the face of the
proceedings."

Captain Blessington shook his head despondingly. "What
think you, Erskine, of the policy of making an example,
which may be witnessed by the enemy as well as the
garrison? It is evident, from his demeanour throughout,
nothing will convince the colonel that Halloway is not
a traitor, and he may think it advisable to strike terror
in the minds of the savages, by an execution which will
have the effect of showing the treason of the soldier to
have been discovered."

In this opinion many of the officers now concurred; and
as the fate of the unfortunate Halloway began to assume
a character of almost certainty, even the spirit of the
gallant Erskine, the least subdued by the recent distressing
events, was overclouded; and all sank, as if by one
consent, into silent communion with their thoughts, as
they almost mechanically completed the meal, at which
habit rather than appetite still continued them. Before
any of them had yet risen from the table, a loud and
piercing scream met their ears from without; and so quick
and universal was the movement it produced, that its echo
had scarcely yet died away in distance, when the whole
of the breakfast party had issued from the room, and were
already spectators of the cause.

The barracks of the officers, consisting of a range of
low buildings, occupied the two contiguous sides of a
square, and in the front of these ran a narrow and covered
piazza, somewhat similar to those attached to the
guardhouses in England, which description of building
the barracks themselves most resembled. On the other
two faces of the square stood several block-houses, a
style of structure which, from their adaptation to purposes
of defence as well as of accommodation, were every where
at that period in use in America, and are even now
continued along the more exposed parts of the frontier.
These, capable of containing each a company of men, were,
as their name implies, formed of huge masses of
roughly-shapen timber, fitted into each other at the
extremities by rude incisions from the axe, and filled
in with smaller wedges of wood. The upper part of these
block-houses projected on every side several feet beyond
the ground floor, and over the whole was a sheathing of
planks, which, as well as those covering the barracks of
the officers, were painted of a brick-red colour. Unlike
the latter, they rose considerably above the surface of
the ramparts; and, in addition to the small window to be
seen on each side of each story of the block-house, were
numerous smaller square holes, perforated for the discharge
of musketry. Between both these barracks and the ramparts
there was just space sufficient to admit of the passage
of artillery of a heavy calibre; and at each of the four
angles, composing the lines of the fort, was an opening
of several feet in extent, not only to afford the gunners
room to work their batteries, but to enable them to reach
their posts with greater expedition in the event of any
sudden emergency. On the right, on entering the fort
over the drawbridge, were the block-houses of the men;
and immediately in front, and on the left, the barracks
of the officers, terminated at the outer extremity by
the guard-house, and at the inner by the quarters of the
commanding officer.

As the officers now issued from the mess-room nearly
opposite to the gate, they observed, at that part of the
barracks which ran at right angles with it, and immediately
in front of the apartment of the younger De Haldimar,
whence he had apparently just issued, the governor,
struggling, though gently, to disengage himself from a
female, who, with disordered hair and dress, lay almost
prostrate upon the piazza, and clasping his booted leg
with an energy evidently borrowed from the most rooted
despair. The quick eye of the haughty man had already
rested on the group of officers drawn by the scream of
the supplicant. Numbers, too, of the men, attracted by
the same cause, were collected in front of their respective
block-houses, and looking from the windows of the rooms
in which they were also breakfasting, preparatory to the
expedition. Vexed and irritated beyond measure, at being
thus made a conspicuous object of observation to his
inferiors, the unbending governor made a violent and
successful effort to disengage his leg; and then, without
uttering a word, or otherwise noticing the unhappy being
who lay extended at his feet, he stalked across the parade
to his apartments at the opposite angle, without appearing
to manifest the slightest consciousness of the scene that
had awakened such universal attention.

Several of the officers, among whom was Captain Blessington,
now hastened to the assistance of the female, whom all
had recognised, from the first, to be the interesting
and unhappy wife of Halloway. Many of the comrades of
the latter, who had been pained and pitying spectators
of the scene, also advanced for the same purpose; but,
on perceiving their object anticipated by their superiors,
they withdrew to the blocks-houses, whence they had
issued. Never was grief more forcibly depicted, than in
the whole appearance of this unfortunate woman; never
did anguish assume a character more fitted to touch the
soul, or to command respect. Her long fair hair, that
had hitherto been hid under the coarse mob-cap, usually
worn by the wives of the soldiers, was now divested of
all fastening, and lay shadowing a white and polished
bosom, which, in her violent struggles to detain the
governor, had burst from its rude but modest confinement,
and was now displayed in all the dazzling delicacy of
youth and sex. If the officers gazed for a moment with
excited look upon charms that had long been strangers to
their sight, and of an order they had little deemed to
find in Ellen Halloway, it was but the involuntary tribute
rendered by nature unto beauty. The depth and sacredness
of that sorrow, which had left the wretched woman
unconscious of her exposure, in the instant afterwards
imposed a check upon admiration, which each felt to be
a violation of the first principles of human delicacy,
and the feeling was repressed almost in the moment that
gave it birth.

They were immediately in front of the room occupied by
Charles de Haldimar, in the piazza of which were a few
old chairs, on which the officers were in the habit of
throwing themselves during the heat of the day. On one
of these Captain Blessington, assisted by the officer of
grenadiers, now seated the suffering and sobbing wife of
Halloway. His first care was to repair the disorder of
her dress; and never was the same office performed by
man with greater delicacy, or absence of levity by those
who witnessed it. This was the first moment of her
consciousness. The inviolability of modesty for a moment
rose paramount even to the desolation of her heart, and
putting rudely aside the hand that reposed unavoidably
upon her person, the poor woman started from her seat,
and looked wildly about her, as if endeavouring to identify
those by whom she was surrounded. But when she observed
the pitying gaze of the officers fixed upon her, in
earnestness and commiseration, and heard the benevolent
accents of the ever kind Blessington exhorting her to
composure, her weeping became more violent, and her sobs
more convulsive. Captain Blessington threw an arm round
her waist to prevent her from falling; and then motioning
to two or three women of the company to which her husband
was attached, who stood at a little distance, in front
of one of the block-houses, prepared to deliver her over
to their charge.

"No, no, not yet!" burst at length from the lips of the
agonised woman, as she shrank from the rude but
well-intentioned touch of the sympathising assistants,
who had promptly answered the signal; then, as if obeying
some new direction of her feelings, some new impulse of
her grief, she liberated herself from the slight grasp
of Captain Blessington, turned suddenly round, and, before
any one could anticipate the movement, entered an opening
on the piazza, raised the latch of a door situated at
its extremity, and was, in the next instant, in the
apartment of the younger De Haldimar.

The scene that met the eyes of the officers, who now
followed close after her, was one well calculated to make
an impression on the hearts even of the most insensible.
In the despair and recklessness of her extreme sorrow,
the young wife of Halloway had already thrown herself
upon her knees at the bedside of the sick officer; and,
with her hands upraised and firmly clasped together, was
now supplicating him in tones, contrasting singularly in
their gentleness with the depth of the sorrow that had
rendered her thus regardless of appearances, and insensible
to observation.

"Oh, Mr. de Haldimar!" she implored, "in the name of God
and of our blessed Saviour, if you would save me from
madness, intercede for my unhappy husband, and preserve
him from the horrid fate that awaits him. You are too
good, too gentle, too amiable, to reject the prayer of
a heart-broken woman. Moreover, Mr. de Haldimar," she
proceeded, with deeper energy, while she caught and
pressed, between her own white and bloodless hands, one
nearly as delicate that lay extended near her, "consider
all my dear but unfortunate husband has done for your
family. Think of the blood he once spilt in the defence
of your brother's life; that brother, through whom alone,
oh God! he is now condemned to die. Call to mind the days
and nights of anguish I passed near his couch of suffering,
when yet writhing beneath the wound aimed at the life of
Captain de Haldimar. Almighty Providence!" she pursued,
in the same impassioned yet plaintive voice, "why is not
Miss Clara here to plead the cause of the innocent, and
to touch the stubborn heart of her merciless father? She
would, indeed, move heaven and earth to save the life of
him to whom she so often vowed eternal gratitude and
acknowledgment. Ah, she little dreams of his danger now;
or, if prayer and intercession could avail, my husband
should yet live, and this terrible struggle at my heart
would be no more."

Overcome by her emotion, the unfortunate woman suffered
her aching head to droop upon the edge of the bed, and
her sobbing became so painfully violent, that all who
heard her expected, at every moment, some fatal termination
to her immoderate grief. Charles de Haldimar was little
less affected; and his sorrow was the more bitter, as he
had just proved the utter inefficacy of any thing in the
shape of appeal to his inflexible father.

"Mrs. Halloway, my dear Mrs. Halloway, compose yourself,"
said Captain Blessington, now approaching, and endeavouring
to raise her gently from the floor, on which she still
knelt, while her hands even more firmly grasped that of
De Haldimar. "You are ill, very ill, and the consequences
of this dreadful excitement may be fatal. Be advised by
me, and retire. I have desired my room to be prepared
for you, and Sergeant Wilmot's wife shall remain with
you as long as you may require it."

"No, no, no!" she again exclaimed with energy; "what care
I for my own wretched life--my beloved and unhappy husband
is to die. Oh God! to die without guilt--to be cut off
in his youth--to be shot as a traitor--and that simply
for obeying the wishes of the officer whom he loved!--the
son of the man who now spurns all supplication from his
presence. It is inhuman--it is unjust--and Heaven will
punish the hard-hearted man who murders him--yes, murders
him! for such a punishment for such an offence is nothing
less than murder." Again she wept bitterly, and as Captain
Blessington still essayed to soothe and raise her:--"No,
no! I will not leave this spot," she continued; "I will
not quit the side of Mr. de Haldimar, until he pledges
himself to intercede for my poor husband. It is his duty
to save the life of him who saved his brother's life;
and God and human justice are with my appeal. Oh, tell
me, then, Mr. de Haldimar,--if you would save my wretched
heart from breaking,--tell me you will intercede for,
and obtain the pardon of, my husband!"

As she concluded this last sentence in passionate appeal,
she had risen from her knees; and, conscious only of the
importance of the boon solicited, now threw herself upon
the breast of the highly pained and agitated young officer.
Her long and beautiful hair fell floating over his face,
and mingled with his own, while her arms were wildly
clasped around him, in all the energy of frantic and
hopeless adjuration.

"Almighty God!" exclaimed the agitated young man, as he
made a feeble and fruitless effort to raise the form of
the unhappy woman; "what shall I say to impart comfort
to this suffering being? Oh, Mrs. Halloway," he pursued,
"I would willingly give all I possess in this world to
be the means of saving your unfortunate husband,--and as
much for his own sake as for yours would I do this; but,
alas! I have not the power. Do not think I speak without
conviction. My father has just been with me, and I have
pleaded the cause of your husband with an earnestness I
should scarcely have used had my own life been at stake.
But all my entreaties have been in vain. He is obstinate
in the belief my brother's strange absence, and Donellan's
death, are attributable only to the treason of Halloway.
Still there is a hope. A detachment is to leave the fort
within the hour, and Halloway is to accompany them. It
may be, my father intends this measure only with a view
to terrify him into a confession of guilt; and that he
deems it politic to make him undergo all the fearful
preliminaries without carrying the sentence itself into
effect."

The unfortunate woman said no more. When she raised her
heaving chest from that of the young officer, her eyes,
though red and shrunk to half their usual size with
weeping, were tearless; but on her countenance there was
an expression of wild woe, infinitely more distressing
to behold, in consequence of the almost unnatural check
so suddenly imposed upon her feelings. She tottered,
rather than walked, through the group of officers, who
gave way on either hand to let her pass; and rejecting
all assistance from the women who had followed into the
room, and who now, in obedience to another signal from
Captain Blessington, hastened to her support, finally
gained the door, and quitted the apartment.




CHAPTER IX.

The sun was high in the meridian, as the second detachment,
commanded by Colonel de Haldimar in person, issued from
the fort of Detroit. It was that soft and hazy season,
peculiar to the bland and beautiful autumns of Canada,
when the golden light of Heaven seems as if transmitted
through a veil of tissue, and all of animate and inanimate
nature, expanding and fructifying beneath its fostering
influence, breathes the most delicious languor and
voluptuous repose. It was one of those still, calm, warm,
and genial days, which in those regions come under the
vulgar designation of the Indian summer; a season that
is ever hailed by the Canadian with a satisfaction
proportioned to the extreme sultriness of the summer,
and the equally oppressive rigour of the winter, by which
it is immediately preceded and followed. It is then that
Nature, who seems from the creation to have bestowed all
of grandeur and sublimity on the stupendous Americas,
looks gladly and complacently on her work; and, staying
the course of parching suns and desolating frosts, loves
to luxuriate for a period in the broad and teeming bosom
of her gigantic offspring. It is then that the
forest-leaves, alike free from the influence of the
howling hurricane of summer, and the paralysing and
unfathomable snows of winter, cleave, tame and stirless
in their varying tints, to the parent branch; while the
broad rivers and majestic lakes exhibit a surface resembling
rather the incrustation of the polished mirror than the
resistless, viewless particles of which the golden element
is composed. It is then that, casting its satisfied
glance across those magnificent rivers, the eye beholds,
as if reflected from a mirror (so similar in production
and appearance are the contiguous shores), both the
fertility of cultivated and the rudeness of uncultivated
nature, that every where surround and diversify the view.
The tall and sloping banks, covered with verdure to the
very sands, that unite with the waters lying motionless
at their base; the continuous chain of neat farm-houses
(we speak principally of Detroit and its opposite shores);
the luxuriant and bending orchards, teeming with fruits
of every kind and of every colour; the ripe and yellow
corn vying in hue with the soft atmosphere, which reflects
and gives full effect to its abundance and its
richness,--these, with the intervening waters unruffled,
save by the lazy skiff, or the light bark canoe urged
with the rapidity of thought along its surface by the
slight and elegantly ornamented paddle of the Indian; or
by the sudden leaping of the large salmon, the unwieldly
sturgeon, the bearded cat-fish, or the delicately flavoured
maskinonge, and fifty other tenants of their bosom;--all
these contribute to form the foreground of a picture
bounded in perspective by no less interesting, though
perhaps ruder marks of the magnificence of that great
architect--Nature, on which the eye never lingers without
calm; while feelings, at once voluptuous and tender,
creep insensibly over the heart, and raise the mind in
adoration to the one great and sole Cause by which the
stupendous whole has been produced.

Such a day as that we have just described was the ----
of September, 1763, when the chief portion of the English
garrison of Detroit issued forth from the fortifications
in which they had so long been cooped up, and in the
presumed execution of a duty undeniably the most trying
and painful that ever fell to the lot of soldier to
perform. The heavy dull movement of the guns, as they
traversed the drawbridge resembled in that confined
atmosphere the rumbling of low and distant thunder; and
as they shook the rude and hollow sounding planks, over
which they were slowly dragged, called up to every heart
the sad recollection of the service for which they had
been required. Even the tramp of the men, as they moved
heavily and measuredly across the yielding bridge, seemed
to wear the character of the reluctance with which they
proceeded on so hateful a duty; and more than one
individual, as he momentarily turned his eye upon the
ramparts, where many of his comrades were grouped together
watching the departure of the detachment, testified by
the significant and mournful movement of his head how
much he envied their exemption from the task.

The direct military road runs in a straight line from
the fort to the banks of the Detroit, and the eastern
extremity of the town. Here it is intersected by the
highway running parallel with the river, and branching
off at right angles on either hand; the right, leading
in the direction of the more populous states; the left,
through the town, and thence towards the more remote and
western parts, where European influence has yet been but
partially extended. The only difference between its
present and former character is, that what is now a
flourishing commercial town was then a mere village;
while the adjacent country, at present teeming with every
mark of vegetation, bore no other evidence of fertility
than what was afforded by a few scattered farm-houses,
many of which skirted various parts of the forest. Along
this road the detachment now wended its slow and solemn
course, and with a mournful pageantry of preparation that
gave fearful earnest of the tragedy expected to be enacted.

In front, and dragged by the hands of the gunners, moved
two of the three three-pounders, that had been ordered
for the duty. Behind these came Captain Blessington's
company, and in their rear, the prisoner Halloway, divested
of his uniform, and clad in a white cotton jacket, and
cap of the same material. Six rank and file of the
grenadiers followed, under the command of a corporal,
and behind these again, came eight men of the same company;
four of whom bore on their shoulders a coffin, covered
with a coarse black pall that had perhaps already assisted
at fifty interments; while the other four carried, in
addition to their own, the muskets of their burdened
comrades. After these, marched a solitary drummer-boy;
whose tall bear-skin cap attested him to be of the
grenadiers also, while his muffled instrument marked the
duty for which he had been selected. Like his comrades,
none of whom exhibited their scarlet uniforms, he wore
the collar of his great coat closely buttoned beneath
his chin, which was only partially visible above the
stiff leathern stock that encircled his neck. Although
his features were half buried in his huge cap and the
high collar of his coat, there was an air of delicacy
about his person that seemed to render him unsuited to
such an office; and more than once was Captain Erskine,
who followed immediately behind him at the head of his
company, compelled to call sharply to the urchin,
threatening him with a week's drill unless he mended his
feeble and unequal pace, and kept from under the feet of
his men. The remaining gun brought up the rear of the
detachment, who marched with fixed bayonets and two balls
in each musket; the whole presenting a front of sections,
that completely filled up the road along which they
passed. Colonel de Haldimar, Captain Wentworth, and the
Adjutant Lawson followed in the extreme rear.

An event so singular as that of the appearance of the
English without their fort, beset as they were by a host
of fierce and dangerous enemies, was not likely to pass
unnoticed by a single individual in the little village
of Detroit. We have already observed, that most of the
colonist settlers had been cruelly massacred at the very
onset of hostilities. Not so, however, with the Canadians,
who, from their anterior relations with the natives, and
the mutual and tacit good understanding that subsisted
between both parties, were suffered to continue in quiet
and unmolested possession of their homes, where they
preserved an avowed neutrality, never otherwise infringed
than by the assistance secretly and occasionally rendered
to the English troops, whose gold they were glad to
receive in exchange for the necessaries of life.

Every dwelling of the infant town had commenced giving
up its tenants, from the moment when the head of the
detachment was seen traversing the drawbridge; so that,
by the time it reached the highway, and took its direction
to the left, the whole population of Detroit were already
assembled in groups, and giving expression to their
several conjectures, with a vivacity of language and
energy of gesticulation that would not have disgraced
the parent land itself. As the troops drew nearer, however,
they all sank at once into a silence, as much the result
of certain unacknowledged and undefined fears, as of the
respect the English had ever been accustomed to exact.
The men removed their short dingy clay pipes from their
mouths with one hand, and uncovered themselves with the
other, while the women made their hasty reverence with
the air of people who seek to propitiate by an act of
civility; even the very children scraped and bowed, as
if they feared the omission might be fatal to them, and,
clinging to the hands and dress of their parents, looked
up occasionally to their countenances to discover whether
the apprehensions of their own fluttering and timid hearts
were likely to be realised. Still there was sufficient
of curiosity with all to render them attentive spectators
of the passing troop. Hitherto, it had been imagined,
the object of the English was an attack on the encampments
of their enemies; but when the gaze of each adult inhabitant
fell on the unaccoutred form of the lone soldier, who,
calm though pale, now moved among his comrades in the
ignominious garb of death, they could no longer doubt
its true destination.

The aged made the sign of the cross, and mumbled over a
short prayer for the repose of his soul, while the more
youthful indulged in half-breathed ejaculations of pity
and concern that so fine and interesting a man should be
doomed to so dreadful a fate.

At the farther extremity of the town, and at a bend in
the road, which branched off more immediately towards
the river, stood a small public house, whose creaking
sign bore three ill executed fleurs-de-lis, apologetic
emblems of the arms of France. The building itself was
little more than a rude log hut, along the front of which
ran a plank, supported by two stumps of trees, and serving
as a temporary accommodation both for the traveller and
the inmate. On this bench three persons, apparently
attracted by the beauty of the day and the mildness of
the autumnal sun, were now seated, two of whom were
leisurely puffing their pipes, while the third, a female,
was employed in carding wool, a quantity of which lay in
a basket at her feet, while she warbled, in a low tone,
one of the simple airs of her native land. The elder of
the two men, whose age might be about fifty, offered
nothing particularly remarkable in his appearance: he
was dressed in one of those thick coats made of the common
white blanket, which, even to this day, are so generally
worn by the Canadians, while his hair, cut square upon
the forehead, and tied into a club of nearly a foot long,
fell into the cape, or hood, attached to it: his face
was ruddy and shining as that of any rival Boniface among
the race of the hereditary enemies of his forefathers;
and his thick short neck, and round fat person, attested
he was no more an enemy to the good things of this world
than themselves, while he was as little oppressed by its
cares: his nether garments were of a coarse blue homespun,
and his feet were protected by that rudest of all rude
coverings, the Canadian shoe-pack. This was composed of
a single piece of stiff brown leather, curved and puckered
round the sides and front, where it was met by a tongue
of softer material, which helped to confine it in that
position, and to form the shoe. A bandana handkerchief
fell from his neck upon his chest; the covering of which
was so imperfectly drawn, as to disclose a quantitity of
long, coarse, black, and grisly hair.

His companion was habited in a still more extraordinary
manner. His lower limbs were cased, up to the mid-thigh,
in leathern leggings, the seam of which was on the outside,
leaving a margin, or border, of about an inch wide, which
had been slit into innumerable small fringes, giving them
an air of elegance and lightness: a garter of leather,
curiously wrought, with the stained quills of the porcupine,
encircled each leg, immediately under the knee, where it
was tied in a bow, and then suffered to hang pendant half
way down the limb; to the fringes of the leggings,
moreover, were attached numerous dark-coloured horny
substances, emitting, as they rattled against each other,
at the slightest movement of the wearer, a tinkling sound,
resembling that produced by a number of small thin delicate
brass bells; these were the tender hoofs of the wild
deer, dried, scraped, and otherwise prepared for this
ornamental purpose. Upon his large feet he wore mocassins,
made of the same pliant material with his leggings, and
differing in shape from the foot-gear of his companion
in this particular only, that they had no tongue introduced
into the front: they were puckered together by a strong
sinew of the deer, until they met along the instep in a
seam concealed by the same ornamental quill-work that
decorated the garters: a sort of flap, fringed like the
leggings, was folded back from the ankle, upon the sides
of the foot, and the whole was confined by a strong though
neat leathern thong, made of smoked deer-skin also, which,
after passing once or twice under the foot, was then
tightly drawn several times round the ankle, where it
was finally secured. Two strips of leather, about an inch
and a half in width, attached to the outer side of each
legging, were made fast at their opposite extremities to
a strong girdle, encircling the loins, and supporting a
piece of coarse blue cloth, which, after passing completely
under the body, fell in short flaps both before and
behind. The remainder of the dress consisted of a cotton
shirt, figured and sprigged on a dark ground, that fell
unconfined over the person; a close deer-skin hunting-coat,
fringed also at its edges; and a coarse common felt hat,
in the string of which (for there was no band) were
twisted a number of variegated feathers, furnished by
the most beautiful and rare of the American autumnal
birds. Outside this hunting-coat, and across the right
shoulder, was flung an ornamented belt, to which were
appended, on the left side, and in a line with the elbow,
a shot-pouch, made of the untanned hide of some wild
animal, and a flask for powder, formed of the horn of
the buffalo; on which, highly polished for this purpose,
were inscribed, with singular accuracy of proportion, a
variety of figures, both of men, and birds, and beasts,
and fishes; two or three small horn measures for powder,
and a long thin wire, intended to serve as a pricker for
the rifle that reclined against the outside of the hut,
were also attached to this belt by strips of deer-skin
of about six inches in length. Into another broad leathern
belt, that confined the hunting coat, was thrust a
tomahawk, the glittering head of which was uppermost,
and unsheathed: while at the opposite side, and half
supporting the powder-horn, the huge handle of a knife,
whose blade was buried in a strong leathern sheath, was
distinctly visible.

The form and face of this individual were in perfect
keeping with the style of his costume, and the formidable
character of his equipment. His stature was considerably
beyond that of the ordinary race of men, and his athletic
and muscular limbs united the extremes of strength and
activity in a singular degree. His features, marked and
prominent, wore a cast of habitual thought, strangely
tinctured with ferocity; and the general expression of
his otherwise not unhandsome countenance was repellent
and disdainful. At the first glance he might have been
taken for one of the swarthy natives of the soil; but
though time and constant exposure to scorching suns had
given to his complexion a dusky hue, still there were
wanting the quick, black, penetrating eye; the high
cheek-bone; the straight, coarse, shining, black hair;
the small bony hand and foot; and the placidly proud and
serious air, by which the former is distinguished. His
own eye was of a deep bluish grey; his hair short, dark,
and wavy; his hands large and muscular; and so far from
exhibiting any of the self-command of the Indian, the
constant play of his features betrayed each passing
thought with the same rapidity with which it was conceived.
But if any doubt could have existed in the mind of him
who beheld this strangely accoutred figure, it would have
been instantly dispelled by a glance at his lower limbs.
We have already stated the upper part of his leggings
terminated about mid-thigh; from this to the hip, that
portion of the limb was completely bare, and disclosed,
at each movement of the garment that was suffered to fall
loosely over it, not the swarthy and copper-coloured
flesh of the Indian, but the pale though sun-burnt skin
of one of a more temperate clime. His age might be about
forty-five.

At the moment when the English detachment approached the
bend in the road, these two individuals were conversing
earnestly together, pausing only to puff at intervals
thick and wreathing volumes of smoke from their pipes,
which were filled with a mixture of tobacco and odoriferous
herbs. Presently, however, sounds that appeared familiar
to his ear arrested the attention of the wildly accoutred
being we have last described. It was the heavy roll of
the artillery carriages already advancing along the road,
and somewhat in the rear of the hut. To dash his pipe to
the ground, seize and cock and raise his rifle to his
shoulder, and throw himself forward in the eager attitude
of one waiting until the object of his aim should appear
in sight, was but the work of a moment. Startled by the
suddenness of the action, his male companion moved a few
paces also from his. seat, to discover the cause of this
singular movement. The female, on the contrary, stirred
not, but ceasing for a moment the occupation in which
she had been engaged, fixed her dark and brilliant eyes
upon the tall and picturesque form of the rifleman, whose
active and athletic limbs, thrown into powerful relief
by the distention of each nerve and muscle, appeared to
engross her whole admiration and interest, without any
reference to the cause that had produced this abrupt and
hostile change in his movements. It was evident that,
unlike the other inhabitants of the town, this group had
been taken by surprise, and were utterly unprepared to
expect any thing in the shape of interruption.

For upwards of a minute, during which the march of the
men became audible even to the ears of the female, the
formidable warrior, for such his garb denoted him to be,
continued motionless in the attitude he had at first
assumed--his right cheek reposing on the ornamented stock
of his rifle, and his quick and steady eye fixed in one
undeviating line with the sight near the breech, and that
which surmounted the extreme end of the deadly weapon.
No sooner, however, had the head of the advancing column
come within sight, than the trigger was pulled, and the
small and ragged bullet sped hissing from the grooved
and delicate barrel. A triumphant cry was next pealed
from the lips of the warrior,--a cry produced by the
quickly repeated application and removal of one hand to
and from the mouth, while the other suffered the butt
end of the now harmless weapon to fall loosely upon the
earth. He then slowly and deliberately withdrew within
the cover of the hut.

This daring action, which had been viewed by the leading
troops with astonishment not unmingled with alarm,
occasioned a temporary confusion in the ranks, for all
believed they had fallen into an ambuscade of the Indians.
A halt was instantly commanded by Captain Blessington,
in order to give time to the governor to come up from
the rear, while he proceeded with one of the leading
sections to reconnoitre the front of the hut. To his
infinite surprise, however, he found neither enemy, nor
evidence that an enemy had been there. The only individuals
visible were the Canadian already alluded to, and the
dark-eyed female. Both were seated on the bench;--the
one smoking his pipe with a well assumed appearance of
unconcern--the other carding her wool, but with a hand
that by a close observer might be seen to tremble in its
office, and a cheek that was paler considerably than at
the moment when we first placed her before the imagination
of the reader. Both, however, started with unaffected
surprise on seeing Captain Blessington and his little
force turn the corner of the house from the main road;
and certain looks of recognition passed between all
parties, that proved them to be no strangers to each
other.

"Ah, monsieur," said the Canadian, in a mingled dialect,
neither French nor English, but partaking in some degree
of the idiom of both, while he attempted an ease and
freedom of manner that was too miserably affected to pass
current with the mild but observant officer whom he
addressed, "how much surprise I am, and glad to see you.
It is a long times since you came out of de fort. I hope
de governeur and de officir be all very well. I was
tinking to go to-day to see if you want any ting. I have
got some nice rum of the Jamaique for Capitaine Erskine.
Will you please to try some?" While speaking, the voluble
host of the Fleur de lis had risen from his seat, laid
aside his pipe, and now stood with his hands thrust into
the pockets of his blanket coat

"It is, indeed, a long time since we have been here,
master Francois," somewhat sarcastically and drily replied
Captain Blessington; "and you have not visited us quite
so often latterly yourself, though well aware we were in
want of fresh provisions. I give you all due credit,
however, for your intention of coming to-day, but you
see we have anticipated you. Still this is not the point.
Where is the Indian who fired at us just now? and how is
it we find you leagued with our enemies?"

"What, sir, is it you say?" asked the Canadian, holding
up his hands with feigned astonishment "Me league myself
with de savage. Upon my honour I did not see nobody fire,
or I should tell you. I love de English too well to do
dem harms."

"Come, come, Francois, no nonsense. If I cannot make you
confess, there is one not far from me who will. You know
Colonel de Haldimar too well to imagine he will be trifled
with in this manner: if he detects you in a falsehood,
he will certainly cause you to be hanged up at the first
tree. Take my advice, therefore, and say where you have
secreted this Indian; and recollect, if we fall into an
ambuscade, your life will be forfeited at the first shot
we hear fired."

At this moment the governor, followed by his adjutant,
came rapidly up to the spot. Captain Blessington
communicated the ill success of his queries, when the
former cast on the terrified Canadian one of those severe
and searching looks which he so well knew how to assume.

"Where is the rascal who fired at us, sirrah? tell me
instantly, or you have not five minutes to live."

The heart of mine host of the Fleur de lis quailed within
him at this formidable threat; and the usually ruddy hue
of his countenance had now given place to an ashy paleness.
Still, as he had positively denied all knowledge of the
matter on which he was questioned, he appeared to feel
his safety lay in adhering to his original statement.
Again, therefore, he assured the governor, on his honour
(laying his hand upon his heart as he spoke), that what
he had already stated was the fact.

"Your honour--you pitiful trading scoundrel--how dare
you talk to me of your honour? Come, sir, confess at once
where you have secreted this fellow, or prepare to die."

"If I may be so bold, your Honour," said one of Captain
Blessington's men, "the Frenchman lies. When the Ingian
fired among us, this fellow was peeping under his shoulder
and watching us also. If I had not seen him too often at
the fort to be mistaken in his person, I should have
known him, at all events, by his blanket coat and red
handkerchief."

This blunt statement of the soldier, confirmed as it was
the instant afterwards by one of his comrades, was damning
proof against the Canadian, even if the fact of the rifle
being discharged from the front of the hut had not already
satisfied all parties of the falsehood of his assertion.

"Come forward, a couple of files, and seize this villain,"
resumed the governor with his wonted sternness of manner.
"Mr. Lawson, see if his hut does not afford a rope strong
enough to hang the traitor from one of his own apple
trees."

Both parties proceeded at the same moment to execute the
two distinct orders of their chief. The Canadian was
now firmly secured in the grasp of the two men who had
given evidence against him, when, seeing all the horror
of the summary and dreadful fate that awaited him, he
confessed the individual who had fired had been sitting
with him the instant previously, but that he knew no more
of him than of any other savage occasionally calling at
the Fleur de lis. He added, that on discharging the rifle
he had bounded across the palings of the orchard, and
fled in the direction of the forest. He denied, on
interrogation, all knowledge or belief of an enemy waiting
in ambush; stating, moreover, even the individual in
question had not been aware of the sortie of the detachment
until apprised of their near approach by the heavy sound
of the gun-carriages.

"Here are undeniable proofs of the man's villany, sir,"
said the adjutant, returning from the hut and exhibiting
objects of new and fearful interest to the governor.
"This hat and rope I found secreted in one of the bed-rooms
of the auberge. The first is evidently Donellan's; and
from the hook attached to the latter, I apprehend it to
be the same stated to have been used by Captain de Haldimar
in crossing the ditch."

The governor took the hat and rope from the hands of his
subordinate, examined them attentively, and after a few
moments of deep musing, during which his countenance
underwent several rapid though scarcely perceptible
changes, turned suddenly and eagerly to the soldier who
had first convicted the Canadian in his falsehood, and
demanded if he had seen enough of the man who had fired
to be able to give even a general description of his
person.

"Why yes, your Honour, I think I can; for the fellow
stood long enough after firing his piece, for a painter
to have taken him off from head to foot. He was a taller
and larger man by far than our biggest grenadier, and
that is poor Harry Donellan, as your Honour knows. But
as for his dress, though I could see it all, I scarcely
can tell how to describe it. All I know is, he was covered
with smoked deer-skin, in some such fashion as the great
chief Ponteac, only, instead of having his head bare and
shaved, he wore a strange outlandish sort of a hat,
covered over with wild birds' feathers in front."

"Enough," interrupted the governor, motioning the man to
silence; then, in an undertone to himself,--"By Heaven,
the very same." A shade of disappointment, not unmingled
with suppressed alarm, passed rapidly across his brow;
it was but momentary. "Captain Blessington," he ordered
quickly and impatiently, "search the hut and grounds for
this lurking Indian, who is, no doubt, secreted in the
neighbourhood. Quick, quick, sir; there is no time to be
lost." Then in an angry and intimidating tone to the
Canadian, who had already dropped on his knees, supplicating
mercy, and vociferating his innocence in the same breath,
--"So, you infernal scoundrel, this is the manner in
which you have repaid our confidence. Where is my son,
sir? or have you already murdered him, as you did his
servant? Tell me, you villain, what have you to say to
these proofs of your treachery? But stay, I shall take
another and fitter opportunity to question you. Mr.
Lawson, secure this traitor properly, and let him be
conveyed to the centre of the detachment."

The mandate was promptly obeyed; and, in despite of his
own unceasing prayers and protestations of innocence,
and the tears and entreaties of his dark-eyed daughter
Babette, who had thrown herself on her knees at his side,
the stout arms of mine host of the Fleur de lis were soon
firmly secured behind his back with the strong rope that
had been found under such suspicious circumstances in
his possession. Before he was marched off, however, two
of the men who had been sent in pursuit, returned from
the orchard, stating that further search was now fruitless.
They had penetrated through a small thicket at the
extremity of the grounds, and had distinctly seen a man
answering the description given by their comrades, in
full flight towards the forest skirting the heights in
front.

The governor was evidently far from being satisfied with
the result of a search too late instituted to leave even
a prospect of success. "Where are the Indians principally
encamped, sirrah?" he sternly demanded of his captive;
"answer me truly, or I will carry off this wench as well,
and if a single hair of a man of mine be even singed by
a shot from a skulking enemy, you may expect to see her
bayoneted before your eyes."

"Ah, my God! Monsieur le Gouverneur," exclaimed the
affrighted aubergiste, "as I am an honest man, I shall
tell de truth, but spare my child. They are all in de
forest, and half a mile from de little river dat runs
between dis and de Pork Island."

"Hog Island, I suppose you mean."

"Yes sir, de Hog Island is de one I means."

"Conduct him to the centre, and let him be confronted
with the prisoner," directed the governor, addressing
his adjutant; "Captain Blessington, your men may resume
their stations in the ranks."

The order was obeyed; and notwithstanding the tears and
supplications of the now highly excited Babette, who
flung herself upon his neck, and was only removed by
force, the terrified Canadian was borne off from his
premises by the troops.




CHAPTER X.

While this scene was enacting in front of the Fleur de
lis, one of a far more touching and painful nature was
passing in the very heart of the detachment itself. At
the moment when the halt was ordered by Captain Blessington,
a rumour ran through the ranks that they had reached the
spot destined for the execution of their ill-fated comrade.
Those only in the immediate front were aware of the true
cause; but although the report of the rifle had been
distinctly heard by all, it had been attributed by those
in the rear to the accidental discharge of one of their
own muskets. A low murmur, expressive of the opinion
generally entertained, passed gradually from rear to
front, until it at length reached the ears of the delicate
drummer boy who marched behind the coffin. His face was
still buried in the collar of his coat; and what was left
uncovered of his features by the cap, was in some degree
hidden by the forward drooping of his head upon his chest.
Hitherto he had moved almost mechanically along, tottering
and embarrassing himself at every step under the cumbrous
drum that was suspended from a belt round his neck over
the left thigh; but now there was a certain indescribable
drawing up of the frame, and tension of the whole person,
denoting a concentration of all the moral and physical
energies,--a sudden working up, as it were, of the
intellectual and corporeal being to some determined and
momentous purpose.

At the first halt of the detachment, the weary supporters
of the coffin had deposited their rude and sombre burden
upon the earth, preparatory to its being resumed by those
appointed to relieve them. The dull sound emitted by the
hollow fabric, as it touched the ground, caught the ear
of him for whom it was destined, and he turned to gaze
upon the sad and lonely tenement so shortly to become
his final resting place. There was an air of calm composure
and dignified sorrow upon his brow, that infused respect
into the hearts of all who beheld him; and even the men
selected to do the duty of executioners sought to evade
his glance, as his steady eye wandered from right to left
of the fatal rank. His attention, however, was principally
directed towards the coffin, which lay before him; on
this he gazed fixedly for upwards of a minute. He then
turned his eyes in the direction of the fort, shuddered,
heaved a profound sigh, and looking up to heaven with
the apparent fervour that became his situation, seemed
to pray for a moment or two inwardly and devoutly. The
thick and almost suffocating breathing of one immediately
beyond the coffin, was now distinctly heard by all.
Halloway started from his attitude of devotion, gazed
earnestly on the form whence it proceeded, and then wildly
extending his arms, suffered a smile of satisfaction to
illumine his pale features. All eyes were now turned upon
the drummer boy, who, evidently labouring under convulsive
excitement of feeling, suddenly dashed his cap and
instrument to the earth, and flew as fast as his tottering
and uncertain steps would admit across the coffin, and
into the arms extended to receive him.

"My Ellen! oh, my own devoted, but too unhappy Ellen!"
passionately exclaimed the soldier, as he clasped the
slight and agitated form of his disguised wife to his
throbbing heart. "This, this, indeed, is joy even in
death. I thought I could have died more happily without
you, but nature tugs powerfully at my heart; and to see
you once more, to feel you once more HERE" (and he pressed
her wildly to his chest) "is indeed a bliss that robs my
approaching fate of half its terror."

"Oh Reginald! my dearly beloved Reginald! my murdered
husband!" shrieked the unhappy woman; "your Ellen will
not survive you. Her heart is already broken, though she
cannot weep; but the same grave shall contain us both.
Reginald, do you believe me? I swear it; the same grave
shall contain us both."

Exhausted with the fatigue and excitement she had undergone,
the faithful and affectionate creature now lay, without
sense or motion, in the arms of her wretched husband.
Halloway bore her, unopposed, a pace or two in advance,
and deposited her unconscious form on the fatal coffin.

No language of ours can render justice to the trying
character of the scene. All who witnessed it were painfully
affected, and over the bronzed cheek of many a veteran
coursed a tear, that, like that of Sterne's recording
angel, might have blotted out a catalogue of sins. Although
each was prepared to expect a reprimand from the governor,
for suffering the prisoner to quit his station in the
ranks, humanity and nature pleaded too powerfully in his
behalf, and neither officer nor man attempted to interfere,
unless with a view to render assistance. Captain Erskine,
in particular, was deeply pained, and would have given
any thing to recall the harsh language he had used towards
the supposed idle and inattentive drummer boy. Taking
from a pocket in his uniform a small flask of brandy,
which he had provided against casualties, the
compassionating officer slightly raised the head of the
pale and unconscious woman with one hand, while with the
other he introduced a few drops between her parted lips.
Halloway knelt at the opposite side of the coffin; one
hand searching, but in vain, the suspended pulse of his
inanimate wife; the other, unbuttoning the breast of the
drum-boy's jacket, which, with every other part of the
equipment, she wore beneath the loose great coat so
effectually accomplishing her disguise.

Such was the position of the chief actors in this truly
distressing drama, at the moment when Colonel de Haldimar
came up with his new prisoner, to mark what effect would
be produced on Halloway by his unexpected appearance.
His own surprise and disappointment may be easily conceived,
when, in the form of the recumbent being who seemed to
engross universal attention, he recognised, by the fair
and streaming hair, and half exposed bosom, the unfortunate
being whom, only two hours previously, he had spurned
from his feet in the costume of her own sex, and reduced,
by the violence of her grief, to almost infantine debility.
Question succeeded question to those around, but without
eliciting any clue to the means by which this mysterious
disguise had been effected. No one had been aware, until
the truth was so singularly and suddenly revealed, the
supposed drummer was any other than one of the lads
attached to the grenadiers; and as for the other facts,
they spoke too plainly to the comprehension of the governor
to need explanation. Once more, however, the detachment
was called to order. Halloway struck his hand violently
upon his brow, kissed the wan lips of his still unconscious
wife, breathing, as he did so, a half murmured hope she
might indeed be the corpse she appeared. He then raised
himself from the earth with a light and elastic vet firm
movement, and resumed the place he had previously occupied,
where, to his surprise, he beheld a second victim bound,
and, apparently, devoted to the same death. When the eyes
of the two unhappy men met, the governor closely watched
the expression of the countenance of each; but although
the Canadian started on beholding the soldier, it might
be merely because he saw the latter arrayed in the garb
of death, and followed by the most unequivocal
demonstrations of a doom to which he himself was, in all
probability, devoted. As for Halloway, his look betrayed
neither consciousness nor recognition; and though too
proud to express complaint or to give vent to the feelings
of his heart, his whole soul appeared to be absorbed in
the unhappy partner of his luckless destiny. Presently
he saw her borne, and in the same state of insensibility,
in the arms of Captain Erskine and Lieutenant Leslie,
towards the hut of his fellow prisoner, and he heard the
former officer enjoin the weeping girl, Babette, to whose
charge they delivered her over, to pay every attention
to her her situation might require. The detachment then
proceeded.

The narrow but deep and rapid river alluded to by the
Canadian, as running midway between the town and Hog
Island, derived its source far within the forest, and
formed the bed of one of those wild, dark, and thickly
wooded ravines so common in America. As it neared the
Detroit, however, the abruptness of its banks was so
considerably lessened, as to render the approach to it
on the town side over an almost imperceptible slope.
Within a few yards of its mouth, as we have already
observed in our introductory chapter, a rude but strong
wooden bridge, over which lay the high road, had been
constructed by the French; and from the centre of this,
all the circuit of intermediate clearing, even to the
very skirt of the forest, was distinctly commanded by
the naked eye. To the right, on approaching it from the
town, lay the adjacent shores of Canada, washed by the
broad waters of the Detroit, on which it was thrown into
strong relief, and which, at the distance of about a mile
in front, was seen to diverge into two distinct channels,
pursuing each a separate course, until they again met at
the western extremity of Hog Island. On the left, and in
the front, rose a succession of slightly undulating hills,
which, at a distance of little more than half a mile,
terminated in an elevation considerably above the immediate
level of the Detroit side of the ravine. That, again,
was crowned with thick and overhanging forest, taking
its circular sweep, as we have elsewhere shown, around
the fort. The intermediate ground was studded over with
rude stumps of trees, and bore, in various directions,
distinct proofs of the spoliation wrought among the infant
possessions of the murdered English settlers. The view
to the rear was less open; the town being partially hidden
by the fruit-laden orchards that lined the intervening
high road, and hung principally on its left. This was
not the case with the fort. Between these orchards and
the distant forest lay a line of open country, fully
commanded by its cannon, even to the ravine we have
described, and in a sweep that embraced every thing from
the bridge itself to the forest, in which all traces of
its source was lost.

When the detachment had arrived within twenty yards of
the bridge, they were made to file off to the left, until
the last gun had come up. They were then fronted; the
rear section of Captain Erskine's company resting on the
road, and the left flank, covered by the two first guns
pointed obliquely, both in front and rear, to guard
against surprise, in the event of any of the Indians
stealing round to the cover of the orchards. The route
by which they had approached this spot was upwards of
two miles in extent; but, as they now filed off into the
open ground, the leading sections observed, in a direct
line over the cleared country, and at the distance of
little more than three quarters of a mile, the dark
ramparts of the fortress that contained their comrades,
and could even distinguish the uniforms of the officers
and men drawn up in line along the works, where they were
evidently assembled to witness the execution of the
sentence on Halloway.

Such a sight as that of the English so far from their
fort, was not likely to escape the notice of the Indians.
Their encampment, as the Canadian had truly stated, lay
within the forest, and beyond the elevated ground already
alluded to; and to have crossed the ravine, or ventured
out of reach of the cannon of the fort, would have been
to have sealed the destruction of the detachment. But
the officer to whom their security was entrusted, although
he had his own particular views for venturing thus far,
knew also at what point to stop; and such was the confidence
of his men in his skill and prudence, they would have
fearlessly followed wherever he might have chosen to
lead. Still, even amid all the solemnity of preparation
attendant on the duty they were out to perform, there
was a natural and secret apprehensiveness about each,
that caused him to cast his eyes frequently and fixedly
on that part of the forest which was known to afford
cover to their merciless foes. At times they fancied they
beheld the dark and flitting forms of men gliding from
tree to tree along the skirt of the wood; but when they
gazed again, nothing of the kind was to be seen, and the
illusion was at once ascribed to the heavy state of the
atmosphere, and the action of their own precautionary
instincts.

Meanwhile the solemn tragedy of death was preparing in
mournful silence. On the centre of the bridge, and visible
to those even within the fort, was placed the coffin of
Halloway, and at twelve paces in front were drawn up the
six rank and file on whom had devolved, by lot, the cruel
duty of the day. With calm and fearless eye the prisoner
surveyed the preparations for his approaching end; and
whatever might be the inward workings of his mind, there
was not among the assembled soldiery one individual whose
countenance betrayed so little of sorrow and emotion as
his own. With a firm step, when summoned, he moved towards
the fatal coffin, dashing his cap to the earth as he
advanced, and baring his chest with the characteristic
contempt of death of the soldier. When he had reached
the centre of the bridge, he turned facing his comrades,
and knelt upon the coffin. Captain Blessington, who,
permitted by the governor, had followed him with a sad
heart and heavy step, now drew a Prayer-book from his
pocket, and read from it in a low voice. He then closed
the volume, listened to something the prisoner earnestly
communicated to him, received a small packet which he
drew from the bosom of his shirt, shook him long and
cordially by the hand, and then hastily resumed his post
at the head of the detachment.

The principal inhabitants of the village, led by curiosity,
had followed at a distance to witness the execution of
the condemned soldier: and above the heads of the line,
and crowning the slope, were collected groups of both
sexes and of all ages, that gave a still more imposing
character to the scene. Every eye was now turned upon
the firing party, who only awaited the signal to execute
their melancholy office, when suddenly, in the direction
of the forest, and upon the extreme height, there burst
the tremendous and deafening yells of upwards of a thousand
savages. For an instant Halloway was forgotten in the
instinctive sense of individual danger, and all gazed
eagerly to ascertain the movements of their enemy.
Presently a man, naked to the waist, his body and face
besmeared with streaks of black and red paint, and his
whole attitude expressing despair and horror, was seen
flying down the height with a rapidity proportioned to
the extreme peril in which he stood. At about fifty paces
in his rear followed a dozen bounding, screaming Indians,
armed with uplifted tomahawks, whose anxiety in pursuit
lent them a speed that even surpassed the efforts of
flight itself. It was evident the object of the pursued
was to reach the detachment, that of the pursuers to
prevent him. The struggle was maintained for a few moments
with equality, but in the end the latter were triumphant,
and at each step the distance that separated them became
less. At the first alarm, the detachment, with the
exception of the firing party, who still occupied their
ground, had been thrown into square, and, with a gun
planted in each angle, awaited the attack momentarily
expected. But although the heights were now alive with
the dusky forms of naked warriors, who, from the skirt
of the forest, watched the exertions of their fellows,
the pursuit of the wretched fugitive was confined to
these alone. Foremost of the latter, and distinguished
by his violent exertions and fiendish cries, was the tall
and wildly attired warrior of the Fleur de lis. At every
bound he took he increased the space that divided him
from his companions, and lessened that which kept him
from his panting and nearly exhausted victim. Already
were they descending the nearest of the undulating hills,
and both now became conspicuous objects to all around;
but principally the pursuer, whose gigantic frame and
extraordinary speed riveted every eye, even while the
interest of all was excited for the wretched fugitive
alone.

At that moment Halloway, who had been gazing on the scene
with an astonishment little inferior to that of his
comrades, sprang suddenly to his feet upon the coffin,
and waving his hand in the direction of the pursuing
enemy, shouted aloud in a voice of mingled joy and
triumph,--

"Ha! Almighty God, I thank thee! Here, here comes one
who alone has the power to snatch me from my impending
doom."

"By Heaven, the traitor confesses, and presumes to triumph
in his guilt," exclaimed the voice of one, who, while
closely attending to every movement of the Indians, was
also vigilantly watching the effect likely to be produced
on the prisoner by this unexpected interruption. "Corporal,
do your duty."

"Stay, stay--one moment stay!" implored Halloway with
uplifted hands.

"Do your duty, sir," fiercely repeated the governor.

"Oh stop--for God's sake, stop! Another moment and he
will be here, and I--"

He said no more--a dozen bullets penetrated his body--one
passed directly through his heart. He leaped several feet
in the air, and then fell heavily, a lifeless bleeding
corpse, across the coffin.

Meanwhile the pursuit of the fugitive was continued,
but by the warrior of the Fleur de lis alone. Aware of
their inefficiency to keep pace with this singular being,
his companions had relinquished the chace, and now stood
resting on the brow of the hill where the wretched Halloway
had first recognised his supposed deliverer, watching
eagerly, though within musket shot of the detachment,
the result of a race on which so much apparently depended.
Neither party, however, attempted to interfere with the
other, for all eyes were now turned on the flying man
and his pursuer with an interest that denoted the
extraordinary efforts of the one to evade and the other
to attain the accomplishment of his object. Although the
exertions of the former had been stupendous, such was
the eagerness and determination of the latter, that at
each step he gained perceptibly on his victim. The
immediate course taken was in a direct line for the
ravine, which it evidently was the object of the fugitive
to clear at its nearest point. Already had he approached
within a few paces of its brink, and every eye was fastened
on the point where it was expected the doubtful leap
would be taken, when suddenly, as if despairing to
accomplish it at a bound, he turned to the left, and
winding along its bank, renewed his efforts in the
direction of the bridge. This movement occasioned a change
in the position of the parties which was favourable to
the pursued. Hitherto they had been so immediately on a
line with each other, it was impossible for the detachment
to bring a musket to bear upon the warrior, without
endangering him whose life they were anxious to preserve.
For a moment or two his body was fairly exposed, and a
dozen muskets were discharged at intervals from the
square, but all without success. Recovering his lost
ground, he soon brought the pursued again in a line
between himself and the detachment, edging rapidly nearer
to him as he advanced, and uttering terrific yells, that
were echoed back from his companions on the brow of the
hill. It was evident, however, his object was the recapture,
not the destruction, of the flying man, for more than
once did he brandish his menacing tomahawk in rapid sweeps
around his head, as if preparing to dart it, and as often
did he check the movement. The scene at each succeeding
moment became more critical and intensely interesting.
The strength of the pursued was now nearly exhausted,
while that of his formidable enemy seemed to suffer no
diminution. Leap after leap he took with fearful
superiority, sideling as he advanced. Already had he
closed upon his victim, while with a springing effort a
large and bony hand was extended to secure his shoulder
in his grasp. The effort was fatal to him; for in reaching
too far he lost his balance, and fell heavily upon the
sward. A shout of exultation burst from the English
troops, and numerous voices now encouraged the pursued
to renew his exertions. The advice was not lost; and
although only a few seconds had elapsed between the fall
and recovery of his pursuer, the wretched fugitive had
already greatly increased the distance that separated
them. A cry of savage rage and disappointment burst from
the lips of the gigantic warrior; and concentrating all
his remaining strength and speed into one final effort,
he bounded and leapt like a deer of the forest whence he
came. The opportunity for recapture, however, had been
lost in his fall, for already the pursued was within a
few feet of the high road, and on the point of turning
the extremity of the bridge. One only resource was now
left: the warrior suddenly checked himself in his course,
and remained stationary; then raising and dropping his
glittering weapon several times in a balancing position,
he waited until the pursued had gained the highest point
of the open bridge. At that moment the glittering steel,
aimed with singular accuracy and precision, ran whistling
through the air, and with such velocity of movement as
to be almost invisible to the eyes of those who attempted
to follow it in its threatening course. All expected to
see it enter into the brain against which it had been
directed; but the fugitive had marked the movement in
time to save himself by stooping low to the earth, while
the weapon, passing over him, entered with a deadly and
crashing sound into the brain of the weltering corpse.
This danger passed, he sprang once more to his feet, nor
paused again in his flight, until, faint and exhausted,
he sank without motion under the very bayonets of the
firing party.

A new direction was now given to the interest of the
assembled and distinct crowds that had witnessed these
startling incidents. Scarcely had the wretched man gained
the protection of the soldiery, when a shriek divided
the air, so wild, so piercing, and so unearthly, that
even the warrior of the Fleur de lis seemed to lose sight
of his victim, in the harrowing interest produced by that
dreadful scream. All turned their eyes for a moment in
the quarter whence it proceeded; when presently, from
behind the groups of Canadians crowning the slope, was
seen flying, with the rapidity of thought, one who
resembled rather a spectre than a being of earth;--it
was the wife of Halloway. Her long fair hair was wild
and streaming--her feet, and legs, and arms were naked--and
one solitary and scanty garment displayed rather than
concealed the symmetry of her delicate person. She flew
to the fatal bridge, threw herself on the body of her
bleeding husband, and imprinting her warm kisses on his
bloody lips, for a moment or two presented the image of
one whose reason has fled for ever. Suddenly she started
from the earth; her face, her hands, and her garment so
saturated with the blood of her husband, that a feeling
of horror crept throughout the veins of all who beheld
her. She stood upon the coffin, and across the
corpse--raised her eyes and hands imploringly to Heaven--and
then, in accents wilder even than her words, uttered an
imprecation that sounded like the prophetic warning of
some unholy spirit.

"Inhuman murderer!" she exclaimed, in tones that almost
paralysed the ears on which it fell, "if there be a God
of justice and of truth, he will avenge this devilish
deed. Yes, Colonel de Haldimar, a prophetic voice whispers
to my soul, that even as I have seen perish before my
eyes all I loved on earth, without mercy and without
hope, so even shall you witness the destruction of your
accursed race. Here--here--here," and she pointed
downwards, with singular energy of action, to the corpse
of her husband, "here shall their blood flow till every
vestige of his own is washed away; and oh, if there be
spared one branch of thy detested family, may it only be
that they may be reserved for some death too horrible to
be conceived!"

Overcome by the frantic energy with which she had uttered
these appalling words, she sank backwards, and fell,
uttering another shriek, into the arms of the warrior of
the Fleur de lis.

"Hear you this, Colonel de Haldimar?" shouted the latter
in a fierce and powerful voice, and in the purest English
accent; "hear you the curse and prophecy of this
heart-broken woman? You have slain her husband, but she
has found another. Ay, she shall be my bride, if only
for her detestation of yourself. When next you see us
here," he thundered, "tremble for your race. Ha, ha, ha!
no doubt this is another victim of your cold and calculating
guile; but it shall be the last. By Heaven, my very
heart leaps upward in anticipation of thy coming hour.
Woman, thy hatred to this man has made me love thee; yes,
thou shall be my bride, and with my plans of vengeance
will I woo thee. By this kiss I swear it."

As he spoke, he bent his face over that of the pale and
inanimate woman, and pressed his lips to hers, yet red
and moist with blood spots from the wounds of her husband.
Then wresting, with a violent effort, his reeking tomahawk
from the cranched brain of the unfortunate soldier, and
before any one could recover sufficiently from the effect
of the scene altogether to think even of interfering, he
bore off his prize in triumph, and fled, with nearly the
same expedition he had previously manifested, in the
direction of the forest.




END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.






WACOUSTA;
  or
THE PROPHECY.

Volume Two of Three




CHAPTER I.

It was on the evening of that day, so fertile in melancholy
incident, to which our first volume has been devoted,
that the drawbridge of Detroit was, for the third time
since the investment of the garrison, lowered; not, as
previously, with a disregard of the intimation that might
be given to those without by the sullen and echoing rattle
of its ponderous chains, but with a caution attesting
how much secrecy of purpose was sought to be preserved.
There was, however, no array of armed men within the
walls, that denoted an expedition of a hostile character.
Overcome with the harassing duties of the day, the chief
portion of the troops had retired to rest, and a few
groups of the guard alone were to be seen walking up and
down in front of their post, apparently with a view to
check the influence of midnight drowsiness, but, in
reality, to witness the result of certain preparations
going on by torchlight in the centre of the barrack
square.

In the midst of an anxious group of officers, comprising
nearly all of that rank within the fort, stood two
individuals, attired in a costume having nothing in common
with the gay and martial habiliments of the former. They
were tall, handsome young men, whose native elegance of
carriage was but imperfectly hidden under an equipment
evidently adopted for, and otherwise fully answering,
the purpose of disguise. A blue cotton shell jacket,
closely fitting to the person, trowsers of the same
material, a pair of strong deer-skin mocassins, and a
coloured handkerchief tied loosely round the collar of
a checked shirt, the whole surmounted by one of those
rough blanket coats, elsewhere described, formed the
principal portion of their garb. Each, moreover, wore a
false queue of about nine inches in length, the effect
of which was completely to change the character of the
countenance, and lend to the features a Canadian-like
expression. A red worsted cap, resembling a bonnet de
nuit, was thrown carelessly over the side of the head,
which could, at any moment, when deeper disguise should
be deemed necessary, command the additional protection
of the rude hood that fell back upon the shoulders from
the collar of the coat to which it was attached. They
were both well armed. Into a broad belt, that encircled
the jacket of each, were thrust a brace of pistols and
a strong dagger; the whole so disposed, however, as to
be invisible when the outer garment was closed: this,
again, was confined by a rude sash of worsted of different
colours, not unlike, in texture and quality, what is worn
by our sergeants at the present day. They were otherwise
armed, however, and in a less secret manner. Across the
right shoulder of each was thrown a belt of worsted also,
to which were attached a rude powder horn and shot pouch,
with a few straggling bullets, placed there as if rather
by accident than design. Each held carelessly in his left
hand, and with its butt resting on the earth, a long gun;
completing an appearance, the attainment of which had,
in all probability, been sedulously sought,--that of a
Canadian duck-hunter.

A metamorphosis so ludicrously operated in the usually
elegant costume of two young English officers,--for such
they were,--might have been expected to afford scope to
the pleasantry of their companions, and to call forth
those sallies which the intimacy of friendship and the
freemasonry of the profession would have fully justified.
But the events that had occurred in such rapid succession,
since the preceding midnight, were still painfully
impressed on the recollection of all, and some there were
who looked as if they never would smile again; neither
laugh nor jeering, therefore, escaped the lips of one of
the surrounding group. Every countenance wore a cast of
thought,--a character of abstraction, ill suited to the
indulgence of levity; and the little conversation that
passed between them was in a low and serious tone. It
was evident some powerful and absorbing dread existed in
the mind of each, inducing him rather to indulge in
communion with his own thoughts and impressions, than to
communicate them to others. Even the governor himself
had, for a moment, put off the dignity and distance of
his usually unapproachable nature, to assume an air of
unfeigned concern, and it might be dejection, contrasting
strongly with his habitual haughtiness. Hitherto he had
been walking to and fro, a little apart from the group,
and with a hurriedness and indecision of movement that
betrayed to all the extreme agitation of his mind. For
once, however, he appeared to be insensible to observation,
or, if not insensible, indifferent to whatever comments
might be formed or expressed by those who witnessed his
undissembled emotion. He was at length interrupted by
the adjutant, who communicated something in a low voice.

"Let him be brought up, Mr. Lawson," was the reply. Then
advancing into the heart of the group, and addressing
the two adventurers, he enquired, in a tone that startled
from its singular mildness, "if they were provided with
every thing they required."

An affirmative reply was given, when the governor, taking
the taller of the young men aside, conversed with him
earnestly, and in a tone of affection strangely blended
with despondency. The interview, however, was short, for
Mr. Lawson now made his appearance, conducting an individual
who has already been introduced to our readers. It was
the Canadian of the Fleur de lis. The adjutant placed a
small wooden crucifix in the hands of the governor.

"Francois," said the latter, impressively, "you know the
terms on which I have consented to spare your life. Swear,
then, by this cross; that you will be faithful to your
trust; that neither treachery nor evasion shall be
practised; and that you will, to the utmost of your power,
aid in conveying these gentlemen to their destination.
Kneel and swear it."

"I do swear it!" fervently repeated the aubergiste,
kneeling and imprinting his lips with becoming reverence
on the symbol of martyrdom. "I swear to do dat I shall
engage, and may de bon Dieu have mercy to my soul as I
shall fulfil my oat."

"Amen," pronounced the governor, "and may Heaven deal by
you even as you deal by us. Bear in mind, moreover, that
as your treachery will be punished, so also shall your
fidelity be rewarded. But the night wears apace, and ye
have much to do." Then turning to the young officers who
were to be his companions,--"God bless you both; may your
enterprise be successful! I fear," offering his hand to
the younger, "I have spoken harshly to you, but at a
moment like the present you will no longer cherish a
recollection of the unpleasant past."

The only answer was a cordial return of his own pressure.
The Canadian in his turn now announced the necessity for
instant departure, when the young men, following his
example, threw their long guns carelessly over the left
shoulder. Low, rapid, and fervent adieus were uttered on
both sides; and although the hands of the separating
parties met only in a short and hurried grasp, there was
an expression in the touch of each that spoke to their
several hearts long after the separation had actually
taken place.

"Stay one moment!" exclaimed a voice, as the little party
now moved towards the gateway; "ye are both gallantly
enough provided without, but have forgotten there is
something quite as necessary to sustain the inward man.
Duck shooting, you know, is wet work. The last lips that
were moistened from this," he proceeded, as the younger
of the disguised men threw the strap of the proffered
canteen over his shoulder, "were those of poor Ellen
Halloway."

The mention of that name, so heedlessly pronounced by
the brave but inconsiderate Erskine, produced a startling
effect on the taller of the departing officers. He struck
his brow violently with his hand, uttered a faint groan,
and bending his head upon his chest, stood in an attitude
expressive of the deep suffering of his mind. The governor,
too, appeared agitated; and sounds like those of suppressed
sobs came from one who lingered at the side of him who
had accepted the offer of the canteen. The remainder of
the officers preserved a deep and mournful silence.

"It is times dat we should start," again observed the
Canadian, "or we shall be taken by de daylight before we
can clear de river."

This intimation once more aroused the slumbering energies
of the taller officer. Again he drew up his commanding
figure, extended his hand to the governor in silence,
and turning abruptly round, hastened to follow close in
the footsteps of his conductor.

"You will not forget all I have said to you," whispered
the voice of one who had reserved his parting for the
last, and who now held the hand of the younger adventurer
closely clasped in his own. "Think, oh, think how much
depends on the event of your dangerous enterprise."

"When you behold me again," was the reply, "it will be
with smiles on my lip and gladness in my heart; for if
we fail, there is that within me, which whispers I shall
never see you more. But keep up your spirits, and hope
for the best. We embark under cheerless auspices, it is
true; but let us trust to Providence for success in so
good a cause,--God bless you!"

In the next minute he had joined his companions; who,
with light and noiseless tread, were already pursuing
their way along the military road that led to the eastern
extremity of the town. Soon afterwards, the heavy chains
of the drawbridge were heard grating on the ear, in
despite of the evident caution used in restoring it to
its wonted position, and all again was still.

It had at first been suggested their course should be
held in an angular direction across the cleared country
alluded to in our last chapter, in order to avoid all
chance of recognition in the town; but as this might have
led them into more dangerous contact with some of the
outlying parties of Indians, who were known to prowl
around the fort at night, this plan had been abandoned
for the more circuitous and safe passage by the village.
Through this our little party now pursued their way, and
without encountering aught to impede their progress. The
simple mannered inhabitants had long since retired to
rest, and neither light nor sound denoted the existence
of man or beast within its precincts. At length they
reached that part of the road which turned off abruptly
in the direction of the Fleur de lis. The rude hut threw
its dark shadows across their path, but all was still
and deathlike as in the village they had just quitted.
Presently, however, as they drew nearer, they beheld,
reflected from one of the upper windows, a faint light
that fell upon the ground immediately in front of the
auberge; and, at intervals, the figure of a human being
approaching and receding from it as if in the act of
pacing the apartment.

An instinctive feeling of danger rose at the same moment
to the hearts of the young officers; and each, obeying
the same impulse, unfastened one of the large horn buttons
of his blanket coat, and thrust his right hand into the
opening.

"Francois, recollect your oath," hastily aspirated the
elder, as he grasped the hand of their conductor rather
in supplication than in threat; "if there be aught to
harm us here, your own life will most assuredly pay the
forfeit of your faith."

"It is noting but a womans," calmly returned the Canadian;
"it is my Babette who is sorry at my loss. But I shall
come and tell you directly."

He then stole gently round the corner of the hut, leaving
his anxious companions in the rear of the little building,
and completely veiled in the obscurity produced by the
mingling shadows of the hut itself, and a few tall pear
trees that overhung the paling of the orchard at some
yards from the spot on which they stood.

They waited some minutes to hear the result of the
Canadian's admittance into his dwelling; but although
each with suppressed breathing sought to catch those
sounds of welcome with which a daughter might be supposed
to greet a parent so unexpectedly restored, they listened
in vain. At length, however, while the ears of both were
on the rack to drink in the tones of a human voice, a
faint scream floated on the hushed air, and all again
was still.

"Good!" whispered the elder of the officers; "that scream
is sweeter to my ear than the softest accents of woman's
love. It is evident the ordinary tones of speech cannot
find their way to us here from the front of the hut. The
faintness of yon cry, which was unquestionably that of
a female, is a convincing proof of it."

"Hist!" urged his companion, in the same almost inaudible
whisper, "what sound was that?"

Both again listened attentively, when the noise was
repeated. It came from the orchard, and resembled the
sound produced by the faint crash of rotten sticks and
leaves under the cautious but unavoidably rending tread
of a human foot. At intervals it ceased, as if the person
treading, alarmed at his own noise, was apprehensive of
betraying his approach; and then recommenced, only to be
checked in the same manner. Finally it ceased altogether.

For upwards of five minutes the young men continued to
listen for a renewal of the sound, but nothing was now
audible, save the short and fitful gusts of a rising wind
among the trees of the orchard.

"It must have been some wild animal in search of its
prey," again whispered the younger officer; "had it been
a man, we should have heard him leap the paling before
this."

"By Heaven, we are betrayed,--here he is," quickly rejoined
the other, in the same low tone. "Keep close to the hut,
and stand behind me. If my dagger fail, you must try
your own. But fire not, on your life, unless there be
more than two, for the report of a pistol will be the
destruction of ourselves and all that are dear to us."

Each with uplifted arm now stood ready to strike, even
while his heart throbbed with a sense of danger, that
had far more than the mere dread of personal suffering
or death to stimulate to exertion in self-defence.
Footsteps were now distinctly heard stealing round that
part of the hut which bordered on the road; and the young
men turned from the orchard, to which their attention
had previously been directed, towards the new quarter
whence they were intruded upon.

It was fortunate this mode of approach had been selected.
That part of the hut which rested on the road was so
exposed as to throw the outline of objects into strong
relief, whereas in the direction of the thickly wooded
orchard all was impenetrable gloom. Had the intruder
stolen unannounced upon the alarmed but determined officers
by the latter route, the dagger of the first would in
all probability have been plunged to its hilt in his
bosom. As it was, each had sufficient presence of mind
to distinguish, as it now doubled the corner of the hut,
and reposed upon the road, the stout square-set figure
of the Canadian. The daggers were instantly restored to
their sheaths, and each, for the first time since the
departure of their companion, respired freely.

"It is quite well," whispered the latter as he approached.
"It was my poor Babette, who tought I was gone to be
kill. She scream so loud, as if she had seen my ghost.
But we must wait a few minute in de house, and you shall
see how glad my girl is to see me once again."

"Why this delay, Francois? why not start directly?" urged
the taller officer; "we shall never clear the river in
time; and if the dawn catches us in the waters of the
Detroit, we are lost for ever."

"But you see I am not quite prepare yet," was the answer.
"I have many tings to get ready for de canoe, which I
have not use for a long times. But you shall not wait
ten minute, if you do not like. Dere is a good fire, and
Babette shall give you some ting to eat while I get it
all ready."

The young men hesitated. The delay of the Canadian, who
had so repeatedly urged the necessity for expedition
while in the fort, had, to say the least of it, an
appearance of incongruity. Still it was evident, if
disposed to harm them, he had full opportunity to do so
without much risk of effectual opposition from themselves.
Under all circumstances, therefore, it was advisable
rather to appear to confide implicitly in his truth,
than, by manifesting suspicion, to pique his self-love,
and neutralize whatever favourable intentions he might
cherish in their behalf. In this mode of conduct they
were confirmed, by a recollection of the sacredness
attached by the religion of their conductor to the oath
so solemnly pledged on the symbol of the cross, and by
a conviction of the danger of observation to which they
stood exposed, if, as they had apprehended, it was actually
a human footstep they had heard in the orchard. This
last recollection suggested a remark.

"We heard a strange sound within the orchard, while
waiting here for your return," said the taller officer;
"it was like the footstep of a man treading cautiously
over rotten leaves and branches. How do you account for
it?"

"Oh, it was my pigs," replied the Canadian, without
manifesting the slightest uneasiness at the information.
"They run about in de orchard for de apples what blows
down wid de wind."

"It could not be a pig we heard," pursued his questioner;
"but another thing, Francois, before we consent to enter
the hut,--how will you account to your daughter for our
presence? and what suspicion may she not form at seeing
two armed strangers in company with you at this unseasonable
hour."

"I have tell her," replied the Canadian, "dat I have
bring two friends, who go wid me in de canoe to shoot de
ducks for two tree days. You know, sir, I go always in
de fall to kill de ducks wid my friends, and she will
not tink it strange."

"You have managed well, my brave fellow; and now we follow
you in confidence. But in the name of Heaven, use all
possible despatch, and if money will lend a spur to your
actions, you shall have plenty of it when our enterprise
has been accomplished."

Our adventurers followed their conductor in the track by
which he had so recently rejoined them. As they turned
the corner of the hut, the younger, who brought up the
rear, fancied he again heard a sound in the direction of
the orchard, resembling that of one lightly leaping to
the ground. A gust of wind, however, passing rapidly at
the moment through the dense foliage, led him to believe
it might have been produced by the sullen fall of one of
the heavy fruits it had detached in its course. Unwilling
to excite new and unnecessary suspicion in his companion,
he confined the circumstance to his own breast, and
followed into the hut.

After ascending a flight of about a dozen rude steps,
they found themselves in a small room, furnished with no
other ceiling than the sloping roof itself, and lighted
by an unwieldy iron lamp, placed on a heavy oak table,
near the only window with which the apartment was provided.
This latter had suffered much from the influence of time
and tempest; and owing to the difficulty of procuring
glass in so remote a region, had been patched with slips
of paper in various parts. The two corner and lower panes
of the bottom sash were out altogether, and pine shingles,
such as are used even at the present day for covering
the roofs of dwelling houses, had been fitted into the
squares, excluding air and light at the same time. The
centre pane of this tier was, however, clear and free
from flaw of every description. Opposite to the window
blazed a cheerful wood fire, recently supplied with fuel;
and at one of the inner corners of the room was placed
a low uncurtained bed, that exhibited marks of having
been lain in since it was last made. On a chair at its
side were heaped a few dark-looking garments, the precise
nature of which were not distinguishable at a cursory
and distant glance.

Such were the more remarkable features of the apartment
into which our adventurers were now ushered. Both looked
cautiously around on entering, as if expecting to find
it tenanted by spirits as daring as their own; but, with
the exception of the daughter of their conductor, whose
moist black eyes expressed, as much by tears as by smiles,
the joy she felt at this unexpected return of her parent,
no living object met their enquiring glance. The Canadian
placed a couple of rush-bottomed chairs near the fire,
invited his companions to seat themselves until he had
completed his preparation for departure, and then, desiring
Babette to hasten supper for the young hunters, quitted
the room and descended the stairs.




CHAPTER II.

The position of the young men was one of embarrassment;
for while the daughter, who was busied in executing the
command of her father, remained in the room, it was
impossible they could converse together without betraying
the secret of their country, and, as a result of this,
the falsehood of the character under which they appeared.
Long residence in the country had, it is true, rendered
the patois of that class of people whom they personated
familiar to one, but the other spoke only the pure and
native language of which it was a corruption. It might
have occurred to them at a cooler moment, and under less
critical circumstances, that, even if their disguise had
been penetrated, it was unlikely a female, manifesting
so much lively affection for her parent, would have done
aught to injure those with whom he had evidently connected
himself. But the importance attached to their entire
security from danger left them but little room for
reflections of a calming character, while a doubt of that
security remained.

One singularity struck them both. They had expected the
young woman, urged by a natural curiosity, would have
commenced a conversation, even if they did not; and he
who spoke the patois was prepared to sustain it as well
as his anxious and overcharged spirit would enable him;
and as he was aware the morning had furnished sufficient
incident of fearful interest, he had naturally looked
for a verbal re-enactment of the harrowing and dreadful
scene. To their surprise, however, they both remarked
that, far from evincing a desire to enter into conversation,
the young woman scarcely ever looked at them, but lingered
constantly near the table, and facing the window. Still,
to avoid an appearance of singularity on their own parts
as far as possible, the elder of the officers motioned
to his companion, who, following his example, took a
small pipe and some tobacco from a compartment in his
shot pouch, and commenced puffing the wreathing smoke
from his lips,--an occupation, more than any other,
seeming to justify their silence.

The elder officer sat with his back to the window, and
immediately in front of the fire; his companion, at a
corner of the rude hearth, and in such a manner that,
without turning his head, he could command every part of
the room at a glance. In the corner facing him stood the
bed already described. A faint ray of the fire-light fell
on some minute object glittering in the chair, the contents
of which were heaped up in disorder. Urged by that wayward
curiosity, which is sometimes excited, even under
circumstances of the greatest danger and otherwise
absorbing interest, the young man kicked the hickory log
that lay nearest to it with his mocassined foot, and
produced a bright crackling flame, the reflection of
which was thrown entirely upon the object of his gaze;
it was a large metal button, on which the number of his
regiment was distinctly visible. Unable to check his
desire to know further, he left his seat, to examine the
contents of the chair. As he moved across the room, he
fancied he heard a light sound from without; his companion,
also, seemed to manifest a similar impression by an almost
imperceptible start; but the noise was so momentary, and
so fanciful, neither felt it worth his while to pause
upon the circumstance. The young officer now raised the
garments from the chair: they consisted of a small grey
great-coat, and trowsers, a waistcoat of coarse white
cloth, a pair of worsted stockings, and the half-boots
of a boy; the whole forming the drum-boy's equipment,
worn by the wretched wife of Halloway when borne senseless
into the hut on that fatal morning. Hastily quitting a
dress that called up so many dreadful recollections, and
turning to his companion with a look that denoted
apprehension, lest he too should have beheld these
melancholy remembrances of the harrowing scene, the young
officer hastened to resume his seat. In the act of so
doing, his eye fell upon the window, at which the female
still lingered. Had a blast from Heaven struck his sight,
the terror of his soul could not have been greater. He
felt his cheek to pale, and his hair to bristle beneath
his cap, while the checked blood crept slowly and coldly,
as if its very function had been paralysed; still he had
presence of mind sufficient not to falter in his step,
or to betray, by any extraordinary movement, that his
eye had rested on any thing hateful to behold.

His companion had emptied his first pipe, and was in the
act of refilling it, when he resumed his seat. He was
evidently impatient at the delay of the Canadian, and
already were his lips opening to give utterance to his
disappointment, when he felt his foot significantly
pressed by that of his friend. An instinctive sense of
something fearful that was to ensue, but still demanding
caution on his part, prevented him from turning hastily
round to know the cause. Satisfied, however, there was
danger, though not of an instantaneous character, he put
his pipe gently by, and stealing his hand under his coat,
again grasped the hilt of his dagger. At length he slowly
and partially turned his head, while his eyes inquiringly
demanded of his friend the cause of his alarm.

Partly to aid in concealing his increasing paleness, and
partly with a view to render it a medium for the conveyance
of subdued sound, the hand of the latter was raised to
his face in such a manner that the motion of his lips
could not be distinguished from behind.

"We are betrayed," he scarcely breathed. "If you can
command yourself, turn and look at the window; but for
God's sake arm yourself with resolution, or look not at
all: first draw the hood over your head, and without any
appearance of design. Our only chance of safety lies in
this,--that the Canadian may still be true, and that our
disguise may not be penetrated."

In despite of his native courage,--and this had often
been put to honourable proof,--he, thus mysteriously
addressed, felt his heart to throb violently. There was
something so appalled in the countenance of his
friend--something so alarming in the very caution he had
recommended--that a vague dread of the horrible reality
rushed at once to his mind, and for a moment his own
cheek became ashy pale, and his breathing painfully
oppressed. It was the natural weakness of the physical
man, over which the moral faculties had, for an instant,
lost their directing power. Speedily recovering himself,
the young man prepared to encounter the alarming object
which had already so greatly intimidated his friend.
Carefully drawing the blanket hood over his head, he rose
from his seat, and, with the energetic movement of one
who has formed some desperate determination, turned his
back to the fire-place, and threw his eyes rapidly and
eagerly upon the window. They fell only on the rude
patchwork of which it was principally composed. The
female had quitted the room.

"You must have been deceived," he whispered, keeping his
eye still bent upon the window, and with so imperceptible
a movement of the lips that sound alone could have betrayed
he was speaking,--"I see nothing to justify your alarm.
Look again."

The younger officer once more directed his glance towards
the window, and with a shuddering of the whole person,
as he recollected what had met his eye when he last looked
upon it. "It is no longer there, indeed," he returned in
the same scarcely audible tone. "Yet I could not be
mistaken; it was between those two corner squares of wood
in the lower sash."

"Perhaps it was merely a reflection produced by the lamp
on the centre pane," rejoined his friend, still keeping
his eye riveted on the suspicious point.

"Impossible! but I will examine the window from the spot
on which I stood when I first beheld it."

Again he quitted his seat, and carelessly crossed the
room. As he returned he threw his glance upon the pane,
when, to his infinite horror and surprise, the same
frightful vision presented itself.

"God of Heaven!" he exclaimed aloud, and unable longer
to check the ebullition of his feelings,--"what means
this?--Is my brain turned? and am I the sport of my own
delusive fancy?--Do you not see it NOW?"

No answer was returned. His friend stood mute and
motionless, with his left hand grasping his gun, and his
right thrust into the waist of his coat. His eye grew
upon the window, and his chest heaved, and his cheek
paled and flushed alternately with the subdued emotion
of his heart. A human face was placed close to the
unblemished glass, and every feature was distinctly
revealed by the lamp that still lay upon the table. The
glaring eye was fixed on the taller of the officers; but
though the expression was unfathomably guileful, there
was nothing that denoted any thing like a recognition of
the party. The brightness of the wood fire had so far
subsided as to throw the interior of the room into partial
obscurity, and under the disguise of his hood it was
impossible for one without to distinguish the features
of the taller officer. The younger, who was scarcely an
object of attention, passed comparatively unnoticed.

Fatigued and dimmed with the long and eager tension of
its nerves, the eye of the latter now began to fail him.
For a moment he closed it; and when again it fell upon
the window; it encountered nothing but the clear and
glittering pane. For upwards of a minute he and his friend
still continued to rivet their gaze, but the face was no
longer visible.

Why is it that what is called the "human face divine" is
sometimes gifted with a power to paralyse, that the most
loathsome reptile in the creation cannot attain? Had a
hyena or cougar of the American forest, roaring for prey,
appeared at that window, ready to burst the fragile
barrier, and fasten its talons in their hearts, its
presence would not have struck such sickness to the soul
of our adventurers as did that human face. It is that
man, naturally fierce and inexorable, is alone the enemy
of his own species. The solution of this problem--this
glorious paradox in nature, we leave to profounder
philosophers to resolve. Sufficient for us be it to know,
and to deplore that it is so.

Footsteps were now heard upon the stairs; and the officers,
aroused to a full sense of their danger, hastily and
silently prepared themselves for the encounter.

"Drop a bullet into your gun," whispered the elder,
setting the example himself. "We may be obliged to have
recourse to it at last. Yet make no show of hostility
unless circumstances satisfy us we are betrayed; then,
indeed, all that remains for us will be to sell our lives
as dearly as we can. Hist! he is here."

The door opened; and at the entrance, which was already
filled up in the imaginations of the young men with a
terrible and alarming figure, appeared one whose return
had been anxiously and long desired. It was a relief,
indeed, to their gallant but excited hearts to behold
another than the form they had expected; and although,
for the moment, they knew not whether the Canadian came
in hostility or in friendship, each quitted the attitude
of caution into which he had thrown himself, and met him
midway in his passage through the room. There was nothing
in the expression of his naturally open and good-humoured
countenance to denote he was at all aware of the causes
for alarm that had operated so powerfully on themselves.
He announced with a frank look and unfaltering voice
every thing was in readiness for their departure.

The officers hesitated; and the taller fixed his eyes
upon those of mine host, as if his gaze would have
penetrated to the innermost recesses of his heart. Could
this be a refinement of his treachery? and was he really
ignorant of the existence of the danger which threatened
them? Was it not more probable his object was to disarm
their fears, that they might be given unprepared and,
therefore, unresisting victims to the ferocity of their
enemies? Aware as he was, that they were both well provided
with arms, and fully determined to use them with effect,
might not his aim be to decoy them to destruction without,
lest the blood spilt under his roof, in the desperation
of their defence, should hereafter attest against him,
and expose him to the punishment he would so richly merit?
Distracted by these doubts, the young men scarcely knew
what to think or how to act; and anxious as they had
previously been to quit the hut, they now considered the
moment of their doing so would be that of their destruction.
The importance of the enterprise on which they were
embarked was such as to sink all personal considerations.
If they had felt the influence of intimidation on their
spirits, it arose less from any apprehension of consequences
to themselves, than from the recollection of the dearer
interests involved in their perfect security from discovery.

"Francois," feelingly urged the taller officer, again
adverting to his vow, "you recollect the oath you so
solemnly pledged upon the cross of your Saviour. Tell
me, then, as you hope for mercy, have you taken that oath
only that you might the more securely betray us to our
enemies? What connection have you with them at this
moment? and who is HE who stood looking through that
window not ten minutes since?"

"As I shall hope for mercy in my God," exclaimed the
Canadian with unfeigned astonishment, "I have not see
nobody. But what for do you tink so? It is not just. I
have given my oat to serve you, and I shall do it."

There was candour both in the tone and countenance of
the man as he uttered these words, half in reproach, half
in justification; and the officers no longer doubted.

"You must forgive our suspicions at a moment like the
present," soothingly observed the younger; "yet, Francois,
your daughter saw and exchanged signals with the person
we mean. She left the room soon after he made his
appearance. What has become of her?"

The Canadian gave a sudden start, looked hastily round,
and seemed to perceive for the first time the girl was
absent. He then put a finger to his lip to enjoin silence,
advanced to the table, and extinguished the light. Desiring
his companions, in a low whisper, to tread cautiously
and follow, he now led the way with almost noiseless step
to the entrance of the hut. At the threshold of the door
were placed a large well-filled sack, a light mast and
sail, and half a dozen paddles. The latter burden he
divided between the officers, on whose shoulders he
carefully balanced them. The sack he threw across his
own; and, without expressing even a regret that an
opportunity of bidding adieu to his child was denied him,
hastily skirted the paling of the orchard until, at the
further extremity, he had gained the high road.

The heavens were obscured by passing clouds driven rapidly
by the wind, during the short pauses of which our
adventurers anxiously and frequently turned to listen if
they were pursued. Save the rustling of the trees that
lined the road, and the slight dashing of the waters on
the beach, however, no sound was distinguishable. At
length they gained the point whence they were to start.
It was the fatal bridge, the events connected with which
were yet so painfully fresh in their recollection.

"Stop one minutes here," whispered the Canadian, throwing
his sack upon the sand near the mouth of the lesser river;
"my canoe is chain about twenty yards up de bridge. I
shall come to you directly." Then cautioning the officers
to keep themselves concealed under the bridge, he moved
hastily under the arch, and disappeared in the dark shadow
which it threw across the rivulet.

The extremities of the bridge rested on the banks of the
little river in such a manner as to leave a narrow passage
along the sands immediately under the declination of the
arch. In accordance with the caution of their conductor,
the officers had placed themselves under it; and with
their backs slightly bent forward to meet the curvature
of the bridge, so that no ray of light could pass between
their bodies and the fabric itself, now awaited the
arrival of the vessel on which their only hope depended.
We shall not attempt to describe their feelings on finding
themselves, at that lone hour of the night, immediately
under a spot rendered fearfully memorable by the tragic
occurrences of the morning. The terrible pursuit of the
fugitive, the execution of the soldier, the curse and
prophecy of his maniac wife, and, above all, the forcible
abduction and threatened espousal of that unhappy woman
by the formidable being who seemed to have identified
himself with the evils with which they stood menaced,--all
rushed with rapid tracery on the mind, and excited the
imagination, until each, filled with a sentiment not
unallied to superstitious awe, feared to whisper forth
his thoughts, lest in so doing he should invoke the
presence of those who had principally figured in the
harrowing and revolting scene.

"Did you not hear a noise?" at length whispered the elder,
as he leaned himself forward, and bent his head to the
sand, to catch more distinctly a repetition of the sound.

"I did; there again! It is upon the bridge, and not unlike
the step of one endeavouring to tread lightly. It may be
some wild beast, however."

"We must not be taken by surprise," returned his companion.
"If it be a man, the wary tread indicates consciousness
of our presence. If an animal, there can be no harm in
setting our fears at rest."

Cautiously stealing from his lurking-place, the young
officer emerged into the open sands, and in a few measured
noiseless strides gained the extremity of the bridge.
The dark shadow of something upon its centre caught his
eye, and a low sound like that of a dog lapping met his
ear. While his gaze yet lingered on the shapeless object,
endeavouring to give it a character, the clouds which
had so long obscured it passed momentarily from before
the moon, and disclosed the appalling truth. It was a
wolf-dog lapping up from the earth, in which they were
encrusted, the blood and brains of the unfortunate Frank
Halloway.

Sick and faint at the disgusting sight, the young man
rested his elbow on the railing that passed along the
edge of the bridge, and, leaning his head on his hand
for a moment, forgot the risk of exposure he incurred,
in the intenseness of the sorrow that assailed his soul.
His heart and imagination were already far from the spot
on which he stood, when he felt an iron hand upon his
shoulder. He turned, shuddering with an instinctive
knowledge of his yet unseen visitant, and beheld standing
over him the terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis.

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the savage in a low triumphant
tone, "the place of our meeting is well timed, though
somewhat singular, it must be confessed. Nay," he fiercely
added, grasping as in a vice the arm that was already
lifted to strike him, "force me not to annihilate you on
the spot. Ha! hear you the cry of my wolf-dog?" as that
animal now set up a low but fearful howl; "it is for your
blood he asks, but your hour is not yet come."

"No, by Heaven, is it not!" exclaimed a voice; a rapid
and rushing sweep was heard through the air for an instant,
and then a report like a stunning blow. The warrior
released his grasp--placed his hand upon his tomahawk,
but without strength to remove it from his belt tottered
a pace or two backwards--and then fell, uttering a cry
of mingled pain and disappointment, at his length upon
the earth.

"Quick, quick to our cover!" exclaimed the younger officer,
as a loud shout was now heard from the forest in reply
to the yell of the fallen warrior. "If Francois come not,
we are lost; the howl of that wolf-dog alone will betray
us, even if his master should be beyond all chance of
recovery."

"Desperate diseases require desperate remedies," was the
reply; "there is little glory in destroying a helpless
enemy, but the necessity is urgent, and we must leave
nothing to chance." As he spoke, he knelt upon the huge
form of the senseless warrior, whose scalping knife he
drew from its sheath, and striking a firm and steady
blow, quitted not the weapon until he felt his hand
reposing on the chest of his enemy.

The howl of the wolf-dog, whose eyes glared like two
burning coals through the surrounding gloom, was now
exchanged to a fierce and snappish bark. He made a leap
at the officer while in the act of rising from the body;
but his fangs fastened only in the chest of the shaggy
coat, which he wrung with the strength and fury
characteristic of his peculiar species. This new and
ferocious attack was fraught with danger little inferior
to that which they had just escaped, and required the
utmost promptitude of action. The young man seized the
brute behind the neck in a firm and vigorous grasp, while
he stooped upon the motionless form over which this novel
struggle was maintained, and succeeded in making himself
once more master of the scalping knife. Half choked by
the hand that unflinchingly grappled with him, the savage
animal quitted his hold and struggled violently to free
himself. This was the critical moment. The officer drew
the heavy sharp blade, from the handle to the point,
across the throat of the infuriated beast, with a force
that divided the principal artery. He made a desperate
leap upwards, spouting his blood over his destroyer, and
then fell gasping across the body of his master. A low
growl, intermingled with faint attempts to bark, which
the rapidly oozing life rendered more and more indistinct,
succeeded; and at length nothing but a gurgling sound
was distinguishable.

Meanwhile the anxious and harassed officers had regained
their place of concealment under the bridge, where they
listened with suppressed breathing for the slightest
sound to indicate the approach of the canoe. At intervals
they fancied they could hear a noise resembling the
rippling of water against the prow of a light vessel,
but the swelling cries of the rushing band, becoming at
every instant more distinct, were too unceasingly kept
up to admit of their judging with accuracy.

They now began to give themselves up for lost, and many
and bitter were the curses they inwardly bestowed on the
Canadian, when the outline of a human form was seen
advancing along the sands, and a dark object upon the
water. It was their conductor, dragging the canoe along,
with all the strength and activity of which he was capable.

"What the devil have you been about all this time,
Francois?" exclaimed the taller officer, as he bounded
to meet him. "Quick, quick, or we shall be too late. Hear
you not the blood-hounds on their scent?" Then seizing
the chain in his hand, with a powerful effort he sent
the canoe flying through the arch to the very entrance
of the river. The burdens that had been deposited on the
sands were hastily flung in, the officers stepping lightly
after. The Canadian took the helm, directing the frail
vessel almost noiselessly through the water, and with
such velocity, that when the cry of the disappointed
savages was heard resounding from the bridge, it had
already gained the centre of the Detroit.




CHAPTER III.

Two days had succeeded to the departure of the officers
from the fort, but unproductive of any event of importance.
About daybreak, however, on the morning of the third,
the harassed garrison were once more summoned to arms,
by an alarm from the sentinels planted in rear of the
works; a body of Indians they had traced and lost at
intervals, as they wound along the skirt of the forest,
in their progress from their encampment, were at length
developing themselves in force near the bomb proof. With
a readiness which long experience and watchfulness had
rendered in some degree habitual to them, the troops flew
to their respective posts; while a few of the senior
officers, among whom was the governor, hastened to the
ramparts to reconnoitre the strength and purpose of their
enemies. It was evident the views of these latter were
not immediately hostile; for neither were they in their
war paint, nor were their arms of a description to carry
intimidation to a disciplined and fortified soldiery.
Bows, arrows, tomahawks, war clubs, spears, and scalping
knives, constituted their warlike equipments, but neither
rifle nor fire-arms of any kind were discernible. Several
of their leaders, distinguishable by a certain haughty
carriage and commanding gesticulation, were collected
within the elevated bomb-proof, apparently holding a
short but important conference apart from their people,
most of whom stood or lay in picturesque attitudes around
the ruin. These also had a directing spirit. A tall and
noble looking warrior, wearing a deer-skin hunting frock
closely girded around his loins, appeared to command the
deference of his colleagues, claiming profound attention
when he spoke himself, and manifesting his assent or
dissent to the apparently expressed opinions of the lesser
chiefs merely by a slight movement of the head.

"There he is indeed!" exclaimed Captain Erskine, speaking
as one who communes with his own thoughts, while he kept
his telescope levelled on the form of the last warrior;
"looking just as noble as when, three years ago, he
opposed himself to the progress of the first English
detachment that had ever penetrated to this part of the
world. What a pity such a fine fellow should be so
desperate and determined an enemy!"

"True; you were with Major Rogers on that expedition,"
observed the governor, in a tone now completely divested
of the haughtiness which formerly characterised his
address to his officers. "I have often heard him speak
of it. You had many difficulties to contend against, if
I recollect."

"We had indeed, sir," returned the frank-hearted Erskine,
dropping the glass from his eye. "So many, in fact, that
more than once, in the course of our progress through
the wilderness, did I wish myself at head-quarters with
my company. Never shall I forget the proud and determined
expression of Ponteac's countenance, when he told Rogers,
in his figurative language, 'he stood in the path in
which he travelled.' "

"Thank Heaven, he at least stands not in the path in
which OTHERS travel," musingly rejoined the governor.
"But what sudden movement is that within the ruin?"

"The Indians are preparing to show a white flag," shouted
an artillery-man from his station in one of the embrasures
below.

The governor and his officers received this intelligence
without surprise: the former took the glass from Captain
Erskine, and coolly raised it to his eye. The consultation
had ceased; and the several chiefs, with the exception
of their leader and two others, were now seen quitting
the bomb-proof to join their respective tribes. One of
those who remained, sprang upon an elevated fragment of
the ruin, and uttered a prolonged cry, the purport of
which,--and it was fully understood from its peculiar
nature,--was to claim attention from the fort. He then
received from the hands of the other chief a long spear,
to the end of which was attached a piece of white linen.
This he waved several times above his head; then stuck
the barb of the spear firmly into the projecting fragment.
Quitting his elevated station, he next stood at the side
of the Ottawa chief, who had already assumed the air and
attitude of one waiting to observe in what manner his
signal would be received.

"A flag of truce in all its bearings, by Jupiter!" remarked
Captain Erskine. "Ponteac seems to have acquired a few
lessons since we first met."

"This is evidently the suggestion of some European,"
observed Major Blackwater; "for how should he understand
any thing of the nature of a white flag? Some of those
vile spies have put him up to this."

"True enough, Blackwater; and they appear to have found
an intelligent pupil," observed Captain Wentworth. "I
was curious to know how he would make the attempt to
approach us; but certainly never once dreamt of his having
recourse to so civilised a method. Their plot works well,
no doubt; still we have the counter-plot to oppose to
it."

"We must foil them with their own weapons," remarked the
governor, "even if it be only with a view to gain time.
Wentworth, desire one of your bombardiers to hoist the
large French flag on the staff."

The order was promptly obeyed. The Indians made a
simultaneous movement expressive of their satisfaction;
and in the course of a minute, the tall warrior, accompanied
by nearly a dozen inferior chiefs, was seen slowly
advancing across the common, towards the group of officers.

"What generous confidence the fellow has, for an Indian!"
observed Captain Erskine, who could not dissemble his
admiration of the warrior. "He steps as firmly and as
proudly within reach of our muskets, as if he was leading
in the war-dance."

"How strange," mused Captain Blessington, "that one who
meditates so deep a treachery, should have no apprehension
of it in others!"

"It is a compliment to the honour of our flag," observed
the governor, "which it must be our interest to encourage.
If, as you say, Erskine, the man is really endowed with
generosity, the result of this affair will assuredly call
it forth."

"If it prove otherwise, sir," was the reply, "we must
only attribute his perseverance to the influence which
that terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis is said to
exercise over his better feelings. By the by, I see
nothing of him among this flag of truce party. It could
scarcely be called a violation of faith to cut off such
a rascally renegade. Were he of the number of those
advancing, and Valletort's rifle within my reach, I know
not what use I might not be tempted to make of the last."

Poor Erskine was singularly infelicitous in touching,
and ever unconsciously, on a subject sure to give pain
to more than one of his brother officers. A cloud passed
over the brow of the governor, but it was one that
originated more in sorrow than in anger. Neither had he
time to linger on the painful recollections hastily and
confusedly called up by the allusion made to this formidable
and mysterious being, for the attention of all was now
absorbed by the approaching Indians. With a bold and
confiding carriage the fierce Ponteac moved at the head
of his little party, nor hesitated one moment in his
course, until he got near the brink of the ditch, and
stood face to face with the governor, at a distance that
gave both parties not only the facility of tracing the
expression of each other's features, but of conversing
without effort. There he made a sudden stand, and thrusting
his spear into the earth, assumed an attitude as devoid
of apprehension as if he had been in the heart of his
own encampment.

"My father has understood my sign," said the haughty
chief. "The warriors of a dozen tribes are far behind
the path the Ottawa has just travelled; but when the red
skin comes unarmed, the hand of the Saganaw is tied behind
his back."

"The strong hold of the Saganaw is his safeguard," replied
the governor, adopting the language of the Indian. "When
the enemies of his great father come in strength, he
knows how to disperse them; but when a warrior throws
himself unarmed into his power, he respects his confidence,
and his arms hang rusting at his side."

"The talk of my father is big," replied the warrior, with
a scornful expression that seemed to doubt the fact of
so much indifference as to himself; "but when it is a
great chief who directs the nations, and that chief his
sworn enemy, the temptation to the Saganaw may be strong."

"The Saganaw is without fear," emphatically rejoined the
governor; "he is strong in his own honour; and he would
rather die under the tomahawk of the red skin, than
procure a peace by an act of treachery."

The Indian paused; cold, calm looks of intelligence passed
between him and his followers, and a few indistinct and
guttural sentences were exchanged among themselves.

"But our father asks not why our mocassins have brushed
the dew from off the common," resumed the chief; "and
yet it is long since the Saganaw and the red skin have
spoken to each other, except through the war whoop. My
father must wonder to see the great chief of the Ottawas
without the hatchet in his hand."

"The hatchet often wounds those who use it unskilfully,"
calmly returned the governor. "The Saganaw is not blind.
The Ottawas, and the other tribes, find the war paint
heavy on their skins. They see that my young men are not
to be conquered, and they have sent the great head of
all the nations to sue for peace."

In spite of the habitual reserve and self-possession of
his race, the haughty warrior could not repress a movement
of impatience at the bold and taunting language of his
enemy, and for a moment there was a fire in his eye that
told how willingly he would have washed away the insult
in his blood. The same low guttural exclamations that
had previously escaped their lips, marked the sense
entertained of the remark by his companions.

"My father is right," pursued the chief, resuming his
self-command; "the Ottawas, and the other tribes, ask
for peace, but not because they are afraid of war. When
they strike the hatchet into the war post, they leave it
there until their enemies ask them to take it out."

"Why come they now, then, to ask for peace?" was the cool
demand.

The warrior hesitated, evidently at a loss to give a
reply that could reconcile the palpable contradiction of
his words.

"The rich furs of our forests have become many," he at
length observed, "since we first took up the hatchet
against the Saganaw; and every bullet we keep for our
enemies is a loss to our trade. We once exchanged furs
with the children of our father of the pale flag. They
gave us, in return, guns, blankets, powder, ball, and
all that the red man requires in the hunting season.
These are all expended; and my young men would deal with
the Saganaw as they did with the French."

"Good; the red skins would make peace; and although the
arm of the Saganaw is strong, he will not turn a deaf
ear to their desire."

"All the strong holds of the Saganaw, except two, have
fallen before the great chief of the Ottawas!" proudly
returned the Indian, with a look of mingled scorn and
defiance. "They, too, thought themselves beyond the
reach of our tomahawks; but they were deceived. In less
than a single moon nine of them have fallen, and the
tents of my young warriors are darkened with their scalps;
but this is past. If the red skin asks for peace, it is
because he is tired of seeing the blood of the Saganaw
on his tomahawk. Does my father hear?"

"We will listen to the great chief of the Ottawas, and
hear what he has to say," returned the governor, who, as
well as the officers at his side, could with difficulty
conceal their disgust and sorrow at the dreadful
intelligence thus imparted of the fates of their companions.
"But peace," he pursued with dignity, "can only be made
in the council room, and under the sacred pledge of the
calumet. The great chief has a wampum belt on his shoulder,
and a calumet in his hand. His aged warriors, too, are
at his side. What says the Ottawa? Will he enter? If so,
the gate of the Saganaw shall be open to him."

The warrior started; and for a moment the confidence that
had hitherto distinguished him seemed to give place to
an apprehension of meditated treachery. He, however,
speedily recovered himself, and observed emphatically,
"It is the great head of all the nations whom my father
invites to the council seat. Were he to remain in the
hands of the Saganaw, his young men would lose their
strength. They would bury the hatchet for ever in despair,
and hide their faces in the laps of their women."

"Does the Ottawa chief see the pale flag on the strong
hold of his enemies. While that continues to fly, he is
safe as if he were under the cover of his own wigwam. If
the Saganaw could use guile like the fox" (and this was
said with marked emphasis), "what should prevent him from
cutting off the Ottawa and his chiefs, even where they
now stand?"

A half smile of derision passed over the dark cheek of
the Indian. "If the arm of an Ottawa is strong," he said,
"his foot is not less swift. The short guns of the chiefs
of the Saganaw" (pointing to the pistols of the officers)
"could not reach us; and before the voice of our father
could be raised, or his eye turned, to call his warriors
to his side, the Ottawa would be already far on his way
to the forest."

"The great chief of the Ottawas shall judge better of
the Saganaw," returned the governor.--"He shall see
that his young men are ever watchful at their posts:--Up,
men, and show yourselves."

A second or two sufficed to bring the whole, of Captain
Erskine's company, who had been lying flat on their faces,
to their feet on the rampart. The Indians were evidently
taken by surprise, though they evinced no fear. The low
and guttural "Ugh!" was the only expression they gave to
their astonishment, not unmingled with admiration.

But, although the chiefs preserved their presence of
mind, the sudden appearance of the soldiers had excited
alarm among their warriors, who, grouped in and around
the bomb-proof, were watching every movement of the
conferring parties, with an interest proportioned to the
risk they conceived their head men had incurred in
venturing under the very walls of their enemies. Fierce
yells were uttered; and more than a hundred dusky warriors,
brandishing their tomahawks in air, leaped along the
skirt of the common, evidently only awaiting the signal
of their great chief, to advance and cover his retreat.
At the command of the governor, however, the men had
again suddenly disappeared from the surface of the rampart;
so that when the Indians finally perceived their leader
stood unharmed and unmolested, on the spot he had previously
occupied, the excitement died away, and they once more
assumed their attitude of profound attention.

"What thinks the great chief of the Ottawas now?" asked
the governor;--"did he imagine that the young white men
lie sleeping like beavers in their dams, when the hunter
sets his traps to catch them?--did he imagine that they
foresee not the designs of their enemies? and that they
are not always on the watch to prevent them?"

"My father is a great warrior," returned the Indian; "and
if his arm is full of strength, his head is fall of
wisdom. The chiefs will no longer hesitate;--they will
enter the strong hold of the Saganaw, and sit with him
in the council."

He next addressed a few words, and in a language not
understood by those upon the walls, to one of the younger
of the Indians. The latter acknowledged his sense and
approbation of what was said to him by an assentient and
expressive "Ugh!" which came from his chest without any
apparent emotion of the lips, much in the manner of a
modern ventriloquist. He then hastened, with rapid and
lengthened boundings, across the common towards his band.
After the lapse of a minute or two from reaching them,
another simultaneous cry arose, differing in expression
from any that had hitherto been heard. It was one denoting
submission to the will, and compliance with some conveyed
desire, of their superior.

"Is the gate of the Saganaw open?" asked the latter, as
soon as his ear had been greeted with the cry we have
just named. "The Ottawa and the other great chiefs are
ready;--their hearts are bold, and they throw themselves
into the hands of the Saganaw without fear."

"The Ottawa chief knows the path," drily rejoined the
governor: "when he comes in peace, it is ever open to
him; but when his young men press it with the tomahawk
in their hands, the big thunder is roused to anger, and
they are scattered away like the leaves of the forest in
the storm." "Even now," he pursued, as the little band of
Indians moved slowly round the walls, "the gate of the
Saganaw opens for the Ottawa and the other chiefs."

"Let the most vigilant caution be used every where along
the works, but especially in the rear," continued the
governor, addressing Captain Blessington, on whom the
duty of the day had devolved. "We are safe, while their
chiefs are with us; but still it will be necessary to
watch the forest closely. We cannot be too much on our
guard. The men had better remain concealed, every twentieth
file only standing up to form a look-out chain. If any
movement of a suspicious nature be observed, let it be
communicated by the discharge of a single musket, that
the drawbridge may be raised on the instant." With the
delivery of these brief instructions he quitted the
rampart with the majority of his officers.

Meanwhile, hasty preparations had been made in the
mess-room to receive the chiefs. The tables had been
removed, and a number of clean rush mats, manufactured,
after the Indian manner, into various figures and devices,
spread carefully upon the floor. At the further end from
the entrance was placed a small table and chair, covered
with scarlet cloth. This was considerably elevated above
the surface of the floor, and intended for the governor.
On either side of the room, near these, were ranged a
number of chairs for the accommodation of the inferior
officers.

Major Blackwater received the chiefs at the gate. With
a firm, proud step, rendered more confident by his very
unwillingness to betray any thing like fear, the tall,
and, as Captain Erskine had justly designated him, the
noble-looking Ponteac trod the yielding planks that might
in the next moment cut him off from his people for ever.
The other chiefs, following the example of their leader,
evinced the same easy fearlessness of demeanour, nor
glanced once behind them to see if there was any thing
to justify the apprehension of hidden danger.

The Ottawa was evidently mortified at not being received
by the governor in person. "My father is not here!" he
said fiercely to the major:--"how is this? The Ottawa
and the other chiefs are kings of all their tribes. The
head of one great people should be received only by the
head of another great people!"

"Our father sits in the council-hall," returned the major.
"He has taken his seat, that he may receive the warriors
with becoming honour. But I am the second chief, and our
father has sent me to receive them."

To the proud spirit of the Indian this explanation scarcely
sufficed. For a moment he seemed to struggle, as if
endeavouring to stifle his keen sense of an affront put
upon him. At length he nodded his head haughtily and
condescendingly, in token of assent; and gathering up
his noble form, and swelling out his chest, as if with
a view to strike terror as well as admiration into the
hearts of those by whom he expected to be surrounded,
stalked majestically forward at the head of his
confederates.

An indifferent observer, or one ignorant of these people,
would have been at fault; but those who understood the
workings of an Indian's spirit could not have been deceived
by the tranquil exterior of these men. The rapid, keen,
and lively glance--the suppressed sneer of exultation--the
half start of surprise--the low, guttural, and almost
inaudible "Ugh!"--all these indicated the eagerness with
which, at one sly but compendious view, they embraced
the whole interior of a fort which it was of such vital
importance to their future interests they should become
possessed of, yet which they had so long and so
unsuccessfully attempted to subdue. As they advanced into
the square, they looked around, expecting to behold the
full array of their enemies; but, to their astonishment,
not a soldier was to be seen. A few women and children
only, in whom curiosity had overcome a natural loathing
and repugnance to the savages, were peeping from the
windows of the block houses. Even at a moment like the
present, the fierce instinct of these latter was not to
be controlled. One of the children, terrified at the wild
appearance of the warriors, screamed violently, and clung
to the bosom of its mother for protection. Fired at the
sound, a young chief raised his hand to his lips, and
was about to peal forth his terrible war whoop in the
very centre of the fort, when the eye of the Ottawa
suddenly arrested him.




CHAPTER IV.

There were few forms of courtesy observed by the warriors
towards the English officers on entering the council
room. Ponteac, who had collected all his native haughtiness
into one proud expression of look and figure, strode in
without taking the slightest notice even of the governor.
The other chiefs imitated his example, and all took their
seats upon the matting in the order prescribed by their
rank among the tribes, and their experience in council.
The Ottawa chief sat at the near extremity of the room,
and immediately facing the governor. A profound silence
was observed for some minutes after the Indians had seated
themselves, during which they proceeded to fill their
pipes. The handle of that of the Ottawa chief was
decorated with numerous feathers fancifully disposed.

"This is well," at length observed the governor. "It is
long since the great chiefs of the nations have smoked
the sweet grass in the council hall of the Saganaw. What
have they to say, that their young men may have peace to
hunt the beaver, and to leave the print of their mocassins
in the country of the Buffalo?--What says the Ottawa
chief?"

"The Ottawa chief is a great warrior," returned the other,
haughtily; and again repudiating, in the indomitableness
of his pride, the very views that a more artful policy
had first led him to avow. "He has already said that,
within a single moon, nine of the strong holds of the
Saganaw have fallen into his hands, and that the scalps
of the white men fill the tents of his warriors. If the
red skins wish for peace, it is because they are sick
with spilling the blood of their enemies. Does my father
hear?"

"The Ottawa has been cunning, like the fox," calmly
returned the governor. "He went with deceit upon his
lips, and said to the great chiefs of the strong holds
of the Saganaw,--'You have no more forts upon the lakes;
they have all fallen before the red skins: they gave
themselves into our hands; and we spared their lives,
and sent them down to the great towns near the salt lake.'
But this was false: the chiefs of the Saganaw, believing
what was said to them, gave up their strong holds; but
their lives were not spared, and the grass of the Canadas
is yet moist with their blood. Does the Ottawa hear?"

Amazement and stupefaction sat for a moment on the features
of the Indians. The fact was as had been stated; and yet,
so completely had the several forts been cut off from
all communication, it was deemed almost impossible one
could have received tidings of the fate of the other,
unless conveyed through the Indians themselves.

"The spies of the Saganaw have been very quick to escape
the vigilance of the red skins," at length replied the
Ottawa; "yet they have returned with a lie upon their
lips. I swear by the Great Spirit, that nine of the strong
holds of the Saganaw have been destroyed. How could the
Ottawa go with deceit upon his lips, when his words were
truth?"

"When the red skins said so to the warriors of the last
forts they took, they said true; but when they went to
the first, and said that all the rest had fallen, they
used deceit. A great nation should overcome their enemies
like warriors, and not seek to beguile them with their
tongues under the edge of the scalping knife!"

"Why did the Saganaw come into the country of the red
skins?" haughtily demanded the chief. "Why did they take
our hunting grounds from us? Why have they strong places
encircling the country of the Indians, like a belt of
wampum round the waist of a warrior?"

"This is not true," rejoined the governor. "It was not
the Saganaw, but the warriors of the pale flag, who first
came and took away the hunting grounds, and built the
strong places. The great father of the Saganaw had beaten
the great father of the pale flag quite out of the Canadas,
and he sent his young men to take their place and to make
peace with the red skins, and to trade with them, and to
call them brothers."

"The Saganaw was false," retorted the Indian. "When a
chief of the Saganaw came for the first time with his
warriors into the country of the Ottawas, the chief of
the Ottawas stood in his path, and asked him why, and
from whom, he came? That chief was a bold warrior, and
his heart was open, and the Ottawa liked him; and when
he said he came to be friendly with the red skins, the
Ottawa believed him, and he shook him by the hand, and
said to his young men, 'Touch not the life of a Saganaw;
for their chief is the friend of the Ottawa chief, and
his young men shall be the friends of the red warriors.'
Look," he proceeded, marking his sense of the discovery
by another of those ejaculatory "Ughs!" so expressive of
surprise in an Indian, "at the right hand of my father
I see a chief," pointing to Captain Erskine, "who came
with those of the Saganaw who first entered the country
of the Detroit;--ask that chief if what the Ottawa says
is not true. When the Saganaw said he came only to remove
the warriors of the pale flag, that he might be friendly
and trade with the red skins, the Ottawa received the
belt of wampum he offered, and smoked the pipe of peace
with him, and he made his men bring bags of parched corn
to his warriors who wanted food, and he sent to all the
nations on the lakes, and said to them, 'The Saganaw must
pass unhurt to the strong hold on the Detroit.' But for
the Ottawa, not a Saganaw would have escaped; for the
nations were thirsting for their blood, and the knives
of the warriors were eager to open their scalps. Ask the
chief who sits at the right hand of my father," he again
energetically repeated, "if what the Ottawa says is not
true."

"What the Ottawa says is true," rejoined the governor;
"for the chief who sits on my right hand has often said
that, but for the Ottawa, the small number of the warriors
of the Saganaw must have been cut off; and his heart is
big with kindness to the Ottawa for what he did. But if
the great chief meant to be friendly, why did he declare
war after smoking the pipe of peace with the Saganaw?
Why did he destroy the wigwams of the settlers, and carry
off the scalps even of their weak women and children?
All this has the Ottawa done; and yet he says that he
wished to be friendly with my young men. But the Saganaw
is not a fool. He knows the Ottawa chief had no will of
his own. On the right hand of the Ottawa sits the great
chief of the Delawares, and on his left the great chief
of the Shawanees. They have long been the sworn enemies
of the Saganaw; and they came from the rivers that run
near the salt lake to stir up the red skins of the Detroit
to war. They whispered wicked words in the ear of the
Ottawa chief, and he determined to take up the bloody
hatchet. This is a shame to a great warrior. The Ottawa
was a king over all the tribes in the country of the
fresh lakes, and yet he weakly took council like a woman
from another."

"My father lies!" fiercely retorted the warrior, half
springing to his feet, and involuntarily putting his hand
upon his tomahawk. "If the settlers of the Saganaw have
fallen," he resumed in a calmer tone, while he again sank
upon his mat, "it is because they did not keep their
faith with the red skins. When they came weak, and were
not yet secure in their strong holds, their tongues were
smooth and full of soft words; but when they became strong
under the protection of their thunder, they no longer
treated the red skins as their friends, and they laughed
at them for letting them come into their country." "But,"
he pursued, elevating his voice, "the Ottawa is a great
chief, and he will be respected." Then adverting in
bitterness to the influence supposed to be exercised over
him,--"What my father has said is false. The Shawanees
and the Delawares are great nations; but the Ottawas are
greater than any, and their chiefs are full of wisdom.
The Shawanees and the Delawares had no talk with the
Ottawa chief to make him do what his own wisdom did not
tell him."

"Then, if the talk came not from the Shawanees and the
Delawares, it came from the spies of the warriors of the
pale flag. The great father of the French was angry with
the great father of the Saganaw, because he conquered
his warriors in many battles; and he sent wicked men to
whisper lies of the Saganaw into the ears of the red
skins, and to make them take up the hatchet against them.
There is a tall spy at this moment in the camp of the
red skins," he pursued with earnestness, and yet paling
as he spoke. "It is said he is the bosom friend of the
great chief of the Ottawas. But I will not believe it.
The head of a great nation would not be the friend of a
spy--of one who is baser than a dog. His people would
despise him; and they would say, 'Our chief is not fit
to sit in council, or to make war; for he is led by the
word of a pale face who is without honour.'"

The swarthy cheek of the Indian reddened, and his eye
kindled into fire. "There is no spy, but a great warrior,
in the camp of the Ottawas," he fiercely replied. "Though
he came from the country that lies beyond the salt lake,
he is now a chief of the red skins, and his arm is mighty,
and his heart is big. Would my father know why he has
become a chief of the Ottawas?" he pursued with scornful
exultation. "When the strong holds of the Saganaw fell,
the tomahawk of the 'white warrior' drank more blood than
that of a red skin, and his tent is hung around with
poles bending under the weight of the scalps he has taken.
When the great chief of the Ottawas dies, the pale face
will lead his warriors, and take the first seat in the
council. The Ottawa chief is his friend."

"If the pale face be the friend of the Ottawa," pursued
the governor, in the hope of obtaining some particular
intelligence in regard to this terrible and mysterious
being, "why is he not here to sit in council with the
chiefs? Perhaps," he proceeded tauntingly, as he fancied
he perceived a disinclination on the part of the Indian
to account for the absence of the warrior, "the pale face
is not worthy to take his place among the head men of
the council. His arm may be strong like that of a warrior,
but his head may be weak like that of a woman; or, perhaps,
he is ashamed to show himself before the pale faces, who
have turned him out of their tribe."

"My father lies!" again unceremoniously retorted the
warrior. "If the friend of the Ottawa is not here, it is
because his voice cannot speak. Does my father recollect
the bridge on which he killed his young warrior? Does he
recollect the terrible chase of the pale face by the
friend of the Ottawa? Ugh!" he continued, as his attention
was now diverted to another object of interest, "that
pale face was swifter than any runner among the red skins,
and for his fleetness he deserved to live to be a great
hunter in the Canadas; but fear broke his heart,--fear
of the friend of the Ottawa chief. The red skins saw
him fall at the feet of the Saganaw without life, and
they saw the young warriors bear him off in their arms.
Is not the Ottawa right?" The Indian paused, threw his
eye rapidly along the room, and then, fixing it on the
governor, seemed to wait with deep but suppressed interest
for his reply.

"Peace to the bones of a brave warrior!" seriously and
evasively returned the governor: "the pale face is no
longer in the land of the Canadas, and the young warriors
of the Saganaw are sorry for his loss; but what would
the Ottawa say of the bridge? and what has the pale
warrior, the friend of the Ottawa, to do with it?"

A gleam of satisfaction pervaded the countenance
of the Indian, as he eagerly bent his
ear to receive the assurance that the fugitive
was no more; but when allusion was again
made to the strange warrior, his brow became
overcast, and he replied with mingled haughtiness
and anger,--

"Does my father ask? He has dogs of spies among the
settlers of the pale flag, but the tomahawk of the red
skins will find them out, and they shall perish even as
the Saganaw themselves. Two nights ago, when the warriors
of the Ottawas were returning from their scout upon the
common, they heard the voice of Onondato, the great
wolf-dog of the friend of the Ottawa chief. The voice
came from the bridge where the Saganaw killed his young
warrior, and it called upon the red skins for assistance.
My young men gave their war cry, and ran like wild deer
to destroy the enemies of their chief; but when they
came, the spies had fled, and the voice of Onondato was
low and weak as that of a new fawn; and when the warriors
came to the other end of the bridge, they found the pale
chief lying across the road and covered over with blood.
They thought he was dead, and their cry was terrible;
for the pale warrior is a great chief, and the Ottawas
love him; but when they looked again, they saw that the
blood was the blood of Onondato, whose throat the spies
of the Saganaw had cut, that he might not hunt them and
give them to the tomahawk of the red skins."

Frequent glances, expressive of their deep interest in
the announcement of this intelligence, passed between
the governor and his officers. It was clear the party
who had encountered the terrible warrior of the Fleur de
lis were not spies (for none were employed by the garrison),
but their adventurous companions who had so recently
quitted them. This was put beyond all doubt by the night,
the hour, and the not less important feet of the locality;
for it was from the bridge described by the Indian, near
which the Canadian had stated his canoe to be chained,
they were to embark on their perilous and uncertain
enterprise. The question of their own escape from danger
in this unlooked for collision with so powerful and
ferocious an enemy, and of the fidelity of the Canadian,
still remained involved in doubt, which it might be
imprudent, if not dangerous, to seek to have resolved by
any direct remark on the subject to the keen and observant
warrior. The governor removed this difficulty by artfully
observing,--

"The great chief of the Ottawas has said they were the
spies of the Saganaw who killed the pale warrior. His
young men has found them, then; or how could he know they
were spies?"

"Is there a warrior among the Saganaw who dares to show
himself in the path of the red skins, unless he come in
strength and surrounded by his thunder?" was the sneering
demand. "But my father is wrong, if he supposes the friend
of the Ottawa is killed. No," he pursued fiercely, "the
dogs of spies could not kill him; they were afraid to
face so terrible a warrior. They came behind him in the
dark, and they struck him on the head like cowards and
foxes as they were. The warrior of the pale face, and
the friend of the Ottawa chief, is sick, but not dead.
He lies without motion in his tent, and his voice cannot
speak to his friend to tell him who were his enemies,
that he may bring their scalps to hang up within his
wigwam. But the great chief will soon be well, and his
arm will be stronger than ever to spill the blood of the
Saganaw as he has done before."

"The talk of the Ottawa chief is strange," returned the
governor, emphatically and with dignity. "He says he
conies to smoke the pipe of peace with the Saganaw, and
yet he talks of spilling their blood as if it was water
from the lake. What does the Ottawa mean?"

"Ugh!" exclaimed the Indian, in his surprise. "My father
is right, but the Ottawa and the Saganaw have not yet
smoked together. When they have, the hatchet will be
buried for ever. Until then, they are still enemies."

During this long and important colloquy of the leading
parties, the strictest silence had been preserved by the
remainder of the council. The inferior chiefs had
continued deliberately puffing the smoke from their curled
lips, as they sat cross-legged on their mats, and nodding
their heads at intervals in confirmation of the occasional
appeal made by the rapid glance of the Ottawa, and uttering
their guttural "Ugh!" whenever any observation of the
parlant parties touched their feelings, or called forth
their surprise. The officers had been no less silent and
attentive listeners, to a conversation on the issue of
which hung so many dear and paramount interests. A pause
in the conference gave them an opportunity of commenting
in a low tone on the communication made, in the strong
excitement of his pride, by the Ottawa chief, in regard
to the terrible warrior of the Fleur de lis; who, it was
evident, swayed the councils of the Indians, and
consequently exercised an influence over the ultimate
destinies of the English, which it was impossible to
contemplate without alarm. It was evident to all, from
whatsoever cause it might arise, this man cherished a
rancour towards certain individuals in the fort, inducing
an anxiety in its reduction scarcely equalled by that
entertained on the part of the Indians themselves. Beyond
this, however, all was mystery and doubt; nor had any
clue been given to enable them to arrive even at a well
founded apprehension of the motives which had given birth
to the vindictiveness of purpose, so universally ascribed
to him even by the savages themselves.

The chiefs also availed themselves of this pause in the
conversation of the principals, to sustain a low and
animated discussion. Those of the Shawanee and Delaware
nations were especially earnest; and, as they spoke across
the Ottawa, betrayed, by their vehemence of gesture, the
action of some strong feeling upon their minds, the
precise nature of which could not be ascertained from
their speech at the opposite extremity of the room. The
Ottawa did not deign to join in their conversation, but
sat smoking his pipe in all the calm and forbidding
dignity of a proud Indian warrior conscious of his own
importance.

"Does the great chief of the Ottawas, then, seek for
peace in his heart at length?" resumed the governor; "or
is he come to the strong hold of Detroit, as he went to
the other strong holds, with deceit on his lips?"

The Indian slowly removed his pipe from his mouth, fixed
his keen eye searchingly on that of the questioner for
nearly a minute, and then briefly and haughtily said,
"The Ottawa chief has spoken."

"And do the great chiefs of the Shawanees, and the great
chiefs of the Delawares, and the great chiefs of the
other nations, ask for peace also?" demanded the governor.
"If so, let them speak for themselves, and for their
warriors."

We will not trespass on the reader, on whom we have
already inflicted too much of this scene, by a transcript
of the declarations of the inferior chiefs. Suffice it
to observe, each in his turn avowed motives similar to
those of the Ottawa for wishing the hatchet might be
buried for ever, and that their young men should mingle
once more in confidence, not only with the English troops,
but with the settlers, who would again be brought into
the country at the cessation of hostilities. When each
had spoken, the Ottawa passed the pipe of ceremony, with
which he was provided, to the governor.

The latter put it to his lips, and commenced smoking.
The Indians keenly, and half furtively, watched the act;
and looks of deep intelligence, that escaped not the
notice of the equally anxious and observant officers,
passed among them.

"The pipe of the great chief of the Ottawas smokes well,"
calmly remarked the governor; "but the Ottawa chief, in
his hurry to come and ask for peace, has made a mistake.
The pipe and all its ornaments are red like blood: it
is the pipe of war, and not the pipe of peace. The great
chief of the Ottawas will be angry with himself; he has
entered the strong hold of the Saganaw, and sat in the
council, without doing any good for his young men. The
Ottawa must come again."

A deep but subdued expression of disappointment passed
over the features of the chiefs. They watched the
countenances of the officers, to see whether the
substitution of one pipe for the other had been attributed,
in their estimation, to accident or design. There was
nothing, however, to indicate the slightest doubt of
their sincerity.

"My father is right," replied the Indian, with an appearance
of embarrassment, which, whether natural or feigned, had
nothing suspicious in it. "The great chief of the Ottawas
has been foolish, like an old woman. The young chiefs of
his tribe will laugh at him for this. But the Ottawa
chief will come again, and the other chiefs with him,
for, as my father sees, they all wish for peace; and that
my father may know all the nations wish for peace, as
well as their head men, the warriors of the Ottawa, and
of the Shawanee, and of the Delaware, shall play at ball
upon the common, to amuse his young men, while the chiefs
sit in council with the chiefs of the Saganaw. The red
skins shall come naked, and without their rifles and
their tomahawks; and even the squaws of the warriors
shall come upon the common, to show the Saganaw they may
be without fear. Does my father hear?"

"The Ottawa chief says well," returned the governor; "but
will the pale friend of the Ottawa come also to take his
seat in the council hall? The great chief has said the
pale warrior has become the second chief among the Ottawas;
and that when he is dead, the pale warrior will lead the
Ottawas, and take the first seat in the council. He, too,
should smoke the pipe of peace with the Saganaw, that
they may know he is no longer their enemy."

The Indian hesitated, uttering merely his quick ejaculatory
"Ugh!" in expression of his surprise at so unexpected a
requisition. "The pale warrior, the friend of the Ottawa,
is very sick," he at length said; "but if the Great Spirit
should give him back his voice before the chiefs come
again to the council, the pale face will come too. If my
father does not see him then, he will know the friend of
the Ottawa chief is very sick."

The governor deemed it prudent not to press the question
too closely, lest in so doing he should excite suspicion,
and defeat his own object. "When will the Ottawa and the
other chiefs come again?" he asked; "and when will their
warriors play at ball upon the common, that the Saganaw
may see them and be amused?"

"When the sun has travelled so many times," replied
Ponteac, holding up three fingers of his left hand. "Then
will the Ottawa and the other chiefs bring their young
warriors and their women."

"It is too soon," was the reply;. "the Saganaw must have
time to collect their presents, that they may give them
to the young warriors who are swiftest in the race, and
the most active at the ball. The great chief of the
Ottawas, too, must let the settlers of the pale flag,
who are the friends of the red skins, bring in food for
the Saganaw, that a great feast may be given to the
chiefs, and to the warriors, and that the Saganaw may
make peace with the Ottawas and the other nations as
becomes a great people. In twice so many days," holding
up three of his fingers in imitation of the Indian, "the
Saganaw will be ready to receive the chiefs in council,
that they may smoke the pipe of peace, and bury the
hatchet for ever. What says the great chief of the
Ottawas?"

"It is good," was the reply of the Indian, his eye lighting
up with deep and exulting expression. "The settlers of
the pale flag shall bring food to the Saganaw. The Ottawa
chief will send them, and he will desire his young men
not to prevent them. In so many days, then," indicating
with his fingers, "the great chiefs will sit again in
council with the Saganaw, and the Ottawa chief will not
be a fool to bring the pipe he does not want."

With this assurance the conference terminated. Ponteac
raised his tall frame from the mat on which he had been
squatted, nodded condescendingly to the governor, and
strode haughtily into the square or area of the fort.
The other chiefs followed his example; and to Major
Blackwater was again assigned the duty of accompanying
them without the works. The glance of the savages, and
that of Ponteac in particular, was less wary than at
their entrance. Each seemed to embrace every object on
which the eye could rest, as if to fix its position
indelibly in his memory. The young chief, who had been
so suddenly and opportunely checked while in the very
act of pealing forth his terrible war whoop, again looked
up at the windows of the block house, in quest of those
whom his savage instinct had already devoted in intention
to his tomahawk, but they were no longer there. Such was
the silence that reigned every where, the fort appeared
to be tenanted only by the few men of the guard, who
lingered near their stations, attentively watching the
Indians, as they passed towards the gate. A very few
minutes sufficed to bring the latter once more in the
midst of their warriors, whom, for a few moments, they
harangued earnestly, when the whole body again moved off
in the direction of their encampment.




CHAPTER V.

The week that intervened between the visit of the chiefs
and the day appointed for their second meeting in council,
was passed by the garrison in perfect freedom from alarm,
although, as usual, in diligent watchfulness and
preparations for casualties. In conformity with his
promise, the Indian had despatched many of the Canadian
settlers, with such provisions as the country then
afforded, to the governor, and these, happy to obtain
the gold of the troops in return for what they could
conveniently spare, were not slow in availing themselves
of the permission. Dried bears' meat, venison, and Indian
corn, composed the substance of these supplies, which
were in sufficient abundance to produce a six weeks'
increase to the stock of the garrison. Hitherto they had
been subsisting, in a great degree, upon salt provisions;
the food furtively supplied by the Canadians being
necessarily, from their dread of detection, on so limited
a scale, that a very small portion of the troops had been
enabled to profit by it. This, therefore, was an important
and unexpected benefit, derived from the falling in of
the garrison with the professed views of the savages;
and one which, perhaps, few officers would, like Colonel
de Haldimar, have possessed the forethought to have
secured. But although it served to relieve the animal
wants of the man, there was little to remove his moral
inquietude. Discouraged by the sanguinary character of
the warfare in which they seemed doomed to be for ever
engaged, and harassed by constant watchings,--seldom
taking off their clothes for weeks together,--the men
had gradually been losing their energy of spirit, in the
contemplation of the almost irremediable evils by which
they were beset; and looked forward with sad and
disheartening conviction to a fate, that all things tended
to prove to them was unavoidable, however the period of
its consummation might be protracted. Among the officers,
this dejection, although proceeding from a different
cause, was no less prevalent; and notwithstanding they
sought to disguise it before their men, when left to
themselves, they gave unlimited rein to a despondency
hourly acquiring strength, as the day fixed on for the
second council with the Indians drew near.

At length it came, that terrible and eventful day, and,
as if in mockery of those who saw no beauty in its golden
beams, arrayed in all the gorgeous softness of its autumnal
glory. Sad and heavy were the hearts of many within that
far distant and isolated fort, as they rose, at the first
glimmering of light above the horizon, to prepare for
the several duties assigned them. All felt the influence
of a feeling that laid prostrate the moral energies even
of the boldest: but there was one young officer in
particular, who exhibited a dejection, degenerating almost
into stupefaction; and more than once, when he received
an order from his superior, hesitated as one who either
heard not, or, in attempting to perform it, mistook the
purport of his instructions, and executed some entirely
different duty. The countenance of this officer, whose
attenuated person otherwise bore traces of languor and
debility, but too plainly marked the abstractedness and
terror of his mind, while the set stiff features and
contracted muscles of the face contributed to give an
expression of vacuity, that one who knew him not might
have interpreted unfavourably. Several times, during the
inspection of his company at the early parade, he was
seen to raise his head, and throw forward his ear, as if
expecting to catch the echo of some horrible and appalling
cry, until the men themselves remarked, and commented,
by interchange of looks, on the singular conduct of their
officer, whose thoughts had evidently no connection with
the duty he was performing, or the spot on which he stood.

When this customary inspection had been accomplished,--how
imperfectly, has been seen,--and the men dismissed from
their ranks, the same young officer was observed, by one
who followed his every movement with interest, to ascend
that part of the rampart which commanded an unbroken view
of the country westward, from the point where the encampment
of the Indians was supposed to lie, down to the bridge
on which the terrible tragedy of Halloway's death had
been so recently enacted. Unconscious of the presence of
two sentinels, who moved to and fro near their respective
posts, on either side of him, the young officer folded
his arms, and gazed in that direction for some minutes,
with his whole soul riveted on the scene. Then, as if
overcome by recollections called up by that on which he
gazed, he covered his eyes hurriedly with his hands, and
betrayed, by the convulsed movement of his slender form,
he was weeping bitterly. This paroxysm past, he uncovered
his face, sank with one knee upon the ground, and upraising
his clasped hands, as if in appeal to his God, seemed to
pray deeply and fervently. In this attitude he continued
for some moments, when he became sensible of the approach
of an intruder. He raised himself from his knee, turned,
and beheld one whose countenance was stamped with a
dejection scarcely inferior to his own. It was Captain
Blessington.

"Charles, my dear Charles!" exclaimed the latter hurriedly,
as he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the emaciated
De Haldimar, "consider you are not alone. For God's sake,
check this weakness! There are men observing you on every
side, and your strange manner has already been the subject
of remark in the company."

"When the heart is sick, like mine," replied the youth,
in a tone of fearful despondency, "it is alike reckless
of forms, and careless of appearances. I trust, however,"
and here spoke the soldier, "there are few within this
fort who will believe me less courageous, because I have
been seen to bend my knee in supplication to my God. I
did not think that YOU, Blessington, would have been the
first to condemn the act."

"I condemn it, Charles! you mistake me, indeed you do,"
feelingly returned his captain, secretly pained at the
mild reproach contained in the concluding sentence; "but
there are two things to be considered. In the first
instance, the men, who are yet in ignorance of the great
evils with which we are threatened, may mistake the cause
of your agitation; you were in tears just now, Charles,
and the sentinels must have remarked it as well as myself.
I would not have them to believe that one of their officers
was affected by the anticipation of coming disaster, in
a way their own hearts are incapable of estimating. You
understand me, Charles? I would not have them too much
discouraged by an example that may become infectious."

"I DO understand you, Blessington," and a forced and
sickly smile played for a moment over the wan yet handsome
features of the young officer; "you would not have me
appear a weeping coward in their eyes."

"Nay, dear Charles, I did not say it."

"But you meant it, Blessington; yet, think not,"--and he
warmly pressed the hand of his captain,--"think not, I
repeat, I take your hint in any other than the friendly
light in which it was intended. That I have been no
coward, however, I hope I have given proof more than once
before the men, most of whom have known me from my very
cradle; yet, whatever they may think, is to me, at this
moment, a matter of utter indifference. Blessington,"
and again the tears rolled from his fixed eyes over his
cheek, while he pointed with his finger to the western
horizon, "I have neither thought nor feeling for myself;
my whole heart lies buried there. Oh, God of Heaven!" he
pursued after a pause, and again raising his eyes in
supplication, "avert the dreadful destiny that awaits my
beloved sister."

"Charles, Charles, if only for that sister's sake, then,
calm an agitation which, if thus indulged in, will
assuredly destroy you. All will yet be well. The delay
obtained by your father has been sufficient for the
purpose proposed. Let us hope for the best: if we are
deceived in our expectation, it will then be time enough
to indulge in a grief, which could scarcely be exceeded,
were the fearful misgivings of your mind to be realised
before your eyes."

"Blessington," returned the young officer,--and his
features exhibited the liveliest image of despair,--"all
hope has long since been extinct within my breast. See
you yon theatre of death?" he mournfully pursued, pointing
to the fatal bridge, which was thrown into full relief
against the placid bosom of the Detroit: "recollect you
the scene that was acted on it? As for me, it is ever
present to my mind,--it haunts me in my thoughts by day,
and in my dreams by night. I shall never forget it while
memory is left to curse me with the power of retrospection.
On the very spot on which I now stand was I borne in a
chair, to witness the dreadful punishment; you see the
stone at my feet, I marked it by that. I saw you conduct
Halloway to the centre of the bridge; I beheld him kneel
to receive his death; I saw, too, the terrible race for
life, that interrupted the proceedings; I marked the
sudden upspring of Halloway to his feet upon the coffin,
and the exulting waving of his hand, as he seemed to
recognise the rivals for mastery in that race. Then was
heard the fatal volley, and I saw the death-struggle of
him who had saved my brother's life. I could have died,
too, at that moment; and would to Providence I had! but
it was otherwise decreed. My aching interest was, for a
moment, diverted by the fearful chase now renewed upon
the height; and, in common with those around me, I watched
the efforts of the pursuer and the pursued with painful
earnestness and doubt as to the final result. Ah,
Blessington, why was not this all? The terrible shriek,
uttered at the moment when the fugitive fell, apparently
dead, at the feet of the firing party, reached us even
here. I felt as if my heart must have burst, for I knew
it to be the shriek of poor Ellen Halloway,--the suffering
wife,--the broken-hearted woman who had so recently, in
all the wild abandonment of her grief, wetted my pillow,
and even my cheek, with her burning tears, while
supplicating an intercession with my father for mercy,
which I knew it would be utterly fruitless to promise.
Oh, Blessington," pursued the sensitive and affectionate
young officer, "I should vainly attempt to paint all that
passed in my mind at that dreadful moment. Nothing but
the depth of my despair gave me strength to support the
scene throughout. I saw the frantic and half-naked woman
glide like a phantom past the troops, dividing the air
with the rapidity of thought. I knew it to be Ellen; for
the discovery of her exchange of clothes with one of the
drum boys of the grenadiers was made soon after you left
the fort. I saw her leap upon the coffin, and, standing
over the body of her unhappy husband, raise her hands to
heaven in adjuration, and my heart died within me. I
recollected the words she had spoken on a previous
occasion, during the first examination of Halloway, and
I felt it to be the prophetic denunciation, then threatened,
that she was now uttering on all the race of De Haldimar.
I saw no more, Blessington. Sick, dizzy, and with every
faculty of my mind annihilated, I turned away from the
horrid scene, and was again borne to my room. I tried to
give vent to my overcharged heart in tears; but the power
was denied me, and I sank at once into that stupefaction
which you have since remarked in me, and which has been
increasing every hour. What additional cause I have had
for the indulgence of this confirmed despondency you are
well acquainted with. It is childish, it is unsoldierlike,
I admit: but, alas! that dreadful scene is eternally
before my eyes, and absorbs my mind, to the exclusion of
every other feeling. I have not a thought or a care but
for the fate that too certainly awaits those who are most
dear to me; and if this be a weakness, it is one I shall
never have the power to shake off. In a word, Blessington,
I am heart-broken."

Captain Blessington was deeply affected; for there was
a solemnity in the voice and manner of the young officer
that carried conviction to the heart; and it was some
moments before he could so far recover himself as to
observe,--

"That scene, Charles, was doubtless a heart-rending one
to us all; for I well recollect, on turning to remark
the impression made on my men when the wretched Ellen
Halloway pronounced her appalling curse to have seen the
large tears coursing each other over the furrowed cheeks
of some of our oldest soldiers: and if THEY could feel
thus, how much more acute must have been the grief of
those immediately interested in its application!"

"THEIR tears were not for the denounced race of De
Haldimar," returned the youth,--"they were shed for
their unhappy comrade--they were wrung from their stubborn
hearts by the agonising grief of the wife of Halloway."

"That this was the case in part, I admit," returned
Captain Blessington. "The feelings of the men partook of
a mixed character. It was evident that grief for Halloway,
compassion for his wife, secret indignation and, it may
be, disgust at the severity of your father, and sorrow
for his innocent family, who were included in that
denunciation, predominated with equal force in their
hearts at the same moment. There was an expression that
told how little they would have pitied any anguish of
mind inflicted on their colonel, provided his children,
whom they loved, were not to be sacrificed to its
accomplishment."

"You admit, then, Blessington, although indirectly,"
replied the young De Haldimar in a voice of touching
sorrow, "that the consummation of the sacrifice IS to be
looked for. Alas! it is that on which my mind perpetually
lingers; yet, Heaven knows, my fears are not for myself."

"You mistake me, dearest Charles. I look upon the
observations of the unhappy woman as the ravings of a
distracted mind--the last wild outpourings of a broken
heart, turning with animal instinct on the hand that has
inflicted its death-blow."

"Ah, why did she except no one member of that family!"
said the unhappy De Haldimar, pursuing rather the chain
of his reflections than replying to the observation of
his captain. "Had the weight of her malediction fallen
on all else than my adored sister, I could have borne
the infliction, and awaited the issue with resignation,
if not without apprehension. But my poor gentle and
unoffending Clara,--alike innocent of the cause, and
ignorant of the effect,--what had she done to be included
in this terrible curse?--she, who, in the warm and generous
affection of her nature, had ever treated Ellen Halloway
rather as a sister than as the dependant she always
appeared." Again he covered his eyes with his hands, to
conceal the starting tears.

"De Haldimar," said Captain Blessington reprovingly, but
mildly, "this immoderate grief is wrong--it is unmanly,
and should be repressed. I can feel and understand the
nature of your sorrow; but others may not judge so
favourably. We shall soon be summoned to fall in; and I
would not that Mr. Delme, in particular, should notice
an emotion he is so incapable of understanding."

The hand of the young officer dropped from his face to
the hilt of his sword. His cheek became scarlet; and even
through the tears which he half choked himself to command,
there was an unwonted flashing from his blue eye, that
told how deeply the insinuation had entered into his
heart.

"Think you, Captain Blessington," he proudly retorted,
"there is an officer in the fort who should dare to taunt
me with my feelings as you have done? I came here, sir,
in the expectation I should be alone. At a fitting hour
I shall be found where Captain Blessington's subaltern
should be--with his company."

"De Haldimar--dear De Haldimar, forgive me!" returned
his captain. "Heaven knows I would not, on any
consideration, wantonly inflict pain on your sensitive
heart. My design was to draw you out of this desponding
humour; and with this view I sought to arouse your pride,
but certainly not to wound your feelings. De Haldimar,"
he concluded, with marked expression, "you must not,
indeed, feel offended with one who has known and esteemed
you from very boyhood. Friendship and interest in your
deep affliction of spirit alone brought me here--the same
feelings prompted my remark. Do you not believe me?"

"I do," impressively returned the young man, grasping
the hand that was extended to him in amity. "It is I,
rather, Blessington, who should ask you to forgive my
petulance; but, indeed, indeed," and again his tone
faltered, and his eye was dimmed, "I am more wretched
even than I am willing to confess. Pardon my silly
conduct--it was but the vain and momentary flashing of
the soldier's spirit impatient of an assumed imputation,
and the man less than the profession is to be taxed with
it. But it is past; and already do you behold me once
more the tame and apprehensive being I must ever continue
until all is over."

"What can I possibly urge to console one who seems so
willing to nurse into conviction all the melancholy
imaginings of a diseased mind," observed Captain
Blessington, in a voice that told how deeply he felt for
the situation of his young friend. "Recollect, dearest
Charles, the time that has been afforded to our friends.
More than a week has gone by since they left the fort,
and a less period was deemed sufficient for their purpose.
Before this they must have gained their destination. In
fact, it is my positive belief they have; for there could
be nothing to detect them in their disguise. Had I the
famous lamp of Aladdin," he pursued, in a livelier tone,
"over the history of which Clara and yourself used to
spend so many hours in childhood, I have no doubt I could
show them to you quietly seated within the fort, recounting
their adventures to Clara and her cousin, and discoursing
of their absent friends."

"Would I to Heaven you had the power to do so!" replied
De Haldimar, smiling faintly at the conceit, while a ray
of hope beamed for a moment upon his sick soul; "for
then, indeed, would all my fears for the present be at
rest. But you forget, Blessington, the encounter stated
to have taken place between them and that terrible stranger
near the bridge. Besides, is it not highly probable the
object of their expedition was divined by that singular
and mysterious being, and that means have been taken to
intercept their passage? If so, all hope is at an end."

"Why persevere in viewing only the more sombre side of
the picture?" returned his friend. "In your anxiety to
anticipate evil, Charles, you have overlooked one important
fact. Ponteac distinctly stated that his ruffian friend
was still lying deprived of consciousness and speech
within his tent, and yet two days had elapsed since the
encounter was said to have taken place. Surely we have
every reason then to infer they were beyond all reach of
pursuit, even admitting, what is by no means probable
the recovery of the wretch immediately after the return
of the chiefs from the council."

A gleam of satisfaction, but so transient as to be scarcely
noticeable, passed over the pale features of the youthful
De Haldimar. He looked his thanks to the kind officer
who was thus solicitous to tender him consolation; and
was about to reply, when the attention of both was diverted
by the report of a musket from the rear of the fort.
Presently afterwards, the word was passed along the chain
of sentinels, upon the ramparts, that the Indians were
issuing in force from the forest upon the common near
the bomb-proof. Then was heard, as the sentinel at the
gate delivered the password, the heavy roll of the drum
summoning to arms.

"Ha! here already!" said Captain Blessington, as, glancing
towards the forest, he beheld the skirt of the wood now
alive with dusky human forms: "Ponteac's visit is earlier
than we had been taught to expect; but we are as well
prepared to receive him now, as later; and, in fact, the
sooner the interview is terminated, the sooner we shall
know what we have to depend upon. Come, Charles, we must
join the company, and let me entreat you to evince less
despondency before the men. It is hard, I know, to
sustain an artificial character under such disheartening
circumstances; still, for example's sake, it must be
done."

"What I can I will do, Blessington," rejoined the youth,
as they both moved from the ramparts; "but the task is,
in truth, one to which I find myself wholly unequal. How
do I know that, even at this moment, my defenceless,
terrified, and innocent sister may not be invoking the
name and arm of her brother to save her from destruction."

"Trust in Providence, Charles. Even although our worst
apprehensions be realised, as I fervently trust they will
not, your sister may be spared. The Canadian could not
have been unfaithful, or we should have learnt something
of his treachery from the Indians. Another week will
confirm us in the truth or fallacy of our impressions.
Until then, let us arm our hearts with hope. Trust me,
we shall yet see the laughing eyes of Clara fill with
tears of affection, as I recount to her all her too
sensitive and too desponding brother has suffered for
her sake."

De Haldimar made no reply. He deeply felt the kind
intention of his captain, but was far from cherishing
the hope that had been recommended. He sighed heavily,
pressed the arm, on which he leaned, in gratitude for
the motive, and moved silently with his friend to join
their company below the rampart.




CHAPTER VI.

Meanwhile the white flag had again been raised by the
Indians upon the bomb-proof; and this having been readily
met by a corresponding signal from the fort, a numerous
band of savages now issued from the cover with which
their dark forms had hitherto been identified, and spread
themselves far and near upon the common. On this occasion
they were without arms, offensive or defensive, of any
kind, if we may except the knife which was always carried
at the girdle, and which constituted a part rather of
their necessary dress than of their warlike equipment.
These warriors might have been about five hundred in
number, and were composed chiefly of picked men from the
nations of the Ottawas, the Delawares, and the Shawanees;
each race being distinctly recognisable from the others
by certain peculiarities of form and feature which
individualised, if we may so term it, the several tribes.
Their only covering was the legging before described,
composed in some instances of cloth, but principally of
smoked deerskin, and the flap that passed through the
girdle around the loins, by which the straps attached to
the leggings were secured. Their bodies, necks, and arms
were, with the exception of a few slight ornaments,
entirely naked; and even the blanket, that served them
as a couch by night and a covering by day, had, with one
single exception, been dispensed with, apparently with
a view to avoid any thing like encumbrance in their
approaching sport. Each individual was provided with a
stout sapling of about three feet in length, curved, and
flattened at the root extremity, like that used at the
Irish hurdle; which game, in fact, the manner of
ball-playing among the Indians in every way resembled.

Interspersed among these warriors were a nearly equal
number of squaws. These were to be seen lounging carelessly
about in small groups, and were of all ages; from the
hoary-headed, shrivelled-up hag, whose eyes still sparkled
with a fire that her lank and attenuated frame denied,
to the young girl of twelve, whose dark and glowing cheek,
rounded bust, and penetrating glance, bore striking
evidence of the precociousness of Indian beauty. These
latter looked with evident interest on the sports of the
younger warriors, who, throwing down their hurdles, either
vied with each other in the short but incredibly swift
foot-race, or indulged themselves in wrestling and leaping;
while their companions, abandoned to the full security
they felt to be attached to the white flag waving on the
fort, lay at their lazy length upon the sward, ostensibly
following the movements of the several competitors in
these sports, but in reality with heart and eye directed
solely to the fortification that lay beyond. Each of
these females, in addition to the machecoti, or petticoat,
which in one solid square of broad-cloth was tightly
wrapped around the loins, also carried a blanket loosely
thrown around the person, but closely confined over the
shoulders in front, and reaching below the knee. There
was an air of constraint in their movements, which accorded
ill with the occasion of festivity for which they were
assembled; and it was remarkable, whether it arose from
deference to those to whom they were slaves, as well as
wives and daughters, or from whatever other cause it
might be, none of them ventured to recline themselves
upon the sward in imitation of the warriors.

When it had been made known to the governor that the
Indians had begun to develop themselves in force upon
the common unarmed, yet redolent with the spirit that
was to direct their meditated sports, the soldiers were
dismissed from their respective companies to the ramparts;
where they were now to be seen, not drawn up in formidable
and hostile array, but collected together in careless
groups, and simply in their side-arms. This reciprocation
of confidence on the part of the garrison was acknowledged
by the Indians by marks of approbation, expressed as much
by the sudden and classic disposition of their fine forms
into attitudes strikingly illustrative of their admiration
and pleasure, as by the interjectional sounds that passed
from one to the other of the throng. From the increased
alacrity with which they now lent themselves to the
preparatory and inferior amusements of the day, it was
evident their satisfaction was complete.

Hitherto the principal chiefs had, as on the previous
occasion, occupied the bomb-proof; and now, as then, they
appeared to be deliberating among themselves, but evidently
in a more energetic and serious manner. At length they
separated, when Ponteac, accompanied by the chiefs who
had attended him on the former day, once more led in the
direction of the fort. The moment of his advance was the
signal for the commencement of the principal game. In an
instant those of the warriors who lay reclining on the
sward sprang to their feet, while the wrestlers and racers
resumed their hurdles, and prepared themselves for the
trial of mingled skill and swiftness. At first they formed
a dense group in the centre of the common; and then,
diverging in two equal files both to the right and to
the left of the immediate centre, where the large ball
was placed, formed an open chain, extending from the
skirt of the forest to the commencement of the village.
On the one side were ranged the Delawares and the Shawanees,
and on the other the more numerous nation of the Ottawas.
The women of these several tribes, apparently much
interested in the issue of an amusement in which the
manliness and activity of their respective friends were
staked, had gradually and imperceptibly gained the front
of the fort, where they were now huddled in groups at
about twenty paces from the drawbridge, and bending
eagerly forward to command the movements of the
ball-players.

In his circuit round the walls, Ponteac was seen to remark
the confiding appearance of the unarmed soldiery with a
satisfaction that was not sought to be disguised; and
from the manner in which he threw his glance along each
face of the rampart, it was evident his object was to
embrace the numerical strength collected there. It was
moreover observed, when he passed the groups of squaws
on his way to the gate, he addressed some words in a
strange tongue to the elder matrons of each.

Once more the dark warriors were received at the gate by
Major Blackwater; and, as with firm but elastic tread,
they moved across the square, each threw his fierce eyes
rapidly and anxiously around, and with less of concealment
in his manner than had been manifested on the former
occasion. On every hand the same air of nakedness and
desertion met their gaze. Not even a soldier of the
guard was to be seen; and when they cast their eyes
upwards to the windows of the blockhouses, they were
found to be tenantless as the area through which they
passed. A gleam of fierce satisfaction pervaded the
swarthy countenances of the Indians; and the features of
Ponteac, in particular, expressed the deepest exultation.
Instead of leading his party, he now brought up the rear;
and when arrived in the centre of the fort, he, without
any visible cause for the accident, stumbled, and fell
to the earth. The other chiefs for a moment lost sight
of their ordinary gravity, and marked their sense of the
circumstance by a prolonged sound, partaking of the
mingled character of a laugh and a yell. Startled at
the cry, Major Blackwater, who was in front, turned to
ascertain the cause. At that moment Ponteac sprang lightly
again to his feet, responding to the yell of his
confederates by another even more startling, fierce, and
prolonged than their own. He then stalked proudly to the
head of the party, and even preceded Major Blackwater
into the council room.

In this rude theatre of conference some changes had been
made since their recent visit, which escaped not the
observation of the quick-sighted chiefs. Their mats lay
in the position they had previously occupied, and the
chairs of the officers were placed as before, but the
room itself had been considerably enlarged. The slight
partition terminating the interior extremity of the
mess-room, and dividing it from that of one of the
officers, had been removed; and midway through this,
extending entirely across, was drawn a curtain of scarlet
cloth, against which the imposing figure of the governor,
elevated as his seat was above those of the other officers,
was thrown into strong relief. There was another change,
that escaped not the observation of the Indians, and that
was, not more than one half of the officers who had been
present at the first conference being now in the room.
Of these latter, one had, moreover, been sent away by
the governor the moment the chiefs were ushered in.

"Ugh!" ejaculated the proud leader, as he took his seat
unceremoniously, and yet not without reluctance, upon
the mat. "The council-room of my father is bigger than
when the Ottawa was here before, yet the number of his
chiefs is not so many."

"The great chief of the Ottawas knows that the Saganaw
has promised the red skins a feast," returned the governor.
"Were he to leave it to his young warriors to provide
it, he would not be able to receive the Ottawa like a
great chief, and to make peace with him as he could wish."

"My father has a great deal of cloth, red, like the blood
of a pale face," pursued the Indian, rather in demand
than in observation, as he pointed with his finger to
the opposite end of the room. "When the Ottawa was here
last, he did not see it."

"The great chief of the Ottawas knows that the great
father of the Saganaw has a big heart to make presents
to the red skins. The cloth the Ottawa sees there is
sufficient to make leggings for the chiefs of all the
nations."

Apparently satisfied with this reply, the fierce Indian
uttered one of his strong guttural and assentient "ughs,"
and then commenced filling the pipe of peace, correct on
the present occasion in all its ornaments, which was
handed to him by the Delaware chief. It was remarked by
the officers this operation took up an unusually long
portion of his time, and that he frequently turned his
ear, like a horse stirred by the huntsman's horn, with
quick and irrepressible eagerness towards the door.

"The pale warrior, the friend of the Ottawa chief, is
not here," said the governor, as he glanced his eye along
the semicircle of Indians. "How is this? Is his voice
still sick, that he cannot come; or has the great chief
of the Ottawas forgotten to tell him?"

"The voice of the pale warrior is still sick, and he
cannot speak," replied the Indian. "The Ottawa chief is
very sorry; for the tongue of his friend the pale face
is full of wisdom."

Scarcely had the last words escaped his lips, when a wild
shrill cry from without the fort rang on the ears of the
assembled council, and caused a momentary commotion among
the officers. It arose from a single voice, and that
voice could not be mistaken by any who had heard it once
before. A second or two, during which the officers and
chiefs kept their eyes intently fixed on each other,
passed anxiously away, and then nearer to the gate,
apparently on the very drawbridge itself, was pealed
forth the wild and deafening yell of a legion of devilish
voices. At that sound, the Ottawa and the other chiefs
sprang to their feet, and their own fierce cry responded
to that yet vibrating on the ears of all. Already were
their gleaming tomahawks brandished wildly over their
heads, and Ponteac had even bounded a pace forward to
reach the governor with the deadly weapon, when, at the
sudden stamping of the foot of the latter upon the floor,
the scarlet cloth in the rear was thrown aside, and twenty
soldiers, their eyes glancing along the barrels of their
levelled muskets, met the startled gaze of the astonished
Indians.

An instant was enough to satisfy the keen chief of the
true state of the case. The calm composed mien of the
officers, not one of whom had even attempted to quit his
seat, amid the din by which his ears were so alarmingly
assailed,--the triumphant, yet dignified, and even severe
expression of the governor's countenance; and, above all,
the unexpected presence of the prepared soldiery,--all
these at once assured him of the discovery of his treachery,
and the danger that awaited him. The necessity for an
immediate attempt to join his warriors without, was now
obvious to the Ottawa; and scarcely had he conceived the
idea before it was sought to be executed. In a single
spring he gained the door of the mess-room, and, followed
eagerly and tumultuously by the other chiefs, to whose
departure no opposition was offered, in the next moment
stood on the steps of the piazza that ran along the front
of the building whence he had issued.

The surprise of the Indians on reaching this point, was
now too powerful to be dissembled; and, incapable either
of advancing or receding, they remained gazing on the
scene before them with an air of mingled stupefaction,
rage, and alarm. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since
they had proudly strode through the naked area of the
fort; and yet, even in that short space of time, its
appearance had been entirely changed. Not a part was
there now of the surrounding buildings that was not
redolent with human life, and hostile preparation. Through
every window of the officers' low rooms, was to be seen
the dark and frowning muzzle of a field-piece, bearing
upon the gateway; and behind these were artillerymen,
holding their lighted matches, supported again by files
of bayonets, that glittered in their rear. In the
block-houses the same formidable array of field-pieces
and muskets was visible; while from the four angles of
the square, as many heavy guns, that had been artfully
masked at the entrance of the chiefs, seemed ready to
sweep away every thing that should come before them. The
guard-room near the gate presented the same hostile front.
The doors of this, as well as of the other buildings,
had been firmly secured within; but from every window
affording cover to the troops, gleamed a line of bayonets
rising above the threatening field-pieces, pointed, at
a distance of little more than twelve feet, directly upon
the gateway. In addition to his musket, each man of the
guard moreover held a hand grenade, provided with a short
fuze that could be ignited in a moment from the matches
of the gunners, and with immediate effect. The soldiers
in the block-houses were similarly provided.

Almost magic as was the change thus suddenly effected in
the appearance of the garrison, it was not the most
interesting feature in the exciting scene. Choking up
the gateway, in which they were completely wedged, and
crowding the drawbridge, a dense mass of dusky Indians
were to be seen casting their fierce glances around; yet
paralysed in their movements by the unlooked-for display
of a resisting force, threatening instant annihilation
to those who should attempt either to advance or to
recede. Never, perhaps, were astonishment and disappointment
more forcibly depicted on the human countenance, than as
they were now exhibited by these men, who had already,
in imagination, secured to themselves an easy conquest.
They were the warriors who had so recently been engaged
in the manly yet innocent exercise of the ball; but,
instead of the harmless hurdle, each now carried a short
gun in one hand and a gleaming tomahawk in the other.
After the first general yelling heard in the council-room,
not a sound was uttered. Their burst of rage and triumph
had evidently been checked by the unexpected manner of
their reception, and they now stood on the spot on which
the further advance of each had been arrested, so silent
and motionless, that, but for the rolling of their dark
eyes, as they keenly measured the insurmountable barriers
that were opposed to their progress, they might almost
have been taken for a wild group of statuary.

Conspicuous at the head of these was he who wore the
blanket; a tall warrior, on whom rested the startled eye
of every officer and soldier who was so situated as to
behold him. His face was painted black as death; and as
he stood under the arch of the gateway, with his white
turbaned head towering far above those of his companions,
this formidable and mysterious enemy might have been
likened to the spirit of darkness presiding over his
terrible legions.

In order to account for the extraordinary appearance of
the Indians, armed in every way for death, at a moment
when neither gun nor tomahawk was apparently within miles
of their reach, it will be necessary to revert to the
first entrance of the chiefs into the fort. The fall of
Ponteac had been the effect of design; and the yell pealed
forth by him, on recovering his feet, as if in taunting
reply to the laugh of his comrades, was in reality a
signal intended for the guidance of the Indians without.
These, now following up their game with increasing spirit,
at once changed the direction of their line, bringing
the ball nearer to the fort. In their eagerness to effect
this object, they had overlooked the gradual secession
of the unarmed troops, spectators of their sport from
the ramparts, until scarcely more than twenty stragglers
were left. As they neared the gate, the squaws broke up
their several groups, and, forming a line on either hand
of the road leading to the drawbridge, appeared to separate
solely with a view not to impede the action of the players.
For an instant a dense group collected around the ball,
which had been driven to within a hundred yards of the
gate, and fifty hurdles were crossed in their endeavours
to secure it, when the warrior, who formed the solitary
exception to the multitude, in his blanket covering, and
who had been lingering in the extreme rear of the party,
came rapidly up to the spot where the well-affected
struggle was maintained. At his approach, the hurdles of
the other players were withdrawn, when, at a single blow
from his powerful arm, the ball was seen flying into the
air in an oblique direction, and was for a moment lost
altogether to the view. When it again met the eye, it
was descending perpendicularly into the very centre of
the fort.

With the fleetness of thought now commenced a race that
had ostensibly for its object the recovery of the lost
ball; and in which, he who had driven it with such
resistless force outstripped them all. Their course lay
between the two lines of squaws; and scarcely had the
head of the bounding Indians reached the opposite extremity
of those lines, when the women suddenly threw back their
blankets, and disclosed each a short gun and a tomahawk.
To throw away their hurdles and seize upon these, was
the work of an instant. Already, in imagination, was the
fort their own; and, such was the peculiar exultation of
the black and turbaned warrior, when he felt the planks
of the drawbridge bending beneath his feet, all the
ferocious joy of his soul was pealed forth in the terrible
cry which, rapidly succeeded by that of the other Indians,
had resounded so fearfully through the council-room. What
their disappointment was, when, on gaining the interior,
they found the garrison prepared for their reception,
has already been shown.

"Secure that traitor, men!" exclaimed the governor,
advancing into the square, and pointing to the black
warrior, whose quick eye was now glancing on every side,
to discover some assailable point in the formidable
defences of the troops.

A laugh of scorn and derision escaped the lips of the
warrior. "Is there a man--are there any ten men, even
with Governor de Haldimar at their head, who will be bold
enough to attempt it?" he asked. "Nay!" he pursued,
stepping boldly a pace or two in front of the wondering
savages,--"here I stand singly, and defy your whole
garrison!"

A sudden movement among the soldiers in the guard-room
announced they were preparing to execute the order of
their chief. The eye of the black warrior sparkled with
ferocious pleasure; and he made a gesture to his followers,
which was replied to by the sudden tension of their
hitherto relaxed forms into attitudes of expectance and
preparation.

"Stay, men; quit not your cover for your lives!" commanded
the governor, in a loud deep voice:--"keep the barricades
fast, and move not."

A cloud of anger and disappointment passed over the
features of the black warrior. It was evident the object
of his bravado was to draw the troops from their defences,
that they might be so mingled with their enemies as to
render the cannon useless, unless friends and foes (which
was by no means probable) should alike be sacrificed.
The governor had penetrated the design in time to prevent
the mischief.

In a moment of uncontrollable rage, the savage warrior
aimed his tomahawk at the head of the governor. The latter
stepped lightly aside, and the steel sank with such force
into one of the posts supporting the piazza, that the
quivering handle snapped close off at its head. At that
moment, a single shot, fired from the guard-house, was
drowned in the yell of approbation which burst from the
lips of the dark crowd. The turban of the warrior was,
however, seen flying through the air, carried away by
the force of the bullet which had torn it from his head.
He himself was unharmed.

"A narrow escape for us both, Colonel de Haldimar," he
observed, as soon as the yell had subsided, and with an
air of the most perfect unconcern. "Had my tomahawk obeyed
the first impulse of my heart, I should have cursed myself
and died: as it is, I have reason to avoid all useless
exposure of my own life, at present. A second bullet may
be better directed; and to die, robbed of my revenge,
would ill answer the purpose of a life devoted to its
attainment. Remember my pledge!"

At the hasty command of the governor, a hundred muskets
were raised to the shoulders of his men; but, before a
single eye could glance along the barrel, the formidable
and active warrior had bounded over the heads of the
nearest Indians into a small space that was left unoccupied;
when, stooping suddenly to the earth, he disappeared
altogether from the view of his enemies. A slight movement
in the centre of the numerous band crowding the gateway,
and extending even beyond the bridge, was now discernible:
it was like the waving of a field of standing corn,
through which some animal rapidly winds its tortuous
course, bending aside as the object advances, and closing
again when it has passed. After the lapse of a minute,
the terrible warrior was seen to spring again to his
feet, far in the rear of the band; and then, uttering a
fierce shout of exultation, to make good his retreat
towards the forest.

Meanwhile, Ponteac and the other chiefs of the council
continued rooted to the piazza on which they had rushed
at the unexpected display of the armed men behind the
scarlet curtain. The loud "Waugh" that burst from the
lips of all, on finding themselves thus foiled in their
schemes of massacre, had been succeeded, the instant
afterwards, by feelings of personal apprehension, which
each, however, had collectedness enough to disguise. Once
the Ottawa made a movement as if he would have cleared
the space that kept him from his warriors; but the
emphatical pointing of the finger of Colonel de Haldimar
to the levelled muskets of the men in the block-houses
prevented him, and the attempt was not repeated. It was
remarked by the officers, who also stood on the piazza,
close behind the chiefs, when the black warrior threw
his tomahawk at the governor, a shade of displeasure
passed over the features of the Ottawa; and that, when
he found the daring attempt was not retaliated on his
people, his countenance had been momentarily lighted up
with a satisfied expression, apparently marking his sense
of the forbearance so unexpectedly shown.

"What says the great chief of the Ottawas now?" asked
the governor calmly, and breaking a profound silence that
had succeeded to the last fierce yell of the formidable
being just departed. "Was the Saganaw not right, when he
said the Ottawa came with guile in his heart, and with
a lie upon his lips? But the Saganaw is not a fool, and
he can read the thoughts of his enemies upon their faces,
and long before their lips have spoken."

"Ugh!" ejaculated the Indian; "my father is a great chief,
and his head is full of wisdom. Had he been feeble, like
the other chiefs of the Saganaw, the strong-hold of the
Detroit must have fallen, and the red skins would have
danced their war-dance round the scalps of his young men,
even in the council-room where they came to talk of
peace."

"Does the great chief of the Ottawas see the big thunder
of the Saganaw?" pursued the governor: "if not, let him
open his eyes and look. The Saganaw has but to move his
lips, and swifter than the lightning would the pale faces
sweep away the warriors of the Ottawa, even where they
now stand: in less time than the Saganaw is now speaking,
would they mow them down like the grass of the Prairie."

"Ugh!" again exclaimed the chief, with mixed doggedness
and fierceness: "if what my father says is true, why does
he not pour out his anger upon the red skins?"

"Let the great chief of the Ottawas listen," replied the
governor with dignity. "When the great chiefs of all the
nations that are in league with the Ottawas came last to
the council, the Saganaw knew that they carried deceit
in their hearts, and that they never meant to smoke the
pipe of peace, or to bury the hatchet in the ground. The
Saganaw might have kept them prisoners, that their warriors
might be without a head; but he had given his word to
the great chief of the Ottawas, and the word of a Saganaw
is never broken. Even now, while both the chiefs and
the warriors are in his power,--he will not slay them,
for he wishes to show the Ottawa the desire of the Saganaw
is to be friendly with the red skins, and not to destroy
them. Wicked men from the Canadas have whispered lies in
the ear of the Ottawa; but a great chief should judge
for himself, and take council only from the wisdom of
his own heart. The Ottawa and his warriors may go," he
resumed, after a short pause; "the path by which they
came is again open to them. Let them depart in peace;
the big thunder of the Saganaw shall not harm them."

The countenance of the Indian, who had clearly seen the
danger of his position, wore an expression of surprise
which could not be dissembled: low exclamations passed
between him and his companions; and, then pointing to
the tomahawk that lay half buried in the wood, he said,
doubtingly,--

"It was the pale face, the friend of the great chief of
the Ottawas, who struck the hatchet at my father. The
Ottawa is not a fool to believe the Saganaw can sleep
without revenge."

"The great chief of the Ottawas shall know us better,"
was the reply. "The young warriors of the Saganaw might
destroy their enemies where they now stand, but they seek
not their blood. When the Ottawa chief takes council from
his own heart, and not from the lips of a cowardly dog
of a pale face, who strikes his tomahawk and then flies,
his wisdom will tell him to make peace with the Saganaw,
whose warriors are without treachery, even as they are
without fear."

Another of those deep interjectional "ughs" escaped the
chest of the proud Indian.

"What my father says is good," he returned; "but the pale
face is a great warrior, and the Ottawa chief is his
friend. The Ottawa will go."

He then addressed a few sentences, in a tongue unknown
to the officers, to the swarthy and anxious crowd in
front. These were answered by a low, sullen, yet assentient
grunt, from the united band, who now turned, though with
justifiable caution and distrust, and recrossed the
drawbridge without hinderance from the troops. Ponteac
waited until the last Indian had departed, and then making
a movement to the governor, which, with all its haughtiness,
was meant to mark his sense of the forbearance and good
faith that had been manifested, once more stalked proudly
and calmly across the area, followed by the remainder of
the chiefs. The officers who were with the governor
ascended to the ramparts, to follow their movements; and
it was not before their report had been made, that the
Indians were immerging once more into the heart of the
forest, the troops were withdrawn from their formidable
defences, and the gate of the fort again firmly secured.




CHAPTER VII.

While the reader is left to pause over the rapid succession
of incidents resulting from the mysterious entrance of
the warrior of the Fleur de lis into the English fort,
be it our task to explain the circumstances connected
with the singular disappearance of Captain de Haldimar,
and the melancholy murder of his unfortunate servant.

It will be recollected that the ill-fated Halloway, in
the course of his defence before the court-martial,
distinctly stated the voice of the individual who had
approached his post, calling on the name of Captain de
Haldimar, on the night of the alarm, to have been that
of a female, and that the language in which they
subsequently conversed was that of the Ottawa Indians.
This was strictly the fact; and the only error into which
the unfortunate soldier had fallen, had reference merely
to the character and motives of the party. He had naturally
imagined, as he had stated, it was some young female of
the village, whom attachment for his officer had driven
to the desperate determination of seeking an interview;
nor was this impression at all weakened by the subsequent
discourse of the parties in the Indian tongue, with which
it was well known most of the Canadians, both male and
female, were more or less conversant. The subject of that
short, low, and hurried conference was, indeed, one that
well warranted the singular intrusion; and, in the
declaration of Halloway, we have already seen the importance
and anxiety attached by the young officer to the
communication. Without waiting to repeat the motives
assigned for his departure, and the prayers and
expostulations to which he had recourse to overcome the
determination and sense of duty of the unfortunate
sentinel, let us pass at once to the moment when, after
having cleared the ditch, conjointly with his faithful
follower, in the manner already shown, Captain de Haldimar
first stood side by side with his midnight visitant.

The night, it has elsewhere been observed, was clear and
starry, so that objects upon the common, such as the rude
stump that here and there raised its dark low head above
the surface, might be dimly seen in the distance. To
obviate the danger of discovery by the sentinels, appeared
to be the first study of the female; for, when Captain
de Haldimar, followed by his servant, had reached the
spot on which she stood, she put the forefinger of one
hand to her lips, and with the other pointed to his booted
foot. A corresponding signal showed that the lightness
of the material offered little risk of betrayal. Donellan,
however, was made to doff his heavy ammunition shoes;
and, with this precaution, they all stole hastily along,
under the shadows of the projecting ramparts, until they
had gained the extreme rear. Here the female suddenly
raised her tall figure from the stooping position in
which she, as well as her companions, had performed the
dangerous circuit; and, placing her finger once more
significantly on her lips, led in the direction of the
bomb-proof, unperceived by the sentinels, most of whom,
it is probable, had, up to the moment of the alarm
subsequently given, been too much overcome by previous
watching and excitement to have kept the most vigilant
look-out.

Arrived at the skirt of the forest, the little party drew
up within the shadow of the ruin, and a short and earnest
dialogue ensued, in Indian, between the female and the
officer. This was succeeded by a command from the latter
to his servant, who, after a momentary but respectful
expostulation, which, however, was utterly lost on him
to whom it was addressed, proceeded to divest himself of
his humble apparel, assuming in exchange the more elegant
uniform of his superior. Donellan, who was also of the
grenadiers, was remarkable for the resemblance he bore,
in figure, to Captain de Haldimar; wanting, it is true,
the grace and freedom of movement of the latter, but
still presenting an outline which, in an attitude of
profound repose, might, as it subsequently did, have set
even those who were most intimate with the officer at
fault.

"This is well," observed the female, as the young man
proceeded to induct himself in the grey coat of his
servant, having previously drawn the glazed hat close
over his waving and redundant hair: "if the Saganaw is
ready, Oucanasta will go."

"Sure, and your honour does not mane to lave me behind!"
exclaimed the anxious soldier, as his captain now
recommended him to stand closely concealed near the ruin
until his return. "Who knows what ambuscade the she-divil
may not lade your honour into; and thin who will you have
to bring you out of it?"

"No, Donellan, it must not be: I first intended it, as
you may perceive by my bringing you out; but the expedition
on which I am going is of the utmost importance to us
all, and too much precaution cannot be taken. I fear no
ambuscade, for I can depend on the fidelity of my guide;
but the presence of a third person would only embarrass,
without assisting me in the least. You must remain behind;
the woman insists upon it, and there is no more to be
said."

"To ould Nick with the ugly winch, for her pains!" half
muttered the disappointed soldier to himself. "I wish it
may be as your honour says; but my mind misgives me sadly
that evil will come of this. Has your honour secured the
pistols?"

"They are here," returned his captain, placing a hand on
either chest. "And now, Donellan, mark me: I know nothing
that can detain me longer than an hour; at least the
woman assures me, and I believe her, that I may be back
then; but it is well to guard against accidents. You must
continue here for the hour, and for the hour only. If I
come not then, return to the fort without delay, for the
rope must be removed, and the gate secured, before Halloway
is relieved. The keys you will find in the pocket of my
uniform: when you have done with them, let them be hung
up in their proper place in the guard-room. My father
must not know either that Halloway suffered me to pass
the gate, or that you accompanied me."

"Lord love us! your honour talks as if you nivir would
return, giving such a heap of orders!" exclaimed the
startled man; "but if I go back alone, as I trust in
heaven I shall not, how am I to account for being dressed
in your honour's rigimintals?"

"I tell you, Donellan," impatiently returned the officer,
"that I shall be back; but I only wish to guard against
accidents. The instant you get into the fort, you will
take off my clothes and resume your own. Who the devil
is to see you in the uniform, unless it be Halloway?"

"If the Saganaw would not see the earth red with the
blood of his race, he will go," interrupted the female.
"Oucanasta can feel the breath of the morning fresh upon
her cheek, and the council of the chiefs must be begun."

"The Saganaw is ready, and Oucanasta shall lead the way,"
hastily returned the officer. "One word more, Donellan;"
and he pressed the hand of his domestic kindly: "should
I not return, you must, without committing Halloway or
yourself, cause my father to be apprised that the Indians
meditate a deep and treacherous plan to get possession
of the fort. What that plan is, I know not yet myself,
neither does this woman know; but she says that I shall
hear it discussed unseen, even in the heart of their own
encampment. All you have to do is to acquaint my father
with the existence of danger. And now be cautious: above
all things, keep close under the shadow of the bomb-proof;
for there are scouts constantly prowling about the common,
and the glittering of the uniform in the starlight may
betray you."

"But why may I not follow your honour?" again urged the
faithful soldier; "and where is the use of my remaining
here to count the stars, and hear the 'All's well!' from
the fort, when I could be so much better employed in
guarding your honour from harm? What sort of protection
can that Ingian woman afford, who is of the race of our
bitterest enemies, them cursed Ottawas, and your honour
venturing, too, like a spy into the very heart of the
blood-hounds? Ah, Captain de Haldimar, for the love of
God, do not trust yourself alone with her, or I am sure
I shall never see your honour again!"

The last words (unhappily too prophetic) fell only on
the ear of him who uttered them. The female and the
officer had already disappeared round an abrupt angle of
the bomb-proof; and the soldier, as directed by his
master, now drew up his tall figure against the ruin,
where he continued for a period immovable, as if he had
been planted there in his ordinary character of sentinel,
listening, until they eventually died away in distance,
to the receding footsteps of his master; and then ruminating
on the several apprehensions that crowded on his mind,
in regard to the probable issue of his adventurous project.

Meanwhile, Captain de Haldimar and his guide trod the
mazes of the forest, with an expedition that proved the
latter to be well acquainted with its bearings. On quitting
the bomb-proof, she had struck into a narrow winding
path, less seen than felt in the deep gloom pervading
the wood, and with light steps bounded over obstacles
that lay strewed in their course, emitting scarcely more
sound than would have been produced by the slimy crawl
of its native rattlesnake. Not so, however, with the less
experienced tread of her companion. Wanting the pliancy
of movement given to it by the light mocassin, the booted
foot of the young officer, despite of all his precaution,
fell heavily to the ground, producing such a rustling
among the dried leaves, that, had an Indian ear been
lurking any where around, his approach must inevitably
have been betrayed. More than once, too, neglecting to
follow the injunction of his companion, who moved in a
stooping posture, with her head bent over her chest, his
hat was caught in the closely matted branches, and fell
sullenly and heavily to the earth, evidently much to the
discomfiture of his guide.

At length they stood on the verge of a dark and precipitous
ravine, the abrupt sides of which were studded with
underwood, so completely interwoven, that all passage
appeared impracticable. What, however, seemed an
insurmountable obstacle, proved, in reality, an inestimable
advantage; for it was by clinging to this, in imitation
of the example set him by his companion, the young officer
was prevented from rolling into an abyss, the depth of
which was lost in the profound obscurity that pervaded
the scene. Through the bed of this dark dell rolled a
narrow stream, so imperceptible to the eye in the "living
darkness," and so noiseless in its course, that it was
not until warned by his companion he stood on the very
brink of it, Captain de Haldimar was made sensible of
its existence. Both cleared it at a single bound, in
which the activity of the female was not the least
conspicuous, and, clambering up the opposite steep,
secured their footing, by the aid of the same underwood
that had assisted them in their descent.

On gaining the other summit, which was not done without
detaching several loose stones from their sandy bed, they
again, fell into the path, which had been lost sight of
in traversing the ravine. They had proceeded along this
about half a mile, when the female suddenly stopped, and
pointing to a dim and lurid atmosphere that now began to
show itself between the thin foliage, whispered that in
the opening beyond stood the encampment of the Indians.
She then seated herself on the trunk of a fallen tree,
that lay at the side of the almost invisible path they
had hitherto pursued, and motioning to her companion to
unboot himself, proceeded to unlace the fastenings of
her mocassins.

"The foot of the Saganaw must fall like the night dew on
the prairie," she observed: "the ear of the red skin is
quicker than the lightning, and he will know that a pale
face is near, if he hear but his tread upon a blade of
grass."

Gallantry in the civilised man is a sentiment that never
wholly abandons him; and in whatever clime he may be
thrown, or under whatever circumstances he may be
placed,--be it called forth by white or by blackamoor,--it
is certain to influence his conduct: it is a refinement,
of that instinctive deference to the weaker sex, which
nature has implanted in him for the wisest of purposes;
and which, while it tends to exalt those to whom its
influence is extended, fails not to reflect a corresponding
lustre on himself.

The young officer had, at the first suggestion of his
guide, divested himself of his boots, prepared to perform
the remainder of the journey merely in his stockings,
but his companion now threw herself on her knees before
him, and, without further ceremony, proceeded to draw
over his foot one of the mocassins she had just
relinquished.

"The feet of the Saganaw are soft as those of a young
child," she remarked, in a voice of commiseration; "but
the mocassins of Oucanasta shall protect them from the
thorns of the forest."

This was too un-European,--too much reversing the
established order of things, to be borne patiently. As
if he had felt the dignity of his manhood offended by
the proposal, the officer drew his foot hastily back,
declaring, as he sprang from the log, he did not care
for the thorns, and could not think of depriving a female,
who must be much more sensible of pain than himself.

Oucanasta, however, was not to be outdone in politeness.
She calmly reseated herself on the log, drew her right
foot over her left knee, caught one of the hands of her
companion, and placing it upon the naked sole, desired
him to feel how impervious to attack of every description
was that indurated portion of the lower limb.

This practical argument was not without its weight, and
had more effect in deciding the officer than a volume of
remonstrance. Most men love to render tribute to a delicate
and pretty foot. Some, indeed, go so far as to connect
every thing feminine with these qualities, and to believe
that nothing can be feminine without them. For our parts,
we confess, that, although no enemies to a pretty foot,
it is by no means a sine qua non in our estimate of female
perfection; being in no way disposed, where the head and
heart are gems, to undervalue these in consideration of
any deficiency in the heels. Captain de Haldimar probably
thought otherwise; for when he had passed his unwilling
hand over the foot of Oucanasta, which, whatever her face
might have been, was certainly any thing but delicate,
and encountered numerous ragged excrescences and raspy
callosities that set all symmetry at defiance, a wonderful
revolution came over his feelings; and, secretly determining
the mocassins would be equally well placed on his own
feet, he no longer offered any opposition.

This important point arranged, the officer once more
followed his guide in silence. Gradually the forest, as
they advanced, became lighter with the lurid atmosphere
before alluded to; and at length, through the trees,
could be indistinctly seen the Indian fires from which
it proceeded. The young man was now desired by his
conductress to use the utmost circumspection in making
the circuit of the wood, in order to gain a position
immediately opposite to the point where the path they
had hitherto pursued terminated in the opening. This,
indeed, was the most dangerous and critical part of the
undertaking. A false step, or the crackling of a decayed
branch beneath the foot, would have been sufficient to
betray proximity, in which case his doom was sealed.

Fortunate did he now deem himself in having yielded to
the counsel of his guide. Had he retained his unbending
boot, it must have crushed whatever it pressed; whereas,
the pliant mocassin, yielding to the obstacles it
encountered, enabled him to pass noiselessly over them.
Still, while exempt from danger on this score, another,
scarcely less perplexing, became at every instant more
obvious; for, as they drew nearer to the point which the
female sought to gain, the dim light of the half-slumbering
fires fell so immediately upon their path, that had a
single human eye been turned in that direction, their
discovery was inevitable. It was with a beating heart,
to which mere personal fear, however, was a stranger,
that Captain de Haldimar performed this concluding stage
of his adventurous course; but, at a moment when he
considered detection unavoidable, and was arming himself
with resolution to meet the event, the female suddenly
halted, placing, in the act, the trunk of an enormous
beech between her companion and the dusky forms within,
whose very breathing could be heard by the anxious officer.
Without uttering a word, she took his hand, and, drawing
him gently forward, disappeared altogether from his view.
The young man followed, and in the next moment found
himself in the bowelless body of the tree itself; into
which, on the side of the encampment, both light and
sound were admitted by a small aperture formed by the
natural decay of the wood.

The Indian pressed her lips to the ear of her companion,
and rather breathed than said,--"The Saganaw will see
and hear every thing from this in safety; and what he
hears let him treasure in his heart. Oucanasta must go.
When the council is over she will return, and lead him
back to his warriors."

With this brief intimation she departed, and so noiselessly,
that the young officer was not aware of her absence until
some minutes of silence had satisfied him she must be
gone. His first care then was to survey, through the
aperture that lay in a level with his eye, the character
of the scene before him. The small plain, in which lay
the encampment of the Indians, was a sort of oasis of
the forest, girt round with a rude belt of underwood,
and somewhat elevated, so as to present the appearance
of a mound, constructed on the first principles of art.
This was thickly although irregularly studded with tents,
some of which were formed of large coarse mats thrown
over poles disposed in a conical shape, while others were
more rudely composed of the leafy branches of the forest.

Within these groups of human forms lay, wrapped in their
blankets, stretched at their lazy length. Others, with
their feet placed close to the dying embers of their
fires, diverged like so many radii from their centre,
and lay motionless in sleep, as if life and consciousness
were wholly extinct. Here and there was to be seen a
solitary warrior securing, with admirable neatness, and
with delicate ligatures formed of the sinew of the deer,
the guiding feather, or fashioning the bony barb of his
long arrow; while others, with the same warlike spirit
in view, employed themselves in cutting and greasing
small patches of smoked deerskin, which were to secure
and give a more certain direction to the murderous bullet.
Among the warriors were interspersed many women, some of
whom might be seen supporting in their laps the heavy
heads of their unconscious helpmates, while they occupied
themselves, by the firelight, in parting the long black
matted hair, and maintaining a destructive warfare against
the pigmy inhabitants of that dark region. These signs
of life and activity in the body of the camp generally
were, however, but few and occasional; but, at the spot
where Captain de Haldimar stood concealed, the scene was
different. At a few yards from the tree stood a sort of
shed, composed of tall poles placed upright in the earth,
and supporting a roof formed simply of rude boughs, the
foliage of which had been withered by time. This simple
edifice might be about fifty feet in circumference. In
the centre blazed a large fire that had been newly fed,
and around this were assembled a band of swarthy warriors,
some twenty or thirty in number, who, by their proud,
calm, and thoughtful bearing, might at once be known to
be chiefs.

The faces of most of these were familiar to the young
officer, who speedily recognised them for the principals
of the various tribes Ponteac had leagued in arms against
his enemies. That chief himself, ever remarkable for
his haughty eye and commanding gesture, was of the number
of those present; and, a little aloof from his inferiors,
sat, with his feet stretched towards the fire, and half
reclining on his side in an attitude of indolence; yet
with his mind evidently engrossed by deep and absorbing
thought. From some observations that distinctly met his
ear, Captain de Haldimar gathered, the party were only
awaiting the arrival of an important character, without
whose presence the leading chief was unwilling the
conference should begin. The period of the officer's
concealment had just been long enough to enable him to
fix all these particulars in his mind, when suddenly the
faint report of a distant rifle was heard echoing throughout
the wood. This was instantly succeeded by a second, that
sounded more sharply on the ear; and then followed a long
and piercing cry, that brought every warrior, even of
those who slept, quickly to his feet.

An anxious interval of some minutes passed away in the
fixed and listening attitudes, which the chiefs especially
had assumed, when a noise resembling that of some animal
forcing its way rapidly through the rustling branches,
was faintly heard in the direction in which the shots
had been fired. This gradually increased as it evidently
approached the encampment, and then, distinctly, could
be heard the light yet unguarded boundings of a human
foot. At every moment the rustling of the underwood,
rapidly divided by the approaching form, became more
audible; and so closely did the intruder press upon the
point in which Captain de Haldimar was concealed, that
that officer, fancying he had been betrayed, turned
hastily round, and, grasping one of the pistols he had
secreted in his chest, prepared himself for a last and
deadly encounter. An instant or two was sufficient to
re-assure him. The form glided hastily past, brushing
the tree with its garments in its course, and clearing,
at a single bound, the belt of underwood that divided
the encampment from the tall forest, stood suddenly among
the group of anxious and expectant chiefs.

This individual, a man of tall stature, was powerfully
made. He wore a jerkin, or hunting-coat, of leather; and
his arms were, a rifle which had every appearance of
having just been discharged, a tomahawk reeking with
blood, and a scalping-knife, which, in the hurry of some
recent service it had been made to perform, had missed
its sheath, and was thrust naked into the belt that
encircled his loins. His countenance wore an expression
of malignant triumph; and as his eye fell on the assembled
throng, its self-satisfied and exulting glance seemed to
give them to understand he came not without credentials
to recommend him to their notice. Captain de Haldimar
was particularly struck by the air of bold daring and
almost insolent recklessness pervading every movement of
this man; and it was difficult to say whether the
haughtiness of bearing peculiar to Ponteac himself, was
not exceeded by that of this herculean warrior.

By the body of chiefs his appearance had been greeted
with a mere general grunt of approbation; but the
countenance of the leader expressed a more personal
interest. All seemed to expect he had something of moment
to communicate; but as it was not consistent with the
dignity of Indian etiquette to enquire, they waited calmly
until it should please their new associate to enter on
the history of his exploits. In pursuance of an invitation
from Ponteac, he now took his seat on the right hand of
that chief, and immediately facing the tree, from which
Captain de Haldimar, strongly excited both by the reports
of the shots that had been fired, and the sight of the
bloody tomahawk of the recently arrived Indian, gazed
earnestly and anxiously on the swarthy throng.

Glancing once more triumphantly round the circle, who
sat smoking their pipes in calm and deliberative silence,
the latter now observed the eye of a young chief, who
sat opposite to him, intently riveted on his left shoulder.
He raised his hand to the part, withdrew it, looked at
it, and found it wet with blood. A slight start of surprise
betrayed his own unconsciousness of the accident; yet,
secretly vexed at the discovery which had been made, and
urged probably by one of his wayward fits, he demanded
haughtily and insultingly of the young chief, if that
was the first time he had ever looked on the blood of a
warrior.

"Does my brother feel pain?" was the taunting reply. "If
he is come to us with a trophy, it is not without being
dearly bought. The Saganaw has spilt his blood."

"The weapons of the Saganaw, like those of the smooth
face of the Ottawa, are without sting," angrily retorted
the other. "They only prick the skin like a thorn; but
when Wacousta drinks the blood of his enemy," and he
glanced his eye fiercely at the young man, "it is the
blood next his heart."

"My brother has always big words upon his lips," returned
the young chief, with a scornful sneer at the implied
threat against himself. "But where are his proofs?"

For a moment the eye of the party thus challenged kindled
into flame, while his lips were firmly compressed together;
and as he half bent himself forward, to scan with greater
earnestness the features of his questioner, his right
hand sank to his left side, tightly grasping the handle
of his scalping-knife. The action was but momentary.
Again he drew himself up, puffed the smoke deliberately
from his bloody tomahawk, and, thrusting his right hand
into his bosom, drew leisurely forth a reeking scalp,
which he tossed insolently across the fire into the lap
of the young chief. A loud and general "ugh!" testified
the approbation of the assembled group, at the unequivocal
answer thus given to the demand of the youth. The eye
of the huge warrior sparkled with a deep and ferocious
exultation.

"What says the smooth face of the Ottawas now?" he
demanded, in the same insolent strain. "Does it make his
heart sick to look upon the scalp of a great chief?"

The young man quietly turned the horrid trophy over
several times in his hand, examining it attentively in
every part. Then tossing it back with contemptuous coolness
to its owner, he replied,--

"The eyes of my brother are weak with age. He is not
cunning, like a red skin. The Ottawa has often seen the
Saganaw in their fort, and he knows their chiefs have
fine hair like women; but this is like the bristles of
the fox. My brother has not slain a great chief, but a
common warrior."

A flush of irrepressible and threatening anger passed
over the features of the vast savage.

"Is it for a boy," he fiercely asked, "whose eyes know
not yet the colour of blood, to judge of the enemies that
fall by the tomahawk of Wacousta? but a great warrior
never boasts of actions that he does not achieve. It is
the son of the great chief of the Saganaw whom he has
slain. If the smooth face doubts it, and has courage to
venture, even at night, within a hundred yards of the
fort, he will see a Saganaw without a scalp; and he will
know that Saganaw by his dress--the dress," he pursued,
with a low emphatic laugh, "that Oucanasta, the sister
of the smooth face, loved so much to look upon."

Quicker than thought was the upspringing of the young
Indian to his feet. With a cheek glowing, an eye flashing,
and his gleaming tomahawk whirling rapidly round his
head, he cleared at a single bound the fire that separated
him from his insulter. The formidable man who had thus
wantonly provoked the attack, was equally prompt in
meeting it. At the first movement of the youth, he too
had leapt to his feet, and brandished the terrible weapon
that served in the double capacity of pipe and hatchet.
A fierce yell escaped the lips of each, as they thus met
in close and hostile collision, and the scene for the
moment promised to be one of the most tragic character;
but before either could find an assailable point on which
to rest his formidable weapon, Ponteac himself had thrown
his person between them, and in a voice of thunder
commanded the instant abandonment of their purpose.
Exasperated even as they now mutually were, the influence
of that authority, for which the great chief of the
Ottawas was well known, was not without due effect on
the combatants. His anger was principally directed against
the assailant, on whom the tones of his reproving voice
produced a change the intimidation of his powerful opponent
could never have effected. The young chief dropped the
point of his tomahawk, bowed his head in submission, and
then resuming his seat, sat during the remainder of the
night with his arms folded, and his head bent in silence
over his chest.

"Our brother has done well," said Ponteac, glancing
approvingly at him who had exhibited the reeking trophy,
and whom he evidently favoured. "He is a great chief,
and his words are truth. We heard the report of his rifle,
and we also heard the cry that told he had borne away
the scalp of an enemy. But we will think of this to-morrow.
Let us now commence our talk."

Our readers will readily imagine the feelings of Captain
de Haldimar during this short but exciting scene. From
the account given by the warrior, there could be no doubt
the murdered man was the unhappy Donellan; who, probably,
neglecting the caution given him, had exposed himself to
the murderous aim of this fierce being, who was apparently
a scout sent for the purpose of watching the movements
of the garrison. The direction of the firing, the allusion
made to the regimentals, nay, the scalp itself, which he
knew from the short crop to be that of a soldier, and
fancied he recognised from its colour to be that of his
servant, formed but too conclusive evidence of the fact;
and, bitterly and deeply, as he gazed on this melancholy
proof of the man's sacrifice of life to his interest,
did he repent that he had made him the companion of his
adventure, or that, having done so, he had not either
brought him away altogether, or sent him instantly back
to the fort. Commiseration for the fate of the unfortunate
Donellan naturally induced a spirit of personal hostility
towards his destroyer; and it was with feelings strongly
excited in favour of him whom he now discovered to be
the brother of his guide, that he saw him spring fiercely
to the attack of his gigantic opponent. There was an
activity about the young chief amply commensurate with
the greater physical power of his adversary; while the
manner in which he wielded his tomahawk, proved him to
be any thing but the novice in the use of the formidable
weapon the other had represented him. It was with a
feeling of disappointment, therefore, which the peculiarity
of his own position could not overcome, he saw Ponteac
interpose himself between the parties.

Presently, however, a subject of deeper and more absorbing
interest than even the fate of his unhappy follower
engrossed every faculty of his mind, and riveted both
eye and ear in painful tension to the aperture in his
hiding-place. The chiefs had resumed their places, and
the silence of a few minutes had succeeded to the fierce
affray of the warriors, when Ponteac, in a calm and
deliberate voice, proceeded to state he had summoned all
the heads of the nations together, to hear a plan he had
to offer for the reduction of the last remaining forts
of their enemies, Michilimackinac and Detroit. He pointed
out the tediousness of the warfare in which they were
engaged; the desertion of the hunting-grounds by their
warriors; and their consequent deficiency in all those
articles of European traffic which they were formerly in
the habit of receiving in exchange for their furs. He
dwelt on the beneficial results that would accrue to them
all in the event of the reduction of those two important
fortresses; since, in that case, they would be enabled
to make such terms with the English as would secure to
them considerable advantages; while, instead of being
treated with the indignity of a conquered people, they
would be enabled to command respect from the imposing
attitude this final crowning of their successes would
enable them to assume. He stated that the prudence and
vigilance of the commanders of these two unreduced
fortresses were likely long to baffle, as had hitherto
been the case, every open attempt at their capture; and
admitted he had little expectation of terrifying them
into a surrender by the same artifice that had succeeded
with the forts on the Ohio and the lower lakes. The plan,
however, which he had to propose, was one he felt assured
would be attended with success. He would disclose that
plan, and the great chiefs should give it the advantage
of their deliberation.

Captain de Haldimar was on the rack. The chief had
gradually dropped his voice as he explained his plan,
until at length it became so low, that undistinguishable
sounds alone reached the ear of the excited officer. For
a moment he despaired of making himself fully master of
the important secret; but in the course of the deliberation
that ensued, the blanks left unsupplied in the discourse
of the leader were abundantly filled up. It was what the
reader has already seen. The necessities of the Indians
were to be urged as a motive for their being tired of
hostilities. A peace was to be solicited; a council held;
a ball-playing among the warriors proposed, as a mark of
their own sincerity and confidence during that council;
and when the garrison, lulled into security, should be
thrown entirely off their guard, the warriors were to
seize their guns and tomahawks, with which (the former
cut short, for the better concealment of their purpose)
their women would be provided, rush in, under pretext of
regaining their lost ball, when a universal massacre of
men, women, and children was to ensue, until nothing
wearing the garb of a Saganaw should be left.

It would be tedious to follow the chief through all the
minor ramifications of his subtle plan. Suffice it they
were of a nature to throw the most wary off his guard;
and so admirably arranged was every part, so certain did
it appear their enemies must give into the snare, that
the oldest chiefs testified their approbation with a
vivacity of manner and expression little wont to
characterize the deliberative meetings of these reserved
people. But deepest of all was the approval of the tall
warrior who had so recently arrived. To him had the
discourse of the leader been principally directed, as
one whose counsel and experience were especially wanting
to confirm him in his purpose. He was the last who spoke;
but, when he did, it was with a force--an energy--that
must have sunk every objection, even if the plan had not
been so perfect and unexceptionable in its concoction as
to have precluded a possibility of all negative argument.
During the delivery of his animated speech, his swarthy
countenance kindled into fierce and rapidly varying
expression. A thousand dark and complicated passions
evidently struggled at his heart; and as he dwelt leisurely
and emphatically on the sacrifice of human life that must
inevitably attend the adoption of the proposed measure,
his eye grew larger, his chest expanded, nay, his very
nostril appeared to dilate with unfathomably guileful
exultation. Captain de Haldimar thought he had never
gazed on any thing wearing the human shape half so
atrociously savage.

Long before the council was terminated, the inferior
warriors, who had been so suddenly aroused from their
slumbering attitudes, had again retired to their tents,
and stretched their lazy length before the embers of
their fires. The weary chiefs now prepared to follow
their example. They emptied the ashes from the bowls of
their pipe-tomahawks, replaced them carefully at their
side, rose, and retired to their respective tents. Ponteac
and the tall warrior alone remained. For a time they
conversed earnestly together. The former listened
attentively to some observations made to him by his
companion, in the course of which, the words "chief of
the Saganaw--fort--spy--enemy," and two or three others
equally unconnected, were alone audible to the ear of
him who so attentively sought to catch the slightest
sound. He then thrust his hand under his hunting-coat,
and, as if in confirmation of what he had been stating,
exhibited a coil of rope and the glossy boot of an English
officer. Ponteac uttered one of his sharp ejaculating
"ughs!" and then rising quickly from his seat, followed
by his companion, soon disappeared in the heart of the
encampment.




CHAPTER VIII.

How shall we attempt to paint all that passed through
the mind of Captain de Haldimar during this important
conference of the fierce chiefs?--where find language to
convey the cold and thrilling horror with which he listened
to the calm discussion of a plan, the object of which
was the massacre, not only of a host of beings endeared
to him by long communionship of service, but of those
who were wedded to his heart by the dearer ties of
affection and kindred? As Ponteac had justly observed,
the English garrisons, strong in their own defences, were
little likely to be speedily reduced, while their enemies
confined themselves to overt acts of hostility; but,
against their insidious professions of amity who could
oppose a sufficient caution? His father, the young officer
was aware, had all along manifested a spirit of conciliation
towards the Indians, which, if followed up by the government
generally, must have had the effect of preventing the
cruel and sanguinary war that had so recently desolated
this remote part of the British possessions. How likely,
therefore, was it, having this object always in view, he
should give in to the present wily stratagem, where such
plausible motives for the abandonment of their hostile
purpose were urged by the perfidious chiefs! From the
few hasty hints already given him by his guide,--that
kind being, who evidently sought to be the saviour of
the devoted garrisons,--he had gathered that a deep and
artful plan was to be submitted to the chiefs by their
leader; but little did he imagine it was of the finished
nature it now proved to be. Any other than the present
attempt, the vigilance and prudence of his experienced
father, he felt, would have rendered abortive; but there
was so much speciousness in the pleas that were to be
advanced in furtherance of their assumed object, he could
not but admit the almost certainty of their influence,
even on him.

Sick and discouraged as he was at the horrible perspective
thus forced on his mental view, the young officer had
not, for some moments, presence of mind to reflect that
the danger of the garrison existed only so long as he
should be absent from it. At length, however, the cheering
recollection came, and with it the mantling rush of blood,
to his faint heart. But, short was the consoling hope:
again he felt dismay in every fibre of his frame; for he
now reflected, that although his opportune discovery of
the meditated scheme would save one fort, there was no
guardian angel to extend, as in this instance, its
protecting influence to the other; and within that other
there breathed those who were dearer far to him than his
own existence;--beings, whose lives were far more precious
to him than any even in the garrison of which he was a
member. His sister Clara, whom he loved with a love little
inferior to that of his younger brother; and one, even
more dearly loved than Clara,--Madeline de Haldimar, his
cousin and affianced bride,--were both inmates of
Michilimackinac, which was commanded by the father of
the latter, a major in the ---- regiment. With Madeline
de Haldimar he had long since exchanged his vows of
affection; and their nuptials, which were to have taken
place about the period when the present war broke out,
had only been suspended because all communication between
the two posts had been entirely cut off by the enemy.

Captain de Haldimar had none of the natural weakness and
timidity of character which belonged to the gentler and
more sensitive Charles. Sanguine and full of enterprise,
he seldom met evils half way; but when they did come, he
sought to master them by the firmness and collectedness
with which he opposed his mind to their infliction. If
his heart was now racked with the most acute suffering--his
reason incapacitated from exercising its calm deliberative
power, the seeming contradiction arose not from any
deficiency in his character, but was attributable wholly
to the extraordinary circumstances of the moment.

It was a part of the profound plan of the Ottawa chief,
that it should be essayed on the two forts on the same
day; and it was a suggestion of the murderer of poor
Donellan, that a parley should be obtained, through the
medium of a white flag, the nature of which he explained
to them, as it was understood among their enemies. If
invited to the council, then they were to enter, or not,
as circumstances might induce; but, in any case, they
were to go unprovided with the pipe of peace, since this
could not be smoked without violating every thing held
most sacred among themselves. The red, or war-pipe, was
to be substituted as if by accident; and, for the success
of the deception, they were to presume on the ignorance
of their enemies. This, however, was not important, since
the period of their first parley was to be the moment
chosen for the arrangement of a future council, and the
proposal of a ball-playing upon the common. Three days
were to be named as the interval between the first
conference of Ponteac with the governor and the definitive
council which was to ensue; during which, however, it
was so arranged, that, before the lip of a red skin should
touch the pipe of peace, the ball-players should rush in
and massacre the unprepared soldiery, while the chiefs
despatched the officers in council.

It was the proximity of the period allotted for the
execution of their cruel scheme that mainly contributed
to the dismay of Captain de Haldimar. The very next day
was appointed for carrying into effect the first part of
the Indian plan: and how was it possible that a messenger,
even admitting he should elude the vigilance of the enemy,
could reach the distant post of Michilimackinac within
the short period on which hung the destiny of that devoted
fortress. In the midst of the confused and distracting
images that now crowded on his brain, came at length one
thought, redolent with the brightest colourings of hope.
On his return to the garrison, the treachery of the
Indians being made known, the governor might so far, and
with a view of gaining time, give in to the plan of his
enemies, as to obtain such delay as would afford the
chance of communication between the forts. The attempt,
on the part of those who should be selected for this
purpose, would, it is true, be a desperate one: still
it must be made; and, with such incentives to exertion
as he had, how willingly would he propose his own services!

The more he dwelt on this mode of defeating the subtle
designs of the enemy, the more practicable did it appear.
Of his own safe return to the fort he entertained not a
doubt; for he knew and relied on the Indian woman, who
was bound to him by a tie of gratitude, which her conduct
that night evidently denoted to be superior even to the
interests of her race. Moreover, as he had approached
the encampment unnoticed while the chiefs were yet awake
to every thing around them, how little probability was
there of his return being detected while all lay wrapped
in the most profound repose. It is true that, for a
moment, his confidence deserted him as he recurred to
the earnest dialogue of the two Indians, and the sudden
display of the rope and boot, the latter of which articles
he had at once recognised to be one of those he had so
recently worn; but his apprehensions on that score were
again speedily set to rest, when he reflected, had any
suspicion existed in the minds of these men that an enemy
was lurking near them, a general alarm would have been
spread, and hundreds of warriors despatched to scour the
forest.

The night was now rapidly waning away, and already the
cold damp air of an autumnal morning was beginning to
make itself felt. More than half an hour had elapsed
since the departure of Ponteac and his companion, and
yet Oucanasta came not. With a sense of the approach of
day came new and discouraging thoughts, and, for some
minutes, the mind of the young officer became petrified
with horror, as he reflected on the bare possibility of
his escape being intercepted. The more he lingered on
this apprehension, the more bewildered were his ideas;
and already, in horrible perspective, he beheld the
destruction of his nearest and dearest friends, and the
host of those who were humbler followers, and partakers
in the same destiny. Absolutely terrified with the
misgivings of his own heart, he, in the wildness and
unconnectedness of his purpose, now resolved to make the
attempt to return alone, although he knew not even the
situation of the path he had so recently quitted. He had
actually moved a pace forward on his desperate enterprise,
when he felt a band touching the extended arm with which
he groped to find the entrance to his hiding-place. The
unexpected collision sent a cold shudder through his
frame; and such was the excitement to which he had worked
himself up, it was not without difficulty he suppressed
an exclamation, that must inevitably have sealed his
doom. The soft tones of Oucanasta's voice re-assured him.

"The day will soon dawn," she whispered; "the Saganaw
must go."

With the return of hope came the sense of all he owed to
the devotedness of this kind woman. He grasped the hand
that still lingered on his arm, pressed it affectionately
in his own, and then placed it in silence on his throbbing
heart. The breathing of Oucanasta became deeper, and the
young officer fancied he could feel her trembling with
agitation. Again, however, and in a tone of more subdued
expression, she whispered that he must go.

There was little urging necessary to induce a prompt
compliance with the hint. Cautiously emerging from his
concealment, Captain de Haldimar now followed close in
the rear of his guide, who took the same circuit of the
forest to reach the path that led towards the fort. This
they speedily gained, and then pursued their course in
silence, until they at length arrived at the log where
the exchange of mocassins had been made.

"Here the Saganaw may take breath," she observed, as she
seated herself on the fallen tree; "the sleep of the red
skin is sound, and there is no one upon the path but
Oucanasta."

Anxious as he felt to secure his return to the fort,
there was an implied solicitation in the tones of her to
whom he owed so much, that prevented Captain de Haldimar
from offering an objection, which he feared might be
construed into slight.

For a moment or two the Indian remained with her arms
folded, and her head bent over her chest; and then, in
a low, deep, but tremulous voice, observed,--

"When the Saganaw saved Oucanasta from perishing in the
angry waters, there was a girl of the pale faces with
him, whose skin was like the snows of the Canadian winter,
and whose hair was black like the fur of the squirrel.
Oucanasta saw," she pursued, dropping her voice yet lower,
"that the Saganaw was loved by the pale girl, and her
own heart was very sick, for the Saganaw had saved her
life, and she loved him too. But she knew she was very
foolish, and that an Indian girl could never be the wife
of a handsome chief of the Saganaw; and she prayed to
the Great Spirit of the red skins to give her strength
to overcome her feelings; but the Great Spirit was angry
with her, and would not hear her." She paused a moment,
and then abruptly demanded, "Where is that pale girl now?"

Captain de Haldimar had often been rallied, not only by
his brother-officers, but even by his sister and Madeline
de Haldimar herself, on the conquest he had evidently
made of the heart of this Indian girl. The event to which
she had alluded had taken place several months previous
to the breaking out of hostilities. Oucanasta was
directing her frail bark, one evening, along the shores
of the Detroit, when one of those sudden gusts of wind,
so frequent in these countries, upset the canoe, and left
its pilot struggling amid the waves. Captain de Haldimar,
who happened to be on the bank at the moment with his
sister and cousin, was an eye-witness of her danger, and
instantly flew down the steep to her assistance. Being
an excellent swimmer, he was not long in gaining the
spot, where, exhausted with the exertion she had made,
and encumbered with her awkward machecoti, the poor girl
was already on the point of perishing. But for his timely
assistance, indeed, she must have sunk to the bottom;
and, since that period, the grateful being had been
remarked for the strong but unexpressed attachment she
felt for her deliverer. This, however, was the first
moment Captain de Haldimar became acquainted with the
extent of feelings, the avowal of which not a little
startled and surprised, and even annoyed him. The last
question, however, suggested a thought that kindled every
fibre of his being into expectancy,--Oucanasta might be
the saviour of those he loved; and he felt that, if time
were but afforded her, she would. He rose from the log,
dropped on one knee before the Indian, seized both her
hands with eagerness, and then in tones of earnest
supplication whispered,--

"Oucanasta is right: the pale girl with the skin like
snow, and hair like the fur of the squirrel, is the bride
of the Saganaw. Long before he saved the life of Oucanasta,
he knew and loved that pale girl. She is dearer to the
Saganaw than his own blood; but she is in the fort beyond
the great lake, and the tomahawks of the red skins will
destroy her; for the warriors of that fort have no one
to tell them of their danger. What says the red girl?
will she go and save the lives of the sister and the wife
of the Saganaw."

The breathing of the Indian became deeper; and Captain
de Haldimar fancied she sighed heavily, as she replied,--

"Oucanasta is but a weak woman, and her feet are not
swift like those of a runner among the red skins; but
what the Saganaw asks, for his sake she will try. When
she has seen him safe to his own fort, she will go and
prepare herself for the journey. The pale girl shall lay
her head on the bosom of the Saganaw, and Oucanasta will
try to rejoice in her happiness."

In the fervour of his gratitude, the young officer caught
the drooping form of the generous Indian wildly to his
heart; his lips pressed hers, and during the kiss that
followed, the heart of the latter bounded and throbbed,
as if it would have passed from her own into the bosom
of her companion.

Never was a kiss less premeditated, less unchaste.
Gratitude, not passion, had called it forth; and had
Madeline de Haldimar been near at the moment, the feeling
that had impelled the seeming infidelity to herself would
have been regarded as an additional claim on her affection.
On the whole, however, it was a most unfortunate and
ill-timed kiss, and, as is often the case under such
circumstances, led to the downfall of the woman. In the
vivacity of his embrace, Captain de Haldimar had drawn
his guide so far forward upon the log, that she lost her
balance, and fell with a heavy and reverberating crash
among the leaves and dried sticks that were strewed
thickly around.

Scarcely a second elapsed when the forest was alive with
human yells, that fell achingly on the ears of both; and
bounding warriors were heard on every hand, rapidly
dividing the dense underwood they encountered in their
pursuit.

Quick as thought the Indian had regained her feet. She
grasped the hand of her companion; and hurrying, though
not without caution, along the path, again stood on the
brow of the ravine through which they had previously
passed.

"The Saganaw must go alone," she whispered. "The red
skins are close upon our trail, but they will find only
an Indian woman, when they expect a pale face. Oucanasta
will save her friend."

Captain de Haldimar did as he was desired. Clinging to
the bushes that lined the face of the precipitous descent,
he managed once more to gain the bed of the ravine. For
a moment he paused to listen to the sounds of his pursuers,
whose footsteps were now audible on the eminence he had
just quitted; and then, gathering himself up for the leap
that was to enable him to clear the rivulet, he threw
himself heavily forward. His feet alighted upon an elevated
and yielding substance, that gave way with a crashing
sound that echoed far and near throughout the forest,
and he felt himself secured as if in a trap. Although
despairing of escape, he groped with his hands to discover
what it was that thus detained him, and found he had
fallen through a bark canoe, the bottom of which had been
turned upwards. The heart of the fugitive now sank within
him: there could be no doubt that his retreat was
intercepted. The canoe had been placed there since he
last passed through the ravine: and it was evident, from
the close and triumphant yell that followed the rending
of the frail bark, such a result had been anticipated.

Stunned as he was by the terrific cries of the savages,
and confused as were his ideas, Captain de Haldimar had
still presence of mind to perceive the path itself offered
him no further security. He therefore quitted it altogether,
and struck, in an oblique direction, up the opposite face
of the ravine. Scarcely had he gone twenty yards, when
he heard the voices of several Indians conversing earnestly
near the canoe he had just quitted; and presently afterwards
he could distinctly hear them ascending the opposite brow
of the ravine by the path he recently congratulated
himself on having abandoned. To advance or to recede was
now equally impracticable; for, on every side, he was
begirt by enemies, into whose hands a single false step
must inevitably betray him. What would he not have given
for the presence of Oucanasta, who was so capable of
advising him in this difficulty! but, from the moment of
his descending into the ravine, he had utterly lost sight
of her.

The spot on which he now rested was covered with thick
brushwood, closely interwoven at their tops, but affording
sufficient space beneath for a temporary close concealment;
so that, unless some Indian should touch him with his
foot, there was little seeming probability of his being
discovered by the eye. Under this he crept, and lay,
breathless and motionless, with his head raised from the
ground, and his ear on the stretch for the slightest
noise. For several minutes he remained in this position,
vainly seeking to catch the sound of a voice, or the fall
of a footstep; but the most deathlike silence had succeeded
to the fierce yellings that had so recently rent the
forest. At times he fancied he could distinguish faint
noises in the direction of the encampment; and so certain
was he of this, he at length came to the conclusion that
the Indians, either baffled in their search, had
relinquished the pursuit, or, having encountered Oucanasta,
had been thrown on a different scent. His first intention
had been to lie concealed until the following night, when
the warriors, no longer on the alert, should leave the
path once more open to him; but now that the conviction
of their return was strong on his mind, he changed his
determination, resolving to make the best of his way to
the fort with the aid of the approaching dawn. With this
view he partly withdrew his body from beneath its canopy
of underwood; but, scarcely had he done so, when a hundred
tongues, like the baying of so many blood-hounds, again
rent the air with their wild cries, which seemed to rise
up from the very bowels of the earth, and close to the
appalled ear of the young officer.

Scarcely conscious of what he did, Captain de Haldimar
grasped one of his pistols, for he fancied he felt the
hot breathing of human life upon his cheek. With a sickly
sensation of fear, he turned to satisfy himself whether
it was not an illusion of his heated imagination. What,
however, was his dismay, when he beheld bending over him
a dark and heavy form, the outline of which alone was
distinguishable in the deep gloom in which the ravine
remained enveloped! Desperation was in the heart of the
excited officer: he cocked his pistol; but scarcely had
the sharp ticking sound floated on the air, when he felt
a powerful hand upon his chest; and, with as much facility
as if he had been a child, was he raised by that invisible
hand to his feet. A dozen warriors now sprang to the
assistance of their comrade, when the whole, having
disarmed and bound their prisoner, led him back in triumph
to their encampment.




CHAPTER IX.

The fires of the Indians were nearly now extinct; but
the faint light of the fast dawning day threw a ghastly,
sickly, hue over the countenances of the savages, which
rendered them even more terrific in their war paint. The
chiefs grouped themselves immediately around their
prisoner, while the inferior warriors, forming an outer
circle, stood leaning their dark forms upon their rifles,
and following, with keen and watchful eye, every movement
of their captive. Hitherto the unfortunate officer had
been too much engrossed by his despair to pay any immediate
attention to the individual who had first discovered and
seized him. It was sufficient for him to know all hope
of the safety of the garrison had perished with his
captivity: and, with that recklessness of life which
often springs from the very consciousness of inability
to preserve it, he now sullenly awaited the death which
he expected at each moment would be inflicted. Suddenly
his ear was startled by an interrogatory, in English,
from one who stood behind him.

With a movement of surprise, Captain de Haldimar turned
to examine his questioner. It was the dark and ferocious
warrior who had exhibited the scalp of his ill-fated
servant. For a moment the officer fixed his eyes firmly
and unshrinkingly on those of the savage, seeking to
reconcile the contradiction that existed between his
dress and features and the purity of the English he had
just spoken. The other saw his drift, and, impatient of
the scrutiny, again repeated, as he fiercely pulled the
strong leathern thong by which the prisoner now found
himself secured to his girdle,--

"Who and what are you?--whence come you?--and for what
purpose are you here?" Then, as if struck by some sudden
recollection, he laid his hand upon the shoulder of his
victim; and, while his eye grew upon his features, he
pursued, in a tone of vehemence,--"Ha! by Heaven, I
should know that face!--the cursed lines of the blood
of De Haldimar are stamped upon that brow! But stay, one
proof and I am satisfied." While he yet spoke he dashed
the menial hat of his captive to the earth, put aside
his hair, and then, with fiendish exultation, pursued,--"It
is even so. Do you recollect the battle of the plains of
Abraham, Captain de Haldimar?--Recollect you the French
officer who aimed so desperately at your life, and whose
object was defeated by a soldier of your regiment? I am
that officer: my victim escaped me then, but not for
ever. The hour of vengeance is nearly now arrived, and
your capture is the pledge of my success. Hark, how the
death-cry of all his hated race will ring in madness on
your father's ear!"

Amazement, stupefaction, and horror, filled the mind of
the wretched officer at this extraordinary declaration.
He perfectly recollected that the individual who had
evinced so much personal hostility on the occasion alluded
to, was indeed a man wearing the French uniform, although
at the head of a band of savages, and of a stature and
strength similar to those of him who now so fiercely
avowed himself the bitter and deadly foe of all his race.
If this were so, and his tone and language left little
room for doubt, the doom of the ill-fated garrison was
indeed irrevocably sealed. This mysterious enemy evidently
possessed great influence in the councils of the Indians;
and while the hot breath of his hatred continued to fan
the flame of fierce hostility that had been kindled in
the bosom of Ponteac, whose particular friend he appeared
to be, there would be no end to the atrocities that must
follow. Great, however, as was the dismay of Captain de
Haldimar, who, exhausted with the adventures of the night,
presented a ghastly image of anxiety and fatigue, it was
impossible for him to repress the feelings of indignation
with which the language of this fierce man had inspired
him.

"If you are in reality a French officer," he said, "and
not an Englishman, as your accent would denote, the
sentiments you have now avowed may well justify the
belief, that you have been driven with ignominy from a
service which your presence must eternally have disgraced.
There is no country in Europe that would willingly claim
you for its subject. Nay, even the savage race, with whom
you are now connected, would, if apprised of your true
nature, spurn you as a thing unworthy to herd even with
their wolf-dogs."

A fierce sardonic laugh burst from the lips of the warrior,
but this was so mingled with rage as to give an almost
devilish expression to his features.

"Ignominy--ignominy!" he repeated, while his right hand
played convulsively with the handle of his tomahawk; "is
it for a De Haldimar to taunt me with ignominy? Fool!"
he pursued, after a momentary pause, "you have sealed
your doom." Then abruptly quitting the handle of his
weapon, he thrust his hand into his bosom, and again
drawing forth the reeking scalp of Donellan, he dashed
it furiously in the face of his prisoner. "Not two hours
since," he exclaimed, "I cheered myself with the thought
that the scalp of a De Haldimar was in my pouch. Now,
indeed, do I glory in my mistake. The torture will be
a more fitting death for you."

Had an arm of the insulted soldier been at liberty, the
offence would not have gone unavenged even there; for
such was the desperation of his heart, that he felt he
could have hugged the death struggle with his insolent
captor, notwithstanding the fearful odds, nor quitted
him until one or both should have paid the debt of fierce
enmity with life. As it was he could only betray, by his
flashing eye, excited look, and the impatient play of
his foot upon the ground, the deep indignation that
consumed his heart.

The tall savage exulted in the mortification he had
awakened, and as his eye glanced insolently from head to
foot along his enemy, its expression told how much he
laughed at the impotence of his anger. Suddenly, however,
a change passed over his features. The mocassin of the
officer had evidently attracted his attention, and he
now demanded, in a more serious and imperative tone,--

"Ha! what means this disguise? Who is the wretch whom I
have slain, mistaking him for a nobler victim; and how
comes it that an officer of the English garrison appears
here in the garb of a servant? By heaven, it is so! you
are come as a spy into the camp of the Indians to steal
away the councils of the chiefs. Speak, what have you
heard?"

With these questions returned the calm and self-possession
of the officer. He at once saw the importance of his
answer, on which hung not merely his own last faint chance
of safety, but that also of his generous deliverer.
Struggling to subdue the disgust which he felt at holding
converse with this atrocious monster, he asked in turn,--

"Am I then the only one whom the warriors have overtaken
in their pursuit?"

"There was a woman, the sister of that boy," and he
pointed contemptuously to the young chief who had so
recently assailed him, and who now, in common with his
followers, stood impatiently listening to a colloquy that
was unintelligible to all. "Speak truly, was SHE not the
traitress who conducted you here?"

"Had you found me here," returned the officer, with
difficulty repressing his feelings, "there might have
been some ground for the assertion; but surely the councils
of the chiefs could not be overheard at the distant point
at which you discovered me."

"Why then were you there in this disguise?--and who is
he," again holding up the bloody scalp, "whom I have
despoiled of this?"

"There are few of the Ottawa Indians," returned Captain
de Haldimar, "who are ignorant I once saved that young
woman's life. Is it then so very extraordinary an attachment
should have been the consequence? The man whom you slew
was my servant. I had brought him out with me for protection
during my interview with the woman, and I exchanged my
uniform with him for the same purpose. There is nothing
in this, however, to warrant the supposition of my being
a spy."

During the delivery of these more than equivocal sentences,
which, however, he felt were fully justified by
circumstances, the young officer had struggled to appear
calm and confident; but, despite of his exertions, his
consciousness caused his cheek to colour, and his eye to
twinkle, beneath the searching glance of his ferocious
enemy. The latter thrust his hand into his chest, and
slowly drew forth the rope he had previously exhibited
to Ponteac.

"Do you think me a fool, Captain de Haldimar," he observed,
sneeringly, "that you expect so paltry a tale to be palmed
successfully on my understanding? An English officer is
not very likely to run the risk of breaking his neck by
having recourse to such a means of exit from a besieged
garrison, merely to intrigue with an Indian woman, when
there are plenty of soldiers' wives within, and that too
at an hour when he knows the scouts of his enemies are
prowling in the neighbourhood. Captain de Haldimar," he
concluded, slowly and deliberately, "you have lied."

Despite of the last insult, his prisoner remained calm.
The very observation that had just been made afforded
him a final hope of exculpation, which, if it benefited
not himself, might still be of service to the generous
Oucanasta.

"The onus of such language," he observed coolly and with
dignity, "falls not on him to whom it is addressed, but
on him who utters it. Yet one who professes to have been
himself a soldier, must see in this very circumstance a
proof of my innocence. Had I been sent out as a spy to
reconnoitre the movements, and to overhear the councils
of our enemies, the gate would have been open for my
egress; but that rope is in itself an evidence I must
have stolen forth unknown to the garrison."

Whether it was that the warrior had his own particular
reasons for attaching truth to this statement, or that
he merely pretended to do so, Captain de Haldimar saw
with secret satisfaction his last argument was conclusive.

"Well, be it so," retorted the savage, while a ferocious
smile passed over his swarthy features; "but, whether
you have been here as a spy, or have merely ventured out
in prosecution of an intrigue, it matters not. Before
the sun has travelled far in the meridian you die; and
the tomahawk of your father's deadly foe--of--of--of
Wacousta, as I am called, shall be the first to drink
your blood."

The officer made a final effort at mercy. "Who or what
you are, or whence your hatred of my family, I know not,"
he said; "but surely I have never injured you: wherefore,
then, this insatiable thirst for my blood? If you are,
indeed, a Christian and a soldier, let your heart be
touched with humanity, and procure my restoration to my
friends. You once attempted my life in honourable combat,
why not wait, then, until a fitting opportunity shall
give not a bound and defenceless victim to your steel,
but one whose resistance may render him a conquest worthy
of your arm?"

"What! and be balked of the chance of my just revenge?
Hear me, Captain de Haldimar," he pursued, in that low,
quick, deep tone that told all the strong excitement of
his heart:--"I have, it is true, no particular enmity to
yourself, further than that you are a De Haldimar; but
hell does not supply a feeling half so bitter as my enmity
to your proud father; and months, nay years, have I passed
in the hope of such an hour as this. For this have I
forsworn my race, and become--what you now behold me--a
savage both in garb and character. But this matters not,"
he continued, fiercely and impatiently, "your doom is
sealed; and before another sun has risen, your stern
father's gaze shall be blasted with the sight of the
mangled carcase of his first born. Ha! ha! ha!" and he
laughed low and exultingly; "even now I think I see him
withering, if heart so hard can wither, beneath this
proof of my undying hate."

"Fiend!--monster!--devil!" exclaimed the excited officer,
now losing sight of all considerations of prudence in
the deep horror inspired by his captor:--"Kill me--torture
me--commit any cruelty on me, if such be your savage
will; but outrage not humanity by the fulfilment of your
last disgusting threat. Suffer not a father's heart to
be agonised--a father's eye to be blasted--with a view
of the mangled remains of him to whom he has given life."

Again the savage rudely pulled the thong that bound his
prisoner to his girdle, and removing his tomahawk from
his belt, and holding its sullied point close under the
eye of the former, exclaimed, as he bent eagerly over
him,--

"See you this, Captain de Haldimar? At the still hour of
midnight, while you had abandoned your guard to revel in
the arms of your Indian beauty, I stole into the fort by
means of the same rope that you had used in quitting it.
Unseen by the sentinels I gained your father's apartment.
It was the first time we had met for twenty years; and
I do believe that had the very devil presented himself
in my place, he would have been received with fewer marks
of horror. Oh, how that proud man's eye twinkled beneath
this glittering blade! He attempted to call out, but my
look paralysed his tongue, and cold drops of sweat stole
rapidly down his brow and cheek. Then it was that my
seared heart once more beat with the intoxication of
triumph. Your father was alone and unarmed, and throughout
the fort not a sound was to be heard, save the distant
tread of the sentinels. I could have laid him dead, at
my feet at a single blow, and yet have secured my retreat.
But no, that was not my object. I came to taunt him with
the promise of my revenge--to tell him the hour of my
triumph was approaching fast; and, ha!" he concluded,
laughing hideously as he passed his large rude hand
through the wavy hair of the now uncovered officer," this
is, indeed, a fair and unexpected first earnest of the
full redemption of my pledge. No--no!" he continued, as
if talking to himself, "he must not die. Tantulus-like,
he shall have death ever apparently within his grasp;
but, until all his race have perished before his eyes,
he shall not attain it."

Hitherto the Indians had preserved an attitude of calm,
listening to the interrogatories put to the prisoner with
that wonder and curiosity with which a savage people hear
a language different from their own; and marking the
several emotions that were elicited in the course of the
animated colloquy of the pale faces. Gradually, however,
they became impatient under its duration; and many of
them, in the excitement produced by the fierce manner of
him who was called Wacousta, fixed their dark eyes upon
the captive, while they grasped the handles of their
tomahawks, as if they would have disputed with the former
the privilege of dying his weapon first in his blood.
When they saw the warrior hold up his menacing blade to
the eye of his victim, while he passed his hand through
the redundant hair, they at once inferred the sacrifice
was about to be completed, and rushing furiously forward,
they bounded, and leaped, and yelled, and brandished
their own weapons in the most appalling manner.

Already had the unhappy officer given himself self up
for lost; fifty bright tomahawks were playing about his
head at the same instant, and death--that death which is
never without terror to the young, however brave they
may be in the hour of generous conflict--seemed to have
arrived at last. He raised his eyes to Heaven, committing
his soul to his God in the same silent prayer that he
offered up for the preservation of his friends and
comrades; and then bending them upon the earth, summoned
all his collectedness and courage to sustain him through
the trial. At the very moment, however when he expected
to feel the crashing steel within his brain, he felt
himself again violently pulled by the thong that secured
his hands. In the next instant he was pressed close to
the chest of his vast enemy, who, with one arm encircling
his prisoner, and the other brandishing his fierce blade
in rapid evolutions round his head, kept the yelling band
at bay, with the evident unshaken determination to maintain
his sole and acknowledged right to the disposal of his
captive.

For several moments the event appeared doubtful; but,
notwithstanding his extreme agility in the use of a
weapon, in the management of which he evinced all the
dexterity of the most practised native, the odds were
fearfully against Wacousta; and while his flashing eye
and swelling chest betrayed his purpose rather to perish
himself than suffer the infringement of his claim, it
was evident that numbers must, in the end, prevail against
him. On an appeal to Ponteac, however, of which he now
suddenly bethought himself, the authority of the latter
was successfully exerted, and he was again left in the
full and undisturbed possession of his prisoner.

A low and earnest conversation now ensued among the
chiefs, in which, as before, Wacousta bore a principal
part. When this was terminated, several Indians approached
the unhappy officer, and unfastening the thong with which
his hands were firmly and even painfully girt, deprived
him both of coat, waistcoat, and shirt. He was then bound
a second time in the same manner, his body besmeared with
paint, and his head so disguised as to give him the
caricature semblance of an Indian warrior. When these
preparations were completed, he was led to the tree in
which he had been previously concealed, and there firmly
secured. Meanwhile Wacousta, at the head of a numerous
band of warriors, had departed once more in the direction
of the fort.

With the rising of the sun now vanished all traces of
the mist that had fallen since the early hours of morning,
leaving the unfortunate officer ample leisure to survey
the difficulties of his position. He had fancied, from
the course taken by his guide the previous night, that
the plain or oasis, as we have elsewhere termed it, lay
in the very heart of the forest; but that route now proved
to have been circuitous. The tree to which he was bound
was one of a slight belt, separating the encampment from
the open grounds which extended towards the river, and
which was so thin and scattered on that side as to leave
the clear silver waters of the Detroit visible at intervals.
Oh, what would he not have given, at that cheering sight,
to have had his limbs free, and his chance of life staked
on the swiftness of his flight! While he had imagined
himself begirt by interminable forest, he felt as one
whose very thought to elude those who were, in some
degree, the deities of that wild scene, must be paralysed
in its first conception. But here was the vivifying,
picture of civilised nature. Corn fields, although trodden
down and destroyed--dwelling houses, although burnt or
dilapidated--told of the existence of those who were of
the same race with himself; and notwithstanding these
had perished even as he must perish, still there was
something in the aspect of the very ruins of their
habitations which, contrasted with the solemn gloom of
the forest, carried a momentary and indefinable consolation
to his spirit. Then there was the ripe and teeming
orchard, and the low whitewashed cabin of the Canadian
peasant, to whom the offices of charity, and the duties
of humanity, were no strangers; and who, although the
secret enemies of his country, had no motive for personal
hostility towards himself. Then, on the river itself,
even at that early hour, was to be seen, fastened to the
long stake driven into its bed, or secured by the rude
anchor of stone appended to a cable of twisted bark, the
light canoe or clumsy periagua of the peasant fisherman,
who, ever and anon, drew up from its deep bosom the
shoal-loving pickerel or pike, or white or black bass,
or whatever other tenant of these waters might chance to
affix itself to the traitorous hook. It is true that his
view of these objects was only occasional and indistinct;
but his intimate acquaintance with the localities beyond
brought every thing before Captain de Haldimar's eye;
and even while he sighed to think they were for ever cut
off from his reach, he already, in idea, followed the
course of flight he should pursue were the power but
afforded him.

From this train of painful and exciting thought the
wretched captive was aroused, by a faint but continued
yelling in a distant part of the forest, and in the
direction that had been taken by Wacousta and his warriors.
Then, after a short interval, came the loud booming of
the cannon of the fort, carried on with a spirit and
promptitude that told of some pressing and dangerous
emergency, and fainter afterwards the sharp shrill reports
of the rifles, bearing evidence the savages were already
in close collision with the garrison. Various were the
conjectures that passed rapidly through the mind of the
young officer, during a firing that had called almost
every Indian in the encampment away to the scene of
action, save the two or three young Ottawas who had been
left to guard his own person, and who lay upon the sward
near him, with head erect and ear sharply set, listening
to the startling sounds of conflict. What the motive of
the hurried departure of the Indians was he knew not;
but he had conjectured the object of the fierce Wacousta
was to possess himself of the uniform in which his wretched
servant was clothed, that no mistake might occur in his
identity, when its true owner should be exhibited in it,
within view of the fort, mangled and disfigured, in the
manner that fierce and mysterious man had already
threatened. It was exceedingly probable the body of
Donellan had been mistaken for his own, and that in the
anxiety of his father to prevent the Indians from carrying
it off, the cannon had been directed to open upon them.
But if this were the case, how were the reports of the
rifles, and the fierce yellings that continued, save at
intervals, to ring throughout the forest to be accounted
for? The bullets of the Indians evidently could not reach
the fort, and they were too wily, and attached too much
value to their ammunition, to risk a shot that was not
certain of carrying a wound with it. For a moment the
fact itself flashed across his mind, and he attributed
the fire of small arms to the attack and defence of a
party that had been sent out for the purpose of securing
the body, supposed to be his own; yet, if so, again how
was he to account for his not hearing the report of a
single musket? His ear was too well practised not to know
the sharp crack of the rifle from the heavy dull discharge
of the musket, and as yet the former only had been
distinguishable, amid the intervals that ensued between
each sullen booming of the cannon. While this impression
continued on the mind of the anxious officer, he caught,
with the avidity of desperation, at the faint and improbable
idea that his companions might be able to penetrate to
his place of concealment, and procure his liberation;
but when he found the firing, instead of drawing nearer,
was confined to the same spot, and even more fiercely
kept up by the Indians towards the close, he again gave
way to his despair, and resigning himself to his fate,
no longer sought comfort in vain speculation as to its
cause. His ear now caught the report of the last shell
as it exploded, and then all was still and hushed, as if
what he had so recently heard was but a dream.

The first intimation given him of the return of the
savages was the death howl, set up by the women within
the encampment. Captain de Haldimar turned his eyes,
instinct with terror, towards the scene, and beheld the
warriors slowly issuing from the opposite side of the
forest into the plain, and bearing in silence the dead
and stiffened forms of those who had been cut down by
the destructive fire from the fort. Their mien was sullen
and revengeful, and more than one dark and gleaming eye
did he encounter turned upon him, with an expression that
seemed to say a separate torture should avenge the death
of each of their fallen comrades.

The early part of the morning wore away in preparation
for the interment of the slain. These were placed in
rows under the council shed, where they were attended by
their female relatives, who composed the features and
confined the limbs, while the gloomy warriors dug, within
the limit of the encampment, rude graves, of a depth just
sufficient to receive the body. When these were completed,
the dead were deposited, with the usual superstitious
ceremonies of these people, in their several receptacles,
after which a mound of earth was thrown up over each,
and the whole covered with round logs, so disposed as to
form a tomb of semicircular shape: at the head of each
grave was finally planted a pole, bearing various devices
in paint, intended to illustrate the warlike achievements
of the defunct parties.

Captain de Haldimar had followed the course of these
proceedings with a beating heart; for too plainly had he
read in the dark and threatening manner both of men and
women, that the retribution about to be wreaked upon
himself would be terrible indeed. Much as he clung to
life, and bitterly as he mourned his early cutting off
from the affections hitherto identified with his existence,
his wretchedness would have been less, had he not been
overwhelmed by the conviction that, with him, must perish
every chance of the safety of those, the bare recollection
of whom made the bitterness of death even more bitter.
Harrowing as were these reflections, he felt that immediate
destruction, since it could not be avoided, would be
rather a blessing than otherwise. But such, evidently,
was not the purpose of his relentless enemy. Every
species of torment which his cruel invention could supply
would, he felt convinced, be exercised upon his frame;
and with this impression on his mind, it would have
required sterner nerves than his, not to have shrunk from
the very anticipation of so dreadful an ordeal.

It was now noon, and yet no visible preparation was making
for the consummation of the sacrifice. This, Captain de
Haldimar imputed to the absence of the fierce Wacousta,
whom he had not seen since the return of the warriors
from their skirmish. The momentary disappearance of this
extraordinary and ferocious man was, however, fraught
with no consolation to his unfortunate prisoner, who felt
he was only engaged in taking such measures as would
render not only his destruction more certain, but his
preliminary sufferings more complicated and protracted.
While he was thus indulging in fruitless speculation as
to the motive for his absence, he fancied he heard the
report of a rifle, succeeded immediately afterwards by
the war-whoop, at a considerable distance, and in the
direction of the river. In this impression he was confirmed,
by the sudden upstarting to their feet of the young
Indians to whose custody he had been committed, who now
advanced to the outer edge of the belt of forest, with
the apparent object of obtaining a more unconfined view
of the open ground that lay beyond. The rapid gliding of
spectral forms from the interior of the encampment in
the same direction, denoted, moreover, that the Indians
generally had heard, and were attracted by the same sound.

Presently afterwards, repeated "waughs!" and
"Wacousta!--Wacousta!" from those who had reached the
extreme skirt of the forest, fell on the dismayed ear of
the young officer. It was evident, from the peculiar
tones in which these words were pronounced, that they
beheld that warrior approaching them with some communication
of interest; and, sick at heart, and filled with
irrepressible dismay, Captain de Haldimar felt his pulse
to throb more violently as each moment brought his enemy
nearer to him.

A startling interest was now created among the Indians;
for, as the savage warrior neared the forest, his lips
pealed forth that peculiar cry which is meant to announce
some intelligence of alarm. Scarcely had its echoes died
away in the forest, when the whole of the warriors rushed
from the encampment towards the clearing. Directed by
the sound, Captain de Haldimar bent his eyes upon the
thin skirt of wood that lay immediately before him, and
at intervals could see the towering form of that vast
warrior bounding, with incredible speed, up the sloping
ground that led from the town towards the forest. A ravine
lay before him; but this he cleared, with a prodigious
effort, at a single leap; and then, continuing his way
up the slope, amid the low guttural acclamations of the
warriors at his extraordinary dexterity and strength,
finally gained the side of Ponteac, then leaning carelessly
against a tree at a short distance from the prisoner.

A low and animated conversation now ensued between these
two important personages, which at moments assumed the
character of violent discussion. From what Captain de
Haldimar could collect, the Ottawa chief was severely
reproving his friend for the inconsiderate ardour which
had led him that morning into collision with those whom
it was their object to lull into security by a careful
avoidance of hostility, and urging the possibility of
their plan being defeated in consequence. He moreover
obstinately refused the pressing request of Wacousta, in
regard to some present enterprise which the latter had
just suggested, the precise nature of which, however,
Captain de Haldimar could not learn. Meanwhile, the rapid
flitting of numerous forms to and from the encampment,
arrayed in all the fierce panoply of savage warfare,
while low exclamations of excitement occasionally caught
his ear, led the officer to infer, strange and unusual
as such an occurrence was, that either the detachment
already engaged, or a second, was advancing on their
position. Still, this offered little chance of security
for himself; for more than once, during his long conference
with Ponteac, had the fierce Wacousta bent his eye in
ferocious triumph on his victim, as if he would have
said,--"Come what will--whatever be the result--you, at
least, shall not escape me." Indeed, so confident did
the latter feel that the instant of attack would be the
signal of his own death, that, after the first momentary
and instinctive cheering of his spirit, he rather regretted
the circumstance of their approach; or, if he rejoiced
at all, it was only because it afforded him the prospect
of immediate death, instead of being exposed to all the
horror of a lingering and agonising suffering from the
torture.

While the chiefs were yet earnestly conversing, the alarm
cry, previously uttered by Wacousta, was repeated, although
in a low and subdued tone, by several of the Indians who
stood on the brow of the eminence. Ponteac started suddenly
to the same point; but Wacousta continued for a moment
or two rooted to the spot on which he stood, with the
air of one in doubt as to what course he should pursue.
He then abruptly raised his head, fixed his dark and
menacing eye on his captive, and was already in the act
of approaching him, when the earnest and repeated demands
for his presence, by the Ottawa chief, drew him once more
to the outskirt of the wood.

Again Captain de Haldimar breathed freely. The presence
of that fierce man had been a clog upon the vital functions
of his heart; and, to be relieved from it, even at a
moment like the present, when far more important interests
might be supposed to occupy his mind, was a gratification,
of which not even the consciousness of impending death
could wholly deprive him. From the continued pressing of
the Indians towards one particular point in the clearing,
he now conjectured, that, from that point, the advance
of the troops was visible. Anxious to obtain even a
momentary view of those whom he deemed himself fated
never more to mingle with in this life, he raised himself
upon his feet, and stretched his neck and bent his eager
glance in the direction by which Wacousta had approached;
but, so closely were the dark warriors grouped among the
trees, he found it impossible. Once or twice, however,
he thought he could distinguish the gleaming of the
English bayonets in the bright sunshine, as they seemed
to file off in a parallel line with the ravine. Oh, how
his generous heart throbbed at that moment; and how
ardently did he wish that he could have stood in the
position of the meanest soldier in those gallant ranks!
Perhaps his own brave and devoted grenadiers were of the
number, burning with enthusiasm to be led against the
captors or destroyers of their officer; and this thought
added to his wretchedness still more.

While the unfortunate prisoner, thus strongly excited,
bent his whole soul on the scene before him, he fancied
he heard the approach of a cautious footstep. He turned
his head as well as his confined position would admit,
and beheld, close behind him, a dark Indian, whose eyes
alone were visible above the blanket in which his person
was completely enveloped. His right arm was uplifted,
and the blade of a scalping knife glittered in his hand.
A cold shudder ran through the veins of the young officer,
and he closed his eyes, that he might not see the blow
which he felt was about to be directed at his heart. The
Indian glanced hurriedly yet cautiously around, to see
if he was observed; and then, with the rapidity of thought,
divided, first the thongs that secured the legs, and then
those which confined the arms of the defenceless captive.
When Captain de Haldimar, full of astonishment at finding
himself once more at liberty, again unclosed his eyes,
they fell on the not unhandsome features of the young
chief, the brother of Oucanasta.

"The Saganaw is the prisoner of Wacousta," said the Indian
hastily; "and Wacousta is the enemy of the young Ottawa
chief. The warriors of the pale faces are there" (and he
pointed directly before him). "If the Saganaw has a bold
heart and a swift foot, he may save his life:" and, with
this intimation, he hurried away in the same cautious
manner, and was in the next instant seen making a circuit
to arrive at the point at which the principal strength
of the Indians was collected.

The position of Captain de Haldimar had now attained its
acme of interest; for on his own exertions alone depended
every thing that remained to be accomplished. With
wonderful presence of mind he surveyed all the difficulties
of his course, while he availed himself at the same moment
of whatever advantages were within his grasp. On the
approach of Wacousta, the young Indians, to whose custody
he had been committed, had returned to their post; but
no sooner had that warrior, obeying the call of Ponteac,
again departed, than they once more flew to the extreme
skirt of the forest, after first satisfying themselves
the ligatures which confined their prisoner were secure.
Either with a view of avoiding unnecessary encumbrance
in their course, or through hurry and inadvertence, they
had left their blankets near the foot of the tree. The
first thought of the officer was to seize one of these;
for, in order to gain the point whence his final effort
to join the detachment must be made, it was necessary he
should pass through the body of scattered Indians who
stood immediately in his way; and the disguise of the
blanket could alone afford him a reasonable chance of
moving unnoticed among them. Secretly congratulating
himself on the insulting mockery that had inducted his
upper form in the disguising warpaint of his enemies, he
now drew the protecting blanket close up to his eyes;
and then, with every nerve braced up, every faculty of
mind and body called into action, commenced his dangerous
enterprise.

He had not, however, taken more than two or three steps
in advance, when, to his great discomfiture and alarm,
he beheld the formidable Wacousta approaching from a
distance, evidently in search of his prisoner. With the
quickness of thought he determined on his course. To
appear to avoid him would be to excite the suspicion of
the fierce warrior; and, desperate as the alternative
was, he resolved to move undeviatingly forward. At each
step that drew him nearer to his enemy, the beating of
his heart became more violent; and had it not been for
the thick coat of paint in which he was invested, the
involuntary contraction of the muscles of his face must
inevitably have betrayed him. Nay, even as it was, had
the keen eye of the warrior fallen on him, such was the
agitation of the officer, he felt he must have been
discovered. Happily, however, Wacousta, who evidently
took him for some inferior warrior hastening to the point
where his fellows were already assembled, passed without
deigning to look at him, and so close, their forms almost
touched. Captain de Haldimar now quickened his pace. It
was evident there was no time to be lost; for Wacousta,
on finding him gone, would at once give the alarm, when
a hundred warriors would be ready on the instant to
intercept his flight. Taking the precaution to disguise
his walk by turning in his toes after the Indian manner,
he reached, with a beating heart, the first of the numerous
warriors who were collected within the belt of forest,
anxiously watching the movements of the detachment in
the plain below. To his infinite joy he found that each
was too much intent on what was passing in the distance,
to heed any thing going on near themselves; and when he
at length gained the extreme opening, and stood in a line
with those who were the farthest advanced, without having
excited a single suspicion in his course, he could scarcely
believe the evidence of his senses.

Still the most difficult part of the enterprise remained
to be completed. Hitherto he had moved under the friendly
cover of the underwood, the advantage of which had been
to conceal that part of his regimental trousers which
the blanket left exposed; and if he moved forward into
the clearing, the quick glance of an Indian would not be
slow in detecting the difference between these and his
own ruder leggings. There was no alternative now but to
commence his flight from the spot on which he stood; and
for this he prepared himself. At one rapid and comprehensive
view he embraced the immediate localities before him. On
the other side of the ravine he could now distinctly see
the English troops, either planning, as he conceived,
their own attack, or waiting in the hope of drawing the
Indians from their cover. It was evident that to reach
them the ravine must be crossed, unless the more circuitous
route by the bridge, which was hid from his view by an
intervening hillock, should be preferred; but as the
former had been cleared by Wacousta in his ascent, and
was the nearest point by which the detachment could be
approached, to this did he now direct his undivided
attention.

While he yet paused with indecision, at one moment fancying
the time for starting was not yet arrived, and at the
next that he had suffered it to pass away, the powerful
and threatening voice of Wacousta was heard proclaiming
the escape of his captive. Low but expressive exclamations
from the warriors marked their sense of the importance
of the intelligence; and many of them hastily dispersed
themselves in pursuit. This was the critical moment for
action: for, as the anxious officer had rather wished
than expected, those Indians who had been immediately in
front, and whose proximity he most dreaded, were among
the number of those who dashed into the heart of the
forest--Captain de Haldimar now stood alone, and full
twenty paces in front of the nearest of the savages. For
a moment he played with his mocassined foot to satisfy
himself, of the power and flexibility of its muscles,
and then committing himself to his God, dashed the blanket
suddenly from his shoulders, and, with eye and heart
fixed on the distant soldiery, darted down the declivity
with a speed of which he had never yet believed himself
capable. Scarcely, however, had his fleeing form appeared
in the opening, when a tremendous and deafening yell rent
the air, and a dozen wild and naked warriors followed
instantly in pursuit. Attracted by that yell, the terrible
Wacousta, who had been seeking his victim in a different
quarter, bounded forward to the front with an eye flashing
fire, and a brow compressed into the fiercest hate; and
so stupendous were his efforts, so extraordinary was his
speed, that had it not been for the young Ottawa chief,
who was one of the pursuing party, and who, under the
pretence of assisting in the recapture of the prisoner,
sought every opportunity of throwing himself before, and
embarrassing the movements of his enemy, it is highly
probable the latter would have succeeded. Despite of
these obstacles, however, the fierce Wacousta, who had
been the last to follow, soon left the foremost of his
companions far behind him; and but for his sudden fall,
while in the very act of seizing the arm of his prisoner,
his gigantic efforts must have been crowned with the
fullest success. But the reader has already seen how
miraculously Captain de Haldimar, reduced to the last
stage of debility, as much from inanition as from the
unnatural efforts of his flight, finally accomplished
his return to the detachment.




CHAPTER X.

At the western extremity of the lake Huron, and almost
washed by the waters of that pigmy ocean, stands the fort
of Michilimackinac. Constructed on a smaller scale, and
garrisoned by a less numerical force, the defences of
this post, although less formidable than those of the
Detroit, were nearly similar, at the period embraced by
our story, both in matter and in manner. Unlike the latter
fortress, however, it boasted none of the advantages
afforded by culture; neither, indeed, was there a single
spot in the immediate vicinity that was not clad in the
eternal forest of these regions. It is true, that art
and laborious exertion had so far supplied the deficiencies
of nature as to isolate the fort, and throw it under the
protecting sweep of its cannon; but, while this afforded
security, it failed to produce any thing like a pleasing
effect to the eye. The very site on which the fortress
now stood had at one period been a portion of the wilderness
that every where around was only terminated by the sands
on the lake shore: and, although time and the axe of the
pioneer had in some degree changed its features, still
there was no trace of that blended natural scenery that
so pleasingly diversified the vicinity of the sister
fort. Here and there, along the imperfect clearing, and
amid the dark and thickly studded stumps of the felled
trees, which in themselves were sufficient to give the
most lugubrious character to the scene, rose the rude
log cabin of the settler; but, beyond this, cultivation
appeared to have lost her power in proportion with the
difficulties she had to encounter. Even the two Indian
villages, L'Arbre-Croche and Chabouiga, situate about a
mile from the fort, with which they formed nearly an
equilateral triangle, were hid from the view of the
garrison by the dark dense forest, in the heart of which
they were embedded.

Lake ward the view was scarcely less monotonous; but it
was not, as in the rear, that monotony which is never
occasionally broken in upon by some occurrence of interest.
If the eye gazed long and anxiously for the white sail
of the well known armed vessel, charged at stated intervals
with letters and tidings of those whom time, and distance,
and danger, far from estranging, rendered more dear to
the memory, and bound more closely to the heart, it was
sure of being rewarded at last; and then there was no
picture on which it could love to linger so well as that
of the silver waves bearing that valued vessel in safety
to its wonted anchorage in the offing. Moreover, the
light swift bark canoes of the natives often danced
joyously on its surface; and while the sight was offended
at the savage, skulking among the trees of the forest,
like some dark spirit moving cautiously in its course of
secret destruction, and watching the moment when he might
pounce unnoticed on his unprepared victim, it followed,
with momentary pleasure and excitement, the activity and
skill displayed by the harmless paddler, in the swift
and meteor-like race that set the troubled surface of
the Huron in a sheet of hissing foam. Nor was this all.
When the eye turned wood-ward, it fell heavily, and
without interest, upon a dim and dusky point, known to
enter upon savage scenes and unexplored countries; whereas,
whenever it reposed upon the lake, it was with an eagerness
and energy that embraced the most vivid recollections of
the past, and led the imagination buoyantly over every
well-remembered scene that had previously been traversed,
and which must be traversed again before the land of the
European could be pressed once more. The forest, in a
word, formed, as it were, the gloomy and impenetrable
walls of the prison-house, and the bright lake that lay
before it the only portal through which happiness and
liberty could be again secured.

The principal entrance into the fort, which presented
four equal sides of a square, was from the forest; but,
immediately opposite to this, and behind the apartments
of the commanding officer, there was another small gate
that opened upon the lake shore; but which, since the
investment of the place, had been kept bolted and locked,
with a precaution befitting the danger to which the
garrison was exposed. Still, there were periods, even
now, when its sullen hinges were to be heard moaning on
the midnight breeze; for it served as a medium of
communication between the besieged and others who were
no less critically circumstanced than themselves.

The very day before the Indians commenced their simultaneous
attack on the several posts of the English, the only
armed vessel that had been constructed on these upper
lakes, serving chiefly as a medium of communication
between Detroit and Michilimackinac, had arrived with
despatches and letters from the former fort. A
well-concerted plan of the savages to seize her in her
passage through the narrow waters of the river Sinclair
had only been defeated by the vigilance of her commander;
but, ever since the breaking out of the war, she had been
imprisoned within the limits of the Huron. Laborious
indeed was the duty of the devoted crew. Several attempts
had been renewed by the Indians to surprise them; but,
although their little fleets stole cautiously and
noiselessly, at the still hour of midnight, to the spot
where, at the last expiring rays of twilight, they had
beheld her carelessly anchored, and apparently lulled
into security, the subject of their search was never to
be met with. No sooner were objects on the shore rendered
indistinct to the eye, than the anchor was silently
weighed, and, gliding wherever the breeze might choose
to carry her, the light bark was made to traverse the
lake, with every sail set, until dawn. None, however,
were suffered to slumber in the presumed security afforded
by this judicious flight. Every man was at his post; and,
while a silence so profound was preserved, that the noise
of a falling pin might have been heard upon her decks,
every thing was in readiness to repel an attack of their
enemies, should the vessel, in her course, come accidentally
in collision with their pigmy fleets. When morning broke,
and no sign of their treacherous foes was visible, the
vessel was again anchored, and the majority of the crew
suffered to retire to their hammocks, while the few whose
turn of duty it chanced to be, kept a vigilant look-out,
that, on the slightest appearance of alarm, their slumbering
comrades might again be aroused to energy and action.

Severe and harassing as had been the duty on board this
vessel for many months,--at one moment exposed to the
assaults of the savages, at another assailed by the
hurricanes that are so prevalent and so dangerous on the
American lakes,--the situation of the crew was even less
enviable than that of the garrison itself. What chiefly
contributed to their disquietude, was the dreadful
consciousness that, however their present efforts might
secure a temporary safety, the period of their fall was
only protracted. A few months more must bring with them
all the severity of the winter of those climes, and then,
blocked up in a sea of ice,--exposed to all the rigour
of cold,--all the miseries of hunger,--what effectual
resistance could they oppose to the numerous bands of
Indians who, availing themselves of the defenceless
position of their enemies, would rush from every quarter
to their destruction.

At the outset of these disheartening circumstances the
officer had summoned his faithful crew together, and
pointing out the danger and uncertainty of their position,
stated that two chances of escape still remained to them.
The first was, by an attempt to accomplish the passage
of the river Sinclair during some dark and boisterous
night, when the Indians would be least likely to suspect
such an intention: it was at this point that the efforts
of their enemies were principally to be apprehended; but
if, under cover of storm and darkness, they could accomplish
this difficult passage, they would easily gain the Detroit,
and thence pass into lake Erie, at the further extremity
of which they might, favoured by Providence, effect a
landing, and penetrate to the inhabited parts of the
colony of New York. The other alternative was,--and he
left it to themselves to determine,--to sink the vessel
on the approach of winter, and throw themselves into the
fort before them, there to await and share the destiny
of its gallant defenders.

With the generous enthusiasm of their profession, the
noble fellows had determined on the latter course. With
their officer they fully coincided in opinion, that their
ultimate hopes of life depended on the safe passage of
the Sinclair; for it was but too obvious, that soon or
late, unless some very extraordinary revolution should
be effected in the intentions of the Indians, the fortress
must be starved into submission. Still, as it was
tolerably well supplied with provisions, this gloomy
prospect was remote, and they were willing to run all
chances with their friends on shore, rather than desert
them in their extremity. The determination expressed by
them, therefore, was, that when they could no longer keep
the lake in safety, they would, if the officer permitted
it, scuttle the vessel, and attempt an entrance into the
fort, where they would share the fate of the troops,
whatever it might chance to be.

No sooner was this resolution made known, than their
young commander sought an opportunity of communicating
with the garrison, This, however, was no very easy task;
for, so closely was the fort hemmed in by the savages,
it was impossible to introduce a messenger within its
walls; and so sudden had been the cutting off of all
communication between the vessel and the shore, that the
thought had not even occurred to either commander to
establish the most ordinary intelligence by signal. In
this dilemma recourse was had to an ingenious expedient.
The dispatches of the officer were enclosed in one of
the long tin tubes in which were generally deposited the
maps and charts of the schooner, and to this, after having
been carefully soldered, was attached an inch rope of
several hundred fathoms in length: the case was then put
into one of the ship's guns, so placed as to give it the
elevation of a mortar; thus prepared, advantage was taken
of a temporary absence of the Indians to bring the vessel
within half a mile of the shore, and when the attention
of the garrison, naturally attracted by this unusual
movement, was sufficiently awakened, that opportunity
was chosen for the discharge of the gun; and as the
quantity of powder had been proportionably reduced for
the limited range, the tube was soon safely deposited
within the rampart. The same means were adopted in
replying; and one end of the rope remaining attached to
the schooner, all that was necessary was to solder up
the tube as before, and throw it over the ramparts upon
the sands, whence it was immediately pulled over her side
by the watchful mariners.

As the dispatch conveyed to the garrison, among other
subjects of interest, bore the unwelcome intelligence
that the supplies of the crew were nearly expended, an
arrangement was proposed by which, at stated intervals,
a more immediate communication with the former might be
effected. Whenever, therefore, the wind permitted, the
vessel was kept hovering in sight during the day, beneath
the eyes of the savages, and on the approach of evening
an unshotted gun was discharged, with a view of drawing
their attention more immediately to her movements; every
sail was then set, and under a cloud of canvass the course
of the schooner was directed towards the source of the
Sinclair, as if an attempt to accomplish that passage
was to be made during the night. No sooner, however,
had the darkness fairly set in, than the vessel was put
about, and, beating against the wind, generally contrived
to reach the offing at a stated hour, when a boat, provided
with muffled oars, was sent off to the shore. This ruse
had several times deceived the Indians, and it was on
these occasions that the small gate to which we have
alluded was opened, for the purpose of conveying the
necessary supplies.

The buildings of the fort consisted chiefly of block-houses,
the internal accommodations of which were fully in keeping
with their rude exterior, being but indifferently provided
with the most ordinary articles of comfort, and fitted
up as the limited resources of that wild and remote
district could supply. The best and most agreeably situated
of these, if a choice could be made, was that of the
commanding officer. This building rose considerably
above the others, and overhanging that part of the rampart
which skirted the shores of the Huron, commanded a full
view of the lake, even to its extremity of frowning and
belting forest.

To this block-house there were two staircases; the
principal leading to the front entrance from the
barrack-square, the other opening in the rear, close
under the rampart, and communicating by a few rude steps
with the small gate that led upon the sands. In the lower
part of this building, appropriated by the commanding
officer to that exclusive purpose, the official duties
of his situation were usually performed; and on the
ground-floor a large room, that extended from front to
rear of the block-house on one side of the passage, had
formerly been used as a hall of council with the Indian
chiefs. The floor above this comprised both his own
private apartments and those set apart for the general
use of the family; but, above all, and preferable from
their cheerful view over the lake, were others, which
had been reserved for the exclusive accommodation of Miss
de Haldimar. This upper floor consisted of two sleeping
apartments, with a sitting-room, the latter extending
the whole length of the block-house and opening immediately
upon the lake, from the only two windows with which that
side of the building was provided. The principal staircase
led into one of the bed-rooms, and both of the latter
communicated immediately with the sitting-room, which
again, in its turn, opened, at the opposite extremity,
on the narrow staircase that led to the rear of the
block-house.

The furniture of this apartment, which might be taken as
a fair sample of the best the country could afford, was
wild, yet simple, in the extreme. Neat rush mats, of an
oblong square, and fantastically put together, so as to
exhibit in the weaving of the several coloured reeds both
figures that were known to exist in the creation, and
those which could have no being save in the imagination
of their framers, served as excellent substitutes for
carpets, while rush bottomed chairs, the product of Indian
ingenuity also, occupied those intervals around the room
that were unsupplied by the matting. Upon the walls were
hung numerous specimens both of the dress and of the
equipments of the savages, and mingled with these were
many natural curiosities, the gifts of Indian chiefs to
the commandant at various periods before the war.

Nothing could be more unlike the embellishments of a
modern European boudoir than those of this apartment,
which had, in some degree, been made the sanctum of its
present occupants. Here was to be seen the scaly carcass
of some huge serpent, extending its now harmless length
from the ceiling to the floor--there an alligator, stuffed
after the same fashion; and in various directions the
skins of the beaver, the marten, the otter, and an
infinitude of others of that genus, filled up spaces that
were left unsupplied by the more ingenious specimens of
Indian art. Head-dresses tastefully wrought in the shape
of the crowning bays of the ancients, and composed of
the gorgeous feathers of the most splendid of the forest
birds--bows and quivers handsomely, and even elegantly
ornamented with that most tasteful of Indian decorations,
the stained quill of the porcupine; war clubs of massive
iron wood, their handles covered with stained horsehair
and feathers curiously mingled together--machecotis,
hunting coats, mocassins, and leggings, all worked in
porcupine quill, and fancifully arranged,--these, with
many others, had been called into requisition to bedeck
and relieve the otherwise rude and naked walls of the
apartment.

Nor did the walls alone reflect back the picture of savage
ingenuity, for on the various tables, the rude polish of
which was hid from view by the simple covering of green
baize, which moreover constituted the garniture of the
windows, were to be seen other products of their art.
Here stood upon an elevated stand a model of a bark canoe,
filled with its complement of paddlers carved in wood
and dressed in full costume; the latter executed with
such singular fidelity of feature, that although the
speaking figures sprung not from the experienced and
classic chisel of the sculptor but from the rude scalping
knife of the savage, the very tribe to which they belonged
could be discovered at a glance by the European who was
conversant with the features of each: then there were
handsomely ornamented vessels made of the birch bark,
and filled with the delicate sugars which the natives
extract from the maple tree in early spring; these of
all sizes, even to the most tiny that could well be
imagined, were valuable rather as exquisite specimens of
the neatness with which those slight vessels could be
put together, sewn as they were merely with strips of
the same bark, than from any intrinsic value they possessed.
Covered over with fantastic figures, done either in paint,
or in quill work artfully interwoven into the fibres of
the bark, they presented, in their smooth and polished
surface, strong evidence of the address of the savages
in their preparation of this most useful and abundant
produce of the country. Interspersed with these, too,
were numerous stands filled with stuffed birds, some of
which combined in themselves every variety and shade of
dazzling plumage; and numerous rude cases contained the
rarest specimens of the American butterfly, most of which
were of sizes and tints that are no where equalled in
Europe. One solitary table alone was appropriated to
whatever wore a transatlantic character in this wild and
museum-like apartment. On this lay a Spanish guitar, a
few pieces of old music, a collection of English and
French books, a couple of writing-desks, and, scattered
over the whole, several articles of unfinished needle-work.

Such was the apartment in which Madeline and Clara de
Haldimar were met at the moment we have selected for
their introduction to our readers. It was the morning of
that day on which the second council of the chiefs, the
result of which has already been seen, was held at Detroit.
The sun had risen bright and gorgeously above the adjacent
forest, throwing his golden beams upon the calm glassy
waters of the lake; and now, approaching rapidly towards
the meridian, gradually diminished the tall bold shadows
of the block-houses upon the shore. At the distance of
about a mile lay the armed vessel so often alluded to;
her light low hull dimly seen in the hazy atmosphere that
danced upon the waters, and her attenuated masts and
sloping yards, with their slight tracery of cordage,
recalling rather the complex and delicate ramifications
of the spider's web, than the elastic yet solid machinery
to which the lives of those within had so often been
committed in sea and tempest. Upon the strand, and close
opposite to the small gate which now stood ajar, lay one
of her boats, the crew of which had abandoned her with
the exception only of a single individual, apparently
her cockswain, who, with the tiller under his arm, lay
half extended in the stern-sheets, his naked chest exposed,
and his tarpaulin hat shielding his eyes from the sun
while he indulged in profound repose. These were the only
objects that told of human life. Everywhere beyond the
eye rested on the faint outline of forest, that appeared
like the softened tracing of a pencil at the distant
junction of the waters with the horizon.

The windows that commanded this prospect were now open;
and through that which was nearest to the gate, half
reclined the elegant, slight, and somewhat petite form
of a female, who, with one small and delicately formed
hand supporting her cheek, while the other played almost
unconsciously with an open letter, glanced her eye
alternately, and with an expression of joyousness, towards
the vessel that lay beyond, and the point in which the
source of the Sinclair was known to lie. It was Clara de
Haldimar.

Presently the vacant space at the same window was filled
by another form, but of less girlish appearance--one that
embraced all the full rich contour of the Medicean Venus,
and a lazy languor in its movements that harmonised with
the speaking outlines of the form, and without which the
beauty of the whole would have been at variance and
imperfect. Neither did the face belie the general expression
of the figure. The eyes, of a light hazel, were large,
full, and somewhat prominent--the forehead broad, high,
and redolent with an expression of character--and the
cheek rich in that peculiar colour which can be likened
only to the downy hues of the peach, and is, in itself,
a physical earnest of the existence of deep, but not
boisterous--of devoted, but not obtrusive affections;
an impression that was not, in the present instance,
weakened by the full and pouting lip, and the rather
heavy formation of the lower face. The general expression,
moreover, of a countenance which, closely analysed, could
not be termed beautiful, marked a mind at once ardent in
its conceptions, and steady and resolute in its silent
accomplishments of purpose. She was of the middle height.

Such was the person of Madeline de Haldimar; but attractive,
or rather winning, as were her womanly attributes, her
principal power lay in her voice,--the beauty, nay, the
voluptuousness of which nothing could surpass. It was
impossible to listen to the slow, full, rich, deep, and
melodious tones that fell trembling from her lips upon
the ear, and not feel, aye shudder, under all their
fascination on the soul. In such a voice might the
Madonna of Raphael have been supposed to offer up her
supplications from the gloomy precincts of the cloister.
No wonder that Frederick de Haldimar loved her, and loved
her with all the intense devotedness of his own glowing
heart. His cousin was to him a divinity whom he worshipped
in the innermost recesses of his being; and his, in
return, was the only ear in which the accents of that
almost superhuman voice had breathed the thrilling
confession of an attachment, which its very tones announced
could be deep and imperishable as the soul in which it
had taken root. Often in the hours that preceded the
period when they were to have been united heart and mind
and thought in one common destiny, would he start from
her side, his brain whirling with very intoxication, and
then obeying another wild impulse, rush once more into
her embrace; and clasping his beloved Madeline to his
heart, entreat her again to pour forth all the melody of
that confession in his enraptured ear. Artless and
unaffected as she was generous and impassioned, the fond
and noble girl never hesitated to gratify him whom alone
she loved; and deep and fervent was the joy of the soldier,
when he found that each passionate entreaty, far from
being met with caprice, only drew from the lips of his
cousin warmer and more affectionate expressions of her
attachment. Such expressions, coming from any woman,
must have been rapturous and soothing in the extreme;
but, when they flowed from a voice whose very sound was
melody, they acted on the heart of Captain de Haldimar
with a potency that was as irresistible as the love itself
which she inspired.

Such was the position of things just before the commencement
of the Indian war. Madeline de Haldimar had been for some
time on a visit to Detroit, and her marriage with her
cousin was to have taken place within a few days. The
unexpected arrival of intelligence from Michilimackinac
that her father was dangerously ill, however, retarded
the ceremony; and, up to the present period, their
intercourse had been completely suspended. If Madeline
de Haldimar was capable of strong attachment to her lover,
the powerful ties of nature were no less deeply rooted
in her heart, and commiseration and anxiety for her father
now engrossed every faculty of her mind. She entreated
her cousin to defer the solemnisation of their nuptials
until her parent should be pronounced out of danger, and,
having obtained his consent to the delay, instantly set
off for Michilimackinac, accompanied by her cousin Clara,
whom, she had prevailed on the governor to part with
until her own return. Hostilities were commenced very
shortly afterwards, and, although Major de Haldimar
speedily recovered from his illness, the fair cousins
were compelled to share the common imprisonment of the
garrison.

When Miss de Haldimar joined her more youthful cousin at
the window, through which the latter was gazing thoughtfully
on the scene before her, she flung her arm around her
waist with the protecting manner of a mother. The mild
blue eyes of Clara met those that were fastened in
tenderness upon her, and a corresponding movement on her
part brought the more matronly form of her cousin into
close and affectionate contact with her own.

"Oh, Madeline, what a day is this!" she exclaimed; "and
how often on my bended knees have I prayed to Heaven that
it might arrive! Our trials are ended at last, and
happiness and joy are once more before us. There is the
boat that is to conduct us to the vessel, which, in its
turn, is to bear me to the arms of my dear father, and
you to those of the lover who adores you. How beautiful
does that fabric appear to me now! Never did I feel half
the pleasure in surveying it I do at this moment."

"Dear, dear girl!" exclaimed Miss de Haldimar,--and she
pressed her closer and in silence to her heart: then,
after a slight pause, during which the mantling glow upon
her brow told how deeply she desired the reunion alluded
to by her cousin--"that, indeed, will be an hour of
happiness to us both, Clara; for irrevocably as our
affections have been pledged, it would be silly in the
extreme to deny that I long most ardently to be restored
to him who is already my husband. But, tell me," she
concluded, with an archness of expression that caused
the long-lashed eyes of her companion to sink beneath
her own, "are you quite sincere in your own case? I know
how deeply you love your father and your brothers, but
do these alone occupy your attention? Is there not a
certain friend of Charles whom you have some little
curiosity to see also?"

"How silly, Madeline!" and the cheek of the young girl
became suffused with a deeper glow; "you know I have
never seen this friend of my brother, how then can I
possibly feel more than the most ordinary interest in
him? I am disposed to like him, certainly, for the mere
reason that Charles does; but this is all."

"Well, Clara, I will not pretend to decide; but certain
it is, this is the last letter you received from Charles,
and that it contains the strongest recommendations of
his friend to your notice. Equally certain is it, that
scarcely a day has passed, since we have been shut up
here, that you have not perused and re-perused it half
a dozen times. Now, as I am confessedly one who should
know something of these matters, I must be suffered to
pronounce these are strong symptoms, to say the very
least. Ah! Clara, that blush declares you guilty.--But,
who have we here? Middleton and Baynton."

The eyes of the cousins now fell upon the ramparts
immediately under the window. Two officers, one apparently
on duty for the day, were passing at the moment; and, as
they heard their names pronounced, stopped, looked up,
and saluted the young ladies with that easy freedom of
manner, which, unmixed with either disrespect or effrontery,
so usually characterises the address of military men.

"What a contrast, by heaven!" exclaimed he who wore the
badge of duty suspended over his chest, throwing himself
playfully into a theatrical attitude, expressive at once
of admiration and surprise, while his eye glanced
intelligently over the fair but dissimilar forms of the
cousins. "Venus and Psyche in the land of the Pottowatamies
by all that is magnificent! Come, Middleton, quick, out
with that eternal pencil of yours, and perform your
promise."

"And what may that promise be?" asked Clara, laughingly,
and without adverting to the hyperbolical compliment of
the dark-eyed officer who had just spoken.

"You shall hear," pursued the lively captain of the guard.
"While making the tour of the ramparts just now, to visit
my sentries, I saw Middleton leaning most sentimentally
against one of the boxes in front, his notebook in one
hand and his pencil in the other. Curious to discover
the subject of his abstraction, I stole cautiously behind
him, and saw that he was sketching the head of a tall
and rather handsome squaw, who, in the midst of a hundred
others, was standing close to the gateway watching the
preparations of the Indian ball-players. I at once taxed
him with having lost his heart; and rallying him on his
bad taste in devoting his pencil to any thing that had
a red skin, never combed its hair, and turned its toes
in while walking, pronounced his sketch to be an absolute
fright. Well, will you believe what I have to add? The
man absolutely flew into a tremendous passion with me,
and swore that she was a Venus, a Juno, a Minerva, a
beauty of the first water in short; and finished by
promising, that when I could point out any woman who was
superior to her in personal attraction, he would on the
instant write no less than a dozen consecutive sonnets
in her praise. I now call upon him to fulfil his promise,
or maintain the superiority of his Indian beauty."

Before the laughing Middleton could find time to reply
to the light and unmeaning rattle of his friend, the
quick low roll of a drum was heard from the front. The
signal was understood by both officers, and they prepared
to depart.

"This is the hour appointed for the council," said Captain
Baynton, looking at his watch, "and I must be with my
guard, to receive the chiefs with becoming honour. How
I pity you, Middleton, who will have the infliction of
one of their great big talks, as Murphy would call it,
dinned into your ear for the next two hours at least!
Thank heaven, my tour of duty exempts me from that; and
by way of killing an hour, I think I shall go and carry
on a flirtation with your Indian Minerva, alias Venus,
alias Juno, while you are discussing the affairs of the
nation with closed doors. But hark! there is the assembly
drum again. We must be off. Come, Middleton, come.--Adieu!"
waving his hand to the cousins, "we shall meet at dinner."

"What an incessant talker Baynton is!" observed Miss de
Haldimar, as the young men now disappeared round an angle
of the rampart; "but he has reminded me of what I had
nearly forgotten, and that is to give orders for dinner.
My father has invited all the officers to dine with him
to day, in commemoration of the peace which is being
concluded. It will be the first time we shall have all
met together since the commencement of this cruel war,
and we must endeavour, Clara, to do honour to the feast."

"I hope," timidly observed her cousin, shuddering as she
spoke, "that none of those horrid chiefs will be present,
Madeline; for, without any affectation of fear whatever,
I feel that I could not so far overcome my disgust as to
sit at the same table with them. There was a time, it is
true, when I thought nothing of these things; but, since
the war, I have witnessed and heard so much of their
horrid deeds, that I shall never be able to endure the
sight of an Indian face again. Ah!" she concluded, turning
her eyes upon the lake, while she clung more closely to
the embrace of her companion; "would to Heaven, Madeline,
that we were both at this moment gliding in yonder vessel,
and in sight of my father's fort!"




CHAPTER XI.

The eyes of Miss de Haldimar followed those of her cousin,
and rested on the dark hull of the schooner, with which
so many recollections of the past and anticipations of
the future were associated in their minds. When they had
last looked upon it, all appearance of human life had
vanished from its decks; but now there was strong evidence
of unusual bustle and activity. Numerous persons could
be seen moving hastily to and fro, their heads just
peering above the bulwarks; and presently they beheld a
small boat move from the ship's side, and shoot rapidly
ahead, in a direct line with the well-known bearings of
the Sinclair's source. While they continued to gaze on
this point, following the course of the light vessel,
and forming a variety of conjectures as to the cause of
a movement, especially remarkable from the circumstance
of the commander being at that moment in the fort, whither
he had been summoned to attend the council, another and
scarcely perceptible object was dimly seen, at the distance
of about half a mile in front of the boat. With the aid
of a telescope, which had formed one of the principal
resources of the cousins during their long imprisonment,
Miss de Haldimar now perceived a dark and shapeless mass
moving somewhat heavily along the lake, and in a line
with the schooner and the boat. This was evidently
approaching; for each moment it loomed larger upon the
hazy water, increasing in bulk in the same proportion
that the departing skiff became less distinct: still, it
was impossible to discover, at that distance, in what
manner it was propelled. Wind there was none, not as much
as would have changed the course of a feather dropping
through space; and, except where the dividing oars of
the boatmen had agitated the waters, the whole surface
of the lake was like a sea of pale and liquid gold.

At length the two dark bodies met, and the men in the
boat were seen to lie upon their oars, while one in the
stem seemed to be in the act of attaching a rope to the
formless matter. For a few moments there was a cessation
of all movement; and then again the active and sturdy
rowing of the boatmen was renewed, and with an exertion
of strength even more vigorous than that they had previously
exhibited. Their course was now directed towards the
vessel; and, as it gradually neared that fabric, the rope
by which the strange-looking object was secured, could
be distinctly though faintly seen with the telescope. It
was impossible to say whether the latter, whatever it
might be, was urged by some invisible means, or merely
floated in the wake of the boat; for, although the waters
through which it passed ran rippling and foaming from
their course, this effect might have been produced by
the boat which preceded it. As it now approached the
vessel, it presented the appearance of a dense wood of
evergreens, the overhanging branches of which descended
close to the water's edge, and baffled every attempt of
the cousins to discover its true character. The boat had
now arrived within a hundred yards of the schooner, when
a man was seen to rise from its bows, and, putting both
his hands to his mouth, after the manner of sailors in
hailing, to continue in that position for some moments,
apparently conversing with those who were grouped along
the nearest gangway. Then were observed rapid movements
on the decks; and men were seen hastening aloft, and
standing out upon the foremast yards. This, however, had
offered no interruption to the exertions of the boatmen,
who still kept plying with a vigour that set even the
sail-less vessel in motion, as the foaming water, thrown
from their bending oar-blades, dashed angrily against
her prow. Soon afterwards both the boat and her prize
disappeared on the opposite side of the schooner, which,
now lying with her broadside immediately on a line with
the shore, completely hid them from the further view of
the cousins.

"Look!--Look!" said Clara, clinging sensitively and with
alarm to the almost maternal bosom against which she
reposed, while she pointed with her finger to another
dark mass that was moving through the lake in a circular
sweep from the point of wood terminating the clearing on
the right of the fort.

Miss de Haldimar threw the glass on the object to which
her attention was now directed. It was evidently some
furred animal, and presented all the appearance either
of a large water-rat or a beaver, the latter of which it
was pronounced to be as a nearer approach rendered its
shape more distinct. Ever and anon, too, it disappeared
altogether under the water; and, when it again came in
sight, it was always several yards nearer. Its course,
at first circuitous, at length took a direct line with
the stern of the boat, where the sailor who was in charge
still lay extended at his drowsy length, his tarpaulin
hat shading his eyes, and his arms folded over his
uncovered and heaving chest, while he continued to sleep
as profoundly as if he had been comfortably berthed in
his hammock in the middle of the Atlantic.

"What a large bold animal it is," remarked Clara, in die
tone of one who wishes to be confirmed in an impression
but indifferently entertained. "See how close it approaches
the boat! Mad that lazy sailor but his wits about him,
he might easily knock it on the head with his oar. It
is--it is a beaver, Madeline; I can distinguish its head
even with the naked eye."

"Heaven grant it may be a beaver," answered Miss de
Haldimar, in a voice so deep and full of meaning, that
it made her cousin startle and turn paler even than
before. "Nay, Clara, dearest, command yourself, nor give
way to what may, after all, prove a groundless cause of
alarm. Yet, I know not how it is, my heart misgives me
sadly; for I like not the motions of this animal, which
are strangely and unusually bold. But this is not all:
a beaver or a rat might ruffle the mere surface of the
water, yet this leaves behind it a deep and gurgling
furrow, as if the element had been ploughed to its very
bottom. Observe how the lake is agitated and discoloured
wherever it has passed. Moreover, I dislike this sudden
bustle on board the schooner, knowing, as I do, there is
not an officer present to order the movements now visibly
going forward. The men are evidently getting up the
anchor; and see how her sails are loosened, apparently
courting the breeze, as if she would fly to avoid some
threatened danger. Would to Heaven this council scene
were over; for I do, as much as yourself, dearest Clara,
distrust these cruel Indians!"

A significant gesture from her trembling cousin again
drew her attention from the vessel to the boat. The
animal, which now exhibited the delicate and glossy fur
of the beaver, had gained the stern, and remained stationary
within a foot of her quarter. Presently the sailor made
a sluggish movement, turning himself heavily on his side,
and with his face towards his curious and daring visitant.
In the act the tarpaulin hat had fallen from his eyes,
but still he awoke not. Scarcely had he settled himself
in his new position, when, to the infinite horror of the
excited cousins, a naked human hand was raised from
beneath the surface of the lake, and placed upon the
gunwale of the boat Then rose slowly, and still covered
with its ingenious disguise, first the neck, then the
shoulders, and finally the form, even to the midwaist,
of a dark and swarthy Indian, who, stooping low and
cautiously over the sailor, now reposed the hand that
had quitted the gunwale upon his form, while the other
was thrust searchingly into the belt encircling his waist.

Miss de Haldimar would have called out, to apprise the
unhappy man of his danger; but her voice refused its
office, and her cousin was even less capable of exertion
than herself. The deep throbbings of their hearts were
now audible to each; for the dreadful interest they took
in the scene, had excited their feelings to the most
intense stretch of agony. At the very moment, however,
when, with almost suspended animation, they expected to
see the knife of the savage driven into the chest of the
sleeping and unsuspecting sailor, the latter suddenly
started up, and, instinct with the full sense of the
danger by which he was menaced, in less time than we take
to describe it, seized the tiller of his rudder, the only
available instrument within his reach, and directing a
powerful blow at the head of his amphibious enemy, laid
him, without apparent life or motion, across the boat.

"Almighty God! what can this mean?" exclaimed Miss de
Haldimar, as soon as she could recover her presence of
mind. "There is some fearful treachery in agitation; and
a cloud now hangs over all, that will soon burst with
irresistible fury on our devoted heads. Clara, my love,"
and she conducted the almost fainting girl to a seat,
"wait here until I return. The moment is critical, and
my father must be apprised of what we have seen. Unless
the gates of the fort be instantly closed, we are lost."

"Oh, Madeline, leave me not alone," entreated the sinking
Clara. "We will go together. Perhaps I may be of service
to you below."

"The thought is good; but have you strength and courage
to face the dark chiefs in the council-room. If so, hasten
there, and put my father on his guard, while I fly across
the parade, and warn Captain Baynton of the danger."

With these words she drew the arm of her agitated cousin
within her own, and, rapidly traversing the apartment,
gained the bed-room which opened close upon the head of
the principal staircase. Already were they descending
the first steps, when a loud cry, that sent a thrill of
terror through their blood, was heard from without the
fort. For a moment Miss de Haldimar continued irresolute;
and leaning against the rude balustrade for support,
passed her hand rapidly across her brow, as if to collect
her scattered energies. The necessity for prompt and
immediate action was, however, evident; and she alone
was capable of exertion. Speechless with alarm, and
trembling in every joint, the unhappy Clara had now lost
all command of her limbs; and, clinging close to the side
of her cousin, by her wild looks alone betrayed
consciousness had not wholly deserted her. The energy of
despair lent more than woman's strength to Miss de
Haldimar. She caught the fainting girl in her arms,
retraced her way to the chamber, and depositing her burden
on the bed, emphatically enjoined her on no account to
move until her return. She then quitted the room, and
rapidly descended the staircase.

For some moments all was still and hushed as the waveless
air; and then again a loud chorus of shouts was heard
from the ramparts of the fort. The choked breathing of
the young girl became more free, and the blood rushed
once more from her oppressed heart to the extremities.
Never did tones of the human voice fall more gratefully
on the ear of mariner cast on some desert island, than
did those on that of the highly excited Clara. It was
the loud laugh of the soldiery, who, collected along the
line of rampart in front, were watching the progress of
the ball-players. Cheered by the welcome sounds, she
raised herself from the bed to satisfy her eye her ear
had not deceived her. The windows of both bed-chambers
looked immediately on the barrack square, and commanded
a full view of the principal entrance. From that at which
she now stood, the revived but still anxious girl could
distinctly see all that was passing in front. The ramparts
were covered with soldiers, who, armed merely with their
bayonets, stood grouped in careless attitudes--some with
their wives leaning on their arms--others with their
children upraised, that they might the better observe
the enlivening sports without--some lay indolently with
their legs overhanging the works--others, assuming
pugilistic attitudes, dealt their harmless blows at each
other,--and all were blended together, men, women, and
children, with that heedlessness of thought that told
how little of distrust existed within their breasts. The
soldiers of the guard, too, exhibited the same air of
calm and unsuspecting confidence; some walking to and
fro within the square, while the greater portion either
mixed with their comrades above, or, with arms folded,
legs carelessly crossed, and pipe in mouth, leant lazily
against the gate, and gazed beyond the lowered drawbridge
on the Indian games.

A mountain weight seemed to have been removed from the
breast of Clara at this sight, as she now dropped upon
her knees before the window, and raised her hands in
pious acknowledgment to Heaven.

"Almighty God, I thank thee," she fervently exclaimed,
her eye once more lighting up, and her cheek half suffused
with blushes at her late vague and idle fears; while she
embraced, at a single glance, the whole of the gladdening
and inspiriting scene.

While her soul was yet upturned whither her words had
gone before, her ears were again assailed by sounds that
curdled her blood, and made her spring to her feet as if
stricken by a bullet through the heart; or powerfully
touched by some electric fluid. It was the well-known
and devilish war-cry of the savages, startling the very
air through which it passed, and falling like a deadly
blight upon the spirit. With a mechanical and desperate
effort at courage, the unhappy girl turned her eyes below,
and there met images of death in their most appalling
shapes. Hurry and confusion and despair were every where
visible; for a band of Indians were already in the fort,
and these, fast succeeded by others, rushed like a torrent
into the square, and commenced their dreadful work of
butchery. Many of the terrified soldiers, without thinking
of drawing their bayonets, flew down the ramparts in
order to gain their respective block-houses for their
muskets: but these every where met death from the crashing
tomahawk, short rifle, or gleaming knife;--others who
had presence of mind sufficient to avail themselves of
their only weapons of defence, rushed down in the fury
of desperation on the yelling fiends, resolved to sell
their lives as dearly as possible; and for some minutes
an obstinate contest was maintained: but the vast
superiority of the Indian numbers triumphed; and although
the men fought with all the fierceness of despair, forcing
their way to the block-houses, their mangled corpses
strewed the area in every direction. Neither was the
horrid butchery confined to these. Women clinging to
their husbands for protection, and, in the recklessness
of their despair, impeding the efforts of the latter in
their self-defence--children screaming in terror, or
supplicating mercy on their bonded knees--infants clasped
to their parents' breasts,--all alike sunk under the
unpitying steel of the blood-thirsty savages. At the
guard-house the principal stand had been made; for at
the first rush into the fort, the men on duty had gained
their station, and, having made fast the barricades,
opened their fire upon the enemy. Mixed pele-mele as they
were with the Indians, many of the English were shot by
their own comrades, who, in the confusion of the moment,
were incapable of taking a cool and discriminating aim.
These, however, were finally overcome. A band of desperate
Indians rushed upon the main door, and with repeated
blows from their tomahawks and massive war-clubs, succeeded
in demolishing it, while others diverted the fire of
those within. The door once forced, the struggle was soon
over. Every man of the guard perished; and their scalpless
and disfigured forms were thrown out to swell the number
of those that already deluged the square with their blood.

Even amid all the horrors of this terrific scene, the
agonised Clara preserved her consciousness. The very
imminence of the danger endued her with strength to
embrace it under all its most disheartening aspects; and
she, whose mind had been wrought up to the highest pitch
of powerful excitement by the mere preliminary threatenings,
was comparatively collected under the catastrophe itself.
Death, certain death, to all, she saw was inevitable;
and while her perception at once embraced the futility
of all attempts at escape from the general doom, she
snatched from despair the power to follow its gloomy
details without being annihilated under their weight.

The confusion of the garrison had now reached its acme
of horror. The shrieks of women and the shrill cries of
children, as they severally and fruitlessly fled from
the death certain to overtake them in the end,--the
cursings of the soldiers, the yellings of the Indians,
the reports of rifles, and the crashings of tomahawks;--
these, with the stamping of human feet in the death
struggle maintained in the council-room below between
the chiefs and the officers, and which shook the block-house
to its very foundation, all mixed up in terrible chorus
together, might have called up a not inapt image of hell
to the bewildered and confounding brain. And yet the sun
shone in yellow lustre, and all Nature smiled, and wore
an air of calm, as if the accursed deed had had the
sanction of Heaven, and the spirits of light loved to
look upon the frightful atrocities then in perpetration.

In the first distraction of her spirit, Clara had utterly
lost all recollection of her cousin; but now that she
had, with unnatural desperation, brought her mind to bear
upon the fiercest points of the grim reality, she turned
her eye every where amid the scene of death in search of
the form of her beloved Madeline, whom she did not remember
to have seen cross the parade in pursuance of the purpose
she had named. While she yet gazed fearfully from the
window, loud bursts of mingled anguish and rage, that
were almost drowned in the fiercer yells with which they
were blended, ascended from the ground floor of the
block-house. These had hitherto been suppressed, as if
the desperate attack of the chiefs on the officers had
been made with closed doors. Now, however, there was an
evident outburst of all parties into the passage; and
there the struggle appeared to be desperately and fearfully
maintained. In the midst of that chaotic scene, the loud
and piercing shriek of a female rose far above the
discordant yell even of the savages. There was an instant
of pause, and then the crashing of a skull was heard,
and the confusion was greater than before, and shrieks,
and groans, and curses, and supplications rent the air.

The first single shriek came from Madeline de Haldimar,
and vibrated through every chord of the heart on which
it sank. Scarcely conscious of what she did, Clara,
quitting the window, once more gained the top of the
staircase, and at the extremity of her voice called on
the name of her cousin in the most piteous accents. She
was answered by a loud shout from the yelling band; and
presently bounding feet and screaming voices were heard
ascending the stairs. The terrified girl fancied at the
moment she heard a door open on the floor immediately
below her, and some one dart suddenly up the flight
communicating with the spot on which she stood. Without
waiting to satisfy herself, she rushed with all the
mechanical instinct of self-preservation back into her
own apartment. As she passed the bed-room window, she
glanced once more hastily into the area below, and there
beheld a sight that, filling her soul with despair,
paralysed all further exertion. A tall savage was bearing
off the apparently lifeless form of her cousin through
the combatants in the square, her white dress stained
all over with blood, and her beautiful hair loosened and
trailing on the ground. She followed with her burning
eyes until they passed the drawbridge, and finally
disappeared behind the intervening rampart, and then
bowing her head between her hands, and sinking upon her
knees, she reposed her forehead against the sill of the
window, and awaited unshrinkingly, yet in a state of
inconceivable agony, the consummation of her own unhappy
destiny.

The sounds of ascending feet were now heard in the passage
without; and presently, while the clangour of a thousand
demons seemed to ring throughout the upper part of the
building, a man rushed furiously into the room. The blood
of the young girl curdled in her veins. She mechanically
grasped the ledge of the window on which her aching head
still reposed, and with her eyes firmly closed, to shut
out from view the fiend whose sight she dreaded, even
more than the death which threatened her, quietly awaited
the blow that was to terminate at once her misery and
her life. Scarcely, however, had the feet of the intruder
pressed the sanctuary of her bedchamber, when the heavy
door, strongly studded with nails, was pushed rapidly
to, and bolt and lock were heard sliding into their
several sockets. Before Clara could raise her head to
discover the cause of this movement, she felt herself
firmly secured in the grasp of an encircling arm, and
borne hastily through the room. An instinctive sense of
something worse even than death now flashed across the
mind of the unhappy girl; and while she feared to unclose
her eyes, she struggled violently to disengage herself.

"Clara! dear Miss de Haldimar, do you not know me?"
exclaimed her supporter, while, placing her for a moment
on a seat, he proceeded to secure the fastenings of the
second door, that led from the bed-chamber into the larger
apartment.

Re-assured by the tones of a voice which, even in that
dreadful moment of trial and destruction, were familiar
to her ear, the trembling girl opened her eyes wildly
upon her protector. A slight scream of terror marked her
painful sense of the recognition. It was Captain Baynton
whom she beheld: but how unlike the officer who a few
minutes before had been conversing with her from the
ramparts. His fine hair, matted with blood, now hung
loosely and disfiguringly over his eyes, and his pallid
face and brow were covered with gore spots, the evident
spatterings from the wounds of others; while a stream
that issued from one side of his head attested he himself
had not escaped unhurt in the cruel melee. A skirt and
a lappel had been torn from his uniform, which, together
with other portions of his dress, were now stained in
various parts by the blood continually flowing from his
wound.

"Oh, Captain Baynton," murmured the fainting girl, her
whole soul sinking within her, as she gazed shudderingly
on his person, "is there no hope for us? must we die?"

"No, by Heaven, not while I have strength to save you,"
returned the officer, with energy. "If the savages have
not penetrated to the rear, we may yet escape. I saw the
postern open just now, on my passage round the rampart,
and the boat of the schooner upon the strand. Ha!" he
exclaimed, as he flew to the window, and cast his eye
rapidly below, "we are lost! The gate is still clear,
and not an Indian to be seen; but the coward sailor is
pulling for his life towards the vessel. But hold! another
boat is now quitting the ship's side. See, how manfully
they give themselves to the oars: in a few minutes they
will be here. Come, Clara, let us fly!" and again he
caught her in his arms, and bore her across the room.
"Hark, hear you not the exulting yellings of the monsters?
They are forcing the outer door: mark how they redouble
their efforts to break it open! That passed, but one more
barrier remains between us and inevitable and instant
death."

"And my cousin, my uncle!" shrieked the unhappy girl, as
the officer now bore her rapidly down the back staircase.

"Oh, ask me not!" exclaimed Baynton: "were I to linger
again on all I have witnessed, I should go mad. All, all
have perished! but, hark!"

A tremendous yell now bursting from the passage, announced
at once, the triumph of the savages in having effected
an entrance into the bed-room, and their disappointment
at finding their pursuit baulked by a second door.
Presently afterwards their heavy weapons were to be heard
thundering at this new obstacle, in the most furious
manner. This gave new stimulus to the exertions of the
generous officer. Each winding of the staircase was
familiar to him, and he now descended it with a rapidity
which, considering the burden that reposed against his
chest, could only have been inspired by his despair. The
flight terminated at a door that led directly upon the
rampart, without communicating with any of the passages
of the building; and in this consisted the principal
facility of escape: for, in order to reach them, the
savages must either make the circuit of the block-house,
or overtake them in the course they were now following.
In this trying emergency, the presence of mind of the
young officer, wounded and bleeding as he was, did not
desert him. On quitting the larger apartment above, he
had secured the outside fastenings of a small door at
the top of the stairs, and having now gained the bottom,
he took a similar precaution. All that remained was to
unclose the bolts of the ponderous door that opened upon
their final chance of escape: this was speedily done,
but here the feelings of the officer were put to a severe
test. A rude partition divided him from the fatal
council-room; and while he undid the fastenings, the
faint and dying groans of his butchered brother officers
rung in his ears, even at the moment that he felt his
feet dabbling in the blood that oozed through the
imperfectly closed planks of which the partition was
composed. As for Clara, she was insensible to all that
was passing. From the moment of the Indian yell, announcing
their entry into the bed-room, she had fainted.

The huge door came now creaking back upon its hinges,
when the sounds of the yet unfinished conflict in front,
which had hitherto been deadened in their descent through
the remote staircase, rang once more fiercely and
startlingly upon the ear. A single glance satisfied
Captain Baynton the moment for exertion was come, and
that the way to the lake shore, which, by some strange
oversight, both the Indians and the men had overlooked,
was perfectly clear. He clasped his unconscious burden
closer to his chest, and then, setting his life upon the
cast, hastened down the few steps that led to the rampart,
and dashed rapidly through the postern; in the next minute
he stood on the uttermost verge of the sands, unharmed
and onfollowed. He cast his eyes anxiously along the
surface of the lake; but such was the excitement and
confusion of his mind, produced by the horrid recollection
of the past scene, it was not until he had been abruptly
hailed from it, he could see a boat, at the distance of
about two hundred yards, the crew of which were lying on
their oars. It was the long boat of the schooner, which,
prevented from a nearer approach by a sand bar that ran
along the lake to a considerable extent, had taken her
station there to receive the fugitives. Two tall young
men in the dress, yet having little the mien, of common
sailors, were standing up in her stern; and one of these,
with evident anxiety in his manner, called on Baynton by
name to make the best of his way to the boat. At that
moment a loud and frantic yell came from the block-house
the latter had just quitted. In the wild impulse of his
excited feelings, he answered with a cheer of defiance,
as he turned to discover the precise point whence it
proceeded. The windows of the apartment so recently
occupied by the unhappy cousins, were darkened with savage
forms, who now pealed forth their mingled fury and
disappointment in the most terrific manner.

"Fly, fly, Baynton, or you are lost!" exclaimed the same
voice from the boat; "the devils are levelling from the
windows."

While he yet spake several shots came whizzing along the
waters, and a spent ball even struck the now rapidly
fleeing officer in the back; but the distance was too
great for serious injury. The guns of the savages had
been cut so short for their desperate enterprise, that
they carried little further than a horse pistol.

Again, in the desperation of his feelings, and heedless
of the danger he was drawing on himself and charge, the
officer turned fiercely round and shouted, at his utmost
lungs, a peal of triumph in the ears of his enemies.
Scarcely, however, had the sounds escaped his lips, when
two hideously painted Indians sprang through the postern,
and, silent as the spectres they resembled, rushed down
the sands, and thence into the lake. Loud shouts from
the windows above were again pealed forth, and from the
consternation visible on the features of those within
the boat, the nearly exhausted Baynton learnt all the
risk he incurred. Summoning all his strength, he now made
the most desperate efforts to reach his friends. The lake
was little more than knee deep from the shore to the bar,
but, encumbered as he was, the difficulty opposed to his
movements was immeasurably against him, and yet he seemed
generously resolved rather to perish than relinquish his
charge. Already were his pursuers, now closely followed
by a numerous band, within twenty yards of him, when the
two young men, each armed with a cutlass and pistol,
sprang from the boat upon the sand bar: as the Indians
came on they fired deliberately at them, but both missed
their aim. Encouraged by this failure, the fearless devils
dashed eagerly on, brandishing their gleaming tomahawks,
but littering not a sound. Already was the unfortunate
Baynton within a few feet of the bar, when he felt that
the savages were immediately upon him.

"Take, take, for God's sake take her!" he cried, as with
a desperate effort he threw the light form of the still
unconscious girl into the arms of one of the young men.
"My strength is quite exhausted, and I can do no more."

For the first time a yell burst from the lips of the
pursuing savages, as they saw him, to whom the guardianship
of the wretched Clara was now confided, suddenly spring
from the sand bar into the lake, and in a few rapid
strokes gain the side of the boat. Leaving the hapless
Baynton to be disposed of by his companion, the foremost
darted upon the bank, burning with disappointment, and
resolved to immolate another victim. For a moment he
balanced his tomahawk, and then, with the rapidity of
thought, darted it at the covered head of the youth who
still lingered on the bar. A well-timed movement of the
latter averted the blow, and the whizzing steel passed
harmlessly on. A gutteral "Ugh!" marked the disappointment
of the Indian, now reduced to his scalping-knife; but
before he could determine whether to advance or to retreat,
his opponent had darted upon him, and, with a single blow
from his cutlass, cleft his skull nearly asunder. The
next instantaneous purpose of the victor was to advance
to the rescue of the exhausted Baynton; but, when he
turned to look for him, he saw the mangled form of what
had once been that gallant and handsome officer floating,
without life or motion, on the blood-stained surface of
the Huron, while his fiendish murderer, calmly awaiting
the approach of his companions, held up the reeking scalp,
in triumph, to the view of the still yelling groups within
the block-house.

"Noble, generous, self-devoted fellow!" exclaimed the
youth, as he fixed his burning tearless eye for a moment
on the unfortunate victim; "even you, then, are not spared
to tell the horrid story of this butchery; yet is the
fate of the fallen far, far more enviable than that of
those who have survived this day." He then committed his
cutlass to its sheath; and, leaping into the deep water
that lay beyond the bar, was, in a few seconds, once more
in the stern of the boat.

Meanwhile, the numerous band, who followed their two
first fierce comrades into the lake, bounded rapidly
forward; and, so active were their movements, that, at
almost the same moment when the second of the youths had
gained his temporary place of refuge, they stood yelling
and screaming on the sand bar he had just quitted. Two
or three, excited to desperation by the blood they had
seen spilt, plunged unhesitatingly into the opposite
depths of the lake; and the foremost of these was the
destroyer of the ill-fated Baynton. With his bloody
scalping-knife closely clutched between his teeth, and
his tomahawk in his right hand, this fierce warrior
buffeted the waves lustily with one arm, and, noiselessly
as in the early part of his pursuit, urged his way towards
the boat. In the stern of this a few planks from the
schooner had been firmly lashed, to serve as a shield
against the weapons of the savages, and was so arranged
as to conceal all within while retiring from the shore.
A small aperture had, however, been bored for the purpose
of observing the movements of the enemy without risk.
Through this an eye was now directed, while only the
blades of the oars were to be seen projecting from the
boat's sides as they reposed in their rowlocks. Encouraged
by the seeming apathy and inertness of the crew, the
swimming savages paused not to consider of consequences,
but continued their daring course as if they had apprehended
neither risk nor resistance. Presently a desperate splash
was heard near the stern of the boat, and the sinuous
form of the first savage was raised above the gunwale,
his grim face looking devilish in its war-paint, and his
fierce eyes gleaming and rolling like fire-balls in their
sockets. Scarcely was he seen, however, when he had again
disappeared. A blow from the cutlass that had destroyed
his companion descended like lightning on his naked and
hairless head; and, in the agony of death, he might be
seen grinding his teeth against the knife which the
instinctive ferocity of his nature forbade his
relinquishing. A yell of fury burst from the savages on
the bar, and presently a shower of bullets ran whistling
through the air. Several were heard striking the rude
rampart in the stem; but, although the boat was scarcely
out of pistol-shot, the thickness of the wood prevented
all injury to those within. Another fierce yell followed
this volley; and then nearly a score of warriors, giving
their guns in charge to their companions, plunged furiously
into the water; and, with an air of the most infuriated
determination, leaped rather than swam along its surface.

"Now, then, my lads, give way," said he at the look-out;
"there are more than a dozen of the devils in full cry;
and our only chance is in flight! Ha! another here!" as,
turning to issue these directions, he chanced to see the
dark hand of a savage at that moment grasping the gunwale
of the boat, as if with a view to retard her movements
until the arrival of his companions.

A heavy blow from his cutlass accompanied these words.
The fingers, divided at their very roots, rolled to the
bottom of the boat, and the carcase of the savage dropped,
with a yell of anguish, far in the rear. The heavy
oar-blades of the seamen now made play, dashing the lake
away in sheets of foam; and, in less than five minutes,
the heads of the swimming savages were seen mingling like
so many rats upon the water, as they returned once more
in disappointment from their fruitless pursuit.




CHAPTER XII.

The sun had gone down, as he had risen, in all the
gloriousness of his autumnal splendour, and twilight was
now fast descending on the waters of the Huron. A slight
breeze was just beginning to make itself felt from the
land, the gradual rising of which was hailed by many an
anxious heart, as the schooner, which had been making
vain attempts to quit her anchorage during the day, now
urged her light bows through the slightly curling element.
A death-like silence, interrupted only by the low gruff
voice of a veteran seaman, as he issued, in technical
language, the necessary orders for the management of the
vessel, prevailed every where along her decks. The dress
and general appearance of this individual announced him
for a petty officer of the royal service; and it was
evident, from the tone of authority with which he spoke,
he was now in the enjoyment of a temporary command. The
crew, consisting of about thirty souls, and chiefly
veterans of the same class, were assembled along the
gangways, each man wearing a brace of pistols in the
belt, which, moreover, secured a naked cutlass around
his loins; and these now lingered near the several guns
that were thrown out from their gloomy looking ports, as
if ready for some active service. But, although the arming
of these men indicated hostile preparation, there was
none of that buoyancy of movement and animation of feature
to be observed, which so usually characterise the
indomitable daring of the British sailor. Some stood
leaning their heads pensively on their hands against the
rigging and hammocks that were stowed away along the
bulwarks, after the fashion of war ships in boarding;
others, with arms tightly folded across their chests,
spirted the tobacco juice thoughtfully from their closed
teeth into the receding waters; while not a few gazed
earnestly and despondingly on the burning fort in the
distance, amid the rolling volumes of smoke and flame
from which, ever and anon, arose the fiendish yell of
those who, having already sacked, were now reducing it
to ashes. Nor was this the only object of their attention.
On the sand bank alluded to in our last chapter were to
be dimly seen through the growing dusk, the dark outlines
of many of the savages, who, frantic with rage at their
inability to devote them to the same doom, were still
unwilling to quit a spot which approached them nearest
to the last surviving objects of their enmity. Around
this point, were collected numerous canoes, filled also
with warriors; and, at the moment when the vessel, obeying
the impulse given by her flowing sails, glided from her
anchorage, these followed, scudding in her wake, and made
a show of attacking her in the stern. The sudden yawing
of the schooner, however, in bringing her tier of bristling
ports into view, had checked the ardour of the pursuing
fleet; and the discharge of a single gun, destroying in
its course three of their canoes, and carrying death
among those who directed them, had driven them back, in
the greatest hurry and confusion, to their yelling and
disappointed comrades.

The after-deck of the schooner presented a different,
though not less sombre and discouraging, scene. On a pile
of mattresses lay the light and almost inanimate form of
Clara de Haldimar; her fair and redundant hair overshadowing
her pallid brow and cheek, and the dress she had worn at
the moment of her escape from the fort still spotted with
the blood of her generous but unfortunate preserver.
Close at her side, with her hands clasped in his, while
he watched the expression of deep suffering reflected
from each set feature, and yet with the air of one
pre-occupied with some other subject of painful interest,
sat, on an empty shot-box, the young man in sailor's
attire, whose cutlass had performed the double service
of destroying his own immediate opponent, and avenging
the death of the devoted Baynton. At the head of the rude
couch, and leaning against a portion of the schooner's
stern-work, stood his companion, who from delicacy appeared
to have turned away his eyes from the group below, merely
to cast them vacantly on the dark waters through which
the vessel was now beginning to urge her course.

Such was the immediate position of this little party,
when the gun fired at the Indians was heard booming
heavily along the lake. The loud report, in exciting
new sources of alarm, seemed to have dissipated the spell
that had hitherto chained the energies and perception of
the still weak, but now highly excited girl.

"Oh, Captain Baynton, where are we?" she exclaimed,
starting up suddenly in terror, and throwing her arms
around him, who sat at her side, as if she would have
clung to him for protection. "Is the horrid massacre not
finished yet? Where is Madeline? where is my cousin? Oh,
I cannot leave the fort without her."

"Ha! where indeed is she?" exclaimed the youth, as he
clasped his trembling and scarcely conscious burden to
his chest, "Almighty God, where is she?" Then, after a
short pause, and in a voice of tender but exquisite
anguish, "Clara, my beloved sister, do you not know me?
It is not Baynton but your brother, who now clasps you
to his breaking heart."

A deluge of tears was the only answer of the wretched
girl. They were the first she had shed,--the first marks
of consciousness she had exhibited. Hitherto her heart
had been oppressed; every fibre of her brain racked almost
to bursting, and filled only with ghastly flitting visions
of the dreadful horrors she had seen perpetrated, she
had continued, since the moment of her fainting in the
block-house, as one bereft of all memory of the past, or
apprehension of the present. But now, the full outpouring
of her grief relieved her overcharged brain and heart,
even while the confused images floating before her
recollection acquired a more tangible and painful character.
She raised herself a moment from the chest on which her
burning head reposed, looked steadfastly in the face that
hung anxiously over her own, and saw indeed that it was
her brother. She tried to speak, but she could not utter
a word, for the memory of all that had occurred that
fatal morning rushed with mountain weight upon her fainting
spirit, and again she wept, and more bitterly than before.

The young man pressed her in silence to his chest; nor
was it until she had given full vent to her grief, that
he ventured to address her on the subject of his own
immediate sorrows. At length, when she appeared somewhat
more calm, he observed, in a voice broken by emotion,--

"Clara, dearest, what account have you to give me of
Madeline? Has she shared the fate of all? or have you
reason to suppose her life has been spared?"

Another burst of tears succeeded to these questions, for
coupled with the name of her cousin arose all the horrid
associations connected with her loss. As soon, however,
as she could compose herself, she briefly stated all she
had witnessed of the affair, from the moment when the
boat of the schooner was seen to meet the strange looking
object on the water, to that when she had beheld her
ill-fated cousin borne away apparently lifeless in the
arms of the tall Indian by whom she had been captured.

During this recital, the heart of Captain de Haldimar,
--for it was he,--beat audibly against the cheek that
still reposed on his breast; but when his sister had, in
a faint voice, closed her melancholy narrative with the
manner of her cousin's disappearance, he gave a sudden
start, uttering at the same time an exclamation of joy.

"Thank God, she still lives!" he cried, pressing his
sister once more in fondness to his heart; then turning
to his companion, who, although seemingly abstracted,
had been a silent and attentive witness of the scene,--"By
Heaven! Valletort, there is yet a hope. She it was indeed
whom we saw borne out of the fort, and subsequently made
to walk by the cruel Indian who had charge of her."

"Valletort, Valletort," murmured Clara unconsciously,
her sick heart throbbing with she knew not what. "How is
this, Frederick?--Where, then, is Captain Baynton? and
how came you here?"

"Alas! Clara, poor Baynton is no more. Even at the moment
when he confided the unconscious burden, preserved at
the peril of his own life, to the arms of Sir Everard
here, he fell beneath the tomahawk of a pursuing savage.
Poor, noble, generous Baynton," he continued, mournfully;
"to him, indeed, Clara, are you indebted for your life;
yet was it purchased at the price of his own."

Again the pained and affectionate girl wept bitterly,
and her brother proceeded:--

"The strange object you saw on the lake, my love, was
nothing more than a canoe disguised with leafy boughs,
in which Sir Everard Valletort and myself, under the
guidance of old Francois of the Fleur de lis, whom you
must recollect, have made the dangerous passage of the
Sinclair in the garb of duck hunters,--which latter we
had only discarded on reaching the schooner, in order to
assume another we conceived better suited to our purpose.
Alas!" and he struck his hand violently against his brow,
"had we made directly for the shore without touching the
vessel at all, there might have been time to save those
we came to apprise of their danger. Do you not think
there was, Valletort?"

"Most assuredly not," returned his companion, anxious to
remove the impression of self-blame that existed in the
mind of Captain de Haldimar. "From the moment of our
reaching the schooner, which lay immediately in our route,
to that when the shout was raised by the savages as they
rushed into the fort, there was scarcely an interval of
three minutes; and it would have required a longer period
to have enabled us even to gain the shore."

"Thank, thank you for that!" exclaimed the officer,
drawing himself up with the air of one who breathes more
freely. "I would not, for the wealth and honours of the
united world, that such a cause for self-reproach should
linger on my mind. By Heaven! it would break my heart to
think we had been in time to save them, and yet had lost
the opportunity through even one moment of neglect." Then
turning once more to his sister,--"Now, Clara, that I
see you in safety, I have another sacred duty to perform.
I must leave you, but not alone."

"What mean you, Frederick?" exclaimed his agitated sister,
clinging more closely to his embrace. "Scarce have we
met, and you talk of leaving me. Oh, whither would you
go?"

"Surely, my love," and he spoke half reproachfully,
although with tenderness of accent, "my meaning must be
obvious. But what do I say? You know it not. Madeline
still lives. We saw her, as we pulled towards the shore,
led across the clearing in the direction of Chabouiga.
Hear me, then: the canoe in which we came is still towing
from the vessel's stern, and in this do I mean to embark,
without further loss of time, in search of her who is
dearer to me than existence. I know," he pursued with
emotion, "I have but little hope of rescuing, even if I
do succeed in finding her; but at least I shall not have
to suffer under the self-reproach of having neglected
the only chance that now lies within my reach. If she
be doomed to die, I shall then have nothing left to live
for--except you, Clara," he concluded, after a pause,
pressing the weeping girl to his heart, as he remarked
how much she seemed pained by the declaration.

Having placed his sister once more on the couch, and
covered her with a cloak that had been brought from the
cabin of the unfortunate commander, Captain de Haldimar
now rose from his humble seat, and grasping the hand of
his friend,--

"Valletort," he said, "I commit this dear girl to your
keeping. Hitherto we have been equal sharers in an
enterprise having for its object the preservation of our
mutual companions and friends. At present, interests of
a more personal nature occupy my attention; and to these
must I devote myself alone. I trust you will reach Detroit
in safety; and when you have delivered my unfortunate
sister into the arms of her father, you will say to him
from me, I could not survive the loss of that being to
whom I had sworn eternal fidelity and affection. Francois
must be my only companion on this occasion. Nay," he
continued, pointing to his sister, in answer to the rising
remonstrance of the baronet," will you desert the precious
charge I have confided to your keeping? Recollect,
Valletort," in a more subdued tone, "that besides yourself,
there will be none near her but rude and uneducated
sailors;--honest men enough in their way, it is true;
but not the sort of people to whom I should like to
confide my poor sister."

The warm and silent pressure by Sir Everard of his hand
announced his participation in the sentiment; and Captain
de Haldimar now hastened forward to apprise the Canadian
of his purpose. He found mine host of the Fleur de lis
seated in the forecastle of the schooner; and with an
air of the most perfect unconcern discussing a substantial
meal, consisting of dried uncooked venison, raw onions,
and Indian corn bread, the contents of a large bag or
wallet that lay at his feet. No sooner, however, had the
impatient officer communicated his design, asking at the
same time if he might expect his assistance in the
enterprise, than the unfinished meal of the Canadian was
discontinued, the wallet refilled, and the large greasy
clasp-knife with which the portions had been separated,
closed and thrust into a pocket of his blanket coat.

"I shall go to de devils for you, capitaine, if we must,"
he said, as he raised his portly form, not without effort,
from the deck, slapping the shoulder of the officer at
the same time somewhat rudely with his hand. There was
nothing, however, offensively familiar in this action.
It expressed merely the devotedness of heart with which
the man lent himself to the service to which he had
pledged himself, and was rather complimentary than
otherwise to him to whom it was directed. Captain de
Haldimar took it in the light in which we have just shown
it, and he grasped and shook the rough hand of the Canadian
with an earnestness highly gratifying to the latter.

Every thing was now in readiness for their departure.
The canoe, still covered with its streaming boughs, was
drawn close up to the gangway, and a few hasty necessaries
thrown in. While this was passing, the officer had again
assumed his disguise of a duck-hunter; and he now appeared
in the blanket costume in which we introduced Sir Everard
and himself at the opening of this volume.

"If I may be so bold as to put in my oar, your
honour,"--said the veteran boatswain, on whom the command
of the schooner had fallen, as he now advanced, rolling
his quid in his mouth, and dropping his hat on his
shoulder, while the fingers of the hand which clutched
it were busily occupied in scratching his bald head,--"if
I may be so bold, there is another chap here as might
better sarve your honour's purpose than that 'ere fat
Canadian, who seems to think only of stuffing while his
betters are fasting."

"And who is he, my good Mullins?" asked Captain de
Haldimar.

"Why, that 'ere Ingian, your honour, as began the butchery
in the fort, yonder, by trying to kill Jack Fuller while
he laid asleep this morning, waiting for the captain in
the jolly boat. Jack never seed him coming, until he felt
his black hands upon his throat, and then he ups with
the tiller at his noddle, and sends him floundering across
the boat's thwarts like a flat-fish. I thought, your
honour, seeing as how I have got the command of the
schooner, of tying him up to the mainmast, and giving
him two or three round dozen or so, and then sending him
to swim among the mascannungy with a twenty-four pound
shot in his neckcloth; but, seeing as how your honour is
going among them savages agin, I thought as how some good
might be done with him, if your honour could contrive to
keep him in tow, and close under your lee quarter, to
prevent his escape."

"At all events," returned the officer, after a pause of
some moments, during which he appeared to be deliberating
on his course of action, "it may be dangerous to keep
him in the vessel; and yet, if we take him ashore, he
may be the means of our more immediate destruction;
unless, indeed, as you observe, he can be so secured as
to prevent the possibility of escape: but that I very
much doubt indeed. Where is he, Mullins? I should like
to see and question him."

"He shall be up, your honour, in no time," replied the
sailor, once more resuming his hat, and moving a pace or
two forward. Then addressing two or three men in the
starboard gangway in the authoritative tone of command:
--"Bear a hand there, my men, and cast off the lashings
of that black Ingian, and send him aft, here, to the
officer."

The order was speedily executed. In a few minutes the
Indian stood on the quarter-deck, his hands firmly secured
behind, and his head sunk upon his chest in sullen
despondency. In the increasing gloom in which objects
were now gradually becoming more and more indistinct, it
was impossible for Captain de Haldimar to distinguish
his features; but there was something in the outline of
the Indian's form that impressed him with the conviction
he had seen it before. Advancing a pace or two forward,
he pronounced, in an emphatic and audible whisper, the
name of "Oucanasta!"

The Indian gave an involuntary start,--uttered a deep
interjectional "Ugh!"--and, raising his head from his
chest, fixed his eye heavily on the officer.

"Hookynaster!--Hookynaster!" growled Jack Fuller, who
had followed to hear the examination of his immediate
captive: "why, your honour, that jaw-breaking name reminds
me as how the chap had a bit of a paper when I chucked
him into the jolly boat, stuck in his girdle. It was
covered over with pencil-marks, as writing like; but all
was rubbed out agin, except some such sort of a name as
that."

"Where is it?--what have you done with it?" hastily asked
Captain de Haldimar.

"Here, in my backy-box, your honour. I kept it safe,
thinking as how it might sarve to let us know all about
it afterwards."

The sailor now drew from the receptacle just named a
dirty piece of folded paper, deeply impregnated with the
perfume of stale and oft rechewed quids of coarse tobacco;
and then, with the air of one conscious of having "rendered
the state some service," hitched up his trowsers with
one hand, while with the other he extended the important
document.

To glance his eye hurriedly over the paper by the light
of a dark lanthorn that had meanwhile been brought upon
deck, unclasp his hunting-knife, and divide the ligatures
of the captive, and then warmly press his liberated hands
within his own, were, with Captain de Haldimar, but the
work of a minute.

"Hilloa! which the devil way does the wind blow now?"
muttered Fuller, the leer of self-satisfaction that had
hitherto played in his eye rapidly giving place to an
air of seriousness and surprise; an expression that was
not at all diminished by an observation from his new
commander.

"I tell you what it is, Jack," said the latter,
impressively; "I don't pretend to have more gumption (qu.
discernment?) than my messmates; but I can see through
a millstone as clear as any man as ever heaved a lead in
these here lakes; and may I never pipe boatswain's whistle
again, if you 'ar'n't, some how or other, in the wrong
box. That 'ere Ingian's one of us!"

The feelings of Captain de Haldimar may easily be
comprehended by our readers, when, on glancing at the
paper, he found himself confirmed in the impression
previously made on him by the outline of the captive's
form. The writing, nearly obliterated by damp, had been
rudely traced by his own pencil on a leaf torn from his
pocket-book. In the night of his visit to the Indian
encampment, and at the moment when, seated on the fatal
log, Oucanasta had generously promised her assistance in
at least rescuing his betrothed bride. They were addressed
to Major de Haldimar, and briefly stated that a treacherous
plan was in contemplation by the enemy to surprise the
fort, which the bearer, Oucanasta (the latter word strongly
marked), would fully explain, if she could possibly obtain
access within. From the narrative entered into by Clara,
who had particularly dwelt on the emotions of fear that
had sprung up in her own and cousin's heart by the sudden
transformation of a supposed harmless beaver into a fierce
and threatening savage, he had no difficulty in solving
the enigma.

The Indian, in whom he had recognised the young chief
who had saved him from the fury of Wacousta, had evidently
been won upon by his sister to perform a service which
offered so much less difficulty to a warrior than to a
woman; and it was clear, that, finding all other means
of communication with the fort, undiscovered by his own
people, impracticable, he had availed himself of the
opportunity, when he saw the boat waiting on the strand,
to assume a disguise so well adapted to insure success.
It was no remarkable thing in these countries, to see
both the beaver and the otter moving on the calm surface
of the waters in the vicinity of the forts, even at
mid-day; and occupied as the Indians were, to a man, at
that moment with their cruel projects, it was by no means
likely that their attention should have been called off
from these to so apparently unimportant a circumstance.
The act that had principally alarmed the cousins, and
terminated, as we have seen, in the sudden attack of the
sailor, had evidently been misconceived. The hand supposed
to be feeling for the heart of the sluggard, had, in all
probability, been placed on his chest with a view to
arouse him from his slumber; while that which was believed
to have been dropped to the handle of his knife, was, in
reality, merely seeking the paper that contained the
announcement, which, if then delivered, might have saved
the garrison.

Such was the tram of conjecture that now passed through
the mind of the officer; but, although he thus placed
the conduct of the Indian in the most favourable light,
his impression received no confirmation from the lips of
the latter. Sullen and doggedly, notwithstanding the
release from his bonds, the Ottawa hung his head upon
his chest, with his eyes riveted on the deck, and
obstinately refused to answer every question put to him
by his deliverer. This, however, did not the less tend
to confirm Captain de Haldimar in his belief. He knew
enough of the Indian character, to understand the indignant
and even revengeful spirit likely to be aroused by the
treatment the savage had met with in return for his
intended services. He was aware that, without pausing to
reflect on the fact, that the sailor, ignorant of his
actual purpose, could merely have seen in him an enemy
in the act of attempting his life, the chief would only
consider and inflame himself over the recollection of
the blow inflicted; and that, with the true obstinacy of
his race, he would rather suffer captivity or death
itself, than humble the haughty pride of his nature, by
condescending to an explanation with those by whom he
felt himself so deeply injured. Still, even amid all his
own personal griefs,--griefs that rendered the boon in
some degree at present valueless,--Captain de Haldimar
could not forget that the youth, no matter by what motive
induced, had rescued him from a dreadful death on a
previous occasion. With the generous warmth, therefore,
of a grateful mind, he now sought to impress on the Indian
the deep sense of obligation under which he laboured;
explaining at the same time the very natural error into
which the sailor had fallen, and concluding with a
declaration that he was free to quit the vessel in the
canoe in which he himself was about to take his departure
for the shore, in search of her whom his sister had
pledged herself, at all hazards, to save.

The address of the officer, touching and impressive as
language ever is that comes from the heart, was not
altogether without effect on the Indian. Several times
he interrupted him with a short, quick, approving "Ugh!"
and when he at length received the assurance that he was
no longer a prisoner, he raised his eyes rapidly, although
without moving his head, to the countenance of his
deliverer. Already were his lips opening to speak for
the first time, when the attention of the group around
him was arrested by his giving a sudden start of surprise.
At the same moment he raised his head, stretched his
neck, threw forward his right ear, and, uttering a loud
and emphatic "Waugh!" pointed with his finger over the
bows of the vessel.

All listened for upwards of a minute in mute suspense;
and then a faint and scarcely distinguishable sound was
heard in the direction in which he pointed. Scarcely had
it floated on the air, when a shrill, loud, and prolonged
cry, of peculiar tendency, burst hurriedly and eagerly
from the lips of the captive; and, spreading over the
broad expanse of water, seemed to be re-echoed back from
every point of the surrounding shore.

Great was the confusion that followed this startling yell
on the decks of the schooner. "Cut the hell-fiend
down!"--"Chuck him overboard!"--" We are betrayed!"--"Every
man to his gun!"--"Put the craft about!" were among the
numerous exclamations that now rose simultaneously from
at least twenty lips, and almost drowned the loud shriek
that burst again from the wretched Clara de Haldimar.

"Stop, Mullins!--Stop, men!" shouted Captain de Haldimar,
firmly, as the excited boatswain, with two or three of
his companions,--now advanced with the intention of
laying violent hands on the Indian. "I will answer for
his fidelity with my life. If he be false, it will be
time enough to punish him afterwards; but let us calmly
await the issue like men. Hear me," he proceeded, as he
remarked their incredulous, uncertain, and still threatening
air;--"this Indian saved me from the tomahawks of his
tribe not a week ago; and, even now, he has become our
captive in the act of taking a note from me to the
garrison, to warn them of their danger. But for that
slumbering fool," he added, bitterly, pointing to Fuller,
who slept when he should have watched, "your fort would
not now have been what it is,--a mass of smoking ruins.
He has an ocean of blood upon his soul, that all the
waters of the Huron can never wash out!"

Struck by the vehement manner of the officer, and the
disclosure he had just made, the sailors sunk once more
into inaction and silence. The boatswain alone spoke.

"I thought, your honour, as how Jack Fuller, who sartainly
is a better hand at a snooze than a watch, had got into
a bit of a mess; but, shiver my topsails, if I think it's
quite fair to blame him, neither, for clapping a stopper
on the Indian's cable, seeing as how he was expecting a
shot between wind and water. Still, as the chap turns
out to be an honest chap, and has saved your honour's
life above all, I don't much care if I give him a grip.
Here, old fellow, tip us your fist!"

Without seeming to understand that his cry had been
productive of general and intense alarm throughout the
vessel, the Indian had viewed the sudden rushing of the
crew towards him as an act of gratuitous hostility; and,
without shrinking from the attack, had once more resumed
his original air of dogged sullenness. It was evident
to him, from the discussion going on, that some violence,
about to be offered to his person, had only been prevented
by the interference of the officer. With the natural
haughtiness of his savage nature, he therefore rejected
the overtures of the sailor, whose hand he had observed
among the first that were raised against him.

While the angry boatswain was yet rolling his quid within
his capacious jaws, racking his brain for the strongest
language wherein to give vent to his indignation, his
ears were suddenly saluted by a low but clear "Hilloa!"
from the bows of the schooner.

"Ay, ay!" was the brief response.

"There's something approaching us ahead, on the weather
fore quarter," continued the same voice, which was that
of the man on the look-out.

The most profound silence now pervaded the deck. Every
individual, including Captain de Haldimar and the boatswain,
had flown to the gangway of the quarter indicated, which
was on the side occupied by the couch of the unfortunate
Clara. Presently a noise like that produced by a single
paddle rapidly dividing the water, was heard by every
anxious ear. Night had long since thrown her mantle over
the surrounding waste; and all that was to be seen
reflected from the bosom of the gradually darkening river,
scarcely ruffled by the yet incipient breeze, were a few
straggling stars, that here and there appeared in the
overcast heavens. Hitherto no object could be discovered
by those who strained their eyes eagerly and painfully
through the gloom, although the sounds became at each
moment more distinct. It was evident the party, guided
by the noise of the rippling waves that fell from the
bows of the schooner, was enabled to follow up a course,
the direct clue to which had been indicated by the cry
of the captive. Every man stood near his gun on the
starboard battery, and the burning matches hanging over
their respective buckets ready to be seized at a moment's
notice. Still, but little room for apprehension existed;
for the practised ear of the mariners could easily tell
that a solitary bark alone approached; and of one, or
even ten, they entertained no fear. Suddenly, as the
course of the vessel was now changed a point to windward,
--a movement that brought her bows more off the adjacent
shore,--the sound, in which all were more or less
interested, was heard not more than twenty yards off,
and in a line with the gangway at which the principal of
the crew were assembled. In the next minute the low hull
of a canoe came in sight, and then a tall and solitary
human figure was seen in the stern, bending alternately
to the right and to the left, as the paddle was rapidly
and successively changed from side to side.

Another deep and exulting "Ugh!" was now heaved from the
chest of the Indian, who stood calmly on the spot on
which he had first rested, while Fuller prepared a coil
of rope to throw to the active steersman.

"Avast there, Jack!" growled the boatswain, addressing
the sailor; "how can the stranger keep the bow of his
craft on, and grapple at the same time? Just pass one
end of the coil round your waist, and swing yourself
gently into her."

The head of the canoe was now near enough for the purpose.
The sailor did as he was desired, having previously
divested himself of his shoes, and leaping forward,
alighted on what appeared to be a bundle of blankets
stowed away in her bows. No sooner, however, had he
secured his footing, when with another desperate leap,
and greatly to the astonishment of all around, he bounded
once more to the deck of the schooner, his countenance
exhibiting every mark of superstitious alarm. In the act
of quitting the canoe he had spurned her violently several
feet from the vessel, which the silent steersman was
again making every effort to reach.

"Why what the devil's the matter with you now?" exclaimed
the rough boatswain, who, as well as Captain de Haldimar
and the rest of the crew, had quitted the gangway to
learn the cause of this extraordinary conduct. "Damn my
eyes, if you ar'n't worse scared than when the Ingian
stood over you in the jolly boat."

"Scared, ay, to be sure I am; and so would you be scared
too, if you'd a see'd what I did. May I never touch the
point at Portsmouth, if I a'n't seen her ghost."

"Where?--whose ghost?--what ghost?--what do you mean,
Jack?" exclaimed several of the startled men in the same
breath, while the superstitious dread so common to mariners
drew them still closer in the group that encircled their
companion.

"Well, then, as I am a miserable sinner," returned the
man, impressively, and in a low tone, "I see'd in the
bows of the canoe,--and the hand that steered it was not
made of flesh and blood like ours,--what do you think?--
the ghost of---"

Captain de Haldimar heard no more. At a single bound he
had gained the ship's side. He strained his eyes anxiously
over the gangway in search of the canoe, but it was gone.
A death-like silence throughout the deck followed the
communication of the sailor, and in that pause the sound
of the receding boat could be heard, not urged, as it
had approached, by one paddle, but by two. The heart of
the officer throbbed almost to suffocation; and his
firmness, hitherto supported by the manly energies of
his nature, now failed him quite. Heedless of appearances,
regardless of being overlooked, he tottered like a drunken
man for support against the mainmast. For a moment or
two he leant his head upon his hand, with the air of one
immersed in the most profound abstraction; while the
crew, at once alarmed and touched by the deep distress
into which this mysterious circumstance had plunged him,
stood silently and respectfully watching his emotion.
Suddenly he started from his attitude of painful repose,
like one awaking from a dream, and demanded what had
become of the Indian.

Every one looked around, but the captive was nowhere to
be seen. Search was made below, both in the cabin and in
the fore decks, and men were sent up aloft to see if he
had secreted himself in the rigging; but all returned,
stating he was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared
from the vessel altogether, yet no one knew how; for he
had not been observed to stir from the spot on which he
had first planted himself. It was plain, however, he had
joined the mysterious party in the canoe, from the fact
of the second paddle having been detected; and all attempts
at pursuit, without endangering the vessel on the shallows,
whither the course of the fugitives was now directed,
was declared by the boatswain utterly impracticable.

The announcement of the Indian's disappearance seemed to
put the climax to the despair of the unfortunate officer.
--"Then is our every hope lost!" he groaned aloud, as,
quitting the centre of the vessel, he slowly traversed
the deck, and once more stood at the side of his no less
unhappy and excited sister. For a moment or two he remained
with his arms folded across his chest, gazing on the dark
outline of her form; and then, in a wild paroxysm of
silent tearless grief, threw himself suddenly on the edge
of the couch, and clasping her in a long close embrace
to his audibly beating heart, lay like one bereft of all
sense and consciousness of surrounding objects.




END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.







WACOUSTA;
  or
THE PROPHECY.

Volume Three of Three




CHAPTER I.

The night passed away without further event on board the
schooner, yet in all the anxiety that might be supposed
incident to men so perilously situated. Habits of long-since
acquired superstition, too powerful to be easily shaken
off, moreover contributed to the dejection of the mariners,
among whom there were not wanting those who believed the
silent steersman was in reality what their comrade had
represented,--an immaterial being, sent from the world
of spirits to warn them of some impending evil. What
principally gave weight to this impression were the
repeated asseverations of Fuller, during the sleepless
night passed by all on deck, that what he had seen was
no other, could be no other, than a ghost! exhibiting in
its hueless, fleshless cheek, the well-known lineaments
of one who was supposed to be no more: and, if the story
of their comrade had needed confirmation among men in
whom faith in, rather than love for, the marvellous was
a constitutional ingredient, the terrible effect that
seemed to have been produced on Captain de Haldimar by
the same mysterious visitation would have been more than
conclusive. The very appearance of the night, too,
favoured the delusion. The heavens, comparatively clear
at the moment when the canoe approached the vessel, became
suddenly enveloped in the deepest gloom at its departure,
as if to enshroud the course of those who, having so
mysteriously approached, had also so unaccountably
disappeared. Nor had this threatening state of the
atmosphere the counterbalancing advantage of storm and
tempest to drive them onward through the narrow waters
of the Sinclair, and enable them, by anticipating the
pursuit of their enemies, to shun the Scylla and Charybdis
that awaited their more leisure advance. The wind increased
not; and the disappointed seamen remarked, with dismay,
that their craft scarcely made more progress than at the
moment when she first quitted her anchorage.

It was now near the first hours of day; and although,
perhaps, none slept, there were few who were not apparently
at rest, and plunged in the most painful reflections.
Still occupying her humble couch, and shielded from the
night air merely by the cloak that covered her own
blood-stained garments, lay the unhappy Clara, her deep
groans and stifled sobs bursting occasionally from her
pent-up heart, and falling on the ears of the mariners
like sounds of fearful import, produced by the mysterious
agency that already bore such undivided power over their
thoughts. On the bare deck, at her side, lay her brother,
his face turned upon the planks, as if to shut out all
objects from eyes he had not the power to close; and,
with one arm supporting his heavy brow, while the other,
cast around the restless form of his beloved sister,
seemed to offer protection and to impart confidence, even
while his lips denied the accents of consolation. Seated
on an empty hen-coop at their head, was Sir Everard
Valletort, his back reposing against the bulwarks of the
vessel, his arms folded across his chest, and his eyes
bent mechanically on the man at the helm, who stood within
a few paces of him,--an attitude of absorption, which
he, ever and anon, changed to one of anxious and enquiring
interest, whenever the agitation of Clara was manifested
in the manner already shown.

The main deck and forecastle of the vessel presented a
similar picture of mingled unquietness and repose. Many
of the seamen might be seen seated on the gun-carriages,
with their cheeks pressing the rude metal that served
them for a pillow. Others lay along the decks, with their
heads resting on the elevated hatches; while not a few,
squatted on their haunches with their knees doubled up
to their very chins, supported in that position the aching
head that rested between their rough and horny palms.
A first glance might have induced the belief that all
were buried in the most profound slumber; but the quick
jerking of a limb,--the fitful, sudden shifting of a
position,--the utter absence of that deep breathing which
indicates the unconsciousness of repose, and the occasional
spirting of tobacco juice upon the deck,--all these
symptoms only required to be noticed, to prove the living
silence that reigned throughout was not born either of
apathy or sleep.

At the gangway at which the canoe had approached now
stood the individual already introduced to our readers
as Jack Fuller. The same superstitious terror that caused
his flight had once more attracted him to the spot where
the subject of his alarm first appeared to him; and,
without seeming to reflect that the vessel, in her slow
but certain progress, had left all vestige of the mysterious
visitant behind, he continued gazing over the bulwarks
on the dark waters, as if he expected at each moment to
find his sight stricken by the same appalling vision. It
was at the moment when he had worked up his naturally
dull imagination to its highest perception of the
supernatural, that he was joined by the rugged boatswain,
who had passed the greater part of the night in pacing
up and down the decks, watching the aspect of the heavens,
and occasionally tauting a rope or squaring a light yard,
unassisted, as the fluttering of the canvass in the wind
rendered the alteration necessary.

"Well, Jack!" bluntly observed the latter in a gruff
whisper that resembled the suppressed growling of a
mastiff, "what the hell are ye thinking of now?--Not got
over your flumbustification yet, that ye stand here,
looking as sanctified as an old parson!"

"I'll tell ye what it is, Mr. Mullins," returned the
sailor, in the same key; "you may make as much game on
me as you like; but these here strange sort of doings
are somehow quizzical; and, though I fears nothing in
the shape of flesh and blood, still, when it comes to
having to do with those as is gone to Davy Jones's locker
like, it gives a fellow an all-overishness as isn't quite
the thing. You understand me?"

"I'm damned if I do!" was the brief but energetic rejoinder.

"Well, then," continued Fuller, "if I must out with it,
I must. I think that 'ere Ingian must have been the devil,
or how could he come so sudden and unbeknownst upon me,
with the head of a 'possum: and then, agin, how could he
get away from the craft without our seeing him? and how
came the ghost on board of the canoe?"

"Avast there, old fellow; you means not the head of a
'possum, but a beaver: but that 'ere's all nat'r'l enough,
and easily 'counted for; but you hav'n't told us whose
ghost it was, after all."

"No; the captain made such a spring to the gunwale, as
frighted it all out of my head: but come closer, Mr.
Mullins, and I'll whisper it in your ear.--Hark! what
was that?"

"I hears nothing," said the boatswain, after a pause.

"It's very odd," continued Fuller; "but I thought as how
I heard it several times afore you came."

"There's something wrong, I take it, in your upper story,
Jack Fuller," coolly observed his companion; "that 'ere
ghost has quite capsized you."

"Hark, again!" repeated the sailor. "Didn't you hear it
then? A sort of a groan like."

"Where, in what part?" calmly demanded the boatswain,
though in the same suppressed tone in which the dialogue
had been, carried on.

"Why, from the canoe that lies alongside there. I heard
it several times afore."

"Well, damn my eyes, if you a'rn't turned a real coward
at last," politely remarked Mr. Mullins. "Can't the poor
fat devil of a Canadian snooze a bit in his hammock,
without putting you so completely out of your reckoning?"

"The Canadian--the Canadian!" hurriedly returned Fuller:
"why, don't you see him there, leaning with his back to
the main-mast, and as fast asleep as if the devil himself
couldn't wake him?"

"Then it was the devil, you heard, if you like," quaintly
retorted Mullins: "but bear a hand, and tell us all about
this here ghost."

"Hark, again! what was that?" once more enquired the
excited sailor.

"Only a gust of wind passing through the dried boughs of
the canoe," said the boatswain: "but since we can get
nothing out of that crazed noddle of yours, see if you
can't do something with your hands. That 'ere canoe
running alongside, takes half a knot off the ship's way.
Bear a hand then, and cast off the painter, and let her
drop astarn, that she may follow in our wake. Hilloa!
what the hell's the matter with the man now?"

And well might he ask. With his eyeballs staring, his
teeth chattering, his body half bent, and his arms thrown
forward, yet pendent as if suddenly arrested in that
position while in the act of reaching the rope, the
terrified sailor stood gazing on the stern of the canoe;
in which, by the faint light of the dawning day, was to
be seen an object well calculated to fill the least
superstitious heart with terror and dismay. Through an
opening in the foliage peered the pale and spectral face
of a human being, with its dull eyes bent fixedly and
mechanically upon the vessel. In the centre of the wan
forehead was a dark incrustation, as of blood covering
the superficies of a newly closed wound. The pallid mouth
was partially unclosed, so as to display a row of white
and apparently lipless teeth; and the features were
otherwise set and drawn, as those of one who is no longer
of earth. Around the head was bound a covering so close,
as to conceal every part save the face; and once or twice
a hand was slowly raised, and pressed upon the blood spot
that dimmed the passing fairness of the brow. Every other
portion of the form was invisible.

"Lord have mercy upon us!" exclaimed the boatswain, in
a voice that, now elevated to more than its natural tone,
sounded startlingly on the stillness of the scene; "sure
enough it is, indeed, a ghost!"

"Ha! do you believe me now?" returned Fuller, gaining
confidence from the admission of his companion, and in
the same elevated key. "It is, as I hope to be saved,
the ghost I see'd afore."

The commotion on deck was now every where universal. The
sailors started to their feet, and, with horror and alarm
visibly imprinted on their countenances, rushed tumultuously
towards the dreaded gangway.

"Make way--room, fellows!" exclaimed a hurried voice;
and presently Captain de Haldimar, who had bounded like
lightning from the deck, appeared with eager eye and
excited cheek among them. To leap into the bows of the
canoe, and disappear under the foliage, was the work of
a single instant. All listened breathlessly for the
slightest sound; and then every heart throbbed with the
most undefinable emotions, as his lips were heard giving
utterance to the deep emotion of his own spirit,--

"Madeline, oh, my own lost Madeline!" he exclaimed with
almost frantic energy of passion: "do I then press you
once more in madness to my doting heart? Speak, speak to
me--for God's sake speak, or I shall go mad! Air, air,
--she wants air only--she cannot be dead."

These last words were succeeded by the furious rending
asunder of the fastenings that secured the boughs, and
presently the whole went overboard, leaving revealed the
tall and picturesque figure of the officer; whose left
arm encircled while it supported the reclining and
powerless form of one who well resembled, indeed, the
spectre for which she had been mistaken, while his right
hand was busied in detaching the string that secured a
portion of the covering round her throat. At length it
fell from her shoulders; and the well known form of
Madeline de Haldimar, clad even in the vestments in which
they had been wont to see her, met the astonished gaze
of the excited seamen. Still there were some who doubted
it was the corporeal woman whom they beheld; and several
of the crew who were catholics even made the sign of the
cross as the supposed spirit was now borne up the gangway
in the arms of the pained yet gratified De Haldimar: nor
was it until her feet were seen finally resting on the
deck, that Jack Fuller could persuade himself it was
indeed Miss de Haldimar, and not her ghost, that lay
clasped to the heart of the officer.

With the keen rush of the morning air upon her brow
returned the suspended consciousness of the bewildered
Madeline. The blood came slowly and imperceptibly to her
cheek; and her eyes, hitherto glazed, fixed, and
inexpressive, looked enquiringly, yet with stupid
wonderment, around. She started from the embrace of her
lover, gazed alternately at his disguise, at himself,
and at Clara; and then passing her hand several times
rapidly across her brow, uttered an hysteric scream, and
threw herself impetuously forward on the bosom of the
sobbing girl; who, with extended arms, parted lips, and
heaving bosom, sat breathlessly awaiting the first dawn
of the returning reason of her more than sister.

We should vainly attempt to paint all the heart-rending
misery of the scene exhibited in the gradual restoration
of Miss de Haldimar to her senses. From a state of torpor,
produced by the freezing of every faculty into almost
idiocy, she was suddenly awakened to all the terrors of
the past and the deep intonations of her rich voice were
heard only in expressions of agony, that entered into
the most iron-hearted of the assembled seamen; while they
drew from the bosom of her gentle and sympathising cousin
fresh bursts of desolating grief. Imagination itself
would find difficulty in supplying the harrowing effect
upon all, when, with upraised hands, and on her bended
knees, her large eyes turned wildly up to heaven, she
invoked in deep and startling accents the terrible
retribution of a just God on the inhuman murderers of
her father, with whose life-blood her garments were
profusely saturated; and then, with hysteric laughter,
demanded why she alone had been singled out to survive
the bloody tragedy. Love and affection, hitherto the
first principles of her existence, then found no entrance
into her mind. Stricken, broken-hearted, stultified to
all feeling save that of her immediate wretchedness, she
thought only of the horrible scenes through which she
had passed; and even he, whom at another moment she could
have clasped in an agony of fond tenderness to her beating
bosom,--he to whom she had pledged her virgin faith, and
was bound by the dearest of human ties,--he whom she had
so often longed to behold once more, and had thought of,
the preceding day, with all the tenderness of her
impassioned and devoted soul,--even he did not, in the
first hours of her terrible consciousness, so much as
command a single passing regard. All the affections were
for a period blighted in her bosom. She seemed as one
devoted, without the power of resistance, to a grief
which calcined and preyed upon all other feelings of the
mind. One stunning and annihilating reflection seemed to
engross every principle of her being; nor was it for
hours after she had been restored to life and recollection
that a deluge of burning tears, giving relief to her
heart and a new direction to her feelings, enabled her
at length to separate the past from, and in some degree
devote herself to, the present. Then, indeed, for the
first time did she perceive and take pleasure in the
presence of her lover; and clasping her beloved and
weeping Clara to her heart, thank her God, in all the
fervour of true piety, that she at least had been spared
to shed a ray of comfort on her distracted spirit. But
we will not pain the reader by dwelling on a scene that
drew tears even from the rugged and flint-nerved boatswain
himself; for, although we should linger on it with minute
anatomical detail, no powers of language we possess could
convey the transcript as it should be. Pass we on,
therefore, to the more immediate incidents of our narrative.

The day now rapidly developing, full opportunity was
afforded the mariners to survey the strict nature of
their position. To all appearance they were yet in the
middle of the lake, for around them lay the belting sweep
of forest that bounded the perspective of the equidistant
circle, of which their bark was the focus or immediate
centre. The wind was dying gradually away, and when at
length the sun rose, in all his splendour, there was
scarce air enough in the heavens to keep the sails from
flapping against the masts, or to enable the vessel to
obey her helm. In vain was the low and peculiar whistle
of the seamen heard, ever and anon, in invocation of the
departing breeze. Another day, calm and breathless as
the preceding, had been chartered from the world of light;
and their hearts failed them, as they foresaw the difficulty
of their position, and the almost certainty of their
retreat being cut off. It was while labouring under the
disheartening consciousness of danger, peculiar to all,
that the anxious boatswain summoned Captain de Haldimar
and Sir Everard Valletort, by a significant beck of the
finger, to the side of the deck opposite to that on which
still lay the suffering and nearly broken-hearted girls.

"Well, Mullins, what now?" enquired the former, as he
narrowly scanned the expression of the old man's features:
"that clouded brow of yours, I fear me, bodes no agreeable
information."

"Why, your honour, I scarcely knows what to say about
it; but seeing as I'm the only officer in the ship, now
our poor captain is killed, God bless him! I thought I
might take the liberty to consult with your honours as
to the best way of getting out of the jaws of them sharks
of Ingians; and two heads, as the saying is, is always
better than one."

"And now you have the advantage of three," observed the
officer, with a sickly smile; "but I fear, Mullins, that
if your own be not sufficient for the purpose, ours will
be of little service. You must take counsel from your
own experience and knowledge of nautical matters."

"Why, to be sure, your honour," and the sailor rolled
his quid from one cheek to the other, "I think I may say
as how I'll venture to steer the craft with any man on
the Canada lakes, and bring her safe into port too; but
seeing as how I'm only a petty officer, and not yet
recommended by his worship the governor for the full
command, I thought it but right to consult with my
superiors, not as to the management of the craft, but
the best as is to be done. What does your honour think
of making for the high land over the larboard bow yonder,
and waiting for the chance of the night-breeze to take
us through the Sinclair?"

"Do whatever you think best," returned the officer. "For
my part, I scarcely can give an opinion. Yet how are we
to get there? There does not appear to be a breath of
wind."

"Oh, that's easily managed; we have only to brail and
furl up a little, to hide our cloth from the Ingians,
and then send the boats a-head to tow the craft, while
some of us lend a hand at her own sweeps. We shall get
close under the lee of the land afore night, and then we
must pull up agin along shore, until we get within a mile
or so of the head of the river."

"But shall we not be seen by our enemies?" asked Sir
Everard; "and will they not be on the watch for our
movements, and intercept our retreat?"

"Now that's just the thing, your honour, as they're not
likely to do, if so be as we bears away for yon headlands.
I knows every nook and sounding round the lake; and odd
enough if I didn't, seeing as how the craft circumnavigated
it, at least, a dozen times since we have been cooped up
here. Poor Captain Danvers! (may the devil damn his
murderers, I say, though it does make a commander of me
for once;) he used always to make for that 'ere point,
whenever he wished to lie quiet; for never once did we
see so much as a single Ingian on the headland. No, your
honour, they keeps all at t'other side of the lake, seeing
as how that is the main road from Mackina' to Detroit."

"Then, by all means, do so," eagerly returned Captain de
Haldimar. "Oh, Mullins! take us but safely through, and
if the interest of my father can procure you a king's
commission, you shall not want it, believe me."

"And if half my fortune can give additional stimulus to
exertion, it shall be shared, with pleasure, between
yourself and crew," observed Sir Everard.

"Thank your honours,--thank your honours," said the
boatswain, somewhat electrified by these brilliant offers.
"The lads may take the money, if they like; all I cares
about is the king's commission. Give me but a swab on my
shoulder, and the money will come fast enough of itself.
But, still, shiver my topsails, if I wants any bribery
to make me do my duty; besides, if 'twas only for them
poor girls alone, I would go through fire and water to
sarve them. I'm not very chicken-hearted in my old age,
your honours, but I don't recollect the time when I
blubbered so much as I did when Miss Madeline come aboard.
But I can't bear to think of it; and now let us see and
get all ready for towing."

Every thing now became bustle and activity on board the
schooner. The matches, no longer required for the moment,
were extinguished, and the heavy cutlasses and pistols
unbuckled from the loins of the men, and deposited near
their respective guns. Light forms flew aloft, and,
standing out upon the yards, loosely furled the sails
that had previously been hauled and clewed up; but, as
this was an operation requiring little time in so small
a vessel, those who were engaged in it speedily glided
to the deck again, ready for a more arduous service.
The boats had, meanwhile, been got forward, and into
these the sailors sprang, with an alacrity that could
scarcely have been expected from men who had passed not
only the preceding night, but many before it, in utter
sleeplessness and despair. But the imminence of the
danger, and the evident necessity existing for exertion,
aroused them to new energy; and the hitherto motionless
vessel was now made to obey the impulse given by the tow
ropes of the boats, in a manner that proved their crews
to have entered on their toil with the determination of
men, resolved to devote themselves in earnest to their
task. Nor was the spirit of action confined to these.
The long sweeps of the schooner had been shipped, and
such of the crew as remained on board laboured effectually
at them,--a service, in which they were essentially aided,
not only by mine host of the Fleur de lis, but by the
young officers themselves.

At mid-day the headlands were seen looming largely in
the distance, while the immediate shores of the ill-fated
fortress were momentarily, and in the same proportion,
disappearing under the dim line of horizon in the rear.
More than half their course, from the spot whence they
commenced towing, had been completed, when the harassed
men were made to quit their oars, in order to partake of
the scanty fare of the vessel, consisting chiefly of
dried bear's meat and venison. Spirit of any description
they had none; but, unlike their brethren of the Atlantic,
when driven to extremities in food, they knew not what
it was to poison the nutritious properties of the latter
by sipping the putrid dregs of the water-cask, in quantities
scarce sufficient to quench the fire of their parched
palates. Unslaked thirst was a misery unknown to the
mariners of these lakes: it was but to cast their buckets
deep into the tempting element, and water, pure, sweet,
and grateful as any that ever bubbled from the moss-clad
fountain of sylvan deity, came cool and refreshing to
their lips, neutralising, in a measure, the crudities of
the coarsest food. It was to this inestimable advantage
the crew of the schooner had been principally indebted
for their health, during the long series of privation,
as far as related to fresh provisions and rest, to which
they had been subjected. All appeared as vigorous in
frame, and robust in health, as at the moment when they
had last quitted the waters of the Detroit; and but for
the inward sinking of the spirit, reflected in many a
bronzed and furrowed brow, there was little to show they
had been exposed to any very extraordinary trials.

Their meal having been hastily dispatched, and sweetened
by a draught from the depths of the Huron, the seamen
once more sprang into their boats, and devoted themselves,
heart and soul, to the completion of their task, pulling
with a vigour that operated on each and all with a tendency
to encouragement and hope. At length the vessel, still
impelled by her own sweeps, gradually approached the
land; and at rather more than an hour before sunset was
so near that the moment was deemed arrived when, without
danger of being perceived, she might be run up along the
shore to the point alluded to by the boatswain. Little
more than another hour was occupied in bringing her to
her station; and the red tints of departing day were
still visible in the direction of the ill-fated fortress
of Michilimackinac, when the sullen rumbling of the cable,
following the heavy splash of the anchor, announced the
place of momentary concealment had been gained.

The anchorage lay between two projecting headlands; to
the outermost extremities of which were to be seen,
overhanging the lake, the stately birch and pine, connected
at their base by an impenetrable brushwood, extending to
the very shore, and affording the amplest concealment,
except from the lake side and the banks under which the
schooner was moored. From the first quarter, however,
little danger was incurred, as any canoes the savages
might send in discovery of their course, must unavoidably
be seen the moment they appeared over the line of the
horizon, while, on the contrary, their own vessel, although
much larger, resting on and identified with the land,
must be invisible, except on a very near approach. In
the opposite direction they were equally safe; for, as
Mullins had truly remarked, none, save a few wandering
hunters, whom chance occasionally led to the spot, were
to be met with in a part of the country that lay so
completely out of the track of communication between the
fortresses. It was, however, but to double the second
headland in their front, and they came within view of
the Sinclair, the head of which was situated little more
than a league beyond the spot where they now lay. Thus
secure for the present, and waiting only for the rising
of the breeze, of which the setting sun had given promise,
the sailors once more snatched their hasty refreshment,
while two of their number were sent aloft to keep a
vigilant look-out along the circuit embraced by the
enshrouding headlands.

During the whole of the day the cousins had continued on
deck clasped in each other's arms, and shedding tears of
bitterness, and heaving the most heart-rending sobs at
intervals, yet but rarely conversing. The feelings of
both were too much oppressed to admit of the utterance
of their grief. The vampire of despair had banqueted on
their hearts. Their vitality had been sucked, as it were,
by its cold and bloodless lips; and little more than the
withered rind, that had contained the seeds of so many
affections, had been left. Often had Sir Everard and De
Haldimar paused momentarily from the labour of their
oars, to cast an eye of anxious solicitude on the scarcely
conscious girls, wishing, rather than expecting, to find
the violence of their desolation abated, and that, in
the full expansion of unreserved communication, they were
relieving their sick hearts from the terrible and crushing
weight of woe that bore them down. Captain de Haldimar
had even once or twice essayed to introduce the subject
himself, in the hope that some fresh paroxysm, following
their disclosures, would remove the horrible stupefaction
of their senses; but the wild look and excited manner of
Madeline, whenever he touched on the chord of her
affliction, had as often caused him to desist.

Towards the evening, however, her natural strength of
character came in aid of his quiescent efforts to soothe
her; and she appeared not only more composed, but more
sensible of the impression produced by surrounding objects.
As the last rays of the sun were tinging the horizon,
she drew up her form in a sitting position against the
bulwarks, and, raising her clasped hands to heaven, while
her eyes were bent long and fixedly on the distant west,
appeared for some minutes wholly lost in that attitude
of absorption. Then she closed her eyes; and through the
swollen lids came coursing, one by one, over her quivering
cheek, large tears, that seemed to scald a furrow where
they passed. After this she became more calm--her
respiration more free; and she even consented to taste
the humble meal which the young man now offered for the
third time. Neither Clara nor herself had eaten food
since the preceding morning; and the weakness of their
frames contributed not a little to the increasing
despondency of their spirits; but, notwithstanding several
attempts previously made, they had rejected what was
offered them, with insurmountable loathing. When they
had now swallowed a few morsels of the sliced venison
ham, prepared with all the delicacy the nearly exhausted
resources of the vessel could supply, accompanied by a
small portion of the cornbread of the Canadian, Captain
de Haldimar prevailed on them to swallow a few drops of
the spirit that still remained in the canteen given them
by Erskine on their departure from Detroit. The genial
liquid sent a kindling glow to their chilled hearts, and
for a moment deadened the pungency of their anguish; and
then it was that Miss de Haldimar entered briefly on the
horrors she had witnessed, while Clara, with her arm
encircling her waist, fixed her dim and swollen eyes,
from which a tear ever and anon rolled heavily to her
lap, on those of her beloved cousin,




CHAPTER II.

Without borrowing the affecting language of the unhappy
girl--a language rendered even more touching by the
peculiar pathos of her tones, and the searching agony of
spirit that burst at intervals through her narrative--
we will merely present our readers with a brief summary
of what was gleaned from her melancholy disclosure. On
bearing her cousin to the bedroom, after the terrifying
yell first heard from without the fort, she had flown
down the front stairs of the blockhouse, in the hope of
reaching the guardroom in time to acquaint Captain Baynton
with what she and Clara had witnessed from their window.
Scarcely, however, had she gained the exterior of the
building, when she saw that officer descending from a
point of the rampart immediately on her left, and almost
in a line with the block-house. He was running to overtake
and return the ball of the Indian players, which had, at
that moment, fallen into the centre of the fort, and was
now rolling rapidly away from the spot on which Miss de
Haldimar stood. The course of the ball led the pursuing
officer out of the reach of her voice; and it was not
until he had overtaken and thrown it again over the
rampart, she could succeed in claiming his attention. No
sooner, however, had he heard her hurried statement,
than, without waiting to take the orders of his commanding
officer, he prepared to join his guard, and give directions
for the immediate closing of the gates. But the opportunity
was now lost. The delay occasioned by the chase and
recovery of the ball had given the Indians time to approach
the gates in a body, while the unsuspicious soldiery
looked on without so much as dreaming to prevent them;
and Captain Baynton had scarcely moved forward in execution
of his purpose, when the yelling fiends were seen already
possessing themselves of the drawbridge, and exhibiting
every appearance of fierce hostility. Wild, maddened at
the sight, the almost frantic Madeline, alive only to
her father's danger, rushed back towards the council-room,
whence the startling yell from without had already been
echoed, and where the tramp of feet, and the clashing of
weapons, were distinguishable.

Cut off from his guard, by the rapid inundation of
warriors, Captain Baynton had at once seen the futility
of all attempts to join the men, and his first impression
evidently had been to devote himself to the preservation
of the cousins. With this view he turned hastily to Miss
de Haldimar, and hurriedly naming the back staircase of
the block-house, urged her to direct her flight to that
quarter. But the excited girl had neither consideration
nor fear for herself; she thought only of her father:
and, even while the fierceness of contest was at its
height within, she suddenly burst into the council-room.
The confusion and horror of the scene that met her eyes
no language can render: blood was flowing in every
direction, and dying and dead officers, already stripped
of their scalps, were lying strewed about the room.
Still the survivors fought with all the obstinacy of
despair, and many of the Indians had shared the fate of
their victims. Miss de Haldimar attempted to reach her
father, then vigorously combating with one of the most
desperate of the chiefs; but, before she could dart
through the intervening crowd, a savage seized her by
the hair, and brandished a tomahawk rapidly over her
neck. At that moment Captain Baynton sent his glittering
blade deep into the heart of the Indian, who, relinquishing
his grasp, fell dead at the feet of his intended victim.
The devoted officer then threw his left arm round her
waist, and, parrying with his sword-arm the blows of
those who sought to intercept his flight, dragged his
reluctant burden towards the door. Hotly pressed by the
remaining officers, nearly equal in number, the Indians
were now compelled to turn and defend themselves in front,
when Captain Baynton took that opportunity of getting
once more into the corridor, not, however, without having
received a severe wound immediately behind the right ear,
and leaving a skirt and lappel of his uniform in the
hands of two savages who had successively essayed to
detain him. At that moment the band without had succeeded
in forcing open the door of the guard-room; and the
officer saw, at a glance, there was little time left for
decision. In hurried and imploring accents he besought
Miss de Haldimar to forget every thing but her own danger,
and to summon resolution to tear herself from the scene:
but prayer and entreaty, and even force, were alike
employed in vain. Clinging firmly to the rude balustrades,
she refused to be led up the staircase, and wildly
resisting all his efforts to detach her hands, declared
she would again return to the scene of death, in which
her beloved parent was so conspicuous an actor. While he
was yet engaged in this fruitless attempt to force her
from the spot, the door of the council-room was suddenly
burst open, and a group of bleeding officers, among whom
was Major de Haldimar, followed by their yelling enemies,
rushed wildly into the passage, and, at the very foot of
the stairs where they yet stood, the combat was renewed.
From that moment Miss de Haldimar lost sight of her
generous protector. Meanwhile the tumult of execrations,
and groans, and yells, was at its height; and one by one
she saw the unhappy officers sink beneath weapons yet
reeking with the blood of their comrades, until not more
than three or four, including her father and the commander
of the schooner, were left. At length Major de Haldimar,
overcome by exertion, and faint from wounds, while his
wild eye darted despairingly on his daughter, had his
sword-arm desperately wounded, when the blade dropped to
the earth, and a dozen weapons glittered above his head.
The wild shriek that had startled Clara then burst from
the agonised heart of her maddened cousin, and she darted
forward to cover her father's head with her arms. But
her senses failed her in the attempt; and the last thing
she recollected was falling over the weltering form of
Middleton, who pressed her, as she lay there, in the
convulsive energy of death, to his almost pulseless heart.

A vague consciousness of being raised from the earth,
and borne rapidly through the air, came over her even in
the midst of her insensibility, but without any definite
perception of the present, or recollection of the past,
until she suddenly, when about midway between the fort
and the point of wood that led to Chabouiga, opened her
eyes, and found herself in the firm grasp of an Indian,
whose features, even in the hasty and fearful glance she
cast at the countenance, she fancied were not unfamiliar
to her. Not another human being was to be seen in the
clearing at that moment; for all the savages, including
even the women assembled outside, were now within the
fort assisting in the complex horrors of murder, fire,
and spoliation. In the wild energy of returning reason
and despair, the wretched girl struggled violently to
free herself; and so far with success, that the Indian,
whose strength was evidently fast failing him, was
compelled to quit his hold, and suffer her to walk. No
sooner did Miss de Haldimar feel her feet touching the
ground, when she again renewed her exertions to free
herself, and return to the fort; but the Indian held her
firmly secured by a leathern thong he now attached to
her waist, and every attempt proved abortive. He was
evidently much disconcerted at her resistance; and more
than once she expected, and almost hoped, the tomahawk
at his side would be made to revenge him for the test to
which his patience was subjected; but Miss de Haldimar
looked in vain for the expression of ferocity and impatience
that might have been expected from him at such a moment.
There was an air of mournfulness, and even kindness,
mingled with severity, on his smooth brow that harmonised
ill with the horrible atrocities in which he had, to all
appearance, covered as he was with blood, been so recent
and prominent an actor. The Indian remarked her surprise;
and then looking hurriedly, yet keenly, around, and
finding no living being near them, suddenly tore the
shirt from his chest, and emphatically pronouncing the
names "Oucanasta," "De Haldimar," disclosed to the still
struggling captive the bosom of a woman. After which,
pointing in the direction of the wood, and finally towards
Detroit, she gave Miss de Haldimar to understand that
was the course intended to be pursued.

In a moment the resistance of the latter ceased. She at
once recognised the young Indian woman whom her cousin
had rescued from death: and aware, as she was, of the
strong attachment that had subsequently bound her to her
preserver, she was at no loss to understand how she might
have been led to devote herself to the rescue of one
whom, it was probable, she knew to be his affianced wife.
Once, indeed, a suspicion of a different nature crossed
her mind; for the thought occurred to her she had only
been saved from the general doom to be made the victim
of private revenge--that it was only to glut the jealous
vengeance of the woman at a more deliberative hour, she
had been made a temporary captive. The apprehension,
however, was no sooner formed than extinguished. Bitterly,
deeply as she had reason to abhor the treachery and
cunning of the dark race to which her captor belonged,
there was an expression of openness and sincerity, and
even imploringness, in the countenance of Oucanasta,
which, added to her former knowledge of the woman, at
once set this fear at rest, inducing her to look upon
her rather in the character of a disinterested saviour,
than in that of a cruel and vindictive enemy, goaded on
to the indulgence of malignant hate by a spirit of rivalry
and revenge. Besides, even were her cruellest fears to
be realised, what could await her worse than the past?
If she could even succeed in getting away, it would only
be to return upon certain death; and death only could
await her, however refined the tortures accompanying its
infliction, in the event of her quietly following and
yielding herself up to the guidance of one who offered
this slight consolation, at least, that she was of her
own sex. But Miss de Haldimar was willing to attribute
more generous motives to the Indian; and fortified in
her first impression, she signified by signs, that seemed
to be perfectly intelligible to her companion, she
appreciated her friendly intentions, and confided wholly
in her.

No longer checked in her efforts, Oucanasta now directed
her course towards the wood, still holding the thong that
remained attached to Miss de Haldimar's waist, probably
with a view to deceive any individuals from the villages
on whom they might chance to fall, into a belief that
the English girl was in reality her prisoner. No sooner,
however, had they entered the depths of the forest, when,
instead of following the path that led to Chabouiga,
Oucanasta took a direction to the left, and then moving
nearly on a parallel line with the course of the lake,
continued her flight as rapidly as the rude nature of
the underwood, and the unpractised feet of her companion,
would permit. They had travelled in this manner for
upwards of four hours, without meeting a breathing thing,
or even so much as exchanging a sound between themselves,
when, at length, the Indian stopped at the edge of a deep
cavern-like excavation in the earth, produced by the
tearing up, by the wild tempest, of an enormous pine.
Into this she descended, and presently reappeared with
several blankets, and two light painted paddles. Then
unloosing the thong from the waist of the exhausted girl,
she proceeded to disguise her in one of the blankets in
the manner already shown, securing it over the head,
throat, and shoulders with the badge of captivity, now
no longer necessary for her purpose. She then struck off
at right angles from the course they had previously
pursued; and in less than twenty minutes both stood on
the lake shore, apparently at a great distance from the
point whence they had originally set out. The Indian
gazed for a moment anxiously before her; and then, with
an exclamation, evidently meant to convey a sense of
pleasure and satisfaction, pointed forward upon the lake.
Miss de Haldimar followed, with eager and aching eyes,
the direction of her finger, and beheld the well-known
schooner evidently urging her flight towards the entrance
of the Sinclair. Oh, how her sick heart seemed ready to
burst at that moment! When she had last gazed upon it
was from the window of her favourite apartment; and even
while she held her beloved Clara clasped fondly in her
almost maternal embrace, she had dared to indulge the
fairest images that ever sprung into being at the creative
call of woman's fancy. How bitter had been the reverse!
and what incidents to fill up the sad volume of the
longest life of sorrow and bereavement had not Heaven
awarded her in lieu! In one short hour the weight of a
thousand worlds had fallen on and crushed her heart; and
when and how was the panacea to be obtained to restore
one moment's cessation from suffering to her agonised
spirit? Alas! she felt at that moment, that, although
she should live a thousand years, the bitterness and
desolation of her grief must remain. From the vessel she
turned her eyes away upon the distant shore, which it
was fast quitting, and beheld a column of mingled flame
and smoke towering far above the horizon, and attesting
the universal wreck of what had so long been endeared to
her as her home. And she had witnessed all this, and yet
had strength to survive it!

The courage of the unhappy girl had hitherto been sustained
by no effort of volition of her own. From the moment
when, discovering a friend in Oucanasta, she had yielded
herself unresistingly to the guidance of that generous
creature, her feelings had been characterised by an
obtuseness strongly in contrast with the high excitement
that had distinguished her previous manner. A dreamy
recollection of some past horror, it is true, pursued
her during her rapid and speechless flight; but any
analysis of the causes conducing to that horror, her
subjugated faculties were unable to enter upon. Even as
one who, under the influence of incipient slumber, rejects
the fantastic images that rise successively and indistinctly
to the slothful brain, until, at length, they weaken,
fade, and gradually die away, leaving nothing but a
formless and confused picture of the whole; so was it
with Miss de Haldimar. Had she been throughout alive to
the keen recollections associated with her flight, she
could not have stirred a foot in furtherance of her own
safety, even if she would. The mere instinct of
self-preservation would never have won one so truly
devoted to the generous purpose of her deliverer, had
not the temporary stupefaction of her mind prevented all
desire of opposition. It is true, in the moment of her
discovery of the sex of Oucanasta, she had been able to
exercise her reflecting powers; but they were only in
connection with the present, and wholly abstract and
separate from the past. She had followed her conductor
almost without consciousness, and with such deep absorption
of spirit, that she neither once conjectured whither they
were going, nor what was to be the final issue of their
flight. But now, when she stood on the lake shore,
suddenly awakened, as if by some startling spell, to
every harrowing recollection, and with her attention
assisted by objects long endeared, and rendered familiar
to her gaze--when she beheld the vessel that had last
borne her across the still bosom of the Huron, fleeing
for ever from the fortress where her arrival had been so
joyously hailed--when she saw that fortress itself
presenting the hideous spectacle of a blackened mass of
ruins fast crumbling into nothingness--when, in short,
she saw nothing but what reminded her of the terrific
past, the madness of reason returned, and the desolation
of her heart was complete. And then, again, when she
thought of her generous, her brave, her beloved, and too
unfortunate father, whom she had seen perish at her
feet--when she thought of her own gentle Clara, and the
sufferings and brutalities to which, if she yet lived,
she must inevitably be exposed, and of the dreadful fate
of the garrison altogether, the most menial of whom was
familiar to her memory, brought up, as she had been,
among them from her childhood--when she dwelt on all
these things, a faintness, as of death, came over her,
and she sank without life on the beach. Of what passed
afterwards she had no recollection. She neither knew how
she had got into the canoe, nor what means the Indian
had taken to secure her approach to the schooner. She
had no consciousness of having been removed to the bark
of the Canadian, nor did she even remember having risen
and gazed through the foliage on the vessel at her side;
but she presumed, the chill air of morning having partially
restored pulsation, she had moved instinctively from her
recumbent position to the spot in which her spectre-like
countenance had been perceived by Fuller. The first moment
of her returning reason was that when, standing on the
deck of the schooner, she found herself so unexpectedly
clasped to the heart of her lover.

Twilight had entirely passed away when Miss de Haldimar
completed her sad narrative; and already the crew, roused
to exertion by the swelling breeze, were once more engaged
in weighing the anchor, and setting and trimming the
sails of the schooner, which latter soon began to shoot
round the concealing headland into the opening of the
Sinclair. A deathlike silence prevailed throughout the
decks of the little bark, as her bows, dividing the waters
of the basin that formed its source, gradually immerged
into the current of that deep but narrow river; so narrow,
indeed, that from its centre the least active of the
mariners might have leaped without difficulty to either
shore. This was the most critical part of the dangerous
navigation. With a wide sea-board, and full command of
their helm, they had nothing to fear; but so limited was
the passage of this river, it was with difficulty the
yards and masts of the schooner could be kept disengaged
from the projecting boughs of the dense forest that lined
the adjacent shores to their very junction with the water.
The darkness of the night, moreover, while it promised
to shield them from the observation of the savages,
contributed greatly to perplex their movements; for such
was the abruptness with which the river wound itself
round in various directions, that it required a man
constantly on the alert at the bows to apprise the helmsman
of the course he should steer, to avoid collision with
the shores. Canopies of weaving branches met in various
directions far above their heads, and through these the
schooner glided with a silence that might have called up
the idea of a Stygian freight. Meanwhile, the men stood
anxiously to their guns, concealing the matches in their
water-buckets as before; and, while they strained both
ear and eye through the surrounding; gloom to discover
the slightest evidence of danger, grasped the handles of
their cutlasses with a firm hand, ready to unsheathe them
at the first intimation of alarm.

At the suggestion of the boatswain, who hinted at the
necessity of having cleared decks, Captain de Haldimar
had prevailed on his unfortunate relatives to retire to
the small cabin arranged for their reception; and here
they were attended by an aged female, who had long followed
the fortunes of the crew, and acted in the twofold
character of laundress and sempstress. He himself, with
Sir Everard, continued on deck watching the progress of
the vessel with an anxiety that became more intense at
each succeeding hour. Hitherto their course had been
unimpeded, save by the obstacles already enumerated; and
they had now, at about an hour before dawn, gained a
point that promised a speedy termination to their dangers
and perplexities. Before them lay a reach in the river,
enveloped in more than ordinary gloom, produced by the
continuous weaving of the tops of the overhanging trees;
and in the perspective, a gleam of relieving light,
denoting the near vicinity of the lake that lay at the
opposite extremity of the Sinclair, whose name it also
bore. This was the narrowest part of the river; and so
approximate were its shores, that the vessel in her course
could not fail to come in contact both with the obtruding
foliage of the forest and the dense bullrushes skirting
the edge of either bank.

"If we get safe through this here place," said the
boatswain, in a rough whisper to his anxious and attentive
auditors," I think as how I'll venture to answer for the
craft. I can see daylight dancing upon the lake already.
Ten minutes more and she will be there." Then turning to
the man at the helm,--"Keep her in the centre of the
stream, Jim. Don't you see you're hugging the weather
shore?"

"It would take the devil himself to tell which is the
centre," growled the sailor, in the same suppressed tone.
"One might steer with one's eyes shut in such a queer
place as this and never be no worser off than with them
open."

"Steady her helm, steady," rejoined Mullins, "it's as
dark as pitch, to be sure, but the passage is straight
as an arrow, and with a steady helm you can't miss it.
Make for the light ahead."

"Abaft there!" hurriedly and loudly shouted the man on
the look-out at the bows, "there's a tree lying across
the river, and we're just upon it."

While he yet spoke, and before the boatswain could give
such instructions as the emergency required, the vessel
suddenly struck against the obstacle in question; but
the concussion was not of the violent nature that might
have been anticipated. The course of the schooner, at no
one period particularly rapid, had been considerably
checked since her entrance into the gloomy arch, in the
centre of which her present accident had occurred; so
that it was without immediate injury to her hull and
spars she had been thus suddenly brought to. But this
was not the most alarming part of the affair. Captain de
Haldimar and Sir Everard both recollected, that, in making
the same passage, not forty-eight hours previously, they
had encountered no obstacle of the kind, and a misgiving
of danger rose simultaneously to the hearts of each. It
was, however, a thing of too common occurrence in these
countries, where storm and tempest were so prevalent and
partial, to create more than a mere temporary alarm; for
it was quite as probable the barrier had been interposed
by some fitful outburst of Nature, as that it arose from
design on the part of their enemies: and when the vessel
had continued stationary for some minutes, without the
prepared and expectant crew discovering the slightest
indication of attack, the former impression was preserved
by the officers--at least avowedly to those around.

"Bear a hand, my lads, and cut away," at length ordered
the boatswain, in a low but clear tone; "half a dozen at
each end of the stick, and we shall soon clear a passage
for the craft."

A dozen sailors grasped their axes, and hastened forward
to execute the command. They sprang lightly from the
entangled bows of the schooner, and diverging in equal
numbers moved to either extremity of the fallen tree.

"This is sailing through the heart of the American forest
with a vengeance," muttered Mullins, whose annoyance at
their detention was strongly manifested as he paced up
and down the deck. "Shiver my topsails, if it isn't bad
enough to clear the Sinclair at any time, much more so
when one's running for one's life, and not a whisper's
length from one's enemies. Do you know, Captain," abruptly
checking his movement, and familiarly placing his hand
on the shoulder of De Haldimar, "the last time we sailed
through this very reach I couldn't help telling poor
Captain Danvers, God rest his soul, what a nice spot it
was for an Ingian ambuscade, if they had only gumption
enough to think of it."

"Hark!" said the officer, whose heart, eye, and ear were
painfully on the alert, "what rustling is that we hear
overhead?"

"It's Jack Fuller, no doubt, your honour; I sent him up
to clear away the branches from the main topmast rigging."
Then raising his head, and elevating his voice, "Hilloa!
aloft there!"

The only answer was a groan, followed by a deeper commotion
among the rustling foliage.

"Why, what the devil's the matter with you now, Jack?"
pursued the boatswain, in a voice of angry vehemence.
"Are ye scared at another ghost, and be damned to you,
that ye keep groaning there after that fashion?"

At that moment a heavy dull mass was heard tumbling
through the upper rigging of the schooner towards the
deck, and presently a human form fell at the very feet
of the small group, composed of the two officers and the
individual who had last spoken.

"A light, a light!" shouted the boatswain; "the foolish
chap has lost his hold through fear, and ten to one if
he hasn't cracked his skull-piece for his pains. Quick
there with a light, and let's see what we can do for him."

The attention of all had been arrested by the sound of
the falling weight, and as one of the sailors now advanced,
bearing a dark lantern from below, the whole of the crew,
with the exception of those employed on the fallen tree,
gathered themselves in a knot round the motionless form
of the prostrate man. But no sooner had their eyes
encountered the object of their interest, when each
individual started suddenly and involuntarily back, baring
his cutlass, and drawing forth his pistol, the whole
presenting a group of countenances strongly marked by
various shades of consternation and alarm, even while
their attitudes were those of men prepared for some fierce
and desperate danger. It was indeed Fuller whom they had
beheld, but not labouring, as the boatswain had imagined,
under the mere influence of superstitious fear. He was
dead, and the blood flowing from a deep wound, inflicted
by a sharp instrument in his chest, and the scalped head,
too plainly told the manner of his death, and the danger
that awaited them all.

A pause ensued, but it was short. Before any one could
find words to remark on the horrible circumstance, the
appalling war-cry of the savages burst loudly from every
quarter upon the ears of the devoted crew. In the
desperation of the moment, several of the men clutched
their cutlasses between their teeth, and seizing the
concealed matches, rushed to their respective stations
at the guns. It was in vain the boatswain called out to
them, in a voice of stern authority, to desist, intimating
that their only protection lay in the reservation of the
fire of their batteries. Goaded and excited, beyond the
power of resistance, to an impulse that set all
subordination at defiance, they applied the matches, and
almost at the same instant the terrific discharge of both
broadsides took place, rocking the vessel to the water's
edge, and reverberating, throughout, the confined space
in which she lay, like the deadly explosion of some deeply
excavated mine.

Scarcely had the guns been fired, when the seamen became
sensible of their imprudence. The echoes were yet
struggling to force a passage through the dense forest,
when a second yell of the Indians announced the fiercest
joy and triumph, unmixed by disaster, at the result; and
then the quick leaping of many forms could be heard, as
they divided the crashing underwood, and rushed forward
to close with their prey. It was evident, from the
difference of sound, their first cry had been pealed
forth while lying prostrate on the ground, and secure
from the bullets, whose harmless discharge that cry was
intended to provoke; for now the voices seemed to rise
progressively from the earth, until they reached the
level of each individual height, and were already almost
hotly breathing in the ears of those they were destined
to fill with illimitable dismay.

"Shiver my topsails, but this comes of disobeying orders,"
roared the boatswain, in a voice of mingled anger and
vexation. "The Ingians are quite as cunning as ourselves,
and arn't to be frighted that way. Quick, every cutlass
and pistol to his gangway, and let's do our best. Pass
the word forward for the axemen to return to quarters."

Recovered from their first paroxysm of alarm, the men at
length became sensible of the presence of a directing
power, which, humble as it was, their long habits of
discipline had taught them to respect, and, headed on
the one side by Captain de Haldimar, and on the other by
Sir Everard Valletort, neither of whom, however, entertained
the most remote chance of success, flew, as commanded,
to their respective gangways. The yell of the Indians
had again ceased, and all was hushed into stillness; but
as the anxious and quicksighted officers gazed over the
bulwarks, they fancied they could perceive, even through
the deep gloom that every where prevailed, the forms of
men,--resting in cautious and eager attitudes, on the
very verge of the banks, and at a distance of little more
than half pistol shot. Every heart beat with expectancy,
--every eye was riveted intently in front, to watch and
meet the first movements of their foes, but not a sound
of approach was audible to the equally attentive ear. In
this state of aching suspense they might have continued
about five minutes, when suddenly their hearts were made
to quail by a third cry, that came, not as previously,
from the banks of the river, but from the very centre of
their own decks, and from the top-mast and riggings of
the schooner. So sudden and unexpected too was this fresh
danger, that before the two parties had time to turn,
and assume a new posture of defence, several of them had
already fallen under the butchering blades of their
enemies. Then commenced a desperate but short conflict,
mingled with yellings, that again were answered from
every point; and rapidly gliding down the pendant ropes,
were to be seen the active and dusky forms of men, swelling
the number of the assailants, who had gained the deck in
the same noiseless manner, until resistance became almost
hopeless.

"Ha! I hear the footsteps of our lads at last," exclaimed
Mullins exultingly to his comrades, as he finished
despatching a third savage with his sturdy weapon. "Quick,
men, quick, up with hatchet and cutlass, and take them
in the rear. If we are to die, let's die--" game, he
would perhaps have added, but death arrested the word
upon his lips; and his corpse rolled along the deck,
until its further progress was stopped by the stiffened
body of the unhappy Fuller.

Notwithstanding the fall of their brave leader, and the
whoopings of their enemies, the flagging spirits of the
men were for a moment excited by the announcement of the
return even of the small force of the axemen, and they
defended themselves with a courage and determination
worthy of a better result; but when, by the lurid light
of the torches, now lying burning about the decks, they
turned and beheld not their companions, but a fresh band
of Indians, at whose pouch-belts dangled the reeking
scalps of their murdered friends, they at once relinquished
the combat as hopeless, and gave themselves unresistingly
up to be bound by their captors.

Meanwhile the cousins experienced a renewal of all those
horrors from which their distracted minds had been
temporarily relieved; and, petrified with alarm, as they
lay in the solitary berth that contained them both,
endured sufferings infinitely more terrible than death
itself. The early part of the tumult they had noticed
almost without comprehending its cause, and but for the
terrific cry of the Indians that had preceded them, would
have mistaken the deafening broadsides for the blowing
up of the vessel, so tremendous and violent bad been the
concussion. Nay, there was a moment when Miss de Haldimar
felt a pang of deep disappointment and regret at the
misconception; for, with the fearful recollection of past
events, so strongly impressed on her bleeding heart, she
could not but acknowledge, that to be engulfed in one
general and disastrous explosion, was mercy compared with
the alternative of falling into the hands of those to
whom her loathing spirit bad been too fatally taught to
deny even the commonest attributes of humanity. As for
Clara, she had not the power to think, or to form a
conjecture on the subject:--she was merely sensible of
a repetition of the horrible scenes from which she had
so recently been snatched, and with a pale cheek, a fixed
eye, and an almost pulseless heart, lay without motion
in the inner side of the berth. The piteous spectacle of
her cousin's alarm lent a forced activity to the despair
of Miss de Haldimar, in whom apprehension produced that
strong energy of excitement that sometimes gives to
helplessness the character of true courage. With the
increasing clamour of appalling conflict on deck, this
excitement grew at every moment stronger, until it finally
became irrepressible, so that at length, when through
the cabin windows there suddenly streamed a flood of
yellow light, extinguishing that of the lamp that threw
its flickering beams around the cabin, she flung herself
impetuously from the berth, and, despite of the aged and
trembling female who attempted to detain her, burst open
the narrow entrance to the cabin, and rushed up the steps
communicating with the deck.

The picture that here met her eyes was at once graphic
and fearful in the extreme. On either side of the river
lines of streaming torches were waved by dusky warriors
high above their heads, reflecting the grim countenances,
not only of those who bore them, but of dense groups in
their rear, whose numbers were alone concealed by the
foliage of the forest in which they stood. From the
branches that wove themselves across the centre of the
river, and the topmast and rigging of the vessel, the
same strong yellow light, produced by the bark of the
birch tree steeped in gum, streamed down upon the decks
below, rendering each line and block of the schooner as
distinctly visible as if it had been noon on the sunniest
of those far distant lakes. The deck itself was covered
with the bodies of slain men--sailors, and savages mixed
together; and amid these were to be seen fierce warriors,
reclining triumphantly and indolently on their rifles,
while others were occupied in securing the arms of their
captives with leathern thongs behind their backs. The
silence that now prevailed was strongly in contrast with,
and even more fearful than, the horrid shouts by which
it had been preceded; and, but for the ghastly countenances
of the captives, and the quick rolling eyes of the savages,
Miss de Haldimar might have imagined herself the sport
of some extraordinary and exciting illusion. Her glance
over these prominent features in the tragedy had been
cursory, yet accurate. It now rested on one that had more
immediate and terrifying interest for herself. At a few
paces in front of the companion ladder, and with their
backs turned towards her, stood two individuals, whose
attitudes denoted the purpose of men resolved to sell
with their lives alone a passage to a tall fierce-looking
savage, whose countenance betrayed every mark of triumphant
and deadly passion, while he apparently hesitated whether
his uplifted arm should stay the weapon it wielded. These
individuals were Captain de Haldimar and Sir Everard
Valletort; and to the former of these the attention of
the savage was more immediately and exultingly directed;
so much so, indeed, that Miss de Haldimar thought she
could read in the ferocious expression of his features
the death-warrant of her cousin. In the wild terror of
the moment she gave a piercing scream that was answered
by a hundred yelling voices, and rushing between her
lover and his enemy, threw herself wildly and supplicatingly
at the feet of the latter. Uttering a savage laugh, the
monster spurned her from him with his foot, when, quick
as thought, a pistol was discharged within a few inches
of his face; but with a rapidity equal to that of his
assailant, he bent aside his head, and the ball passed
harmlessly on. The yell that followed was terrific; and
while it was yet swelling into fulness, Captain de Haldimar
felt an iron hand furiously grappling his throat, and,
ere the grasp was relinquished, he again stood the bound
and passive victim of the warrior of the Fleur de lis.




CHAPTER III.

The interval that succeeded to the last council-scene of
the Indians was passed by the officers of Detroit in a
state of inexpressible anxiety and doubt. The fears
entertained for the fate of their companions, who had
set out in the perilous and almost forlorn hope of reaching
Michilimackinac, in time to prevent the consummation of
the threatened treachery, had, in some degree, if not
wholly, been allayed by the story narrated by the Ottawa
chief. It was evident, from his statement, the party had
again met, and been engaged in fearful struggle with the
gigantic warrior they had all so much reason to recollect;
and it was equally apparent, that in that struggle they
had been successful. But still, so many obstacles were
likely to be opposed to their navigation of the several
lakes and rivers over which lay their course, it was
almost feared, even if they eventually escaped unharmed
themselves, they could not possibly reach the fort in
time to communicate the danger that awaited their friends.
It is true, the time gained by Governor de Haldimar on
the first occasion had afforded a considerable interval,
of which advantage might be taken; but it was also, on
the other hand, uncertain whether Ponteac had commanded
the same delay in the council of the chiefs investing
Michilimackinac, to which he had himself assented. Three
days were sufficient to enable an Indian warrior to
perform the journey by land; and it was chiefly on this
vague and uncertain ground they based whatever little of
hope was entertained on the subject.

It had been settled at the departure of the adventurers,
that the instant they effected a communication with the
schooner on Lake Huron, Francois should be immediately
sent back, with instructions so to contrive the period
of his return, that his canoe should make its appearance
soon after daybreak at the nearest extremity of Hog
Island, the position of which has been described in our
introductory chapter. From this point a certain signal,
that could be easily distinguished with the aid of a
telescope, was to be made from the canoe, which, without
being of a nature to attract the attention of the savages,
was yet to be such as could not well be mistaken by the
garrison. This was a precaution adopted, not only with
the view of giving the earliest intimation of the result
of the enterprise, but lest the Canadian should be
prevented, by any closer investment on the part of the
Indians, from communicating personally with the fort in
the way he had been accustomed.

It will easily be comprehended therefore, that, as the
period approached when they might reasonably look for
the return of Francois, if he should return at all, the
nervous anxiety of the officers became more and more
developed. Upwards of a week had elapsed since the
departure of their friends; and already, for the last
day or two, their impatience had led them, at early dawn,
and with beating hearts, to that quarter of the rampart
which overlooked the eastern extremity of Hog Island.
Hitherto, however, their eager watching had been in vain.
As far as our recollection of the Canadian tradition of
this story serves us, it must have been on the fourth
night after the final discomfiture of the plans of Ponteac,
and the tenth from the departure of the adventurers, that
the officers were assembled in the mess-room, partaking
of the scanty and frugal supper to which their long
confinement had reduced them. The subject of their
conversation, as it was ever of their thoughts, was the
probable fate of their companions; and many and various,
although all equally melancholy, were the conjectures
offered as to the result. There was on the countenance
of each, that deep and fixed expression of gloom, which,
if it did not indicate any unmanliness of despair, told
at least that hope was nearly extinct: but more especially
was this remarkable in the young but sadly altered Charles
de Haldimar, who, with a vacant eye and a pre-occupied
manner, seemed wholly abstracted from the scene before
him.

All was silence in the body of the fort. The men off duty
had long since retired to rest in their clothes, and only
the "All's well!" of the sentinels was heard at intervals
of a quarter of an hour, as the cry echoed from mouth to
mouth in the line of circuit. Suddenly, however, between
two of those intervals, and during a pause in the languid
conversation of the officers, the sharp challenge of a
sentinel was heard, and then quick steps on the rampart,
as of men hastening to the point whence the challenge
had been given. The officers, whom this new excitement
seemed to arouse into fresh activity, hurriedly quitted
the room; and, with as little noise as possible, gained
the spot where the voice had been heard. Several men were
bending eagerly over the rampart, and, with their muskets
at the recover, riveting their gaze on a dark and motionless
object that lay on the verge of the ditch immediately
beneath them.

"What have you here, Mitchell?" asked Captain Blessington,
who was in command of the guard, and who had recognised
the gruff voice of the veteran in the challenge just
given.

"An American burnt log, your honour," muttered the soldier,
"if one was to judge from its stillness; but if it is,
it must have rolled there within the last minute; for
I'll take my affidavy it wasn't here when I passed last
in my beat."

"An American burnt log, indeed! it's some damned rascal
of a spy, rather," remarked Captain Erskine. "Who knows
but it may be our big friend, come to pay us a visit
again? And yet he is not half long enough for him, either.
Can't you try and tickle him with the bayonet, any of
you fellows, and see whether he is made of flesh and
blood?"

Although this observation was made almost without object,
it being totally impossible for any musket, even with
the addition of its bayonet, to reach more than half way
across the ditch, the several sentinels threw themselves
on their chests, and, stretching over the rampart as far
as possible, made the attempt to reach the suspicious
looking object that lay beyond. No sooner, however, had
their arms been extended in such a manner as to be utterly
powerless, when the dark mass was seen to roll away in
an opposite direction, and with such rapidity that, before
the men could regain their feet and level their muskets,
it had entirely disappeared from their view.

"Cleverly managed, to give the red skin his due," half
laughingly observed Captain Erskine, while his brother
officers continued to fix their eyes in astonishment on
the spot so recently occupied by the strange object; "but
what the devil could be his motive for lying there so
long? Not playing the eaves-dropper, surely; and yet, if
he meant to have picked off a sentinel, what was to have
prevented him from doing it sooner?"

"He had evidently no arms," said Ensign Delme.

"No, nor legs either, it would appear," resumed the
literal Erskine. "Curse me if I ever saw any thing in
the shape of a human form bundled together in that manner."

"I mean he had no fire-arms--no rifle," pursued Delme.

"And if he had, he certainly would have rifled one of us
of a life," continued the captain, laughing at his own
conceit. "But come, the bird is flown, and we have only
to thank ourselves for having been so egregiously duped.
Had Valletort been here, he would have given a different
account of him."

"Hist! listen!" exclaimed Lieutenant Johnstone, calling
the attention of the party to a peculiar and low sound
in the direction in which the supposed Indian had departed.

It was repeated, and in a plaintive tone, indicating a
desire to propitiate. Soon afterwards a human form was
seen advancing slowly, but without show either of
concealment or hostility in its movements. It finally
remained stationary on the spot where the dark and
shapeless mass had been first perceived.

"Another Oucanasta for De Haldimar, no doubt," observed
Captain Erskine, after a moment's pause. "These grenadiers
carry every thing before them as well in love as in war."

The error of the good-natured officer was, however,
obvious to all but himself. The figure, which was now
distinctly traced in outline for that of a warrior, stood
boldly and fearlessly on the brink of the ditch, holding
up its left arm, in the hand of which dangled something
that was visible in the starlight, and pointing
energetically to this pendant object with the other.

A voice from one of the party now addressed the Indian
in two several dialects, but without eliciting a reply.
He either understood not, or would not answer the question
proposed, but continued pointing significantly to the
indistinct object which he still held forth in an elevated
position.

"The governor must be apprised of this," observed Captain
Blessington to De Haldimar, who was his subaltern of the
guard. "Hasten, Charles, to acquaint your father, and
receive his orders."

The young officer willingly obeyed the injunction of his
superior. A secret and indefinable hope rushed through
his mind, that as the Indian came not in hostility, he
might be the bearer of some communication from their
friends; and he moved rapidly towards that part of the
building occupied by his father.

The light of a lamp suspended over the piazza leading to
the governor's rooms reflecting strongly on his regimentals,
he passed unchallenged by the sentinels posted there,
and uninterruptedly gained a door that opened on a narrow
passage, at the further extremity of which was the
sitting-room usually occupied by his parent. This again
was entered from the same passage by a second door, the
upper part of which was of common glass, enabling any
one on the outside to trace with facility every object
within when the place was lighted up.

A glance was sufficient to satisfy the youth his father
was not in the room; although there was strong evidence
he had not retired for the night. In the middle of the
floor stood an oaken table, and on this lay an open
writing desk, with a candle on each side, the wicks of
which had burnt so long as to throw a partial gloom over
the surrounding wainscotting. Scattered about the table
and desk were a number of letters that had apparently
been just looked at or read; and in the midst of these
an open case of red morocco, containing a miniature.
The appearance of these letters, thus left scattered
about by one who was scrupulously exact in the arrangement
of his papers, added to the circumstance of the neglected
and burning candles, confirmed the young officer in an
impression that his father, overcome by fatigue, had
retired into his bed-room, and fallen unconsciously
asleep. Imagining, therefore, he could not, without
difficulty, succeed in making himself heard, and deeming
the urgency of the case required it, he determined to
wave the usual ceremony of knocking, and penetrate to
his father's bedroom unannounced. The glass door being
without fastening within, easily yielded to his pressure
of the latch; but as he passed by the table, a strong
and natural feeling of curiosity induced him to cast his
eye upon the miniature. To his infinite surprise, nay,
almost terror, he discovered it was that of his mother--the
identical portrait which his sister Clara had worn in
her bosom from infancy, and which he had seen clasped
round her neck on the very deck of the schooner in which
she sailed for Michilimackinac. He felt there could be
no mistake, for only one miniature of the sort had ever
been in possession of the family, and that the one just
accounted for. Almost stupified at what he saw, and
scarcely crediting the evidence of his senses, the young
officer glanced his eye hurriedly along one of the open
letters that lay around. It was in the well remembered
hand-writing of his mother, and commenced, "Dear, dearest
Reginald." After this followed expressions of endearment
no woman might address except to an affianced lover, or
the husband of her choice; and his heart sickened while
he read. Scarcely, however, had he scanned half a dozen
lines, when it occurred to him he was violating some
secret of his parents; and, discontinuing the perusal
with an effort, he prepared to acquit himself of his
mission.

On raising his eyes from the paper he was startled by
the appearance of his father, who, with a stern brow and
a quivering lip, stood a few paces from the table,
apparently too much overcome by his indignation to be
able to utter a sentence.

Charles de Haldimar felt all the awkwardness of his
position. Some explanation of his conduct, however, was
necessary; and he stammered forth the fact of the portrait
having riveted his attention, from its striking resemblance
to that in his sister's possession.

"And to what do these letters bear resemblance?" demanded
the governor, in a voice that trembled in its attempt to
be calm, while he fixed his penetrating eye on that of
his son. "THEY, it appears, were equally objects of
attraction with you."

"The letters were in the hand-writing of my mother; and
I was irresistibly led to glance at one of them," replied
the youth, with the humility of conscious wrong. "The
action was involuntary, and no sooner committed than
repented of. I am here, my father, on a mission of
importance, which must account for my presence."

"A mission of importance!" repeated the governor, with
more of sorrow than of anger in the tone in which he now
spoke. "On what mission are you here, if it be not to
intrude unwarrantably on a parent's privacy?"

The young officer's cheek flushed high, as he proudly
answered:--"I was sent by Captain Blessington, sir, to
take your orders in regard to an Indian who is now without
the fort under somewhat extraordinary circumstances, yet
evidently without intention of hostility. It is supposed
he bears some message from my brother."

The tone of candour and offended pride in which this
formal announcement of duty was made seemed to banish
all suspicion from the mind of the governor; and he
remarked, in a voice that had more of the kindness that
had latterly distinguished his address to his son, "Was
this, then, Charles, the only motive for your abrupt
intrusion at this hour? Are you sure no inducement of
private curiosity was mixed up with the discharge of your
duty, that you entered thus unannounced? You must admit,
at least, I found you employed in a manner different from
what the urgency of your mission would seem to justify."

There was lurking irony in this speech; yet the softened
accents of his father, in some measure, disarmed the
youth of the bitterness he would have flung into his
observation,--"That no man on earth, his parent excepted,
should have dared to insinuate such a doubt with impunity."

For a moment Colonel de Haldimar seemed to regard his
son with a surprised but satisfied air, as if he had not
expected the manifestation of so much spirit, in one whom
he had been accustomed greatly to undervalue.

"I believe you, Charles," he at length observed; "forgive
the justifiable doubt, and think no more of the subject.
Yet, one word," as the youth was preparing to depart;
"you have read that letter" (and he pointed to that which
had principally arrested the attention of the officer):
"what impression has it given you of your mother? Answer
me sincerely. MY name," and his faint smile wore something
of the character of triumph, "is not REGINALD, you know."

The pallid cheek of the young man flushed at this question.
His own undisguised impression was, that his mother had
cherished a guilty love for another than her husband. He
felt the almost impiety of such a belief, but he could
not resist the conviction that forced itself on his mind;
the letter in her handwriting spoke for itself; and though
the idea was full of wretchedness, he was unable to
conquer it. Whatever his own inference might be, however,
he could not endure the thought of imparting it to his
father; he, therefore, answered evasively.

"Doubtless my mother had some dear relative of the name,
and to him was this letter addressed; perhaps a brother,
or an uncle. But I never knew," he pursued, with a look
of appeal to his father, "that a second portrait of my
mother existed. This is the very counterpart of Clara's."

"It may be the same," remarked the governor, but in a
tone of indecision, that dented his faith in what he
uttered.

"Impossible, my father. I accompanied Clara, if you
recollect, as far as Lake Sinclair; and when I quitted
the deck of the schooner to return, I particularly remarked
my sister wore her mother's portrait, as usual, round
her neck."

"Well, no matter about the portrait," hurriedly rejoined
the governor; "yet, whatever your impression, Charles,"
and he spoke with a warmth that was far from habitual to
him, "dare not to sully the memory of your mother by a
doubt of her purity. An accident has given this letter
to your inspection, but breathe not its contents to a
human creature; above all, respect the being who gave
you birth. Go, tell Captain Blessington to detain the
Indian; I will join you immediately."

Strongly, yet confusedly, impressed with the singularity
of the scene altogether, and more particularly with his
father's strange admonition, the young officer quitted
the room, and hastened to rejoin his companions. On
reaching the rampart he found that the Indian, during
his long absence, had departed; yet not without depositing,
on the outer edge of the ditch, the substance to which
he had previously directed their attention. At the moment
of De Haldimar's approach, the officers were bending over
the rampart, and, with straining eyes, endeavouring to
make out what it was, but in vain; something was just
perceptible in the withered turf, but what that something
was no one could succeed in discovering.

"Whatever this be, we must possess ourselves of it," said
Captain Blessington: "it is evident, from the energetic
manner of him who left it, it is of importance. I think
I know who is the best swimmer and climber of our party."

Several voices unanimously pronounced the name of
"Johnstone."

"Any thing for a dash of enterprise," said that officer,
whose slight wound had been perfectly healed. "But what
do you propose that the swimmer and climber should do,
Blessington?"

"Secure yon parcel, without lowering the drawbridge."

"What! and be scalped in the act? Who knows if it be not
a trick after all, and that the rascal who placed it
there is not lying within a few feet, ready to pounce
upon me the instant I reach the bank."

"Never mind," said Erskine, laughingly, "we will revenge
your death, my boy."

"Besides, consider the nunquam non paratus, Johnstone,"
slily remarked Lieutenant Leslie.

"What, again, Leslie?" energetically responded the young
Scotsman. "Yet think not I hesitate, for I did but jest:
make fast a rope round my loins, and I think I will answer
for the result."

Colonel de Haldimar now made his appearance. Having
heard a brief statement of the facts, and approving of
the suggestion of Captain Blessington, a rope was procured,
and made fast under the shoulders of the young officer,
who had previously stripped himself of his uniform and
shoes. He then suffered himself to drop gently over the
edge of the rampart, his companions gradually lowering
the rope, until a deep and gasping aspiration, such as
is usually wrung from one coming suddenly in contact with
cold water, announced he had gained the surface of the
ditch. The rope was then slackened, to give him the
unrestrained command of his limbs; and in the next instant
he was seen clambering up the opposite elevation.

Although the officers, indulging in a forced levity, in
a great degree meant to encourage their companion, had
treated his enterprise with indifference, they were far
from being without serious anxiety for the result. They
had laughed at the idea, suggested by him, of being
scalped; whereas, in truth, they entertained the
apprehension far more powerfully than he did himself.
The artifices resorted to by the savages, to secure an
isolated victim, were so many and so various, that
suspicion could not but attach to the mysterious occurrence
they had just witnessed. Willing even as they were to
believe their present visitor, whoever he was, came not
in a spirit of enmity, they could not altogether divest
themselves of a fear that it was only a subtle artifice
to decoy one of them within the reach of their traitorous
weapons. They, therefore, watched the movements of their
companion with quickening pulses; and it was with a lively
satisfaction they saw him, at length, after a momentary
search, descend once more into the ditch, and, with a
single powerful impulsion of his limbs, urge himself back
to the foot of the rampart. Neither feet nor hands were
of much service, in enabling him to scale the smooth and
slanting logs that composed the exterior surface of the
works; but a slight jerk of the well secured rope, serving
as a signal to his friends, he was soon dragged once more
to the summit of the rampart, without other injury than
a couple of slight bruises.

"Well, what success?" eagerly asked Leslie and Captain
Erskine in the same breath, as the dripping Johnstone
buried himself in the folds of a capacious cloak procured
during his absence.

"You shall hear," was the reply; "but first, gentlemen,
allow me, if you please, to enjoy, with yourselves, the
luxury of dry clothes. I have no particular ambition to
contract an American ague fit just now; yet, unless you
take pity on me, and reserve my examination for a future
moment, there is every probability I shall not have a
tooth left by to-morrow morning."

No one could deny the justice of the remark, for the
teeth of the young man were chattering as he spoke. It
was not, therefore, until after he had changed his dress,
and swallowed a couple of glasses of Captain Erskine's
never failing spirit, that they all repaired once more
to the mess-room, when Johnstone anticipated all questions,
by the production of the mysterious packet.

After removing several wrappers of bark, each of which
was secured by a thong of deerskin, Colonel de Haldimar,
to whom the successful officer had handed his prize, at
length came to a small oval case of red morocco, precisely
similar, in size and form, to that which had so recently
attracted the notice of his son. For a moment he hesitated,
and his cheek was observed to turn pale, and his hand to
tremble; but quickly subduing his indecision, he hurriedly
unfastened the clasp, and disclosed to the astonished
view of the officers the portrait of a young and lovely
woman, habited in the Highland garb.

Exclamations of various kinds burst from the lips of the
group of officers. Several knew it to be the portrait of
Mrs. de Haldimar; others recognised it from the striking
likeness it bore to Clara and to Charles; all knew it
had never been absent from the possession of the former
since her mother's death; and feeling satisfied as they
did that its extraordinary appearance among them, at the
present moment, was an announcement of some dreadful
disaster, their countenances wore an impress of dismay
little inferior to that of the wretched Charles, who,
agonized beyond all attempt at description, had thrown
himself into a seat in the rear of the group, and sat
like one bewildered, with his head buried in his hands.

"Gentlemen," at length observed Colonel de Haldimar, in
a voice that proved how vainly his natural emotion was
sought to be subdued by his pride, "this, I fear me, is
an unwelcome token. It comes to announce to a father the
murder of his child; to us all, the destruction of our
last remaining friends and comrades."

"God forbid!" solemnly aspirated Captain Blessington.
After a pause of a moment or two he pursued: "I know not
why, sir; but my impression is, the appearance of this
portrait, which we all recognise for that worn by Miss
de Haldimar, bears another interpretation."

Colonel de Haldimar shook his head.--"I have but too
much reason to believe," he observed, smiling in mournful
bitterness, "it has been conveyed to us not in mercy but
in revenge."

No one ventured to question why; for notwithstanding all
were aware that in the mysterious ravisher of the wife
of Halloway Colonel de Haldimar had a fierce and inexorable
private enemy, no allusion had ever been made by that
officer himself to the subject.

"Will you permit me to examine the portrait and envelopes,
Colonel?" resumed Captain Blessington: "I feel almost
confident, although I confess I have no other motive for
it than what springs from a recollection of the manner
of the Indian, that the result will bear me out in my
belief the bearer came not in hostility but in friendship."

"By my faith, I quite agree with Blessington," said
Captain Erskine; "for, in addition to the manner of the
Indian, there is another evidence in favour of his
position. Was it merely intended in the light in which
you consider it, Colonel, the case or the miniature itself
might have been returned, but certainly not the metal in
which it is set. The savages are fully aware of the value
of gold, and would not so easily let it slip through
their fingers."

"And wherefore thus carefully wrapped up?" remarked
Lieutenant Johnstone, "unless it had been intended it
should meet with no injury on the way. I certainly think
the portrait never would have been conveyed, in its
present perfect state, by an enemy."

"The fellow seemed to feel, too, that he came in the
character of one whose intentions claimed all immunity
from harm," remarked Captain Wentworth. "He surely never
would have stood so fearlessly on the brink of the ditch,
and within pistol shot, had he not been conscious of
rendering some service to those connected with us."

To these several observations of his officers, Colonel
de Haldimar listened attentively; and although he made
no reply, it was evident he felt gratified at the eagerness
with which each sought to remove the horrible impression
he had stated to have existed in his own mind. Meanwhile,
Captain Blessington had turned and examined the miniature
in fifty different ways, but without succeeding in
discovering any thing that could confirm him in his
original impression. Vexed and disappointed, he at length
flung it from him on the table, and sinking into a seat
at the side of the unfortunate Charles, pressed the hand
of the youth in significant silence.

Finding his worst fears now confirmed. Colonel de
Haldimar, for the first time, cast a glance towards his
son, whose drooping head, and sorrowing attitude, spoke
volumes to his heart. For a moment his own cheek blanched,
and his eye was seen to glisten with the first tear ever
witnessed there by those around him. Subduing his emotion,
however, he drew up his person to its lordly height, as
if that act reminded him the commander was not to be lost
in the father, and quitting the room with a heavy brow
and step, recommended to his officers the repose of which
they appeared to stand so much in need. But not one was
there who felt inclined to court the solitude of his
pillow. No sooner were the footsteps of the governor
heard dying away in the distance, when fresh lights were
ordered, and several logs of wood heaped on the slackening
fire. Around this the officers now grouped, and throwing
themselves back in their chairs, assumed the attitudes
of men seeking to indulge rather in private reflection
than in personal converse.

The grief of the wretched Charles de Haldimar, hitherto
restrained by the presence of his father, and encouraged
by the touching evidences of interest afforded him by
the ever-considerate Blessington, now burst forth audibly.
No attempt was made by the latter officer to check the
emotion of his young friend. Knowing his passionate
fondness for his sister, he was not without fear that
the sudden shock produced by the appearance of her
miniature might destroy his reason, even if it affected
not his life; and as the moment was now come when tears
might be shed without exciting invidious remark in the
only individual who was likely to make it, he sought to
promote them as much as possible. Too much occupied in
their own mournful reflections to bestow more than a
passing notice on the weakness of their friend, the group
round the fireplace scarcely seemed to have regarded his
emotion.

This violent paroxysm past, De Haldimar breathed more
freely; and, after listening to several earnest observations
of Captain Blessington, who still held out the possibility
of something favourable turning up, on a re-examination
of the portrait by daylight, he was so far composed as
to be able to attend to the summons of the sergeant of
the guard, who came to say the relief were ready, and
waiting to be inspected before they were finally marched
off. Clasping the extended hand of his captain between
his own, with a pressure indicative of his deep gratitude,
De Haldimar now proceeded to the discharge of his duty;
and having caught up the portrait, which still lay on
the table, and thrust it into the breast of his uniform,
he repaired hurriedly to rejoin his guard, from which
circumstances alone had induced his unusually long absence.




CHAPTER IV.

The remainder of that night was passed by the unhappy De
Haldimar in a state of indescribable wretchedness. After
inspecting the relief, he had thrown himself on his rude
guard-bed; and, drawing his cloak over his eyes, given
full rein to the wanderings of his excited imagination.
It was in vain the faithful old Morrison, who never
suffered his master to mount a guard without finding some
one with whom to exchange his tour of duty, when he
happened not to be in orders himself, repeatedly essayed,
as he sat stirring the embers of the fire, to enter into
conversation with him. The soul of the young officer was
sick, past the endurance even of that kind voice; and,
more than once, he impetuously bade him be silent, if he
wished to continue where he was; or, if not, to join his
comrades in the next guard-room. A sigh was the only
respectful but pained answer to these sharp remonstrances;
and De Haldimar, all absorbed even as he was in his own
grief, felt it deeply; for he knew the old man loved him,
and he could not bear the idea of appearing to repay with
slight the well-intentioned efforts of one whom he had
always looked upon more as a dependant on his family than
as the mere rude soldier. Still he could not summon
courage to disclose the true nature of his grief, which
the other merely ascribed to general causes and vague
apprehensions of a yet unaccomplished evil. Morrison had
ever loved his sister with an affection in no way inferior
to that which he bore towards himself. He had also nursed
her in childhood; and his memory was ever faithful to
trace, as his tongue was to dwell on, those gentle and
amiable qualities, which, strongly marked at an earlier
period of her existence, had only undergone change,
inasmuch as they had become matured and more forcibly
developed in womanhood. Often, latterly, had the grey-haired
veteran been in the habit of alluding to her; for he saw
the subject was one that imparted a mournful satisfaction
to the youth; and, with a tact that years, more than deep
reading of the human heart, had given him, he ever made
a point of adverting to their re-union as an event
admitting not of doubt.

Hitherto the affectionate De Haldimar had loved to listen
to these sounds of comfort; for, although they carried
no conviction to his mind, impressed as he was with the
terrible curse of Ellen Halloway, and the consequent
belief that his family were devoted to some fearful doom,
still they came soothingly and unctuously to his sick
soul; and, all deceptive even as he felt them to be, he
found they created a hope which, while certain to be
dispelled by calm after-reflection, carried a momentary
solace to his afflicted spirit. But, now that he had
every evidence his adored sister was no more, and that
the illusion of hope was past for ever, to have heard
her name even mentioned by one who, ignorant of the
fearful truth the events of that night had elucidated,
was still ready to renew a strain every chord of which
had lost its power of harmony, was repugnant beyond
bearing to his heart. At one moment he resolved briefly
to acquaint the old man with the dreadful fact, but
unwillingness to give pain prevented him; and, moreover,
he felt the grief the communication would draw from the
faithful servitor of his family must be of so unchecked
a nature as to render his own sufferings even more poignant
than they were. Neither had he (independently of all
other considerations) resolution enough to forego the
existence of hope in another, even although it had passed
entirely away from himself. It was for these reasons he
had so harshly and (for him) unkindly checked, the attempt
of the old man at a conversation which he, at every
moment, felt would be made to turn on the ill-fated Clara.

Miserable as he felt his position to be, it was not
without satisfaction he again heard the voice of his
sergeant summoning him to the inspection of another
relief. This duty performed, and anxious to avoid the
paining presence of his servant, he determined, instead
of returning to his guard-room, to consume the hour that
remained before day in pacing the ramparts. Leaving word
with his subordinate, that, in the event of his being
required, he might be found without difficulty, he ascended
to that quarter of the works where the Indian had been
first seen who had so mysteriously conveyed the sad token
he still retained in his breast. It was on the same side
with that particular point whence we have already stated
a full view of the bridge with its surrounding scenery,
together with the waters of the Detroit, where they were
intersected by Hog Island, were distinctly commanded. At
either of those points was stationed a sentinel, whose
duty it was to extend his beat between the boxes used
now rather as lines of demarcation than as places of
temporary shelter, until each gained that of his next
comrade, when they again returned to their own, crossing
each other about half way: a system of precaution pursued
by the whole of the sentinels in the circuit of the
rampart.

The ostensible motive of the officer in ascending the
works, was to visit his several posts; but no sooner had
he found himself between the points alluded to, which
happened to be the first in his course, than he seemed
to be riveted there by a species of fascination. Not that
there was any external influence to produce this effect,
for the utmost stillness reigned both within and around
the fort; and, but for the howling of some Indian wolf-dog
in the distance, or the low and monotonous beat of their
drums in the death-dance, there was nought that gave
evidence of the existence of the dreadful enemy by whom
they were beset. But the whole being of the acutely
suffering De Haldimar was absorbed in recollections
connected with the spot on which he stood. At one
extremity was the point whence he had witnessed the
dreadful tragedy of Halloway's death; at the other, that
on which had been deposited the but too unerring record
of the partial realisation of the horrors threatened at
the termination of that tragedy; and whenever he attempted
to pass each of these boundaries, he felt as if his limbs
repugned the effort.

In the sentinels, his appearance among them excited but
little surprise; for it was no uncommon thing for the
officers of the guard to spend the greatest part of the
night in visiting, in turn, the several more exposed
points of the ramparts; and that it was now confined to
one particular part, seemed not even to attract their
notice. It was, therefore, almost wholly unremarked by
his men, that the heart-stricken De Haldimar paced his
quick and uncertain walk with an imagination filled with
the most fearful forebodings, and with a heart throbbing
with the most painful excitement. Hitherto, since the
discovery of the contents of the packet, his mind had
been so exclusively absorbed in stupifying grief for his
sister, that his perception seemed utterly incapable of
outstepping the limited sphere drawn around it; but now,
other remembrances, connected with the localities, forced
themselves upon his attention; and although, in all these,
there was nothing that was not equally calculated to
carry dismay and sorrow to his heart, still, in dividing
his thoughts with the one supreme agony that bowed him
down, they were rather welcomed than discarded. His mind
was as a wheel, embracing grief within grief, multiplied
to infinitude; and the wider and more diffusive the
circle, the less powerful was the concentration of
sickening heart and brain on that which was the more
immediate axis of the whole.

Reminded, for the first time, as he pursued his measured
but aimless walk, by the fatal portrait which he more
than once pressed with feverish energy to his lips, of
the singular discovery he had made that night in the
apartments of his father, he was naturally led, by a
chain of consecutive thought, into a review of the whole
of the extraordinary scene. The fact of the existence of
a second likeness of his mother was one that did not now
fail to reawaken all the unqualified surprise he had
experienced at the first discovery. So far from having
ever heard his father make the slightest allusion to this
memorial of his departed mother, he perfectly recollected
his repeatedly recommending to Clara the safe custody of
a treasure, which, if lost, could never be replaced. What
could be the motive for this mystery?--and why had he
sought to impress him with the belief it was the identical
portrait worn by his sister which had so unintentionally
been exposed to his view? Why, too, had he evinced so
much anxiety to remove from his mind all unfavourable
impressions in regard to his mother? Why have been so
energetic in his caution not to suffer a taint of impurity
to attach to her memory? Why should he have supposed the
possibility of such impression, unless there had been
sufficient cause for it? In what, moreover, originated
his triumphant expression of feature, when, on that
occasion, he reminded him that HIS name was not Reginald?
Who, then, was this Reginald? Then came the recollection
of what had been repeated to him of the parting scene
between Halloway and his wife. In addressing her ill-fated
husband, she had named him Reginald. Could it be possible
this was the same being alluded to by his father? But
no; his youth forbade the supposition, being but two
years older than his brother Frederick; yet might be not,
in some way or other, be connected with the Reginald of
the letter? Why, too, had his father shown such unrelenting
severity in the case of this unfortunate victim?--a
severity which had induced more than one remark from his
officers, that it looked as if he entertained some personal
feeling of enmity towards a man who had done so much for
his family, and stood so high in the esteem of all who
knew him.

Then came another thought. At the moment of his execution,
Halloway had deposited a packet in the hands of Captain
Blessington;--could these letters--could that portrait
be the same? Certain it was, by whatever means obtained,
his father could not have had them long in his possession;
for it was improbable letters of so old a date should
have occupied his attention NOW, when many years had
rolled over the memory of his mother. And then, again,
what was the meaning of the language used by the implacable
enemy of his father, that uncouth and ferocious warrior
of the Fleur de lis, not only on the occasion of the
execution of Halloway, but afterwards to his brother,
during his short captivity; and, subsequently, when,
disguised as a black, he penetrated, with the band of
Ponteac, into the fort, and aimed his murderous weapon
at his father's head. What had made him the enemy of his
family? and where and how had originated his father's
connection with so extraordinary and so savage a being?
Could he, in any way, be implicated with his mother? But
no; there was something revolting, monstrous, in the
thought: besides, had not his father stood forward the
champion of her innocence?--had he not declared, with an
energy carrying conviction with every word, that she was
untainted by guilt? And would he have done this, had he
had reason to believe in the existence of a criminal love
for him who evidently was his mortal foe? Impossible.

Such were the questions and solutions that crowded on
and distracted the mind of the unhappy De Haldimar, who,
after all, could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion.
It was evident there was a secret,--yet, whatever its
nature, it was one likely to go down with his father to
the grave; for, however humiliating the reflection to a
haughty parent, compelled to vindicate the honour of a
mother to her son, and in direct opposition to evidence
that scarcely bore a shadow of misinterpretation, it was
clear he had motives for consigning the circumstance to
oblivion, which far outweighed any necessity he felt of
adducing other proofs of her innocence than those which
rested on his own simple yet impressive assertion.

In the midst of these bewildering doubts, De Haldimar
heard some one approaching in his rear, whose footsteps
he distinguished from the heavy pace of the sentinels.
He turned, stopped, and was presently joined by Captain
Blessington.

"Why, dearest Charles," almost querulously asked the kind
officer, as he passed his arm through that of his
subaltern,--"why will you persist in feeding this love
of solitude? What possible result can it produce, but an
utter prostration of every moral and physical energy?
Come, come, summon a little fortitude; all may not yet
be so hopeless as you apprehend. For my own part, I feel
convinced the day will dawn upon some satisfactory solution
of the mystery of that packet."

"Blessington, my dear Blessington!"--and De Haldimar
spoke with mournful energy,--"you have known me from my
boyhood, and, I believe, have ever loved me; seek not,
therefore, to draw me from the present temper of my mind;
deprive me not of an indulgence which, melancholy as it
is, now constitutes the sole satisfaction I take in
existence."

"By Heaven! Charles, I will not listen to such language.
You absolutely put my patience to the rack."

"Nay, then, I will urge no more," pursued the young
officer. "To revert, therefore, to a different subject.
Answer me one question with sincerity. What were the
contents of the packet you received from poor Halloway
previous to his execution? and in whose possession are
they now?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But the name," pursued De Haldimar; "how are we to
separate the identity of the packets, when we recur to
that name of 'Reginald?'"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




CHAPTER V.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The deck, the deck!" shouted Erskine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This short but touching scene was witnessed by their
companions, without levity in any, and with emotion by
several. None felt more gratified at this demonstration
of parental affection for the sensitive boy, than
Blessington and Erskine.

"I cannot yet persuade myself," observed the former
officer, as the colonel again assumed that dignity of
demeanour which had been momentarily lost sight of in
the ebullition of his feelings,--"I cannot yet persuade
myself things are altogether so bad as they appear. It
is true the schooner is in the possession of the enemy,
but there is nothing to prove our friends are on board."

"If you had reason to know HIM into whose hands she has
fallen, as I do, you would think differently, Captain
Blessington," returned the governor. "That mysterious
being," he pursued, after a short pause, "would never
have made this parade of his conquest, had it related
merely to a few lives, which to him are of utter
insignificance. The very substitution of yon black flag,
in his insolent triumph, was the pledge of redemption of
a threat breathed in my ear within this very fort: on
what occasion I need not state, since the events connected
with that unhappy night are still fresh in the recollections
of us all. That he is my personal enemy, gentlemen, it
would be vain to disguise from you; although who he is,
or of what nature his enmity, it imports not now to enter
upon Suffice it, I have little doubt my children are in
his power; but whether the black flag indicates they are
no more, or that the tragedy is only in preparation, I
confess I am at a loss to understand."

Deeply affected by the evident despondency that had
dictated these unusual admissions on the part of their
chief, the officers were forward to combat the inferences
he had drawn: several coinciding in the opinion now
expressed by Captain Wentworth, that the fact of the
schooner having fallen into the hands of the savages by
no means implied the capture of the fort whence she came;
since it was not at all unlikely she had been chased
during a calm by the numerous canoes into the Sinclair,
where, owing to the extreme narrowness of the river, she
had fallen an easy prey.

"Moreover," observed Captain Blessington, "it is highly
improbable the ferocious warrior could have succeeded in
capturing any others than the unfortunate crew of the
schooner; for had this been the case, he would not have
lost the opportunity of crowning his triumph by exhibiting
his victims to our view in some conspicuous part of the
vessel."

"This, I grant you," rejoined the governor, "to be one
solitary circumstance in our favour; but may it not,
after all, merely prove that our worst apprehensions are
already realised?"

"He is not one, methinks, since vengeance seems his aim,
to exercise it in so summary, and therefore merciful, a
manner. Depend upon it, colonel, had any of those in whom
we are more immediately interested, fallen into his hands,
he would not have failed to insult and agonize us by an
exhibition of his prisoners."

"You are right, Blessington," exclaimed Charles de
Haldimar, in a voice that his choking feelings rendered
almost sepulchral; "he is not one to exercise his vengeance
in a summary, and merciful manner. The deed is yet
unaccomplished, for even now the curse of Ellen Halloway
rings again in my ear, and tells me the atoning blood
must be spilt on the grave of her husband."

The peculiar tone in which these words were uttered,
caused every one present to turn and regard the speaker,
for they recalled the prophetic language of the unhappy
woman. There was now a wildness of expression in his
handsome features, marking the mind utterly dead to hope,
yet struggling to work itself up to passive endurance of
the worst. Colonel de Haldimar sighed painfully, as he
bent his eye half reproachfully on the dull and attenuated
features of his son; and although he spoke not, his look
betrayed the anguish that allusion had called up to his
heart.

"Forgive me, my father," exclaimed the youth, grasping a
hand that was reluctantly extended. "I meant it not in
unkindness; but indeed I have ever had the conviction
strongly impressed on my spirit. I know I appear weak,
childish, unsoldierlike; yet can it be wondered at, when
I have been so often latterly deceived by false hopes, that
now my heart has room for no other tenant than despair.
I am very wretched," he pursued, with affecting despondency;
"in the presence of my companions do I admit it, but they
all know how I loved my sister. Can they then feel surprise,
that having lost not only her, but my brother and my friend,
I should be the miserable thing I am."

Colonel de Haldimar turned away, much affected; and
throwing his back against the sentry box near him, passed
his hand over his eyes, and remained for a few moments
motionless.

"Charles, Charles, is this your promise to me?" whispered
Captain Blessington, as he approached and took the hand
of his unhappy friend. "Is this the self-command you
pledged yourself to exercise? For Heaven's sake, agitate
not your father thus, by the indulgence of a grief that
can have no other tendency than to render him equally
wretched. Be advised by me, and quit the rampart. Return
to your guard, and endeavour to compose yourself."

"Ha! what new movement is that on the part of the savages?"
exclaimed Captain Erskine, who had kept his glass to his
eye mechanically, and chiefly with a view of hiding the
emotion produced in him by the almost infantine despair
of the younger De Haldimar: "surely it is--yet, no, it
cannot be--yes, see how they are dragging several prisoners
from the wood to the beach. I can distinctly see a man
in a blanket coat, and two others considerably taller,
and apparently sailors. But look, behind them are two
females in European dress. Almighty Heaven! there can be
no doubt."

A painful pause ensued. Every other glass and eye was
levelled in the same direction; and, even as Erskine had
described it, a party of Indians were seen, by those who
had the telescopes, conducting five prisoners towards a
canoe that lay in the channel communicating from the
island with the main land on the Detroit shore. Into the
bottom of these they were presently huddled, so that only
their heads and shoulders were visible above the gunwale
of the frail bark. Presently a tall warrior was seen
bounding from the wood towards the beach. The crowd of
gesticulating Indians made way, and the warrior was seen
to stoop and apply his shoulder to the canoe, one half
of which was high and dry upon the sands. The heavily
laden vessel obeyed the impetus with a rapidity that
proved the muscular power of him who gave it. Like some
wild animal, instinct with life, it lashed the foaming
waters from its bows, and left a deep and gurgling furrow
where it passed. As it quitted the shore, the warrior
sprang lightly in, taking his station at the stern; and
while his tall and remarkable figure bent nimbly to the
movement, he dashed his paddle from right to left
alternately in the stream, with a quickness that rendered
it almost invisible to the eye. Presently the canoe
disappeared round an intervening headland, and the officers
lost sight of it altogether.

"The portrait, Charles; what have you done with the
portrait?" exclaimed Captain Blessington, actuated by a
sudden recollection, and with a trepidation in his voice
and manner that spoke volumes of despair to the younger
De Haldimar. "This is our only hope of solving the mystery.
Quick, give me the portrait, if you have it."

The young officer hurriedly tore the miniature from the
breast of his uniform, and pitched it through the interval
that separated him from his captain, who stood a few feet
off; but with so uncertain and trembling an aim, it missed
the hand extended to secure it, and fell upon the very
stone the youth had formerly pointed out to Blessington,
as marking the particular spot on which he stood during
the execution of Halloway. The violence of the fall
separated the back of the frame from the picture itself,
when suddenly a piece of white and crumpled paper,
apparently part of the back of a letter, yet cut to the
size and shape of the miniature, was exhibited to the
view of all.

"Ha!" resumed the gratified Blessington, as he stooped
to possess himself of the prize; "I knew the miniature
would be found to contain some intelligence from our
friends. It is only this moment it occurred to me to take
it to pieces, but accident has anticipated my purpose.
May the omen prove a good one! But what have we here?"

With some difficulty, the anxious officer now succeeded
in making out the characters, which, in default of pen
or pencil, had been formed by the pricking of a fine pin
on the paper. The broken sentences, on which the whole
of the group now hung with greedy ear, ran nearly as
follows:--"All is lost. Michilimackinac is taken. We are
prisoners, and doomed to die within eight and forty hours.
Alas! Clara and Madeline are of our number. Still there
is a hope, if my father deem it prudent to incur the
risk. A surprise, well managed, may do much; but it must
be tomorrow night; forty-eight hours more, and it will
be of no avail. He who will deliver this is our friend,
and the enemy of my father's enemy. He will be in the
same spot at the same hour to-morrow night, and will
conduct the detachment to wherever we may chance to be.
If you fail in your enterprise, receive our last prayers
for a less disastrous fate. God bless you all!"

The blood ran coldly through every vein during the perusal
of these important sentences, but not one word of comment
was offered by an individual of the group. No explanation
was necessary. The captives in the canoe, the tall warrior
in its stern, all sufficiently betrayed the horrible
truth.

Colonel de Haldimar at length turned an enquiring look
at his two captains, and then addressing the adjutant,
asked--

"What companies are off duty to-day, Mr. Lawson?"

"Mine," said Blessington, with an energy that denoted
how deeply rejoiced he felt at the fact, and without
giving the adjutant time to reply.

"And mine," impetuously added Captain Erskine; "and, by
G--! I will answer for them; they never embarked on a
duty of the sort with greater zeal than they will on this
occasion."

"Gentlemen, I thank you," said Colonel de Haldimar, with
deep emotion, as he stepped forward and grasped in turn
the hands of the generous-hearted officers. "To Heaven,
and to your exertions, do I commit my children."

"Any artillery, colonel?" enquired the officer of that
corps.

"No, Wentworth, no artillery. Whatever remains to be
done, must be achieved by the bayonet alone, and under
favour of the darkness. Gentlemen, again I thank you for
this generous interest in my children--this forwardness
in an enterprise on which depend the lives of so many
dear friends. I am not one given to express warm emotion,
but I do, indeed, appreciate this conduct deeply." He
then moved away, desiring Mr. Lawson, as he quitted the
rampart, to cause the men for this service to be got in
instant readiness.

Following the example of their colonel, Captains Blessington
and Erskine quitted the rampart also, hastening to satisfy
themselves by personal inspection of the efficiency in
all respects of their several companies; and in a few
minutes, the only individual to be seen in that quarter
of the works was the sentinel, who had been a silent and
pained witness of all that had passed among his officers.




CHAPTER VI.

Doubtless, many of our readers are prepared to expect
that the doom of the unfortunate Frank Halloway was, as
an officer of his regiment had already hinted, the fruit
of some personal pique and concealed motive of vengeance;
and that the denouement of our melancholy story will
afford evidence of the governor's knowledge of the true
character of him, who, under an assumed name, excited
such general interest at his trial and death, not only
among his military superiors, but those with whom his
adverse destiny had more immediately associated him. It
has already been urged to us, by one or two of our critical
friends to whom we have submitted what has been thus far
written in our tale, that, to explain satisfactorily and
consistently the extreme severity of the governor, some
secret and personally influencing motive must be assigned;
but to these we have intimated, what we now repeat,--namely,
that we hope to bear out our story, by natural explanation
and simple deduction. Who Frank Halloway really was, or
what the connection existing between him and the mysterious
enemy of the family of De Haldimar, the sequel of our
narrative will show; but whatever its nature, and however
well founded the apprehension of the governor of the
formidable being hitherto known as the warrior of the
Fleur de lis, and however strong his conviction that the
devoted Halloway and his enemy were in secret
correspondence, certain it is, that, to the very hour of
the death of the former, he knew him as no other than
the simple private soldier.

To have ascribed to Colonel de Haldimar motives that
would have induced his eagerly seeking the condemnation
of an innocent man, either to gratify a thirst of vengeance,
or to secure immunity against personal danger, would have
been to have painted him, not only as a villain, but a
coward. Colonel de Haldimar was neither; but, on the
contrary, what is understood in worldly parlance and the
generally received acceptation of the terms, a man of
strict integrity and honour, as well as of the most
undisputed courage. Still, he was a severe and a haughty
man,--one whose military education had been based on the
principles of the old school--and to whom the command of
a regiment afforded a field for the exercise of an orthodox
despotism, that could not be passed over without the
immolation of many a victim on its rugged surface. Without
ever having possessed any thing like acute feeling, his
heart, as nature had formed it, was moulded to receive
the ordinary impressions of humanity; and had he been
doomed to move in the sphere of private life, if he had
not been distinguished by any remarkable sensibilities,
he would not, in all probability, have been conspicuous
for any extraordinary cruelties. Sent into the army,
however, at an early age, and with a blood not remarkable
for its mercurial aptitudes, he had calmly and deliberately
imbibed all the starched theories and standard prejudices
which a mind by no means naturally gifted was but too well
predisposed to receive; and he was among the number of
those (many of whom are indigenous to our soil even at the
present day) who look down from a rank obtained, upon that
which has been just quitted, with a contempt, and coldness,
and consciousness of elevation, commensurate only with the
respect paid to those still above them, and which it belongs
only to the little-minded to indulge in.

As a subaltern, M. de Haldimar had ever been considered
a pattern of rigid propriety and decorum of conduct. Not
the shadow of military crime had ever been laid to his
charge. He was punctual at all parades and drills; kept
the company to which he was attached in a perfect hot
water of discipline; never missed his distance in marching
past, or failed in a military manoeuvre; paid his mess-bill
regularly to the hour, nay, minute, of the settling day;
and was never, on any one occasion, known to enter the
paymaster's office, except on the well-remembered 24th
of each month; and, to crown all, he had never asked,
consequently never obtained, a day's leave from his
regiment, although he had served in it so long, that
there was now but one man living who had entered it with
him. With all these qualities, Ensign de Haldimar promised
to make an excellent soldier; and, as such, was encouraged
by the field-officers of the corps, who unhesitatingly
pronounced him a lad of discernment and talent, who would
one day rival them in all the glorious privileges of
martinetism. It was even remarked, as an evidence of his
worth, that, when promoted to a lieutenancy, he looked
down upon the ensigns with that becoming condescension
which befitted his new rank; and up to the captains with
the deferential respect he felt to be due to that third
step in the five-barred gate of regimental promotion, on
which his aspiring but chained foot had not yet succeeded
in reposing. What, therefore, he became when he had
succeeded in clambering to the top, and looked down from
the lordly height he had after many years of plodding
service obtained, we must leave it to the imaginations
of our readers to determine. We reserve it to a future
page, to relate more interesting particulars.

Sufficient has been shown, however, from this outline of
his character, as well as from the conversations among
his officers, elsewhere transcribed, to account for the
governor's conduct in the case of Halloway. That the
recommendation of his son, Captain de Haldimar, had not
been attended to, arose not from any particular ill-will
towards the unhappy man, but simply because he had always
been in the habit of making his own selections from the
ranks, and that the present recommendation had been warmly
urged by one who he fancied pretended to a discrimination
superior to his own, in pointing out merits that had
escaped his observation. It might be, too, that there
was a latent pride about the manner of Halloway that
displeased and dissatisfied one who looked upon his
subordinates as things that were amenable to the haughtiness
of his glance,--not enough of deference in his demeanour,
or of supplicating obsequiousness in his speech, to
entitle him to the promotion prayed for. Whatever the
motive, there was nothing of personality to influence
him in the rejection of the appeal made in favour of one
who had never injured him; but who, on the contrary, as
the whole of the regiment could attest, had saved the
life of his son.

Rigid disciplinarian as he was, and holding himself
responsible for the safety of the garrison it was but
natural, when the discovery had been made of the
unaccountable unfastening of the gate of the fort,
suspicion of no ordinary kind should attach to the sentinel
posted there; and that he should steadily refuse all
credence to a story wearing so much appearance of
improbability. Proud, and inflexible, and bigoted to
first impressions, his mind was closed against those
palliating circumstances, which, adduced by Halloway in
his defence, had so mainly contributed to stamp the
conviction of his moral innocence on the minds of his
judges and the attentive auditory; and could he even have
conquered his pride so far as to have admitted the belief
of that innocence, still the military crime of which he
had been guilty, in infringing a positive order of the
garrison, was in itself sufficient to call forth all the
unrelenting severity of his nature. Throughout the whole
of the proceedings subsequently instituted, he had acted
and spoken from a perfect conviction of the treason of
the unfortunate soldier, and with the fullest impression
of the falsehood of all that had been offered in his
defence. The considerations that influenced the minds of
his officers, found no entrance into his proud breast,
which was closed against every thing but his own dignified
sense of superior judgment. Could he, like them, have
given credence to the tale of Halloway, or really have
believed that Captain de Haldimar, educated under his
own military eye, could have been so wanting in
subordination, as not merely to have infringed a positive
order of the garrison, but to have made a private soldier
of that garrison accessary to his delinquency, it is more
than probable his stern habits of military discipline
would have caused him to overlook the offence of the
soldier, in deeper indignation at the conduct of the
infinitely more culpable officer; but not one word did
he credit of a statement, which he assumed to have been
got up by the prisoner with the mere view of shielding
himself from punishment: and when to these suspicions of
his fidelity was attached the fact of the introduction
of his alarming visitor, it must be confessed his motives
for indulging in this belief were not without foundation.

The impatience manifested during the trial of Halloway
was not a result of any desire of systematic persecution,
but of a sense of wounded dignity. It was a thing unheard
of, and unpardonable in his eyes, for a private soldier
to assert, in his presence, his honour and his
respectability in extenuation, even while admitting the
justice of a specific charge; and when he remarked the
Court listening with that profound attention, which the
peculiar history of the prisoner had excited, he could
not repress the manifestation of his anger. In justice
to him, however, it must be acknowledged that, in causing
the charge, to which the unfortunate man pleaded guilty,
to be framed, he had only acted from the conviction that,
on the two first, there was not sufficient evidence to
condemn one whose crime was as clearly established, to
his judgment, as if he had been an eye-witness of the
treason. It is true, he availed himself of Halloway's
voluntary confession, to effect his condemnation; but
estimating him as a traitor, he felt little delicacy was
necessary to be observed on that score.

Much of the despotic military character of Colonel de
Haldimar had been communicated to his private life; so
much, indeed, that his sons,--both of whom, it has been
seen, were of natures that belied their origin from so
stern a stock,--were kept at nearly as great a distance
from him as any other subordinates of his regiment. But
although he seldom indulged in manifestations of parental
regard towards those whom he looked upon rather as
inferiors in military rank, than as beings connected with
him by the ties of blood, Colonel de Haldimar was not
without that instinctive love for his children, which
every animal in the creation feels for its offspring.
He, also, valued and took a pride in, because they
reflected a certain degree of lustre upon himself, the
talents and accomplishments of his eldest son, who,
moreover, was a brave, enterprising officer, and, only
wanted, in his father's estimation, that severity of
carriage and hauteur of deportment, befitting HIS son,
to render him perfect. As for Charles,--the gentle, bland,
winning, universally conciliating Charles,--he looked
upon him as a mere weak boy, who could never hope to
arrive at any post of distinction, if only by reason of
the extreme delicacy of his physical organisation; and
to have shown any thing like respect for his character,
or indulged in any expression of tenderness for one so
far below his estimate of what a soldier, a child of his,
ought to be, would have been a concession of which his
proud nature was incapable. In his daughter Clara, however,
the gentleness of sex claimed that warmer affection which
was denied to him, who resembled her in almost every
attribute of mind and person. Colonel de Haldimar doated
on his daughter with a tenderness, for which few, who
were familiar with his harsh and unbending nature, ever
gave him credit. She was the image of one on whom all of
love that he had ever known had been centered; and he
had continued in Clara an affection, that seemed in itself
to form a portion, distinct and apart, of his existence.

We have already seen, as stated by Charles de Haldimar
to the unfortunate wife of Halloway, with what little
success he had pleaded in the interview he had requested
of his father, for the preserver of his gallant brother's
life; and we have also seen how equally inefficient was
the lowly and supplicating anguish of that wretched being,
when, on quitting the apartment of his son, Colonel de
Haldimar had so unexpectedly found himself clasped in
her despairing embrace. There was little to be expected
from an intercession on the part of one claiming so little
ascendancy over his father's heart, as the universally
esteemed young officer; still less from one who, in her
shriek of agony, had exposed the haughty chief to the
observation both of men and officers, and under
circumstances that caused his position to border on the
ludicrous. But however these considerations might have
failed in effect, there was another which, as a soldier,
he could not wholly overlook. Although he had offered
no comment on the extraordinary recommendation to mercy
annexed to the sentence of the prisoner, it had had a
certain weight with him; and he felt, all absolute even
as he was, he could not, without exciting strong
dissatisfaction among his troops, refuse attention to a
document so powerfully worded, and bearing the signature
and approval of so old and valued an officer as Captain
Blessington. His determination, therefore, had been
formed, even before his visit to his son, to act as
circumstances might require; and, in the mean while, he
commanded every preparation for the execution to be made.

In causing a strong detachment to be marched to the
conspicuous point chosen for his purpose, he had acted
from a conviction of the necessity of showing the enemy
the treason of the soldier had been detected; reserving
to himself the determination of carrying the sentence
into full effect, or pardoning the condemned, as the
event might warrant. Not one moment, meanwhile, did he
doubt the guilt of Halloway, whose description of the
person of his enemy was, in itself, to him, confirmatory
evidence of his treason. It is doubtful whether he would,
in any way, have been influenced by the recommendation
of the Court, had the first charges been substantiated;
but as there was nothing but conjecture to bear out these,
and as the prisoner had been convicted only on the ground
of suffering Captain de Haldimar to quit the fort contrary
to orders, he felt he might possibly go too far in carrying
the capital punishment into effect, in decided opposition
to the general feeling of the garrison,--both of officers
and men.

When the shot was subsequently fired from the hut of the
Canadian, and the daring rifleman recognised as the same
fearful individual who had gained access to his apartment
the preceding night, conviction of the guilt of Halloway
came even deeper home to the mind of the governor. It
was through Francois alone that a communication was kept
up secretly between the garrison and several of the
Canadians without the fort; and the very fact of the
mysterious warrior having been there so recently after
his daring enterprise, bore evidence that whatever treason
was in operation, had been carried on through the
instrumentality of mine host of the Fleur de lis. In
proof, moreover, there was the hat of Donellan, and the
very rope Halloway had stated to be that by which the
unfortunate officer had effected his exit. Colonel de
Haldimar was not one given to indulge in the mysterious
or to believe in the romantic. Every thing was plain
matter of fact, as it now appeared before him; and he
thought it evident, as though it had been written in
words of fire, that if his son and his unfortunate servant
had quitted the fort in the manner represented, it was
no less certain they had been forced off by a party, at
the head of whom was his vindictive enemy, and with the
connivance of Halloway. We have seen, that after the
discovery of the sex of the supposed drummer-boy when
the prisoners were confronted together, Colonel de Haldimar
had closely watched the expression of their countenances,
but failed in discovering any thing that could be traced
into evidence of a guilty recognition. Still he conceived
his original impression to have been too forcibly borne
out, even by the events of the last half hour, to allow
this to have much weight with him; and his determination
to carry the thing through all its fearful preliminary
stages became more and more confirmed.

In adopting this resolution in the first instance, he
was not without a hope that Halloway, standing, as he
must feel himself to be, on the verge of the grave, might
be induced to make confession of his guilt, and communicate
whatever particulars might prove essential not only to
the safety of the garrison generally, but to himself
individually, as far as his personal enemy was concerned.
With this view, he had charged Captain Blessington, in
the course of their march from the hut to the fatal
bridge, to promise a full pardon, provided he should make
such confession of his crime as would lead to a just
appreciation of the evils likely to result from the
treason that had in part been accomplished. Even in making
this provision, however, which was met by the prisoner
with solemn yet dignified reiteration of his innocence,
Colonel de Haldimar had not made the refusal of pardon
altogether conclusive in his own mind: still, in adopting
this plan, there was a chance of obtaining a confession;
and not until there was no longer a prospect of the
unhappy man being led into that confession, did he feel
it imperative on him to stay the progress of the tragedy.

What the result would have been, had not Halloway, in
the strong excitement of his feelings, sprung to his feet
upon the coffin, uttering the exclamation of triumph
recorded in the last pages of our first volume, is scarcely
doubtful. However much the governor might have contemned
and slighted a credulity in which he in no way participated
himself, he had too much discrimination not to perceive,
that to have persevered in the capital punishment would
have been to have rendered himself personally obnoxious
to the comrades of the condemned, whose dispirited air
and sullen mien, he clearly saw, denounced the punishment
as one of unnecessary rigour. The haughty commander was
not one to be intimidated by manifestations of discontent;
neither was he one to brook a spirit of insubordination,
however forcibly supported; but he had too much experience
and military judgment, not to determine that this was
riot a moment, by foregoing an act of compulsory clemency,
to instil divisions in the garrison, when the safety of
all so much depended on the cheerfulness and unanimity
with which they lent themselves to the arduous duties of
defence.

However originating in policy, the lenity he might have
been induced to have shown, all idea of the kind was
chased from his mind by the unfortunate action of the
prisoner. At the moment when the distant heights resounded
with the fierce yells of the savages, and leaping forms
came bounding down the slope, the remarkable warrior of
the Fleur de lis--the fearful enemy who had whispered
the most demoniac vengeance in his ears the preceding
night--was the only one that met and riveted the gaze of
the governor. He paused not to observe or to think who
the flying man could be of whom the mysterious warrior
was in pursuit,--neither did it, indeed, occur to him
that it was a pursuit at all. But one idea suggested
itself to his mind, and that was an attempt at rescue of
the condemned on the part of his accomplice; and when at
length Halloway, who had at once, as if by instinct,
recognised his captain in the fugitive, shouted forth
his gratitude to Heaven that "he at length approached
who alone had the power to save him," every shadow of
mercy was banished from the mind of the governor, who,
labouring under a natural misconception of the causes of
his exulting shout, felt that justice imperatively demanded
her victim, and no longer hesitated in awarding the doom
that became the supposed traitor. It was under this
impression that he sternly gave and repeated the fatal
order to fire; and by this misjudged and severe, although
not absolutely cruel act, not only destroyed one of the
noblest beings that ever wore a soldier's uniform, but
entailed upon himself and family that terrific curse of
his maniac wife, which rang like a prophetic warning in
the ears of all, and was often heard in the fitful
starlings of his own ever-after troubled slumbers.

What his feelings were, when subsequently he discovered,
in the wretched fugitive, the son whom he already believed
to have been numbered with the dead, and heard from his
lips a confirmation of all that had been advanced by the
unhappy Halloway, we shall leave it to our readers to
imagine. Still, even amid his first regret, the rigid
disciplinarian was strong within him; and no sooner had
the detachment regained the fort, after performing the
last offices of interment over their ill-fated comrade,
than Captain de Haldimar received an intimation, through
the adjutant, to consider himself under close arrest for
disobedience of orders. Finally, however, he succeeded
in procuring an interview with his father; in the course
of which, disclosing the plot of the Indians, and the
short period allotted for its being carried into execution,
he painted in the most gloomy colours the alarming,
dangers which threatened them all, and finished by urgently
imploring his father to suffer him to make the attempt
to reach their unsuspecting friends at Michilimackinac.
Fully impressed with the difficulties attendant on a
scheme that offered so few feasible chances of success,
Colonel de Haldimar for a period denied his concurrence;
but when at length the excited young man dwelt on the
horrors that would inevitably await his sister and
betrothed cousin, were they to fall into the hands of
the savages, these considerations were found to be
effective. An after-arrangement included Sir Everard
Valletort, who had expressed a strong desire to share
his danger in the enterprise; and the services of the
Canadian, who had been brought back a prisoner to the
fort, and on whom promises and threats were bestowed in
an equally lavish manner, were rendered available. In
fact, without the assistance of Francois, there was little
chance of their effecting in safety the navigation of
the waters through which they were to pass to arrive at
the fort. He it was, who, when summoned to attend a
conference among the officers, bearing on the means to
be adopted, suggested the propriety of their disguising
themselves as Canadian duck hunters; in which character
they might expect to pass unmolested, even if encountered
by any outlying parties of the savages. With the doubts
that had previously been entertained of the fidelity of
Francois, there was an air of forlorn hope given to the
enterprise; still, as the man expressed sincere earnestness
of desire to repay the clemency accorded him, by a faithful
exercise of his services, and as the object sought was
one that justified the risk, there was, notwithstanding,
a latent hope cherished by all parties, that the event
would prove successful. We have already seen to what
extent their anticipations were realised.

Whether it was that he secretly acknowledged the too
excessive sternness of his justice in regard to Halloway
(who still, in the true acceptation of facts, had been
guilty of a crime that entailed the penalty he had paid),
or that the apprehensions that arose to his heart in
regard to her on whom he yearned with all a father's
fondness governed his conduct, certain it is, that, from
the hour of the disclosure made by his son, Colonel de
Haldimar became an altered man. Without losing any thing
of that dignity of manner, which had hitherto been
confounded with the most repellent haughtiness of bearing,
his demeanour towards his officers became more courteous;
and although, as heretofore, he kept himself entirely
aloof, except when occasions of duty brought them together,
still, when they did meet, there was more of conciliation
in his manner, and less of austerity in his speech. There
was, moreover, a dejection in his eye, strongly in contrast
with his former imperious glance; and more than one
officer remarked, that, if his days were devoted to the
customary practical arrangements for defence, his pallid
countenance betokened that his nights were nights rather
of vigil than of repose.

However natural and deep the alarm entertained for the
fate of the sister fort, there could be no apprehension
on the mind of Colonel de Haldimar in regard to his own;
since, furnished with the means of foiling his enemies
with their own weapons of cunning and deceit, a few
extraordinary precautions alone were necessary to secure
all immunity from danger. Whatever might be the stern
peculiarities of his character,--and these had originated
chiefly in an education purely military,--Colonel de
Haldimar was an officer well calculated to the important
trust reposed in him; for, combining experience with
judgment in all matters relating to the diplomacy of war,
and being fully conversant with the character and habits
of the enemy opposed to him, he possessed singular aptitude
to seize whatever advantages might present themselves.

The prudence and caution of his policy have already been
made manifest in the two several council scenes with the
chiefs recorded in our second volume. It may appear
singular, that, with the opportunity thus afforded him
of retaining the formidable Ponteac,--the strength and
sinew of that long protracted and ferocious war,--in his
power, he should have waved his advantage; but here
Colonel de Haldimar gave evidence of the tact which so
eminently distinguished his public conduct throughout.
He well knew the noble, fearless character of the chief;
and felt, if any hold was to be secured over him, it was
by grappling with his generosity, and not by the exercise
of intimidation. Even admitting that Ponteac continued
his prisoner, and that the troops, pouring their destructive
fire upon the mass of enemies so suddenly arrested on
the drawbridge, had swept away the whole, still they were
but as a mite among the numerous nations that were leagued
against the English; and to these nations, it was evident,
they must, sooner or later, succumb.

Colonel de Haldimar knew enough of the proud but generous
nature of the Ottawa, to deem that the policy he proposed
to pursue in the last council scene would not prove
altogether without effect on that warrior. It was well
known to him, that much pains had been taken to instil
into the minds of the Indians the belief that the English
were resolved on their final extirpation; and as certain
slights, offered to them at various periods, had given
a colouring of truth to this assertion, the formidable
league which had already accomplished the downfall of so
many of the forts had been the consequence of these artful
representations. Although well aware that the French had
numerous emissaries distributed among the fierce tribes,
it was not until after the disclosure made by the haughty
Ponteac, at the close of the first council scene, that
he became apprised of the alarming influence exercised
over the mind of that warrior himself by his own terrible
and vindictive enemy. The necessity of counteracting that
influence was obvious; and he felt this was only to be
done (if at all) by some marked and extraordinary evidence
of the peaceful disposition of the English. Hence his
determination to suffer the faithless chiefs and their
followers to depart unharmed from the fort, even at the
moment when the attitude assumed by the prepared garrison
fully proved to the assailants their designs had been
penetrated and their schemes rendered abortive.




CHAPTER VII.

With the general position of the encampment of the
investing Indians, the reader has been made acquainted
through the narrative of Captain de Haldimar. It was, as
has been shown, situate in a sort of oasis close within
the verge of the forest, and (girt by an intervening
underwood which Nature, in her caprice, had fashioned
after the manner of a defensive barrier) embraced a space
sufficient to contain the tents of the fighting men,
together with their women and children. This, however,
included only the warriors and inferior chiefs. The
tents of the leaders were without the belt of underwood,
and principally distributed at long intervals on that
side of the forest which skirted the open country towards
the river; forming, as it were, a chain of external
defences, and sweeping in a semicircular direction round
the more dense encampment of their followers. At its
highest elevation the forest shot out suddenly into a
point, naturally enough rendered an object of attraction
from whatever part it was commanded.

Darkness was already beginning to spread her mantle over
the intervening space, and the night fires of the Indians
were kindling into brightness, glimmering occasionally
through the wood with that pale and lambent light peculiar
to the fire-fly, of which they offered a not inapt
representation, when suddenly a lofty tent, the brilliant
whiteness of which was thrown into strong relief by the
dark field on which it reposed, was seen to rise at a
few paces from the abrupt point in the forest just
described, and on the extreme summit of a ridge, beyond
which lay only the western horizon in golden perspective.

The opening of this tent looked eastward and towards the
fort; and on its extreme summit floated a dark flag,
which at intervals spread itself before the slight evening
breeze, but oftener hung drooping and heavily over the
glittering canvass. One solitary pine, whose trunk exceeded
not the ordinary thickness of a man's waist, and standing
out as a landmark on the ridge, rose at the distance of
a few feet from the spot on which the tent had been
erected; and to this was bound the tall and elegant figure
of one dressed in the coarse garb of a sailor. The arms
and legs of this individual were perfectly free; but a
strong rope, rendered doubly secure after the manner of
what is termed "whipping" among seamen, after having been
tightly drawn several times around his waist, and then
firmly knotted behind, was again passed round the tree,
to which the back of the prisoner was closely lashed;
thus enabling, or rather compelling, him to be a spectator
of every object within the tent.

Layers of bark, over which were spread the dressed skins
of the bear and the buffalo, formed the floor and carpet
of the latter; and on these, in various parts, and in
characteristic attitudes, reposed the forms of three
human beings;--one, the formidable warrior of the Fleur
de lis. Attired in the garb in which we first introduced
him to our readers, and with the same weapons reposing
at his side, the haughty savage lay at his lazy length;
his feet reaching beyond the opening of the tent, and
his head reposing on a rude pillow formed of a closely
compressed pack of skins of wild animals, over which was
spread a sort of mantle or blanket. One hand was introduced
between the pillow and his head, the other grasped the
pipe tomahawk he was smoking; and while the mechanical
play of his right foot indicated pre-occupation of thought,
his quick and meaning eye glanced frequently and alternately
upon the furthest of his companions, the prisoner without,
and the distant fort.

Within a few feet of the warrior lay, extended on a
buffalo skin, the delicate figure of a female, whose
hair, complexion, and hands, denoted her European
extraction. Her dress was entirely Indian, however;
consisting of a machecoti with leggings, mocassins, and
shirt of printed cotton studded with silver brooches,--all
of which were of a quality and texture to mark the wearer
as the wife of a chief; and her fair hair, done up in a
club behind, reposed on a neck of dazzling whiteness.
Her eyes were large, blue, but wild and unmeaning; her
countenance vacant; and her movements altogether mechanical.
A wooden bowl filled with hominy,--a preparation of Indian
corn,--was at her side; and from this she was now in
the act of feeding herself with a spoon of the same
material, but with a negligence and slovenliness that
betrayed her almost utter unconsciousness of the action.

At the further side of the tent there was another woman,
even more delicate in appearance than the one last
mentioned. She, too, was blue-eyed, and of surpassing
fairness of skin. Her attitude denoted a mind too powerfully
absorbed in grief to be heedful of appearances; for she
sat with her knees drawn up to her chin, and rocking her
body to and fro with an undulating motion that seemed to
have its origin in no effort of volition of her own.
Her long fair hair hung negligently over her shoulders;
and a blanket drawn over the top of her head like a veil,
and extending partly over the person, disclosed here and
there portions of an apparel which was strictly European,
although rent, and exhibiting in various places stains
of blood. A bowl similar to that of her companion, and
filled with the same food, was at her side; but this was
untasted.

"Why does the girl refuse to eat?" asked the warrior of
her next him, as he fiercely rolled a volume of smoke
from his lips. "Make her eat, for I would speak to her
afterwards."

"Why does the girl refuse to eat?" responded the woman
in the same tone, dropping her spoon as she spoke, and
turning to the object of remark with a vacant look. "It
is good," she pursued, as she rudely shook the arm of
the heedless sufferer. "Come, girl, eat."

A shriek burst from the lips of the unhappy girl, as,
apparently roused from her abstraction, she suffered the
blanket to fall from her head, and staring wildly at her
questioner, faintly demanded,--

"Who, in the name of mercy, are you, who address me in
this horrid place in my own tongue? Speak; who are you?
Surely I should know that voice for that of Ellen, the
wife of Frank Halloway!"

A maniac laugh was uttered by the wretched woman. This
continued offensively for a moment; and she observed, in
an infuriated tone and with a searching eye,--"No, I am
not the wife of Halloway. It is false. I am the wife of
Wacousta. This is my husband!" and as she spoke she sprang
nimbly to her feet, and was in the next instant lying
prostrate on the form of the warrior; her arms thrown
wildly around him, and her lips imprinting kisses on his
cheek.

But Wacousta was in no mood to suffer her endearments.
He for the first time seemed alive to the presence of
her who lay beyond, and, to whose whole appearance a
character of animation had been imparted by the temporary
excitement of her feelings. He gazed at her a moment,
with the air of one endeavouring to recall the memory of
days long gone by; and as he continued to do so, his eye
dilated, his chest heaved, and his countenance alternately
flushed and paled. At length he threw the form that
reposed upon his own, violently, and even savagely, from
him; sprang eagerly to his feet; and clearing the space
that divided him from the object of his attention at a
single step, bore her from the earth in his arms with as
much ease as if she had been an infant, and then returning
to his own rude couch, placed his horror-stricken victim
at his side.

"Nay, nay," he urged sarcastically, as she vainly struggled
to free herself; "let the De Haldimar portion of your
blood rise up in anger if it will; but that of Clara
Beverley, at least--."

"Gracious Providence! where am I, that I hear the name
of my sainted mother thus familiarly pronounced?"
interrupted the startled girl; "and who are you,"--turning
her eyes wildly on the swarthy countenance of the warrior,
--"who are you, I ask, who, with the mien and in the garb
of a savage of these forests, appear thus acquainted with
her name?"

The warrior passed his hand across his brow for a moment,
as if some painful and intolerable reflection had been
called up by the question; but he speedily recovered his
self-possession, and, with an expression of feature that
almost petrified his auditor, vehemently observed,--

"You ask who I am! One who knew your mother long before
the accursed name of De Haldimar had even been whispered
in her ear; and whom love for the one and hatred for the
other has rendered the savage you now behold! But," he
continued, while a fierce and hideous smile lighted up
every feature, "I overlook my past sufferings in my
present happiness. The image of Clara Beverley, even
such as my soul loved her in its youth, is once more
before me in her child; THAT child shall be my wife!"

"Your wife! monster;--never!" shrieked the unhappy girl,
again vainly attempting to disengage herself from the
encircling arm of the savage. "But," she pursued, in a
tone of supplication, while the tears coursed each other
down her cheek, "if you ever loved my mother as you say
you have, restore her children to their home; and, if
saints may be permitted to look down from heaven in
approval of the acts of men, she whom you have loved will
bless you for the deed."

A deep groan burst from the vast chest of Wacousta; but,
for a moment, he answered not. At length he observed,
pointing at the same time with his finger towards the
cloudless vault above their heads,--"Do you behold yon
blue sky, Clara de Haldimar?"

"I do;--what mean you?" demanded the trembling girl, in
whom a momentary hope had been excited by the subdued
manner of the savage.

"Nothing," he coolly rejoined; "only that were your mother
to appear there at this moment, clad in all the attributes
ascribed to angels, her prayer would not alter the destiny
that awaits you. Nay, nay; look not thus sorrowfully,"
he pursued, as, in despite of her efforts to prevent him,
he imprinted a burning kiss upon her lips. "Even thus
was I once wont to linger on the lips of your mother;
but hers ever pouted to be pressed by mine; and not with
tears, but with sunniest smiles, did she court them." He
paused; bent his head over the face of the shuddering
girl; and gazing fixedly for a few minutes on her
countenance, while he pressed her struggling form more
closely to his own, exultingly pursued, as if to himself,
--"Even as her mother was, so is she. Ye powers of hell!
who would have ever thought a time would come when both
my vengeance and my love would be gratified to the utmost?
How strange it never should have occurred to me he had
a daughter!"

"What mean you, fierce, unpitying man?" exclaimed the
terrified Clara, to whom a full sense of the horror of
her position had lent unusual energy of character. "Surely
you will not detain a poor defenceless woman in your
hands,--the child of her you say you have loved. But it
is false!--you never knew her, or you would not now reject
my prayer."

"Never knew her!" fiercely repeated Wacousta. Again he
paused. "Would I had never known her! and I should not
now be the outcast wretch I am," he added, slowly and
impressively. Then once more elevating his voice,--"Clara
de Haldimar, I have loved your mother as man never loved
woman; and I have hated your father" (grinding his teeth
with fury as he spoke) "as man never hated man. That
love, that hatred are unquenched--unquenchable. Before
me I see at once the image of her who, even in death,
has lived enshrined in my heart, and the child of him
who is my bitterest foe. Clara de Haldimar, do you
understand me now?"

"Almighty Providence! is there no one to save me?--can
nothing touch your stubborn heart?" exclaimed the affrighted
girl; and she turned her swimming eyes on those of the
warrior, in appeal; but his glance caused her own to sink
in confusion. "Ellen Halloway," she pursued, after a
moment's pause, and in the wild accents of despair, "if
you are indeed the wife of this man, as you say you are,
oh! plead for me with him; and in the name of that
kindness, which I once extended to yourself, prevail on
him to restore me to my father!"

"Ellen Halloway!--who calls Ellen Halloway?" said the
wretched woman, who had again resumed her slovenly meal
on the rude couch, apparently without consciousness of
the scene enacting at her side. "I am not Ellen Halloway:
they said so; but it is not true. My husband was Reginald
Morton: but he went for a soldier, and was killed; and
I never saw him more."

"Reginald Morton! What mean you, woman?--What know you
of Reginald Morton?" demanded Wacousta, with frightful
energy, as, leaning over the shrinking form of Clara, he
violently grasped and shook the shoulder of the unhappy
maniac.

"Stop; do not hurt me, and I will tell you all, sir,"
she almost screamed. "Oh, sir, Reginald Morton was my
husband once; but he was kinder than you are. He did not
look so fiercely at me; nor did he pinch me so."

"What of him?--who was he?" furiously repeated Wacousta,
as he again impatiently shook the arm of the wretched
Ellen. "Where did you know him?--Whence came he?"

"Nay, you must not be jealous of poor Reginald:" and, as
she uttered these words in a softening and conciliating
tone, her eye was turned upon those of the warrior with
a mingled expression of fear and cunning. "But he was
very good and very handsome, and generous; and we lived
near each other, and we loved each other at first sight.
But his family were very proud, and they quarrelled with
him because he married me; and then we became very poor,
and Reginald went for a soldier, and--; but I forget the
rest, it is so long ago." She pressed her hand to her
brow, and sank her head upon her chest.

"Ellen, woman, again I ask you where he came from? this
Reginald Morton that you have named. To what county did
he belong?"

"Oh, we were both Cornish," she answered, with a vivacity
singularly in contrast with her recent low and monotonous
tone; "but, as I said before, he was of a great family,
and I only a poor clergyman's daughter."

"Cornish!--Cornish, did you say?" fiercely repeated the
dark Wacousta, while an expression of loathing and disgust
seemed for a moment to convulse his features; "then is
it as I had feared. One word more. Was the family seat
called Morton Castle?"

"It was," unhesitatingly returned the poor woman, yet
with the air of one wondering to hear a name repeated,
long forgotten even by herself. "It was a beautiful castle
too, on a lovely ridge of hills; and it commanded such
a nice view of the sea, close to the little port of -----;
and the parsonage stood in such a sweet valley, close
under the castle; and we were all so happy." She paused,
again put her hand to her brow, and pressed it with force,
as if endeavouring to pursue the chain of connection in
her memory, but evidently without success.

"And your father's name was Clayton?" said the warrior,
enquiringly; "Henry Clayton, if I recollect aright?"

"Ha! who names my father?" shrieked the wretched woman.
"Yes, sir, it was Clayton--Henry Clayton--the kindest,
the noblest of human beings. But the affliction of his
child, and the persecutions of the Morton family, broke
his heart. He is dead, sir, and Reginald is dead too;
and I am a poor lone widow in the world, and have no one
to love me." Here the tears coursed each other rapidly
down her faded cheek, although her eyes were staring and
motionless.

"It is false!" vociferated the warrior, who, now he had
gained all that was essential to the elucidation of his
doubts, quitted the shoulder he had continued to press
with violence in his nervous hand, and once more extended
himself at his length; "in me you behold the uncle of
your husband. Yes, Ellen Clayton, you have been the wife
of two Reginald Mortons. Both," he pursued with unutterable
bitterness, while he again started up and shook his
tomahawk menacingly in the direction of the fort,--"both
have been the victims of yon cold-blooded governor; but
the hour of our reckoning is at hand. Ellen," he fiercely
added, "do you recollect the curse you pronounced on the
family of that haughty man, when he slaughtered your
Reginald. By Heaven! it shall be fulfilled; but first
shall the love I have so long borne the mother be
transferred to the child."

Again he sought to encircle the waist of her whom, in
the strong excitement of his rage, he had momentarily
quitted; but the unutterable disgust and horror produced
in the mind of the unhappy Clara lent an almost supernatural
activity to her despair. She dexterously eluded his grasp,
gained her feet, and with tottering steps and outstretched
arms darted through the opening of the tent, and piteously
exclaiming, "Save me! oh, for God's sake, save me!" sank
exhausted, and apparently lifeless, on the chest of the
prisoner without.

To such of our readers as, deceived by the romantic nature
of the attachment stated to have been originally entertained
by Sir Everard Valletort for the unseen sister of his
friend, have been led to expect a tale abounding in
manifestations of its progress when the parties had
actually met, we at once announce disappointment. Neither
the lover of amorous adventure, nor the admirer of witty
dialogue, should dive into these pages. Room for the
exercise of the invention might, it is true, be found;
but ours is a tale of sad reality, and our heroes and
heroines figure under circumstances that would render
wit a satire upon the understanding, and love a reflection
upon the heart. Within the bounds of probability have
we, therefore, confined ourselves.

What the feelings of the young Baronet must have been,
from the first moment when he received from the hands of
the unfortunate Captain Baynton (who, although an officer
of his own corps, was personally a stranger to him,) that
cherished sister of his friend, on whose ideal form his
excited imagination had so often latterly loved to linger,
up to the present hour, we should vainly attempt to paint.
There are emotions of the heart, it would be mockery in
the pen to trace. From the instant of his first contributing
to preserve her life, on that dreadful day of blood, to
that when the schooner fell into the hands of the savages,
few words had passed between them, and these had reference
merely to the position in which they found themselves,
and whenever Sir Everard felt he could, without indelicacy
or intrusion, render himself in the slightest way
serviceable to her. The very circumstances under which
they had met, conduced to the suppression, if not utter
extinction, of all of passion attached to the sentiment
with which he had been inspired. A new feeling had
quickened in his breast; and it was with emotions more
assimilated to friendship than to love that he now regarded
the beautiful but sorrow-stricken sister of his bosom
friend. Still there was a softness, a purity, a delicacy
and tenderness in this new feeling, in which the influence
of sex secretly though unacknowledgedly predominated;
and even while sensible it would have been a profanation
of every thing most sacred and delicate in nature to have
admitted a thought of love within his breast at such a
moment, he also felt he could have entertained a voluptuous
joy in making any sacrifice, even to the surrender of
life itself, provided the tranquillity of that gentle
and suffering being could be by it ensured.

Clara, in her turn, had been in no condition to admit so
exclusive a power as that of love within her soul. She
had, it is true, even amid the desolation of her shattered
spirit, recognised in the young officer the original of
a portrait so frequently drawn by her brother, and dwelt
on by herself. She acknowledged, moreover, the fidelity
of the painting: but however she might have felt and
acted under different circumstances, absorbed as was her
heart, and paralysed her imagination, by the harrowing
scenes she had gone through, she, too, had room but for
one sentiment in her fainting soul, and that was friendship
for the friend of her brother; on whom, moreover, she
bestowed that woman's gratitude, which could not fail to
be awakened by a recollection of the risks he had
encountered, conjointly with Frederick, to save her from
destruction. During their passage across lake Huron, Sir
Everard had usually taken his seat on the deck, at that
respectful distance which he conceived the delicacy of
the position of the unfortunate cousins demanded; but in
such a manner that, while he seemed wholly abstracted
from them, his eye had more than once been detected by
Clara fixed on hers, with an affectionateness of interest
she could not avoid repaying with a glance of recognition
and approval. These, however, were the only indications
of regard that had passed between them.

If, however, a momentary and irrepressible flashing of
that sentiment, which had, at an earlier period, formed
a portion of their imaginings, did occasionally steal
over their hearts while there was a prospect of reaching
their friends in safety, all manifestation of its power
was again finally suppressed when the schooner fell into
the hands of the savages. Become the immediate prisoners
of Wacousta, they had been surrendered to that ferocious
chief to be dealt with as he might think proper; and, on
disembarking from the canoe in which their transit to
the main land had been descried that morning from the
fort, had been separated from their equally unfortunate
and suffering companions. Captain de Haldimar, Madeline,
and the Canadian, were delivered over to the custody of
several choice warriors of the tribe in which Wacousta
was adopted; and, bound hand and foot, were, at that
moment, in the war tent of the fierce savage, which, as
Ponteac had once boasted to the governor, was every where
hung around with human scalps, both of men, of women,
and of children. The object of this mysterious man, in
removing Clara to the spot we have described, was one
well worthy of his ferocious nature. His vengeance had
already devoted her to destruction; and it was within
view of the fort, which contained the father whom he
loathed, he had resolved his purpose should be accomplished.
A refinement of cruelty, such as could scarcely have been
supposed to enter the breast even of such a remorseless
savage as himself, had caused him to convey to the same
spot, him whom he rather suspected than knew to be the
lover of the young girl. It was with the view of harrowing
up the soul of one whom he had recognised as the officer
who had disabled him on the night of the rencontre on
the bridge, that he had bound Sir Everard to the tree,
whence, as we have already stated, he was a compelled
spectator of every thing that passed within the tent;
and yet with that free action of limb which only tended
to tantalize him the more amid his unavailable efforts
to rid himself of his bonds,--a fact that proved not only
the dire extent to which the revenge of Wacousta could
be carried, but the actual and gratuitous cruelty of his
nature.

One must have been similarly circumstanced, to understand
all the agony of the young man during this odious scene,
and particularly at the fierce and repeated declaration
of the savage that Clara should be his bride. More than
once had he essayed to remove the ligatures which confined
his waist; but his unsuccessful attempts only drew an
occasional smile of derision from his enemy, as he glanced
his eye rapidly towards him. Conscious at length of the
inutility of efforts, which, without benefiting her for
whom they were principally prompted, rendered him in some
degree ridiculous even in his own eyes, the wretched
Valletort desisted altogether, and with his head sunk
upon his chest, and his eyes closed, sought at least to
shut out a scene which blasted his sight, and harrowed
up his very soul.

But when Clara, uttering her wild cry for protection,
and rushing forth from the tent, sank almost unconsciously
in his embrace, a thrill of inexplicable joy ran through
each awakened fibre of his frame. Bending eagerly forward,
he had extended his arms to receive her; and when he felt
her light and graceful form pressing upon his own as its
last refuge--when he felt her heart beating against
his--when he saw her head drooping on his shoulder, in
the wild recklessness of despair,--even amid that scene
of desolation and grief he could not help enfolding her
in tumultuous ecstasy to his breast. Every horrible danger
was for an instant forgotten in the soothing consciousness
that he at length encircled the form of her, whom in many
an hour of solitude he had thus pictured, although under
far different circumstances, reposing confidingly on him.
There was delight mingled with agony in his sensation of
the wild throb of her bosom against his own; and even
while his soul fainted within him, as he reflected on
the fate that awaited her, he felt as if he could himself
now die more happily.

Momentary, however, was the duration of this scene.
Furious with anger at the evident disgust of his victim,
Wacousta no sooner saw her sink into the arms of her
lover, than with that agility for which he was remarkable
he was again on his feet, and stood in the next instant
at her side. Uniting to the generous strength of his
manhood all that was wrung from his mingled love and
despair, the officer clasped his hands round the waist
of the drooping Clara; and with clenched teeth, and feet
firmly set, seemed resolved to defy every effort of the
warrior to remove her. Not a word was uttered on either
side; but in the fierce smile that curled the lip of the
savage, there spoke a language even more terrible than
the words that smile implied. Sir Everard could not
suppress an involuntary shudder; and when at length
Wacousta, after a short but violent struggle, succeeded
in again securing and bearing off his prize, the
wretchedness of soul of the former was indescribable.

"You see 'tis vain to struggle against your destiny,
Clara de Haldimar," sneered the warrior. "Ours is but a
rude nuptial couch, it is true; but the wife of an Indian
chief must not expect the luxuries of Europe in the heart
of an American wilderness."

"Almighty Heaven! where am I?" exclaimed the wretched
girl, again unclosing her eyes to all the horror of her
position; for again she lay at the side, and within the
encircling arm, of her enemy. "Oh, Sir Everard Valletort,
I thought I was with you, and that you had saved me from
this monster. Where is my brother?--Where are Frederick
and Madeline?--"Why have they deserted me?--Ah! my
heart will break. I cannot endure this longer, and live."

"Clara, Miss de Haldimar," groaned Sir Everard, in a
voice of searching agony; "could I lay down my life for
you, I would; but you see these bonds. Oh God! oh God!
have pity on the innocent; and for once incline the heart
of yon fierce monster to the whisperings of mercy." As
he uttered the last sentence, he attempted to sink on
his knees in supplication to Him he addressed, but the
tension of the cord prevented him; yet were his hands
clasped, and his eyes upraised to heaven, while his
countenance beamed with an expression of fervent enthusiasm.

"Peace, babbler! or, by Heaven! that prayer shall be your
last," vociferated Wacousta. "But no," he pursued to
himself, dropping at the same time the point of his
upraised tomahawk; "these are but the natural writhings
of the crushed worm; and the longer protracted they are,
the more complete will be my vengeance." Then turning to
the terrified girl,--"You ask, Clara de Haldimar, where
you are? In the tent of your mother's lover, I reply,--at
the side of him who once pressed her to his heart, even
as I now press you, and with a fondness that was only
equalled by her own. Come, dear Clara," and his voice
assumed a tone of tenderness that was even more revolting
than his natural ferocity, "let me woo you to the affection
she once possessed. It was a heart of fire in which her
image stood enshrined,--it is a heart of fire still, and
well worthy of her child."

"Never, never!" shrieked the agonised girl. "Kill me,
murder me, if you will; but oh! if you have pity, pollute
not my ear with the avowal of your detested love. But
again I repeat, it is false that my mother ever knew you.
She never could have loved so fierce, so vindictive a
being as yourself."

"Ha! do you doubt me still?" sternly demanded the savage.
Then drawing the shuddering girl still closer to his vast
chest,--"Come hither, Clara, while to convince you I
unfold the sad history of my life, and tell you more of
your parents than you have ever known. When," he pursued
solemnly, "you have learnt the extent of my love for the
one, and of my hatred for the other, and the wrongs I
have endured from both, you will no longer wonder at the
spirit of mingled love and vengeance that dictates my
conduct towards yourself. Listen, girl," he continued
fiercely, "and judge whether mine are injuries to be
tamely pardoned, when a whole life has been devoted to
the pursuit of the means of avenging them."

Irresistibly led by a desire to know what possible
connection could have existed between her parents and
this singular and ferocious man, the wretched girl gave
her passive assent. She even hoped that, in the course
of his narrative, some softening recollections would pass
over his mind, the effect of which might be to predispose
him to mercy. Wacousta buried his face for a few moments
in his large hand, as if endeavouring to collect and
concentrate the remembrances of past years. His countenance,
meanwhile, had undergone a change; for there was now a
shade of melancholy mixed with the fierceness of expression
usually observable there. This, however, was dispelled
in the course of his narrative, and as various opposite
passions were in turn powerfully and severally developed.




CHAPTER VIII.

"It is now four and twenty years," commenced Wacousta,
"since your father and myself first met as subalterns in
the regiment he now commands, when, unnatural to say, an
intimacy suddenly sprang up between us which, as it was
then to our brother officers, has since been a source of
utter astonishment to myself. Unnatural, I repeat, for
fire and ice are not more opposite than were the elements
of which our natures were composed. He, all coldness,
prudence, obsequiousness, and forethought. I, all
enthusiasm, carelessness, impetuosity, and independence.
Whether this incongruous friendship--friendship! no, I
will not so far sully the sacred name as thus to term
the unnatural union that subsisted between us;--whether
this intimacy, then, sprang from the adventitious
circumstance of our being more frequently thrown together
as officers of the same company,--for we were both attached
to the grenadiers,--or that my wild spirit was soothed
by the bland amenity of his manners, I know not. The
latter, however, is not improbable; for proud, and haughty,
and dignified, as the colonel NOW is, such was not THEN
the character of the ensign; who seemed thrown out of
one of Nature's supplest moulds, to fawn, and cringe,
and worm his way to favour by the wily speciousness of
his manners. Oh God!" pursued Wacousta, after a momentary
pause, and striking his palm against his forehead, "that
I ever should have been the dupe of such a cold-blooded
hypocrite!

"I have said our intimacy excited surprise among our
brother officers. It did; for all understood and read
the character of your father, who was as much disliked
and distrusted for the speciousness of his false nature,
as I was generally esteemed for the frankness and warmth
of mine. No one openly censured the evident preference
I gave him in my friendship; but we were often sarcastically
termed the Pylades and Orestes of the regiment, until my
heart was ready to leap into my throat with impatience
at the bitterness in which the taunt was conceived; and
frequently in my presence was allusion made to the blind
folly of him, who should take a cold and slimy serpent
to his bosom only to feel its fangs darted into it at
the moment when most fostered by its genial heat. All,
however, was in vain. On a nature like mine, innuendo
was likely to produce an effect directly opposite to that
intended; and the more I found them inclined to be severe
on him I called my friend, the more marked became my
preference. I even fancied that because I was rich,
generous, and heir to a title, their observations were
prompted by jealousy of the influence he possessed over
me, and a desire to supplant him only for their interests'
sake. Bitterly have I been punished for the illiberality
of such an opinion. Those to whom I principally allude
were the subalterns of the regiment, most of whom were
nearly of our own age. One or two of the junior captains
were also of this number; but, by the elders (as we termed
the seniors of that rank) and field officers, Ensign de
Haldimar was always regarded as a most prudent and
promising young officer.

"What conduced, in a great degree, to the establishment
of our intimacy was the assistance I always received from
my brother subaltern in whatever related to my military
duties. As the lieutenant of the company, the more
immediate responsibility attached to myself; but being
naturally of a careless habit, or perhaps considering
all duty irksome to my impatient nature that was not duty
in the field, I was but too often guilty of neglecting
it. On these occasions my absence was ever carefully
supplied by your father, who, in all the minutiae of
regimental economy, was surpassed by no other officer in
the corps; so that credit was given to me, when, at the
ordinary inspections, the grenadiers were acknowledged
to be the company the most perfect in equipment and
skilful in manoeuvre. Deeply, deeply," again mused
Wacousta, "have these services been repaid.

"As you have just learnt, Cornwall is the country of my
birth. I was the eldest of the only two surviving children
of a large family; and, as heir to the baronetcy of the
proud Mortons, was looked up to by lord and vassal as
the future perpetuator of the family name. My brother
had been designed for the army; but as this was a profession
to which I had attached my inclinations, the point was
waved in my favour, and at the age of eighteen I first
joined the ---- regiment, then quartered in the Highlands
of Scotland. During my boyhood I had ever accustomed
myself to athletic exercises, and loved to excite myself
by encountering danger in its most terrific forms. Often
had I passed whole days in climbing the steep and
precipitous crags which overhang the sea in the
neighbourhood of Morton Castle, ostensibly in the pursuit
of the heron or the seagull, but self-acknowledgedly for
the mere pleasure of grappling with the difficulties they
opposed to me. Often, too, in the most terrific tempests,
when sea and sky have met in one black and threatening
mass, and when the startled fishermen have in vain
attempted to dissuade me from my purpose, have I ventured,
in sheer bravado, out of sight of land, and unaccompanied
by a human soul. Then, when wind and tide have been
against me on my return, have I, with my simple sculls
alone, caused my faithful bark to leap through the foaming
brine as though a press of canvass had impelled her on.
Oh, that this spirit of adventure had never grown with
my growth and strengthened with my strength!" sorrowfully
added the warrior, again apostrophising himself: "then
had I never been the wretch I am.

"The wild daring by which my boyhood had been marked was
again powerfully awakened by the bold and romantic scenery
of the Scottish Highlands; and as the regiment was at
that time quartered in a part of these mountainous
districts, where, from the disturbed nature of the times,
society was difficult of attainment, many of the officers
were driven from necessity, as I was from choice, to
indulge in the sports of the chase. On one occasion a
party of four of us set out early in the morning in
pursuit of deer, numbers of which we knew were to be met
with in the mountainous tracts of Bute and Argyleshire.
The course we happened to take lay through a succession
of dark deep glens, and over frowning rocks; the
difficulties of access to which only stirred up my dormant
spirit of enterprise the more. We had continued in this
course for many hours, overcoming one difficulty only to
be encountered by another, and yet without meeting a
single deer; when, at length, the faint blast of a horn
was heard far above our heads in the distance, and
presently a noble stag was seen to ascend a ledge of
rocks immediately in front of us. To raise my gun to my
shoulder and fire was the work of a moment, after which
we all followed in pursuit. On reaching the spot where
the deer had first been seen, we observed traces of blood,
satisfying us he had been wounded; but the course taken
in his flight was one that seemed to defy every human
effort to follow in. It was a narrow pointed ledge,
ascending boldly towards a huge cliff that projected
frowningly from the extreme summit, and on either side
lay a dark, deep, and apparently fathomless ravine; to
look even on which was sufficient to appal the stoutest
heart, and unnerve the steadiest brain. For me, however,
long accustomed to dangers of the sort, it had no terror.
This was a position in which I had often wished once more
to find myself placed, and I felt buoyant and free as
the deer itself I intended to pursue. In vain did my
companions (and your father was one) implore me to abandon
a project so wild and hazardous. I bounded forward, and
they turned shuddering away, that their eyes might not
witness the destruction that awaited me. Meanwhile,
balancing my long gun in my upraised hands, I trod the
dangerous path with a buoyancy and elasticity of limb,
a lightness of heart, and a fearlessness of consequences,
that surprised even myself. Perhaps it was to the latter
circumstance I owed my safety, for a single doubt of my
security might have impelled a movement that would not
have failed to have precipitated me into the yawning gulf
below. I had proceeded in this manner about five hundred
yards, when I came to the termination of the ledge, from
the equally narrow transverse extremity of which branched
out three others; the whole contributing to form a figure
resembling that of a trident. Pausing here for a moment,
I applied the hunting horn, with which I was provided,
to my lips. This signal, announcing my safety, was speedily
returned by my friends below in a cheering and lively
strain, that seemed to express at once surprise and
satisfaction; and inspirited by the sound, I prepared to
follow up my perilous chase. Along the ledge I had
quitted I had remarked occasional traces where the stricken
deer had passed; and the same blood-spots now directed
me at a point where, but for these, I must have been
utterly at fault. The centre of these new ridges, and
the narrowest, was that taken by the animal, and on that
I once more renewed my pursuit. As I continued to advance
I found the ascent became more precipitous, and the
difficulties opposed to my progress momentarily more
multiplied. Still, nothing daunted, I continued my course
towards the main body of rock that now rose within a
hundred yards. How. this was to be gained I knew not;
for it shelved out abruptly from the extreme summit,
overhanging the abyss, and presenting an appearance which
I cannot more properly render than by comparing it to
the sounding-boards placed over the pulpits of our English
churches. Still I was resolved to persevere to the close,
and I but too unhappily succeeded." Again Wacousta paused.
A tear started to his eye, but this he impatiently brushed
away with his swarthy hand.

"It was evident to me," he again resumed, "that there
must be some opening through which the deer had effected
his escape to the precipitous height above; and I felt
a wild and fearful triumph in following him to his cover,
over passes which it was my pleasure to think none of
the hardy mountaineers themselves would have dared to
venture upon with impunity. I paused not to consider of
the difficulty of bearing away my prize, even if I
succeeded in overtaking it. At every step my excitement
and determination became stronger, and I felt every fibre
of my frame to dilate, as when, in my more boyish days,
I used to brave, in my gallant skiff, the mingled fury
of the warring elements of sea and storm. Suddenly, while
my mind was intent only on the dangers I used then to
hold in such light estimation, I found my further progress
intercepted by a fissure in the crag. It was not the
width of this opening that disconcerted me, for it exceeded
not ten feet; but I came upon it so unadvisedly, that,
in attempting to check my forward motion, I had nearly
lost my equipoise, and fallen into the abyss that now
yawned before and on either side of me. To pause upon
the danger, would, I felt, be to ensure it. Summoning
all my dexterity into a single bound, I cleared the chasm;
and with one buskined foot (for my hunting costume was
strictly Highland) clung firmly to the ledge, while I
secured my balance with the other. At this point the
rock became gradually broader, so that I now trod the
remainder of the rude path in perfect security, until I
at length found myself close to the vast mass of which
these ledges were merely ramifications or veins: but
still I could discover no outlet by which the wounded
deer could have escaped. While I lingered, thoughtfully,
for a moment, half in disappointment, half in anger, and
with my back leaning against the rock, I fancied I heard
a rustling, as of the leaves and branches of underwood,
on that part which projected like a canopy, far above
the abyss. I bent my eye eagerly and fixedly on the spot
whence the sound proceeded, and presently could distinguish
the blue sky appearing through an aperture, to which was,
the instant afterwards, applied what I conceived to be
a human face. No sooner, however, was it seen than
withdrawn; and then the rustling of leaves was heard
again, and all was still as before.

"Why did my evil genius so will it," resumed Wacousta,
after another pause, during which he manifested deep
emotion, "that I should have heard those sounds and seen
that face? But for these I should have returned to my
companions, and my life might have been the life--the
plodding life--of the multitude; things that are born
merely to crawl through existence and die, knowing not
at the moment of death why or how they have lived at all.
But who may resist the destiny that presides over him
from the cradle to the grave? for, although the mass may
be, and are, unworthy of the influencing agency of that
Unseen Power, who will presume to deny there are those
on whom it stamps its iron seal, even from the moment of
their birth to that which sees all that is mortal of them
consigned to the tomb? What was it but destiny that
whispered to me what I had seen was the face of a woman?
I had not traced a feature, nor could I distinctly state
that it was a human countenance I had beheld; but mine
was ever an imagination into which the wildest improbability
was scarce admitted that it did not grow into conviction
in the instant.

"A new direction was now given to my feelings. I felt a
presentiment that my adventure, if prosecuted, would
terminate in some extraordinary and characteristic manner;
and obeying, as I ever did, the first impulse of my heart,
I prepared to grapple once more with the difficulties
that yet remained to be surmounted. In order to do this,
it was necessary that my feet and hands should be utterly
without incumbrance; for it was only by dint of climbing
that I could expect to reach that part of the projecting
rock to which my attention had been directed. Securing
my gun between some twisted roots that grew out of and
adhered to the main body of the rock, I commenced the
difficult ascent; and, after considerable effort, found
myself at length immediately under the aperture. My
progress along the lower superficies of this projection
was like that of a crawling reptile. My back hung suspended
over the chasm, into which one false movement of hand or
foot, one yielding of the roots entwined in the rock,
must inevitably have precipitated me; and, while my toes
wormed themselves into the tortuous fibres of the latter,
I passed hand over hand beyond my head, until I had
arrived within a foot or two of the point I desired to
reach. Here, however, a new difficulty occurred. A slight
projection of the rock, close to the aperture, impeded
my further progress in the manner hitherto pursued; and,
to pass this, I was compelled to drop my whole weight,
suspended by one vigorous arm, while, with the other, I
separated the bushes that concealed the opening. A
violent exertion of every muscle now impelled me upward,
until at length I had so far succeeded as to introduce
my head and shoulders through the aperture; after which
my final success was no longer doubtful. If I have been
thus minute in the detail of the dangerous nature of this
passage," continued Wacousta, gloomily, "it is not without
reason. I would have you to impress the whole of the
localities upon your imagination, that you may the better
comprehend, from a knowledge of the risks I incurred,
how little I have merited the injuries under which I have
writhed for years."

Again one of those painful pauses with which his narrative
was so often broken, occurred; and, with an energy that
terrified her whom he addressed, Wacousta pursued--"Clara
de Haldimar, it was here--in this garden--this paradise
--this oasis of the rocks in which I now found myself,
that I first saw and loved your mother. Ha! you start:
you believe me now.--Loved her!" he continued, after
another short pause--"oh, what a feeble word is love to
express the concentration of mighty feelings that flowed
like burning lava through my veins! Who shall pretend to
give a name to the emotion that ran thrillingly--madly
through my excited frame, when first I gazed on her, who,
in every attribute of womanly beauty, realised all my
fondest fancy ever painted?--Listen to me, Clara," he
pursued, in a fiercer tone, and with a convulsive pressure
of the form he still encircled:--"If, in my younger days,
my mind was alive to enterprise, and loved to contemplate
danger in its most appalling forms, this was far from
being the master passion of my soul; nay, it was the
strong necessity I felt of pouring into some devoted
bosom the overflowing fulness of my heart, that made me
court in solitude those positions of danger with which
the image of woman was ever associated. How often, while
tossed by the raging elements, now into the blue vault
of heaven, now into the lowest gulfs of the sea, have I
madly wished to press to my bounding bosom the being of
my fancy's creation, who, all enamoured and given to her
love, should, even amid the danger that environed her,
be alive but to one consciousness,--that of being with
him on whom her life's hope alone reposed! How often,
too, while bending over some dark and threatening precipice,
or standing on the utmost verge of some tall projecting
cliff, my aching head (aching with the intenseness of
its own conceptions) bared to the angry storm, and my
eye fixed unshrinkingly on the boiling ocean far beneath
my feet, has my whole soul--my every faculty, been bent
on that ideal beauty which controlled every sense! Oh,
imagination, how tyrannical is thy sway--how exclusive
thy power--how insatiable thy thirst! Surrounded by
living beauty, I was insensible to its influence; for,
with all the perfection that reality can attain on earth,
there was ever to be found some deficiency, either physical
or moral, that defaced the symmetry and destroyed the
loveliness of the whole; but, no sooner didst thou, with
magic wand, conjure up one of thy embodiments, than my
heart became a sea of flame, and was consumed in the
vastness of its own fires.

"It was in vain that my family sought to awaken me to a
sense of the acknowledged loveliness of the daughters of
more than one ancient house in the county, with one of
whom an alliance was, in many respects, considered
desirable. Their beauty, or rather their whole, was
insufficient to stir up into madness the dormant passions
of my nature; and although my breast was like a glowing
furnace, in which fancy cast all the more exciting images
of her coinage to secure the last impress of the heart's
approval, my outward deportment to some of the fairest
and loveliest of earth's realities was that of one on
whom the influence of woman's beauty could have no power.
From my earliest boyhood I had loved to give the rein to
these feelings, until they at length rendered me their
slave. Woman was the idol that lay enshrined within my
inmost heart; but it was woman such as I had not yet met
with, yet felt must somewhere exist in the creation. For
her I could have resigned title, fortune, family, every
thing that is dear to man, save the life, through which
alone the reward of such sacrifice could have been tasted,
and to this phantom I had already yielded up all the
manlier energies of my nature; but, deeply as I felt the
necessity of loving something less unreal, up to the
moment of my joining the regiment, my heart had never
once throbbed for created woman.

"I have already said that, on gaining the summit of the
rock, I found myself in a sort of oasis of the mountains.
It was so. Belted on every hand by bold and precipitous
crags, that seemed to defy the approach even of the
wildest animals, and putting utterly at fault the
penetration and curiosity of man, was spread a carpet of
verdure, a luxuriance of vegetation, that might have put
to shame the fertility of the soft breeze-nourished
valleys of Italy and Southern France. Time, however, is
not given me to dwell on the mingled beauty and wildness
of a scene, so consonant with my ideas of the romantic
and the picturesque. Let me rather recur to her (although
my heart be lacerated once more in the recollection) who
was the presiding deity of the whole,--the being after
whom, had I had the fabled power of Prometheus, I should
have formed and animated the sharer of that sweet wild
solitude, nor once felt that fancy, to whom I was so
largely a debtor, had in aught been cheated of what she
had, for a series of years, so rigidly claimed.

"At about twenty yards from the aperture, and on a bank,
formed of turf, covered with moss, and interspersed with
roses and honeysuckles, sat this divinity of the oasis.
She, too, was clad in the Highland dress, which gave an
air of wildness and elegance to her figure that was in
classic harmony with the surrounding scenery. At the
moment of my appearance she was in the act of dressing
the wounded shoulder of a stag, that had recently been
shot; and from the broad tartan riband I perceived attached
to its neck, added to the fact of the tameness of the
animal, I presumed that this stag, evidently a favourite
of its mistress, was the same I had fired at and wounded.
The rustling I made among the bushes had attracted her
attention; she raised her eyes from the deer, and,
beholding me, started to her feet, uttering a cry of
terror and surprise. Fearing to speak, as if the sound
of my own voice were sufficient to dispel the illusion
that fascinated both eye and heart into delicious tension
on her form, yet with my soul kindled into all that wild
uncontrollable love which had been the accumulation of
years of passionate imagining, I stood for some moments
as motionless as the rock out of which I appeared to
grow. It seemed as though I had not the power to think
or act, so fully was every faculty of my being filled
with the consciousness that I at length gazed upon her
I was destined to love for ever.

"It was this utter immobility on my own part, that ensured
me a continuance of the exquisite happiness I then enjoyed.
The first movement of the startled girl had been to fly
towards her dwelling, which stood at a short distance,
half imbedded in the same clustering roses and honey-suckles
that adorned her bank of moss; but when she remarked my
utter stillness, and apparent absence of purpose, she
checked the impulse that would have directed her departure,
and stopped, half in curiosity, half in fear, to examine
me once more. At that moment all my energies appeared to
be restored; I threw myself into an attitude expressive
of deep contrition for the intrusion of which I had been
unconsciously guilty, and dropping on one knee, and
raising my clasped hands, inclined them towards her in
token of mingled deprecation of her anger, and respectful
homage to herself. At first she hesitated,--then gradually
and timidly retrod her way to the seat she had so abruptly
quitted in her alarm. Emboldened by this movement, I made
a step or two in advance, but no sooner had I done so
than she again took to flight. Once more, however, she
turned to behold me, and again I had dropped on my knee,
and was conjuring her, with the same signs, to remain
and bless me with her presence. Again she returned to
her seat, and again I advanced. Scarcely less timid,
however, than the deer, which followed her every movement,
she fled a third time,--a third time looked back, and
was again induced, by my supplicating manner, to return.
Frequently was this repeated, before I finally found
myself at the feet, and pressing the hand--(oh God! what
torture in the recollection!)--yes, pressing the hand of
her for whose smile I would, even at that moment, have
sacrificed my soul; and every time she fled, the classic
disposition of her graceful limbs, and her whole natural
attitude of alarm, could only be compared with those of
one of the huntresses of Diana, intruded on in her woodland
privacy by the unhallowed presence of some daring mortal.
Such was your mother, Clara de Haldimar; yes, even such
as I have described her was Clara Beverley."

Again Wacousta paused, and his pause was longer than
usual, as, with his large hand again covering his face,
he seemed endeavouring to master the feelings which these
recollections had called up. Clara scarcely breathed.
Unmindful of her own desolate position, her soul was
intent only on a history that related so immediately to
her beloved mother, of whom all that she had hitherto
known was, that she was a native of Scotland, and that
her father had married her while quartered in that country.
The deep emotion of the terrible being before her, so
often manifested in the course of what he had already
given of his recital, added to her knowledge of the facts
just named, scarcely left a doubt of the truth of his
statement on her mind. Her ear was now bent achingly
towards him, in expectation of a continuance of his
history, but he still remained in the same attitude of
absorption. An irresistible impulse caused her to extend
her hand, and remove his own from his eyes: they were
filled with tears; and even while her mind rapidly embraced
the hope that this manifestation of tenderness was but
the dawning of mercy towards the children of her he had
once loved, her kind nature could not avoid sympathizing
with him, whose uncouthness of appearance and savageness
of nature was, in some measure, lost sight of in the fact
of the powerful love he yet apparently acknowledged.

But no sooner did Wacousta feel the soft pressure of her
hand, and meet her eyes turned on his with an expression
of interest, than the most rapid transition was effected
in his feelings. He drew the form of the weakly resisting
girl closer to his heart; again imprinted a kiss upon
her lips; and then, while every muscle in his iron frame
seemed quivering with emotion, exclaimed,--"By Heaven!
that touch, that glance, were Clara Beverley's all over!
Oh, let me linger on the recollection, even such as they
were, when her arms first opened to receive me in that
sweet oasis of the Highlands. Yes, Clara," he proceeded
more deliberately, as he scanned her form with an eye
that made her shudder, "such as your mother was, so are
you; the same delicacy of proportion; the same graceful
curvature of limb, only less rounded, less womanly. But
you must be younger by about two years than she then was.
Your age cannot exceed seventeen; and time will supply
what your mere girlhood renders you deficient in."

There was a cool licence of speech--a startling freedom
of manner--in the latter part of this address, that
disappointed not less than it pained and offended the
unhappy Clara. It seemed to her as if the illusion she
had just created, were already dispelled by his language,
even as her own momentary interest in the fierce man had
also been destroyed from the same cause. She shuddered;
and sighing bitterly, suffered her tears to force themselves
through her closed lids upon her pallid cheek. This
change in her appearance seemed to act as a check on the
temporary excitement of Wacousta. Again obeying one of
these rapid transitions of feeling, for which he was
remarkable, he once more assumed an expression of
seriousness, and thus continued his narrative.




CHAPTER IX.

"It boots not now, Clara, to enter upon all that succeeded
to my first introduction to your mother. It would take
long to relate, not the gradations of our passion, for
that was like the whirlwind of the desert, sudden and
devastating from the first; but the burning vow, the
plighted faith, the reposing confidence, the unchecked
abandonment that flew from the lips, and filled the heart
of each, sealed, as they were, with kisses, long, deep,
enervating, even such as I had ever pictured that divine
pledge of human affection should be. Yes, Clara de
Haldimar, your mother was the child of nature THEN.
Unspoiled by the forms, unvitiated by the sophistries of
a world with which she had never mixed, her intelligent
innocence made the most artless avowals to my enraptured
ear,--avowals that the more profligate minded woman of
society would have blushed to whisper even to herself.
And for these I loved her to my own undoing.

"Blind vanity, inconceivable folly!" continued Wacousta,
again pressing his forehead with force; "how could I be
so infatuated as not to perceive, that although her heart
was filled with a new and delicious passion, it was less
the individual than the man she loved. And how could it
be otherwise, since I was the first, beside her father,
she had ever seen or recollected to have seen? Still,
Clara de Haldimar," he pursued, with haughty energy, "I
was not always the rugged being I now appear. Of surpassing
strength I had ever been, and fleet of foot, but not then
had I attained to my present gigantic stature; neither
was my form endowed with the same Herculean rudeness;
nor did my complexion wear the swarthy hue of the savage;
nor had my features been rendered repulsive, from the
perpetual action of those fierce passions which have
since assailed my soul. My physical faculties had not
yet been developed to their present grossness of maturity,
neither had my moral energies acquired that tone of
ferocity which often renders me hideous, even in my own
eyes. In a word, the milk of my nature (for, with all my
impetuosity of character, I was generous-hearted and
kind) had not yet been turned to gall by villainy and
deceit. My form had then all that might attract--my
manners all that might win--my enthusiasm of speech all
that might persuade--and my heart all that might interest
a girl fashioned after nature's manner, and tutored in
nature's school. In the regiment, I was called the handsome
grenadier; but there was another handsomer than I,--a
sly, insidious, wheedling, false, remorseless villain.
That villain, Clara de Haldimar, was your father.

"But wherefore," continued Wacousta, chafing with the
recollection, "wherefore do I, like a vain and puling
schoolboy, enter into this abasing contrast of personal
advantages? The proud eagle soars not more above the
craven kite, than did my soul, in all that was manly and
generous, above that of yon false governor; and who should
have prized those qualities, if it were not the woman
who, bred in solitude, and taught by fancy to love all
that was generous and noble in the heart of man, should
have considered mere beauty of feature as dust in the
scale, when opposed to sentiments which can invest even
deformity with loveliness? In all this I may appear vain;
I am only just.

"I have said that your mother had been brought up in
solitude, and without having seen the face of another
man than her father. Such was the case;--Colonel Beverley,
of English name, but Scottish connections, was an old
gentleman of considerable eccentricity of character. He
had taken a part in the rebellion of 1715; but sick and
disgusted with an issue by which his fortunes had been
affected, and heart-broken by the loss of a beloved wife,
whose death had been accelerated by circumstances connected
with the disturbed nature of the times, he had resolved
to bury himself and child in some wild, where the face
of man, whom he loathed, might no more offend his sight.
This oasis of the mountains was the spot selected for
his purpose; for he had discovered it some years previously,
on an occasion, when, closely pursued by some of the
English troops, and separated from his followers, he had
only effected his escape by venturing on the ledges of
rock I have already described. After minute subsequent
search, at the opposite extremity of the oblong belt of
rocks that shut it in on every hand, he had discovered
an opening, through which the transport of such
necessaries as were essential to his object might be
effected; and, causing one of his dwelling houses to be
pulled down, he had the materials carried across the
rocks on the shoulders of the men employed to re-erect
them in his chosen solitude. A few months served to
complete these arrangements, which included a garden
abounding in every fruit and flower that could possibly
live in so elevated a region; and; this, in time, under
his own culture, and that of his daughter, became the
Eden it first appeared to me.

"Previous to their entering on this employment, the
workmen had been severally sworn to secresy; and when
all was declared ready for his reception, the colonel
summoned them a second time to his presence; when, after
making a handsome present to each, in addition to his
hire, he found no difficulty in prevailing on them to
renew their oath that they would preserve the most
scrupulous silence in regard to the place of his retreat.
He then took advantage of a dark and tempestuous night
to execute his project; and, attended only by an old
woman and her daughter, faithful dependants of the family,
set out in quest of his new abode, leaving all his
neighbours to discuss and marvel at the singularity of
his disappearance. True to his text, however, not even
a boy was admitted into his household: and here they had
continued to live, unseeing and unseen by man, except
when a solitary and distant mountaineer occasionally
flitted among the rocks below in pursuit of his game.
Fruits and vegetables composed their principal diet; but
once a fortnight the old woman was dispatched through
the opening already mentioned, which was at other times
so secured by her master, that no hand but his own could
remove the intricate fastenings. This expedition had
for its object the purchase of bread and animal food at
the nearest market; and every time she sallied forth an
oath was administered to the crone, the purport of which
was, not only that she would return, unless prevented by
violence or death, but that she would not answer any
questions put to her, as to who she was, whence she came,
or for whom the fruits of her marketing were intended.

"Meanwhile, wrapped up in his books, which were chiefly
classic authors, or writers on abstruse sciences, the
misanthropical colonel paid little or no attention to
the cultivation of the intellect of his daughter, whom
he had merely instructed in the elementary branches of
education; in all which, however, she evinced an aptitude
and perfectability that indicated quickness of genius
and a capability of far higher attainments. Books he
principally withheld from her, because they brought the
image of man, whom he hated, and wished she should also
hate, too often in flattering colours before her; and
had any work treating of love been found to have crept
accidentally into his own collection, it would instantly
and indignantly have been committed to the flames.

"Thus left to the action of her own heart--the guidance
of her own feelings--it was but natural your mother should
have suffered her imagination to repose on an ideal
happiness, which, although in some degree destitute of
shape and character, was still powerfully felt. Nature
is too imperious a law-giver to be thwarted in her
dictates; and however we may seek to stifle it, her
inextinguishable voice will make itself heard, whether
it be in the lonely desert or in the crowded capital.
Possessed of a glowing heart and warm sensibilities,
Clara Beverley felt the energies of her being had not
been given to her to be wasted on herself. In her dreams
by night, and her thoughts by day, she had pictured a
being endowed with those attributes which were the fruit
of her own fertility of conception. If she plucked a
flower, (and all this she admitted at our first interview,"
groaned Wacousta,) "she was sensible of the absence of
one to whom that flower might be given. If she gazed at
the star-studded canopy of heaven, or bent her head over
the frowning precipices by which she was every where
surrounded, she felt the absence of him with whom she
could share the enthusiasm excited by the contemplation
of the one, and to whom she could impart the mingled
terror and admiration produced by the dizzying depths of
the other. What dear acknowledgments (alas! too deceitful,)
flowed from her guileless lips, even during that first
interview. With a candour and unreservedness that spring
alone from unsophisticated manners and an untainted heart,
she admitted, that the instant she beheld me, she felt
she had found the being her fancy had been so long tutored
to linger on, and her heart to love. She was sure I was
come to be her husband (for she had understood from her
aged attendant that a man who loved a woman wished to be
her husband); and she was glad her pet stag had been
wounded, since it had been the means of procuring her
such happiness. She was not cruel enough to take pleasure
in the sufferings of the poor animal; for she would nurse
it, and it would soon be well again; but she could not
help rejoicing in its disaster, since that circumstance
had been the cause of my finding her out, and loving her
even as she loved me. And all this was said with her head
reclining on my chest, and her beautiful countenance
irradiated with a glow that had something divine in the
simplicity of purpose it expressed.

"On my demanding to know whether it was not her face I
had seen at the opening in the cliff, she replied that
it was. Her stag often played the truant, and passed
whole hours away from her, rambling beyond the precincts
of the solitude that contained its mistress; but no sooner
was the small silver bugle, which she wore across her
shoulder, applied to her lips, than 'Fidelity' (thus she
had named him) was certain to obey the call, and to come
bounding up the line of cliff to the main rock, into
which it effected its entrance at a point that had escaped
my notice. It was her bugle I had heard in the course of
my pursuit of the animal; and, from the aperture through
which I had effected my entrance, she had looked out to
see who was the audacious hunter she had previously
observed threading a passage, along which her stag itself
never appeared without exciting terror in her bosom. The
first glimpse she had caught of my form was at the moment
when, after having sounded my own bugle, I cleared the
chasm; and this was a leap she had so often trembled to
see taken by 'Fidelity,' that she turned away and shuddered
when she saw it fearlessly adventured on by a human being.
A feeling of curiosity had afterwards induced her to
return and see if the bold hunter had cleared the gulf,
or perished in his mad attempt; but when she looked
outward from the highest pinnacle of her rocky prison,
she could discover no traces of him whatever. It then
occurred to her, that, if successful in his leap, his
progress must have been finally arrested by the impassable
rock that terminated the ridge; in which case she might
perchance obtain a nearer sight of his person. With this
view she had removed the bushes enshrouding the aperture;
and, bending low to the earth, thrust her head partially
through it. Scarcely had she done so, however, when she
beheld me immediately, though far beneath her, with my
back reposing against the rock, and my eyes apparently
fixed on hers.

"Filled with a variety of opposite sentiments, among
which unfeigned alarm was predominant, she had
instantaneously removed her head; and, closing the aperture
as noiselessly as possible, returned to the moss-covered
seat on which I had first surprised her; where, while
she applied dressings of herbs to the wound of her
favourite, she suffered her mind to ruminate on the
singularity of the appearance of a man so immediately in
the vicinity of their retreat. The supposed impracticability
of the ascent I had accomplished, satisfied, even while
(as she admitted) it disappointed her. I must of necessity
retrace my way over the dangerous ridge. Great, therefore,
was her surprise, when, after having been attracted by
the rustling noise of the bushes over the aperture, she
presently saw the figure of the same hunter emerge from
the abyss it overhung. Terror had winged her flight; but
it was terror mingled with a delicious emotion entirely
new to her. It was that emotion, momentarily increasing
in power, that induced her to pause, look back, hesitate
in her course, and finally be won, by my supplicating
manner, to return and bless me with her presence.

"Two long and delicious hours," pursued Wacousta, after
another painful pause of some moments, "did we pass in
this manner; exchanging thought, and speech, and heart,
as if the term of our acquaintance had been coeval with
the first dawn of our intellectual life; when suddenly
a small silver toned bell was heard from the direction
of the house, hid from the spot--on which we sat by the
luxuriant foliage of an intervening laburnum. This sound
seemed to dissipate the dreamy calm that had wrapped the
soul of your mother into forgetfulness. She started
suddenly up, and bade me, if I loved her, begone; as that
bell announced her required attendance on her father,
who, now awakened from the mid-day slumber in which he
ever indulged, was about to take his accustomed walk
around the grounds; which was little else, in fact, than
a close inspection of the walls of his natural castle.
I rose to obey her; our eyes met, and she threw herself
into my extended arms. We whispered anew our vows of
eternal love. She called me her husband, and I pronounced
the endearing name of wife. A burning kiss sealed the
compact; and, on her archly observing that the sleep of
her father continued about two hours at noon, and that
the old woman and her daughter were always occupied within
doors, I promised to repeat my visit every second day
until she finally quitted her retreat to be my own for
life. Again the bell was rung; and this time with a
violence that indicated impatience of delay. I tore
myself from her arms, darted to the aperture, and kissing
my hand in reply to the graceful waving of her scarf as
she half turned in her own flight, sunk finally from her
view; and at length, after making the same efforts, and
mastering the same obstacles that had marked and opposed
my advance, once more found myself at the point whence
I had set out in pursuit of the wounded deer.

"Many were the congratulations I received from my
companions, whom I found waiting my return. They had
endured the three hours of my absence with intolerable
anxiety and alarm; until, almost despairing of beholding
me again, they had resolved on going back without me.
They said they had repeatedly sounded their horns; but
meeting with no answer from mine, had been compelled to
infer either that I had strayed to a point whence return
to them was impracticable, or that I must have perished
in the abyss. I readily gave in to the former idea;
stating I had been led by the traces of the wounded deer
to a considerable distance, and over passes which it had
proved a work of time and difficulty to surmount, yet
without securing my spoil. All this time there was a glow
of animation on my cheek, and a buoyancy of spirit in my
speech, that accorded ill, the first, with the fatigue
one might have been supposed to experience in so perilous
a chase; the second, with the disappointment attending
its result. Your father, ever cool and quick of penetration,
was the first to observe this; and when he significantly
remarked, that, to judge from my satisfied countenance,
my time had been devoted to the pursuit of more interesting
game, I felt for a moment as if he was actually master
of my secret, and was sensible my features underwent a
change. I, however, parried the attack, by replying
indifferently, that if he should have the hardihood to
encounter the same dangers, he would, if successful,
require no other prompter than the joy of self-preservation
to lend the same glow of satisfaction to his own features.
Nothing further was said on the subject; but conversing
on indifferent topics, we again threaded the mazes of
rock and underwood we had passed at an early hour, and
finally gained the town in which we were quartered.

"During dinner, as on our way home, although my voice
occasionally mixed with the voices of my companions, my
heart was far away, and full of the wild but innocent
happiness in which it had luxuriated. At length, the more
freely to indulge in the recollection, I stole at an
early hour from the mess-room, and repaired to my own
apartments. In the course of the morning, I had hastily
sketched an outline of your mother's features in pencil,
with a view to assist me in the design of a miniature I
purposed painting from memory. This was an amusement of
which I was extremely and in which I had attained
considerable excellence; being enabled, from memory alone,
to give a most correct representation of any object that
particularly fixed my attention. She had declared utter
ignorance of the art herself, her father having studiously
avoided instructing her in it from some unexplained
motive; yet as she expressed the most unbounded admiration
of those who possessed it, it was my intention to surprise
her with a highly finished likeness of herself at my next
visit. With this view I now set to work; and made such
progress, that before I retired to rest I had completed
all but the finishing touches, to which I purposed devoting
a leisure hour or two by daylight on the morrow.

"While occupied the second day in its completion, it
occurred to me I was in orders for duty on the following,
which was that of my promised visit to the oasis; and I
despatched my servant with my compliments to your father,
and a request that he would be so obliging as to take my
guard for me on the morrow, and I would perform his duty
when next his name appeared on the roster. Some time
afterwards I heard the door of the room in which I sat
open, and some one enter. Presuming it to be my servant,
returned from the execution of the message with which he
had just been charged, I paid no attention to the
circumstance; but finding, presently, he did not speak,
I turned round with a view of demanding what answer he
had brought. To my surprise, however, I beheld not my
servant, but your father. He was standing looking over
my shoulder at the work on which I was engaged; and
notwithstanding in the instant he resumed the cold, quiet,
smirking look that usually distinguished him, I thought
I could trace the evidence of some deep emotion which my
action had suddenly dispelled. He apologised for his
intrusion, although we were on those terms that rendered
apology unnecessary, but said he had just received my
message, and preferred coming in person to assure me how
happy he should feel to take my duty, or to render me
any other service in his power. I thought he laid unusual
emphasis on the last sentence; yet I thanked him warmly,
stating that the only service I should now exact of him
would be to take my guard, as I was compelled to be absent
nearly the whole of the following morning. He observed,
with a smile, he hoped I was not going to venture my neck
on those dangerous precipices a second time, after the
narrow escape I had had on the preceding day. As he spoke,
I thought his eye met mine with a sly yet scrutinizing
glance; and, not wishing to reply immediately to his
question, I asked him what he thought of the work with
which I was endeavouring to beguile an idle hour. He took
it up, and I watched the expression of his handsome
countenance with the anxiety of a lover who wishes that
all should think his mistress beautiful as he does himself.
It betrayed a very indefinite sort of admiration; and
yet it struck me there was an eagerness in his dilating
eye that contrasted strongly with the calm and unconcern
of his other features. At length I asked him, laughingly,
what he thought of my Cornish cousin. He replied, cautiously
enough, that since it was the likeness of a cousin, and
he dwelt emphatically on the word, he could not fail to
admire it. Candour, however, compelled him to admit, that
had I not declared the original to be one so closely
connected with me, he should have said the talent of so
perfect an artist might have been better employed.
Whatever, however, his opinion of the lady might be,
there could be no question that the painting was exquisite;
yet, he confessed, he could not but be struck with the
singularity of the fact of a Cornish girl appearing in
the full costume of a female Highlander. This, I replied,
was mere matter of fancy and association, arising from
my having been so much latterly in the habit of seeing
that dress principally worn. He smiled one of his then
damnable soft smiles of assent, and here the conversation
terminated, and he left me.

"The next day saw me again at the side of your mother,
who received me with the same artless demonstrations of
affection. There was a mellowed softness in her countenance,
and a tender languor in her eye, I had not remarked the
preceding day. Then there was more of the vivacity and
playfulness of the young girl; now, more of the deep
fervour and the composed serenity of the thoughtful woman.
This change was too consonant to my taste--too flattering
to my self-love--not to be rejoiced in; and as I pressed
her yielding form in silent rapture to my own, I more
than ever felt she was indeed the being for whom my
glowing heart had so long yearned. After the first full
and unreserved interchange of our souls' best feelings,
our conversation turned upon lighter topics; and I took
an opportunity to produce the fruit of my application
since we had parted. Never shall I forget the surprise
and delight that animated her beautiful countenance when
first she gazed upon the miniature. The likeness was
perfect, even to the minutest shading of her costume;
and so forcibly and even childishly did this strike her,
that it was with difficulty I could persuade her she was
not gazing on some peculiar description of mirror that
reflected back her living image. She expressed a strong
desire to retain it; and to this I readily assented:
stipulating only to retain it until my next visit, in
order that I might take an exact copy for myself. With
a look of the fondest love, accompanied by a pressure on
mine of lips that distilled dewy fragrance where they
rested, she thanked me for a gift which she said would
remind her, in absence, of the fidelity with which her
features had been engraven on my heart. She admitted,
moreover, with a sweet blush, that she herself had not
been idle. Although her pencil could not call up my
image in the same manner, her pen had better repaid her
exertions; and, in return for the portrait, she would
give me a letter she had written to beguile her loneliness
on the preceding day. As she spoke she drew a sealed
packet from the bosom of her dress, and placing it in my
hand, desired me not to read it until I had returned to
my home. But there was an expression of sweet confusion
in her lovely countenance, and a trepidation in her
manner, that, half disclosing the truth, rendered me
utterly impatient of the delay imposed; and eagerly
breaking the seal, I devoured rather than read its
contents.

"Accursed madness of recollection!" pursued Wacousta,
again striking his brow violently with his hand,--"why
is it that I ever feel thus unmanned while recurring to
those letters? Oh! Clara de Haldimar, never did woman
pen to man such declarations of tenderness and attachment
as that too dear but faithless letter of your mother
contained. Words of fire, emanating from the guilelessness
of innocence, glowed in every line; and yet every sentence
breathed an utter unconsciousness of the effect those
words were likely to produce. Mad, wild, intoxicated, I
read the letter but half through; and, as it fell from
my trembling hand, my eye turned, beaming with the fires
of a thousand emotions, upon that of the worshipped
writer. That glance was more than her own could meet.
A new consciousness seemed to be stirred up in her soul.
Her eye dropped beneath its long and silken fringe--her
cheek became crimson--her bosom heaved--and, all
confidingness, she sank her head upon my chest, which
heaved scarcely less wildly than her own.

"Had I been a cold-blooded villain--a selfish and
remorseless seducer," continued Wacousta with vehemence
--"what was to have prevented my triumph at that moment?
But I came not to blight the flower that had long been
nurtured, though unseen, with the life-blood of my own
being. Whatever I may be NOW, I was THEN the soul of
disinterestedness and honour; and had she reposed on the
bosom of her own father, that devoted and unresisting
girl could not have been pressed there with holier
tenderness. But even to this there was too soon a term.
The hour of parting at length arrived, announced, as
before, by the small bell of her father, and I again tore
myself from her arms; not, however, without first
securing the treasured letter, and obtaining a promise
from your mother that I should receive another at each
succeeding visit."




CHAPTER X.

"Nearly a month passed away in this manner; and at each
interview our affection seemed to increase. The days of
our meeting were ever days of pure and unalloyed happiness;
while the alternate ones of absence were, on my part,
occupied chiefly with reading the glowing letters given
me at each parting by your mother. Of all these, however,
there was not one so impassioned, so natural, so every
way devoted, as the first. Not that she who wrote them
felt less, but that the emotion excited in her bosom by
the manifestation of mine on that occasion, had imparted
a diffidence to her style of expression, plainly indicating
the source whence it sprung.

"One day, while preparing to set out on my customary
excursion, a report suddenly reached me that the route
had arrived for the regiment, who were to march from ----
within three days. This intelligence I received with
inconceivable delight; for it had been settled between
your mother and myself, that this should be the moment
chosen for her departure. It was not to be supposed (and
I should have been both pained and disappointed had it
been otherwise,) that she would consent to abandon her
parent without some degree of regret; but, having foreseen
this objection from the first, I had gradually prepared
her for the sacrifice. This was the less difficult, as
he appeared never to have treated her with affection,
--seldom with the marked favour that might have been
presumed to distinguish the manner of a father towards
a lovely and only daughter. Living for himself and the
indulgence of his misanthropy alone, he cared little for
the immolation of his child's happiness on its unhallowed
shrine; and this was an act of injustice I had particularly
dwelt upon; upheld in truth, as it was, by the knowledge
she herself possessed, that no consideration could induce
him to bestow her hand on any one individual of a race
he so cordially detested; and this was not without
considerable weight in her decision.

"With a glowing cheek, and a countenance radiant with
happiness, did your mother receive my proposal to prepare
for her departure on the following day. She was sufficiently
aware, even through what I had stated myself, that there
were certain ceremonies of the Church to be performed,
in order to give sanctity to our union, and ensure her
own personal respectability in the world; and these, I
told her, would be solemnised by the chaplain of the
regiment. She implicitly confided in me; and she was
right; for I loved her too well to make her my mistress,
while no barrier existed to her claim to a dearer title.
And had she been the daughter of a peasant, instead of
a high-born gentleman, finding her as I had found her,
and loving her as I did love her, I should have acted
precisely in the same way.

"The only difficulty that now occurred was the manner of
her flight. The opening before alluded to as being the
point whence the old woman made her weekly sally to the
market town, was of so intricate and labyrinthian a
character that none but the colonel understood the secret
of its fastenings; and the bare thought of my venturing
with her on the route by which I had hitherto made my
entry into the oasis, was one that curdled my blood with
fear. I could absolutely feel my flesh to contract whenever
I painted the terrible risk that would be incurred in
adopting a plan I had once conceived,--namely, that of
lashing your mother to my back, while I again effected
my descent to the ledge beneath, in the manner I had
hitherto done. I felt that, once on the ridge, I might,
without much effort, attain the passage of the fissure
already described; for the habit of accomplishing this
leap had rendered it so perfectly familiar to me, that
I now performed it with the utmost security and ease;
but to imagine our united weight suspended over the abyss,
as it necessarily must be in the first stage of our
flight, when even the dislodgment of a single root or
fragment of the rock was sufficient to ensure the horrible
destruction of her whom I loved better than my own life,
had something too appalling in it to suffer me to dwell
on the idea for more than a moment. I had proposed, as
the most feasible and rational plan, that the colonel
should be compelled to give us egress through the secret
passage, when we might command the services of the old
woman to guide us through the passes that led to the
town; but to this your mother most urgently objected,
declaring that she would rather encounter any personal
peril that might attend her escape, in a different manner,
than appear to be a participator in an act of violence
against her parent whose obstinacy of character she
moreover knew too well to leave a hope of his being
intimidated into the accomplishment of our object, even
by a threat of death itself. This plan I was therefore
compelled to abandon; and as neither of us were able to
discover the passage by which the deer always effected
its entrance, I was obliged to fix upon one, which it
was agreed should be put in practice on the following
day.

"On my return, I occupied myself with preparations for
the reception of her who was so speedily to become my
wife. Unwilling that she should be seen by any of my
companions, until the ceremony was finally performed, I
engaged apartments in a small retired cottage, distant
about half a mile from the furthest extremity of the
town, where I purposed she should remain until the regiment
finally quitted the station. This point secured, I
hastened to the quarters of the chaplain, to engage his
services for the following evening; but he was from home
at the time, and I repaired to my own rooms, to prepare
the means of escape for your mother. These occupied me
until a very late hour; and when at length I retired to
rest, it was only to indulge in the fondest imaginings
that ever filled the heart of a devoted lover. Alas!
(and the dark warrior again sighed heavily) the day-dream
of my happiness was already fast drawing to a close.

"At half an hour before noon, I was again in the oasis;
your mother was at the wonted spot; and although she
received me with her sunniest smiles, there were traces
of tears upon her cheek. I kissed them eagerly away, and
sought to dissipate the partial gloom that was again
clouding her brow. She observed it pained me to see her
thus, and she made a greater effort to rally. She implored
me to forgive her weakness; but it was the first time
she was to be separated from her parent; and conscious
as she was that it was to be for ever, she could not
repress the feeling that rose, despite of herself, to
her heart. She had, however, prepared a letter, at my
suggestion, to be left on her favourite moss seat, where
it was likely she would first be sought by her father,
to assure him of her safety, and of her prospects of
future happiness; and the consciousness that he would
labour under no harrowing uncertainty in regard to her
fate, seemed, at length, to soothe and satisfy her heart.

"I now led her to the aperture, where I had left the
apparatus provided for my purpose: this consisted of a
close netting, about four feet in depth, with a board
for a footstool at the bottom, and furnished at intervals
with hoops, so as to keep it full and open. The top of
this netting was provided with two handles, to which were
attached the ends of a cord many fathoms in length; the
whole of such durability, as to have borne weights equal
to those of three ordinary sized men, with which I had
proved it prior to my setting out. My first care was to
bandage the eyes of your mother, (who willingly and
fearlessly submitted to all I proposed,) that she might
not see, and become faint with seeing, the terrible chasm
over which she was about to be suspended. I then placed
her within the netting, which, fitting closely to her
person, and reaching under her arms, completely secured
her; and my next urgent request was, that she would not,
on any account, remove the bandage, or make the slightest
movement, when she found herself stationary below, until
I had joined her. I then dropped her gently through the
aperture, lowering fathom after fathom of the rope, the
ends of which I had firmly secured round the trunk of a
tree, as an additional safeguard, until she finally came
on a level with that part of the cliff on which I had
reposed when first she beheld me. As she still hung
immediately over the abyss, it was necessary to give a
gradual impetus to her weight, to enable her to gain the
landing-place. I now, therefore, commenced swinging her
to and fro, until she at length came so near the point
desired, that I clearly saw the principal difficulty was
surmounted. The necessary motion having been given to
the balance, with one vigorous and final impulsion I
dexterously contrived to deposit her several feet from
the edge of the lower rock, when, slackening the rope on
the instant, I had the inexpressible satisfaction to see
that she remained firm and stationary. The waving of her
scarf immediately afterwards (a signal previously agreed
upon), announced she had sustained no injury in this
rather rude collision with the rock, and I in turn
commenced my descent.

"Fearing to cast away the ends of the rope, lest their
weight should by any chance effect the balance of the
footing your mother had obtained, I now secured them
around my loins, and accomplishing my descent in the
customary manner, speedily found myself once more at the
side of my heart's dearest treasure. Here the transport
of my joy was too great to be controlled; I felt that
NOW my prize was indeed secured to me for ever; and I
burst forth into the most passionate exclamations of
tenderness, and falling on my knees, raised my hands to
Heaven in fervent gratitude for the success with which
my enterprise had been crowned. Another would have been
discouraged at the difficulties still remaining; but with
these I was become too familiar, not to feel the utmost
confidence in encountering them, even with the treasure
that was equally perilled with myself. For a moment I
removed the bandage from the eyes of your mother, that
she might behold not only the far distant point whence
she had descended, but the frowning precipice I had daily
been in the habit of climbing to be blest with her
presence. She did so,--and her cheek paled, for the first
time, with a sense of the danger I had incurred; then
turning her soft and beautiful eyes on mine, she smiled
a smile that seemed to express how much her love would
repay me. Again our lips met, and we were happy even in
that lonely spot, beyond all language to describe. Once
more, at length, I prepared to execute the remainder of
my task; and I again applied the bandage to her eyes,
saying that, although the principal danger was over,
still there was another I could not bear she should look
upon. Again she smiled, and with a touching sweetness of
expression that fired my blood, observing at the same
time she feared no danger while she was with me, but that
if my object was to prevent her from looking at me, the
most efficient way certainly was to apply a bandage to
her eyes. Oh! woman, woman!" groaned Wacousta, in fierce
anguish of spirit, "who shall expound the complex riddle
of thy versatile nature?

"Disengaging the rope from the handles of the netting,
I now applied to these a broad leathern belt taken from
the pouches of two of my men, and stooping with my back
to the cherished burden with which I was about to charge
myself, passed the centre of the belt across my chest,
much in the manner in which, as you are aware, Indian
women carry their infant children. As an additional
precaution, I had secured the netting round my waist by
a strong lacing of cord, and then raising myself to my
full height, and satisfying myself of the perfect freedom
of action of my limbs, seized a long balancing pole I
had left suspended against the rock at my last visit,
and commenced my descent of the sloping ridge. On
approaching the horrible chasm, a feeling of faintness
came over me, despite of the confidence with which I had
previously armed myself. This, however, was but momentary.
Sensible that every thing depended on rapidity of movement,
I paused not in my course; but, quickening my pace as I
gradually drew nearer, gave the necessary impetus to my
motion, and cleared the gap with a facility far exceeding
what had distinguished my first passage, and which was
the fruit of constant practice alone. Here my balance
was sustained by the pole; and at length I had the
inexpressible satisfaction to find myself at the very
extremity of the ridge, and immediately at the point
where I had left my companions in my first memorable
pursuit. Alas!" continued the warrior, again interrupting
himself with one of those fierce exclamations of impatient
anguish that so frequently occurred in his narrative,
"what subject for rejoicing was there in this? Better
far we had been dashed to pieces in the abyss, than I
should have lived to curse the hour when first my spirit
of adventure led me to traverse it." Again he resumed:--

"In the deep transport of my joy, I once more threw myself
on my knees in speechless thanksgiving to Providence for
the complete success of my undertaking. Your mother, whom
I had previously released from her confinement, did the
same; and at that moment the union of our hearts seemed
to be cemented by a divine influence, manifested in the
fulness of the gratitude of each. I then raised her from
the earth, imprinting a kiss upon her fair brow, that
was hallowed by the purity of the feeling I had so recently
indulged in; and throwing over her shoulders the mantle
of a youth, which I had secreted near the spot, enjoined
her to follow me closely in the path I was about to
pursue. As she had hitherto encountered no fatigue, and
was, moreover, well provided with strong buskins I had
brought for the purpose, I thought it advisable to
discontinue the use of the netting, which must attract
notice, and cause us, perhaps, to be followed, in the
event of our being met by any of the hunters that usually
traversed these parts. To carry her in my arms, as I
should have preferred, might have excited the same
curiosity, and I was therefore compelled to decide upon
her walking; reserving to myself, however, the sweet task
of bearing her in my embrace over the more difficult
parts of our course.

"I have not hitherto found it necessary to state,"
continued Wacousta, his brow lowering with fierce and
gloomy thought, "that more than once, latterly, on my
return from the oasis, which was usually at a stated
hour, I had observed a hunter hovering near the end of
the ledge, yet quickly retreating as I advanced. There
was something in the figure of this man that recalled to
my recollection the form of your father; but ever, on my
return to quarters, I found him in uniform, and exhibiting
any thing but the appearance of one who had recently been
threading his weary way among rocks and fastnesses.
Besides, the improbability of this fact was so great,
that it occupied not my attention beyond the passing
moment. On the present occasion, however, I saw the same
hunter, and was more forcibly than ever struck by the
resemblance to my friend. Prior to my quitting the point
where I had liberated your mother from the netting, I
had, in addition to the disguise of the cloak, found it
necessary to make some alteration in the arrangement of
her hair; the redundancy of which, as it floated gracefully
over her polished neck, was in itself sufficient to betray
her sex. With this view I had removed her plumed bonnet.
It was the first time I had seen her without it; and so
deeply impressed was I by the angel-like character of
the extreme feminine beauty she, more than ever, then
exhibited, that I knelt in silent adoration for some
moments at her feet, my eyes and countenance alone
expressing the fervent and almost holy emotion of my
enraptured soul. Had she been a divinity, I could not
have worshipped her with a purer feeling. While I yet
knelt, I fancied I heard a sound behind me; and, turning
quickly, beheld the head of a man peering above a point
of rock at some little distance. He immediately, on
witnessing my action, sank again beneath it, but not in
sufficient time to prevent my almost assuring myself that
it was the face of your father I had beheld. My first
impulse was to bound forward, and satisfy myself who it
really was who seemed thus ever on the watch to intercept
my movements; but a second rapid reflection convinced
me, that, having been discovered, it was most likely the
intruder had already effected his retreat, and that any
attempt at pursuit might not only alarm your mother, but
compromise her safety. I determined, however, to tax your
father with the fact on my return to quarters; and, from
the manner in which he met the charge, to form my own
conclusion.

"Meanwhile we pursued our course; and after an hour's
rather laborious exertion, at length emerged from the
succession of glens and rocks that lay in our way; when,
skirting the valley in which the town was situated, we
finally reached the cottage where I had secured my lodging.
Previous to entering it, I had told your mother, that
for the few hours that would intervene before the marriage
ceremony could be performed, I should, by way of lulling
the curiosity of her hostess, introduce her as a near
relative of my own. This I did accordingly; and, having
seen that every thing was comfortably arranged for her
convenience, and recommending her strongly to the care
of the old woman, I set off once more in search of the
chaplain of the regiment Before I could reach his residence,
however, I was met by a sergeant of my company, who came
running towards me, evidently with some intelligence of
moment. He stated, that my presence was required without
delay. The grenadiers, with the senior subaltern, were
in orders for detachment for an important service; and
considerable displeasure had been manifested by the
colonel at my absence, especially as of late I had greatly
neglected my military duties. He had been looking for
me every where, he said, but without success, when Ensign
de Haldimar had pointed out to him in what direction it
was likely I might be found.

"At a calmer moment, I should have been startled at the
last observation; but my mind was too much engrossed with
the principal subject of my regret, to pay any attention
to the circumstance. It was said the detachment would be
occupied in this duty a week or ten days, at least; and
how was I to absent myself from her whom I so fondly
loved for this period, without even being permitted first
to see and account to her for my absence? There was
torture in the very thought; and in the height of my
impatience, I told the sergeant he might give my compliments
to the colonel, and say I would see the service d--d
rather than inconvenience myself by going out on this
duty at so short a notice; that I had private business
of the highest importance to myself to transact, and
could not absent myself. As the man, however, prepared
coolly to depart, it suddenly occurred to me, that I
might prevail on your father to take my duty now, as on
former occasions he had willingly done, and I countermanded
my message to the colonel; desiring him, however, to find
out Ensign de Haldimar, and say that I requested to see
him immediately at my quarters, whither I was now proceeding
to change my dress.

"With a beating heart did I assume an uniform that
appeared, at that moment, hideous in my eyes; yet I was
not without a hope I might yet get off this ill-timed
duty. Before I had completed my equipment, your father
entered; and when I first glanced my eye full upon his,
I thought his countenance exhibited evidences of confusion.
This immediately reminded me of the unknown hunter, and
I asked him if he was not the person I described. His
answer was not a positive denial, but a mixture of raillery
and surprise that lulled my doubts, enfeebled as they
were by the restored calm of his features. I then told
him that I had a particular favour to ask of him, which,
in consideration of our friendship, I trusted he would
not refuse; and that was, to take my duty in the expedition
about to set forth. His manner implied concern; and he
asked, with a look that had much deliberate expression
in it, 'if I was aware that it was a duty in which blood
was expected to be shed? He could not suppose that any
consideration would induce me to resign my duty to another
officer, when apprised of this fact.' All this was said
with the air of one really interested in my honour; but
in my increasing impatience, I told him I wanted none of
his cant; I simply asked him a favour, which he would
grant or decline as he thought proper. This was a harshness
of language I had never indulged in; but my mind was sore
under the existing causes of my annoyance, and I could
not bear to have my motives reflected on at a moment when
my heart was torn with all the agonies attendant on the
position in which I found myself placed. His cheek paled
and flushed more than once, before he replied, 'that in
spite of my unkindness his friendship might induce him
to do much for me, even as he had hitherto done, but that
on the present occasion it rested not with him. In order
to justify himself he would no longer disguise the fact
from me, that the colonel had declared, in the presence
of the whole regiment, I should take my duty regularly
in future, and not be suffered to make a convenience of
the service any longer. If, however, he could do any
thing for me during my absence, I had but to command him.

"While I was yet giving vent, in no very measured terms,
to the indignation I felt at being made the subject of
public censure by the colonel, the same sergeant came
into the room, announcing that the company were only
waiting for me to march, and that the colonel desired my
instant presence. In the agitation of my feelings, I
scarcely knew what I did, putting several portions of my
regimental equipment on so completely awry, that your
father noticed and rectified the errors I had committed;
while again, in the presence of the sergeant, I expressed
the deepest regret he could not relieve me from a duty
that was hateful to the last degree.

"Torn with agony at the thought of the uncertainty in
which I was compelled to leave her, whom I so fondly
adored, I had now no. other alternative than to make a
partial confidant of your father. I told him that in the
cottage which I pointed out he would find the original
of the portrait he had seen me painting on a former
occasion,--the Cornish cousin, whose beauty he professed
to hold so cheaply. More he should know of her on my
return; but at present I confided her to his honour, and
begged he would prove his friendship for me by rendering
her whatever attention she might require in her humble
abode. With these hurried injunctions he promised to
comply; and it has often occurred to me since, although
I did not remark it at the time, that while his voice
and manner were calm, there was a burning glow upon his
handsome cheek, and a suppressed exultation in his eye,
that I had never observed on either before. I then quitted
the room; and hastening to my company with a gloom on--my
brow that indicated the wretchedness of my inward spirit,
was soon afterwards on the march from ----."

Again the warrior seemed agitated with the most violent
emotion; he buried his face in his hands; and the silence
that ensued was longer than any he had previously indulged
in. At length he made an effort to arouse himself; and
again exhibiting his swarthy features, disclosed a brow,
not clouded, as before, by grief, but animated with the
fiercest and most appalling passions, while he thus
impetuously resumed.




CHAPTER XI.

"If, hitherto, Clara de Haldimar, I have been minute in
the detail of all that attended my connection with your
mother, it has been with a view to prove to you how deeply
I have been injured; but I have now arrived at a part of
my history, when to linger on the past would goad me into
madness, and render me unfit for the purpose to which I
have devoted myself. Brief must be the probing of wounds,
that nearly five lustres have been insufficient to heal;
brief the tale that reveals the infamy of those who have
given you birth, and the utter blighting of the fairest
hopes of one whose only fault was that of loving, "not
too wisely, but too well."

"Will you credit the monstrous truth," he added, in a
fierce but composed whisper, while he bent eagerly over
the form of the trembling yet attentive girl, "when I
tell you that, on my return from that fatal expedition,
during my continuance on which her image had never once
been absent from my mind, I found Clara Beverley the wife
of De Haldimar? Yes," continued Wacousta, his wounded
feeling and mortified pride chafing, by the bitter
recollection, into increasing fury, while his countenance
paled in its swarthiness, "the wife, the wedded wife of
yon false and traitorous governor! Well may you look
surprised, Clara de Haldimar: such damnable treachery as
this may startle his own blood in the veins of another,
nor find its justification even in the devotedness of
woman's filial piety. To what satanic arts so calculating
a villain could have had recourse to effect his object
I know not; but it is not the less true, that she, from
whom my previous history must have taught you to expect
the purity of intention and conduct of an angel, became
his wife,--and I a being accursed among men. Even as our
common mother is said to have fallen in the garden of
Eden, tempted by the wily beauty of the devil, so did
your mother fall, seduced by that of the cold, false,
traitorous De Haldimar. "Here the agitation of Wacousta
became terrific. The labouring of his chest was like that
of one convulsed with some racking agony and the swollen
veins and arteries of his head seemed to threaten the
extinction of life in some fearful paroxysm. At length
he burst into a violent fit of tears, more appalling, in
one of his iron nature, than the fury which had preceded
it,--and it was many minutes before he could so far
compose himself as to resume.

"Think not, Clara de Haldimar, I speak without the proof.
Her own words confessed, her own lips avowed it, and yet
I neither slew her, nor her paramour, nor myself. On my
return to the regiment I had flown to the cottage, on
the wings of the most impatient and tender love that ever
filled the bosom of man for woman. To my enquiries the
landlady replied, that my cousin had been married two
days previously, by the military chaplain, to a handsome
young officer, who had visited her soon after my departure,
and was constantly with her from that moment; and that
immediately after the ceremony they had left, but she
knew not whither. Wild, desperate, almost bereft of
reason, and with a heart bounding against my bosom, as
if each agonising throb were to be its last, I ran like
a maniac back into the town, nor paused till I found
myself in the presence of your father. My mind was a
volcano, but still I attempted to be calm, even while I
charged him, in the most outrageous terms, with his
villainy. Deny it he could not; but, far from excusing
it, he boldly avowed and justified the step he had taken,
intimating, with a smile full of meaning, there was
nothing in a connection with the family of De Haldimar
to reflect disgrace on the cousin of Sir Reginald Morton;
and that; the highest compliment he could pay his friend
was to attach himself to one whom that friend had declared
to be so near a relative of his own. There was a coldness
of taunt in these remarks, that implied his sense of the
deception I had practised on him, in regard to the true
nature of the relationship; and for a moment, while my
hand firmly grasped the hilt of my sword, I hesitated
whether I should not cut him down at my feet: I had
self-command, however, to abstain from the outrage, and
I have often since regretted I had. My own blood could
have been but spilt in atonement for my just revenge;
and as for the obloquy attached to the memory of the
assassin, it could not have been more bitter than that
which has followed me through life. But what do I say?"
fiercely continued the warrior, an exulting ferocity
sparkling in his eye, and animating his countenance; "had
he fallen, then my vengeance were but half complete. No;
it is now he shall feel the deadly venom in his heart,
that has so long banqueted on mine.

"Determined to know from her own lips," he pursued, to
the shuddering Clara, whose hopes, hitherto strongly
excited, now, began again to fade beneath the new aspect
given to the strange history of this terrible man;--
"determined to satisfy myself from her own acknowledgment,
whether all I had heard was not an imposition, I summoned
calmness enough to desire that your mother might confirm
in person the alienation of her affection, as nothing
short of that could convince me of the truth. He left
the room, and presently re-appeared, conducting her in
from another: I thought she looked more beautiful than
ever, but, alas! I had the inexpressible horror to
discover, before a word was uttered, that all the fondness
of her nature was indeed transferred to your father. How
I endured the humiliation of that scene has often been
a source of utter astonishment to myself; but I did endure
it. To my wild demand, how she could so soon have forgotten
her vows, and falsified her plighted engagements, she
replied, timidly and confusedly, she had not yet known
her own heart; but if she had pained me by her conduct,
she was sorry for it, and hoped I would forgive her. She
would always be happy to esteem me as a friend, but she
loved her Charles far, far better than she had ever loved
me. This damning admission, couched in the same language
of simplicity that had first touched and won my affection,
was like boiling lead upon my brain. In a transport of
madness I sprang towards her, caught her in my arms, and
swore she should accompany me back to the oasis--when I
had taken her there, to be regained by my detested rival,
if he could; but that he should not eat the fruit I had
plucked at so much peril to myself. She struggled to
disengage herself, calling on your father by the most
endearing epithets to free her from my embrace. He
attempted it, and I struck him senseless to the floor at
a single blow with the flat of my sabre, which in my
extreme fury I had unsheathed. Instead, however, of
profiting by the opportunity thus afforded to execute my
threat, a feeling of disgust and contempt came over me,
for the woman, whose inconstancy had been the cause of
my committing myself in this ungentlemanly manner; and
bestowing deep but silent curses on her head, I rushed
from the house in a state of frenzy. How often since have
I regretted that I had not pursued my first impulse, and
borne her to some wild, where, forgetting one by whose
beauty of person her eye alone had been seduced, her
heart might have returned to its allegiance to him who
had first awakened the sympathies of her soul, and would
have loved her with a love blending the fiercest fires
of the eagle with the gentlest devotedness of the dove.
But destiny had differently ordained.

"Did my injuries end here?" pursued the dark warrior, as
his eye kindled with rage. "No: for weeks I was insensible
to any thing but the dreadful shock my soul had sustained.
A heavy stupor weighed me down, and for a period it was
supposed my reason was overthrown: no such mercy was
reserved for me. The regiment had quitted the Highlands,
and were now stationary in ----, whither I had accompanied
it in arrest. The restoration of my faculties was the
signal for new persecutions. Scarcely had the medical
officers reported me fit to sustain the ordeal, when a
court-martial was assembled to try me on a variety of
charges. Who was my prosecutor? Listen, Clara," and he
shook her violently by the arm. "He who had robbed me of
all that gave value to life, and incentive to honour,--he
who, under the guise of friendship, had stolen into the
Eden of my love, and left it barren of affection. In a
word, yon detested governor, to whose inhuman cruelty
even the son of my brother has, by some strange fatality
of coincidence, so recently fallen a second sacrifice.
Curses, curses on him," he pursued, with frightful
vehemence, half rising as he spoke, and holding forth
his right arm in a menacing attitude; "but the hour of
retribution is at hand, and revenge, the exclusive passion
of the gods, shall at length be mine. In no other country
in the world--under no other circumstances than the
present--could I have so secured it.

"What were the charges preferred against me?" he continued,
with a violence that almost petrified the unhappy girl.
"Hear them, and judge whether I have not cause for the
inextinguishable hate that rankles at my heart. Every
trifling disobedience of orders--every partial neglect
of duty that could be raked up--was tortured into a
specific charge; and, as I have already admitted I had
latterly transgressed not a little in this respect, these
were numerous enough. Yet they were but preparatory to
others of greater magnitude. Next succeeded one that
referred to the message I had given, and countermanded,
to the sergeant of my company, when in the impatience of
my disappointment I had desired him to tell the colonel
I would see the service d--d rather than inconvenience
myself at that moment for it. This was unsupported by
other evidence, however, and therefore failed in the
proof. But the web was too closely woven around to admit
of my escaping.--Will you, can you believe any thing half
so atrocious, as that your father should have called on
this same man not only to prove the violent and
insubordinate language I had used in reference to the
commanding officer in my own rooms, but also to substantiate
a charge of cowardice, grounded on the unwillingness I
had expressed to accompany the expedition, and the
extraordinary trepidation I had evinced, while preparing
for the duty, manifested, as it was stated to be, by the
various errors he had rectified in my equipment with his
own hand? Yes, even this pitiful charge was one of the
many preferred; but the severest was that which he had
the unblushing effrontery to make the subject of public
investigation, rather than of private redress--the blow
I had struck him in his own apartments. And who was his
witness in this monstrous charge?--your mother, Clara.
Yea, I stood as a criminal in her presence; and yet she
came forward to tender an evidence that was to consign
me to a disgraceful sentence. My vile prosecutor had,
moreover, the encouragement, the sanction of his colonel
throughout, and by him he was upheld in every contemptible
charge his ingenuity could devise. Do you not anticipate
the result?--I was found guilty, and dismissed the service.

"How acted my brother officers, when, previously to the
trial, I alluded to the damnable treachery of your father?
Did they condemn his conduct, or sympathise with me in
my misfortune?--No; they shrugged their shoulders, and
coldly observed, I ought to have known better than to
trust one against whom they had so often cautioned me;
but that as I had selected him for my friend, I should
have bestowed a whole, and not a half confidence upon
him. He had had the hypocrisy to pretend to them he had
violated no trust, since he had honourably espoused a
lady whom I had introduced to him as a cousin, and in
whom I appeared to have no other interest than that of
relationship. Not, they said, that they believed he
actually did entertain that impression; but still the
excuse was too plausible, and had been too well studied
by my cunning rival, to be openly refuted. As for the
mere fact of his supplanting me, they thought it an
excellent thing,--a ruse d'amour for which they never
would have given him credit; and although they admitted
it was provoking enough to be ousted out of one's mistress
in that cool sort of way, still I should not so far have
forgotten myself as to have struck him while he was
unarmed, when it was so easy to have otherwise fastened
an insult on him. Such," bitterly pursued Wacousta, "was
the consolation I received from men, who, a few short
weeks before, had been sedulous to gain and cultivate my
friendship,--but even this was only vouchsafed antecedent
to my trial. When the sentence was promulgated, announcing
my dismissal from the service, every back was turned upon
me, as though I had been found guilty of some dishonourable
action or some disgraceful crime; and, on the evening of
the same day, when I threw from me for ever an uniform
that I now loathed from my inmost soul, there was not
one among those who had often banqueted at my expense,
who had the humanity to come to me and say, 'Sir Reginald
Morton, farewell.'

"What agonies of mind I endured,--what burning tears I
nightly shed upon a pillow I was destined to press in
freezing loneliness,--what hours of solitude I passed,
far from the haunts of my fellow-men, and forming plans
of vengeance,--it would take much longer time to relate
than I have actually bestowed on my unhappy history. To
comprehend their extent and force, you must understand
the heart of fire in which the deep sense of injury had
taken root; but the night wears away, and briefly told
must be the remainder of my tale. The rebellion of
forty-five saw me in arms in the Scottish ranks; and, in
one instance, opposed to the regiment from which I had
been so ignominiously expelled. Never did revenge glow
like a living fire in the heart of man as it did in mine;
for the effect of my long brooding in solitude had been
to inspire me with a detestation, not merely for those
who had been most rancorous in their enmity, but for
every thing that wore the uniform, from the commanding
officer down to the meanest private. Every blow that I
dealt, every life that I sacrificed, was an insult washed
away from my attainted honour; but him whom I most sought
in the melee I never could reach. At length the corps to
which I had attached myself was repulsed; and I saw, with
rage in my heart, that my enemy still lived to triumph
in the fruit of his villainy.

"Although I was grown considerably in stature at this
period, and was otherwise greatly altered in appearance,
I had been recognised in the action by numbers of the
regiment; and, indeed, more than once I had, in the
intoxication of my rage, accompanied the blow that slew
or maimed one of my former associates with a declaration
of the name of him who inflicted it. The consequence was,
I was denounced as a rebel and an outlaw, and a price
was put upon my head. Accustomed, however, as I had ever
been, to rocks and fastnesses, I had no difficulty in
eluding the vigilance of those who were sent in pursuit
of me; and thus compelled to live wholly apart from my
species, I at length learned to hate them, and to know
that man is the only enemy of man upon earth.

"A change now came ever the spirit of my vengeance; for
about this period your mother died. I had never ceased
to love, even while I despised her; and notwithstanding,
had she, after her flagrant inconstancy, thrown herself
into my arms, I should have rejected her with scorn,
still I was sensible no other woman could ever supply
her place in my affection. She was, in truth, the only
being I had ever looked upon with fondness; and deeply
even as I had been injured by her, I wept her memory with
many a scalding tear. This, however, only increased my
hatred for him who had rioted in her beauty, and supplanted
me in her devotedness. I had the means of learning,
occasionally, all that passed in the regiment; and the
same account that brought me the news of your mother's
death also gave me the intelligence that three children
had been the fruit of her union with De Haldimar. How,"
pursued Wacousta, with bitter energy, "shall I express
the deep loathing I felt for those children? It seemed
to me as if their existence had stamped a seal of infamy
on my own brow; and I hated them, even in their childhood,
as the offspring of an abhorred, and, as it appeared to
me, an unnatural union. I heard, moreover (and this gave
me pleasure), that their father doated on them; and from
that moment I resolved to turn his cup of joy into
bitterness, even as he had turned mine. I no longer sought
his life; for the jealousy that had half impelled that
thirst existed no longer: but, deeming his cold nature
at least accessible through his parental affection, I
was resolved that in his children he should suffer a
portion of the agonies he had inflicted on me. I waited,
however, until they should be grown up to an age when
the heart of the parent would be more likely to mourn
their loss; and then I was determined my vengeance should
be complete.

"Circumstances singularly favoured my design. Many years
afterwards, the regiment formed one of the expedition
against Quebec under General Wolfe. They were commanded
by your father, who, in the course of promotion, had
obtained the lieutenant-colonelcy; and I observed by the
army list, that a subaltern of the same name, whom I
presumed to be his eldest son, was in the corps. Here
was a field for my vengeance beyond any I could have
hoped for. I contrived to pass over into Cornwall, the
ban of outlawry being still unrepealed; and having procured
from my brother a sum sufficient for my necessities, and
bade him an eternal farewell, embarked in a fishing-boat
for the coast of France, whence I subsequently took a
passage to this country. At Montreal I found the French
general, who gladly received my allegiance as a subject
of France, and gave me a commission in one of the provincial
corps that usually served in concert with our Indian
allies. With the general I soon became a favourite; and,
as a mark of his confidence at the attack on Quebec, he
entrusted me with the command of a detached irregular
force, consisting partly of Canadians and partly of
Indians, intended to harass the flanks of the British
army. This gave me an opportunity of being at whatever
point of the field I might think most favourable to my
design; and I was too familiar with the detested uniform
of the regiment not to be able to distinguish it from
afar. In a word, Clara, for I am weary of my own tale,
in that engagement I had an opportunity of recognising
your brother. He struck me by his martial appearance as
he encouraged his grenadiers to the attack of the French
columns; and, as I turned my eye upon him in admiration,
I was stung to the soul by his resemblance to his father.
Vengeance thrilled throughout every fibre of my frame at
that moment. The opportunity I had long sought was at
length arrived; and already, in anticipation, I enjoyed
the conquest his fall would occasion to my enemy. I rushed
within a few feet of my victim; but the bullet aimed at
his heart was received in the breast of a faithful soldier,
who had flown to intercept it. How I cursed the meddler
for his officiousness!"

"Oh, that soldier was your nephew," eagerly interrupted
Clara, pointing towards her companion, who had fallen
into a profound slumber, "the husband of this unfortunate
woman. Frank Halloway (for by that name was he alone
known in the regiment) loved my brother as though he had
been of the same blood. He it was who flew to receive
the ball that was destined for another. But I nursed him
on his couch of suffering, and with my own hands prepared
his food and dressed his wound. Oh, if pity can touch
your heart (and I will not believe that a heart that once
felt as you say yours has felt can be inaccessible to
pity), let the recollection of your nephew's devotedness
to my mother's child disarm you of vengeance, and induce
you to restore us!"

"Never!" thundered Wacousta,--"never! The very circumstance
you have now named is an additional incentive to my
vengeance. My nephew saved the life of your brother at
the hazard of his own; and how has he been rewarded for
the generous deed? By an ignominious death, inflicted,
perhaps, for some offence not more dishonouring than
those which have thrown me an outcast upon these wilds;
and that at the command and in the presence of the father
of him whose life he was fool enough to preserve. Yet,
what but ingratitude of the grossest nature could a Morton
expect at the hands of the false family of De Haldimar!
They were destined to be our bane, and well have they
fulfilled the end for which they were created."

"Almighty Providence!" aspirated the sinking Clara, as
she turned her streaming eyes to heaven; "can it be that
the human heart can undergo such change? Can this be the
being who once loved my mother with a purity and tenderness
of affection that angels themselves might hallow with
approval; or is all that I have heard but a bewildering
dream?"

"No, Clara," calmly and even solemnly returned the warrior;
"it is no dream, but a reality--a sad, dreadful,
heart-rending reality; yet, if I am that altered being,
to whom is the change to be ascribed? Who turned the
generous current of my blood into a river of overflowing
gall? Who, when my cup was mantling with the only bliss
I coveted upon earth, traitorously emptied it, and
substituted a heart-corroding poison in its stead? Who
blighted my fair name, and cast me forth an alien in the
land of my forefathers? Who, in a word, cut me off from
every joy that existence can impart to man? Who did all
this? Your father! But these are idle words. What I have
been, you know; what I now am, and through what agency
I have been rendered what I now am, you know also. Not
more fixed is fate than my purpose. Your brother dies
even on the spot on which my nephew died; and you, Clara,
shall be my bride; and the first thing your children
shall be taught to lisp shall be curses on the vile name
of De Haldimar!"

"Once more, in the name of my sainted mother, I implore
you to have mercy," shrieked the unhappy Clara. "Oh!"
she continued, with vehement supplication, "let the days
of your early love be brought back to' your memory, that
your heart may be softened; and cut yourself not wholly
off from your God, by the commission of such dreadful
outrages. Again I conjure you, restore us to my father."

"Never!" savagely repeated Wacousta. "I have passed years
of torture in the hope of such an hour as this; and now
that fruition is within my grasp, may I perish if I forego
it! Ha, sir!" turning from the almost fainting Clara to
Sir Everard, who had listened with deep attention to the
history of this extraordinary man;--"for this," and he
thrust aside the breast of his hunting coat, exhibiting
the scar of a long but superficial wound,--"for this do
you owe me a severe reckoning. I would recommend you,
however,"--and he spoke in mockery,--"when next you drive
a weapon into the chest of an unresisting enemy, to be
more certain of your aim. Had that been as true as the
blow from the butt of your rifle, I should not have lived
to triumph in this hour. I little deemed," he pursued,
still addressing the nearly heart-broken officer in the
same insolent strain, "that my intrigue with that dark-eyed
daughter of the old Canadian would have been the means
of throwing your companion so speedily into my power,
after his first narrow escape. Your disguise was well
managed, I confess; and but that there is an instinct
about me, enabling me to discover a De Haldimar, as a
hound does the deer, by scent, you might have succeeded
in passing for what you. appeared. But" (and his tone
suddenly changed its irony for fierceness) "to the point,
sir. That you are the lover of this girl I clearly
perceive, and death were preferable to a life embittered
by the recollection that she whom we love reposes in the
arms of another. No such kindness is meant you, however.
To-morrow you shall return to the fort; and, when there,
you may tell your colonel, that, in exchange for a certain
miniature and letters, which, in the hurry of departure,
I dropped in his apartment, some ten days since, Sir
Reginald Morton, the outlaw, has taken his daughter Clara
to wife, but without the solemnisation of those tedious
forms that bound himself in accursed union with her
mother. Oh! what would I not give," he continued, bitterly,
"to witness the pang inflicted on his false heart, when
first the damning truth arrests his ear. Never did I know
the triumph of my power until now; for what revenge can
be half so sweet as that which attains a loathed enemy
through the dishonour of his child? But, hark! what mean
those sounds?"

A loud yelling was now heard at some distance in rear of
the tent. Presently the bounding of many feet on the turf
was distinguishable; and then, at intervals, the peculiar
cry that announces the escape of a prisoner. Wacousta
started to his feet, and fiercely grasping his tomahawk,
advanced to the front of the tent, where he seemed to
listen for a moment attentively, as if endeavouring to
catch the direction of the pursuit.

"Ha! by Heaven!" he exclaimed, "there must be treachery
in this, or yon slippery captain would not so soon be at
his flight again, bound as I had bound him." Then uttering
a deafening yell, and rushing past Sir Everard, near whom
he paused an instant, as if undecided whether he should
not first dispose of him, as a precautionary measure, he
flew with the speed of an antelope in the direction in
which he was guided by the gradually receding sounds.

"The knife, Miss de Haldimar," exclaimed Sir Everard,
after a few moments of breathless and intense anxiety.
"See, there is one in the belt that Ellen Halloway has
girt around her loins. Quick, for Heaven's sake, quick;
our only chance of safety is in this."

With an activity arising from her despair, the unhappy
Clara sprang from the rude couch on which she had been
left by Wacousta, and, stooping over the form of the
maniac, extended her hand to remove the weapon from her
side; but Ellen, who had been awakened from her long
slumber by the yells just uttered, seemed resolute to
prevent it. A struggle for its possession now ensued
between these frail and delicate beings; in which Clara,
however, had the advantage, not only from the recumbent
position of her opponent, but from the greater security
of her grasp. At length, with a violent effort, she
contrived to disengage it from the sheath, around which
Ellen had closely clasped both her hands; but, with the
quickness of thought, the latter were again clenched
round the naked blade, and without any other evident
motive than what originated in the obstinacy of her
madness, the unfortunate woman fiercely attempted to
wrest it away. In the act of doing so, her hands were
dreadfully cut; and Clara, shocked at the sight of the
blood she had been the means of shedding, lost all the
energy she had summoned, and sunk senseless at the feet
of the maniac, who now began to utter the most piteous
cries.

"Oh, God! we are lost," exclaimed Sir Everard; "the voice
of that wretched woman has alarmed our enemy, and even
now I hear him approaching. Quick, Clara, give me the
knife. But no, it is now too late; he is here."

At that instant, the dark form of a warrior rushed
noiselessly to the spot on which he stood. The officer
turned his eyes in desperation on his enemy, but a single
glance was sufficient to assure him it was not Wacousta.
The Indian paused not in his course, but passing close
round the tree to which the baronet was attached, made
a circular movement, that brought him in a line with the
direction that had been taken by his enemy; and again
they were left alone.

A new fear now oppressed the heart of the unfortunate
Valletort, even to agony: Clara still lay senseless,
speechless, before him; and his impression was, that, in
the struggle, Ellen Halloway had murdered her. The latter
yet continued her cries; and, as she held up her hands,
he could see by the fire-light they were covered with
blood. An instinctive impulse caused him to bound forward
to the assistance of the motionless Clara; when, to his
infinite surprise and joy, he discovered the cord, which
had bound him to the tree, to be severed. The Indian who
had just passed had evidently been his deliverer; and a
sudden flash of recollection recalled the figure of the
young warrior that had escaped from the schooner and was
supposed to have leaped into the canoe of Oucanasta at
the moment when Madeline de Haldimar was removed into
that of the Canadian.

In a transport of conflicting feelings, Sir Everard now
raised the insensible Clara from the ground; and, having
satisfied himself she had sustained no serious injury,
prepared for a flight which he felt to be desperate, if
not altogether hopeless. There was not a moment to be
lost, for the cries of the wretched Ellen increased in
violence, as she seemed sensible she was about to be left
utterly alone; and ever and anon, although afar off, yet
evidently drawing nearer, was to be heard the fierce
denouncing yell of Wacousta. The spot on which the officer
stood, was not far from that whence his unfortunate friend
had commenced his flight on the first memorable occasion;
and as the moon shone brightly in the cloudless heavens,
there could be no mistake in the course he was to pursue.
Dashing down the steep, therefore, with all the speed
his beloved burden would enable him to attain, he made
immediately for the bridge, over which his only chance
of safety lay.

It unfortunately happened, however, that, induced either
by the malice of her insanity, or really terrified at
the loneliness of her position, the wretched Ellen Halloway
had likewise quitted the tent, and now followed close in
the rear of the fugitives, still uttering the same piercing
cries of anguish. The voice of Wacousta was also again
heard in the distance; and Sir Everard had the inexpressible
horror to find that, guided by the shrieks of the maniac
woman, he was now shaping his course, not to the tent
where he had left his prisoners, but in an oblique
direction towards the bridge; where he evidently hoped
to intercept them. Aware of the extreme disadvantages
under which be laboured in a competition of speed with
his active enemy, the unhappy officer would have here
terminated the struggle, had he not been partially
sustained by the hope that the detachment prayed for by
De Haldimar, through the friendly young chief, to whom
he owed his own liberation, might be about this time on
its way to attempt their rescue. This thought supported
his faltering resolution, although nearly exhausted with
his efforts--compelled, as he was, to sustain the motionless
form of the slowly reviving Clara; and he again braced
himself to the unequal flight The moon still shone
beautifully bright, and he could now distinctly see the
bridge over which he was to pass; but notwithstanding he
strained his eyes as he advanced, no vestige of a British
uniform was to be seen in the open space that lay beyond.
Once he turned to regard his pursuers. Ellen was a few
yards only in his rear; and considerably beyond her rose,
in tall relief against the heavens, the gigantic form of
the warrior. The pursuit of the latter was now conducted
with a silence that terrified even more than the yells
he had previously uttered; and he gained so rapidly on
his victims, that the tread of his large feet was now
distinctly audible. Again the officer, with despair in
his heart, made the most incredible exertions to reach
the bridge, without seeming to reflect that, even when
there, no security was offered him against his enemy.
Once, as he drew nearer, he fancied he saw the dark heads
of human beings peering from under that part of the arch
which had afforded cover to De Haldimar and himself oh
the memorable occasion of their departure with the
Canadian; and, convinced that the warriors of Wacousta
had been sent there to lie in ambuscade and intercept
his retreat, his hopes were utterly paralysed; and although
he stopped not, his flight was rather mechanical than
the fruit of any systematic plan of escape.

He had now gained the extremity of the bridge, with Ellen
Halloway and Wacousta close in his rear, when suddenly
the heads of many men were once more distinguishable,
even in the shadow of the arch that overhung the sands
of the river. Three individuals detached themselves from
the group and leaping upon the further extremity of the
bridge, moved rapidly to meet him. Meanwhile the baronet
had stopped suddenly, as if in doubt whether to advance
or to recede. His suspense was but momentary. Although
the persons of these men were disguised as Indian warriors,
the broad moonlight that beamed full on their countenances,
disclosed the well-remembered features of Blessington,
Erskine, and Charles de Haldimar. The latter sprang before
his companions, and, uttering a cry of joy, sank in
speechless agony on the neck of his still unconscious
sister.

"For God's sake, free me, De Haldimar!" exclaimed the
excited baronet, disengaging his charge from the embrace
of his friend. This is no moment for congratulation.
Erskine, Blessington, see you not who is behind me? Be
upon your guard; defend your lives!" And as he spoke, he
rushed forward with" feint and tottering steps to place
his companions between the unhappy girl and the danger
that threatened her.

The swords of the officers were drawn; but instead of
advancing upon the formidable being, who stood as if
paralysed at this unexpected rencontre, the two seniors
contented themselves with assuming a defensive
attitude,--retiring slowly and gradually towards the
other extremity of the bridge.

Overcome by his emotion, Charles de Haldimar had not
noticed this action of his companions, and stood apparently
riveted to the spot. The voice of Blessington calling on
him by name to retire, seemed to arouse the dormant
consciousness of the unhappy maniac. She uttered a
piercing shriek, and, springing forward, sank on her
knees at his feet, exclaiming, as she forcibly detained
him by his dress,--

"Almighty Heaven! where am I? surely that was Captain
Blessington's kind voice I heard; and you--you are Charles
de Haldimar. Oh! save my husband; plead for him with
your father!----but no," she continued wildly,--"he is
dead--he is murdered! Behold these hands all covered with
his blood! Oh!----"

"Ha! another De Haldimar!" exclaimed Wacousta, recovering
his slumbering energies, "this spot seems indeed fated
for our meeting. More than thrice have I been balked of
my just revenge, but now will I secure it. Thus, Ellen,
do I avenge your husband's and my nephew's death. My own
wrongs demand another sacrifice. But, ha! where is she?
where is Clara? where is my bride?"

Bounding over the ill-fated De Haldimar, who lay, even
in death, firmly clasped in the embrace of the wretched
Ellen, the fierce man dashed furiously forward to renew
his pursuit of the fugitives. But suddenly the extremity
of the bridge was filled with a column of armed men, that
kept issuing from the arch beneath. Sensible of his
danger, he sought to make good his retreat; but when he
turned for the purpose, the same formidable array met
his view at the opposite extremity; and both parties now
rapidly advanced in double quick time, evidently with a
view of closing upon and taking him prisoner. In this
dilemma, his only hope was in the assistance that might
be rendered him by his warriors. A yell, so terrific as
to be distinctly heard in the fort itself, burst from
his vast chest, and rolled in prolonged echoes through
the forest. It was faintly answered from the encampment,
and met by deep but noiseless curses from the exasperated
soldiery, whom the sight of their murdered officer was
momentarily working into frenzy.

"Kill him not, for your lives!--I command you, men, kill
him not!" muttered Captain Blessington with suppressed
passion, as his troops were preparing to immolate him on
their clustering bayonets. "Such a death were, indeed,
mercy to such a villain."

"Ha! ha!" laughed Wacousta in bitter scorn; "who is there
of all your accursed regiment who will dare to take him
alive?" Then brandishing his tomahawk around him, to
prevent their finally closing, he dealt his blows with
such astonishing velocity, that no unguarded point was
left about his person; and more than one soldier was
brought to the earth in the course of the unequal struggle."

"By G--d!" said Captain Erskine, "are the two best
companies of the regiment to be kept at bay by a single
desperado? Shame on ye, fellows! If his hands are too
many for you, lay him by the heels."

This ruse was practised with success. In attempting to
defend himself from the attack of those who sought to
throw him down, the warrior necessarily left his upper
person exposed; when advantage was taken to close with
him and deprive him of the play of his arms. It was not,
however, without considerable difficulty, that they
succeeded in disarming and binding his hands; after which
a strong cord being fastened round his waist, he was
tightly lashed to a gun, which, contrary to the original
intention of the governor, had been sent out with the
expedition. The retreat of the detachment then commenced
rapidly; but it was not without being hotly pursued by
the band of warriors the yell of Wacousta had summoned
in pursuit, that they finally gained the fort: under what
feelings of sorrow for the fate of an officer so beloved,
we leave it to our readers to imagine.




CHAPTER XII.

The morning of the next day dawned on few who had pressed
their customary couches--on none, whose feverish pulse
and bloodshot eye failed to attest the utter sleeplessness
in which the night had been passed. Numerous groups of
men were to be seep assembling after the reveille, in
various parts of the barrack square--those who had borne
a part in the recent expedition commingling with those
who had not, and recounting to the latter, with mournful
look and voice, the circumstances connected with the
bereavement of their universally lamented officer. As
none, however, had seen the blow struck that deprived
him of life, although each had heard the frantic
exclamations of a voice that had been recognised for
Ellen Halloway's, much of the marvellous was necessarily
mixed up with truth in their narrative,--some positively
affirming Mr. de Haldimar had not once quitted his party,
and declaring that nothing short of a supernatural agency
could have transported him unnoticed to the fatal spot,
where, in their advance, they had beheld him murdered.
The singular appearance of Ellen Halloway also, at that
moment, on the very bridge on which she had pronounced
her curse on the family of De Haldimar, and in company
with the terrible and mysterious being who had borne her
off in triumph on that occasion to the forest, and under
circumstances calculated to excite the most superstitious
impressions, was not without its weight in determining
their rude speculations; and all concurred in opinion,
that the death of the unfortunate young officer was a
judgment on their colonel for the little mercy he had
extended to the noble-hearted Halloway.

Then followed allusion to their captive, whose gigantic
stature and efforts at escape, tremendous even as the
latter were, were duly exaggerated by each, with the very
laudable view of claiming a proportionate share of credit
for his own individual exertions; and many and various
were the opinions expressed as to the manner of death he
should be made to suffer. Among the most conspicuous of
the orators were those with whom our readers have already
made slight acquaintance in our account of the sortie by
Captain Erskine's company for the recovery of the supposed
body of Frederick de Haldimar. One was for impaling him
alive, and setting him up to rot on the platform above
the gate. Another for blowing him from the muzzle of a
twenty-four pounder, into the centre of the first band
of Indians that approached the fort, that thus perceiving
they had lost the strength and sinew of their cunning
war, they might be the more easily induced to propose
terms of peace. A third was of opinion he ought to be
chained to the top of the flag-staff, as a target, to be
shot at with arrows only, contriving never to touch a
mortal part. A fourth would have had him tied naked over
the sharp spikes that constituted the chevaux-de-frize
garnishing the sides of the drawbridge. Each devised some
new death--proposed some new torture; but all were of
opinion, that simply to be shot, or even to be hanged,
was too merciful a punishment for the wretch who had so
wantonly and inhumanly butchered the kind-hearted,
gentle-mannered officer, whom they had almost all known
and loved from his very boyhood; and they looked forward,
with mingled anxiety and vengeance, to the moment when,
summoned as it was expected he shortly would be, before
the assembled garrison, he would be made to expiate the
atrocity with his blood.

While the men thus gave indulgence to their indignation
and their grief, their officers were even mere painfully
affected. The body of the ill-fated Charles had been
borne to his apartment, where, divested of its disguise,
it had again been inducted in such apparel as was deemed
suited to the purpose. Extended on the very bed on which
he lay at the moment when she, whose maniac raving, and
forcible detention, had been the immediate cause of his
destruction, had preferred her wild but fruitless
supplication for mercy, he exhibited, even in death, the
same delicate beauty that had characterised him on that
occasion; yet, with a mildness and serenity of expression
on his still, pale features, strongly in contrast with
the agitation and glow of excitement that then distinguished
him. Never was human loveliness in death so marked as in
Charles de Haldimar; and but for the deep wound that,
dividing his clustering locks, had entered from the very
crown of the head to the opening of his marble brow, one
ignorant of his fate might have believed he but profoundly
slept. Several women of the regiment were occupied in
those offices about the corpse, which women alone are
capable of performing at such moments, and as they did
so, suffered their tears to flow silently yet abundantly
over him, who was no longer sensible either of human
grief or of human joy. Close at the head of the bed stood
an old man, with his face buried in his hands; the latter
reposing against the wainscoting of the room. He, too,
wept, but his weeping was more audible, more painful,
and accompanied by suffocating sobs. It was the humble,
yet almost paternally attached servant of the defunct--
the veteran Morrison.

Around the bed were grouped nearly all the officers,
standing in attitudes indicative of anxiety and interest,
and gazing mournfully on the placid features of their
ill-fated friend. All, on entering, moved noiselessly
over the rude floor, as though fearful of disturbing the
repose of one who merely slumbered; and the same precaution
was extended to the brief but heartfelt expressions of
sorrow that passed, from one to the other, as they gazed
on all that remained of the gentle De Haldimar. At length
the preparations of the women having been completed, they
retired from the room, leaving one of their number only,
rather out of respect than necessity, to remain by the
corpse. When they were departed, this woman, the wife of
one of Blessington's sergeants, and the same who had been
present at the scene between Ellen Halloway and the
deceased, cut off a large lock of his beautiful hair,
and separating it into small tresses, handed one to each
of the officers. This considerate action, although
unsolicited on the part of the latter, deeply touched
them, as indicating a sense of the high estimation in
which the youth bad been held. It was a tribute to the
memory of him they mourned, of the purest kind; and each,
as he received his portion, acknowledged with a mournful
but approving look, or nod, or word, the motive that bad
prompted the offering. Nor was it a source of less
satisfaction, melancholy even as that satisfaction was,
to perceive that, after having set aside another lock,
probably for the sister of the deceased, she selected
and consigned to the bosom of her dress a third, evidently
intended for herself. The whole scene was in striking
contrast with the almost utter absence of all preparation
or concern that had preceded the interment of Murphy, on
a former occasion. In one, the rude soldier was mourned,
--in the other, the gentle friend was lamented; nor the
latter alone by the companions to whom intimacy had
endeared him, but by those humbler dependants, who knew
him only through those amiable attributes of character,
which were ever equally extended to all. Gradually the
officers now moved away in the same noiseless manner in
which they had approached, either in pursuance of their
several duties, or to make their toilet of the morning.
Two only of their number remained near the couch of death.

"Poor unfortunate De Haldimar!" observed one of these,
in a low tone, as if speaking to himself; "too fatally,
indeed, have your forebodings been realised; and what I
considered as the mere despondency of a mind crashed into
feebleness by an accumulation of suffering, was, after
all, but the first presentiment of a death no human power
might avert. By Heaven! I would give up half my own being
to be able to reanimate that form once more,--but the
wish is vain."

"Who shall announce the intelligence to his sister?"
sighed his companion. "Never will that already nearly
heart-broken girl be able to survive the shock of her
brother's death. Blessington, you alone are fitted to
such a task; and, painful as it is, you must undertake
it. Is the colonel apprised of the dreadful truth, do
you know?"

"He is. It was told him at the moment of our arrival last
night; but from the little outward emotion displayed by
him, I should be tempted to infer he had almost anticipated
some such catastrophe."

"Poor, poor Charles!" bitterly exclaimed Sir Everard
Valletort--for it was he. "What would I not give to recal
the rude manner in which I spurned you from me last night.
But, alas! what could I do, laden with such a trust, and
pursued, without the power of defence, by such an enemy?
Little, indeed, did I imagine what was so speedily to be
your doom! Blessington," he pursued, with increased
emotion, "it grieves me to wretchedness to think that
he, whom I loved as though he had been my twin brother,
should have perished with his last thoughts, perhaps,
lingering on the seeming unkindness with which I had
greeted him after so anxious an absence."

"Nay, if there be blame, it must attach to me," sorrowfully
observed Captain Blessington. "Had Erskine and myself
not retired before the savage, as we did, our unfortunate
friend would in all probability have been alive at this
very hour. But in our anxiety to draw the former into
the ambuscade we had prepared for him, we utterly overlooked
that Charles was not retreating with us."

"How happened it," demanded Sir Everard, his attention
naturally directed to the subject by the preceding remarks,
"that you lay thus in ambuscade, when the object of the
expedition, as solicited by Frederick de Haldimar, was
an attempt to reach us in the encampment of the Indians?"

"It certainly was under that impression we left the fort;
but, on coming to the spot where the friendly Indian lay
waiting to conduct us, he proposed the plan we subsequently
adopted as the most likely, not only to secure the escape
of the prisoners, whom he pledged himself to liberate,
but to defend ourselves with advantage against Wacousta
and the immediate guard set over them, should they follow
in pursuit. Erskine approving, as well as myself, of
the plan, we halted at the bridge, and disposed of our
men under each extremity; so that, if attacked by the
Indians in front, we might be enabled to throw them into
confusion by taking them in rear, as they flung themselves
upon the bridge. The event seemed to answer our
expectations. The alarm raised in the encampment satisfied
us the young Indian had contrived to fulfil his promise;
and we momentarily looked for the appearance of those
whose flight we naturally supposed would be directed
towards the bridge. To our great surprise, however, we
remarked that the sounds of pursuit, instead of approaching
us, seemed to take an opposite direction, apparently
towards the point whence we had seen the prisoners
disembarked in the morning. At length, when almost tempted
to regret we had not pushed boldly on, in conformity with
our first intention, we heard the shrill cries of a woman;
and, not long afterwards, the sounds of human feet rushing
down the slope. What our sensations were, you may imagine;
for we all believed it to be either Clara or Madeline de
Haldimar fleeing alone, and pursued by our ferocious
enemies. To show ourselves would, we were sensible, be
to ensure the death of the pursued, before we could
possibly come up; and, although it was with difficulty
we repressed the desire to rush forward to the rescue,
our better judgment prevailed. Finally we saw you approach,
followed closely by what appeared to be a mere boy of an
Indian, and, at a considerable distance, by the tall
warrior of the Fleur de lis. We imagined there was time
enough for you to gain the bridge; and finding your more
formidable pursuer was only accompanied by the youth
already alluded to, conceived at that moment the design
of making him our prisoner. Still there were half a dozen
muskets ready to be levelled on him should he approach
too near to his fugitives, or manifest any other design
than that of simply recapturing them. How well our plan
succeeded you are aware; but, alas!" and he glanced
sorrowfully at the corpse, "why was our success to be
embittered by so great a sacrifice?"

"Ah, would to Heaven that he at least had been spared,"
sighed Sir Everard, as he took the wan white hand of his
friend in his own; "and yet I know not: he looks so calm,
so happy in death, it is almost selfish to repine he has
escaped the horrors that still await us in this dreadful
warfare. But what of Frederick and Madeline de Haldimar?
From the statement you have given, they must have been
liberated by the young Ottawa before he came to me; yet,
what could have induced them to have taken a course of
flight so opposite to that which promised their only
chance of safety?"

"Heaven only knows," returned Captain Blessington. "I
fear they have again been recaptured by the savages; in
which case their doom is scarcely doubtful; unless,
indeed, our prisoner of last night be given up in exchange
for them."

"Then will their liberty be purchased at a terrible
price," remarked the baronet. "Will you believe,
Blessington, that that man, whose enmity to our colonel
seems almost devilish, was once an officer in this very
regiment?"

"You astonish me, Valletort.--Impossible! and yet it
has always been apparent to me they were once associates."

"I heard him relate his history only last night to Clara,
whom he had the audacity to sully with proposals to become
his bride," pursued the baronet. "His tale was a most
extraordinary one. He narrated it, however, only up to
the period when the life of De Haldimar was attempted by
him at Quebec. But with his subsequent history we are
all acquainted, through the fame of his bloody atrocities
in all the posts that have fallen into the hands of
Ponteac. That man, savage and even fiendish as he now
is, was once possessed of the noblest qualities. I am
sorry to say it; but Colonel de Haldimar has brought this
present affliction upon himself. At some future period
I will tell you all."

"Alas!" said Captain Blessington, "poor Charles, then,
has been made to pay the penalty of his father's errors;
and, certainly, the greatest of these was his dooming
the unfortunate Halloway to death in the manner he did."

"What think you of the fact of Halloway
being the nephew of this extraordinary man,
and both of high family?" demanded Sir
Everard.

"Indeed!" and was the latter, then, aware of the
connection?"

"Not until last night," replied Sir Everard. "Some
observations made by the wretched wife of Halloway, in
the course of which she named his true name, (which was
that of the warrior also,) first indicated the fact to
the latter. But, what became of that unfortunate
creature?--was she brought in?"

"I understand not," said Captain Blessington. "In the
confusion and hurry of securing our prisoner, and the
apprehension of immediate attack from his warriors, Ellen
was entirely overlooked. Some of my men say they left
her lying, insensible, on the spot whence they had raised
the body of our unfortunate friend, which they had some
difficulty in releasing from her convulsive embrace. But,
hark! there is the first drum for parade, and I have not
yet exchanged my Indian garb."

Captain Blessington now quitted the room, and Sir Everard,
relieved from the restraining presence of his companions,
gave free vent to his emotion, throwing himself upon the
body of his friend, and giving utterance to the feelings
of anguish that oppressed his heart.

He had continued some minutes in this position, when he
fancied he felt the warm tears of a human being bedewing
a hand that reposed on the neck of his unfortunate friend.
He looked up, and, to his infinite surprise, beheld Clara
de Haldimar standing before him at the opposite side of
the bed. Her likeness to her brother, at that moment,
was so striking, that, for a second or two, the
irrepressible thought passed through the mind of the
officer, it was not a living being he gazed upon, but
the immaterial spirit of his friend. The whole attitude
and appearance of the wretched girl, independently of
the fact of her noiseless entrance, tended to favour the
delusion. Her features, of an ashy paleness, seemed fixed,
even as those of the corpse beneath him; and, but for
the tears that coursed silently down her cheek, there
was scarcely an outward evidence of emotion. Her dress
was a simple white robe, fastened round her waist with
a pale blue riband; and over her shoulders hung her
redundant hair, resembling in colour, and disposed much
in the manner of that of her brother, which had been
drawn negligently down to conceal the wound on his brow.
For some moments the baronet gazed at her in speechless
agony. Her tranquil exterior was torture to him; for he,
feared it betokened some alienation of reason. He would
have preferred to witness the most hysteric convulsion
of grief, rather than that traitorous calm; and yet he
had not the power to seek to remove it.

"You are surprised to see me here, mingling my grief with
yours, Sir Everard," she at length observed, with the
same calm mien, and in tones of touching sweetness. "I
came, with my father's permission, to take a last farewell
of him whose death has broken my heart. I expected to be
alone; but--Nay, do not go," she added, perceiving that
the officer was about to depart. "Had you not been here,
I should have sent for you; for we have both a sacred
duty to perform. May I not ask your hand?"

More and more dismayed at her collected manner, the young
officer gazed at her with the deepest sorrow depicted in
every line of his own countenance. He extended his hand,
and Clara, to his surprise, grasped and pressed it firmly.

"It was the wish of this poor boy that his Clara should
be the wife of his friend, Sir Everard. Did he ever
express such to you?"

"It was the fondest desire of his heart," returned the
baronet, unable to restrain the emotion of joy that
mingled, despite of himself, with his worst apprehensions.

"I need not ask how you received his proposal," continued
Clara, with the same calmness of manner. "Last night,"
she pursued solemnly, "I was the bride of the murderer
of my brother, of the lover of my mother,--tomorrow night
I may be the bride of death; but to-night I am the bride
of my brother's friend. Yes, here am I come to pledge
myself to the fulfilment of his wish. If you deem a
heart-broken girl not unworthy of you, I am your wife,
Sir Everard; and, recollect, it is a solemn pledge, that
which a sister gives over the lifeless body of a brother,
beloved as this has been."

"Oh, Clara--dearest Clara," passionately exclaimed the
excited young man, "if a life devoted to your happiness
can repay you for this, count upon it as you would upon
your eternal salvation. In you will I love both my friend
and the sister he has bequeathed to me. Clara, my
betrothed wife, summon all the energies of your nature
to sustain this cruel shock; and exert yourself for him
who will be to you both a brother and a husband."

As he spoke he drew the unresisting girl towards him,
and, locking her in his embrace, pressed, for the first
time, the lips, which it had maddened him the preceding
night to see polluted by the forcible kisses of Wacousta.
But Clara shared not, but merely suffered his momentary
happiness. Her cheek wore not the crimson of excitement,
neither were her tears discontinued. She seemed as one
who mechanically submitted to what she had no power of
resistance to oppose; and even in the embrace of her
affianced husband, she exhibited the same deathlike calm
that had startled him at her first appearance. Religion
could not hallow a purer feeling than that which had
impelled the action of the young officer. The very
consciousness of the sacred pledge having been exchanged
over the corpse of his friend, imparted a holiness of
fervour to his mind; and even while he pressed her, whom
he secretly swore to love with all the affection of a
fond brother and a husband united, he felt that if the
spirit of him, who slept unconscious of the scene, were
suffered to linger near, it would be to hallow it with
approval.

"And now," said Clara at length, yet without attempting
to disengage herself,--"now that we are united, I would
be alone with my brother. My husband, leave me."

Deeply touched at the name of husband, Sir Everard could
not refrain from imprinting another kiss on the lips that
uttered it. He then gently disengaged himself from his
lovely but suffering charge, whom he deposited with her
head resting on the bed; and making a significant motion
of his hand to the woman, who, as well as old Morrison,
had been spectators of the whole scene, stole gently from
the apartment, under what mingled emotions of joy and
grief it would be difficult to describe.




CHAPTER XIII.

It was the eighth hour of morning, and both officers and
men, quitting their ill-relished meal, were to be seen
issuing to the parade, where the monotonous roll of the
assemblee now summoned them. Presently the garrison was
formed in the order we have described in our first volume;
that is to say, presenting three equal sides of a square.
The vacant space fronted the guard-house, near one
extremity of which was to be seen a flight of steps
communicating with the rampart, where the flag-staff was
erected. Several men were employed at this staff, passing
strong ropes through iron pulleys that were suspended
from the extreme top, while in the basement of the staff
itself, to a height of about twenty feet, were stuck at
intervals strong wooden pegs, serving as steps to the
artillerymen for greater facility in clearing, when foul,
the lines to which the colours were attached. The latter
had been removed; and, from the substitution of a cord
considerably stronger than that which usually appeared
there, it seemed as if some far heavier weight was about
to be appended to it. Gradually the men, having completed
their unusual preparations, quitted the rampart, and the
flagstaff, which was of tapering pine, was left totally
unguarded.

The "Attention!" of Major Blackwater to the troops, who
had been hitherto standing in attitudes of expectancy
that rendered the injunction almost superfluous, announced
the approach of the governor. Soon afterwards that officer
entered the area, wearing his characteristic dignity of
manner, yet exhibiting every evidence of one who had
suffered deeply. Preparation for a drum-head court-martial,
as in the first case of Halloway, had already been made
within the square, and the only actor wanting in the
drama was he who was to be tried.

Once Colonel de Haldimar made an effort to command his
appearance, but the huskiness of his voice choked his
utterance, and he was compelled to pause. After the lapse
of a few moments, he again ordered, but in a voice that
was remarked to falter,--

"Mr. Lawson, let the prisoner be brought forth."

The feeling of suspense that ensued between the delivery
and execution of this command was painful throughout the
ranks. All were penetrated with curiosity to behold a
man who had several times appeared to them under the most
appalling circumstances, and against whom the strongest
feeling of indignation had been excited for his barbarous
murder of Charles de Haldimar. It was with mingled awe
and anger they now awaited his approach. At length the
captive was seen advancing from the cell in which he had
been confined, his gigantic form towering far above those
of the guard of grenadiers by whom he was surrounded;
and with a haughtiness in his air, and insolence in his
manner, that told he came to confront his enemy with a
spirit unsubdued by the fate that too probably awaited
him.

Many an eye was turned upon the governor at that moment.
He was evidently struggling for composure to meet the
scene he felt it to be impossible to avoid; and he turned
pale and paler as his enemy drew near.

At length the prisoner stood nearly in the same spot
where his unfortunate nephew had lingered on a former
occasion. He was unchained; but his hands were firmly
secured behind his back. He threw himself into an attitude
of carelessness, resting on one foot, and tapping the
earth with the other; riveting his eye, at the same time,
with an expression of the most daring insolence, on the
governor, while his swarthy cheek was moreover lighted
up with a smile of the deepest scorn.

"You are Reginald Morton the outlaw, I believe," at length
observed the governor in an uncertain tone, that, however,
acquired greater firmness as he proceeded,--"one whose
life has already been forfeited through his treasonable
practices in Europe, and who has, moreover, incurred the
penalty of an ignominious death, by acting in this country
as a spy of the enemies of England. What say you, Reginald
Morton, that you should not be convicted in the death
that awaits the traitor?"

"Ha! ha! by Heaven, such cold, pompous insolence amuses
me," vociferated Wacousta. "It reminds me of Ensign de
Haldimar of nearly five and twenty years back, who was
then as cunning a dissembler as he is now." Suddenly
changing his ribald tone to one of scorn and rage:--"You
BELIEVE me, you say, to be Reginald Morton the outlaw.
Well do you know it. I am that Sir Reginald Morton, who
became an outlaw, not through his own crimes, but through
your villainy. Ay, frown as you may, I heed it not. You
may award me death, but shall not chain my tongue. To
your whole regiment do I proclaim you for a false,
remorseless villain." Then turning his flashing eye along
the ranks:--"I was once an officer in this corps, and
long before any of you wore the accursed uniform. That
man, that fiend, affected to be my friend; and under the
guise of friendship, stole into the heart I loved better
than my own life. Yes," fervently pursued the excited
prisoner, stamping violently with his foot upon the earth,
"he robbed me of my affianced wife; and for that I resented
an outrage that should have banished him to some lone
region, where he might never again pollute human nature
with his presence--he caused me to be tried by a
court-martial, and dismissed the service. Then, indeed,
I became the outlaw he has described, but not until then.
Now, Colonel de Haldimar, that I have proclaimed your
infamy, poor and inefficient as the triumph be, do your
worst--I ask no mercy. Yesterday I thought that years of
toilsome pursuit of the means of vengeance were about to
be crowned with success; but fate has turned the tables
on me and I yield."

To all but the baronet and Captain Blessington this
declaration was productive of the utmost surprise. Every
eye was turned upon the colonel. He grew impatient under
the scrutiny, and demanded if the court, who meanwhile
had been deliberating, satisfied of the guilt of the
prisoner, had come to a decision in regard to his
punishment. An affirmative answer was given, and Colonel
de Haldimar proceeded.

"Reginald Morton, with the private misfortunes of your
former life we have nothing to do. It is the decision of
this court, who are merely met out of form, that you
suffer immediate death by hanging, as a just recompense
for your double treason to your country. There," and he
pointed to the flag-staff, "will you be exhibited to the
misguided people whom your wicked artifices have stirred
up into hostility against us. When they behold your fate,
they will take warning from your example; and, finding
we have heads and arms not to suffer offence with impunity,
be more readily brought to obedience."

"I understand your allusion," coolly rejoined Wacousta,
glancing earnestly at, and apparently measuring with his
eye, the dimensions of the conspicuous scaffold on which
he was to suffer. "You had ever a calculating head, De
Haldimar, where any secret villainy, any thing to promote
your own selfish ends, was to be gained by it; but your
calculation seems now, methinks, at fault"

Colonel de Haldimar looked at him enquiringly.

"You have STILL a son left," pursued the prisoner with
the same recklessness of manner, and in a tone denoting
allusion to him who was no more, that caused an universal
shudder throughout the ranks. "He is in the hands of the
Ottawa Indians, and I am the friend of their great chief,
inferior only in power among the tribe to himself. Think
you that he will see me hanged up like a dog, and fail
to avenge my disgraceful death?"

"Ha! presumptuous renegade, is this the deep game you
have in view? Hope you then to stipulate for the
preservation of a life every way forfeited to the offended
justice of your country? Dare you to cherish the belief,
that, after the horrible threats so often denounced by
you, you will again be let loose upon a career of crime
and blood?"

"None of your cant, de Haldimar, as I once observed to
you before," coolly retorted Wacousta, with bitter sarcasm.
"Consult your own heart, and ask if its catalogue of
crime be not far greater than my own: yet I ask not my
life. I would but have the manner of my fate altered,
and fain would die the death of the soldier I WAS before
you rendered me the wretch I AM. Methinks the boon is
not so great, if the restoration of your son be the
price."

"Do you mean, then," eagerly returned the governor, "that
if the mere mode of your death be changed, my son shall
be restored?"

"I do," was the calm reply.

"What pledge have we of the fact? What faith can we repose
in the word of a fiend, whose brutal vengeance has already
sacrificed the gentlest life that ever animated human
clay?" Here the emotion of the governor almost choked,
his utterance, and considerable agitation and murmuring
were manifested in the ranks.

"Gentle, said you?" replied the prisoner, musingly; "then
did he resemble his mother, whom I loved, even as his
brother resembles you whom I have had so much reason to
hate. Had I known the boy to be what you describe, I
might have felt some touch of pity even while I delayed
not to strike his death blow; but the false moonlight
deceived me, and the detested name of De Haldimar,
pronounced by the lips of my nephew's wife--that wife
whom your cold-blooded severity had widowed and driven
mad--was in itself sufficient to ensure his doom."

"Inhuman ruffian!" exclaimed the governor, with increasing
indignation; "to the point. What pledge have you to offer
that my son will be restored?"

"Nay, the pledge is easily given, and without much risk.
You have only to defer my death until your messenger
return from his interview with Ponteac. If Captain de
Haldimar accompany him back, shoot me as I have requested;
if he come not, then it is but to hang me after all."

"Ha! I understand you; this is but a pretext to gain
time, a device to enable your subtle brain to plan some
mode of escape."

"As you will, Colonel de Haldimar," calmly retorted
Wacousta; and again he sank into silence, with the air
of one utterly indifferent to results.

"Do you mean," resumed the colonel, "that a request from
yourself to the Ottawa chief will obtain the liberation
of my son?"

"Unless the Indian be false as yourself, I do."

"And of the lady who is with him?" continued the colonel,
colouring with anger.

"Of both."

"How is the message to be conveyed?"

"Ha, sir!" returned the prisoner, drawing himself up to
his full height, "now are you arrived at a point that is
pertinent. My wampum belt will be the passport, and the
safeguard of him you send; then for the communication.
There are certain figures, as you are aware, that, traced
on bark, answer the same purpose among the Indians with
the European language of letters. Let my hands be cast
loose," he pursued, but in a tone in which agitation and
excitement might be detected, "and if bark be brought
me, and a burnt stick or coal, I will give you not only
a sample of Indian ingenuity, but a specimen of my own
progress in Indian acquirements."

"What, free your hands, and thus afford you a chance of
escape?" observed the governor, doubtingly.

Wacousta bent his stedfast gaze on him for a few moments,
as if he questioned he had heard aright. Then bursting
into a wild and scornful laugh,--"By Heaven!" he exclaimed,
"this is, indeed, a high compliment you pay me at the
expense of these fine fellows. What, Colonel de Haldimar
afraid to liberate an unarmed prisoner, hemmed in by a
forest of bayonets? This is good; gentlemen," and he bent
himself in sarcastic reverence to the astonished troops,
"I beg to offer you my very best congratulations on the
high estimation in which you are held by your colonel."

"Peace, sirrah!" exclaimed the governor, enraged beyond
measure at the insolence of him who thus held him up to
contempt before his men, "or, by Heaven, I will have your
tongue cut out!--Mr. Lawson, let what this fellow requires
be procured immediately." Then addressing Lieutenant
Boyce, who commanded the immediate guard over the prisoner,
--"Let his hands be liberated, sir, and enjoin your men
to be watchful of the movements of this supple traitor.
His activity I know of old to be great, and he seems to
have doubled it since he assumed that garb."

The command was executed, and the prisoner stood, once
more, free and unfettered in every muscular limb. A deep
and unbroken silence ensued; and the return of the adjutant
was momentarily expected. Suddenly a loud scream was
heard, and the slight figure of a female, clad in white,
came rushing from the piazza in which the apartment of
the deceased De Haldimar was situated. It was Clara.
The guard of Wacousta formed the fourth front of the
square; but they were drawn up somewhat in the distance,
so as to leave an open space of several feet at the
angles. Through one of these the excited girl now passed
into the area, with a wildness in her air and appearance
that riveted every eye in painful interest upon her. She
paused not until she had gained the side of the captive,
at whose feet she now sank in an attitude expressive of
the most profound despair.

"Tiger!--monster!" she raved, "restore my brother!--give
me back the gentle life you have taken, or destroy my
own! See, I am a weak defenceless girl: can you not
strike?--you who have no pity for the innocent. But
come," she pursued, mournfully, regaining her feet and
grasping his iron hand,--"come and see the sweet calm
face of him you have slain:--come with me, and behold
the image of Clara Beverley; and, if you ever loved her
as you say you did, let your soul be touched with remorse
for your crime."

The excitement and confusion produced by this unexpected
interruption was great. Murmurs of compassion for the
unhappy Clara, and of indignation against the prisoner,
were no longer sought to be repressed by the men; while
the officers, quitting their places in the ranks, grouped
themselves indiscriminately in the foreground. One, more
impatient than his companions, sprang forward, and forcibly
drew away the delicate, hand that still grasped that of
the captive. It was Sir Everard Valletort.

"Clara, my beloved wife!" he exclaimed, to the astonishment
of all who heard him, "pollute not your lips by further
communion with such a wretch; his heart is as inaccessible
to pity as the rugged rocks on which his spring-life was
passed. For Heaven's sake,--for my sake,--linger not
within his reach. There is death in his very presence."

"Your wife, sir!" haughtily observed the governor, with
irrepressible astonishment and indignation in his voice;
"what mean you?--Gentlemen, resume your places in the
ranks.--Clara--Miss de Haldimar, I command you to retire
instantly to your apartment.--We will discourse of this
later, Sir Everard Valletort. I trust you have not dared
to offer an indignity to my child."

While he was yet turned to that officer, who had taken
his post, as commanded, in the inner angle of the square,
and with a countenance that denoted the conflicting
emotions of his soul, he was suddenly startled by the
confused shout and rushing forward of the whole body,
both of officers and men. Before he had time to turn, a
loud and well-remembered yell burst upon his ear. The
next moment, to his infinite surprise and horror, he
beheld the bold warrior rapidly ascending the very staff
that had been destined for his scaffold, and with Clara
in his arms.

Great was the confusion that ensued. To rush forward and
surround the flag-staff, was the immediate action of the
troops. Many of the men raised their muskets, and in the
excitement of the moment, would have fired, had they not
been restrained by their officers, who pointed out the
certain destruction it would entail on the unfortunate
Clara. With the rapidity of thought, Wacousta had snatched
up his victim, while the attention of the troops was
directed to the singular conversation passing between
the governor and Sir Everard Valletort, and darting
through one of the open angles already alluded to, had
gained the rampart before they had recovered from the
stupor produced by his daring action. Stepping lightly
upon the pegs, he had rapidly ascended to the utmost
height of these, before any one thought of following him;
and then grasping in his teeth the cord which was to have
served for his execution, and holding Clara firmly against
his chest, while he embraced the smooth staff with knees
and feet closely compressed around it, accomplished the
difficult ascent with an ease that astonished all who
beheld him. Gradually, as he approached the top, the
tapering pine waved to and fro; and at each moment it
was expected, that, yielding to their united weight, it
would snap asunder, and precipitate both Clara and himself,
either upon the rampart, or into the ditch beyond.

More than one officer now attempted to follow the fugitive
in his adventurous course; but even Lieutenant Johnstone,
the most active and experienced in climbing of the party,
was unable to rise more than a few yards above the pegs
that afforded a footing, add the enterprise was abandoned
as an impossibility. At length Wacousta was seen to gain
the extreme summit. For a moment he turned his gaze
anxiously beyond the town, in the direction of the bridge;
and, after pealing forth one of his terrific yells,
exclaimed, exultingly, as he turned his eye upon his
enemy:--

"Well, colonel, what think you of this sample of Indian
ingenuity? Did I not tell you," he continued, in mockery,
"that, if my hands were but free, I would give you a
specimen of my progress in Indian acquirements?"

"If you would avoid a death even more terrible than that
of hanging," shouted the governor, in a voice of mingled
rage and terror, "restore my daughter."

"Ha! ha! ha!--excellent!" vociferated the savage. "You
threaten largely, my good governor; but your threats are
harmless as those of a weak besieging army before an
impregnable fortress. It is for the strongest, however,
to propose his terms.--If I restore this girl to life,
will you pledge yourself to mine?"

"Never!" thundered Colonel de Haldimar, with unusual
energy.--"Men, procure axes; cut the flag-staff down,
since this is the only means left of securing yon insolent
traitor! Quick to your work: and mark, who first seizes
him shall have promotion on the spot."

Axes were instantly procured, and two of the men now lent
themselves vigorously to the task. Wacousta seemed to
watch these preparations with evident anxiety; and to
all it appeared as if his courage had been paralysed by
this unexpected action. No sooner, however, had the axemen
reached the heart of the staff, than, holding Clara forth
over the edge of the rampart, he shouted,--

"One stroke more, and she perishes!"

Instantaneously the work was discontinued. A silence of
a few moments ensued. Every eye was turned upward,--every
heart beat with terror to see the delicate girl, held by
a single arm, and apparently about to be precipitated
from that dizzying height. Again Wacousta shouted,--

"Life for life, De Haldimar! If I yield her shall I live?"

"No terms shall be dictated to me by a rebel, in the
heart of my own fort," returned the governor. "Restore
my child, and we will then consider what mercy may be
extended to you."

"Well do I know what mercy dwells in such a heart as
yours," gloomily remarked the prisoner; "but I come."

"Surround the staff, men," ordered the governor, in a
low tone. "The instant he descends, secure him: lash him
in every limb, nor suffer even his insolent tongue to be
longer at liberty."

"Boyce, for God's sake open the gate, and place men in
readiness to lower the drawbridge," implored Sir Everard
of the officer of the guard, and in a tone of deep emotion
that was not meant to be overheard by the governor. "I
fear the boldness of this vengeful man may lead him to
some desperate means of escape."

While the officer whom he addressed issued a command,
the responsibility of which he fancied he might, under
the peculiar circumstances of the moment, take upon
himself, Wacousta began his descent, not as before, by
adhering to the staff, but by the rope which he held in
his left hand, while he still supported the apparently
senseless Clara against his right chest with the other.

"Now, Colonel de Haldimar, I hope your heart is at rest,"
he shouted, as he rapidly glided by the cord; "enjoy your
triumph as best may suit your pleasure."

Every eye followed his movement with interest; every
heart beat lighter at the certainty of Clara being again
restored, and without other injury than the terror she
must have experienced in such a scene. Each congratulated
himself on the favourable termination of the terrible
adventure, yet were all ready to spring upon and secure
the desperate author of the wrong. Wacousta had now
reached the centre of the flag-staff. Pausing for a
moment, he grappled it with his strong and nervous feet,
on which he apparently rested, to give a momentary relief
to the muscles of his left arm. He then abruptly abandoned
his hold, swinging himself out a few yards from the staff,
and returning again, dashed his feet against it with a
force that caused the weakened mass to vibrate to its
very foundation. Impelled by his weight, and the violence
of his action, the creaking pine gave way; its lofty top
gradually bending over the exterior rampart until it
finally snapped asunder, and fell with a loud crash across
the ditch.

"Open the gate, down with the drawbridge!" exclaimed the
excited governor.

"Down with the drawbridge," repeated Sir Everard to the
men already stationed there ready to let loose at the
first order. The heavy chains rattled sullenly through
the rusty pulleys, and to each the bridge seemed an hour
descending. Before it had reached its level, it was
covered with the weight of many armed men rushing confusedly
to the front; and the foremost of these leaped to the
earth before it had sunk into its customary bed. Sir
Everard Valletort and Lieutenant Johnstone were in the
front, both armed with their rifles, which had been
brought them before Wacousta commenced his descent.
Without order or combination, Erskine, Blessington, and
nearly half of their respective companies, followed as
they could; and dispersing as they advanced, sought only
which could outstep his fellows in the pursuit.

Meanwhile the fugitive, assisted in his fall by the
gradual rending asunder of the staff, had obeyed the
impulsion first given to his active form, until, suddenly
checking himself by the rope, he dropped with his feet
downward into the centre of the ditch. For a moment he
disappeared, then came again uninjured to the surface;
and in the face of more than fifty men, who, lining the
rampart with their muskets levelled to take him at
advantage the instant he should reappear, seemed to laugh
their efforts to scorn. Holding Clara before him as a
shield, through which the bullets of his enemies must
pass before they could attain him, he impelled his gigantic
form with a backward movement towards the opposite bank,
which he rapidly ascended; and, still fronting his enemies,
commenced his flight in that manner with a speed which
(considering the additional weight of the drenched garments
of both) was inconceivable. The course taken by him was
not through the town, but circuitously across the common
until he arrived on that immediate line whence, as we
have before stated, the bridge was distinctly visible
from the rampart; on which, nearly the whole of the
remaining troops, in defiance of the presence of their
austere chief, were now eagerly assembled, watching, with
unspeakable interest, the progress of the chase.

Desperate as were the exertions of Wacousta, who evidently
continued this mode of flight from a conviction that the
instant his person was left exposed the fire-arms of his
pursuers would be brought to bear upon him, the two
officers in front, animated by the most extraordinary
exertions, were rapidly gaining upon him. Already was
one within fifty yards of him, when a loud yell was heard
from the bridge. This was fiercely answered by the fleeing
man, and in a manner that implied his glad sense of.
coming rescue. In the wild exultation of the moment, he
raised Clara high above his head, to show her in triumph
to the governor, whose person his keen eye could easily
distinguish among those crowded upon the rampart. In the
gratified vengeance of. that hour, he seemed utterly to
overlook the actions of those who were so near him. During
this brief scene, Sir Everard had dropped upon one knee,
and supporting his elbow on the other, aimed his rifle
at the heart of the ravisher of his wife. An exulting
shout burst from the pursuing troops. Wacousta bounded
a few feet in air, and placing his hand to his side,
uttered another yell, more appalling than any that had
hitherto escaped him. His flight was now uncertain and
wavering. He staggered as one who had received a mortal
wound; and discontinuing his unequal mode of retreat,
turned his back upon his pursuers, and threw all his
remaining energies into a final effort at escape.

Inspirited by the success of his shot, and expecting
momentarily to see him fall weakened with the loss of
blood, the excited Valletort redoubled his exertions. To
his infinite joy, he found that the efforts of the fugitive
became feebler at each moment Johnstone was about twenty
paces behind him, and the pursuing party at about the
same distance from Johnstone. The baronet had now reached
his enemy, and already was the butt of his rifle raised
with both hands with murderous intent, when suddenly
Wacousta, every feature distorted with rage and pain,
turned like a wounded lion at bay, and eluding the blow,
deposited the unconscious form of his victim upon the
sward. Springing upon his infinitely weaker pursuer, he
grappled him furiously by the throat, exclaiming through
his clenched teeth:--

"Nay then, since you will provoke your fate--be it so.
Die like a dog, and be d--d, for having balked me--of my
just revenge!"

As he spoke, he hurled the gasping officer to the earth
with a violence that betrayed the dreadful excitement of
his soul, and again hastened to assure himself of his
prize.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Johnstone had come up, and, seeing
his companion struggling as he presumed, with advantage,
with his severely wounded enemy, made it his first care
to secure the unhappy girl; for whose recovery the pursuit
had been principally instituted. Quitting his rifle, he
now essayed to raise her in his arms. She was without
life or consciousness, and the impression on his mind
was that she was dead.

While in the act of raising her, the terrible Wacousta
stood at his side, his vast chest heaving forth a laugh
of mingled rage and contempt. Before the officer could
extricate, with a view of defending himself, his arms
were pinioned as though in a vice; and ere he could
recover from his surprise, he felt himself lifted up and
thrown to a considerable distance. When he opened his
eyes a moment afterwards, he was lying amid the moving
feet of his own men.

From the instant of the closing of the unfortunate
Valletort with his enemy, the Indians, hastening to the
assistance of their chief, had come up, and a desultory
fire had already commenced, diverting, in a great degree,
the attention of the troops from the pursued. Emboldened
by this new aspect of things Wacousta now deliberately
grasped the rifle that had been abandoned by Johnstone;
and raising it to his shoulder, fired among the group
collected on the ramparts. For a moment he watched the
result of his shot, and then, pealing forth another fierce
yell, he hurled the now useless weapon into the very
heart of his pursuers; and again raising Clara in his
arms, once more commenced his retreat, which, under cover
of the fire of his party, was easily effected.

"Who has fallen?" demanded the governor of his adjutant,
perceiving that some one had been hit at his side, yet
without taking his eyes off his terrible enemy.

"Mr. Delme, sir," was the reply. "He has been shot through
the heart, and his men are bearing him from the rampart."

"This must not be," resumed the governor with energy.
"Private feelings must no longer be studied at the expense
of the public good. That pursuit is hopeless; and already
too many of my officers have fallen. Desire the retreat
to be sounded, Mr. Lawson. Captain Wentworth, let one or
two covering guns be brought to bear upon the savages.
They are gradually increasing hi numbers; and if we delay,
the party will be wholly cut off."

In issuing these orders, Colonel de Haldimar evinced a
composedness that astonished all who heard him. But
although his voice was calm, despair was upon his brow.
Still he continued to gaze fixedly on the retreating form
of his enemy, until he finally disappeared behind the
orchard of the Canadian of the Fleur de lis.

Obeying the summons from the fort, the troops without
now commenced their retreat, bearing off the bodies of
their fallen officers and several of their comrades who
had fallen by the Indian fire. There was a show of
harassing them on their return; but they were too near
the fort to apprehend much danger. Two or three
well-directed discharges of artillery effectually checked
the onward progress of the savages; and, in the course
of a minute, they had again wholly disappeared.

In gloomy silence, and with anger and disappointment in
their hearts, the detachment now re-entered the fort.
Johnstone was only severely bruised; Sir Everard Valletort
not dead. Both were conveyed to the same room, where they
were instantly attended by the surgeon, who pronounced
the situation of the latter hopeless.

Major Blackwater, Captains Blessington and Erskine,
Lieutenants Leslie and Boyce, and Ensigns Fortescue and
Summers, were now the only regimental officers that
remained of thirteen originally comprising the strength
of the garrison. The whole of these stood grouped around
their colonel, who seemed transfixed to the spot he had
first occupied on the rampart, with his arms folded, and
his gaze bent in the direction in which he had lost sight
of Wacousta and his child.

Hitherto the morning had been cold and cheerless, and
objects in the far distance were but indistinctly seen
through a humid atmosphere. At about half an hour before
mid-day the air became more rarified, and, the murky
clouds gradually disappearing, left the blue autumnal
sky without spot or blemish. Presently, as the bells of
the fort struck twelve, a yell as of a legion of devils
rent the air; and, riveting their gaze in that direction,
all beheld the bridge, hitherto deserted, suddenly covered
with a multitude of savages, among whom were several
individuals attired in the European garb, and evidently
prisoners. Each officer had a telescope raised to his
eye, and each prepared himself, shudderingly, for some
horrid consummation. Presently the bridge was cleared of
all but a double line of what appeared to be women, armed
with war-clubs and tomahawks. Along the line were now
seen to pass, in slow succession, the prisoners that had
previously been observed. At each step they took (and it
was evident they had been compelled to run the gauntlet),
a blow was inflicted by some one or other of the line,
until the wretched victims were successively despatched.
A loud yell from the warriors, who, although hidden from
view by the intervening orchards, were evidently merely
spectators in the bloody drama, announced each death.
These yells were repeated, at intervals, to about the
number of thirty, when, suddenly, the bridge was again
deserted as before.

After the lapse of a minute, the tall figure of a warrior
was seen to advance, holding a female in his arms. No
one could mistake, even at that distance, the gigantic
proportions of Wacousta,--as he stood in the extreme
centre of the bridge, in imposing relief against the
flood that glittered like a sea of glass beyond. From
his chest there now burst a single yell; but, although
audible, it was fainter than any remembered ever to have
been heard from him by the garrison. He then advanced to
the extreme edge of the bridge; and, raising the form of
the female far above his head with his left hand, seemed
to wave her in vengeful triumph. A second warrior was
seen upon the bridge, and stealing cautiously to the same
point. The right hand of the first warrior was now raised
and brandished in air; in the next instant it descended
upon the breast of the female, who fell from his arms
into the ravine beneath. Yells of triumph from the Indians,
and shouts of execration from the soldiers, mingled
faintly together. At that moment the arm of the second
warrior was raised, and a blade was seen to glitter in
the sunshine. His arm descended, and Wacousta was observed
to stagger forward and fall. heavily into the abyss into
which his victim had the instant before been precipitated.
Another loud yell, but of disappointment and anger, was
heard drowning that of exultation pealed by the triumphant
warrior, who, darting to the open extremity of the bridge,
directed his flight along the margin of the river, where
a light canoe was ready to receive him. Into this he
sprang, and, seizing the paddle, sent the waters foaming
from its sides; and, pursuing his way across the river,
had nearly gained the shores of Canada before a bark was
to be seen following in pursuit.

How felt--how acted Colonel de Haldimar throughout this
brief but terrible scene? He uttered not a word. With
his arms still folded across his breast, he gazed upon
the murder of his child; but he heaved not a groan, he
shed not a tear. A momentary triumph seemed to, irradiate
his pallid features, when he saw the blow struck that
annihilated his enemy; but it was again instantly shaded
by an expression of the most profound despair.

"It is done, gentlemen," he at length remarked. "The
tragedy is closed, the curse of Ellen Halloway is fulfilled,
and I am--childless!--Blackwater," he pursued, endeavouring
to stifle the emotion produced by the last reflection,
"pay every attention to the security of the garrison,
see that the drawbridge is again properly chained up,
and direct that the duties of the troops be prosecuted
in every way as heretofore."

Leaving his officers to wonder at and pity that apathy
of mind that could mingle the mere forms of duty with
the most heart-rending associations, Colonel de Haldimar
now quitted the rampart; and, with a head that was remarked
for the first time to droop over his chest, paced his
way musingly to his apartments.




CHAPTER XIV.

Night had long since drawn her circling mantle over the
western hemisphere; and deeper, far deeper than the gloom
of that night was the despair which filled every bosom
of the devoted garrison, whose fortunes it has fallen to
our lot to record. A silence, profound as that of death,
pervaded the ramparts and exterior defences of the
fortress, interrupted only, at long intervals, by the
customary "All's well!" of the several sentinels; which,
after the awful events of the day, seemed to many who
now heard it as if uttered in mockery of their hopelessness
of sorrow. The lights within the barracks of the men
had been long since extinguished; and, consigned to a
mere repose of limb, in which the eye and heart shared
not, the inferior soldiery pressed their rude couches
with spirits worn out by a succession of painful
excitements, and frames debilitated, by much abstinence
and watching. It was an hour at which sleep was wont to
afford them the blessing of a temporary forgetfulness of
endurances that weighed the more heavily as they were
believed to be endless and without fruit; but sleep had
now apparently been banished from all; for the low and
confused murmur that met the ear from the several
block-houses was continuous and general, betraying at
times, and in a louder key, words that bore reference to
the tragic occurrences of the day.

The only lights visible in the fort proceeded from the
guard-house and a room adjoining that of the ill-fated
Charles de Haldimar. Within the latter were collected,
with the exception of the governor, and grouped around
a bed on which lay one of their companions in a nearly
expiring state, the officers of the garrison, reduced
nearly one third in number since we first offered them
to the notice of our readers. The dying man was Sir
Everard Valletort, who, supported by pillows, was
concluding a narrative that had chained the earnest
attention of his auditory, even amid the deep and heartfelt
sympathy perceptible in each for the forlorn and hopeless
condition of the narrator. At the side of the unhappy
baronet, and enveloped in a dressing gown, as if recently
out of bed, sat, reclining in a rude elbow chair, one
whose pallid countenance denoted, that, although far less
seriously injured, he, too, had suffered severely:--it
was Lieutenant Johnstone.

The narrative was at length closed; and the officer,
exhausted by the effort he had made in his anxiety to
communicate every particular to his attentive and surprised
companions, had sunk back upon his pillow, when, suddenly,
the loud and unusual "Who comes there?" of the sentinel
stationed on the rampart above the gateway, arrested
every ear. A moment of pause succeeded, when again was
heard the "Stand, friend!" evidently given in reply to
the familiar answer to the original challenge. Then were
audible rapid movements in the guard-house, as of men
aroused from temporary slumber, and hastening to the
point whence the voice proceeded.

Silently yet hurriedly the officers now quitted the
bedside of the dying man, leaving only the surgeon and
the invalid Johnstone behind them; and, flying to the
rampart, stood in the next minute confounded with the
guard, who were already grouped round the challenging
sentinel, bending their gaze eagerly in the direction of
the road.

"What now, man?--whom have you challenged?" asked Major
Blackwater.

"It is I--De Haldimar," hoarsely exclaimed one of four
dark figures that, hitherto, unnoticed by the officers,
stood immediately beyond the ditch, with a burden deposited
at their feet. "Quick, Blackwater, let us in for God's
sake! Each succeeding minute may bring a scouting party
on our track. Lower the drawbridge!"

"Impossible!" exclaimed the major: "after all that has
passed, it is more than my commission is worth to lower
the bridge without permission. Mr. Lawson, quick to the
governor, and report that Captain de Haldimar is here:
with whom shall he say?" again addressing the impatient
and almost indignant officer.

"With Miss de Haldimar, Francois the Canadian, and one
to whom we all owe our lives," hurriedly returned the
officer; "and you may add," he continued gloomily, "the
corpse of my sister. But while we stand in parley here,
we are lost: Lawson, fly to my father, and tell him we
wait for entrance."

With nearly the speed enjoined the adjutant departed.
Scarcely a minute elapsed when he again stood upon the
rampart, and advancing closely to the major, whispered
a few words in his ear.

"Good God! can it be possible? When? How came this? but
we will enquire later. Open the gate; down with the
bridge, Leslie," addressing the officer of the guard.

The command was instantly obeyed. The officers flew to
receive the fugitives; and as the latter crossed the
drawbridge, the light of a lantern, that had been brought
from the guard-room, flashed full upon the harassed
countenances of Captain and Miss de Haldimar, Francois
the Canadian, and the devoted Oucanasta.

Silent and melancholy was the greeting that took place
between the parties: the voice spoke not; the hand alone
was eloquent; but it was in the eloquence of sorrow only
that it indulged. Pleasure, even in this almost despaired
of re-union, could not be expressed; and even the eye
shrank from mutual encounter, as if its very glance at
such a moment were sacrilege. Recalled to a sense of her
situation by the preparation of the men to raise the
bridge, the Indian woman was the first to break the
silence.

"The Saganaw is safe within his fort, and the girl of
the pale faces will lay her head upon his bosom," she
remarked solemnly. "Oucanasta will go to her solitary
wigwam among the red skins."

The heart of Madeline de Haldimar was oppressed by the
weight of many griefs; yet she could not see the generous
preserver of her life, and the rescuer of the body of
her ill-fated cousin, depart without emotion. Drawing a
ring, of some value and great beauty, from her finger,
which she had more than once observed the Indian to
admire, she placed it on her hand; and then, throwing
herself on the bosom of the faithful creature, embraced
her with deep manifestations of affection, but without
uttering a word.

Oucanasta was sensibly gratified: she raised her large
eyes to heaven as if in thankfulness; and by the light
of the lantern, which fell upon her dark but expressive
countenance, tears were to be seen starting unbidden from
their source.

Released from the embrace of her, whose life she had
twice preserved at imminent peril to her own, the Indian
again prepared to depart; but there was another, who,
like Madeline, although stricken by many sorrows, could
not forego the testimony of his heart's gratitude.
Captain de Haldimar, who, during this short scene, had
despatched a messenger to his room for the purpose, now
advanced to the poor girl, bearing a short but elegantly
mounted dagger, which he begged her to deliver as a token
of his friendship to the young chief her brother. He then
dropped on one knee at her feet, and raising her hand,
pressed it fervently against his heart; an action which,
even to the untutored mind of the Indian, bore evidence
only of the feeling that prompted it, A heavy sigh escaped
her labouring chest; and as the officer now rose and
quitted her hand, she turned slowly and with dignity from
him, and crossing the drawbridge, was in a few minutes
lost in the surrounding gloom.

Our readers have, doubtless, anticipated the communication
made to Major Blackwater by the Adjutant Lawson. Bowed
down to the dust by the accomplishment of the curse of
Ellen Halloway, the inflexibility of Colonel de Haldimar's
pride was not proof against the utter annihilation wrought
to his hopes as a father by the unrelenting hatred of
the enemy his early falsehood and treachery had raised
up to him. When the adjutant entered his apartment, the
stony coldness of his cheek attested he had been dead
some hours.

We pass over the few days of bitter trial that succeeded
to the restoration of Captain de Haldimar and his bride
to their friends; days, during which were consigned to
the same grave the bodies of the governor, his lamented
children, and the scarcely less regretted Sir Everard
Valletort. The funeral service was attempted by Captain
Blessington; but the strong affection of that excellent
officer, for three of the defunct parties at least, was
not armed against the trial. He had undertaken a task
far beyond his strength; and scarcely had commenced, ere
he was compelled to relinquish the performance of the
ritual to the adjutant. A large grave had been dug close
under the rampart, and near the fatal flag-staff, to
receive the bodies of their deceased friends; and, as
they were lowered successively into their last earthly
resting place, tears fell unrestrainedly over the bronzed
cheeks of the oldest soldiers, while many a female sob
blended with and gave touching solemnity to the scene.

On the morning of the third day from this quadruple
interment, notice was given by one of the sentinels that
an Indian was approaching the fort, making signs as if
in demand for a parley. The officers, headed by Major
Blackwater, now become the commandant of the place,
immediately ascended the rampart, when the stranger was
at once recognised by Captain de Haldimar for the young
Ottawa, the preserver of his life, and the avenger of
the deaths of those they mourned, in whose girdle was
thrust, in seeming pride, the richly mounted dagger that
officer had caused to be conveyed to him through his no
less generous sister. A long conference ensued, in the
language of the Ottawas, between the parties just named,
the purport of which was of high moment to the garrison,
now nearly reduced to the last extremity. The young chief
had come to apprise them, that, won by the noble conduct
of the English, on a late occasion, when his warriors
were wholly in their power, Ponteac had expressed a
generous determination to conclude a peace with the
garrison, and henceforth to consider them as his friends.
This he had publicly declared in a large council of the
chiefs, held the preceding night; and the motive of the
Ottawa's coming was, to assure the English, that, on this
occasion, their great leader was perfectly sincere in a
resolution, at which he had the more readily arrived,
now that his terrible coadjutor and vindictive adviser
was no more. He prepared them for the coming of Ponteac
and the principal chiefs of the league to demand a council
on the morrow; and, with this final communication, again
withdrew.

The Ottawa was right Within a week from that period the
English were to be seen once more issuing from their
fort; and, although many months elapsed before the wounds
of their suffering hearts were healed, still were they
grateful to Providence for their final preservation from
a doom that had fallen, without exception, on every
fortress on the line of frontier in which they lay.

Time rolled on; and, in the course of years, Oucanasta
might be seen associating with and bearing curious
presents, the fruits of Indian ingenuity, to the daughters
of De Haldimar, now become the colonel of the ----
regiment; while her brother, the chief, instructed his
sons in the athletic and active exercises peculiar to
his race. As for poor Ellen Halloway, search had been
made for her, but she never was heard of afterwards.




THE END














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