CHAPTER XXVI
THE ATTACK AT OSWEGO
"I wonder when this will end?"
Such was the question which Henry asked himself, after he had been aprisoner of the Indians for a week and more.
The warriors had marched him to the eastern shore of the lake, and herehe had been left in charge of two young warriors while the balance ofthe party had taken canoes and disappeared in the direction ofFrontenac.
The days had passed slowly. The warriors had found something of a cavefronting the lake shore and Henry had been placed in this. His handswere bound behind him almost constantly, they being released only whenhe was eating or when both of his captors were at hand with their gunsto watch him.
The young soldier often wondered what had become of Sam Barringford andthe others who had been in the party that had landed on the shore ofLake Oneida. Had they too been captured and carried off, or had theybeen killed?
"Sam ought to have been able to follow their trail," he reasoned. He didnot know that the trail had been followed as far as the stream where theIndians had first brought forth their hidden canoes.
In the meantime the Indians had gone to Saint Luc de la Corne andexplained the situation to him. The French commander at once gatheredtogether twelve hundred men, consisting of Canadian pioneers andIndians, and set out to do the English battle. He felt that a forcewould be left behind at Oswego and this he determined to annihilate assoon as General Prideaux had gone on with the main portion of theEnglish army.
The coming of over a hundred Indians to the camp on the lake frontsurprised Henry and he wondered what was in the wind. But he soon foundout, for several of the newcomers could talk English and they did nothesitate to speak of the contemplated attack on Colonel Haldimand'scommand, and of their high hopes of again laying Fort Oswego in ashesand scalping all who should remain to defend it.
After hearing this talk Henry burnt with a desire to obtain his freedomand warn Haldimand of what was coming. For this purpose he resorted to aruse which worked better than he anticipated. He pretended to be verysick and whenever the Indians came near groaned dismally and put hishand to his head and then to his breast as if in intense pain.
At first the warriors paid no attention, for they did not care how muchhe suffered. But after releasing him during meal time, they grewcareless about tying him up again, and left him to roll upon the groundas he pleased. He now pretended to be sicker than ever and crawled overto a nearby pool of water, where he bathed his head and then lay down asif utterly exhausted.
Behind the pool was a clump of bushes, and back of this a stretch ofdense timber. Once in the timber he felt that he could hide untilnightfall and then make his way down the lake shore in the direction ofFort Oswego. Perhaps he might even find a canoe, for the Indians had alarge number of these craft, hidden in various coves and creeks.
Henry had to move with extreme caution, for he realized that one mistakemight cost him his life. Once or twice he saw the warriors gaze towardhim and each time he led them to believe that he was in as great a painas ever.
Presently there was a shouting at the lake front, announcing the arrivalof more Indians, and all of the warriors on land looked in thatdirection. Now was his chance, and with the swiftness of a deer releasedfrom a trap he leaped across the pool and dove into the clump ofbushes. He did not stop, but at the risk of scratching himself in adozen places, tore his way along into the timber and went on and on,pell-mell, fetching up against more than one tree and tripping over onebig root after another. Once he went into a hole up to his knee and cameclose to breaking his leg, which, in the end, would undoubtedly havecost him his life. But he freed himself and did not stop but continuedhis course, limping deeper and deeper into the forest.
A yell of rage told him that his escape was discovered, and soon heheard several Indians thrashing around through the brushwood, whileothers spread out for a search through the forest. There was no doubtbut that they meant to re-take him were such a thing possible.
"But they shan't do it," he muttered, through his set teeth. "I must getaway somehow!"
When half a mile had been covered he was surprised to find himselfwithin sight of the lake. At first he imagined that he had gone aroundin a circle and brought up at the point from which he had started, butsoon he saw that the spot was a strange one, some distance south of theIndian camp.
His injured shin hurt him not a little and he was glad enough to plungeinto the water up to his knees. He had come out on a little bay and hereseveral overhanging trees and bushes afforded him good shelter. Hesecreted himself as best he could and awaited developments.
The Indians came within a hundred yards of the spot, but no closer, andbefore nightfall he was left entirely alone. By this time the scrapedshin felt better, and he waded out to the lake proper, the water beingscarcely up to his knees.
As night drew on, he could see a faint light up the shore, which toldhim where the Indian camp lay. All around him was silent and deserted,only the occasional cry of a bird breaking the stillness.
Henry felt that he must get some sleep, or he would be unable toundertake the journey toward Oswego in the morning, and with this inview sought out a comfortable spot where he might lie down. Nothing cameto disturb him during the night, and by sunrise he arose feelingdecidedly refreshed.
A storm was approaching--the same which was to prove so disastrous tothe batteaux on the lake, and Henry had not covered many miles along thelake front when it burst on him in all of its fury, causing him to seekshelter under a cliff of rocks some distance away from the water. Thelightning was sharp and he heard more than one tree in the forest godown with a crash. But the storm did not last in that vicinity, and intwo hours it was over, although the drifting clouds still hid the sunfrom view.
The storm proved a great blessing to Henry, for after it was over hecame across two squirrels that had been killed by it and also a numberof birds. He had not had a mouthful to eat for twenty-four hours and henow set about making himself a fire and cooking the game. He had a flintand steel, which the Indians had not taken from him, and soon he had ablaze in a hollow, where it would not be noticed.
Having satisfied the cravings of his stomach, he renewed his journeyalong the lake front. The storm had washed a number of things ashore andpresently he came upon an upturned Indian canoe, one of the roughersort, made of a hollowed-out log.
"Hullo, that's better than nothing," he told himself, and righted thecanoe, although not without difficulty. There was also a paddle on thebeach, and soon he was on board the craft and paddling southward withall the skill he could command.
As he moved over the waters of the lake he kept his eyes behind as wellas in front of him, wondering if the Indians would discover what he wasdoing. But they were out of sight, nor did a single warrior show himselfanywhere.
It was growing dark again when Henry brought his canoe to a sudden stopand then turned hastily shoreward. Far ahead he had seen another craft,holding two men. That they were whites he was sure, but whether Frenchor English was still to be determined. He moved his canoe into a cove,and secreting himself in the bushes awaited the approach of thestrangers.
Soon the boat came close enough for him to make out the voices of thenewcomers. One voice sounded strangely familiar, and peering through thebushes Henry was overjoyed to recognize Sam Barringford, who was sittingin the bow of the boat, rifle in hand, while his companion was rowing.
"Sam! Sam!" he cried, as he rushed forward. "Oh, Sam, how glad I am tosee you!"
"Well, by the eternal, ef it ain't Henry!" shouted the frontiersman, inalmost equal joy. "This is dumb luck an' no mistake. Why, me and Gangleycame out on purpose to see ef we couldn't find out what had become ofye! Are ye alone?"
"Yes."
"Any Injuns about here?"
"There are a number up the shore--about ten or fifteen miles from here."
The boat was turned into the cove and soon Henry and his old friend wereshaking hands, and then the young soldier sho
ok hands with Gangley, whowas an old hunter from Pennsylvania. The youth told his story in full,to which the others listened closely.
"I reckon the best thing we can do is to git back and tell ColonelHaldimand how matters stand," said Barringford. "If the French area-coming this way he'll want to know it."
The craft Barringford and Gangley occupied was large enough for threepersons and soon Henry was on board. Then the boat was turned about andthe trip to Oswego began.
On the way Barringford told about Dave's departure with the force underGeneral Prideaux. He also asked if Henry had learned anything concerninglittle Nell.
"Not a word, although I questioned the Indians all I could," answeredthe youth.
Gangley was an expert at handling a small boat and the craft fairly flewthrough the water under his command and by the united efforts of thoseon board.
They were just coming in sight of the fort at Oswego when the sounds ofdistant firing reached their ears. At first there were a few scatteringshots, followed, some minutes later, by a regular volley.
"The French have arrived!" cried Henry. "That's a regular battle!"
"Right you are, lad," returned the frontiersman. "See, there are theirboats--a goodly number of 'em, too!"
"What shall we do?"
"Better land up the shore a bit and take to the woods. It won't do forus to show ourselves in the open down there--they'd pick us off in notime."
Gangley also agreed that this was best, and the boat was immediatelyturned toward shore. They leaped out without delay, and hiding thecraft, proceeded without loss of time in the direction from whence theshots had come.