CHAPTER XXVI.
Slowly up the steep middle street of Albany walked the great, powerfulform of the Woodchuck, about the hour of noon. He was clothed in hisusual shaggy habiliments of the forest, with his rifle on hisshoulder, his hatchet and his knife in his belt. But his step had noneof the light activity of former times; and his face, which always hada grave and sedate air, was now covered with heavy gloom. Altogether,he was a very singular-looking man.
Though situated inland, and in one of the most central parts of theprovinces, the streets of Albany from time to time presented so manystrange figures of different kinds--Indians, negroes, half-breeds,scouts, soldiers, sailors, Dutchmen, Englishmen, and hunters--that thewanderer, however odd his appearance, attracted very little attentionas he went. Slowly he found his way up to the gates of the fort, andeasily obtained admission to the person he sought. He found him in amere barrack-room, with the simplest possible furniture, and noornament whatever to distinguish it as the dwelling of a man of rank.The little camp-bed in one corner of the room, the plain deal table,not even painted, at which he sat writing; the two or three hardwooden stools, without backs, were all such as might have been used ina camp, or carried with an army, without much adding to the_impedimenta_; yet there was something about the young noblemanhimself which instantly informed a visitor that he was in the presenceof no common man. He turned his head as Woodchuck entered, and, assoon as he perceived who it was, he nodded, saying, "Immediately,immediately," and resumed his writing.
Captain Brooks drew a stool to some distance, and fixed his eyes firstof all upon the young soldier, seeming to examine his countenance andform with great care. He then turned to another person whom the roomcontained, and scanned him with thorough accuracy. He seemed to be anIndian, if one might judge by complexion and features; yet he wasdressed like one of the followers of the British army. The sort ofhunting-tunic he wore was not the ordinary Ga-ka-ah, or Indian skirt,but a mere sort of cloth frock with sleeves, fastened round his waistby a leathern belt. It was of a peculiar colour, then very much wornboth by men and women, of the hue of dead leaves, and called philomot;and on his head he wore a curious sort of cap of untanned leather,much of the same hue. It was certainly a well-devised dress for thepurpose of concealing a wanderer through the woods in the autumnseason; but, as I have before said, it was assuredly not Indian; andthe long hair, though as black as jet, with a slight shading ofmoustache upon the upper lip, showed that in all probability there wassome white blood in his veins, though not apparent on the surface. Theman had much of the Indian impassible gravity, however; and, though hemust have seen that he was undergoing a very severe scrutiny by theeyes of Woodchuck, no movement of any of the muscles of the facebetrayed his consciousness, and he remained still and statue-like,with his gaze turned earnestly forward upon Lord H----.
The nobleman soon concluded his letter, and, beckoning the man up,placed it in his hands with some money.
"Take that to Mr. Prevost," he said, "and tell him, moreover, that Ishall myself be up to-morrow before nightfall."
"Stay a moment," interposed Woodchuck; "I may have something to saytoo, that will make changes. I guess the half-breed had better waitoutside a bit."
"Go down to the guard-room," said Lord H----, turning to the man, "andwait there till I send to you." Then, giving an inquiring look toWoodchuck, he added, "He tells me he can reach Mr. Prevost's housethis night, if he sets out at once."
"To be sure he can," answered Woodchuck. "If he's the man I believehim to be, he'd go half as fur agin."
The runner took not the slightest notice of the conversation regardinghimself and his own powers, nor, indeed, of the sort of intimation ofrecognition uttered by Captain Brooks.
"Is not your name Proctor?" said Woodchuck, at last. "I guess it be,though you look older since I saw you."
The other merely nodded his head; and Woodchuck continued, with a sortof grunt of satisfaction,--
"That'll do; he can speak, my lord, though he never do, except at veryrare times. Them Ingian devils are as silent as snakes themselves; butthis man beats them all. I travelled some two hundred miles with him,ten year or more agone, and never heard the sound of his voice in thewhole way but once, and then he said three words and a half, andstopped."
"I know he can speak," said Lord H----, "for he told me how long hewould take to go. Go down, Mr. Proctor, as I told you, and wait in theguard-room. You shall hear from me in a minute."
"He runs like a deer," said Woodchuck, as the man left the room, "buthis way is generally to trot on at a darnation swingeing sort of rate,which does not seem to trouble his shanks at all; a sort of trot,like, carries him through everything and over everything--brambles,and bushes, and hills, and stones, and rocks, land or water, all thesame. I do believe he'd trot across the Hudson, without much knowingor caring what was anything. The Indians call him Mungnokah; but, ashis father's father was an Englishman, we call him Proctor."
"But can he be relied upon?" asked Lord H----. "He was recommended tome very strongly by General Webb, who employed him upon some difficultservices."
Woodchuck mused. "Webb's recommendation," he said, at length, "is notworth much; for what would one give for any word out of the mouth of aman who would suffer a gallant comrade to fall, and a noble garrisonto be butchered, without striking one stroke, or moving one step totheir assistance? But if I recollect right, this Proctor is the runnerwho contrived to get through Montcalm's army and all the savage devilsthat were with him, and carried poor Munro's despatches to Webb. Whatbecame of the other one, nobody knows; but I guess we could find hisscalp, if we sought well amongst the Hurons. Yes, this must be theman, I think; and if it be, you couldn't find a better. At all events,you can trust him for holding his tongue, and that's something in arunner. He wouldn't get up words enough in ten years to tell anysecret you wanted to keep. And now, general, I've come to talk withyou about what's to be done; and I think we had better settle thatbefore the man goes. He'll get to Prevost's to-night, if he staysthese two hours; and I guess we can settle sooner than that, for I'vethought the matter over, and made up my mind."
"And to what conclusion have you come?" asked Lord H----.
Brooks looked down, and rubbed his great hands upon his knees for amoment, as if he hesitated to give the resolution he had formed, afterso painful a struggle, the confirmation of uttered words.
"Not a pleasant one," he said, at length--"not one easily hit upon, mylord, but the only one--after all, the only one. I had a sore tusslewith the devil last night, and he's a strong enemy. But I beathim--manful, hand to hand. He and I together, and no one to helpeither of us."
The nobleman thought that his poor friend's wits were beginning towander a little; and, to lead him back from the diabolical encounterhe spoke of, he said, changing the subject abruptly, "I suppose Icould send no one better than this man Proctor?"
"I'll tell you what it is, Lord H----," answered Woodchuck, "I must gomyself. There's no one can save Walter Prevost but Brooks. He's theman who must do it."
"And do you think it possible?" asked Lord H----, seeing the greatprobability of his companion himself being captured by the Indians,and yet hesitating whether he ought to say a word to deter him fromhis purpose.
"I do think it possible," said Woodchuck, with a grim smile; "for yousee, if these Ingians get the man they want, they can't and darn'ttake any other."
Lord H---- grasped the rough hand of the hunter, saying, in a tone ofmuch feeling, "You are indeed a noble-hearted man, Captain Brooks, ifI understand you rightly, to go and give yourself up to these savages,to save your young friend. Nobody could venture to propose such athing to you, because his having fallen into their hands was not yourfault, and life is dear to every one; but--"
"Stay, stay, stay!" cried Woodchuck, "don't get along too fast. You'vesaid two or three things already that want an answer. As to life, itis dear to every one; and I myself am such a fool, that I'd rather, bya good bit, go lingering on here, amongst all thi
s smoke, and dirt,and dull houses, and rogues innumerable, than walk up there and betomahawked, which is but the matter of a moment after all; for themIngians isn't long about their work, and do it completely. Howsoever,one always clings to Hope; and so I think that, if I can get up thereamongst the woods and trails that I know so well, I may perhaps findout some means of saving the poor boy and my own life too; and, if Ican, I'll do it, for I'm not going to throw away my life like a badshilling. If I can't do it, why then I'll save his life, cost what itwill. I shall soon know all about it, when I get up there, for thesquaws are all good, kind-hearted critturs; and if I can get hold ofone of them, she'll be my scout soon enough, and fish out the truthfor me, as to where the boy is, and when they are going to make thesacrifice. Lord bless you, they set about these things, them Ingians,just as orderly as a trial at law. They'll do nothing in a hurry; andso I shall have time to look about me, and see what's to be donewithout risking Walter's life in the meanwhile. Then you see, my lord,I've got this great advantage: I shall have a walk or two in my oldhaunts, among them beautiful woods. The snow will be out by that time;and, to my mind, there's no season when the woods look so well, andthe air feels so fresh and free, as in a wintry day, with the groundall white, and wreaths of snow upon every vine and briar, and themgreat big hemlocks and pines rising up like black giants all aroundone. Some folks don't like the winter in the woods; but I could walkon, or go on, in a sleigh through them for ever. Why, that month amongthe woods, if I'm not caught sooner, would be worth ever so many yearsin this dull, dirty place, or any other city; for Albany, I take it,is as good as most of them, and perhaps better."
"But I am afraid that in the winter your plan of getting informationwould not succeed very well," said Lord H----. "In the first place,the Indian women are not likely to go very far from their wigwams,amongst which you would hardly venture; and, in the next place, yourfeet would be easily tracked in the snow; for these Indians, I amtold, are most cunning and pertinacious hunters, and will follow anytracks they see for miles and miles."
"I've dodged an Ingian afore now," said Captain Brooks, with a look ofsome self-importance, "and in the snow too. I've got the verysnow-shoes I did it in. I can walk in my snow-shoes either way, one aswell as t'other; and so I made 'em believe that I was going east whenI was going west, and going west when I was going east. Sometimes Ihad the shoes on the right way, and sometimes the wrong, so they couldmake nothing of it. And they think still--for, Lord help you, they aresometimes as simple as children--that the devil must have given me alift now and then; for when I got where the trees grew thick together,so that the branches touched, and I could catch a great bough over myhead by a spring, I would get up and climb along from one to anotherlike a bear or a squirrel, sometimes two or three hundred yards beforeI came down again. I saw a set of them once upon the trail; and whenthey came where the tracks stopped, they got gaping up into the treewith their rifles in their hands, as if they were looking after apainter; but I was a hundred yards off or more, and quite away fromthe right line. Then, as to the women, I've thought about that, andI've laid a plan in case I can't get hold of any of them. Now I amgoing to tell you something very strange, my lord. You've heard ofFreemasons, I dare say?"
Lord H---- nodded his head with a smile, and Woodchuck continued--
"Well, they've got Freemasons among the Ingians--that's to say, notexactly Freemasons, but what comes much to the same thing:[1] peoplewho have got a secret among themselves, and who are bound to help eachother in good or evil, in the devil's work or God's, against their ownnation, or their own tribe, or their own family; and who, on accountof some devilry or other, dare not, for the soul of them, refuse whata brother asks them. It's a superstition at the bottom of it, and it'svery strange; but so it is."
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[Footnote 1: This very curious fact is avouched upon authority beyondquestion. The order was called that of the Honontkoh, and wasgenerally regarded with great doubt and suspicion by the Iroquois.]
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While he had been speaking, he had unfastened his coat at the collar,drawn his arm out of the sleeve, and bared it up above the elbow,where there appeared a small blue line tattooed on the brown skin.
"There," he said, "there's the mark!"
"You do not mean to say you are one of this horrible association?"asked Lord H----, with a grave look.
"Not exactly that," answered Woodchuck; "and as to its being ahorrible association or not, that's as folks use it. It may be forbad, and it may be for good; and there are good men amongst them. I ama sort of half-and-half member, and I'll tell you how it happened. Iwent once in the winter up into the woods to hunt moose by a placewhere there's a warm spring which melts the snow and keeps the grassfresh; and the big beasts come down to drink, and, mayhap, eat too.Well, as soon as I got there, I saw that some one had been before me;for I perceived tracks all about, and a sort of stable in the snow forthe moose, such as hunters often make to get a number together, and toshoot them down when they herd in it. There were moose-tracks, too,and some blood on the snow. So I thought that the Ingians had killedsome, and scared the rest away.
"I was going back by another trail, when I came upon an old man lyingpartly against a basswood-tree, just as quiet as if he was a corpse;and I should have thought he was as dead as a stone, if I hadn't seenhis shining eyes move as I passed. Never a word did he say, and he'dhave lain there and died outright rather than call for help. But Iwent up to him, and found the old crittur had been poked terribly by amoose all about his chest and shoulders. So I built up a little hutfor him with boughs, and covered it over with snow, and made it quitesnug and warm. I took him in and nursed him there; and, as I was wellstocked with provisions, parched corn and dry meat and such like, Ishared with him.
"I couldn't leave the poor old crittur there to die, you know, mylord, and so I stayed with him all the time, and we got a couple ofdeer, and prime venison steaks we had of them; and at last, at the endof five weeks, he was well enough to walk. By that time we had gotquite friendly together; and I went down with him to his lodge, andspent the rest of the winter with him. I had often enough remarked ablue line tattooed upon his arm; and sometimes he would say one thingabout it and sometimes another, for these Ingians lie like parrots.But at last he said he would tattoo a line on my arm; and when he haddone it he told me it was the best service he could render me inreturn for all those I had rendered him. He said that if ever I metany of the Five Nations tattooed like that, and spoke a word which hetaught me, they would help me against their own fathers. He told mesomething about them and about their set, but he would not tell meall.
"I was quite a young lad then, and the old man died the next year, forI went to see him, and found him just at the last gasp. I have sinceheard a good deal about those people, however, from other Ingians, whoall have a dread of them, and call them the children of the devil; soI take care not to show my devil's mark amongst them, and have neverhad need to use it till now."
"How will it serve you now?" asked Lord H----, not at all liking orconfiding in the support of such men.
"Well, if I can get speech of one of them, even for an instant,"replied Woodchuck, "I can get together a band of the only men who willgo against the superstitions of their people, and help me to set thepoor boy free; and they will do it, whether they be tortoises, orbears, or wolves, or snipes, or stags."
"What--what!" exclaimed Lord H----, in utter amazement. "I do notunderstand what you mean."
"Only names of their Totems or tribes, my lord," answered Brooks."These Ingians are queer people. You must not judge of them or dealwith them as you would other men; and these are the only crittursamongst them I could get to help me, if their habits came in the wayin the least bit. Now, you know, though I may do something by myself,I may not be able to do all. If I get the boy out of the hole wherethey have, doubtless, hid him, I have to find out where it is first,and to make sure that we are not followed and overtaken afterwards. Iwould fa
in save my life if I can, my lord," he continued, looking upin the face of his companion with a sort of appealing look. "I think aman has a right to do that if he can."
"Assuredly," replied Lord H----; "the love of life is implanted in usby God, himself, and all which can be expected of us by our country orour fellow-men is a readiness to sacrifice it when duty requires us todo so. But now, my good friend, I have another plan to propose. It isprobable that hostilities have ceased for this year; and, since I sawyou last night, a small party of the scouts, which you know we alwayshave in pay, has been put at my disposal for the very purposes we havein view. They are all acquainted with wood warfare, with Indianhabits, and with the art of tracking an enemy or a friend. Would itnot be better for you to have these six men with you to give youassistance in case of need? Your own life, at all events, would bemore secure."
"I think not," answered Woodchuck, musingly; "they might cumber me.No, my lord, I had better go alone. As for my own life, I may as welltell you at once, I have made up my mind to lose it, or save the boy.The devil put it hard to me that it was no fault of mine he wastrapped; that my life was as good to me as his was to him, and a greatdeal more. But, knowing that it does not do to stand parleying withthat gentleman, I said, 'Peter Brooks, it is your fault; for, if youhad not shot the Ingian, Walter would never have been taken. Your lifeis not as good to you or anybody else as his is to him and all theworld. He's quite a lad, and a young lad too, with many a bright yearbefore him. You'll never see fifty again, and what's your fag-endworth to any one?' 'Not a stiver,' answered conscience; and so Iresolved to go. Now, as to these men, the scouts, some of them arecapital good fellows, and might help me a great deal when once I'm inthe thick of the business. But seven men can't get all together intothe Oneida country without being found out, I'll tell you what, mylord; if you'll let me place them where I want, one by one, indifferent places, and they slip into the country quietly, one at atime, they may do good service, and not be discovered."
"Will it not be dangerous so to divide your force?" asked Lord H----.
"Ingian ways with Ingian people," answered Woodchuck. "But I don'tthink you understand the thing, my lord. You see, through a great partof this Ingian territory, we English have built a little fort here,and a little fort there, all the way up the shores of Ontario, wherethey made sad work of it last year at Oswego. Well, if I stow awaythese scouts at the different posts, the nearest I can to Oneidacreek, they will be only at arm's length, and can stretch out theirhand to help whenever they're called upon. They'll be able to get in,one by one, quite easily; for I've a great notion some of the Ingianshave got a spite at Walter, and are not very likely to look for anyone in his stead. If they caught me, they'd be obliged to have me; andif the scouts went all together they'd stop them, for they don't liketheir number; but one at a time they'll pass well enough, if theyunderstand their business, which is to be supposed."
"I see your plan now," said Lord H----, "and perhaps you are right.You can concentrate them upon any point very rapidly. They shall besent for, and put under your command this very day."
"No need of command," answered Woodchuck; "scouts don't like to becommanded; and if they don't help with a good will, better not help atall. Just you tell them what I'm about. Let them know that a youngman's life is at stake, and they'll work well for it, if they're wortha penny. And now, my lord, you call up that man Proctor, and send himoff to Prevost's house. Call him up here--call him up here. I've gotthis large powder-horn which I want to send back, though it's a doubtwhether the man can muster words enough to tell who it comes from, andI must get him to do so one way or another."
"I can take it to-morrow myself," said Lord H----.
But Woodchuck shook his head.
"That won't do," he said, with a shrewd look; "the runner must takeit. He'll tell Prevost before some of his negroes, and the negroeswill tell any Ingians that are prowling about, and so it will getround that I've left the hunting-grounds for good, and I shall slip inthe more easily. Always think of everything when you can; and if youcan't do that, think of as much as possible. A hunter's life makes onemighty cautious. I'm as careful as an old raccoon, who always looksnine ways before he puts his nose out of his hole."
Lord H---- called up the runner, and into his hands was delivered thepowder-horn for Mr. Prevost, with Woodchuck's message repeated overand over again, and manifold injunctions not to forget it.
"Tell him I took it that unlucky day I shot the Ingian," saidWoodchuck, "and I don't like to keep what's not my own. It's nearly asgood as stealing, if not quite. There, Master Proctor, you can get upwords enough to say that, can't you?"
The man nodded his head, and then turned to the door, without anyfurther reply, beginning his peculiar sort of trot before he reachedthe top of the stairs, and never ceasing it till he arrived at thedoor of Mr. Prevost's house.
In the meanwhile, Lord H---- made Captain Brooks stay to partake ofhis own very frugal dinner, while the scouts were being collected andbrought to the fort. They came about two o'clock, ready prepared, atleast in part, for what was to follow; for in the little town ofAlbany such an adventure as that which had befallen Walter Prevost wasa matter of too much interest not to spread to every house, and to betold at every fireside. Most of the men, accustomed to continualaction and enterprise of various kinds, were very willing to go, withthe prospect of a fair reward before them. Life was so often perilledwith them, dangers and difficulties so often encountered, thatexistence without activity was rather a burden than otherwise. Each,probably, had his selfishness of some kind; but only one, in whom ittook the form of covetousness, thought fit to inquire what was to behis recompense beyond the mere pay for this uncovenanted service.
"Your recompense will be nothing at all," answered Woodchuck, at once,without waiting for Lord H---- to speak. "I won't have you with me.The man who can try to drive a bargain when a brave boy's life is atstake is not fit to have a share with us. There, go along, and knitpetticoats; you may get a dollar apiece for them. That's the sort ofwinter work fit for you."
The man then sullenly stalked out of the room, and all other matterswere soon settled with his companions. The method of their entranceinto the Oneida territory, the different routes they were to take, andthe points where they were to halt till called upon, were all arrangedby Woodchuck with a sort of natural military skill which was more thanonce displayed by many of the American people during after wars.
The part of the nobleman who was present was merely to listen, andgive some letters to officers commanding different posts. But helistened well pleased and attentively, for his was a mind always eagerto acquire information and direction from the experience of others;and the insight which he gained into the habits of the new peopleamongst whom he was might have been highly serviceable to others aswell as himself, had not a sort of pedantry prevailed amongst theolder officers in the British army at that time, and for manysucceeding years, which prevented them from adapting their tactics tothe new situations in which they were placed.
Wolfe was a splendid exception--but Wolfe was a young man, coming inthe dawning of a better day; and even had he not been so, it isprobable that his genius, like that of Wellington, would have shownhim that he was born to _make_ rules, rather than observe them.
As soon as the scouts were gone, Woodchuck rose to take his leavealso; and, as Lord H---- shook him very warmly by the hand, the goodman said, in a tone of strong feeling--
"Thank you, my lord, for all your kindness. You'll be glad to know Ifeel very happy; and I'll tell you why--I'm doing something, and I'mdoing my duty."