CHAPTER XIII
THE REUNION
Willet, the hunter, and Tayoga, the great young Onondaga trailer, werewalking through the northern woods, examining forest and bush verycautiously as they advanced, knowing that the danger from ambushedwarriors was always present. Willet was sadder and sterner than of old,while the countenance of the Onondaga was as grave and inscrutable asever, though he looked older, more mature, more the mighty forestrunner.
"Think you, Tayoga," said the hunter, "that Tandakora and his men havedared to come into this region again?"
"Tandakora will dare much," replied the Onondaga. "Though he is full ofevil, we know that well. The French still hold Ticonderoga, and he canuse it as a base for bands much farther south."
"True, but I don't think they'll have Ticonderoga, or Crown Point,either, long. Amherst is gathering too big an army and there is noMontcalm to defend them. The Marquis will have his hands full andoverflowing, defending Quebec against Wolfe. We've held both Duquesneand Louisbourg a long while now. We've smashed the French line at bothends, and Mr. Pitt is going to see that it's cut in the center too. HowI wish that Robert were alive to see the taking of Ticonderoga! He sawall the great defeat there and he was entitled to this recompense."
He sighed deeply.
"It may be, Great Bear," said Tayoga, "that Dagaeoga will see the takingof Ticonderoga. No one has ever looked upon his dead body. How then dowe know that he is dead?"
Willet shook his head.
"'Tis no use, Tayoga," he said. "The lad was murdered by Garay and theriver took his body away. Why, it will be a year this coming autumnsince he disappeared, and think you if he were alive he couldn't havecome back in that time! 'Tis the part of youth to hope, and it does youcredit, but the matter is past hope now. We've all given up except you."
"When only one hopes, Great Bear, though all others have failed, thereis still hope left. Last night I saw Tododaho on his star very clearly.He looked down at me, smiled and seemed to speak. I could not hear hiswords, but at the time I was thinking of Dagaeoga. Since Tododaho sitswith the great gods, and is one of them, he knew my thoughts, and, if hesmiled when I was thinking of Dagaeoga, he meant to give me hope."
The hunter again shook his head sadly.
"You thought you saw it, because you wished it so much," he said, "ormaybe the promise of Tododaho was for the future, the hereafter."
"For the hereafter we need no special promise, Great Bear. That hasalways been made to all of us by Manitou himself, but I was thinking ofDagaeoga alive, present with us in this life, when Tododaho smiled downon me. I hold it in my heart, Great Bear, as a sign, a promise."
Willet shook his head for the third time, and with increasing sadness,but said nothing more. If Tayoga cherished such a hope it was aconsolation, a beautiful thing, and he was not one to destroy anybody'sfaith.
"Do you know this region?" he asked.
"I was through here once with the Mohawk chief, Daganoweda," repliedTayoga. "It is mostly in heavy forest, and, since the war has gone on solong and the settlers have gone away, there has been a great increase inthe game."
"Aye, I know there'll be no trouble on that point. If our own suppliesgive out it won't take long to find a deer or a bear. It's a grandcountry in here, Tayoga, and sometimes it seems a pity to one that itshould ever be settled by white people, or, for that matter, by redeither. Let it remain a wilderness, and let men come in, just a littlewhile every year, to hunt."
"Great Bear talks wisdom, but it will not be done his way. Men have beencoming here a long time now to fight and not to hunt. See, Great Bear,here is a footprint now to show that some one has passed!"
"'Twas made by the moccasin of a warrior. A chance hunter."
"Suppose we follow it, Great Bear. It is our business to keep guard andcarry word to Amherst."
"Good enough. Lead and I'll follow."
"It is not the step of a warrior hunting," said Tayoga, as they pursuedthe traces. "The paces are even, regular and long. He goes swiftly, notlooking for anything as he goes, but because he wishes to reach adestination as soon as possible. Ah, now he stopped and he leanedagainst this bush, two of the stems of which are broken! I do not knowwhat he stopped for, Great Bear, but it may have been to give a signal,though that is but a surmise. Now he goes on, again walking straight andswift. Ah, another trail coming from the west joining his and the twowarriors walk together!"
The two followed the double trail a mile or more in silence, and then itwas joined by the traces of three more warriors. The five evidently hadstood there, talking a little while, after which they had scattered.
"Now, what does that mean?" exclaimed the hunter.
"I think if we follow every one of the five trails," said Tayoga, "wewill find that the men lay down in the bush. It is certain in my mind,Great Bear, that they were preparing for a battle, and they were but apart of a much larger force hidden in these thickets."
"Now, that's interesting, Tayoga. Let's look around and see if we canfind where more of the warriors lay."
They circled to the right, and presently they came upon traces wherethree men had knelt behind bushes. The imprints of both knees and toeswere plain.
"They were here a long time," said Tayoga, "because they have movedabout much within a little space. In places the ground is kneaded bytheir knees. And lo! Great Bear, here on the bush several of the youngleaves are burned. Now, you and I know well what alone would do that atsuch a time."
"It was done by the flash from a big musket, such a musket as thoseFrench Indians carry."
"It could have been nothing else. I think if we go still farther aroundthe curve we will find other bushes behind which other warriors kneeledand fired, and maybe other leaves scorched by the flash of big muskets."
A hundred yards more and they saw that for which they looked. The signswere just the same as at the other places.
"Now, it is quite clear to you and me, Great Bear," said the Onondaga,"that these men, posted along a curving line, were firing at something.They were here a long time, as the numerous and crowded footprints atevery place show. They could not have been firing at game, because therewere too many of them, and the game would not have stayed to be fired atso long. Therefore, Great Bear, and you know it as well as I, they musthave been in battle. All the points of ambush to which we have come areat an almost equal distance from some other point."
"Which, Tayoga, is that hill yonder, crowned with bushes, but with bareslopes, a good place for a defense, and just about a long rifle ormusket shot from the forest here."
"So it is, Great Bear. It could be nothing else. The defenders lay amongthe bushes on top of the hill, and the battle was fought in the night,because those who attacked were not numerous enough to push a combat inthe day. The defenders must have been white men, as we know from thefootprints here that the assailants were warriors. Ah, here are othertraces, Great Bear, and here are more, all trodden about in the samemanner, indicating a long stay, and all at about an equal distance fromthe hill! I think the warriors lay in the forest all night firing uponthe hill, and probably doing little damage. But they suffered more hurtthemselves. See, here are faint traces of blood, yet staining the grass,and here is a trail leading out of the bushes and into the grass thatlines the slopes of the hill. The trail goes forward, and then it comesback. It is quite clear to both of us, Dagaeoga, that a warrior,creeping through the long grass, tried to stalk the hill, but met abullet instead. Those who lay upon the hill and defended themselves werenot asleep. They could detect warriors who tried to steal forward andsecure good shots at them. And they could fire at long range and hittheir targets. Now, soldiers know too little of the forest to do that,and so it must have been scouts or rangers."
"Perhaps some of the rangers belonging to Rogers. We know that he'soperating in this region."
"It was in my thought too, Great Bear, that the rangers of the MountainWolf lay on the hill. See, here is a second trace of blood, and it alsocame from a warrior who trie
d to stalk the hill, but who had to comeback again after he had been kissed by a bullet. The men up there amongthe bushes never slept, and they allowed no one of their enemies to comenear enough for a good shot with a musket. The chances are ninety-nineout of a hundred that they were rangers, Great Bear, and we may speak ofthem as rangers. Now, we come to a spot where at least a dozen warriorslay, and, since their largest force was here, it is probable that theirchief stayed at this spot. See, the small bones of the deer picked cleanare lying among the bushes. I draw from it the opinion, and so do you,Great Bear, that the warriors kept up the siege of the hill until dawn,because at dawn they would be most likely to eat their breakfast, andthese little bones of the deer prove that they did eat this breakfasthere. Now, it is very probable that they went away, since they could winnothing from the defenders of the hill."
"Here's their broad trail leading directly from the hill."
They followed the trail a little distance, finding those of otherwarriors joining, until the total was about forty. Willet laughed withquiet satisfaction.
"They had all they wanted of the hill," he said, "and they're offswiftly to see if they can't find easier prey elsewhere."
"And you and I, Great Bear, will go back and see what happened on thehill, besides discovering somewhat more about the identity of thedefenders."
"Long words, Tayoga, but good ones upon which we can act. I'm anxiousabout the top of that hill myself."
They went back and walked slowly up the hill. They knew quite well thatnobody was there now. The entire forest scene had vanished, so far asthe actors were concerned, but few things disappear completely. Theactors could go, but they could not do so without leaving traces whichthe two great scouts were able to read.
"How long ago do you think all this happened, Tayoga?" asked Willet.
"Not many hours since," replied the Onondaga. "It is mid-morning now,and we know that the warriors departed at dawn. The people on the hillwould stay but a little while after their enemies had gone, and sincethey were rangers they would not long remain blind to the fact that theyhad gone."
They pushed into the bushes, and were soon among the traces left by thedefenders.
"Here is where the guard knelt," said Tayoga, as they walked around thecircle of the bushes, "and behind them is where the men slept in theirblankets. That is farther proof that they were rangers. They had so muchexperience, and they felt so little alarm that most of them sleptplacidly, although they knew warriors were watching below seeking toshoot them down. The character of the footprints indicates that all ofthe defenders were white men. Here is a trail that I have seen manytimes before, so many times that I would know it anywhere. It is that ofthe Mountain Wolf. He probably had a small part of his rangers here andwas on his way to join his main force, to act either with Amherst orWaraiyageh (Sir William Johnson). Of course he would depart with speedas soon as his enemy was beaten off."
"Altogether reasonable, Tayoga, and I'm glad Rogers is in these partsagain with his rangers. Our generals will need him."
"The Mountain Wolf stood here a long time," said Tayoga. "He walked nowand then to the right, and also to the left, but he always came back tothis place. He stood here, because it is a little knoll, and from it hecould see better than from anywhere else into the forest that hid theenemy below. The Mountain Wolf is a wise man, a great forest fighter,and a great trailer, but he was not alone when he stood here."
"I suppose he had a lieutenant of course, a good man whom he couldtrust. Every leader has such a helper."
The Onondaga knelt and examined the traces minutely. When he rose hiseyes were blazing.
"He did have a good helper, an able assistant, O Great Bear!" he said."He had one whom he trusted, one whom I could trust, one whom you couldtrust. The Mountain Wolf stood by this bush and talked often with onewhom we shall be very glad to see, O Great Bear, one whom the MountainWolf himself was both surprised and glad to see."
"Your meaning is beyond me, Tayoga."
"It will not be beyond you very long, O Great Bear! When Tododaho,reading my thoughts, looked down on me last night from the great star onwhich he has lived four hundred years, and smiled upon me, his smilemeant what it said. The Hodenosaunee are the children of Todohado andHayowentha, and they never make sport of them, nor of any one of them."
"I'm still in the dark of the matter, Tayoga!"
"Does not Great Bear remember what I was thinking about when Todohadosmiled? What I said and always believed is true, O Great Bear! Ibelieved it against all the world and I was right. Look at the tracesbeside those of the Mountain Wolf! They are light and faint, but lookwell at them, O Great Bear! I would know them anywhere! I have seen themthousands of times, and so has the Great Bear! Dagaeoga has come back!He stood here beside the Mountain Wolf! He was on this hill among thebushes all through the night, while the rangers fought the warriorsamong the trees below! He and the Mountain Wolf talked together andconsulted while they looked at the forest! Lo! my brother Dagaeoga hascome back out of the mists and vapors into which he went nearly a yearago, for he is my brother, though my skin is red and his is white, andhe has been my brother ever since we were little children together! Lo!Great Bear, Dagaeoga has come back as I told you, as I alone told you hewould, and my heart sings a song of joy within me, because I have lovedmy brother! Look! look, Great Bear, and see where the living Dagaeogahas walked, not six hours since!"
Willet knelt and examined the traces. He too was a great trailer, but hedid not possess the superhuman instinct that had come down through thegenerations to the Onondaga. He merely saw traces, lighter than thosemade by Rogers. But if his eyes could not, his mind did tell him thatTayoga was right. The ring of conviction was so strong in the voice ofthe Onondaga that Willet's faith was carried with it.
"It must be as you tell me, Tayoga," he said. "I do not doubt it. Roberthas been here with Rogers. He has come back out of the mists and vaporsthat you tell about, and he walked this hill in the living flesh only afew hours ago. Where could he have been? How has it happened?"
"That does not concern us just now, Great Bear. It is enough to knowthat he is alive, and we rejoice in it. Before many hours we shall speakwith him, and then he can tell his tale. I know it will be a strange andwonderful one, and unless Degaeoga has lost his gift of words, which Ithink impossible, it will lose no color in the telling."
"Let him spin what yarn he pleases, I care not. All I ask is to put eyeson the lad again. It seems, when I think of it in cold blood, that itcan scarce be true, Tayoga. You're sure you made no mistake about thefootsteps?"
"None, Great Bear. It is impossible. I know as truly that the livingDagaeoga stood on this hill six hours ago as I know that you standbefore me now."
"Then lead on, Tayoga, and we'll follow the trail of the rangers. Weought to overtake 'em by noon or soon after."
The broad path, left by the rangers, was like the trail of an army toTayoga, and they followed it at great speed, keeping a wary eye for apossible ambush on either side. The traces grew fresher and fresher, andTayoga read them with an eager eye.
"The Mountain Wolf, Dagaeoga and the rangers are walking rapidly," hesaid. "I think it likely that they are going to join Amherst in hisadvance on Ticonderoga or Crown Point, or maybe they will turn west andhelp Waraiyageh, but, in either case, they do not feel any alarm aboutthe warriors with whom they fought last night. Now and then the trail ofa scout branches off from their main trail, but it soon comes backagain. They feel quite sure that the warriors were only a roving band,and will not attack them again. The Mountain Wolf and Dagaeoga walk sideby side, and we can surmise, Great Bear, that they talk much together.Perhaps Dagaeoga was telling the Mountain Wolf where he has been thesemany months, why he went away, and why he chose to come back when he didout of the mists and vapors. Dagaeoga is strong and well. Look how hisfootprints show the length of his stride and how steady and even it is!He walks stride for stride with the Mountain Wolf, who as we know is sixfeet tall. Dagaeoga has grown since he
went away. He was strong beforehe left, but he is stronger now. I think we shall find, Great Bear, thatwhile Dagaeoga was absent his time was not lost. It may be that hegained by it."
"I'm not thinking whether he has or not, Tayoga. I'm glad enough to getthe lad back on any terms. We're making great speed now, and I think weought to overtake 'em before long. The trail appears to grow a lotfresher."
"In an hour, Great Bear, we can signal to them. It will be best to sendforth a call, since one does not approach in the forest, in war, withoutsending word ahead that he is a friend, else he may be met by a bullet."
"That's good and solid truth, Tayoga. We couldn't have our meeting withRobert spoiled at the last moment by a shot. But it's much too early yetto send out a call."
"So it is, Great Bear. I think, too, the rangers have increased theirspeed. Their stride has lengthened, but, as before, the Mountain Wolfand Dagaeoga keep together. They are great friends. You will recall thatthey fought side by side on the shores of Andiatarocte."
"I remember it well enough, Tayoga. Nobody could keep from likingRobert. 'Tis a gallant spirit he has."
"It is so, Great Bear. He carries light wherever he goes. Such as he areneeded among us. Because of that I never believed that Manitou had yettaken him to himself. The rangers stopped here, sat on these fallenlogs, and ate food at noonday. There are little bones that they threwaway, and the birds, seeking shreds of food, are still hopping about."
"That's clear, Tayoga, and since they would probably stay about fifteenminutes we ought to come within earshot of them in another half hour."
They pressed on at speed, and, within the appointed time, they sank downin a dense clump of bushes, where Tayoga sent forth the mellow,beautiful song of a bird, a note that penetrated a remarkable distancein the still day.
"It is a call that Dagaeoga knows," he said. "We have used it often inthe forest."
In a few minutes the reply, exactly the same, faint but clear, came backfrom the north. When the sound died away, Tayoga imitated the birdagain, and the second reply came as before.
"Now we will go forward and shake the hand of Dagaeoga," said theOnondaga.
Rising from the bush, the two walked boldly in the direction whence thereply had come, and they found a tall, straight young figure advancingto meet them.
"Robert, my lad!" exclaimed Willet.
"Dagaeoga!" said the Onondaga.
Each seized a hand of Robert and shook it. Their meeting was notespecially demonstrative, but their emotions were very deep. They werebound together by no common ties.
"You've changed, Robert," said Willet, merely as a sort of relief to hisfeelings.
"And you haven't, Dave," said Robert, with the same purpose in view."And you, Tayoga, you're the great Onondaga chief you always were."
"I hope to be a chief some day," said Tayoga simply, "and then, when Iam old enough, to be a sachem too, but that rests with Tododaho andManitou. Dagaeoga has been away a long time, and we do not know where hewent, but since he has come back out of the mists and vapors, it iswell."
"I understood your call at once," said Robert, "and as you know I gavethe reply. I came from Albany with Rogers to find you, and I found youquicker than I had hoped. We had a meeting with hostile warriors lastnight, but we beat 'em off, and we've been pushing on since then."
"Your encounter last night was what enabled us to find you so quickly,"said Willet. "Tayoga read on the ground the whole story of the combat.He understood every trace. He recognized the footprints of Rogers andthen your own. He always believed that you'd come back, but nobody elsedid. He was right, and everybody else was wrong. You're bigger, Robert,and you're graver than you were when you went away."
"I've been where I had a chance to become both, Dave. I'll tell you allabout it later, for here's Rogers now, waiting to shake hands with youtoo."
"Welcome, old friend," said Rogers, grasping the hunter's powerful handin his own, almost as powerful, "and you too Tayoga. If there's a finerlad in the wilderness anywhere, I don't know it."
They said little more at present, joining the group of rangers and goingon steadily until nightfall. On the way Robert gave Willet and Tayoga anoutline of what had happened to him, not neglecting the dying words ofthe slaver.
"It was the hand of Van Zoon," he said.
"Aye, it was Van Zoon," said the hunter. "It was his hand too that wasraised against you that time in New York. I've feared him on youraccount, Robert. It's one reason why we've been so much in the forest.You wonder why Huysman or Hardy or I don't tell you about him, but allin good time. If we don't tell you now it's for powerful reasons."
"The others have told me so too," said Robert, "and I'm not asking toknow anything I oughtn't to know now. If you put off such knowledge,Dave, I'm sure it ought to be put off."
They overtook the main body of the rangers that night, and Rogers nowhad a force of more than two hundred men, but information from hissecond in command decided him to join in the great movement of SirWilliam Johnson and Prideaux against Niagara. The duties of Willet andTayoga called them to Amherst, and of course Robert went with them. Sothe next morning they parted from Rogers.
"I think there'll be big things to tell the next time we meet," saidWillet to Rogers. "Mr. Pitt doesn't make his plans for nothing. He notonly makes big plans, but he prepares big armies and fleets to carry 'emout."
"We have faith in him everywhere here," said Rogers, "and I hear they'vethe same faith in him on the other side of the Atlantic. The failurebefore Ticonderoga didn't seem to weaken it a particle. Take care ofyourselves, my friends."
It was a sincere farewell on both sides, but quickly over, and the threepressed on to Amherst's camp, in the valley near the head of LakeGeorge, that had already seen so many warlike gatherings. Here anumerous and powerful army, bent upon taking Ticonderoga and CrownPoint, was being trained already, and Robert, after visiting it, lookedonce more and with emotion upon the shores of Andiatarocte.
Fate was continually calling him back to this lake and Champlain, aroundwhich so much of American story is wrapped. The mighty drama known asthe Seven Years' War, that involved nearly all the civilized world,found many of its springs and also much of its culmination here. Theefforts made by the young British colonies, and by the mother country,England, were colossal, and the battles were great for the time. To thecolonies, and to those in Canada as well, the campaigns were a matter oflife or death. For the English colonies the war, despite valor andheroic endurance, had been going badly in the main, but now almost allfelt that a change was coming, and it seemed to be due chiefly to oneman, Pitt. It was Napoleon who said later that "Men are nothing, a manis everything," but America, as well as England, knew that in the SevenYears' War Pitt, in himself, was more than an army--he was a host. AndAmerica as well as England has known ever since that there was never agreater Englishman, and that he was an architect who built mightily forboth.
The future was not wholly veiled to Robert as he looked down anew uponthe glittering waters of Andiatarocte. He had come in contact with thegreat forces that were at work, he had vision anew and greater vision,and he knew the gigantic character of the stakes for which men played.If the French triumphed here in America, then the old Bourbon monarchy,which Willet told him was so diseased and corrupt, would appeartriumphant to all the world. It would invent new tyrannies, the causeof liberty and growth would be set back generations, and nobody would betrodden under the heel more than the French people themselves. Robertliked the French, and sometimes the thought occurred to him that theEnglish and Americans were fighting not only their own battle but thatof the French as well.
He knew as he stood with Willet and Tayoga looking at Lake George thatthe great crisis of the war was at hand. All that had gone before wasmere preparation. He had felt the difference at once when he came backfrom his island. The old indecision, doubt and despondency were gone;now there was a mighty upward surge. Everybody was full of hope, and theevidence of one's own eyes showed that the Anglo-Amer
ican line wasmoving forward at all points. A great army would soon be converging onTiconderoga, where a great army had been defeated the year before, butnow there would be no Montcalm to meet. He must be in Quebec to defendthe very citadel and heart of New France against the army and fleet ofWolfe. The French in Canada were being assailed on all sides, and thedecaying Bourbon monarchy could or would send no help. Robert'soccasional thought, that the English and Americans might be fighting forthe French as well as themselves, did not project itself far enough toforesee that out of the ashes left by the fall of Canada might springanother and far stronger France.
"I'm glad I'm back here to join in the new advance on Ticonderoga," saidRobert. "As I was with Montcalm and saw our army defeated when it oughtnot to have been, I think it only a just decree of fate that I should behere when it wins."
"We'll take Ticonderoga this time, Robert. Never fear," said Willet."We'll advance with our artillery, and the French have no force therethat can stop us. Amherst is building a fort that he calls Edward, butwe'll never need it. He's very cautious, but it's as well, our curse inthis war has been the lack of caution, lack of caution by both Englishand Americans. Still, that over-confidence has a certain strength in it.You've noticed how we endure disaster. We've had heavy defeats, but werise after every fall, and go into the combat once more, stronger thanwe went before."
The three spent some time with Amherst, and saw his great force continueits preparation and drilling, until at last the general thought theywere fit to cope with anything that lay before them. Then, a yearlacking but a few days after Abercrombie embarked with his great armyfor the conquest of Ticonderoga, Amherst with another army, mostlyAmericans, embarked upon the same waters, and upon the same errand.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet were in a canoe in the van of the fleet. Theywere roving scouts, held by the orders of nobody, and they could do asthey pleased, but for the present they pleased to go forward with thearmy. Robert and Tayoga were paddling with powerful strokes, whileWillet watched the shores, the lake and the long procession. The sun wasbrilliant, but there was a strong wind off the mountains and the boatsrocked heavily in the waves. Nevertheless, the fleet, carrying itsartillery with it, bore steadily on.
"The French have as big a force at Ticonderoga as they had when Montcalmdefeated Abercrombie," said the hunter, "and it's commanded byBourlamaque."
"A brave and skillful man," said Robert. "I saw him when I was aprisoner of the French."
"But he knows Amherst will not make the mistake Abercrombie did," saidWillet. "Our big guns will talk for us, and they'll say things thatwooden walls can't listen to long. I'm thinking that Bourlamaque won'tstand. I've heard that he'll retreat to the outlet of Lake Champlain andmake a last desperate defense at Isle-aux-noix. If he's wise, and Ithink he is, he'll do it."
"Do you know whether St. Luc is with him or if he has gone to Quebecwith Montcalm?" asked Robert.
"I haven't heard, but I think it's likely that he's here, because he hasso much influence with the Indians, who are far more useful in the woodsthan in a fortress like Quebec. It's probable that we'll hear from himin the morning when we try a landing."
"You mean we'll spend the night on the lake?"
"Aye, lad. It's blowing harder, and we've a rough sea here, though 'tisa mountain lake. We make way but slowly, and we must be full of caution,or risk a shipwreck, with land in sight on both sides of us."
Night drew on, dark and blowy, with the army still on the water, asWillet had predicted, and much of it seasick. The lofty shores, green byday, were clothed in mists and vapor, and the three saw no trace of theFrench or the Indians, but they were quite sure they were watching fromthe high forests. Robert believed now that St. Luc was there, and thatonce again they would come into conflict.
"Do you think we'd better try the shore to-night?" he asked.
Willet shook his head.
"'Twould be too risky," he replied, "and, even if we succeeded, 'twoulddo no good. We'll find out in the morning all we want to know."
They tied their canoe to one of the long boats, and, going on board thelatter, slept a little. But slumber could not claim Robert long. Allabout, it was a battle-ground to him, whether land or water. Armies hadbeen passing and repassing, and fighting here from the beginning. It wasthe center of the world to him, and in the morning they would be inbattle again. If St. Luc held the shore they would not land unscorched.He tried to see signals on the mountain, but the French did not have totalk to one another. They and their red allies lay silent and unseen inthe dark woods and waited.
Dawn came, and the three were back in their canoe. The wind had died,and the fleet, bearing the army, moved forward to the landing. Officerssearched the woods with their strongest glasses, while the scouts intheir canoes, daring every peril, shot forward and leaped upon theshore. Then a sheet of musketry and rifle fire burst from the woods. Menfell from the boats into the water, but others held on to the land thatthey had gained.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet among the first fired at dusky figures in thewoods, and once or twice they caught the gleam of French uniforms.
"It is surely St. Luc," said Robert, when he heard the notes of a silverwhistle, "but he can't keep us from landing."
"Aye, it's he," said Willet, "and he's making a game fight of it againstoverwhelming forces."
Cannon from the boats also swept the forest with grape and round shot,and the troops began to debark. It was evident that the French andIndians were not in sufficient numbers to hold them back. Not all theskill of St. Luc could avail. The three soon had evidence that theformidable Ojibway chief was there also. Tayoga saw a huge trace in theearth, and called the attention of Willet and Robert to it.
"Tandakora is in the bush," he said. "Sharp Sword does not like him, butManitou has willed that they must often be allies. Now the battlethickens, but the end is sure."
The shores of Lake George, so often the scene of fierce strife, blazedwith the fury of the combat. The mountains gave back the thunder of gunson the big boats, and muskets and rifles crackled in the forest. Now andthen the shouts of the French and the Indian yell rose, but thetriumphant American cheer always replied. The troops poured ashore andthe odds against St. Luc rose steadily.
"The Chevalier can't hold us back many minutes longer," said Willet. "Ifhe doesn't give ground, he'll be destroyed."
A few minutes more of resolute fighting and they heard the long, clearcall of the silver whistle. Then the forces in front of them vanishedsuddenly, and not a rifle replied to their fire. French, Canadians andIndians were gone, as completely as if they had never been, but, whenthe Americans advanced a little farther, they saw the dead, whom St. Luchad not found time to take away. Although the combat had been short, ithad been resolute and fierce, and it left its proofs behind.
"Here went Tandakora," said Tayoga. "His great footsteps are far apart,which shows that he was running. Perhaps he hopes to lay an ambush lateron. The heart of the Ojibway was full of rage because he could notwithstand us."
"And I imagine that the heart of the Chevalier de St. Luc is alsoheavy," said Robert. "He knows that General Amherst is bringing hisartillery with him. When I was at Ticonderoga last year and GeneralAbercrombie advanced, the French, considering the smallness of theirforces, were in doubt a long time about standing, and I know from what Iheard that they finally decided to defend the place because we did notbring up our guns. We're making no such mistake now; we're notunderrating the enemy in that way. It's glorious, Dave, to come backover the ground where you were beaten and retrieve your errors."
"So it is, Robert. We'll soon see this famous Ticonderoga again."
Robert's heart beat hard once more. All the country about him wasfamiliar. So much had been concentrated here, and now it seemed to himthat the climax was approaching. Many of the actors in last year's greatdrama were now on another stage, but Bourlamaque and St. Luc were athand, and Tandakora had come too with his savages. He looked around itthe splendid landscape of lake and mountain an
d green forest, and thepulses in his temples throbbed fast.
"Aye, Dagaeoga," said Tayoga, who was looking at him, "it is a great daythat has come."
"I think so," said Robert, "and what pleases me most is the sight of thebig guns. Look how they come off the boats! They'll smash down thatwooden wall against which so many good men hurled themselves to deathlast year. We've got a general who may not be the greatest genius in theworld, but he'll have neither a Braddock's defeat nor a Ticonderogadisaster."
Caution, supreme caution, was evident to them all as they moved slowlyforward, with the bristling guns at the front. Robert's faith in thecannon was supreme. He looked upon them as their protectors. They wereto be the match for Ticonderoga.
On they went, winding through the forest and valleys, but they metnothing. The green woods were silent and deserted, though much was therefor Tayoga to read.
"Here still goes Tandakora," he said, "and his heart is as angry asever. He is bitter against the French, too, because he fears now that hehas taken the wrong side. He sees the power of his enemies growing andgrowing, and Montcalm is not here to lead the French. I do not thinkTandakora will go into the fort with St. Luc and Bourlamaque. His placeis not inside the walls. He wants the great forest to roam in."
"In that Tandakora is right," said Willet; "he acts according to hislights. A fortress is no place for an Indian."
"Tandakora is now going more slowly," resumed the Onondaga. "His pacesshorten. It may be that he will stop to talk with some one. Ah! he does,and it is no less a man than Sharp Sword himself. I have looked uponSharp Sword's footprints so often that I know them at a glance. He andTandakora stood here, facing each other, and talked. Neither moved fromhis tracks while he spoke, and so I think it was not a friendlyconference. It is likely that the Ojibway spoke of the defeat of theFrench, and Sharp Sword replied that in defeat as well as victory trueallies stand together. Moreover, he said that defeat might be followedby victory and one must always hope. But Tandakora was not convinced. Itis the custom of the Indian to run away when he knows that his enemy istoo strong for him, and it may be wise. Now Tandakora turns from thecourse and goes toward the west. And, lo! his warriors all fall inbehind him! Here is their great trail. Sharp Sword heads in anotherdirection. He is going with the French and Canadians to the fortress."
The army, under the shadow of its great guns, moved slowly on, andpresently they came upon the terrible field of the year before. Beforethem lay the wall, stronger than ever with earth and logs, but not a manheld it. The French and Canadians were in the fortress, and theAmericans and English were free to use the intrenchments as a shelterfor themselves if they chose.
"It's going to be a siege," said Willet.
The cannon of Ticonderoga soon opened, and Amherst's guns replied, thecautious general moving his great force forward in a manner thatbetokened a sure triumph, though it might be slow. But on the followingnight the whole French army, save a few hundred men under Hebecourt,left to make a last desperate stand, stole away and made forIsle-aux-Noix. Hebecourt replied to Amherst's artillery with thenumerous guns of the fort for three days. Amherst still would not allowhis army to move forward for the assault, having in mind the terriblelosses of last year and knowing that he was bound to win.
The brave Hebecourt and his soldiers also left the fort at last,escaping in boats, and leaving a match burning in the magazine. One ofthe bastions of Ticonderoga blew up with a tremendous explosion, andthen the victorious army marched in. Ticonderoga, such a looming andtremendous name in America, a fortress for which so much blood had beenshed, had fallen at last. Robert did not dream that in another war, lessthan twenty years away, it would change hands three times.
They found, a little later, that Crown Point, the great fortress uponwhich the French king had spent untold millions, had been abandoned alsoand was there for the Anglo-American army to take whenever it chose.Then Amherst talked of going on into Canada and cooeperating with Wolfe,but, true to his cautious soul, he began to build forts and arrange forthe mastery of Lake Champlain.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet grew impatient as the days passed. The newscame that Prideaux had been killed before Niagara, but Sir WilliamJohnson, the Waraiyageh of the Mohawks, assuming command in his stead,had taken the place, winning a great victory. After the long night thedawn had come. Everything seemed to favor the English and Americans, andnow the eyes of the three turned upon Quebec. It was evident that thewar would be won or lost there, and they could bear the delays nolonger. Saying farewell to their comrades of Amherst's army, theyplunged into the northern wilderness, taking an almost direct course forQuebec.
They were entering a region haunted by warriors, and still ranged bydaring French partisans, but they had no fear. Robert believed that thesurpassing woodcraft of the hunter and the Onondaga would carry themsafely through, and he longed for Quebec, upon which the eyes of boththe New World and the Old now turned. They had heard that Wolfe hadsuffered a defeat at the Montmorency River, due largely to theimpetuosity of his men, but that he was hanging on and controlled mostof the country about Quebec. But Montcalm on the great rock was asdefiant as ever, and it seemed impossible to get at him.
"We'll be there in ample time to see the result, whatever it is," saidWillet.
"And we may find the trail of Sharp Sword and Tandakora who go ahead ofus," said Tayoga.
"But the Ojibway turned away at Ticonderoga," said Robert. "Why do youthink he'll go to Quebec?"
"Because he thinks he will get profit out of it, whatever the event. Ifour army is defeated, he may have a great scalping, such as there was atFort William Henry; if the French are beaten, it will be easy enough forhim to get away in time. But as long as the issue hangs in the balance,Tandakora means to be present."
"Sound reasoning," said the hunter, "and we'll watch for the trail ofboth St. Luc and the Ojibway. And now, lads, with eyes and ears open,we'll make speed."
And northward they went at a great rate, watching on all sides for theperils that were never absent from the woods and peaks.