CHAPTER XII.
THE SETTLER'S HUT.
Before starting they stood for a minute or two looking over the forestwhich they were to traverse. To Harold's eyes all appeared quiet andstill. Here and there were clearings where settlers had establishedthemselves; but, with these exceptions, the forest stretched away like agreen sea.
"Tarnation!" Peter exclaimed. "We'll have all our work to get throughsafely; eh, chief?"
The Seneca nodded.
"What makes you say so?" Harold asked in surprise. "I see nothing."
Peter looked at him reproachfully.
"I'm downright ashamed of ye, lad. You should have been long enough inthe woods by this time to know smoke when you see it. Why, there it iscurling up from the trees in a dozen--ay, in a score of places. Theremust be hundreds of men out scouting or camping in them woods."
Harold looked fixedly again at the forests, but even now he could notdetect the signs which were so plain to the scout.
"You may call me as blind as a bat, Peter," he said with a laugh, "but Ican see nothing. Looking hard I imagine I can see a light mist here andthere, but I believe it is nothing but fancy."
"It's clear enough to me, lad, and to the redskins. What do yousay, chief?"
"Too much men," the Seneca replied sententiously.
For another minute or two he and Peter stood watching the forest, andthen in a few words consulted together as to the best line to follow toavoid meeting the foe who, to their eyes, swarmed in the forest.
"It's mighty lucky," the hunter said as they turned to descend the hill,which was covered with trees to its very summit, "that they're white menand not redskins out in the woods, there. I don't say that there's notmany frontiersmen who know the way of the woods as well as the redskins.I do myself, and when it comes to fighting we can lick 'em on their ownground; but in scouting we aint nowhere--not the best of us. The redskinseems to have an instinct more like that of an animal than a man. Idon't say as he can smell a man a mile off as a dog can do, but he seemsto know when the enemy's about; his ears can hear noises which we can't;his eyes see marks on the ground when the keenest-sighted white man seesnothing. If that wood was as full of redskins as it is of whites to-day,our sculps wouldn't be worth a charge of powder."
"You are not going to follow the shores of the lake, I suppose?"Harold asked.
"No," Peter said. "They'll be as thick as peas down there, watching forthe first sight of our fleet. No, we must just keep through the woodsand be as still and as silent as if the trees had ears. You'd best lookto the priming of yer piece before we goes further, for it's likelyenough you'll have to use it before the day's done, and a miss-firemight cost you yer life. Tell that nigger of yourn that he's not to openhis mouth again till I gives him leave."
With a long stealthy tread the party descended the mountain and tooktheir way through the woods. Every hundred yards or so they stopped andlistened intently. When any noise, even of the slightest kind, washeard, all dropped to the ground until the chief had scouted round anddiscovered the way was clear. Once or twice they heard the sound ofmen's voices and a distant laugh, but they passed on without seeingthose who uttered them.
Presently they again heard voices, this time raised as if in angrydispute. The Seneca would, as before, have made a long _detour_ to avoidthem, but Peter said.
"Let's have a squint at what's going on, chief."
With redoubled caution they again advanced until they stood at the edgeof the clearing. It was a patch of land some hundred yards wide, andextending from the shore of the lake nearly a quarter of a mile inland.In the center stood a log hut, neatly and carefully built. A few flowersgrew around the house, and the whole bore signs of greater neatness andcomfort than was usual in the cabins of the backwood settlers.
The point where the party had reached the edge of the wood wasimmediately opposite the house. Near it stood a group of some twentymen, one of whom, apparently their leader, was gesticulating angrily ashe addressed a man who stood facing him.
"I tell ye, ye're a darned royalist--ye're a traitor to the country, andI've a mind to hang ye and all belonging to ye to the nearest bough."
"I tell you," the man answered calmly, but in the still air every wordhe said could be heard by those at the edge of the forest, "I haenaething to do with the trouble ane way or the ither. I am a quietsettler, whose business only is to mak a hame for my wife and bairn;but, if you ask me to drink success to the Congress and confusion to theking's troops, I tell you I willna do it; not even if you are brutalenough, but this I canna believe possible, to carry your threats intoexecution. I hae served my time in a king's regiment. With the bounty Ireceived instead o' pension on my discharge I settled here wi' my wifeand bairn, and no one shall say that Duncan Cameron was a traitor to hisking. We do no harm to anyone; we tak no part for or against you; weonly ask to be allowed to live in peace."
"That ye shall not," the man said. "The king's troops have got Injunswith 'em, and they're going to burn and kill all those who won't takepart with 'em. It's time we should show 'em as we can play at that game,too. Now ye've either got to swear to be faithful to the States ofAmerica or up you go."
"I canna swear," the settler said firmly. "You may kill me if you will,but, if you are men, you will nae harm my wife and girl."
"We'll just do to you as the redskins'll do to our people," the mansaid. "We'll make a sweep of the hull lot of you. Here, you fellows,fetch the woman and girl out of the house and then set a light to it."
Four or five men entered the house. A minute later screams were heardand a woman and child were dragged out. The settler sprang toward them,but three or four men seized him.
"Now," the man said, stepping toward the house, "we'll show 'em abonfire."
As he neared the door a crack of a rifle was heard and the ruffian felldead in his tracks. A yell of astonishment and rage broke from hisfollowers.
"Jerusalem, youngster! you've got us into a nice fix. Howsomever, sinceyou've begun it, here goes."
And the rifle of the hunter brought down another of the Americans.These, following the first impulse of a frontiersman when attacked, fledfor shelter to the house, leaving the settler, with his wife anddaughter, standing alone.
"Ye'd best get out of the way," Peter shouted, "or ye may get a bit oflead that wasn't intended for ye."
Catching up his child, Cameron ran toward the forest, making for theside on which his unknown friends were placed, but keeping down towardthe lake, so as to be out of their line of fire.
"Make down to 'em, Harold," Peter said. "Tell 'em they'd best go to someneighbor's and stop there for a day or two. The army'll be hereto-morrow or next day. Be quick about it, and come back as fast as yecan. I tell ye we're in a hornets' nest, and it'll be as much as we cando to get out of it."
A scattering fire was now being exchanged between the redskins behindthe shelter of the trees and the Americans firing from the windows ofthe log house. Harold was but two or three minutes absent.
"All right, Peter!" he exclaimed, as he rejoined them.
"Come along, then," the hunter said. "Now, chief, let's make up roundthe top of this clearing and then foot it."
The chief at once put himself at the head of the party, and the nine menstrode away again through the forest. It was no longer silent. Behindthem the occupants of the hut were still keeping up a brisk fire towardthe trees, while from several quarters shouts could be heard, and morethan once the Indian war-whoop rose in the forest.
"That's just what I was afeared of," Peter muttered. "There's some ofthose darned varmint with 'em. We might have found our way through thewhites, but the redskins'll pick up our trail as sartin as if we weredriving a wagon through the woods."
Going along at a swinging, noiseless trot the party made their waythrough the forest. Presently a prolonged Indian whoop was heard in thedirection from which they had come. Then there were loud shouts and thefiring ceased.
"One of the red reptiles has found our trail," Pe
ter said. "He's with aparty of whites, and they've shouted the news to the gang in theclearing. Waal, we may, calculate we've got thirty on our trail, and, aswe can hear them all round, it'll be a sarcumstance if we git out withour sculps."
As they ran they heard shouts from those behind, answered by others onboth flanks. Shots, too, were fired as signals to call the attention ofother parties. Several times the Seneca chief stopped and listenedattentively, and then changed his course as he heard suspicious noisesahead. Those behind them were coming up, although still at some distancein the rear. They could hear the sound of breaking trees and bushes astheir pursuers followed them in a body.
"Ef it was only the fellows behind," Peter said, "we could leave themeasy enough, but the wood seems alive with the varmint."
It was evident the alarm had spread through the forest, and that thebands scattered here and there were aware that an enemy was in theirmidst. The dropping fire, which the pursuers kept up, afforded anindication as to the direction in which they were making, and theringing war-whoop of the hostile Indians conveyed the intelligence stillmore surely.
Presently there was a shout a short distance ahead, followed by thesound of a rifle ball as it whizzed close to Harold's head and burieditself in a tree that he was passing. In a moment each of the party hadsheltered behind a tree.
"It's of no use, chief," Peter said. "We'll have the hull pack frombehind upon us in five minutes. We must run for it and take our chancesof being hit."
Swerving somewhat from their former line, they again ran on; bulletswhisked round them, but they did not pause to fire a shot in return.
"Tarnation!" Peter exclaimed, as the trees in front of them opened andthey found themselves on the edge of another clearing. It wasconsiderably larger than that which they had lately left, being threehundred yards across, and extending back from the lake fully half amile. As in the previous case, a log hut stood in the center, some twohundred yards back from the lake.
"There's nothing for it, chief," Peter said. "We must take to the houseand fight it out there. There's a hull gang of fellows in the forestahead, and they'll shoot us down if we cross the clearing."
Without a moment's hesitation the party rushed across the clearing tothe hut. Several shots were fired as they dashed across the open, butthey gained the place of refuge in safety. The hut was deserted. It hadprobably belonged to royalists, for its rough furniture lay broken onthe ground; boxes and cupboards had been forced open, and the floor wasstrewn with broken crockery and portions of wearing apparel.
Harold looked round. Several of the party were bleeding fromslight wounds.
"Now to the windows," Peter said as he barred the door. "Pile up beddingand anything else that ye can find against the shutters, and keepyerselves well under cover. Don't throw away a shot; we'll want all ourpowder, I can tell ye. Quickly, now--there aint no time to be lost."
While some began carrying out his instructions below, others boundedupstairs and scattered themselves through the upper rooms. There weretwo windows on each side of the house--one at each end. Disregarding thelatter, Peter and Harold took post at the windows looking toward theforest from which they had just come. The chief and another Indianposted themselves to watch the other side. At first no one was to beseen. The party who had fired at them as they ran across the open hadwaited for the coming up of the strong band who were following, beforeventuring to show themselves. The arrival of the pursuers was heraldedby the opening of a heavy fire toward the house. As the assailants keptthemselves behind trees, no reply was made, and the defenders occupiedthemselves by piling the bedding against the shutters, which they hadhastily closed. Loop-holes had been left in the walls when the hut wasfirst built; the moss with which they were filled up was torn out, andeach man took his post at one of these. As no answering shot came fromthe house the assailants became bolder, and one or two ventured to showthemselves from, behind shelter. In a moment Harold and Peter, whoserifles would carry more truly and much further than those of theIndians, fired.
"Two wiped out!" Peter said, as the men fell, and shouts of anger arosefrom the woods. "That'll make them careful."
This proof of the accuracy of the aim of the besieged checked theirassailants, and for some time they were very careful not to exposethemselves. From both sides of the forest a steady fire was maintained.Occasionally an answering shot flashed out from the house when one ofthe enemy incautiously showed an arm or a part of his body from behindthe trees, and it was seldom the rifles were fired in vain. Four or fiveof the Americans were shot through the head as they leaned forward tofire, and after an hour's exchange of bullets the attack ceased.
"What are they going to do now?" Harold asked.
"I expect they're going to wait till nightfall," Peter said. "There's nomoon, and they'll be able to work up all round the house. Then they'llmake a rush at the door and lower windows. We'll shoot down a good manyon 'em, and then they'll burst their way in or set fire to the hut, andthere'll be an end of it. That's what'll happen."
"And you think there is no way of making our way out?" Harold asked.
"It's a mighty poor chance, if there's one at all," the hunter replied."I should say by the fire there must be nigh a hundred of 'em now, andit's likely that, by nightfall, there'll be three times as many. As soonas it gets dusk they'll creep out from the woods and form a circle roundthe house and gradually work up to it. Now let's cook some vittles;we've had nothing to eat this morning yet, and it must be nigh eleveno'clock. I don't see why we should be starved, even if we have got to bekilled to-night."
One of the party was left on watch on each side of the house, and theothers gathered in the room below, where a fire was lit and the stripsof dried deer flesh which they carried were soon frying over it. Haroldadmired the air of indifference with which his companions set aboutpreparing the meat. Everyone was aware of the desperate nature of theposition, but no allusion was made to it. The negro had caught thespirit of his companions, but his natural loquacity prevented hisimitating their habitual silence.
"Dis bad affair, Massa Harold," he said. "We jess like so many coons upin tree, wid a whole pack ob dogs round us, and de hunters in dedistance coming up wid de guns. Dis chile reckon dat some ob dem hunterswill get hit hard before dey get us. Jake don't care one bit forhimself, massa, but he bery sorry to see you in such a fix."
"It can't be helped, Jake," Harold said as cheerfully as he could. "Itwas my firing that shot which got us into it, and yet I cannot blamemyself. We could not stand by and see those ruffians murder a womanand child."
"Dat's so, Massa Harold; dere was no possinbility of seeing dat. Ireckon dat when dose rascals come to climb de stairs dey'll find it arebery hard work."
"I don't think they will try, Jake. They are more likely to heapbrushwood against the door and windows and set it alight, and then shootus down as we rush out. This hut is not like the one I had to defendagainst the Iroquois. That was built to repel Indians' attacks; this isa mere squatter's hut."
After the meal was over Peter and the Seneca chief went upstairs, lookedthrough the loop-holes, and talked long and earnestly together; thenthey rejoined the party below.
"The chief and I are of opinion," Peter said to Harold, "that it are ofno manner of use our waiting to be attacked here. They'd burn us out toa sartinty; we should have no show of a fight at all. Anything's betterthan that. Now, what we propose is that, directly it gets fairly dark,we'll all creep out and make for the lake. Even if they have formedtheir circle round us, they aint likely to be as thick there as they areon the other side. What they'll try to do, in course, is to prevent ourtaking to the forest; and there'll be such a grist of 'em that I don'tbelieve one of us would get through alive if we tried it. Now they'llnot be so strong toward the lake, and we might break through to thewater. I don't say as there's much chance of our getting away, for Itell you fairly that I don't believe that there's any chance at all; butthe chief, here, and his braves don't want their sculps to hang in thewigwams of the C
hippewas, and I myself, ef I had the choice, wouldrather be drownded than shot down. It don't make much difference; but,of the two, I had rather. Ef we can reach the lake, we can swim out ofgunshot range. I know you can swim like a fish, and so can Jake, and theIndians swim as a matter of course. Ef we dive at first we may get off;it'll be so dark they won't see us with any sartainty beyond fiftyyards. When we're once fairly out in the lake we can take our chance."
"And is there a chance, Peter? Although, if there is none, I quite agreewith you that I would rather be drowned than shot down. If one were sureof being killed by the first shot that would be the easiest death; butif we were only wounded they would probably hang us in the morning."
"That's so," the hunter said. "Waal, I can hardly say that there's achance, and yet I can't say as how there aint. In the first place, theymay have some canoes and come out after us; there's pretty safe to besome along the shore here. The settlers would have had 'em for fishing."
"But what chance will that give us?" Harold asked.
"Waal," the hunter replied, "I reckon in that case as our chance is afair one. Ef we dive and come up close alongside we may manage to upsetone of 'em, and, in that case, we might get off. That's one chance. Thenef they don't come out in canoes, we might swim three or four miles downthe lake and take to land. They couldn't tell which way to go and wouldhave to scatter over a long line. It's just possible as we might landwithout being seen. Once in the woods and we'd be safe. So you see, wehave two chances. In course we must throw away our rifles and ammunitionbefore we come to the water."
"At any rate," Harold said, "the plan is a hopeful one, and I agree withyou that it is a thousand times better to try it than it is to stop herewith the certainty of being shot down before morning."
The afternoon passed quietly. A few shots were fired occasionally fromthe wood, and taunting shouts were heard of the fate which awaited themwhen night approached.
A vigilant watch was kept from the upper windows, but Peter thought thatit was certain the enemy would make no move until it became perfectlydark, although they would establish a strong cordon all round theclearing in case the besieged should try and break out. Harold trembledwith impatience to be off as the night grew darker and darker. It seemedto him that at any moment the assailants might be narrowing the circleround the house, and, had he been a leader, he would have given the wordlong before the scout made a move.
At last Peter signaled that the time had come. It was perfectly darkwhen the bars were noiselessly removed from the door and the party stoleout. Everything seemed silent, but the very stillness made the dangerappear more terrible. Peter had impressed upon Harold and Jake thenecessity for moving without making the slightest noise. As soon as theyleft the house the whole party dropped on their hands and knees. Peterand the Seneca chief led the way; two of the braves came next; Haroldand Jake followed; the remaining Indians crawled in the rear. Peter hadtold his comrades to keep as close as possible to the Indians in frontof them, and, grasping their rifles, they crept along the ground. Asthey led the way Peter and the Seneca carefully removed from before themevery dried twig and threw it on one side.
The distance to be traversed from the hut to the water was about twohundred yards, and half of this was passed over before they encounteredany obstacle. Then suddenly there was an exclamation, and Peter and theSeneca sprang to their feet, as they came in contact with two mencrawling in the opposite direction. They were too close to use theirrifles, but a crushing blow from the Seneca's tomahawk cleft down theman in front of him, while Peter drew his long knife from its sheath andburied it in the body of his opponent.
The others had also leaped to their feet, and each, as he did so, firedat the dark figures which rose around them. They had the advantage ofthe surprise; several scattered shots answered their volley, then, withtheir rifles clubbed, they rushed forward. For a moment there was ahand-to-hand fight. Harold had just struck down a man opposite to himwhen another sprang upon him; so sudden was the attack that he fell fromthe shock. But in an instant Jake buried his knife between hisopponent's shoulders and dragged Harold to his feet.
"Run for your life, Massa Harold. De whole gang's upon us!"
And indeed the instant the first shot broke the silence of the woods ababel of sounds arose from the whole circuit of the clearing; shouts andyells burst out from hundreds of throats. There was no further use forconcealment, and from all sides the men who had been advancing to theattack rushed in the direction where the conflict was taking place. Thislasted but a few seconds. As Peter had expected, the line was thinnertoward the lake than upon the other sides, and the rush of nine men hadbroken through it. Shouts were heard from the woods on either sideextending down to the water, showing that the precaution had been takenby the assailants of leaving a portion of their force to guard the lineof forest should the defenders break through the circle.
At headlong speed the little band rushed down to the water's side,dropped their ammunition pouches by its edge, threw their rifles a fewyards into the water, to be recovered, perhaps, on some future occasion,and then dived in. The nearest of the pursuers were some thirty yardsbehind when they neared the water's edge. Swimming as far under water asthey could hold their breath, each came to the surface for an instant,and then again dived. Momentarily as they showed themselves they heardthe rattle of musketry behind, and the bullets splashed thickly on thewater. The night, however, was so dark that the fire could only be arandom one. Until far out from the shore they continued diving and thengathered together.
"We're pretty well out of range, now," Peter said, "and quite out ofsight of the varmints. Now we can wait a bit and see what they do next."
The enemy were still keeping up a heavy fire from the shore, hallooingand shouting to each other as they fancied they caught a glimpse oftheir enemies.
"There must be two or three hundred of 'em," Peter said. "We've fooled'em nicely, so far."
By the crashing of the bushes the fugitives could hear strong partiesmaking their way along the shore in either direction. An hour passed,during which the fugitives floated nearly opposite the clearing.
"Hullo!" Peter exclaimed presently. "There's a canoe coming along thelake. I expect they got it from Cameron's."
As he spoke a canoe appeared round the point. Two men were standing upholding blazing torches; two others paddled; while two, rifle in hand,sat by them. Almost at the same moment another canoe, similarly manned,pushed out from the shore immediately opposite.
"I wish we had known of that canoe," Peter said; "it would have saved usa lot of trouble; but we had no time for looking about. I suspected themsettlers must have had one laid up somewheres. Now," he went on, "let'smake our plans. The canoes are sure to keep pretty nigh each other.They'll most likely think as we've gone down the lake and'll not belooking very sharply after us at present. It'll never do to let 'em passus. Now Jake and I and two of the Injuns will take one canoe, and thechief and three of his braves the other. We must move round so as to getbetween 'em and the shore, and then dive and come up close to 'em. Now,Harold, do you swim out a bit further and then make a splash so as tocall their attention. Do it once or twice till you see that they've gottheir eyes turned that way. Then be very quiet, so as to keep 'emwatching for another sound. That'll be our moment for attacking 'em."
They waited till the two canoes joined each other and paddled slowly outfrom the shore. Then the eight swimmers started off to make their_detour_, while Harold swam quietly further out into the lake. Thecanoes were about three hundred yards from shore and were paddling veryslowly, the occupants keeping a fixed look along the lake. There wasperfect quiet on the shore now, and when Harold made a slight splashwith his hand upon the water he saw that it was heard. Both canoesstopped rowing, the steerers in each case giving them a steer so thatthey lay broadside to the land, giving each man a view over the lake.They sat as quiet as if carved in stone. Again Harold made a splash, butthis time a very slight one, so slight that it could hardly reach theears of
the listeners.
A few words were exchanged by the occupants of the boats.
"They are further out on the lake, Bill," one said.
"I am not sure," another answered. "I rather think the sound was furtherdown. Listen again."
Again they sat motionless. Harold swam with his eyes fixed upon them.Every face was turned his way and none was looking shoreward. Then,almost at the same instant there was a shout from both boats. The menwith torches seemed to lose their balance. The lights described a halfcircle through the air and were extinguished. A shout of astonishmentbroke from the occupants, mingled with the wild Seneca war-yell, and heknew that both canoes were upset.
There was a sound of a desperate struggle going on. Oaths and wild criesrose from the water. Heavy blows were struck, while from the shore aroseloud shouts of dismay and rage. In two minutes all was quiet on thewater. Then came Peter's shout:
"This way, Harold! We'll have the canoes righted and bailed in a minute.The varmin's all wiped out."
With a lightened heart Harold swam toward the spot. The surprise hadbeen a complete success. The occupants of the canoes, intent only uponthe pursuit and having no fear of attack--for they knew that thefugitives must have thrown away their rifles--were all gazing intentlyout on the lake, when, close to each canoe on the shore side, four headsrose from out of the water. In an instant eight hands had seized thegunwales, and, before the occupants were aware of their danger, thecanoes were upset.
Taken wholly by surprise, the Americans were no match for theirassailants. The knives of the latter did their work before thefrontiersmen had thoroughly grasped what had happened. Two or three,indeed, had made a desperate fight, but they were no match for theiropponents, and the struggle was quickly over.
On Harold reaching the canoes he found them already righted and halfemptied of water. The paddles were picked up, and, in a few minutes,with a derisive shout of adieu to their furious enemy on the shore, thetwo canoes paddled out into the lake. When they had attained a distanceof about half a mile from the shore they turned the boats heads andpaddled north. In three hours they saw lights in the wood.
"There's the troops," Peter said. "Soldiers are never content unlessthey're making fires big enough to warn every redskin within fifty milesthat they're coming."
As they approached the shore the challenge from the English sentinelcame over the water:
"Who comes there?"
"Friends," Peter replied.
"Give the password."
"How on arth am I to give the password," Peter shouted back, "when we'vebeen three days away from the camp?"
"If you approach without the password I fire," the sentinel said.
"I tell ye," Peter shouted, "we're scouts with news for the general."
"I can't help who you are," the sentinel said. "I have got my orders."
"Pass the word along for an officer," Harold shouted. "We haveimportant news."
The sentry called to the one next him, and so the word was passed alongthe line. In a few minutes an officer appeared on the shore, and, aftera short parley, the party were allowed to land, and Peter and Haroldwere at once conducted to the headquarters of General Burgoyne.