The Frontiersmen Part 23

"We shall certainly need it, to-night."

The sun was already sinking behind the western hills, into a rich ma.s.s of crimson clouds. The night approached with a melancholy step, and every heart in the cottage beat with anxiety for the first sound that should indicate the presence of the enemy. The aspect of nature was calm and lovely. The setting sun wore the look of yesterday; familiar objects gazed brightly in the golden garments which were woven around them; the long shadows pointed eastward, towards the coming to-morrow. But who can foretell, from the look of this day, what shall be the appearance of the next?

CHAPTER XIX.

"Ah! whence yon glare, That fires the arch of heaven?--that dark-red smoke, Blotting the silver moon?"

Sh.e.l.ley.

An hour had pa.s.sed, and yet there were no indications of an attack. The inmates of the cottage had taken their places as on the night of the previous conflict; and, with all their senses upon the alert, endeavored to detect the approach of an enemy, from whom so much was to be feared.

Ruth and Singing-Bird had both taken positions by the loop-holes, and without strenuous objection; for, on a night that threatened to be so dangerous, they, even, might render important resistance. Another hour pa.s.sed. Was it possible that the Indians, satisfied with the lives of their two unfortunate prisoners, had abandoned the idea of again attacking the cottage? This query presented itself to the mind of more than one of the little garrison; and it was with a pleasant thrill of hope, that the idea first occurred to the mind of Ruth. Even Ichabod, with all his experience in Indian character, suggested to Eagle's-Wing the possibility that such a hope might be well-founded.

"No," was the answer; "don't know Injins if you think so. They come, sartin, by'mby. Panther cunning Injin. He mean to get cottage to-night, any way--that what it means."

"Do you suppose, Eagle's-Wing, that they're anywhere round here now?"

asked Ichabod, more to hear what his friend would answer, than for any other purpose.

"Guess so; guess that ravine _full_ of Injins. Hear 'em, by'mby. They won't yell nor shoot. Know that don't do any good. Can't shoot through logs; that they know."

"I reckon you're about right, Eagle's-Wing. They want to put us off our guard; and by-and-by some miscreant will try to set us afire. But if we watch, we can prevent that; they can't _carry_ fire without our seeing it."

"Don't know that. Little spark make great fire, sometime. Hide little spark pretty well, if they try."

The night had now become dark; the sky was partly obscured by clouds--sufficiently so to render it extremely difficult to discern objects no larger than the size of a man, at even a rod's distance. But while the darkness would allow the Indians to approach nearer the building with less chance of detection, it would also render it more difficult for them to conceal any attempt to set the cottage on fire.

Two, three, or even four hours, might elapse ere any demonstration on the part of the Senecas would be made. This uncertainty, united with the darkness and silence which reigned both within and without, tasked the spirits of the defenders more than any open attack would have done. No anxiety is more overpowering than that of awaiting an event the coming of which is to be dreaded, and yet which will certainly arrive. In the whole range of catastrophes to which mankind are subject, there is, perhaps, but one important exception to this remark, and that is the great catastrophe to which each individual of the human family is subject, which is certain to arrive, and which is universally dreaded.

It may arrive soon or late--no one knows when, or how it will come; yet the anxiety incident to that event, is easily overcome; and one by one, a generation pa.s.ses away, each one knowing well his doom, yet neglecting the least preparation.

This anxiety at length became so irksome, that a desultory conversation sprung up between the different individuals of the party--yet, without any cessation of watchfulness, Ichabod, who had remained silent since the last reply of Eagle's-Wing, now again addressed his companion.

"Why wouldn't it be a good idea for one of us to reconnoitre a little?

We could find out for sartin whether any of the reptiles are ra'ally round here or not?"

Eagle's-Wing did not answer. His eyes seemed to be strained almost from their sockets in endeavoring to pierce the darkness. Suddenly the silence was broken by the discharge of his rifle; and at the unexpected sound amidst the unnatural quiet which reigned around them, every member of the little garrison started simultaneously with the report. A scream was heard from the outside, towards the ravine, and Ichabod saw an Indian fall struggling upon the ground, while a small brand of fire fell by his side upon the dry leaves along the edge of the ravine.

"Well done, Eagle's-Wing!" exclaimed Ichabod. "It takes an Injin to see an Injin in the dark; but that rascal won't set fire to the cottage, any way."

"Plenty more, down yonder, where he come from. They keep still, though; won't be foolish, this time."

It was true, that although the Seneca had fallen, and the brand of fire which he had carried concealed, lay by his side; not a sound indicated the presence of another enemy. They had failed in this attempt; but another might be more successful. It was evident, that on this occasion, the Senecas would throw away no chances of triumph.

It has already been mentioned that the forest on the edge of the ravine, approached within three or four rods of the cottage; and as the ground was strewn with dry leaves and dead underbrush, the feelings of safety which the defenders of the cottage, for a moment, had entertained on the detection of this attempt to set the building on fire, was now exchanged for alarm. The brand which had fallen by the side of the Indian, had unfortunately fallen upon a small pile of dry underbrush, which was also covered with dry leaves. A slight wind, which now blew in occasional light gusts from the northward, ignited the whole brand into a live coal, and a feeble blaze began to ascend from around it.

"_Con_-found the fire!" exclaimed Ichabod. "I'll try and stop that enemy, any way."

He discharged his rifle at the burning brand, and the coal flew scattered in all directions. This was a risk which he foresaw. The scattered coals might fall upon other places which were equally dangerous; if so, the danger would be increased; but there was a chance, too, that they might fall upon places where they would be extinguished.

For a moment, the experiment seemed perfectly successful; a feeble and flickering blaze, that seemed about to expire, only remained where the brand had originally fallen. But another slight gust of wind now came, and the feeble blaze streamed upwards into a steady fire.

"Over here, with your rifles," shouted Ichabod; and five rifles were at once discharged into the burning pile. The blazing brush was partially scattered; but that now seemed to increase the danger. The wind came in gentle currents, and the dry leaves and brush were taking fire in half-a-dozen different places. It was useless to fight an enemy which was only multiplied and made more dangerous by defeat.

"I reckon it's bad enough," said Ichabod, "to have to fight them rascally Injins, without being obliged to fight the elements, besides.

Wind, fire, and Injins, all at once, are _rayther_ too much for human natur'."

"What's to be done now?" inquired Barton, who had become very much agitated by this new danger, for it was apparent that should the dry wood in the forest set fire to the trees, as would be most likely, with a northern wind to blow the flames in the direction of the cottage, nothing could prevent the building from taking fire. But there was yet hope; the fire might be confined to the underbrush, and expire without catching among the trees.

"I don't know of anything we can do just now, Squire," replied Ichabod, to the question of Barton, "except to wait. I've known things to be as desp'rate before, and come out right in the end. I don't like it, though, that's sartin. I'm afeard, Eagle's-Wing, that we shall have to try that thing we talked about."

"Think so, too," was the calm reply of the Tuscarora; "when time come, then I'm ready."

For a short time, the anxiety felt in the cottage was extreme. It was yet doubtful whether there was any serious danger from this new enemy or not. But the fire steadily increased; it ran along the ground, catching from bush to bush, and among heaps of dry bushes and limbs of trees, which had been collected by the labor of Barton, and soon the light began to penetrate the recesses of the forest. The red rays darted in among the old trees, and lit them up with a strange, wild glare. The flames crept along with steady pace, as the fire increased, until the whole ravine was suddenly illumined by a blaze of light, and in its recesses were disclosed the main body of the Senecas, watching with savage delight the insidious approaches of their new ally. When they saw that they were discovered, a wild yell of exultation broke from every throat, and darting from the ravine, they scattered in all directions about the cottage; but at sufficient distance to be out of reach of the rifles. For a short time, all was silent again, and all were intent upon observing the progress of this new a.s.sailant.

The whole surface of the ground for four or five rods in extent, immediately north of the cottage, seemed now to be on fire. At numerous points, the fire raged intensely, and shot up tall spires, of flames among the crackling branches; now catching upon the mossy side of a tree, it ran upward, darting with the rapidity of lightning for a moment, then suddenly expiring, leaving a blackened crust, instead of the fresh green moss. The wind gradually blew stronger and wilder.

Unluckily, heaps of dry wood had been piled around the trunks of trees, and now the bodies of those trees were seen to be on fire. Up among the branches leaped the flames: points of fire darted here and there, like blazing serpents, while, borne by the wind, thick clouds of sparks began to load the air, and dart towards the doomed roof of the cottage. Soon, a steady stream of flame began to mount the trunk of a tall dead pine, which stood upon the edge of the forest. Upward and upward it crept; now pausing, as if to gnaw inward into its centre, then darting with a leap like a wild beast, pouncing on its prey. Around the base of the tree, the fire raged intensely, for here a ma.s.s of dry limbs and logs had been collected; and momentarily, the flames from all sides ate inwardly towards its centre. A few dry and leafless limbs stood out from the old trunk, pointing upward; and along these the fire now crept, and they seemed like tortured arms held bleeding to the sky.

The cottage was no longer safe. A few moments more, and the pine must fall; if it fell upon the cottage, it would crush it into a heap of ruins; and if this danger was avoided, the fire could not be escaped.

The intense heat already penetrated the building, and through the loop-holes streamed the light, with a red, unearthly glare. The Indians saw that the inmates must either endeavor to escape or be consumed. They had scattered about the cottage in all directions; not a point was left unguarded, where their victims could escape; and as the moment of vengeance approached nearer and nearer, they testified their joy by loud and exulting shrieks. Every window, every door was guarded; the roof of the cottage stood out against the sky, and every crack and cranny of its thatching was exposed. Suddenly, to their surprise and delight, the door that opened upon the roof was lifted, and their most hated enemy, the Tuscarora, leaped from the glaring rafters with his rifle in his hand, and stood for a moment before their eyes, erect and fearless. In the strong, red light, every feature of his countenance could be traced--every gesture could be marked. With a steady look of indifference, he gazed about him for a moment, then darting forward, leaped from the roof to the ground. The place selected for the leap was the south-west angle of the building, where he would fall within the shadow. Thirty rifles had been raised to shoot at him; but the admiration of the Senecas at this exploit had probably saved his life; for not a rifle was discharged, until he had darted forward in his leap into the darkness. Every Indian rushed forward towards the spot where the Tuscarora had been seen to leap; for this, the most prized, the most hated of their enemies, they deemed to be now inevitably in their power.

The Tuscarora staggered as he struck the ground; but instantly gathering himself, he darted towards the grove. Two Senecas leaped before him, who had been stationed at this point--the others not having yet arrived.

With a blow from his rifle he knocked down one of them, and darting past the other, gained the grove. The Senecas who had now arrived about the cottage from the different points, set out in chase; but Panther, who saw that this would afford means for those yet within the building to escape, after the lapse of a few minutes, was able to recall a portion of the Senecas, who were again distributed about the cottage.

But these few minutes had accomplished all that the Tuscarora had designed. Before he ascended the roof, the remainder of the party inside gathered by the window through which Guthrie bore off Ruth, on the night of the former attack. The ladder was in readiness, and at the moment when the Senecas were seen to rush past the eastern side of the cottage in pursuit of the Tuscarora, the window was opened, the ladder let down, and one by one the party quickly descended--Ichabod descending last. As he stepped out upon the ladder, he closed the window--and when he had reached the ground, the ladder was thrown down by the side of the cottage. The party instantly set out toward the pond, and at a distance of about ten rods, they had descended the hill to a point where they were concealed in the darkness. It was at just about this moment, that Panther had again distributed a portion of the Senecas about the cottage, while another portion was in pursuit of the Tuscarora. Their flight had thus far been un.o.bserved; and now they walked more leisurely towards the sh.o.r.e of the pond, where they expected to find the boat which we described on a former occasion, and the position of which had been noticed by Ichabod, just before dark, from the cottage. After a little time, the boat was reached; the party entered it, and an extra supply of rifles, which had been brought from the cottage, was carefully deposited. They shoved off from the sh.o.r.e, which, at this point might, in the progress of the fire, become exposed--and paddling northward, reached a point where the hill ascended, on the crest, sharply from the sh.o.r.e, but where the land was sufficiently low in a north-westerly direction to allow them to obtain a good and but partially obstructed view of the cottage.

But a few moments after they had taken up this position, they discovered the roof of the cottage to be on fire. The sparks and pieces of blazing bark which were blown from the ravine had fallen upon the thatching, which was of light and combustible material, and had ignited it at various points; and slowly but surely the flames began to devour this, the only obstacle, as the Senecas believe, to their complete triumph.

Soon, the fugitives saw the top of the tall, dry pine begin to rock and waver with its blazing crown; then, slowly bending southward, the huge trunk fell across the cottage, crus.h.i.+ng in the burning roof, and starting the logs from their places in the sides of the building. The shrieks of the Indians were horrible, as they now supposed that their victims were fully in their power. Leaping forwards, they broke in the doors, and rushed in among the flames. From room to room, they wandered.

Up the stairway, which was covered with burning coals, they rushed, and gazed in among the fallen and blazing rafters. Not a pale-face was to be seen. The Senecas could not believe that they had escaped; and again and again every point and portion of the cottage was searched; until, at length, it became apparent that their victims had fled. But how, and where? The superst.i.tious feelings of the Indians, for a moment, were excited; and they thought that their intended victims must have been rescued by the direct interposition of the Great Spirit of the pale-faces. But Panther, saw at once, the manner of the escape; and that it had been accomplished while the attention of the Senecas was withdrawn by the daring exploit of the Tuscarora. He immediately ordered the Indians to scour the woods in all directions, and particularly the sh.o.r.es of the pond.

The party in the boat could see, from the gestures of the Indians, the extent of their surprise; and they also well understood the directions of Panther. They carefully paddled the boat farther out into the pond, and more towards the northern sh.o.r.e, where they would be completely hidden, for the present, in the shadows of the hills and trees, from the light of the fire.

"Them reptiles are deceived this time, any way," said Ichabod, laughing.

"If Eagle's-Wing only gets through his part, according to the programme, we may consider ourselves pretty tolerably lucky; and I haven't any doubt but what he will. We shall hear from him before a great while. I agreed to lay off up here for him."

"That was a daring act on the part of Eagle's-Wing," said Ralph; "and had I known precisely his purpose, I doubt whether I, for one, should have a.s.sented to it. The chances were ten to one, against his escaping with life."

"Lord love you, Captain," said Ichabod, "Eagle's-Wing knows Injin natur'

pretty well, considering he's an Injin himself; and he knew that them rascals would be so astonished, that they wouldn't fire at him till he had time to get out of their sight. What I was most afeard on, was his getting off the roof; but it's all right, and went off according to contract," and Ichabod laughed.

"I can easily bear the destruction of my property," said Barton, "if Eagle's-Wing escapes. But I think, as Ralph does, that if you had disclosed the nature of your plan, I should have opposed it. I should, rather, have relied upon fighting our way through to the sh.o.r.e."

"Didn't we know that?" asked Ichabod, with a laugh. "n.o.body but Singing-Bird was let into that secret; and she, bless her little soul, ra'ally insisted, for a long time, on going to the roof with him: but she's got reason, and finally consented to the arrangement."

Singing-Bird, to whom all eyes were now directed, in admiration, only answered:

"Eagle's-Wing do that for friend. He 'members friend. He wouldn't be brave Injin if he didn't do _somet'ing_ for friend."

"He has always been the creditor in an account," answered Barton. "He has given us no opportunity, yet, to repay him for anything."