BEHIND THE COMMANDANT'S DOOR
The commandant's door had come to be the portal through which I stepped
from safety into meddling. Yet I opened it now with laughter peeping
from my sleeve. To bait the Englishman in Huron seemed a good-natured
enough jest, and full of possibilities.
But one look at the prisoner drained my laughter. He was lying on a
bench, his face hidden in his out-flung arms, and his slenderness and
helplessness pulled at me hard. I knew that despair, and even tears,
must have conquered now that he was alone, and I wished that I might
save his pride, and slip away until he had fought back his bravery, and
had himself in hand.
But he had heard my step, and drew himself up to face me. He turned
with composure, and fronted me with so much dignity that I stood like a
blundering oaf trapped by my own emotion. There was no emotion in his
look. He had been thinking, not despairing, and his face was sharpened
and lighted with such concentration that I felt slapped with cold
steel. He looked all intellect and determination,--a thing of
will-power rather than flesh and brawn.
My Huron speech seemed out of place, but there was no choice left me,
so I used it. There was refuge for my dignity in the sonorous
syllables, and I spoke as to a fellow sachem. Then I asked the
prisoner his name, and waited for response.
None came. I knew that I had spoken rapidly, so I tried again. I
chose short words, and framed my sentences like a schoolmaster. The
prisoner listened negligently. Then he put out his hand. "Pardon,
monsieur. But I speak French,--though indifferently," he said, with a
slight shrug.
My anger made my ears buzz; I would not bandy words with a man of so
small and sly a spirit. I turned to leave.
But the prisoner stepped between me and the door. "You were sent here
with a message," he said; "I am listening."
His sunken brown eyes were so deep in melancholy that I could not hold
my wrath. "Was it a gentleman's part to lead me on to play the clown?"
I asked. "I came in kindness."
He smiled a little,--a bitter smile that did not reach his eyes. "I am
not, like you, a gentleman by birth, monsieur," he said slowly, "and so
often trip in my behavior. Granted that you were amusing,--and you
were, monsieur,--can you blame me for using you for a diversion? I
infer that you have come to tell me that the time left me, either for
amusement or penitence, is short."
It was bravely said, but I knew from the careful repression of his tone
that his hardness was a brittle veneer. He was young to carry so bold
a front when his heart must be hammering, and I would willingly have
talked any doggerel to have afforded him another smile.
"I know nothing of your future," I hastened, "save that, arguing from
your youth, it will probably be a long one. It was your past that I
was sent to ask concerning. The commandant sent me. Since you speak
French, my mission is over. The commandant will come himself."
The prisoner laid his hand upon a chair. "Will you sit? I would
rather it be you than the commandant, if it must be any one. What were
you sent to ask?"
I waved away the chair, for I thought of the passing moments and of
what I had promised Father Carheil. "I must hasten," I said irritably.
"What was I to ask? Why, your name, the account of your capture,--the
story of your being here, in brief."
He saw that I glanced at the door, and he walked over to it. "Wait!"
he interposed. "I can answer you in a line. But one question first.
Monsieur, I--I"--
"Yes, monsieur."
"Monsieur, I--I must think a moment. Be patient, if you will."
His voice was calm, but there was something in his look that forced my
pity. "Tell me nothing that I must not tell the commandant," I warned.
"But be assured of my good will."
I think he did not hear. He sat with his forehead on his hand, and I
knew that he was thinking. He looked up with a new decision in his
glance.
"Monsieur, you lead a strange life in this place. I see nothing but
men. Have you no families?"
I swore under my breath. I had expected some meat from his remark, and
he gave me trivialities. I had no time for social preliminaries, and I
felt sudden distaste for him. I pointed him to the window.
"We are not all men. There are Indian women in plenty. Shall I draw
the shade that you may see? There are many of my countrymen to tell
you that they find them fair."
"But are there no white families in the settlement?" He was leaning
forward, and he ignored the insult of my air.
I shook my head. "None, monsieur. None short of Montreal."
He tapped the floor, and frowned. His look went beyond me, and he was
absorbed. "None short of Montreal. Indeed you live a strange life.
Monsieur, is it far to Montreal?"
I shrugged. "Yes, it is a long journey. Come, monsieur, we waste
time. I wish you good-day."
He glanced up quickly. His was a misleading face, for while his words
were meaningless, and showed him of a small and trifling mind, his look
was yet keen. He saw that I had wearied of him, and he put out his
hand to beg my attention.
"Wait, monsieur!" he cried.
"Monsieur, you waste my time."
"I shall waste no more. I have made up my mind. Listen. I promised
you my story." He had regained all his quiet arrogance. "It is soon
told. I am an Englishman,--or a colonist, if you like the term better.
I was in a village on the Connecticut frontier, when your savages came
down upon us. No, I am wrong. They did nothing so manly as to come
down upon us boldly. They slid among us like foul vermin afraid of the
light. They achieved a notable victory, monsieur. I see that you
recognize their prowess, and that the feast you have prepared for them
is lavish. It was a noble battle. I regret you could not have seen
it. There were some hundreds of the Indians, and a scattering handful
of us. A quiet farming community, monsieur, that worked hard, supped
early, and slept the deep sleep of quiet living and sober minds. We
waked to find the scalping knives at our throats, and the death scream
of children in our ears. Look over the bags of scalps, and see the
number of women and old men that your braves had to overcome. You will
be proud of them, monsieur."
I clenched my hand, and wished myself elsewhere. "But our Hurons say
they were neutral," I defended.
He lifted his brows. "You prefer to give all the praise to the
Algonquins?" he asked smoothly. "I understand. Yes, I have heard that
the Algonquins stand even closer to you than your Hurons here. They
are more than brothers. Indeed, it is said that your Count Frontenac
calls them his children. Well, they did you credit. It took ten of
them to silence Goodman Ellwood's musket, but they butchered him in the
end. If you find a scalp with long silky white hair, monsieur, it
belongs to John Ellwood. Value it, and nail it among your trophies,
for it cost you the lives of a full half-dozen Algonquin braves."
I kept my eyes down. I had come here to unearth a certain fact, and I
would pursue it. "But were the Hurons neutral?" I persisted.
I could not even guess at what raw nerve I touched, but he suddenly
threw his arms wide as men do when a shot is mortal. His cool
insolence dropped from him, and he was all fire and helpless defiance.
He stamped his foot, till, slender as he was, the boards rang. "Were
the Hurons neutral?" he mocked, in a voice so like my own I could have
sworn it was an echo. "What manner of man are you? Are you made of
chalk? If you had seen a child's brains dashed out against a tree,
would you stop to ask the Indian who held the dripping corpse what
dialect he spoke? Oh, a man should be ashamed to live who has seen
such things, and who keeps his sword sheathed while one of your Indian
family--brothers or children--remains alive! If you had blood in your
veins, you would be man enough not to put even an enemy upon the rack,
in this way, and force him to live that time over to glut your
curiosity. Here is my answer, which you may take to your commandant.
I am an Englishman, I am your prisoner, and you are to remember that I
am, first, last, and at all times, your foe. Now go to your
commandant, and tell him to keep himself and his schoolboy orations out
of my way."
He was shaking, and his face was dead white. I did not answer, but I
took him by the arm, and led him to a chair. He tried to resist, but I
am strong. Then I brought him a cup of water from a pail that stood
near by.
"Drink it," I said, "and when food is sent you, eat what you can. Your
race is not over, and if you wish to trick and outwit us,--as you were
planning when I found you lying here,--you will need more strength than
you are showing now. I have but one more question. You must tell me
your name."
For a moment he did not reply. He was still shaking painfully, and
water from the cup in his hand splashed over him. "My name," he said
slowly, "my name is--is Benjamin Starling."
I took the cup away. "I am waiting," I said after a pause.
"Waiting for what, monsieur?" When he willed, he could speak
winningly, and he did it now.
I took paper from my pocket. "For your real name," I answered. "I
shall write it here, and you must swear that it is true. Don't
squander lies. Plain dealing will be best for us both."
He was as changeable as June weather. Now it was his cue to look
pleading. "The Indians called me by a name that meant bitter waters,"
he said hesitatingly. "But my baptismal records say Starling. I am
telling you the truth, monsieur."
I wrote the name so that he could see. "You give me your word as a
gentleman," I said, "that your name is Benjamin Starling."
He stopped a moment. "Can a yeoman swear himself a gentleman?" he
asked. "I think not. I will be more explicit. I give you my oath as
a truth-loving person that my name is Starling."
I put up the paper. "Thank you," I said. "And now. Monsieur
Starling, we will say good-by. I am only a chance wayfarer here, and
leave in an hour. I cannot wish you success, since you are my foe, but
I can wish you a safe return to your own kind. I hope that we shall
meet again. When I am dealing with a foe that I respect, I prefer him
with his hands unbound. Good-day, monsieur."
But he was before me at the door. I saw that my news troubled him.
"You mean," he asked, "that you are leaving here for several days?"
I laid my hand on the latch. "No," I answered. "I leave for several
months, monsieur."
"For months! Oh no!" he cried, and he drew back and looked at me.
"Then I am like never to see you again," he said thoughtfully. "You
have been kind to me." He suddenly thrust out his hand. "Monsieur, I
will be more generous than you. I wish you success."
But I would not take his hand on those terms.
"Don't!" I said roughly. "You cannot wish me success. It will mean
failure to you--to your people. No, we are foes, and let us wear our
colors honestly. Again, I wish you good-day," and, bowing, I raised
the latch, and made my way out of the commandant's door.