THE RUINED VILLAGE
The military council, presided over by Timmendiquas, sat long in the
Council House, and about the moment it had concluded its labors, which
was some time after midnight, Henry and Shif'less Sol skipped away from
the village. Wyandot warriors had passed them several times in the
darkness, but they had escaped close notice. Nevertheless, they were
glad when they were once more among the trees. The forest had many
dangers, but it also offered much shelter.
They rejoined their comrades, slept heavily until daylight, and when
they scouted again near the Wyandot village they found that Timmendiquas
and his force were gone, probably having started at the dawn and
marching swiftly. But they knew that they would have no trouble in
finding so large a trail, and as long as they were in proximity of the
village they traveled with great care. It was nearly night when they
found the broad trail through the woods, leading north slightly by east.
All five were now of the belief that the destination of the savages was
Detroit, the British post, which, as a depot of supplies and a rallying
point for the Indians, served the same purpose as Niagara and Oswego in
the East. To Detroit, Wyandots, Shawnees, Miamis, and all the others
turned for weapons and ammunition. There went the renegades and there
many Kentuckians, who had escaped the tomahawk or the stake, had been
taken captive, including such famous men as Boone and Kenton. It was a
name that inspired dread and hate on the border, but the five were full
of eagerness to see it, and they hoped that the march of Timmendiquas
would take them thither.
"I hear they've got big forts thar," said Shif'less Sol, "but ef we
don't lose our cunnin', an' I don't think we will, we five kin spy among
'em an' read thar secrets."
"There are many white men at Detroit," said Henry, "and I've no doubt
that we can slip in among them without being detected. Tories and
renegades who are strangers to the British officers at Detroit must be
continually arriving there. In that lies our chance."
Later in the night they approached the Wyandot camp, but they did not
dare to go very close, as they saw that it was everywhere guarded
carefully and that but few lights were burning. They slept in the woods
two or three miles away, and the next day they followed the trail as
before. Thus the northward march went on for several days, the great
White Lightning of the Wyandots and his warriors moving swiftly, and
Henry and his comrades keeping the same pace six or seven miles in the
rear.
They advanced through country that none of the five had ever seen
before, but it was a beautiful land that appealed alike to the eye and
ear of the forest runner. It was not inferior to Kentucky, and in
addition it had many beautiful little lakes. Game, however, was not
abundant as here were the villages of the Indian tribes, and the forests
were hunted more. But the five found deer and buffalo sufficient for
their needs, although they took great risks when they fired. Once the
shot was heard by a detachment of the Shawnees who also were after game,
and they were trailed for a long time, but when night came they shook
them off, and the next morning they followed Timmendiquas, as usual,
though at a much greater distance.
Their escape in this instance had been so easy that they took enjoyment
from it, but they prudently resolved to retain their present great
distance in the rear. The trail could not be lost and the danger would
be less. The course that Timmendiquas maintained also led steadily on
toward Detroit, and they felt so sure now of his destination that they
even debated the advisability of passing ahead of the column, in order
to reach the neighborhood of Detroit before him. But they decided
finally in the negative, and maintained their safe distance in the rear.
As they continued northward the Indian signs increased. Twice they
crossed the trails of Indian hunting parties, and at last they came to a
deserted village. Either it had been abandoned because of warfare or to
escape an unhealthy location, but the five examined it with great
curiosity. Many of the lodges built of either poles or birch bark were
still standing, with fragments of useless and abandoned household goods
here and there. Paul found in one of the lodges a dried scalp with long
straight hair, but, obeying a sensitive impulse he hid it from the
others, thrusting it between two folds of the birch bark.
They also found fragments of arrows and broken bows. The path leading
down to a fine spring was not yet overgrown with grass, and they
inferred from it that the Indians had not been gone many months. There
was also an open space showing signs of cultivation. Evidently maize and
melons had grown there.
"I wonder why they went away?" said Long Jim to Shif'less Sol. "You've
made two guesses--unhealthiness or danger from Injuns. Now this site
looks purty good to me, an' the Injun tribes up here are generally
friendly with one another."
"Them's only guesses," said Sol, "an' we'll never know why. But I take
it that Delawares lived here. This is just about thar country. Mebbe
they've gone North to be near Detroit, whar the arms an' supplies are."
"Likely enough," said Henry, "but suppose we populate this village for
to-night. It looks as if rain were coming on, and none of us is fond of
sleeping out in the wet."
"You're talkin' wisdom," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I think we kin find a
place in the big wigwam over thar that looks like a Council House."
He pointed to a rough structure of bark and poles, with a dilapidated
roof and walls, but in better state of preservation than any of the
wigwams, probably because it had been built stronger. They entered it
and found that it originally had a floor of bark, some portions of which
remained, and there was enough area of sound roof and walls to shelter
them from the rain. They were content and with dry bark beneath them and
on all sides of them they disposed themselves for the night.
It yet lacked an hour or so of sunset, but the heavy clouds already
created a twilight, and the wind began to moan through the forest,
bringing with it a cold rain that made a monotonous and desolate patter
on leaves and grass. The comrades were glad enough now of their shelter
in the abandoned Council House. They had made at Pittsburg a purchase
which conduced greatly to their comfort, that is, a pair of exceedingly
light but warm blankets for everyone--something of very high quality.
They always slept between these, the under blankets fending off the cold
that rose from the ground.
Now they lay, dry and warm against the wall of the old Council House,
and listened to the steady drip, drip of the rain on the roof, and
through the holes in the roof upon the floor. But it did not reach them.
They were not sleepy, and they talked of many things, but as the
twilight came on and the thick clouds still hovered, the abandoned
village took on a ghostly appearance. Nearly all the wall opposite that
against which they lay was gone, and, as it faced the larger part of the
village, they could see the ruined wigwams and the skeleton frames that
had been used for drying game. Out of the forest came the long lonesome
howl of a wolf, some ragged, desolate creature that had not yet found
shelter with his kind. The effect upon everyone was instantaneous and
the same. This flight from the Indians and the slaying of the great
hound by Tom Ross with his silver bullet came back in vivid colors.
But the howl was not repeated and the steady drip of the cold rain
remained unbroken. It gathered finally in little puddles on the floor
not far from them, but their own corner remained dry and impervious.
They noticed these things little, however, as the mystic and ghostly
effect of the village was deepening. Seen through the twilight and the
rain it was now but a phantom. Henry's mind, always so sensitive to the
things of the forest, repeopled it. From under his drooping lids he saw
the warriors coming in from the hunt or the chase, the women tanning
skins or curing game, and the little Indian boys practicing with bows
and arrows. He felt a sort of sympathy for them in this wild life, a
life that he knew so well and that he had lived himself. But he came
quickly out of his waking dream, because his acute ear had heard
something not normal moving in the forest. He straightened up and his
hand slid to the breech of his rifle. He listened for a few minutes and
then glanced at Shif'less Sol.
"Someone comes our way," said Henry.
"Yes," said Shif'less Sol, "but it ain't more'n two or three. Thar, you
kin hear the footsteps ag'in, an' their bodies brushing ag'in' the wet
bushes."
"Three at the utmost," said Henry, "so we'll sit here and wait."
It was not necessary to tell them to be ready with their weapons. That
was a matter of course with every borderer in such moments. So the five
remained perfectly still in a sitting position, every one with his back
pressed against the bark wall, a blanket wrapped around his figure, and
a cocked rifle resting upon his knees. They were so quick that in the
darkness and falling rain they might have passed for so many Indian
mummies, had it not been for the long slender-barreled rifles and their
threatening muzzles.
Yet nobody could have been more alert than they. Five pairs of trained
ears listened for every sound that rose above the steady drip of the
rain, five pairs of eyes, uncommonly keen in their keenness, watched the
bushes whence the first faint signals of approach had come. Now they
heard more distinctly that brushing of clothing against the bushes, and
then a muttered oath or two. Evidently the strangers were white men,
perhaps daring hunters who were not afraid to enter the very heart of
the Indian country. Nevertheless the hands still remained on their
rifles and the muzzles still bore on the point whence the sounds came.
Three white men, dripping with rain, emerged from the forest. They were
clad in garb, half civilized and half that of the hunter. All were well
armed and deeply tanned by exposure, but the attention of the five was
instantly concentrated upon the first of the strangers, a young man of
medium height, but of the most extraordinary ugliness. His skin, even
without the tan, would have been very dark. His eyes, narrow and
oblique, were almost Oriental in cast and his face was disfigured by a
hideous harelip. The whole effect was sinister to the last degree, but
Henry and his comrades were fair enough to credit it to a deformity of
nature and not to a wicked soul behind. The two with him were a little
older. They were short, thickly built, and without anything unusual in
their appearance.
The three strangers were dripping with water and when they came into the
abandoned village they stood for a few moments talking together. Then
their eyes began to roam around in search of shelter.
"They'll be coming this way soon," whispered Henry to Paul, "because
it's about the only place large enough to keep three men dry."
"Of course they'll come here," Paul whispered back; "now I wonder who
and what they are."
Henry did not reply and the five remained as motionless as ever, five
dusky figures in a row, sitting on the bark floor, and leaning against
the bark wall. But every sense in them was acutely alive, and they
watched the strangers look into one ruined lodge after another. None
offered sufficient shelter and gradually they came toward the Council
House. Always the man with the harelip and ugly face led. Henry watched
him closely. The twilight and the rain did not allow any very clear view
of him, just enough to disclose that his face was hideous and sinister.
But Henry had a singularly clear mind and he tried to trace the
malignant impression to the fact of physical ugliness, unwilling to do
injury, even in thought merely, to anyone.
At last the eyes of the three alighted upon the old Council House, and
they came forward quickly toward the open end. They were about to enter,
but they saw the five figures against the wall and stopped abruptly. The
man with the harelip bent forward and gazed at them. Henry soon saw by
the expression of his face that he knew they were no mummies. He now
thrust his rifle forward and his hand slipped down toward the trigger.
Then Henry spoke.
"Come in," he said quickly; "we are white like yourselves, and we claim
no exclusive rights to this Council House, which is about the only real
shelter left in the Indian town. We are hunters and scouts."
"So are we," said the man with the harelip, speaking grammatically and
with a fair degree of courtesy. "We are hardened to the wilderness, but
we are thankful for the shelter which you seem to have found before us."
"There is room for all," said Henry. "You will observe the large dry
place at the south end. The bark floor there is solid and no matter how
the wind blows the rain cannot reach you."
"We'll use it," said the ugly man, and now his teeth began to chatter,
"but I confess that I need more than mere shelter. The rain and cold
have entered my system, and I shall suffer severely unless we have a
fire. Is it not possible to build one here near the center of the
Council House? The dry bark will feed it, until it is strong enough to
take hold of the wet wood."
"It is the Indian country," said Henry, and yet he pitied him of the
harelip.
"I know," replied the man, "I know too that all the tribes are on the
war path, and that they are exceedingly bitter against us. My name is
Holdsworth, and I am from Connecticut. These are my men, Fowler and
Perley, also from the East. We're not altogether hunters, as we have
seen service in the Eastern army, and we are now scouting toward Detroit
with the intention of carrying back news about the British and Indian
power there. But I feel that I must light the fire, despite all Indian
danger."
He shook violently and Henry again felt sorry for him. So did the rest
of the five. These three had become their comrades for the night, and it
would not be fair to prevent the fire that the man so evidently needed.
"We can see that what you say is true," said Henry, "and we'll help you
kindle a blaze. These friends of mine are Tom Ross, Jim Hart, Solomon
Hyde, and Paul Cotter. My own name is Henry Ware."
He saw the ugly man start a little, and then smile in a way that made
his disfigured lip more hideous than ever.
"I've heard the names," said the stranger. "The woods are immense, but
there are not many of us, and those of marked qualities soon become
known. It seems to me that I've heard you were at Wyoming and the
Chemung."
"Yes," said Henry, "we were at both places. But since we're going to
have a fire, it's best that we have it as soon as possible."
They fell to work with flint and steel on the dry bark. The two men,
Fowler and Perley, had said nothing.
"Not especially bright," said Holdsworth to Henry in a whisper, as he
nodded toward them, "but excellent foresters and very useful in the work
that I have to do."
"You can't always tell a man by his looks," replied Henry in the same
tone.
It was not a difficult matter to light the fire. They scraped off the
inside of the bark until they accumulated a little heap of tinder. It
was ignited with a few sparks of the flint and steel, and then the bark
too caught fire. After that they had nothing to do but feed the flames
which grew and grew, casting a luminous red glare in every corner of the
old Council House. Then it was so strong that it readily burned the wet
bark from the dismantled lodges near by.
The cold rain still came down steadily and the night, thick and dark,
had settled over the forest. Henry and his comrades were bound to
confess that the fire was a vivid core of cheer and comfort. It thrust
out a grateful heat, the high flames danced, and the coals, red and
yellow, fell into a great glowing heap. Holdsworth, Fowler and Perley
took off nearly all their clothing, dried their bodies, and then their
wet garments. Holdsworth ceased to shiver, and while Fowler and Perley
still fed the fire, the five resumed their places against the wall,
their rifles again lying across their knees, a forest precaution so
customary that no one could take exception to it. Apparently they
dozed, but they were nevertheless wide awake. Holdsworth and his men
reclothed themselves in their dry raiment, and when they finished the
task, Henry said:
"We've three kinds of dried meat, venison, bear and buffalo, and you can
take your choice, one kind, two kinds, or all kinds."
"I thank you, sir," said Holdsworth, "but we also carry a plentiful
supply of provisions in our knapsacks, and we have partaken freely of
them. We are now dry, and there is nothing else for us to do but sleep."
"Then we had better put out the fire," said Henry. "As we agreed before,
we're in the heart of the Indian country, and we do not wish to send up
a beacon that will bring the savages down upon us."
But Holdsworth demurred.
"The Indians themselves would not be abroad on such a night," he said.
"There can be no possible danger of an attack by them, and I suggest
that we keep it burning. Then we will be all the stronger and warmer in
the morning."
Henry was about to say something, but he changed his mind and said
something else.
"Let it burn, then," he acquiesced. "The flame is hidden on three sides
anyhow and, as you say, the savages themselves will keep under cover
now. Perhaps, Mr. Holdsworth, as you have come from the East since we
have, you can tell us about our future there."
"Not a great deal," replied the man, "but I fear that we are not
prospering greatly. Our armies are weak. Although their country is
ruined, war parties under Brant came down from the British forts, and
ravaged the Mohawk valley anew. 'Tis said by many that the Americans
cannot hold out much longer against the forces of the king."
"Your words coming from a great patriot are discouraging," said Henry.
"It is because I cannot make them otherwise," replied Holdsworth.
Henry, from under the edge of his cap, again examined him critically.
Holdsworth and his men were reclining against the bark wall in the
second largest dry spot, not more than ten feet away. The man was ugly,
extremely ugly beyond a doubt, and in the glow of the firelight he
seemed more sinister than ever. Yet the young forest runner tried once
more to be fair. He recalled all of Holdsworth's good points. The man
had spoken in a tone of sincerity, and he had been courteous. He had not
said or done anything offensive. If he was discouraged over the patriot
cause, it was because he could not help it.
While Henry studied him, there was a silence for a little space.
Meantime the rain increased in volume, but it came straight down, making
a steady, droning sound that was not unpleasant. The heavy darkness
moved up to the very door of the old Council House, and, despite the
fire, the forest beyond was invisible. Holdsworth was still awake, but
the two men with him seemed to doze. Shif'less Sol was also watching
Holdsworth with keen and anxious eyes, but he left the talk to his young
comrade, their acknowledged leader.
"You know," said Henry at length, "that some great movement among the
Indians is on foot."
Holdsworth stirred a little against the bark wall, and it seemed to
Henry that a new eagerness came into his eyes. But he replied:
"No, I have not heard of it yet. You are ahead of me there. But the
Indians and British at Detroit are always plotting something against us.
What particular news do you have?"
"That Timmendiquas, the Wyandot, the greatest of the western chiefs,
accompanied by the head chiefs of the Shawnees and Miamis, and a body of
chosen warriors is marching to Detroit. We have been following them,
and they are now not more than twenty-five or thirty miles ahead of us.
I take it that there will be a great council at Detroit, composed of the
British, the Tories, the Western Indians with Timmendiquas at their
head, and perhaps also the Iroquois and other Eastern Indians with
Thayendanegea leading them. The point of attack will be the settlements
in Kentucky. If the allied forces are successful the tomahawk and the
scalping knife will spare none. Doesn't the prospect fill you with
horror, Mr. Holdsworth?"
Holdsworth shaded his face with his hand, and replied slowly:
"It does inspire fear, but perhaps the English and Indian leaders will
be merciful. These are great matters of which you tell me, Mr. Ware. I
had heard some vague reports, but yours are the first details to reach
me. Perhaps if we work together we can obtain information that will be
of great service to the settlements."
"Perhaps," said Henry, and then he relapsed into silence. Holdsworth
remained silent too and gazed into the fire, but Henry saw that his
thoughts were elsewhere. A long time passed and no one spoke. The fire
had certainly added much to the warmth and comfort of the old house.
They were all tired with long marches, and the steady droning sound of
the rain, which could not reach them, was wonderfully soothing. The
figures against the bark walls relaxed, and, as far as the human eye
could see, they dropped asleep one by one, the five on one side and the
three on the other.
The fire, well fed in the beginning, burned for two or three hours, but
after awhile it begun to smolder, and sent up a long thin column of
smoke. The rain came lighter and then ceased entirely. The clouds parted
in the center as if they had been slashed across by a sword blade, and
then rolled away to left and right. The heavens became a silky blue, and
the stars sprang out in sparkling groups.
It was past midnight when Holdsworth moved slightly, like one half
awakening from a deep sleep. But his elbow touched the man Fowler, and
he said a few words to him in a whisper. Then he sank back into his
relaxed position, and apparently was asleep again. Fowler himself did
not move for at least ten minutes. Then he arose, slipped out of the
Council House, and returned with a great armful of wet leaves, which he
put gently upon the fire. Quickly and quietly he sank back into his old
position by the wall.
Dense smoke came from the coals and heap of leaves, but it rose in a
strong spire and passed out through the broken part of the roof, the
great hole there creating a draught. It rose high and in the night, now
clear and beautiful, it could be seen afar. Yet all the eight--five on
one side and three on the other--seemed to be sound asleep once more.
The column of smoke thickened and rose higher into the sky, and
presently the man Fowler was at work again. Rising and stepping, with
wonderful lightness for a thick-set heavy man, he spread his open
blanket over the smoke, and then quickly drew it away. He repeated the
operation at least twenty times and at least twenty great coiling rings
of smoke arose, sailing far up into the blue sky, and then drifting away
over the forest, until they were lost in the distance.
Fowler folded the blanket again, but he did not resume his place against
the wall. Holdsworth and Perley rose lightly and joined him. Then the
three gazed intently at the five figures on the other side of the smoke.
Not one of them stirred. So far as the three could see, the five were
buried in the most profound slumber.
Holdsworth made a signal and the three, their rifles in the hollows of
their arms, glided from the Council House and into the forest.
As soon as they were lost in the darkness, Henry Ware sprang to his
feet, alive in every nerve and fiber, and tingling with eagerness.
"Up; up, boys!" he cried. "Those three men are Tories or English, and
they are coming back with the savages. The rings of smoke made the
signal to their friends. But we'll beat them at their own trick."
All were on their feet in an instant--in fact, only Jim Hart and Paul
had fallen asleep--and they ran silently into the forest in a direction
opposite to that which the three had chosen. But they did not go far. At
Henry's whispered signal, they sank down among some dense bushes where
they could lie hidden, and yet see all that passed at the Council House.
The water from the bushes that they had moved dropped upon them, but
they did not notice it. Nor did they care either that the spire of smoke
still rose through the roof of the old Council House. Five pairs of
uncommonly keen eyes were watching the forest to see their enemies come
forth.
"I saw the fellow make the big smoke," said Shif'less Sol, "but I knowed
that you saw, too. So I jest waited till you give the word, Henry."
"I wanted them to go through to the end with it," replied Henry. "If we
had stopped the man when he was bringing in the leaves he might have
made some sort of excuse, and we should have had no proof at all against
them."
"Them's false names they gave o' course."
"Of course. It is likely that the man who called himself Holdsworth is
somebody of importance. His manner indicated it. How ugly that
harelipped fellow was!"
"How long do you think it will be before they come back?" asked
Shif'less Sol.
"Not long. The Indian force could not have been more than a mile or so
away, or they would not have relied on smoke signals in the night. It
will be only a short wait, Sol, until we see something interesting. Now
I wish I knew that harelipped man!"
Henry and his comrades could have slipped away easily in the darkness,
but they had no mind to do so. Theirs was a journey of discovery, and,
since here was an opportunity to do what they wished, they would not
avoid it, no matter how great the risk. So they waited patiently. The
forest still dripped water, but they had seldom seen the skies a
brighter blue at night. The spire of smoke showed against it sharp and
clear, as if it had been day. In the brilliant moonlight the ruined
village assumed another ghostly phase. All the rugged outlines of
half-fallen tepees were silvered and softened. Henry, with that
extraordinary sensitiveness of his to nature and the wilderness, felt
again the mysticism and unreality of this place, once inhabited by man
and now given back to the forest. In another season or two the last
remnant of bark would disappear, the footpaths would be grown up with
bushes, and the wild animals would roam there unafraid.
All these thoughts passed like a succession of mental flashes through
the mind of the forest dreamer--and a dreamer he was, a poet of the
woods--as he waited there for what might be, and what probably would be,
a tragedy. But as these visions flitted past there was no relaxation of
his vigilance. It was he who first heard the slight swishing sound of
the bushes on the far side of the Council House; it was he who first
heard the light tread of an approaching moccasin, and it was he who
first saw the ugly harelipped face of a white man appear at the forest
edge. Then all saw, and slow, cold anger rose in five breasts at the
treacherous trick.
Behind the harelipped man appeared Perley and Fowler, and six savage
warriors, armed fully, and coated thickly with war paint. Now Henry knew
that the sinister effect of Holdsworth's face was not due wholly to his
harelip, and the ugliness of all his features. He was glad in a way
because he had not done the man injustice.
The three white men and the six Indians waited a long time at the edge
of the woods. They were using both eye and ear to tell if the five in
the old Council House slept soundly. The fire now gave forth nothing but
smoke, and they could not see clearly into the depths. They must come
nearer if they would make sure of their victims. They advanced slowly
across the open, their weapons ready. All the idealist was gone from
Henry now. They had taken these three men into what was then their
house; they had been warmed and dried by their fire, and now they came
back to kill. He watched them slip across the open space, and he saw in
the moonlight that their faces were murderous, the white as bad as the
red.
The band reached the end of the Council House and looked in, uttering
low cries of disappointment when they saw nothing there. None of the
five ever knew whether they had waited there for the purpose of giving
battle to the raiding band, but at this moment Paul moved a little in
order to get a better view, and a bush rustled under his incautious
moccasin. One of the savages heard it, gave a warning cry, and in an
instant the whole party threw themselves flat upon the earth, with the
wall of the Council House between themselves and that point in the
forest from which the sound had come. Silence and invisibility followed,
yet the forest battle was on.