Quite dark. My head confused. The alligator's foot on my chest. No;
it was the butt-end of a gun pushing me.
"Here! Don't! What's the matter?"
"I thought I should never get you to wake, sir. Come along. The
Indians are here."
I sprang out of the tent, with it gradually dawning upon me that I had
been sleeping heavily from early afternoon right into the darkness of
night, and dreaming away in a heavily confused fashion of the various
objects that had just filled my eyes and ears.
"You said the Indians were here?" I said, excitedly.
"Yes, my lad. Look!"
I gazed in the direction pointed out, and saw there was a bustle going
on at the block-house, where by a faint blaze men were throwing buckets
of water.
"Just caught it in time, sir," continued Morgan. "They mean mischief
now."
"Yes, I know. They fired arrows at it blazing."
"How did you know when you were asleep?"
"My father expected they would; I heard him say so."
"Ah, well, they won't do it again. We're going to soak blankets, and
lay all over the top."
"Morgan, look--look!" I exclaimed, as three fiery long-tailed stars
came swiftly sailing through the air from one direction; and as if they
had been sent as a signal, three more came from the opposite quarter,
and directly after two more threes, and all fell blazing on different
parts of the block-house, the Indians evidently aiming for the spot
where the first blaze appeared--that which was rapidly being
extinguished as I crept out of our tent.
These fiery arrows had no doubt been prepared with tufts of cotton
saturated with some resinous gum, which, after being lighted, burned
furiously in its rapid passage through the air, and seemed to resist the
efforts of those who were on the roof trying to extinguish the patches
of glowing fire. In fact their efforts soon became useless, for the
first twelve arrows were followed by dozens more, and then by hundreds,
till at one time quite a fiery shower descended on the doomed place;
while, emboldened by their success, amidst a fierce yelling, some of the
Indians ran from their cover, their progress being marked by tiny specks
of light which seemed to glide like fireflies over the fields. Then
they made a sudden dart, blazed out, and stuck in the sides of the fort.
This was repeated again and again before sharp orders were rung out, and
from that moment whenever one of these sparks was seen gliding along
toward the palisades, it was met by shot after shot, sometimes by a
regular volley. Twice over as I watched I saw one of these sparks drop
to the ground and begin to burn, showing by it the body of an Indian;
but though scores of shots were fired, these were the only two which
checked the savages, who, encouraged by their success, kept on running
in and shooting at the fort.
"Hard to hit a man running with a bullet," said Morgan, in answer to one
of my ejaculations of impatience.
"But why are you here, Morgan?" I said, suddenly, as I felt that most
of the defenders were either at work firing, or busy with buckets and
water.
"Because I was sent here, sir," said Morgan, gruffly.
And though I questioned him, he said no more, but chuckled a little when
I made a guess, and said that my father must have sent him to look after
me.
The men on the roof of the block-house worked splendidly amidst the
fiery shower, though they were checked several times by the horrible
missiles taking effect, inflicting wounds and burning the poor fellows'
clothing as well; but they returned to their duty as soon as their
comrades were passed down below into the fort, and wherever the flames
got hold they were extinguished. But that which the falling arrows sent
high in air, to drop almost perpendicularly on the fort, failed to do,
though shot with wondrous skill, was accomplished by the arrows sent in
the ordinary way point-blank against the walls.
I was watching the progress of the attack with Morgan, and we were
uttering congratulations about the admirable way in which the men on the
roof worked, and how cleverly each fiery messenger was quenched now
almost as soon as it fell, when there was a fresh attack.
"Yes; we've done 'em, clever as they are, this time, sir," said Morgan.
"I tell you what: if I'd had the management of that affair I'd have had
young Pomp up there."
"Where is he?" I said, for I had forgotten all about him.
"'Long of his father carrying water, sir. But as I was saying, I'd have
had young Pomp up there with a small bucket as he could handle easy,
half full o' water, and set him to catch the arrows as they fell. He's
quick as lightning, and I'll be bound to say he'd have caught the arrows
one by one in his bucket."
"Look--look!" I cried excitedly.
"Eh? What? Ah!" ejaculated Morgan, as evidently from behind one of the
houses, quite invisible in the darkness, we saw quite a little group of
specks glide out, and almost simultaneously another group--and there
seemed to be about thirty in each--came out from the other side, the two
parties joining with almost military precision, and gliding as it were
over the fields till quite close in, when there was a perfect blaze of
light as a golden cloud of trailing lights was discharged straight at
the wooden wall of the fort, and in a few seconds it was wrapped in fire
from top to bottom.
A tremendous yell followed this successful discharge, but it was drowned
by the rapid firing which succeeded, and as I looked on excitedly,
longing to go and assist, and wondering why I had received no orders, I
had the satisfaction of seeing figures flitting to and fro before the
blazing pine-trunks, and hearing the hiss of the water as bucketful
after bucketful was discharged.
"Why, Morgan!" I exclaimed suddenly; "the women and children?"
"Well, sir, they'd be safe enough."
"What, if the fire is not put out?"
"Oh, it'll be put out, my lad. Look, they're battering it now. It
aren't so fierce, but they don't happen to be there; the captain spoke
to the governor this afternoon."
"To the General?"
"Yes, sir. We're getting to call him the governor now; and the captain
told him, I hear, that he was afraid the main attack would be on the
block-house, and it was settled to have all the women and children out;
and they're all safe behind barricades in the middle there. Yonder, you
see."
"See? No," I said; "how can I see through this terrible darkness?"
"Darkness?" said Morgan, in a peculiar tone. "I was just thinking that
it was a bit lighter now, and yet they seem to be getting the fire a bit
under."
"Yes," I said; "and now the clouds of steam are rising; you can see them
quite plainly now. Perhaps they are reflecting the light down upon the
building. Oh, look!"
I could hold back no longer, but started off at a run, closely followed
by Morgan, so as to get to the other side and see what was going on
there.
For I had suddenly grasped the meaning of the light that had puzzled me.
It was plain enough now. With their customary cunning, the Indians had
fired such a flight of fiery arrows that they had forced our people to
combine their forces to put out the blazing side of the block-house, and
then combining their own forces, the enemy had sent low down on the
opposite side, after creeping close in, a tremendous discharge, which at
once took hold, and the flames as I got round were already running up
the building, fanned by the wind which seemed to be rising, and there
was a fluttering roar which sounded like the triumphant utterances of
the flames.
"That comes of using pine-logs," said Morgan, in a low voice, as amidst
the shouting of orders, the tramp of men, and the hissing of the fire,
volley after volley was fired from the palisades; but naturally these
shots sent forth into the darkness were aimless, and in imagination I
could see the enemy, after sending in their arrows, crawling away
unhurt.
The progress of this last fire was rapid. Something was done to check
it at first with the buckets, and the brave fellows on the roof made
desperate efforts by hanging the saturated blankets over the side, but
they were soon driven back by the heat and smoke; all but one, whom I
saw--after working desperately, the leader evidently of the
shadowy-looking, blackened band--topple forward and fall into the flames
at the foot, just as a herculean black approached, bearing two buckets
of water.
Then there was a rush, a deal of confusion and shouting; and as I neared
I saw the black coming through the crowd bearing some one on his
shoulder.
I needed no telling that the slave, whoever he was, had dashed in and
dragged the fallen man away, and, roused to enthusiasm by the daring
act, I was approaching the group, when I heard murmurs running from one
to the other of the line of men we had approached, men whose duty it had
been to pass water from the well to those whose task it was to scatter
the fluid on the flames.
"What--what did they say, Morgan?" I whispered.
"Water's give out, sir."
"What! Just as it is needed most?"
"Ay, my lad, that's just when it would be sure to go. They've been too
generous with it t'other side."
"But look!" I said; "the fire's getting firmer hold. Can nothing be
done?"
"Not that we can do, sir," said Morgan, sadly. "It's got it tight now."
It was too true. Started by the Indians' fiercely-blazing arrows, the
pine-logs were beginning to blaze well now, dispiriting those who had
worked so bravely before; and, seeing that their attack hail been
successful, the Indians ceased now to send in their fiery flights, for
moment by moment the flames increased, completely enveloping one corner
of the block-house, and displaying such fierce energy that we knew the
place was doomed.
And now, not to solve a puzzle that had troubled me, but of course to
strike fresh terror into their enemies, the Indians made it plain how
they had managed to keep up their supply of fiery shafts. For, all at
once, a house standing back in the plantation, on each of the three
sides of the fort away from the river front, began to stand out clear in
the darkness of the night. One of them was the place from behind which
I had seen the two groups of sparks glide out, and in these they had
cunningly had parties preparing the fiery arrows ready to start alight
for others to discharge.
Yell after yell now arose from a distance as the three houses rapidly
began to blaze and add to the lurid glare that was illumining the whole
interior of the enclosure, while groups of smoke-blackened men were
watching the destruction going on.
"Better seek cover, my lads," cried Colonel Preston. "Get your pieces,
and be ready. We can do no more there. It must burn."
The men showed their military training by rapidly getting their piled
weapons, and taking their positions behind the barricades which
surrounded the temporary quarters of the women and children.
"I don't think they'll attack," said Colonel Preston to the General, who
came up now.
"No," he said, calmly. "The men are standing well to their places round
the palisades, but I have no fear of an assault to-night. By the way,
how is Bruton?"