"Every minute that hath passed since I stepped into the main cabin of
the New Venture to see the face of the mysterious songbird hath been
a persistent suit," I declared.
"And you would really wed an unrelenting Jacobite?" she murmured.
"Whatever you are I love you, and as a reformed Jacobite I can see
reasons for forgiving your contumacy."
Her face grew serious.
"As I told you once before--" she shuddered with the memory of the
incident--"I have learned much since leaving Scotland. I know that
you are no traitor and your beliefs are honorable and patriotic, and
that Country means more than King. But, Harry, you will be
overlooking the narrowness of a poor maid brought up in a Scots
Jacobite household to consider the Stuart cause sacred--will you not?"
"So sweet a recantation!" sneered Murray at my elbow. "He will never
be able resist you, my dear."
She withdrew so that I stood between her and her uncle.
"I have supported much from you, sir," she answered coldly; "in part
through mistaken loyalty to the object you said you served; in part
because, evil though you were, you were my flesh and blood. But from
this day I disown you. I will be having naught to do with you. You
mean nothing to me. You are a horrid specter I expel from my mind."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"'Tis a fitting reward for the loving care I gave you, Mistress
Marjory. You are with me until my fortunes wane. Well, I am
content. Henceforth Andrew Murray plays his own hand alone. Yet it
suits me, my children, to annoy you to the extent of assuring you my
blessing and good wishes.
"You are a fine, healthy maid, Marjory. As for Master Ormerod, he
hath been a resourceful enemy, and as the first man to cry
'Checkmate!' against me I congratulate him."
Ta-wan-ne-ars tapped him on the shoulder and he swung around to meet
the frowning gaze of the Seneca.
"You are a prisoner, Murray. Come with Ta-wan-ne-ars."
"'Sdeath, I was to have safe-conduct!"
"You are to go safely to Jagara--yes," I interposed; "but think not
we will trust you at liberty."
He took snuff and dusted his lapels carefully.
"Have your way, noble Iroquois," he sighed. "A little while, and I
shall be quit of you."
The warriors of the Long House came pouring through the gates of the
stockade, and their war-whoops echoed over the forest as they
commenced the work of looting Murray's establishment and securing
their prisoners. As Marjory and I passed out of that sinister
enclosure, which had seen so much of wickedness and human suffering,
we had our last joint glimpse of Andrew Murray. The Otter was
lashing his arms at his back, and on his face was a look of whimsical
distaste.
"Farewell, my children," he called. "Bear in mind 'twas Andrew
Murray brought you together. So good cometh out of evil."
Marjory shrank closer against my side.
"Yes," she said; "take me away from here. Let us go away, Harry--and
forget."
But 'twas Corlaer, and not I, who escorted my lady to Albany and the
tender care of Mistress Schuyler, into whose charge Governor Burnet
most kindly commended her. For duty commanded me to discharge my
obligation of removing Murray and his Cahnuagas--not many survived
the castigation of the Iroquois--in safety to Jagara; and I must
accompany Do-ne-ho-ga-weh and Ta-wan-ne-ars and the warriors of the
Eight Clans in the triumphal procession which traversed the Long
House from the Upper Mohawk Castle to the shores of the Thunder
Waters as an illustration of the wrath of the Great League.
And I was not sorry that I did so, for it enabled me to sit beside
Do-ne-ho-ga-weh and his brother chiefs in the half-finished stone
fort at Jagara and hear him lay down the law of the Long House to
Joncaire, as representative of the French.
"_Qua_, O Joncaire, mouthpiece of Onontio who rules at Quebec," he
said. "We people of the Long House come to you in peace. And we
give into your hands the white man Murray and those who are still
alive of the Keepers of the Doom Trail. We promised that they should
come here, and we have fulfilled our promise. But we have set a bar
across the Doom Trail, O mouthpiece of Onontio, and we desire you to
tell the French of that.
"If Onontio chooses, we will live in peace with him, and--" this was
a crafty use of an advantage I had forced upon him--"in earnest of
our friendship we have saved the life of the Frenchman called Black
Robe, although he has been no friend of our people. But the Doom
Trail is closed to red men and white men alike. We have obliterated
it. We have set a bar across it.
"It is our wish that you should acquaint Onontio with our decision.
We ask him to assist us in wiping out this source of trouble between
us.
"_Na-ho!_"
"I have heard your message, O _roy-an-ehs_ and chiefs of the Long
House," replied Joncaire. "I will repeat it to Onontio, but I do not
think it will be welcome in his ears. As to the white man Murray,
why do you bring him to me? He is English. You should carry him to
the English at Albany."
"He asked to be brought to you," returned Do-ne-ho-ga-weh, and thus
spiked an adroit attempt to shift the implied responsibility for
Murray's enterprises in the past.
"Very well," said Joncaire. "You may leave him here. Do you enter
any charge against him?"
"We might enter many charges against him," answered Do-ne-ho-ga-weh
grimly. "But we pledged our word to bring him here in safety--and we
have washed away the stains of his offenses in the blood of the
Keepers of the Trail."
"He shall tell his story to Onontio," replied Joncaire, politely
threatening. "I am pleased with your assurances of peacefulness. I
have no more to say."
But as the Iroquois were leaving he buttonholed me in the sallyport.
"I know you, my lad from Arles," he said jocosely. "I knew you the
minute I laid my eyes on you. You have played ducks and drakes with
high policies in your few months on the frontier. I hope your people
appreciate you."