"There are some who have put confidence in me, and I cannot disappoint
them; besides which, I have still some hopes of inducing Oceola to sue
for peace, and to endeavour to obtain by lawful means the object he
desires," he answered.
"But should he discover that you assisted to carry off Juanita, how will
he treat you?"
"As he has hitherto done. He is not likely to be informed of the
circumstance; and if he were, I do not fear the consequences to myself,"
he replied.
Before we set out, Rochford had left the fort.
Black Hawk had hitherto remained a prisoner at large in the fort. He
was narrowly watched, but he had not made the slightest attempt to
escape. When he heard of the death of Spotted Wolf, and that he had
been killed by Carlos, he remarked that it served him right, as he had
come for the purpose of betraying us, and would have succeeded had we
trusted him.
This frank avowal of Black Hawk fully satisfied the commandant and
Captain Norton of his honesty; and as they considered that he would be
of great service to us, they asked him whether he would join our
expedition. He appeared to hesitate, observing that should any of his
countrymen capture him, his death would be certain.
Captain Norton replied that we would protect him to the best of our
power, and he finally accepted our offer.
Besides those I have mentioned, we had only fifteen men--a small party
to venture through the country in its present state. More, however,
could not be spared. We on horseback would be detained by those on
foot; but they were active fellows, well inured to fatigue, and would
get rapidly over the ground, and we expected to make rapid marches,
absolutely necessary in an expedition of the nature we had undertaken.
Carlos was in high spirits, and seemed not to have a doubt as to his
father's safety. It was proposed to place Black Hawk on horseback, but
he declined the offer, saying that he could march faster and with less
fatigue than any of the Palefaces, and that he would accompany us on
foot.
For the first two days we pushed on at a rapid rate, not meeting with
any recent Indian trails. Black Hawk, indeed, declared his belief that
the red men had retired to the north-west, and that we should not fall
in with them. At length, however, at the end of the third day, we came
upon the remains of recent campfires and trails, which showed that a
considerable body of Indians had lately been in that part of the
country. We kept very close together, although the direction which the
trails took showed that Black Hawk was right in his conjecture as to the
insurgents having moved to the north-west, and we hoped therefore to
avoid them. In case, however, any should have remained in the
neighbourhood, we moved to the right, and chose as eligible a spot as we
could find for our camp, with a thick wood to the west, which would
conceal our fires, and an impassable marsh on the opposite side. To
prevent the risk of a surprise, scouts were sent out to examine the
country, to ascertain that no enemy was near at hand. Carlos and two
men, accompanied by Black Hawk, went in one direction, Tim and I in
another, intending to separate, while Lejoillie remained with Captain
Norton in the camp. We were charged not to go far, and to return before
darkness came on. My companion and I each made a tolerably wide
circuit, examining every spot which could conceal a foe, when we again
met.
"Not the shadow of an enemy," observed Tim. "It's my belief that the
Redskins have taken themselves off as far as they can get from the
whites, and won't be eager to meet any of us."
It was quite dark by the time we got back to the camp; but neither
Carlos nor the men who had accompanied him on foot had made their
appearance. We waited for some time, until we began to grow anxious.
At last footsteps were heard, and two men were seen coming towards the
camp. They proved to be those who had accompanied Carlos and Black
Hawk. They reported that they had got separated in a wood from the
young master and the Indian, and that although they had searched about
everywhere, they could not find them or discover their trail.
This announcement caused considerable anxiety. Captain Norton blamed
the men for their carelessness; but they declared that Carlos himself
had told them the course they were to take, and that they had followed
no other. We waited for some time, hoping that my young cousin would,
guided by the fire, find his way to camp. The Indian would, at all
events, be able to lead him right. But what if, after all, Black Hawk
had proved treacherous? I was thankful when Captain Norton, after
waiting for another hour, decided to send out three or four men. Tim
and I begged that we might go; and Lejoillie offered to accompany us.
As our horses were tolerably fresh, we should get over more ground than
the men on foot, so we at once set out in the direction Carlos had
taken. The moon, we knew, would shortly rise and enable us to see our
way. We knew that in the immediate neighbourhood of the camp there was
but little risk of our falling in with an enemy; but it was possible,
should we continue on to any distance from it, that we might find
ourselves unexpectedly in the presence of a band of Redskins. Lejoillie
at last proposed that we should return, observing that Carlos could not
intentionally have gone as far, and that if he had met with any
accident, we should find him nearer the camp.
Just after he had said this, I noticed, near the edge of a wood, a
light, as if from a small fire. I pointed it out to Lejoillie and Tim.
We at all events were bound to examine it, and at once rode forward. As
we drew nearer, we could hear the howling and yelping of wolves.
Presently the moon rose beyond the far-extending prairie, and showed us
a wood on one side, with a number of large birds flitting to and fro, or
hovering about the fire.
"Some one lies there, depend upon it," said Lejoillie. "Those birds,
like the wolves, gather only to feed on the dead."
We galloped forward. On the ground before the fire lay the body of a
man, with an arrow sticking in his breast. If dead, he was only just
so, for the savage brutes had not yet commenced their banquet. As we
approached they retreated, still howling, to a distance. I threw myself
from my horse, oppressed by a terrible dread that the body was that of
my cousin. A glance at the features, on which the light of the fire
fell, convinced me of the sad fact. It seemed as if only just then the
breath had left his body, for it was still warm. I was joined by
Lejoillie, while Tim held the horses.
"We can do nothing for him, I fear," said my friend, feeling his pulse.
"Even had there been life in him, the moment we withdrew the arrow he
would have died. Let me warn you it is no safe place; the fellow who
killed him may be watching to shoot us. We must be away from this, and
it will be time enough to consider as we go along how he came here and
met with his death. We will carry him with us to the camp, poor boy,
and prevent him being torn to pieces by the wolves."
Tim was inclined to give way to a howl of sorrow in honour of the young
master, but I stopped him. He insisted, however, on carrying the body,
as the last mark of respect he could show to my uncle's son. "It would
have broken my heart entirely, Mr. Maurice, if it had been you. It's
bad enough, sure, as it is," he exclaimed, as he placed the inanimate
form across his saddle.
We galloped on, feeling that it was more than likely that we should have
a flight of arrows whistling after us.
"Sure, as I'm a living man, it's that villain Black Hawk did the deed!"
exclaimed Tim. "I saw the look he gave when he heard that Mr. Carlos
had killed Spotted Wolf. He had planned the black deed for many a day."
Lejoillie and I agreed with Tim, though how Carlos came to have been led
so far away it was at first difficult to say. Perhaps Black Hawk had
induced him to dismount, and then, taking his gun, had galloped off with
his horse. Carlos, not being able to find his way back to the camp, had
probably lighted a fire to keep off the wolves; and while seated before
it, either Black Hawk or some other Indian had shot him. Such was the
only way we could account for the position in which we had found him.
Captain Norton was much grieved, and blamed himself greatly for having
allowed Black Hawk to accompany Carlos. We dug his grave close to our
camp, and spent a portion of the night in piling up logs over it to mark
the spot. Though I had before been looking forward to the satisfaction
of falling in with my uncle, I now dreaded the meeting and the task I
should have to perform of telling him of the death of my cousin. As no
more was seen of Black Hawk, we had no doubt that he had committed the
deed.
We had now reached as far north as there would be any use in going, as
my uncle and his party must have come by this time fully as far south as
we then were if they had not already passed us. Though the country was
almost in as wild a state as in the southern parts, there were a few
log-huts and other primitive buildings scattered about; but the
inhabitants had fled for fear of the Indians. Both we and our horses
being pretty well tired by a long day's journey, we took up our quarters
in one of these huts. The men were encamped outside, with the usual
sentries placed at equal distances; and we had thrown ourselves on the
rough tables and benches, the only remaining furniture, when the sound
of distant firing reached our ears.
"Sure there's fightin' goin' on!" cried Tim.
We started to our feet. The horses were saddled, the men fell in, and
we hastened on, hoping to arrive in time to assist any whites who might
be engaged, whether my uncle's party or others. We had still light
enough to see our way, though the sun was near setting. At last we came
within sight of another hut of some size, near which the fighting had
been taking place, of which we had sad proof by seeing the bodies of
three white men stretched on the ground. But their comrades were
advancing, driving the enemy before them.
"They will be led into an ambush!" cried Captain Norton; and ordering
Tim to halt the men a little in advance of where they then were, he
dashed forward to prevent the catastrophe he feared, I was about to
follow, when a black, whom I recognised as one of my uncle's servants,
rushed out of the hut.
"Is dat you, Massa Maurice?" he exclaimed. "Whar Massa Carlos? we
'fraid dat his fader die an' he want bery much to see him. Come in; he
in here; come in!"
Giving the reins of my horse to one of the men, I threw myself from the
saddle, and hurried into the hut. My uncle lay on a low bedstead
covered with straw, while one of his followers stood near him with his
rifle in his hand. The black, taking a lamp, led the way to the bed.
As the light fell on my uncle's countenance, I saw that his features
were set, and his eyes had lost their expression. I knelt by his side
and took his hand: though warm, it failed to return my pressure.
"Speak to me--speak to me, uncle!" I exclaimed, but no reply came.