THE NIGHT ATTACK.
The night gradually closed down upon the flat-boat. Upon inquiry,
Hezekiah found that their elderly companion, Mr. Lander, instead of
being an assistant to them, was an encumbrance. A confirmed invalid,
he was barely able to remain on his feet for more than a few moments,
and had expressed the wish only that he might be allowed to reach the
settlement and die.
He was totally unfit to handle a rifle, and had not attempted it for
years, so that, although Waring had another weapon beside his own, it
may be stated that he started upon this expedition entirely alone--a
proceeding, that in its foolhardiness, was unaccountable.
As Waring had predicted, the night proved of intense darkness.
In a few hours, both shores became entirely invisible, and shortly
after, it was almost impossible to see the length of the boat. Under
these circumstances, it was proposed to work the flat-boat into
shore, and tie up for the night. All were totally unacquainted with
the windings of the river, and they were fearful that they might run
aground in the darkness, and be unable to get the craft afloat again.
They were pretty certain, too, that they had been constantly watched
from the banks, and that it would not be long before the Indian canoes
would be ranging up and down the river in search of them.
If this were the case, their only plans of escaping them would be by
sweeping into shore, and remaining there until the moon arose. On the
other hand, it was hardly probable that the flat-boat could approach
nigh enough to the shore, to gain any protection from it.
The water was so shallow, that it was likely to ground when several
rods distant, in which case, the situation of the fugitives would be
far worse than if attacked while in the midst of the channel. And
beside this, they also ran the chance of being discovered, even if they
should reach the bank without grounding.
The savages would be passing up and down the shore; and as it would
require considerable effort and some noise to work the lumbering
concern out of the course it was pursuing, the trained ears of the
redskins could hardly fail to detect it.
All these considerations being taken into account, it was decided that,
for an hour or two at least, they would keep their position in the
midst of the channel.
The greatest cause for alarm, as we have before hinted, lay in the fact
that not one of the whites in the flat-boat was acquainted with the
river.
They were drifting aimlessly downward, only conscious of their general
direction. The Ohio River abounds, as all our readers are aware, with
numerous islands, and many of these lying directly in the middle of the
stream--our friends had good cause to apprehend running upon one of
them.
The flat-boat had a long oar swung at either end, by which its motions
were controlled, much in the same manner that the rafts which descend
our rivers at this day are managed.
To guard as much as possible against the calamity mentioned, Hezekiah
Smith and Pat Mulroony passed to the forward part of the boat, so as
to be ready, not only to sheer the boat off, when "breakers" were
discovered, but to be prepared for any venturesome Shawanoes that might
choose this as their point of attack.
Mr. Lander and his daughter remained below, as both well knew their
presence would be of no assistance to those above; and the whites were
thus disposed when the incident we are about to describe took place.
Hezekiah stood leaning over the prow, listening intently for the least
evidence of the approach of their enemies. The only sound as yet
heard, was what might be characterized as the _audible silence_ of the
forest--that deep, solemn roar, like the distant voice of the ocean,
that is as eternal as the great sea itself.
Now and then, the melancholy night wind moaned through the tree tops,
with a dismal and lonely voice, in consonance with the feelings of the
three listeners; and once or twice the far off scream of some denizen
of the forest was borne faintly forward to their ear.
Then, again, the silence became so profound, that the soft ripple of
the current could be heard against some projecting root, or dipping
branch. But these sounds were all natural to the wilderness, and
excited no emotions, except to add to the dreary loneliness of the
scene.
The New Englander had stood in the attitude of attention for more than
an hour, when he detected the cautious dip of a paddle. He instantly
raised his head and peered out in the direction from which it came,
but in the Stygian darkness could detect nothing at all. He maintained
the same attitude for full an hour, during which he heard the sound
repeated twice. Fully satisfied that strangers were in the vicinity, he
gave utterance to a suppressed whistle, to place Waring on the guard,
and leaning toward Pat, he asked in a whisper whether, if he had no
objection to tell, he had detected any suspicious sound.
"There's a haythen canoe that has been following us for the last hour
or more, or my name isn't Pat Mulroony."
"Hist! there it is again!" admonished Hezekiah, arching his neck, and
gazing out in the darkness. Both listened, but Pat failed to hear that
which had startled his companion.
"They're mighty oncareful is them same Injins," added the Irishman.
"Whisht! but look! there's the divils this minute!"
As he spoke, Pat sprang up in great excitement, and pointed out on the
river. Looking in the same direction Hezekiah caught the outlines of a
long Indian canoe, filled with shadowy figures, which glided under the
prow of the flat-boat, and came to rest as noiselessly as a phantom.
Almost at the same instant a tufted head appeared above the gunwale,
but it was crushed like an eggshell by a tremendous blow from the
clubbed rifle of the Irishman. This was scarce done when the head and
shoulders of another rose within a foot of where Hezekiah stood.
"Take that, you thundering redskin!" he exclaimed, striking him a
terrible blow square in the face, that sent the dusky savage spinning
out in mid-air, with the blood spouting from his nostrils. "Dern your
picter! what business you got poking your head up here? I say, Waring,
the Indians have come--look out for them."
In his excitement, Hezekiah Smith dropped his rifle, and springing up
and down, as though the deck had suddenly become red hot, he delivered
his fearful blows indiscriminately, while Pat kept his rifle swinging
like the arms of a windmill.
"Begorrah! but the shillaleh comes natural to the Tipperary boys!" he
exclaimed, between his set teeth, "and Pat Mulroony was born with one
in his hand, and has been trained up to the illigant profession of
breaking heads. Some of ye will go home to-night with bootiful faces,
barrin' yer won't have any faces at all to go home with."
The Indians had evidently counted upon a surprise, and were not
prepared for the furious courage with which they were received.
They had followed the flat-boat until they judged the inmates were
either asleep or off their guard, when they had come upon them in the
stealthy manner narrated. The consequence was that in less than five
minutes after the attack, the canoe had disappeared with the surviving
Shawanoes, and nothing was heard save the slapping of Hezekiah's feet
as he still sprang up and down the deck, and swung his arms around him
ready for the next bronzed head that might offer. It required Pat some
time to convince him that the danger for the present had passed, and
there were no more enemies to contend against. By degrees he became
quieted, and was able to converse rationally when Waring made his
appearance among them.
During all this tumult, Lander had not shown himself, nor even so much
as given evidence that he felt the least concern at the conflict going
on. His daughter, when the firing had subsided, cautiously opened
the door, and called the name of her lover. He instantly assured her
that the savages had fled, and besought her to return to her room.
First receiving a hurried but fervent kiss upon her blanched cheek,
she complied, imploring him to be careful and not expose himself
unnecessarily to danger.
A silence as profound as that of the tomb, succeeded the onslaught of
the savages. Some minutes later, the noise of paddles was again heard;
but, as Hezekiah had, by this time, gained his equilibrium of mind, and
convinced that the Shawanoes could not immediately attempt the same
stratagem in which they had so signally failed, he returned to his
place beside Waring, leaving the Irishman alone at the bow of the boat.
"If you have no objection to tell me," said Hezekiah in his usual
insinuating voice, "what do you propose to do, now that we are in the
midst of danger? How, in thunder, are we to get out?"
"I am afraid," replied Waring, "that the Indians are constantly ranging
up and down the river, and so long as we remain in the channel we are
not safe."
"How do you propose to get out of the channel?"
"Let us work the craft into shore, and wait till the moon rises before
starting. Thinking that we are in the middle of the current, they will
not look along the bank for us, and we shall thus be safe until we can
see where we are."
It was Waring who first proposed to run in under the protection of
the bank, and he had never once doubted its expediency. He advocated
it now so earnestly that neither Hezekiah nor Pat made any objection.
Accordingly, the long, sweeping oars were dipped deeply and silently
into the water, and under the powerful impulse of the sturdy-armed men
it began gradually veering off toward the Ohio shore. The greatest
caution was exercised, as the creaking of one of the sweeps might tell
any savages in the vicinity what the whites were doing. This was a
delicate task, but our friends believed they were succeeding as well
they could wish. All at once, the dark line of trees were discovered
through the darkness, and ceasing their efforts, the boat continued
approaching, until the branches brushed over their heads, and the
bottom, striking the mud of the stream, the forward motion of the craft
was checked.
The whites had every reason to be pleased with their situation had
not a slight accident caused them a little anxiety. As Pat Mulroony
attempted to shove a limb from before him, it broke with a cracking
noise that could have been heard across the river. This caused so much
apprehension, that for a time, Waring was on the point of working the
boat out into the current again; but, finally, his fears subsided,
and he concluded to remain in his present position until the rising
of the moon. The flat-boat lay about ten feet from the mainland, and
had grounded so slightly that had it not been secured by tying it to
one of the branches ahead, it would have floated off again. This was
the precise situation in which Waring had been anxious to get it; and,
excepting the slight accident alluded to above, he had every reason to
be satisfied with the state of affairs. The darkness was so great, and
the peculiar position in which the craft lay so favorable, that no
Shawanoe would have discovered it in passing within a dozen feet of it
had not his suspicion been first attracted to it.
The three whites remained on deck, now and then whispering to each
other, and passing on tiptoe from one portion to another, but nothing
more of their enemies was seen or heard for a long time.
Pat Mulroony was leaning over the prow, as he had been leaning for the
last hour, and was looking down in the water, when he discerned a dark,
ball-like object moving along on the surface. At first, he took it to
be a piece of floating wood; but, as it passed around the prow, in a
manner that the motion of the current could not have caused, he was not
long in identifying it. It was the head of an Indian.
Communicating this fact to Waring and Hezekiah, the hold upon the
branch was loosened, and under the additional impulse of the oars, the
flat bottom was once more floating down the Ohio.