THE GODS AT PLAY
De Galissonnière gazed at the three faces, peering at him over the
brink, and then drew himself together jauntily. His position, perched
on the face of the cliff, was picturesque, and he made the most of it.
"I am glad to see you again Mr. Willet, Mr. Lennox and Tayoga, the
brave Onondaga," he said. "It's been a long time since we met in
Québec and much water has flowed under that bridge of Avignon, of
which we French sing, but I can't see that any one of you has changed
much."
"Nor you," said Robert, catching his tone and acting as spokesman
for the three. "The circumstances are unusual, Captain Louis de
Galissonnière, and I'm sorry I can't invite you to come up on our
crest, but it wouldn't be military to let you have a look at our
fortifications."
"I understand, and I do very well where I am. I wish to say first that
I am sorry to see you in such a plight."
"And we, Captain, regret to find you allied with such a savage as
Tandakora."
A quick flush passed over the young Frenchman's face, but he made no
other sign.
"In war one cannot always choose," he replied. "I have come to receive
your surrender, and I warn you very earnestly that it will be wise for
you to tender it. The Indians have lost one man already and they are
inflamed. If they lose more I might not be able to control them."
"And if we yield ourselves you pledge us our lives, a transfer in
safety to Canada where we are to remain as prisoners of war, until
such time as we may be exchanged?"
"All that I promise, and gladly."
"You're sure, Captain de Galissonnière, that you can carry out the
conditions?"
"Absolutely sure. You are surrounded here on the peak, and you cannot
get away. All we have to do is to keep the siege."
"That is true, but while you can wait so can we."
"But we have plenty of water, and you have none."
"You would urge us again to surrender on the ground that it would be
the utmost wisdom for us to do so?"
"It goes without saying, Mr. Lennox."
"Then, that being the case, we decline."
De Galissonnière looked up in astonishment at the young face that
gazed down at him. The answer he had expected was quite the reverse.
"You mean that you refuse?" he exclaimed.
"It is just what I meant."
"May I ask why, when you are in such a hopeless position?"
"Tayoga, Mr. Willet and I wish to see how long we can endure the pangs
of thirst without total collapse. We've had quite a difference on the
subject. Tayoga says ten days, Mr. Willet twelve days, but I think we
can stand it a full two weeks."
De Galissonnière frowned.
"You are frivolous, Mr. Lennox," he said, "and this is not a time for
light talk. I don't know what you mean, but it seems to me you don't
appreciate the dire nature of your peril. I liked you and your
comrades when I met you in Québec and I do not wish to see you perish
at the hands of the savages. That is why I have climbed up here to
make you this offer, which I have wrung from the reluctant Tandakora.
It was he who assured me that the besieged were you. It pains me that
you see fit to reject it."
"I know it was made out of a good heart," said Robert, seriously, "and
we thank you for the impulse that brought you here. Some day we may be
able to repay it, but we decline because there are always chances. You
know, Captain, that while we have life we always have hope. We may yet
escape."
"I do not see wherein it is possible," said the young Frenchman, with
actual reluctance in his tone. "But it is for you to decide what you
wish to do. Farewell."
"Farewell, Captain de Galissonnière," said Robert, with the utmost
sincerity. "I hope no bullet of ours will touch you."
The captain made a courteous gesture of good-by and slowly descended
the slope, disappearing among the bushes in the gorge, whence came a
fierce and joyous shout.
"That was the cry of the savages when he told them our answer," said
Willet. "They don't want us to surrender. They think that by-and-by
we'll fall into their hands through exhaustion, and then they can work
their will upon us."
"They don't know about that fountain, that pure, blessed fountain,"
said Robert, "the finest fountain that gushes out anywhere in this
northern wilderness, the fountain that Tayoga's Areskoui has put here
for our especial benefit."
His heart had become very light and, as usual when his optimism was
at its height, words gushed forth. Water, and their ability to get it
whenever they wanted it, was the key to everything, and he painted
their situation in such bright colors that his two comrades could not
keep from sharing his enthusiasm.
"Truly, Dagaeoga did not receive the gift of words in vain," said
Tayoga. "Golden speech flows from him, and it lifts up the minds
of those who hear. Manitou finds a use for everybody, even for the
orator."
"Though it was a hard task, even for Manitou," laughed Robert.
They watched the whole afternoon without any demonstration from the
enemy--they expected none--and toward evening the Onondaga, who was
gazing into the north, announced a dark shadow on the horizon.
"What is it?" asked Robert. "A cloud? I hope we won't have another
storm."
"It is no cloud," replied Tayoga. "It is something else that moves
very fast, and it comes in our direction. A little longer and I can
tell what it is. Now I see; it is a flight of wild pigeons, a great
flock, hundreds of thousands, and millions, going south to escape the
winter."
"We've seen such flights often."
"So we have, but this is coming straight toward us, and I have a great
thought, Dagaeoga. Areskoui has not only forgiven us for our unknown
sin--perhaps of omission--but he has also decided to put help in our
way, if we will use it. You see many dwarf trees at the southern edge
of the crest, and I believe that by dark they will be covered with
pigeons, stopping for the night."
"And some of them will stop for our benefit, though we have bear meat
too! I see, Tayoga."
Robert watched the flying cloud, which had grown larger and blacker,
and then he saw that Tayoga was right. It was an immense flock of wild
pigeons, and, as the twilight fell, they covered the trees upon their
crest so thickly that the boughs bent beneath them. Young Lennox and
the Onondaga killed as many as they wished with sticks, and soon, fat
and juicy, they were broiling over the coals.
"Tandakora will guess that the pigeons have fed us," said Robert, "and
he will not like it, but he will yet know nothing about the water."
They climbed down in turn in the darkness and took a drink, and
Robert, who explored a little, found many vines loaded with wild
grapes, ripe and rich, which made a splendid dessert. Then he took
a number of the smaller but very tough stems, and knotting them
together, with the assistance of Tayoga ran a strong rope from the
crest down to the fountain, thus greatly easing the descent for water
and the return.
"Now we can take two drinks where we took one before," he said
triumphantly when the task was finished. "If you have your water there
is nothing like making it easy to be reached. Moreover, while it was
safe for an agile fellow like me, you and Dave, Tayoga, being stiff
and clumsy, might have tumbled down the mountain and then I should
have been lonesome."
Willet, who had been keeping the watch alone, was inclined to the
belief that they might expect an attack in the night, if it should
prove to be very dark. He felt able, however, should such an attempt
come, to detect the advance of the savages, either by sight or
hearing, especially the latter, ear in such cases generally informing
him earlier than eye. But as neither Robert nor Tayoga was busy they
joined him, and all three sat near the brink with their rifles across
their knees, and their pistols loosened in their belts, ready for
their foes should they come in numbers.
They talked a while in low tones, and then fell silent. The night had
come, starless and moonless, favorable to the designs of Tandakora,
but they felt intense satisfaction, nevertheless. It was partly
physical. Robert's making of an easy road to the water, the coming of
the pigeons, to be eaten, apparently sent by Areskoui, and the ease
with which they believed they could hold their lofty fortress,
combined to produce a victorious state of mind. Robert looked over the
brink once or twice at the steep slope, and he felt that the warriors
would, in truth, be taking a mighty risk, if they came up that steep
path against the three.
He and Tayoga, in the heavy darkness, depended, like Willet, chiefly
on ear. It was impossible to see to the bottom of the valley, where
the dusk had rolled up like a sea, but, as the night was still, they
felt sure they could hear anyone climbing up the peak. In order to
make themselves more comfortable they spread their blankets at the
very brink, and lay down upon them, thus being able to repose, and at
the same time watch without the risk of inviting a shot.
Young Lennox knew that the attack, if it came at all, would not come
until late, and restraining his naturally eager and impatient temper,
he used all the patience that his strong will could summon, never
ceasing meanwhile to lend an attentive ear to every sound of the
night. He heard the wind rise, moan a little while in the gorge and
then die; he heard a fitful breeze rustle the boughs on the slopes and
then grow still, and he heard his comrades move once or twice to ease
their positions, but no other sound came to him until nearly midnight,
and then he heard the fall of a pebble on the slope, absolute proof
to one experienced as he that it had been displaced by the incautious
foot of a climbing enemy.
The rattling of the pebble was succeeded by a long interval of
silence, and the lad understood that too. The warriors, to whom time
was nothing, fearing that suspicion had been aroused by the fall of
the pebble, would wait until it had been lulled before resuming their
advance. They would flatten themselves like lizards against the slope,
not stirring an inch. But the three were as patient as they, and while
a full hour passed after the slip of the stone before the slightest
sound came from the slope, they did not relax their vigilance a
particle. Then all three heard a slight rustle among the bushes and
they peered cautiously over.
They were able to discern the dim outline of figures among the bushes
about twenty feet below, and Wilier, who directed the defense,
whispered that Tayoga and he would take aim, while Robert held his
fire in reserve. Then the Onondaga and he picked their targets in
the darkness and pulled trigger. Shouts, the fall of bodies and the
crackling of rifles came back. A half dozen bullets, fired almost at
random, whistled over their heads and then Robert sent his own lead at
a shadow which appeared very clearly among the bushes, a crashing fall
following at once.
Then the three, not waiting to reload, snatched out their pistols and
held themselves ready for a further attack, if it should come. But it
did not come. Even the rage of Tandakora had had enough. His second
repulse had been bloodier than the first, and it had been proved with
the lives of his warriors that they could not storm that terrible
steep, in the face of three such redoubtable marksmen.
Robert heard a number of pebbles rolling now, but they were made by
men descending, and the three, certain of abundant leisure, reloaded
their rifles. Their eyes told them nothing, but they were as sure as
if they had seen them that the warriors had disappeared in the sea of
darkness with which the gulf was filled. The lad breathed a long sigh
of relief.
"You're justified in your satisfaction," said Willet. "I think it's
the last direct attack they'll make upon us. Now they'll try the slow
methods of siege and our exhaustion by thirst, and how it would make
their venom rise if they knew anything about that glorious fountain
of ours! Since it's to be a test of patience, we'd better make things
easy for ourselves. I'll sit here and watch the slope, and, as the
night is turning cold, you and Tayoga, Robert, can build a fire."
There was a dip in the center of the crest, and in this they heaped
the fallen wood, which here as elsewhere in the wilderness was
abundant. Wood and water, two great requisites of primitive man, they
had in plenty, and had it not been for their eagerness to go forward
with their work they would have been content to stay indefinitely on
the peak.
The fire was soon blazing cheerfully. Warriors on the opposing peaks
or crest might see it, but they did not care. No bullets from rival
heights could reach them and the light would appear to their enemies
as a beacon of defiance, a sort of challenge that was very pleasing to
Robert's soul. He basked in the glow and heat of the coals, ate bear
meat and wild pigeon for a late supper, and discoursed on the strength
of their natural fortress.
"The peak was reared here by Areskoui for our especial benefit," he
said. "It is in every sense a tower of strength, water even being
placed in its side that we might not die of thirst."
"And yet we cannot stay here always," said the Onondaga. "Tomorrow we
must think of a way of escape."
"Let tomorrow take care of itself. Tayoga, you're too serious! You're
missing the pleasure of the night."
"Dagaeoga loves to talk and he talks well. His voice is pleasant in my
ear like to the murmur of a silver brook. Perhaps he is right. Lo! the
clouds have gone, and I can see Tododaho on his star. Areskoui watches
over us by day and Tododaho by night. We are once more the favorites
of the Sun God and of the great Onondaga who went away to his
everlasting star more than four centuries ago. Again I say Dagaeoga is
right; I will enjoy the night, and let the morrow care for itself."
He drew the folds of his blanket to his chin and stretched his length
before the fire. Having made up his mind to be satisfied, Tayoga would
let nothing interfere with such a laudable purpose. Soon he slept
peacefully.
"You might follow him," said Willet.
"I don't think I can do it now," said Robert. "I've a restless
spirit."
"Then wander about the peak, and I'll take up my old place at the edge
of the slope."
Robert went back to the far side, where he had stretched his rope of
grape vines down to the spring, and, craving their cool, fresh taste,
he ate more of the grapes. He noticed then that they were uncommonly
plentiful. All along the cliff they trailed in great, rich clusters,
black and glossy, fairly asking to be eaten. In places the vines
hung in perfect mazes, and he looked at them questioningly. Then
the thought came to him and he wondered why it had been so slow of
arrival. He returned to Willet and said:
"I don't think you need watch any longer here, Dave."
"Why?" was the hunter's astonished reply.
"Because we're going to leave the mountain."
"Leave the mountain! It's more likely, Robert, that your prudence has
left you. If we went down the slope we'd go squarely into the horde,
and then it would be a painful and lingering end for us."
"I don't mean the slope. We're to go down the other side of the
cliff."
"Except here and near the bottom the mountain is as steep everywhere
as the side of a house. The only way for us to get down is to fall
down and then we'd stop too quick."
"We don't have to fall down, we'll climb down."
"Can't be done, Robert, my boy. There's not enough bushes."
"We don't need bushes, there are miles of grape vines as strong as
leather. All we have to do is to knot them together securely and our
rope is ready. If we eased our way to the spring with vines then we
can finish the journey to the bottom of the cliff with them."
The hunter's gaze met that of the lad, and it was full of approval.
"I believe you've found the way, Robert," said Willet. "Wake Tayoga
and see what he thinks."
The Onondaga received the proposal with enthusiasm, and he made the
further suggestion that they build high the fire for the sake of
deceiving the besiegers.
"And suppose we prop up two or three pieces of fallen tree trunk
before it," added Robert. "Warriors watching on the opposite slopes
will take them for our figures and will not dream that we're
attempting to escape."
That idea, too, was adopted, and in a few minutes the fire was blazing
and roaring, while a stream of sparks drifted up merrily from it to be
lost in the dusk. Near it the fragments of tree trunks set erect would
pass easily, at a great distance and in the dark, for human beings.
Then, while Willet watched, Robert and Tayoga knotted the vines with
quick and dextrous hands, throwing the cable over a bough, and trying
every knot with their double weight. A full two hours they toiled and
then they exulted.
"It will reach from the clump of bushes about the fountain to the next
clump below, which is low down," said Robert, "and from there we can
descend without help."
They called Willet, and the three, leaving the crest which had been
such a refuge for them and which they had defended so well, descended
to the fountain. At that point they secured their cable with infinite
care to the largest of the dwarf trees and let it drop over across a
bare space to the next clump of bushes below, a distance that seemed
very great, it was so steep. Robert claimed the honor of the first
descent, but it was finally conceded to Tayoga, who was a trifle
lighter.
The Onondaga fastened securely upon his back his rifle and his pack
containing food, and then, grasping the cable firmly with both hands,
he began to go down, while his friends watched with great anxiety. He
was not obliged to swing clear his whole weight, but was able to brace
his feet against the cliff. Thus he steadied the vines, but Robert and
Willet nevertheless breathed great sighs of relief, when he reached
the bushes below, and detached himself from the cable.
"It is safe," he called back.
Robert went next and Willet followed. When the three were in the
bushes, clinging to their tough and wiry strength, they found that the
difficulties, as they invariably do, had decreased. Below them the
slope was not so steep by any means, and, by holding to the rocky
outcrops and scant bushes, they could make the full descent of the
mountain. While they rested for a little space where they were, Robert
suddenly began to laugh.
"Is Dagaeoga rejoicing so soon?" asked Tayoga
"Why shouldn't I laugh," replied Robert, "when we have such a good
jest?"
"What jest? I see none."
"Why, to think of Tandakora sitting at the foot of our peak and
watching there three or four days, waiting all the time for us to die
of hunger and thirst, and we far to the south. At least he'll see that
the mountain doesn't get away, and Tandakora, I take it, has small
sense of humor. When he penetrates the full measure of the joke he'll
love us none the less. Perhaps, though, De Galissonnière will not
mourn, because he knows that if we were taken after a siege he could
not save us from the cruelty of the savages."
The hunter and the Onondaga were forced to laugh a little with him,
and then, rested thoroughly, they resumed the descent, leaving their
cable to tell its own tale, later on. The rest of the slope, although
possible, was slow and painful, testing their strength and skill to
the utmost, but they triumphed over everything and before day were in
a gorge, with the entire height of the peak towering above them and
directly between them and their enemies. Here they flung themselves
on the ground and rested until day, when they began a rapid flight
southward, curving about among the peaks, as the easiest way led them.
The air rapidly grew warmer, showing that the sudden winter had come
only on the high mountains, and that autumn yet lingered on the lower
levels. The gorgeous reds and yellows and browns and vivid shades
between returned, but there was a haze in the air and the west was
dusky.
"Storm will come again before night," said Tayoga.
"I think so too," said Willet, "and as I've no mind to be beaten about
by it, suppose we build a spruce shelter in the gorge here and wait
until it passes."
The two lads were more than willing, feeling that the chance of
pursuit had passed for a long time at least, and they set to work with
their sharp hatchets, rapidly making a crude but secure wickiup, as
usual against the rocky side of a hill. Before the task was done the
sky darkened much more, and far in the west thunder muttered.
"It's rolling down a gorge," said Robert, "and hark! you can hear it
also in the south."
From a point, far distant from the first, came a like rumble, and,
after a few moments of silence, a third rumble was heard to the east.
Silence again and then the far rumble came from the south.
"That's odd," said Robert. "It isn't often that you hear thunder on
all sides of you."
"Listen!" exclaimed Tayoga, whose face bore a rapt and extraordinary
look. The four rumbles again went around the horizon, coming from one
point after the other in turn.
"It is no ordinary thunder," said the Onondaga in a tone of deep
conviction.
"What is it, then?" asked Robert.
"It is Manitou, Areskoui, Tododaho and Hayowentha talking together.
That is why we have the thunder north, east, south and west. Hear
their voices carrying all through the heavens!"
"Which is Manitou?"
"That I cannot tell. But the great gods talk, one with another, though
what they say is not for us to know. It is not right that mere mortals
like ourselves should understand them, when they speak across infinite
space."
"It may be that you're right, Tayoga," said Willet.
The three did not yet go into the spruce shelter, because, contrary to
the signs, there was no rain. The wind moaned heavily and thick black
clouds swept up in an almost continuous procession from the western
horizon, but they did not let a drop fall. The thunder at the four
points of the horizon went on, the reports moving from north to east,
and thence to south and west, and then around and around, always in
the same direction. After every crash there was a long rumble in the
gorges until the next crash came again. Now and then lightning flared.
"It is not a storm after all," said the Onondaga, "or, at least, if a
storm should come it will not be until after night is at hand, when
the great gods are through talking. Listen to the heavy booming,
always like the sound of a thousand big guns at one time. Now the
lightning grows and burns until it is at a white heat. The great gods
not only talk, but they are at play. They hurl thunderbolts through
infinite space, and watch them fall. Then they send thunder rumbling
through our mountains, and the sound is as soft to them as a whisper
to us."
"Your idea is pretty sound, Tayoga," said Willet, who had imbibed more
than a little of the Iroquois philosophy, "and it does look as if the
gods were at play because there is so much thunder and lightning and
no rain. Look at that flash on the mountain toward the east! I think
it struck. Yes, there goes a tree! When the gods play among the peaks
it's just as well for us to stay down here in the gorge."
"But the crashes still run regularly from north to east and on
around," said Robert. "I suppose that when they finish talking, the
rain will come, and we'll have plenty of need for our spruce shelter."
The deep rumbling continued all through the rest of the afternoon.
A dusk as of twilight arrived long before sunset, but it was of an
unusually dull, grayish hue, and it affected Robert as if he were
breathing an air surcharged with gunpowder. It colored and intensified
everything. The peaks and ridges rose to greater heights, the gorges
and valleys were deeper, the reports of the thunder, extremely heavy,
in fact, were doubled and tripled in fancy; all that Tayoga had said
about the play of the gods was true. Tododaho, the great Onondaga,
spoke across the void to Hayowentha, the great Mohawk, and Areskoui,
the Sun God, conversed with Manitou, the All Powerful, Himself.
The imaginative lad felt awe but no fear. The gods at play in the
heavens would not condescend to harm a humble mortal like himself and
it was an actual pleasure because he was there to hear them. Just
before the invisible sun went over the rim of the horizon, a brilliant
red light shot for a minute or two from the west through the gray
haze, and fell on the faces of the three, sitting in silence before
their spruce shelter.
"It is Areskoui throwing off his most brilliant beams before he goes,"
said Tayoga. "Now I think the play will soon be over, and we may look
for the rain."
The crashes of thunder increased swiftly and greatly in violence, and
then, as the Onondaga had predicted, ceased abruptly. The silence that
followed was so heavy that it was oppressive. No current of air was
moving anywhere. Not a leaf stirred. The grayish haze became thicker
and every ridge and peak was hidden. Presently a sound like a sigh
came down the gorge, but it soon grew.
"We'll go inside," said Tayoga, "because the deluge is at hand."
They crowded themselves into their crude little hut, and in five
minutes the flood was upon them, pouring with such violence that some
of it forced its way through the hasty thatch, but they were able
to protect themselves with their blankets, and they slept the night
through in a fair degree of comfort.
In the morning they saw a world washed clean, bright and shining, and
they breathed an autumnal air wonderful in its purity. Feeling safe
now from pursuit, they were no longer eager to flee. A brief council
of three decided that they would hang once more on the French and
Indian flank. It had been their purpose to discover what was intended
by the formidable array they had seen, and it was their purpose yet.
They did not go back on their path, but they turned eastward into a
land of little and beautiful lakes, through which one of the great
Indian trails from the northwest passed, and made a hidden camp
near the shore of a sheet of water about a mile square, set in the
mountains like a gem. They had method in locating here, as the trail
ran through a gorge less than half a mile to the east of their camp,
and they had an idea that the spy, Garay, might pass that way, two of
them always abiding by the trail, while the third remained in their
secluded camp or hunted game. Willet shot a deer and Tayoga brought
down a rare wild turkey, while Robert caught some wonderful lake
trout. So they had plenty of food, and they were content to wait.
They were sure that Garay had not yet gone, as the storms that had
threatened them would certainly have delayed his departure, and
neither the hunter nor the Onondaga could discover any traces of
footsteps. Fortunately the air continued to turn warmer and the lower
country in which they now were had all the aspects of Indian summer.
Robert, shaken a little perhaps by the great hardships and dangers
through which he had passed, though he may not have realized at the
time the weight upon his nerves, recovered quickly, and, as usual,
passed, with the rebound, to the heights of optimism.
"What do you expect to get from Garay?" he asked Willet as he changed
places with him on the trail.
"I'm not sure," replied the hunter, "but if we catch him we'll find
something. We've got to take our bird first, and then we'll see. He
went north and west with a message, and that being the case he's bound
to take one back. I don't think Garay is a first-class woodsman and we
may be able to seize him."
Robert was pleased with the idea of the hunted turning into the
hunters, and he and Tayoga now did most of the watching along the
trail, a watch that was not relaxed either by day or by night. On
the sixth night the two youths were together, and Tayoga thought he
discerned a faint light to the north.
"It may be a low star shining over a hill," said Robert.
"I think it is the glow from a small camp fire," said the Onondaga.
"It's a question that's decided easily."
"You mean we'll stalk it, star or fire, whichever it may be?"
"That is what we're here for, Tayoga."
They began an exceedingly cautious advance toward the light, and it
soon became evident that it was a fire, though, as Tayoga had said, a
small one, set in a little valley and almost hidden by the surrounding
foliage. Now they redoubled their caution, using every forest art to
make a silent approach, as they might find a band of warriors around
the blaze, and they did not wish to walk with open eyes into any
such deadly trap. Their delight was great when they saw only one man
crouched over the coals in a sitting posture, his head bent over his
knees; so that, in effect, only his back was visible, but they knew
him at once. It was Garay.
The heart of young Lennox flamed with anger and triumph. Here was the
fellow who had tried to take his life in Albany, and, if he wished
revenge, the moment was full of opportunity. Yet he could never fire
at a man's back, and it was their cue, moreover, to take him alive.
Garay's rifle was leaning against a log, six or eight feet from him,
and his attitude indicated that he might be asleep. His clothing was
stained and torn, and he bore all the signs of a long journey and
extreme weariness.
"See what it is to come into the forest and not be master of all its
secrets," whispered Tayoga. "Garay is the messenger of Onontio (the
Governor General of Canada) and Tandakora, and yet he sleeps, when
those who oppose him are abroad."
"A man has to sleep some time or other," said Robert, "or at least a
white man must. We're not all like an Iroquois; we can't stay awake
forever if need be."
"If one goes to the land of Tarenyawagon when his enemies are at hand
he must pay the price, Dagaeoga, and now the price that Garay is going
to pay will be a high one. Surely Manitou has delivered him, helpless,
into our hands. Come, we will go closer."
They crept through the bushes until they could have reached out and
touched the spy with the muzzles of their rifles, and still he did not
stir. Into that heavy and weary brain, plunged into dulled slumbers,
entered no thought of a stalking foe. The fire sank and the bent
back sagged a little lower. Garay had traveled hard and long. He was
anxious to get back to Albany with what he knew, and he felt sure that
the northern forests contained only friends. He had built his fire
without apprehension, and sleep had overtaken him quickly.
A fox stirred in the thicket beyond the fire and looked suspiciously
at the coals and the still figure beyond them. He did not see the
other two figures in the bushes but his animosity as well as his
suspicion was aroused. He edged a little nearer, and then a slight
sound in the thicket caused him to creep back. But he was an inquiring
fox, and, although he buried himself under a bush, he still looked,
staring with sharp, intent eyes.
He saw a shadow glide from the thicket, pick up the rifle of Garay
which leaned against the fallen log, and then glide back, soundless.
The curiosity of the fox now prevailed over his suspicion. The shadow
had not menaced him, and his vulpine intelligence told him that he was
not concerned in the drama now about to unfold itself. He was merely a
spectator, and, as he looked, he saw the shadow glide back and crouch
beside the sleeping man. Then a second shadow came and crouched on the
other side.
What the fox saw was the approach of Robert and Tayoga, whom some
whimsical humor had seized. They intended to make the surprise
complete and Robert, with a memory of the treacherous shot in Albany,
was willing also to fill the soul of the spy with terror. Tayoga
adroitly removed the pistol and knife from the belt of Garay, and
Robert touched him lightly on the shoulder. Still he did not stir, and
then the youth brought his hand down heavily.
Garay uttered the sigh of one who comes reluctantly from the land of
sleep and who would have gone back through the portals which were only
half opened, but Robert brought his hand down again, good and hard.
Then his eyes flew open and he saw the calm face beside him, and the
calm eyes less than a foot away, staring straight into his own.
It must be an evil dream, he thought at first, but it had all the
semblance of reality, and, when he turned his head in fear, he saw
another face on the other side of him, carved in red bronze, it too
only a foot away and staring at him in stern accusation.
Then all the faculties of Garay, spy and attempted assassin, leaped
into life, and he uttered a yell of terror, springing to his feet, as
if he had been propelled by a galvanic battery. Strong hands, seizing
him on either side, pulled him down again and the voice of Tayoga, of
the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great League of
the Hodenosaunee said insinuatingly in his ear:
"Sit down, Achille Garay! Here are two who wish to talk with you!"
He fell back heavily and his soul froze within him, as he recognized
the faces. His figure sagged, his eyes puffed out, and he waited in
silent terror.
"I see that you recognize us, Achille Garay," said Robert, whose
whimsical humor was still upon him. "You'll recall that shot in
Albany. Perhaps you did not expect to meet my friend and me here in
the heart of the northern forests, but here we are. What have you to
say for yourself?"
Garay strove to speak, but the half formed words died on his lips.
"We wish explanations about that little affair in Albany," continued
his merciless interlocutor, "and perhaps there is no better time than
the present. Again I repeat, what have you to say? And you have also
been in the French and Indian camp. You bore a message to St. Luc and
Tandakora and beyond a doubt you bear another back to somebody. We
want to know about that too. Oh, we want to know about many things!"
"I have no message," stammered Garay.
"Your word is not good. We shall find methods of making you talk. You
have been among the Indians and you ought to know something about
these methods. But first I must lecture you on your lack of woodcraft.
It is exceedingly unwise to build a fire in the wilderness and go
to sleep beside it, unless there is someone with you to watch. I'm
ashamed of you, Monsieur Garay, to have neglected such an elementary
lesson. It made your capture easy, so ridiculously easy that it
lacked piquancy and interest. Tayoga and I were not able to give our
faculties and strength the healthy exercise they need. Come now, are
you ready to walk?"
"What are you going to do with me?" asked Garay in French, which both
of his captors understood and spoke.
"We haven't decided upon that," replied Robert maliciously, "but
whatever it is we'll make it varied and lively. It may please you
to know that we've been waiting several days for you, but we scarce
thought you'd go to sleep squarely in the trail, just where we'd be
sure to see you. Stand up now and march like a man, ready to meet any
fate. Fortune has turned against you, but you still have the chance to
show your Spartan courage and endurance."
"The warrior taken by his enemies meets torture and death with a
heroic soul," said Tayoga solemnly.
Garay shivered.
"You'll save me from torture?" he said to Robert.
Young Lennox shook his head.
"I'd do so if it were left to me," he said, "but my friend, Tayoga,
has a hard heart. In such matters as these he will not let me have my
way. He insists upon the ancient practices of his nation. Also, David
Willet, the hunter, is waiting for us, and he too is strong for
extreme measures. You'll soon face him. Now, march straight to the
right!"
Garay with a groan raised himself to his feet and walked unsteadily in
the direction indicated. Close behind him came the avenging two.