READING THE SIGNS
On the third day the trail of the Great Bear was well among the ranges and
Tayoga calculated that they could not be many hours behind him, but all the
evidence, as they saw it, showed conclusively that he was going toward Lake
Champlain.
"It seems likely to me," said the Onondaga, "that he left the rangers to
seek us, and that Rogers meanwhile would move eastward. Having learned in
some way or other that he could not find us, he will now follow the rangers
wherever they may go."
"And we will follow him wherever he goes," said Robert.
An hour later the Onondaga uttered an exclamation, and pointed to the
trail. Another man coming from the south had joined Willet. The traces were
quite distinct in the grass, and it was also evident from the character of
the footsteps that the stranger was white.
"A wandering hunter or trapper? A chance meeting?" said Robert.
Tayoga shook his head.
"Then a ranger who was out on a scout, and the two are going on together to
join Rogers?"
"Wrong in both cases," he said. "I know who joined the Great Bear, as well
as if I saw him standing there in the footprints he has made. It was not a
wandering hunter and it was not a ranger. You will notice, Dagaeoga, that
these traces are uncommonly large. They are not slender like the footprints
of the Great Bear, but broad as well as long. Why, I should know anywhere
in the world what feet made them. Think, Dagaeoga!"
"I don't seem to recall."
"Willet is a great hunter and scout, among the bravest of men, skillful on
the trail, and terrible in battle, but the man who is now with him is all
these also. A band attacking the two would have no easy task to conquer
them. You have seen both on the trail in the forest and you have seen both
in battle. Try hard to think, Dagaeoga!"
"Black Rifle!"
"None other. It is far north for him, but he has come, and he and the Great
Bear were glad to see each other. Here they stood and shook hands."
"There is not a possible sign to indicate such a thing."
"Only the certain rules of logic. Once again I bid you use your mind. We
see with it oftener than with the eye. White men, when they are good
friends and meet after a long absence, always shake hands. So my mind tells
me with absolute certainty that the Great Bear and Black Rifle did so. Then
they talked together a while. Now the eye tells me, because here are
footsteps in a little group that says so, and then they walked on,
fearless of attack. It is an easy trail to follow."
He announced in a half hour that they were about to enter an old camp of
the two men.
"Any child of the Hodenosaunee could tell that it is so," he said, "because
their trails now separate. Black Rifle turns off to the right, and the
Great Bear goes to the left. We will follow Black Rifle first. He wandered
about apparently in aimless fashion, but he had a purpose nevertheless. He
was looking for firewood. We need not follow the trail of the Great Bear,
because his object was surely the same. They were so confident of their
united strength that they built a fire to cook food and take away the
coldness of the night. Although Great Bear had no food it was not necessary
for him to hunt, because Black Rifle had enough for both. The fact that the
Great Bear did not go away in search of game proves it.
"I think we will find the remains of their fire just beyond the low hill on
the crest of which the bushes grow so thick. Once more it is mind and not
eye that tells me so, Dagaeoga. They would build a fire near because they
had begun to look for firewood, which is always plentiful in the forest,
and they would surely choose the dip which lies beyond the hill, because
the circling ridge with its frieze of bushes would hide the flames.
Although sure of their strength they did not neglect caution."
They passed over the hill, and found the dead embers of the fire.
"After they had built it Black Rifle sat on that side and the Great Bear
on this," said Tayoga, "and while they were getting it ready the Great Bear
concluded to add something on his own account to the supper."
"What do you mean, Tayoga? Is this mind or eye?"
"A combination of the two. The Great Bear is a wonderful marksman, as we
know, and while sitting on the log that he had drawn up before the fire, he
shot his game out of the tall oak on our right."
"This is neither eye nor mind, Tayoga, it is just fancy."
"No, Dagaeoga, it is mostly eye, though helped by mind. My conclusion that
he was sitting, when he pulled the trigger is mind chiefly. He would not
have drawn up the log unless he had been ready to sit down, and everything
was complete for the supper. The Great Bear never rests until his work is
done, and he is so marvelous with the rifle that it was not necessary for
him to rise when he fired. Wilderness life demands so much of the body that
the Great Bear never makes needless exertion. There mind works, Dagaeoga,
but the rest is all eye. The squirrel was on the curved bough of the oak,
the one that projects toward the north."
"You assume a good deal to say that it was a squirrel and surely mind not
eye would select the particular bough on which he sat."
"No, Dagaeoga, eye served the whole purpose. All the other branches are
almost smothered in leaves, but the curved one is nearly bare. It is only
there that the casual glance of the Great Bear, who was not at that time
seeking game, would have caught sight of the squirrel. Also, he must have
been there, otherwise his body could not have fallen directly beneath it,
when the bullet went through his head."
"Now tell me how your eye knows his body fell from the bough."
"Ah, Dagaeoga! Your eye was given to you for use as mine was given to me,
then you should use it; in the forest you are lost unless you do. It was my
eye that saw the unmistakable sign, the sign from which all the rest
followed. Look closely and you will detect a little spot of red on the
grass just beneath the bare bough. It was blood from the squirrel."
"You cannot be sure that it was a squirrel. It might have been a pigeon or
some other bird."
"That, O, Dagaeoga, would be the easiest of all, even for you, if you could
only use your eyes, as I bid you. Almost at your feet lies a slender bone
that cannot be anything but the backbone of a squirrel. Beyond it are two
other bones, which came from the same body. We know as certainly that it
was a squirrel as we know that the Great Bear ate first a wild goose, and
then a wild duck. But it is a good camp that those two great men made, and,
as the night is coming, we will occupy it."
They relighted the abandoned fire, warmed their food and ate, and Robert
was once more devoutly glad that he had kept the heavy buffalo robe. Deep
fog came over the mountain soon after dark, and, after a while, a fine
cold, and penetrating rain was shed from the heart of it. They kept the
fire burning and wrapped, Tayoga in his blankets, and, Robert in the robe,
crouched before it. Then they drew the logs that the Great Bear and Black
Rifle had left, in such position that they could lean their backs against
them, and slept, though not the two at the same time. They agreed that it
was wise to keep watch and Robert was sentinel first.
Tayoga, supported by the log, slept soundly, the flames illuminating his
bronze face and showing the very highest type of the Indian. Robert sat
opposite, his rifle across his knees, but covered by his blanket to protect
it from the fine rain, which was not only cold but insidious, trying to
insert itself beneath his clothing and chill his body. But he kept himself
covered so well that none reached him, and the very wildness of his
surroundings increased his sense of intense physical comfort.
He did not stir, except now and then to put a fresh chunk of wood on the
fire, and the red blaze between Tayoga and himself was for a time the
center of the world. The cold, white fog was rolling up everywhere thick
and impenetrable, and the fine rain, like a heavy dew that was distilled
from it, fell incessantly. Robert knew that it was moving up the valleys
and clothing all the peaks and ridges. He knew, too, that it would hide
them from their enemies and his sense of comfort grew with the knowledge.
But his conviction that they were safe did not make him relax caution, and,
since eye was useless in the fog, he made extreme call upon ear.
It seemed to him that the fog was a splendid conductor of sound. It brought
him the rustling of the foliage, the moaning of the light wind through the
ravines, and, at last, another sound, sharp, distinct, a discordant note in
the natural noises of the wilderness, which were always uniform and
harmonious. He heard it a second time, to his right, down the hill, and he
was quite sure that it indicated the presence of man, man who in reality
was near, but whom the fog took far away. The vapors, however, would lift,
then man might come close, and he felt that it was his part to discover who
and what he was.
Still wrapped in the buffalo robe, he rose and took a few steps from the
fire. Tayoga did not stir, and he was proud that his tread had been without
noise. Beyond the rim of firelight, he paused and listening again heard the
clank twice, not very loud but coming sharp and definite as before through
the vapory air. He parted the bushes very carefully and went down the side
of a ravine, the wet boughs and twigs making no noise as they closed up
after his passage.
But his progress was very slow, purposely so, as he knew that any mistake
or accident might be fatal, and he intended that no fault of his should
precipitate such a crisis. Once or twice he thought of going back, deeming
his a foolish quest, lost in a wilderness of bushes and blinding fog, but
the sharp, clear clank stirred his purpose anew, and he went on down the
slope, until he saw a red glow in the heart of the fog. Then he sank down
among the bushes and listened with intentness. Presently the faint hum of
voices came to his ear, and he was quite sure that many men were not far
away.
He resumed his slow advance, but now he was glad the bushes were soaked
with water, as they did not crackle or snap with the passage of his body,
and the luminous glow in front of him broadened and deepened steadily. Near
the bottom of a deep valley he stopped and from his covert saw where great
fires had driven the fog away. Around the fires were many warriors, some of
them sleeping in their blankets, while others were eating prodigiously,
after their manner. Rifles and muskets were stacked in French fashion and
the clank, clank that Robert had heard had been made by the warriors as
they put up their weapons.
Many were talking freely and seemed to rejoice in the food and fires. It
was Robert's surmise that they had arrived but recently and were weary.
Their numbers were large, they certainly could not be less than four or
five hundred, and his experience was great enough now to tell him that half
of them, at least, were Canadian Indians. All were in war paint, and they
had an abundance of arms.
Robert's eager eye sought Tandakora, but did not find him. He had no doubt,
however, that this great body of warriors was moving against Rogers and his
rangers, and that it would soon be joined by the Ojibway chief. Tandakora,
anxious for revenge upon the Great Bear and the Mountain Wolf, would be
willing to leave Montcalm for a while if he thought that by doing so he
could achieve his purpose. His gaze wandered from the warriors to the
stacked rifles and muskets, and he saw that many of them were of English
or American make, undoubtedly spoil taken at the capture of Oswego. His
heart swelled with anger that the border should have its own weapons turned
against it by the foe.
It did not take him long to see enough. It was a powerful force, equipped
to strike, and now he was more anxious than ever to overtake Willet. The
fog was still thick and wet, distilling the fine rain, but he had forgotten
discomfort, and, turning back on his path, he sought the dip in which he
had left Tayoga sleeping. He felt a certain pride that it had been his
fortune to discover the band, and, as he had marked carefully the way by
which he had come, it was not a difficult task to retrace his steps.
The Onondaga was still sleeping, his back against the log, but he awoke
instantly when Robert touched him gently on the shoulder.
"What is it, Dagaeoga?" he whispered. "You have seen something! Your face
tells me so!"
"My face tells you the truth," replied Robert. "There is a valley only a
few hundred yards from us, and, in it, are about four hundred warriors,
armed for battle. All the signs indicate that they are going eastward in
search of our friends."
"You have done well, Dagaeoga. You have used both eye and mind. Was
Tandakora there?"
"No, but I'm convinced he soon will be."
"It appears likely. They think, perhaps, they are strong enough to
annihilate the rangers."
"Maybe they are, unless the rangers are warned. We ought to move at once."
"But the fog is too thick. We could not tell which way we were going. We
must not lose the trail of the Great Bear and Black Rifle, and, if the fog
lifts, we can regain it in the morning, going ahead of the war band."
"And then the warriors may pursue us."
"What does it matter, if we keep well ahead of them and overtake the Great
Bear and Black Rifle, who are surely going toward the rangers? We will put
out the fire, Dagaeoga, and stay here. The fog protects us. Now, you sleep
and I will watch."
His calmness was reassuring, and it was true that the fog was an almost
certain protection, while it lasted. They smothered the fire carefully, and
then, Robert was sufficient master of his nerves, to go to sleep, wrapped
in the invaluable buffalo robe. The Onondaga kept vigilant watch. His own
ear, too, heard the occasional sound made by human beings in the valley
below, but he did not stir from his place. He had absolute confidence in
Robert's report, and he would not take any unnecessary risk.
An hour or two before dawn a wind began to rise, and Tayoga knew by feeling
rather than sight that the fog was beginning to thin. If the wind held, it
would all blow away by sunrise, and the rain with it. He awakened Robert at
once.
"I think we would better move now," he said. "We shall soon be able to see
our way, and a good start ahead of the war band is important."
They made a northward curve, passing around the valley, in which the camp
of the warriors lay, and, when the sun showed its first luminous edge over
the horizon, they were several miles ahead. The steady wind had carried all
the fog and rain to the southward, but the forest was still wet and
dripping.
"And now," said Tayoga, "we must pick up anew the trail of the Great Bear
and Black Rifle. We are sure they were continuing east, and by ranging back
and forth from north to south and from south to north we can find it."
It was a full two hours before they discovered it, leading up a narrow
gorge, and Robert grew anxious lest the war band was already on their own
traces, which the warriors were sure to see in time. So they hastened their
own pursuit and very soon came to a thicket in which the two redoubtable
scouts had passed the night. The trail leading from it was comparatively
fresh and Tayoga was hopeful that they might overtake them before the next
sunset.
"They do not hurry," he said. "The Great Bear has been telling Black Rifle
of us, and now and then it was their thought to go back into the west to
make another hunt for us. My certainty about it is based on nothing in the
trail. It is just mind once more. It is exactly the idea that a valiant and
patient man like the Great Bear would have, and it would appeal too, to the
soul of such a great warrior as Black Rifle. But after thinking well upon
it, they have decided that the search would be vain for the present, and
once more they go on, though the wish to find us puts weights on their
feet."
Before noon they came to a place where Black Rifle shot a deer. The
useless portions of the body that the two had left behind spoke a language
none could fail to understand, and they were sure it was Black Rifle who
had fired the shot, because his broader footprints led to the place where
the body had fallen.
"It proves," said Tayoga, "that the rangers are still well ahead, else two
such wise men as the Great Bear and Black Rifle would not take the trouble
to kill a deer here and carry so much weight with them. It is likely that
the Mountain Wolf and his men are on the shores of Oneadatote itself."
All that afternoon the trail went upward higher and higher among the ranges
and peaks, but the infallible eye of Tayoga never lost it for a moment.
"We will not overtake them today, as I had hoped," he said, "but we shall
certainly do so tomorrow before noon."
"And the coming night is going to offer a striking contrast to the one just
passed," said Robert. "It will be crystal clear."
"So it will, Dagaeoga, and we will seek a camp among the rocks. It is best
to leave no traces for the warriors."
They traveled a long distance on the stony uplift before they stopped for
the night, and they did not build any fire, dividing the time into two
watches, each kept with great vigilance. But the pursuit which they were so
sure was now on did not overtake them, and early in the morning they were
once more on the traces of the two hunters.
"It is now sure we shall reach them before noon," said Tayoga, "but in
what manner we shall first see them I do not know. The trail has become
wonderfully fresh. Ah, they turned suddenly from their course here, and
soon they came back to it, at a point not more than ten feet away. We need
not follow them on their loop to see where they went. We know without
going. They climbed the steep little peak we see on the right, from the
crest of which they had a splendid view over an immense stretch of country
behind us. They looked in that direction because that was the point from
which pursuit or danger would come. The band behind us built a fire, and
the Great Bear and Black Rifle saw its smoke. They saw the smoke because
they could see nothing else so far behind them. After a good look, they
went on at their leisure. They had no fear. It was easy for such as they to
leave the band well in the rear, if they wished."
"If they haven't changed greatly since we last saw 'em," said Robert,
"they'll go all the more slowly because of the pursuit, and we may catch
'em in a couple of hours. Won't Dave be surprised when he sees us?"
"It will be a pleasant surprise for him. Here, they have stopped again, and
one of them climbed the tall elm for another view, while the other stood
guard by the trunk. I think, Dagaeoga, that the Great Bear and Black Rifle
were beginning to think less of flight than of battle."
"You don't mean that knowing the presence of the band behind us they
intended to meet it?"
"Not to stop it, of course, but spirits such as theirs might have a desire
to harm it a little, and impede its advance. In any event, Dagaeoga, we
shall soon see. Here is where the climber came down, and then the two went
on, walking slowly. They walked slowly, because the traces indicate that
they turned back often, and looked toward the point at which they had seen
the smoke rising. My mind tells me that the Great Bear thought it better to
continue straight ahead, but that Black Rifle was anxious to linger, and
get a few shots at the enemy. It is so, because the Great Bear, as we know,
is naturally cautious and would wish to do what is of the most service in
the campaign, while it is always the desire of Black Rifle to injure the
enemy as much as he can."
"Your reasoning seems conclusive to me."
"Did I not tell you, Dagaeoga, that you had the beginnings of a mind? Use
it sedulously, and it will grow yet more."
"And the time may come when I can talk out of a dictionary as you do,
Tayoga."
"Which merely proves, Dagaeoga, that those who learn a language always talk
it better than those who are born to it. Ah, they have turned once more,
and the trail leads again to the crest of a hill, where they will take
another long look backward. It seems that the wishes of Black Rifle are
about to prevail. Now we are at the top of the hill, and they stood here
several minutes talking and moving about, as the traces show very clearly.
But look, Dagaeoga, they saw something very much closer at hand than smoke.
Their talk was interrupted with great suddenness, and they took to ambush.
They crouched among these bushes, and you and I know they were a very
dangerous pair with their rifles ready. Still, Dagaeoga, instead of their
taking the battle to the warriors the battle was brought to them."
"You think, then, an encounter occurred?"
"I know it. They did not stay crouched here until the enemy went away, but
moved off down the hill, their course on the whole leading away from the
lake. The enemy was before them, because they kept among the bushes, always
in the densest part of them. Here they knelt. The bent grass stems indicate
the pressure of knees. The warriors must have been very close.
"Now the trail divides. Look, Dagaeoga! Black Rifle went to the right and
the Great Bear to the left. They formed a plan to flank the enemy and to
assail him from two sides. I should judge then that the warriors did not
number more than five or six. We will follow the Great Bear, who made the
slender traces, and if necessary we will come back and follow also those of
Black Rifle. But I think we can read the full account of the contest which
most certainly occurred from the evidence that the Great Bear left."
"You feel quite sure then that there was fighting?"
"Yes. It is not an opinion formed from the signs yet seen, but it is drawn
from the characters of the Great Bear and Black Rifle. They would not have
taken so much care unless there was the certainty of conflict. Here the
Great Bear knelt again, and took a long look at his enemy or at least at
the place where his enemy was lying. They were coming to close quarters or
he would not have knelt and waited. Perhaps he held his fire because Black
Rifle was making the wider circuit, and they meant to use their rifles at
the same time."
The Onondaga was on his own knees now, examining the faint trail intently,
his eyes alight with interest.
"The event will not be delayed long," he said, "because the Great Bear
stopped continually, seeking an opportunity for a shot. Here he pulled the
trigger."
He picked up a minute piece of the burned wadding of the muzzle-loading
rifle.
"The warrior at whom he fired was bound to have been in the thicket beyond
the open space," he said, "and it was there that he fell. He fell because
at such a critical time the Great Bear would not have fired unless he was
sure of his aim. We will look into the thicket"
They found several spots of blood among the bushes and at another point
about twenty feet away they saw more.
"Here is where the warrior fell before Black Rifle's bullet," said Tayoga.
"He and the Great Bear must have fired almost at the same time. Undoubtedly
the warriors retreated at once, carrying their dead with them. Let us see
if they did not unite, and leave the thicket at the farthest point from our
two friends."
The trail was very clear at the place the Onondaga had indicated, and also
many more red spots were there leading away toward the east.
"We will not follow them." said Tayoga, "because they do not interest us
any more. They have retreated and they do not longer enter into your
campaign and mine, Dagaeoga. We will go back and see where the left wing of
our army, that was the Great Bear, reunited with the right wing, that was
Black Rifle."
They found the point of junction not far away, and then the deliberate
trail led once more toward Champlain, the two pursuing it several hours in
silence and both noticing that it was rapidly growing fresher. At length
Tayoga stopped on the crest of a ridge and said:
"We no longer need to seek their trail, Dagaeoga, because I will now talk
with the Great Bear and Black Rifle."
"Very good, Tayoga. I am anxious to hear what you will say and how you will
say it."
A bird sang at Robert's side. It was Tayoga trilling forth a melody,
wonderfully clear and penetrating, a melody that carried far up the still
valley beyond.
"You will remember, Dagaeoga," he said, "that we have often used this call
with the Great Bear. The reply will soon come."
The two listened and Robert's heart beat hard. He owed much to Willet.
Their relationship was almost that of son and father, and the two were
about to meet after a long parting. He never doubted for a moment that the
Onondaga had always read the trail aright, and that Willet was with Black
Rifle in the valley below them.
Full and clear rose the song of a bird out of the dense bushes that filled
the valley. When it was finished Tayoga sang again, and the reply came as
before. The two went rapidly down the slope and the stalwart figures of
the hunter and Black Rifle rose to meet them. The four did not say much,
but in every case the grasp of the hand was strong and long.
"I went west in search of you, Robert," said the hunter, "but I was
compelled to come back, because of the great events that are forward here.
I felt, however, that Tayoga was there looking for you and would do all any
number of human beings could do."
"He found me and rescued me," said Robert, "and what of yourself, Dave?"
"I'm attached, for the present, to the rangers under Rogers. He's on the
shores of Champlain, and he's trying to hold back a big Indian army that
means to march south and join Montcalm for an attack on Fort William Henry
or Fort Edward."
"And there's a great Indian war band behind you, too, Dave."
"We know it. We saw their smoke. We also had an encounter with some
scouting warriors."
"We know that, too, Dave. You ambushed 'em and divided your force, one of
you going to the right and the other to the left. Two of their warriors
fell before your bullets, and then they fled, carrying their slain with
them."
"Correct to every detail. I suppose Tayoga read the signs."
"He did, and he also told me when he rescued me that you had carried the
text of the letter we took from Garay to Colonel Johnson in time, and that
the force of St. Luc was turned back."
"Yes, the preparations for defense made an attack by him hopeless, and
when his vanguard was defeated in the forest he gave up the plan."
They did not stop long, as they knew the great war band behind them was
pressing forward, but they felt little fear of it, as they were able to
make high speed of their own, despite the weight of their packs, and for
several days and nights they traveled over peaks and ridges, stopping only
at short intervals for sleep. They had no sign from the band behind them,
but they knew it was always there, and that it would probably unite at the
lake with the force the rangers were facing.
It was about noon of a gleaming summer day when Robert, from the crest of a
ridge, saw once more the vast sheet of water extending a hundred and
twenty-five miles north and south, that the Indians called Oneadatote and
the white men Champlain, and around which and upon which an adventurous
part of his own life had passed. His heart beat high, he felt now that the
stage was set again for great events, and that his comrades and he would,
as before, have a part in the war that was shaking the Old World as well as
the New.
In the afternoon they met rangers and before night they were in the camp of
Rogers, which included about three hundred men, and which was pitched in a
strong position at the edge of the lake. The Mountain Wolf greeted them
with great warmth.
"You're a redoubtable four," he said, "and I could wish that instead of
only four I was receiving four hundred like you."
He showed intense anxiety, and soon confided his reasons to Willet.
"You've brought me news," he said, "that a big war band is coming from the
west, and my scouts had told me already that a heavy force is to the
northward, and what is worst of all, the northern force is commanded by St.
Luc. It seems that he did not go south with Montcalm, but drew off an army
of both French and Indians for our destruction. He remembers his naval and
land defeat by us and naturally he wants revenge. He is helped, too, by the
complete command of the lake, that the French now hold. Since we've been
pressed southward we've lost Champlain."
"And of course St. Luc is eager to strike," said Willet. "He can recover
his lost laurels and serve France at the same time. If we're swept away
here, both the French and the Indians will pour down in a flood from Canada
upon the Province of New York."
Robert did not hear this talk, as he was seeking in the ranger camp the
repose that he needed so badly. He had brought with him some remnants of
food and the great buffalo robe that Tayoga had secured for him with so
much danger from the Indian village. Now he put down the robe, heaved a
mighty sigh of relief and said to the Onondaga:
"I'm proud of myself as a carrier, Tayoga, but I think I've had enough. I'm
glad the trail has ended squarely against the deep waters of Lake
Champlain."
"And yet, Dagaeoga, it is a fine robe."
"So it is. I should be the last to deny it, but now that we're with the
rangers I mean to carry nothing but my arms and ammunition. To appreciate
what it is to be without burdens you must have borne them."
The hospitable rangers would not let the two youths do any work for the
present, and so they took a luxurious bath in the lake, which they
commanded as far as the bullets from their rifles could reach. They
rejoiced in the cool waters, after their long flight through the
wilderness.
"It's almost worth so many days and nights of danger to have this," said
Robert, swimming with strong strokes.
"Aye, Dagaeoga, it is splendid," said the Onondaga, "but see that you do
not swim too far. Remember that for the time Oneadatote belongs to Onontio.
We had it, but we have lost it."
"Then we'll get it back again," said Robert courageously. "Champlain is too
fine a lake to lose forever. Wait until I've had a big sleep. Then my brain
will be clear, and I'll tell how it ought to be done."
The two returned to land, dressed, and slept by the campfire.