"I would have some conference with you that concerns you nearly."
--_Much Ado About Nothing._
When Ronayne rejoined his friend, all the preparations he intended
making had been completed, and Mrs. Elmsley having despatched a
servant to say that breakfast was waiting for them, the latter,
after having stationed Corporal Collins at the gate to give early
notice of the approach of the Indians, linked his arm in that of
Ronayne, and conducted him to his rooms.
It was, of course, the first time the Virginian had seen Mrs.
Elmsley since the preceding evening, when, with Mrs. Headley, she
had been a pained witness of the desolating grief she so deeply
shared herself. The swollen eyelid and the pale cheek attested that
little sleep had visited her eyes during the subsequent part of
the night; and when she affectionately took the proffered hand of
Ronayne, whose composedness she was greatly surprised and pleased
to witness, there was a melancholy expression of sympathy in her
glance that tried all the powers of self-possession of the latter.
How different was that breakfast table from what it had been on
former occasions! How often, both before and after their marriage,
had Ronayne and his wife partaken of the hospitable board, with
hearts light as gratified love could render them, and exhilarated
by the witty tallies of the amiable hostess, who, full of life and
gaiety herself, sought ever to render her more sedate friend as
exuberant in spirit as herself. How graceful the manner in which
she recommended her exquisitely-made coffee, her deliciously-dried
bear and venison hams, the luxuriously-flavored and slightly-smoked
white fish from the Superior and the Sault; and with what art she
allured the appetite from one delicacy to another, until scarcely
an article of food at her table was left untasted. And yet all
this, not in a spirit of ostentatious display of her own aptitude
in these somewhat sensual enjoyments, but from a desire, by the
exercise of those little niceties of attention which insensibly
win upon the heart, to please, to gratify--to make sensible that
she sought to please and to gratify--those whom both herself and
her husband so deeply regarded.
The breakfast was now a hurried one. It had not been prepared with
the usual care. The directing hand of the mistress seemed not to
be visible--it was heavy as the hearts of those who now partook
of it, and even the never failing claret, of which Elmsley compelled
his friend to swallow several goblets, had lost more than half its
power to exhilarate; for, oh! there was one of that once happy
party gone for ever from their sight, and the solemn and restrained
manner of each was sufficient evidence of the deep void her absence
had created.
It was a relief to all when Corporal Collins hurriedly appeared at
the door and announced that the greater portion of the warriors of
the Pottowatomies, with Winnebeg at their head, were now advancing
towards the glacis, where a large awning, open at the sides, had
been erected soon after the morning's parade.
"Winnebeg at their head, did you say, Collins?"
"Yes, sir, Winnebeg, and with him--for I know them as
well--Wau-ban-see, Black Partridge, To-pee nee-be, Kee-po-tah, and
that tall, scowling chief that never looks friendly, Pee-to-tum.
They are all in their war dresses, and their young men as well."
"I am glad, at least, Winnebeg is with them," remarked Elmsley to
his friend. "Whatever may be purposed by the others, neither he
nor Black Partridge can have any knowledge of it. Has Serjeant
Nixon had that three-pounder run up into the upper floor of the
block-house, Collins?"
"They are at work at it now, sir. I expect it will be all ready by
the time your honor gets there, Mr. Elmsley."
"You are on guard at the gate?"
"I have been where you posted me, sir."
"Good! Is Captain Headley gone out yet?"
"Not yet, your honor. I saw him, as I came along, go towards Doctor
Von Voltenberg's rooms."
"We had better wait then, Ronayne, until he goes forth to assemble
the council; otherwise he may interfere and play the devil with us
all, by countermanding my arrangements."
"And do you really mean to say that you would permit him to do so,
Elmsley? I am sure I would not; for, if ever disobedience to orders
could be justified it is on this occasion."
"I do not exactly say that I would, Ronayne; but it is just as well
to avoid clashing if possible. I confess I am no particular advocate,
where the thing can be avoided, of wilfully and deliberately
thwarting the authority of a commanding officer. But once he is
out of the fort I shall be in command."
Another non-commissioned officer entered. It was Weston, who, that
morning, had been promoted to the dignity of lance corporal, and
the commanding officer's immediate orderly.
"Lieutenant Elmsley, the captain desires me to say that he is
waiting for you and Mr. Ronayne to accompany the doctor and himself
to the council."
"Then," said the subaltern addressed, "you will give my compliments,
Weston, to Captain Headley, and say to him that both Mr. Ronayne
and myself decline attending that council--that we do not think it
prudent to leave the fort without an officer, and that we conceive
that having given our opinions on the matter for which the council
is called, we can be of much more service here than there. Now
mind, Weston, you will deliver this message respectfully, and in
a manner befitting a soldier to his superior."
"Certainly, sir," replied the corporal, as he touched his, cap and
withdrew.
"You will have a visit from himself next, Elmsley," remarked his
wife. "But why refuse to attend the council? There is no enemy
near us, and surely half an hour's absence on the glacis cannot
much endanger the safety of the garrison, surrounded as we are by
friendly Indians."
"Margaret, my love," said her husband, taking her hand affectionately,
"we must trust nothing to chance. No one can tell what may not
occur in the interim of our absence. Who, for instance, could have
foretold yesterday morning that we should be as we are to-day!"
"True," said Ronayne, as he paced the room with sudden and bitter
excitement; "who could have told yesterday that we should be
as we are to-day? There is nothing certain in life--no, nothing--all
is vanity."
This painful change of feeling and of manner, from the self-control
so recently imposed upon himself, had not been without its cause.
The tenderness of his friends brought back to his memory the
recollection of many an hour of happiness passed in that room--when
the same manifestations of affection had been exhibited in presence
of the wife. But where was she now--where was his own share in that
happiness which, for the first time, he almost half envied in his
friend?
The door was again opened, and in walked not Captain Headley but
Mr. McKenzie; his brow was overcast, and there was evidently deep
care on his mind; but after tenderly embracing his daughter, he
remarked to the officers, "I am glad you have come to the decision
of not leaving the fort. I met Headley going out, and he is very
angry. He has made me promise, however, to follow him in a few
moments. I should have gone at once, but I could not resist the
twofold temptation of pressing this dear girl to my heart, and
telling you both how much I approve your prudence. For once you
and Headley seem to have exchanged characters."
"No doubt," returned Elmsley, smiling, "that if we ever get to Fort
Wayne, both Ronayne and myself will be hanged, drawn, and quartered
by sentence of a court-martial, as a just punishment for our most
glaring disobedience of orders here; but that will not be worse
than being scalped here for obeying them; besides, there is this
advantage attending the first--we shall have a little longer lease
of life. But seriously, sir, there is now no time to lose. The
moment you are out of the gates, I shall cause them to be fastened
until the council is over. I have had cause for entertaining some
little suspicion of your friends the Pottowatomies--nay," seeing
that the trader looked surprised, "there is no time to enter into
explanation now. Later, I will state to you."
"I have no doubt you have been correctly informed," replied Mr.
McKenzie, as, after throwing his arm around the waist of his
daughter, he replaced his hat and prepared to depart. "Great as is
the confidence I have in Winnebeg and the majority of the chiefs,
I confess there has been a boldness--an almost insolence--perceptible
in the behavior of many of the young men, seemingly urged on by
Pee-to-tum, that I neither understand nor approve; but, as you say,
there is no time to lose. God bless you, Margaret!"
When he had passed the gates, to which he had been accompanied by
his son-in-law and Ronayne, Serjeant Nixon, who, as previously
instructed, stood near for the purpose, fastened the bars and turned
the lock. What men could be spared for the purpose were divided
between the two subalterns. The one took his post in the upper
floor of the block-house nearest to and overlooking the glacis;
the other ascending the south bastion, manned two of the guns--the
burning matches of both being concealed.
Not less than four hundred warriors could have followed their
leaders to this council. The chiefs had already assembled and taken
their places under the awning, while a little above them sat Captain
Headley, the Doctor, and Mr. McKenzie, when the great mass moved
towards the glacis. All were habited in half war dress, if the term
may be permitted, and a formidable number separated from the main
body and drew near to the gate. This, much to their surprise, was
in the very act of being closed as they appeared before it.
Much dissatisfaction was expressed in guttural sounds and
exclamations, and one young Indian, more daring than the rest,
struck his tomahawk deeply into the door. No notice was taken of
this at first; but finding that the Indians persevered in their
clamor and demand for admittance, Ronayne, who was in the block-house,
ordered the three-pounder to be fired over their heads. This at
once had the effect of dispersing and driving them towards the
glacis, which they now tumultuously crowded, speaking loudly and
angrily to the chiefs, who interrupted at the very opening of the
council, yet not more surprised than the two officers were on
hearing the gun, had started to their feet and turned their eyes
towards the fort--the flashing light of the torches being now
distinctly visible.
There being no repetition, however, of the report, Captain Headley,
who had been questioned by the chiefs as to the cause, explained
the discharge by attributing it to accident, or an intention on
the part of Lieutenant Elmsley to compliment the opening of the
council. But though he stated this, he did not himself believe that
either was the reason, for he was well aware that no piece of
ordnance had been in the block-house early that morning, and
consequently, that it must have been placed there from some vague
idea of danger connected with his officers' refusal to attend the
council. He had observed, with some anxiety, the gathering of the
Indians around the gate, and without being able to understand its
exact character, entertained a vague impression that some danger
was impending, yet by a strange contradiction, not at all uncommon,
was more than ever annoyed with Elmsley for manifesting thus openly
and markedly the distrust he entertained of their allies.
In an increased desire for conciliation he now resumed the council.
The chiefs were duly informed, through Winnebeg, that war had been
declared between Great Britain and the United States; that the
American general commanding on the frontier had sent orders to
evacuate the fort immediately, and make the best of their way to
Fort Wayne, under the escort of the Pottowatomies then present:
but that, before the march commenced, he (Captain Headley) was, in
order to show the friendship of the United States, to distribute
among the chiefs and warriors in the neighborhood all the property
of the government in equal shares--"not only all stores of clothing
and implements of the chase shall be divided among you," he concluded,
"but the provisions and ammunition, which latter we have in abundance.
All we ask in return is safe escort to Fort Wayne."
No sooner was this last announcement made when the glacis was filled
with triumphant yells from the warriors. The chiefs themselves,
with the exception of Pee-to-tum, whose cry had been the signal
for their clamor, preserved a dignified silence. The eyes of Mr.
McKenzie and Winnebeg sought each other, and there was a pained
expression of disappointment in both that revealed at once the
cause of their concern. The former bit his lip and muttered, as he
turned away from the Indian to Captain Headley, the word "fool."
"Sir, did you speak?" asked the latter, half coloring as he fancied
he had caught the word.
"I have said and think, Captain Headley, that in this last act of
folly--the promise of ammunition to the Indians--you have signed
our death-warrant. No one acquainted with Indian character can
misunderstand the feeling which pervades, not the chiefs but
the warriors. If anything were wanting to satisfy me it would be
found in the yell of satisfaction with which that promise was
received. They are too drunk with hope even to stop to inquire.
Tecumseh's emissaries have been among them. British influence has
been at work; but we will talk of this later. The chiefs seem
surprised at this discourse between ourselves."
"Gubbernor," said Winnebeg, solemnly, and in his own broken English
phraseology, "as the head chief of the Pottowatomies, I return
thanks to our Great Father for the liberal presents he has made to
our nation; but I think it will be better not to go away or give
up the ammunition, because we have plenty of everything to defend
the fort for a long time. Give my warriors blankets and cloths,
and the squaws trinkets, and keep the powder safe here. We can kill
the cattle and make pimmecan. If a force comes to attack you, we
can attack them from the woods and, the sand-hills. This, gubbernor,
is what I have to say."
"And I," remarked Pee-to-tum, starting to his feet and with fierce
gesticulation, "insist, in the name of the warriors, that the wishes
of our Great Father of the United States be done. He has said we
shall have the powder, and we will have it--and the rum, and Kenzie's
strong drinks too. Father, I have spoken."
Another loud and triumphant yell from the warriors grouped around
too clearly evinced that there was danger to be apprehended from
those they had hitherto looked upon as their friends. Captain
Headley felt ill at ease, for he was conscious that he had irrevocably
committed himself; and, what was more mortifying to his pride, he
was compelled inwardly to admit that his subalterns, although at
the price of disobedience of orders, had, in this instance, evinced
far more judgement and prudence than himself. Still, the pride of
superiority--mayhap of vanity--was in some measure deprived of its
humiliation, as he consoled himself with the reflection that their
precaution must have been the result of an intimation of some change
of feeling on the part of the warrior, whereas he himself had been
left, wholly in ignorance on the subject, and led to repose
confidently on their good faith. Still he shuddered as he thought
of those within, at what might have been the turbulence of the
young men, evidently encouraged by the dark Pee-to-tum, had they
gained admission into the fort.
Feeling that things had arrived at a crisis and that it would not
be prudent to provoke those in whose power they now unquestionably
were, he remarked calmly to Winnebeg that the word of the Father
of the United States was pledged, could not be withdrawn without
dishonor, and that, therefore, his resolution was unchanged in
regard to the distribution of the powder with the other presents,
which should take place on that very spot on the morrow.
Winnebeg looked angrily round as the yell of Pee-to-tum marked the
triumph and satisfaction of the latter at this renewal of the
promise of Captain Headley. It was uttered, not in gladness for
the gifts, but as thought it would express the knowledge that the
donation was compelled--not to be avoided. Mr. McKenzie had difficulty
in restraining the nervousness of his annoyance.
"Then, sir," he said, addressing the commanding officer, "since we
are to assist in cutting our own throats, it seems to me that the
most prudent course to pursue will be to leave everything
standing as it is, and allow the Indians to help themselves, while
we march as rapidly as possible to our destination."
"What! and without escort? That, indeed, would be madness," exclaimed
Captain Headley.
"It is from the escort we have most reason to apprehend danger,"
returned the trader. "What say you, Winnebeg?"
"Winnebeg say, suppose him Gubbernor not stay fight him English--go
directly. Leave him Ingin here divide him presents."
Black Partridge and all the other chiefs, except Pee-to-tum, gave
the same opinion.
Whether nettled at the support given to the proposition of Mr.
McKenzie by Winnebeg, or more immediately influenced by his strict
sense of obedience to the order he had received from General Hull,
or by both motives, Captain Headley firmly repeated his determination
to distribute everything, as he promised, on the following day.
The hour of twelve was named, and the council broke up, the younger
Indians leaping and shouting with joy as they separated in small
parties, some yet lingering about the fort and glacis, but the main
body moving off again to their encampment.