THE DEMON’S HAUNT.
The Mohawks proved to be a small party who had fled from Burgoyne,
and when they were informed of the errand on which the white men had
visited that lonely spot, one and all expressed unbounded terror. In
coming into the wilderness they had hoped to escape the presence of the
demon whose presence they associated with Vermont and Stillwater.
When they were told by Butler of the scene which he himself had
witnessed on that very spot--the one described in the commencement of
our tale--and learned that the Mountain Demon had frequently made his
appearance in those very woods, had in fact been tracked thither, the
bravest warriors trembled, and began to look apprehensively around
them, to flee.
Butler checked them from flight with consummate craft.
“Whither would my brothers fly?” he asked. “If this be a demon, he will
catch you in the woods; and when was he known to spare a Mohawk? With
us lies your only safety. I am the Night Hawk, that sees in the thick
shades, and my spirit is more powerful than his. Remain with us, and I
will show you that all the demons of wood and mountain can not frighten
the Night Hawk. This is a cunning medicine-man of the rebels, but I
also am a cunning medicine-man, and I will show you that I am stronger
than he.”
This address reassured the warriors somewhat. They had a profound
respect for the partisan, and the mere fact of his coming there
expressly to solve the mystery of the demon argued that he had no fear
of him. When the Night Hawk called on them to follow him, they made no
more objections and the party advanced.
The dragoons dismounted--part of them--and gave up their horses to
the third of their companions, who remained in the saddle, under
Sir Francis, to guard the horses. The men on foot, looking to their
muskets, and fastening their sabers to the saddle, under Butler’s
orders, formed in rear of the Indians, both to support them and to
guard against their flight.
Then, with the partisan at their head, they advanced to the hollow tree
in which the demon had once disappeared, which, as Butler had surmised,
proved to be the entrance to a cavern.
Looking into the hollow, a gulf of unknown depth appeared below them,
and the partisan hesitated a moment. Then he drew back and called for a
lantern. Several had been brought, and they were quickly lighted, when
Butler, boldly taking the initiative, leaped down the cavity and found
himself on firm ground, not six feet from the surface.
With a cheery call, he held up the lantern to his followers, and
disclosed the entrance to a rude flight of steps, cut downward into
the earth, in a bed of solid rock. In a few moments an Indian chief
followed, trembling visibly, but resolved not to give way before the
white men.
Fastening the lantern to his belt, and holding his rifle ready for use,
the resolute partisan slowly descended the steps, emerging at last
into a lofty hall, crusted with stalactites, on which the light of the
lantern flashed as if on a wall of diamonds.
He heard the soft, moccasined footsteps of the Indians, then the heavy
clatter of spurs, as the dragoons descended, and at last the whole
party entered the chamber, and stood gazing in wonder around them.
All were much more at their ease now. There were no signs of the demon
as yet, and of caves all had heard.
Butler now made a fresh disposition of his forces. Of lanterns there
were seven, of that kind called bull’s-eyes, and he ordered the
soldiers bearing them to form a line behind him and advance abreast,
casting a broad glare ahead. He knew that the Indians would not dare to
leave him in the thick darkness of that cave.
They advanced through the long chamber, the only sounds audible being
their own footsteps, and the hurried breathing of the excited men.
Presently a narrow passage compelled them to stoop low and go in single
file over a broken, crooked path, till they emerged into a second
chamber, larger than the first, and the light of the lanterns came
back to them from the mirror-like surface of a black pool, into which
Butler had nearly fallen.
As he recovered himself with an involuntary exclamation, a loud,
mocking peal of laughter sounded from the roof above them, and the
sound, repeated by the echoes, came with a terrible effect to the ears
of the explorers. As if to test their nerves to the utmost, there was
a rushing in the air, close by, and a swarm of bats swished past them,
brushing them with their wings and tangling in the long hair of several
dragoons.
The confusion in the narrow passage was indescribable. The German
dragoons cursed in guttural accents, the Indians uttered their startled
“Hugh!” and all struggled together to flee, jammed up against the rocks.
The thundering voice of Butler recalled them to their senses.
“Halt, fools!” shouted the enraged partisan. “Do ye fear the empty
laugh of a single man, and a few bats? Forward, and keep your rifles
ready! We are hunting this juggler to his hole at last. He is here.
Follow me, and we’ll soon find out.”
No sooner had he finished than the same demoniac peal of laughter
echoed through the cave, seeming to come from overhead. The bold
partisan shouted defiantly back, and his men, reassured, followed him
onward into the cave, skirting the black lake as they went. It was a
large chamber in which they found themselves, but its border was very
narrow round the lake. After the second peal of laughter, all was
silent.
Butler paused at a place where the white rock shelved out into the
water making a broader platform. He cast the light of his lantern all
round the cave, but could see no further path on the shore. The inky
waters came up to the platform and another step would only plunge them
into its icy depths.
Then he turned his gaze on the wall of rock and perceived a rude
pathway leading up in a zigzag and reaching a platform above that on
which he stood. Beyond it was a great black opening in the midst of
which stood a sheeted ghost, gleaming snow white against the black
background with all the startling effect of reality.
For a moment the blood rushed to the heart of the bold partisan, so
weird was the vision. The men behind him had also caught sight of the
fearful figure and uttered low exclamations of terror. Butler was the
first to recover.
“Follow me, fools” he said. “’Tis only a stalactite after all. See it
glitter.”
“HA! HA! HA! HA!!!”
Again the fearful hollow laugh sounded above them, with its peculiarly
ghastly mockery, and the echoes in the cave repeated the sound again
and again, till it seemed as if a legion of demons was loose.
But Butler was not to be longer daunted by sounds, however fearful. Up
the steep path he rushed, rifle in hand, toward the white figure in the
gloomy portal, and his men after a little hesitation followed him.
Hardly had they reached the top, than a bright glare of crimson fire
illuminated the rocky cavern, making every thing bright as day, and
turning the whole vast chamber into a palace of jewels.
The glare came from a column of red flame that shot up in the midst
of the dark archway, where the great white stalactite shone out with
startling vividness.
Not a living creature was visible before them, but the column of flame
made it certain that some one must be near by to have lighted it.
Butler rushed forward, calling to his men to follow, and then suddenly
recoiled, as _three_ fiery figures sprung out from the wall and rushed
forward waving burning swords that shone with blue flames.
The effect was instantaneous on all but Butler. The Indians yelled with
terror and plunged down the path, running headlong for the opening by
the merciful light of the flame. The dragoons fired a hasty random
volley with their rifles and fled after them, and the next moment out
went the light and the three fiery figures went sailing through the
air over the black lake like birds of hell, uttering the same fearful
screeches that had driven the savages to flight.
In a moment more Butler was alone on the platform, and one of the fiery
figures, waving its wings, swooped down on him, and striking him with
unmistakably solid feet, sent him headlong into the black lake with a
splash.
Then with a final peal of demoniac laughter all three of the
apparitions circled back to the rock and disappeared, leaving Indians
and dragoons to find their way out as they could.