CONCLUSION
In the morning Mr. Fernlea said to Roland, when he appeared at the
office, "The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that it would
be dangerous to try and get any of the directors to act with us.
Johnstone virtually runs the concern, and the others know very little
about it, and I do not think that I could get any of them to move. The
best man that I can think of is Hertman. He is one of our most prominent
men of business, and is a large shareholder in the bank, and is
intelligent and independent; and if he were convinced that wrong had
been done he would take it up. Hitherto he has, of course, been under
the impression that your father was guilty, and expressed himself freely
in condemnation of the policy of the directors in allowing him to escape
and in hushing matters up. He is not a client of mine, but I am
concerned in business transactions with him, and I think he has a
respect for my judgment, as I have for his. I have written a note saying
that I want to speak to him on business, and shall be glad if he will
come over to my office, or I will go over to his, as will be most
convenient to him. Will you take it across at once? His office is in
Exchange Street."
Mr. Hertman glanced at the note, and told Roland to say that he would be
across in a few minutes.
"What I am going to say, Mr. Hertman, will surprise you," Mr. Fernlea
said, when his visitor had taken a seat. "You are, I am aware, one of
the largest shareholders in the bank."
"I am sorry to say that I am," Mr. Hertman said. "I wish I were not, but
I can't get rid of my shares except at a very heavy loss. That
mysterious affair three months ago has greatly depressed the value of
the stock, for, in fact, no one seems to know what is the amount of the
losses we suffered. The directors told me that the matter was kept quiet
to avoid a run upon the bank, and in that respect no doubt they
succeeded, and public confidence seems pretty well restored. I have no
idea as to how we have come out of it."
"Well, Mr. Hertman, it may surprise you when I tell you that in this
matter I am acting on behalf of Partridge."
"What! the absconding cashier, Mr. Fernlea?"
"Just so. I have always entertained a strong idea that he was innocent
and was the victim of others, and I am happy to say I am now far on my
way to be able to prove it."
"You don't say so!" Mr. Hertman said in surprise; "why, I thought there
was no doubt in the matter."
"So most other people thought," Mr. Fernlea said dryly, "and certainly
his running away instead of staying to meet the charge was terribly
against him, but it has not proved so unwise a step as I thought it
would. Had he been arrested and tried then, it would have gone hard with
him; but as matters have turned out, things have come to light which
alter the complexion of the case. You have heard, perhaps, that I took
his son into my office."
"Yes, I heard that," Mr. Hertman replied. "I thought that it was a piece
of mistaken kindness on your part, and that the young fellow would have
done better to leave the place and begin life elsewhere."
"I took him, Mr. Hertman, in order that he might remain upon the spot to
devote himself to getting at the bottom of this mystery, and I may tell
you at once that he is within a short distance of success."
Mr. Fernlea then related the whole of the incidents connected with the
search.
"There can be little doubt that you are right in the matter," Mr.
Hertman said, when he had concluded, "and that this man Johnstone is
really the culprit. A great wrong has clearly been done, and you can
command my assistance to the utmost in aiding you. What is
wanted--funds? I will draw you a cheque for any amount that you may
require."
"Thank you, Mr. Hertman! From my knowledge of your character I expected
nothing less, but that is not my object in taking you into our
confidence. What we want is the list of the securities stolen."
"I should doubt," Mr. Hertman said, "whether there is any such list in
existence. One of the directors, who is a personal friend of mine, told
me at the time of the meeting that the president explained to them what
shares and scrip were missing, and their value, and that the board had
individually pledged themselves to keep absolute silence until the
meeting of shareholders, which will not take place for another six
months yet. Certainly if your suspicions are correct, and I think they
are, it would be greatly to the interest of the president that nobody
except himself should have such a list.
"In that case," Mr. Fernlea said, "the only way of getting at them is to
obtain Partridge's private book. There has been no fresh cashier
appointed, has there?"
"No; the chief clerk is acting as cashier at present; the appointment
has not been filled up."
"Do you possess any influence with him?"
"Yes, a good deal; he got his appointment as clerk there some fifteen
years ago from my recommendation. He is the son of a man with whom I am
closely connected in business matters."
"Then perhaps you might manage it for us. What I should propose, if you
will consent, is, that some afternoon when we know that Johnstone has
just left for Chicago, you should see this man, and tell him you have a
clue to some of the missing securities, but that it is necessary for you
to ascertain the exact numbers, and that you think you can do so by an
examination of the book kept by Partridge, on which, as I understand,
Johnstone scored with red ink some at least of those found to be
missing. You might say that you only wanted it for two or three hours,
and that if he would let you have it, you would pledge yourself to place
it in his hands again the first thing the next morning. You could, of
course, say that, for the success of the endeavour you are making, it is
absolutely necessary that no one, not even the president and directors,
should have an idea that anything was being done in the matter."
"I think I can do that," Mr. Hertman said. "Smithson will naturally
think that if anything comes of it he will get some credit for aiding us
in the matter."
"Very well, then," Mr. Fernlea said; "I will let you know next time that
Mr. Johnstone goes to Chicago. He generally takes the trip once a week,
and to-morrow is his usual day."
The next evening the book was handed to Mr. Fernlea.
"Can I be of any further use?" Mr. Hertman asked.
"Well, if you can spare two or three hours I should be glad if you
would go through the lists with us. Partridge is in the next room
waiting."
"Certainly I will. I tell you I have taken up this business in earnest,
and am prepared to help you in every way possible."
A minute later Mr. Partridge was called in.
"I am glad to see you," Mr. Hertman said, "and regard you as a deeply
wronged man, and would spend my bottom dollar, if necessary, in clearing
up this business."
The three men at once sat down to their work, and turned to the pages
where Mr. Johnstone had scored a line of red ink against the securities
found to be missing.
"We will take down the numbers and descriptions of the marked ones
first," Mr. Fernlea said, "because as to these there can be no mistake."
This was soon done.
"Now, Mr. Partridge, will you look at these initials closely; are they
yours?"
After a long examination Mr. Partridge said, "They are very like mine."
"Well, let us compare them with the real ones," Mr. Fernlea said,
producing a magnifying glass.
"I see a difference," Mr. Hertman said. "Do you see, in your own
initials, you do not take your hand off the paper at all, while in
these there is a little break; the W. J. are written together, but the
writer has paused before making the P. The manner in which you form the
letter P is rather a peculiar one, while the W. and J. are easy enough
to imitate; and I expect that after having finished the first letters he
looked at the copy before commencing the third. You see," he continued,
"the upstroke from the J to the P is as nearly as possible continuous,
but with the glass you can make out that sometimes the lines do not
quite touch, and at others they overlap slightly."
The others at once perceived the point that he had indicated, and they
now went through the whole book and without difficulty marked off the
shares against which the false initials had been placed. It took them
five hours' work, and it was just midnight when they concluded.
"We have got the list complete now," Mr. Fernlea said.
"And a very long one it is," Mr. Hertman said. "Seven hundred thousand
dollars! why, it is more than the called-up capital of the bank. He
never told the men who examined the books on the day after the affair
was first known, what the real extent of the loss was, or they would
never have signed that announcement reassuring the public. However,
there is a reserve to call up, and if things are put into good hands the
bank may pull through yet. Now what is the next step that you propose,
Mr. Fernlea?"
"I intend myself to go to New York to obtain the assistance of the
police and to call upon the broker who has acted for Westerton--that is,
for Johnstone. I shall tell him frankly we are tracing an extensive
robbery, and that we have reasons to believe that large numbers of the
foreign securities have passed through his hands, sent to him from
Chicago. I shall show him this list, and ask him if he has dealt in any
of them. If he says yes, we shall then have nothing to do but to go to
Chicago and obtain a warrant for the arrest of Westerton. We will not
bring Johnstone into it. Then the next time he goes over, we will pounce
upon him. I should like you to give me an authority to ask for you, as
one of the principal shareholders of the bank."
"I will go with you myself," Mr. Hertman said. "I shall have to go there
on business in a few days anyway, and can kill two birds with one
stone." "I suppose you will take Mr. Partridge with you?"
"Certainly. I shall have to tell the whole story to the commissioner of
police, and he will want what I say confirmed, both as to the theft and
the numbers of the missing securities."
The mission to New York was attended with complete success. The broker,
when called upon by Mr. Fernlea, Mr. Hertman, and the chief commissioner
himself, had no hesitation in disclosing his dealings with Westerton. It
was found that a large proportion of the securities noted had passed
through his hands.
"I have had my own suspicions that something was not quite right with
that gentleman lately. Two months ago he made a very lucky hit in corn.
Up to that time he had been unfortunate; and, as you see, all those
securities have been sold by him through me to meet his losses. Since
then he has been buying. But what struck me as singular was that he
insisted upon getting back the very securities he had parted with. He
had a special reason, he said, for wanting these particular shares and
no others. It gave me a lot of trouble, because the buyers had often
parted with them, and sometimes they had gone through two or three
hands, and I had to offer something over the market price to get them
again. However, with the exception of sixty thousand dollars' worth, I
have got them all, or rather, he has got them, and I am in treaty for
most of those he still wants. He said in his letter that it was a
crotchet of his, and I put it down that he was either a crank or a
thief, and yet, even in the latter case, I could not see any reason for
his wanting to get into his hands securities which he had once parted
with."
"I can only suppose," Mr. Fernlea said, "that he was afraid that at the
meeting of the shareholders they would insist upon a committee being
appointed to investigate the whole affair, and the list of the missing
securities would then be published, in which case they would, of course,
be traced back to him--at least to Westerton."
"Then his name is not Westerton?"
"It is not," the chief commissioner said. "But I don't think we will
mention just at present what his real name is, though you are likely to
know it before long. Now," he went on, when they had left the broker's
office, "our course is clear enough. I will send one of my men with you
gentlemen to Chicago, with instructions to the local police to aid him
in the arrest of one Westerton on the charge of stealing a large number
of valuable securities, the property of the Brownsville Bank. And I
think I can congratulate you and the other shareholders of the bank on
what you have just heard. I fancy it likely that in that safe will be
found the whole of the missing property, with the exception of the small
number not yet bought up, and even these will probably be recovered, for
of course the broker has already received money to buy them with."
Five days later Roland Partridge, looking out from his window at his
lodgings in Chicago, saw six men stop before the house. He went quietly
downstairs and opened the door, and said, "That is the room."
The door opened and the party entered.
"Westerton, _alias_ Johnstone, I arrest you on the charge of stealing
securities, the property of the Brownsville Bank."
There was an exclamation, a slight struggle, and then Mr. Johnstone
stood handcuffed among his captors. The safe stood open. Mr. Fernlea and
Mr. Hertman stepped forward and glanced at its contents.
"It is as we expected," the former said. "I cannot say how many are
missing, but these are the securities stolen from the bank."
"I have been recovering them," Mr. Johnstone said hoarsely. "I have
been purchasing them so as to save the shareholders the loss. Another
week and I should have got them all. I received a batch to-day, and
there are only fifteen thousand dollars' worth missing."
"That may be true enough," Mr. Hertman said, "but we know that you stole
them all in the first place--that you yourself stole them, and put the
blame on your unfortunate cashier."
The excitement in Brownsville on the absconding of the cashier of the
bank was as nothing to that caused when the local paper came out with
the following telegram from its correspondent at Chicago:--
"A most important arrest was effected here this evening in the person of
a man known as Johnstone, _alias_ Westerton. This man has for months
occupied a lodging in Hale Street in this city. He only used it one
night a week, and was supposed by Mrs. James, the landlady--a person of
the highest respectability--to be a commercial traveller. This evening
he was arrested by an officer who came down especially from New York,
aided by our own active and intelligent police authorities, on the
charge of stealing a great number of valuable securities, the property
of the Brownsville Bank, which institution was, as our readers may
remember, threatened with a run, towards the conclusion of last year, by
the discovery of a robbery, which was at that time supposed to have been
effected by Mr. William Partridge, the cashier of the bank.
"The extraordinary part of the business is, that the man Westerton turns
out to be the president of the bank, Mr. James Johnstone, who has
hitherto borne the highest of characters, being considered quite the
leading citizen of Brownsville. The whole circumstances are most
romantic, and I shall be able to telegraph further details for your next
edition. I am enabled to state that this startling discovery has been
brought to light chiefly by the efforts of Mr. Roland Partridge, son of
Mr. William Partridge, hitherto suspected of the theft. Mr. Partridge
has been assisted by those well-known citizens of Brownsville, Mr.
Fernlea and Mr. Robert Hertman. These gentlemen are, with the two Mr.
Partridges, at present in Chicago, and will, I understand, leave by the
first train in the morning for Brownsville. The prisoner will also be
taken over in course of the day in charge of the police, and will be
charged before the justices of your city with his offence. I am informed
that the greater portion of the securities stolen have been recovered by
the police, so that the bank is not likely to be the loser of more than
a few thousand dollars by this crime."
Brownsville could at first scarcely believe the news, but enquiries
elicited the fact that Mr. Johnstone was absent, and that the police
had, late the previous evening, on the receipt of a telegram from
Chicago, gone to his house and placed seals upon the drawers and
cabinets. The machines of the _Brownsville Gazette_ were insufficient to
cope with the demands for papers of the second edition, which gave full
details of the affair, and were bought up even more eagerly than the
first.
There was quite a crowd at the station to meet the first train from
Chicago, and a number of gentlemen who had previously known Mr.
Partridge, pressed forward to shake hands with him and to congratulate
him as he alighted from the train with his two friends. Roland did not
accompany him, having left the train two stations back to fetch his
mother, to whom the glad news had been telegraphed on the previous
night. Mr. Partridge could not himself go, as his presence would be
necessary at the court. There was no feeling of pity for Mr. Johnstone.
Later on he received sentence of five years' penal servitude--a sentence
that would have been heavier had not the court believed his statement
that he had intended to return the stolen securities to the bank. But
the effect of this was in public opinion neutralized by his conduct in
throwing the blame on to Mr. Partridge, and in allowing him to suffer
for his guilt.
Mr. Partridge was forced to overcome his objection to public gatherings
so far as to receive a banquet and presentation from his
fellow-townsmen, and was unanimously elected by the shareholders of the
Brownsville Bank president of that institution. Mr. Johnstone's family
left the town immediately after his arrest, and Percy Johnstone is at
present a clerk in a store in Broadway. Roland Partridge is still in Mr.
Fernlea's office, and will shortly, it is said, be admitted as a partner
in the business. About which time, it is also rumoured, he will enter
into another partnership with a young lady who was his staunchest
defender in his dark days.
A FRONTIER GIRL
A TALE OF THE BACKWOOD SETTLEMENTS
A girl of fifteen, slim and lithe in figure--although it would scarcely
have suggested itself to a casual observer, so disfigured was it by the
thick, homespun garment in which she was clothed--stood looking out from
the door of a log cabin over the lake which lay a hundred yards away.
Her face would have been almost childish had it not been for a certain
alertness of expression and keenness of glance which would never have
been seen in the face of a town-bred girl, nor in one brought up in a
country where the only danger ever to be encountered was in crossing a
meadow in which a bull was grazing. Mary Mitford was the only child of
the settler who owned the cabin. He had at one time been a well-to-do
farmer, but he had fallen into difficulties and been obliged to give up
his farm and travel farther west, where land could be had for the
taking up.
The times had been peaceful, and although the spot he had fixed upon was
ten miles from the nearest village, that did not deter him from settling
there. It was a natural clearing of some twenty acres in extent. The
land was fertile, and sloped gradually down to the lake. A clear spring
rose close to the spot where he had determined to make his house, and as
to Indian troubles he shrugged his shoulders and said: "If the Indians
break out I shall only have to shut up my cabin and move into the
village; but as there is no house nearer than that, no tracks in the
forest leading past my place, and nothing worth stealing, it is hardly
likely that the red-skins will come my way. They are more likely to
attack the village than they are to visit my shanty."
He had now lived on his little farm for four years, and had had no
reason to regret his choice. The cabin originally built had been
enlarged. He had a horse to do his ploughing, and some ten acres under
tillage; a score of half-wild pigs roamed by day in the forest, picking
up their living there, and returning of their own accord to their sties
in the evening for their one regular meal. Five or six cows and a score
of sheep grazed on the untilled ground; geese and ducks waddled down to
the lake at daybreak and returned at nightfall; two or three dozen
chickens found plenty of grubs and worms to eat between the rows of corn
and vegetables on the tilled ground. Altogether John Mitford was doing
well. He went down once a week with ducks, geese, fowls, and vegetables
to the village, using a large boat, on which he had built a sort of
cabin where he often passed the night on the lake, returning home to
breakfast with a goodly store of wild duck he had shot, and sometimes a
stag which he had overtaken as it swam across the lake.
So well had he done, indeed, that he had settled to take on three or
four hired men to extend the clearing by cutting down and grubbing up
the forest. He had been ably assisted by his wife, who not only looked
after the house, but assisted on the farm at busy times; while Mary, who
was but nine years old when they came there, made herself as useful as
she could at light work, fed the animals, cooked when her mother was in
the fields, and as she grew older spent a good deal of her time in a
small birch-bark canoe her father had bought for her in the village. She
added a good deal to the family store by fishing; not only was the
house well supplied, but she enabled her father to take a large
basketful down when he went to the village, where the people were all
too busy to fish for themselves.
She also learned to use her father's rifle with a skill equal to his
own, and could hit any duck that came within range of the weapon. From
time to time there were rumours of trouble with the Indians; but these
either proved to be without foundation, or the troubles took place at
distant spots on the border. Sometimes Mary's mother accompanied her
father to the village when stores had to be laid in, and materials for
garments purchased for which their own homespun cloth was unsuitable.
They had started together this morning, and the three men who had been
engaged were to return with them. These were to be accommodated in an
outhouse until they had built a log cabin for themselves, and a store of
groceries, saws and axes, blankets, and other necessaries for their use
were also to be purchased and brought up.
They had, when the settler had gone down on the previous week, heard
that councils had been held among the village elders as to the rumoured
Indian troubles, and as to the best method of defending the place should
the enemy threaten an attack. John Mitford had received many warnings,
but he paid little attention to them, and while speaking lightly of them
to his wife, remarked with a laugh, that with the hired men they would
have quite a garrison.
"They will all bring their guns up with them," he said, "and it will
scarcely be worth the while of any Indians to attack us when they know
that we should be able to make a stout fight, and that even if they took
the place there would be nothing to pay them except our scalps for the
loss of life they would suffer. The men I hired to-day are all
accustomed to border work, and claim to be good shots. I can say as much
for myself, and Mary here is a good bit better than I am, and you have
learned to make very fair practice, wife."
"I have not had time for much of it, John, but at least I think that I
could scarcely miss an Indian at fifty yards; however, as you say, we
have been hearing these rumours every three or four months since we
settled here, and nothing has ever come of it."
So little did they think of the matter that when they started in the
scow an hour before daybreak no allusion was made to it, and Mary was to
have supper ready for them on their return.
"Remember that there will be six, Mary, and you will have to provide
plentifully for the men. It would never do to give them a bad impression
on their arrival. We shall be back before nightfall."
When they had gone, Mary went about her usual work--let the pigs out,
and saw them well on their way towards the forest, the ducks started
down to the lake and the chickens to the fields, while the geese began
to graze in the meadow between the house and the lake, where the horse
and other animals joined them as soon as they were let out. Having
attended to these matters, she went about the work of the house. From
time to time she came to the door to see that all was going on well. It
was three o'clock in the afternoon when she heard a sudden squeal of
alarm in the forest, and a minute or two later the pigs came galloping
out of it. Accustomed as Mary was to all the noises of the place, the
sudden outcry startled her.
"What can have frightened the pigs?" she said to herself; "it may be
that a mountain lion has sprang down upon one of them, but it may be
that there are Indians."
She went back at once into the house, pulled out the moss from the
loopholes that had been made when it was built in case they should ever
be attacked, and, going from one to another, gazed into the forest.
Before doing so, she had looked to the priming of the three rifles and
two shot-guns that hung on the walls. She could see nothing, but
observed that there was a general feeling of uneasiness among the
animals. The horse had stopped feeding, and with ears outstretched
seemed to be listening for sounds in the forest; the cows, after staring
about, commenced to walk in the direction of their byres; and some geese
which were near the edge of the lake, gave warning cries, keeping close
together, and also moved towards the house. The girl had heard so many
stories of Indian raids on lonely settlements that she felt sure that an
attack would not be made until after dark. They could hardly know that
she was alone in the house, and would not risk losing lives by an
advance against it in broad daylight.
As she moved from loophole to loophole she thought over what was best to
be done. Although the Indians might wait till nightfall, if they saw no
advantage in attacking before, they would assuredly fall upon her
father's party as they landed, as, with the advantage of such a
surprise, they might expect to slaughter them without resistance. It
was hardly likely that any large party could be in the wood. She had
heard her father often say that any body of Indians on the war-path
would make straight for the settlements and would not waste their time
upon isolated farms, though stragglers from the main body might do so.
"I must do something at once," she said to herself at last; "if the
Indians see no one about they may crawl up here, and though I might
shoot one or two of them, I could not be on all sides of the house at
once. If I were killed, father and mother would be sure to fall into the
trap. From the way those geese behaved I believe it must be a party who
were travelling down the lake, and, knowing of the clearing, they landed
some little distance away and moved along the shore. As canoes often
traverse the lake, and the Indians have an eye for every detail, they
would know that its occupants possess a scow, and that as it was not
there some of the inhabitants were certainly away. They would therefore
probably wait until their return before making an attack on the hut,
which could be easily captured; while, were they to attack the cabin at
once, the firing might be heard, and those on the scow being thus warned
might go at once to the village, where their report would give the
alarm to the inhabitants, and so put them on their guard against the
attack that was to be made upon them by the main body that night."
All these things were thought over by the girl. She had so often
listened to the stories of Indian raids told by passing hunters who put
up for the night, that she was able to judge the situation as accurately
as an older settler might have done. She was pale, but this was the only
sign of her consciousness that her life was in extreme danger. She knew
that if an attack had not been made at once, the Indians must have good
reasons for waiting. From time to time Indian canoes had stopped there,
and the occupants had landed in order to exchange skins and other
articles for tobacco and powder, and so save themselves the journey down
to the settlement, and they would know that her mother, father, and
herself were the sole occupants. The absence of the scow showed that her
father was away, and that the place could be easily captured, though
perhaps not without loss of blood, for women of the frontier were
usually able to use a rifle on an emergency. She went out occasionally,
took some food for the pigs, and hung up some clothes to dry, in a quiet
and unconcerned manner, in order to show that no suspicion was
entertained that Indians were in the neighbourhood.
At last she determined upon the best course to be pursued. It was above
all things necessary to warn her parents. That the attempt might cost
her her life did not weigh in the slightest; she would certainly be
killed if she remained there. There was just a possibility that she
might succeed in saving their lives as well as her own by action. Once
in her canoe she might escape; it was very small and light. Constant
exercise had so strengthened her arms that she could make it fly through
the water at a speed at which few of the Indians with whom she had
sometimes tried a spin could surpass. The canoe or canoes, however, in
which the red-skins had arrived were doubtless paddled by three or more
men, and these would certainly overtake her. It was the knowledge that
this was so that had prevented her from making an earlier start. To give
her a chance of getting away she must carry a rifle with her, and once
the lurking enemy, who were doubtless watching her every movement,
perceived that she was armed they would guess at once that she was
conscious of their presence, and would rush out and tomahawk her before
she reached the water's edge.
At last she decided upon a plan. Taking off her gown, she fastened the
rifle with a cord round her body. The butt was against her shoulder and
the barrel came down just below her ankle, projecting but an inch or two
below her gown. When she put it on again, even the sharpest Indian eye
could scarcely notice this as she walked through the grass. She had
passed the rope but once round her body, and had tied the end in a bow
so that she could in a moment unloose it on reaching the canoe, for it
would be impossible for her to kneel down with the rifle in its present
position. She took a powder-horn which she slung over her shoulder by a
cord, and put a dozen bullets into her pocket. Then she put some grain
into a basket, and was ready to start. Before leaving the house she
stood for a few minutes in silent prayer, for she was unable to kneel;
then she went out.
It needed a great effort to saunter leisurely along, but the thought of
her parents' danger nerved her, and she went from animal to animal,
giving each a handful or two of grain, calling them to her, and singing
in a voice in which at first there was a little quaver, but which soon
rang out loud and fearlessly. Fortunately the horse and one or two of
the cows were feeding close down by the lake. As she went her hopes
rose. After feeding them she strolled in a leisurely way towards her
canoe, and, standing close to it, looked over the water, then she went
down to its edge, and gazed down the lake as if looking for the
returning scow. After standing thus for a minute or two she returned to
the canoe, pulled at the ends of the rope under her loose dress, and let
the muzzle of the rifle drop to the ground. She stooped over the canoe
as if arranging the paddles, and placed the rifle in it. The action, she
thought, could hardly have been seen by the Indians, for the trees were
two hundred yards on each side of her. She then lifted the light canoe
and carried it down to the water.
This was the critical moment. The Indians might allow her to go
unmolested, thinking that she was only going for a short paddle to pass
away the time until her parents returned, and in that case they would
crawl across and enter the cabin in order to take the party by surprise
as they unsuspectingly strolled up from the scow. On the other hand, if
they thought that she had had any idea of their presence, and was going
to warn her father, they would know the coveted scalps would be lost if
they did not succeed in catching her. As she seated herself in the
canoe and took up her paddle, her heart beat high with hope, but,
glancing towards the trees, she saw six red-skins running at full speed
from the edge of the forest. What she hadn't reckoned upon had occurred.
Their sharp eyes had caught the flash of the sun upon the barrel of the
rifle as she put it in, and they at once guessed that she was aware of
their presence, and was endeavouring to escape.
It was well that she had lost not a moment's time after placing the
canoe in the water. Her nervousness had now passed away, and with rapid
but steady strokes she drove the light craft ahead, and was fifty or
sixty yards out on to the lake before the Indians reached the spot she
had left. They had been silent hitherto, but their yells rose fiercely
as they fired shot after shot; but the powder sold to the Indians was
always of a poor quality, and though the balls fell close to her none
struck her. The red-skins did not wait to reload, but ran back to the
forest, and a minute after they had disappeared among the trees she saw
a canoe with three paddlers dash out from some bushes in which it had
been concealed. She had but some three hundred yards' start, and
although she was rowing her hardest, looking over her shoulder from
time to time, she found that they were gaining upon her. When a mile had
been passed she was but seventy or eighty yards ahead. With a sweep of
her paddle she turned the canoe broadside to her pursuers, laid her
paddle in, seized her rifle, took a steady aim, and fired.
The report was followed by a yell, and the Indian in the bow dropped his
paddle and fell back. At other times, at so short a distance, she would
not have missed her aim at the centre of his chest by a finger's
breadth; but though she had held her breath in order to steady her
rifle, her arms were quivering from her exertions, and she had only hit
him on his right shoulder, the red mark on the brown skin showing where
he was struck. A moment later she was again on her way. The fall of the
man against the red-skin behind him had nearly upset the Indian canoe,
and she had gained several lengths before the pursuit was continued. She
looked round, and saw that the wounded man was again kneeling in his
place. His paddle had fallen overboard when he was struck, and even had
it not been so, he could have rendered but slight assistance to his
comrades with but one hand available.
"It is lucky that he was not killed," she said to herself. "If he had
been, they would have thrown him overboard."
A minute later she heard a splash. The wounded man had leapt into the
water, and was making for the shore.
"It is a fair race now," she thought. "Their canoe is a large one, as it
held three sitters besides the rowers. Now I must take it steadily. I am
sure they will not gain on me as long as I can keep up--it is just a
question of last."
She rowed, however, her hardest for a few minutes, as it was
all-important to get beyond the range of the Indians' guns. When a
glance round showed her that she was some hundred and twenty yards ahead
of her pursuers, she settled down into a long steady stroke. She knew
well that she was now practically safe, for even if one of their guns
could carry to her, it was difficult even for the best shot to aim from
a dancing canoe. For half an hour there was no change in the position.
The Indians were rowing their hardest, but the weight of their
comparatively heavy canoe was telling upon them as much as the labour of
driving her light craft was upon the girl. It was well for her that an
out-of-door life and daily practice had hardened her muscles and
strengthened her frame. She had once paused for a couple of seconds and
pulled off her frock, which at once cumbered her movements and was
terribly hot. The speed of the canoe had scarcely slackened when the
paddle was at work again, and she felt a sensible relief from the
freedom of her limbs.
A few minutes later a little cry of joy broke from her as she saw the
scow come out from behind a point some two miles away. The sight gave
her renewed hope and strength. They must have left the village earlier
than she had expected. On the other hand, a yell from the red-skins told
her that they too had seen the scow, and would certainly exert
themselves to the utmost to overtake her before she reached it. Although
it had seemed that the paddlers were all doing their best before, the
added speed of the canoes told that their exertions had been redoubled.
When within a mile of the scow, the girl glanced backwards. The Indians
had gained some thirty yards upon her; but another five minutes would
bring her within rifle-shot of the scow. She could see by the motion of
the oars that the rowers were doing their utmost, while the others were
standing up watching the chase with their rifles in their hands.
Her strength was failing her fast now, but she struggled on
determinedly; at least she had saved her father and mother. Two minutes
later she started at the report of a gun behind, and the splash of a
ball in the water alongside the canoe. She felt that she was safe now.
The red-skins would not have stopped to fire had they not felt that it
was their last chance of revenge. A few more strokes and she looked
round. The Indians were already on their way towards the shore. Then she
let her paddle drop, and collapsed in the bottom of the canoe, hearing
but faintly the sound of repeated shots from the scow, which was now but
a little more than a quarter of a mile away. Hitherto they had been
unable to fire, as the two canoes were in a line. Faintly she heard a
shout in her father's voice: "Are you hit, Mary?" But she was incapable
of making an effort to reply, and it was not until the scow came
alongside and she was lifted on board that she was able to answer. The
relief of her father and mother was intense when they found that she was
unwounded. They had heard the Indians fire, and at the distance they
were away it had seemed to them that the canoes were close to each
other. They then saw the red-skins at once make for shore, and she had
so quickly afterwards sunk into the canoe that they greatly feared she
was wounded. The men with them, however, were unanimous in agreeing that
she had not been hit. If she had been, they argued, her pursuers would
certainly have paddled up to the canoe and taken her scalp before making
for the shore. It was some time before she was able to tell her story,
and the frontiersmen were as warm in their expressions of admiration for
her coolness as were her parents.
A consultation was now held as to the best plan to be pursued. It was
finally agreed that one of the men should take the canoe and return to
the village, which was but four miles away, and warn them to prepare for
an attack that night. The stockades had already been strengthened, and
if prepared, it was probable that the settlers would be able to beat off
any attack. The scow was then put in motion again. It was felt that the
three Indians on shore would have done nothing until they learned from
the men in the canoe that the pursuit had failed, and that the settlers
had been warned. They would probably have followed along the shore to
see the result, and might either return, burn the cabin, and slaughter
the cattle, or might go on and join the Indians who were doubtless
gathered close to the village. The frontiersmen were of opinion that
they would take the latter course.
"The red-skins are fond of revenge," one of the men said, "but they are
fonder of scalps. They will not expect to get much plunder from your
house, and will certainly get no scalps; and though they might do a lot
of mischief on your clearing, this would offer less satisfaction to them
than getting their share of the plunder and scalps from the village."
"Besides," another put in, "they would certainly get into bad odour with
their tribe if they were absent from the attack. I take it for certain
that they had orders to go straight there, and that it was only the hope
that they would bring in some scalps that induced them to land at your
clearing. I think that it is plumb sure that they will go straight on."
Rowing vigorously, they reached the farm an hour before sunset. To their
great satisfaction they saw the animals grazing as usual, the cabin
intact, and no signs of an enemy's presence; nevertheless the
frontiersmen advised Mr. Mitford to proceed cautiously, for it was just
possible the Indians were hidden in the house. Accordingly he told his
wife and daughter to remain in the scow, which, when the men landed,
was pushed off into deep water and the grapnel dropped. The men moved up
through the trees until abreast of the house.
"I am convinced that they are not there," the settler said. "The animals
are all feeding quietly, and the geese are just in front of the door. I
am sure that if red-skins were inside, the horse and cattle would all be
gathered by the water, and the geese, which are as watchful as dogs,
would not be near the house."
The others agreed, and, stooping low, made their way through the
standing grain until within some thirty yards of the house. Then with
rifles advanced ready to fire, they dashed forward. Still all was quiet.
"They are not here," one of the men said positively. "They certainly
would have fired, and not let us get up against the wall. We have only
to walk in."
They went round to the door and entered. All was exactly as Mary had
left it. The fire had burnt low, but the pot was still simmering over
it. The farmer went down to the water and fetched up his wife and Mary.
"If it hadn't been for you, Mary," he said, "everything would have been
destroyed here, and we should be lying dead on the shore."
The question was next discussed what they had best do. The frontiersmen
were unanimous in their opinion that there was no fear of an attack that
night, but were equally certain that one would be made the next night,
or at the latest on that following.
"No matter whether they take the village or not, they are sure to attack
you. If they have won, the varmint you have baulked to-day will bring a
party of their friends here for plunder and scalps. If they are beaten
off they will, before they return home, ravage every outlying farm. To
make matters sure, I should say it would be safest for your wife and
daughter to sleep on board the scow. We can bring her in close to the
shore and camp down there ourselves, so that, if needs be, we can get on
board and put out into the lake. They have only one canoe, as far as we
know; but if they had a dozen they would not dare to attack us. I do not
think that there is a chance of any trouble to-night. In the morning, I
should say your best plan would be to get the things you most value on
board the scow, with enough meat and provisions to last for a week. You
must stay with the ladies on board, and we will drive all the animals a
couple of miles into the forest. The worst that can happen then is that,
when the Indians come, they will burn down the house. I don't see that
we can prevent that. If we were to lay off here in the scow, we could
keep them from approaching within range of our rifles, but we could not
prevent them from coming down from behind the house.
"It does not matter about the cabin," the settler said; "that is easily
put up again. And, indeed, I had intended before long to pull it down
and rebuild it in better style, and put it close down by the water."
"That would be a good plan, boss. If you were to put it there, and make
a strong palisade running from it on each side down to the water, you
could fight it out against a big lot of red-skins, and if the worst came
to the worst, could make off in your scow. I would put a bag or two of
grain in the boat, if I were you, now. When you start in the morning,
row along the shore to the east till you see us come out. We will bunch
the animals close by there, and if we give them a feed every evening
they are safe not to wander very far. It is not likely the red-skins
will trouble to hunt for them; they will burn your house and then make
off. You might leave half a dozen of your sheep here. If they come, the
Indians can make a meal, and they won't be wanting to search the woods
for one, and are safe to make off without delay. When they have once got
a beating they don't care to hang about; and if they have succeeded at
the village, and got scalps and booty, some of them will at once start
for home to have a dance after their victory, and the others will be off
to strike a blow at some other village before the news of what has
occurred reaches the settlers."
And so the matter was carried out. The night passed quietly, but in the
morning the frontiersmen, putting their ears down to the surface of the
lake, could make out heavy firing in the distance, and knew that the
attack on the village had begun. The work was then set about. The whole
of the feathered stock were tied by their legs and placed in the scow.
The store of provisions, groceries, the linen, and clothes were all
placed on board, and then the settler, with his wife and daughter,
pushed off, while the three men drove the animals into the forest. Three
hours later those on the scow saw them appear at the edge of the lake
nearly three miles from the clearing, and the scow was at once rowed
ashore. The animals had been driven to a small clearing a quarter of a
mile away, and on the party going up they were found to be still there.
Mary went round petting them and giving them handfuls of grain, and
after remaining there for half an hour they returned to the lake. The
scow was hidden under some branches overhanging the water. In the
afternoon a small canoe with a solitary paddler was seen coming along,
keeping close inshore. As it approached, Mary recognized her canoe, and
the men declared that the rower was their comrade who had gone to give
the alarm to the village.
"What news, Reuben?" they shouted as soon as he was within hearing.
"Bad news," he said. "The village is taken, and every soul but myself
murdered! They made a good fight, but the red-skins were too strong. I
got hit in the leg pretty early in the fight, and, finding that I was no
more use, I got two women to carry me down to the canoe. I knew that I
should be as comfortable there as anywhere, and if things went wrong it
gave me a chance. Two hours later I heard by the screaming that the
red-skins had forced the palisades and were in the village, so I thought
that it was time for me to be off. I was able to sit up, though I was
badly hit below the knee, and I paddled off and made for the clearing.
When I got there I saw at once that all the animals were gone, and made
sure that they had been driven into the forest, and that you had taken
to the scow. I did not suppose that you had gone very far, so I came on
looking for you, and glad enough I was to hear your shout."
"You fear that all in the village have been murdered?" Mr. Mitford said.
"I have not a doubt of it. Those red fiends spare no one, especially as
there was a stout resistance, and a good many of them have been wiped
out."
He was now helped out of the canoe. His comrades, all of whom had much
experience of wounds, examined his leg carefully, and were of opinion
that, although the bone was splintered, it was not broken, and that the
ball had gone out behind.
"The best thing to do," one of them said, "will be to make a deep cut
and pick out all the pieces of bone. It will never heal properly with
them in."
"Fire away then!" the wounded man said coolly. "It is best to make a
good job of it at once. Now I know that the bone is not really broken I
don't mind what you do with it."
"Do you happen to have a new knife, Mr. Mitford?" one of the other
frontiersmen said, turning to the settler. "One wants a new knife and a
sharp one."
"I cannot give you a new one, but it was only yesterday that I ground my
own knife, and it is both sharp and clean."
"That will do first rate."
And, taking the long knife the settler wore in a sheath hanging from his
belt, he proceeded to operate. Not a groan or a sigh proceeded from the
wounded man. Accustomed to a hard life as these men were, they were
almost as insensible to pain as the Indians themselves. After the
splinters of bone had been removed, the wound was washed with warm water
and then carefully bandaged. A fire had by this time been lit a short
distance in the forest in a position where its light could not be
observed by any passing canoe. Here the men bivouacked, taking it by
turns to keep watch. For four days they remained here; then one of them
started as soon as it was dark, in Mary's canoe, to examine the
clearing. He returned in little over an hour. The cabin and outbuildings
had all been burnt, and the place was absolutely deserted. It was agreed
that there was not the slightest chance of the Indians returning there,
and the settler and three of the men at once began to fell trees; while
the fourth, who could not assist in active work for some time, went down
in the canoe to the village, which he found had been entirely destroyed,
but that a body of the State militia had arrived there. From them he
learned that another village had been destroyed; but in an attack on a
third the Indians had been repulsed with great loss, and had not since
been heard of, and it was believed that they had retired to their own
villages.
Three months later a log-house had been erected by the water-side, with
palisades running down into deep water. It was large and comfortable,
and being built of square logs and well loopholed, and with the doors
and windows on the water-side only, it could resist a formidable attack.
A very strong gate in one of the palisades would admit of the animals
being driven in there for shelter. All those which had been taken into
the forest had been recovered. The house done, the men set to work to
enlarge the clearing, and ten years later it was one of the largest and
best-cultivated farms on the lake. Mary, whose exploit had gained for
her a wide reputation throughout the district for her courage and
coolness, had long before married a young Englishman who had come out
with some capital, with the intention of farming. Mary would not hear of
leaving her father and mother, and accordingly he entered into
partnership with Mr. Mitford, and his energy and capital had no small
share in developing the farm. A second log-house was built within some
twenty yards of the other, and connected with it by a strong palisade.
However, the settlers were never again disturbed by the Indians, and so
many new-comers had settled beyond them that it could no longer be
called an outlying settlement, especially as a town of considerable size
had sprung into existence on the site of the village that had been
destroyed.