THE NIGHT ATTACK.
Long before the sun had cast its rays on the tree tops, the Indian
encampment was astir. The sky was just beginning to grow grey with the
coming dawn when the hasty morning meal had been finished and the fires
stamped out. The Indians also had seen the camp fires of their enemies
across the bay, and they took especial pains in the morning to keep
their blazes small and hidden in the slight hollows. Silently the two
white boys and their red companions stole to the water's edge, launched
their birch canoes and paddled away from their temporary camp. A heavy
mist hung over the water and they wished to be well along before the
sun's warm rays dispelled the blanket that hid them.
"It feels good to be able to paddle," said Dick.
The party in Fritz's canoe was right along side of his and the boys
were able to keep up a quiet conversation at the start.
"Ve would by now be half to death frozen already," replied the Dutch
boy, plying his paddle vigorously.
"Let's put a little energy into our strokes," suggested Dick. "We'll
try to get up in the lead and keep the pace up."
"I am already pushing so fast as I can," replied Fritz.
"Then we'll leave you at the tail end in about five minutes," said
Dick, as he dug his paddle blade deep into the water and sent the frail
canoe ahead by leaps and bounds. The Indians in Dick's canoe caught the
idea at once, and although Fritz and his companions started right after
them, they were not able to catch up. Dick soon was parallel with the
chief's canoe and here his companions stopped paddling and looked at
Telca for instructions.
"Ve haf caught you so soon," panted Fritz, drawing up abreast at that
moment.
"You never would have if we hadn't stopped so as not to lose you,"
answered Dick.
"Sometimes you are right, not, and this is it," said Fritz.
"Which way now, chief?" asked Dick of the Indian.
"You can follow Telca," said he, and speaking to his bow companion, the
chief suddenly drove his own craft out ahead of the others and with a
quick succession of powerful strokes was soon several lengths in the
lead.
Dick Dare and his party were soon after the flying leaders, but the
chief and his paddling mate were well matched, and strain as they
might, the others could do no more than hold their own, and never
gained a foot. If they had started to overtake Telca, he could
undoubtedly have drawn away from them with a little added effort, for
the two in the foremost canoe seemed not to be exerting themselves to
their fullest.
Half an hour's paddling of this kind brought the leaders almost over
to the other shore, and some distance further to the West. The chief
now ceased paddling entirely and held his shining blade in the air as
a sign for the others to slow up with him. Their nearness to the shore
made silence necessary, and when the sternmost craft had come up, they
all moved forward very cautiously.
"That was warm work," said Dick quietly. "The chief can certainly give
us lessons in paddling."
"Another half minute and I surely haf been a deader," replied Fritz.
"Such vork I nefer did yet, in veeks before."
Keeping close to the shore, the little flotilla went onward until they
reached a small brook opening into the bay. Here they could see the
narrow road running close to the water's edge.
"We land here," ordered Telca, turning his canoe toward the bank.
"What are you going to do with the canoes?" asked Dick. "It seems a
shame to destroy them."
"We will all get out except four of the young men," said Telca. "They
will tow the birch boats to the land out there, and we will send word
to our brothers, the Delawares, where the Redman has hidden them.
They may have them, for they were our friends when we came across the
mountains twelve moons ago."
"I'm glad they are not going to be wasted. They are such beauties,"
Dick said. "And that idea of having us all go ashore here and hiding
them around the peninsular is a fine one."
The Indians quickly stepped out, gathered up their few possessions and
their rifles, and roped the canoes together so that the four young men
whom Telca had picked out might convey the whole string to the hiding
place.
"Young men catch up to us soon," volunteered Telca. "We will not wait."
"Hope they do," replied Dick. "We aren't any too strong now and every
man will count if we run into that British troop again."
"Young men will be with their people by the end of this sun," responded
Telca, confidently. "Young men travel fast."
"Mein gootness, I'm glat ve don'd haf to race like those fellars," said
Fritz. "Und also I could vish Tim Murphies vas mit dem."
"Why?" asked Dick.
"Dot Irisher, I vould haf his legs run off alreaty," chuckled Fritz.
"I wish we knew for certain where he and Tom are," replied Dick.
"Berhabs they vould call on us this efening," said Fritz.
"Well, wondering won't do any good, so let's move along. The tribe are
striking off along the trail, and if we want to go with them at all we
had better hurry. These Indians are awful fast travelers when they want
to be."
Dick and Fritz picked up the rifles they had borrowed from the Indians
and set off after the party. The pace was swift and they were soon in
the rougher and less traveled trails. The red men moved without any
apparent effort and glided noiselessly along, yet covering the ground
in very quick time. The women, although carrying light burdens, were
just as accustomed to the trail as their masters, and made no complaint
as they followed their leaders.
"If I should von of those red wimmins marry, yet, I vould do no more
vork already," said Fritz.
"And I just hope that if you get anyone to take care of you for the
rest of your life, that it's one of the kind that keeps you moving,"
replied Dick, laughing.
"Dot's just my luck wot is, to got von like it," grumbled Fritz.
"This is sure enough a rough path," said Dick, as they stumbled over
the roots of a giant tree that stretched across the trail.
"Yah, this is for roughness a vonder," replied Fritz.
In spite of the difficulties of the trail, however, the band made
exceptionally rapid progress and with but a brief halt at noon-day for
a hasty meal and a short breathing space, they pushed on again and by
night-fall were far into the mountains.
That evening Dick asked Telca about the four young men whom they had
left with the canoes.
"They will sleep with us before the next sun," replied the chief.
Dick didn't say any more on that subject, but he was still wondering
where they were and whether or not they would have come across any
trace of the pursuing party when he dropped off to sleep. Fritz had
already fallen fast asleep and with the exception of the three solitary
outposts, all were resting after their hard march.
A peaceful silence settled on the camp and the little fire-embers
burned low and were not replenished. Silently from the darkness came
the little woods creatures and gazed with black snapping eyes at the
invaders of their forest home. Even the sentinels grew drowsy and had
to change their positions to keep from falling asleep.
Then of a sudden all the little feathered and furred folk vanished
into the wood. The Indian outposts crouched silently behind protecting
trees, and then ran to the sleeping camp and hurriedly awakened it.
A shot and then another had come to their ears faintly, borne on
the night wind from far down the valley. Even as they roused the
tribe more firing could be heard, and Dick and Fritz, like their red
comrades, hurried to grasp their weapons and prepare for trouble.
"I'll bet it's those four Indians in some sort of trouble with the
British," said Dick, remembering his thoughts of earlier in the
evening. "Your young men, isn't it, chief?" he asked of Telca.
"Not know," responded that Indian, looking rather anxious about the
matter, however. "Indian find out soon."
"We'll be with you while you are finding out, then," said Dick.
"Yah, I will be finding oud who has been shots firing into mein sleep
yet," Fritz added.
The men of the tribe all filed off into the darkness, following Telca's
lead, and Dick and the German boy followed. With all their knowledge
and experience in wood-craft, the two Patriots found it difficult to
keep up with the running Indians, but they managed to hold their own,
although Fritz grunted considerably when he fell over an old log in his
path.
Suddenly the men in the front halted and gathered about in a circle.
Dick, coming up behind them, saw that they were grouped about three
half-naked Indians whom he took to be the young men they had left
behind. Evidently one of them was missing. The Indians were talking
excitedly in quick, sharp sentences, and Dick gathered that they had
come upon the Redcoat camp, taken a few shots at the pickets, and in
the running fight that had followed one of them had fallen and had been
overtaken before they could help him. They were uncertain as to whether
their comrade had been wounded or had been overpowered. At any rate he
was now a prisoner in the camp of their enemies, and even the older men
counselled an attempt at rescue. They were eager to be avenged on their
ancient enemies.
"We will bring our brother back with us. Let us remember our little
sister also," said Telca.
"Ve haf no love lost on those Britisher fellows, too," said Fritz. "A
few shoots vill berhabs stop their chasing us the whole vorld ofer."
"If you see two white boys in camp without uniforms, that is, Redcoats,
don't fire at them," said Dick to the Indians. "They may be our
brothers, held by the red coats as prisoners."
Telca communicated this to the warriors, and again they spread out
and moved swiftly through the black forests. Here and there, little
natural glades let in the starlight, and helped them to follow each
other, but for the most part, all was inky darkness around them.
Almost before he expected it, Dick saw the twinkling fire lights of the
English camp below them. Their pace decreased to a more careful one,
and the whole party spread out into a fan shape, without any orders,
each man his own general, as is the Indian custom.
Dick and Fritz were far to the right and they began a stealthy approach
toward the British. Their comrades were soon hidden from view, except
for Telca, who kept near them. They had drawn close to the line that
should have marked the posts of the British pickets when Dick, Fritz
and Telca caught the sound of a voice close at hand. No figures
was visible, which afterward proved to be an important thing, but
nevertheless, the three paused and listened intently. Telca finally
motioned the boys to creep forward again. They were all mystified about
the lack of soldiers about the fires in the distance. The blazes burned
brightly, but no forms showed between them and the silent red-men.
Suddenly from the other side of the circle came the call of a night
bird, and the tribe knew that the other end of the line had reached
their position. When Telca answered that call the fight was to begin.
But the chief never had to answer it. The sound of the bird call had
just died away into silence when a voice near the little group said
softly in a rich Irish accent,
"Faith and it's stiff Oi'm afther gettin' to be. If----"
"Tim! Tom!" called Dick, quietly.
But he had spoken too soon. There was a British soldier with Tom and
Tim, and behind them, about twenty yards, were a full row of men lying
in wait for just such an attack as was threatening them.
The English trooper leaped to his feet and fired his rifle directly
at the spot from whence came Dick's voice. In the darkness the shot
fortunately went wild, but the alarm had been given and the battle was
on.
Telca, taking careful aim, dropped the soldier where he stood and Tom
and Tim, firing their guns wildly over their heads, dashed off into
the woods away from Dick and his companions. They hoped by so doing to
get out of the way of the bullets from the British behind them, and
also lead the oncoming troopers astray as to Dick's position, for
Tom feared that Dick and Fritz might be alone and therefore might be
captured.
The two boys were far from being alone, however, as the whole British
force soon discovered. The woods around them became a mass of shooting
tongues of flame, and the sharp fire of the attacking Indians soon
forced the Redcoats to take shelter behind the trees and rocks. For a
full half hour the Indians circled about the cordon of troops, firing
and yelling and making the night fiendish with their blood-curdling
cries. Several of the English, more exposed because of the fires
burning behind them, fell, wounded or killed. But their numbers
were too great for the redskins to overcome and they were gradually
driven back at various points and finally forced to cease firing and
retire in the darkness. The fight had been brisk while it lasted and
several times it looked as if the Indians might break the defence and
complete their victory. But in the end, the greater numbers of the
British succeeded in repulsing the attack, and with the loss of one
man and several slightly wounded, the Indians retired into the forest,
abandoning the attempt to rescue their captive brother.
"Vas has happened to dot Tom und Tim Murphies?" queried Fritz as they
hurried back to the Indian encampment. "Dot fool Irisher ran the woods
off in, like the crazy feller he iss, und Tom vas following him after."
"They saved you and Telca and I by doing it," replied Dick. "It
certainly led the British astray for a minute."
"Maype Tim has some senses after all, alreaty," said Fritz,
thoughtfully. "I vould nefer tell him so yet."
"Well, they seem to be in all right with the British and we can always
hope to be warned, at least, if we get into danger."
"Und now, vere are ve going at?" asked the Dutch boy as they reached
camp and found the squaws ready to move on.
"Going to march some more," replied the chief. "Redcoat man too near."
Fritz gave a longing glance at his heap of pine boughs, where he had
hoped to pass the rest of the night, shouldered his gun, and trudged
off with a sigh after Dick.