For thou wert monarch born. Tradition's pages
Tell not the planting of thy parent tree,
But that the forest tribes have bent for ages
To thee and to thy sires the subject knee.
HALLECK.
The young man knew not whither to turn his steps, except to the hut of
Sassacus, which, however, he felt doubtful of his ability to find at
night. No better plan occurred to him than to make the attempt; he,
therefore, pressed forward, guiding himself as well as he could by the
stars, glimpses of which he caught from time to time through the
branches. He had, however, proceeded but a short distance, when,
without a warning sound, silent as a shadow, the Indian stood at his
side.
"I sought the great chief," said Arundel, contemplating the renowned
warrior, whose name was a synonym with whatever was generous and
daring, with more curiosity than he had regarded the obscure
Waqua--"to warn him of danger."
"Sassacus fears no danger," replied the Indian; "it is for the
Taranteens to tremble when they are in his neighborhood."
"What will the chief do?"
"He will return to his wigwam, but his brother must not go with him;
for the Taranteens desire to carry back with them to-night the scalp
of Sassacus."
"Nay, I will go with thee to partake the danger, if there be any, but
I see no probability thereof. The Taranteens will not seek the scalp
of Sassacus, if he hunts not for theirs."
"My brother knows not that they are owls who fly in the night. The
eyes of Sassacus can pierce the skin on the bosoms of his enemies, and
he saw in them men wandering in the dark, and looking for the chief of
the Pequots."
"But how are these strangers to find the way?"
"When did Sassacus ever make a secret of his lodge? He is not a
beaver, or a wretched wood-chuck, to burrow in the ground, but an
eagle who makes his nest on the highest trees."
From this reply Arundel could only understand, that the place where
the hut stood was too well known to make it difficult for the Indians
to discover it. There was no knowing what their audacity, thirst for
revenge for the insult, and the opportunity to capture or destroy so
famous an enemy, might tempt them to undertake; but he trusted that
the want of a medium of communication (for only the Knight and Eliot,
among the whites, as he supposed, could make themselves intelligible;
and the Aberginians were not likely to approach the Taranteens) would
be an insuperable obstacle in the way of their purpose, should they
entertain any such as that intimated by his companion. It was evident,
however, that Sassacus expected an attack during the night, and that
so far from shunning the danger, he rather courted it; for it was
easily to be avoided, by leaving the wigwam to its fate. There would
not be much loss in that, the cabin being rudely built of bark: and
the few articles of value which it contained might, in a short time,
be removed to a place of safety. Arundel could scarcely be expected to
participate in the feelings of the wild warrior in the contemplation
of a fight with savages in the dark. Besides, he knew not by how many
they might be attacked; and the prospect of a contest betwixt himself
and Sassacus, on the one side, and half-a-dozen or more Taranteens, on
the other, may well be conceived to have had in it nothing alluring.
He would not, however, desert his friend; and, despairing of changing
the chief's resolution, he walked in silence after him, turning over
in his mind the possibilities of a night skirmish. Sassacus had,
probably, an idea of his thoughts, for presently he resumed his
attempt to dissuade Arundel from accompanying him.
"My brother," he said, "has no quarrel with the Taranteens. They have
come to smoke the calumet with his people, and not to plunder his
villages and burn his corn fields. Why should my brother expose his
life?"
It was partly to try the courage of the young man, perhaps, and partly
to ascertain how far he might be depended on, if there should be a
fight, that the Indian asked the question. At any rate, a suspicion of
the kind passed through Arundel's mind, and he answered:
"My life belongs to Sassacus. It is no longer mine."
"Sassacus gives his brother back his life. Will he not now return to
his big lodge, where he will hear no war-whoop, but only the pleasant
song of the gues-ques-kes in the morning?"
"Cease," said Arundel. "Not if there were as many Taranteens in the
woods as there are leaves on the trees will I desert thee."
"It is well; and my brother shall see the difference between a Pequot
and a wretched Taranteen."
All this time they had been walking without haste in a straight line,
the Indian leading the way, and seeming to follow a particular course
by instinct; for he looked not at the stars nor at any signs, so far
as his companion could judge, to direct his steps. In this manner,
they continued to advance, not much conversation passing until they
reached the hut of Sassacus. This they entered: and, to the surprise
of Arundel, the Indian, after throwing down a few skins for seats,
began leisurely to prepare a meal. He lighted a fire outside of the
lodge, which, of course, threw a light all around, and served to guide
the steps of any wanderers, whether friends or prowling enemies; and
waiting until the wood was reduced to glowing coals, threw upon them
pieces of meat, whose pleasant odor soon pervaded the atmosphere. The
confident bearing of the Indian had, by this time, produced such an
effect upon Arundel, that he did not even ask him why he so
unnecessarily exposed the place of his retreat, but partook of the
viands from the coals, and of the parched corn, which his host
produced from the wigwam, with a hearty appetite. His entertainer
observed his execution upon the meal with marked satisfaction; and,
upon its conclusion, presented him with a pipe, and, taking one
himself, was soon under its soothing influence. Arundel, unaccustomed
to the use of tobacco, could only inspire a few whiffs, out of
compliment to the other, and then sat watching him. The fire light
shone full upon the face of the bronze statue--"the stoic of the
woods, the man without a tear"--before him, but no ferocity was
discoverable in its lineaments. It seemed impossible to suppose that
thoughts of bloodshed were passing at that moment through the mind of
the handsome youth, dreamily closing and opening his eyes, as the
clouds from the pipe floated away over his head, apparently
unconscious of danger, intending no ill to others, and not
anticipating it for himself.
After smoking his pipe, the Indian, instead of extinguishing the fire,
threw additional wood, in considerable quantities, upon it; thereby
still further increasing the wonder of Arundel. He next invited the
guest into the wigwam, and heaping up several skins in a corner for a
couch, said, that he was about to be absent for a short time, but that
his brother might sleep meanwhile in perfect security. With these
words the Pequot departed, leaving the young man reclined upon his
bed, but not to slumber.
Sassacus was gone, it might be an hour, and on his return he threw
himself upon the ground; and, in a short time, as was evident from his
breathing, was asleep. Arundel could not understand how any one, who
was anticipating an attack from enemies from whom he could expect no
mercy, was able to rest so calmly. Had he entrusted the keeping of his
life--for in a struggle he could expect no more quarter for himself
than for his companion--to any other one than the bold and adroit
warrior whose fame for cunning was as great as for bravery; or had the
relations betwixt himself and the savage been different, he would not
have remained in the cabin a moment longer. But he shrunk from the
betrayal of a want of confidence, and preferred even to risk life upon
the judgment of his wild friend. There lay the chief, softly
breathing, his limbs dissolved in sleep, and wearing in the subdued
light from the fire outside a placid expression, more like that of the
timid deer than of the cougar, whose nature his own resembled. As for
Arundel, so highly were his nerves wrought up, that had he ever so
much desired it, he would have been unable to sleep. Interminable
seemed the anxious hours, and, as the night waned, he became at last
almost incapable of mastering his apprehensions. But as more than once
he was on the point of waking the sachem, the thought arose that it
might look like cowardice, and he forbore.
At last he heard a sound, which seemed to come from just by the side
of the wigwam, like the whirring noise which the night hawk makes with
its wings. Instantly Sassacus sat up on his couch, and listened. The
sound was repeated, and he rose. He looked toward Arundel, and with a
smile, inquired how he had rested. The young man, unwilling to confess
the state of his mind, answered in an evasive manner, and the Pequot,
after regarding him a moment with a pleased expression, stepped to the
entrance and cast his eyes up to the stars. After considering them he
returned, and motioning to Arundel to arise, said, with some humor,
that he was sorry to disturb his brother, but that the skunks he had
spoke about were coming, and as he knew that his brother did not like
their smell, he would ask his brother to go a little way off. Arundel,
without altogether understanding the purpose of his companion, got up,
and after examining the priming of his piece, followed his steps.
The chief led him in a direction opposite to that from which they
came, to a distance of near a hundred rods, when their course was
arrested by the river Charles. Here he stopped, and said--
"My white brother will remain here, while Sassacus goes back to give
the welcome of a great chief to the Taranteens."
Arundel now comprehended the design of the other, but it was far from
being agreeable to him. The idea of letting the Pequot fight the
battle alone was derogatory to his honor, and besides, his curiosity
was stimulated to witness the conduct of the savage, and he therefore
answered with some asperity--
"For what does the chief take me? Am I a deer to be frightened at the
whizzing of an arrow, or the sight of a tomahawk?"
"Sassacus would be grieved should his brother lose his scalp."
"No more. Where the chief is I will be. I am a warrior as well as
Sassacus," replied the young man, beginning to retrace his steps.
"It is well," said the Indian, following after him; but when the
Pequots go to war in the night they make no noise. My brother must not
make thunder (and he touched the gun).
"As thou wilt. I have my dagger."
"It is enough. Sassacus is a great chief, and my brother will obey him
for one night."
"In all things, save deserting thee."
"Let my brother come, then," said the chief; "the arrows of the
Taranteens shall pierce my bosom before they reach his."
The two now returned together, and upon re-entering the wigwam,
Sassacus again invited Arundel to repose, but not before he had
removed the skins on which his guest had been lying, into the back
part of the lodge, while he made his own couch near the entrance.
Determined to see the adventure, if there was to be one, to its
termination, Arundel laid himself down to wait for what should happen,
while the chief stretched himself out, with his face to the opening.
Some brands were smouldering in the ashes, and they threw an obscure
light into the wigwam.
As they were thus lying, Arundel thought that he could hear once in a
while a faint rustling, but whence it proceeded he was unable, with
all his attention, to discover, and at last concluded it was caused by
the wind among dry leaves.
He had now become so accustomed to this state of things, that the
anxieties which he felt in the first part of the night were gone, and
he began to fancy that the expectation of Sassacus was unfounded. The
face of the chief was turned away, so that it was impossible to
determine whether he were sleeping or not; from the manner of his
breathing, however, Arundel judged that he was awake. But suddenly the
respirations became long and deep, and he exhibited the indications of
a profound slumber. An instant afterwards Arundel, whose eyes were
constantly turned to the opening, beheld the face of an Indian peering
in. His first impulse was to cry out, but before he could make a
sound, he saw a naked arm emerge from behind some skins which hung
from the upper part of the lodge quite down to the ground, and bury a
tomahawk in the head of the intruder, who fell dead upon the spot. At
the same instant, the dreadful war-whoop rung through the air, and the
chief leaping to his feet, and accompanied by the warrior, who had
been concealed, the two sprung into the open space in front. Arundel
too, hastened after them. In the star-light no objects were clearly
discernible, but dark figures could be dimly seen, engaged in hand to
hand contests, and the cracking of dry branches under trampling feet
could be heard. These sounds were mingled with thick panting breaths,
and occasionally the fall of a body on the ground. They lasted but a
few moments, and then a silence succeeded, as deep as if no living
thing were in the forest. As the eyes of Arundel became more
accustomed to the darkness, he beheld a tall form near by, which he
recognized for that of Sassacus, and immediately approached him.
The chief was standing near the body of a huge Indian, who was lying
prostrate on the earth. He was in the last agonies of death, and while
Arundel was looking on, the sinewy limbs quivered into immobility. Nor
had Sassacus escaped without a wound. The blood was streaming from a
gash in his side, indistinctly seen by light from the fire, but he
paid no heed to it, and the result proved it not to be dangerous.
When the dusky warrior had breathed his last, the chief uttered a
peculiar cry, and immediately half a dozen stalwart men, several of
whom had each a fresh scalp hanging at his girdle, surrounded him. He
addressed them in their own language, and from his gestures, and the
looks of his companions, Arundel supposed that he was speaking of him.
He next pointed to the dead body, and seemed to be giving orders
concerning it. One of the Indians stooped down, and with his knife
made a motion as if to take off the scalp, but being rebuked by the
chief, he desisted, and then lent his assistance to two others in
bearing away the corpse. Arundel had the curiosity to follow. The
three bore the body to the bank of the river, where, binding it with
withes to several large limbs of trees, they thrust it into the
stream, and left it to find its way to the ocean. A few earnest words,
unintelligible to the young man, were on their return spoken by
Sassacus, who had meanwhile had a styptic applied to his wound. When
he had finished speaking, the Indians dispersed in various directions
in the depths of the dark wood, and the chief beckoning to his friend,
they entered the wigwam, and disposed themselves to sleep, which
delayed not long to close their eye-lids.