There was little really superstitious in the temper of Captain Forrester;
and however his mind might be at first stirred by the discovery of a
victim of the redoubted fiend so devoutly believed in by his host of the
preceding evening, it is certain that his credulity was not so much
excited as his surprise. He sprang from his horse and examined the body,
but looked in vain for the mark of the bullet that had robbed it of life.
No gun-shot wound, at least none of importance, appeared in any part.
There was, indeed, a bullet-hole in the left shoulder, and, as it seemed,
very recently inflicted: but it was bound up with leaves and vulnerary
herbs, in the usual Indian way, showing that it must have been received
at some period anterior to the attack which had robbed the warrior of
life. The gashes across the ribs were the only other wounds on the body;
that on the head, made by a hatchet, was evidently the one that had
caused the warrior's death.
If this circumstance abated the wonder the soldier had at first felt on
the score of a man being killed at so short a distance from his own
party, without any one hearing the shot, he was still more at a loss to
know how one of the dead man's race, proverbial for wariness and
vigilance, should have been approached by any merely human enemy so nigh
as to render fire-arms unnecessary to his destruction. But that a human
enemy had effected the slaughter, inexplicable as it seemed, he had no
doubt; and he began straightway to search among the leaves strewn over
the ground, for the marks of his foot-steps; not questioning that, if he
could find and follow them for a little distance, he should discover the
author of the deed, and, which was of more moment to himself, a friend
and guide to conduct his party from the forest.
His search was, however, fruitless; for, whether it was that the shadows
of the evening lay too dark on the ground, or that eyes more accustomed
than his own to such duties were required to detect a trail among dried
forest leaves, it was certain that he failed to discover a single
foot-step, or other vestige of the slayer. Nor were Pardon Dodge and
Emperor, whom he summoned to his assistance, a whit more successful; a
circumstance, however, that rather proved their inexperience than the
supernatural character of the Jibbenainosay, whose foot-prints, as it
appeared, were not more difficult to find than those of the dead Indian,
for which they sought equally in vain.
While they were thus fruitlessly engaged, an exclamation from Telie Doe
drew their attention to a spectacle, suddenly observed, which, to her
awe-struck eyes, presented the appearance of the very being, so truculent
yet supernatural, whose traces, it seemed, were to be discovered only on
the breasts of his lifeless victims; and Roland, looking up, beheld with
surprise, perhaps even for a moment with the stronger feeling of awe, a
figure stalking through the woods at a distance, looking as tall and
gigantic in the growing twilight, as the airy demon of the Brocken, or
the equally colossal spectres seen on the wild summits of the Peruvian
Andes. Distance and the darkness together rendered the vision indistinct;
but Roland could see that the form was human, that it moved onwards with
rapid strides, and with its countenance bent upon the earth, or upon
another moving object, dusky and of lesser size, that rolled before it,
guiding the way, like the bowl of the dervise in the Arabian story; and,
finally, that it held in its hands, as if on the watch for an enemy, an
implement wondrously like the fire-lock of a human fighting-man. At
first, it appeared as if the figure was approaching the party, and that
in a direct line; but presently Roland perceived it was gradually bending
its course away to the left, its eyes still so closely fixed on its dusky
guide,--the very bear, as Roland supposed, which was said so often to
direct the steps of the Jibbenainosay,--that it seemed as if about to
pass the party entirely without observation.
But this it made no part of the young soldier's resolutions to permit;
and, accordingly, he sprang upon his horse, determined to ride forwards
and bring the apparition to a stand, while it was yet at a distance.
"Man or devil, Jibbenainosay or rambling settler," he cried, "it is, at
least, no Indian, and therefore no enemy. Holla, friend!" he exclaimed
aloud, and dashed forward, followed, though not without hesitation, by
his companions.
At the sound of his voice the spectre started and looked up; and then,
without betraying either surprise or a disposition to beat a mysterious
retreat, advanced to meet the soldier, walking rapidly, and waving his
hand all the while with an impatient gesture, as if commanding the party
to halt;--a command which was immediately obeyed by Roland and all.
And now it was, that, as it drew nigh, its stature appeared to grow less
and less colossal, and the wild lineaments with which fancy had invested
it, faded from sight, leaving the phantom a mere man, of tall frame
indeed, but without a single characteristic of dress or person to delight
the soul of wonder. The black bear dwindled into a little dog, the
meekest and most insignificant of his tribe, being nothing less or more,
in fact, than the identical Peter, which had fared so roughly in the
hands, or rather under the feet, of Roaring Ralph Stackpole, at the
Station, the day before; while the human spectre, the supposed fiend of
the woods, sinking from its dignity in equal proportion of abasement,
suddenly presented to Roland's eyes the person of Peter's master, the
humble, peaceful, harmless Nathan Slaughter.
The transformation was so great and unexpected, for even Roland looked to
find in the wanderer, if not a destroying angel, at least some formidable
champion of the forest, that he could scarce forbear a laugh, as Nathan
came stalking up, followed by little Peter, who stole to the rear, as
soon as strangers were perceived, as if to avoid the kicks and cuffs
which his experience had, doubtless, taught him were to be expected on
all such occasions. The young man felt the more inclined to indulge his
mirth, as the character which Bruce had given him of Wandering Nathan, as
one perfectly acquainted with the woods, convinced him that he could not
have fallen upon a better person to extricate him from his dangerous
dilemma, and thus relieved his breast of a mountain of anxiety and
distress. But the laugh with which he greeted his approach found no
response from Nathan himself, who, having looked with amazement upon
Edith and Telie, as if marvelling what madness had brought females at
that hour into that wild desert, turned at last to the soldier,
demanding, with inauspicious gravity,--
"Friend! does thee think thee is in thee own parlour with thee women at
home, that thee shouts so loud and laughs so merrily? or does thee know
thee is in a wild Kentucky forest, with murdering Injuns all around
thee?"
"I trust not," said Roland, much more seriously; "but, in truth, we all
took you for Nick of the Woods, the redoubtable Nick himself; and you
must allow that our terrors were ridiculous enough, when they could
convert a peaceful man like you into such a blood-thirsty creature. That
there are Indians in the wood I can well believe, having the evidence
of Dodge, here, who professes to have seen six, and killed one, and of my
own eyes into the bargain.--Yonder lies one, dead, at this moment, under
the walnut-tree, killed by some unknown hand,--Telie Doe says by Nick of
the Woods himself--"
"Friend," said Nathan, interrupting the young man, without ceremony,
"thee had better think of living Injuns than talk of dead ones; for, of a
truth, thee is like to have trouble with them!"
"Not now, I hope, with such a man as you to help me out of the woods. In
the name of heaven, where am I, and whither am I going?"
"Whither thee is going," replied Nathan, "it might be hard to say, seeing
that thee way of travelling is none of the straightest: nevertheless, if
thee continues thee present course, it is my idea, thee is travelling to
the Upper Ford of the river, and will fetch it in twelve minutes, or
thereabouts, and, in the same space, find theeself in the midst of thirty
ambushed Injuns."
"Good heavens!" cried Roland, "have we then been labouring only to
approach the cut-throats? There is not a moment, then, to lose, and your
finding us is even more providential than I thought. Put yourself at our
head, lead us out of this den of thieves,--conduct us to the Lower
Ford,--to our companions, the emigrants; or, if that may not be, take us
back to the Station,--or any where at all, where I may find safety for
these females.--For myself, I am incapable of guiding them longer."
"Truly," said Nathan, looking embarrassed, "I would do what I could for
thee, but--"
"_But!_ Do you hesitate?" cried the Virginian, in extreme indignation:
"will you leave us to perish, when you, and you alone, can guide us from
the forest?"
"Friend," said Nathan, in a submissive, deprecating tone, "I am a man of
peace: and paradventure, the party being so numerous, the Injuns will
fall upon us: and, truly, they will not spare me any more than another:
for they kill the non-fighting men, as well as them that fight. Truly, I
am in much fear for myself: but a single man might escape."
"If you are such a knave, such a mean-spirited, unfeeling dastard, as to
think of leaving these women to their fate," said Roland, giving way to
rage, "be assured that the first step will be your last;--I will blow
your brains out, the moment you attempt to leave us!"
At these ireful words, Nathan's eyes began to widen.
"Truly," said he, "I don't think thee would be so wicked! But thee takes
by force that which I would have given with good will. It was not my
purpose to refuse thee assistance; though it is unseemly that one of my
peaceful faith should go with fighting-men among men of war, as if to do
battle. But, friend, if we should fall upon the angry red-men, truly,
there will bloodshed come of it; and thee will say to me, 'Nathan, lift
up thee gun and shoot;' and peradventure, if I say 'Nay,' thee will call
me hard names, as thee did before, saying, 'If thee don't, I will blow
thee brains out!'--Friend, I am a man of peace; and if--"
"Trouble yourself no longer on that score," said the soldier, who began
to understand how the land lay, and how much the meek Nathan's reluctance
to become his guide was engendered by his fears of being called on to
take a share in such fighting as might occur: "trouble yourself no
longer; we will take care to avoid a contest."
"Truly," said Nathan, "that may not be as thee chooses, the Injuns being
all around thee."
"If a rencontre should be inevitable," said Roland, with a smile,
mingling grim contempt of Nathan's pusillanimity with secret satisfaction
at the thought of being thus able to secure the safety of his kinswoman,
"all that I shall expect of you will be to decamp with the females,
whilst we three, Emperor, Pardon Dodge, and myself, cover your retreat:
we can, at least, check the assailants, if we die for it!"
This resolute speech was echoed by each of the other combatants, the
negro exclaiming, though with no very valiant utterance, "Yes, massa! no
mistake in ole Emperor;--will die for missie and massa,"--while Pardon,
who was fast relapsing into the desperation that had given him courage on
a former occasion, cried out, with direful emphasis, "If there's no
dodging the critturs, then there a'n't; and if I must fight, then I
_must_; and them that takes my scalp must gin the worth on't, or it a'n't
no matter!"
"Truly," said Nathan, who listened to these several outpourings of spirit
with much complacency, "I am a man of peace and amity, according to my
conscience; but if others are men of wrath and battle, according to
theirs, I will not take it upon me to censure them,--nay, not even if
they should feel themselves called upon by hard necessity to shed the
blood of their Injun fellow-creatures,--who, it must be confessed, if we
should stumble on the same, will do their best to make that necessity as
strong as possible. But now let us away, and see what help there is for
us; though whither to go, and what to do, there being Injuns before, and
Injuns behind, and Injuns all around, truly, truly, it doth perplex me."
And so, indeed, it seemed; for Nathan straightway fell into a fit of
musing, shaking his head, and tapping his finger contemplatively on the
stock of that rifle, terrible only to the animals that furnished him
subsistence, and all the while in such apparent abstraction, that he took
no notice of a suggestion made by Roland,--namely, that he should lead
the way to the deserted Ford, where, as the soldier said, there was every
reason to believe there were no Indians,--but continued to argue the
difficulty in his own mind, interrupting the debate only to ask counsel
where there seemed the least probability of obtaining it:--
"Peter!" said he, addressing himself to the little dog, and that with as
much gravity as if addressing himself to a human adviser, "I have my
thoughts on the matter,--what does _thee_ think of matters and things?"
"My friend," cried Roland, impatiently, "this is no affair to be
entrusted to the wisdom of a brute dog!"
"If there is any one here whose wisdom can serve us better," said Nathan,
meekly, "let him speak. Thee don't know Peter, friend, or thee would use
him with respect. Many a long day has he followed me through the forest;
and many a time has he helped me out of harm and peril from man and
beast, when I was at sore shifts to help myself. For, truly, friend, as I
told thee before, the Injuns have no regard for men, whether men of peace
or war; and an honest, quiet, peace-loving man can no more roam the wood,
hunting for the food that sustains life, without the fear of being
murdered, than a fighting-man in search of his prey.--Thee sees now
what little dog Peter is doing? He runs to the tracks, and he wags his
tail;--truly I am of the same way of thinking!"
"What tracks are they?" demanded Roland, as he followed Nathan to the
path which the latter had been pursuing, when arrested by the soldier,
and where the little cur was now smelling about, occasionally lifting his
head and wagging his tail, as if to call his master's attention.
"_What_ tracks!" echoed Nathan, looking on the youth first with wonder,
and then with commiseration, and adding,--"It was a tempting of
Providence, friend, for _thee_ to lead poor helpless women into a wild
forest. Does thee not know the tracks of thee own horses?"
"'Sdeath!" said Roland, looking on the marks, as Nathan, pointed them out
in the soft earth, and reflecting with chagrin how wildly he had been
rambling, for more than an hour, since they had been impressed on the
soil.
"Thee knows the hoof-marks," said Nathan, now pointing with a grin, at
other tracks of a different appearance among them; "perhaps thee knows
_these_ foot-prints also?"
"They are the marks of footmen," said the soldier, in surprise; "but how
came they there I know not, no footmen being of our party."
The grin that marked the visage of the man of peace widened almost into a
laugh, as Roland spoke. "Verily," he cried, "thee is in the wrong place,
friend, in the forest! If thee had no footmen with thee, could thee have
none _after_ thee? Look, friend, here are tracks, not of one man, but of
five, each stepping on tiptoe, as if to tread lightly and look well
before him,--each with a moccasin on,--each with a toe turned in; each--"
"Enough,--they were Indians!" said Roland, with a shudder, "and they must
have been close behind us!"
"Now, friend," said Nathan, "thee will have more respect for Peter; for,
truly, it was Peter told me of these things, when I was peaceably hunting
my game in the forest. He showed me the track of five ignorant persons
rambling through the wood, as the hawk flies in the air,--round, round,
round, all the time,--or like an ox that has been browsing on the leaves
of the buck-eye;[7] and he showed me that five evil-minded Shawnees were
pursuing in their trail. So thinks I to myself, 'these poor creatures
will come to mischief, if no one gives them warning of their danger;' and
therefore I started to follow, Peter showing me the way. And truly, if
there can any good come of me finding thee in this hard ease, thee must
give all the thanks and all the praise to poor Peter!"
[Footnote 7: The buck-eye, or American horse-chestnut, seems to be
universally considered, in the West, a mortal poison, both fruit and
leaves. Cattle affected by it are said to play many remarkable antics, as
if intoxicated--turning, twisting, and rolling about and around, until
death closes their agonies]
"I will never more speak ill of a dog as long as I live," said Roland.
"But let us away. I thought our best course was to the Lower Ford; but, I
find, I am mistaken. We must away in the opposite direction."
"Not so," said Nathan, coolly; "Peter is of opinion that we must run the
track over again; and, truly, so am I. We must follow these, same five
Injuns: it is as much as our lives are worth."
"You are mad!" said Roland. "This will be to bring us right upon the
skulking cut-throats. Let us fly in another direction: the forest is open
before us."
"And how long does thee think it will keep open? Friend, I tell thee,
thee is surrounded by Injuns. On the south, they lie at the Ford; on the
west, is the river rolling along in a flood; and at the east, are the
roads full of Shawnees on the scout. Verily, friend, there is but little
comfort to think of proceeding in any direction, even to the north, where
there are five murdering creatures full before us. But this is my
thought, and, I rather think, it is Peter's: if we go to the north, we
know pretty much all the evil that lies before us, and how to avoid it;
whereas, by turning in either of the other quarters, we go into danger
blindfold."
"And how shall we avoid these five villains before us?" asked Roland,
anxiously.
"By keeping them before us," replied Nathan; "that is, friend, by
following _them_, until such time as they turn where thee turned before
them, (and, I warrant me, the evil creatures will turn wheresoever thee
trail does); when we, if we have good luck, may slip quietly forward, and
leave them, to follow us, after first taking the full swing of all thee
roundabout vagaries."
"Take your own course," said Roland; "it may be the best. We can, at the
worst, but stumble upon these five; and then (granting that you can, in
the meanwhile, bear the females off), I will answer for keeping two or
three of the villains busy. Take your own course," he repeated; "the
night is darkening around us; we must do something."
"Thee says the truth," cried Nathan. "As for stumbling unawares on the
five evil persons thee is in dread of, trust Peter for that; thee shall
soon see what a friend thee has in little dog Peter. Truly, for a
peaceful man like me, it is needful I should have some one to tell me
when dangerous persons are nigh."
With these words, which were uttered with a good countenance, showing how
much his confidence in the apparently insignificant Peter preserved him
from the fears natural to his character and situation, the man of peace
proceeded to marshal the company in a line, directing them to follow him
in that order, and earnestly impressing upon all the necessity of
preserving strict silence upon the march. This being done, he boldly
strode forwards, taking a post at least two hundred paces in advance of
the others, at which distance, as he gave Roland to understand, he
desired the party to follow, as was the more necessary, since their being
mounted rendered them the more liable to be observed by distant enemies.
"If thee sees me wave my hand above my head," were his last instructions
to the young soldier, who began to be well pleased with his readiness and
forecast, "bring thee people to a halt; if thee sees me drop upon the
ground, lead them under the nearest cover, and keep them quiet; for thee
may then be certain there is mischief, or mischievous people nigh at
hand. But verily, friend, with Peter's help, we will circumvent them
all."
With this cheering assurance, lie now strode forward to his station, and
coming to a halt with his dog Peter, Roland immediately beheld the latter
run to a post forty or fifty paces further in advance, when he paused to
receive the final orders of his master, which were given with a motion of
the same hand that a moment after beckoned the party to follow. Had
Roland been sufficiently nigh to take note of proceedings, he would have
admired the conduct of the little brute, the unerring accuracy with which
he pursued the trail, the soft and noiseless motion with which he stepped
from leaf to leaf, casting his eyes ever and anon to the right and left,
and winding the air before him, as if in reality conscious of peril, and
sensible that the welfare of the six mortals at his heels depended upon
the faithful exercise of all his sagacity. These things, however, from
the distance, Roland was unable to observe; but he saw enough to convince
him that the animal addressed itself to its task with as much zeal and
prudence as its master. A sense of security, the first felt for several
hours, now began to disperse the gloom that had oppressed his spirits;
and Edith's countenance, throughout the whole of the adventure a
faithful, though doubtless somewhat exaggerated reflection of his own,
also lost much of its melancholy and terror, though without at any moment
regaining the cheerful smiles that had decked it at the setting out. It
was left for Roland alone, as his mind regained its elasticity, to marvel
at the motley additions by which his party had increased in so short a
time to twice its original numbers, and to speculate on the prospects of
an expedition committed to the guidance of such a conductor as little
Peter.