The twilight was darkening in the west, when the three adventurers,
stealing through tangled thickets, and along lonely ridges, carefully
avoiding all frequented paths, looked out at last, from a distant hill,
upon the valley in which lay the village of the Black-Vulture. The ruddy
light of evening, bursting from clouds of crimson and purple, and
shooting down through gaps of the hills in cascades of fire, fell
brightly and sweetly on the little prairies, or natural meadow-lands;
which, dotted over with clumps of trees, and watered by a fairy river, a
tributary of the rapid Miami, winding along from side to side, now hiding
beneath the shadow of the hills, now glancing into light, gave an air of
tender beauty to the scene better befitting, as it might have seemed, the
retreat of the innocent and peaceful sons of Oberon, than the wild and
warlike children of the wilderness. Looking further up the vale, the eye
fell upon patches of ripening maize, waving along the river; and beyond
these, just where the valley winded away behind the hills, at the
distance of a mile or more, thin wreaths of smoke creeping from roofs of
bark and skins, indicated the presence of the Indian village.
Thus arrived at the goal and haven of their hopes, the theatre in which
was to be acted the last scene in the drama of their enterprise, the
travellers surveyed it for awhile from their concealment, in deep
silence, each speculating in his own mind upon the exploits still to be
achieved, the perils yet to be encountered, ere success should crown
their exertions, already so arduous and so daring. Then creeping back
again into a deep hollow, convenient for their purpose, they held their
last consultation, and made their final preparations for entering the
village. This Nathan at first proposed to do entirely alone, to spy out
the condition of the village, and to discover, if possible, in what
quarter the marauders had bestowed the unhappy Edith; and this being a
duty requiring the utmost secrecy and circumspection, he insisted it
could not be safely committed to more than one person.
"In that case," said valiant Ralph, "I'm your gentleman! Do you think,
old Tiger Nathan (and, 'tarnal death to me, I do think you're 'ginnin' to
be a peeler of the rale ring-tail specie,--I do, old Rusty, and thar's my
fo'paw on it: you've got to be a man at last, a feller for close locks
and fighting Injuns that's quite cu'rous to think on, and I'll lick any
man that says a word agin you, I will, 'tarnal death to me): But I say,
do you think I'm come so far atter madam, to gin up the holping her out
of bondage to any mortal two-legg'd crittur whatsomever? I'm the person
what knows this h'yar town better nor ar another feller in all Kentucky;
and that I stick on,--for, cuss me, I've stole hosses in it!"
"Truly," said Nathan, after reflecting awhile, "thee might make theeself
of service to the maid, even in thee own way; but, verily, thee is an
unlucky man, and thee brings bad luck wheresoever thee goes; and so I'm
afeard of thee."
"Afeard of your nose!" said Ralph, with great indignation; "ar'n't I jist
been slicked out of the paws of five mortal abbregynes that had me in the
tugs? and ar'n't that luck enough for any feller? I tell you what,
Nathan, me and you will snuff the track together: you shall hunt up
anngelliferous madam, and gin her my compliments; and, while you're about
it, I'll steal her a hoss to ride off on!"
"Truly," said Nathan, complacently, "I was thinking of that; for, they
says, thee is good in a horse-pound; and it needs the poor maid should
have something better to depend on, in flight, than her own poor innocent
legs. And so, friend, if thee thinks in thee conscience thee can help her
to a strong animal, without fear of discovery, I don't care if thee goes
with me: and, truly, if thee could steal two or three more of the
creatures for our own riding, it might greatly advantage the maid."
"Thar you talk like a feller of gumption," said Ralph: "only show me
the sight of a bit of skin-rope for halters, and you'll see a sample of
hoss-stealing to make your ha'r stand on eend!"
"Of a truth," said Nathan, "thee shan't want for halters, if leather can
make them. There is that on my back which will make thee a dozen; and,
truly, as it needs I should now put me on attire more suitable to an
Injun village, it is a satisfaction thee can put the old garment to such
good use."
With these words, Nathan stripped off his coat of skins, so aged and so
venerable, and gave it to the captain of horse-thieves; who, vastly
delighted with the prize, instantly commenced cutting it into strips,
which he twisted together, and fashioned into rude halters; while
Nathan supplied its place by the loose calico shirt he had selected
from among the spoils of the Indian party, throwing over it, mantle-wise,
the broad Indian blanket. His head he bound round with the gaudy shawl
which he had also taken from the brows of a dead foe-man; and he hung
about his person various pouches and ornamented belts, provided for the
purpose. Then, daubing over his face, arms, and breast with streaks of
red, black, and green paint, that seemed designed to represent snakes,
lizards, and other reptiles; he was, on a sudden, converted into a highly
respectable-looking savage, as grim and awe-inspiring as these barbaric
ornaments and his attire, added to his lofty stature, could make him.
Indeed, the metamorphosis was so complete, that Captain Ralph, as he
swore, could scarce look at him without longing, as this worthy personage
expressed it, "to be at his top-knot."
In the meanwhile, Forrester had not deferred with patience to an
arrangement which threatened to leave him, the most interested of all, in
inglorious activity, while his companions were labouring in the cause of
his Edith. He remonstrated, and insisted upon accompanying them to the
village, to share with them all the dangers of the enterprise.
"If there was danger to none but ourselves, truly, thee should go with
us and welcome," said Nathan; representing, justly enough, the little
service that Roland, destitute of the requisite knowledge and skill,
could be expected to render, and the dangers he must necessarily bring
upon the others, in case of any, the most ordinary, difficulties arising
in their progress through the village. Everything must now depend upon
address, upon cunning and presence of mind; the least indiscretion (and
how many might not the soldier, his feelings wound up to a pitch of the
intensest excitement, commit?) must of necessity terminate in the
instant destruction of all. In short, Roland was convinced, though sorely
against his will, that wisdom and affection both called on him to play
the part Nathan had assigned him; and he submitted to be ruled
accordingly,--with the understanding, however, that the rendezvous, in
which he was to await the operations of the others, should be upon the
very borders of the village, whence he might, in any pressing emergency,
in case of positive danger and conflict, be immediately called to their
assistance.
When the twilight had darkened away, and the little river, rippling along
on its course, sparkled only in the light of the stars, the three friends
crept from their retreat, and descended boldly into the valley; where,
guided by the barking of dogs, the occasional yells of a drunken or
gamesome savage, and now and then the red glare of a fire flashing from
the open crannies of a cabin, they found little difficulty in approaching
the Indian village. It was situated on the further bank of the stream,
and, as described, just behind the bend of the vale, at the bottom of a
rugged, but not lofty hill; which, jutting almost into the river, left
yet space enough for the forty or fifty lodges composing the village,
sheltering them in winter from the bitter blasts that rush, at that
season, from the northern lakes. Beyond the river, on the side towards
the travellers, the vale was broader; and it was there the Indians had
chiefly planted their corn-fields,--fields enriched by the labour,
perhaps also by the tears, of their oppressed and degraded women.
Arriving at the borders of the cultivated grounds, the three
adventurers crossed the river, which was neither broad nor deep, and
stealing among logs and stumps at the foot of the hill, where some
industrious savage had, in former years, begun to clear a field, which,
however, his wives had never planted, they lay down in concealment,
waiting until the subsiding of the unusual bustle in the village, a
consequence manifestly of the excesses which Nathan predicted the victors
would indulge in, should render their further advance practicable. But
this was not the work of a moment. The savage can drink and dance through
the night with as lusty a zeal as his white neighbour; the song, the
jest, the merry tale, are as dear to his imagination; and in the
retirement of his own village, feeling no longer the restraint of stolid
gravity,--assumed in the haunts of the white man, less to play the part
of a hero than to cover the nakedness of his own inferiority,--he can
give himself up to wild indulgence, the sport of whim and frolic; and,
when the fire-water is the soul of the feast, the feast only ends with
the last drop of liquor.
It could be scarcely doubted that the Indians of the village were, this
night, paying their devotions to the Manito of the rum-keg, and drinking
folly and fury together from the enchanted draught, which one of the
bravest of the race--its adorer and victim, like Logan the heroic, and
Red-Jacket the renowned,--declared could only have been distilled "from
the hearts of wild-cats and the tongues of women,--it made him so fierce
and so foolish;" nor could it, on the other hand, be questioned that many
a sad and gloomy reminiscence, the recollection of wrong, of defeat, of
disaster, of the loss of friends and of country, was mingled in the joy
of the debauch. From their lurking-place near the village, the three
friends could hear many a wild whoop, now fierce and startling, now
plaintive and mourning,--the one, as Nathan and Ralph said, the halloo
for revenge, the other the whoop of lamentation,--at intervals chiming
strangely in with unmeaning shrieks and roaring laughter, the squeaking
of women and the gibbering of children, with the barking of curs, the
utterance of obstreperous enjoyment, in which the whole village, brute
and human, seemed equally to share. For a time, indeed, one might have
deemed the little hamlet an outer burgh of Pandemonium itself; and the
captain of horse-thieves swore, that, having long been of opinion "the
red abbregynes war the rule children of Sattan, and niggers only the
grand-boys, he should now hold the matter to be as settled as if booked
down in an almanac,--he would, 'tarnal death to him."
But if the festive spirit of the barbarians might have lasted for ever,
there was, it appeared, no such exhaustless quality in their liquor; and,
that failing at last, the uproar began gradually to decrease; although it
was not until within an hour of midnight that Nathan declared the moment
had arrived for entering the village.
He then rose from his lair, and repeating his injunctions to Roland to
remain where he was, until the issue of his own visit should be known,
added a word of parting counsel, which, to Roland's imagination, bore
somewhat an ominous character. "The thing that is to come," he said,
"neither thee nor me knows anything about; for, truly, an Injun village
is a war-trap, which one may sometimes creep into easy enough; but,
truly, the getting out again is another matter. And so, friend, if it
should be my luck, and friend Ralph's, to be killed or captivated, so
that we cannot return to thee again, do thee move by the first blink of
day, and do thee best to save thee own life; and, truly, I have some hope
that thee may succeed, seeing that, if I should fall, little Peter (which
I will leave with thee, for, truly, he would but encumber me among the
dogs of the village, having better skill to avoid murdering Injuns than
the creatures of his own kind), will make thee his master,--as verily, he
can no longer serve a dead one,--and show thee the way back again from
the wilderness. Truly, friend, he hath an affection for thee, for thee
has used him well; which he can say of no other persons, save only thee
and me excepted."
With that, having laid aside his gun, which, as he represented, could
be, in such an undertaking, of no service, and directed Stackpole to do
the same, he shook Roland by the hand, and, waiting an instant till
Ralph had followed his example, and added his farewell in the brief
phrase,--"Sodger, I'm atter my mistress; and, for all Nathan's small talk
about massacree and captivation, we'll fetch her, with a most beautiful
lot of hosses; so thar's no fawwell about it,"--turned to little Peter,
whom he addressed quite as gravely as he had done the Virginian. "Now,
little dog Peter," said he, "I leave thee to take care of theeself and
the young man that is with thee; and do thee be good, and faithful, and
obedient, as thee always has been, and have a good care thee keeps out of
mischief."
With these words, which Peter, doubtless, perfectly understood, for he
squatted himself down upon the ground, without any attempt to follow his
master, Nathan departed, with Roaring Ralph at his side, leaving Roland
to mutter his anxieties and fears, his doubts and impatience, into the
ears of the least presuming of counsellors.