THE REUNION
Willet, the hunter, and Tayoga, the great young Onondaga trailer, were
walking through the northern woods, examining forest and bush very
cautiously as they advanced, knowing that the danger from ambushed
warriors was always present. Willet was sadder and sterner than of old,
while the countenance of the Onondaga was as grave and inscrutable as
ever, though he looked older, more mature, more the mighty forest
runner.
"Think you, Tayoga," said the hunter, "that Tandakora and his men have
dared to come into this region again?"
"Tandakora will dare much," replied the Onondaga. "Though he is full of
evil, we know that well. The French still hold Ticonderoga, and he can
use it as a base for bands much farther south."
"True, but I don't think they'll have Ticonderoga, or Crown Point,
either, long. Amherst is gathering too big an army and there is no
Montcalm to defend them. The Marquis will have his hands full and
overflowing, defending Quebec against Wolfe. We've held both Duquesne
and Louisbourg a long while now. We've smashed the French line at both
ends, and Mr. Pitt is going to see that it's cut in the center too. How
I wish that Robert were alive to see the taking of Ticonderoga! He saw
all the great defeat there and he was entitled to this recompense."
He sighed deeply.
"It may be, Great Bear," said Tayoga, "that Dagaeoga will see the taking
of Ticonderoga. No one has ever looked upon his dead body. How then do
we know that he is dead?"
Willet shook his head.
"'Tis no use, Tayoga," he said. "The lad was murdered by Garay and the
river took his body away. Why, it will be a year this coming autumn
since he disappeared, and think you if he were alive he couldn't have
come back in that time! 'Tis the part of youth to hope, and it does you
credit, but the matter is past hope now. We've all given up except you."
"When only one hopes, Great Bear, though all others have failed, there
is still hope left. Last night I saw Tododaho on his star very clearly.
He looked down at me, smiled and seemed to speak. I could not hear his
words, but at the time I was thinking of Dagaeoga. Since Tododaho sits
with the great gods, and is one of them, he knew my thoughts, and, if he
smiled when I was thinking of Dagaeoga, he meant to give me hope."
The hunter again shook his head sadly.
"You thought you saw it, because you wished it so much," he said, "or
maybe the promise of Tododaho was for the future, the hereafter."
"For the hereafter we need no special promise, Great Bear. That has
always been made to all of us by Manitou himself, but I was thinking of
Dagaeoga alive, present with us in this life, when Tododaho smiled down
on me. I hold it in my heart, Great Bear, as a sign, a promise."
Willet shook his head for the third time, and with increasing sadness,
but said nothing more. If Tayoga cherished such a hope it was a
consolation, a beautiful thing, and he was not one to destroy anybody's
faith.
"Do you know this region?" he asked.
"I was through here once with the Mohawk chief, Daganoweda," replied
Tayoga. "It is mostly in heavy forest, and, since the war has gone on so
long and the settlers have gone away, there has been a great increase in
the game."
"Aye, I know there'll be no trouble on that point. If our own supplies
give out it won't take long to find a deer or a bear. It's a grand
country in here, Tayoga, and sometimes it seems a pity to one that it
should ever be settled by white people, or, for that matter, by red
either. Let it remain a wilderness, and let men come in, just a little
while every year, to hunt."
"Great Bear talks wisdom, but it will not be done his way. Men have been
coming here a long time now to fight and not to hunt. See, Great Bear,
here is a footprint now to show that some one has passed!"
"'Twas made by the moccasin of a warrior. A chance hunter."
"Suppose we follow it, Great Bear. It is our business to keep guard and
carry word to Amherst."
"Good enough. Lead and I'll follow."
"It is not the step of a warrior hunting," said Tayoga, as they pursued
the traces. "The paces are even, regular and long. He goes swiftly, not
looking for anything as he goes, but because he wishes to reach a
destination as soon as possible. Ah, now he stopped and he leaned
against this bush, two of the stems of which are broken! I do not know
what he stopped for, Great Bear, but it may have been to give a signal,
though that is but a surmise. Now he goes on, again walking straight and
swift. Ah, another trail coming from the west joining his and the two
warriors walk together!"
The two followed the double trail a mile or more in silence, and then it
was joined by the traces of three more warriors. The five evidently had
stood there, talking a little while, after which they had scattered.
"Now, what does that mean?" exclaimed the hunter.
"I think if we follow every one of the five trails," said Tayoga, "we
will find that the men lay down in the bush. It is certain in my mind,
Great Bear, that they were preparing for a battle, and they were but a
part of a much larger force hidden in these thickets."
"Now, that's interesting, Tayoga. Let's look around and see if we can
find where more of the warriors lay."
They circled to the right, and presently they came upon traces where
three men had knelt behind bushes. The imprints of both knees and toes
were plain.
"They were here a long time," said Tayoga, "because they have moved
about much within a little space. In places the ground is kneaded by
their knees. And lo! Great Bear, here on the bush several of the young
leaves are burned. Now, you and I know well what alone would do that at
such a time."
"It was done by the flash from a big musket, such a musket as those
French Indians carry."
"It could have been nothing else. I think if we go still farther around
the curve we will find other bushes behind which other warriors kneeled
and fired, and maybe other leaves scorched by the flash of big muskets."
A hundred yards more and they saw that for which they looked. The signs
were just the same as at the other places.
"Now, it is quite clear to you and me, Great Bear," said the Onondaga,
"that these men, posted along a curving line, were firing at something.
They were here a long time, as the numerous and crowded footprints at
every place show. They could not have been firing at game, because there
were too many of them, and the game would not have stayed to be fired at
so long. Therefore, Great Bear, and you know it as well as I, they must
have been in battle. All the points of ambush to which we have come are
at an almost equal distance from some other point."
"Which, Tayoga, is that hill yonder, crowned with bushes, but with bare
slopes, a good place for a defense, and just about a long rifle or
musket shot from the forest here."
"So it is, Great Bear. It could be nothing else. The defenders lay among
the bushes on top of the hill, and the battle was fought in the night,
because those who attacked were not numerous enough to push a combat in
the day. The defenders must have been white men, as we know from the
footprints here that the assailants were warriors. Ah, here are other
traces, Great Bear, and here are more, all trodden about in the same
manner, indicating a long stay, and all at about an equal distance from
the hill! I think the warriors lay in the forest all night firing upon
the hill, and probably doing little damage. But they suffered more hurt
themselves. See, here are faint traces of blood, yet staining the grass,
and here is a trail leading out of the bushes and into the grass that
lines the slopes of the hill. The trail goes forward, and then it comes
back. It is quite clear to both of us, Dagaeoga, that a warrior,
creeping through the long grass, tried to stalk the hill, but met a
bullet instead. Those who lay upon the hill and defended themselves were
not asleep. They could detect warriors who tried to steal forward and
secure good shots at them. And they could fire at long range and hit
their targets. Now, soldiers know too little of the forest to do that,
and so it must have been scouts or rangers."
"Perhaps some of the rangers belonging to Rogers. We know that he's
operating in this region."
"It was in my thought too, Great Bear, that the rangers of the Mountain
Wolf lay on the hill. See, here is a second trace of blood, and it also
came from a warrior who tried to stalk the hill, but who had to come
back again after he had been kissed by a bullet. The men up there among
the bushes never slept, and they allowed no one of their enemies to come
near enough for a good shot with a musket. The chances are ninety-nine
out of a hundred that they were rangers, Great Bear, and we may speak of
them as rangers. Now, we come to a spot where at least a dozen warriors
lay, and, since their largest force was here, it is probable that their
chief stayed at this spot. See, the small bones of the deer picked clean
are lying among the bushes. I draw from it the opinion, and so do you,
Great Bear, that the warriors kept up the siege of the hill until dawn,
because at dawn they would be most likely to eat their breakfast, and
these little bones of the deer prove that they did eat this breakfast
here. Now, it is very probable that they went away, since they could win
nothing from the defenders of the hill."
"Here's their broad trail leading directly from the hill."
They followed the trail a little distance, finding those of other
warriors joining, until the total was about forty. Willet laughed with
quiet satisfaction.
"They had all they wanted of the hill," he said, "and they're off
swiftly to see if they can't find easier prey elsewhere."
"And you and I, Great Bear, will go back and see what happened on the
hill, besides discovering somewhat more about the identity of the
defenders."
"Long words, Tayoga, but good ones upon which we can act. I'm anxious
about the top of that hill myself."
They went back and walked slowly up the hill. They knew quite well that
nobody was there now. The entire forest scene had vanished, so far as
the actors were concerned, but few things disappear completely. The
actors could go, but they could not do so without leaving traces which
the two great scouts were able to read.
"How long ago do you think all this happened, Tayoga?" asked Willet.
"Not many hours since," replied the Onondaga. "It is mid-morning now,
and we know that the warriors departed at dawn. The people on the hill
would stay but a little while after their enemies had gone, and since
they were rangers they would not long remain blind to the fact that they
had gone."
They pushed into the bushes, and were soon among the traces left by the
defenders.
"Here is where the guard knelt," said Tayoga, as they walked around the
circle of the bushes, "and behind them is where the men slept in their
blankets. That is farther proof that they were rangers. They had so much
experience, and they felt so little alarm that most of them slept
placidly, although they knew warriors were watching below seeking to
shoot them down. The character of the footprints indicates that all of
the defenders were white men. Here is a trail that I have seen many
times before, so many times that I would know it anywhere. It is that of
the Mountain Wolf. He probably had a small part of his rangers here and
was on his way to join his main force, to act either with Amherst or
Waraiyageh (Sir William Johnson). Of course he would depart with speed
as soon as his enemy was beaten off."
"Altogether reasonable, Tayoga, and I'm glad Rogers is in these parts
again with his rangers. Our generals will need him."
"The Mountain Wolf stood here a long time," said Tayoga. "He walked now
and then to the right, and also to the left, but he always came back to
this place. He stood here, because it is a little knoll, and from it he
could see better than from anywhere else into the forest that hid the
enemy below. The Mountain Wolf is a wise man, a great forest fighter,
and a great trailer, but he was not alone when he stood here."
"I suppose he had a lieutenant of course, a good man whom he could
trust. Every leader has such a helper."
The Onondaga knelt and examined the traces minutely. When he rose his
eyes were blazing.
"He did have a good helper, an able assistant, O Great Bear!" he said.
"He had one whom he trusted, one whom I could trust, one whom you could
trust. The Mountain Wolf stood by this bush and talked often with one
whom we shall be very glad to see, O Great Bear, one whom the Mountain
Wolf himself was both surprised and glad to see."
"Your meaning is beyond me, Tayoga."
"It will not be beyond you very long, O Great Bear! When Tododaho,
reading my thoughts, looked down on me last night from the great star on
which he has lived four hundred years, and smiled upon me, his smile
meant what it said. The Hodenosaunee are the children of Todohado and
Hayowentha, and they never make sport of them, nor of any one of them."
"I'm still in the dark of the matter, Tayoga!"
"Does not Great Bear remember what I was thinking about when Todohado
smiled? What I said and always believed is true, O Great Bear! I
believed it against all the world and I was right. Look at the traces
beside those of the Mountain Wolf! They are light and faint, but look
well at them, O Great Bear! I would know them anywhere! I have seen them
thousands of times, and so has the Great Bear! Dagaeoga has come back!
He stood here beside the Mountain Wolf! He was on this hill among the
bushes all through the night, while the rangers fought the warriors
among the trees below! He and the Mountain Wolf talked together and
consulted while they looked at the forest! Lo! my brother Dagaeoga has
come back out of the mists and vapors into which he went nearly a year
ago, for he is my brother, though my skin is red and his is white, and
he has been my brother ever since we were little children together! Lo!
Great Bear, Dagaeoga has come back as I told you, as I alone told you he
would, and my heart sings a song of joy within me, because I have loved
my brother! Look! look, Great Bear, and see where the living Dagaeoga
has walked, not six hours since!"
Willet knelt and examined the traces. He too was a great trailer, but he
did not possess the superhuman instinct that had come down through the
generations to the Onondaga. He merely saw traces, lighter than those
made by Rogers. But if his eyes could not, his mind did tell him that
Tayoga was right. The ring of conviction was so strong in the voice of
the Onondaga that Willet's faith was carried with it.
"It must be as you tell me, Tayoga," he said. "I do not doubt it. Robert
has been here with Rogers. He has come back out of the mists and vapors
that you tell about, and he walked this hill in the living flesh only a
few hours ago. Where could he have been? How has it happened?"
"That does not concern us just now, Great Bear. It is enough to know
that he is alive, and we rejoice in it. Before many hours we shall speak
with him, and then he can tell his tale. I know it will be a strange and
wonderful one, and unless Degaeoga has lost his gift of words, which I
think impossible, it will lose no color in the telling."
"Let him spin what yarn he pleases, I care not. All I ask is to put eyes
on the lad again. It seems, when I think of it in cold blood, that it
can scarce be true, Tayoga. You're sure you made no mistake about the
footsteps?"
"None, Great Bear. It is impossible. I know as truly that the living
Dagaeoga stood on this hill six hours ago as I know that you stand
before me now."
"Then lead on, Tayoga, and we'll follow the trail of the rangers. We
ought to overtake 'em by noon or soon after."
The broad path, left by the rangers, was like the trail of an army to
Tayoga, and they followed it at great speed, keeping a wary eye for a
possible ambush on either side. The traces grew fresher and fresher, and
Tayoga read them with an eager eye.
"The Mountain Wolf, Dagaeoga and the rangers are walking rapidly," he
said. "I think it likely that they are going to join Amherst in his
advance on Ticonderoga or Crown Point, or maybe they will turn west and
help Waraiyageh, but, in either case, they do not feel any alarm about
the warriors with whom they fought last night. Now and then the trail of
a scout branches off from their main trail, but it soon comes back
again. They feel quite sure that the warriors were only a roving band,
and will not attack them again. The Mountain Wolf and Dagaeoga walk side
by side, and we can surmise, Great Bear, that they talk much together.
Perhaps Dagaeoga was telling the Mountain Wolf where he has been these
many months, why he went away, and why he chose to come back when he did
out of the mists and vapors. Dagaeoga is strong and well. Look how his
footprints show the length of his stride and how steady and even it is!
He walks stride for stride with the Mountain Wolf, who as we know is six
feet tall. Dagaeoga has grown since he went away. He was strong before
he left, but he is stronger now. I think we shall find, Great Bear, that
while Dagaeoga was absent his time was not lost. It may be that he
gained by it."
"I'm not thinking whether he has or not, Tayoga. I'm glad enough to get
the lad back on any terms. We're making great speed now, and I think we
ought to overtake 'em before long. The trail appears to grow a lot
fresher."
"In an hour, Great Bear, we can signal to them. It will be best to send
forth a call, since one does not approach in the forest, in war, without
sending word ahead that he is a friend, else he may be met by a bullet."
"That's good and solid truth, Tayoga. We couldn't have our meeting with
Robert spoiled at the last moment by a shot. But it's much too early yet
to send out a call."
"So it is, Great Bear. I think, too, the rangers have increased their
speed. Their stride has lengthened, but, as before, the Mountain Wolf
and Dagaeoga keep together. They are great friends. You will recall that
they fought side by side on the shores of Andiatarocte."
"I remember it well enough, Tayoga. Nobody could keep from liking
Robert. 'Tis a gallant spirit he has."
"It is so, Great Bear. He carries light wherever he goes. Such as he are
needed among us. Because of that I never believed that Manitou had yet
taken him to himself. The rangers stopped here, sat on these fallen
logs, and ate food at noonday. There are little bones that they threw
away, and the birds, seeking shreds of food, are still hopping about."
"That's clear, Tayoga, and since they would probably stay about fifteen
minutes we ought to come within earshot of them in another half hour."
They pressed on at speed, and, within the appointed time, they sank down
in a dense clump of bushes, where Tayoga sent forth the mellow,
beautiful song of a bird, a note that penetrated a remarkable distance
in the still day.
"It is a call that Dagaeoga knows," he said. "We have used it often in
the forest."
In a few minutes the reply, exactly the same, faint but clear, came back
from the north. When the sound died away, Tayoga imitated the bird
again, and the second reply came as before.
"Now we will go forward and shake the hand of Dagaeoga," said the
Onondaga.
Rising from the bush, the two walked boldly in the direction whence the
reply had come, and they found a tall, straight young figure advancing
to meet them.
"Robert, my lad!" exclaimed Willet.
"Dagaeoga!" said the Onondaga.
Each seized a hand of Robert and shook it. Their meeting was not
especially demonstrative, but their emotions were very deep. They were
bound together by no common ties.
"You've changed, Robert," said Willet, merely as a sort of relief to his
feelings.
"And you haven't, Dave," said Robert, with the same purpose in view.
"And you, Tayoga, you're the great Onondaga chief you always were."
"I hope to be a chief some day," said Tayoga simply, "and then, when I
am old enough, to be a sachem too, but that rests with Tododaho and
Manitou. Dagaeoga has been away a long time, and we do not know where he
went, but since he has come back out of the mists and vapors, it is
well."
"I understood your call at once," said Robert, "and as you know I gave
the reply. I came from Albany with Rogers to find you, and I found you
quicker than I had hoped. We had a meeting with hostile warriors last
night, but we beat 'em off, and we've been pushing on since then."
"Your encounter last night was what enabled us to find you so quickly,"
said Willet. "Tayoga read on the ground the whole story of the combat.
He understood every trace. He recognized the footprints of Rogers and
then your own. He always believed that you'd come back, but nobody else
did. He was right, and everybody else was wrong. You're bigger, Robert,
and you're graver than you were when you went away."
"I've been where I had a chance to become both, Dave. I'll tell you all
about it later, for here's Rogers now, waiting to shake hands with you
too."
"Welcome, old friend," said Rogers, grasping the hunter's powerful hand
in his own, almost as powerful, "and you too Tayoga. If there's a finer
lad in the wilderness anywhere, I don't know it."
They said little more at present, joining the group of rangers and going
on steadily until nightfall. On the way Robert gave Willet and Tayoga an
outline of what had happened to him, not neglecting the dying words of
the slaver.
"It was the hand of Van Zoon," he said.
"Aye, it was Van Zoon," said the hunter. "It was his hand too that was
raised against you that time in New York. I've feared him on your
account, Robert. It's one reason why we've been so much in the forest.
You wonder why Huysman or Hardy or I don't tell you about him, but all
in good time. If we don't tell you now it's for powerful reasons."
"The others have told me so too," said Robert, "and I'm not asking to
know anything I oughtn't to know now. If you put off such knowledge,
Dave, I'm sure it ought to be put off."
They overtook the main body of the rangers that night, and Rogers now
had a force of more than two hundred men, but information from his
second in command decided him to join in the great movement of Sir
William Johnson and Prideaux against Niagara. The duties of Willet and
Tayoga called them to Amherst, and of course Robert went with them. So
the next morning they parted from Rogers.
"I think there'll be big things to tell the next time we meet," said
Willet to Rogers. "Mr. Pitt doesn't make his plans for nothing. He not
only makes big plans, but he prepares big armies and fleets to carry 'em
out."
"We have faith in him everywhere here," said Rogers, "and I hear they've
the same faith in him on the other side of the Atlantic. The failure
before Ticonderoga didn't seem to weaken it a particle. Take care of
yourselves, my friends."
It was a sincere farewell on both sides, but quickly over, and the three
pressed on to Amherst's camp, in the valley near the head of Lake
George, that had already seen so many warlike gatherings. Here a
numerous and powerful army, bent upon taking Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, was being trained already, and Robert, after visiting it, looked
once more and with emotion upon the shores of Andiatarocte.
Fate was continually calling him back to this lake and Champlain, around
which so much of American story is wrapped. The mighty drama known as
the Seven Years' War, that involved nearly all the civilized world,
found many of its springs and also much of its culmination here. The
efforts made by the young British colonies, and by the mother country,
England, were colossal, and the battles were great for the time. To the
colonies, and to those in Canada as well, the campaigns were a matter of
life or death. For the English colonies the war, despite valor and
heroic endurance, had been going badly in the main, but now almost all
felt that a change was coming, and it seemed to be due chiefly to one
man, Pitt. It was Napoleon who said later that "Men are nothing, a man
is everything," but America, as well as England, knew that in the Seven
Years' War Pitt, in himself, was more than an army--he was a host. And
America as well as England has known ever since that there was never a
greater Englishman, and that he was an architect who built mightily for
both.
The future was not wholly veiled to Robert as he looked down anew upon
the glittering waters of Andiatarocte. He had come in contact with the
great forces that were at work, he had vision anew and greater vision,
and he knew the gigantic character of the stakes for which men played.
If the French triumphed here in America, then the old Bourbon monarchy,
which Willet told him was so diseased and corrupt, would appear
triumphant to all the world. It would invent new tyrannies, the cause
of liberty and growth would be set back generations, and nobody would be
trodden under the heel more than the French people themselves. Robert
liked the French, and sometimes the thought occurred to him that the
English and Americans were fighting not only their own battle but that
of the French as well.
He knew as he stood with Willet and Tayoga looking at Lake George that
the great crisis of the war was at hand. All that had gone before was
mere preparation. He had felt the difference at once when he came back
from his island. The old indecision, doubt and despondency were gone;
now there was a mighty upward surge. Everybody was full of hope, and the
evidence of one's own eyes showed that the Anglo-American line was
moving forward at all points. A great army would soon be converging on
Ticonderoga, where a great army had been defeated the year before, but
now there would be no Montcalm to meet. He must be in Quebec to defend
the very citadel and heart of New France against the army and fleet of
Wolfe. The French in Canada were being assailed on all sides, and the
decaying Bourbon monarchy could or would send no help. Robert's
occasional thought, that the English and Americans might be fighting for
the French as well as themselves, did not project itself far enough to
foresee that out of the ashes left by the fall of Canada might spring
another and far stronger France.
"I'm glad I'm back here to join in the new advance on Ticonderoga," said
Robert. "As I was with Montcalm and saw our army defeated when it ought
not to have been, I think it only a just decree of fate that I should be
here when it wins."
"We'll take Ticonderoga this time, Robert. Never fear," said Willet.
"We'll advance with our artillery, and the French have no force there
that can stop us. Amherst is building a fort that he calls Edward, but
we'll never need it. He's very cautious, but it's as well, our curse in
this war has been the lack of caution, lack of caution by both English
and Americans. Still, that over-confidence has a certain strength in it.
You've noticed how we endure disaster. We've had heavy defeats, but we
rise after every fall, and go into the combat once more, stronger than
we went before."
The three spent some time with Amherst, and saw his great force continue
its preparation and drilling, until at last the general thought they
were fit to cope with anything that lay before them. Then, a year
lacking but a few days after Abercrombie embarked with his great army
for the conquest of Ticonderoga, Amherst with another army, mostly
Americans, embarked upon the same waters, and upon the same errand.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet were in a canoe in the van of the fleet. They
were roving scouts, held by the orders of nobody, and they could do as
they pleased, but for the present they pleased to go forward with the
army. Robert and Tayoga were paddling with powerful strokes, while
Willet watched the shores, the lake and the long procession. The sun was
brilliant, but there was a strong wind off the mountains and the boats
rocked heavily in the waves. Nevertheless, the fleet, carrying its
artillery with it, bore steadily on.
"The French have as big a force at Ticonderoga as they had when Montcalm
defeated Abercrombie," said the hunter, "and it's commanded by
Bourlamaque."
"A brave and skillful man," said Robert. "I saw him when I was a
prisoner of the French."
"But he knows Amherst will not make the mistake Abercrombie did," said
Willet. "Our big guns will talk for us, and they'll say things that
wooden walls can't listen to long. I'm thinking that Bourlamaque won't
stand. I've heard that he'll retreat to the outlet of Lake Champlain and
make a last desperate defense at Isle-aux-noix. If he's wise, and I
think he is, he'll do it."
"Do you know whether St. Luc is with him or if he has gone to Quebec
with Montcalm?" asked Robert.
"I haven't heard, but I think it's likely that he's here, because he has
so much influence with the Indians, who are far more useful in the woods
than in a fortress like Quebec. It's probable that we'll hear from him
in the morning when we try a landing."
"You mean we'll spend the night on the lake?"
"Aye, lad. It's blowing harder, and we've a rough sea here, though 'tis
a mountain lake. We make way but slowly, and we must be full of caution,
or risk a shipwreck, with land in sight on both sides of us."
Night drew on, dark and blowy, with the army still on the water, as
Willet had predicted, and much of it seasick. The lofty shores, green by
day, were clothed in mists and vapor, and the three saw no trace of the
French or the Indians, but they were quite sure they were watching from
the high forests. Robert believed now that St. Luc was there, and that
once again they would come into conflict.
"Do you think we'd better try the shore to-night?" he asked.
Willet shook his head.
"'Twould be too risky," he replied, "and, even if we succeeded, 'twould
do no good. We'll find out in the morning all we want to know."
They tied their canoe to one of the long boats, and, going on board the
latter, slept a little. But slumber could not claim Robert long. All
about, it was a battle-ground to him, whether land or water. Armies had
been passing and repassing, and fighting here from the beginning. It was
the center of the world to him, and in the morning they would be in
battle again. If St. Luc held the shore they would not land unscorched.
He tried to see signals on the mountain, but the French did not have to
talk to one another. They and their red allies lay silent and unseen in
the dark woods and waited.
Dawn came, and the three were back in their canoe. The wind had died,
and the fleet, bearing the army, moved forward to the landing. Officers
searched the woods with their strongest glasses, while the scouts in
their canoes, daring every peril, shot forward and leaped upon the
shore. Then a sheet of musketry and rifle fire burst from the woods. Men
fell from the boats into the water, but others held on to the land that
they had gained.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet among the first fired at dusky figures in the
woods, and once or twice they caught the gleam of French uniforms.
"It is surely St. Luc," said Robert, when he heard the notes of a silver
whistle, "but he can't keep us from landing."
"Aye, it's he," said Willet, "and he's making a game fight of it against
overwhelming forces."
Cannon from the boats also swept the forest with grape and round shot,
and the troops began to debark. It was evident that the French and
Indians were not in sufficient numbers to hold them back. Not all the
skill of St. Luc could avail. The three soon had evidence that the
formidable Ojibway chief was there also. Tayoga saw a huge trace in the
earth, and called the attention of Willet and Robert to it.
"Tandakora is in the bush," he said. "Sharp Sword does not like him, but
Manitou has willed that they must often be allies. Now the battle
thickens, but the end is sure."
The shores of Lake George, so often the scene of fierce strife, blazed
with the fury of the combat. The mountains gave back the thunder of guns
on the big boats, and muskets and rifles crackled in the forest. Now and
then the shouts of the French and the Indian yell rose, but the
triumphant American cheer always replied. The troops poured ashore and
the odds against St. Luc rose steadily.
"The Chevalier can't hold us back many minutes longer," said Willet. "If
he doesn't give ground, he'll be destroyed."
A few minutes more of resolute fighting and they heard the long, clear
call of the silver whistle. Then the forces in front of them vanished
suddenly, and not a rifle replied to their fire. French, Canadians and
Indians were gone, as completely as if they had never been, but, when
the Americans advanced a little farther, they saw the dead, whom St. Luc
had not found time to take away. Although the combat had been short, it
had been resolute and fierce, and it left its proofs behind.
"Here went Tandakora," said Tayoga. "His great footsteps are far apart,
which shows that he was running. Perhaps he hopes to lay an ambush later
on. The heart of the Ojibway was full of rage because he could not
withstand us."
"And I imagine that the heart of the Chevalier de St. Luc is also
heavy," said Robert. "He knows that General Amherst is bringing his
artillery with him. When I was at Ticonderoga last year and General
Abercrombie advanced, the French, considering the smallness of their
forces, were in doubt a long time about standing, and I know from what I
heard that they finally decided to defend the place because we did not
bring up our guns. We're making no such mistake now; we're not
underrating the enemy in that way. It's glorious, Dave, to come back
over the ground where you were beaten and retrieve your errors."
"So it is, Robert. We'll soon see this famous Ticonderoga again."
Robert's heart beat hard once more. All the country about him was
familiar. So much had been concentrated here, and now it seemed to him
that the climax was approaching. Many of the actors in last year's great
drama were now on another stage, but Bourlamaque and St. Luc were at
hand, and Tandakora had come too with his savages. He looked around it
the splendid landscape of lake and mountain and green forest, and the
pulses in his temples throbbed fast.
"Aye, Dagaeoga," said Tayoga, who was looking at him, "it is a great day
that has come."
"I think so," said Robert, "and what pleases me most is the sight of the
big guns. Look how they come off the boats! They'll smash down that
wooden wall against which so many good men hurled themselves to death
last year. We've got a general who may not be the greatest genius in the
world, but he'll have neither a Braddock's defeat nor a Ticonderoga
disaster."
Caution, supreme caution, was evident to them all as they moved slowly
forward, with the bristling guns at the front. Robert's faith in the
cannon was supreme. He looked upon them as their protectors. They were
to be the match for Ticonderoga.
On they went, winding through the forest and valleys, but they met
nothing. The green woods were silent and deserted, though much was there
for Tayoga to read.
"Here still goes Tandakora," he said, "and his heart is as angry as
ever. He is bitter against the French, too, because he fears now that he
has taken the wrong side. He sees the power of his enemies growing and
growing, and Montcalm is not here to lead the French. I do not think
Tandakora will go into the fort with St. Luc and Bourlamaque. His place
is not inside the walls. He wants the great forest to roam in."
"In that Tandakora is right," said Willet; "he acts according to his
lights. A fortress is no place for an Indian."
"Tandakora is now going more slowly," resumed the Onondaga. "His paces
shorten. It may be that he will stop to talk with some one. Ah! he does,
and it is no less a man than Sharp Sword himself. I have looked upon
Sharp Sword's footprints so often that I know them at a glance. He and
Tandakora stood here, facing each other, and talked. Neither moved from
his tracks while he spoke, and so I think it was not a friendly
conference. It is likely that the Ojibway spoke of the defeat of the
French, and Sharp Sword replied that in defeat as well as victory true
allies stand together. Moreover, he said that defeat might be followed
by victory and one must always hope. But Tandakora was not convinced. It
is the custom of the Indian to run away when he knows that his enemy is
too strong for him, and it may be wise. Now Tandakora turns from the
course and goes toward the west. And, lo! his warriors all fall in
behind him! Here is their great trail. Sharp Sword heads in another
direction. He is going with the French and Canadians to the fortress."
The army, under the shadow of its great guns, moved slowly on, and
presently they came upon the terrible field of the year before. Before
them lay the wall, stronger than ever with earth and logs, but not a man
held it. The French and Canadians were in the fortress, and the
Americans and English were free to use the intrenchments as a shelter
for themselves if they chose.
"It's going to be a siege," said Willet.
The cannon of Ticonderoga soon opened, and Amherst's guns replied, the
cautious general moving his great force forward in a manner that
betokened a sure triumph, though it might be slow. But on the following
night the whole French army, save a few hundred men under Hebecourt,
left to make a last desperate stand, stole away and made for
Isle-aux-Noix. Hebecourt replied to Amherst's artillery with the
numerous guns of the fort for three days. Amherst still would not allow
his army to move forward for the assault, having in mind the terrible
losses of last year and knowing that he was bound to win.
The brave Hebecourt and his soldiers also left the fort at last,
escaping in boats, and leaving a match burning in the magazine. One of
the bastions of Ticonderoga blew up with a tremendous explosion, and
then the victorious army marched in. Ticonderoga, such a looming and
tremendous name in America, a fortress for which so much blood had been
shed, had fallen at last. Robert did not dream that in another war, less
than twenty years away, it would change hands three times.
They found, a little later, that Crown Point, the great fortress upon
which the French king had spent untold millions, had been abandoned also
and was there for the Anglo-American army to take whenever it chose.
Then Amherst talked of going on into Canada and coöperating with Wolfe,
but, true to his cautious soul, he began to build forts and arrange for
the mastery of Lake Champlain.
Robert, Tayoga and Willet grew impatient as the days passed. The news
came that Prideaux had been killed before Niagara, but Sir William
Johnson, the Waraiyageh of the Mohawks, assuming command in his stead,
had taken the place, winning a great victory. After the long night the
dawn had come. Everything seemed to favor the English and Americans, and
now the eyes of the three turned upon Quebec. It was evident that the
war would be won or lost there, and they could bear the delays no
longer. Saying farewell to their comrades of Amherst's army, they
plunged into the northern wilderness, taking an almost direct course for
Quebec.
They were entering a region haunted by warriors, and still ranged by
daring French partisans, but they had no fear. Robert believed that the
surpassing woodcraft of the hunter and the Onondaga would carry them
safely through, and he longed for Quebec, upon which the eyes of both
the New World and the Old now turned. They had heard that Wolfe had
suffered a defeat at the Montmorency River, due largely to the
impetuosity of his men, but that he was hanging on and controlled most
of the country about Quebec. But Montcalm on the great rock was as
defiant as ever, and it seemed impossible to get at him.
"We'll be there in ample time to see the result, whatever it is," said
Willet.
"And we may find the trail of Sharp Sword and Tandakora who go ahead of
us," said Tayoga.
"But the Ojibway turned away at Ticonderoga," said Robert. "Why do you
think he'll go to Quebec?"
"Because he thinks he will get profit out of it, whatever the event. If
our army is defeated, he may have a great scalping, such as there was at
Fort William Henry; if the French are beaten, it will be easy enough for
him to get away in time. But as long as the issue hangs in the balance,
Tandakora means to be present."
"Sound reasoning," said the hunter, "and we'll watch for the trail of
both St. Luc and the Ojibway. And now, lads, with eyes and ears open,
we'll make speed."
And northward they went at a great rate, watching on all sides for the
perils that were never absent from the woods and peaks.