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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/31745-h.zip b/31745-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5cf0e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/31745-h.zip diff --git a/31745-h/31745-h.htm b/31745-h/31745-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..278aa5b --- /dev/null +++ b/31745-h/31745-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9843 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"/> + <title>WAU-NAN-GEE OR, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO</title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: left; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + + p.main {font-weight: bold; font-size: 150%; margin-right: 10%; text-indent: 0;} + p.hang {text-indent: -3em; margin-left: 3em; } + p.hanging {font-size: 150%; text-align: center; width: 70%; font-weight: bold; + margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: left; /* all headings left */ + clear: both; + } + + hr { width: 33%; border-top: double 3px; + margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; clear: both; + } + div.trans-note {border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; background-color: #DEE; color: #000; + margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: left;} + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + +/* LISTS */ + ul { position: relative; + width:80%; + list-style-type:none;} + li { margin-top: 0.25em; + line-height: 1.2em; } + + body{margin-left: 12%; + margin-right: 12%; + } + + + .blockquot{margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 12%; font-size: 95%;} + + .sider { position: absolute; left: 18%; margin-left: .5em; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; text-align: left; } + .sidel { position: absolute; right: 18%; margin-right: .5em; + font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; } + + .bhead { border-top: double 3px; border-bottom: double 3px; } + .bbox {border: solid 2px; width: 25%; margin: auto; padding: 1em; + text-align: left; font-size: 80%;} + + .totoc {position: absolute; right: 2%; font-size: 75%; text-align: right;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + +/* FOOTNOTES */ + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px; margin-top:1em; clear: both;} + .footnotes h3 { margin-top: 0.5em;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 85%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:12%; margin-right:12%; text-align: left; font-size: 85%;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i3 {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i6 {display: block; margin-left: 6em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 8em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i14 {display: block; margin-left: 14em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + </style> + </head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago, by +Major John Richardson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago + A Romance of the American Revolution + +Author: Major John Richardson + +Release Date: March 23, 2010 [EBook #31745] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAU-NAN-GEE, MASSACRE AT CHICAGO *** + + + + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1> WAU-NAN-GEE OR, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO, </h1> + +<h2> A ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, </h2> + +<p> +By MAJOR RICHARDSON,<br/> +AUTHOR OF “WACOUSTA," “HARDSCRABBLE," “ECARTE,"<br/> +“JACK BRAG IN SPAIN," “TECUMSEH," &c.<br/> +</p> + +<p> +NEW YORK:<br/> +H. LONG AND BROTHER,<br/> +No. 43 ANN STREET.<br/> +</p> + +<p> +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand +Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two, +</p> + +<p> +BY H. LONG AND BROTHER, +</p> + +<p> +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States +for the Southern District of New York +</p> + + + + + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<ul> +<li><a href="#INSCRIPTION">PREFATORY INSCRIPTION.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a></li> +<li><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a></li> +</ul> + + +<h2><a name="INSCRIPTION">PREFATORY INSCRIPTION.</a></h2> + +<p> +My Publishers ask of me a couple of pages of matter to precede this +Tale. It is scarcely necessary to state, that the whole of the text +approaches so nearly to Historical fact, that any other preface +than that which admits the introduction of but one strictly fictitious +character—Maria Heywood—in the book, must be, in a great degree, +supererogatory. Yet I gladly avail myself of this pleasing opportunity +of manifesting the deep interest and sympathy with which I have +ever regarded those brave spirits—heroes not less than heroines— +who participated in the trials of that brief but horrid epoch. +How can I better exemplify this than by inscribing to the descendants +of the venerable founder of the City of Chicago—a prominent actor +in the scene—as well as to the gallant military survivors of the +Massacre, if any yet exist, the fruits of that interest and that +sympathy. +</p> + +<p> +Dedications and Inscriptions have almost grown out of fashion—at +least they are not so general in the present century as in the days +of Dryden; but where, through them, an opportunity for the expression +of esteem and sympathy is presented, an Author may gladly avail +himself of the occasion to show that no common interest influenced +the tracings of his pen—not the mere desire to make a book, but +to establish on a high pedestal, and to circulate through the most +attractive and popular medium, the merits of those whose +deeds and sufferings have inspired him with the generous spirit of +eulogistic comment. +</p> + +<p> +To Her Majesty's 41st Regiment, in garrison at Detroit shortly +after the occurrences herein detailed, my first Indian Tale, +“Wacousta,” was inscribed, and this in memory of the long, and by +no means feather-bed service I had seen with that gallant Corps, +in the then Western wilds of America; it was a tribute of the +soldier to his companions in arms. In the same spirit I inscribe +“Wau-nan-gee” to those who were then our enemies, but whose courage +and whose sufferings were well known to all, and claimed our deep +sympathy, our respect, and our admiration,—none more than the +noble Mrs. Heald, and Mrs. Helme, the former the wife of the +Commanding Officer, the latter the daughter of the patriarch of +Illinois, Mr. Kenzie, some years since gathered to his forefathers. +</p> + +<p> +THE AUTHOR. +</p> + +<p> +New York, March 30th, 1852. +</p> + +<h1>WAU-NAN-GEE; OR, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO.</h1> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>“He has come to ope the purple testament of war.”</p> +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Richard II</i> +</span></p> + + +<p> +It was the 7th of August, 1812, when Winnebeg, the confidential +Indian messenger of Captain Headley, commanding Fort Dearborn, +suddenly made his appearance within the stockade. With a countenance +on which was depicted more of the seriousness and concern than +usually attach to his race, he requested the officer of the guard, +Lieutenant Elmsley, to allow him to pass to the apartment of the +Chief. The subaltern shook him cordially by the hand as an old and +familiar acquaintance; and, half laughingly taunting him with the +great solemnity of his aspect, asked him where he had been so long, +and what news he brought. +</p> + +<p> +“Berry bad news,” replied the Indian gravely; “must see him Gubbernor +directly—dis give him;” and thrusting his hand into the bosom of +his deerskin shirt, he drew forth a large sealed packet, evidently +an official despatch. +</p> + +<p> +“From Detroit, Winnebeg?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, come in two days—great news—bad news!” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed? You shall see the commanding officer directly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Corporal Collins, conduct Winnebeg to Captain Headley's quarters.” +</p> + +<p> +The non—commissioned officer hastened to acquit himself of the +duty, and, on the announcement of his name, the chief was admitted +to the presence of the commandant. +</p> + +<p> +The latter saw at a glance, from the countenance of the Indian, +that there was something wrong. He shook him warmly by the hand, +bade him be seated, and then hastily breaking the seal of the +despatch, with an air of preoccupation perused its contents. +</p> + +<p> +The document was from General Hull, and ran nearly as follows:— +</p> + +<p> +“From the difficulty of access to your post, cut off as is the +communication by the numerous bands of hostile Indians whom Tecumseh +has raised up in arms against us, I take it for granted that you +are yet ignorant that war has been declared between Great +Britain and the United States. Such, however, is the fact, and in +a few days I expect myself to be surrounded by a horde of savages, +when my position will indeed be a trying one, not as regards myself, +but the hundreds of defenceless women and children, whom nothing +can preserve from the tomahawk and the scalping knife. I, moreover, +fear much for Colonel Cass, who, with a body of five hundred men, +is at a short distance from this, and will be cut to pieces the +moment an attack is made upon myself. To add to the untowardness +of events, I have just received intelligence that the Fort of +Mackinaw has been taken by the British and their allies, so that, +almost simultaneously with the receipt of this, you in all probability +will hear of their advance upon yourself. The result must not be +tested, and forthwith you will, <i>if it be yet practicable</i>, evacuate +your post and retire upon Fort Wayne, after having first distributed +all the public property contained in the fort and factory among +the friendly Indians around you. This is most important, for it +is necessary that these people should be conciliated, not only with +a view to the safe escort of your detachment to Fort Wayne, but in +order to their subsequent assistance here. There are, I believe, +nearly five hundred Pottowatomies encamped around you, and such a +numerous body of Indians would, if left free to act against Tecumseh's +warriors, materially lessen the difficulty of my position here. +Treat them as if you had the utmost reliance on their fidelity, +for any appearance of distrust might only increase the evil we wish +to avoid. I rely upon your judgment and discretion, which Colonel +Miller assures me are great. I have preferred writing this +confidential dispatch with my own hand, in order that, by keeping +your exposed condition as secret as possible, no unnecessary alarm +may be excited in the inhabitants of this town by a knowledge of +the danger that threatens their friends.” +</p> + +<p> +All this was indeed news, and most painful and perplexing news, to +Captain Headley. He read the dispatch twice, and when he had +completed the second perusal, he raised his eyes to the chief, who +was regarding him at the moment fixedly as with a view to read his +intentions, and asked if General Hull had at all communicated to +him the contents of the dispatch. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Gubbernor,” replied the Indian. “Tell him Winnebeg take soger +—den come back to Detroit—what say him, Gubbernor—go to Fort +Wayne?” and he looked earnestly at the commanding officer while he +waited his answer. +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know, Winnebeg; I have not made up my mind. We must +consider what is best to be done.” +</p> + +<p> +All this was evasive. The order was conclusive with Captain Headley. +Had his road led over a battery bristling with cannon, once ordered, +he would have made the attempt; but, from a motive of prudence, +the cause for which he could not explain to himself, he was unwilling +to communicate his final determination to the chief. +</p> + +<p> +“Leave me now, Winnebeg; I have much to do that must be done +directly; come early to-morrow, and we will talk the matter over. +Meanwhile, not a word to your young men of the beginning of the +war, or the fall of Mackinaw. Do you promise me? To-morrow I will +hold a council.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Winnebeg promise,” he said, taking the proffered hand of +Captain Headley; “not speak till to-morrow? How him fine squaw, +eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mrs. Headley is quite well, Winnebeg,” returned the Captain, +faintly smiling, “and I am sure she will be very glad to hear that +you have returned. Come and breakfast with us at eight o'clock, +and she will tell you so herself; so, for the present, good bye.” +</p> + +<p> +Winnebeg departed, but, far from satisfied with the answer he had +received, he repeated the question to the commanding officer—“Go +to Fort Wayne?” +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe—perhaps—I will tell you to-morrow in council,” returned +Captain Headley. “What do you think, Winnebeg?” +</p> + +<p> +The chief looked at him steadily for some moments, shook his head +in disapproval of the scheme, and then slowly and silently withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +“What can this mean?” mused Captain Headley, when left alone. +“Whence his opposition to the will of the General? Surely he cannot +meditate treachery. He does not wish to see us taken by the British +here. But—nonsense! I will at once summon my officers, make known +the state of affairs, and for form's sake, consult with them as to +our mode of proceeding—my own determination of retreat is not the +less formed. Corporal Collins!” he called to the orderly, who was +pacing up and down in front of the door opening on the parade +ground, “summon the several officers to attend me here within the +hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“Please your honor, sir,” said the man, hesitatingly, as he raised +his hand to his cap. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, sir, please what?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is only Mr. Elmsley in the fort. He is the officer of the +guard.” +</p> + +<p> +“And where is Mr. Ronayne?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. and Mrs. Ronayne and the Doctor rode out soon after dinner, +sir, in the direction of Hardscrabble.” +</p> + +<p> +“The direction of the devil,” muttered the commanding officer. +“This is the result of my loosening the reins of discipline; besides, +there is some risk. Hostile Indians may be in the neighborhood; +and what should I do without officers, pressed as we are now? Let +me know, orderly, when they return. The next time they leave the +fort, it will be for ever.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir!” said the Corporal, hearing the words, but not comprehending +their meaning. +</p> + +<p> +“When next they leave the fort, they will never enter it again,” +rejoined Captain Headley, abstractedly. “Meanwhile, as soon as Mr. +Ronayne and the Doctor return, let them know that I wish to see +them, with Mr. Elmsley, immediately.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, sir,” said Corporal Collins, again touching his cap; +“but hang me,” he muttered as he departed, “if I don't report to +Mr. Ronayne all that he has said. Never enter the fort again! Well, +here's a bobbery!” and thus soliloquizing, he resumed his accustomed +walk. +</p> + +<p> +It was with deep concern at his heart that Captain Headley, on +returning to the apartment of his wife, communicated to her the +substance of General Hull's dispatch. A feeling of misgiving arose +to her mind from the first, and she saw in the early future scenes +and sufferings from which, only an hour before, all had believed +themselves to be utterly exempt. For some moments they continued +silently gazing on each other, as if to read the thoughts that were +passing through the minds of each, when, taking the hand of +the noble woman in his own, he pressed it affectionately as he +remarked— +</p> + +<p> +“Ellen, you have ever been my friend and counsellor, as well as +the adored wife with which heaven has blessed me, even beyond all +I could have desired on earth. Tell me candidly your opinion. What +course ought I to pursue on this occasion? One passage in the +dispatch leaves it, in some degree, optional to regulate my actions +by circumstances. 'If it be yet practicable,' writes the General. +Now, I confess my mind is pretty well made up on the subject, but, +nevertheless, I should like to have your opinion to sustain me. +Thus armed, I can enter upon my plans with the greater confidence +of success.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, dear Headley, tell me what is your opinion, then I will +frankly state my own.” +</p> + +<p> +“To retreat, as ordered. I have not the excuse to offer if I would, +that the order of the General is impracticable; besides, to remain +here longer would only be to insure our subsequent fall. Even if +the captors of Mackinaw should fail to carry our weak post, some +other force will be sent to succeed them.” +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Headley shook her head, while a faint but melancholy smile +passed over her fine features. +</p> + +<p> +“I grieve to differ with you, Headley,” she at length said; “but +I like not the idea of this abandonment of the fort, to enter on +a retreat fraught with every danger to us all. Here, well provisioned +and armed, weak though be your force, you can but fall into the +hands of a generous foe. Better that than perish by the tomahawk +in the wilderness.” +</p> + +<p> +“How mean you, my dear?” returned her husband, slightly annoyed +that she differed from him, in the decision at which he had already +arrived. “What chance of harm is there so great in marching through +the woods as in remaining here? Have we not five hundred Pottowatomie +warriors to escort us to Fort Wayne?” +</p> + +<p> +“Alas, my too confiding husband, it is from these very people you +have named that most I fear the danger.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense!” returned Captain Headley in a tone of gentle rebuke, +while he pressed his lips to the expansive brow of his companion; +“this is unkind, Ellen. Why distrust these our staunchest friends? +I would rely upon Winnebeg as upon myself. He is too noble a fellow +not to hold treachery in abhorrence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, nay,” continued Mrs. Headley; “think not for a moment that +I doubt Winnebeg; but there is another in the camp of the +Pottowatomies who has scarcely less influence with the tribe, and +who may take advantage of the present crisis of affairs, and turn +them to his own purpose. +</p> + +<p> +“Who do you mean, Ellen, and what purpose? Really, it is important +that I should know. What purpose, what motive, can he have?” eagerly +questioned Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“The purpose and motive those which often make the gentle tigers, +the timid daring, the irresolute confirmed of will—Love.” +</p> + +<p> +“Love! what love? whose love? and what has that to do with the +fidelity of the Pottowatomies?” +</p> + +<p> +“The love of Wau-nan-gee, the once gentle and modest son of Winnebeg, +who, scarce three months since, could not gaze into a white woman's +eyes without melting softness beaming from his own, and the +rich, ripe peach-blush crimsoning his dark cheek.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what now?” questioned Captain Headley, seriously. +</p> + +<p> +“My love,” resumed Mrs. Headley, placing her hand emphatically on +his shoulder, “you know I have never concealed from you anything +that regarded myself. I have had no secrets from you; but this is +one which affects another. Except for the present aspect of affairs, +when you should be duly informed of that which bears reference to +our immediate position, I should have felt myself bound by every +tie of delicacy and honor, not less than of inclination, to have +kept confined to my own bosom that which I am now to reveal in the +fullest confidence, on the sole understanding that the slightest +allusion shall never be made by you hereafter to the subject.” +</p> + +<p> +“This becomes mysterious,” rejoined the commandant, smiling; “but +Ellen, pleasantry apart, I promise you most truly—and, shall I +add, on the honor of an officer and a gentleman, that your disclosure +shall be sacred.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good! now that I have quieted my own mind, by exacting from you +what in fact was not absolutely necessary, I will explain as briefly +as I can. Do you recollect the evening of Maria Heywood's marriage +with Ronayne?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you remarked the agitation evinced by Wau-nan-gee, during the +ceremony, and particularly at the close, when Ronayne, as customary, +kissed his bride?” +</p> + +<p> +“I noticed that there was some confusion caused by his abrupt +departure, but I neither knew nor inquired the cause; I was too +interested in the performance of the ceremony to think of anything +but the happiness that awaited them, and which they appeared so +much to desire themselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, no matter; but you must know that all the agitation of the +youth was caused by his jealousy of the good fortune of Ronayne.” +</p> + +<p> +“Jealous of Ronayne?” exclaimed Captain Headley with unfeigned +surprise. “Ha! ha! ha! excuse me, my dear Ellen, but I cannot +avoid being amused at the strangeness of the conceit.” +</p> + +<p> +“It was even so,” returned Mrs. Headley, gravely, “and a source of +unhappiness I fear it will prove to us all that it was so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Proceed,” said her husband. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you aware that the son of Winnebeg has never entered the fort +nor been even in the neighborhood since the night of that marriage?” +pursued his wife. +</p> + +<p> +“I do not believe he has been seen since,” remarked Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“I <i>know</i> that he has not; but yet he is ever near, seemingly bent +on one purpose.” +</p> + +<p> +“Love?” interposed the Captain, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, love! but a fearful love—though the love of a smooth-faced +boy—a love that may bring down destruction upon us all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ellen, you begin to fill me with alarm,” remarked her husband, +gravely. “You are not a woman to be startled by trifles, and there +is that in your manner just now which fully satisfies me of the +importance of what you have to communicate.” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> + +<p> +“You know my love for Mrs. Ronayne,” continued Mrs. Headley, after +a pause of a few minutes. “Even as though she were my own daughter, +I regard her, and would do for her all that a fond mother could +for her child. Only yesterday afternoon, while Ronayne and the +Doctor were out with a party fishing on the old ground above +Hardscrabble, she expressed a wish to visit the tomb of her poor +mother, who, dying within a week after her marriage, had been buried +near the base of the summer-house on the grounds attached to their +cottage, and asked me to accompany her. Of course I consented; and +as you were busily engaged, you did not particularly notice my +absence. We crossed the river in the scow, and ascended leisurely +to the garden. It struck me as we walked that the figure of a man, +seemingly an Indian, floated rapidly past within the paling of the +garden, but I could not distinctly trace the outline, and therefore +assumed that I had been deceived, and so said nothing to my companion +on the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“We had not been long in the garden when Mrs. Ronayne, leaving me +to saunter among and cull from the rich flowers which grew in wild +luxuriance around, begged me to wait for her a few minutes while +she ascended to the summer-house to commune in private with her +thoughts, and indulge the feelings which had been called up, at +this her first visit since the place had been abandoned, to the +once happy residence of her girlhood. At her entrance, I distinctly +heard her give a low shriek, but, taking it for granted that this +was in consequence of the effect upon her mind of a sudden recurrence +to old and well remembered scenes with which so much of the unpleasant +was associated, I paid no great attention to it. After this all +was still, and nearly an hour had elapsed when, fancying that it +was imprudent to leave her so long to her own melancholy thoughts, +I moved towards the summer-house myself, making as much noise with +my feet as possible to prepare her for my approach. I had got about +half way up the ascent, when to my astonishment I beheld issuing +from the entrance not Mrs. Ronayne, but the long-absent Wau-nan-gee, +who, with a flushed cheek and a fiery eye, divested of all its +former softness, made several bounds in an opposite direction, and, +without uttering a word, rapidly disappeared among the fruit trees +which bordered on the forest. +</p> + +<p> +“Seized with a strong presentiment of evil, I entered the +summer-house. Judge my astonishment when I found it empty. Heaven! +what could this mean? I had distinctly seen Mrs. Ronayne enter it, +and I had scarcely since taken my eyes off the building. In an +agony of despair, I threw myself upon the wooden bench, and scarcely +conscious of what I did, called frantically on Maria's name. +Suddenly, a sound similar to that of a faint moan seemed to proceed +from beneath my feet. I rose, removed the rude Indian mat with +which the centre of the floor is covered, and perceived that it +had been recently cut into an oblong square nearly the size of the +mat itself. The whole truth now flashed upon me—it was evident +that my friend was beneath: but the great difficulty was to find +the means of removing the door, which fitted so closely that it +required some superinducing motive even to suspect its existence. +There was nothing inside the building which could effect my purpose. +I ran to the door and cast my eyes towards the cottage. +Around it I saw a number of Indians stealthily moving near one of +the wings to the rear. In a moment I saw the necessity for +promptitude, and hastened rapidly towards the beach where I had +left the crew of the boat, consisting of four men and Corporal +Collins, and bade them come as far as the entrance to the garden, +where they could distinctly see and be seen from the cottage. I +remarked that there were Indians lurking about the grounds, and +that neither Mrs. Ronayne nor myself liked being so near them +without protection. 'As for you, Corporal Collins,' I added playfully, +'you must lend me your bayonet; an Indian does not like that weapon, +and, should any of these people feel inclined to prove unruly, the +bare sight of it will be sufficient. Remain here at the gate until +I return with Mrs. Ronayne, and keep a good look out that we are +not carried off.'” +</p> + +<p> +“But, my dear,” interposed Captain Headley, anxiously, “why all +this mystery about the matter?—all this beating about the bush?—why +did you not take Collins and his party to the summer-house and +release Mrs. Ronayne, if indeed it was she whose moan you heard? +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Headley, in this I but followed your own example. There were +many reasons why this should not be. Firstly, for the sake of Maria, +whose actual position might be such as to render it injudicious +that they be made acquainted with it. Secondly, because it would +unavoidably have brought the men in collision with the Indians, +which would have entailed ruin upon us all. No; I felt the mere +sight of them would awe the Indians around the cottage, whom policy +would prevent from open outrage, and that, provided with Collins's +bayonet, I could open the trap door and deliver my friend, without +any of the party knowing aught of what had occurred.” +</p> + +<p> +“Right prudently and sagely did you act, my dear Ellen,” returned +her husband—“go on: I am all impatience to hear the result.” +</p> + +<p> +“On regaining the summer-house, I applied the point of the weapon. +With some little exertion the door was raised, and, looking down, +I saw something broad and white in the gloom, on which lay a figure +indistinctly marked in outline. Gradually, as my eyes became +accustomed to the darkness, I remarked two or three rude stones +placed as steps, which I placed my feet upon and descended until +I had gained the bottom of the aperture and upon the white substance +I have just named. It was a large piece of white calico, covering +a bed of what appeared to me to be corn-leaves, on which sat or +rather reclined Maria. She looked the image of despair—as one +stupified—and when I first addressed her, could not speak. Her +dress was greatly disordered, her hat off and lying near her, and +the comb detached from the long hair. +</p> + +<p> +“'Oh, Maria, my child!' I said to her soothingly, 'what a terrible +incident is this! Who could have believed Wau-nan-gee would have +committed this outrage?' +</p> + +<p> +“The air let in from above tended greatly to revive her, and soon, +with my assistance, she was enabled to stand. +</p> + +<p> +“Her voice and manner proclaimed deep agitation. 'Dear, dear Mrs. +Headley,' she said impressively, as she threw herself upon my bosom, +'as you love me, not a word to Ronayne or to any other human being. +Oh, merciful Providence! it can do no good that aught of this +occurrence should be revealed. Promise me then, my more than mother, +that what has passed since we entered this garden shall be confined +to your own breast.' +</p> + +<p> +“'I comprehend and appreciate your motive for this concealment, +Maria,' I observed, soothingly. 'The knowledge of Wau-nan-gee's +wrong would arouse the anger of Ronayne in such manner as to give +rise to fatal discord between the Indians around and ourselves. +Depend upon it, both for the love I bear you, and the necessity +for silence, the occurrences of this day never shall be disclosed +by me.' +</p> + +<p> +“'Thanks, thanks,' she returned fervently. 'To-morrow you shall +know all—the deep, the terrible secret that weighs at my heart +shall be revealed to you. Yes, give me but until then to prepare +myself for the full and entire disclosure of the unhappy truth, +and you will not hate me for all that has taken place.' +</p> + +<p> +“'Maria—Mrs. Ronayne!' I said with some slight severity of manner. +</p> + +<p> +“'Oh, you are surprised at my language and sentiments. When the +heart is full, the lip measures not its words. Yet, oh, my mother! +condemn me not. Hear first what I have to say. Again I repeat, ere +your eyes are closed in sleep to-morrow night, you shall know all. +The tale will startle you; but now,' she added, 'I feel that I have +strength enough to follow.' +</p> + +<p> +“During this short and singular dialogue—singular enough, you must +admit, on the part of Mrs. Ronayne—I had assisted her in restoring +her dress, which, as I have already said, was very much disordered. +On turning to ascend by the stone steps, I remarked with surprise +certain articles of food placed on the corner of the calico, which +I had been too much occupied with Maria's condition to perceive +before. These consisted of a wooden bowl of milk—a brown earthen +pitcher of water—a number of flat cakes, seemingly made of corn +meal, and a portion of dried venison ham; a wooden spoon was in +the bowl, a black tin japanned drinking cup near the water, and a +common Indian knife stuck into the venison. +</p> + +<p> +“'Bless me, Maria,' I said, with an attempt at pleasantry, after +we had ascended, and closed the door, 'it was well I came to your +rescue; Wau-nan-gee certainly meant to have kept you imprisoned +here some time, if we may judge from the quantity of food he had +provided.' +</p> + +<p> +“'Such, I believe, was the original intention,' gravely replied +Mrs. Ronayne. +</p> + +<p> +“She made no other remark, but sighed deeply. We now drew near the +gate where Collins and his men were stationed, looking out anxiously +for our appearance. I recommended to Maria, in a low tone, not to +appear dejected, as the men knew nothing of what had occurred—not +even that Wau-nan-gee had been on the grounds—and any appearance +of agitation might give rise to suspicion. She followed my suggestion +and rallied. I returned Collins his bayonet, stating, with a poor +attempt at pleasantry, that we had met with no enemy on whom to +try it. He then led the way back, with his party, to the boat. +</p> + +<p> +“The presence of the men acting, in some degree, as a check upon +our conversation, Mrs. Ronayne consequently preserved an unbroken +silence. She seemed immersed in deep and painful thought, and I +could see beneath the thin veil she wore the tears coursing slowly +down her cheek. Her first inquiry, on landing, was whether the +fishing party was returned, and, on being told that it had not, +she seemed to be greatly relieved. I watched her closely, for I +need not say that my own daughter could not have inspired me with +deeper interest, and in the increased agitation I remarked +as the hour of her husband's expected return drew nearer, I began +to apprehend a fearful result. Not that, even if my suspicions were +correct, she could well be blamed, as the mere victim of a violence +she could not prevent; but what I did not like to perceive, and +which pained me much, was her evident prepossession in favor of +the impetuous boy, which induced her to abstain from all indignant +censure. These, however, are merely my own, crude and perhaps +unfounded impressions. That she has some terrible truth to reveal +to me, there cannot be a question, nor is it likely that it can +affect any but herself. This night, however, I shall know all from +her own lips, which, although sealed in prudence to her husband, +will not hesitate to confide to me the fullest extent of her painful +secret; meanwhile, I should recommend that Wau-nan-gee be watched. +His long absence from the fort, while evidently concealed in the +neighborhood, looks not well. Evidently, he has been long planning +the abduction of Maria, and now that he finds himself foiled by +her evasion this day, he will avail himself of the present crisis +to leave no means unaccomplished to possess her, no matter what +blood may be shed in the attainment of his object.” +</p> + +<p> +“Strange, indeed, what you have related,” said Captain Headley, +gravely, when his wife had ceased. “I confess I scarcely know what +to think or how to act. I must hold council with my officers +immediately—hear their opinions without divulging aught of what +you have related, and act as my own judgment confirms. How +unfortunate! Ronayne and his wife, accompanied by Von Voltenberg, +have taken it into their heads to ride to Hardscrabble, and God +knows when they will be back. Really, this is most annoying.” +</p> + +<p> +At that moment a terrible shriek, as that of a man in his last +fearful agony, was heard without. Struck with sudden dismay, both +Captain Headley and his wife rushed to the door, which they reached +even as Ensign Ronayne, pale, without his hat, his hair blowing in +the breeze, and his cheek colorless as death, was in the act of +falling from his jaded horse, whose trembling limbs and sides +covered with foam, attested the desperate speed with which he had +been ridden. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, God! he has heard all—he knows all,” murmured Mrs. Headley, +as she fell back in the arms of her husband. “Now, then, is the +drama of horror but commenced.” +</p> + +<p> +Before the unfortunate officer could be—raised and carried to his +apartments by the sympathizing soldiers of the garrison, another +horseman followed into the fort. It was Doctor Van Voltenberg, +whose flushed face and excited appearance denoted the speed at +which he too had ridden. He flung himself from his horse, and +followed anxiously to the apartment of his friend. +</p> + +<p> +But where was the third of the party? where was Maria, the universally +beloved of every soldier of that garrison? where was Mrs. Ronayne? +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap, and mouncht.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Macbeth</i> +</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“Thy abundant goodness shall excuse this deadly blot in +thy digressing son.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Richard II.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +Little more than a month had elapsed since the marriage of the +impetuous and generous Ensign Ronayne to the woman he adored. +Absorbed by the intensity of their passion, fed by the solitude +around, each day increased their attachment, and their full hearts +acknowledged that the love which the man bears to his mistress—the +affianced sharer of his inmost thoughts—is passionless compared +with that which follows the mystic tie, linking their most secret +being in fearlessness of devotion. Then, for the first time, had +they felt and acknowledged all the power of the beauty of God's +holy ordinance, which seemed to wed not in mere form, but in fact, +the deepest emotions of their glowing souls. What was the world to +them? They hoped to live and die among those wild scenes in which +their passion had been cradled and nurtured, until now it had +acquired a force almost more than human. Often then, and often +even since the short period of their union, had they fallen on +their knees in the silence and solitude of the wilderness around, +and, clasped to each other's heart, returned fervent thanks to the +Deity, not only for having given them hearts to comprehend love in +all its mysterious and holy sublimity, but in having blessed them +with the dearer self in which each other found pleasure and lived +a double existence. More calm, more softened, more subdued in +feeling, after this passionate ebullition, a holy and voluptuous +calm would beam from their eyes; and when they alluded gently and +fondly to the years and years of happiness that yet awaited them +in the health and fulness of their youth, thoughts and looks, not +words, attested the deep thankfulness of their hearts. +</p> + +<p> +All this had been up to the evening of the incidents named in our +opening chapter. Then, for the first time, had a change come over +Maria's feelings and manner. On leaving Mrs. Headley, she had +retired to her apartments, endeavoring to prepare herself for the +momentarily expected arrival of her husband, whom she longed, yet +dreaded to meet. She received him with a restraint which she had +great difficulty in disguising, and wept many bitter tears, as, +anxiously remarking her changed and extraordinary manner, he looked +reproachfully and fixedly at her, without, however, saying a word +that was passing in his mind. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, nay, Ronayne; you think me reserved, altered, to-day; but +indeed I am not well. The cause you shall know later, not now—it +would be premature. I am a bad dissembler, and cannot look gay +when my heart is full of anguish to overwhelming; but, my love, I +must entreat a very great favor of you, which I know you will not +refuse.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is there aught under heaven that I can refuse to my adored one?” +returned Ronayne, tenderly clasping her to his breast; “no, Maria, +you have a boon to ask, and the boon shall be granted.” +</p> + +<p> +“After all, it is not a Very great deal,” she remarked, with a +sickly smile; “but I have a strong desire to ride to Hardscrabble +to-morrow. You know it is long since I have been there, and I have +a particular reason to visit it in the course of the afternoon +to-morrow.” Her voice trembled, and she felt ill at ease. +</p> + +<p> +Her husband looked grave. “Nay, Maria, is this wise? You know, as +you have just said, that you have not visited that scene since the +death of your father; wherefore now, and simply to reopen a +fast-closing wound?” +</p> + +<p> +“It is for the reason,” she said, “that I have so long neglected +this duty that I am the more anxious to repair the seeming neglect.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your first visit,” remarked Ronayne, half reproachfully, “methinks +ought to have been to the grave of your poor mother. You have not +been over to the cottage since her death.” +</p> + +<p> +Had an arrow passed through the heart of Mrs. Ronayne, it could +not have imparted more exquisitely keen sensations than did that +casual remark. She turned pale, but made no reply; nay, almost fell +fainting on his bosom. +</p> + +<p> +“What, my soul's beloved, is the matter? Nay, pardon me for bringing +up again the memory so suddenly upon your gentle thought! I should +have used more caution in renewing the recollection of the past.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say rather of the present,” murmured Mrs. Ronayne, in a tone so +low that she could not be distinctly heard by her husband. “Oh, +this poor heart!” +</p> + +<p> +“You spoke, Maria?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I did but repeat my dreamings to myself. I scarcely know what +I said.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, love, since you desire to ride to Hardscrabble to-morrow, +I will even meet your wishes; and yet I know not how it is, but +something tells me that ill will grow out of this.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no, say not so,” she suddenly exclaimed, sinking on her knees +at his feet, and holding up her hands in an attitude of supplication; +“can that be ill in your eyes which brings happiness to the heart +of your loving wife? Pity rather the existence of those fears which +cause her to tremble, lest the cup be dashed from her lips ere yet +half tasted. Oh! I dare not speak more plainly—not yet—not +yet—to-morrow—then shall the restraint be removed, from my lips +and heart, and, whatever be the result, you shall know all. I feel +that to you I must appear to speak in parables and mystery; but +oh, since yesterday, I feel that I am not myself.” +</p> + +<p> +She drooped her head upon his shoulder, and wept profoundly. +</p> + +<p> +“Calm yourself, dearest; I will harass you with no more converse +on this subject to-night. Let one remark suffice. I am afraid that +Captain Headley will refuse permission for us to venture as far as +Hardscrabble; he thinks it attended by risk to the officers on the +part of the Indians; of course, much more to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Ronayne, there cannot surely be a greater risk incurred there +than in venturing on a fishing excursion, as you have done to-night. +Besides, we need not let him know that we are going in that +direction.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! you wicked mutineer,” chided Ronayne, playfully, “do you +recommend insubordination? Would you have me to disobey the orders +of the commanding officer? Oh, fie!” +</p> + +<p> +“Not exactly that,” she returned, with a slight blush; “but gratify +me only this once, and I will never allow you to break an order +again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, sweetest, I did but jest; were my life the penalty, I would +not deny you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! how little does he think that more than life depends upon it,” +murmured Mrs. Ronayne to herself. “Or who could have supposed +yesterday that my heart would have been oppressed by the feelings +which assail it now? Wau-nan-gee—strange, wildly—loving, +fascinating, and incomprehensible boy—with what confidence do I +repose on your truth; with what joy do I at length glory in that +devotedness which has made you so wholly, so exclusively mine.” +</p> + +<p> +These words were abstractedly, almost involuntarily, uttered in a +low tone, as Ronayne left the room in search of Doctor Von Voltenberg, +who he was desirous should, for the better protection of his wife +from accident, accompany them on their ride of to-morrow. +</p> + +<p> +She herself soon retired for the night, but not to rest. +</p> + +<p> +In that wild and simple garrison, where the germs of the heart and +head alone shone forth, reflecting their brilliancy and beauty more +forcibly from the fact of the very limitation of their sphere of +contact, there was no sacrifice to the mere conventionalisms of +inane fashion. Customs there were military customs, duly observed, +and not less than treason against the state would it have been +considered by Captain Headley, had any officer of his sallied forth +without being duly caparisoned as a member of the corps to which +he belonged; but in all things else, and where duty was not involved, +each was free to adopt the style of costume or the general habits +that best suited his own fancy. And, whenever inclined, they were +suffered to leave the fort, either dressed in the rough, shaggy +blanket of the Canadian trapper or voyageur, or the more fanciful +and picturesque dress of the Indian. This had not always been the +case. Captain Headley had once been as severe as he now was indulgent, +and the uttermost conformity of costume with the regulations of +the United States had for a long period been exacted; but gradually, +on finding, as he conceived, the Indians around him too favorably +disposed to require the continuance of the imposing military parade +with which it had been his policy to awe them, he had gradually +relaxed in his system of discipline, conceding not more to his +officers themselves than to his noble and amiable wife, who was +ever the soother of whatever temporary differences sprang up between +them, many little points of etiquette, to which formerly he had +most scrupulously adhered. +</p> + +<p> +Among the varieties of dresses possessed by Ensign Ronayne, was a +very handsome one which the mother of Wau-nan-gee, for whom it was +made, had disposed of to him; and this, when preparing for the ride +the next day, his wife strongly advised him to wear. As he knew +there could be no objection on the part of Captain Headley only to +the direction in which they rode, and that only from the possibility +of encountering a party of hostile Indians, and not to the costume +itself, he laughingly remarked that her old flame, Wau-nan-gee, +had certainly made a deeper impression on her heart than she was +willing to admit, since no dress pleased her half so well as that +which had once been worn by the gentle and dark—eyed youth. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment or two she turned pale, and then suddenly flushing +the deepest dye, as the sense of her husband's remark came fully +upon her apprehension, she said, not without some pain and confusion, +mingled with gentle reproach:— +</p> + +<p> +“You seem to have forgotten, Ronayne, that that was the dress you +wore on an occasion of danger, when life and death and happiness +hung upon the issue. Might I not have the credit of prizing it on +that account?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, beloved one,” he exclaimed, as he pressed her to his heart, +“you know I did but jest. Then was my strong love for yourself, my +protection and my shield; and if that love was powerful then, what +irresistible strength has it attained now. Maria, I would fain +desire to live for ever, if but to show the vastness and enduringness +of my love for you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! to what a trial am I to be subjected,” she murmured, “and yet +I would not shun it. Why has the calm deep current of our joy been +thus cruelly interrupted, Ronayne? Should fate or circumstances +ever interpose to separate us, will you always entertain for me +the same ardent affection that you do now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Heavens! why do you ask? What means this question? What is there +to divide us? nay, even separate us for an hour?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I cannot explain myself,” she returned. “I know I speak wildly, +but I only mean in the possible event of anything of the kind. I +do not say that it may or will happen; but you know it might. None +of these things are impossible. We cannot control our destiny.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, my love,” remarked Ronayne, with a sigh, while an expression +of gravity and sadness pervaded his features, “it cannot be denied +that you have adopted some strange fancies this morning; firstly, +a desire to visit Hardscrabble, a place which you have always +hitherto carefully avoided; secondly, to see me dressed in a costume +which I have not worn since the occasion to which you have just +adverted; and thirdly, to frighten me to death by even hinting at +the possibility of separation. By the bye,” he added, “it is a very +long time since we have seen Wau-nan-gee. You know he disappeared +the night of our marriage, and has never been seen since. I wonder +what can have become of him. Would you not like once more, Maria, +to see his handsome face? I shall never forget the eagerness with +which he picked up the wedding-ring which I had let fall in the +act of putting it on your finger, or the look of deep disappointment +when I rather abruptly—nay, somewhat rudely—snatched it from him, +as he tremblingly proceeded to complete that part of the ceremony +himself. It certainly looked very ominous.” +</p> + +<p> +It was a great relief to Mrs. Ronayne when, at the very moment that +her husband ceased speaking, a knock was heard at the door, and in +the next moment the figure of Doctor Von Voltenberg crossed the +threshold. He came to announce that the horses were already saddled, +and waiting for them. With a heart full to oppression, she left +the room, and regained her chamber. There she threw herself upon +her knees at the bedside, and burst into a paroxysm of tears. It +was the first time she had been alone since the occurrence at the +summer-house; the first opportunity she had had of giving unrestrained +indulgence to the powerful emotions that had for many hours hung +like an immovable weight upon her soul. The first outburst of +hitherto-suppressed feeling over, she became more calm. She felt +that her long absence might excite surprise. A basin of cold water +soon removed all traces of her tears, and in less than half an hour +she had regained the party, her beautiful form clad in a dark green +riding habit made of cloth of the lightest texture, and her full +dark hair, surmounted by a straw hat tastily plaited and +fashioned by her own hands, and trimmed with a broad, pale, and +richly-bordered ribbon. +</p> + +<p> +Ronayne's eye caught her own as she entered. Never had she appeared +so strikingly beautiful. He said nothing, but the rich Virginian +blood mounted to his cheek, while his expressive eye conveyed, as +plainly as language itself could render it, how ardent and enduring +was his love. +</p> + +<p> +That look heightened the color on her own enchanting face, but it +was only for the moment, and evidently caused by some absorbing +recollection of an absent friend. She turned away her head to +conceal the tear that forced itself down her cheek, and then +everything being ready—for Ronayne had availed himself of her +absence to assume his Indian dress—the party went to the barrack +square, and were soon in the saddle. +</p> + +<p> +“God bless her!” ejaculated Corporal Collins, as, after relinquishing +the bridle he had held while her husband assisted her to mount, +the graceful form of Mrs. Ronayne receded from his view, leaving +him once more to resume his monotonous walk in front of the building. +“Ah, there is nobody like that sweet lady!” +</p> + +<p> +“There goes an angel!” said Sergeant Nixon in a low voice to his +companions of the guard, all of whom off sentry had risen, and were +now standing all attention, as the little party passed towards the +gate. +</p> + +<p> +“Isn't she a trump!” said another man of the guard—Weston. “See +how she sits her horse—just as if she had been born to it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sergeant Nixon,” said Maria, in one of her sweetest tones, as she +moved her horse towards the non-commissioned officer in passing. +</p> + +<p> +The Sergeant touched his cap with marked respect. +</p> + +<p> +“Should anything occur to detain us in our ride, let this packet +be given to Mrs. Headley. Mind, Sergeant, certainly not before +midnight.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your command shall be obeyed, Mrs. Ronayne. Should you return +before midnight, it will be found with me; if not, I shall at once +carry it to Mrs. Headley.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just so. Good by, Nixon!” and as she placed the packet in his +possession, she pressed his hand, as if to signify that the proper +execution of the commission was of some importance. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it, Maria? what do you wait for?” asked Ronayne, reining +in his horse to enable her to come up. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing. I am merely sending a trifling message to Mrs. Headley +by Sergeant Nixon,” and then putting her horse into a canter, she +joined her cavaliers, and pursued with them the road that led along +the right bank of a branch of the Chicago river to the Hardscrabble +farm. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +You see this chase is hotly followed. +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Henry V.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +The spot called Hardscrabble was distant about two miles from Fort +Dearborn, and had been the scene of a recent and bloody tragedy. +They who are familiar with the events that occurred during a +different and earlier phase of this tale are aware that, not four +months previously, the father of Mrs. Ronayne had, as well as a +faithful domestic, been cruelly murdered there, during a period of +profound peace, by a party of Winnebagoes, and that, on the removal +of his body to the grounds of the cottage, near the fort, in which +his wife and daughter resided, the house had been hermetically +closed. The outrage upon Mr. Heywood had taken place early in April. +It was now, as has already been said, the 7th of August, and within +that period Mrs. Ronayne had drunk deeply of the cup of reciprocated +wedded bliss, she had also known the anguish of the severance of +every natural tie. Both her parents were buried near the +summer-house, and, had it not been for the fervent love of her +husband—a love that daily increased in purity and intensity—even +the great strength of mind for which she was remarkable would have +ill enabled her to endure the twofold shock. But, even with all +his love, the natural melancholy of her character became tinged +with an additional shade of seriousness, which, far from being +displeasing, or detracting from the sweetness of her most expressive +and faultless face, seemed to invest it with a newer and a holier +charm. The perfection of her classic style of beauty given as Maria +Heywood, may well justify a repetition here. +</p> + +<p> +Above the middle size, her figure was at once gracefully and richly +formed. Her face, of a chiselled oval, was of a delicate olive +tint, which well harmonized with eyes of a lustrous hazel, and hair +of glossy, raven black, of rare amplitude and length. A mouth +classically small, bordered by lips of coral fulness, disclosed, +when she smiled, teeth white and even; while a forehead, high and +denoting strong intellect, combined with a nose somewhat more +aquiline than Grecian, to give dignity to a countenance that might +otherwise have exhibited too much of a character of voluptuous +beauty. Yet, although her features, when lighted up by vivacity or +emotion, were radiant with intelligence, their expression when in +repose was of a pensive cast, that, contrasted with her general +appearance, gave to it a charm, addressed at once to sense and +sentiment, of which it is impossible by description to give an +adequate idea. A dimpled cheek—an arm, hand, and foot, that might +have served the statuary as a model, completed a person which, +without exaggeration, might be deemed almost, if not wholly, +faultless. +</p> + +<p> +For some minutes, as the party rode along the road bordering on +the serpentine branch of the Chicago leading to Hardscrabble, Mrs. +Ronayne, apprehensive that her husband might attribute any appearance +of depression of spirits to physical illness, and insist on postponing +her ride to some future occasion, fell, as most people do who are +sensible that for the first time in their lives they are acting +with insincerity, into the very opposite extreme. With a +consciousness of wrong at her heart—with a soul distracted with +uncertainty and hesitancy as to the result of the course she was +pursuing—she indulged in a gaiety that, in her, was wholly unnatural. +She rattled, talked, laughed with ill-timed volubility—offered to +make wagers with the surgeon and Ronayne that she would take her +horse over the highest fallen log, or, if they preferred it, swim +with either of them across the river, and lastly proposed that they +should start together and see who would first reach the farm-house. +All this time the deepest scarlet was on her cheek, her manner +betrayed the most feverish excitement, and there was unwonted +brilliancy in her eye. +</p> + +<p> +Ronayne looked at her earnestly. Suddenly a change came over her, +for she had remarked, and felt confused under the penetrating glance +which seemed to tell her that she did not feel that lightness of +heart with the semblance of which she was seeking to deceive him. +For the first time since his marriage—nay, for the first time +since his acquaintance with her—and this had been of more than +two years' date—he felt pain—pain inflicted by <i>her</i>. There was +evidently some secret thought at her heart which she withheld; and +she who had never before concealed a passing emotion of her soul, +was now wrapped up in an unaccountable mystery. +</p> + +<p> +In proportion with her husband's increasing gravity, Mrs. Ronayne's +spirits became depressed, until in reality enfeebled by her strong +previous excitement, she looked pale as death itself, and expressed +a desire for a glass of water. +</p> + +<p> +Deeply touched and alarmed by the sudden change which had taken +place in his wife's appearance and manner, Ronayne threw himself +from his horse, and, being provided with a silver drinking cup, +flew to the river to fill it. In order to obtain the liquid pure +and cool, however, it was necessary to turn a small and acute point +of underwood, a little to the right, where a few rude stone steps +led to a sort of natural well, where, even in the hottest day of +summer, the beverage came fresh as from a coral fountain. It was +a spot well known to every frequenter of that road, and few passers-by +ever drank from any other source. +</p> + +<p> +The young officer was in the act of dipping his cup into the stream, +when three shots were distinctly heard in the neighborhood of +Hardscrabble, then about half a mile distant, and after the interval +of a few seconds, the rapid galloping of horses' hoofs behind him. +With an inconceivable dread of he knew not what at his heart, he +sprang round the point of wood to gain the road where he had left +his wife and Von Voltenberg. To his astonishment both were gone. +They were the hoofs of their horses he had heard—his own was tied +to a tree, as he had left him, and making endeavors to free himself, +that he might follow his companions. +</p> + +<p> +We will not attempt to describe the feelings of Ronayne. The mere +disappearance of the party might have been accounted for, had it +not been for the shots which preceded. But the association was +terrible. It bewildered him—almost deprived him of thought and +judgment. Evidently, there was an enemy in the neighborhood; but, +even if so, why the obvious advance into the very heart of danger; +for, from the direction of the sound, he could have no doubt that +one horse, at least, had taken the direction of Hardscrabble, and +that, from the peculiar and rapid footfall of the animal, he felt +assured was his wife's. +</p> + +<p> +What could this mean? Mrs. Ronayne's he knew to be a very spirited +young horse, and the only manner in which he could explain her +absence was by inferring that, startled by the report of the +firearms, he had suddenly run away with her, and that Von Voltenberg +had followed as speedily as he could to check him. +</p> + +<p> +He dashed the cup of water to the earth, mounted, and dug his spurs +in the flanks of his horse, when the latter, bounding forward with +agony under the exquisite sense of pain, seemed rather to leap than +run over the ground Fifty yards from the point where he started, +something glaringly white on the ground frightened the animal and +caused him to shy so abruptly, even while continuing his speed, +that Ronayne, excellent horseman as he was, had great difficulty +in preserving his seat. Rapid as was the glance obtained of the +object, he at once recognised it for the habit collar of his wife, +and therefore all uncertainty was at an end as to the direction +her horse had taken. His heart was full, but he had scarcely power +to think. A thousand incidents and fears seemed to crowd upon his +brain at the same time, and in such confusion that he felt as though +his very reason were deserting him. The recollection of the strong +presentiment of evil which he had expressed in regard to this ride +came with tenfold force on his mind, and scarce left a hope to +weigh against the fears that overwhelmed him. +</p> + +<p> +Still he dashed on, straining his eyes as though he would have +doubled the extent of his vision, looking searchingly into every +opening into the wood, and endeavoring to distinguish, amid the +rapid sounds produced by his own horse's hoofs, those of his +companions. It seemed an age while he passed over the ground that +kept him from the fatal farm-house. At length the orchard attached +to it came in view, and then the garden, and on the broad lane +which separated both, the large walnut tree the branches of which, +two months before covered with snowy blossoms, were now bent low +by the weight of their own fruitfulness. In another instant, he +was in the centre of the open space. Uncertain what course to follow +now, he checked his generous steed so suddenly and fiercely as to +throw him upon his haunches. Everything was still. Beyond the +breathing of his own horse, there was not a sound to indicate the +existence of animal life. The Indians had evidently destroyed all +the stock on the farm since its abandonment, and melancholy appeared +here to have established universal dominion. This suspense was +torture—the silence horrible. He would rather have heard the Indian +scalp-cry—heard the death-shriek—anything, provided it would +guide him to the form of her he loved. Beyond this forest there +was nothing that could be called a road. A few narrow footpaths +diverged from it into the forest, but these were merely sufficiently +broad for the passage by Indian file, except on the immediate verge +of the river, where horse and rider might barely escape collision +with the branches. The bank, over which this apology for a highway +ran, was composed of a sandy soil, so that sound was not absolutely +necessary to the assurance that horsemen were on that road. From +its absence, however, in every other quarter, the distracted officer +was naturally led to infer that they whom he so anxiously sought +had taken that direction, and thither he determined to follow. But +a second thought induced him to turn the angle of the house, before +leaving, that he might not have to reproach himself later with +having left anything unexamined behind. To his great surprise he +found the door, which he had himself hermetically closed many weeks +before, wide open. His first purpose, after sweeping his eye rapidly +but keenly around the half-trodden cornfield in the rear, was to +enter. This, in order not to lose time, and the rude aperture being +sufficiently large, he did without dismounting. +</p> + +<p> +As his horse sprang in, he thought he could distinguish a moccasined +foot just at the moment of its hurried disappearance into the loft +above, but everything was so still that he felt satisfied his +distempered imagination and excited feeling, running on one +all-absorbing subject, had deceived him. He looked around. +Two dark objects attracted his attention, in the farthest corner +from him, of the room, the shutters of which being closed, yielded +but an indistinct light to one coming suddenly from the open air. +He moved his horse, stooping low himself as he advanced to that +end of the rude apartment, and beheld to his surprise, two small +trunks of black leather, on one of which was painted in rather +large letters “Maria Heywood.” The other had no name upon it, but +he could have pledged his existence that, not one week previously, +he had seen it in his own apartment, and that it was his. That, +however, might be a mistake, for it was difficult to distinguish +with certainty; but in regard to the proprietorship of the other +there could be no question, and the only reasonable manner in which +he could account for their being there at that moment, was, that +the trunks had been in use by Mr. Heywood at the period of his +murder, and that, having been overlooked by the Indians, they had +been locked up, on closing the farm-house altogether. +</p> + +<p> +It must not be supposed that the young officer took as much time +to comprehend and draw inferences from what he saw, as we have +taken in the description. A few rapid glances only were thrown +around, when, satisfied that there was no more to aid him in his +search, he turned his horse's head to gain the broader pathway +which, it has already been said, bordered on the river. Again he +sallied from the house, but his emotions of alarm and surprise may +be conceived—not springing from any personal consideration, but +from the certainty he now entertained of the probable fate of his +wife—when, on gaining the exterior, he perceived, not fifty yards +from him, a party of Indians, about twenty in number, some scattered +along the edge of the wood, and others peering cautiously around +the corners of the outbuildings. Although his heart sank within +him at the sight, and the image of his Maria was at the moment +uppermost in his thoughts—stood palpably before him as she looked +at the very moment when she stood first equipped for this most +unfortunate ride—his keen and collected eye could distinguish the +very color of the war paint, for they were in full costume, and +the peculiar decorations that told them to be of their old and +inveterate enemies the Winnebagoes. +</p> + +<p> +There are epochs in life when the thoughts of years crowd upon the +mind in little more than moments. All the past then seems to flash +full upon the recollection, and in such rapid yet distinct succession, +that the only surprise is how the brain can sustain the torturing +and confounding weight. No one incident of the slightest interest +had ever occurred to his wife and himself that Ronayne did not +recall vividly, keenly, even while gazing on those men of blood; +and he suffered anguish of heart, physical as well as mental, which +none can understand who have not experienced that rending asunder +of the soul which follows the loss of that in which the soul alone +lives. Presently, as his quick eye glanced rapidly along the wood, +he saw, to his increasing dismay, Von Voltenberg brought forward +to its edge by two other Indians leading the horse by the bridle. +He was, evidently, a prisoner. Oh, how he strained his eyes with +painful, with agonizing earnestness, to behold her whom he expected +to behold next, and how rapidly rose the feeling of hope and +exultation when he found no second prisoner appear. He now felt +assured that his last chance of recovering the lost one lay in his +pursuing the course he had at first selected. The prospect of +eluding his enemies and gaining that road was poor, for there was +but one way open to him—almost in their very teeth—yet this he +was resolved to try. Death was before him if he hesitated; although, +had he beheld his wife a prisoner, he would rather have shared a +similar fate than abandoned her in her extremity, now that a hope +had sprung up in his heart—his energies were aroused, and renewed +activity braced his limbs. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> + +<p> +On the right of the farm-house called Hardscrabble, as it faced +the water, there was a kitchen garden, the fence of which was quite +five feet high, and scattered about within this were standing, now +almost shrivelled up from age, many clusters of peas and beans +pending lazily and languidly from their poles. To force his way +across this fence, and then diagonally through the garden in order +to gain the opposite corner and cross into the road beyond, was +now the sole object of the young officer; but before putting it in +practice, he called out in a loud and distinct voice to Von Voltenberg +to know what had become of his wife, and whether she too was a +prisoner. But there was no answer. The Doctor had evidently been +enjoined not to reply, for, immediately after he had put his +question, Ronayne saw an Indian hold up his tomahawk menacingly to +the prisoner, and heard him utter some words as if to enjoin silence. +Seemingly desirous, however, at all risk to satisfy his friend, +Von Voltenberg suddenly raised his hand, and seemed to point +significantly over his shoulder in an oblique direction to the +rear. This convinced Ronayne that he had been correct in his +conjecture, for the direction was the road he intended taking. +Gathering himself up in his saddle, he slowly walked his horse +about twenty paces towards the edge of the forest. This was done +both for the purpose of preventing any suspicion of an attempt at +flight, and of giving sufficient run for his leap. Then suddenly +wheeling round, he put the animal to his speed, and, amid the loud +shouts of the Indians, who rushed forward from every point to +overtake him, accomplished the desperate leap, the tips of his +horse's hoofs just grazing as he passed. Encumbered with their arms +as they were, it took each Indian, however active, at least a second +to clear the fence, and this gave the young officer considerable +advantage of distance; but what surprised him was that not a shot +was fired. It seemed as though his pursuers thought it beneath +their dignity to fire at a single fleeing man, whom they were +certain of taking, and matter of rivalry with all to be the first +to reach and secure. Onward they pressed now without uttering a +sound; but the rattling of their war ornaments, with the crackling +of the decayed vegetation beneath their feet, told Ronayne that +they were too near for him to hope for escape, unless his horse +should clear the opposite corner of the field, and of this he almost +despaired, jaded as the animal was by previous exertion through +the heavy ground he was now traversing. Fortunately he found that +there was a perceptible declivity as he approached the water, and +not merely that, but that one of the rails of the zigzag fence had +been detached. Desperate as his position was, this gave him renewed +confidence, and he even ventured to turn and examine the number +and position of his enemies. They were some twenty in number, +all painted perfectly black, and dispersed at long intervals +throughout the field. In front of all was a very young warrior, +who seemed the most emulous of the party to secure the honor of +the capture, for the leaps he took were prodigious, and it was +evident that nothing but the clearing of the fence could save the +closely-pursued officer from capture. Again his horse took the +leap, and this time easily enough; and even while in the very act, +he thought, he fancied, he heard a voice behind him softly pronounce +his name. In the confusion of his mind, however, he could not judge +distinctly of anything. It might have been the sighing of the wind +among the dried leaves and tendrils that floated from the bean-poles +at his side, and he regarded it not. His mind was too much intent +on, too much absorbed on weightier matters to heed the occurrence. +The air from the water revived, reinvigorated both himself and his +horse. Again at full speed, he dashed on along its margin until +suddenly, after having gone over nearly a mile of ground, the +conviction arose to him that he must have been wrong in his +comprehension of Von Voltenberg's sign, and that the beloved of +his soul—she for the uncertainty of whose fate his heart suffered +an anguish the most horrible, was not before him, but a prisoner +with her companion. That thought, growing rapidly into assurance, +was sufficient to destroy all energy. He checked his horse, and +brought him to a full stand. As a soldier, whose services belonged +to his country, he felt that he had no right to throw himself into +a position that would render those services useless, but at least +he would take no unnecessary trouble to avoid it. He turned to +listen to the sounds of his pursuers, now fully resolved to make +no further attempt at escape. He heard nothing but the rustling of +the leaves and the gurgling of the water over the shallow and pebbly +portions of its bed. He retraced his way at a walk. That was his +direct course to the fort, and he was determined leisurely to pursue +it, taking the chapter of accidents as it might be opened to him. +Soon he came to the point where he had first leaped the garden +fence. He looked within. There was not an Indian to be seen. That +they were lurking somewhere around him, he felt perfectly assured, +and at each moment he expected to see them start up and seize his +horse by the bridle. But although he now rode slowly, carelessly, +his eye was everywhere. The pathway he followed led along a strip +some twenty feet in width, between the garden fence and the river, +to the bottom of the clearing or lawn that ran to the edge of the +latter. Keenly he glanced towards the skirt of the forest on his +left where he had first beheld the savages with their prisoner, +but not a sign of one of them was to be seen. All this was certainly +most extraordinary and unaccountable, but Ronayne knew the character +of Indian stratagem too well not to feel assured that the very next +moment succeeding that of this serpent-like quietude, might be +replete with excitement, and he was prepared for its occurrence. +He dreaded to advance. He almost feared that he should not be seen. +Every step forward in safety increased the distance which separated +him from the idol of his soul, and the purest air of heaven had no +sweetness for him that was not breathed with her. His head drooped +upon his breast—he could hear the beating of his own heart. He +prayed inwardly, secretly, fervently to God to restore to him his +wife as by a miracle, and save him from the madness of despair. +When he again raised his head, he was startled but not surprised +to see his further progress interrupted by a dozen Indians, +springing up as it were from the very bowels of the earth, and +standing in the same careless and unexcited attitude in which he +had beheld them at the outset. Mechanically wheeling his horse to +escape by the lane, he beheld a similar display. He was evidently +hemmed in. His further advance or retreat was completely intercepted. +</p> + +<p> +Truly has it been said, we are the creatures of circumstance. A +moment before, and while there was no enemy visible, Ronayne had +felt the utmost indifference in regard to a fate the bitterness of +which would, at least, have been sweetened by the fact of his being +near to solace and sustain his wife. He could not believe that it +was the purpose of the warriors to do them bodily harm; for, had +that been their intention, they would, without doubt, have fired +at him, when they found themselves foiled in their recent pursuit; +and such was the devotedness of love of the man, that forgetting +under the circumstances the sterner duty of the officer, he would +have preferred the tent and bonds of the savage <i>for ever</i> with +her to the comforts and freedom of his own home, when the presence +of the loved and familiar being in whom alone he lived should no +longer give life and interest to the latter. But now a sudden change +in his plans was resolved upon, for the same glance which had fallen +on the warriors in his front, had enabled him to see, in the +distance, that Von Voltenberg, profiting probably by the carelessness +of those left in charge, was moving stealthily and alone between +the cornfield and the building, behind which he soon disappeared. +The quickening sound of hoofs immediately succeeding attested that +he was in full flight, and then a rapid association of ideas brought +to the strongly imaginative mind of the young officer the conviction +that his wife had escaped too, for he felt assured that Von Voltenberg +would not abandon her. What the object was in endeavoring to secure +himself he could not tell. The Indians had evidently some more than +ordinary motive in his capture, or wherefore their great anxiety +to take him unhurt, and their seeming indifference in regard to +the other prisoners, who had been left almost unguarded. There +might be two reasons for this. Firstly, they might be on their +war-path, and therefore might not find it either convenient or +desirable to incumber themselves, on a march, with a woman; and, +secondly, having discovered the Doctor to be a “medicine man”—a +fact of which he would not have failed to apprise them—they might +not feel themselves permitted by the Great Spirit to detain him, +and therefore, without absolutely releasing, gave him the opportunity +for escape. +</p> + +<p> +Of course, all these reflections were the result of but a momentary +action of the brain. Ronayne, with much warmth and impetuosity of +character, was of quick and sound apprehension, and at once saw +the advantages or disadvantages of an extreme position. To advance +or retire, as has already been remarked, was impossible, for both +in front and rear stood the warriors leaning carelessly on their +guns, as if they expected at each moment that he would come up and +surrender himself. But, whatever his previous musings, half nursed +into the determination, such was now far from being the intention +of the Virginian. Certain that he would be fired at, his main object +was to prevent their closing with him so far as to impede his +action. In order to prevent nearer advance upon him, therefore, he +pulled his pocket handkerchief from the bosom of his hunting-shirt, +and waved it over his head in token of submission. Guttural sounds +of approbation broke from the warriors, amid which he thought +he could hear the voice of his wife earnestly calling upon his +name, in the distance. He looked, but saw nothing. The idea that +she had been suffered to make her escape grew stronger. He felt +assured, for the sounds of horses' hoofs had ceased, that she was +lingering for him to join her; that she had seen him wave the +handkerchief, and that, tearing he was about to deliver himself +into the hands of his enemies, she had uttered that cry to indicate +her position. Apparently in the certainty of their prisoner, the +Indians both above and below had thrown themselves at the side of +the lane under the fence, some even commencing to fill and smoke +their pipe tomahawks. This again was the moment of action. To leap +the fence at this time was out of all question, but the river was +unusually deep immediately on his right. Rapidly he wheeled his +horse, and, bearing him up with a strong arm, as he reached the +bank, while he forced the rowels of his spurs into his flanks, +caused him to bound over nearly one third of the narrow stream. +Almost before the Indians had time to recover from their surprise +and dash in after him, he was nearly across. As he ascended the +opposite bank, and gained the road above, another cry from the same +voice rang upon his ears. He looked and beheld at one of the windows +of the farm—house a form evidently that of a woman, the outline +and dress of which he could not, however, distinguish, reclining +negligently, almost motionless, on the bosom of the youngest warrior, +who had evinced such earnestness in his desire to capture him. +Alternately, as Ronayne continued his course to the fort, along +that bank of the Chicago, the youth pealed forth the peculiar +war-whoop of his tribe, and waved, seemingly, the very pocket +handkerchief which the unhappy officer had a few moments before +thrown down as an earnest of his submission. Was this meant as a +reproach or a threat? He could not tell; but certainly he felt that +he deserved the former in their eyes, who had shown him so much +mercy. In less than ten minutes he had passed over the intermediate +ground, his ear achingly on the stretch to catch the sounds of +horses' hoofs on the opposite' bank—that bank which, not two hours +previously, he had traversed with a bright hope, if not with a +heart wholly free from anxiety—but in vain. Furiously, wildly, +he rode into the fort. He was haggard, pale, and dripping from the +immersion he had so recently undergone. His first inquiry at the +gate, on entering, was if Mrs. Ronayne had returned. Being answered +in the negative, life itself seemed to be annihilated; and, overcome +by the overwhelming agony he had endured for the last two hours, +he gave a frightful shriek of despair, and, on gaining the centre +of the parade, fell fainting from his horse to the ground, as we +have already seen at the close of our opening chapter. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“My particular grief is of so floodgate and overbearing nature, +that it engluts and swallows other sorrows.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Othello.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +Never did day close more cheerlessly on the hearts of men, than +that which succeeded to the occurrences detailed in our last chapter. +Yea, it was a terrible blow which had been inflicted upon all. The +sun of the existence of each, from the commanding officer to +the youngest drummer-boy, had been dimmed; and many a weather-beaten +soldier, grown grey in the natural apathy of age, now found himself +unable to restrain the rising tear. Not a woman, not a child arrived +at the years of consciousness, but missed and mourned over the +absence of her who had been, not merely the favorite, but the +beloved of the whole garrison. +</p> + +<p> +The young Virginian himself was, for the moment, the only exception +to this mental anguish. When taken up from the ground to which he +had fallen, and borne to his room, he was in a high fever and +delirious from excitement—unconscious of everything around. He +did not manifest a sense of the nature and extent of his grief by +exclamations of despair, or reference to the past, but lay like +one stupified, his cheek highly flushed, his eyes fixed and upturned, +his hands clasped across his chest, his breathing scarcely audible, +and seemingly without the power of combination of thought, or the +exercise of memory. +</p> + +<p> +When Von Voltenberg soon afterwards followed, he at once saw that +congestion of the brain was rapidly forming, and immediately prepared +to bleed him. The room, which, first filled with sorrowing soldiers +and their wives, not only excluded the necessary air, but impeded +action, was now urgently requested to be cleared, and none remained +but Mrs. Headley, Mrs. Elmsley, Mr. Ronayne's servant Catherine, +and Corporal Collins, who, having been relieved from his duty as +orderly, had entreated the surgeon to permit him to render what +service might be required during the young officer's illness. There +was no fastidious or misplaced delicacy here. Mrs. Headley had ever +felt as a mother towards the Virginian, Mrs. Elmsley as a sister, +and, even had this not been the case, the strong affection they +bore to his wife would have led them to attend the sick couch of +the husband. One supported his shoulder as he was raised in his +bed, the other took his extended hand, while Corporal Collins, +looking much paler and more frightened than either of them, held +the basin. If Von Voltenberg was not particularly given to fasting, +or loved the punch made of the horrid whiskey distilled in those +days in the west, he was, nevertheless, a skilful surgeon. With a +steady hand he now divided the vein, when forth gushed a stream of +blood so dark and discolored that the significant and triumphant +shake of the head which he gave clearly indicated what would have +been the result had the bleeding been delayed much longer. +</p> + +<p> +Greatly relieved by the removal of the oppressive weight, the +unhappy ensign opened his eyes, and became sensible of objects, +but it was only that consciousness might render him even more keenly +alive to the horror of his position. Each article of furniture and +dress around the room brought increased desolation to his heart. +There was the harp Maria was wont to touch with such exquisite +grace. There was the dress she had thrown off to assume her riding +habit—for it will be recollected that the officers of that post +had no gilded suites of apartments at their command, but barely a +couple of barrack rooms for the married men, and one for the single. +Now a shoe caught his eye, now a glove, a hat, a slipper, her +dressing-case; even the tiny thimble with which she had worked the +linen upon his back; each and all of these, endearing yet painful +to the sight from the recollections they brought up, he glanced at +alternately, until his feelings were so wrought upon that he was +almost frantic. +</p> + +<p> +“Take those things away!” he cried, starting up and pointing to +them; “I cannot endure the sight. They will kill me—ay, worse than +kill—tear my heart-strings with slow agony. Ah! dear Mrs. +Headley—Mrs. Elmsley—both of you, who loved Maria so well—can +you not understand the pangs I suffer! Yesterday I could have defied +the world in the vain pride of my happiness and strength; to-day +I feel that I am more wretched than the slave that tugs at his +chain—more feeble than a child. Would to heaven that I could die +within this hour! Oh, God! oh, God! oh, God! how shall I endure +this!” +</p> + +<p> +He turned on his side, buried his face in the pillow, and sobbed +and wept, until every one around had caught the deep infection of +his profound suffering. The lips of Corporal Collins, as he stood +stiff in his military attitude, were closely compressed, and his +brow was contracted. A sympathy, traceable on each quivering muscle, +was evidently struggling for mastery, and he turned abruptly round. +Had others taken time from their own sorrow to watch his next +movement, they might have seen him raise his hand to his lips, and +drain deeply from a flask he had taken from the bosom of his uniform. +Mrs. Elmsley, with her face buried in her hands, leaned against +one of the foot-posts of the bed; and Mrs. Headley—the majestic +Mrs. Headley, with more complex feelings at her heart than actuated +the others—knelt at the head of the bed, laid her hand upon the +shoulder of the patient, and conjured him, in tones that marked +her own deep sorrow, to bear the trial like a man, and not destroy +himself by unavailing grief. Yet, even as she spoke, the tears fell +copiously upon the bed. +</p> + +<p> +“Mrs. Headley,” said Von Voltenberg, who afterwards admitted that, +in the whole course of his practice, he had never been similarly +touched, “do not check him. Let him give full vent to this emotion, +for painful as it now is, both to himself and to us who witness +it, this outburst once exhausted, the crisis once past, there will +be less fear of a return. See, already the paroxysm is weaker—he +is more calm—both mind and body are worn out, and if he can but +sleep for a few hours, although he may perhaps awaken to more acute +sorrow, no danger to his life need be apprehended.” +</p> + +<p> +Notwithstanding this remark was made in little more than a whisper, +it was distinctly heard by the sufferer. Suddenly starting up again +in his bed, he turned quickly round to the surgeon, and said, in +a tone of reproach— +</p> + +<p> +“And is this all the consolation you have to offer me? What! tell +me that I shall awaken to keener pain than that which now racks my +being, and drag on a miserable life! Of what value that life to +me? But stay, my mind is not yet itself, or how is it that I have +not yet questioned you about my wife! Dear Von Voltenberg!” and he +threw the hand of the recently-punctured arm upon the shoulder of +the surgeon, “what news have you of Maria? Tell me of her safety +say that you have rescued her and that I shall see her again, and +I will for ever bless the voice that saves me from despair. Oh, +Von Voltenberg! speak, speak! surely you could never have had the +baseness to desert her. How were you taken? how have you escaped? +and why alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“Poor Ronayne! would to God that I could give you consolation; but, +alas! I cannot. She fell into the hands of the Indians before I +did, and I saw her borne rapidly to the rear of the farm-house; me +they took to the road where you saw me. From that moment I +never once beheld her; but reassure yourself, all may yet be well. +True, she is a prisoner, but I apprehend no violence, for the +Indians offered none to myself, and I thought that they showed +unaccountable moderation to you, never firing a shot when you had +so completely baffled them in the chase. It was that which gave me +confidence to attempt my own escape, when I saw them all pressing +forward to secure you, leaving me altogether unguarded. But we will +speak of this no more to-night. You must sleep, Ronayne, if you +would have strength to enter upon action to-morrow. From the +appearance of their encampment, not twenty paces in rear of the +spot where you beheld me, I have reason to think that it has been +established there many days, and that Mrs. Ronayne may yet be +rescued, for the party of Indians does not exceed five-and-twenty +men. What they want is, doubtless, ransom, a few blankets or guns.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! say you so; bless you for that!” continued the Virginian, +eagerly; “yes, I will be calm—seek rest to restore me for the +morning; I will see Captain Headley, and entreat him to let me take +out a detachment. Oh! he will not refuse me. Do you think he will, +Mrs. Headley? Surely you will plead for me. I know twenty brave +fellows who will cheerfully volunteer for the duty.” +</p> + +<p> +“Alas!” said Mrs. Headley, with a deep despondency at her heart, +“I fear I can give you no encouragement there, Ronayne; I am quite +satisfied, indeed, that Headley will not suffer a man to leave the +fort at this crisis.” +</p> + +<p> +“Crisis! what crisis!” interrupted the youth vehemently. “Obdurate +man, has the past not cured him of his martinetism? By heaven, let +him refuse me, and I, alone and without permission, will go in +search of my wife. Fool, fool that I was to return now without +her; but I had hoped she was here;” and again he burst into another +wild agony of grief. +</p> + +<p> +Corporal Collins touched his cap and advanced a pace forward. +</p> + +<p> +“The Captain said this afternoon that the next time your honor left +the fort you should never return to it. I thought it was my duty, +your honor, to tell you, for I couldn't make out what he meant.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! he did, did he?” muttered Ronayne, with sudden calm. “Well, +be it so!” +</p> + +<p> +“Corporal Collins,” said Mrs. Headley sternly to him, as she arose +from her kneeling posture, “you would have done better to have held +your peace on a matter which you say you do not comprehend. Mr. +Ronayne has annoyance sufficient without your misinterpreting to +him an observation of his commanding officer, which, in all +probability, was made in any other spirit than that which your +words would convey.” +</p> + +<p> +The corporal made a respectful obeisance and withdrew into the +corridor, rebuked. +</p> + +<p> +“Ronayne,” pursued Mrs. Headley, “I can make all allowance for your +excited feelings. I will speak to Headley on the matter; and, +although I cannot hold out to you any hope that he either will even +acknowledge the necessity, much less take the action you desire, +I feel perfectly assured that, when you have heard his reasons, +you will agree with us both that it would neither be of avail nor +politic to take a step of this kind for the recovery of her whom +we all deplore—God knows, no one more bitterly than myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mrs. Headley, you surprise me; I can scarcely believe that I +understand you rightly. I had always thought your feelings towards +Maria were those of a mother for her child?” +</p> + +<p> +“Even so, Ronayne. You judged them rightly. As a mother I have +loved, and love her still; but we will talk of all this to-morrow +morning, and I leave you now to the quiet, if rest is not to be +hoped for, that you so much require; for Headley needs all his +officers in important council to-morrow, prior to holding a second +immediately after with our Indian allies. Nay,” seeing that all +present looked surprised, and a desire to know wherefore, “it were +idle to enter upon the subject now; sufficient be it to know that +it is one of the deepest importance, and that, even should you be +carried there in a litter, Ronayne—but God forbid the necessity! +—you must be present.” +</p> + +<p> +“At what hour does that council assemble, Mrs. Headley?” asked the +ensign. +</p> + +<p> +“At midday, I believe. Winnebeg has been desired to bring the chiefs +to the glacis, between the flagstaff and the southern block-house, +at two o'clock precisely.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! Winnebeg returned?” exclaimed Ronayne, as he impetuously +rose in his bed. “Ah, then there is hope. He will aid me in my +enterprise. And what of Wau-nan-gee? Is he, too, here, Mrs. Headley? +Yes, he must be. Oh, this is indeed providential! I shall rise with +the dawn, and seek them both. Everything can be accomplished, if +at all, before the hour of our own council arrives.” +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Headley cast a look of profound sadness on him, as, taking +his hot hand in hers, she said— +</p> + +<p> +“Wau-nan-gee did not come with Winnebeg, Ronayne; but there is +reason to believe that he is not far from the camp of the +Pottowatomies, for he was seen yesterday. Yet he will not aid you +in your proposed enterprise.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Mrs. Headley, you do him wrong—indeed you do. Wau-nan-gee +loves Maria too well not to risk his life for her. You little know +the strength of his generous attachment, if you doubt his interest +in her preservation.” +</p> + +<p> +“I know, that his love for her is great—perhaps too much so,” she +replied, emphatically, after a moment's pause, while bending over +to adjust his pillow, and in a voice so subdued as to be inaudible +to all but himself. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> + +<p> +Ronayne's pale cheek became suddenly scarlet. He perceived from +the tone and look that accompanied the words that suspicion of some +kind, whence derived he knew not, had entered into the mind of Mrs. +Headley, and that she saw in the regard of the young Indian for +his wife, evidence of a prepossession which might prove dangerous +to his peace. But this, to a mind generous and impetuous as that +of the highly-gifted officer, brought no alarm. Conscious of the +entire possession of the heart and confidence of his wife, it was +a source of speculative pride, rather than of concern to him, +that the warm-hearted and inartificial Indian, at once brave, +boy-like, and handsome, should, with a cheek glowing, and an eye +beaming with overweening softness, feel and betray all the power +of her beauty when exposed to the influence of its presence. It +was a compliment to himself—to his own taste and judgment, and, +had this been possible, would have increased his love for her on +whom nature, hand in hand with the graces, had lavished such +adornments of disposition and person as to compel a homage which +rarely came to woman from such a quarter. The love of Wau-nan-gee +had been known to both, but it had always been regarded as the +innocent and enthusiastic preference of the boy who had scarcely +yet learned to comprehend the new and strange emotion struggling +for development at his heart. It had often been the topic of their +conversation; and many a smile, half crimsoning into a blush, had +Ronayne called up to the brow of his young wife, while playfully +adverting to the equal right to invest her with the marriage ring, +which he had so eagerly manifested on the evening of their union. +And, if he had shown a humor on that occasion which displeased or +hurt the Indian it was not from any unworthy jealousy of the act +he had sought to perform, but because he was ashamed of his own +awkwardness, exhibited on such an occasion and in presence of his +bride. Since that night Wau-nan-gee had disappeared, and both by +the husband and wife had his absence been deeply regretted, for +they both loved the youth, not only for the services he had rendered, +but the interest his gentleness of deportment and retiring modesty +had inspired. +</p> + +<p> +If, therefore, he changed color at the remark of Mrs. Headley, it +was not because a guilty passion was hinted at as influencing the +boy, or because, even if it did, that he much heeded it, but because +he thought it was meant to suggest that the danger would come from +the tenderness of her who had inspired it. For the moment he felt +mortified at the possibility of such an idea being entertained, +and, had Mrs. Headley made the remark she did, except In his own +ear, Ronayne would have expressed himself accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +“He cannot love her too well,” was his reply; “oh, no, that is my +chief hope. Think you that I should be calm as I am, did I not, +now that I know he is returned, feel assured that his strong yet +pure attachment for her will cause him to head a strong band for +her rescue? I am better now—I am determined to be better; for at +the first dawn I will go forth and seek Wau-nan-gee. We shall not +be five hours away; and, long before the council assembles, we +shall again, I am confident, be re-united. Ah, what a long night +until then! would that it were dawn!” +</p> + +<p> +“That were of no use,” returned Mrs. Headley, gravely and aloud. +“I know that the strictest orders were issued immediately after +your return, to allow neither officer nor man to leave the fort, +unless passed by Headley himself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Or I shall never return, I suppose,” muttered the Virginian +bitterly; “well, we shall see;” and he ground his teeth together +fiercely. +</p> + +<p> +“Ronayne,” said Mrs. Headley, “spare your bitterness. You will know +to-morrow what Headley meant by his remark; yet promise me one +thing before I leave you, that before you seek to leave the fort, +you will see me in the morning, in my apartments. If, then, I fail +to satisfy you of the reasons which exist against your entertaining +any hopes of success in the enterprise you meditate, I think I may +venture to say that I shall obtain of not to oppose you. But, +stay! on consideration, it will be better that what I have to urge +should be said at once. This is no time or occasion for mere forms +or ceremonies. There is too much at stake. I shall leave you now, +and return, alone, in little more than an hour. You will dismiss +Collins for the night, desiring him to close the door—not fasten +it, so that I may make no noise—find no difficulty in entering. +Better that you give vent to your feelings here, in the privacy of +your own room, than reveal by your excitement to others that which +should be known only to ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good heaven! what can all this mean? what can it portend?” exclaimed +the startled officer. +</p> + +<p> +“Prepare yourself for no pleasant communication, Ronayne,” continued +Mrs. Headley, sadly; “I must wound, yet I trust but to heal; one +point I would have you question Von Voltenberg on before I go—the +manner in which Maria fell into the hands of the Indians.” +</p> + +<p> +During this short and low conversation, Mrs. Elmsley and Von +Voltenberg had been talking aside on the same subject, the former +continuing to weep quietly but bitterly for the loss of her friend. +Ronayne now questioned the surgeon in regard to the cause of the +suddenness of their departure from the point where he had dismounted +to procure water. +</p> + +<p> +Von Voltenberg replied that he scarcely knew himself, but his own +impression was that Mrs. Ronayne had started off her horse the +moment the shots were fired—he supposed in the very exaggerated +spirit of wantonness which had marked her actions ever since leaving +the fort. He had mechanically followed in courtesy, and the result +was as has been seen—her sudden captivity by the war party, who +had hurried her off, almost unresistingly, he knew not whither, +while he himself was taken in the direction in which Ronayne had +seen him. +</p> + +<p> +“Did she scream—did she express alarm when taken?” asked Mrs. +Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“No; I cannot say that she did,” returned the Doctor, somewhat +surprised, and not comprehending the motive for the question; “but +you know Mrs. Ronayne is a woman of great nerve and presence of +mind. Moreover, as the thing was done in a moment, she must have +been too greatly astonished to understand her danger, for she came +abruptly on the Indians on turning the sharp angle of the road +leading up to the house.” +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Headley's eyes met those of Ronayne with grave meaning. He +seemed to understand her, and when, with Mrs. Elmsley, she had +departed, he threw himself back upon his pillow, and, closing his +eyes, mused deeply. To the inquiry of Von Voltenberg, he replied +that, feeling disposed to rest a little, he would not trouble him +to sit up longer, but begged him to retire and to send Collins to +his barrack-room, leaving his door on the latch, in case he should +be summoned by the commanding officer for any purpose before morning. +</p> + +<p> +As Mrs. Headley separated for the night from Mrs. Elmsley, and +approached her own door, a man in uniform came up, touched his cap +respectfully, and presented a packet. +</p> + +<p> +“This parcel, Mrs. Headley, I received from Mrs. Ronayne on leaving +the fort this afternoon, with the direction that I should hand it +to you if she did not return by midnight. Alas! ma'am, we have +every reason to fear the dear lady will never return; twelve +o'clock has just struck, and I am come to fulfil my trust.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you, Serjeant Nixon. As you say, I fear there is little hope +of Mrs. Ronayne returning; but this package may possibly throw some +light on the cause of her absence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I hope so; yet how Should it, ma'am? she could not have known +what was going to happen when she went out.” +</p> + +<p> +“No—true, Nixon, you are right. I suppose it contains something +that she has borrowed, or that I have asked her for. Ah! I recollect +now—it is some embroidery she worked for me. Good night, serjeant; +or do you wish to see Captain Headley?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, ma'am, I only came to deliver the package which Mrs. Ronayne +seemed so anxious you should get to-night.” +</p> + +<p> +“There was no such very great hurry about it,” returned Mrs. Headley, +carelessly, yet not without agitation; “I would to heaven she had +been here to give it to me herself!” +</p> + +<p> +“Amen!” solemnly returned the serjeant; “I would willingly lose my +left arm, could I see her sweet face in Fort Dearborn again.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good night, Nixon,” said Mrs. Headley, quickly and much affected; +“you are a noble fellow!” and she took and warmly pressed his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Mrs. Headley, that is the way Mrs. Ronayne pressed my hand +after she had placed the packet in it, and obtained my assurance +that her directions should be punctually obeyed. I shall ever feel +that pressure—see the look of kindness that accompanied it. I +prayed inwardly to God, as I stood gazing on her while she rode +gracefully away, to shower all His choicest blessings on her.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good Nixon, no more;” and Mrs. Headley was in the next minute at +the side of her husband, who, with deep care on his brow, sat at +a table buried in papers, and with the despatch of General Hull in +his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, my dear, have you seen him—and how does he bear his +affliction?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Headley, I pity him from my inmost soul—pity him for what he +now suffers; and, oh! how much more for the greater agony he has +yet to endure!” +</p> + +<p> +“You have not yet, then, told him?” +</p> + +<p> +“No! Mrs. Elmsley and Von Voltenberg were there; and even the former +must not know the secret. Let all mourn her as one lost to us for, +ever, but not through her own fault. Let them continue to believe +that she has been violently torn from us, not that she has proved +unfaithful to her husband, ungrateful to her friends.” +</p> + +<p> +“Think you not, Ellen, that it would be better to continue Ronayne +in the same belief? As you have not opened the subject to him, it +is not too late to alter your first intention.” +</p> + +<p> +“Dear Headley, Ronayne must know all. In no other way can the wound +at his heart be healed. I comprehend his noble, generous character +well. Such is his love for Maria, that he will never recover the +shock of her loss while he believes her to have been unwillingly +torn from him. He will pine until he sickens and dies, and, indeed, +unless the whole truth be told to him, he will find some means of +leaving the fort in search of her; indeed he has said he will—that +nothing shall prevent him; and, alas, if he does, it will be +with but little disposition to return without her. Now, I know that +if his love be great, his pride and proper self-esteem are not less +so, and feel assured that however acute his first agony, he, will +dry up the fountain of his grief, from the moment that he learns +that her love for himself has been transferred to another; that, +carried away by a strange and seductive fascination, she has +abandoned him for an uneducated boy. His pride, even if it do not +make him forget her, will so balance with his now unrequited +affection, as to enable him to bear himself up, until time shall +have robbed the wound of all its bitterness, and nothing remain +but the scar. You will, moreover, have an efficient officer preserved +to you, and one whose services may be much required in the present +crisis—whose voice in the council will not be without its weight, +and whose arm and example will help to instil confidence in the +men, with all of whom he is a marked favorite.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are right, Ellen, if all that you suppose be true; better that +the wound should be enlarged to insure its speedier cure, than that +the laceration, though less acute, should be continued. But is it +not necessary to be well assured of this? Should you not have +stronger ground than what you witnessed yesterday to justify the +belief that this excursion was planned to insure the result that +has followed?” +</p> + +<p> +“Depend upon it, Headley, I will not do so, for you know I am not +disposed to 'aught extenuate or aught set down in malice,' but I +have already prepared Ronayne, indirectly, to expect some singular +relation in which Maria is concerned. I wanted him to form some +idea of the nature of the revelation I had to make, in order that +the shock might not be so great, when I fully entered upon the +subject, I had at first intended that he should come to me in the +morning, but, on reflection, I thought it better that everything +should be told to him to-night where he is, and therefore stated, +on leaving, that I would return within an hour. Was I right, my +love?” and she took and pressed his hand to her lips. +</p> + +<p> +“Always right, dear Ellen—always considerate and prudent. Yes, +poor fellow, it were cruel to let him slumber in hope, however +faint, only to wake to confirmed despair in the morning. Besides +there may be, most probably will be, a wild outbreak of his passionate +grief, and that, manifested here where the servants cannot fail to +hear him, may induce suspicions of the true cause that must never +be entertained. No, whatever we know, however we may deplore the +weakness—the infatuation of that once noble girl, within our own +hearts must remain her unfortunate secret.” +</p> + +<p> +“Generously, nobly said, my husband. Were I not certain that it +would destroy, wither up the very soul of Ronayne to keep him in +uncertainty and ignorance, I would not rend the veil from before +his eyes; but it must be so, even for his own future peace. Besides +me, therefore, for he will not know that I have entrusted you with +the fact, none in the garrison will be aware of the truth, and +Ronayne will at least not have to feel the mortification—the +bitterness arising from the conviction that his wife is mourned by +his comrades, with aught of diminution of that respect they had +ever borne to her.” +</p> + +<p> +“How annoying is this occurrence at this particular moment,” observed +Captain Headley, musingly pressing his hand to his brow, “and how +unfortunate. Had Winnebeg brought General Hull's despatch one day +sooner, all this would not have happened, for they never could have +obtained permission to leave the fort, much less to visit so +dangerous a vicinity as Hardscrabble. Our march from this would +have changed the whole current of events.” +</p> + +<p> +“Even so,” returned Mrs. Headley; “but here is a packet, left with +Serjeant Nixon, which he has just handed to me, and which may throw +some light on the subject. I will first glance over it myself.” +</p> + +<p> +She broke the seal—hurriedly read it—and then passed it to her +husband, whose utter dismay, as he exchanged looks of deep and +painful intelligence with her, after perusing the letter, was +scarcely inferior to her own. +</p> + +<p> +“This is evidence indeed!” he murmured. “Who could have expected it?” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“Grief is proud, and makes its owner stout.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>King John</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +It was nearly one o'clock in the morning when Mrs. Headley, wrapped +in her husband's loose military cloak and forage cap, once more +approached the apartment of Ronayne, situated at the inner extremity +of the low range of buildings inhabited by herself. This disguise +had been assumed, not because she felt ashamed of the errand on +which she was bound, but because she did not wish to provoke +curiosity or remark, in the event of her encountering, while going +or returning, any of the reliefs or patrols, which she knew orders +had been given, for the first time that night, to have changed +every half hour. In the extreme darkness of the night, the difference +of her height could scarcely be distinguished from that of her +husband, and it was not likely that any one would address the +supposed commanding officer, whom all would assume anxious in regard +to the health of his subordinate, and on his way to ascertain the +extent of his malady. +</p> + +<p> +The lights were burning dimly in the apartment. There was a window +on each side of the door, and the farthest of these she fancied +she saw shaded by a human form from without. She stopped suddenly, +and kept her eyes riveted on the object, holding in her breath that +she might not betray her presence. Presently the shadow was removed +from the window, and lost altogether to her sight. A movement of +the light now made within was reflected on the figure of Ronayne, +who, with a candle in his hand, seemed to be approaching the door. +He was still dressed as he had thrown himself on his bed, on +entering, in the deerskin hunting-frock he had worn during the day, +and his temples were bound with a blue-bordered scarlet bandanna +handkerchief—for he had ever loathed the abomination of a nightcap +as being symbolical of the gibbet. As he came nearer to the window, +the light which he bore reflected distinctly without and upon an +Indian standing in the doorway, similarly habited, even to the very +turban. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Headley felt that she could not be mistaken in the figure, +but if any doubt had existed, it would have been dissipated when +involuntarily calling out, and in a tone meant to imitate the +harsher voice of her husband, the name of Wau-nan-gee, the +face was wildly turned in the broad light to penetrate the darkness +which half enshrouded her from view, and the features of the boy +distinctly revealed. Surprised, but armed with strong resolution, +she made a rapid forward movement to seize and detain him, knowing +well that Ronayne, at the sound of voices, would come forth at once +to her assistance; but the Indian, without uttering a sound, stole +rapidly away towards the picketing in the distance, and was seen +no more. +</p> + +<p> +As Mrs. Headley now approached the door, it was opened by Ronayne, +who apologised to her for not having sooner attended to her knock, +but declared it to be so low that he had not distinctly heard it. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay,” she replied, when she had entered and taken a seat, “I did +not knock, nor had I intended to knock; I have disturbed another +midnight visitor.” +</p> + +<p> +“Another visitor! To whom do you allude, my dear Mrs. Headley? I +must have deceived myself, or surely I heard, soon after I had +risen from my couch, the name of Wau-nan-gee.” +</p> + +<p> +“You did not deceive yourself,” she returned, gravely; “I saw +Wau-nan-gee at the threshold of your door as plainly as I see you, +and habited in the same manner. I called to him, but he fled.” +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible!” said the anxious officer; “wherefore should he flee +after knocking for admission? What motive could he have in coming? +and how could he obtain admission unperceived? I have no doubt that +fatigue and excitement and the lateness of the hour have tended to +call up this vision. Would that you could make it real.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ronayne,” repeated Mrs. Headley, gravely, “you well know that I +am not given much to imagine that which is not. Even to the very +handkerchief you have on your head, his dress was identical, was +Wau-nan-gee's; and I well recollect the occasion when, at the +distribution of the annual presents to the Indians, you appropriated +that handkerchief to yourself, because, as you said, Wau-nan-gee +had manifested so much good taste in choosing one like it.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, my dear Mrs. Headley,” returned the officer with gravity, +while, after closing the shutters, he took a seat at her side, “you +must pardon me if the very fact of the resemblance in dress only +increases my conviction of the illusion. In all probability, it +was my shadow that you saw reflected by the strong light upon the +glass upper half of the door.” +</p> + +<p> +“As you please, Ronayne; but, for my own part, I have not the +slightest doubt on the subject. You ask how he could get here? +Even, as you will remember, you once made an evasion from the +fort—well intended, I grant, but still an evasion from the fort—over +the picketing of the fort. But the matter would not be of so much +consequence at any other time. At present, it is connected with +much that I have to reveal; but how so connected, I cannot even +fancy myself. Ronayne,” she continued, taking his hand and pressing +it in her own, “disabuse yourself of the idea that Wau-nan-gee, +whatever he may have been, is now your friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wau-nan-gee not my friend?” returned the officer, sadly. “Well, +I was prepared in some degree to hear the assertion, Mrs. Headley, +our conversation an hour since being well calculated to make me +revolve the subject in my mind during your short absence, and I +have done so. When you mentioned a moment ago that Wau-nan-gee +had been at this door, seeking for admission, I felt confident that +you had done him great wrong; but now, I confess, since you so +positively assert his presence and sudden evasion, I am led to +apprehend, I know not what. Speak; let me hear it all,” he concluded, +with bitterness. +</p> + +<p> +“Ronayne, my almost son,” she said, leaning her arm affectionately +on his shoulder, “it was with the view that suspicion should be +excited in your mind by my language that I stated what I did. I +did not wish the truth to burst upon you with annihilating suddenness, +and therefore sought to prepare you for the blow I am destined to +inflict.” +</p> + +<p> +“And that is—” he said, with stern and furrowed brow, a pallid +cheek, and compressed lip. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Ronayne, I like not that tone and manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“Proceed, Mrs. Headley, pray proceed; I am ready to hear all. Whence +this sorrow so much keener than that I now endure, and how is it +connected with Wau-nan-gee!” +</p> + +<p> +“Has it never occurred to you to connect the one with the other?” +she observed, in low and uncertain accents. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! is it that?” he exclaimed, vehemently starting and hurriedly +pacing the apartment. “It is then even as your words had led me to +infer. Still, I would not approach the subject myself. I waited +for something more direct from your lips. You have uttered it, and +I am now prepared to hear all. But, Mrs. Headley, mark me, be well +assured of all you say; let not mere appearances be the groundwork +of your suspicions, or you destroy two generous hearts for ever; +but,” he resumed more calmly, yet with a look of fierce determination, +as he once more seated himself at her side, “although the love I +bear Maria is deeper far than man ever bore for woman, assure me +that it is not returned, that this soft—eyed boy, with Indian +guile, has stolen the love in which I lived, and then I tear her +from my heart for ever. Think me no mere puling fawnster, craving +a love that is not freely given. As the passion that I feel is +fire, hot as the Virginian sun that nurtured me, so will it become +ice the moment it ceases to be fed by that which first enkindled +it. Yes,” he continued, bitterly, “I could tear my heart out if in +its weakness it could pine for one, however once endeared, who had +ceased to respond to all its devotedness and worship. I might think +of her, but only to sustain my wounded spirit. Contempt and scorn +for her fickleness, not love—base and grovelling love—should ever +be associated with her image, when undesiredly it arose to my +repelling memory. But oh, God!” he exclaimed, bowing his head upon +hand, and yielding to his deep emotion, “is it possible that this +can be! Can it be that I should ever speak and think of Maria thus! +Oh, whence this too great affliction! why this separation of soul +from soul! this rending asunder of the mystic bond that once united +us! But stop!” and he raised his head, the hot and inflaming tears +still gathering in his eyes, “she cannot surely thus have acted, +and yet—and yet—oh! Mrs. Headley, if you knew the desolation of +my heart, you would pity me. It is crushed, crushed!” +</p> + +<p> +During this painful ebullition of contradictory feeling, in which +pride and love combated fiercely for the ascendency, Mrs. Headley +had been deeply affected; but feeling the necessity for going +through the task she had imposed upon herself, she strove as much +as possible to appear calm and collected, even severe. His +last appeal brought tears from her own eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed, indeed, Ronayne,” she exclaimed, pressing his hand fervently +between her palms, “I do pity you, I do sympathize with you, even +as a mother, in the desolation of your heavily-stricken heart. I +had dreaded this emotion, and only my strong regard for yourself +gave me strength to undertake the infliction of the counter wound, +which I knew alone could preserve you from utter misery and despair; +and yet, if you would cherish the illusion, if you would not that +the stern reality should sear up each avenue to hope, to each +sweeter recollection of the past, I will, if you desire it, abstain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, not so, Mrs. Headley,” replied the unhappy officer; “you are +very cruel, but I know you mean it well; proceed—let me be told +all. The stronger your recital, the more confirmatory of the utter +destruction of my dreams of happiness, and the better for myself. +I have already said that scorn and contempt alone can dwell in my +heart, if that which I surmise you are about to relate be but found +to be true. I am ready for the torture—begin!” and, as if with +a dogged determination to hear, and suffer while he heard, he leaned +his elbow on the back of his chair, and covered his eyes with his +hand. +</p> + +<p> +The recital need not be repeated here. All that had occurred on +the preceding day, and that which is already known to the reader, +Mrs. Headley now communicated, adding that she had been undecided +in her opinion on the subject, until the answer to the question +put to Von Voltenberg convinced her that the whole thing had been +planned, and that she had willingly thrown herself into the power +of Wau-nan-gee. The few guns, she concluded, were evidently a signal +of which she availed herself by instantly galloping off, while +Ronayne was yet at some distance from her, and unhorsed. +</p> + +<p> +Prepared as the unhappy officer had been for intelligence involving +this mysterious change of affection in his wife, he was utterly +dismayed when Mrs. Headley recounted what she had witnessed in the +summer-house, to which she had voluntarily gone, and from which +she probably never would have returned had not accident disclosed +the secret of the trap—door. +</p> + +<p> +“This is, indeed, a terrible blow!” he said, solemnly, removing +his hand and exhibiting a pale cheek and lip, and a stern and +knitted brow; “but now I know the worst, I better can bear the +infliction. Strange, I almost hate myself for it; but I feel my +heart relieved. I know I am no longer cared for there, and wherefore +seek to force an erring woman to my will? And yet, when I think of +it, of the monstrous love that weds rich intellect and gorgeous +beauty to the mere blushing bud of scarce conscious boyhood, I feel +as one utterly bewildered. Still, again, since that love be hers, +since she may not control the passion that urges her to her fate, +so unselfish am I in my feeling, even amid all the weight of my +disappointment, that rather would I have her free and happy in the +love she has exchanged, than know her pining in endless captivity, +separated from and consumed with vain desire for a reunion with +myself—her love for me unquenched and unquenchable.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! what a husband has she not lost! Generous, noble Ronayne, that +is what I had expected. You bear this bravely; I knew you would, +or never should I have dared to enter upon the matter. But +your generosity must go further; it must never be known that Maria +has gone off willingly—no doubt must be entertained of her +continued love for you. She must still be respected, even as she +is pitied and deplored; the belief that she has been made captive +and carried off must not be shaken.” +</p> + +<p> +“The struggle at her heart must indeed have been great before she +fell,” remarked Ronayne, musingly, and with an air of profound +sadness; “for although her appearance in the rude vault beneath +the floor of the summer-house would appear to indicate compulsion, +her after conduct justifies not the belief. The imploring earnestness +with which she entreated you, Mrs. Headley, not to make known what +you had seen to me; her abstaining from all censure of Wau-nan-gee +at the moment, and her subsequent interest in him, too forcible to +be concealed; her strange and unaccountable manner during our ride, +as if to banish some gnawing reproach at her heart; her galloping +off when freed for the moment from my presence, and at the evident +signal given to announce that everything was prepared for her +reception; the appearance of her trunks in the farm-house, evidently, +I am now convinced, taken there within a day or two; the pretended +desire of the Indians, friends of Wau-nan-gee, to make me a prisoner, +and thus induce in me the belief that such was her fate. Oh! yes,” +he continued, rising and pacing the room rapidly, “I can see through +the whole plot. His party were Pottowatomies, painted as warriors +of a distant tribe, that suspicion might be averted from themselves. +Their object was not to make either Von Voltenberg or myself +prisoners, but merely to give such evidence of hostility as to +cause us to believe they were enemies. Oh, what sin, what artifice +for a woman once so ingenious, a boy so young! But now I am assured +of all this, I am better—I am better. Some sudden inspiration has +flashed the truth upon me, that I might, find that relief which a +knowledge of her unfaithfulness alone can render me.” +</p> + +<p> +“It must have been even so,” rejoined Mrs. Headley; “for, certainly, +the fact of yourself and Von Voltenberg being allowed to escape by +hostile Indians, who could so easily have shot you down, or taken +you prisoners, had they been really so inclined, appears to me to +be incredible.” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet, if it was planned,” pursued Ronayne thoughtfully, “what +opportunity of communication had they to arrange their measures? +Wau-nan-gee has, we know, long been absent for weeks, or certainly +not once within the fort.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ronayne,” said Mrs. Headley, significantly, “I speak to you of +these things freely as to one so much younger than myself. Have I +not just said that I saw Wau-nan-gee most distinctly at your door +as I entered—nobody but ourselves know that he has got in, much +less in what manner.” +</p> + +<p> +“I understand you, my dear Mrs. Headley; you would infer that he +has stolen in at some obscure part of the fort, and under cover of +the darkness; but even if so, am I not always at home?” +</p> + +<p> +“Never on guard, Ronayne; or am I mistaken,” she added with a faint +smile, “in supposing that the officer on duty passes the night with +his men?” +</p> + +<p> +“By heaven it is so,” returned the Virginian vehemently, and striking +his brow with his open palm, “this intimacy is of long standing. +Though pretending absence, Wau-nan-gee has been ever present. My +guard nights have been selected for those interviews. The +poison of his young love has been infused into the willing woman's +ear and heart, and now that I recollect it, often on my return home +have I seen her, pale, dejected, and full of thought—he has +entreated her to fly with him—to suffer him to be the sole, the +undivided sharer of her love—she has hesitated, struggled, and +finally consented. By the same means by which his entrance has been +effected, the trunks of Hardscrabble have been removed, and all +was prepared for her evasion yesterday, had she not been baffled +in her object by your sudden appearance. Oh, I see it all!” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> + +<p> +“Ronayne, Ronayne!” resumed Mrs. Headley, after the strong excitement +of her feeling had been in some measure calmed, “how rapidly you +arrive at conclusions. Much of what you say is probable—for your +sake, I would it were all so, but let us be guided in our judgment +by circumstances and facts alone. If it had at first been arranged +that the plan adopted with such success to-day, why the visit to, +and detention in, the vault of the summer-house where every +preparation had been made for a long concealment?” +</p> + +<p> +“That,” replied Ronayne, “is a mystery which time alone can unravel. +I confess that it involves a contradiction susceptible of explanation +only by themselves. This, in all human probability we shall never +know; but then, again, forgive me, Mrs. Headley, for thus detaining +you with any selfish interests, but your voice, your counsel, your +very knowledge of the facts—all breathe peace to my wounded spirit; +but, I ask again, why the scream she gave—why the emotion, the +grief, she evinced when, on opening the trap-door, you saw her +reclining exhausted on that rude couch? I would reason the matter +so as to convince myself <i>thoroughly</i> that her flight has been her +own wilful act, for then I shall the less regret, even though I +should not be able to banish her image wholly from my mind. You +have said that you saw Wau-nan-gee leave the summer-house with an +excitement in his eye and manner you had never witnessed before, +and that this corresponded with the state in which you found Maria +a few moments later. Now, is it probable that if she had purposed +anything wrong she would have asked you to accompany her, or that +she should have asked you to wait for her, while visiting a spot +whence she knew she never would return? Oh, no! this could never +be. Her mode of evasion, if such had been intended, would have been +very different; she would have chosen a moment when you were in +some distant part of the garden, and saw her not, to steal into +the summer-house. All clue, then, would have been lost, and the +appearance of the Indians lurking about the cottage would naturally +have impressed you with the belief that she had been carried off +by them. How were they dressed?” +</p> + +<p> +“Even as you have described the party that pursued, or affected to +pursue you yesterday,” exclaimed Mrs. Headley, “in the war paint +of the Winnebagoes. I know it well, for their chiefs have often +been in council here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just so,” pursued Ronayne. “Is it not then reasonable to +suppose—mark, I do not weakly seek to justify the wrong which +but too certainly exists, but I would dissect each circumstance +until the truth be known—is it not, I repeat, reasonable to suppose +that, even if Maria wanted an evidence of her abduction, she would +have gone towards the cottage rather than the summer-house. It +would have been easy enough then for the Indians who, I have no +doubt, were the same party I encountered at Hardscrabble, to have +carried her off before any assistance could arrive from the fort. +On the contrary, she was certain of discovery in the summer-house +into which she had been seen to enter, and every part of which she +would have known would have been most strictly searched. Wherefore, +too, the object in keeping her confined, as it were, in a dungeon, +when the free air was open to her, and the boundless wilderness +offered health and freedom?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have thought of all that, Ronayne,” replied Mrs. Headley, “and +I cannot but suppose that this retreat was a temporary one. In all +probability, when Wau-nan-gee issued from the summer-house, he was +in the act of proceeding to make his preparations for finishing +the work just begun, but seeing that I had not yet left the grounds, +waited to know what my movements would be before he took any farther +step. My stationing the boat's crew before the gate, where they +could command the whole of the view between the cottage and the +summer-house, acted as a check upon them, and little dreaming, I +presume, that I had discovered the trap-door, they had intended, +on my departure across the river, to avail themselves of my absence, +and bear her off into the forest. As for the deep grief which I +witnessed on entering the summer-house, that may easily be accounted +for. A woman of refinement, education, and generous susceptibility, +however unhappily carried away she may be by a resistless, and, in +her view, fated passion, does not without a pang tear herself from +old associations to enter upon new, especially where they are of +an inferior character. She may mourn her weakness even at the moment +she most yields to it. One dominant thought may fill her soul—one +master sentiment influence all her actions, and govern the pulsations +of her heart, but that does not exclude the workings of other and +nobler emotions of the mind. Even when she feels herself most +tyrannized over by the passion, the infatuation, the destiny against +which she finds it vain to struggle, sorrow for her altered position +will intrude itself, and then is her heart strengthened and her +mind consoled only by the reflection that the sacrifice was +indispensable to the attainment of that, without which, in the +strong excitement of her imagination, she deems life valueless. +Charity should induce us to believe that it is, what I have already +termed it, a disease, for on no other principle can we account for +that aberration of the passions, the intellect and the judgment +which can lead such a woman to forget that mind chiefly gives value +to love, and to sacrifice all that is esteemed most honorable in +the sex by man, to the fascination of mere animal beauty. Ah! +Ronayne, this must have been the case in the present instance. You +see, I probe you deeply—but enough!” +</p> + +<p> +“Dear Mrs. Headley,” returned the Virginian, pressing her hands +warmly in his own, “I am satisfied that, humiliating as it is to +admit the correctness of your impression, there is but too much +reason to think that it is even as you say. When I recur to the +past of yesterday and to-day, I cannot doubt it; and yet I confess +there is much buried in obscurity which I would fain have explained. +Were it made clear, manifest as the handwriting on the wall, +that Maria had abandoned me for Wau-nan-gee, I should be at ease. +It is the uncertainty only that now racks my mind. Could I <i>know</i>, +not merely <i>believe</i> her false, a weight would be taken from my +heart. Oh! Mrs. Headley, why did you not suffer Wau-nan-gee to +enter—why drive from me the only means of explanation at which I +can ever arrive—and, yet, what could have been his object in thus +venturing here after having despoiled my home of its treasure? If +guilty, would he have dared to approach me? and that he might not +do so with evil intent, is evident from the fact of his having +knocked for admission. Oh! Mrs. Headley, I know not what to think—my +mind is chaos—I am a very changeling in my mood: not from want +of energy to act when once assured, but from the very doubts that +agitate my mind, made wavering by the absence of all certain proof.” +</p> + +<p> +While the soul of the unfortunate young officer was thus a prey to +every shade of doubt, and manifesting the very weakness that his +lips denied, Mrs. Headley regarded him with, deep concern. She +could well divine all that was passing in his heart, and the chord +of her sympathy was keenly touched. For some moments she did not +speak, but appeared to be lost in her own painful reflections. At +length, when Ronayne, who during these remarks had been rapidly +pacing the room, threw himself into a chair, burying his face in +his hands, evidently ill at ease, she drew forth her packet, the +seal of which was broken, and handed it to him, saying with sadness— +</p> + +<p> +“My dear Ronayne, I had hoped that I should not have been under +the necessity of making known to you the contents of this note, +but I see it cannot be withheld. It was placed in my hands, just +after I had parted with Mrs. Elmsley, by Serjeant Nixon, who stated +that Maria had left it with him for me, as she rode out this morning, +telling him it was of the utmost importance that he should deliver +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I saw her in conversation with him,” said Ronayne, as he took the +note and approached the light to read it, “and on asking what +detained her, she said, hastily, that she was merely sending you +a message—not a document of the importance which you seem to attach +to this. I felt at the time that she was not dealing seriously with +me; but as it seemed a matter of little consequence I did not pay +much attention to it; but, let me read!” +</p> + +<p> +The following were the contents of the note, which Ronayne eagerly +perused, with what profound emotion it need scarcely be necessary +to describe: +</p> + +<p> +“My dear Mrs. Headley: When you receive this, you will have seen +me, perhaps, for the last time; but I am sure that you will believe +that, in tearing myself from the scene where so many happy, though +not altogether unchequered days have been passed, no one occupies +a deeper place in my regret than yourself, whom I have ever regarded +as a second mother. The dreadful reasons which exist for it, however, +prevent me, as a wife, from acting otherwise. I know you will +condemn me—tax me with ingratitude and selfishness. I am prepared +for reproach; but, alas! no other course remains for me to pursue. +If I have yielded to the persuasions of the gentle, the affectionate, +the devoted Wau-nan-gee, it is not so much on my own account as in +consideration of the hope held out to me of a long future of +happiness with the object of my heart's worship. For him I can, +and do make every sacrifice, even to the incurring of your +displeasure, and the condemnation of all who know me. But let +me entreat you to remember, that if he is seemingly guilty, I alone +am truly so, and chargeable for the deep offence that will of course +be attributed to him. Remember that I have planned the whole; and +should it be decreed by fate that we never meet again, I pray God +in his infinite goodness to preserve those whom I now abandon, and +spare them the distraction that weighs upon this severely-tried +heart. +</p> + +<p> +“I promised you a candid explanation of everything relating to what +you saw yesterday. This you will find fully detailed in the +accompanying document, written after you had left me, and before +the return of Ronayne last night from fishing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Document! what document?” asked the Virginian, interrupting himself, +and in a voice husky from emotion; “there is nothing here, Mrs. +Headley, but the letter itself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing but that and the piece of embroidery which Maria had worked +for me were contained in the packet,” was the reply. “In her hurry +she must have forgotten to inclose it.” +</p> + +<p> +“In the accompanying document (resumed the Virginian, reading) you +will find the nature of my connexion with Wau-nan-gee fully explained. +You will, of course, make such use of all that is necessary to your +purpose as you may deem advisable; but, as I make that part of the +communication which refers to Wau-nan-gee strictly confidential, +I conjure you never, in the slightest way, to allude to him as +being connected either with my evasion or with the revelation I +have made to you in the inclosure. Adieu, my dear Mrs. Headley. +God grant we may meet again! +</p> + +<p> +“Your own Maria.” +</p> + +<p> +During the perusal of this note, Mrs. Headley had watched the +countenance of Ronayne with much anxiety. She saw there evidence +of strong and varied feelings which he made an effort to subdue, +and so far succeeded that, when he had finished he returned the +note to her with a calm she had not expected. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no need of further confirmation now, Mrs. Headley,” he +said, with a bitter half-smile. “You have, indeed, probed but to +heal. All my weakness is past. To-morrow I shall be myself again, +and attend the council. Pardon me that I have been the cause of +detaining you so late, and believe me when I say that deeply do I +thank you for the interest you have taken in me.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless you, Ronayne! Alas, you are not alone in, your trials—much +of moment awaits us all. Good night!” +</p> + +<p> +And, assuming her disguise, she speedily regained her home. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“Ne'er may he live to see a sunshine day that cries—Retire, +when Warwick bids him stay.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Henry IV.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +On the western bank of the south side of the Chicago River, and +opposite to Fort Dearborn, stood the only building which, with the +exception of the cottage of Mr. Heywood on the opposite shore, and +already alluded to, could at all come under the classification of +a dwelling-house. The owner of this mansion, as it was generally +called, which rose near the junction of the river with Lake Michigan, +was a gentleman who had been long a resident and trader in the +neighborhood, and between whom and the Pottowatomie Indians in +particular, a good understanding had always existed. Several +voyageurs, consisting of French Canadians and half-breeds, constituted +his establishment, and in the course of his speculations, chiefly +in furs, with the several tribes, he had amassed considerable +wealth. He was, in fact, the only person of any standing or education +outside the wall of the fort itself, and of course the only civilian, +besides Mr. Heywood—whom, however, they far less frequently +saw—the officers of the garrison could associate with. His house +was the abode of hospitality, and as, in his trading capacity, he +had opportunities of procuring many even of the luxuries of life +from Detroit and Buffalo, which were not within the reach of the +inmates of the fort, much of the monotony which would have attached +to a society purely military, however gifted or sufficient to their +mutual happiness, was thus avoided. His library was ample, and +there was scarcely an author of celebrity (the world was not overrun +with them in those days), either historian, essayist, or novelist, +whose works were not to be found on the shelves of his massive +black walnut bookcase, made by the hands of his own people from +the most gigantic trees of that genus that could be found in +Illinois. He had, moreover, for the amusement of the officers of +the little garrison, prepared a billiard room, where many a rainy +hour was passed, when the sports of the chase and of the prairie +were shut out to them, and for those who asked not for either of +these amusements, there was a tastefully, but not ostentatiously, +furnished drawing-room, with one of the best pianos made in those +days, which he had had imported at a great expense from the capital +of the western world, and at which his amiable and only daughter +generally presided. +</p> + +<p> +Margaret McKenzie had been born at Chicago, but having lost her +mother at an early age, her father, profiting by one of his periodical +visits to New York, had taken her with him for the purpose of +receiving such an education as would enable her not only to grace +a drawing-room, and make her a companion to a man of sense and +refinement, but to fit her for those more domestic duties which +the uncertain character of so secluded a life might occasionally +render necessary, and where luxury and education alone were +insufficient to a trading husband's views of happiness. After five +years' absence, she had returned to Chicago, a girl of strong mind, +warm affection, without the slightest affectation, and altogether +so adapted in manner and education—for she eminently combined the +useful with the ornamental—that her father was delighted with +her, not less for the proficiency she had made in all that +gives value to society, but because of the utter absence of all +appearance of regret in abandoning the gay and enlivening scenes +of the fascinating capital, in which she had spent so many years, +for the still, dull monotony of the primeval forest in which her +childhood had been passed. +</p> + +<p> +But here she was not doomed to “waste her sweetness on the desert +air.” There were only two officers in the garrison, besides Captain +Headley, when Miss McKenzie returned to her native wilds—Doctor +Von Voltenberg and Lieut. Elmsley. The third who made up the number +of those attached to the company had a few days previously been +shot and scalped by a party of Indians near Hardscrabble, while on +his return to the fort from shooting the hen, or English grouse, +of the prairie. His place was supplied by Ensign Ronayne, who had +joined the garrison a few days after. Lieutenant Elmsley, captivated +by the accomplishments and amiability of the fascinating Margaret, +had offered her his heart and hand, and obtained her unreluctant +promise speedily to share his barrack room, some twenty feet by +twelve in dimensions. Meanwhile, in order to prove to him how well +she was fitted to be a soldier's wife, not an article of food was +ever placed before her father's almost constant visitors that did +not in some measure pass under her supervision. Poor would have +been the preparation of the grosser viands had not her directing +voice presided; and, as for the tarts, and puddings, and custards, +<i>et hoc genus omne</i>, no one who tasted could doubt that no hands +but her own had operated in the fabrication; and the currant, the +cranberry, the strawberry jelly, the peach, the plum, and the cherry +preserve, and the currant and gooseberry wine! What, in the name +of all that is delicate in gastronomy, could be more delicious or +exhibit greater perfection of taste! So thought Von Voltenberg. He +was in raptures. Such a wife, he thought, was all he wanted to his +comfort; he could have dispensed, if necessary, with the more +intellectual portions of the worth of Margaret McKenzie, but his +imagination could not picture to itself perfection superior to that +of an interesting and beautiful woman, manipulating among fruit, +and sugar, and dough, until she had produced results far sweeter +and much more prized by him than all the ornamental accomplishments +in the world. It was even whispered that the Doctor, deeply sensible +of the treasure he should obtain in the possession of so generally +useful a wife, had absolutely proposed for her, but that she, +without offending him, had rejected the honor. Whether it was so +or not, no one knew positively, for Margaret McKenzie was not a +woman to triumph in the humiliation of another, not because she +considered it in any way a humiliation to a man that he did not so +accord in sentiment with her as to render an union for life with +him desirable, but because she knew it would, however absurdly, +draw upon him the ill-natured comments of his companions. Be that +as it may, whether or not he did offer and was rejected, it made +no difference in his relations with the family. He ate her dinner, +luxuriated over her preserves, and sipped her wine as plentifully +as when first she had offered them to him; and they always were +the best friends in the world. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after the first rumor of Von Voltenberg's offer—and if the +secret was betrayed, it must have been by himself, during one of +his moments of devotion to his favorite whiskey punch—it was +generally known throughout the fort and neighborhood that Lieutenant +Elmsley was to espouse Miss McKenzie, and that the ceremony was +only delayed until the arrival of his the officer so recently +killed and scalped, as has been stated, was now almost daily +expected. At length he came, and soon afterwards Captain Headley, +duly commissioned to perform the service, in the absence of a +clergyman, married them, Ronayne assisting as groomsman, and Mrs. +Ronayne—then Maria Heywood—as bridesmaid. This was two years +previous to the marriage of the Virginian himself, and the occasion +on which he first met her whom he subsequently so fervently adored. +</p> + +<p> +It was no privation to Mrs. Elmsley to forsake the almost luxurious +ease of her father's house for the more sober accommodation of her +husband's barrack-rooms. True, these were comfortably furnished, +but still they had that primness which belongs ever to the quarters +of a soldier; but from the moment of casting her destiny, she had +determined in every sense to be a soldier's wife, and to inure +herself from the first to the plainness incident to the condition. +All she had transferred to the fort was her music and her books; +and if at any moment caprice or inclination led her to desire a +change, it was but to get up a little party, such as their limited +social circle would permit, and transfer the amusements of the day +to her father's more inviting mansion, where the servants had from +herself learned all the art of management. Lively in disposition +in the extreme, Mrs. Elmsley loved to promote the comfort of others; +and as her husband possessed an equally happy temperament, they +contributed not a little to enliven the circle of which, in point +of gaiety, they might be said to be the centre. +</p> + +<p> +The owner of the establishment himself—Mr. McKenzie—was fond of +good living, and having arrived at an age when continued prosperity +permitted a relaxation from the toils of the earlier and cooler +portions of the day, loved to indulge after dinner in a large +arm-chair, placed in a veranda that overlooked the fort and country +around, and where the light air from the lake, waving through the +branches of the thin trees, swept with refreshing coolness along +the broad corridor. He generally smoked the fragrant herbs of the +Indians, mixed with tobacco, and sipped the delicious clarets with +which his cellar was stocked, and which he kept, not for sale or +barter, but for the exclusive use of himself and friends. +</p> + +<p> +Immediately after Winnebeg had left Captain Headley, he made his +way to the mansion of Mr. McKenzie, whom he found, as usual, sitting +in his veranda, enjoying his pipe and wine after dinner. The greeting +was that of old friends long separated. They had known each other +from their youth; and, while the Indian entertained the highest +respect for the character and opinions of Mr. McKenzie, the latter +in turn reposed the most unbounded confidence in the sincerity and +integrity of the chief. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Winnebeg, my old friend, where do you come from? Where have +you been all this time? I thought you had deserted us altogether. +But I recollect now; Captain Headley sent you with despatches to +Detroit. What news do you bring back? But first try a glass of +claret. Harry!”—calling out to a son of one of his voyageurs, +who acted in his household in the capacity of his private +servant—“bring another chair and a wine-glass.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, come from Detroit, Missa Kenzie,” replied the Indian gravely, +as he seated himself, took his tomahawk from his side, filled it, +and began to smoke; “bring him bad news for you—for all.” +</p> + +<p> +“How is this, Winnebeg?” exclaimed his listener, putting down the +glass which he had raised to his lips. “What bad news do you mean?” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave him all dis,” he observed, as he swept his hand towards the +fort and the outhouses and buildings containing Mr. McKenzie's +property—the profits of a long life passed in a region to which +he had become attached from very habit. +</p> + +<p> +“Leave what! my property? I do not understand you, Winnebeg; speak +out! What are you driving at, man? What necessity is there for +all this?” +</p> + +<p> +“English fight him Yankee now—big war begun. By by English come, +take him Chicago!” +</p> + +<p> +“The war begun!” said Mr. McKenzie, rising in astonishment from +his seat; “do you mean to say, Winnebeg, that the English and +Americans are actually at war? that they have been fighting at +Detroit? How do you know it?” +</p> + +<p> +“How him know it?” returned the chief; “look here, Winnebeg fight +him English,” and baring his thigh, just below the left hip, he +showed the scar of a superficial flesh wound still encrusted with +blood. +</p> + +<p> +“Where did you get that, Winnebeg, and how long since?” +</p> + +<p> +“Two week,” he replied, holding up as many fingers, “near Canard +Bridge, close, to Malden, Canada—General Hull angry—say Winnebeg +no business fight—carry him despatches.” +</p> + +<p> +“General Hull! How long has General Hull been there? Where, then, +is Colonel Miller, of the fourth regiment, who commanded the other +day?” +</p> + +<p> +“Colonel Miller Detroit too; but Hull big officer—great chief—come +with plenty sogers—send Winnebeg with despatch to Gubbenor here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed! This is important; I must hasten to see Captain Headley, +and learn from him the contents. Alas! my good friend Winnebeg, +this news may, and I fear will, be the cause of my utter ruin. Of +course, you have no idea of what the despatch contains?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Missa Kenzie, Winnebeg know. Winnebeg wish to speak to you +about despatch—say go directly to Fort Wayne.” +</p> + +<p> +“The troops ordered to Fort Wayne, and all we possess left wholly +unprotected. This is indeed a calamity,” said the trader, raising +his hand to his now thoughtful brow. +</p> + +<p> +“You no take him goods on pack-horses to Fort Wayne?” remarked the +Indian inquiringly. +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible, Winnebeg! I might take a few packages of peltries, +but the great bulk must be left behind; yet it seems to me folly +to go to Fort Wayne. We shall be cut off before we get there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just so,” returned Winnebeg. “See him Gubbenor, Missa McKenzie; +tell him not go. Stay here—fort strong—plenty powder—plenty +guns—you tell him so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Most assuredly I will; and if he adopts the most prudent course, +he will remain. With your strong force without and ours within, we +may have a fair chance with any force that may be brought against +us, whereas heaven only knows what may not be the result if we +attempt so long a march through the wilderness, alive with Indians +in the interest of the British. Good by, Winnebeg; you will excuse +me, I am sure, for there must be no time lost in consulting +with Captain Headley. Make yourself at home, and call out to Harry +for anything you may want. That claret will not hurt you after your +long journey; it is pleasant to the taste, and not very strong.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tankee, Massa Kenzie; Winnebeg go to Pottowatomie camp—not been +dere yet. Gubbenor say no tell him Ingins war begun till hold +council to-morrow. Winnebeg sure him know it free, four days.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, do you think that, Winnebeg, since there has been no +intelligence of the kind since your arrival?” +</p> + +<p> +“See him plenty Pottowatomie here in Detroit while Winnebeg wait +for despatches.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed; but they may not have returned.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don't know—maybe no, maybe yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, to-morrow the matter will be no secret, Winnebeg; and some +decision will no doubt be added. In the meantime, you will be able +to learn whether anything is known in the encampment of this +unwelcome news, and, if so, what your people think of it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Kenzie,” said the chief, taking and warmly grasping the trader's +hand, “all Pottowatomies tink like Winnebeg—no go to Fort Wayne.” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> + +<p> +When Mr. McKenzie entered the fort, it was with a clouded brow and +an oppressed heart. At the gate he met his son-in-law, Lieutenant +Elmsley, who, while burning with impatience to be near and console +his unfortunate friend, was without the power to leave his post, +and in his vexation and annoyance, kept pacing rapidly up and down +in front of the guard-house. +</p> + +<p> +“What is the matter, Elmsley—what disturbs you so unusually?” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you ask, sir,” said the officer, “or have you not heard the +dreadful news?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I have heard it, but did not suppose it had as yet been +generally known.” +</p> + +<p> +“The whole garrison knows it. It could not be concealed. The poor +fellow rushed like a madman to announce it. He fell fainting to +the ground, and was carried to his room, where, even at this moment, +Mrs. Headley and Margaret are attending him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Attending whom?” demanded Mr. McKenzie with an air of astonishment, +“and to what are you alluding?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, Ronayne, of course; to whom do you allude if not to him? Have +you not heard that, while riding out with his wife and Von Voltenberg +this afternoon, they were intercepted by a party of hostile Indians, +and poor Maria taken prisoner.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless my soul, is it possible? This is terrible, indeed. Are +we then already surrounded by hostile Indians, and is the war +already brought to our door?” +</p> + +<p> +“War! what war?” asked the subaltern, “and what has this fearful +piece of treachery to do with open war—war with whom?” +</p> + +<p> +“And have you not heard that England and the United States are +openly engaged in hostilities—has Winnebeg not revealed this?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not a word,” replied Lieutenant Elmsley, astonished, in his turn, +at the information. +</p> + +<p> +“At another moment, and on an indifferent occasion, this mutual +misunderstanding might afford room for pleasantry,” continued Mr. +McKenzie with a grave smile; “but it is not so. Winnebeg, I see, +has been true to his trust; and although cognizant of the nature +of the despatches, revealed the information to no one but myself, +whom he regarded as having not only a right to possess it at the +earliest moment, but as being the most proper person to advise with +the commanding officer, at the earliest moment, on the measures to +be adopted. I am here for that purpose; think you I shall find him +alone, for I wouldn't enter upon the subject before Mrs. Headley.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have just said that Mrs. Headley and Margaret are in attendance +on the unfortunate Ronayne,” replied Elmsley. “You will, therefore, +be sure to find him alone, and no doubt busied in the formation of +plans of operations consequent on this intelligence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Recollect, not a word of this until it is officially revealed. I +shall not even let Captain Headley know that I am aware of the +facts, but simply state that, having heard he was in receipt of +despatches, I had come to know if there was any news of importance. +But, of one thing I would warn you, Elmsley; there will be a council +of war to-morrow, and I could wish that your view of the subject +may lead you to prefer defending the fort to the last extremity in +preference to a long and uncertain retreat to Fort Wayne, which I +know is suggested in the despatch.” +</p> + +<p> +“I shall have no difficulty in arriving at that decision,” returned +the officer of the guard, “for common sense only is necessary to +show the advantages of one course over the other. In the meantime, +I shall evince no knowledge of what you have conveyed to me, until +the hour of council. Did no other consideration weigh with me, I +would oppose a movement which cuts us off from all hope of restoring +the dear lost wife of Ronayne to her distracted husband.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good bye, God bless you,” answered the trader, as he moved towards +the quarters of Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” mused Elmsley, when alone, “are the forebodings of that +fusty old number of the National Intelligencer which I have thumbed +for hours over and over again for the last three months at length +finally realized—and war was come at last; well be it so! My +chief anxiety is for Margaret. Would that she and all the rest of +the weak women in this fortress were safe within the fortifications +of Detroit; but all evil seems to be coming upon us at once.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Mr. McKenzie, I am very glad to see you,” said Captain Headley, +rising as the trader entered the room set apart for his library +and the transaction of military official business. “Take a seat. +You could not have paid me a more opportune visit.” +</p> + +<p> +“I had understood that Winnebeg had just returned with despatches +from Detroit,” remarked the trader, “and am come to learn the news.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bad enough,” answered Capt. Headley, gravely, as he handed to him +the despatch from General Hull. “Read that!” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. McKenzie attentively perused the document. It was evidently of +a nature not to please him, for as he read he knit his brow, +bit his lip, and uttered more than one ejaculatory “pish!” +</p> + +<p> +“And what do you intend to do, Captain Headley?” he demanded, as +he twisted the paper in his fingers impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“Stay, my dear sir,” said the commanding officer, anxiously, “do +not thus disfigure or slight the general's official—I must preserve +it as the only voucher for the course I shall in all probability +pursue.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is that course?” asked Mr. McKenzie; “surely, Captain Headley, +you will not strictly follow the letter of these instructions? You +are not compelled to do so. It is left optional with yourself; and +there cannot be a question as to the great disadvantage attending +a retreat.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me,” said the commanding—officer, with something of the +hauteur of one sensible of his own personal responsibility; “I +consider every paragraph in this official as a direct order. The +only sentence that would appear to leave a certain option with +myself is where reference is made to the <i>practicability</i> of retreat. +Now, I can see nothing impracticable in it. We have nothing to +apprehend, with a body of five hundred brave Pottowatomies for our +escort, while, if we continue here we must expect a strong British +force speedily upon us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me give you a word of counsel before this question is publicly +discussed,” returned the trader seriously; “I know the Indians +well, and how easily they are influenced by circumstances. Friendly +as these Pottowatomies now seem to be, the influence of the majority +of the tribes who have joined the British forces may soon change +them from friends into foes.” +</p> + +<p> +“My life on their fidelity,” returned Captain Headley, with unusual +energy. “While Winnebeg continues with them, I feel that I should +dishonor by doubting him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do not mistake me,” returned the trader. “Your faith in the honesty +of Winnebeg, Capt. Headley, is not greater than my own—nay, not +so great, perhaps, for I have known and always regarded him from +his boyhood; but all the Pottowatomies are not Winnebegs, neither +are the warriors so completely under the control of their chiefs +as to permit their counsels alone to influence their actions.” +</p> + +<p> +“You do not mean to say that you have reason to doubt any of these +people, Mr. McKenzie?” remarked the captain, seriously and +inquiringly. +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all; but I wish to show how much more imprudent it would +be to trust to them than to ourselves; reinforcements may arrive +in time if they are sent for immediately, and should they not, it +will be time enough to think of evacuating when our Indian spies +bring us notice of the preparations of the British to attack us.” +</p> + +<p> +“And should they arrive before our retreat is begun, then must, we +be driven into an unequal contest, for the order of the secretary +at war expressly declares that no post shall be surrendered without +a battle. It is evident that the fort cannot be maintained against +a regular force; therefore, the garrison, or they who survive the +assault, must be made prisoners in any case; whereas, by retiring +now, we not only prevent the advance of the enemy, to the manifest +ruin of yourself and other settlers in the neighborhood, but carry +succor to Fort Wayne. This is the resolution I have taken. After +first consulting with my officers on public parade in the morning, +when our position shall be fully made known to all, I shall +meet the Indians in council. The necessary directions have been +conveyed to Winnebeg.” +</p> + +<p> +“I can only regret, sir,” returned Mr. McKenzie, with great gravity +of speech and deportment, “that your determination should have been +formed before consulting with your officers. In a case of this +kind, involving the interests of all, it becomes, I should conceive, +not a mere courtesy but a duty, that the opinions and advice of +all competent to judge should be taken.” +</p> + +<p> +“You need not be alarmed, Mr. McKenzie; I perfectly know how to +act on this occasion. The opinions of my officers shall be taken, +even as I have taken yours. If you have anything further to offer, +therefore, I shall be happy to hear it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Headley,” returned the trader, rising with dignity, and +taking up his hat, “I have nothing further of advice to offer to +one so confident in his own judgment; but bear in mind what I now +tell you, that if you follow the letter of these instructions rather +than the spirit, you will have cause to repent it. I make not this +remark from mere considerations of my own personal interests, which, +of course, will be greatly affected by this abandonment of the +post, but because I sincerely believe that a defence will entail +less disaster than a march through the vast wilderness we shall +have to traverse, hampered as we shall be with women, less able to +bear up against fatigue, privation, and disaster. As the Indian +orators say, 'I have spoken!' and now, sir, I have the honor of +wishing you a very good day.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what says he—what does he intend?” asked Lieutenant Elmsley, +who was lingering near the gate, waiting for the return of his +father-in-law. +</p> + +<p> +“He is an obstinate, conceited ramrod,” returned the latter, +peevishly; “but you will know all to-morrow, for he really intends +to do you the honor to consult you in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what is his decision? You have not said.” +</p> + +<p> +“To give up everything to the Indians, and retreat forthwith.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can it be possible?” exclaimed the officer, perfectly indignant +at the communication. +</p> + +<p> +“Even so. Alas, for the poor women, and the ladies particularly! +what a march for them; but I go, meanwhile, to 'set my house in +order.' Well, Elmsley, all I had garnered up through a quarter of +a century of incessant toil, as a heritage for you and yours, will, +I fear, be utterly lost.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless you,” said the officer, grasping his hand, “think not +of that. There are far weightier considerations at stake than +those of a merely pecuniary nature. The lesson Margaret has taught +herself—to be contented to live on a soldier's pay—will not have +altogether been thrown away upon her. The loss of her fortune is +the least calamity to be dreaded.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nobly said, Elmsley. Well are you worthy of her!” He warmly shook +the hand that still lingered in his own, and then turned the angle +of the gateway leading down to his own dwelling. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“For we to-morrow hold divided council.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Richard III.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +On the following morning there was unusual commotion in the fort, +and, notwithstanding the great sultriness of the weather, both +officers and men appeared in the full costume of the regiment from +an early hour. The bright and silken flag, worked by the hands of +Mrs. Ronayne, had been hoisted by Corporal Nixon's own hands, for +he knew that not a man of the garrison would look upon it without +vividly interesting himself in the fate of her who had worked it, +and desiring to be a volunteer of the party he fully expected would +be sent out that morning to attempt her rescue. Already had he +decided on five of the number who, besides himself, would be selected +by Ronayne on the occasion, and these were Collins, Phillips, +Weston, Green, and Watson. He knew that an early parade had been +ordered by Captain Headley, and as this was a rare occurrence, he +could assign no other cause for it than the desire the commanding +officer entertained to send off the little expedition as speedily +as possible. +</p> + +<p> +Precisely at eight o'clock the roll of the drum brought forth from +their respective barrack rooms some sixty men, composing the strength +of the little fort, with the exception of the invalids and +convalescents, some fifteen in number. But even of these, such as +could find strength to drag themselves, came forth and lingered in +the rear of the slowly forming little line, while women and children +gathered in groups near the guard-house, anxious to see who would +be the fortunate ones selected for the recovery of the much-loved +wife of their favorite. +</p> + +<p> +A few moments later, and the officers were seen approaching from +their several quarters to join the parade. Captain Headley, dressed +in his newest uniform, was the first on the ground; then came the +Doctor, then Elmsley, for, on that occasion, the guard at the gate +had been left without an officer; and lastly, much to the surprise +of all, Ronayne. As he approached, all eyes were fixed upon him, +and every breast acknowledged a sympathy in the pallor of his now +unmoved brow, that in more than one instance moulded itself into +a tear it was impossible to suppress. As for the women, they held +their aprons to their eyes and wept outright. On gaining his company, +the Virginian touched his cap as usual to the commander of the +parade, and, passing close by Elmsley, whose eyes he saw riveted +upon him with much interest, he significantly grasped his hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Elmsley,” ordered the commandant, “let the company be wheeled +inwards, to form a hollow square.” +</p> + +<p> +The order was promptly obeyed, and within the square stood the +little group of officers. +</p> + +<p> +“Gentlemen and men!” began Captain Headley, as he unfolded a +despatch, “it is on no common occasion that we find ourselves +assembled this morning.” +</p> + +<p> +Every eye was again turned upon Ronayne. The looks of the men seemed +to say, “We know it, and we are prepared to do our utmost to repair +the evil.” +</p> + +<p> +“There is not a man of us, your honor,” said Corporal Collins, “who +is not ready to volunteer to go out and recover Mrs. Ronayne, +or die in the attempt. You have but to say the word.” +</p> + +<p> +“Silence, sir! How dare you presume to speak in the ranks! Corporal +Collins, from this day you lose your stripes,—a fit example, truly, +for a non-commissioned officer to set to the men. Mr. Elmsley, you +will see to this.” +</p> + +<p> +The lieutenant gravely touched his hat, but replied not. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not for this purpose that I have assembled you,” resumed +Captain Headley. “Much as is to be deplored the unfortunate occurrence +of yesterday, matters of deeper importance must engage our attention +now.” +</p> + +<p> +Many of the men shrugged their shoulders, and looked their discontent. +They could not imagine what he meant, or what could be of more +importance to them than the recovery of the lost lady. +</p> + +<p> +The parade was once more called to attention, when Captain Headley +proceeded to read to them the document that has been so often before +the reader. +</p> + +<p> +“You see, gentlemen and men,” he continued, when he had finished +the perusal, “how intricate is our position, and how little choice +there is left to us to decide in the matter. It must be but mere +form to ask your opinions on the subject, for the directions of +the General are so positive that our duty is implicitly to follow +them. Mr. Elmsley, as the oldest officer, what is your opinion?” +</p> + +<p> +All had heard with the greatest surprise the unexpected communication, +but there were few who were of the opinion of their commander, that +their safety would be best insured by a retreat. The men, of course, +were not expected to have a voice in the consultation, but it was +desirable that they should hear what their respective officers had +to say, and therefore the subject had been opened to the latter in +their presence. +</p> + +<p> +“My opinion, Captain Headley,” returned his lieutenant, “can be of +little weight in a matter which you appear to have decided already; +however, as it is asked in presence of the whole garrison, in +presence of the whole garrison will I give it. On no account should +we retire from this post. Our force, it is true, is small, but we +have stout hearts and willing hands, and, with four good bastions +to protect our flanks of defence, we may make a better resistance +than it appears they have done at Mackinaw, should the British deem +it worth their while to come so far out of their way to attack us. +My own impression is that they will not, for there is nothing to +be gained by the conquest of a post which commands no channel of +communication, and therefore offers no advantage to compensate for +the sacrifice of life necessary to take it. Certainly, nothing will +be attempted unless Detroit itself should fall. The British forces +will have too much to occupy them there to think of weakening by +dividing the troops they have in that quarter. On the other hand, +should we undertake a protracted march to Fort Wayne, encumbered +as we are with women, and children, and invalids, there is but too +great reason to infer that parties of British Indians, apprised of +our march, will hasten to the attack, and then our position in the +heart of the woods will be hopeless indeed. These, sir, are my +views on the subject nor can I conceive how a man of common +discernment can entertain any other.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Elmsley, I merely asked you, in courtesy, to pronounce your +own opinion, not indirectly to pass censure on those of your +superiors. I have stated not only my opinion, but my decision. Even +were I desirous to remain I could not, for our provisions are nearly +consumed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, captain,” said Phillips, speaking from his place in the ranks, +“I know that we have cattle enough to last the troops six months.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who speaks? Who dares to question my assertion?” thundered Capt. +Headley. “We may have cattle enough,” he added, in a milder tone, +feeling that some explanation was due to the men generally, “but +we are deficient in salt to cure the meat when killed.” +</p> + +<p> +“A sheer pretence!” muttered another voice not far from Phillips; +“where there is a will, there is a way.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who spoke?” demanded Captain Headley, angrily. +</p> + +<p> +“I did, sir,” answered Collins; “you have taken the stripes from +me, you can do no more.” +</p> + +<p> +“Drummers, into the square!” ordered the captain. “Gentlemen, before +we proceed further in this matter, this man must be tried for +insubordination—a drum head court martial immediately. Sergeant +Nixon, go to the orderly's room and bring the articles of war.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Captain Headley,” interposed the sergeant, “poor Collins!” +</p> + +<p> +“What, sir! do you, too, disobey?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir,” returned the non-commissioned officer, respectfully, +“but I thought when brave men would so soon be wanted for the +defence of those colors, your honor could not be serious in your +threat to score their backs; and a braver and a better soldier than +Corporal Collins is nowhere to be found in the American ranks. He +is excited, sir, by the loss of Mrs.—” +</p> + +<p> +“Stay, Nixon,” interrupted Ensign Ronayne, “not another word. +Captain Headley,” he resumed, sternly, turning round to his +commandant, “if Corporal Collins is punished, you will have to +punish me also, for I swear that be but a hand laid upon him, and +I will incur such guilt of insubordination as must compel you to +place me under arrest. This severity, sir, at such a moment, is +misplaced, and not to be borne.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Ronayne, depend upon it, this conduct on your part shall not +pass unnoticed. When the proper time arrives, expect to be put upon +your trial for this most unofficer-like interference with my +authority. At present, I can ill afford to spare your services, +and placing you in arrest now would only be to affect the interests +of my command. When we reach Fort Wayne, you may rely upon a proper +representation of your behavior. Private Collins, retire to your +place in the ranks.” +</p> + +<p> +“Reach Fort Wayne!” returned the Virginian, emphatically. “Mark +me, sir, we shall never reach Fort Wayne. Captain Headley,” he +continued, more calmly, “look at those colors; do you not think we +shall find more spirit to defend them while floating there (and he +pointed to them), calling upon us, as it were, to remember the day +when first they were unfurled before the British Lion, than when +carrying them off encased and strapped with the old kettles and +pans of the company upon some raw-boned old pack-horse, as if +ashamed to show themselves to an enemy.” +</p> + +<p> +“And those colors especially,” ventured Sergeant Nixon, emboldened +by the warm language in his defence used by the high-spirited young +officer. “They are the same worked by the hands of Mrs. Ronayne, +and run up there on the day of her own marriage, on the fourth +of July. I hoisted them with my own hands this morning, because I +believed we were going out to the rescue of that dear lady, and, +in my mind, I can only say that it would be much easier to send +out half the force for her, with a few Indians for scouts to point +out where the red devils are, and then, when we have got her safe, +to return here and defend the place, or perish under the ruins.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless her!” exclaimed nearly half the men, turning their eyes +towards the rustling flag, which a slight and rising breeze now +displayed in all its graceful beauty of color and proportion. “Sure +enough she worked it, and we are ready to die under the same, if +she only be here to see us.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless her!” repeated the women in the distance. “If our prayers +could be of any use, our husbands should run all risk from the +Indians, so that we might see her sweet face again. Oh, let them +go, captain!” +</p> + +<p> +Despite all the determination he had formed, Ronayne could not +stand this new feature in the scene unmoved. He drew his handkerchief +hastily from the bosom of his uniform, and carried it to his eyes. +The recollection of the fourth of July, so recently passed, came +with irresistible force upon his memory, and even while his own +heart was made more desolate, this universal manifestation of the +regard in which his wife was held affected him deeply. +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, Mr. Ronayne, rather than exhibit this emotion before the men, +had you not better retire?” remarked Captain Headley, in a low +tone; “their excitement, too, will the sooner subside when you are +gone.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir, if you assume a weakness in me,” returned the officer, +haughtily, as he removed the handkerchief from his eyes, “you are +wrong. I came here not to advert to the past, but to do my duty. +I confess I am touched by the honest and noble feeling of my +comrades, but nothing more. No entreaty of mine will be urged in +support of their prayer. I am prepared to sink my individual loss +in consideration of the general danger.” +</p> + +<p> +All the men were taken by surprise. They had wondered from the +first at seeing Ronayne come upon parade, with a manner so different +from that which he had shown on the preceding evening; but they +had taken it for granted that he knew of an intended sortie, and, +relying on its successful issue, was only waiting for the order +from Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +A loud shout was now heard from the common, and presently one of +the two sentinels that had been stationed at the gate walked quickly +up with his firelock at the recover, and reported to Captain Headley +that the Indians were mustering strongly about their encampment, +and seemingly more painted than usual. +</p> + +<p> +“This is as it should be,” replied the commanding officer. “The +day of council should be a gala day, whatever the occasion, and +doubtless they are making preparations accordingly. It is well, +however, that I have changed the hour of our consultation from +twelve to eight. We have now more leisure for our own preparations.” +</p> + +<p> +“And these are, Captain Headley, permit me to ask?” remarked Mr. +McKenzie, who had stood at some distance from the parade, without +interfering with the preceding discussion. +</p> + +<p> +“To distribute, sir, as directed, the stores belonging to the United +States then dismantle the fort, and depart at once for Fort +Wayne. Those noble and faithful Pottowatomies, who are now assembling +for the council, will bear us bravely through.” +</p> + +<p> +One or two shots were now heard from the gate. The men were startled; +still more so when they heard a loud mocking laugh succeed to the +report. Several of them turned their heads and looked around. They +saw that the flag, then wheeling and tossing, as if indignant at +the outrage, had been cut by the bullets. The Indians had never +before attempted this. +</p> + +<p> +“That, sir, is the work of your friendly Pottowatomies,” remarked +Ronayne, With a sneer; “their friendship is truly very remarkable +at this particular moment. They show their regard for us by insulting +the American flag in a way in which they never did before.” +</p> + +<p> +“March off your guard immediately, Mr. Elmsley; let the sentries +be posted, and all remain armed until further orders; yet mark, +both officers and men, no distrust must be openly shown. Do not +let it appear that the inconsiderate act of one or two young men +has raised your unfounded and ungenerous suspicions of a whole +tribe. It is not that I have any doubt as to their truth, but my +policy has ever been to show them we are never unprepared for an +emergency. Corporal Collins, you will resume your Stripes.” +</p> + +<p> +In obedience to his order, the guard was relieved at the gate, and +the whole of the men made to linger about the parade, preparatory +to the hour of council. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> + +<p> +While Lieutenant Elmsley was occupied as acting adjutant—a duty +which he was called upon to perform, as well as that of regimental +subaltern—Ronayne sauntered mechanically towards the gate. +Notwithstanding the seeming indifference he had at first manifested +in regard to the absence of his wife, there were few among the men +who, whatever their surprise at his language, were not afterwards +made sensible that he was profoundly affected; and as he somewhat +sternly passed each soldier on his way, they silently and with +unusual deference—a deference that indicated their own strong +sympathy—touched their caps to him. Arrived at the gate, he looked +long and anxiously, almost incessantly, even as one without an +object, towards Hardscrabble, the forest road to which was dotted, +here and there, with occasional openings, enabling the eye to +distinguish the serpentine course of the silver river. All around +and before him were the lounging Indians to whom allusion has just +been made. There appeared to be unusual excitement in their manner, +and groups of the younger warriors particularly were to be seen in +animated conversation. He was about to retire from the gate and +join Lieutenant Elmsley, who had now nearly finished distributing +his guard, but anxious to take one last look of the neighborhood +of Hardscrabble, his eyes suddenly fell upon the outline of a horse +just emerging from a wooded part of the road upon the plain, and +partially concealed by the figure of an Indian that stood at the +side of the horse. He looked again—the distance was too great +to enable him to judge distinctly, but he felt convinced the rider +was a woman. There was A telescope kept in the bastion near the +flagstaff, for the use principally of the officer of the guard. He +walked rapidly to this, and drew the instrument to its proper focus, +but when he looked in the direction in which he had before gazed +nothing was to be seen. Vexed and annoyed beyond all measure, he +descended again rapidly to the gate, but with no better success. +He could not doubt that it was his wife whom he had seen, yet +unwilling to breathe the knowledge even to himself, his heart was +a prey to the most contradictory feelings. In a few moments, however, +the horse he had before remarked again appeared emerging from the +same point of road, but this time he no longer carried a woman but +a warrior, so that all means of identifying the former were denied +to him. But still there was evidence sufficient. The horse was +evidently Maria's, though with its tail twisted and plaited as for +disguise; and as Ronayne with the glass brought fully to bear upon +him, saw the rider throw over his shoulders and fasten round his +neck, a blanket, and place on his head a colored calico turban, +such as was in common use among the Pottowatomies, he felt satisfied +that it was the same youth who, in the disguise of a Miami, had +pressed him so closely in the chase of the preceding day. +</p> + +<p> +Strange to say, he entertained no feeling of enmity towards the +youth, even when he turned away with feelings of mingled bitterness +and mortification, and silently ascended the bastion to replace +the glass. Never was his mind more unsettled—never had he entertained +so perfect a sentiment of indifference for everything around him. +It was very well to talk of pride, and scorn, and fortitude, but +existence to him had become a dull weight, a rayless future, and +nothing would have pleased him better at that moment, than the +sudden announcement of a British force being at hand. In the stirring +excitement of action only could he hope to find distraction, and +the ball aimed at his heart, the sword pointed to his throat, he +would have scarcely deemed it worth his while to seek to turn aside. +The roar of artillery and of musquetry would, he felt, be music to +his ears, provided it shut out from memory the recollection of what +had been. But the idea of a long and monotonous march to Fort Wayne, +even provided it should be effected without interruption, bringing +with it at each moment recollections of the past was a horror not +to be endured; and he determined, by every means in his power, to +oppose the resolution of the commanding officer to the uttermost. +He was already under the ban of one threatened court-martial, and +it mattered little to him what steps Captain Headley might adopt +in regard to him for the future. +</p> + +<p> +He had passed some moments in these reflections—fitful, varied, +and broken as those of a disconnected dream—when turning his eyes +again towards the gate where the sentinels had been posted, he saw +one of them bring his musket to the charge as if to prevent the +ingress of some one seeking admittance. Struck by the circumstance, +Ronayne hastened below, and as he advanced he saw the same sentinel +pick up a piece of paper, the superscription of which he was +endeavoring to examine. Before he had time to do this, however, +the officer had come up, and the sentinel promptly handed it to +him. +</p> + +<p> +“Good God! what does this mean?” It was the handwriting of his +wife. Ronayne looked forward upon the common, and saw at about a +hundred yards before him, and retiring rapidly, the horseman whom +he had just before remarked. There was no necessity for asking any +questions. The whole thing explained itself. +</p> + +<p> +“What can she have to say to me?” he mused to himself, as he broke +the bark string with which the note was tied; his competitor of +yesterday, too, the bearer! Hastily he unfolded it. It contained +these few words, hastily written in pencil on a leaf torn from her +memorandum book—“Go not to the council!” He examined the paper +closely—he could find no more. +</p> + +<p> +The feelings of Ronayne, on reading these few words, traced by his +wife's well-remembered hand, may be comprehended. All the stubbornness +of his indifference was shaken; and sinking every consideration of +self he found a strange, wild pleasure in the knowledge that she +was free from personal restraint, and had power to command the +services of those whom she willed to do her bidding. What the +meaning of the caution was, in regard to the council, he could not +divine, neither wherefore it had been couched in such laconic terms; +but it was evident that, as the new wife of Wau-nan-gee, she had +obtained information of some danger of which they in the garrison +knew not, and that the recollection of those she had left behind +was not so weakened as to prevent her from imparting to those most +interested what she had learned. +</p> + +<p> +Feeling the necessity of communicating instantly with Elmsley on +the subject, yet scarcely knowing how, without exposing Maria, to +account to him for the manner in which he had received the singular +warning, he sought his friend, who had now finally disposed of his +men at their several posts, and told him that, without feeling +himself at liberty to reveal to him the medium through which the +suspicion had been awakened in his breast, he had every reason to +believe that some treachery was intended at the council called by +Headley, and that he had come to consult with him accordingly. +</p> + +<p> +With infinite good taste and tact, Elmsley utterly abstained from +making the slightest allusion to Mrs. Ronayne, not only because he +had perceived that her husband did not seem to encourage any approach +to a subject which gave him pain, but because he felt that the +consolation of those words, on an occasion of such bereavement, +was rather a mockery than a sympathy. Without, therefore, making +the slightest allusion to the past, he answered gravely— +</p> + +<p> +“If you have reason to apprehend this, Ronayne, we can take our +precautions accordingly. As the whole object and intent of the +council is to <i>seem</i> to hold a consultation as to the course we +ought to pursue in this emergency, whereas it is simply in fact to +enable Headley, who is becoming stubborn and pompous as of old, to +tell the chiefs that he intends at once to distribute the public +stores among themselves and warriors, and then march with little +more than the men can carry on their backs; as this only, I repeat, +is his object in holding a council at all, I see no great reason +why either you or I, who have already given our opinions on the +matter, should attend it. We may do the 'state some service' by +remaining within.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would it not be well,” returned the Virginian thoughtfully, “to +give Headley some hint of false dealing on the part of the +Pottowatomies? not such as to lead him to believe that any +direct intelligence has been received of that fact, but simply that +some loose hints have been thrown out.” +</p> + +<p> +“My dear fellow,” returned the lieutenant, with a faint smile, “do +you think there is anything under the sun—scarcely even the tomahawk +in his own brain—that could persuade Headley to mistrust his pet +Pottowatomies? No, not even his long experience of the treachery +of the race—not all his knowledge of the fickleness of their +character—of the facility with which they turn over in a single +day from the American to the British flag—would convince him.” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet,” pursued Ronayne, musingly, “they know nothing of the +war. What could be their motives, where their immediate interests +will be rather retarded than promoted by the maintenance of peaceful +relations?” +</p> + +<p> +“How do we know what passes without the fort? They may have had +their runners and news brought to them of the war before Winnebeg +returned.” +</p> + +<p> +A sudden thought flashed across the brain of Ronayne. Could tidings +of the event in any way be connected with the flight of his wife? +and had that, at the instigation of Wau-nan-gee, accelerated the +moment of her departure? But Elmsley knew not what <i>he</i> knew, and +he offered no remark on the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“It wants now an hour,” resumed Lieutenant Elmsley, looking at his +watch, “to the time named for the council which is to be held on +the glacis immediately in front of the southern bastion, and, +therefore, immediately under the flag. Join me here then, Ronayne, +and I shall have made the necessary arrangements. All the +responsibility I take upon myself, my friend, not only as your +senior, but as one who is perfectly willing to take the lion's +share of the anger that has been showered so plentifully upon both +this day. Now I must hasten and regulate the '<i>imperium in imperio</i>' +for I am afraid that if, as you say, we trust alone to Headley's +reading of Pottowatomie faith, we shall have rather a Flemish +account of satisfaction to render to ourselves. Goodbye. In half +an hour—not later.” +</p> + +<p> +Ronayne, having nothing in the meantime to do, sauntered towards +his own apartments. When he entered his chamber, Catharine, the +faithful servant of his wife, was leaning along the foot of the +bed, her face buried in the covering and sobbing violently. The +depth of her sorrow was anguish to him. He shuffled his feet along +the floor to make her sensible of his presence. The girl heard him; +she looked up—her face and eyes were so swollen with tears that +she could scarcely see. She started to her feet, and raising her +apron with both hands to her eyes, left the room sobbing even more +violently than before. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor girl—poor girl!” murmured Ronayne, while a tear forced itself +into his own; “indeed I feel for your grief; but it will soon +subside; you will soon be well, while I —-” +</p> + +<p> +He threw himself, dressed as he was, even without removing his +sword, upon, the bed—he took out Maria's hasty note—he read the +words “Go not to the council” at least fifty times over. There was +not the minutest particle of each letter of each word that he did +not typify in his heart. Her delicate and expressive, yet faithless +hand had traced the whole. It was enough. It was the last relic of +herself. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“I would have some conference with you that concerns you nearly.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Much Ado About Nothing.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +When Ronayne rejoined his friend, all the preparations he intended +making had been completed, and Mrs. Elmsley having despatched a +servant to say that breakfast was waiting for them, the latter, +after having stationed Corporal Collins at the gate to give early +notice of the approach of the Indians, linked his arm in that of +Ronayne, and conducted him to his rooms. +</p> + +<p> +It was, of course, the first time the Virginian had seen Mrs. +Elmsley since the preceding evening, when, with Mrs. Headley, she +had been a pained witness of the desolating grief she so deeply +shared herself. The swollen eyelid and the pale cheek attested that +little sleep had visited her eyes during the subsequent part of +the night; and when she affectionately took the proffered hand of +Ronayne, whose composedness she was greatly surprised and pleased +to witness, there was a melancholy expression of sympathy in her +glance that tried all the powers of self-possession of the latter. +</p> + +<p> +How different was that breakfast table from what it had been on +former occasions! How often, both before and after their marriage, +had Ronayne and his wife partaken of the hospitable board, with +hearts light as gratified love could render them, and exhilarated +by the witty tallies of the amiable hostess, who, full of life and +gaiety herself, sought ever to render her more sedate friend as +exuberant in spirit as herself. How graceful the manner in which +she recommended her exquisitely-made coffee, her deliciously-dried +bear and venison hams, the luxuriously-flavored and slightly-smoked +white fish from the Superior and the Sault; and with what art she +allured the appetite from one delicacy to another, until scarcely +an article of food at her table was left untasted. And yet all +this, not in a spirit of ostentatious display of her own aptitude +in these somewhat sensual enjoyments, but from a desire, by the +exercise of those little niceties of attention which insensibly +win upon the heart, to please, to gratify—to make sensible that +she sought to please and to gratify—those whom both herself and +her husband so deeply regarded. +</p> + +<p> +The breakfast was now a hurried one. It had not been prepared with +the usual care. The directing hand of the mistress seemed not to +be visible—it was heavy as the hearts of those who now partook +of it, and even the never failing claret, of which Elmsley compelled +his friend to swallow several goblets, had lost more than half its +power to exhilarate; for, oh! there was one of that once happy +party gone for ever from their sight, and the solemn and restrained +manner of each was sufficient evidence of the deep void her absence +had created. +</p> + +<p> +It was a relief to all when Corporal Collins hurriedly appeared at +the door and announced that the greater portion of the warriors of +the Pottowatomies, with Winnebeg at their head, were now advancing +towards the glacis, where a large awning, open at the sides, had +been erected soon after the morning's parade. +</p> + +<p> +“Winnebeg at their head, did you say, Collins?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir, Winnebeg, and with him—for I know them as well +—Wau-ban-see, Black Partridge, To-pee nee-be, Kee-po-tah, and +that tall, scowling chief that never looks friendly, Pee-to-tum. +They are all in their war dresses, and their young men as well.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am glad, at least, Winnebeg is with them,” remarked Elmsley to +his friend. “Whatever may be purposed by the others, neither he +nor Black Partridge can have any knowledge of it. Has Serjeant +Nixon had that three-pounder run up into the upper floor of the +block-house, Collins?” +</p> + +<p> +“They are at work at it now, sir. I expect it will be all ready by +the time your honor gets there, Mr. Elmsley.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are on guard at the gate?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been where you posted me, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good! Is Captain Headley gone out yet?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet, your honor. I saw him, as I came along, go towards Doctor +Von Voltenberg's rooms.” +</p> + +<p> +“We had better wait then, Ronayne, until he goes forth to assemble +the council; otherwise he may interfere and play the devil with us +all, by countermanding my arrangements.” +</p> + +<p> +“And do you really mean to say that you would permit him to do so, +Elmsley? I am sure I would not; for, if ever disobedience to orders +could be justified it is on this occasion.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not exactly say that I would, Ronayne; but it is just as well +to avoid clashing if possible. I confess I am no particular advocate, +where the thing can be avoided, of wilfully and deliberately +thwarting the authority of a commanding officer. But once he is +out of the fort I shall be in command.” +</p> + +<p> +Another non-commissioned officer entered. It was Weston, who, that +morning, had been promoted to the dignity of lance corporal, and +the commanding officer's immediate orderly. +</p> + +<p> +“Lieutenant Elmsley, the captain desires me to say that he is +waiting for you and Mr. Ronayne to accompany the doctor and himself +to the council.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” said the subaltern addressed, “you will give my compliments, +Weston, to Captain Headley, and say to him that both Mr. Ronayne +and myself decline attending that council—that we do not think it +prudent to leave the fort without an officer, and that we conceive +that having given our opinions on the matter for which the council +is called, we can be of much more service here than there. Now +mind, Weston, you will deliver this message respectfully, and in +a manner befitting a soldier to his superior.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, sir,” replied the corporal, as he touched his, cap and +withdrew. +</p> + +<p> +“You will have a visit from himself next, Elmsley,” remarked his +wife. “But why refuse to attend the council? There is no enemy +near us, and surely half an hour's absence on the glacis cannot +much endanger the safety of the garrison, surrounded as we are by +friendly Indians.” +</p> + +<p> +“Margaret, my love,” said her husband, taking her hand affectionately, +“we must trust nothing to chance. No one can tell what may not +occur in the interim of our absence. Who, for instance, could have +foretold yesterday morning that we should be as we are to-day!” +</p> + +<p> +“True,” said Ronayne, as he paced the room with sudden and bitter +excitement; “who could have told yesterday that we should be +as we are to-day? There is nothing certain in life—no, nothing—all +is vanity.” +</p> + +<p> +This painful change of feeling and of manner, from the self-control +so recently imposed upon himself, had not been without its cause. +The tenderness of his friends brought back to his memory the +recollection of many an hour of happiness passed in that room—when +the same manifestations of affection had been exhibited in presence +of the wife. But where was she now—where was his own share in that +happiness which, for the first time, he almost half envied in his +friend? +</p> + +<p> +The door was again opened, and in walked not Captain Headley but +Mr. McKenzie; his brow was overcast, and there was evidently deep +care on his mind; but after tenderly embracing his daughter, he +remarked to the officers, “I am glad you have come to the decision +of not leaving the fort. I met Headley going out, and he is very +angry. He has made me promise, however, to follow him in a few +moments. I should have gone at once, but I could not resist the +twofold temptation of pressing this dear girl to my heart, and +telling you both how much I approve your prudence. For once you +and Headley seem to have exchanged characters.” +</p> + +<p> +“No doubt,” returned Elmsley, smiling, “that if we ever get to Fort +Wayne, both Ronayne and myself will be hanged, drawn, and quartered +by sentence of a court-martial, as a just punishment for our most +glaring disobedience of orders here; but that will not be worse +than being scalped here for obeying them; besides, there is this +advantage attending the first—we shall have a little longer lease +of life. But seriously, sir, there is now no time to lose. The +moment you are out of the gates, I shall cause them to be fastened +until the council is over. I have had cause for entertaining some +little suspicion of your friends the Pottowatomies—nay,” seeing +that the trader looked surprised, “there is no time to enter into +explanation now. Later, I will state to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have no doubt you have been correctly informed,” replied Mr. +McKenzie, as, after throwing his arm around the waist of his +daughter, he replaced his hat and prepared to depart. “Great as is +the confidence I have in Winnebeg and the majority of the chiefs, +I confess there has been a boldness—an almost insolence—perceptible +in the behavior of many of the young men, seemingly urged on by +Pee-to-tum, that I neither understand nor approve; but, as you say, +there is no time to lose. God bless you, Margaret!” +</p> + +<p> +When he had passed the gates, to which he had been accompanied by +his son-in-law and Ronayne, Serjeant Nixon, who, as previously +instructed, stood near for the purpose, fastened the bars and turned +the lock. What men could be spared for the purpose were divided +between the two subalterns. The one took his post in the upper +floor of the block-house nearest to and overlooking the glacis; +the other ascending the south bastion, manned two of the guns—the +burning matches of both being concealed. +</p> + +<p> +Not less than four hundred warriors could have followed their +leaders to this council. The chiefs had already assembled and taken +their places under the awning, while a little above them sat Captain +Headley, the Doctor, and Mr. McKenzie, when the great mass moved +towards the glacis. All were habited in half war dress, if the term +may be permitted, and a formidable number separated from the main +body and drew near to the gate. This, much to their surprise, was +in the very act of being closed as they appeared before it. +Much dissatisfaction was expressed in guttural sounds and +exclamations, and one young Indian, more daring than the rest, +struck his tomahawk deeply into the door. No notice was taken of +this at first; but finding that the Indians persevered in their +clamor and demand for admittance, Ronayne, who was in the block-house, +ordered the three-pounder to be fired over their heads. This at +once had the effect of dispersing and driving them towards the +glacis, which they now tumultuously crowded, speaking loudly and +angrily to the chiefs, who interrupted at the very opening of the +council, yet not more surprised than the two officers were on +hearing the gun, had started to their feet and turned their eyes +towards the fort—the flashing light of the torches being now +distinctly visible. +</p> + +<p> +There being no repetition, however, of the report, Captain Headley, +who had been questioned by the chiefs as to the cause, explained +the discharge by attributing it to accident, or an intention on +the part of Lieutenant Elmsley to compliment the opening of the +council. But though he stated this, he did not himself believe that +either was the reason, for he was well aware that no piece of +ordnance had been in the block-house early that morning, and +consequently, that it must have been placed there from some vague +idea of danger connected with his officers' refusal to attend the +council. He had observed, with some anxiety, the gathering of the +Indians around the gate, and without being able to understand its +exact character, entertained a vague impression that some danger +was impending, yet by a strange contradiction, not at all uncommon, +was more than ever annoyed with Elmsley for manifesting thus openly +and markedly the distrust he entertained of their allies. +</p> + +<p> +In an increased desire for conciliation he now resumed the council. +The chiefs were duly informed, through Winnebeg, that war had been +declared between Great Britain and the United States; that the +American general commanding on the frontier had sent orders to +evacuate the fort immediately, and make the best of their way to +Fort Wayne, under the escort of the Pottowatomies then present: +but that, before the march commenced, he (Captain Headley) was, in +order to show the friendship of the United States, to distribute +among the chiefs and warriors in the neighborhood all the property +of the government in equal shares—“not only all stores of clothing +and implements of the chase shall be divided among you,” he concluded, +“but the provisions and ammunition, which latter we have in abundance. +All we ask in return is safe escort to Fort Wayne.” +</p> + +<p> +No sooner was this last announcement made when the glacis was filled +with triumphant yells from the warriors. The chiefs themselves, +with the exception of Pee-to-tum, whose cry had been the signal +for their clamor, preserved a dignified silence. The eyes of Mr. +McKenzie and Winnebeg sought each other, and there was a pained +expression of disappointment in both that revealed at once the +cause of their concern. The former bit his lip and muttered, as he +turned away from the Indian to Captain Headley, the word “fool.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir, did you speak?” asked the latter, half coloring as he fancied +he had caught the word. +</p> + +<p> +“I have said and think, Captain Headley, that in this last act of +folly—the promise of ammunition to the Indians—you have signed +our death-warrant. No one acquainted with Indian character can +misunderstand the feeling which pervades, not the chiefs but +the warriors. If anything were wanting to satisfy me it would be +found in the yell of satisfaction with which that promise was +received. They are too drunk with hope even to stop to inquire. +Tecumseh's emissaries have been among them. British influence has +been at work; but we will talk of this later. The chiefs seem +surprised at this discourse between ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Gubbernor,” said Winnebeg, solemnly, and in his own broken English +phraseology, “as the head chief of the Pottowatomies, I return +thanks to our Great Father for the liberal presents he has made to +our nation; but I think it will be better not to go away or give +up the ammunition, because we have plenty of everything to defend +the fort for a long time. Give my warriors blankets and cloths, +and the squaws trinkets, and keep the powder safe here. We can kill +the cattle and make pimmecan. If a force comes to attack you, we +can attack them from the woods and, the sand-hills. This, gubbernor, +is what I have to say.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I,” remarked Pee-to-tum, starting to his feet and with fierce +gesticulation, “insist, in the name of the warriors, that the wishes +of our Great Father of the United States be done. He has said we +shall have the powder, and we will have it—and the rum, and Kenzie's +strong drinks too. Father, I have spoken.” +</p> + +<p> +Another loud and triumphant yell from the warriors grouped around +too clearly evinced that there was danger to be apprehended from +those they had hitherto looked upon as their friends. Captain +Headley felt ill at ease, for he was conscious that he had irrevocably +committed himself; and, what was more mortifying to his pride, he +was compelled inwardly to admit that his subalterns, although at +the price of disobedience of orders, had, in this instance, evinced +far more judgement and prudence than himself. Still, the pride of +superiority—mayhap of vanity—was in some measure deprived of its +humiliation, as he consoled himself with the reflection that their +precaution must have been the result of an intimation of some change +of feeling on the part of the warrior, whereas he himself had been +left, wholly in ignorance on the subject, and led to repose +confidently on their good faith. Still he shuddered as he thought +of those within, at what might have been the turbulence of the +young men, evidently encouraged by the dark Pee-to-tum, had they +gained admission into the fort. +</p> + +<p> +Feeling that things had arrived at a crisis and that it would not +be prudent to provoke those in whose power they now unquestionably +were, he remarked calmly to Winnebeg that the word of the Father +of the United States was pledged, could not be withdrawn without +dishonor, and that, therefore, his resolution was unchanged in +regard to the distribution of the powder with the other presents, +which should take place on that very spot on the morrow. +</p> + +<p> +Winnebeg looked angrily round as the yell of Pee-to-tum marked the +triumph and satisfaction of the latter at this renewal of the +promise of Captain Headley. It was uttered, not in gladness for +the gifts, but as thought it would express the knowledge that the +donation was compelled—not to be avoided. Mr. McKenzie had difficulty +in restraining the nervousness of his annoyance. +</p> + +<p> +“Then, sir,” he said, addressing the commanding officer, “since we +are to assist in cutting our own throats, it seems to me that the +most prudent course to pursue will be to leave everything +standing as it is, and allow the Indians to help themselves, while +we march as rapidly as possible to our destination.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! and without escort? That, indeed, would be madness,” exclaimed +Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“It is from the escort we have most reason to apprehend danger,” +returned the trader. “What say you, Winnebeg?” +</p> + +<p> +“Winnebeg say, suppose him Gubbernor not stay fight him English—go +directly. Leave him Ingin here divide him presents.” +</p> + +<p> +Black Partridge and all the other chiefs, except Pee-to-tum, gave +the same opinion. +</p> + +<p> +Whether nettled at the support given to the proposition of Mr. +McKenzie by Winnebeg, or more immediately influenced by his strict +sense of obedience to the order he had received from General Hull, +or by both motives, Captain Headley firmly repeated his determination +to distribute everything, as he promised, on the following day. +The hour of twelve was named, and the council broke up, the younger +Indians leaping and shouting with joy as they separated in small +parties, some yet lingering about the fort and glacis, but the main +body moving off again to their encampment. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> + +<p> +The remainder of the day passed heavily and gloomily. All felt +there was a crisis at hand, and the insolent tone which the younger +Indians had assumed, left little hope with any that the escort of +their allies on the long and dreary route on which they were about +to enter would bring with it anything but despair and disaster. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Headley had exerted his prerogative. He had, as commanding +officer, decided upon his course in opposition to the judgment even +of his Indian counsellors; but he was not happy—he was not satisfied +himself. On re-entering the fort, after the council had been broken +up, he had felt it necessary to the maintenance of his own dignity +to summon the subalterns before him, and read, or rather commence +to read to them, a lecture on their disobedience of his command to +them to follow him to the council; but, with strong evidence of +contempt in their manner, they had turned on their heels and walked +away without replying, leaving him deeply mortified at a want of +respect for him, which was rendered the more bitter to his pride +by a certain latent consciousness that it had not been wholly +unmerited. On entering his apartment, he found his noble wife +preparing at her leisure the private arrangements for departure, +and calm and collected as if no circumstances of more than ordinary +interest were agitating the general mind. He caught her in his +arms; he sat upon the sofa, and drew her passionately to his heart. +Never in the course of twenty years' marriage had he more fondly +loved her. There was a luxury of endearment in that embrace that +renewed all the earlier and more vivid recollection of their union, +and for many minutes they remained thus, each wishing it could last +for ever. When this full outpouring of their souls had subsided, +their hearts beat lighter, felt freer, and there was less +scruple in entering on the subject of the immediate future that +awaited them. +</p> + +<p> +While they thus sat conversing in a strain of confidence and +tenderness, which the immediate trials to which they were about to +be exposed rendered, more exquisitely keen, Mr. McKenzie and Winnebeg +entered unannounced. At the sight of Captain Headley, hand in hand +with his wife, who sat upon his knee, the former would have retired, +but Mrs. Headley, without at all displacing herself or affecting +a confusion she did not feel, begged him to remain, adding that, +as she supposed Winnebeg and himself had important business with +Captain Headley, she would retire into the adjoining room. +</p> + +<p> +She rose slowly and majestically, bowed gracefully to the trader, +and took the hand of the chief, who as heartily returned the warm +pressure she gave it. +</p> + +<p> +“God bless him squaw!” he said, feelingly; “Winnebeg always love +him. Lay down life for him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you, good Winnebeg,” returned Mrs. Headley, warmly, while +a faint smile played upon her features; “I am sure you would do +that, but let us hope it will never come to the trial.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hope so,” returned the chief, as he shook his head gravely, and +followed with a mournful glance the receding form of the noble-minded +woman. +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Headley,” remarked Mr. McKenzie with severity, when the +door was closed on her, “I am come to use strong language to you, +but the occasion justifies it. If you do not rescind your promise +of powder to the Indians, the blood of your wife, of my daughter—of +every woman and child—of every individual in the garrison, be upon +your head! Sir, you will be a murderer, and without the poor excuse +of even being compelled to pursue the course you have. Was it not +enough to promise them the public stores, without exciting their +cupidity still further? Did you not hear the insolent Pee-to-tum +declare that not only he would have all the ardent spirit as well, +and not merely that, but what was contained in my cellar? When +men—and Indians, in particular—use such language, do you think +it prudent to put the means of our certain destruction in their +hands? Do you think it likely that, when once they have drained to +repletion of the maddening liquor, they will hesitate as to the +manner of disposing of the powder so recklessly, nay, so guiltily, +given to them? No, sir; let those articles be theirs, and we are +lost, irrevocably lost! Speak, Winnebeg—you hear—you understand +all I say—am I right?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Kenzie right,” returned the chief; “sorry give him powder +—young warrior not obey Winnebeg—Pee-to-tum bad man—make him +wicked:—no give him powder, Gubbernor!” +</p> + +<p> +All the extent of the indiscretion of which he had been guilty now, +for the first time, occurred to Captain Headley, and he could not +but agree with the trader, that the results he foretold were those +the most likely to follow the distribution. +</p> + +<p> +“But how am I to act?” he returned (his pride causing him to reply +rather to Winnebeg than to Mr. McKenzie); “how can I retract the +promise I have so solemnly made without incurring the very danger +you seem to apprehend? It will never do. Pee-to-tum will then sow +disunion between us and our allies, and then where will be our +expected escort?” +</p> + +<p> +“Captain Headley, are you wilfully blind that you do not perceive +you have lost all power, all influence to command where most you +seem so much to rely? Why, sir, it is clear that they are only +waiting for the delivery of the presents to throw off the mask. +Better would it have been had you allowed them to gut the fort and +choose for themselves. In their eagerness for plunder, they would +have lingered at least a couple of days behind, thus enabling you +to effect your march without them. Better that, I say, than the +suicidal course you have adopted; but far better still it were had +you boldly resolved to defend the post to the last. Your daring +and your determination would have awed the Indians. Your present +evident weakness and vacillation but inspire contempt.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. McKenzie,” said the captain, rising with strong indignation +in his manner, “this language I may not, will not hear with impunity.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay,” continued the trader, “you shall hear, for I have a right +to speak. By your conduct, all are imperilled. For the men it were +not so bad; but the women! Indeed, no language can be too strong +to express the dangers you have drawn around us all. Have you no +thought of your own noble wife?” +</p> + +<p> +The door opened, and Mrs. Headley stood once more before them, calm +and composed, but with a countenance slightly flushed. +</p> + +<p> +“Headley—Mr. McKenzie, excuse my intrusion, but I could not avoid +overhearing this unpleasant argument, which can tend to no benefit +in our strong emergency. Think me not bold if I intrude in this +matter, and, as a woman who has passed not a few summers of existence +in these wilds, offer my opinion. With you, Mr. McKenzie, I perfectly +agree that it would be highly imprudent, in the present changed +state of feeling of the Pottowatomies generally, to supply them +with ammunition which may be used against ourselves, and, with +Captain Headley on the other hand, deem that it would be impolitic +to exasperate the young men by denying that which they now so +confidently expect.” +</p> + +<p> +“And how, dear Ellen, would you solve the difficulty?” asked her +husband, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. McKenzie spoke not; but his eyes were bent upon her with mingled +surprise, respect, and admiration. +</p> + +<p> +“You may keep the word of promise to the ear, but break it to the +hope,” she replied. “Did you not say you had appointed to-morrow +for the delivery of the presents?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did. To-morrow at twelve. Everything will then be handed over.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” resumed Mrs. Headley, “what more simple than to produce, +among the other parcels, a single cask of powder and another of +rum; and if asked why there is not more, to offer in excuse that +you had not known your supply was so low. No doubt, Pee-to-tum and +those who, with himself, are discontented, will express +disappointment, even indignation; but that is a very secondary +consideration, when we consider the importance of withholding the +gift. One cask of powder and one of rum divided among four hundred +warriors will not amount to much after all.” +</p> + +<p> +“All very well, Ellen; but what is to prevent them, if they fancy +themselves duped, from forcing the store and discovering the deceit +that has been practised? Then, indeed, will they have some just +ground for their fury.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have provided against that,” she replied. “I mean that Winnebeg +shall call a council of his young men this night at twelve, so as +to keep them away from the fort that they may not know what is +going on; then, when all is still, the whole of the men can be +employed in removing the casks of powder and liquor, rolling them +some into the sallyport, and emptying their contents into the well, +which you know is built there as a reservoir in the event of a +siege; the remainder, conveyed through the northern gate, the heads +knocked in, and the contents thrown into the river. If they should +search, they will find nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good!” said Winnebeg, who perfectly understood the proposition, +and had listened to every word. +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed, indeed, Mrs. Headley,” remarked the trader, “who will not +admit that there is more resource on an emergency in a woman's mind +than in all our boasted wisdom put together? A better plan could +not have been devised. You will adopt it, Captain Headley?” +</p> + +<p> +“Most certainly,” he said, fervently grasping the hand of his wife. +“When did my Ellen ever fail to better my judgment by her sound +advice?” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet, but for our little misunderstanding, Captain Headley—a +misunderstanding not personal, but simply of opinion—we should +never have had the advantage of her most wise umpiry. This is +certainly an illustration that good sometimes comes of evil.” +</p> + +<p> +“And now, gentlemen,” said Mrs. Headley, playfully, “that I have +conferred upon you the benefit of that wisdom you seem so properly +to appreciate, I will again leave you to yourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless him!” said Winnebeg, as he took the hand that was again +proffered to him in the most friendly manner. +</p> + +<p> +“My ammunition and liquors must be destroyed in the same manner,” +said the trader, who now rose to take his leave. “Only three or +four of my voyageurs are at home just now. You will allow some of +your own men to assist them, Captain Headley.” +</p> + +<p> +“The moment the public stores are destroyed, they shall all do so,” +replied the captain; “the work cannot be too speedily done. Think +you, Winnebeg, you can keep your young men in the encampment +to-night?” +</p> + +<p> +“Try him Gubbernor—call him council—speak him of march to Fort +Wayne; spose young Ingin come, good—spose him no come, sleep till +to-morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, Winnebeg, you must arrange it as best you can, but +contrive at least to keep them from prowling around the fort. At +midnight, then, Mr. McKenzie, we shall commence the work of +destruction. When you have made your own preparations, and wish to +come in for aid, follow the subterranean passage that leads from +the river near your warehouse to the sallyport; you will find the +men there busily engaged, and ready for you the moment they have +emptied the contents of our casks.” +</p> + +<p> +The commandant waved his hand in a familiar manner as he concluded, +and the trader and the chief withdrew. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“But I am constant as the northern star.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Julius Caesar.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +The remainder of that day, the 12th of August, passed over without +incident, but not without anxiety; for the Indians, no longer +indulging in the indolence of the wigwam or the activity of the +chase, occupied themselves with running, leaping, wrestling, jumping, +throwing the rude stone quoit, and firing at a target with the bow. +It might have seemed as though they sought to intimidate, as much +by exuberance of spirits as by a display of numbers, the little +garrison, who, it was clear, from the closing of the gate and the +firing of the gun, no longer regarded them with the confidence they +had ever hitherto manifested. These sports were evidently the +prelude to some ulterior purpose, either immediate or not distantly +remote, and the energy with which they were followed, attested the +excitement with which the accomplishment was looked for. It seemed +as though none would permit a moment of repose to the blood until +the fond object for which it had been excited should have been +attained. +</p> + +<p> +All this was remarked from the fort; but, notwithstanding a vigilant +lookout was kept up, Captain Headley had given orders that if small +parties of the Indians should seek admission, it was not to be +refused to them. This made the duty exceedingly severe, for the +men, being compelled to work in harness under a scorching sun, +suffered greatly, and none were sorry when, at the close of the +day, not only their own task had partially terminated, but the +jaded Indians, drunk with too much joy and excitement, were seen +wending lazily for the night to their several places of repose. +</p> + +<p> +At about midnight Captain Headley and his officers stood, not +together, but on different parts of the rampart, watching the +encampment of the Pottowatomies. Most of their fires had been +extinguished, but towards the centre where stood the tent of +Winnebeg, there was a bright flickering glare, around which forms +of men could be seen moving to the measured sound of the faintly +audible and monotonous drum. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, then, gentlemen, is the moment for exertion. Winnebeg has +evidently found it easier, in their present humor, to get his +warriors into a war-dance than a sober council; but no matter in +what manner, provided their detention be secured. You will now move +your men to the stores, and, in order not only to prevent accident, +but noise, see that all are provided with their moccasins. Mr. +Elmsley, you will take command of the party conveying the ammunition +through the sallyport, and empty it into the well; and you, Mr. +Ronayne, will proceed through the northern gate, roll the casks +which I have directed each to be covered with a blanket to the edge +of the river, cause their heads to be forced in noiselessly with +chisels, then empty the contents—powder as well as rum—into the +stream. No light must be used to betray your movements to the +Indians, or to incur the risk of explosion. One lantern only hangs +up in the store out of the reach of all harm, and it is transparent +enough to enable you to see what you are about, to distinguish the +several casks, those containing the powder and rum, from those in +which are packed the bags of shot, flints, gun-screws, &c. All +these latter you will throw into the well, with the spare +muskets, the stocks of which must be noiselessly broken up. This +operation will take up some hours, gentlemen. The nights are not +long, and it will require all the time until dawn to complete the +work. Now, then, that you have your instructions, proceed to work +with your respective parties. For myself, I shall superintend the +whole.” +</p> + +<p> +Without replying, the two officers departed to execute the but too +agreeable duty assigned to them, while Von Voltenberg, who had paid +his professional visits for the night, was instructed to keep a +vigilant lookout on the common until dawn, in order to detect any +movement on the part of the Indians, singly or in parties, to +approach the fort. Corporal Green, whose sight was remarkable for +its keenness, was instructed to keep pacing the circuit of the +rampart during the night, and to report to the doctor, for whom, +in consideration of his being a non-combatant, a chair had been +placed in a sentry box overlooking the encampment, anything remarkable +that he might observe. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing particular at first occurred during the execution of this +important duty. The casks were silently rolled, knocked in, and +emptied in the well and river. This took up many hours; but towards +dawn, as Ensign Ronayne was following at some little distance in +the rear of his men, he thought he observed a dark moving form as +of a man crawling upon his belly, and endeavoring to approach as +near as possible to the spot where the men were at work. Impressed +at once with the assurance that it was some one sent by Pee-to-tum +to watch the actions of the garrison, he advanced boldly up to him, +being then distant at least fifty feet from his party, and near +the awning which had been left standing for the accommodation of +the Indians who were to receive their presents the next day. The +prowler, finding it impossible to elude the officer in the position +in which he was then gliding, suddenly started to his feet, and +sought to escape detection in flight; but Ronayne, who was a very +quick runner, and moreover wore moccasins as well as his men, soon +came up with him, when the Indian rapidly turned, and, upraising +his arm, prepared to strike a desperate blow at the chest of the +unarmed youth. But even while the knife was balancing, as if to +select some vulnerable part, another figure started suddenly from +behind a part of the awning, close to which they all were, and +grasping the arm of the assailant, dexterously wrested the weapon +from his hand, and flung it far away from him upon the glacis. +</p> + +<p> +All this was the work of a moment. The spy turned fiercely upon +the intruder, and, saying something fiercely and authoritatively +to him in Indian, strode leisurely away. Ronayne could not be +mistaken. The first was Pee-to-tum, and even if he could not have +traced the graceful outline of the well—knit figure, the soft and +musical voice which replied to the scorning threat of the fierce +chief sufficiently denoted it to be Wau-nan-gee. +</p> + +<p> +“Heavens! how is this? Wau-nan-gee!” he asked, sternly, yet trembling +with excitement in every limb, “why came you here? Why have you +saved my life? Speak! are you not my enemy? Where is my wife?” +</p> + +<p> +All these questions were asked with the greatest volubility, and +in a state of mind so confused by the host of feelings the presence +of the young Indian inspired, that he scarcely comprehended the +latter as he replied:— +</p> + +<p> +“All! love him too much, Ronayne wife—love him Ronayne too +—Wau-nan-gee friend, dear friend—Wau-nan-gee die for him—Ronayne +wife in Ingin camp—pale—pale, very much!” +</p> + +<p> +“Answer me,” said Ronayne, grasping him by the shoulder in pure +excitement, “tell me truly, Wau-nan-gee—I will not hurt you if +you do—but tell me, on the truth of an Indian warrior, is not my +wife your wife? did she not go to you? does she not love you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ugh?” exclaimed the boy, with an expression of deep melancholy in +his manner; “Wau-nan-gee love him too much, but not make him wife. +Spose him not Ronayne wife, then Wau-nan-gee; die happy spose him +Wau-nan-gee wife. Feel him dere, my friend—feel him heart—oh much +sick for Maria—but Wau-nan-gee Ronayne friend no hurt him wife.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can all this be possible?” he exclaimed, vehemently to himself. +“Oh, what a noble, what a generous being; he restores life and +happiness to my heart! But still I am not yet convinced, the joy +is too great for such light testimony. One question more, Wau-nan-gee: +why did my wife leave this? Did you persuade her to go?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Ronayne, Wau-nan-gee tell him go. Shuh!” he continued, as if +enjoining silence, and looking cautiously round, “no speak, +Ronayne—Ingin very wicked—kill him garrison by by—Ronayne and +Maria—Wau-nan-gee friend, dear friend—Wau-nan-gee save him—Ingin +kill him—Maria cry very much, promise no.” Then drawing a +handkerchief from his pocket, which the officer recognised, even +in the gloom, as that which he had thrown down at Hardscrabble, +and which was subsequently waved from the window of the farm-house, +he handed it to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, then,” he exclaimed, “is all my doubt removed, and again am +I the happiest of men in the assurance of the continued love of +the adored one. Oh, Wau-nan-gee, my friend, my brother!” He threw +himself into his embrace; he pressed him forcibly to his heart. +“Oh, how true, how just was the feeling which caused me not to +hate, even when I fancied you had most injured me! Wau-nan-gee, +you must always be my friend; you must be Maria's friend; you must +love us both!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said the Indian, warmly and with difficulty maintaining the +stoicism of his race; “Wau-nan-gee happy to lay down his life for +Ronayne and Maria; oh! Ronayne,” and he took the hand of the +Virginian and placed it on his chest which he bared, “can't tell +how much Wau-nan-gee love him Maria—want to make him happy. Suppose +Ronayne come now with Wau-nan-gee—take him to squaw camp. Stay +there till battle over. Yes, come, come!” +</p> + +<p> +“Noble and generous boy! how do you win my very soul to you!” +returned the officer, as he again affectionately embraced him. “No, +no, I cannot do that, great and severe as is this sacrifice of +inclination. But what battle do you speak of?” +</p> + +<p> +“Letter tell him all,” said the youth. “Not say Wau-nan-gee say so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wau-nan-gee,” said Ronayne, impressively, “no doubt there is +danger. We all know it. Was it not you who brought me a line from +Maria this morning?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, my friend. Pee-to-tum say attack him council. Wau-nan-gee +tell him Maria write—afraid to say much.” +</p> + +<p> +“No doubt, then, we shall be attacked before many days are over; +but thank God, she at least is safe. Wau-nan-gee, you must +take care of her in the camp of your women. When all is safe, you +will come to me with her.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Ronayne,” called a voice near the river, “where are you?” +</p> + +<p> +It was Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“Good by, Wau-nan-gee,” said the officer, “I must go. Give my love +to Maria, and tell her I am sick to see her,” and he put his hand +over his heart, “and that I will join her when all danger is over; +to-morrow night I shall have a letter for her. You can contrive to +steal into the fort at night, and into my room unnoticed, +Wau-nan-gee?” +</p> + +<p> +“Spose him come,” again urged the Indian, “Wau-nan-gee find him +little tent for Ronayne and his wife for two three days? Wau-nan-gee +wait upon him, bring him food. Maria say come—must come.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, Wau-nan-gee, my dear friend, you know I cannot as a warrior +think of myself alone; I must do my duty; but I am called. Good +by, my noble boy. To-morrow night at twelve. God bless you! I leave +my wife wholly to your care.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wau-nan-gee die for him,” said the youth energetically, as, after +again pressing the extended hand of the Virginian, he traced his +way cautiously to the encampment. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Ronayne,” repeated Captain Headley, “where are you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here, sir; I have for a few moments been absent from my post, but +I thought I remarked an Indian skulking near to watch our movements, +and I followed him. I was not wrong; it was Pee-to-tum. When +discovered, he rose to his feet and would have stabbed me, but +Wau-nan-gee was near and warded off the blow.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wau-nan-gee! said you, Mr. Ronayne? Did he ward off the blow aimed +at your life?” +</p> + +<p> +“He did, sir; why should he not? We have always been friends.” +</p> + +<p> +Had it not been dark, Captain Headley would have looked as he felt, +exceedingly puzzled for a reply. +</p> + +<p> +“To tell the truth, Mr. Ronayne, I had not suspected this. I should +rather have imagined that he was the chief instigator of the young +men to discontent; but I am glad to find it otherwise.” +</p> + +<p> +For a moment it flashed across the mind of the Virginian that Mrs. +Headley had, from policy or in confidence, communicated all she +knew in regard to Maria's evasion to her husband. The idea of any +man possessing the slightest knowledge of wrong in his wife would +have maddened him; but now that he in some measure knew the facts, +and looked upon her in all the purity of her spotless nature, he +was not sorry to have an opportunity to remove the impression; he, +therefore, answered calmly, yet without adverting to the actual +position of his wife. +</p> + +<p> +“So far from that being the case, Captain Headley, Wau-nan-gee is +the last person to engage in an outrage of the kind. Doubtless +these letters, of which the youth has been the bearer, will explain +much that is now a mystery.” +</p> + +<p> +The laborious duty of the night being now ended, the gates were +once more fastened; and as the officers passed the lamp which hung +over the entrance of the commandant's quarters, Ronayne glanced at +the superscriptions of the two missives. The one was written in +ink, and directed to Mrs. Headley; the other in pencil, and addressed +to himself. +</p> + +<p> +Ronayne was too impatient to know the contents of the letters to +waste further time in conversation. At the invitation of Captain +Headley, he entered and unfolded the note, while the commandant +sought the apartment of his wife. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Headley had thrown herself towards morning on her bed, but +not to sleep; her mind was too full of apprehensions for the fast +coming future, and for the melancholy, sad past; and, even at the +moment when her husband entered, her thoughts were of the unfortunate +Mrs. Ronayne. +</p> + +<p> +“From Maria! is it possible?” she exclaimed, as she broke the seal. +“Whence comes this? who brought it?” +</p> + +<p> +“What think you of Wau-nan-gee!” he answered, significantly +—“Wau-nan-gee, who saved within the hour her husband's life!” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, by my soul, is she innocent!” exclaimed the generous woman, +rising up. “Almighty God, I thank thee. Oh, how rashly have we +judged; but let me read. The document is dated from this, the night +before her departure; it is the same, no doubt, she should have +inclosed before—not a word in addition. I will read it later. +Where is Ronayne?” +</p> + +<p> +“In the next room. He, too, has received a communication, which he +is now reading. You had better go in to him, while I give some +directions to Elmsley, which require to be attended to immediately. +I shall rejoin you presently.” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h2> + +<p> +When Mrs. Headley entered, unannounced, into the apartment where +the Virginian was sitting, he brushed his hand across his eyes, +but now they wept not only the emotion of grief that he betrayed, +but of joy, of pride, of the fulness of life. He rose, pressed her +hand warmly, and, giving her Maria's note to read, took the letter +which she proffered in return. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Ronayne,” began the first, “what language can express my +feelings—my fears—my agony. For the last week I have not seemed +to live a human existence. My mind has been all chaos and confusion. +I have been feverish, excited, scarcely conscious of my own acts, +and filled with a strong dread of an evil which I know will come, +must come, although only protracted. And yet, with all the horror +of my position, how much more bitter might have been my self-reproach, +my remorse, in having neglected, in my distraction, to inclose the +packet for Mrs. Headley, which the noble-hearted, the devoted +Wau-nan-gee now conveys. I thought I had given it to Sergeant Nixon, +but Wau-nan-gee found it in the pocket of my saddle only yesterday. +Oh, but for the arrival of Winnebeg with the intelligence he brings, +it would now be too late, and what, then, would have been my +sensations? His appearance has altered the plans of the unfriendly +portion of the Indians, who, presuming that the troops will soon +leave the fort, have determined to wait for the division of the +stores, and attack you on the march. But still they could not +restrain their impatience, and the day of the council was fixed. +All this I learned from Wau-nan-gee, who makes me acquainted +with everything that is going on, and is both hated and suspected +by Pee-to-tum, who would willingly find him guilty of treachery, +and destroy him if he could. I begged him, in my deep sorrow, to +be the bearer to you, even amid all danger of detection, of a few +words of warning which I knew you would sufficiently understand. +He did go, while dashing up seemingly in defiance to the gate; and +with a joy you may well understand, I marked the result. So far, +then, has the step which my great love for you induced me to take, +regardless of minor considerations, been of vital service to you +all; for good and generous as Wau-nan-gee is, nothing short of his +deep and respectful attachment would have led him to reveal the +secrets of his people, and thus defeat their cruel purpose. But, +oh! when I think that the danger is only deferred, not removed, +how poor is the consolation! Dear Ronayne, my heart is sad, sad, +sad! Last night I dreamed you were near, and this morning I awoke +to horror, to know that, perhaps, your hours are numbered, while +for me there is no hope of death, which then would be a blessing, +except from my own hand! Oh, suffer me not to pray in vain if you +would have me live! Once you evaded (oh, how cruelly!) the stratagem +which would have saved your life and honor—which would have made +you an unwilling prisoner with those who, for my own safety, hold +me captive. +</p> + +<p> +“Alas! had I not hoped that you would have been compelled to share +my weary bondage until the dread crisis had passed, I had never +been here; and now that the great object of my heart has failed, +I would return, and share the danger that surrounds you. One more +embrace would give me greater strength to die. One more renewal of +each well-remembered face would make me firmer in resolve to meet +the coming danger, that danger shared by all. But Wau-nan-gee, in +all things else docile as a slave, in this denies me. In his mother's +tent I dwell, disguised from the wretch Pee-to-tum in Indian garb, +and, although she does not seem to do so, she watches my motions +closely. Oh! then, since I may not go to you, come for a brief +period to your adoring wife! Come with the occasion back with +Wau-nan-gee. He will conduct you to the tent where now I am, some +little distance from the general encampment, and never visited but +by Winnebeg and his son. You will say I am but an indifferent +soldier's wife to give such counsel to a husband. I confess it; my +love for you is greater than my regard for your glory. But what +glory do you seek? March with the troops and ingloriously you +perish; for what can avail defence against the strong force I know +to be fully bent upon your destruction. Join me here and you are +saved—saved for a long and future course of glory for your +country—and, oh! far dearer to me, for a long and future course +of wedded happiness. Yet, oh, God! how can my pencil trace this +icy language, while my heart is desolate—longing—pining for your +presence. Oh, beloved Ronayne! by all the vows of love you ever +poured into my willing ear—by all the fires of passion you ever +kindled in my heart, I conjure you to come, for I can endure this +suspense, this cruel uncertainty no longer. To-night I shall count +the long, long hours; and, oh! if Wau-nan-gee return without you, +without one ray of hope to animate this breaking heart, I will not +leave him until I have won his promise to conduct me at midnight +to the secret entrance through which he has so often gained admission +into the fort; or failing in my plea to him, I will make the attempt +to fly myself. But, dear Ronayne, if you come not, the measure +of my grief will be full indeed to overflowing. I can no longer +endure this.” +</p> + +<p> +Such was the last note of the unhappy and distracted Maria Ronayne. +The document addressed to Mrs. Headley was more voluminous, and +written of course under the impression that when read by the latter, +her own husband would be secure from the danger it detailed. It +was in substance as follows: +</p> + +<p> +Wau-nan-gee, who had been absent for nearly a month in the immediate +theatre of war near Detroit, and heard rumors of an intended attack +upon Chicago, had hastened back with great expedition to announce +to his friends the approaching danger; but much to his surprise, +he found on his arrival that the news of that event had been known +in the camp several days previously through the agency of certain +emissaries who used every exertion to win the Pottowatomies over +to Tecumseh and the British cause. A council had been secretly held +before the return of Winnebeg with the despatch from General Hull, +and terms had been offered and proposals made on that occasion +which were variously received, according to the humor, interests, +and rapacity of the parties. By the majority of the chiefs, to +their honor be it said, the proposal of treachery to the Americans +was sternly rejected, but there was one of their number—Pee-to-tum +—not a full-blooded Pottowatomie, but a sort of mongrel Chippewa, +adopted in the tribe for his untamably fiendish disposition, +connected with certain other mere animal qualities, who was loud +in his invectives against the Americans for their asserted aggressions +on the Indian territory, and he, by pointing out the advantages +that would accrue to themselves by an alliance with England, won +upon almost all the young warriors to decide in abandoning the +American cause immediately. Thus, although there was no decided +treaty made, there was a tacit understanding that all possible +advantage was to be taken of circumstances, and whenever a favorable +opportunity presented itself, the mask was to be thrown off. In +vain Black Partridge, Kee-po-tah, Waubansee, and other Pottowatomie +chiefs declared they washed their hands of all wrong that might be +perpetrated. The young men, or the great majority of them, wanted +excitement, blood, plunder; and they sustained Pee-to-tum in all +that he advanced. Hoping, however, that the tumult would subside +with the absence of those who first incited it, the chiefs did not +like to alarm the commandant by a knowledge of what was going on +among themselves, but were contented with recommending, as has +already been seen, that he should remain in defence of his own post +rather than confide himself to the safe keeping of those on whom +he depended for an escort. +</p> + +<p> +The night of the arrival of Wau-nan-gee he gleaned all this +information; and filled with anxiety for the danger that threatened +the wife of Ronayne, whom really he loved with a deep passion—yet +one utterly unfed by hope or expectation of any kind whatever—he +determined that night to enter the fort while her husband was on +guard, and acquainting her with her danger, entreat her to allow +him to conceal her until all was over. He succeeded, though not +without some risk of being discovered in consequence of the +exclamation of surprise and almost terror, which Mrs. Ronayne +uttered on his appearance so suddenly and unexpectedly before her; +but the humble manner of the boy—the deprecating yet earnest look +he threw on her, and the lowly posture in which he crouched, soon +satisfied her that there was some important reason for his +appearance at that hour of the night, which it was essential she +should learn. She, therefore, took his hand to reassure him, and +with an attempt at lightness, bade him tell her what brought him +there after so long an absence at that late hour of the night, and +when he must have known that Ronayne was on guard and herself alone? +</p> + +<p> +The boy shook his head with a solemn, sad expression, “Come alone, +come!” he replied; “no speak him Ronayne. Pottowatomie kill him +Wau-nan-gee—oh, Wau-nan-gee very sick!” +</p> + +<p> +Those few brief sentences, delivered in that melancholy and +significant manner, rendered Mrs. Ronayne extremely nervous. She +made him sit on the sofa. She took his hand—she asked him what he +meant. With tears swimming in his large, soft, languishing black +eyes, he told her everything relating to the subject—of his own +return for the express purpose of looking to her safety—of the +secret council of the Indians—of the fierce determination of +Pee-to-tum and the misguided young men whose cupidity and passions +he had so strongly awakened. He said he came to save her, to take +her out of the fort until all the trouble was over, to conceal +herself in a spot, to watch her, and to protect her as a brother. +</p> + +<p> +“And Ronayne—your friend, my husband—what will you do with him?” +exclaimed Mrs. Ronayne, greatly excited and terrified by what she +had heard. “Oh, Wau-nan-gee, can you not save us all? Will it not +be enough to tell Capt Headley what you know, and thus put him on +his guard!” +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose him tell Captain Headley, Ingin knew it—Ingin know +Wau-nan-gee tell him. Kill him Wau-nan-gee like a dog. Save him +Maria!” +</p> + +<p> +“And will you not save Ronayne? If you care for me, Wau-nan-gee, +you will save my husband.” +</p> + +<p> +“Spose him love him very much husband?” he said, fixing a penetrating +yet softened look on her. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Wau-nan-gee, very much,” returned Mrs. Ronayne with emphasis. +“If you save one you must save the other.” +</p> + +<p> +Without pursuing the conversation further, it may suffice to remark +that Wau-nan-gee left not Mrs. Ronayne until he had exacted her +promise to meet him on the following afternoon in the summer-house, +when he said he would be enabled to show her a place where, with +her husband, she might be concealed as soon as it was known on what +day the Indians should have decided on their attack. This he pledged +himself to have arranged in the course of the morning, so that by +the afternoon she should be enabled to judge of the convenience it +afforded. The trunks seen by Ronayne at Hardscrabble, were hastily +packed by Mrs. Ronayne with articles of clothing for both, and +conveyed by Wau-nan-gee that night through his secret entrance to +the summer-house, and subsequently removed. +</p> + +<p> +Not liking to call attention to the circumstance of her crossing +the water unaccompanied, and moreover, really desiring the presence +of one of her own sex to sustain her in the course that had been +forced upon her, she had requested Mrs. Headley to bear her company. +On her entering the summer-house, the trap-door, which appeared to +have been made that very morning, was open; but instead of +Wau-nan-gee, she beheld standing near its entrance another dark +Indian whom she had too much reason to fear and dread. +</p> + +<p> +It has already been remarked that Pee-to-tum was not a genuine +Pottowatomie, but one of that race whose very name is a synonym +with treachery and falsehood—a Chippewa. With low, heavy features; +a dark, scowling brow; coarse, long, dark hair, shading the restless, +ever-moving eye that, like that of the serpent, seemed to fascinate +where most the cold and slimy animal sought to sting; the broad, +coarse nose; the skin partaking more in the Chippewa, of that +offensive, rank odor peculiar to the Indian, than any others of +the race; with all these loathsome attributes of person, yet with +a soul swelling with the most unbounded vanity and self-sufficiency, +based on ignorance and assumption; this man, although having a wife +and children grown up, had dared to cast the eye of desire on Mrs. +Ronayne. Long had he watched her, not as the gentle, the pure, +the self-sacrificing Wau-nan-gee, but as a tiger gloating for his +prey. To possess her had been one of his leading motives in urging +the alliance with the tribes in the British interests—to hasten +the moment she might become a prisoner in his hands, his chief aim +in stirring up the young warriors into a determination of early +attack. +</p> + +<p> +Only two days prior to the return of Wau-nan-gee he had been in +the fort, and passing near Mrs. Ronayne as she was amusing herself +at battledore with her friend, Mrs. Elmsley, remarked to a companion +as he bent his eyes insolently upon her: “The white chiefs' wives +are amusing themselves. They are wise. In a few days we shall have +them in our wigwams.” +</p> + +<p> +No notice was taken of the remark at the time. Mrs. Ronayne had +more than once noticed the eyes of the loathsome Chippewa fixed +upon her with an expression she shuddered at but could not define, +and she had attributes his words on that occasion to impotent anger +and disappointment, at the dislike she had conceived for him. +</p> + +<p> +This was the loathsome being she now met, and knowing, as she did +from Wau-nan-gee, all that he meditated in regard to himself and +friend, the horror she experienced may be conceived. Rapidly, and +in time to suppress in a great measure the scream she attempted to +give, the savage placed one hand upon her mouth, and clasping her +tightly round the waist, bore her to the opening through which he +made her rudely descend, still keeping his hand upon her mouth. +</p> + +<p> +When the feet of Mrs. Ronayne touched the bottom of that seemingly +living tomb, she was so paralysed by fear that she had not strength +to support herself, and but for the arm of the dark chief still +clasped around her waist, she must have fallen. The very sight of +her weakness inflamed the Chippewa the more. He removed her hat +and threw it on the ground. The vast volume of her brown hair he +unfastened from the comb. It fell, enveloping her figure to her +knees. The eyes of the brutal Chippewa flashed fire in the half +darkness that prevailed around. The hand hitherto held upon her +mouth, now fell upon and fiercely pressed her bosom, and his hideous +lips sought hers. With a violent effort she tore them from the +pollution of his touch, and uttering a fault cry of despair, sank +fainting from his now loosening grasp. What followed she could not +tell; but when some minutes afterwards she came to her senses, weak +and exhausted from excitement, Wau-nan-gee was sitting at her side +chafing her palms with his own, and with the large tears coursing +down his cheeks. +</p> + +<p> +At the first sight of the boy Mrs. Ronayne started, for she fancied +that she must have been laboring under the influence of a dream, +and that not Pee-to-tum, but himself, had used the violence +she experienced; but when she recalled all that had passed, perceived +her own disorder of dress, and remarked the unfeigned affliction +of the youth, she knew that it could not be so. Still deeply +agitated, she asked him anxiously where the Chippewa was, and +wherefore, he and not Wau-nan-gee had been in the summer-house as +promised, when she came in. With every appearance of profound sorrow +and sincerity, the youth replied that he knew not how Pee-to-tum +had got there—that he himself, after leaving the trap-door open +ready for the descent of Mrs. Ronayne, had gone to the further +extremity of the vault for the purpose of removing a large stone +which blocked up a hole admitting the fresh air from above near +the cottage, and that he was returning by this passage, which was +narrow but nearly six feet in height, when he heard the cry for +aid, and knowing it to be hers he had flown to her assistance, but +that the sound of his approaching footsteps must have alarmed the +Chippewa and caused him to fly—stopping motionless, perhaps, till +he, Wau-nan-gee, had passed him, and then escaping by the same +outlet. He it must have been whom Mrs. Headley had remarked stealing +across the garden just before she entered it with Maria. +</p> + +<p> +Once reassured of the fidelity and truth of the boy, Mrs. Ronayne, +although painfully, distractingly ignorant of the extent to which +the insolence of Pee-to-tum had been carried, was too much absorbed +in the consideration of her husband's safety to lose sight of the +subject more immediately at her heart, in mere personal regrets +that now were of little avail. She said to Wau-nan-gee that the +place in which she then was would certainly have been well suited +to the purpose intended but for two reasons; firstly, that now +having been discovered by Pee-to-tum, it would no longer be secure; +and secondly, that her husband would never consent to abandon his +comrades to secure his own safety. She proposed, instead, that a +plan should be arranged to make them both prisoners while out on +the following day, and in such manner that it should be supposed +in the garrison that the capture had been effected by hostile +Indians; and to this the youth joyfully assented, stating that a +number of his friends less hostile in their intentions might be +procured to aid him in the matter. It was arranged that this should +be done on the following day, and this at so great a distance from +the encampment that Pee-to-tum should know nothing of the occurrence +till both husband and wife were beyond his reach. +</p> + +<p> +“It is a strange and a wild project,” she remarked, “but the crisis +is desperate, and anything to save my husband's life. But now I +must go, dear Wau-nan-gee; Mrs. Headley is in the garden waiting +for me.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no go,” he said; “spose him Mrs. Headley go home. Wau-nan-gee +take Maria home by by. Got canoe here. No let him go home. Pee-to-tum +wicked—Pee-to-tum got Ingin plenty yonder,” and he pointed in the +direction of the cottage; “Pee-to-tum carry off Maria—go see where +he is. Shut him door till Wau-nan-gee come back. Mrs. Headley +come, no see him here; no tink him here.” +</p> + +<p> +He accordingly ascended, fastened down the trap-door and departed, +as we have said, little anticipating to have been seen by Mrs. +Headley. +</p> + +<p> +He had not been five minutes gone when she heard a dull, heavy +sound which satisfied her that the stone was being rolled from the +orifice spoken of by Wau-nan-gee. Feeling assured that Pee-to-tum +had seen him depart, and knowing her to be there and helpless, +was returning to renew his odious and brutal passion, she sought +to rise in order to force up and escape by the trap-door. This she +did, regardless of her disordered appearance, and without even +thinking of hat or comb; but she had no sooner moved a step forward +when she again fell down, as much paralysed by fear as exhausted +by weakness. In her helplessness she could only sob and moan and +vainly deplore the absence of her late rescuer, while all her +thoughts and feelings were of her husband. The footsteps advanced; +she grew at each moment more nervous, more terrified. She had +scarcely the power to move herself on the spot where she half sat, +half reclined. Presently the trap-door was heard to move, soon it +opened, and there to her astonishment, yet not less to her exceeding +embarrassment, inasmuch as she could not, without compromising the +saviour of her honor—the purposed saviour of her life, explain in +what manner she had been placed in the strange position in which +she had been found, she beheld Mrs. Headley. What followed is known +to the reader. It was not, however, Pee-to-tum whom Mrs. Ronayne +had heard rolling away the stone, but Wau-nan-gee returning to set +her free for the present, as he had seen the soldiers at the gate +and knew that she was safe. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“This is my glove—by this hand I will take thee a box on the ear.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Henry V.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +The following morning was as bright and glorious as an August sun +could render it, but its very brilliancy seemed a mockery to the +gloom and despair that filled the hearts of the little garrison. +Still, notwithstanding the treachery few were ignorant the Indians +intended, there was a bearing among all, from the commanding officer +down, that, while attesting determination and confidence in +themselves, left no ground for a suspicion that the designs of +their treacherous allies had been revealed. +</p> + +<p> +The guard was mounted, as usual, and the customary formalities of +the military service complied with, and arrangements were made, +soon after the men had eaten their breakfasts, for the conveyance +of the stores to the glacis. +</p> + +<p> +At twelve o'clock all was ready, and the mass of Indian warriors, +painted and armed, moved in loose and disorganized bodies across +the plain, and grouped around their chiefs, who, seated on the +ground, received for the young men the presents which had been set +apart in divisions for every ten. The cloths, blankets, trinkets, +and provisions, were first handed over, but when on coming to the +ammunition and liquor only one cask of each was, found, the +indignation of the whole band, the chiefs excepted, was, as had +been expected, excessive. +</p> + +<p> +“My Father promised us plenty of powder and plenty of liquor,” +exclaimed Pee-to-tum, stamping with his feet and gesticulating +violently; “Where is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“This is all that is left of the stores,” exclaimed Capt. Headley. +“When we reach Fort Wayne you shall have more.” +</p> + +<p> +“My Father lies,” returned the Chippewa. “Pee-to-tum did not sleep +like a lazy hound in his tent last night; he crawled near the +fort; he heard the powder barrels knocked in with axes; he heard +the rum poured into the river like water. Even to-day,” and he +pointed with his clenched tomahawk, “the river is red with liquor +till it is 'strong grog.' What should prevent us from avenging +ourselves for this cheat, by mixing the blood of our father with +the same water till it looks like strong rum also?” A terrific yell +burst from the surrounding warriors, who all brandished their +tomahawks in a menacing manner. +</p> + +<p> +“What should prevent you?” said Capt. Headley, suddenly carried +out of his usual prudence by the insolence of the ruffian—“what +should and will prevent you!” and he pointed to the bastion, which +had been manned as on the former occasion, while the burning matches +seemed only to await his signal. “Each of those guns contains a +bag of fifty bullets, and each bullet can kill its enemy. Now then, +have but the courage to lay a hand upon me and you will see the +result. See, I am alone—only Mr. McKenzie to witness the act.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a pause of a few moments, during which low murmurs broke +from the younger Indians, and the dark and subtle eye of Pee-to-tum +quailed before the bold look of the commanding officer, who continued: +</p> + +<p> +“As for you, vile Chippewa, you are the sole cause of all these +troubles, all this excitement in the young men of the Pottowatomie +Nation. You are of that dark and malignant race, as far below the +Pottowatomie in everything that is noble and generous and good as +the Evil Spirit is below the Good Spirit. There is nothing but +falsehood and treachery in their selfish and avaricious nature. +They are deceitful, and so given to love rum that when an Indian +is seen wallowing like a hog in the gutter, and with the foam +disgorging from his blue and lizard-like lips, stabbing right and +left indiscriminately, as if hatred and the sight of blood were +essential to his very existence, you may at once know him to be a +Chippewa. How then can such a man, and of such a race, disgrace +and dishonor the councils of the war path of the nobler Pottowatomies? +How, I ask, can Black Partridge, Winnebeg, Waubansee, To-kee-nee-bee, +and Kee-po-tah consent to allow such a mongrel chief to exercise +an influence among their warriors hostile to the Americans, who +have ever treated them with kindness, even when they themselves do +not seem to second him in his views?” +</p> + +<p> +The scorn Captain Headley threw into his voice and manner as he +uttered these words, which they perfectly understood, was such that +Pee-to-tum, whose fingers played tremulously with the handle of +his tomahawk, could not, without difficulty, refrain from using +it; but when he glanced upwards and saw Lieutenant Elmsley attentively +watching all that passed with his glass, his rage was stifled, but +inwardly he vowed to be revenged. The young men evinced great +excitement also; and from that moment, on this occasion particularly, +it was evident to Captain Headley that they were entirely under +the influence of the Chippewa. +</p> + +<p> +“Father,” said Black Partridge, rising and solemnly replying to +the appeal just made by Captain Headley, “this medal I have worn +for many years upon my breast. It was given me by the Great Father +of the Americans as a token of a friendship I never have broken; +but since everything tells me that my young men, who I grieve to +say will no longer obey the voice of their grey-headed chiefs, have +determined to wash their hands in American blood, it would +not be right in me to keep this token of peace any longer. Father,” +he concluded, removing the ribbon by which it was suspended over +his chest, “I deliver the medal back to you, and may you live to +see and tell our Great Father that Black Partridge was ever faithful +to the United States, and washes his hands of all that may now +happen.” +</p> + +<p> +The same disclaimer was made by “Winnebeg and the other friendly +chiefs; lastly, Pee-to-tum rose: +</p> + +<p> +“Dog!” he said, insolently, as he tore his medal from his chest +and held it up for a moment, dangling in his hands, “tell him you +serve, if you live to see him, that Pee-to-tum, the dark Chippewa, +is for ever his enemy—that wherever he can do so he will spill +the blood of the Yankee, till it runs like the rum your warriors +spilt last night; tell him that Pee-to-tum spits upon his face +thus!” Then, throwing it contemptuously on the ground and stamping +upon it with his moccasined feet, he burst forth into a laugh +intended to be as insulting as the act itself. +</p> + +<p> +This profanation was too much for Captain Headley. He rose from +his chair, and exclaiming in his fury, “take that, damned Chippewa, +in return!” first spat in his face and then hurled at him his heavy +military glove, which happening to strike the pupil of his eye +while in full glare of indignation at the first insult, it was +deprived of sight for ever. +</p> + +<p> +Great was the tumult that now ensued. Incapable of acting himself +from the intensity of agony he suffered, Pee-to-tum could only +utter fierce howlings and threats of vengeance, but several of the +warriors advanced furiously upon the commanding officer with the +most startling yells and threatening manner. The latter, hopeless +of escape, but determined to sell his life dearly, drew his sword +while he presented a pistol with his other hand. +</p> + +<p> +“McKenzie,” he said quickly, “get out of the way! remember me to +Ellen!” and then elevating his voice to such a pitch as he knew +would be heard in the fort, he distinctly uttered the command +“fire!” +</p> + +<p> +But the order had been anticipated. Even as the word fell from his +lips the curling smoke from a gun was seen, and loud cheers succeeding +to the report burst from every man upon the ramparts, while a second +and smaller American flag was waved triumphantly by the hand of +Ronayne above the piece which had just been discharged. +</p> + +<p> +Astonished at this unexpected scene, the Indians, who had been +greatly startled not only at the command which had been so coolly +given by the commanding officer, but by the discharge they had +incorrectly deemed aimed at themselves, suddenly ceased their +clamor, and following the course to which the attention of those +within the garrison appeared to be directed, beheld, to their +surprise, five-and-twenty tall and well—mounted horsemen dressed +in the costume of warriors, and headed by a man of great size, +pushing rapidly along the road leading from Hardscrabble for the +fort. The nearer they approached the louder became the shouts of +the soldiers, until finally the latter all left the ramparts, +evidently to open the gates and welcome the new-comers, who soon +disappeared through the opening. +</p> + +<p> +The arrival of these strangers, small as their number was, had +evidently an effect upon the Pottowatomies, who for a moment looked +grave, and attempted no longer to molest Captain Headley. Mr. +McKenzie, who was still present and knew how to take advantage of +the occasion, profited by the surprise, and suggested to the +commanding officer, that as the conference was now over and +the presents all delivered, they should return to the fort to know +who the new-comers were. The friendly chiefs were, moreover, invited +to accompany them; and thus they returned leisurely, without further +interruption, into the stockade. Pee-to-tum, suffering severely, +had been led to his tent; and the threat bulk of the warriors, +freed from the excitement of his presence, busied themselves with +collecting together their individual shares of the presents they +had received. During the whole of the afternoon they were to be +seen wending their way leisurely, and in small and detached +groups—sometimes in single file—from the glacis to their own +encampment. +</p> + +<p> +“Headley, my dear fellow,” exclaimed the leader of the party—a +tall, powerful, sunburnt man, dressed like his companions, who now +stood dismounted, holding the bridle of his jaded horse and conversing +with the Doctor, for the other officers were still at their posts. +“Is what I hear then true—and have I only arrived in time to be +too late? Is all your ammunition then destroyed—all, all, all—none +left?” These questions were anxiously put as the stranger held the +hand of the commanding officer grasped in his own. +</p> + +<p> +“It is even so,” returned Captain Headley, impressed with deep +regret for the act, for in a moment he saw that this addition to +his little force would have enabled him to maintain his post until +the arrival of the British at least—“all that remains are twenty +rounds of cartridges for the pouches of the men, and a single keg +for use if necessary on the march—not six rounds of ammunition +remain for the guns.” +</p> + +<p> +“By G—, how unfortunate!” returned the stranger, striking his brow +with his palm; “had I been but eighteen hours sooner you were all +saved, for here are five-and-twenty as gallant and willing hearts +as ever wielded tomahawk or rifle. Hearing of your extremity I had +hastily collected them to afford you succor. Oh, I could eat my +heart up with disappointment!” he continued, “to think that all my +exertions, my speed, have been in vain. Headley, what could have +induced you to destroy the ammunition—your only hope of salvation?” +</p> + +<p> +“What has been done,” replied the commanding officer, with unfeigned +sorrow at his heart as he reflected on the subject, “cannot be +undone; but, ray dear Wells, it was impossible that we could divine +the generous interest which was sending you to our rescue; and had +not the powder and other ammunition been destroyed it must have +fallen into the hands of those who I grieve to say are but too +ready to use it against us. Moreover, purposing as I did, and do, +to march to-morrow morning, at all risks and under whatever +circumstance, I had given up this day all provisions not necessary +for our subsistence on the march. If then even the ammunition had +remained, we must have suffered from want of food.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, with those five-and-twenty horses, Headley?” returned the +other, pointing to the group that stood in the centre of the barrack +square. “Not so. They would have been sufficient when killed and +dried to have yielded us food for a month. No man knows better how +to make pimmecan than myself. Still,” he continued, with greater +vivacity, “there is a hope. I have shown the manner in which the +provisions can be replaced, and I know you have a well within the +sally-port into which can be received the waters of Lake Michigan +—let search be made and instantly, and no doubt out of all +that you have thrown away, sufficient serviceable powder may be +found to enable us to defend the fort for ten days longer, when +something will assuredly turn up to better our condition.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would that it could be so,” returned Captain Headley, with a +solemnity rendered more profound from the very smallness of the +contingency on which the safety of so much depended, “but there is +no hope. Anticipating that the Indians would attempt the very course +you now suggest—that of saving what powder might be uninjured by +the slimy bed into which it was thrown, all has been so mixed up +with rum and other liquids as to be rendered utterly useless. +Everything seems to be against us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, since all hope is over,” returned the stranger with marked +disappointment, “we will not indulge in vain regrets for the past, +but make the best preparation for to-morrow. It is only to die in +harness after all. But, alas! I pity the poor women. How is my dear +Ellen—how does she support this severe affliction?” +</p> + +<p> +“Bravely—nobly, like herself,” returned the commanding officer +with emotion. “She will be delighted, yet grieved to behold +you—delighted at the generous devotion that has brought you so +far, and at the head of so small a force to our assistance; grieved +because she will know that you have only come in time to share our +fate. But dispose of your party and come in. Serjeant Nixon,” he +called to that official, whom he saw passing from the rampart to +the guard-house. +</p> + +<p> +The non-commissioned officer was soon at his side, and the captain +having given him directions to quarter the Indians for the night +in the officers' mess-room, liberally supplying them and their +horses with whatever they might require, and the stranger having +himself addressed some remarks to his people in the Miami tongue, +they both repaired with heavy hearts to the quarters of the former. +</p> + +<p> +The meeting between Captain Wells and Mrs. Headley—the uncle and +niece, both of whom entertained a strong natural affection, founded +as much on similarity of character as on mere blood connexion—was +a very affecting one. They had long been separated, and year after +year a visit of a few weeks had been promised by the former to +Chicago; but the multiplicity of his public duties, for he was an +active agent in the Indian Department, had always prevented him +from carrying his intention into execution. But now when he heard +of the danger to which the garrison was exposed, and his beloved +niece in particular, he lost not a moment in appointing a deputy +to perform his duties during his absence, and collecting +five-and-twenty warriors whom he knew to be not only devoted to +him but the most resolute of the Miami race, he hurried off with +the object of forming a sort of body-guard to the ladies of the +detachment which he had been informed had received the instructions +of General Hull to proceed forthwith to Fort Wayne. Had he had +reason to doubt the faith of the Pottowatomies intended to form +the escort of the detachment generally, he might and would have +brought with him a much larger force; but it was not until after +he had traversed almost the whole of the one hundred and eighty +miles which he and his party had ridden without rest, that he +obtained information of the Indian disaffection. Alarmed lest he +should be too late, he and his party urged their harassed steeds +to greater speed, and having made a signal to the garrison, which +was seen by Ronayne through the telescope he kept constantly +to his eye, the gun was fired, the flag waved, and the shouts pealed +forth that, in all probability, in drowning his words of command +saved the life of his friend and relative. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Ellen, my love,” proposed Capt. Headley, after a good deal +of conversation on the subject of their position had taken place, +“as this is to be the last of the many days which, until within a +week, we have passed so happily in Chicago, what say you to our +all dining here together? With many of us it will, doubtless, be +for the last time. We have still a few bottles of claret left in +which to drink your uncle's health, mixed up only with a regret +that his visit to us had not occurred at a happier period.” +</p> + +<p> +“Most willingly, Headley, I approve your suggestion, and shall +cause the dinner to be prepared. All I ask is the assistance of +Mrs. Elmsley and Ronayne's servants. With their aid my own servants +can even contrive to manage something for a dinner.” +</p> + +<p> +“<i>Dum vivimus, vivamus!</i>” exclaimed the herculean and resolute +captain. “I can see no reason why, because we are to be shot down +and perhaps eaten to-morrow, we should not enjoy the pleasure of +a little social eating and drinking ourselves to-day! I am not one +to lament fruitlessly over that which cannot be avoided. Sufficient +for the day, as scripture has it, is the evil thereof. I certainly +go in for the dinner and a glass of claret. It will help to wash +down half the dust I have swallowed within the last forty-eight +hours.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, gentlemen,” said Mrs. Headley, with a playfulness extraordinary +for the occasion, but which was induced solely by a design to set +the minds of her friends at ease, by impressing them with a belief +that her unconcern was greater, than it really was, “while I prepare +the feast, go you out into what highways and byways are left to us +and invite our friends. Uncle, you have not seen Mrs. Elmsley since +she was a young, clashing, and unmarried belle. She will be delighted +to meet with you. Tell her I will take no denial—both herself and +husband must attend. We shall dine at five, becoming fashionable +as we stand on the brink of the grave; and by the way, Headley, +all these troubles have made me quite forget it, but this is the +anniversary not only of my birth but wedding day.” +</p> + +<p> +“God bless you!” said her husband, tenderly embracing her, “and +grant of his great mercy that you may see many returns of the day +under far brighter and more auspicious circumstances!” +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h2> + +<p> +It was a curious sight—one that could only have been witnessed in +a military community, used to scenes of excitement and ever prepared +for danger—to see under the roof of the commanding officer of Fort +Dearborn, not only men but delicate and educated and highly +accomplished women, partaking, with seeming unconcern, of a meal +which each felt might be the last but one they were fated to taste +on earth, and as it were with the sword of Damocles suspended over +their heads. There was an evident desire to banish from the mind +any thought of the morrow—to sustain each other, yet with the +conviction strong at their hearts that none of them would ever +live to see Fort Wayne. They, nevertheless, talked seriously and +deprecatingly of the change they would find between the two +quarters—the one just overtopping the wild flats of Ohio, like a +solitary oasis in the desert; the other, that which they were about +to leave—rich in rides and drives, offering every facility and +amusement to the lover of the gun and of the rod—to those whose +taste led them to prefer rowing over the comparatively tiny waters +of the Chicago, or sailing along the broad expanse of the noble +Michigan. But they could not wholly succeed in cheating themselves +into temporary forgetfulness of the much that was to intervene +before that change could be effected. Now and then there would be +a painful pause in the conversation; and then as each glanced into +the eyes of each, and could distinctly read the dominant thought +that was passing in his mind, another attempt would follow to give +a tone of indifference to the subject. +</p> + +<p> +Not so with the humbler portion of the garrison. On the contrary, +there was no attempt to conceal from each other, or from themselves, +the magnitude and extent of the danger that awaited them; but in +proportion as they even magnified the peril, so was their +determination increased to defend themselves and families if +attacked, to the last. The single men talked in groups, and hesitated +not to condemn in strong language, the course pursued by their +commanding officer, for it was obvious to all that had he at the +first decided on defending the fort, the Indians never would have +acted in the insolent and hostile manner they had manifested; and +even if they had, the provisions and ammunition preserved, they +might, with this newly arrived strength, have made a defence of +months against their treachery. The principal spokesmen were Serjeant +Nixon, Corporals Green and Weston, and Phillips, Case, Watson, and +Degarmo, who having been the last whose fortune it had been to +smell powder against the Indians, were considered as being more +immediately competent to speak on the occasion. Such of the married +men as were off guard passed what hours they could in consoling +and sustaining the courage of their poor wives, who wept bitter +tears and uttered ceaseless lamentations, not so much on account +of the trials that awaited themselves as their helpless children, +in a distressing march through the wilderness, which they regarded +with nearly as great horror as the tomahawk of the Indian itself. +</p> + +<p> +To return, however, to the quarters of the commandant. It must not +be assumed that because the excellent claret of that officer, to +which had been added a few bottles saved from Mr. McKenzie's private +stock, was enjoyed with a gusto not habitual to men in the same +position with our little band of martyrs, there was the disposition +to drown care through that very tempting medium, or to indulge in +the slightest degree in excess; or if there was an exception it +was to be found in Von Voltenberg, who managed now and then +dexterously to top off an extra glass, until by repeated little +manoeuvres of this kind he had in the end been one bottle ahead of +his companions. Soon after dinner Ronayne, whose spirits had been +cheered on the one hand and depressed on the other by the letter +of his wife, had, at the suggestion of Mrs. Headley, read for the +satisfaction and information of all the document addressed to +himself; and when this was concluded, exciting in the minds of all, +and particularly those yet unacquainted with the contents, renewed +interest in her fate, the ladies withdrew to complete such of their +arrangements for the march as were still necessary. On their +departure followed by the customary and, in this instance, +heart-impelled honors, and the health of the newly-arrived guest +being drunk, as “The Hero of the Valley of the Miami,” Mr. McKenzie +took the occasion to remark: +</p> + +<p> +“I have heard much of the prowess evinced by Captain Wells, both +against General St. Clair's army and while acting with that of +General Wayne, and should like much to know from his own lips +whether report speaks correctly of him or not. Come, captain, the +opportunity may not soon occur again—will you indulge us?” +</p> + +<p> +“Willingly,” returned the captain, raising his tall and herculean +frame in his chair and draining off his claret; “As you say, the +opportunity may not again soon occur; there is something here,” +and he pointed with his finger to his breast, “that tells me that +of the many fights in which I have been engaged, that of to-morrow +will be the last.” +</p> + +<p> +All looked grave, but no one answered. Each seemed to think that +such would be his own individual case. +</p> + +<p> +“Pass the wine, Headley,” resumed his relative. “Gentlemen, you +must not expect me to enter into a history of all my old fights, +both against and in defence of my own country. That would occupy +me until to-morrow morning; and you know we have other work cut +out for us. I will simply give you an outline—a very skeleton of +the causes which found me first fighting against St. Clair, and +subsequently in the ranks of Wayne.” +</p> + +<p> +Without encroaching on the patience of the readers of this tale by +using his precise words, it can only be necessary here to give an +epitome of the military career of Captain William Wells, which was +indeed one of no ordinary kind. He was a native of Kentucky, and +in early boyhood—being scarcely ten years of age—had been taken +prisoner, during a foray into that then wild state by the Miami +Indians. Being a boy of remarkable symmetry, resolution, and +intelligence, he was greatly noticed by one of the principal chiefs +of the tribe, who adopted him as a son, and trained him to battle, +into which he invariably went whenever most was to be done. This +mode of life young Wells loved so greatly, and the kindness shown +him was such that he never entertained the slightest regret at the +loss of old associations, or a desire to return to them. At the +time of the great battle between the Indians and General St. Clair, +he had gained the reputation of being one of the most formidable +warriors, both from his skill and great personal strength in the +ranks of the Miamis; and entertaining no scruple of conscience, +simply because he had not taken the trouble to reflect on the +subject, entered with all the ardor of his nature into that contest, +and it was said that a greater number of the American soldiers fell +by his hand than any other individual warrior engaged, and now he +rose higher than ever in the estimation of his tribe. But the very +circumstance of his prowess and success had the effect of dissociating +him for ever from those in whose cause he had triumphed. After that +sanguinary battle, so fatal to the American arms, he for the first +time began to reflect on the great wrong he had done to his own +race, and resolved to atone for the past by killing, in fair fight, +one Indian at least for every American that had fallen beneath his +tomahawk and rifle. Acting promptly on this suddenly-formed resolution +he at once abandoned his adopted father, and his Indian wife and +children, and hastened to Gen. Wayne, to whom he offered his +services. By that officer he was gladly employed, principally as +a scout, almost up to the close of the war; and during its +continuance many were the daring feats he performed. One example +must suffice. +</p> + +<p> +A short time previous to the great battle of 1794, Wells, on whom +General Wayne had conferred the rank of captain, took with him a +subaltern and eleven men, for the purpose of watching the movements +of his old companions in arms. His men were all well trained to +the peculiar duty they were called upon to perform, and, after +having marched three days with a caution and knowledge of the forest +scarcely surpassed by the Indians themselves, found that they were +on the fresh trail of the enemy, although how many in number they +could not tell. They followed leisurely until night, when having +seen but one large encampment, Capt. Wells came to the determination, +if the disparity of numbers should not be too great, of attacking +them. Every disposition was made. The party crept cautiously near +them and then lay down in ambush, while their leader, as had been +arranged, entered their camp fearlessly and as a friend, and sat +himself down on the right of the circle, rapidly counting their +numbers as he did so. There were found to be twenty-two warriors +with one squaw. On being interrogated he stated that he had just +come from the British Fort Miami, and was on his way to stir up +the Indians to fight General Wayne. As he declared himself very +hungry the squaw hospitably put some hominy on the fire to warm +for his supper, of which he had intended to partake abundantly had +not a misapprehension on the part of his men hastened the moment +of action, and embittered all the satisfaction he would otherwise +have derived from his success. A motion of his hand was to have +been a signal to fire, each selecting his man; and the party, +conceiving that he had given this, acted prematurely, not only +depriving him of his supper, which was not yet ready, and of which +he stood in great need, but killing the unfortunate squaw who was +standing up stirring it at the time, and whom he had intended to +save. The next moment the formidable and dreaded tomahawk of the +captain went to work among the survivors, and out of the twenty-two +warriors but three escaped; he himself receiving a wound from a +ramrod shot through his wrist, and his lieutenant being hit by a +bullet in the thigh. The greatest havoc committed on this occasion +was by Wells himself, and it was his boast that in Wayne's war he +had slain a far greater number of Indians than he had killed +Americans throughout the contest with St. Clair; and cool indeed +must have been the determination of the man who could composedly +sit down alone and in the face of twenty-two warriors, some of whom +it might have been expected would have recognised him, or to whom +accident might have betrayed the proximity of his party, and resolve +to dispatch an ample supper before proceeding to the work of blood. +But these were the usages of the war in which he had been educated, +and a nobler and more generous heart than that of Captain Wells +never beat beneath the war-paint of an Indian. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the man, the outline of whose story we have necessarily +condensed, who now, at the head of those Indians whom he once fought +for, and subsequently against, came to proffer his aid to the +unfortunate garrison of Fort Dearborn. What such an arm and such +daring might have accomplished, had circumstances combined to second +his efforts, can easily be surmised; but, unfortunately, all was +now of no avail, for the very sinews of success had been wrung from +him, and he felt that the utmost desperation of courage must +be insufficient to stem the tide of numbers that would lie in wait +for their prey on the morrow. But although h was not mad enough to +expect that if attacked anything but defeat and slaughter could +ensue, nothing would have pleased him more than an encounter on +the open prairie with the false Pottowatomies, notwithstanding +their great odds, had not the lives of women and helpless children +been at stake. These were the considerations that weighed with him +the most; for independently of his strong affection for his noble +niece, and his interest in her companions, he had never forgotten +the occasion when the poor Indian squaw was shot down across the +fire over which she was performing an act of kindness to himself; +and often and often, during his after life of repose from the +toils of war, had her blood risen to his imagination as if in +reproach for the act. If this could be called a weakness, it was +the only weak point that could be found in his character. +</p> + +<p> +As there was little reason to apprehend that the Indians would +occasion any annoyance during the night to those whom they were so +certain to take at an advantage in the morning, when far removed +from their defences, Captain Headley had caused the garrison to be +divided into two watches—the one being stationed on the ramparts +until midnight, when they were ordered to be relieved by the second +party, who in the meantime slept—thus affording to all a few hours +of that repose of which for the last week they had scarcely tasted. +</p> + +<p> +Midnight had arrived. The watches had been changed, and Corporal +Collins being of the new relief, had, after disposing his men in +the most advantageous manner to detect an approach, taken his own +station near the flag-staff, a point where the greater vigilance +was necessary, by reason of the storehouses and other outbuildings +of Mr. McKenzie; under cover it was not difficult for a cautious +enemy to approach the place unperceived. +</p> + +<p> +He had not been at this point half an hour when he fancied he could +discover in the darkness the outline of a man moving cautiously +across the ground which had been used for the council, and seemingly +endeavoring to gain the rear of the factory. He challenged loudly +and abruptly, but there was no answer. Expecting to see the same +figure emerging from the opposite cover of the building, he fixed +his keen eye on that spot, when, as he had conjectured, it fell +upon the same, outline, but now performing a wider circuit. The +challenge was repeated, but the figure instead of answering remained +perfectly stationary. A third time the corporal challenged, and no +answer being returned he very indiscreetly fired, when the figure +fell to the earth apparently shot dead. +</p> + +<p> +The report at that hour of the night naturally caused a good deal +of commotion, and brought every one to the spot—not only the +officers from their rooms but the watch that had thrown themselves, +accoutred as they were, upon their beds. Ronayne, who had retired +early for the purpose, was at the time in the act of completing a +long letter which he had written in reply to his wife, in which, +after pouring forth his soul in the most impassioned expressions +of devotion, he urged her in the strongest manner, and by every +hope of future happiness on earth, not to adopt the rash step she +had threatened, and paralyse his courage, and lessen his fortitude +to bear, by her presence in the midst of danger, but to remain +secure where she was, with Wau-nan-gee's mother, until the crisis +had passed. “I shall fight valiantly and successfully,” he +concluded, “if you are not near to distract me by a knowledge of +your proximity to danger. If, on the contrary, you, in your great +and dear love, persist in your design, I feel that I shall perish +like a coward. I inclose you a part of myself, in the meantime—a +lock of my hair.” +</p> + +<p> +On hearing the report of the musket a fearful misgiving had oppressed +him, for he knew that this was about the hour when Wau-nan-gee had +promised to come for his letter, and he hurried to ascertain what +had occasioned the discharge. The result of his inquiry was not +satisfactory. Had the whole Indian force been discovered stealing +upon and surrounding them for a night attack, they would not have +carried half the dismay to his soul that he experienced when Corporal +Collins told him that he had fired at a solitary individual who +was creeping up to the fort and would not answer, although challenged +three times. +</p> + +<p> +“Corporal,” he said, in a low tone, “I have ever been a staunch +friend to you, and by that unlucky shot you have destroyed me. The +person you fired at was Wau-nan-gee, I feel assured. He was coming +for a letter from me to Mrs. Ronayne who is a prisoner, not with +other Indians as we had supposed, but in the Pottowatomie camp. +The only way you can repair this wrong is by going out secretly +through the sally-port and examining the body to see if it really +is he.” +</p> + +<p> +“Look, look, look!” said the corporal, who had kept his eye fixed +on the dark shadow hitherto motionless on the ground; “he is not +dead—see, he rises, and walks rapidly but stealthily in the +direction he was taking when I fired.” +</p> + +<p> +“And that is to the rear of the stockade, where he has discovered +some secret entrance, perhaps in consequence of the picketing having +rotted away below. Not a word of this, Collins. If it is he, as I +feel assured it is, he will go out again soon, and you must see +that he is not interfered with. He must bear my letter to my wife.” +</p> + +<p> +“You may depend upon it, Mr. Ronayne, he shall not be touched. I +will again keep that post myself.” +</p> + +<p> +The Virginian was right. He had not two minutes regained his room, +when a slight tap at the window announced his young and faithful +visitor. He flew to the door, opened it, and taking the boy by +the hand, let him in. He was paler than usual, and the expression +of his countenance denoted emotion and anxiety. As Ronayne cast +his eye downwards he remarked that his left hand was bound round +with, a handkerchief of a light color, through which the blood was +forcing its way. +</p> + +<p> +“My God! Wau-nan-gee, is it possible?” he exclaimed, as he grasped +him fervently by the opposite palm; “were you hurt by that shot +fired just now?” +</p> + +<p> +The Indian nodded his head affirmatively, as with an air of chagrin +and disappointment, he said, “No good fire, Ronayne—Wau-nan-gee +no mind him blood—Ingin Pee-to-tum hear gun fire—see Wau-nan-gee +hand—know Wau-nan-gee visit fort.” +</p> + +<p> +Ronayne, seeing that the youth was mortified at the manner of his +reception after the service he had rendered, explained to him fully +the facts of the case. He, however, told him that he had spoken to +the man who had fired at him under the idea of his being a spy, +and that he might rely that nothing of the sort would happen +on his return. Anxious to see the extent of the injury he had +received, he untied the handkerchief, washed the wound, and found +that the bullet had cut away the fleshy part of the palm just under +the thumb, but without touching the bone. A little lint and diachylon +plaster soon afforded a temporary remedy for this, and the whole +having been covered with a light linen bandage, he gave the youth +a half worn pair of loose gauntlets to wear if he felt desirous to +conceal the wound from the observation of his fellow warriors. This +done, and his letter to his wife folded and given to the safe +guardianship of the boy, with whom he made his final arrangements +for a reunion as circumstances might render prudent and expedient, +he finally drew him to his heart, and expressed in tones that could +not fail to carry conviction of their truth as well as deep +gratification to the generous heart of Wau-nan-gee the extent of +his gratitude and friendship. +</p> + +<p> +When the young Indian had departed, not before renewing his strong +persuasion to induce the officer to accompany him to his wife, +Ronayne, determining that no mistake should occur in the compliance +of both his directions to Corporal Collins, once more ascended to +the bastion from which, he had soon the satisfaction to see +Wau-nan-gee glide away in the direction of his encampment, until +his figure was soon lost in the distance. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed which his aspiring rider +seemed to know.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Richard II.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +As if in mockery of the climax of trial they were to be made to +undergo before its close, the 15th of August, 1812, dawned upon +the inmates of Fort Dearborn with a brilliancy even surpassing that +of the preceding day. Well do we, who chronicle these events, +recollect it; for while the little garrison, in recording whose +fate we take not less an interest than our readers can in the +perusal, were preparing to march out of the fort—to abandon scenes +and associations to which long habit had endeared them, and with +the almost certainty of meeting death at every step, we stood at +the battery which vomited destruction into the stronghold of him +who had counselled and commanded the advance upon Fort Wayne. It +has been a vulgar belief, fostered by his enemies, by those who +were desirous of relieving themselves from the odium of participation, +and of rising to power and consideration by the condemnation of +their chief, that the position of General Hull was one fraught with +advantage to himself and of disadvantage to his enemies. Nothing +can be more incorrect. The batteries, to which we have alluded, +had so completely attained the range of the Fort of Detroit, in +the small area of which were cooped up a force of nearly twenty-five +hundred men, that every shot that was fired told with terrible +effect, and not less than three officers of the small regular force +were killed or mutilated by one ball passing through the very heart +of their private apartments, into which it had, as if searchingly +and insidiously, found its way. To the left, moreover, was another +floating battery of large ships of war, preparing to vomit forth +their thunder, and distract the garrison and divide their fire, +which could be returned only from their immediate front bearing +on the river, that it soon became evident to the besiegers that +their enemy had no power to arrest or effectually check the fury +of their attack. But not this alone. Thousands of Indians had +occupied the ground in the rear, and only waited the advance of +the British columns, furnished also with artillery for an assault +in another quarter, to rush with the immolating tomahawk upon the +defenceless inhabitants of the town, and complete a slaughter to +which there would have been no parallel in warfare. They could not +have been restrained; their savage appetite for blood must have +been appeased, and of this fact General Hull had been apprised. +Moreover, five hundred of his force who had been detached under +Colonel Cass, were at no great distance, and had an effectual +resistance been made at Detroit—had blood been, as they would have +conceived, wantonly spilt, the exasperation of the Indians would +have been such that, in all probability, Colonel Cass would not at +the present day be a candidate for presidential honors, nor would +any of his force have shared a better fate. All these things we +state impartially and without fear of contradiction, because they +occurred under our own eyes, and because we believe that the people +of the United States do not understand the true difficulties by +which General Hull was beset. It may be very well, and is correct +enough in the abstract, to say that an officer commanding a post, +armed and garrisoned as Detroit was, ought to have annihilated +their assailants, but where, in the return of prisoners, is mention +made of artillerymen sufficient to serve even half the guns by +which the fortress was defended? The Fourth Regiment of the line +was there, but not the gallant Fourth Artillery, and every soldier +knows that that arm is often more injurious to friends than to foes +in the hands of men not duly trained to it. With the exception only +of the regiment first named, the army of General Hull consisted +wholly of raw levies chiefly from Ohio, expert enough at the rifle, +but utterly incompetent to serve artillery with effect. Again, the +greater the number of men the greater the disadvantage, unless at +the moment of assault, for it has already been shown that the +British battering guns had obtained the correct range, and half +the force had only canvas to cover them. +</p> + +<p> +We pretend not, assume not, to be the panegyrist of General Hull, +but we have ever been of opinion that, as he expressed himself in +his official despatch to the commandant at Chicago, his principal +anxiety was in regard to the defenceless inhabitants; and that had +his been an isolated command, where men and soldiers only were the +actors, no consideration would have induced him to lose sight of +the order of the Secretary of War—that no post should be surrendered +without a battle. If he erred it was from motives of humanity alone. +But we return from our short digression to the little party in Fort +Dearborn. +</p> + +<p> +As we have before remarked, the sun rose on their immediate +preparation for departure with a seemingly mocking brilliancy. None +had been in bed from early dawn; and as both officers and men +glanced, for the last time, from the ramparts upon the common, they +saw assembled around nearly the whole of the Indians, with arms in +their hands, and though not absolutely dressed in war dress, without +any of those indications of warriors prepared for a long march, +such as that meditated by the troops, while their tents still +remained standing. +</p> + +<p> +“The prospect is gloomy enough,” remarked Captain Wells, gravely; +“those follows have evidently been up all night and watching +the fort from a distance, to see whether an attempt might not be +made to 'steal a march' upon them in the dark—look yonder to the +loft, do you see that band crouching as the light becomes stronger +behind those sand hills? Mark me well if that is not the point from +which they will make their attack, if attack us they do! For myself, +I am prepared for the worst; and in order that they shall know how +much I mistrust them—nay, how certain I am of what they intend, +I shall head the advance with my brave warriors painted as black +as the devil himself. And so to prepare ourselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Corporal Nixon, pull me down that flag,” ordered Ensign Ronayne, +pointing to it, when the commanding officer had descended to give +directions for the formation of the line of march—“that is my +especial charge, and he who may take a fancy to it must win it with +my life.” +</p> + +<p> +The corporal replied not. He was not aware of the true position of +his young officer's lady, and he was afraid to give him pain by +making allusion to her. He, however, promptly obeyed, and when the +flag was lowered, and the lines cut away, assisted him in enfolding +it somewhat in the fashion of a Scotch tartan round his body. +</p> + +<p> +At the moment when the flag came down, the Indians on the common +set up a tremendous yell. It was evidently that of triumph at the +unmistakable evidence of the immediate evacuation of the fort. +</p> + +<p> +The hot blood of Ronayne could not suffer this with impunity. At +the full extent of his lungs he pealed back a yell of defiance, +which attracted the general notice towards himself, standing erect +as he did with the bright and brilliant colors of the silken flag +flashing in the sun. Among those who were nearest to him was +Pee-to-tum, over whose wounded eye had been drawn a colored +handkerchief as a bandage. The Chippewa shook his tomahawk menacingly +at him, and motioned as though he would represent the act of tearing +the flag from his body. +</p> + +<p> +The shout and its cause were heard and known below. Captain Headley +returned to the rampart, and with much excitement in his manner +and tone, inquired of the young officer what he meant by such +imprudence of conduct at such a moment—when they were about to +place themselves, almost defenceless, at the mercy of those whom +he so wantonly provoked. +</p> + +<p> +“It ill becomes you, sir,” returned the Virginian, fiercely and +sarcastically, “to talk to me of imprudence, who but follow your +example of yesterday. Where was the prudence, I ask, which induced +you to compromise not only your own life, but the lives of all, in +spitting first, then dashing your glove, into the face of the +Chippewa?” +</p> + +<p> +“If you dare to question the propriety of my conduct, sir,” returned +his commanding officer, “know that the act was provoked—unavoidable, +if we would respect ourselves and command the respect of our enemies. +Pee-to-tum had insulted the American people by contemptuously +trampling under foot the medal that had been given to him by the +President. Join your company, sir! What tomfoolery is that?” alluding +to the manner in which the colors were disposed of. “Remove those +colors!” +</p> + +<p> +“That tomfoolery,” returned Ronayne, his cheek paling with passion +as he descended to the parade, “means that I know what you do not, +Captain Headley—how to defend the colors intrusted to my care. I +will not remove them.” +</p> + +<p> +“This fills the measure of your insolence, Mr. Ronayne,” returned +the commandant; “you will have a heavy account to settle by the +time you reach Fort Wayne.” +</p> + +<p> +“The sooner the better; but if we do reach it, it will be from no +merit of arrangement of yours,” returned the subaltern, as he placed +himself in his allotted station in the company. +</p> + +<p> +It may and must appear not only surprising, but out of character +to the reader, that such language should pass between two +officers—and these unquestionably gentlemen—of the regular +service—the one in command, the other filling the lowest grade of +the commissioned service; but so it was. The high spirit of the +Virginian had ever manifested deep impatience under what he considered +to be the unnecessary martinetism of Capt. Headley, and there had +always existed, from the moment of joining of the former, a +disposition to run restive under his undue exercise of authority. +This feeling had been greatly increased since the resolution taken +by Capt. Headley to retreat after giving away the presents and +ammunition to the Indians, not only because it was a most imprudent +step, but because while the fort was maintained, there was the +greater chance of his again being reunited, through the +instrumentality of Wau-nan-gee, to his wife. Perhaps had he known +the sincere sympathy which Capt. Headley entertained for him at +the grief occasioned by her loss, or the knowledge he had obtained +of her supposed guilt, which, notwithstanding all their little +differences, he guarded with so much delicacy, this bitterness of +feeling would have been much qualified; but he was ignorant of the +fact, and only on one occasion, and for a moment as has been seen, +suspected that Mrs. Headley had, under the seal of confidence and +from a presumed necessity, betrayed his secret. If the history of +that time did not record these frequent and strong expressions of +dissatisfaction and discontent between the captain and the ensign, +we should feel that we were violating consistency in detailing +them; but they were so, and the only barrier to an open and more +marked rupture existed in the person of Mrs. Headley, whom Ronayne +loved and honored as though she had been his own mother, and who, +on her part, often pleaded his generous warmth of temperament and +more noble qualities of heart in mitigation of the annoyance and +anger of her husband. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a></h2> + +<p> +All being now ready, the gates were thrown wide open for the last +exit of the detachment, and the little column sallied forth. In +the van rode Captain Wells and his little band of Miamis, whose +lugubrious appearance likened the march much more to a funeral +procession than to the movements of troops confident in themselves, +and reposing faith in those whose services had been purchased. Next +came thirty men of the detachment, and to them succeeded the wagons, +containing, besides the women and children and sick, such stores +of the garrison, including spare ammunition, with the luggage of +the officers and men, as could not be dispensed with. Thirty men, +composing the remaining subdivision of the healthy portion of the +detachment, brought up the rear. Their route lay along the lake +shore, while the Indians moved in a parallel line with them, +separated only by a long range of sandhills. +</p> + +<p> +Both excellent horsewomen, and mounted on splendid chargers whose +good points had for years been proved by them in their numerous +rides in the neighborhood, Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley, with +Ronayne on horseback, brought up the extreme rear. The former, +habited in a riding dress which fitted admirably to her noble and +graceful figure, was cool and collected as though her ride were +one of mere ordinary parade. Deep thought there was in her +countenance, it is true. Less than woman had she been had none been +observable there; but of that unquiet manner which belongs to the +nervous and the timid, there was no trace. She spoke to Mrs. +Elmsley—who also manifested a firmness not common to a woman, to +one under similar circumstances, but still of a less decided +character than that of her companion—of indifferent subjects, +expressing, among other things, her regret that they were then +leaving for ever the wild but beautifully romantic country in which +they had passed so many happy days. “How we shall amuse ourselves +at Fort Wayne,” she concluded, after one of those remarks, “heaven +only knows; for although I spent a great part of my girlhood there, +I confess it is the most dull station in which I have ever been +quartered.” +</p> + +<p> +“How,” remarked Ronayne, with an effort at gaiety his looks belied, +“can the colors be better flanked than by two ladies who unite in +themselves all the chivalrous courage of a Joan d'Arc and a Jeanne +d'Amboise. Really, my dear Mrs. Headley,” glancing at the black +morocco belt girt around her waist, and from which protruded the +handles of two pistols about eight inches in length, “I would advise +no Pottowatomie to approach too near you to-day.” +</p> + +<p> +“I think I may safely second your recommendation, Ronayne,” she +answered, as uncovering the front of her saddle she exhibited a +short rifle which her riding habit concealed, “or they may find +that my life has not been passed in the backwoods, without some +little practical knowledge of the use of arms. When we were first +married at Fort Wayne, Headley taught me to fire the pistol and +the rifle with equal adroitness, and I have not forgotten my +practice.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I,” said Mrs. Elmsley, “though less formidably provided, have +that which may serve me in an emergency—see here,” and she drew +from the bosom of her riding dress a double-barrelled pistol, +somewhat smaller than those of Mrs. Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“Well provided, both of you,” said the Virginian, “and I was correct +in saying that the color and the color-bearer were well guarded, +but hark! what is that!” +</p> + +<p> +Several shots were fired. They were discharged by the Indians, +wantonly destroying the cattle browsing around the road by which +they advanced. +</p> + +<p> +“Such will be our fate,” exclaimed the officer with the excitement +of indignation; “shot down, no doubt, like so many brutes.” +</p> + +<p> +At that moment Captain Headley galloped up from the rear, he having +been the last to leave the fort. Ronayne's words were overheard by +him, and he demanded, hastily and abruptly: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you afraid, sir? You seem well protected.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sir!” thundered the ensign, “I can march up to the enemy where +you dare not show your face.” +</p> + +<p> +And, apologizing hurriedly to the ladies, he dashed the spurs +furiously into his horse's flanks and followed his captain, who +had hastened to the front. +</p> + +<p> +As the latter gained the head of the column which was only rendered +of any length by the dozen bullock wagons containing the stores +and luggage, he saw Capt. Wells, who was about a hundred yards in +the advance, suddenly wheel round with his Miamis, and push rapidly +back for the—main body. +</p> + +<p> +“They are preparing to attack us, sir,” he shouted. “There is not +a moment to be lost in making your arrangements.” +</p> + +<p> +Scarcely had these words been uttered, when a volley came rattling +across the sandhill from the level of the prairie, wounding, but +not disabling, two of his men. +</p> + +<p> +“We must charge them,” he answered, “it is our only hope. Keep them +in check, Wells, while I form line. Now, my lads, it is death or +victory for us. Baggage wagons halt, and form hollow square, to +shelter the women and children from the bullets of the enemy. Rear +subdivision, to the front! Right subdivision, halt!” +</p> + +<p> +“Left subdivision, halt!” ordered Lieutenant Elmsley, when they +had come up. +</p> + +<p> +“Front!” pursued the captain, and the line was formed. “Men, throw +off your packs—you must have nothing to encumber you in that sand; +the drivers will carry them into the square. Ladies, you had better +retire there too.” +</p> + +<p> +“To a soldier's wife the field of battle were preferable on a day +like this,” calmly returned Mrs. Headley, who, with Mrs. Elmsley, +had ridden up with the rear. “Better to be shot down there than +tomahawked near the wagons. Besides our presence will encourage +the men—will it not, my lads?” A loud cheer burst from the ranks. +Each man, certainly, felt greater confidence than before. +</p> + +<p> +“Then forward, charge!” shouted Capt. Headley, availing himself of +this moment of enthusiasm; “recollect, you fight for your wives +and children; if you drive not the Indians, they perish!” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, forget not, you fight for your colors!” cried Ronayne, +galloping furiously through the sand to the front, and heading the +centre. +</p> + +<p> +The ascent was not very steep, and as the colors, tightly girt over +the shoulders of Ronayne and hanging from the flanks of his horse, +first appeared crowning the crest, and then the little serried line +of bayonets glittering like so many streams of light in the sun's +rays, exclamations of wonder, mingled with fierce shouts, burst +from the Indians, who up to this moment had, after their first +volley, been wholly occupied by Captain Wells and his party of +horsemen, whom they seemed more anxious to make prisoners than to +fire at, and this in consideration of their horses, which they were +anxious to obtain unwounded. +</p> + +<p> +“Wells,” shouted Captain Headley, on whose little line the Indians +now began to open their fire, “send half your people to protect my +right flank. Charge, men! It is all down hill work now, and we +are fairly in for it. If we are to die, let us die like men.” +</p> + +<p> +Simultaneously, and without the order, the men shouted the charge +as, with their commanding officer and the colors full in view before +them, they dashed forward where their enemies were the thickest, +and such was the effect of their unswerving courage that the latter, +although in numbers sufficient to have annihilated them, were awed +by their resolution; and in many instances, those who were not in +the immediate line of their advance, stood leaning on their guns +watching them and without firing a shot; nor was this strange, for +it must be recollected that the hostile feeling to the garrison +had not been shared by all the Pottowatomies, especially by the +chiefs and more elderly warriors. +</p> + +<p> +Before the determined advance of the gallant little band the Indians +gave way, until they had retired again nearly as far as their own +encampment, but the ranks were fast thinning by the distant fire +of the enemy, whom it was found impossible to reach with the bayonet. +</p> + +<p> +“This will never do,” thundered Capt. Headley; “halt! form square!” +</p> + +<p> +The order was speedily obeyed; but on hearing firing behind and +looking round for his wife and Mrs. Elmsley, to place them in the +centre, Captain Headley saw that a great number of the Indians whom +they had driven before them had turned aside and reunited behind—thus +cutting them off from their party. It has already been observed +that the horse Mrs. Headley rode was a magnificent animal, docile +yet full of life and spirit, and the excitement and sound of battle +had, on this occasion, given to him an animation—a-grace, if it +may be so expressed, which, rendered even more remarkable by the +superb figure of his rider, excited in several of the Indians a +strong desire to get possession of him uninjured. Her own scalp +they were burning with eagerness to secure; for from the first +moment of the charge down the hill, she had used her little rifle +so successfully that of three Indians hit by her two had been +killed, and they had evinced their deep exasperation. The anxiety +to extricate herself, without the horse being wounded, in all +probability saved her; for they fired so high that almost all the +bullets passed over her head, although not less than seven did +reach their aim—one of them lodging in her left arm. The Indians +were now pressing more closely upon her, when Captain Wells, seeing +the danger to which the noble woman was exposed, dashed back at +the head of his brave horsemen, and used the tomahawk with such +effect without the enemy being able to guard themselves against +the rapidity of his movements, that he soon cleared a passage to +her, cleft the skull of a Pottowatomie who had reached her side, +and was in the very act of removing her riding hat to scalp her +alive, and lifting her off her horse, covered with wounds and faint +from loss of blood, bore her rapidly down towards the lake. As he +approached it, he met Winnebeg and Black Partridge returning to +the scene of blood, to save her if possible, as they had previously +saved Mrs. Elmsley, who had had her horse shot under her, and been +wounded in the ankle. Both were hurried into a canoe, and concealed +under blankets by those good but now powerless chiefs, while the +brave but desperate captain returned to head his warriors and try +the last issue of the fight. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile, Captain Headley had been again attacked and with great +fury by the rallying Indians, while the only diversion in his favor +was that made by the little band of Miamis, who, however, could +not be expected to render efficient aid much longer; besides, +whatever immediate advantage might be gained, the final result +when the darkness of night should set in, was but too certain. Not +only his officers and himself, but his men felt this, and they +could scarcely be said to regret it, when, surrounding them from +a distance, the Indians renewed a fire which, from the moment of +their first being thrown into square, had in a great degree been +lulled. During that short interval they had been made to moisten +their parched lips from their canteens of water into which had been +thrown a small quantity of rum at starting, and no one who has ever +donned the buckler need be told the exhilarating, the renewing +influence of this upon men jaded with long previous watching and +fighting at disadvantage. +</p> + +<p> +“Men, husband your ammunition,” enjoined the captain, “keep cool, +and when I give the word, level low and deliberately. Our position +cannot be better, for the country is all clear and flat around us. +God defend the right.” +</p> + +<p> +“Commence file-firing from the right of faces,” he ordered, as he +remarked that the Indians, rendered bolder by has inactivity, were +evidently closing upon him, as for the purpose of a rush. +</p> + +<p> +Steadily and coolly the men pulled the trigger for the first time; +and the effect of the caution he had given was perceptible. The +Indians were no less galled than astonished when turning from one +face to get out of the way of danger, they found the bullets coming +upon them from every point of the compass—not very many, it is +true, but quite enough to stay and to warn them that a nearer +approach was dangerous; and before the little band had discharged +a dozen cartridges each—few failing to tell—they had withdrawn +entirely out of reach of danger either to themselves or to their +enemies. +</p> + +<p> +While thus they stood, as it were, at bay, they for the first time +had leisure to look around and observe the havoc that had been done +along the slope of the sandhill and on the plain below. Nearly half +of their gallant comrades lay there scalped and tomahawked, and +with their bodies and limbs thrown into those strange contortions +which mark the last physical agony of the soldier struck down by +the bullet in the midst of life and health; but for every private +lay two Indians at least—a few of them who had been overtaken in +the furious charge down the hill, but most of them sufferers from +their fire while formed in their little but compact square. Capt. +Headley and his lieutenant looked anxiously, but silently, towards +the sand hill, where they had last seen their wives exposed to the +most imminent danger, yet gallantly defended by Captain Wells and +his Miami warriors, three of whose horses, shot under them, encumbered +the ground, but nothing was to be seen of either; and the bitterness +of sorrow was in their hearts, for they believed them to be dead, +and that their bodies were lying beyond the crest of the hill, +whence occasional shouts were heard. As for Ronayne, he kept his +eye fixed in the opposite direction, for they were not far from +the encampment of the Pottowatomies, and he felt satisfied that +his beloved Maria, who, after the great peril to which he had fears +Mrs. Headley and Mrs Elmsley were exposed, he deeply rejoiced to +know was in a place of safety, was then not far from him, and no +doubt forcibly detained from the field by the mother of Wau-nan-gee, +or by the youth himself. +</p> + +<p> +“'Twere folly to remain here longer and thus inactive,” remarked +Captain Headley. “The Indians are evidently waiting for night to +renew their attack, for they are sensible that, as few of them +are provided with rifles, our muskets have greatly the advantage +of range. Hark! do you hear the yells and shouting of the hell-hounds +in the fort? It is well for us that nearly half their force has +been attracted thither by the thirst of plunder and the hope of +obtaining rum. But let us resume our position on the hill. Now +that we shall be enabled to command every thing around us, if we +are to die let us fall together like men and soldiers in our little +serried square.” +</p> + +<p> +“Long live our brave captain!—huzza! We will light to the last +cartridge, and bayonet in hand,” exclaimed Paul Degarmo, raising +his cap excitedly. +</p> + +<p> +The cheer was taken up and prolonged until the forest that bounded +the places they were in sent back the echo. +</p> + +<p> +Scarcely had this subsided, when terrific shrieks and cries, mingled +with fierce yells, burst from the opposite side of the sandhill. +This lasted for about five minutes, and then gradually died away. +Then many straggling shots were heard, and these died away in +distance. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Headley, who had deferred his movement towards the sandhill +during this manifestation of the presence of the enemy on the other +side of the ridge, now moved his men to its base, and there halted +them. After a little time, ordering a rush with the bayonet on the +first Indians who should show themselves in any force, he stepped +out of the square, and moved in a stooping posture to gain the +summit, that he might reconnoitre the enemy and see what they were +about. But scarcely had he reached the top when he again rapidly +descended. His face was pale—his lips compressed. He had seen a +sight to shake the nerves of the sternest soldier, and gladly did +he swallow, from the canteen of Sergeant Nixon, who offered it to +him, the cordial beverage that carried renewed circulation to his +veins. +</p> + +<p> +“Forward, men, with as little noise as possible, and gain the crest +of the hill; but, whatever you see, let not your nerves be shaken +into indiscretion. If you fire without orders from me, you are +lost without a hope. Be cool, and when I do give the command to +fire, let the front face of the square exchange their discharged +firelocks for those of the rear face, in order to be always loaded. +Now, men, be cool.” +</p> + +<p> +Captain Headley was wise in issuing this precautionary order, for +the sight the little square beheld, on gaining and halting on the +ridge, was one not merely to render men reckless and imprudent, +but in a great measure to drive them mad. +</p> + + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“A crimson river of warm blood like to a bubbling fountain +stirr'd with wind.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Titus Andronicus.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +To understand the horrible scene that met the view, first of the +commanding officer, and subsequently of the little square, it will +be necessary to go back to certain events of the past half hour. +</p> + +<p> +When Captain Wells had returned from delivering over his wounded +niece to the charge of Black Partridge and Winnebeg, both of whom +had, with deep sorrow, beheld the fiendish excesses of their young +men, but without being able to prevent them, he was pursuing +his way across the sandhill to the assistance of Captain Headley. +Suddenly, while looking around to find out in what part of the +field his Miamis were, he saw several Pottowatomies approach the +spot where the baggage wagons were drawn up, and commence tomahawking +the children. The cries and shrieks of the mothers, as the helpless +victims perished one after the other, under their eyes, until nearly +a dozen had fallen, brought with it all the renewal of the horror +he ever experienced when women and children were the assailed, and +drove him almost frantic. +</p> + +<p> +“Is that your game?” he exclaimed furiously in their own language!— +“thank God, we can play at that too.” +</p> + +<p> +The attempt to check the strong party assembled round the wagons, +he felt would be unavailing, but resolving to venture, single-handed, +into the encampment of the enemy, where their children had been +left unguarded, he turned his horse's head, dashed past the fort +again at his fullest speed, and with revenge and a threat of +retaliation racking his very heart strings, made for their wigwams. +Alarmed, in turn, for the safety of their squaws and children, the +murderers now desisted from their work and followed as vapidly as +they could on foot, the flight of the Miami leader. Every now and +then they stopped and fired, but at the outset all their shots were +in vain, for the captain, accustomed to that sort of warfare, +throwing himself along the neck of his horse, loading and firing +in that position, baffled all their attempts to bring him down, +while he waved his tomahawk on high, as if in triumph at the +successful issue of what he meditated. As the pursuing Indians +passed the gate of the fort, now filled with plunderers, many +intoxicated, Pee-to-tum, who had been there from the first—his +love of drink being even stronger than his thirst for revenge—came +staggering forth, suddenly aroused to a consciousness of what was +going on without, and demanded to know the cause of this new and +immediate tumult. The young Indians hastily informed him; when the +Chippewa, dropping on one knee, and holding his ramrod as a rest +upon the ground, ran his right and uninjured eye along the sight, +pulled the trigger, and brought down the horse of the fugitive, +which fell with a heavy plunge. A tremendous shout followed from +the band who had lost, four warriors by his fire, and who, +consequently deeply enraged, now made the greatest efforts to come +up with and secure him. Before he could disengage himself from his +horse, under which he lay severely wounded himself, two other +Indians came up from an opposite quarter, and, taking him prisoner, +sought to bear him off before the others could reach him. These +were the chiefs Waubansee and Winnebeg, the latter of whom, seeing +the danger of the captain from the moment when the massacre of the +children commenced, had left Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley under +the care of Black Partridge, and hastened to be of service to him +if possible. But all their efforts to save him were vain. With +rapid strides, and shouts rendered more savage than ever by the +fumes of the liquor he had swallowed, and with the scalp of the +unfortunate Von Voltenberg—who had been killed while returning to +the fort for a small flask of brandy which he had forgotten—dangling +at his side, Pee-to-tum advanced with furious speed, and, stabbing +the captain in the back, put an end to his misery. No sooner had +he fallen, than, like a vulture, the Chippewa sprang upon the +lifeless body, and, making an incision with his knife upon the +strong and full-haired crown, tore the reeking covering away, +and thus added another trophy to his disgusting spoils. This was +the signal for further outrage, Exasperated by the knowledge of +the revenge he had meditated, and the loss he had already occasioned +them, the warriors who had first followed the ill-fated Miami +leader, cut open the left side with their knives, and tore forth +the yet warm and bleeding heart, which, as well as the body itself, +they bore back in triumph to the very spot whence they had set out, +Pee-to-tum carrying his heart, pierced by the ramrod, as it protruded +a couple of feet from the barrel of his rifle. +</p> + +<p> +Squatted in a circle, and within a few feet of the wagon in which +the tomahawked children lay covered with blood, and fast stiffening +in the coldness of death, now sat about twenty Indians, with +Pee-to-tum at their head, passing from hand to hand the quivering +heart of the slain man, whose eyes, straining, as it were, from +their sockets, seemed to watch the horrid repast in which they were +indulging, while the blood streamed disgustingly over their chins +and lips, and trickled over their persons. So many wolves or tigers +could not have torn away more voraciously with their teeth, or +smacked their lips with greater delight in the relish of human +food, than did these loathsome creatures, who now moistened the +nauseous repast from a black bottle of rum which had been found in +one of the wagons containing the medicine for the sick—and what +gave additional disgust was the hideous aspect of the inflamed eye +of the Chippewa, from which the bandage had fallen off, and from +which the heat of the sun's rays was fast drawing a briny, ropy, +and copious discharge, resembling rather the grey and slimy mucus +of the toad than the tears of a human being. +</p> + +<p> +At the moment when the little square thus reappeared unexpectedly +before them, the revellers, who had supposed them either in the +hollow below, or long since disposed of by their comrades, were +almost instantly sobered and on their feet. Quickly they flew to +secure their guns, which lay at a little distance behind them; but, +before they could reach them, a volley from the front face of the +square was poured in with an effect which, at that short distance, +could not fail to prove destructive; and of the twenty Indians who +had composed the circle, more than a dozen of them fell dead, or +so desperately wounded, that they could not crawl off the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“Good, men!” shudderingly remarked Capt. Headley, “we have revenged +this slaughter at least. Cease firing. Pull not another trigger +until I order you. If there be a hope left for us, it must depend +wholly upon our coolness. What a pity you missed that scoundrel +Pee-to-tum. Hark, Elmsley, do you hear his brutal voice calling +upon the Indians to renew the attack!”—and then in a lower tone +to the same officer: “What can have become of our wives? Yonder +rides a Pottowatomie mounted on Mrs. Headley's charger. I pray +God they may not have made them prisoners!” +</p> + +<p> +“Heaven grant it may be so, sir!” solemnly returned his subaltern; +“but, in their present exasperated state, I fear the worst. Why, +while we were in the hollow, I distinctly saw Mrs. Headley bring +down two Indians with her rifle. They would not easily forget that.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I, sir,” said Sergeant Nixon deferentially, as if fearing to +intrude, “saw Mrs. Elmsley's horse shot under her; and when an +Indian came up and struggled with her, she threw her arm around +his neck, and presented and fired a pistol at him, and then tried +to get at his scalping knife which was suspended over his +chest. What the result was, I could not make out; but the last I +saw of her, she was seized by another Indian and carried in his +arms across the very spot where we now stand. See, sir, that is +her horse!” and he pointed to the animal, which lay only a few feet +from the square, and which, among the dead bodies of soldiers, +Pottowatomies, and Miamis, had hitherto escaped their attention. +</p> + +<p> +“See, sir, they are collecting in great force near the gate,” +observed the lieutenant—“I can distinctly see Pee-to-tum, who has +joined them, motioning with his hand to advance.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then is this the best position we could have chosen,” returned +Captain Headley; “courage, men! A taste of biscuit from your +haversacks while you have time, a teaspoonful of rum, and then we +must at it again. Mind, above all things, that you keep cool, and +do not fire a shot without orders.” +</p> + +<p> +From the moment that Ronayne had placed himself, with the colors, +at the head of the little party when advancing up the sandhill, he +had not spoken a word, but continued to gaze fixedly and abstractedly +upon that part of the plain or prairie which led to the inner +encampment of the Indians. His whole thought—his undivided +attention was given to his wife, whose anxiety, nay, anguish, at +hearing the sounds of conflict which denoted his imminent peril, +he knew must be intense. True, he himself was spared the anxiety +and uncertainty which filled the breasts of his comrades on seeing +those they loved best on earth exposed to all the fearful chance +of battle, but even in that there was an excitement which in some +degree compensated for the risks they ran. The very fact of their +presence had sustained them; but now that the final result seemed +no longer doubtful, and that the annihilation of the whole party +was to be momentarily expected, he felt that one last look, one +last embrace of her he loved, would rob death of half its horrors. +But this was but the momentary selfishness of the man. When Mrs. +Headley and Mrs. Elmsley were known to have disappeared, he more +than ever rejoiced in the circumstances which had removed his +beloved wife from the horrors of the day, and placed her under so +faithful a guardianship as that of the generous Wau-nan-gee. +</p> + +<p> +But there was another reason for the calm, the serious silence +which the Virginian had preserved. Independently of the aching +interest he took in all that he supposed to be passing at that +moment in the mind of his absent wife, he had been deeply galled +by the last insulting remark of Captain Headley, to which he had, +it is true, replied in a similar spirit, yet which nevertheless +had continued to give him much annoyance. His duty as bearer of +the colors being rather passive than active, he had not found it +necessary to open his lips, except to utter a few words of +encouragement and approval to the men. Formed in hollow square, as +the little force now was, there was no opportunity for display of +individual or personal prowess, or he certainly would have sought +an opportunity to test with his commanding officer the extent of +their respective daring. But now an occasion at last presented +itself, and in a manner least expected. +</p> + + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a></h2> + +<p> +From the position now occupied by the devoted little band, a view +of the whole adjacent country was distinctly commanded, even +to the very gates of the fort, from which they had never advanced +more than half a mile on their retreat, and within a mile of which +their movements had again brought them. On looking anxiously around +to see from what direction the most imminent danger would proceed, +Captain Headley remarked a largo body of Indians issuing from the +gateway, and moving slowly from the fort towards them. +</p> + +<p> +“Give me the glass, Mr. Elmsley,” he said to that officer, who had +it slung over his shoulder, “let me see if I can make out what they +intend. Ha! by heaven they are moving one of the field pieces +towards us. Could they but manage a few rounds of that, they would +soon make short work of the affair, but the simpletons seem to have +overlooked the fact of the gun being spiked—even if they knew how +to aim it.” +</p> + +<p> +“If it is the gun that was in the block-house, it is not spiked, +sir,” remarked Sergeant Nixon. +</p> + +<p> +“Not spiked! how is that?” asked the captain quickly—almost angrily. +</p> + +<p> +“The spikes were too large, sir; and Weston, whose duty it was, +broke a ramrod off instead.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! is it so? What a thought strikes me! Could we get hold of that +gun, we might yet make terms with those devils. Who will lead a +forlorn hope and volunteer to take it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I will,” thundered Ronayne, with sudden vivacity, his eye flashing +fiercely as he met the glance of his commanding officer. “Spare me +three men from each face of the square, and I will bring it to you +or die in the attempt.” The captain colored and looked annoyed with +himself. +</p> + +<p> +“One moment, Mr. Ronayne. Have we the means of removing the broken +ramrod if we should get the gun? Where is the armorer?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have them, sir,” returned the man. “I thought a drill and a +hammer would be useful on the march, and so I put them in my pack.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pish! there is another difficulty. Your pack is as difficult to +reach as the gun. It is in the wagon, is it not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir, and the hammer in it, but I have the spike thrust through +a piece of beef in my haversack.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right. There are stones enough around to supply the absence +of a hammer.” +</p> + +<p> +“Volunteers to the front!” said Ronayne, in a low, firm tone, and +with compressed lip. “What Hardscrabble men will follow me?” +</p> + +<p> +Simultaneously, Sergeant Nixon, Corporals Collins and Green; +Phillips, Watson, Weston, and Degarmo, stepped forth, with several +others, anxious to be of the party, until the number was made up, +and again the diminished square closed upon its centre. +</p> + +<p> +“Not yet,” cried Captain Headley, who, having once more applied +the glass to his eye, was closely watching the movements of the +Indian mass. “Nothing must be left to mere chance. Mr. Elmsley, +what is the position of the wagon which contains the ammunition?” +</p> + +<p> +“It was the leading one, sir,” returned the officer addressed. +“What alteration has been made in the act of throwing them into +square, I cannot possibly tell.” +</p> + +<p> +“See, is not that it?” asked the commanding officer, pointing to +one from the top of which several casks protruded. +</p> + +<p> +“It is,” was the reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Then, Mr. Ronayne, first lead your party to the wagons and let +each man load himself from the keg of ball cartridge, and as many +grenades as he can carry—these must supply the place of larger +shot, if we get the gun. Lose no time. There is not an Indian on +that side of the sandhill now, and you will easily accomplish your +object. Sampson,” addressing the armorer, “you may as well avail +yourself of the opportunity to get your heavy hammer. The stones +about here are brittle, and may break.” +</p> + +<p> +In little more than five minutes, this first part of their duty +was accomplished, although under circumstances far more painful +and repugnant than the more dangerous one in reserve. On their way +to the wagons they were compelled to pass close to the scalped and +disembowelled body of the brave but unfortunate Wells, whose still +bleeding heart, only half eaten, was encrusted with sand, and bore +the ragged impress of teeth driven furiously and voraciously into +it. On their arrival near the wagons, their nerves were further +tried by the horrible and disgusting spectacle of the slain children, +whose scalped heads and mutilated remains gave unmistakable evidence +of the fate that awaited themselves unless Providence should +interpose a miracle in their favor, while their ears were assailed +by the stifled groans and sobbings of mothers who had covered their +heads up with blankets and sheets, not only with a view to shut +out the appalling sight of their murdered offspring, but to seek +exemption from a similar fate. So confused was the perception of +those poor, unhappy creatures, that they could not identify either +the voices or the language of those who were now near them—some, +the fathers of the innocents they mourned—but believed them to be +Pottowatomies, and it was not until they had departed, and were +out of sight, that they ventured again to uncover their heads, and +breathe a pure air. +</p> + +<p> +By the time the party returned, and had deposited within the square +the keg of ball cartridges, and some fifty hand grenades, the +Indians in great numbers had brought the three pounder, which was +now made out to be the calibre of the gun, to the very spot where +Capt. Headley had first formed the square, and just without the +present range of the heavy muskets of the men. There was a great +deal of clamor and bustle about the manner of manoeuvring the piece, +and with the aid of the glass it could be distinctly seen that they +once or twice applied a burning torch to the breech, for, when this +was done, the Indians grouped around retired quickly from its +neighborhood, but, on finding it did not explode, seemed for the +first time to be sensible of the cause, and again gathered near +it. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, Mr. Ronayne, is your time,” said Capt. Headley to the young +officer, whose volunteers, twelve in number, with a hand grenade +in each haversack, and a second in his right hand, now stood ready, +with their muskets at the trail, to ignite the port fire, and +descend upon the formidable mass below them. “Sampson, the moment +you reach the gun, drive in the spike, and turn the muzzle towards +the thickest of the enemy. Every bullet will, doubtless, tell. The +discharge will throw them into confusion, and enable you, Mr. +Ronayne, to retire under the cover of our musketry. The gun once +here, and we may change the fortune of the day. Are your port fires +all lighted? Forward, then!” +</p> + +<p> +And down in silence dashed the little party into the midst of their +enemies. Taken completely by surprise, and dismayed at the +sight of the hissing port fire, which they did not comprehend, the +Indians at first drew back and opened a running fire from their +inferior guns, but seeing how small was the number of their +assailants, they again advanced and waited for their nearer approach, +determined apparently to save their powder and make the tomahawk +alone perform its work. Suddenly, Ronayne, who had dismounted on +the hill, halted within twenty paces of the spot, and with his men +at extended order. The Indians dared not to provoke a hand-to-hand +encounter, for that would have brought them within the range of +the muskets they saw levelled above. This was a most critical and +anxious moment to the young officer. He had descended the hill too +rapidly for the port fire to be sufficiently consumed for ignition +of the shells generally, and for nearly a minute they stood thus, +their muskets still at the trail, and at every moment expecting +the Indians to make a final spring upon them. +</p> + +<p> +At length, after the lapse of a few seconds, which seemed ages, +the fire rapidly approached the iron. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, my lads,” shouted the Virginian, “throw them in lustily.” +</p> + +<p> +A loud cheer burst from the lips of each, as, after having hurled +the missives of death into the dense groups of the astonished +savages, they followed up the advantage created by the confusion +of the bursting shells, by a rush upon the gun, the drag-ropes of +which were seized amid many distant shots, and so effectually used +that, before the former could recover from their panic, the piece +was withdrawn under cover of the fire from the square, and its +muzzle turned to the enemy. +</p> + +<p> +A second loud and triumphant cheer followed from the hill, and the +strong voice of Captain Headley could be distinctly heard when it +had ceased. +</p> + +<p> +“Quick, quick, Mr. Ronayne; there is another strong band approaching +the wood on your left. The work is but half done.” +</p> + +<p> +“Light your second grenades,” ordered Ronayne. “The sight of the +burning port fires will keep them in check. Sampson, will you never +have finished with the gun? what are you fumbling about that you +do not drive in the ramrod?” +</p> + +<p> +But the man spake not; he reclined motionless over the breech of +the field piece. The next moment the brazen plated cap fell from +his head, and a white forehead was exhibited, with a slight +incrustation of blood on the temple showing where the fatal rifle +ball had entered. +</p> + +<p> +“Ha! dead!” exclaimed Ronayne, excitedly, as he caught the man by +the collar and gently lowered him to the ground. “I must then +perform your duty.” +</p> + +<p> +He caught up the drill and the heavy hammer which the stiffening +armorer had dropped, and so well and powerfully did he use it, that +after a few blows the end of the ramrod, broken short off at the +touch—hole, fell into the body of the gun, and the vent-hole was +clear. +</p> + +<p> +“All right,” he exclaimed; “quick, Collins, a couple of cartridges +to prime with.” +</p> + +<p> +In another moment the gun was ready. The officer passed his eye +along the sight, and saw that the muzzle pointed fully at the large +body that was approaching a small patch of brushwood to take him +in flank. +</p> + +<p> +“The moment I fire,” he ordered, “throw in your second grenades, +seize the drag-ropes and retire with all speed with the gun. +I see the fuses are nearly burnt out; this is rather a short one +for my purpose, Collins, but it must answer.” +</p> + +<p> +Stepping to the right side of the gun, he held forth the grenade +with his left hand, and applied the port fire to the touch-hole. +There was a fizz of a few seconds, and then the gun went off with +a loud explosion, and a fierce recoil. Yells and shrieks rent the +air, and in a moment the whole of the new band were scampering away +in full flight, leaving behind them some five-and-twenty of their +party killed and disabled by the discharge of the piece, loaded, +as has been seen, with musket bullets. +</p> + +<p> +Profiting by the consternation into which this murderous fire had +thrown the whole body of Pottowatomies, the men pealed forth another +cheer even louder than the first, hurled forward their grenades, +not yet ready for explosion, as far as they could throw them, and +seizing the drag-ropes, ran fleetly with it towards the hill. +</p> + +<p> +Stricken with disappointment, the Indians lost sight of their usual +caution, and rushed furiously forward to recover the gun, which, +however, being now discharged, was of no actual use to them. +</p> + +<p> +“Leave the gun where it is, and bring off your officer,” shouted +Captain Headley in a clear voice. “See you not that he is wounded, +and the Indians advancing to dispatch him?” +</p> + +<p> +This was the first intimation the men had of the fact. In their +anxiety to secure the gun, they had not observed that Ronayne, hit +by a rifle bullet while in the very act of firing his piece, had +been brought to the ground with a broken leg, and rendered unable +to follow them. But, no sooner had Captain Headley uttered the +order than all hastened back to the spot where the Virginian reclined +on one side, with the musket of the armorer tightly grasped, and +his look still bent upon the distant forest. +</p> + +<p> +Just as they had reached, and were preparing to lift him up, the +Indians again rushed forward to dispute his possession. They were +within twenty paces, and brandishing their tomahawks triumphantly, +when, suddenly, and one after another, burst in the midst of them, +the grenades which had been hurled prematurely on the discharge of +the field piece, and striking panic into their body, caused them +once more hurriedly to retire. +</p> + +<p> +But this check was only momentary. Rendered reckless at every moment +from the liquor which all had more or less imbibed at different +periods of the battle, and ashamed that they should be kept at bay +by so mere a handful of men, the dark mass now fiercely closed upon +the little party that bore off the wounded officer, and commenced +their attack. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile, Captain Headley, seeing this resolute forward movement +of the Indians, and anticipating the certain destruction of the +whole, moved his little square rapidly towards the gun, causing +his men to take with them the ammunition which had been collected +there, and soon the piece was again loaded and turned to his front. +But it was found impossible to discharge the gun without endangering +the lives of his own men more than those even of the enemy, for +the Indians in immediate pursuit kept themselves so cautiously in +the rear of the former, that, in the position he then occupied, it +was impossible to reach them alone. The only movement that could +save them was a rapid change of ground, so as to enable him to take +the enemy in flank, and of this he hastened to avail himself by +again occupying the sandhill. This was done; but in the short +time taken to effect the movement, the bloodhounds had too well +profited by their advantage. +</p> + +<p> +At the head of the pursuers was the Chippewa, Pee-to-tum. His voice +had been loudest in the war whoop, as his foot had been the most +forward in the advance; and his denunciations of the dog Headley, +as he called him, were bitter, and he called loudly for him that +he might kill him with his tomahawk. +</p> + +<p> +“Save yourselves, men, and leave me to my fate,” exclaimed the +Virginian, as he heard the voice of the Chippewa almost in his ear. +“Nixon, remove the colors from my shoulders and take them into the +square. I shall not die happy until I know them to be secure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nay, sir,” said the non-commissioned officer, “we will not, cannot +desert you; and, if we would, it is now out of our power—we are +too closely pressed—we must fight to the last.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then drop me, and turn and fight. Let us not be struck down like +dastards, with our backs to the enemy. Where is that musket?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is, sir,” said the serjeant; “but in your present disabled +state you cannot make use of it.” +</p> + +<p> +“At least I will try,” returned the Virginian. “If I could but slay +the black-souled Pee-to-tum, I should revenge the treachery of this +day, and perhaps be the means of saving the remnant of our brave +fellows.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” gasped Nixon, as he fell suddenly dead upon the body of his +wounded officer. He had been shot through the back and under the +left rib. A fierce veil followed, and Ronayne beheld the hellish +face of the Chippewa, looking more disgusting than ever in the loss +of his left eye, as, with shining blade, he bounded forward to take +the scalp of his victim. +</p> + +<p> +The body of the serjeant lay across his shattered leg, and not only +gave him great anguish, but impeded his action, faint, moreover, +as he was from loss of blood from several subsequent wounds received +during his transit from the spot where he first had fallen. But +the opportunity of avenging his wife, himself, and his slaughtered +companions—the latter all murdered at his instigation—was one +that would never occur again, and all his energies were aroused. +Even while the half—drunken savage was in the act of taking the +scalp of the unfortunate Nixon, Ronayne removed the bayonet from +the musket, and grasping it with all the fierce determination of +hatred, drove the sharp long instrument with such force through +his exposed body, that not only the point protruded several inches +on the opposite side, but the inner edge of the socket itself cut +deeply into the flesh. +</p> + +<p> +Absolutely roaring with pain, the Chippewa left his bloody work +unfinished. The knife fell from his grasp. He sprang to his feet, +and having at once seen by whose hand the blow had been inflicted, +a sudden thought appeared to occur to him. Down again he threw +himself furiously upon the body of the wounded officer, who, +anticipating the act, had by this time armed himself with the knife +that lay with its handle on the ground and the trickling blade +across the down-turned cheek of the serjeant. He sought to encircle +him in his death grip, but, in falling, the handle of the bayonet +had struck the ground, driving the weapon even deeper in, and thus +adding to his torture. But the greater his suffering, the more +desperate became his thirst for revenge. He now managed to throw +his arms round the neck of the Virginian, and said something in +broken English, which, accompanied as his language was by a +fiendish laugh rendering his countenance more hideous than ever, +caused the latter to make the most furious endeavor to release +himself, while with his right and disengaged hand he struck blindly +with his knife at the uncovered throat of the Indian. But the weapon +was soon wrested from his enfeebled hands, and the Chippewa, +dexterously turning himself so as to get the body of his enemy +completely under him, now tried to scalp him alive. Weak as he was, +the young officer did not lose sight of his presence of mind. +Scarcely had the scalping knife touched his head, when it was again +withdrawn with the most horrible contortions of the whole body of +the Chippewa. Fixing his eye on the Indian's face above that he +might feast on the agony of the wretch who had just avowed himself +to be the violator of his wife, while threatening a repetition of +the outrage when the battle should be over, the Virginian had seized +the handle of the bayonet, and turned the weapon so furiously in +the wound as to cause one general laceration, the agony arising +from which could only be comprehended from the spasmodic movements +and wild bellowings of the savage. In order to free himself from +the torture he was too much distracted by pain to think of removing +by the instant death of his enemy, the Chippewa sprang suddenly +upwards, but this movement only tended to increase the torments +under which he writhed, for, as the Virginian held the handle firmly +in his grasp, the bayonet was half withdrawn, and the sharp point +forced, by the down-hanging weight of the socket, into a new +direction. Wild with revenge and pain, he was at length in the +act of raising his tomahawk to dispatch the Virginian, who had +abandoned his hold of the bayonet, when a shot came from the front +of the square, and Pee-to-tum fell dead across the bodies of both +his immediate victims. Singular to say, the ball, aimed by Captain +Headley himself at the upper part of his person, and during the +only period when the Indians could be reached without danger to +some one or other of the men, entered his brain over his injured +eye, and forced out the other. +</p> + +<p> +The fall of the detested Chippewa—the head and stay of their +battle—seemed greatly to dispirit the Pottowatomies, a band of +about fifty of whom had followed them in this fierce onset. Of that +number, some fifteen had perished, both in the hand-to-hand encounter +with the immediate followers of Ronayne and several shots from the +square. On the other hand, but four of the volunteers remained +—Corporal Collins, Phillips, Weston, and Degarmo—the latter +severely wounded. All the others had fallen, and, with the exception +of Serjeant Nixon, been scalped. +</p> + +<p> +A cessation of the contest now ensued, and the Indians, holding up +what was intended to be a flag of truce, asked permission to carry +off the body of the Chippewa. Sensible how impolitic it would be +to exasperate them without necessity, Captain Headley granted their +request, adding that now the bad man who counselled them had been +stricken down by the anger of the Great Spirit, he hoped they would +come to their senses and obey their legitimate chiefs. +</p> + +<p> +A low murmuring among themselves was the only reply, as they placed +the body in a blanket, drew the bayonet from the wound, from which +followed a copious dark stream, and leisurely proceeded with their +burden and the scalps they had secured to rejoin another body of +their tribe who had been watching them in the distance, and who +now rapidly advanced to meet them, evidently anxious to know +why they returned unmolested, and what tidings they brought. +</p> + +<p> +Advantage was taken of this cessation of combat to bring back what +remained of the gallant little band of volunteers within the square. +The dead were left to moisten the sands on which they had so bravely +fallen. Ronayne still lived, but he could not be removed. The +slightest motion of his body brought with it agony little less +excruciating than that which his enemy had experienced. He knew he +must die, and he begged Captain Headley to let him perish where he +was, under the shadow of the guns of his comrades, and in full +sight of the forest which he knew contained all that he loved on +earth. What he asked to be spared to him was a cloak to shield him +from the burning heat of the sand, and a little water to moisten +his parched lips. Oh! what would he not have given for a draught +of the cool claret of the dinner of yesterday! +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a></h2> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“He that comforts my wife is the cherisher of my flesh and blood.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>All's Well.</i> +</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“What nearer debt in all humanity, than wife is to the husband.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>Troilus and Cressida.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and a burning sun +threw its strong rays upon the sandhill where stood prepared, for +whatever further emergency might occur, the little band of American +soldiers now reduced to less than one half of their original number. +The acquisition of the three-pounder had greatly encouraged them +for the moment, but, during the inaction that succeeded to the +death and removal of the body of the fierce Chippewa, each had +leisure to reflect on the but too probable issue of the struggle. +As long as day remained to them, they felt that they could, while +possessed of the gun and a sufficient quantity of ammunition, defend +themselves; but when the darkness of night should come on, enabling +their enemies to approach and surround them from all quarters, it +must be vain to expect they could maintain the contest with the +same success that had hitherto attended their extraordinary efforts. +Inactivity, in a position of that kind, ever brings despondency, +and from one evil the mind is prone to revert to another. The +married men thought of their wives and children and the horrible +fate that awaited them, and from the men of strong nerve which they +had manifested themselves to be while in positive action, they now +were fast becoming timid, and irresolute, and anxious. The sight +of the many dead and scalped bodies of their comrades around them +was not much calculated to reassure them. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile, Captain Headley had kept his glass almost constantly +directed towards that part of the common adjoining the fort, where +the great body of the Indians had now collected, and appeared to +be in earnest deliberation. Among the number of those assembled +he could distinctly make out Winnebeg, Waubansee, and Tee-pee-no-bee, +the former of whom seemed to be addressing the younger Pottowatomies +in energetic terms, while he frequently pointed to the blanket +which contained the body of the slain Chippewa. At length, +when he had been succeeded by the two other chiefs just named, who +seemed to deliver themselves in a similar spirit, a yell apparently +of assent and approval came from the dark mass, and in a few minutes +a party of about a hundred detached themselves from the group, and +preceded by the same flag that had been raised by the immediate +followers of Pee-to-tum, slowly advanced towards the little square. +</p> + +<p> +“Courage, men,” said Captain Headley, “we have not fought our steady +battle for nothing; but let us give the credit of success where +most it is due, We owe our preservation, if we are preserved, wholly +to the gallantry of Ensign Ronayne. Had he not removed the spike +from that gun, and fired it at the eventual sacrifice of his own +life—nay more, had he not slain Pee-to-tum, our most bitter and +relentless enemy—we should all have slept upon this field—that +sight we should never have seen;” and he pointed to the rude flag +of which Winnebeg was the bearer, and which was then half way from +the point of departure of the band. +</p> + +<p> +“Even so,” observed Lieutenant Elmsley—“to poor Ronayne, if this +rag means anything pacific, and, from the fact of its being borne +by Winnebeg, I have no doubt it does, must be ascribed our exemption +from the fate of our unhappy comrades. Your ball was well aimed, +Captain Headley, and hastened the death of the loathsome and +vindictive savage; but never could he have survived that bayonet +wound. Life must have ebbed away with the blood that followed its +removal; yet,” and this was said with a significance which his +commanding officer seemed to understand, “it must be not a little +satisfactory to you to know that your shot saved him from the +tomahawk that was already raised to dispatch him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would that in doing so I had saved his life,” returned Captain +Headley, seriously. “How doubly unfortunate is our position—without +a surgeon to attend the wounded. Von Voltenberg I have not seen +during the day—I greatly fear he has fallen also.” +</p> + +<p> +At this moment the Indians had come within about twenty paces of +the square, one face of which Captain Headley had ordered to be +opened to make a display of the gun behind which stood a man with +a lighted match. Here they halted, looking with mixed regret, awe, +and anxiety upon what they had so recently had in their own +possession, while Winnebeg advanced a few paces to the front. +</p> + +<p> +“What would the chief Winnebeg?” asked Captain Headley, with dignity. +“He brings with him a flag. Are the Pottowatomies sick with blood?” +</p> + +<p> +“The Pottowatomies are strong,” returned the old warrior, in the +figurative language of his race, “but they would not slay the brave. +If the warriors of the white chief will lay down their arms and +surrender themselves prisoners, their lives shall be spared.” +</p> + +<p> +“This is well to promise,” rejoined the commanding officer; “but +what reason have we to believe that the Pottowatomies are serious? +They know that we will fight to the last, and they seek to save +their own lives by fair words.” +</p> + +<p> +“On the faith of a chief, I pledge myself that their word shall be +kept. Pee-to-tum is dead—he has no longer power over the young +men, and they will now obey the voice of their own leaders.” +</p> + +<p> +“The word of Winnebeg is always good,” replied Capt. Headley, “but +I distrust his young men; they received presents from their +Great Father, and promised to escort his soldiers to Fort Wayne. +How have they kept their word? Look around. More than half my +soldiers lie there; but, not alone. If the Pottowatomie count well, +they will find more than two Indians for every white man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Our Father's warriors are brave,” returned the chief, “and so the +Pottowatomies would spare their blood. If they surrender their +arms, I promise, in their name, that no more shall be spilt.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will consult my brave soldiers—they shall decide,” observed +the commandant, “not that I doubt your word or your good intentions, +Winnebeg, but as you had not the power to restrain your young men +at first, how am I to know that you can do so now? At present we +have arms in our hands, and can defend ourselves; but if we yield +them up, we may be tomahawked the next moment. However, as I said +before, my brave, followers shall decide.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Elmsley,” he added, turning coolly to his subaltern, “count +up our little force, and ascertain how many men of the detachment +remain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Two-and-twenty, sir,” returned his subaltern, who had taken but +a few minutes to enumerate them. +</p> + +<p> +“Two-and-twenty out of sixty with whom we advanced to the charge +this morning, besides two officers—one mortally wounded, the other +missing. Well, this is rather hot work; but you see, Winnebeg, +that if our loss has been more than forty, including the Miamis, +the Pottowatomies killed are more than double in number.” +</p> + +<p> +Winnebeg replied not, but he looked imploringly at Captain Headley, +as if desirous that he should accept the offered terms without +irritating his people with allusions to their heavy loss. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, men,” continued that officer, who had remarked the particular +expression of the countenance of the chief, “what is your decision? +I am perfectly ready to act as you shall say, either to fight to +the last, or to surrender, with the chance of being knocked on the +head afterwards.” +</p> + +<p> +“Had we not better put it to vote, sir?” suggested Lieut. Elmsley; +“the responsibility will then rest with the majority.” +</p> + +<p> +“A good idea, Mr. Elmsley. So be it. The majority of votes shall +decide whether we fight or surrender.” +</p> + +<p> +The votes were accordingly taken, and the result was an equal +division—eleven for surrendering and taking the chances of good +faith—the other eleven, chiefly the unmarried men, for fighting +to the last. +</p> + +<p> +“The casting vote is with you, Mr. Elmsley; that given, we return +our answer,” remarked Captain Headley. +</p> + +<p> +“Winnebeg,” said the lieutenant, addressing him for the first time, +“one question I would ask you first: know you anything of our +wives—are they dead—and where is Mr. McKenzie?” +</p> + +<p> +“They are all alive,” returned the chief with animation—“bad wound, +though—Winnebeg help save him himself.” +</p> + +<p> +Human nature could stand no more. Both officers, as if actuated by +the same common impulse, met and embraced each other warmly. A +mountain weight seemed to be taken from their oppressed hearts, +and those two men, who had preserved the most cool and collected +courage through the fearful, the appalling scenes of that day, +stilling all their more selfish feelings, now suffered the +warm tears to gush in silence from their eyes. The men beheld this +sight with an emotion little inferior to their own, and many a tear +trickled over their faces and moistened and mixed with the dark +deposit left by the bitten cartridge, as they too rejoiced in the +safety of those brave and noble women. +</p> + +<p> +“There can be no doubt what my decision in this matter will be +now,” remarked the lieutenant, when he had a little recovered from +his emotion. “The good Winnebeg who has done thus much—saved +those most dear to us—cannot want the power to save ourselves. My +vote is for the surrender.” +</p> + +<p> +“Winnebeg,” said Captain Headley, with great feeling, “whatever +doubts may have existed in our minds as to the propriety of +surrendering, they are now wholly removed. We know your worth and +humanity, and commit ourselves wholly to your good faith. Indeed, +from the moment I saw you coming at the head of this party, after +the death of the black-hearted Pee-to-tum, I felt that we were safe +from further attack. Still, it was my duty to consult the men who +had so bravely fought with me. We consent to become your prisoners, +on three conditions—first, that we be suffered to retain our +colors, which you see there wrapped round the dying body of Mr. +Ronayne, the friend of your son; secondly, that we be permitted to +bury our dead comrades; and thirdly, that we be surrendered to the +nearest British post at the earliest opportunity.” +</p> + +<p> +Winnebeg, after looking at the spot where the young officer lay, +spoke for a few moments with his followers, who did not seem to +relish the arrangement, for a good deal of animated conversation +ensued between themselves; but at length the point was satisfactorily +settled, and the former assented to the conditions of surrender +Captain Headley had imposed. To have reposed any faith in the +warriors themselves after what had occurred, that officer was now +fully sensible would have been an act of madness; but he confidently +hoped that, although Winnebeg and the other friendly chiefs might +not have had the power to restrain the excitement of their young +men in the first outburst of their rage for blood, their influence +would to a certain extent be regained, now that the fiercest act +in the drama had been played, and the chief actor was no more. The +only thing that created uneasiness in him was the apprehension that +the severity of their own loss might induce such a desire of +vengeance in the minds of the warriors as to cause in them a renewal +of their fury, and an utter disregard of the pledges of their +leaders. Something however—indeed much—must be left to chance. +As prisoners they might and would be saved, if the influence of +their sager warriors and their own better feelings prevailed, while, +as combatants, every man, without an exception, must have fallen. +Moreover, the reason which had decided Lieutenant Elmsley in giving +his vote had an equal influence in sustaining himself in the +expediency of surrender. Their wives were prisoners, and a reunion +with them was not impossible; whereas if they had resolved on +defending themselves with the obstinacy of despair, that hope must +have been for ever cut off, and the noble women—not to speak of +the partners of their brave and humble followers—who had taken so +prominent a share in the combat, wounded and sustained only by the +faint possibility of a meeting with their husbands, would assuredly +be made to undergo a similar fate. +</p> + +<p> +And now commenced the most humiliating part of the movements of +the day—the breaking up of the gallant little square, and the +return, flanked by their Indian captors, of the remains of the +detachment to the fort. In compliance with the wish of Captain +Headley, expressed at the suggestion of his men, instead of taking +the route selected by Winnebeg in his advance, the party were +suffered to return past the wagons. The scene which took place here +was one of mingled consolation and despair. Such of the married +men as had survived the conflict anxiously sought their wives, many +of whom, with pale cheeks and sunken eyes, and hearts nearly crushed +by the pitiless murder of their children, still wrung comfort in +the midst of their despair, as they gazed once more on the features +of those whom they had given up as lost for ever. But then, on the +other hand, was the soul's misery complete of the poor women, +widowed within the past few hours, who sought eagerly but in vain +to distinguish the features of him who alone could console her +under a similar bereavement, and who, with tears and sobs, sank +back again into the wagon, in all the agony of increased and +confirmed despair. It required stern hearts to behold all this +unmoved; but the knowledge that their wives had been unharmed, +whatever the savage destruction of their children, brought some +little relief to the overcharged hearts of such of the married men +as had been spared, and in their secret hearts they returned thanks +to the Providence that had guarded not only their own lives, but +the lives of those most dear to them. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a></h2> + +<p> +And with what feelings did they now re-enter the fort, and what an +aspect did it present! Half-drunken Indians were yet engaged in +the work of plunder and destruction, insomuch so that it scarcely +appeared to them the same place from which they had sallied out in +the morning; and there were moments when the stoutest-hearted wished +that they had never returned to it, but perished on the field where +their comrades lay, unconscious of the past, regardless of the +future of desolation, of which all they saw seemed to give promise. +The officers' quarters, and the blockhouses, which had afforded +them protection and shelter during many a long year, were now burst +open, and every article of heavy bedding and furniture hurled into +the square—the latter ripped open, and broken, and the feathers +and fragments strewn around as if in mockery of the neatness that +had ever been a distinctive characteristic of the well—swept parade +ground, where heretofore a pin might have been picked up without +a finger being soiled in the act. These were, seemingly, too minute +considerations to have weighed at such a moment when higher and +more important interests were at stake; but, to the well-regulated +eye of the soldier, accustomed to order and decorum, they were now +mountains of inequality and discomfort, which contributed as much +to the annoyance and mortification of his position as the very fact +of captivity itself; and if this was the feeling generally of the +men, how deep must have been its effect on the officers, and +particularly on Capt. Headley, who had ever been punctilious to a +nicety in all that regarded the internal arrangements of Fort +Dearborn. But, offensive as this was, how much more so was it to +behold many of the band fantastically arrayed, not only in their +own clothing, but in that of their wives, desecrating, as it were, +the terrible solemnity of the day, and mocking at the severity of +suffering to which the latter had been subjected. +</p> + +<p> +Of the Indians who had formed their escort, some stopped outside +the gate, others mixed with the spectators, and only about a dozen +followed them to the mess room, which Winnebeg said he had selected +for their temporary quarters, as being the least liable to +interruption or molestation. He promised to send them food, and +later in the evening, when all was quiet, to conduct the two officers +to their wives, who, for greater quiet and security, were still +lying concealed in the canoe where he had first placed them. +</p> + +<p> +“Winnebeg, Winnebeg,” said Capt. Headley, solemnly, “how can we +ever sufficiently repay you for your noble conduct to-day? Depend +upon it, I shall not fail to make known to our Great Father that +you have saved the lives of one third of the detachment; but let +me remind you of the first part of our contract—the burial of the +dead. There is plenty of daylight, and I wish to send out a dozen +men for the purpose of digging one common grave for them all. Mr. +Ronayne must, if not dead, be brought in on a litter; if, however, +he is no more, no grave can be more honorable to him than that +shared with his followers. You know, Corporal Collins, where the +spades and picks are kept.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir, I know where they are usually kept, and where it is not +likely they have been disturbed. What men, sir, am I to take?” +</p> + +<p> +Almost every man in the detachment expressed his anxiety to be of +the party; but the remainder of those who had been with the Virginian +when he fell, and a few others, all unmarried men, were selected. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you not think, sir,” said Lieutenant Elmsley, “that I should +command this party and superintend the arrangements? Poor Ronayne +must be delicately handled.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you will do so, Mr. Elmsley, I shall be most glad; but not +deeming it absolutely necessary, I did not propose it as a point +of duty. But there is another thing to be considered: Winnebeg, +what escort will you give to my people? You know your young men +are excited, and many may not know of the conditions of our +surrender.” +</p> + +<p> +During this conversation, almost the whole of the Indians, to the +number of eighteen or twenty, who have been alluded to as having +plundered and offensively arrayed themselves in the dresses of the +officers' wives, and who were evidently the most turbulent of the +band, had been drawing gradually closer around the little party of +prisoners. All were more or less ludicrously painted, and exhibited +the most grotesque appearance. +</p> + +<p> +When the remnant of the detachment first entered the fort, it was +remarked that one of them—a mere youth—had closely, almost +impertinently, examined the features of the officers, and had +followed, with most of his companions. When Captain Headley made +his request for an escort, this individual suddenly went up to +Winnebeg, tapped him on the shoulder, and said something, not in +Pottowatomie but in Shawnee, accompanied by much gesticulation, +which seemed to have great weight with the chief. +</p> + +<p> +“Give him escort, dis,” said the latter in reply, as he glanced +his eye quickly upon the group, and with seeming intelligence. +</p> + +<p> +“What! those men!” returned Captain Headley, with a shadow of +remonstrance in his tone. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, all good Pottowatomie—all brave warrior—no give him dis,” +and he pointed to those who had accompanied them from the field, +“all too much tired with fight already—dis men stay here all day. +No fight.” +</p> + +<p> +Although by no means persuaded by the reasoning of Winnebeg, that +men who had been plundering and drinking what they could find, +during the whole of the morning, were the most proper persons to +guard prisoners from the violence of excited enemies, Capt. Headley +felt that it would be imprudent to urge any further opposition. +For a single moment, it occurred to him that the chief had offered +this escort with a hostile motive, but it was a thought which, +involuntarily forced upon his mind, was as instantly discarded as +unworthy of the chief, and, whatever might have been his latent +misgivings, he no longer opposed an objection. +</p> + +<p> +The preparations were soon made; the litter, and materials for +digging found, and the little party, who had taken off their uniforms +to avoid particular remark, and to be more free in their movements, +sallied forth. On passing near the gate, and in a direction opposite +to that by which they had just entered, they beheld the body of +Doctor Von Voltenberg, within a few paces of the pathway by which +they now advanced, which was the route taken by the Indians with +the three-pounder. He was stripped to the skin, scalped, and with +a profusion of large green flies and ants of the prairie settled +on and seemingly disputing possession of the dark and coagulated +blood that was already incrusted on the festering wound. The body +was fast becoming bloated and discolored under the rays of an August +sun, but no one could mistake the black and the peculiarly cut +whisker, and the good natured and smiling expression of face which +even in death had not wholly deserted him. +</p> + +<p> +They had now reached the point where the Indians stood when the +first grenades were thrown in among them by the followers of Ronayne. +From this could be commanded a full view of the theatre of contest +as far as the crest of the sandhill, being a full musket-shot from +the spot where he had last fallen. The intermediate space, as has +already been remarked, was thickly strewn with dead bodies amounting +in all to upwards of a hundred, and the place chosen for interment +by Lieutenant Elmsley was the small copse of underwood, from which +the flank movement had been made upon Ronayne by the fresh band of +Indians upon whom he had directed the fire of the three-pounder. +</p> + +<p> +While occupied in digging a grave of about twenty feet square, +their strangely attired looking escort amused themselves with +examining the dead uniformed bodies that lay strewed thickly around, +and it was remarked that they showed no such curiosity in regard +to their own people who were indiscriminately mixed up with them. +Gradually they approached the crest of the hill, and Lieutenant +Elmsley, who was distrustful of their intentions, and kept a close +eye upon their movements, saw the youth, already noticed, suddenly +bound with uplifted tomahawk towards the spot where poor Ronayne +was known to lie, and, after addressing a few words to his companions, +stoop over his body, with what intention he could not make out, +but he presumed to dispatch and to scalp him, for the cry uttered +by the Virginian and heard even at that distance, was piteous to +hear. Desiring the men to go on with their work, and collect +the bodies as soon as it was completed, he hurried rapidly to the +scene of this new action, and as he advanced saw another and a much +stronger party of Indians approaching the same spot. Rapidly their +escort closed in upon the officer over whom the young warrior was +kneeling, and stooping down, drew from their victim another moan +of inexpressible anguish. All then rose, and, grouped together, +moved away parallel with the said ridge until they were finally +lost behind a sudden elevation that continued the hill in an obtuse +angle towards the forest. +</p> + +<p> +Startled by the appearance of these fresh comers, Lieut. Elmsley +paused for a moment in his advance, but feeling that any appearance +of mistrust might act unfavorably upon the band, he renewed his +course, expecting at every moment to reach the mangled body of his +friend. The Indians approached the same point at the same time, +and he saw at once that the majority were composed of those who +had accompanied Winnebeg when he came to offer terms to Captain +Headley. Trusting, therefore, that there was no violence to be +apprehended from those who were aware of the fact of the surrender, +towards himself or party, he proceeded to search for his friend; +but, to his surprise, his body was not to be seen. He could not be +mistaken as to the spot where it had lain, close to Sergeant Nixon; +but, though the latter was nearly in the same position in which he +had fallen, the knife which he had used upon the throat of the +Chippewa, and the imprint of his body upon the sand, deeply moistened +with the blood of both, was the only indication of Ronayne's having +been there. It was evident that he had been carried off by the +strange party who had formed their escort, and that the cries of +agony uttered by him had been produced by the torture of moving +his broken limb. What the motive for this new outrage could have +been, it was difficult to conjecture, unless it was to secure at +their leisure, and before the other party of Indians came up to +dispute possession of the spoils with them—not only his scalp, +but the blood-stained colors which he bore—perhaps to sell the +latter as a trophy to the British. +</p> + +<p> +Without condescending to bestow the slightest notice upon the +officer, the Indians approached the bodies, and leisurely proceeded +to strip them of their clothing. Their leader, uttering a yell of +delight and surprise as he came near it, sprang upon the sergeant +and secured the scalp, which Pee-to-tum had failed to take. This +piece of good fortune led the others to hope for something similar, +and they accordingly dispersed themselves rapidly over the scene +of combat, examining every head and stripping everybody. All this +was done without Lieut. Elmsley having the slightest power to +interfere, for he knew that any attempt at remonstrance would only +be to provoke a similar fate, and thus the party passed on, stripping +every soldier to the skin. +</p> + +<p> +While he lingered hesitatingly near the spot whence his friend had +been so singularly removed, waiting for the plunderers of the dead +to depart before he should rejoin his men, his ears were suddenly +assailed by a piercing shriek from the further extremity of the +underwood in which the latter were digging, and which extended +about two hundred yards on the left of the plain below. At once he +knew the cry, and comprehended its cause; and rushing down the +sandhill without thought of the new danger to which he might be +exposed, turned the corner of the small wood, and stopping abruptly +at a point where he could see without being noticed himself, beheld +A sight as distressing as, a few moments before, it had been +unexpected. +</p> + +<p> +With his uncovered head slightly raised, and reposing upon the +projecting root of a tall tree that rose capriciously, yet +majestically, amid the stunted growth around, lay the enfeebled +and dying Ronayne extended upon a pile of clothing formed of the +very dresses that had now been doffed for the purpose by his escort. +By his side knelt his wife, disguised in the neat dress of one of +Wau-nan-gee's sisters, and gazing into his pale face with a silent +expression of agony which no language could render. But though his +face was wan, and his eye gradually losing its lustre, the arm of +the officer closely clasped around the waist of his wife, ever and +anon strained her so passionately, so convulsively to his heart +that a new fire seemed at these moments to be enkindled in both—and +to prove all the intensity of the undiminished love he bore her. +Neither spoke. Speech could not so well convey what was passing in +their sad souls as could their looks, while the exhausted state of +the wounded officer rendered exertion of any kind not merely painful +but impossible. On the other side of the Virginian, who held his +hand affectionately in his feeble grasp, stooped the young Indian +already noticed, and standing grouped round, and gazing with evident +sorrow on the scene, were his companions. The youth was Wau-nan-gee. +His companions were his immediate and devoted friends—those who +had sought to make the young officer a prisoner on a former occasion, +when, had they succeeded, all this trial of the wife's agony might +have been spared. On the first exit of the troops they had rushed +into the fort on the pretence of plunder and excess, in the hope +that their example would be imitated by many, and that thus the +detachment might be left to pursue its route comparatively unharmed. +And to a certain extent they succeeded, for many did follow them, +and Pee-to-tum among the rest, whose absence in the first onset of +the battle had dispirited the Indians, whom he had first excited, +and given the Americans an advantage of which they never lost sight +until the close. To have taken an active part in the defence, would +have been not only impossible but impolitic, but in the course they +had pursued they had no doubt saved such of the detachment as +remained, for had all been engaged—had all borne a prominent share +in the attack, the event, from the great disparity of numbers, +could not have long been doubtful. When Wau-nan-gee, whose anxiety +to know his fate had been great, first heard from his father of +the wounded condition of Ronayne, he had proffered himself and +friends as the escort of the detachment, intending to bear off the +body, without being seen by the other Indians, to his mother's +tent, where his wounds might be dressed and his life saved by the +care and attention of his own wife. +</p> + +<p> +All these particulars Lieut. Elmsley subsequently ascertained from +Winnebeg, for anxious as he was to take a last leave of his dying +friend, and to express his joy at once again beholding, even under +these disheartening circumstances, her for whom both himself and +his wife had ever entertained the strongest friendship, the officer +was afraid to move from the spot where, unseen himself, he had +witnessed all, lest by suddenly exciting and agitating, he should +abruptly destroy the life which was evidently fast drawing to a +close. To have broken that solemn and silent communion of spirits, +would, he felt, have been sacrilege, and he abstained; and yet, as +if fascinated by the sight, he could not leave the spot—he could +not abandon his dearest and best friends without lingering +to know how far his services might yet be available to both or one. +</p> + +<p> +Apparently, Mrs. Ronayne had not uttered a sound since that piercing +cry had escaped her which attested her first knowledge of the +hopeless condition of her wounded husband. The attempt to carry +him off the field, with the view not only of preventing him from +being scalped, as he certainly would have been by the party then +advancing, but of conveying him to the Indian camp of the women, +had been productive of the greatest suffering; so much so that when +he had gained the point where he now lay, and where his wife had +first met him, he declared to Wau-nan-gee his utter inability to +proceed further, and prevailed on him to place him on the ground +that he might die in quiet. +</p> + +<p> +It was now near sunset, and the condition of the Virginian was +momentarily becoming weaker. He suddenly made an attempt to rally, +and for a moment or two raised himself upon the elbow of the hand +that still encircled the waist of his wife. +</p> + +<p> +“Maria, my soul's adored!” he murmured, “I feel that I have not +many moments left, and I should die in despair did I not know that +there is one who will protect you while he has life. God knows what +has been the fate of our poor companions, but even if living, they +cannot shield you from danger. Wau-nan-gee,” he said, turning +faintly to the youth, “two things I am sure you will promise your +friend—first, to conduct yourself in all things as my wife—your +sister—desires; secondly, to conceal and guard these colors until +you can deliver them up to the nearest American fort.” Then, when +the youth had solemnly promised, with tears filling his dark eyes, +that he would faithfully execute the trust, he turned again to his +wife, and said in a tone that marked increased exhaustion at the +effort he had made, “Maria, sweet, it is hard to die thus—to leave +you thus; but yet you will not be alone—Wau-nan-gee will love and +protect you, obey your will: yet you need not now fear, I have +avenged your wrong—that wrong of which the ruffian boasted when +I slew him—tortured him—the monster. How different the gentle +love of this affectionate boy! But I have not strength—oh, what +sickly faintness comes over me! surely this must be ——.” +</p> + +<p> +“Death!” he would have added, but silence had for ever sealed the +lips that never more would speak his undying affection for his +noble, graceful, and accomplished wife. +</p> + +<p> +For some moments the unhappy woman continued to gaze upon the still +features of her husband as though unconscious of the extent of her +great misery, and when the reaction came, it was not expressed in +shrieks or lamentations, or strong outward manifestations of emotion, +but in the calm, serene, condensed silence of the sorrow that +stultifies and annihilates. Her cheek was pale as marble, and there +was a fixedness of the eye almost alarming to behold, as she rose +erect from her bending position, and said, with severity, “This +and more have your cursed people done, Wau-nan-gee! I shall ever +hate to look upon an Indian face again! Yet that body must be buried +deep in the ground, and in a spot known only to us both, where none +may violate the dead. You have promised to obey me in all things. +This is the first charge upon you. Let us go—the night is fast +approaching, and the place remains to be reached, and the grave is +to be dug. By to-morrow's dawn we travel together and alone +through the wilderness, in execution of the will of your friend +and my husband. Mark that, Wau-nan-gee! It is his will that we +travel together—that you shall be my guide and protector. See +this dress, how well it disguises me. I shall be taken, as we +journey, for your squaw. Ha! ha! That will be excellent, will it +not? Maria Heywood—Ronayne's wife—the mistress of a fiend—then +Wau-nan-gee's squaw—and not yet six weeks married to the first!” +</p> + +<p> +She suddenly paused, put her hand to her brow—seemed to reflect, +and then turning to Wau-nan-gee, inquired why he lingered so long +and wherefore he did not replace the body in the litter and depart. +</p> + +<p> +With a pensive and serious mien the youth, who had been still +kneeling, absorbed in sorrow at the strange coldness of Mrs. +Ronayne's manner, and afraid to disturb her in a distraction which +he comprehended more from her looks and actions than her language, +now rose, and saying something in a low tone to his companions, +who had also regarded her throughout with silent surprise, the +covering on which the body of the unfortunate officer reposed, was +placed upon the blanket, which four of the party held extended, +and at the direction of Wau-nan-gee the whole proceeded towards +the forest. +</p> + +<p> +When this strange and dispiriting scene had terminated, Lieut. +Elmsley, who felt at each moment in a greater degree the uselessness +of any interference in his powerless position, was rejoiced that +at least the last moments of his friend had been consoled by the +presence of his wife; he was led to hope that it had been the result +of a momentarily-disordered brain, on which despair had now wreaked +its worst, and which, therefore, might be expected to regain a +stronger if not its wonted tone when the bitterness of grief should +have somewhat subsided. +</p> + +<p> +Proposing to prevail on Winnebeg to obtain for him a meeting with +her on the morrow, when the remains of her husband should have been +consigned to their rude resting-place, he returned towards his +party, whom he found in the act of covering up the bodies which +they had, unmolested by the Indians, brought in from the different +points where they had fallen. The grave was soon filled up—a +short and mournful prayer read by the officer from memory, and the +party returned full of gloom, and with hearts bowed down by sorrow, +to the dismantled and desolate-looking fort. +</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a></h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +“This act is an ancient tale twice told.” +</div></div> +<p class="poem"><span class="i6"> +—<i>King John.</i> +</span></p> + +<p> +The wretchedness of that night who can tell! the despondency that +filled the hearts of all, not so much in regard to the present as +from apprehension for the future, who, untried in the same ordeal, +can comprehend? but the feelings of the remnant of that little +band, who were indebted for their safety to their own bravery, were +not selfish. They lamented as deeply the fate of the fallen, as +the dark and uncertain future that awaited themselves—uncertain +because, although the chiefs had promised, and with sincerity, that +they should be given up as prisoners of war at the nearest +post, they had seen too much of the falsehood of the race generally +to rely implicitly on its fulfilment by the warriors. Alas! where +were their comrades—friends, nay, brothers of yesterday? Where +was the brave, the noble-hearted Wells—where the once gay, ever +high-spirited Ronayne—where poor Von Voltenberg—the manly Sergeant +Nixon, a Virginian also—the faithful Corporal Green—and nearly +two thirds of the privates of the detachment? The very fact of +being in the fort again, and everywhere surrounded by objects +rendering more striking the contrast between the past and the +present, was agony in itself. There was scarcely a man among them +who would not have preferred bivouacking, in the wild wood, amid +storm and tempest, and the howling of beasts of prey, to resting +that night within the polluted precincts of what had so recently +been their safeguard and their pride. +</p> + +<p> +Fortunately, the two surviving officers were, in some measure, +exempt from these mortifications. True to his word, Winnebeg had +caused Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley to be conveyed undercover of +the darkness from their place of concealment to the mansion of Mr. +McKenzie, which, from the great popularity of the trader with the +whole of the Indian tribes, had been left untouched—he himself +having been looked upon as a non-combatant, and, therefore, spared +from all personal outrage. +</p> + +<p> +The meeting between the husbands and their wives—both the former +also slightly wounded during the day—was, as may be supposed, most +affecting. Neither had ever expected, on parting in the morning, +to behold each other; and now, although more or less injured, to +find those who were preserved, as it were, by a miracle from a +cruel death, with a prospect of future happiness, the past was for +the moment forgotten, and gratitude to God for their preservation +the dominant feeling of their souls. The examination of the wounds +of the heroines was the next consideration. Most fortunate was it +that of all the wounds received by the ladies—seven by Mrs. Headley +and three by Mrs. Elmsley—not one was of a nature to disable or +impede the motion of their lower limbs. A ball that had lodged in +her arm, however, gave the former great pain; but, alas! there was +no Von Voltenberg to cut it out. In this extremity, Winnebeg said +he knew an Indian who was very expert at incision, and that he +would procure his attendance. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the party were enabled to partake of some refreshments +which had been ordered on the departure of Winnebeg for his charge; +and exhausted as all had been by intense anxiety and emotion, from +the moment of their setting out almost to the present, this was +truly acceptable, especially to the two officers. +</p> + +<p> +In the course of the repast, allusion was made to the gallantry +and suffering of the unfortunate. Ronayne, when, on Captain Headley +asking, for the first time, what had been done with the body, Lieut. +Elmsley proceeded to relate all that he had heard and witnessed a +few hours previously. +</p> + +<p> +This singular detail excited not only surprise but pain, especially +in Mrs. Headley, whose deep friendship for, and interest in, both +husband and wife had already been so strongly exhibited. It is not +often that, in the hour of our keenest suffering, we have much +sympathy to bestow upon others; but the noble woman had known the +ill-fated Maria too intimately—known her too well—not to feel +deep sorrow for the double affliction under which she labored. In +the confession, if such it can be called, which he had +committed to writing and subsequently transmitted by Wau-nan-gee, +as well as in her wild and unconnected language on the day of the +fatal occurrence itself, she had alluded to something terrible—an +attempt at outrage, but in those vague terms of violated modesty +which left the extent only to be surmised. No one of those who +knew the contents of her communication, had suspected or presumed +the worst, and had it not been for the avowal by Ronayne of his +vengeance for the avowed fulfilment of the hellish and sacrilegious +lust of the hideous monster, and the strange admission that fell +in her despair from Mrs. Ronayne herself, the secret must have died +with themselves. +</p> + +<p> +It was not exactly a subject for discussion, under ordinary +circumstances, and before everyday women; but here not only were +the parties cognizant few in number, but actuated by nobler motives +than those which would have governed mere worldly and censuring +people. Moreover, the nature of their connexion with each other, +and with the victims themselves—for it was shown that Ronayne had +received his mortal wound from the rifle of the Chippewa—even the +atrocity complained of, connected as it was with all the horrors +of the past day, not only justified but compelled it. +</p> + +<p> +“She must not be left where she is,” gravely remarked Mrs. Headley, +after some moments of reflection; “cannot Winnebeg, the good +Winnebeg, whom, perhaps, we have taxed too much, be persuaded to +bring her to us? Now that the worst has happened she will be far +happier—more contented, by sharing our fortunes, whatever they +may be, than remaining in the Indian encampment, cut off from every +kindred association. What think you, Mrs. Elmsley?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I shall be too delighted to see, and to soothe her sorrow. As +a sister, I have ever loved her—as a sister, I love her still.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, assuredly,” returned Mrs. Headley, “will she not hesitate +to overcome her false delicacy, and to consider herself, what she +really is, the victim of misfortune, and not of guilt, when a mother +and a sister united look upon her as pure in thought as in the days +of her unwedded innocence, and offer her what home may be preserved +to themselves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Generously, nobly said!” remarked Lieutenant Elmsley, pressing +the hand of his wife and looking his feelings as he caught the eye +of the last speaker. “I had intended to ask Winnebeg not to simply +go himself, but to permit me to accompany him, that I might know +her intention and offer her my aid. What I have now heard confirms +me in my design. Early to-morrow morning, if he assents, we shall +go over. But here he is himself, with the Indian who is to perform +the operation on your arm, Mrs. Headley.” +</p> + +<p> +The door opened, and Winnebeg entered, followed by a tall, powerful, +good-looking Pottowatomie, who glanced inquisitively around the +apartment with the air of one who expects an unpleasant recognition, +nor was it apparently without reason, for the moment Mrs. Elmsley +beheld him, she uttered an involuntary shriek, and drew back with +every manifestation of disgust. The Indian remarked it, and sought +to retire, but Mrs. Elmsley, suddenly recollecting herself, and +fearing so to offend him as to prevent the aid he had come to +render, rose and held out her hand to him, saying, with an attempt +at a smile— +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind—although we have fought a hard battle together +to-day, it is all over now. Let us be friends. Winnebeg, explain +this to him.” +</p> + +<p> +Winnebeg did so, when, with a mingled look of astonishment and +pleasure, the Pottowatomie warmly returned her pressure. It was +the same warrior with whom she had grappled, in the desperation of +a last hope, when so opportunely extricated from her perilous +position by Black Partridge. As he had the reputation of much +expertness in making incisions and removing balls lodged in the +flesh, his attendance had been requested. +</p> + +<p> +Calm and composed, although evidently laboring under deep dejection +for the loss of her uncle, the horrible mode of whose death had, +however, been kept back from her, Mrs. Headley, dressed in the +light-textured riding habit in which she had gone forth in the +morning, and which, it has already been remarked, set off her finely +moulded bust and waist to the best advantage, prepared to submit +herself to the operation. As she raised herself up on the ottoman +on which she reclined, Mrs. Elmsley cut open the sleeve to the +shoulder, thus laying bare one of the most magnificent arms that +ever was appended to a woman's body, the dazzling whiteness of +whose contour was only dimmed in the fleshy part above, and in the +immediate vicinity of the spot where the ball had entered. +</p> + +<p> +At a sign from Captain Headley, the Indian, who had been talking +aside with his chief, now approached, but no sooner did he behold +the uncovered limb, when, either dazzled by its brilliancy, which +to him must have seemed in a great degree superhuman, or shocked +that anything so beautiful should have been thus wounded, he suddenly +stopped, and while his eyes were as if fascinated, the blood could +be seen suddenly to recede from his dark cheek. +</p> + +<p> +“No, father,” he said to Winnebeg, “I cannot do it. I cannot cut +that arm open—the very thought makes me sick here”—and he pointed +to his heart. “I cannot do it.” +</p> + +<p> +Although this involuntary homage to the rich, full, and moulded +beauty of a limb which was but a sample of the perfection of the +whole person, and which in a woman seldom attains its fullest +harmony of proportion before the mature age which Mrs. Headley had +attained, was not exactly that of the porter who, at an earlier +period, solicited the famous Duchess of Gordon to permit him to +light his pipe at her ladyship's brilliant eyes, it was certainly +conceived in much of a similar spirit, and Mrs. Headley could scarce +herself suppress a smile when she remarked the effect upon the +Indian. +</p> + +<p> +And yet this man had been one of the foremost in the attack, and +at his waist, even then, dangled more scalps than had been taken +by any other warrior during the day. +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” said Mrs. Headley, on the Pottowatomie continuing resolute +in his refusal to touch the wound—“somebody must do this act of +charity, for the ball gives me much pain. Mr. McKenzie,” she added, +with that sort of smile that may be attributed to a person seeking +to assume an air of unconcern even when most disheartened—“you +have long been accustomed to use the dissecting knife on the buffalo +and the bear: do you not think that you could find the courage +necessary for the occasion!” +</p> + +<p> +“Most decidedly; I will make the attempt if you desire it,” returned +the trader; “but I fear that my surgical apparatus is Very limited +indeed. Von Voltenberg having been stripped, all his instruments +have, doubtless, been plundered, so it is no use to look for +aid there; and the only thing with which I can try my skill is a +common but very sharp penknife.” +</p> + +<p> +“Try whatever you please,” said Mrs. Headley; “only relieve me of +this suffering; that which you may inflict cannot possibly be +worse”—and unflinchingly extending her arm, she waited for him to +begin. +</p> + +<p> +For the first time in his life Mr. McKenzie felt nervous. There +was a greater amount of courage required to cut into the delicate +flesh, of a woman than even to <i>kill</i> a bear or a buffalo; but as he +had promised, he summoned up his resolution and skill to the task. +</p> + +<p> +The Pottowatomie, bedizened with scalps as he was, had remained to +witness the cutting out of the ball; and nothing could surpass the +expression of surprise that pervaded his features, as he keenly +watched the almost immovability of Mrs. Headley from the moment +that the blade of the penknife, dexterously enough handled, entered +into the flesh and effected the incision necessary to enable the +ball to be removed. When the operation was finished, and the ball +produced, he started suddenly to his feet, and uttered a sharp +exclamation, denoting approbation of her wonderful courage. He +asked, as a favor, to retain the ball as a testimony of her heroism; +when Mrs. Headley presented it to him with her own hand. And with +this he departed, exulting as though he had taken a new scalp. +</p> + +<p> +This incident, perhaps unimportant in itself, was not without some +moment in the results to which it led. On the day following the +fort was filled with Indians and their squaws not only endeavoring +to assert their claims to individual prisoners, but infuriated at +the losses, seeking a victim to the manes of their deceased relatives. +Among others was an aged squaw, who had lost a favorite son in the +battle, and who, having been told by a warrior that he had distinctly +seen him killed by a shot from Mrs. Headley's rifle, repaired to +the house of Mr. McKenzie, where she knew she then was, bent upon +exciting the general sympathy of the warriors in her favor, and +obtaining their assent that she should revenge his death upon the +“white squaw.” +</p> + +<p> +It happened, however, that the noble woman, feeling great relief +from the abstraction of the ball from her left arm the preceding +evening, and feeling secure in the pledge entered into by Winnebeg, +and confirmed in a measure by his people, had fearlessly mounted +her horse, which had been recovered for her, and ridden alone to +the baggage wagons for the purpose of procuring some article which, +at the moment, she much required. As she was returning, and when +near the entrance to the fort, she was met by the vixen, furious +with rage and disappointment at not having found her. +</p> + +<p> +Advancing with a cry that might be likened to that of a fiend, she +seized the bridle of the horse, and attempted to drag his rider by +her habit to the ground—shrieking forth at the same time her +determination to have her life who had taken the life of her son. +But Mrs. Headley was not one, as the reader of this by no means +fictitious narrative already knows, to be thus intimidated. She +possessed too much of the high spirit, the resolute nature of her +unfortunate uncle to submit quietly to the outrage, and, moreover, +she knew enough of the Indian character to be sensible that it was +not by any manifestation of submission that she could hope to escape +the threatened danger. Her course was at once taken. She struck +the gaunt and shrivelled hag such a violent stroke over her shoulder +with the horsewhip of cowhide she held, that the latter was +compelled to release her hold; and, as she rushed into the fort, +calling on the Indians to revenge her son and kill the white squaw, +the latter followed her completely round the square, using her +cowhide with a dexterity and an effect, as she leaned over her +saddle, that drew bursts of laughter and approval from the warriors +eagerly gazing on the scene. At one moment, there was a manifestation +of a desire to carry out the wishes of the crone and kill Mrs. +Headley, and several voices were loud in the expression, but suddenly +then stood forth the Pottowatomie of the preceding evening, the +antagonist of Mrs. Elmsley, who, from his commanding appearance, +not less than by the prestige of his bravery imparted by the numerous +fresh scalps at his side, soon made himself an object of attention. +None of the chiefs were present. +</p> + +<p> +“The white squaw shall not be killed,” he pronounced, as he held +up his tomahawk authoritatively; “she is brave like a Pottowatomie +warrior. See here,” holding up first five and then two fingers—“so +many balls have hit her, and yet she is here, on horseback, as if +nothing had happened. What Indian would have courage to do that? +Speak!” +</p> + +<p> +“Pwau-na-shig lies,” returned the beldam, whom Mrs. Headley had +now ceased to punish, yet who, panting from the speed she had used +in her flight, was almost inarticulate, thereby provoking the +greater mass of the Indians knowing its cause to increased mirth—“the +white squaw has no wounds—where are they—she cannot show them. +If she had wounds she could not sit on her horse; but she has killed +my son, and I demand her blood. Let her be given up to my tomahawk.” +</p> + +<p> +A loud and confused murmur burst from many of the group, influenced +by the words of the last speaker. Mrs. Headley sat her horse with +indifference, patting his head gently with the whip, yet looking +earnestly towards Pwau-na-shig, upon whom she now altogether relied. +</p> + +<p> +“The mother of Tuh-qua-quod is a foolish old woman, and knows not +what she says,” vociferated the tall warrior; “do you doubt the +word of Pwau-na-shig—see here,” and he took from his pouch and +held up to view between his finger and thumb the bullet which had +been extracted the preceding evening. “That,” he said, “I saw taken +from her flesh with my own eyes—she did not move—she made no +sign, of pain—she was like a warrior's wife; but you shall see +what Pwau-na-shig says is true.” +</p> + +<p> +He approached Mrs. Headley, who, comprehending his object, shifted +her rein to the whip hand, and calmly extended her left arm. Where +it had been cut open, the sleeve of her riding habit was fastened +from the wrist to the shoulder by narrow dark ribbons, which had +been sewn on the previous evening by Mrs. Elmsley, and these the +Pottowatomie proceeded to untie; then turned back the sleeve, as +well as the snow—white linen of the upper arm, soiled only with +her own blood, until the whole was revealed. +</p> + +<p> +Apparently as much struck by the brilliancy and symmetry of the +limb as Pwau-na-shig himself had been, the warriors—even those +who had been most clamorous in support of the demand of the old +squaw—were now unanimous in their low expressions of admiration; +nor was this sentiment at all lessened when, following from the +wrist the rich contour of the swelling arm, it finally rested upon +the wound she herself had divested of its slight drapery. The +incision made by the penknife of Mr. McKenzie, at least three, +inches in length, had assumed a slight character of inflammation, +and contrasting as it did with the astounding whiteness of +every other portion of the limb, gave it the appearance of being +much more severe than it really was. But it was not the wound +alone that enlisted the feelings of the Indians in favor of Mrs. +Headley. Connected with that was the coolness she had evinced +throughout the whole affair from the persevering flogging of the +harridan, who sought her scalp, to the graceful unconcern with +which she sat her horse when she must have known that it was then +a question under discussion whether her life should be taken or +not. This, with the fact of the wound which they then saw, and +their no longer doubt of the existence of many others, were undeniable +evidences of her heroism, and at that moment Mrs. Headley was +regarded by these wild people with a higher respect than she had +ever commanded in the palmiest days of her husband's influence with +the race. +</p> + +<p> +“No kill him,” said Pwau-na-shig, exultingly, as he remarked the +effect produced on his companions—“white chiefs wife good warrior.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no kill him,” answered another voice, in broken English also. +“Dam fine squaw—wish had him wife—get brave papoose.” +</p> + +<p> +A general expression of assent came from the band, when Mrs. Headley, +whose sleeve had again been rudely tied by Pwau-na-shig, fearing +that if she remained longer another reaction might take place, +pressed the hand of the Indian with a warmth of gratitude that +brought the strong fire into his eye and the warm blood into his +cheek, turned her horse's head, and cantered out of the fort, +followed by the wild ravings of the beldam, who tore her long and +matted grey hair and stamped her feet in fury at the disappointment. +In a few minutes she was again at the door of Mr. McKenzie, and +alighted in the arms of her husband, who, alarmed at her long +absence, was in the act of leaving the house in search of her when +she arrived. +</p> + +<p> +“There come Elmsley and Winnebeg, but unaccompanied,” remarked +Captain Headley, when, in reply to his inquiry as to the cause of +her long absence, she said she would tell him later. “I fear that +they have been unable to prevail upon Maria to leave the new home +of her election.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am sorry for it,” gravely returned his wife. “I must say her +choice is not exactly what I should have expected; but here they +are—we shall soon know. Well, Mr. Elmsley,” she added, as that +officer ascended the veranda, followed by Winnebeg, “what news do +you bring of the truant?” +</p> + +<p> +“I scarcely know whether to consider it good or bad,” returned the +lieutenant, with an air of disappointment; “but I have not seen +Mrs. Ronayne. There seems to have been more method than madness +in her language to Wau-nan-gee of yesterday, for this morning she +departed with him to Detroit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed,” remarked Mrs. Headley; “you surprise me, Mr. Elmsley; +but does she perform that long journey on foot?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; Winnebeg ascertained from his wife that she was mounted on +her own horse, and that Wau-nan-gee, having visited and returned +from. Hardscrabble during the night with a couple of trunks, she +had made up two large packages, which were tied to the back of her +saddle, while the youth strapped two others similarly prepared with +provisions, behind his own pony. Thus provided, and Wau-nan-gee +with his rifle on his shoulder and otherwise well armed, they set +out at daybreak. +</p> + +<p> +“Poor Maria! what your eventful destiny will be, heaven only knows,” +sighed Mrs. Headley; “for not only the road but the course you +pursue is one beset with danger. But our lots are now cast in +different channels, and we have need of attention to ourselves. +Come in, Winnebeg, while I relate to you the somewhat narrow escape +I have again had from the tomahawk since you left this morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Good God! what do you mean?” simultaneously exclaimed the two +officers. Winnebeg stared and looked as if he did not fully +comprehend. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! quite an adventure, I can assure you; and who do you think +was my devoted knight-errant?” +</p> + +<p> +“What a subject to jest about, Ellen!” remarked her husband, half +reprovingly. “To whom do you allude?” +</p> + +<p> +“Only the tall warrior who tried so desperately to get your wife's scalp, +Mr. Elmsley.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, Pwau-na-shig?” +</p> + +<p> +“The same. You cannot imagine what a conquest I have made; but let +us go in—the story is too good not to be told to all, and I presume +both Mrs. Elmsley and her father are in.” +</p> + +<p> +“They are,” said Captain Headley, as the lieutenant gave his arm +to conduct her into the house. +</p> + +<hr/> + +<p> +Little remains to be added to our tale. Of the incidents that +occurred to Wau-nan-gee and his charge, after their departure from +the camp of the Pottowatomies, we might, and may, speak hereafter; +but, as it is not essential to our present design, and would +necessarily occupy far more space than is consistent with the limits +we have been compelled to prescribe to ourselves for the detail of +the attack and partial massacre of the garrison of Fort Dearborn, +we forbear. We had always intended the facts connected with the +historical events of that period to be divided into a series of +three, like the Guardsmen, Mousquetaires, and Twenty Years After, +of Dumas. Two of these, embracing different epochs and circumstances, +we have completed in “Hardscrabble” and “Wau-nan-gee;” and whether +the third, on a different topic than that of war, and which, as we +have just observed, is not necessary to the others, ever finds +embodiment in the glowing language and thought of Nature, nursed +and strengthened in Nature's solitude, will much depend on the +interest with which its predecessors shall have been received. +Yet, whether we do so or not, we trust the sweet, the gentle Maria +Ronayne—the loadstone of attraction to all who knew her, will +have excited sufficient interest in those of her own sex who have +followed her in her hitherto chequered fate to induce in them a +desire to know more of the destiny to which she seemed to have been +born. +</p> + +<p> +Of the other characters, scarcely less interesting, we can speak +with greater confidence. On the third day after the battle, the +prisoners, including Mr. McKenzie and the members of his household, +were removed from Chicago, and scattered about in small and separate +parties, at various intervals of distance from Mackinaw, then in +possession of the British. Here Mrs. Headley remained some time, +in order that she might recover sufficiently from her troublesome +wounds, when Winnebeg, in whose immediate charge she and her +husband were, learning that his people manifested impatience +at the indulgence shown to them, and with their usual fickleness +and inconsistency, desired to have them given up to their own +custody, paddled them, aided only by his squaw, from their village, +a distance of three hundred miles along the shores of Lake Michigan +to the post of Mackinaw, whence the prisoners, who had been received +with all the courtesy the knowledge of their position and the fame +of their deeds could not fail to inspire, by the gentlemanly +commander of that post, were subsequently transferred to the general +then commanding at Detroit. +</p> + +<p> +And great was the curiosity of the young British officers then in +garrison at the latter post, to behold this noble and accomplished +woman, the reputation of whose coolness and courage, under the most +trying circumstances, had been widely circulated by her friend, +Mrs. Elmsley, who, with her father and husband, had some weeks +preceded her to the same quarter. +</p> + +<p> +Little did we at the time, as we shared in the general and sincere +homage to her magnificence of person and brilliancy of character, +dream that a day would arrive when we should be the chronicler of +Mrs. Headley's glory, or have the pleasing task imposed upon us of +re-embodying, after death, the inimitable grace and fulness of +contour that then fired the glowing heart of the unformed boy of +fifteen for the ripened and heroic, although by no means bold or +masculine woman of forty. +</p> + +[End of <i>WAU-NAN-GEE OR, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO</i>] + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago, by +Major John Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAU-NAN-GEE, MASSACRE AT CHICAGO *** + +***** This file should be named 31745-h.htm or 31745-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/7/4/31745/ + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago + A Romance of the American Revolution + +Author: Major John Richardson + +Release Date: March 23, 2010 [EBook #31745] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAU-NAN-GEE, MASSACRE AT CHICAGO *** + + + + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan + + + + + + +WAU-NAN-GEE +OR, +THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO, + +A ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, + +By MAJOR RICHARDSON, +AUTHOR OF "WACOUSTA," "HARDSCRABBLE," "ECARTE," +"JACK BRAG IN SPAIN," "TECUMSEH," &c. + +NEW YORK: +H. LONG AND BROTHER, +No. 43 ANN STREET. + + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand +Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two, + +BY H. LONG AND BROTHER, + +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States +for the Southern District of New York + + + + +PREFATORY INSCRIPTION. + +My Publishers ask of me a couple of pages of matter to precede this +Tale. It is scarcely necessary to state, that the whole of the text +approaches so nearly to Historical fact, that any other preface +than that which admits the introduction of but one strictly fictitious +character--Maria Heywood--in the book, must be, in a great degree, +supererogatory. Yet I gladly avail myself of this pleasing opportunity +of manifesting the deep interest and sympathy with which I have +ever regarded those brave spirits--heroes not less than heroines--who +participated in the trials of that brief but horrid epoch. +How can I better exemplify this than by inscribing to the descendants +of the venerable founder of the City of Chicago--a prominent actor +in the scene--as well as to the gallant military survivors of the +Massacre, if any yet exist, the fruits of that interest and that +sympathy. + +Dedications and Inscriptions have almost grown out of fashion--at +least they are not so general in the present century as in the days +of Dryden; but where, through them, an opportunity for the expression +of esteem and sympathy is presented, an Author may gladly avail +himself of the occasion to show that no common interest influenced +the tracings of his pen--not the mere desire to make a book, but +to establish on a high pedestal, and to circulate through the most +attractive and popular medium, the merits of those whose +deeds and sufferings have inspired him with the generous spirit of +eulogistic comment. + +To Her Majesty's 41st Regiment, in garrison at Detroit shortly +after the occurrences herein detailed, my first Indian Tale, +"Wacousta," was inscribed, and this in memory of the long, and by +no means feather-bed service I had seen with that gallant Corps, +in the then Western wilds of America; it was a tribute of the +soldier to his companions in arms. In the same spirit I inscribe +"Wau-nan-gee" to those who were then our enemies, but whose courage +and whose sufferings were well known to all, and claimed our deep +sympathy, our respect, and our admiration,--none more than the +noble Mrs. Heald, and Mrs. Helme, the former the wife of the +Commanding Officer, the latter the daughter of the patriarch of +Illinois, Mr. Kenzie, some years since gathered to his forefathers. + +THE AUTHOR. + +New York, March 30th, 1852. + + + + +WAU-NAN-GEE; +OR, +THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + "He has come to ope the purple testament of war." + --_Richard II_ + +It was the 7th of August, 1812, when Winnebeg, the confidential +Indian messenger of Captain Headley, commanding Fort Dearborn, +suddenly made his appearance within the stockade. With a countenance +on which was depicted more of the seriousness and concern than +usually attach to his race, he requested the officer of the guard, +Lieutenant Elmsley, to allow him to pass to the apartment of the +Chief. The subaltern shook him cordially by the hand as an old and +familiar acquaintance; and, half laughingly taunting him with the +great solemnity of his aspect, asked him where he had been so long, +and what news he brought. + +"Berry bad news," replied the Indian gravely; "must see him Gubbernor +directly--dis give him;" and thrusting his hand into the bosom of +his deerskin shirt, he drew forth a large sealed packet, evidently +an official despatch. + +"From Detroit, Winnebeg?" + +"Yes, come in two days--great news--bad news!" + +"Indeed? You shall see the commanding officer directly." + +"Corporal Collins, conduct Winnebeg to Captain Headley's quarters." + +The non--commissioned officer hastened to acquit himself of the +duty, and, on the announcement of his name, the chief was admitted +to the presence of the commandant. + +The latter saw at a glance, from the countenance of the Indian, +that there was something wrong. He shook him warmly by the hand, +bade him be seated, and then hastily breaking the seal of the +despatch, with an air of preoccupation perused its contents. + +The document was from General Hull, and ran nearly as follows:-- + +"From the difficulty of access to your post, cut off as is the +communication by the numerous bands of hostile Indians whom Tecumseh +has raised up in arms against us, I take it for granted that you +are yet ignorant that war has been declared between Great +Britain and the United States. Such, however, is the fact, and in +a few days I expect myself to be surrounded by a horde of savages, +when my position will indeed be a trying one, not as regards myself, +but the hundreds of defenceless women and children, whom nothing +can preserve from the tomahawk and the scalping knife. I, moreover, +fear much for Colonel Cass, who, with a body of five hundred men, +is at a short distance from this, and will be cut to pieces the +moment an attack is made upon myself. To add to the untowardness +of events, I have just received intelligence that the Fort of +Mackinaw has been taken by the British and their allies, so that, +almost simultaneously with the receipt of this, you in all probability +will hear of their advance upon yourself. The result must not be +tested, and forthwith you will, _if it be yet practicable_, evacuate +your post and retire upon Fort Wayne, after having first distributed +all the public property contained in the fort and factory among +the friendly Indians around you. This is most important, for it +is necessary that these people should be conciliated, not only with +a view to the safe escort of your detachment to Fort Wayne, but in +order to their subsequent assistance here. There are, I believe, +nearly five hundred Pottowatomies encamped around you, and such a +numerous body of Indians would, if left free to act against Tecumseh's +warriors, materially lessen the difficulty of my position here. +Treat them as if you had the utmost reliance on their fidelity, +for any appearance of distrust might only increase the evil we wish +to avoid. I rely upon your judgment and discretion, which Colonel +Miller assures me are great. I have preferred writing this +confidential dispatch with my own hand, in order that, by keeping +your exposed condition as secret as possible, no unnecessary alarm +may be excited in the inhabitants of this town by a knowledge of +the danger that threatens their friends." + +All this was indeed news, and most painful and perplexing news, to +Captain Headley. He read the dispatch twice, and when he had +completed the second perusal, he raised his eyes to the chief, who +was regarding him at the moment fixedly as with a view to read his +intentions, and asked if General Hull had at all communicated to +him the contents of the dispatch. + +"Yes, Gubbernor," replied the Indian. "Tell him Winnebeg take +soger--den come back to Detroit--what say him, Gubbernor--go to Fort +Wayne?" and he looked earnestly at the commanding officer while he +waited his answer. + +"I do not know, Winnebeg; I have not made up my mind. We must +consider what is best to be done." + +All this was evasive. The order was conclusive with Captain Headley. +Had his road led over a battery bristling with cannon, once ordered, +he would have made the attempt; but, from a motive of prudence, +the cause for which he could not explain to himself, he was unwilling +to communicate his final determination to the chief. + +"Leave me now, Winnebeg; I have much to do that must be done +directly; come early to-morrow, and we will talk the matter over. +Meanwhile, not a word to your young men of the beginning of the +war, or the fall of Mackinaw. Do you promise me? To-morrow I will +hold a council." + +"Yes, Winnebeg promise," he said, taking the proffered hand of +Captain Headley; "not speak till to-morrow? How him fine squaw, +eh?" + +"Mrs. Headley is quite well, Winnebeg," returned the Captain, +faintly smiling, "and I am sure she will be very glad to hear that +you have returned. Come and breakfast with us at eight o'clock, +and she will tell you so herself; so, for the present, good bye." + +Winnebeg departed, but, far from satisfied with the answer he had +received, he repeated the question to the commanding officer--"Go +to Fort Wayne?" + +"Maybe--perhaps--I will tell you to-morrow in council," returned +Captain Headley. "What do you think, Winnebeg?" + +The chief looked at him steadily for some moments, shook his head +in disapproval of the scheme, and then slowly and silently withdrew. + +"What can this mean?" mused Captain Headley, when left alone. +"Whence his opposition to the will of the General? Surely he cannot +meditate treachery. He does not wish to see us taken by the British +here. But--nonsense! I will at once summon my officers, make known +the state of affairs, and for form's sake, consult with them as to +our mode of proceeding--my own determination of retreat is not the +less formed. Corporal Collins!" he called to the orderly, who was +pacing up and down in front of the door opening on the parade +ground, "summon the several officers to attend me here within the +hour." + +"Please your honor, sir," said the man, hesitatingly, as he raised +his hand to his cap. + +"Well, sir, please what?" + +"There is only Mr. Elmsley in the fort. He is the officer of the +guard." + +"And where is Mr. Ronayne?" + +"Mr. and Mrs. Ronayne and the Doctor rode out soon after dinner, +sir, in the direction of Hardscrabble." + +"The direction of the devil," muttered the commanding officer. +"This is the result of my loosening the reins of discipline; besides, +there is some risk. Hostile Indians may be in the neighborhood; +and what should I do without officers, pressed as we are now? Let +me know, orderly, when they return. The next time they leave the +fort, it will be for ever." + +"Sir!" said the Corporal, hearing the words, but not comprehending +their meaning. + +"When next they leave the fort, they will never enter it again," +rejoined Captain Headley, abstractedly. "Meanwhile, as soon as Mr. +Ronayne and the Doctor return, let them know that I wish to see +them, with Mr. Elmsley, immediately." + +"Certainly, sir," said Corporal Collins, again touching his cap; +"but hang me," he muttered as he departed, "if I don't report to +Mr. Ronayne all that he has said. Never enter the fort again! Well, +here's a bobbery!" and thus soliloquizing, he resumed his accustomed +walk. + +It was with deep concern at his heart that Captain Headley, on +returning to the apartment of his wife, communicated to her the +substance of General Hull's dispatch. A feeling of misgiving arose +to her mind from the first, and she saw in the early future scenes +and sufferings from which, only an hour before, all had believed +themselves to be utterly exempt. For some moments they continued +silently gazing on each other, as if to read the thoughts that were +passing through the minds of each, when, taking the hand of +the noble woman in his own, he pressed it affectionately as he +remarked-- + +"Ellen, you have ever been my friend and counsellor, as well as +the adored wife with which heaven has blessed me, even beyond all +I could have desired on earth. Tell me candidly your opinion. What +course ought I to pursue on this occasion? One passage in the +dispatch leaves it, in some degree, optional to regulate my actions +by circumstances. 'If it be yet practicable,' writes the General. +Now, I confess my mind is pretty well made up on the subject, but, +nevertheless, I should like to have your opinion to sustain me. +Thus armed, I can enter upon my plans with the greater confidence +of success." + +"But, dear Headley, tell me what is your opinion, then I will +frankly state my own." + +"To retreat, as ordered. I have not the excuse to offer if I would, +that the order of the General is impracticable; besides, to remain +here longer would only be to insure our subsequent fall. Even if +the captors of Mackinaw should fail to carry our weak post, some +other force will be sent to succeed them." + +Mrs. Headley shook her head, while a faint but melancholy smile +passed over her fine features. + +"I grieve to differ with you, Headley," she at length said; "but +I like not the idea of this abandonment of the fort, to enter on +a retreat fraught with every danger to us all. Here, well provisioned +and armed, weak though be your force, you can but fall into the +hands of a generous foe. Better that than perish by the tomahawk +in the wilderness." + +"How mean you, my dear?" returned her husband, slightly annoyed +that she differed from him, in the decision at which he had already +arrived. "What chance of harm is there so great in marching through +the woods as in remaining here? Have we not five hundred Pottowatomie +warriors to escort us to Fort Wayne?" + +"Alas, my too confiding husband, it is from these very people you +have named that most I fear the danger." + +"Nonsense!" returned Captain Headley in a tone of gentle rebuke, +while he pressed his lips to the expansive brow of his companion; +"this is unkind, Ellen. Why distrust these our staunchest friends? +I would rely upon Winnebeg as upon myself. He is too noble a fellow +not to hold treachery in abhorrence." + +"Nay, nay," continued Mrs. Headley; "think not for a moment that +I doubt Winnebeg; but there is another in the camp of the +Pottowatomies who has scarcely less influence with the tribe, and +who may take advantage of the present crisis of affairs, and turn +them to his own purpose. + +"Who do you mean, Ellen, and what purpose? Really, it is important +that I should know. What purpose, what motive, can he have?" eagerly +questioned Captain Headley. + +"The purpose and motive those which often make the gentle tigers, +the timid daring, the irresolute confirmed of will--Love." + +"Love! what love? whose love? and what has that to do with the +fidelity of the Pottowatomies?" + +"The love of Wau-nan-gee, the once gentle and modest son of Winnebeg, +who, scarce three months since, could not gaze into a white woman's +eyes without melting softness beaming from his own, and the +rich, ripe peach-blush crimsoning his dark cheek." + +"And what now?" questioned Captain Headley, seriously. + +"My love," resumed Mrs. Headley, placing her hand emphatically on +his shoulder, "you know I have never concealed from you anything +that regarded myself. I have had no secrets from you; but this is +one which affects another. Except for the present aspect of affairs, +when you should be duly informed of that which bears reference to +our immediate position, I should have felt myself bound by every +tie of delicacy and honor, not less than of inclination, to have +kept confined to my own bosom that which I am now to reveal in the +fullest confidence, on the sole understanding that the slightest +allusion shall never be made by you hereafter to the subject." + +"This becomes mysterious," rejoined the commandant, smiling; "but +Ellen, pleasantry apart, I promise you most truly--and, shall I +add, on the honor of an officer and a gentleman, that your disclosure +shall be sacred." + +"Good! now that I have quieted my own mind, by exacting from you +what in fact was not absolutely necessary, I will explain as briefly +as I can. Do you recollect the evening of Maria Heywood's marriage +with Ronayne?" + +"Yes." + +"And you remarked the agitation evinced by Wau-nan-gee, during the +ceremony, and particularly at the close, when Ronayne, as customary, +kissed his bride?" + +"I noticed that there was some confusion caused by his abrupt +departure, but I neither knew nor inquired the cause; I was too +interested in the performance of the ceremony to think of anything +but the happiness that awaited them, and which they appeared so +much to desire themselves." + +"Well, no matter; but you must know that all the agitation of the +youth was caused by his jealousy of the good fortune of Ronayne." + +"Jealous of Ronayne?" exclaimed Captain Headley with unfeigned +surprise. "Ha! ha! ha! excuse me, my dear Ellen, but I cannot +avoid being amused at the strangeness of the conceit." + +"It was even so," returned Mrs. Headley, gravely, "and a source of +unhappiness I fear it will prove to us all that it was so." + +"Proceed," said her husband. + +"Are you aware that the son of Winnebeg has never entered the fort +nor been even in the neighborhood since the night of that marriage?" +pursued his wife. + +"I do not believe he has been seen since," remarked Captain Headley. + +"I _know_ that he has not; but yet he is ever near, seemingly bent +on one purpose." + +"Love?" interposed the Captain, smiling. + +"Yes, love! but a fearful love--though the love of a smooth-faced +boy--a love that may bring down destruction upon us all." + +"Ellen, you begin to fill me with alarm," remarked her husband, +gravely. "You are not a woman to be startled by trifles, and there +is that in your manner just now which fully satisfies me of the +importance of what you have to communicate." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +"You know my love for Mrs. Ronayne," continued Mrs. Headley, after +a pause of a few minutes. "Even as though she were my own daughter, +I regard her, and would do for her all that a fond mother could +for her child. Only yesterday afternoon, while Ronayne and the +Doctor were out with a party fishing on the old ground above +Hardscrabble, she expressed a wish to visit the tomb of her poor +mother, who, dying within a week after her marriage, had been buried +near the base of the summer-house on the grounds attached to their +cottage, and asked me to accompany her. Of course I consented; and +as you were busily engaged, you did not particularly notice my +absence. We crossed the river in the scow, and ascended leisurely +to the garden. It struck me as we walked that the figure of a man, +seemingly an Indian, floated rapidly past within the paling of the +garden, but I could not distinctly trace the outline, and therefore +assumed that I had been deceived, and so said nothing to my companion +on the subject. + +"We had not been long in the garden when Mrs. Ronayne, leaving me +to saunter among and cull from the rich flowers which grew in wild +luxuriance around, begged me to wait for her a few minutes while +she ascended to the summer-house to commune in private with her +thoughts, and indulge the feelings which had been called up, at +this her first visit since the place had been abandoned, to the +once happy residence of her girlhood. At her entrance, I distinctly +heard her give a low shriek, but, taking it for granted that this +was in consequence of the effect upon her mind of a sudden recurrence +to old and well remembered scenes with which so much of the unpleasant +was associated, I paid no great attention to it. After this all +was still, and nearly an hour had elapsed when, fancying that it +was imprudent to leave her so long to her own melancholy thoughts, +I moved towards the summer-house myself, making as much noise with +my feet as possible to prepare her for my approach. I had got about +half way up the ascent, when to my astonishment I beheld issuing +from the entrance not Mrs. Ronayne, but the long-absent Wau-nan-gee, +who, with a flushed cheek and a fiery eye, divested of all its +former softness, made several bounds in an opposite direction, and, +without uttering a word, rapidly disappeared among the fruit trees +which bordered on the forest. + +"Seized with a strong presentiment of evil, I entered the +summer-house. Judge my astonishment when I found it empty. Heaven! +what could this mean? I had distinctly seen Mrs. Ronayne enter it, +and I had scarcely since taken my eyes off the building. In an +agony of despair, I threw myself upon the wooden bench, and scarcely +conscious of what I did, called frantically on Maria's name. +Suddenly, a sound similar to that of a faint moan seemed to proceed +from beneath my feet. I rose, removed the rude Indian mat with +which the centre of the floor is covered, and perceived that it +had been recently cut into an oblong square nearly the size of the +mat itself. The whole truth now flashed upon me--it was evident +that my friend was beneath: but the great difficulty was to find +the means of removing the door, which fitted so closely that it +required some superinducing motive even to suspect its existence. +There was nothing inside the building which could effect my purpose. +I ran to the door and cast my eyes towards the cottage. +Around it I saw a number of Indians stealthily moving near one of +the wings to the rear. In a moment I saw the necessity for +promptitude, and hastened rapidly towards the beach where I had +left the crew of the boat, consisting of four men and Corporal +Collins, and bade them come as far as the entrance to the garden, +where they could distinctly see and be seen from the cottage. I +remarked that there were Indians lurking about the grounds, and +that neither Mrs. Ronayne nor myself liked being so near them +without protection. 'As for you, Corporal Collins,' I added playfully, +'you must lend me your bayonet; an Indian does not like that weapon, +and, should any of these people feel inclined to prove unruly, the +bare sight of it will be sufficient. Remain here at the gate until +I return with Mrs. Ronayne, and keep a good look out that we are +not carried off.'" + +"But, my dear," interposed Captain Headley, anxiously, "why all +this mystery about the matter?--all this beating about the bush?--why +did you not take Collins and his party to the summer-house and +release Mrs. Ronayne, if indeed it was she whose moan you heard? + +"Nay, Headley, in this I but followed your own example. There were +many reasons why this should not be. Firstly, for the sake of Maria, +whose actual position might be such as to render it injudicious +that they be made acquainted with it. Secondly, because it would +unavoidably have brought the men in collision with the Indians, +which would have entailed ruin upon us all. No; I felt the mere +sight of them would awe the Indians around the cottage, whom policy +would prevent from open outrage, and that, provided with Collins's +bayonet, I could open the trap door and deliver my friend, without +any of the party knowing aught of what had occurred." + +"Right prudently and sagely did you act, my dear Ellen," returned +her husband--"go on: I am all impatience to hear the result." + +"On regaining the summer-house, I applied the point of the weapon. +With some little exertion the door was raised, and, looking down, +I saw something broad and white in the gloom, on which lay a figure +indistinctly marked in outline. Gradually, as my eyes became +accustomed to the darkness, I remarked two or three rude stones +placed as steps, which I placed my feet upon and descended until +I had gained the bottom of the aperture and upon the white substance +I have just named. It was a large piece of white calico, covering +a bed of what appeared to me to be corn-leaves, on which sat or +rather reclined Maria. She looked the image of despair--as one +stupified--and when I first addressed her, could not speak. Her +dress was greatly disordered, her hat off and lying near her, and +the comb detached from the long hair. + +"'Oh, Maria, my child!' I said to her soothingly, 'what a terrible +incident is this! Who could have believed Wau-nan-gee would have +committed this outrage?' + +"The air let in from above tended greatly to revive her, and soon, +with my assistance, she was enabled to stand. + +"Her voice and manner proclaimed deep agitation. 'Dear, dear Mrs. +Headley,' she said impressively, as she threw herself upon my bosom, +'as you love me, not a word to Ronayne or to any other human being. +Oh, merciful Providence! it can do no good that aught of this +occurrence should be revealed. Promise me then, my more than mother, +that what has passed since we entered this garden shall be confined +to your own breast.' + +"'I comprehend and appreciate your motive for this concealment, +Maria,' I observed, soothingly. 'The knowledge of Wau-nan-gee's +wrong would arouse the anger of Ronayne in such manner as to give +rise to fatal discord between the Indians around and ourselves. +Depend upon it, both for the love I bear you, and the necessity +for silence, the occurrences of this day never shall be disclosed +by me.' + +"'Thanks, thanks,' she returned fervently. 'To-morrow you shall +know all--the deep, the terrible secret that weighs at my heart +shall be revealed to you. Yes, give me but until then to prepare +myself for the full and entire disclosure of the unhappy truth, +and you will not hate me for all that has taken place.' + +"'Maria--Mrs. Ronayne!' I said with some slight severity of manner. + +"'Oh, you are surprised at my language and sentiments. When the +heart is full, the lip measures not its words. Yet, oh, my mother! +condemn me not. Hear first what I have to say. Again I repeat, ere +your eyes are closed in sleep to-morrow night, you shall know all. +The tale will startle you; but now,' she added, 'I feel that I have +strength enough to follow.' + +"During this short and singular dialogue--singular enough, you must +admit, on the part of Mrs. Ronayne--I had assisted her in restoring +her dress, which, as I have already said, was very much disordered. +On turning to ascend by the stone steps, I remarked with surprise +certain articles of food placed on the corner of the calico, which +I had been too much occupied with Maria's condition to perceive +before. These consisted of a wooden bowl of milk--a brown earthen +pitcher of water--a number of flat cakes, seemingly made of corn +meal, and a portion of dried venison ham; a wooden spoon was in +the bowl, a black tin japanned drinking cup near the water, and a +common Indian knife stuck into the venison. + +"'Bless me, Maria,' I said, with an attempt at pleasantry, after +we had ascended, and closed the door, 'it was well I came to your +rescue; Wau-nan-gee certainly meant to have kept you imprisoned +here some time, if we may judge from the quantity of food he had +provided.' + +"'Such, I believe, was the original intention,' gravely replied +Mrs. Ronayne. + +"She made no other remark, but sighed deeply. We now drew near the +gate where Collins and his men were stationed, looking out anxiously +for our appearance. I recommended to Maria, in a low tone, not to +appear dejected, as the men knew nothing of what had occurred--not +even that Wau-nan-gee had been on the grounds--and any appearance +of agitation might give rise to suspicion. She followed my suggestion +and rallied. I returned Collins his bayonet, stating, with a poor +attempt at pleasantry, that we had met with no enemy on whom to +try it. He then led the way back, with his party, to the boat. + +"The presence of the men acting, in some degree, as a check upon +our conversation, Mrs. Ronayne consequently preserved an unbroken +silence. She seemed immersed in deep and painful thought, and I +could see beneath the thin veil she wore the tears coursing slowly +down her cheek. Her first inquiry, on landing, was whether the +fishing party was returned, and, on being told that it had not, +she seemed to be greatly relieved. I watched her closely, for I +need not say that my own daughter could not have inspired me with +deeper interest, and in the increased agitation I remarked +as the hour of her husband's expected return drew nearer, I began +to apprehend a fearful result. Not that, even if my suspicions were +correct, she could well be blamed, as the mere victim of a violence +she could not prevent; but what I did not like to perceive, and +which pained me much, was her evident prepossession in favor of +the impetuous boy, which induced her to abstain from all indignant +censure. These, however, are merely my own, crude and perhaps +unfounded impressions. That she has some terrible truth to reveal +to me, there cannot be a question, nor is it likely that it can +affect any but herself. This night, however, I shall know all from +her own lips, which, although sealed in prudence to her husband, +will not hesitate to confide to me the fullest extent of her painful +secret; meanwhile, I should recommend that Wau-nan-gee be watched. +His long absence from the fort, while evidently concealed in the +neighborhood, looks not well. Evidently, he has been long planning +the abduction of Maria, and now that he finds himself foiled by +her evasion this day, he will avail himself of the present crisis +to leave no means unaccomplished to possess her, no matter what +blood may be shed in the attainment of his object." + +"Strange, indeed, what you have related," said Captain Headley, +gravely, when his wife had ceased. "I confess I scarcely know what +to think or how to act. I must hold council with my officers +immediately--hear their opinions without divulging aught of what +you have related, and act as my own judgment confirms. How +unfortunate! Ronayne and his wife, accompanied by Von Voltenberg, +have taken it into their heads to ride to Hardscrabble, and God +knows when they will be back. Really, this is most annoying." + +At that moment a terrible shriek, as that of a man in his last +fearful agony, was heard without. Struck with sudden dismay, both +Captain Headley and his wife rushed to the door, which they reached +even as Ensign Ronayne, pale, without his hat, his hair blowing in +the breeze, and his cheek colorless as death, was in the act of +falling from his jaded horse, whose trembling limbs and sides +covered with foam, attested the desperate speed with which he had +been ridden. + +"Oh, God! he has heard all--he knows all," murmured Mrs. Headley, +as she fell back in the arms of her husband. "Now, then, is the +drama of horror but commenced." + +Before the unfortunate officer could be--raised and carried to his +apartments by the sympathizing soldiers of the garrison, another +horseman followed into the fort. It was Doctor Van Voltenberg, +whose flushed face and excited appearance denoted the speed at +which he too had ridden. He flung himself from his horse, and +followed anxiously to the apartment of his friend. + +But where was the third of the party? where was Maria, the universally +beloved of every soldier of that garrison? where was Mrs. Ronayne? + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + "A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap, and mouncht." + --_Macbeth_ + + "Thy abundant goodness shall excuse this deadly blot in + thy digressing son." + --_Richard II._ + +Little more than a month had elapsed since the marriage of the +impetuous and generous Ensign Ronayne to the woman he adored. +Absorbed by the intensity of their passion, fed by the solitude +around, each day increased their attachment, and their full hearts +acknowledged that the love which the man bears to his mistress--the +affianced sharer of his inmost thoughts--is passionless compared +with that which follows the mystic tie, linking their most secret +being in fearlessness of devotion. Then, for the first time, had +they felt and acknowledged all the power of the beauty of God's +holy ordinance, which seemed to wed not in mere form, but in fact, +the deepest emotions of their glowing souls. What was the world to +them? They hoped to live and die among those wild scenes in which +their passion had been cradled and nurtured, until now it had +acquired a force almost more than human. Often then, and often +even since the short period of their union, had they fallen on +their knees in the silence and solitude of the wilderness around, +and, clasped to each other's heart, returned fervent thanks to the +Deity, not only for having given them hearts to comprehend love in +all its mysterious and holy sublimity, but in having blessed them +with the dearer self in which each other found pleasure and lived +a double existence. More calm, more softened, more subdued in +feeling, after this passionate ebullition, a holy and voluptuous +calm would beam from their eyes; and when they alluded gently and +fondly to the years and years of happiness that yet awaited them +in the health and fulness of their youth, thoughts and looks, not +words, attested the deep thankfulness of their hearts. + +All this had been up to the evening of the incidents named in our +opening chapter. Then, for the first time, had a change come over +Maria's feelings and manner. On leaving Mrs. Headley, she had +retired to her apartments, endeavoring to prepare herself for the +momentarily expected arrival of her husband, whom she longed, yet +dreaded to meet. She received him with a restraint which she had +great difficulty in disguising, and wept many bitter tears, as, +anxiously remarking her changed and extraordinary manner, he looked +reproachfully and fixedly at her, without, however, saying a word +that was passing in his mind. + +"Nay, nay, Ronayne; you think me reserved, altered, to-day; but +indeed I am not well. The cause you shall know later, not now--it +would be premature. I am a bad dissembler, and cannot look gay +when my heart is full of anguish to overwhelming; but, my love, I +must entreat a very great favor of you, which I know you will not +refuse." + +"Is there aught under heaven that I can refuse to my adored one?" +returned Ronayne, tenderly clasping her to his breast; "no, Maria, +you have a boon to ask, and the boon shall be granted." + +"After all, it is not a Very great deal," she remarked, with a +sickly smile; "but I have a strong desire to ride to Hardscrabble +to-morrow. You know it is long since I have been there, and I have +a particular reason to visit it in the course of the afternoon +to-morrow." Her voice trembled, and she felt ill at ease. + +Her husband looked grave. "Nay, Maria, is this wise? You know, as +you have just said, that you have not visited that scene since the +death of your father; wherefore now, and simply to reopen a +fast-closing wound?" + +"It is for the reason," she said, "that I have so long neglected +this duty that I am the more anxious to repair the seeming neglect." + +"Your first visit," remarked Ronayne, half reproachfully, "methinks +ought to have been to the grave of your poor mother. You have not +been over to the cottage since her death." + +Had an arrow passed through the heart of Mrs. Ronayne, it could +not have imparted more exquisitely keen sensations than did that +casual remark. She turned pale, but made no reply; nay, almost fell +fainting on his bosom. + +"What, my soul's beloved, is the matter? Nay, pardon me for bringing +up again the memory so suddenly upon your gentle thought! I should +have used more caution in renewing the recollection of the past." + +"Say rather of the present," murmured Mrs. Ronayne, in a tone so +low that she could not be distinctly heard by her husband. "Oh, +this poor heart!" + +"You spoke, Maria?" + +"Oh, I did but repeat my dreamings to myself. I scarcely know what +I said." + +"Well, love, since you desire to ride to Hardscrabble to-morrow, +I will even meet your wishes; and yet I know not how it is, but +something tells me that ill will grow out of this." + +"Oh, no, say not so," she suddenly exclaimed, sinking on her knees +at his feet, and holding up her hands in an attitude of supplication; +"can that be ill in your eyes which brings happiness to the heart +of your loving wife? Pity rather the existence of those fears which +cause her to tremble, lest the cup be dashed from her lips ere yet +half tasted. Oh! I dare not speak more plainly--not yet--not +yet--to-morrow--then shall the restraint be removed, from my lips +and heart, and, whatever be the result, you shall know all. I feel +that to you I must appear to speak in parables and mystery; but +oh, since yesterday, I feel that I am not myself." + +She drooped her head upon his shoulder, and wept profoundly. + +"Calm yourself, dearest; I will harass you with no more converse +on this subject to-night. Let one remark suffice. I am afraid that +Captain Headley will refuse permission for us to venture as far as +Hardscrabble; he thinks it attended by risk to the officers on the +part of the Indians; of course, much more to you." + +"Nay, Ronayne, there cannot surely be a greater risk incurred there +than in venturing on a fishing excursion, as you have done to-night. +Besides, we need not let him know that we are going in that +direction." + +"What! you wicked mutineer," chided Ronayne, playfully, "do you +recommend insubordination? Would you have me to disobey the orders +of the commanding officer? Oh, fie!" + +"Not exactly that," she returned, with a slight blush; "but gratify +me only this once, and I will never allow you to break an order +again." + +"Nay, sweetest, I did but jest; were my life the penalty, I would +not deny you." + +"Ah! how little does he think that more than life depends upon it," +murmured Mrs. Ronayne to herself. "Or who could have supposed +yesterday that my heart would have been oppressed by the feelings +which assail it now? Wau-nan-gee--strange, wildly--loving, +fascinating, and incomprehensible boy--with what confidence do I +repose on your truth; with what joy do I at length glory in that +devotedness which has made you so wholly, so exclusively mine." + +These words were abstractedly, almost involuntarily, uttered in a +low tone, as Ronayne left the room in search of Doctor Von Voltenberg, +who he was desirous should, for the better protection of his wife +from accident, accompany them on their ride of to-morrow. + +She herself soon retired for the night, but not to rest. + +In that wild and simple garrison, where the germs of the heart and +head alone shone forth, reflecting their brilliancy and beauty more +forcibly from the fact of the very limitation of their sphere of +contact, there was no sacrifice to the mere conventionalisms of +inane fashion. Customs there were military customs, duly observed, +and not less than treason against the state would it have been +considered by Captain Headley, had any officer of his sallied forth +without being duly caparisoned as a member of the corps to which +he belonged; but in all things else, and where duty was not involved, +each was free to adopt the style of costume or the general habits +that best suited his own fancy. And, whenever inclined, they were +suffered to leave the fort, either dressed in the rough, shaggy +blanket of the Canadian trapper or voyageur, or the more fanciful +and picturesque dress of the Indian. This had not always been the +case. Captain Headley had once been as severe as he now was indulgent, +and the uttermost conformity of costume with the regulations of +the United States had for a long period been exacted; but gradually, +on finding, as he conceived, the Indians around him too favorably +disposed to require the continuance of the imposing military parade +with which it had been his policy to awe them, he had gradually +relaxed in his system of discipline, conceding not more to his +officers themselves than to his noble and amiable wife, who was +ever the soother of whatever temporary differences sprang up between +them, many little points of etiquette, to which formerly he had +most scrupulously adhered. + +Among the varieties of dresses possessed by Ensign Ronayne, was a +very handsome one which the mother of Wau-nan-gee, for whom it was +made, had disposed of to him; and this, when preparing for the ride +the next day, his wife strongly advised him to wear. As he knew +there could be no objection on the part of Captain Headley only to +the direction in which they rode, and that only from the possibility +of encountering a party of hostile Indians, and not to the costume +itself, he laughingly remarked that her old flame, Wau-nan-gee, +had certainly made a deeper impression on her heart than she was +willing to admit, since no dress pleased her half so well as that +which had once been worn by the gentle and dark--eyed youth. + +For a moment or two she turned pale, and then suddenly flushing +the deepest dye, as the sense of her husband's remark came fully +upon her apprehension, she said, not without some pain and confusion, +mingled with gentle reproach:-- + +"You seem to have forgotten, Ronayne, that that was the dress you +wore on an occasion of danger, when life and death and happiness +hung upon the issue. Might I not have the credit of prizing it on +that account?" + +"Nay, beloved one," he exclaimed, as he pressed her to his heart, +"you know I did but jest. Then was my strong love for yourself, my +protection and my shield; and if that love was powerful then, what +irresistible strength has it attained now. Maria, I would fain +desire to live for ever, if but to show the vastness and enduringness +of my love for you." + +"Ah! to what a trial am I to be subjected," she murmured, "and yet +I would not shun it. Why has the calm deep current of our joy been +thus cruelly interrupted, Ronayne? Should fate or circumstances +ever interpose to separate us, will you always entertain for me +the same ardent affection that you do now?" + +"Heavens! why do you ask? What means this question? What is there +to divide us? nay, even separate us for an hour?" + +"Oh! I cannot explain myself," she returned. "I know I speak wildly, +but I only mean in the possible event of anything of the kind. I +do not say that it may or will happen; but you know it might. None +of these things are impossible. We cannot control our destiny." + +"Well, my love," remarked Ronayne, with a sigh, while an expression +of gravity and sadness pervaded his features, "it cannot be denied +that you have adopted some strange fancies this morning; firstly, +a desire to visit Hardscrabble, a place which you have always +hitherto carefully avoided; secondly, to see me dressed in a costume +which I have not worn since the occasion to which you have just +adverted; and thirdly, to frighten me to death by even hinting at +the possibility of separation. By the bye," he added, "it is a very +long time since we have seen Wau-nan-gee. You know he disappeared +the night of our marriage, and has never been seen since. I wonder +what can have become of him. Would you not like once more, Maria, +to see his handsome face? I shall never forget the eagerness with +which he picked up the wedding-ring which I had let fall in the +act of putting it on your finger, or the look of deep disappointment +when I rather abruptly--nay, somewhat rudely--snatched it from him, +as he tremblingly proceeded to complete that part of the ceremony +himself. It certainly looked very ominous." + +It was a great relief to Mrs. Ronayne when, at the very moment that +her husband ceased speaking, a knock was heard at the door, and in +the next moment the figure of Doctor Von Voltenberg crossed the +threshold. He came to announce that the horses were already saddled, +and waiting for them. With a heart full to oppression, she left +the room, and regained her chamber. There she threw herself upon +her knees at the bedside, and burst into a paroxysm of tears. It +was the first time she had been alone since the occurrence at the +summer-house; the first opportunity she had had of giving unrestrained +indulgence to the powerful emotions that had for many hours hung +like an immovable weight upon her soul. The first outburst of +hitherto-suppressed feeling over, she became more calm. She felt +that her long absence might excite surprise. A basin of cold water +soon removed all traces of her tears, and in less than half an hour +she had regained the party, her beautiful form clad in a dark green +riding habit made of cloth of the lightest texture, and her full +dark hair, surmounted by a straw hat tastily plaited and +fashioned by her own hands, and trimmed with a broad, pale, and +richly-bordered ribbon. + +Ronayne's eye caught her own as she entered. Never had she appeared +so strikingly beautiful. He said nothing, but the rich Virginian +blood mounted to his cheek, while his expressive eye conveyed, as +plainly as language itself could render it, how ardent and enduring +was his love. + +That look heightened the color on her own enchanting face, but it +was only for the moment, and evidently caused by some absorbing +recollection of an absent friend. She turned away her head to +conceal the tear that forced itself down her cheek, and then +everything being ready--for Ronayne had availed himself of her +absence to assume his Indian dress--the party went to the barrack +square, and were soon in the saddle. + +"God bless her!" ejaculated Corporal Collins, as, after relinquishing +the bridle he had held while her husband assisted her to mount, +the graceful form of Mrs. Ronayne receded from his view, leaving +him once more to resume his monotonous walk in front of the building. +"Ah, there is nobody like that sweet lady!" + +"There goes an angel!" said Sergeant Nixon in a low voice to his +companions of the guard, all of whom off sentry had risen, and were +now standing all attention, as the little party passed towards the +gate. + +"Isn't she a trump!" said another man of the guard--Weston. "See +how she sits her horse--just as if she had been born to it." + +"Sergeant Nixon," said Maria, in one of her sweetest tones, as she +moved her horse towards the non-commissioned officer in passing. + +The Sergeant touched his cap with marked respect. + +"Should anything occur to detain us in our ride, let this packet +be given to Mrs. Headley. Mind, Sergeant, certainly not before +midnight." + +"Your command shall be obeyed, Mrs. Ronayne. Should you return +before midnight, it will be found with me; if not, I shall at once +carry it to Mrs. Headley." + +"Just so. Good by, Nixon!" and as she placed the packet in his +possession, she pressed his hand, as if to signify that the proper +execution of the commission was of some importance. + +"What is it, Maria? what do you wait for?" asked Ronayne, reining +in his horse to enable her to come up. + +"Nothing. I am merely sending a trifling message to Mrs. Headley +by Sergeant Nixon," and then putting her horse into a canter, she +joined her cavaliers, and pursued with them the road that led along +the right bank of a branch of the Chicago river to the Hardscrabble +farm. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + You see this chase is hotly followed. + --_Henry V._ + +The spot called Hardscrabble was distant about two miles from Fort +Dearborn, and had been the scene of a recent and bloody tragedy. +They who are familiar with the events that occurred during a +different and earlier phase of this tale are aware that, not four +months previously, the father of Mrs. Ronayne had, as well as a +faithful domestic, been cruelly murdered there, during a period of +profound peace, by a party of Winnebagoes, and that, on the removal +of his body to the grounds of the cottage, near the fort, in which +his wife and daughter resided, the house had been hermetically +closed. The outrage upon Mr. Heywood had taken place early in April. +It was now, as has already been said, the 7th of August, and within +that period Mrs. Ronayne had drunk deeply of the cup of reciprocated +wedded bliss, she had also known the anguish of the severance of +every natural tie. Both her parents were buried near the +summer-house, and, had it not been for the fervent love of her +husband--a love that daily increased in purity and intensity--even +the great strength of mind for which she was remarkable would have +ill enabled her to endure the twofold shock. But, even with all +his love, the natural melancholy of her character became tinged +with an additional shade of seriousness, which, far from being +displeasing, or detracting from the sweetness of her most expressive +and faultless face, seemed to invest it with a newer and a holier +charm. The perfection of her classic style of beauty given as Maria +Heywood, may well justify a repetition here. + +Above the middle size, her figure was at once gracefully and richly +formed. Her face, of a chiselled oval, was of a delicate olive +tint, which well harmonized with eyes of a lustrous hazel, and hair +of glossy, raven black, of rare amplitude and length. A mouth +classically small, bordered by lips of coral fulness, disclosed, +when she smiled, teeth white and even; while a forehead, high and +denoting strong intellect, combined with a nose somewhat more +aquiline than Grecian, to give dignity to a countenance that might +otherwise have exhibited too much of a character of voluptuous +beauty. Yet, although her features, when lighted up by vivacity or +emotion, were radiant with intelligence, their expression when in +repose was of a pensive cast, that, contrasted with her general +appearance, gave to it a charm, addressed at once to sense and +sentiment, of which it is impossible by description to give an +adequate idea. A dimpled cheek--an arm, hand, and foot, that might +have served the statuary as a model, completed a person which, +without exaggeration, might be deemed almost, if not wholly, +faultless. + +For some minutes, as the party rode along the road bordering on +the serpentine branch of the Chicago leading to Hardscrabble, Mrs. +Ronayne, apprehensive that her husband might attribute any appearance +of depression of spirits to physical illness, and insist on postponing +her ride to some future occasion, fell, as most people do who are +sensible that for the first time in their lives they are acting +with insincerity, into the very opposite extreme. With a +consciousness of wrong at her heart--with a soul distracted with +uncertainty and hesitancy as to the result of the course she was +pursuing--she indulged in a gaiety that, in her, was wholly unnatural. +She rattled, talked, laughed with ill-timed volubility--offered to +make wagers with the surgeon and Ronayne that she would take her +horse over the highest fallen log, or, if they preferred it, swim +with either of them across the river, and lastly proposed that they +should start together and see who would first reach the farm-house. +All this time the deepest scarlet was on her cheek, her manner +betrayed the most feverish excitement, and there was unwonted +brilliancy in her eye. + +Ronayne looked at her earnestly. Suddenly a change came over her, +for she had remarked, and felt confused under the penetrating glance +which seemed to tell her that she did not feel that lightness of +heart with the semblance of which she was seeking to deceive him. +For the first time since his marriage--nay, for the first time +since his acquaintance with her--and this had been of more than +two years' date--he felt pain--pain inflicted by _her_. There was +evidently some secret thought at her heart which she withheld; and +she who had never before concealed a passing emotion of her soul, +was now wrapped up in an unaccountable mystery. + +In proportion with her husband's increasing gravity, Mrs. Ronayne's +spirits became depressed, until in reality enfeebled by her strong +previous excitement, she looked pale as death itself, and expressed +a desire for a glass of water. + +Deeply touched and alarmed by the sudden change which had taken +place in his wife's appearance and manner, Ronayne threw himself +from his horse, and, being provided with a silver drinking cup, +flew to the river to fill it. In order to obtain the liquid pure +and cool, however, it was necessary to turn a small and acute point +of underwood, a little to the right, where a few rude stone steps +led to a sort of natural well, where, even in the hottest day of +summer, the beverage came fresh as from a coral fountain. It was +a spot well known to every frequenter of that road, and few passers-by +ever drank from any other source. + +The young officer was in the act of dipping his cup into the stream, +when three shots were distinctly heard in the neighborhood of +Hardscrabble, then about half a mile distant, and after the interval +of a few seconds, the rapid galloping of horses' hoofs behind him. +With an inconceivable dread of he knew not what at his heart, he +sprang round the point of wood to gain the road where he had left +his wife and Von Voltenberg. To his astonishment both were gone. +They were the hoofs of their horses he had heard--his own was tied +to a tree, as he had left him, and making endeavors to free himself, +that he might follow his companions. + +We will not attempt to describe the feelings of Ronayne. The mere +disappearance of the party might have been accounted for, had it +not been for the shots which preceded. But the association was +terrible. It bewildered him--almost deprived him of thought and +judgment. Evidently, there was an enemy in the neighborhood; but, +even if so, why the obvious advance into the very heart of danger; +for, from the direction of the sound, he could have no doubt that +one horse, at least, had taken the direction of Hardscrabble, and +that, from the peculiar and rapid footfall of the animal, he felt +assured was his wife's. + +What could this mean? Mrs. Ronayne's he knew to be a very spirited +young horse, and the only manner in which he could explain her +absence was by inferring that, startled by the report of the +firearms, he had suddenly run away with her, and that Von Voltenberg +had followed as speedily as he could to check him. + +He dashed the cup of water to the earth, mounted, and dug his spurs +in the flanks of his horse, when the latter, bounding forward with +agony under the exquisite sense of pain, seemed rather to leap than +run over the ground Fifty yards from the point where he started, +something glaringly white on the ground frightened the animal and +caused him to shy so abruptly, even while continuing his speed, +that Ronayne, excellent horseman as he was, had great difficulty +in preserving his seat. Rapid as was the glance obtained of the +object, he at once recognised it for the habit collar of his wife, +and therefore all uncertainty was at an end as to the direction +her horse had taken. His heart was full, but he had scarcely power +to think. A thousand incidents and fears seemed to crowd upon his +brain at the same time, and in such confusion that he felt as though +his very reason were deserting him. The recollection of the strong +presentiment of evil which he had expressed in regard to this ride +came with tenfold force on his mind, and scarce left a hope to +weigh against the fears that overwhelmed him. + +Still he dashed on, straining his eyes as though he would have +doubled the extent of his vision, looking searchingly into every +opening into the wood, and endeavoring to distinguish, amid the +rapid sounds produced by his own horse's hoofs, those of his +companions. It seemed an age while he passed over the ground that +kept him from the fatal farm-house. At length the orchard attached +to it came in view, and then the garden, and on the broad lane +which separated both, the large walnut tree the branches of which, +two months before covered with snowy blossoms, were now bent low +by the weight of their own fruitfulness. In another instant, he +was in the centre of the open space. Uncertain what course to follow +now, he checked his generous steed so suddenly and fiercely as to +throw him upon his haunches. Everything was still. Beyond the +breathing of his own horse, there was not a sound to indicate the +existence of animal life. The Indians had evidently destroyed all +the stock on the farm since its abandonment, and melancholy appeared +here to have established universal dominion. This suspense was +torture--the silence horrible. He would rather have heard the Indian +scalp-cry--heard the death-shriek--anything, provided it would +guide him to the form of her he loved. Beyond this forest there +was nothing that could be called a road. A few narrow footpaths +diverged from it into the forest, but these were merely sufficiently +broad for the passage by Indian file, except on the immediate verge +of the river, where horse and rider might barely escape collision +with the branches. The bank, over which this apology for a highway +ran, was composed of a sandy soil, so that sound was not absolutely +necessary to the assurance that horsemen were on that road. From +its absence, however, in every other quarter, the distracted officer +was naturally led to infer that they whom he so anxiously sought +had taken that direction, and thither he determined to follow. But +a second thought induced him to turn the angle of the house, before +leaving, that he might not have to reproach himself later with +having left anything unexamined behind. To his great surprise he +found the door, which he had himself hermetically closed many weeks +before, wide open. His first purpose, after sweeping his eye rapidly +but keenly around the half-trodden cornfield in the rear, was to +enter. This, in order not to lose time, and the rude aperture being +sufficiently large, he did without dismounting. + +As his horse sprang in, he thought he could distinguish a moccasined +foot just at the moment of its hurried disappearance into the loft +above, but everything was so still that he felt satisfied his +distempered imagination and excited feeling, running on one +all-absorbing subject, had deceived him. He looked around. +Two dark objects attracted his attention, in the farthest corner +from him, of the room, the shutters of which being closed, yielded +but an indistinct light to one coming suddenly from the open air. +He moved his horse, stooping low himself as he advanced to that +end of the rude apartment, and beheld to his surprise, two small +trunks of black leather, on one of which was painted in rather +large letters "Maria Heywood." The other had no name upon it, but +he could have pledged his existence that, not one week previously, +he had seen it in his own apartment, and that it was his. That, +however, might be a mistake, for it was difficult to distinguish +with certainty; but in regard to the proprietorship of the other +there could be no question, and the only reasonable manner in which +he could account for their being there at that moment, was, that +the trunks had been in use by Mr. Heywood at the period of his +murder, and that, having been overlooked by the Indians, they had +been locked up, on closing the farm-house altogether. + +It must not be supposed that the young officer took as much time +to comprehend and draw inferences from what he saw, as we have +taken in the description. A few rapid glances only were thrown +around, when, satisfied that there was no more to aid him in his +search, he turned his horse's head to gain the broader pathway +which, it has already been said, bordered on the river. Again he +sallied from the house, but his emotions of alarm and surprise may +be conceived--not springing from any personal consideration, but +from the certainty he now entertained of the probable fate of his +wife--when, on gaining the exterior, he perceived, not fifty yards +from him, a party of Indians, about twenty in number, some scattered +along the edge of the wood, and others peering cautiously around +the corners of the outbuildings. Although his heart sank within +him at the sight, and the image of his Maria was at the moment +uppermost in his thoughts--stood palpably before him as she looked +at the very moment when she stood first equipped for this most +unfortunate ride--his keen and collected eye could distinguish the +very color of the war paint, for they were in full costume, and +the peculiar decorations that told them to be of their old and +inveterate enemies the Winnebagoes. + +There are epochs in life when the thoughts of years crowd upon the +mind in little more than moments. All the past then seems to flash +full upon the recollection, and in such rapid yet distinct succession, +that the only surprise is how the brain can sustain the torturing +and confounding weight. No one incident of the slightest interest +had ever occurred to his wife and himself that Ronayne did not +recall vividly, keenly, even while gazing on those men of blood; +and he suffered anguish of heart, physical as well as mental, which +none can understand who have not experienced that rending asunder +of the soul which follows the loss of that in which the soul alone +lives. Presently, as his quick eye glanced rapidly along the wood, +he saw, to his increasing dismay, Von Voltenberg brought forward +to its edge by two other Indians leading the horse by the bridle. +He was, evidently, a prisoner. Oh, how he strained his eyes with +painful, with agonizing earnestness, to behold her whom he expected +to behold next, and how rapidly rose the feeling of hope and +exultation when he found no second prisoner appear. He now felt +assured that his last chance of recovering the lost one lay in his +pursuing the course he had at first selected. The prospect of +eluding his enemies and gaining that road was poor, for there was +but one way open to him--almost in their very teeth--yet this he +was resolved to try. Death was before him if he hesitated; although, +had he beheld his wife a prisoner, he would rather have shared a +similar fate than abandoned her in her extremity, now that a hope +had sprung up in his heart--his energies were aroused, and renewed +activity braced his limbs. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +On the right of the farm-house called Hardscrabble, as it faced +the water, there was a kitchen garden, the fence of which was quite +five feet high, and scattered about within this were standing, now +almost shrivelled up from age, many clusters of peas and beans +pending lazily and languidly from their poles. To force his way +across this fence, and then diagonally through the garden in order +to gain the opposite corner and cross into the road beyond, was +now the sole object of the young officer; but before putting it in +practice, he called out in a loud and distinct voice to Von Voltenberg +to know what had become of his wife, and whether she too was a +prisoner. But there was no answer. The Doctor had evidently been +enjoined not to reply, for, immediately after he had put his +question, Ronayne saw an Indian hold up his tomahawk menacingly to +the prisoner, and heard him utter some words as if to enjoin silence. +Seemingly desirous, however, at all risk to satisfy his friend, +Von Voltenberg suddenly raised his hand, and seemed to point +significantly over his shoulder in an oblique direction to the +rear. This convinced Ronayne that he had been correct in his +conjecture, for the direction was the road he intended taking. +Gathering himself up in his saddle, he slowly walked his horse +about twenty paces towards the edge of the forest. This was done +both for the purpose of preventing any suspicion of an attempt at +flight, and of giving sufficient run for his leap. Then suddenly +wheeling round, he put the animal to his speed, and, amid the loud +shouts of the Indians, who rushed forward from every point to +overtake him, accomplished the desperate leap, the tips of his +horse's hoofs just grazing as he passed. Encumbered with their arms +as they were, it took each Indian, however active, at least a second +to clear the fence, and this gave the young officer considerable +advantage of distance; but what surprised him was that not a shot +was fired. It seemed as though his pursuers thought it beneath +their dignity to fire at a single fleeing man, whom they were +certain of taking, and matter of rivalry with all to be the first +to reach and secure. Onward they pressed now without uttering a +sound; but the rattling of their war ornaments, with the crackling +of the decayed vegetation beneath their feet, told Ronayne that +they were too near for him to hope for escape, unless his horse +should clear the opposite corner of the field, and of this he almost +despaired, jaded as the animal was by previous exertion through +the heavy ground he was now traversing. Fortunately he found that +there was a perceptible declivity as he approached the water, and +not merely that, but that one of the rails of the zigzag fence had +been detached. Desperate as his position was, this gave him renewed +confidence, and he even ventured to turn and examine the number +and position of his enemies. They were some twenty in number, +all painted perfectly black, and dispersed at long intervals +throughout the field. In front of all was a very young warrior, +who seemed the most emulous of the party to secure the honor of +the capture, for the leaps he took were prodigious, and it was +evident that nothing but the clearing of the fence could save the +closely-pursued officer from capture. Again his horse took the +leap, and this time easily enough; and even while in the very act, +he thought, he fancied, he heard a voice behind him softly pronounce +his name. In the confusion of his mind, however, he could not judge +distinctly of anything. It might have been the sighing of the wind +among the dried leaves and tendrils that floated from the bean-poles +at his side, and he regarded it not. His mind was too much intent +on, too much absorbed on weightier matters to heed the occurrence. +The air from the water revived, reinvigorated both himself and his +horse. Again at full speed, he dashed on along its margin until +suddenly, after having gone over nearly a mile of ground, the +conviction arose to him that he must have been wrong in his +comprehension of Von Voltenberg's sign, and that the beloved of +his soul--she for the uncertainty of whose fate his heart suffered +an anguish the most horrible, was not before him, but a prisoner +with her companion. That thought, growing rapidly into assurance, +was sufficient to destroy all energy. He checked his horse, and +brought him to a full stand. As a soldier, whose services belonged +to his country, he felt that he had no right to throw himself into +a position that would render those services useless, but at least +he would take no unnecessary trouble to avoid it. He turned to +listen to the sounds of his pursuers, now fully resolved to make +no further attempt at escape. He heard nothing but the rustling of +the leaves and the gurgling of the water over the shallow and pebbly +portions of its bed. He retraced his way at a walk. That was his +direct course to the fort, and he was determined leisurely to pursue +it, taking the chapter of accidents as it might be opened to him. +Soon he came to the point where he had first leaped the garden +fence. He looked within. There was not an Indian to be seen. That +they were lurking somewhere around him, he felt perfectly assured, +and at each moment he expected to see them start up and seize his +horse by the bridle. But although he now rode slowly, carelessly, +his eye was everywhere. The pathway he followed led along a strip +some twenty feet in width, between the garden fence and the river, +to the bottom of the clearing or lawn that ran to the edge of the +latter. Keenly he glanced towards the skirt of the forest on his +left where he had first beheld the savages with their prisoner, +but not a sign of one of them was to be seen. All this was certainly +most extraordinary and unaccountable, but Ronayne knew the character +of Indian stratagem too well not to feel assured that the very next +moment succeeding that of this serpent-like quietude, might be +replete with excitement, and he was prepared for its occurrence. +He dreaded to advance. He almost feared that he should not be seen. +Every step forward in safety increased the distance which separated +him from the idol of his soul, and the purest air of heaven had no +sweetness for him that was not breathed with her. His head drooped +upon his breast--he could hear the beating of his own heart. He +prayed inwardly, secretly, fervently to God to restore to him his +wife as by a miracle, and save him from the madness of despair. +When he again raised his head, he was startled but not surprised +to see his further progress interrupted by a dozen Indians, +springing up as it were from the very bowels of the earth, and +standing in the same careless and unexcited attitude in which he +had beheld them at the outset. Mechanically wheeling his horse to +escape by the lane, he beheld a similar display. He was evidently +hemmed in. His further advance or retreat was completely intercepted. + +Truly has it been said, we are the creatures of circumstance. A +moment before, and while there was no enemy visible, Ronayne had +felt the utmost indifference in regard to a fate the bitterness of +which would, at least, have been sweetened by the fact of his being +near to solace and sustain his wife. He could not believe that it +was the purpose of the warriors to do them bodily harm; for, had +that been their intention, they would, without doubt, have fired +at him, when they found themselves foiled in their recent pursuit; +and such was the devotedness of love of the man, that forgetting +under the circumstances the sterner duty of the officer, he would +have preferred the tent and bonds of the savage _for ever_ with +her to the comforts and freedom of his own home, when the presence +of the loved and familiar being in whom alone he lived should no +longer give life and interest to the latter. But now a sudden change +in his plans was resolved upon, for the same glance which had fallen +on the warriors in his front, had enabled him to see, in the +distance, that Von Voltenberg, profiting probably by the carelessness +of those left in charge, was moving stealthily and alone between +the cornfield and the building, behind which he soon disappeared. +The quickening sound of hoofs immediately succeeding attested that +he was in full flight, and then a rapid association of ideas brought +to the strongly imaginative mind of the young officer the conviction +that his wife had escaped too, for he felt assured that Von Voltenberg +would not abandon her. What the object was in endeavoring to secure +himself he could not tell. The Indians had evidently some more than +ordinary motive in his capture, or wherefore their great anxiety +to take him unhurt, and their seeming indifference in regard to +the other prisoners, who had been left almost unguarded. There +might be two reasons for this. Firstly, they might be on their +war-path, and therefore might not find it either convenient or +desirable to incumber themselves, on a march, with a woman; and, +secondly, having discovered the Doctor to be a "medicine man"--a +fact of which he would not have failed to apprise them--they might +not feel themselves permitted by the Great Spirit to detain him, +and therefore, without absolutely releasing, gave him the opportunity +for escape. + +Of course, all these reflections were the result of but a momentary +action of the brain. Ronayne, with much warmth and impetuosity of +character, was of quick and sound apprehension, and at once saw +the advantages or disadvantages of an extreme position. To advance +or retire, as has already been remarked, was impossible, for both +in front and rear stood the warriors leaning carelessly on their +guns, as if they expected at each moment that he would come up and +surrender himself. But, whatever his previous musings, half nursed +into the determination, such was now far from being the intention +of the Virginian. Certain that he would be fired at, his main object +was to prevent their closing with him so far as to impede his +action. In order to prevent nearer advance upon him, therefore, he +pulled his pocket handkerchief from the bosom of his hunting-shirt, +and waved it over his head in token of submission. Guttural sounds +of approbation broke from the warriors, amid which he thought +he could hear the voice of his wife earnestly calling upon his +name, in the distance. He looked, but saw nothing. The idea that +she had been suffered to make her escape grew stronger. He felt +assured, for the sounds of horses' hoofs had ceased, that she was +lingering for him to join her; that she had seen him wave the +handkerchief, and that, tearing he was about to deliver himself +into the hands of his enemies, she had uttered that cry to indicate +her position. Apparently in the certainty of their prisoner, the +Indians both above and below had thrown themselves at the side of +the lane under the fence, some even commencing to fill and smoke +their pipe tomahawks. This again was the moment of action. To leap +the fence at this time was out of all question, but the river was +unusually deep immediately on his right. Rapidly he wheeled his +horse, and, bearing him up with a strong arm, as he reached the +bank, while he forced the rowels of his spurs into his flanks, +caused him to bound over nearly one third of the narrow stream. +Almost before the Indians had time to recover from their surprise +and dash in after him, he was nearly across. As he ascended the +opposite bank, and gained the road above, another cry from the same +voice rang upon his ears. He looked and beheld at one of the windows +of the farm--house a form evidently that of a woman, the outline +and dress of which he could not, however, distinguish, reclining +negligently, almost motionless, on the bosom of the youngest warrior, +who had evinced such earnestness in his desire to capture him. +Alternately, as Ronayne continued his course to the fort, along +that bank of the Chicago, the youth pealed forth the peculiar +war-whoop of his tribe, and waved, seemingly, the very pocket +handkerchief which the unhappy officer had a few moments before +thrown down as an earnest of his submission. Was this meant as a +reproach or a threat? He could not tell; but certainly he felt that +he deserved the former in their eyes, who had shown him so much +mercy. In less than ten minutes he had passed over the intermediate +ground, his ear achingly on the stretch to catch the sounds of +horses' hoofs on the opposite' bank--that bank which, not two hours +previously, he had traversed with a bright hope, if not with a +heart wholly free from anxiety--but in vain. Furiously, wildly, +he rode into the fort. He was haggard, pale, and dripping from the +immersion he had so recently undergone. His first inquiry at the +gate, on entering, was if Mrs. Ronayne had returned. Being answered +in the negative, life itself seemed to be annihilated; and, overcome +by the overwhelming agony he had endured for the last two hours, +he gave a frightful shriek of despair, and, on gaining the centre +of the parade, fell fainting from his horse to the ground, as we +have already seen at the close of our opening chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + "My particular grief is of so floodgate and overbearing nature, + that it engluts and swallows other sorrows." + --_Othello._ + +Never did day close more cheerlessly on the hearts of men, than +that which succeeded to the occurrences detailed in our last chapter. +Yea, it was a terrible blow which had been inflicted upon all. The +sun of the existence of each, from the commanding officer to +the youngest drummer-boy, had been dimmed; and many a weather-beaten +soldier, grown grey in the natural apathy of age, now found himself +unable to restrain the rising tear. Not a woman, not a child arrived +at the years of consciousness, but missed and mourned over the +absence of her who had been, not merely the favorite, but the +beloved of the whole garrison. + +The young Virginian himself was, for the moment, the only exception +to this mental anguish. When taken up from the ground to which he +had fallen, and borne to his room, he was in a high fever and +delirious from excitement--unconscious of everything around. He +did not manifest a sense of the nature and extent of his grief by +exclamations of despair, or reference to the past, but lay like +one stupified, his cheek highly flushed, his eyes fixed and upturned, +his hands clasped across his chest, his breathing scarcely audible, +and seemingly without the power of combination of thought, or the +exercise of memory. + +When Von Voltenberg soon afterwards followed, he at once saw that +congestion of the brain was rapidly forming, and immediately prepared +to bleed him. The room, which, first filled with sorrowing soldiers +and their wives, not only excluded the necessary air, but impeded +action, was now urgently requested to be cleared, and none remained +but Mrs. Headley, Mrs. Elmsley, Mr. Ronayne's servant Catherine, +and Corporal Collins, who, having been relieved from his duty as +orderly, had entreated the surgeon to permit him to render what +service might be required during the young officer's illness. There +was no fastidious or misplaced delicacy here. Mrs. Headley had ever +felt as a mother towards the Virginian, Mrs. Elmsley as a sister, +and, even had this not been the case, the strong affection they +bore to his wife would have led them to attend the sick couch of +the husband. One supported his shoulder as he was raised in his +bed, the other took his extended hand, while Corporal Collins, +looking much paler and more frightened than either of them, held +the basin. If Von Voltenberg was not particularly given to fasting, +or loved the punch made of the horrid whiskey distilled in those +days in the west, he was, nevertheless, a skilful surgeon. With a +steady hand he now divided the vein, when forth gushed a stream of +blood so dark and discolored that the significant and triumphant +shake of the head which he gave clearly indicated what would have +been the result had the bleeding been delayed much longer. + +Greatly relieved by the removal of the oppressive weight, the +unhappy ensign opened his eyes, and became sensible of objects, +but it was only that consciousness might render him even more keenly +alive to the horror of his position. Each article of furniture and +dress around the room brought increased desolation to his heart. +There was the harp Maria was wont to touch with such exquisite +grace. There was the dress she had thrown off to assume her riding +habit--for it will be recollected that the officers of that post +had no gilded suites of apartments at their command, but barely a +couple of barrack rooms for the married men, and one for the single. +Now a shoe caught his eye, now a glove, a hat, a slipper, her +dressing-case; even the tiny thimble with which she had worked the +linen upon his back; each and all of these, endearing yet painful +to the sight from the recollections they brought up, he glanced at +alternately, until his feelings were so wrought upon that he was +almost frantic. + +"Take those things away!" he cried, starting up and pointing to +them; "I cannot endure the sight. They will kill me--ay, worse than +kill--tear my heart-strings with slow agony. Ah! dear Mrs. +Headley--Mrs. Elmsley--both of you, who loved Maria so well--can +you not understand the pangs I suffer! Yesterday I could have defied +the world in the vain pride of my happiness and strength; to-day +I feel that I am more wretched than the slave that tugs at his +chain--more feeble than a child. Would to heaven that I could die +within this hour! Oh, God! oh, God! oh, God! how shall I endure +this!" + +He turned on his side, buried his face in the pillow, and sobbed +and wept, until every one around had caught the deep infection of +his profound suffering. The lips of Corporal Collins, as he stood +stiff in his military attitude, were closely compressed, and his +brow was contracted. A sympathy, traceable on each quivering muscle, +was evidently struggling for mastery, and he turned abruptly round. +Had others taken time from their own sorrow to watch his next +movement, they might have seen him raise his hand to his lips, and +drain deeply from a flask he had taken from the bosom of his uniform. +Mrs. Elmsley, with her face buried in her hands, leaned against +one of the foot-posts of the bed; and Mrs. Headley--the majestic +Mrs. Headley, with more complex feelings at her heart than actuated +the others--knelt at the head of the bed, laid her hand upon the +shoulder of the patient, and conjured him, in tones that marked +her own deep sorrow, to bear the trial like a man, and not destroy +himself by unavailing grief. Yet, even as she spoke, the tears fell +copiously upon the bed. + +"Mrs. Headley," said Von Voltenberg, who afterwards admitted that, +in the whole course of his practice, he had never been similarly +touched, "do not check him. Let him give full vent to this emotion, +for painful as it now is, both to himself and to us who witness +it, this outburst once exhausted, the crisis once past, there will +be less fear of a return. See, already the paroxysm is weaker--he +is more calm--both mind and body are worn out, and if he can but +sleep for a few hours, although he may perhaps awaken to more acute +sorrow, no danger to his life need be apprehended." + +Notwithstanding this remark was made in little more than a whisper, +it was distinctly heard by the sufferer. Suddenly starting up again +in his bed, he turned quickly round to the surgeon, and said, in +a tone of reproach-- + +"And is this all the consolation you have to offer me? What! tell +me that I shall awaken to keener pain than that which now racks my +being, and drag on a miserable life! Of what value that life to +me? But stay, my mind is not yet itself, or how is it that I have +not yet questioned you about my wife! Dear Von Voltenberg!" and he +threw the hand of the recently-punctured arm upon the shoulder of +the surgeon, "what news have you of Maria? Tell me of her safety +say that you have rescued her and that I shall see her again, and +I will for ever bless the voice that saves me from despair. Oh, +Von Voltenberg! speak, speak! surely you could never have had the +baseness to desert her. How were you taken? how have you escaped? +and why alone?" + +"Poor Ronayne! would to God that I could give you consolation; but, +alas! I cannot. She fell into the hands of the Indians before I +did, and I saw her borne rapidly to the rear of the farm-house; me +they took to the road where you saw me. From that moment I +never once beheld her; but reassure yourself, all may yet be well. +True, she is a prisoner, but I apprehend no violence, for the +Indians offered none to myself, and I thought that they showed +unaccountable moderation to you, never firing a shot when you had +so completely baffled them in the chase. It was that which gave me +confidence to attempt my own escape, when I saw them all pressing +forward to secure you, leaving me altogether unguarded. But we will +speak of this no more to-night. You must sleep, Ronayne, if you +would have strength to enter upon action to-morrow. From the +appearance of their encampment, not twenty paces in rear of the +spot where you beheld me, I have reason to think that it has been +established there many days, and that Mrs. Ronayne may yet be +rescued, for the party of Indians does not exceed five-and-twenty +men. What they want is, doubtless, ransom, a few blankets or guns." + +"Oh! say you so; bless you for that!" continued the Virginian, +eagerly; "yes, I will be calm--seek rest to restore me for the +morning; I will see Captain Headley, and entreat him to let me take +out a detachment. Oh! he will not refuse me. Do you think he will, +Mrs. Headley? Surely you will plead for me. I know twenty brave +fellows who will cheerfully volunteer for the duty." + +"Alas!" said Mrs. Headley, with a deep despondency at her heart, +"I fear I can give you no encouragement there, Ronayne; I am quite +satisfied, indeed, that Headley will not suffer a man to leave the +fort at this crisis." + +"Crisis! what crisis!" interrupted the youth vehemently. "Obdurate +man, has the past not cured him of his martinetism? By heaven, let +him refuse me, and I, alone and without permission, will go in +search of my wife. Fool, fool that I was to return now without +her; but I had hoped she was here;" and again he burst into another +wild agony of grief. + +Corporal Collins touched his cap and advanced a pace forward. + +"The Captain said this afternoon that the next time your honor left +the fort you should never return to it. I thought it was my duty, +your honor, to tell you, for I couldn't make out what he meant." + +"Oh! he did, did he?" muttered Ronayne, with sudden calm. "Well, +be it so!" + +"Corporal Collins," said Mrs. Headley sternly to him, as she arose +from her kneeling posture, "you would have done better to have held +your peace on a matter which you say you do not comprehend. Mr. +Ronayne has annoyance sufficient without your misinterpreting to +him an observation of his commanding officer, which, in all +probability, was made in any other spirit than that which your +words would convey." + +The corporal made a respectful obeisance and withdrew into the +corridor, rebuked. + +"Ronayne," pursued Mrs. Headley, "I can make all allowance for your +excited feelings. I will speak to Headley on the matter; and, +although I cannot hold out to you any hope that he either will even +acknowledge the necessity, much less take the action you desire, +I feel perfectly assured that, when you have heard his reasons, +you will agree with us both that it would neither be of avail nor +politic to take a step of this kind for the recovery of her whom +we all deplore--God knows, no one more bitterly than myself." + +"Mrs. Headley, you surprise me; I can scarcely believe that I +understand you rightly. I had always thought your feelings towards +Maria were those of a mother for her child?" + +"Even so, Ronayne. You judged them rightly. As a mother I have +loved, and love her still; but we will talk of all this to-morrow +morning, and I leave you now to the quiet, if rest is not to be +hoped for, that you so much require; for Headley needs all his +officers in important council to-morrow, prior to holding a second +immediately after with our Indian allies. Nay," seeing that all +present looked surprised, and a desire to know wherefore, "it were +idle to enter upon the subject now; sufficient be it to know that +it is one of the deepest importance, and that, even should you be +carried there in a litter, Ronayne--but God forbid the necessity!--you +must be present." + +"At what hour does that council assemble, Mrs. Headley?" asked the +ensign. + +"At midday, I believe. Winnebeg has been desired to bring the chiefs +to the glacis, between the flagstaff and the southern block-house, +at two o'clock precisely." + +"What! Winnebeg returned?" exclaimed Ronayne, as he impetuously +rose in his bed. "Ah, then there is hope. He will aid me in my +enterprise. And what of Wau-nan-gee? Is he, too, here, Mrs. Headley? +Yes, he must be. Oh, this is indeed providential! I shall rise with +the dawn, and seek them both. Everything can be accomplished, if +at all, before the hour of our own council arrives." + +Mrs. Headley cast a look of profound sadness on him, as, taking +his hot hand in hers, she said-- + +"Wau-nan-gee did not come with Winnebeg, Ronayne; but there is +reason to believe that he is not far from the camp of the +Pottowatomies, for he was seen yesterday. Yet he will not aid you +in your proposed enterprise." + +"Oh! Mrs. Headley, you do him wrong--indeed you do. Wau-nan-gee +loves Maria too well not to risk his life for her. You little know +the strength of his generous attachment, if you doubt his interest +in her preservation." + +"I know, that his love for her is great--perhaps too much so," she +replied, emphatically, after a moment's pause, while bending over +to adjust his pillow, and in a voice so subdued as to be inaudible +to all but himself. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Ronayne's pale cheek became suddenly scarlet. He perceived from +the tone and look that accompanied the words that suspicion of some +kind, whence derived he knew not, had entered into the mind of Mrs. +Headley, and that she saw in the regard of the young Indian for +his wife, evidence of a prepossession which might prove dangerous +to his peace. But this, to a mind generous and impetuous as that +of the highly-gifted officer, brought no alarm. Conscious of the +entire possession of the heart and confidence of his wife, it was +a source of speculative pride, rather than of concern to him, +that the warm-hearted and inartificial Indian, at once brave, +boy-like, and handsome, should, with a cheek glowing, and an eye +beaming with overweening softness, feel and betray all the power +of her beauty when exposed to the influence of its presence. It +was a compliment to himself--to his own taste and judgment, and, +had this been possible, would have increased his love for her on +whom nature, hand in hand with the graces, had lavished such +adornments of disposition and person as to compel a homage which +rarely came to woman from such a quarter. The love of Wau-nan-gee +had been known to both, but it had always been regarded as the +innocent and enthusiastic preference of the boy who had scarcely +yet learned to comprehend the new and strange emotion struggling +for development at his heart. It had often been the topic of their +conversation; and many a smile, half crimsoning into a blush, had +Ronayne called up to the brow of his young wife, while playfully +adverting to the equal right to invest her with the marriage ring, +which he had so eagerly manifested on the evening of their union. +And, if he had shown a humor on that occasion which displeased or +hurt the Indian it was not from any unworthy jealousy of the act +he had sought to perform, but because he was ashamed of his own +awkwardness, exhibited on such an occasion and in presence of his +bride. Since that night Wau-nan-gee had disappeared, and both by +the husband and wife had his absence been deeply regretted, for +they both loved the youth, not only for the services he had rendered, +but the interest his gentleness of deportment and retiring modesty +had inspired. + +If, therefore, he changed color at the remark of Mrs. Headley, it +was not because a guilty passion was hinted at as influencing the +boy, or because, even if it did, that he much heeded it, but because +he thought it was meant to suggest that the danger would come from +the tenderness of her who had inspired it. For the moment he felt +mortified at the possibility of such an idea being entertained, +and, had Mrs. Headley made the remark she did, except In his own +ear, Ronayne would have expressed himself accordingly. + +"He cannot love her too well," was his reply; "oh, no, that is my +chief hope. Think you that I should be calm as I am, did I not, +now that I know he is returned, feel assured that his strong yet +pure attachment for her will cause him to head a strong band for +her rescue? I am better now--I am determined to be better; for at +the first dawn I will go forth and seek Wau-nan-gee. We shall not +be five hours away; and, long before the council assembles, we +shall again, I am confident, be re-united. Ah, what a long night +until then! would that it were dawn!" + +"That were of no use," returned Mrs. Headley, gravely and aloud. +"I know that the strictest orders were issued immediately after +your return, to allow neither officer nor man to leave the fort, +unless passed by Headley himself." + +"Or I shall never return, I suppose," muttered the Virginian +bitterly; "well, we shall see;" and he ground his teeth together +fiercely. + +"Ronayne," said Mrs. Headley, "spare your bitterness. You will know +to-morrow what Headley meant by his remark; yet promise me one +thing before I leave you, that before you seek to leave the fort, +you will see me in the morning, in my apartments. If, then, I fail +to satisfy you of the reasons which exist against your entertaining +any hopes of success in the enterprise you meditate, I think I may +venture to say that I shall obtain of not to oppose you. But, +stay! on consideration, it will be better that what I have to urge +should be said at once. This is no time or occasion for mere forms +or ceremonies. There is too much at stake. I shall leave you now, +and return, alone, in little more than an hour. You will dismiss +Collins for the night, desiring him to close the door--not fasten +it, so that I may make no noise--find no difficulty in entering. +Better that you give vent to your feelings here, in the privacy of +your own room, than reveal by your excitement to others that which +should be known only to ourselves." + +"Good heaven! what can all this mean? what can it portend?" exclaimed +the startled officer. + +"Prepare yourself for no pleasant communication, Ronayne," continued +Mrs. Headley, sadly; "I must wound, yet I trust but to heal; one +point I would have you question Von Voltenberg on before I go--the +manner in which Maria fell into the hands of the Indians." + +During this short and low conversation, Mrs. Elmsley and Von +Voltenberg had been talking aside on the same subject, the former +continuing to weep quietly but bitterly for the loss of her friend. +Ronayne now questioned the surgeon in regard to the cause of the +suddenness of their departure from the point where he had dismounted +to procure water. + +Von Voltenberg replied that he scarcely knew himself, but his own +impression was that Mrs. Ronayne had started off her horse the +moment the shots were fired--he supposed in the very exaggerated +spirit of wantonness which had marked her actions ever since leaving +the fort. He had mechanically followed in courtesy, and the result +was as has been seen--her sudden captivity by the war party, who +had hurried her off, almost unresistingly, he knew not whither, +while he himself was taken in the direction in which Ronayne had +seen him. + +"Did she scream--did she express alarm when taken?" asked Mrs. +Headley. + +"No; I cannot say that she did," returned the Doctor, somewhat +surprised, and not comprehending the motive for the question; "but +you know Mrs. Ronayne is a woman of great nerve and presence of +mind. Moreover, as the thing was done in a moment, she must have +been too greatly astonished to understand her danger, for she came +abruptly on the Indians on turning the sharp angle of the road +leading up to the house." + +Mrs. Headley's eyes met those of Ronayne with grave meaning. He +seemed to understand her, and when, with Mrs. Elmsley, she had +departed, he threw himself back upon his pillow, and, closing his +eyes, mused deeply. To the inquiry of Von Voltenberg, he replied +that, feeling disposed to rest a little, he would not trouble him +to sit up longer, but begged him to retire and to send Collins to +his barrack-room, leaving his door on the latch, in case he should +be summoned by the commanding officer for any purpose before morning. + +As Mrs. Headley separated for the night from Mrs. Elmsley, and +approached her own door, a man in uniform came up, touched his cap +respectfully, and presented a packet. + +"This parcel, Mrs. Headley, I received from Mrs. Ronayne on leaving +the fort this afternoon, with the direction that I should hand it +to you if she did not return by midnight. Alas! ma'am, we have +every reason to fear the dear lady will never return; twelve +o'clock has just struck, and I am come to fulfil my trust." + +"Thank you, Serjeant Nixon. As you say, I fear there is little hope +of Mrs. Ronayne returning; but this package may possibly throw some +light on the cause of her absence." + +"Oh! I hope so; yet how Should it, ma'am? she could not have known +what was going to happen when she went out." + +"No--true, Nixon, you are right. I suppose it contains something +that she has borrowed, or that I have asked her for. Ah! I recollect +now--it is some embroidery she worked for me. Good night, serjeant; +or do you wish to see Captain Headley?" + +"No, ma'am, I only came to deliver the package which Mrs. Ronayne +seemed so anxious you should get to-night." + +"There was no such very great hurry about it," returned Mrs. Headley, +carelessly, yet not without agitation; "I would to heaven she had +been here to give it to me herself!" + +"Amen!" solemnly returned the serjeant; "I would willingly lose my +left arm, could I see her sweet face in Fort Dearborn again." + +"Good night, Nixon," said Mrs. Headley, quickly and much affected; +"you are a noble fellow!" and she took and warmly pressed his hand. + +"Oh! Mrs. Headley, that is the way Mrs. Ronayne pressed my hand +after she had placed the packet in it, and obtained my assurance +that her directions should be punctually obeyed. I shall ever feel +that pressure--see the look of kindness that accompanied it. I +prayed inwardly to God, as I stood gazing on her while she rode +gracefully away, to shower all His choicest blessings on her." + +"Good Nixon, no more;" and Mrs. Headley was in the next minute at +the side of her husband, who, with deep care on his brow, sat at +a table buried in papers, and with the despatch of General Hull in +his hand. + +"Well, my dear, have you seen him--and how does he bear his +affliction?" + +"Oh! Headley, I pity him from my inmost soul--pity him for what he +now suffers; and, oh! how much more for the greater agony he has +yet to endure!" + +"You have not yet, then, told him?" + +"No! Mrs. Elmsley and Von Voltenberg were there; and even the former +must not know the secret. Let all mourn her as one lost to us for, +ever, but not through her own fault. Let them continue to believe +that she has been violently torn from us, not that she has proved +unfaithful to her husband, ungrateful to her friends." + +"Think you not, Ellen, that it would be better to continue Ronayne +in the same belief? As you have not opened the subject to him, it +is not too late to alter your first intention." + +"Dear Headley, Ronayne must know all. In no other way can the wound +at his heart be healed. I comprehend his noble, generous character +well. Such is his love for Maria, that he will never recover the +shock of her loss while he believes her to have been unwillingly +torn from him. He will pine until he sickens and dies, and, indeed, +unless the whole truth be told to him, he will find some means of +leaving the fort in search of her; indeed he has said he will--that +nothing shall prevent him; and, alas, if he does, it will be +with but little disposition to return without her. Now, I know that +if his love be great, his pride and proper self-esteem are not less +so, and feel assured that however acute his first agony, he, will +dry up the fountain of his grief, from the moment that he learns +that her love for himself has been transferred to another; that, +carried away by a strange and seductive fascination, she has +abandoned him for an uneducated boy. His pride, even if it do not +make him forget her, will so balance with his now unrequited +affection, as to enable him to bear himself up, until time shall +have robbed the wound of all its bitterness, and nothing remain +but the scar. You will, moreover, have an efficient officer preserved +to you, and one whose services may be much required in the present +crisis--whose voice in the council will not be without its weight, +and whose arm and example will help to instil confidence in the +men, with all of whom he is a marked favorite." + +"You are right, Ellen, if all that you suppose be true; better that +the wound should be enlarged to insure its speedier cure, than that +the laceration, though less acute, should be continued. But is it +not necessary to be well assured of this? Should you not have +stronger ground than what you witnessed yesterday to justify the +belief that this excursion was planned to insure the result that +has followed?" + +"Depend upon it, Headley, I will not do so, for you know I am not +disposed to 'aught extenuate or aught set down in malice,' but I +have already prepared Ronayne, indirectly, to expect some singular +relation in which Maria is concerned. I wanted him to form some +idea of the nature of the revelation I had to make, in order that +the shock might not be so great, when I fully entered upon the +subject, I had at first intended that he should come to me in the +morning, but, on reflection, I thought it better that everything +should be told to him to-night where he is, and therefore stated, +on leaving, that I would return within an hour. Was I right, my +love?" and she took and pressed his hand to her lips. + +"Always right, dear Ellen--always considerate and prudent. Yes, +poor fellow, it were cruel to let him slumber in hope, however +faint, only to wake to confirmed despair in the morning. Besides +there may be, most probably will be, a wild outbreak of his passionate +grief, and that, manifested here where the servants cannot fail to +hear him, may induce suspicions of the true cause that must never +be entertained. No, whatever we know, however we may deplore the +weakness--the infatuation of that once noble girl, within our own +hearts must remain her unfortunate secret." + +"Generously, nobly said, my husband. Were I not certain that it +would destroy, wither up the very soul of Ronayne to keep him in +uncertainty and ignorance, I would not rend the veil from before +his eyes; but it must be so, even for his own future peace. Besides +me, therefore, for he will not know that I have entrusted you with +the fact, none in the garrison will be aware of the truth, and +Ronayne will at least not have to feel the mortification--the +bitterness arising from the conviction that his wife is mourned by +his comrades, with aught of diminution of that respect they had +ever borne to her." + +"How annoying is this occurrence at this particular moment," observed +Captain Headley, musingly pressing his hand to his brow, "and how +unfortunate. Had Winnebeg brought General Hull's despatch one day +sooner, all this would not have happened, for they never could have +obtained permission to leave the fort, much less to visit so +dangerous a vicinity as Hardscrabble. Our march from this would +have changed the whole current of events." + +"Even so," returned Mrs. Headley; "but here is a packet, left with +Serjeant Nixon, which he has just handed to me, and which may throw +some light on the subject. I will first glance over it myself." + +She broke the seal--hurriedly read it--and then passed it to her +husband, whose utter dismay, as he exchanged looks of deep and +painful intelligence with her, after perusing the letter, was +scarcely inferior to her own. + +"This is evidence indeed!" he murmured. "Who could have expected it?" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + "Grief is proud, and makes its owner stout." + --_King John_ + +It was nearly one o'clock in the morning when Mrs. Headley, wrapped +in her husband's loose military cloak and forage cap, once more +approached the apartment of Ronayne, situated at the inner extremity +of the low range of buildings inhabited by herself. This disguise +had been assumed, not because she felt ashamed of the errand on +which she was bound, but because she did not wish to provoke +curiosity or remark, in the event of her encountering, while going +or returning, any of the reliefs or patrols, which she knew orders +had been given, for the first time that night, to have changed +every half hour. In the extreme darkness of the night, the difference +of her height could scarcely be distinguished from that of her +husband, and it was not likely that any one would address the +supposed commanding officer, whom all would assume anxious in regard +to the health of his subordinate, and on his way to ascertain the +extent of his malady. + +The lights were burning dimly in the apartment. There was a window +on each side of the door, and the farthest of these she fancied +she saw shaded by a human form from without. She stopped suddenly, +and kept her eyes riveted on the object, holding in her breath that +she might not betray her presence. Presently the shadow was removed +from the window, and lost altogether to her sight. A movement of +the light now made within was reflected on the figure of Ronayne, +who, with a candle in his hand, seemed to be approaching the door. +He was still dressed as he had thrown himself on his bed, on +entering, in the deerskin hunting-frock he had worn during the day, +and his temples were bound with a blue-bordered scarlet bandanna +handkerchief--for he had ever loathed the abomination of a nightcap +as being symbolical of the gibbet. As he came nearer to the window, +the light which he bore reflected distinctly without and upon an +Indian standing in the doorway, similarly habited, even to the very +turban. + +Mrs. Headley felt that she could not be mistaken in the figure, +but if any doubt had existed, it would have been dissipated when +involuntarily calling out, and in a tone meant to imitate the +harsher voice of her husband, the name of Wau-nan-gee, the +face was wildly turned in the broad light to penetrate the darkness +which half enshrouded her from view, and the features of the boy +distinctly revealed. Surprised, but armed with strong resolution, +she made a rapid forward movement to seize and detain him, knowing +well that Ronayne, at the sound of voices, would come forth at once +to her assistance; but the Indian, without uttering a sound, stole +rapidly away towards the picketing in the distance, and was seen +no more. + +As Mrs. Headley now approached the door, it was opened by Ronayne, +who apologised to her for not having sooner attended to her knock, +but declared it to be so low that he had not distinctly heard it. + +"Nay," she replied, when she had entered and taken a seat, "I did +not knock, nor had I intended to knock; I have disturbed another +midnight visitor." + +"Another visitor! To whom do you allude, my dear Mrs. Headley? I +must have deceived myself, or surely I heard, soon after I had +risen from my couch, the name of Wau-nan-gee." + +"You did not deceive yourself," she returned, gravely; "I saw +Wau-nan-gee at the threshold of your door as plainly as I see you, +and habited in the same manner. I called to him, but he fled." + +"Impossible!" said the anxious officer; "wherefore should he flee +after knocking for admission? What motive could he have in coming? +and how could he obtain admission unperceived? I have no doubt that +fatigue and excitement and the lateness of the hour have tended to +call up this vision. Would that you could make it real." + +"Ronayne," repeated Mrs. Headley, gravely, "you well know that I +am not given much to imagine that which is not. Even to the very +handkerchief you have on your head, his dress was identical, was +Wau-nan-gee's; and I well recollect the occasion when, at the +distribution of the annual presents to the Indians, you appropriated +that handkerchief to yourself, because, as you said, Wau-nan-gee +had manifested so much good taste in choosing one like it." + +"But, my dear Mrs. Headley," returned the officer with gravity, +while, after closing the shutters, he took a seat at her side, "you +must pardon me if the very fact of the resemblance in dress only +increases my conviction of the illusion. In all probability, it +was my shadow that you saw reflected by the strong light upon the +glass upper half of the door." + +"As you please, Ronayne; but, for my own part, I have not the +slightest doubt on the subject. You ask how he could get here? +Even, as you will remember, you once made an evasion from the +fort--well intended, I grant, but still an evasion from the fort--over +the picketing of the fort. But the matter would not be of so much +consequence at any other time. At present, it is connected with +much that I have to reveal; but how so connected, I cannot even +fancy myself. Ronayne," she continued, taking his hand and pressing +it in her own, "disabuse yourself of the idea that Wau-nan-gee, +whatever he may have been, is now your friend." + +"Wau-nan-gee not my friend?" returned the officer, sadly. "Well, +I was prepared in some degree to hear the assertion, Mrs. Headley, +our conversation an hour since being well calculated to make me +revolve the subject in my mind during your short absence, and I +have done so. When you mentioned a moment ago that Wau-nan-gee +had been at this door, seeking for admission, I felt confident that +you had done him great wrong; but now, I confess, since you so +positively assert his presence and sudden evasion, I am led to +apprehend, I know not what. Speak; let me hear it all," he concluded, +with bitterness. + +"Ronayne, my almost son," she said, leaning her arm affectionately +on his shoulder, "it was with the view that suspicion should be +excited in your mind by my language that I stated what I did. I +did not wish the truth to burst upon you with annihilating suddenness, +and therefore sought to prepare you for the blow I am destined to +inflict." + +"And that is--" he said, with stern and furrowed brow, a pallid +cheek, and compressed lip. + +"Nay, Ronayne, I like not that tone and manner." + +"Proceed, Mrs. Headley, pray proceed; I am ready to hear all. Whence +this sorrow so much keener than that I now endure, and how is it +connected with Wau-nan-gee!" + +"Has it never occurred to you to connect the one with the other?" +she observed, in low and uncertain accents. + +"Ha! is it that?" he exclaimed, vehemently starting and hurriedly +pacing the apartment. "It is then even as your words had led me to +infer. Still, I would not approach the subject myself. I waited +for something more direct from your lips. You have uttered it, and +I am now prepared to hear all. But, Mrs. Headley, mark me, be well +assured of all you say; let not mere appearances be the groundwork +of your suspicions, or you destroy two generous hearts for ever; +but," he resumed more calmly, yet with a look of fierce determination, +as he once more seated himself at her side, "although the love I +bear Maria is deeper far than man ever bore for woman, assure me +that it is not returned, that this soft--eyed boy, with Indian +guile, has stolen the love in which I lived, and then I tear her +from my heart for ever. Think me no mere puling fawnster, craving +a love that is not freely given. As the passion that I feel is +fire, hot as the Virginian sun that nurtured me, so will it become +ice the moment it ceases to be fed by that which first enkindled +it. Yes," he continued, bitterly, "I could tear my heart out if in +its weakness it could pine for one, however once endeared, who had +ceased to respond to all its devotedness and worship. I might think +of her, but only to sustain my wounded spirit. Contempt and scorn +for her fickleness, not love--base and grovelling love--should ever +be associated with her image, when undesiredly it arose to my +repelling memory. But oh, God!" he exclaimed, bowing his head upon +hand, and yielding to his deep emotion, "is it possible that this +can be! Can it be that I should ever speak and think of Maria thus! +Oh, whence this too great affliction! why this separation of soul +from soul! this rending asunder of the mystic bond that once united +us! But stop!" and he raised his head, the hot and inflaming tears +still gathering in his eyes, "she cannot surely thus have acted, +and yet--and yet--oh! Mrs. Headley, if you knew the desolation of +my heart, you would pity me. It is crushed, crushed!" + +During this painful ebullition of contradictory feeling, in which +pride and love combated fiercely for the ascendency, Mrs. Headley +had been deeply affected; but feeling the necessity for going +through the task she had imposed upon herself, she strove as much +as possible to appear calm and collected, even severe. His +last appeal brought tears from her own eyes. + +"Indeed, indeed, Ronayne," she exclaimed, pressing his hand fervently +between her palms, "I do pity you, I do sympathize with you, even +as a mother, in the desolation of your heavily-stricken heart. I +had dreaded this emotion, and only my strong regard for yourself +gave me strength to undertake the infliction of the counter wound, +which I knew alone could preserve you from utter misery and despair; +and yet, if you would cherish the illusion, if you would not that +the stern reality should sear up each avenue to hope, to each +sweeter recollection of the past, I will, if you desire it, abstain." + +"Nay, not so, Mrs. Headley," replied the unhappy officer; "you are +very cruel, but I know you mean it well; proceed--let me be told +all. The stronger your recital, the more confirmatory of the utter +destruction of my dreams of happiness, and the better for myself. +I have already said that scorn and contempt alone can dwell in my +heart, if that which I surmise you are about to relate be but found +to be true. I am ready for the torture--begin!" and, as if with +a dogged determination to hear, and suffer while he heard, he leaned +his elbow on the back of his chair, and covered his eyes with his +hand. + +The recital need not be repeated here. All that had occurred on +the preceding day, and that which is already known to the reader, +Mrs. Headley now communicated, adding that she had been undecided +in her opinion on the subject, until the answer to the question +put to Von Voltenberg convinced her that the whole thing had been +planned, and that she had willingly thrown herself into the power +of Wau-nan-gee. The few guns, she concluded, were evidently a signal +of which she availed herself by instantly galloping off, while +Ronayne was yet at some distance from her, and unhorsed. + +Prepared as the unhappy officer had been for intelligence involving +this mysterious change of affection in his wife, he was utterly +dismayed when Mrs. Headley recounted what she had witnessed in the +summer-house, to which she had voluntarily gone, and from which +she probably never would have returned had not accident disclosed +the secret of the trap--door. + +"This is, indeed, a terrible blow!" he said, solemnly, removing +his hand and exhibiting a pale cheek and lip, and a stern and +knitted brow; "but now I know the worst, I better can bear the +infliction. Strange, I almost hate myself for it; but I feel my +heart relieved. I know I am no longer cared for there, and wherefore +seek to force an erring woman to my will? And yet, when I think of +it, of the monstrous love that weds rich intellect and gorgeous +beauty to the mere blushing bud of scarce conscious boyhood, I feel +as one utterly bewildered. Still, again, since that love be hers, +since she may not control the passion that urges her to her fate, +so unselfish am I in my feeling, even amid all the weight of my +disappointment, that rather would I have her free and happy in the +love she has exchanged, than know her pining in endless captivity, +separated from and consumed with vain desire for a reunion with +myself--her love for me unquenched and unquenchable." + +"Ah! what a husband has she not lost! Generous, noble Ronayne, that +is what I had expected. You bear this bravely; I knew you would, +or never should I have dared to enter upon the matter. But +your generosity must go further; it must never be known that Maria +has gone off willingly--no doubt must be entertained of her +continued love for you. She must still be respected, even as she +is pitied and deplored; the belief that she has been made captive +and carried off must not be shaken." + +"The struggle at her heart must indeed have been great before she +fell," remarked Ronayne, musingly, and with an air of profound +sadness; "for although her appearance in the rude vault beneath +the floor of the summer-house would appear to indicate compulsion, +her after conduct justifies not the belief. The imploring earnestness +with which she entreated you, Mrs. Headley, not to make known what +you had seen to me; her abstaining from all censure of Wau-nan-gee +at the moment, and her subsequent interest in him, too forcible to +be concealed; her strange and unaccountable manner during our ride, +as if to banish some gnawing reproach at her heart; her galloping +off when freed for the moment from my presence, and at the evident +signal given to announce that everything was prepared for her +reception; the appearance of her trunks in the farm-house, evidently, +I am now convinced, taken there within a day or two; the pretended +desire of the Indians, friends of Wau-nan-gee, to make me a prisoner, +and thus induce in me the belief that such was her fate. Oh! yes," +he continued, rising and pacing the room rapidly, "I can see through +the whole plot. His party were Pottowatomies, painted as warriors +of a distant tribe, that suspicion might be averted from themselves. +Their object was not to make either Von Voltenberg or myself +prisoners, but merely to give such evidence of hostility as to +cause us to believe they were enemies. Oh, what sin, what artifice +for a woman once so ingenious, a boy so young! But now I am assured +of all this, I am better--I am better. Some sudden inspiration has +flashed the truth upon me, that I might, find that relief which a +knowledge of her unfaithfulness alone can render me." + +"It must have been even so," rejoined Mrs. Headley; "for, certainly, +the fact of yourself and Von Voltenberg being allowed to escape by +hostile Indians, who could so easily have shot you down, or taken +you prisoners, had they been really so inclined, appears to me to +be incredible." + +"And yet, if it was planned," pursued Ronayne thoughtfully, "what +opportunity of communication had they to arrange their measures? +Wau-nan-gee has, we know, long been absent for weeks, or certainly +not once within the fort." + +"Ronayne," said Mrs. Headley, significantly, "I speak to you of +these things freely as to one so much younger than myself. Have I +not just said that I saw Wau-nan-gee most distinctly at your door +as I entered--nobody but ourselves know that he has got in, much +less in what manner." + +"I understand you, my dear Mrs. Headley; you would infer that he +has stolen in at some obscure part of the fort, and under cover of +the darkness; but even if so, am I not always at home?" + +"Never on guard, Ronayne; or am I mistaken," she added with a faint +smile, "in supposing that the officer on duty passes the night with +his men?" + +"By heaven it is so," returned the Virginian vehemently, and striking +his brow with his open palm, "this intimacy is of long standing. +Though pretending absence, Wau-nan-gee has been ever present. My +guard nights have been selected for those interviews. The +poison of his young love has been infused into the willing woman's +ear and heart, and now that I recollect it, often on my return home +have I seen her, pale, dejected, and full of thought--he has +entreated her to fly with him--to suffer him to be the sole, the +undivided sharer of her love--she has hesitated, struggled, and +finally consented. By the same means by which his entrance has been +effected, the trunks of Hardscrabble have been removed, and all +was prepared for her evasion yesterday, had she not been baffled +in her object by your sudden appearance. Oh, I see it all!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +"Ronayne, Ronayne!" resumed Mrs. Headley, after the strong excitement +of her feeling had been in some measure calmed, "how rapidly you +arrive at conclusions. Much of what you say is probable--for your +sake, I would it were all so, but let us be guided in our judgment +by circumstances and facts alone. If it had at first been arranged +that the plan adopted with such success to-day, why the visit to, +and detention in, the vault of the summer-house where every +preparation had been made for a long concealment?" + +"That," replied Ronayne, "is a mystery which time alone can unravel. +I confess that it involves a contradiction susceptible of explanation +only by themselves. This, in all human probability we shall never +know; but then, again, forgive me, Mrs. Headley, for thus detaining +you with any selfish interests, but your voice, your counsel, your +very knowledge of the facts--all breathe peace to my wounded spirit; +but, I ask again, why the scream she gave--why the emotion, the +grief, she evinced when, on opening the trap-door, you saw her +reclining exhausted on that rude couch? I would reason the matter +so as to convince myself _thoroughly_ that her flight has been her +own wilful act, for then I shall the less regret, even though I +should not be able to banish her image wholly from my mind. You +have said that you saw Wau-nan-gee leave the summer-house with an +excitement in his eye and manner you had never witnessed before, +and that this corresponded with the state in which you found Maria +a few moments later. Now, is it probable that if she had purposed +anything wrong she would have asked you to accompany her, or that +she should have asked you to wait for her, while visiting a spot +whence she knew she never would return? Oh, no! this could never +be. Her mode of evasion, if such had been intended, would have been +very different; she would have chosen a moment when you were in +some distant part of the garden, and saw her not, to steal into +the summer-house. All clue, then, would have been lost, and the +appearance of the Indians lurking about the cottage would naturally +have impressed you with the belief that she had been carried off +by them. How were they dressed?" + +"Even as you have described the party that pursued, or affected to +pursue you yesterday," exclaimed Mrs. Headley, "in the war paint +of the Winnebagoes. I know it well, for their chiefs have often +been in council here." + +"Just so," pursued Ronayne. "Is it not then reasonable to +suppose--mark, I do not weakly seek to justify the wrong which +but too certainly exists, but I would dissect each circumstance +until the truth be known--is it not, I repeat, reasonable to suppose +that, even if Maria wanted an evidence of her abduction, she would +have gone towards the cottage rather than the summer-house. It +would have been easy enough then for the Indians who, I have no +doubt, were the same party I encountered at Hardscrabble, to have +carried her off before any assistance could arrive from the fort. +On the contrary, she was certain of discovery in the summer-house +into which she had been seen to enter, and every part of which she +would have known would have been most strictly searched. Wherefore, +too, the object in keeping her confined, as it were, in a dungeon, +when the free air was open to her, and the boundless wilderness +offered health and freedom?" + +"I have thought of all that, Ronayne," replied Mrs. Headley, "and +I cannot but suppose that this retreat was a temporary one. In all +probability, when Wau-nan-gee issued from the summer-house, he was +in the act of proceeding to make his preparations for finishing +the work just begun, but seeing that I had not yet left the grounds, +waited to know what my movements would be before he took any farther +step. My stationing the boat's crew before the gate, where they +could command the whole of the view between the cottage and the +summer-house, acted as a check upon them, and little dreaming, I +presume, that I had discovered the trap-door, they had intended, +on my departure across the river, to avail themselves of my absence, +and bear her off into the forest. As for the deep grief which I +witnessed on entering the summer-house, that may easily be accounted +for. A woman of refinement, education, and generous susceptibility, +however unhappily carried away she may be by a resistless, and, in +her view, fated passion, does not without a pang tear herself from +old associations to enter upon new, especially where they are of +an inferior character. She may mourn her weakness even at the moment +she most yields to it. One dominant thought may fill her soul--one +master sentiment influence all her actions, and govern the pulsations +of her heart, but that does not exclude the workings of other and +nobler emotions of the mind. Even when she feels herself most +tyrannized over by the passion, the infatuation, the destiny against +which she finds it vain to struggle, sorrow for her altered position +will intrude itself, and then is her heart strengthened and her +mind consoled only by the reflection that the sacrifice was +indispensable to the attainment of that, without which, in the +strong excitement of her imagination, she deems life valueless. +Charity should induce us to believe that it is, what I have already +termed it, a disease, for on no other principle can we account for +that aberration of the passions, the intellect and the judgment +which can lead such a woman to forget that mind chiefly gives value +to love, and to sacrifice all that is esteemed most honorable in +the sex by man, to the fascination of mere animal beauty. Ah! +Ronayne, this must have been the case in the present instance. You +see, I probe you deeply--but enough!" + +"Dear Mrs. Headley," returned the Virginian, pressing her hands +warmly in his own, "I am satisfied that, humiliating as it is to +admit the correctness of your impression, there is but too much +reason to think that it is even as you say. When I recur to the +past of yesterday and to-day, I cannot doubt it; and yet I confess +there is much buried in obscurity which I would fain have explained. +Were it made clear, manifest as the handwriting on the wall, +that Maria had abandoned me for Wau-nan-gee, I should be at ease. +It is the uncertainty only that now racks my mind. Could I _know_, +not merely _believe_ her false, a weight would be taken from my +heart. Oh! Mrs. Headley, why did you not suffer Wau-nan-gee to +enter--why drive from me the only means of explanation at which I +can ever arrive--and, yet, what could have been his object in thus +venturing here after having despoiled my home of its treasure? If +guilty, would he have dared to approach me? and that he might not +do so with evil intent, is evident from the fact of his having +knocked for admission. Oh! Mrs. Headley, I know not what to think--my +mind is chaos--I am a very changeling in my mood: not from want +of energy to act when once assured, but from the very doubts that +agitate my mind, made wavering by the absence of all certain proof." + +While the soul of the unfortunate young officer was thus a prey to +every shade of doubt, and manifesting the very weakness that his +lips denied, Mrs. Headley regarded him with, deep concern. She +could well divine all that was passing in his heart, and the chord +of her sympathy was keenly touched. For some moments she did not +speak, but appeared to be lost in her own painful reflections. At +length, when Ronayne, who during these remarks had been rapidly +pacing the room, threw himself into a chair, burying his face in +his hands, evidently ill at ease, she drew forth her packet, the +seal of which was broken, and handed it to him, saying with sadness-- + +"My dear Ronayne, I had hoped that I should not have been under +the necessity of making known to you the contents of this note, +but I see it cannot be withheld. It was placed in my hands, just +after I had parted with Mrs. Elmsley, by Serjeant Nixon, who stated +that Maria had left it with him for me, as she rode out this morning, +telling him it was of the utmost importance that he should deliver +it." + +"I saw her in conversation with him," said Ronayne, as he took the +note and approached the light to read it, "and on asking what +detained her, she said, hastily, that she was merely sending you +a message--not a document of the importance which you seem to attach +to this. I felt at the time that she was not dealing seriously with +me; but as it seemed a matter of little consequence I did not pay +much attention to it; but, let me read!" + +The following were the contents of the note, which Ronayne eagerly +perused, with what profound emotion it need scarcely be necessary +to describe: + +"My dear Mrs. Headley: When you receive this, you will have seen +me, perhaps, for the last time; but I am sure that you will believe +that, in tearing myself from the scene where so many happy, though +not altogether unchequered days have been passed, no one occupies +a deeper place in my regret than yourself, whom I have ever regarded +as a second mother. The dreadful reasons which exist for it, however, +prevent me, as a wife, from acting otherwise. I know you will +condemn me--tax me with ingratitude and selfishness. I am prepared +for reproach; but, alas! no other course remains for me to pursue. +If I have yielded to the persuasions of the gentle, the affectionate, +the devoted Wau-nan-gee, it is not so much on my own account as in +consideration of the hope held out to me of a long future of +happiness with the object of my heart's worship. For him I can, +and do make every sacrifice, even to the incurring of your +displeasure, and the condemnation of all who know me. But let +me entreat you to remember, that if he is seemingly guilty, I alone +am truly so, and chargeable for the deep offence that will of course +be attributed to him. Remember that I have planned the whole; and +should it be decreed by fate that we never meet again, I pray God +in his infinite goodness to preserve those whom I now abandon, and +spare them the distraction that weighs upon this severely-tried +heart. + +"I promised you a candid explanation of everything relating to what +you saw yesterday. This you will find fully detailed in the +accompanying document, written after you had left me, and before +the return of Ronayne last night from fishing." + +"Document! what document?" asked the Virginian, interrupting himself, +and in a voice husky from emotion; "there is nothing here, Mrs. +Headley, but the letter itself." + +"Nothing but that and the piece of embroidery which Maria had worked +for me were contained in the packet," was the reply. "In her hurry +she must have forgotten to inclose it." + +"In the accompanying document (resumed the Virginian, reading) you +will find the nature of my connexion with Wau-nan-gee fully explained. +You will, of course, make such use of all that is necessary to your +purpose as you may deem advisable; but, as I make that part of the +communication which refers to Wau-nan-gee strictly confidential, +I conjure you never, in the slightest way, to allude to him as +being connected either with my evasion or with the revelation I +have made to you in the inclosure. Adieu, my dear Mrs. Headley. +God grant we may meet again! + +"Your own Maria." + +During the perusal of this note, Mrs. Headley had watched the +countenance of Ronayne with much anxiety. She saw there evidence +of strong and varied feelings which he made an effort to subdue, +and so far succeeded that, when he had finished he returned the +note to her with a calm she had not expected. + +"There is no need of further confirmation now, Mrs. Headley," he +said, with a bitter half-smile. "You have, indeed, probed but to +heal. All my weakness is past. To-morrow I shall be myself again, +and attend the council. Pardon me that I have been the cause of +detaining you so late, and believe me when I say that deeply do I +thank you for the interest you have taken in me." + +"God bless you, Ronayne! Alas, you are not alone in, your trials--much +of moment awaits us all. Good night!" + +And, assuming her disguise, she speedily regained her home. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + "Ne'er may he live to see a sunshine day that cries--Retire, + when Warwick bids him stay." + --_Henry IV._ + +On the western bank of the south side of the Chicago River, and +opposite to Fort Dearborn, stood the only building which, with the +exception of the cottage of Mr. Heywood on the opposite shore, and +already alluded to, could at all come under the classification of +a dwelling-house. The owner of this mansion, as it was generally +called, which rose near the junction of the river with Lake Michigan, +was a gentleman who had been long a resident and trader in the +neighborhood, and between whom and the Pottowatomie Indians in +particular, a good understanding had always existed. Several +voyageurs, consisting of French Canadians and half-breeds, constituted +his establishment, and in the course of his speculations, chiefly +in furs, with the several tribes, he had amassed considerable +wealth. He was, in fact, the only person of any standing or education +outside the wall of the fort itself, and of course the only civilian, +besides Mr. Heywood--whom, however, they far less frequently +saw--the officers of the garrison could associate with. His house +was the abode of hospitality, and as, in his trading capacity, he +had opportunities of procuring many even of the luxuries of life +from Detroit and Buffalo, which were not within the reach of the +inmates of the fort, much of the monotony which would have attached +to a society purely military, however gifted or sufficient to their +mutual happiness, was thus avoided. His library was ample, and +there was scarcely an author of celebrity (the world was not overrun +with them in those days), either historian, essayist, or novelist, +whose works were not to be found on the shelves of his massive +black walnut bookcase, made by the hands of his own people from +the most gigantic trees of that genus that could be found in +Illinois. He had, moreover, for the amusement of the officers of +the little garrison, prepared a billiard room, where many a rainy +hour was passed, when the sports of the chase and of the prairie +were shut out to them, and for those who asked not for either of +these amusements, there was a tastefully, but not ostentatiously, +furnished drawing-room, with one of the best pianos made in those +days, which he had had imported at a great expense from the capital +of the western world, and at which his amiable and only daughter +generally presided. + +Margaret McKenzie had been born at Chicago, but having lost her +mother at an early age, her father, profiting by one of his periodical +visits to New York, had taken her with him for the purpose of +receiving such an education as would enable her not only to grace +a drawing-room, and make her a companion to a man of sense and +refinement, but to fit her for those more domestic duties which +the uncertain character of so secluded a life might occasionally +render necessary, and where luxury and education alone were +insufficient to a trading husband's views of happiness. After five +years' absence, she had returned to Chicago, a girl of strong mind, +warm affection, without the slightest affectation, and altogether +so adapted in manner and education--for she eminently combined the +useful with the ornamental--that her father was delighted with +her, not less for the proficiency she had made in all that +gives value to society, but because of the utter absence of all +appearance of regret in abandoning the gay and enlivening scenes +of the fascinating capital, in which she had spent so many years, +for the still, dull monotony of the primeval forest in which her +childhood had been passed. + +But here she was not doomed to "waste her sweetness on the desert +air." There were only two officers in the garrison, besides Captain +Headley, when Miss McKenzie returned to her native wilds--Doctor +Von Voltenberg and Lieut. Elmsley. The third who made up the number +of those attached to the company had a few days previously been +shot and scalped by a party of Indians near Hardscrabble, while on +his return to the fort from shooting the hen, or English grouse, +of the prairie. His place was supplied by Ensign Ronayne, who had +joined the garrison a few days after. Lieutenant Elmsley, captivated +by the accomplishments and amiability of the fascinating Margaret, +had offered her his heart and hand, and obtained her unreluctant +promise speedily to share his barrack room, some twenty feet by +twelve in dimensions. Meanwhile, in order to prove to him how well +she was fitted to be a soldier's wife, not an article of food was +ever placed before her father's almost constant visitors that did +not in some measure pass under her supervision. Poor would have +been the preparation of the grosser viands had not her directing +voice presided; and, as for the tarts, and puddings, and custards, +_et hoc genus omne_, no one who tasted could doubt that no hands +but her own had operated in the fabrication; and the currant, the +cranberry, the strawberry jelly, the peach, the plum, and the cherry +preserve, and the currant and gooseberry wine! What, in the name +of all that is delicate in gastronomy, could be more delicious or +exhibit greater perfection of taste! So thought Von Voltenberg. He +was in raptures. Such a wife, he thought, was all he wanted to his +comfort; he could have dispensed, if necessary, with the more +intellectual portions of the worth of Margaret McKenzie, but his +imagination could not picture to itself perfection superior to that +of an interesting and beautiful woman, manipulating among fruit, +and sugar, and dough, until she had produced results far sweeter +and much more prized by him than all the ornamental accomplishments +in the world. It was even whispered that the Doctor, deeply sensible +of the treasure he should obtain in the possession of so generally +useful a wife, had absolutely proposed for her, but that she, +without offending him, had rejected the honor. Whether it was so +or not, no one knew positively, for Margaret McKenzie was not a +woman to triumph in the humiliation of another, not because she +considered it in any way a humiliation to a man that he did not so +accord in sentiment with her as to render an union for life with +him desirable, but because she knew it would, however absurdly, +draw upon him the ill-natured comments of his companions. Be that +as it may, whether or not he did offer and was rejected, it made +no difference in his relations with the family. He ate her dinner, +luxuriated over her preserves, and sipped her wine as plentifully +as when first she had offered them to him; and they always were +the best friends in the world. + +Soon after the first rumor of Von Voltenberg's offer--and if the +secret was betrayed, it must have been by himself, during one of +his moments of devotion to his favorite whiskey punch--it was +generally known throughout the fort and neighborhood that Lieutenant +Elmsley was to espouse Miss McKenzie, and that the ceremony was +only delayed until the arrival of his the officer so recently +killed and scalped, as has been stated, was now almost daily +expected. At length he came, and soon afterwards Captain Headley, +duly commissioned to perform the service, in the absence of a +clergyman, married them, Ronayne assisting as groomsman, and Mrs. +Ronayne--then Maria Heywood--as bridesmaid. This was two years +previous to the marriage of the Virginian himself, and the occasion +on which he first met her whom he subsequently so fervently adored. + +It was no privation to Mrs. Elmsley to forsake the almost luxurious +ease of her father's house for the more sober accommodation of her +husband's barrack-rooms. True, these were comfortably furnished, +but still they had that primness which belongs ever to the quarters +of a soldier; but from the moment of casting her destiny, she had +determined in every sense to be a soldier's wife, and to inure +herself from the first to the plainness incident to the condition. +All she had transferred to the fort was her music and her books; +and if at any moment caprice or inclination led her to desire a +change, it was but to get up a little party, such as their limited +social circle would permit, and transfer the amusements of the day +to her father's more inviting mansion, where the servants had from +herself learned all the art of management. Lively in disposition +in the extreme, Mrs. Elmsley loved to promote the comfort of others; +and as her husband possessed an equally happy temperament, they +contributed not a little to enliven the circle of which, in point +of gaiety, they might be said to be the centre. + +The owner of the establishment himself--Mr. McKenzie--was fond of +good living, and having arrived at an age when continued prosperity +permitted a relaxation from the toils of the earlier and cooler +portions of the day, loved to indulge after dinner in a large +arm-chair, placed in a veranda that overlooked the fort and country +around, and where the light air from the lake, waving through the +branches of the thin trees, swept with refreshing coolness along +the broad corridor. He generally smoked the fragrant herbs of the +Indians, mixed with tobacco, and sipped the delicious clarets with +which his cellar was stocked, and which he kept, not for sale or +barter, but for the exclusive use of himself and friends. + +Immediately after Winnebeg had left Captain Headley, he made his +way to the mansion of Mr. McKenzie, whom he found, as usual, sitting +in his veranda, enjoying his pipe and wine after dinner. The greeting +was that of old friends long separated. They had known each other +from their youth; and, while the Indian entertained the highest +respect for the character and opinions of Mr. McKenzie, the latter +in turn reposed the most unbounded confidence in the sincerity and +integrity of the chief. + +"Well, Winnebeg, my old friend, where do you come from? Where have +you been all this time? I thought you had deserted us altogether. +But I recollect now; Captain Headley sent you with despatches to +Detroit. What news do you bring back? But first try a glass of +claret. Harry!"--calling out to a son of one of his voyageurs, +who acted in his household in the capacity of his private +servant--"bring another chair and a wine-glass." + +"Yes, come from Detroit, Missa Kenzie," replied the Indian gravely, +as he seated himself, took his tomahawk from his side, filled it, +and began to smoke; "bring him bad news for you--for all." + +"How is this, Winnebeg?" exclaimed his listener, putting down the +glass which he had raised to his lips. "What bad news do you mean?" + +"Leave him all dis," he observed, as he swept his hand towards the +fort and the outhouses and buildings containing Mr. McKenzie's +property--the profits of a long life passed in a region to which +he had become attached from very habit. + +"Leave what! my property? I do not understand you, Winnebeg; speak +out! What are you driving at, man? What necessity is there for +all this?" + +"English fight him Yankee now--big war begun. By by English come, +take him Chicago!" + +"The war begun!" said Mr. McKenzie, rising in astonishment from +his seat; "do you mean to say, Winnebeg, that the English and +Americans are actually at war? that they have been fighting at +Detroit? How do you know it?" + +"How him know it?" returned the chief; "look here, Winnebeg fight +him English," and baring his thigh, just below the left hip, he +showed the scar of a superficial flesh wound still encrusted with +blood. + +"Where did you get that, Winnebeg, and how long since?" + +"Two week," he replied, holding up as many fingers, "near Canard +Bridge, close, to Malden, Canada--General Hull angry--say Winnebeg +no business fight--carry him despatches." + +"General Hull! How long has General Hull been there? Where, then, +is Colonel Miller, of the fourth regiment, who commanded the other +day?" + +"Colonel Miller Detroit too; but Hull big officer--great chief--come +with plenty sogers--send Winnebeg with despatch to Gubbenor here." + +"Indeed! This is important; I must hasten to see Captain Headley, +and learn from him the contents. Alas! my good friend Winnebeg, +this news may, and I fear will, be the cause of my utter ruin. Of +course, you have no idea of what the despatch contains?" + +"Yes, Missa Kenzie, Winnebeg know. Winnebeg wish to speak to you +about despatch--say go directly to Fort Wayne." + +"The troops ordered to Fort Wayne, and all we possess left wholly +unprotected. This is indeed a calamity," said the trader, raising +his hand to his now thoughtful brow. + +"You no take him goods on pack-horses to Fort Wayne?" remarked the +Indian inquiringly. + +"Impossible, Winnebeg! I might take a few packages of peltries, +but the great bulk must be left behind; yet it seems to me folly +to go to Fort Wayne. We shall be cut off before we get there." + +"Just so," returned Winnebeg. "See him Gubbenor, Missa McKenzie; +tell him not go. Stay here--fort strong--plenty powder--plenty +guns--you tell him so." + +"Most assuredly I will; and if he adopts the most prudent course, +he will remain. With your strong force without and ours within, we +may have a fair chance with any force that may be brought against +us, whereas heaven only knows what may not be the result if we +attempt so long a march through the wilderness, alive with Indians +in the interest of the British. Good by, Winnebeg; you will excuse +me, I am sure, for there must be no time lost in consulting +with Captain Headley. Make yourself at home, and call out to Harry +for anything you may want. That claret will not hurt you after your +long journey; it is pleasant to the taste, and not very strong." + +"Tankee, Massa Kenzie; Winnebeg go to Pottowatomie camp--not been +dere yet. Gubbenor say no tell him Ingins war begun till hold +council to-morrow. Winnebeg sure him know it free, four days." + +"Why, do you think that, Winnebeg, since there has been no +intelligence of the kind since your arrival?" + +"See him plenty Pottowatomie here in Detroit while Winnebeg wait +for despatches." + +"Indeed; but they may not have returned." + +"Don't know--maybe no, maybe yes." + +"Well, to-morrow the matter will be no secret, Winnebeg; and some +decision will no doubt be added. In the meantime, you will be able +to learn whether anything is known in the encampment of this +unwelcome news, and, if so, what your people think of it." + +"Kenzie," said the chief, taking and warmly grasping the trader's +hand, "all Pottowatomies tink like Winnebeg--no go to Fort Wayne." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +When Mr. McKenzie entered the fort, it was with a clouded brow and +an oppressed heart. At the gate he met his son-in-law, Lieutenant +Elmsley, who, while burning with impatience to be near and console +his unfortunate friend, was without the power to leave his post, +and in his vexation and annoyance, kept pacing rapidly up and down +in front of the guard-house. + +"What is the matter, Elmsley--what disturbs you so unusually?" + +"Can you ask, sir," said the officer, "or have you not heard the +dreadful news?" + +"Yes, I have heard it, but did not suppose it had as yet been +generally known." + +"The whole garrison knows it. It could not be concealed. The poor +fellow rushed like a madman to announce it. He fell fainting to +the ground, and was carried to his room, where, even at this moment, +Mrs. Headley and Margaret are attending him." + +"Attending whom?" demanded Mr. McKenzie with an air of astonishment, +"and to what are you alluding?" + +"Why, Ronayne, of course; to whom do you allude if not to him? Have +you not heard that, while riding out with his wife and Von Voltenberg +this afternoon, they were intercepted by a party of hostile Indians, +and poor Maria taken prisoner." + +"God bless my soul, is it possible? This is terrible, indeed. Are +we then already surrounded by hostile Indians, and is the war +already brought to our door?" + +"War! what war?" asked the subaltern, "and what has this fearful +piece of treachery to do with open war--war with whom?" + +"And have you not heard that England and the United States are +openly engaged in hostilities--has Winnebeg not revealed this?" + +"Not a word," replied Lieutenant Elmsley, astonished, in his turn, +at the information. + +"At another moment, and on an indifferent occasion, this mutual +misunderstanding might afford room for pleasantry," continued Mr. +McKenzie with a grave smile; "but it is not so. Winnebeg, I see, +has been true to his trust; and although cognizant of the nature +of the despatches, revealed the information to no one but myself, +whom he regarded as having not only a right to possess it at the +earliest moment, but as being the most proper person to advise with +the commanding officer, at the earliest moment, on the measures to +be adopted. I am here for that purpose; think you I shall find him +alone, for I wouldn't enter upon the subject before Mrs. Headley." + +"I have just said that Mrs. Headley and Margaret are in attendance +on the unfortunate Ronayne," replied Elmsley. "You will, therefore, +be sure to find him alone, and no doubt busied in the formation of +plans of operations consequent on this intelligence." + +"Recollect, not a word of this until it is officially revealed. I +shall not even let Captain Headley know that I am aware of the +facts, but simply state that, having heard he was in receipt of +despatches, I had come to know if there was any news of importance. +But, of one thing I would warn you, Elmsley; there will be a council +of war to-morrow, and I could wish that your view of the subject +may lead you to prefer defending the fort to the last extremity in +preference to a long and uncertain retreat to Fort Wayne, which I +know is suggested in the despatch." + +"I shall have no difficulty in arriving at that decision," returned +the officer of the guard, "for common sense only is necessary to +show the advantages of one course over the other. In the meantime, +I shall evince no knowledge of what you have conveyed to me, until +the hour of council. Did no other consideration weigh with me, I +would oppose a movement which cuts us off from all hope of restoring +the dear lost wife of Ronayne to her distracted husband." + +"Good bye, God bless you," answered the trader, as he moved towards +the quarters of Captain Headley. + +"Then," mused Elmsley, when alone, "are the forebodings of that +fusty old number of the National Intelligencer which I have thumbed +for hours over and over again for the last three months at length +finally realized--and war was come at last; well be it so! My +chief anxiety is for Margaret. Would that she and all the rest of +the weak women in this fortress were safe within the fortifications +of Detroit; but all evil seems to be coming upon us at once." + +"Ah! Mr. McKenzie, I am very glad to see you," said Captain Headley, +rising as the trader entered the room set apart for his library +and the transaction of military official business. "Take a seat. +You could not have paid me a more opportune visit." + +"I had understood that Winnebeg had just returned with despatches +from Detroit," remarked the trader, "and am come to learn the news." + +"Bad enough," answered Capt. Headley, gravely, as he handed to him +the despatch from General Hull. "Read that!" + +Mr. McKenzie attentively perused the document. It was evidently of +a nature not to please him, for as he read he knit his brow, +bit his lip, and uttered more than one ejaculatory "pish!" + +"And what do you intend to do, Captain Headley?" he demanded, as +he twisted the paper in his fingers impatiently. + +"Stay, my dear sir," said the commanding officer, anxiously, "do +not thus disfigure or slight the general's official--I must preserve +it as the only voucher for the course I shall in all probability +pursue." + +"What is that course?" asked Mr. McKenzie; "surely, Captain Headley, +you will not strictly follow the letter of these instructions? You +are not compelled to do so. It is left optional with yourself; and +there cannot be a question as to the great disadvantage attending +a retreat." + +"Pardon me," said the commanding--officer, with something of the +hauteur of one sensible of his own personal responsibility; "I +consider every paragraph in this official as a direct order. The +only sentence that would appear to leave a certain option with +myself is where reference is made to the _practicability_ of retreat. +Now, I can see nothing impracticable in it. We have nothing to +apprehend, with a body of five hundred brave Pottowatomies for our +escort, while, if we continue here we must expect a strong British +force speedily upon us." + +"Let me give you a word of counsel before this question is publicly +discussed," returned the trader seriously; "I know the Indians +well, and how easily they are influenced by circumstances. Friendly +as these Pottowatomies now seem to be, the influence of the majority +of the tribes who have joined the British forces may soon change +them from friends into foes." + +"My life on their fidelity," returned Captain Headley, with unusual +energy. "While Winnebeg continues with them, I feel that I should +dishonor by doubting him." + +"Do not mistake me," returned the trader. "Your faith in the honesty +of Winnebeg, Capt. Headley, is not greater than my own--nay, not +so great, perhaps, for I have known and always regarded him from +his boyhood; but all the Pottowatomies are not Winnebegs, neither +are the warriors so completely under the control of their chiefs +as to permit their counsels alone to influence their actions." + +"You do not mean to say that you have reason to doubt any of these +people, Mr. McKenzie?" remarked the captain, seriously and +inquiringly. + +"Not at all; but I wish to show how much more imprudent it would +be to trust to them than to ourselves; reinforcements may arrive +in time if they are sent for immediately, and should they not, it +will be time enough to think of evacuating when our Indian spies +bring us notice of the preparations of the British to attack us." + +"And should they arrive before our retreat is begun, then must, we +be driven into an unequal contest, for the order of the secretary +at war expressly declares that no post shall be surrendered without +a battle. It is evident that the fort cannot be maintained against +a regular force; therefore, the garrison, or they who survive the +assault, must be made prisoners in any case; whereas, by retiring +now, we not only prevent the advance of the enemy, to the manifest +ruin of yourself and other settlers in the neighborhood, but carry +succor to Fort Wayne. This is the resolution I have taken. After +first consulting with my officers on public parade in the morning, +when our position shall be fully made known to all, I shall +meet the Indians in council. The necessary directions have been +conveyed to Winnebeg." + +"I can only regret, sir," returned Mr. McKenzie, with great gravity +of speech and deportment, "that your determination should have been +formed before consulting with your officers. In a case of this +kind, involving the interests of all, it becomes, I should conceive, +not a mere courtesy but a duty, that the opinions and advice of +all competent to judge should be taken." + +"You need not be alarmed, Mr. McKenzie; I perfectly know how to +act on this occasion. The opinions of my officers shall be taken, +even as I have taken yours. If you have anything further to offer, +therefore, I shall be happy to hear it." + +"Captain Headley," returned the trader, rising with dignity, and +taking up his hat, "I have nothing further of advice to offer to +one so confident in his own judgment; but bear in mind what I now +tell you, that if you follow the letter of these instructions rather +than the spirit, you will have cause to repent it. I make not this +remark from mere considerations of my own personal interests, which, +of course, will be greatly affected by this abandonment of the +post, but because I sincerely believe that a defence will entail +less disaster than a march through the vast wilderness we shall +have to traverse, hampered as we shall be with women, less able to +bear up against fatigue, privation, and disaster. As the Indian +orators say, 'I have spoken!' and now, sir, I have the honor of +wishing you a very good day." + +"Well, what says he--what does he intend?" asked Lieutenant Elmsley, +who was lingering near the gate, waiting for the return of his +father-in-law. + +"He is an obstinate, conceited ramrod," returned the latter, +peevishly; "but you will know all to-morrow, for he really intends +to do you the honor to consult you in the morning." + +"But what is his decision? You have not said." + +"To give up everything to the Indians, and retreat forthwith." + +"Can it be possible?" exclaimed the officer, perfectly indignant +at the communication. + +"Even so. Alas, for the poor women, and the ladies particularly! +what a march for them; but I go, meanwhile, to 'set my house in +order.' Well, Elmsley, all I had garnered up through a quarter of +a century of incessant toil, as a heritage for you and yours, will, +I fear, be utterly lost." + +"God bless you," said the officer, grasping his hand, "think not +of that. There are far weightier considerations at stake than +those of a merely pecuniary nature. The lesson Margaret has taught +herself--to be contented to live on a soldier's pay--will not have +altogether been thrown away upon her. The loss of her fortune is +the least calamity to be dreaded." + +"Nobly said, Elmsley. Well are you worthy of her!" He warmly shook +the hand that still lingered in his own, and then turned the angle +of the gateway leading down to his own dwelling. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + "For we to-morrow hold divided council." + --_Richard III._ + +On the following morning there was unusual commotion in the fort, +and, notwithstanding the great sultriness of the weather, both +officers and men appeared in the full costume of the regiment from +an early hour. The bright and silken flag, worked by the hands of +Mrs. Ronayne, had been hoisted by Corporal Nixon's own hands, for +he knew that not a man of the garrison would look upon it without +vividly interesting himself in the fate of her who had worked it, +and desiring to be a volunteer of the party he fully expected would +be sent out that morning to attempt her rescue. Already had he +decided on five of the number who, besides himself, would be selected +by Ronayne on the occasion, and these were Collins, Phillips, +Weston, Green, and Watson. He knew that an early parade had been +ordered by Captain Headley, and as this was a rare occurrence, he +could assign no other cause for it than the desire the commanding +officer entertained to send off the little expedition as speedily +as possible. + +Precisely at eight o'clock the roll of the drum brought forth from +their respective barrack rooms some sixty men, composing the strength +of the little fort, with the exception of the invalids and +convalescents, some fifteen in number. But even of these, such as +could find strength to drag themselves, came forth and lingered in +the rear of the slowly forming little line, while women and children +gathered in groups near the guard-house, anxious to see who would +be the fortunate ones selected for the recovery of the much-loved +wife of their favorite. + +A few moments later, and the officers were seen approaching from +their several quarters to join the parade. Captain Headley, dressed +in his newest uniform, was the first on the ground; then came the +Doctor, then Elmsley, for, on that occasion, the guard at the gate +had been left without an officer; and lastly, much to the surprise +of all, Ronayne. As he approached, all eyes were fixed upon him, +and every breast acknowledged a sympathy in the pallor of his now +unmoved brow, that in more than one instance moulded itself into +a tear it was impossible to suppress. As for the women, they held +their aprons to their eyes and wept outright. On gaining his company, +the Virginian touched his cap as usual to the commander of the +parade, and, passing close by Elmsley, whose eyes he saw riveted +upon him with much interest, he significantly grasped his hand. + +"Mr. Elmsley," ordered the commandant, "let the company be wheeled +inwards, to form a hollow square." + +The order was promptly obeyed, and within the square stood the +little group of officers. + +"Gentlemen and men!" began Captain Headley, as he unfolded a +despatch, "it is on no common occasion that we find ourselves +assembled this morning." + +Every eye was again turned upon Ronayne. The looks of the men seemed +to say, "We know it, and we are prepared to do our utmost to repair +the evil." + +"There is not a man of us, your honor," said Corporal Collins, "who +is not ready to volunteer to go out and recover Mrs. Ronayne, +or die in the attempt. You have but to say the word." + +"Silence, sir! How dare you presume to speak in the ranks! Corporal +Collins, from this day you lose your stripes,--a fit example, truly, +for a non-commissioned officer to set to the men. Mr. Elmsley, you +will see to this." + +The lieutenant gravely touched his hat, but replied not. + +"It is not for this purpose that I have assembled you," resumed +Captain Headley. "Much as is to be deplored the unfortunate occurrence +of yesterday, matters of deeper importance must engage our attention +now." + +Many of the men shrugged their shoulders, and looked their discontent. +They could not imagine what he meant, or what could be of more +importance to them than the recovery of the lost lady. + +The parade was once more called to attention, when Captain Headley +proceeded to read to them the document that has been so often before +the reader. + +"You see, gentlemen and men," he continued, when he had finished +the perusal, "how intricate is our position, and how little choice +there is left to us to decide in the matter. It must be but mere +form to ask your opinions on the subject, for the directions of +the General are so positive that our duty is implicitly to follow +them. Mr. Elmsley, as the oldest officer, what is your opinion?" + +All had heard with the greatest surprise the unexpected communication, +but there were few who were of the opinion of their commander, that +their safety would be best insured by a retreat. The men, of course, +were not expected to have a voice in the consultation, but it was +desirable that they should hear what their respective officers had +to say, and therefore the subject had been opened to the latter in +their presence. + +"My opinion, Captain Headley," returned his lieutenant, "can be of +little weight in a matter which you appear to have decided already; +however, as it is asked in presence of the whole garrison, in +presence of the whole garrison will I give it. On no account should +we retire from this post. Our force, it is true, is small, but we +have stout hearts and willing hands, and, with four good bastions +to protect our flanks of defence, we may make a better resistance +than it appears they have done at Mackinaw, should the British deem +it worth their while to come so far out of their way to attack us. +My own impression is that they will not, for there is nothing to +be gained by the conquest of a post which commands no channel of +communication, and therefore offers no advantage to compensate for +the sacrifice of life necessary to take it. Certainly, nothing will +be attempted unless Detroit itself should fall. The British forces +will have too much to occupy them there to think of weakening by +dividing the troops they have in that quarter. On the other hand, +should we undertake a protracted march to Fort Wayne, encumbered +as we are with women, and children, and invalids, there is but too +great reason to infer that parties of British Indians, apprised of +our march, will hasten to the attack, and then our position in the +heart of the woods will be hopeless indeed. These, sir, are my +views on the subject nor can I conceive how a man of common +discernment can entertain any other." + +"Mr. Elmsley, I merely asked you, in courtesy, to pronounce your +own opinion, not indirectly to pass censure on those of your +superiors. I have stated not only my opinion, but my decision. Even +were I desirous to remain I could not, for our provisions are nearly +consumed." + +"Why, captain," said Phillips, speaking from his place in the ranks, +"I know that we have cattle enough to last the troops six months." + +"Who speaks? Who dares to question my assertion?" thundered Capt. +Headley. "We may have cattle enough," he added, in a milder tone, +feeling that some explanation was due to the men generally, "but +we are deficient in salt to cure the meat when killed." + +"A sheer pretence!" muttered another voice not far from Phillips; +"where there is a will, there is a way." + +"Who spoke?" demanded Captain Headley, angrily. + +"I did, sir," answered Collins; "you have taken the stripes from +me, you can do no more." + +"Drummers, into the square!" ordered the captain. "Gentlemen, before +we proceed further in this matter, this man must be tried for +insubordination--a drum head court martial immediately. Sergeant +Nixon, go to the orderly's room and bring the articles of war." + +"Nay, Captain Headley," interposed the sergeant, "poor Collins!" + +"What, sir! do you, too, disobey?" + +"No, sir," returned the non-commissioned officer, respectfully, +"but I thought when brave men would so soon be wanted for the +defence of those colors, your honor could not be serious in your +threat to score their backs; and a braver and a better soldier than +Corporal Collins is nowhere to be found in the American ranks. He +is excited, sir, by the loss of Mrs.--" + +"Stay, Nixon," interrupted Ensign Ronayne, "not another word. +Captain Headley," he resumed, sternly, turning round to his +commandant, "if Corporal Collins is punished, you will have to +punish me also, for I swear that be but a hand laid upon him, and +I will incur such guilt of insubordination as must compel you to +place me under arrest. This severity, sir, at such a moment, is +misplaced, and not to be borne." + +"Mr. Ronayne, depend upon it, this conduct on your part shall not +pass unnoticed. When the proper time arrives, expect to be put upon +your trial for this most unofficer-like interference with my +authority. At present, I can ill afford to spare your services, +and placing you in arrest now would only be to affect the interests +of my command. When we reach Fort Wayne, you may rely upon a proper +representation of your behavior. Private Collins, retire to your +place in the ranks." + +"Reach Fort Wayne!" returned the Virginian, emphatically. "Mark +me, sir, we shall never reach Fort Wayne. Captain Headley," he +continued, more calmly, "look at those colors; do you not think we +shall find more spirit to defend them while floating there (and he +pointed to them), calling upon us, as it were, to remember the day +when first they were unfurled before the British Lion, than when +carrying them off encased and strapped with the old kettles and +pans of the company upon some raw-boned old pack-horse, as if +ashamed to show themselves to an enemy." + +"And those colors especially," ventured Sergeant Nixon, emboldened +by the warm language in his defence used by the high-spirited young +officer. "They are the same worked by the hands of Mrs. Ronayne, +and run up there on the day of her own marriage, on the fourth +of July. I hoisted them with my own hands this morning, because I +believed we were going out to the rescue of that dear lady, and, +in my mind, I can only say that it would be much easier to send +out half the force for her, with a few Indians for scouts to point +out where the red devils are, and then, when we have got her safe, +to return here and defend the place, or perish under the ruins." + +"God bless her!" exclaimed nearly half the men, turning their eyes +towards the rustling flag, which a slight and rising breeze now +displayed in all its graceful beauty of color and proportion. "Sure +enough she worked it, and we are ready to die under the same, if +she only be here to see us." + +"God bless her!" repeated the women in the distance. "If our prayers +could be of any use, our husbands should run all risk from the +Indians, so that we might see her sweet face again. Oh, let them +go, captain!" + +Despite all the determination he had formed, Ronayne could not +stand this new feature in the scene unmoved. He drew his handkerchief +hastily from the bosom of his uniform, and carried it to his eyes. +The recollection of the fourth of July, so recently passed, came +with irresistible force upon his memory, and even while his own +heart was made more desolate, this universal manifestation of the +regard in which his wife was held affected him deeply. + +"Nay, Mr. Ronayne, rather than exhibit this emotion before the men, +had you not better retire?" remarked Captain Headley, in a low +tone; "their excitement, too, will the sooner subside when you are +gone." + +"Sir, if you assume a weakness in me," returned the officer, +haughtily, as he removed the handkerchief from his eyes, "you are +wrong. I came here not to advert to the past, but to do my duty. +I confess I am touched by the honest and noble feeling of my +comrades, but nothing more. No entreaty of mine will be urged in +support of their prayer. I am prepared to sink my individual loss +in consideration of the general danger." + +All the men were taken by surprise. They had wondered from the +first at seeing Ronayne come upon parade, with a manner so different +from that which he had shown on the preceding evening; but they +had taken it for granted that he knew of an intended sortie, and, +relying on its successful issue, was only waiting for the order +from Captain Headley. + +A loud shout was now heard from the common, and presently one of +the two sentinels that had been stationed at the gate walked quickly +up with his firelock at the recover, and reported to Captain Headley +that the Indians were mustering strongly about their encampment, +and seemingly more painted than usual. + +"This is as it should be," replied the commanding officer. "The +day of council should be a gala day, whatever the occasion, and +doubtless they are making preparations accordingly. It is well, +however, that I have changed the hour of our consultation from +twelve to eight. We have now more leisure for our own preparations." + +"And these are, Captain Headley, permit me to ask?" remarked Mr. +McKenzie, who had stood at some distance from the parade, without +interfering with the preceding discussion. + +"To distribute, sir, as directed, the stores belonging to the United +States then dismantle the fort, and depart at once for Fort +Wayne. Those noble and faithful Pottowatomies, who are now assembling +for the council, will bear us bravely through." + +One or two shots were now heard from the gate. The men were startled; +still more so when they heard a loud mocking laugh succeed to the +report. Several of them turned their heads and looked around. They +saw that the flag, then wheeling and tossing, as if indignant at +the outrage, had been cut by the bullets. The Indians had never +before attempted this. + +"That, sir, is the work of your friendly Pottowatomies," remarked +Ronayne, With a sneer; "their friendship is truly very remarkable +at this particular moment. They show their regard for us by insulting +the American flag in a way in which they never did before." + +"March off your guard immediately, Mr. Elmsley; let the sentries +be posted, and all remain armed until further orders; yet mark, +both officers and men, no distrust must be openly shown. Do not +let it appear that the inconsiderate act of one or two young men +has raised your unfounded and ungenerous suspicions of a whole +tribe. It is not that I have any doubt as to their truth, but my +policy has ever been to show them we are never unprepared for an +emergency. Corporal Collins, you will resume your Stripes." + +In obedience to his order, the guard was relieved at the gate, and +the whole of the men made to linger about the parade, preparatory +to the hour of council. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +While Lieutenant Elmsley was occupied as acting adjutant--a duty +which he was called upon to perform, as well as that of regimental +subaltern--Ronayne sauntered mechanically towards the gate. +Notwithstanding the seeming indifference he had at first manifested +in regard to the absence of his wife, there were few among the men +who, whatever their surprise at his language, were not afterwards +made sensible that he was profoundly affected; and as he somewhat +sternly passed each soldier on his way, they silently and with +unusual deference--a deference that indicated their own strong +sympathy--touched their caps to him. Arrived at the gate, he looked +long and anxiously, almost incessantly, even as one without an +object, towards Hardscrabble, the forest road to which was dotted, +here and there, with occasional openings, enabling the eye to +distinguish the serpentine course of the silver river. All around +and before him were the lounging Indians to whom allusion has just +been made. There appeared to be unusual excitement in their manner, +and groups of the younger warriors particularly were to be seen in +animated conversation. He was about to retire from the gate and +join Lieutenant Elmsley, who had now nearly finished distributing +his guard, but anxious to take one last look of the neighborhood +of Hardscrabble, his eyes suddenly fell upon the outline of a horse +just emerging from a wooded part of the road upon the plain, and +partially concealed by the figure of an Indian that stood at the +side of the horse. He looked again--the distance was too great +to enable him to judge distinctly, but he felt convinced the rider +was a woman. There was A telescope kept in the bastion near the +flagstaff, for the use principally of the officer of the guard. He +walked rapidly to this, and drew the instrument to its proper focus, +but when he looked in the direction in which he had before gazed +nothing was to be seen. Vexed and annoyed beyond all measure, he +descended again rapidly to the gate, but with no better success. +He could not doubt that it was his wife whom he had seen, yet +unwilling to breathe the knowledge even to himself, his heart was +a prey to the most contradictory feelings. In a few moments, however, +the horse he had before remarked again appeared emerging from the +same point of road, but this time he no longer carried a woman but +a warrior, so that all means of identifying the former were denied +to him. But still there was evidence sufficient. The horse was +evidently Maria's, though with its tail twisted and plaited as for +disguise; and as Ronayne with the glass brought fully to bear upon +him, saw the rider throw over his shoulders and fasten round his +neck, a blanket, and place on his head a colored calico turban, +such as was in common use among the Pottowatomies, he felt satisfied +that it was the same youth who, in the disguise of a Miami, had +pressed him so closely in the chase of the preceding day. + +Strange to say, he entertained no feeling of enmity towards the +youth, even when he turned away with feelings of mingled bitterness +and mortification, and silently ascended the bastion to replace +the glass. Never was his mind more unsettled--never had he entertained +so perfect a sentiment of indifference for everything around him. +It was very well to talk of pride, and scorn, and fortitude, but +existence to him had become a dull weight, a rayless future, and +nothing would have pleased him better at that moment, than the +sudden announcement of a British force being at hand. In the stirring +excitement of action only could he hope to find distraction, and +the ball aimed at his heart, the sword pointed to his throat, he +would have scarcely deemed it worth his while to seek to turn aside. +The roar of artillery and of musquetry would, he felt, be music to +his ears, provided it shut out from memory the recollection of what +had been. But the idea of a long and monotonous march to Fort Wayne, +even provided it should be effected without interruption, bringing +with it at each moment recollections of the past was a horror not +to be endured; and he determined, by every means in his power, to +oppose the resolution of the commanding officer to the uttermost. +He was already under the ban of one threatened court-martial, and +it mattered little to him what steps Captain Headley might adopt +in regard to him for the future. + +He had passed some moments in these reflections--fitful, varied, +and broken as those of a disconnected dream--when turning his eyes +again towards the gate where the sentinels had been posted, he saw +one of them bring his musket to the charge as if to prevent the +ingress of some one seeking admittance. Struck by the circumstance, +Ronayne hastened below, and as he advanced he saw the same sentinel +pick up a piece of paper, the superscription of which he was +endeavoring to examine. Before he had time to do this, however, +the officer had come up, and the sentinel promptly handed it to +him. + +"Good God! what does this mean?" It was the handwriting of his +wife. Ronayne looked forward upon the common, and saw at about a +hundred yards before him, and retiring rapidly, the horseman whom +he had just before remarked. There was no necessity for asking any +questions. The whole thing explained itself. + +"What can she have to say to me?" he mused to himself, as he broke +the bark string with which the note was tied; his competitor of +yesterday, too, the bearer! Hastily he unfolded it. It contained +these few words, hastily written in pencil on a leaf torn from her +memorandum book--"Go not to the council!" He examined the paper +closely--he could find no more. + +The feelings of Ronayne, on reading these few words, traced by his +wife's well-remembered hand, may be comprehended. All the stubbornness +of his indifference was shaken; and sinking every consideration of +self he found a strange, wild pleasure in the knowledge that she +was free from personal restraint, and had power to command the +services of those whom she willed to do her bidding. What the +meaning of the caution was, in regard to the council, he could not +divine, neither wherefore it had been couched in such laconic terms; +but it was evident that, as the new wife of Wau-nan-gee, she had +obtained information of some danger of which they in the garrison +knew not, and that the recollection of those she had left behind +was not so weakened as to prevent her from imparting to those most +interested what she had learned. + +Feeling the necessity of communicating instantly with Elmsley on +the subject, yet scarcely knowing how, without exposing Maria, to +account to him for the manner in which he had received the singular +warning, he sought his friend, who had now finally disposed of his +men at their several posts, and told him that, without feeling +himself at liberty to reveal to him the medium through which the +suspicion had been awakened in his breast, he had every reason to +believe that some treachery was intended at the council called by +Headley, and that he had come to consult with him accordingly. + +With infinite good taste and tact, Elmsley utterly abstained from +making the slightest allusion to Mrs. Ronayne, not only because he +had perceived that her husband did not seem to encourage any approach +to a subject which gave him pain, but because he felt that the +consolation of those words, on an occasion of such bereavement, +was rather a mockery than a sympathy. Without, therefore, making +the slightest allusion to the past, he answered gravely-- + +"If you have reason to apprehend this, Ronayne, we can take our +precautions accordingly. As the whole object and intent of the +council is to _seem_ to hold a consultation as to the course we +ought to pursue in this emergency, whereas it is simply in fact to +enable Headley, who is becoming stubborn and pompous as of old, to +tell the chiefs that he intends at once to distribute the public +stores among themselves and warriors, and then march with little +more than the men can carry on their backs; as this only, I repeat, +is his object in holding a council at all, I see no great reason +why either you or I, who have already given our opinions on the +matter, should attend it. We may do the 'state some service' by +remaining within." + +"Would it not be well," returned the Virginian thoughtfully, "to +give Headley some hint of false dealing on the part of the +Pottowatomies? not such as to lead him to believe that any +direct intelligence has been received of that fact, but simply that +some loose hints have been thrown out." + +"My dear fellow," returned the lieutenant, with a faint smile, "do +you think there is anything under the sun--scarcely even the tomahawk +in his own brain--that could persuade Headley to mistrust his pet +Pottowatomies? No, not even his long experience of the treachery +of the race--not all his knowledge of the fickleness of their +character--of the facility with which they turn over in a single +day from the American to the British flag--would convince him." + +"And yet," pursued Ronayne, musingly, "they know nothing of the +war. What could be their motives, where their immediate interests +will be rather retarded than promoted by the maintenance of peaceful +relations?" + +"How do we know what passes without the fort? They may have had +their runners and news brought to them of the war before Winnebeg +returned." + +A sudden thought flashed across the brain of Ronayne. Could tidings +of the event in any way be connected with the flight of his wife? +and had that, at the instigation of Wau-nan-gee, accelerated the +moment of her departure? But Elmsley knew not what _he_ knew, and +he offered no remark on the subject. + +"It wants now an hour," resumed Lieutenant Elmsley, looking at his +watch, "to the time named for the council which is to be held on +the glacis immediately in front of the southern bastion, and, +therefore, immediately under the flag. Join me here then, Ronayne, +and I shall have made the necessary arrangements. All the +responsibility I take upon myself, my friend, not only as your +senior, but as one who is perfectly willing to take the lion's +share of the anger that has been showered so plentifully upon both +this day. Now I must hasten and regulate the '_imperium in imperio_' +for I am afraid that if, as you say, we trust alone to Headley's +reading of Pottowatomie faith, we shall have rather a Flemish +account of satisfaction to render to ourselves. Goodbye. In half +an hour--not later." + +Ronayne, having nothing in the meantime to do, sauntered towards +his own apartments. When he entered his chamber, Catharine, the +faithful servant of his wife, was leaning along the foot of the +bed, her face buried in the covering and sobbing violently. The +depth of her sorrow was anguish to him. He shuffled his feet along +the floor to make her sensible of his presence. The girl heard him; +she looked up--her face and eyes were so swollen with tears that +she could scarcely see. She started to her feet, and raising her +apron with both hands to her eyes, left the room sobbing even more +violently than before. + +"Poor girl--poor girl!" murmured Ronayne, while a tear forced itself +into his own; "indeed I feel for your grief; but it will soon +subside; you will soon be well, while I ---" + +He threw himself, dressed as he was, even without removing his +sword, upon, the bed--he took out Maria's hasty note--he read the +words "Go not to the council" at least fifty times over. There was +not the minutest particle of each letter of each word that he did +not typify in his heart. Her delicate and expressive, yet faithless +hand had traced the whole. It was enough. It was the last relic of +herself. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + "I would have some conference with you that concerns you nearly." + --_Much Ado About Nothing._ + +When Ronayne rejoined his friend, all the preparations he intended +making had been completed, and Mrs. Elmsley having despatched a +servant to say that breakfast was waiting for them, the latter, +after having stationed Corporal Collins at the gate to give early +notice of the approach of the Indians, linked his arm in that of +Ronayne, and conducted him to his rooms. + +It was, of course, the first time the Virginian had seen Mrs. +Elmsley since the preceding evening, when, with Mrs. Headley, she +had been a pained witness of the desolating grief she so deeply +shared herself. The swollen eyelid and the pale cheek attested that +little sleep had visited her eyes during the subsequent part of +the night; and when she affectionately took the proffered hand of +Ronayne, whose composedness she was greatly surprised and pleased +to witness, there was a melancholy expression of sympathy in her +glance that tried all the powers of self-possession of the latter. + +How different was that breakfast table from what it had been on +former occasions! How often, both before and after their marriage, +had Ronayne and his wife partaken of the hospitable board, with +hearts light as gratified love could render them, and exhilarated +by the witty tallies of the amiable hostess, who, full of life and +gaiety herself, sought ever to render her more sedate friend as +exuberant in spirit as herself. How graceful the manner in which +she recommended her exquisitely-made coffee, her deliciously-dried +bear and venison hams, the luxuriously-flavored and slightly-smoked +white fish from the Superior and the Sault; and with what art she +allured the appetite from one delicacy to another, until scarcely +an article of food at her table was left untasted. And yet all +this, not in a spirit of ostentatious display of her own aptitude +in these somewhat sensual enjoyments, but from a desire, by the +exercise of those little niceties of attention which insensibly +win upon the heart, to please, to gratify--to make sensible that +she sought to please and to gratify--those whom both herself and +her husband so deeply regarded. + +The breakfast was now a hurried one. It had not been prepared with +the usual care. The directing hand of the mistress seemed not to +be visible--it was heavy as the hearts of those who now partook +of it, and even the never failing claret, of which Elmsley compelled +his friend to swallow several goblets, had lost more than half its +power to exhilarate; for, oh! there was one of that once happy +party gone for ever from their sight, and the solemn and restrained +manner of each was sufficient evidence of the deep void her absence +had created. + +It was a relief to all when Corporal Collins hurriedly appeared at +the door and announced that the greater portion of the warriors of +the Pottowatomies, with Winnebeg at their head, were now advancing +towards the glacis, where a large awning, open at the sides, had +been erected soon after the morning's parade. + +"Winnebeg at their head, did you say, Collins?" + +"Yes, sir, Winnebeg, and with him--for I know them as +well--Wau-ban-see, Black Partridge, To-pee nee-be, Kee-po-tah, and +that tall, scowling chief that never looks friendly, Pee-to-tum. +They are all in their war dresses, and their young men as well." + +"I am glad, at least, Winnebeg is with them," remarked Elmsley to +his friend. "Whatever may be purposed by the others, neither he +nor Black Partridge can have any knowledge of it. Has Serjeant +Nixon had that three-pounder run up into the upper floor of the +block-house, Collins?" + +"They are at work at it now, sir. I expect it will be all ready by +the time your honor gets there, Mr. Elmsley." + +"You are on guard at the gate?" + +"I have been where you posted me, sir." + +"Good! Is Captain Headley gone out yet?" + +"Not yet, your honor. I saw him, as I came along, go towards Doctor +Von Voltenberg's rooms." + +"We had better wait then, Ronayne, until he goes forth to assemble +the council; otherwise he may interfere and play the devil with us +all, by countermanding my arrangements." + +"And do you really mean to say that you would permit him to do so, +Elmsley? I am sure I would not; for, if ever disobedience to orders +could be justified it is on this occasion." + +"I do not exactly say that I would, Ronayne; but it is just as well +to avoid clashing if possible. I confess I am no particular advocate, +where the thing can be avoided, of wilfully and deliberately +thwarting the authority of a commanding officer. But once he is +out of the fort I shall be in command." + +Another non-commissioned officer entered. It was Weston, who, that +morning, had been promoted to the dignity of lance corporal, and +the commanding officer's immediate orderly. + +"Lieutenant Elmsley, the captain desires me to say that he is +waiting for you and Mr. Ronayne to accompany the doctor and himself +to the council." + +"Then," said the subaltern addressed, "you will give my compliments, +Weston, to Captain Headley, and say to him that both Mr. Ronayne +and myself decline attending that council--that we do not think it +prudent to leave the fort without an officer, and that we conceive +that having given our opinions on the matter for which the council +is called, we can be of much more service here than there. Now +mind, Weston, you will deliver this message respectfully, and in +a manner befitting a soldier to his superior." + +"Certainly, sir," replied the corporal, as he touched his, cap and +withdrew. + +"You will have a visit from himself next, Elmsley," remarked his +wife. "But why refuse to attend the council? There is no enemy +near us, and surely half an hour's absence on the glacis cannot +much endanger the safety of the garrison, surrounded as we are by +friendly Indians." + +"Margaret, my love," said her husband, taking her hand affectionately, +"we must trust nothing to chance. No one can tell what may not +occur in the interim of our absence. Who, for instance, could have +foretold yesterday morning that we should be as we are to-day!" + +"True," said Ronayne, as he paced the room with sudden and bitter +excitement; "who could have told yesterday that we should be +as we are to-day? There is nothing certain in life--no, nothing--all +is vanity." + +This painful change of feeling and of manner, from the self-control +so recently imposed upon himself, had not been without its cause. +The tenderness of his friends brought back to his memory the +recollection of many an hour of happiness passed in that room--when +the same manifestations of affection had been exhibited in presence +of the wife. But where was she now--where was his own share in that +happiness which, for the first time, he almost half envied in his +friend? + +The door was again opened, and in walked not Captain Headley but +Mr. McKenzie; his brow was overcast, and there was evidently deep +care on his mind; but after tenderly embracing his daughter, he +remarked to the officers, "I am glad you have come to the decision +of not leaving the fort. I met Headley going out, and he is very +angry. He has made me promise, however, to follow him in a few +moments. I should have gone at once, but I could not resist the +twofold temptation of pressing this dear girl to my heart, and +telling you both how much I approve your prudence. For once you +and Headley seem to have exchanged characters." + +"No doubt," returned Elmsley, smiling, "that if we ever get to Fort +Wayne, both Ronayne and myself will be hanged, drawn, and quartered +by sentence of a court-martial, as a just punishment for our most +glaring disobedience of orders here; but that will not be worse +than being scalped here for obeying them; besides, there is this +advantage attending the first--we shall have a little longer lease +of life. But seriously, sir, there is now no time to lose. The +moment you are out of the gates, I shall cause them to be fastened +until the council is over. I have had cause for entertaining some +little suspicion of your friends the Pottowatomies--nay," seeing +that the trader looked surprised, "there is no time to enter into +explanation now. Later, I will state to you." + +"I have no doubt you have been correctly informed," replied Mr. +McKenzie, as, after throwing his arm around the waist of his +daughter, he replaced his hat and prepared to depart. "Great as is +the confidence I have in Winnebeg and the majority of the chiefs, +I confess there has been a boldness--an almost insolence--perceptible +in the behavior of many of the young men, seemingly urged on by +Pee-to-tum, that I neither understand nor approve; but, as you say, +there is no time to lose. God bless you, Margaret!" + +When he had passed the gates, to which he had been accompanied by +his son-in-law and Ronayne, Serjeant Nixon, who, as previously +instructed, stood near for the purpose, fastened the bars and turned +the lock. What men could be spared for the purpose were divided +between the two subalterns. The one took his post in the upper +floor of the block-house nearest to and overlooking the glacis; +the other ascending the south bastion, manned two of the guns--the +burning matches of both being concealed. + +Not less than four hundred warriors could have followed their +leaders to this council. The chiefs had already assembled and taken +their places under the awning, while a little above them sat Captain +Headley, the Doctor, and Mr. McKenzie, when the great mass moved +towards the glacis. All were habited in half war dress, if the term +may be permitted, and a formidable number separated from the main +body and drew near to the gate. This, much to their surprise, was +in the very act of being closed as they appeared before it. +Much dissatisfaction was expressed in guttural sounds and +exclamations, and one young Indian, more daring than the rest, +struck his tomahawk deeply into the door. No notice was taken of +this at first; but finding that the Indians persevered in their +clamor and demand for admittance, Ronayne, who was in the block-house, +ordered the three-pounder to be fired over their heads. This at +once had the effect of dispersing and driving them towards the +glacis, which they now tumultuously crowded, speaking loudly and +angrily to the chiefs, who interrupted at the very opening of the +council, yet not more surprised than the two officers were on +hearing the gun, had started to their feet and turned their eyes +towards the fort--the flashing light of the torches being now +distinctly visible. + +There being no repetition, however, of the report, Captain Headley, +who had been questioned by the chiefs as to the cause, explained +the discharge by attributing it to accident, or an intention on +the part of Lieutenant Elmsley to compliment the opening of the +council. But though he stated this, he did not himself believe that +either was the reason, for he was well aware that no piece of +ordnance had been in the block-house early that morning, and +consequently, that it must have been placed there from some vague +idea of danger connected with his officers' refusal to attend the +council. He had observed, with some anxiety, the gathering of the +Indians around the gate, and without being able to understand its +exact character, entertained a vague impression that some danger +was impending, yet by a strange contradiction, not at all uncommon, +was more than ever annoyed with Elmsley for manifesting thus openly +and markedly the distrust he entertained of their allies. + +In an increased desire for conciliation he now resumed the council. +The chiefs were duly informed, through Winnebeg, that war had been +declared between Great Britain and the United States; that the +American general commanding on the frontier had sent orders to +evacuate the fort immediately, and make the best of their way to +Fort Wayne, under the escort of the Pottowatomies then present: +but that, before the march commenced, he (Captain Headley) was, in +order to show the friendship of the United States, to distribute +among the chiefs and warriors in the neighborhood all the property +of the government in equal shares--"not only all stores of clothing +and implements of the chase shall be divided among you," he concluded, +"but the provisions and ammunition, which latter we have in abundance. +All we ask in return is safe escort to Fort Wayne." + +No sooner was this last announcement made when the glacis was filled +with triumphant yells from the warriors. The chiefs themselves, +with the exception of Pee-to-tum, whose cry had been the signal +for their clamor, preserved a dignified silence. The eyes of Mr. +McKenzie and Winnebeg sought each other, and there was a pained +expression of disappointment in both that revealed at once the +cause of their concern. The former bit his lip and muttered, as he +turned away from the Indian to Captain Headley, the word "fool." + +"Sir, did you speak?" asked the latter, half coloring as he fancied +he had caught the word. + +"I have said and think, Captain Headley, that in this last act of +folly--the promise of ammunition to the Indians--you have signed +our death-warrant. No one acquainted with Indian character can +misunderstand the feeling which pervades, not the chiefs but +the warriors. If anything were wanting to satisfy me it would be +found in the yell of satisfaction with which that promise was +received. They are too drunk with hope even to stop to inquire. +Tecumseh's emissaries have been among them. British influence has +been at work; but we will talk of this later. The chiefs seem +surprised at this discourse between ourselves." + +"Gubbernor," said Winnebeg, solemnly, and in his own broken English +phraseology, "as the head chief of the Pottowatomies, I return +thanks to our Great Father for the liberal presents he has made to +our nation; but I think it will be better not to go away or give +up the ammunition, because we have plenty of everything to defend +the fort for a long time. Give my warriors blankets and cloths, +and the squaws trinkets, and keep the powder safe here. We can kill +the cattle and make pimmecan. If a force comes to attack you, we +can attack them from the woods and, the sand-hills. This, gubbernor, +is what I have to say." + +"And I," remarked Pee-to-tum, starting to his feet and with fierce +gesticulation, "insist, in the name of the warriors, that the wishes +of our Great Father of the United States be done. He has said we +shall have the powder, and we will have it--and the rum, and Kenzie's +strong drinks too. Father, I have spoken." + +Another loud and triumphant yell from the warriors grouped around +too clearly evinced that there was danger to be apprehended from +those they had hitherto looked upon as their friends. Captain +Headley felt ill at ease, for he was conscious that he had irrevocably +committed himself; and, what was more mortifying to his pride, he +was compelled inwardly to admit that his subalterns, although at +the price of disobedience of orders, had, in this instance, evinced +far more judgement and prudence than himself. Still, the pride of +superiority--mayhap of vanity--was in some measure deprived of its +humiliation, as he consoled himself with the reflection that their +precaution must have been the result of an intimation of some change +of feeling on the part of the warrior, whereas he himself had been +left, wholly in ignorance on the subject, and led to repose +confidently on their good faith. Still he shuddered as he thought +of those within, at what might have been the turbulence of the +young men, evidently encouraged by the dark Pee-to-tum, had they +gained admission into the fort. + +Feeling that things had arrived at a crisis and that it would not +be prudent to provoke those in whose power they now unquestionably +were, he remarked calmly to Winnebeg that the word of the Father +of the United States was pledged, could not be withdrawn without +dishonor, and that, therefore, his resolution was unchanged in +regard to the distribution of the powder with the other presents, +which should take place on that very spot on the morrow. + +Winnebeg looked angrily round as the yell of Pee-to-tum marked the +triumph and satisfaction of the latter at this renewal of the +promise of Captain Headley. It was uttered, not in gladness for +the gifts, but as thought it would express the knowledge that the +donation was compelled--not to be avoided. Mr. McKenzie had difficulty +in restraining the nervousness of his annoyance. + +"Then, sir," he said, addressing the commanding officer, "since we +are to assist in cutting our own throats, it seems to me that the +most prudent course to pursue will be to leave everything +standing as it is, and allow the Indians to help themselves, while +we march as rapidly as possible to our destination." + +"What! and without escort? That, indeed, would be madness," exclaimed +Captain Headley. + +"It is from the escort we have most reason to apprehend danger," +returned the trader. "What say you, Winnebeg?" + +"Winnebeg say, suppose him Gubbernor not stay fight him English--go +directly. Leave him Ingin here divide him presents." + +Black Partridge and all the other chiefs, except Pee-to-tum, gave +the same opinion. + +Whether nettled at the support given to the proposition of Mr. +McKenzie by Winnebeg, or more immediately influenced by his strict +sense of obedience to the order he had received from General Hull, +or by both motives, Captain Headley firmly repeated his determination +to distribute everything, as he promised, on the following day. +The hour of twelve was named, and the council broke up, the younger +Indians leaping and shouting with joy as they separated in small +parties, some yet lingering about the fort and glacis, but the main +body moving off again to their encampment. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +The remainder of the day passed heavily and gloomily. All felt +there was a crisis at hand, and the insolent tone which the younger +Indians had assumed, left little hope with any that the escort of +their allies on the long and dreary route on which they were about +to enter would bring with it anything but despair and disaster. + +Captain Headley had exerted his prerogative. He had, as commanding +officer, decided upon his course in opposition to the judgment even +of his Indian counsellors; but he was not happy--he was not satisfied +himself. On re-entering the fort, after the council had been broken +up, he had felt it necessary to the maintenance of his own dignity +to summon the subalterns before him, and read, or rather commence +to read to them, a lecture on their disobedience of his command to +them to follow him to the council; but, with strong evidence of +contempt in their manner, they had turned on their heels and walked +away without replying, leaving him deeply mortified at a want of +respect for him, which was rendered the more bitter to his pride +by a certain latent consciousness that it had not been wholly +unmerited. On entering his apartment, he found his noble wife +preparing at her leisure the private arrangements for departure, +and calm and collected as if no circumstances of more than ordinary +interest were agitating the general mind. He caught her in his +arms; he sat upon the sofa, and drew her passionately to his heart. +Never in the course of twenty years' marriage had he more fondly +loved her. There was a luxury of endearment in that embrace that +renewed all the earlier and more vivid recollection of their union, +and for many minutes they remained thus, each wishing it could last +for ever. When this full outpouring of their souls had subsided, +their hearts beat lighter, felt freer, and there was less +scruple in entering on the subject of the immediate future that +awaited them. + +While they thus sat conversing in a strain of confidence and +tenderness, which the immediate trials to which they were about to +be exposed rendered, more exquisitely keen, Mr. McKenzie and Winnebeg +entered unannounced. At the sight of Captain Headley, hand in hand +with his wife, who sat upon his knee, the former would have retired, +but Mrs. Headley, without at all displacing herself or affecting +a confusion she did not feel, begged him to remain, adding that, +as she supposed Winnebeg and himself had important business with +Captain Headley, she would retire into the adjoining room. + +She rose slowly and majestically, bowed gracefully to the trader, +and took the hand of the chief, who as heartily returned the warm +pressure she gave it. + +"God bless him squaw!" he said, feelingly; "Winnebeg always love +him. Lay down life for him." + +"Thank you, good Winnebeg," returned Mrs. Headley, warmly, while +a faint smile played upon her features; "I am sure you would do +that, but let us hope it will never come to the trial." + +"Hope so," returned the chief, as he shook his head gravely, and +followed with a mournful glance the receding form of the noble-minded +woman. + +"Captain Headley," remarked Mr. McKenzie with severity, when the +door was closed on her, "I am come to use strong language to you, +but the occasion justifies it. If you do not rescind your promise +of powder to the Indians, the blood of your wife, of my daughter--of +every woman and child--of every individual in the garrison, be upon +your head! Sir, you will be a murderer, and without the poor excuse +of even being compelled to pursue the course you have. Was it not +enough to promise them the public stores, without exciting their +cupidity still further? Did you not hear the insolent Pee-to-tum +declare that not only he would have all the ardent spirit as well, +and not merely that, but what was contained in my cellar? When +men--and Indians, in particular--use such language, do you think +it prudent to put the means of our certain destruction in their +hands? Do you think it likely that, when once they have drained to +repletion of the maddening liquor, they will hesitate as to the +manner of disposing of the powder so recklessly, nay, so guiltily, +given to them? No, sir; let those articles be theirs, and we are +lost, irrevocably lost! Speak, Winnebeg--you hear--you understand +all I say--am I right?" + +"Yes, Kenzie right," returned the chief; "sorry give him +powder--young warrior not obey Winnebeg--Pee-to-tum bad man--make +him wicked:--no give him powder, Gubbernor!" + +All the extent of the indiscretion of which he had been guilty now, +for the first time, occurred to Captain Headley, and he could not +but agree with the trader, that the results he foretold were those +the most likely to follow the distribution. + +"But how am I to act?" he returned (his pride causing him to reply +rather to Winnebeg than to Mr. McKenzie); "how can I retract the +promise I have so solemnly made without incurring the very danger +you seem to apprehend? It will never do. Pee-to-tum will then sow +disunion between us and our allies, and then where will be our +expected escort?" + +"Captain Headley, are you wilfully blind that you do not perceive +you have lost all power, all influence to command where most you +seem so much to rely? Why, sir, it is clear that they are only +waiting for the delivery of the presents to throw off the mask. +Better would it have been had you allowed them to gut the fort and +choose for themselves. In their eagerness for plunder, they would +have lingered at least a couple of days behind, thus enabling you +to effect your march without them. Better that, I say, than the +suicidal course you have adopted; but far better still it were had +you boldly resolved to defend the post to the last. Your daring +and your determination would have awed the Indians. Your present +evident weakness and vacillation but inspire contempt." + +"Mr. McKenzie," said the captain, rising with strong indignation +in his manner, "this language I may not, will not hear with impunity." + +"Nay," continued the trader, "you shall hear, for I have a right +to speak. By your conduct, all are imperilled. For the men it were +not so bad; but the women! Indeed, no language can be too strong +to express the dangers you have drawn around us all. Have you no +thought of your own noble wife?" + +The door opened, and Mrs. Headley stood once more before them, calm +and composed, but with a countenance slightly flushed. + +"Headley--Mr. McKenzie, excuse my intrusion, but I could not avoid +overhearing this unpleasant argument, which can tend to no benefit +in our strong emergency. Think me not bold if I intrude in this +matter, and, as a woman who has passed not a few summers of existence +in these wilds, offer my opinion. With you, Mr. McKenzie, I perfectly +agree that it would be highly imprudent, in the present changed +state of feeling of the Pottowatomies generally, to supply them +with ammunition which may be used against ourselves, and, with +Captain Headley on the other hand, deem that it would be impolitic +to exasperate the young men by denying that which they now so +confidently expect." + +"And how, dear Ellen, would you solve the difficulty?" asked her +husband, smiling. + +Mr. McKenzie spoke not; but his eyes were bent upon her with mingled +surprise, respect, and admiration. + +"You may keep the word of promise to the ear, but break it to the +hope," she replied. "Did you not say you had appointed to-morrow +for the delivery of the presents?" + +"I did. To-morrow at twelve. Everything will then be handed over." + +"Then," resumed Mrs. Headley, "what more simple than to produce, +among the other parcels, a single cask of powder and another of +rum; and if asked why there is not more, to offer in excuse that +you had not known your supply was so low. No doubt, Pee-to-tum and +those who, with himself, are discontented, will express +disappointment, even indignation; but that is a very secondary +consideration, when we consider the importance of withholding the +gift. One cask of powder and one of rum divided among four hundred +warriors will not amount to much after all." + +"All very well, Ellen; but what is to prevent them, if they fancy +themselves duped, from forcing the store and discovering the deceit +that has been practised? Then, indeed, will they have some just +ground for their fury." + +"I have provided against that," she replied. "I mean that Winnebeg +shall call a council of his young men this night at twelve, so as +to keep them away from the fort that they may not know what is +going on; then, when all is still, the whole of the men can be +employed in removing the casks of powder and liquor, rolling them +some into the sallyport, and emptying their contents into the well, +which you know is built there as a reservoir in the event of a +siege; the remainder, conveyed through the northern gate, the heads +knocked in, and the contents thrown into the river. If they should +search, they will find nothing." + +"Good!" said Winnebeg, who perfectly understood the proposition, +and had listened to every word. + +"Indeed, indeed, Mrs. Headley," remarked the trader, "who will not +admit that there is more resource on an emergency in a woman's mind +than in all our boasted wisdom put together? A better plan could +not have been devised. You will adopt it, Captain Headley?" + +"Most certainly," he said, fervently grasping the hand of his wife. +"When did my Ellen ever fail to better my judgment by her sound +advice?" + +"And yet, but for our little misunderstanding, Captain Headley--a +misunderstanding not personal, but simply of opinion--we should +never have had the advantage of her most wise umpiry. This is +certainly an illustration that good sometimes comes of evil." + +"And now, gentlemen," said Mrs. Headley, playfully, "that I have +conferred upon you the benefit of that wisdom you seem so properly +to appreciate, I will again leave you to yourselves." + +"God bless him!" said Winnebeg, as he took the hand that was again +proffered to him in the most friendly manner. + +"My ammunition and liquors must be destroyed in the same manner," +said the trader, who now rose to take his leave. "Only three or +four of my voyageurs are at home just now. You will allow some of +your own men to assist them, Captain Headley." + +"The moment the public stores are destroyed, they shall all do so," +replied the captain; "the work cannot be too speedily done. Think +you, Winnebeg, you can keep your young men in the encampment +to-night?" + +"Try him Gubbernor--call him council--speak him of march to Fort +Wayne; spose young Ingin come, good--spose him no come, sleep till +to-morrow." + +"Very well, Winnebeg, you must arrange it as best you can, but +contrive at least to keep them from prowling around the fort. At +midnight, then, Mr. McKenzie, we shall commence the work of +destruction. When you have made your own preparations, and wish to +come in for aid, follow the subterranean passage that leads from +the river near your warehouse to the sallyport; you will find the +men there busily engaged, and ready for you the moment they have +emptied the contents of our casks." + +The commandant waved his hand in a familiar manner as he concluded, +and the trader and the chief withdrew. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + "But I am constant as the northern star." + --_Julius Caesar._ + +The remainder of that day, the 12th of August, passed over without +incident, but not without anxiety; for the Indians, no longer +indulging in the indolence of the wigwam or the activity of the +chase, occupied themselves with running, leaping, wrestling, jumping, +throwing the rude stone quoit, and firing at a target with the bow. +It might have seemed as though they sought to intimidate, as much +by exuberance of spirits as by a display of numbers, the little +garrison, who, it was clear, from the closing of the gate and the +firing of the gun, no longer regarded them with the confidence they +had ever hitherto manifested. These sports were evidently the +prelude to some ulterior purpose, either immediate or not distantly +remote, and the energy with which they were followed, attested the +excitement with which the accomplishment was looked for. It seemed +as though none would permit a moment of repose to the blood until +the fond object for which it had been excited should have been +attained. + +All this was remarked from the fort; but, notwithstanding a vigilant +lookout was kept up, Captain Headley had given orders that if small +parties of the Indians should seek admission, it was not to be +refused to them. This made the duty exceedingly severe, for the +men, being compelled to work in harness under a scorching sun, +suffered greatly, and none were sorry when, at the close of the +day, not only their own task had partially terminated, but the +jaded Indians, drunk with too much joy and excitement, were seen +wending lazily for the night to their several places of repose. + +At about midnight Captain Headley and his officers stood, not +together, but on different parts of the rampart, watching the +encampment of the Pottowatomies. Most of their fires had been +extinguished, but towards the centre where stood the tent of +Winnebeg, there was a bright flickering glare, around which forms +of men could be seen moving to the measured sound of the faintly +audible and monotonous drum. + +"Now, then, gentlemen, is the moment for exertion. Winnebeg has +evidently found it easier, in their present humor, to get his +warriors into a war-dance than a sober council; but no matter in +what manner, provided their detention be secured. You will now move +your men to the stores, and, in order not only to prevent accident, +but noise, see that all are provided with their moccasins. Mr. +Elmsley, you will take command of the party conveying the ammunition +through the sallyport, and empty it into the well; and you, Mr. +Ronayne, will proceed through the northern gate, roll the casks +which I have directed each to be covered with a blanket to the edge +of the river, cause their heads to be forced in noiselessly with +chisels, then empty the contents--powder as well as rum--into the +stream. No light must be used to betray your movements to the +Indians, or to incur the risk of explosion. One lantern only hangs +up in the store out of the reach of all harm, and it is transparent +enough to enable you to see what you are about, to distinguish the +several casks, those containing the powder and rum, from those in +which are packed the bags of shot, flints, gun-screws, &c. All +these latter you will throw into the well, with the spare +muskets, the stocks of which must be noiselessly broken up. This +operation will take up some hours, gentlemen. The nights are not +long, and it will require all the time until dawn to complete the +work. Now, then, that you have your instructions, proceed to work +with your respective parties. For myself, I shall superintend the +whole." + +Without replying, the two officers departed to execute the but too +agreeable duty assigned to them, while Von Voltenberg, who had paid +his professional visits for the night, was instructed to keep a +vigilant lookout on the common until dawn, in order to detect any +movement on the part of the Indians, singly or in parties, to +approach the fort. Corporal Green, whose sight was remarkable for +its keenness, was instructed to keep pacing the circuit of the +rampart during the night, and to report to the doctor, for whom, +in consideration of his being a non-combatant, a chair had been +placed in a sentry box overlooking the encampment, anything remarkable +that he might observe. + +Nothing particular at first occurred during the execution of this +important duty. The casks were silently rolled, knocked in, and +emptied in the well and river. This took up many hours; but towards +dawn, as Ensign Ronayne was following at some little distance in +the rear of his men, he thought he observed a dark moving form as +of a man crawling upon his belly, and endeavoring to approach as +near as possible to the spot where the men were at work. Impressed +at once with the assurance that it was some one sent by Pee-to-tum +to watch the actions of the garrison, he advanced boldly up to him, +being then distant at least fifty feet from his party, and near +the awning which had been left standing for the accommodation of +the Indians who were to receive their presents the next day. The +prowler, finding it impossible to elude the officer in the position +in which he was then gliding, suddenly started to his feet, and +sought to escape detection in flight; but Ronayne, who was a very +quick runner, and moreover wore moccasins as well as his men, soon +came up with him, when the Indian rapidly turned, and, upraising +his arm, prepared to strike a desperate blow at the chest of the +unarmed youth. But even while the knife was balancing, as if to +select some vulnerable part, another figure started suddenly from +behind a part of the awning, close to which they all were, and +grasping the arm of the assailant, dexterously wrested the weapon +from his hand, and flung it far away from him upon the glacis. + +All this was the work of a moment. The spy turned fiercely upon +the intruder, and, saying something fiercely and authoritatively +to him in Indian, strode leisurely away. Ronayne could not be +mistaken. The first was Pee-to-tum, and even if he could not have +traced the graceful outline of the well--knit figure, the soft and +musical voice which replied to the scorning threat of the fierce +chief sufficiently denoted it to be Wau-nan-gee. + +"Heavens! how is this? Wau-nan-gee!" he asked, sternly, yet trembling +with excitement in every limb, "why came you here? Why have you +saved my life? Speak! are you not my enemy? Where is my wife?" + +All these questions were asked with the greatest volubility, and +in a state of mind so confused by the host of feelings the presence +of the young Indian inspired, that he scarcely comprehended the +latter as he replied:-- + +"All! love him too much, Ronayne wife--love him Ronayne +too--Wau-nan-gee friend, dear friend--Wau-nan-gee die for him--Ronayne +wife in Ingin camp--pale--pale, very much!" + +"Answer me," said Ronayne, grasping him by the shoulder in pure +excitement, "tell me truly, Wau-nan-gee--I will not hurt you if +you do--but tell me, on the truth of an Indian warrior, is not my +wife your wife? did she not go to you? does she not love you?" + +"Ugh?" exclaimed the boy, with an expression of deep melancholy in +his manner; "Wau-nan-gee love him too much, but not make him wife. +Spose him not Ronayne wife, then Wau-nan-gee; die happy spose him +Wau-nan-gee wife. Feel him dere, my friend--feel him heart--oh much +sick for Maria--but Wau-nan-gee Ronayne friend no hurt him wife." + +"Can all this be possible?" he exclaimed, vehemently to himself. +"Oh, what a noble, what a generous being; he restores life and +happiness to my heart! But still I am not yet convinced, the joy +is too great for such light testimony. One question more, Wau-nan-gee: +why did my wife leave this? Did you persuade her to go?" + +"Yes, Ronayne, Wau-nan-gee tell him go. Shuh!" he continued, as if +enjoining silence, and looking cautiously round, "no speak, +Ronayne--Ingin very wicked--kill him garrison by by--Ronayne and +Maria--Wau-nan-gee friend, dear friend--Wau-nan-gee save him--Ingin +kill him--Maria cry very much, promise no." Then drawing a +handkerchief from his pocket, which the officer recognised, even +in the gloom, as that which he had thrown down at Hardscrabble, +and which was subsequently waved from the window of the farm-house, +he handed it to him. + +"Now, then," he exclaimed, "is all my doubt removed, and again am +I the happiest of men in the assurance of the continued love of +the adored one. Oh, Wau-nan-gee, my friend, my brother!" He threw +himself into his embrace; he pressed him forcibly to his heart. +"Oh, how true, how just was the feeling which caused me not to +hate, even when I fancied you had most injured me! Wau-nan-gee, +you must always be my friend; you must be Maria's friend; you must +love us both!" + +"Yes," said the Indian, warmly and with difficulty maintaining the +stoicism of his race; "Wau-nan-gee happy to lay down his life for +Ronayne and Maria; oh! Ronayne," and he took the hand of the +Virginian and placed it on his chest which he bared, "can't tell +how much Wau-nan-gee love him Maria--want to make him happy. Suppose +Ronayne come now with Wau-nan-gee--take him to squaw camp. Stay +there till battle over. Yes, come, come!" + +"Noble and generous boy! how do you win my very soul to you!" +returned the officer, as he again affectionately embraced him. "No, +no, I cannot do that, great and severe as is this sacrifice of +inclination. But what battle do you speak of?" + +"Letter tell him all," said the youth. "Not say Wau-nan-gee say so." + +"Wau-nan-gee," said Ronayne, impressively, "no doubt there is +danger. We all know it. Was it not you who brought me a line from +Maria this morning?" + +"Yes, my friend. Pee-to-tum say attack him council. Wau-nan-gee +tell him Maria write--afraid to say much." + +"No doubt, then, we shall be attacked before many days are over; +but thank God, she at least is safe. Wau-nan-gee, you must +take care of her in the camp of your women. When all is safe, you +will come to me with her." + +"Mr. Ronayne," called a voice near the river, "where are you?" + +It was Captain Headley. + +"Good by, Wau-nan-gee," said the officer, "I must go. Give my love +to Maria, and tell her I am sick to see her," and he put his hand +over his heart, "and that I will join her when all danger is over; +to-morrow night I shall have a letter for her. You can contrive to +steal into the fort at night, and into my room unnoticed, +Wau-nan-gee?" + +"Spose him come," again urged the Indian, "Wau-nan-gee find him +little tent for Ronayne and his wife for two three days? Wau-nan-gee +wait upon him, bring him food. Maria say come--must come." + +"No, Wau-nan-gee, my dear friend, you know I cannot as a warrior +think of myself alone; I must do my duty; but I am called. Good +by, my noble boy. To-morrow night at twelve. God bless you! I leave +my wife wholly to your care." + +"Wau-nan-gee die for him," said the youth energetically, as, after +again pressing the extended hand of the Virginian, he traced his +way cautiously to the encampment. + +"Mr. Ronayne," repeated Captain Headley, "where are you?" + +"Here, sir; I have for a few moments been absent from my post, but +I thought I remarked an Indian skulking near to watch our movements, +and I followed him. I was not wrong; it was Pee-to-tum. When +discovered, he rose to his feet and would have stabbed me, but +Wau-nan-gee was near and warded off the blow." + +"Wau-nan-gee! said you, Mr. Ronayne? Did he ward off the blow aimed +at your life?" + +"He did, sir; why should he not? We have always been friends." + +Had it not been dark, Captain Headley would have looked as he felt, +exceedingly puzzled for a reply. + +"To tell the truth, Mr. Ronayne, I had not suspected this. I should +rather have imagined that he was the chief instigator of the young +men to discontent; but I am glad to find it otherwise." + +For a moment it flashed across the mind of the Virginian that Mrs. +Headley had, from policy or in confidence, communicated all she +knew in regard to Maria's evasion to her husband. The idea of any +man possessing the slightest knowledge of wrong in his wife would +have maddened him; but now that he in some measure knew the facts, +and looked upon her in all the purity of her spotless nature, he +was not sorry to have an opportunity to remove the impression; he, +therefore, answered calmly, yet without adverting to the actual +position of his wife. + +"So far from that being the case, Captain Headley, Wau-nan-gee is +the last person to engage in an outrage of the kind. Doubtless +these letters, of which the youth has been the bearer, will explain +much that is now a mystery." + +The laborious duty of the night being now ended, the gates were +once more fastened; and as the officers passed the lamp which hung +over the entrance of the commandant's quarters, Ronayne glanced at +the superscriptions of the two missives. The one was written in +ink, and directed to Mrs. Headley; the other in pencil, and addressed +to himself. + +Ronayne was too impatient to know the contents of the letters to +waste further time in conversation. At the invitation of Captain +Headley, he entered and unfolded the note, while the commandant +sought the apartment of his wife. + +Mrs. Headley had thrown herself towards morning on her bed, but +not to sleep; her mind was too full of apprehensions for the fast +coming future, and for the melancholy, sad past; and, even at the +moment when her husband entered, her thoughts were of the unfortunate +Mrs. Ronayne. + +"From Maria! is it possible?" she exclaimed, as she broke the seal. +"Whence comes this? who brought it?" + +"What think you of Wau-nan-gee!" he answered, +significantly--"Wau-nan-gee, who saved within the hour her husband's +life!" + +"Then, by my soul, is she innocent!" exclaimed the generous woman, +rising up. "Almighty God, I thank thee. Oh, how rashly have we +judged; but let me read. The document is dated from this, the night +before her departure; it is the same, no doubt, she should have +inclosed before--not a word in addition. I will read it later. +Where is Ronayne?" + +"In the next room. He, too, has received a communication, which he +is now reading. You had better go in to him, while I give some +directions to Elmsley, which require to be attended to immediately. +I shall rejoin you presently." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +When Mrs. Headley entered, unannounced, into the apartment where +the Virginian was sitting, he brushed his hand across his eyes, +but now they wept not only the emotion of grief that he betrayed, +but of joy, of pride, of the fulness of life. He rose, pressed her +hand warmly, and, giving her Maria's note to read, took the letter +which she proffered in return. + +"Ah! Ronayne," began the first, "what language can express my +feelings--my fears--my agony. For the last week I have not seemed +to live a human existence. My mind has been all chaos and confusion. +I have been feverish, excited, scarcely conscious of my own acts, +and filled with a strong dread of an evil which I know will come, +must come, although only protracted. And yet, with all the horror +of my position, how much more bitter might have been my self-reproach, +my remorse, in having neglected, in my distraction, to inclose the +packet for Mrs. Headley, which the noble-hearted, the devoted +Wau-nan-gee now conveys. I thought I had given it to Sergeant Nixon, +but Wau-nan-gee found it in the pocket of my saddle only yesterday. +Oh, but for the arrival of Winnebeg with the intelligence he brings, +it would now be too late, and what, then, would have been my +sensations? His appearance has altered the plans of the unfriendly +portion of the Indians, who, presuming that the troops will soon +leave the fort, have determined to wait for the division of the +stores, and attack you on the march. But still they could not +restrain their impatience, and the day of the council was fixed. +All this I learned from Wau-nan-gee, who makes me acquainted +with everything that is going on, and is both hated and suspected +by Pee-to-tum, who would willingly find him guilty of treachery, +and destroy him if he could. I begged him, in my deep sorrow, to +be the bearer to you, even amid all danger of detection, of a few +words of warning which I knew you would sufficiently understand. +He did go, while dashing up seemingly in defiance to the gate; and +with a joy you may well understand, I marked the result. So far, +then, has the step which my great love for you induced me to take, +regardless of minor considerations, been of vital service to you +all; for good and generous as Wau-nan-gee is, nothing short of his +deep and respectful attachment would have led him to reveal the +secrets of his people, and thus defeat their cruel purpose. But, +oh! when I think that the danger is only deferred, not removed, +how poor is the consolation! Dear Ronayne, my heart is sad, sad, +sad! Last night I dreamed you were near, and this morning I awoke +to horror, to know that, perhaps, your hours are numbered, while +for me there is no hope of death, which then would be a blessing, +except from my own hand! Oh, suffer me not to pray in vain if you +would have me live! Once you evaded (oh, how cruelly!) the stratagem +which would have saved your life and honor--which would have made +you an unwilling prisoner with those who, for my own safety, hold +me captive. + +"Alas! had I not hoped that you would have been compelled to share +my weary bondage until the dread crisis had passed, I had never +been here; and now that the great object of my heart has failed, +I would return, and share the danger that surrounds you. One more +embrace would give me greater strength to die. One more renewal of +each well-remembered face would make me firmer in resolve to meet +the coming danger, that danger shared by all. But Wau-nan-gee, in +all things else docile as a slave, in this denies me. In his mother's +tent I dwell, disguised from the wretch Pee-to-tum in Indian garb, +and, although she does not seem to do so, she watches my motions +closely. Oh! then, since I may not go to you, come for a brief +period to your adoring wife! Come with the occasion back with +Wau-nan-gee. He will conduct you to the tent where now I am, some +little distance from the general encampment, and never visited but +by Winnebeg and his son. You will say I am but an indifferent +soldier's wife to give such counsel to a husband. I confess it; my +love for you is greater than my regard for your glory. But what +glory do you seek? March with the troops and ingloriously you +perish; for what can avail defence against the strong force I know +to be fully bent upon your destruction. Join me here and you are +saved--saved for a long and future course of glory for your +country--and, oh! far dearer to me, for a long and future course +of wedded happiness. Yet, oh, God! how can my pencil trace this +icy language, while my heart is desolate--longing--pining for your +presence. Oh, beloved Ronayne! by all the vows of love you ever +poured into my willing ear--by all the fires of passion you ever +kindled in my heart, I conjure you to come, for I can endure this +suspense, this cruel uncertainty no longer. To-night I shall count +the long, long hours; and, oh! if Wau-nan-gee return without you, +without one ray of hope to animate this breaking heart, I will not +leave him until I have won his promise to conduct me at midnight +to the secret entrance through which he has so often gained admission +into the fort; or failing in my plea to him, I will make the attempt +to fly myself. But, dear Ronayne, if you come not, the measure +of my grief will be full indeed to overflowing. I can no longer +endure this." + +Such was the last note of the unhappy and distracted Maria Ronayne. +The document addressed to Mrs. Headley was more voluminous, and +written of course under the impression that when read by the latter, +her own husband would be secure from the danger it detailed. It +was in substance as follows: + +Wau-nan-gee, who had been absent for nearly a month in the immediate +theatre of war near Detroit, and heard rumors of an intended attack +upon Chicago, had hastened back with great expedition to announce +to his friends the approaching danger; but much to his surprise, +he found on his arrival that the news of that event had been known +in the camp several days previously through the agency of certain +emissaries who used every exertion to win the Pottowatomies over +to Tecumseh and the British cause. A council had been secretly held +before the return of Winnebeg with the despatch from General Hull, +and terms had been offered and proposals made on that occasion +which were variously received, according to the humor, interests, +and rapacity of the parties. By the majority of the chiefs, to +their honor be it said, the proposal of treachery to the Americans +was sternly rejected, but there was one of their number--Pee-to-tum--not +a full-blooded Pottowatomie, but a sort of mongrel Chippewa, +adopted in the tribe for his untamably fiendish disposition, +connected with certain other mere animal qualities, who was loud +in his invectives against the Americans for their asserted aggressions +on the Indian territory, and he, by pointing out the advantages +that would accrue to themselves by an alliance with England, won +upon almost all the young warriors to decide in abandoning the +American cause immediately. Thus, although there was no decided +treaty made, there was a tacit understanding that all possible +advantage was to be taken of circumstances, and whenever a favorable +opportunity presented itself, the mask was to be thrown off. In +vain Black Partridge, Kee-po-tah, Waubansee, and other Pottowatomie +chiefs declared they washed their hands of all wrong that might be +perpetrated. The young men, or the great majority of them, wanted +excitement, blood, plunder; and they sustained Pee-to-tum in all +that he advanced. Hoping, however, that the tumult would subside +with the absence of those who first incited it, the chiefs did not +like to alarm the commandant by a knowledge of what was going on +among themselves, but were contented with recommending, as has +already been seen, that he should remain in defence of his own post +rather than confide himself to the safe keeping of those on whom +he depended for an escort. + +The night of the arrival of Wau-nan-gee he gleaned all this +information; and filled with anxiety for the danger that threatened +the wife of Ronayne, whom really he loved with a deep passion--yet +one utterly unfed by hope or expectation of any kind whatever--he +determined that night to enter the fort while her husband was on +guard, and acquainting her with her danger, entreat her to allow +him to conceal her until all was over. He succeeded, though not +without some risk of being discovered in consequence of the +exclamation of surprise and almost terror, which Mrs. Ronayne +uttered on his appearance so suddenly and unexpectedly before her; +but the humble manner of the boy--the deprecating yet earnest look +he threw on her, and the lowly posture in which he crouched, soon +satisfied her that there was some important reason for his +appearance at that hour of the night, which it was essential she +should learn. She, therefore, took his hand to reassure him, and +with an attempt at lightness, bade him tell her what brought him +there after so long an absence at that late hour of the night, and +when he must have known that Ronayne was on guard and herself alone? + +The boy shook his head with a solemn, sad expression, "Come alone, +come!" he replied; "no speak him Ronayne. Pottowatomie kill him +Wau-nan-gee--oh, Wau-nan-gee very sick!" + +Those few brief sentences, delivered in that melancholy and +significant manner, rendered Mrs. Ronayne extremely nervous. She +made him sit on the sofa. She took his hand--she asked him what he +meant. With tears swimming in his large, soft, languishing black +eyes, he told her everything relating to the subject--of his own +return for the express purpose of looking to her safety--of the +secret council of the Indians--of the fierce determination of +Pee-to-tum and the misguided young men whose cupidity and passions +he had so strongly awakened. He said he came to save her, to take +her out of the fort until all the trouble was over, to conceal +herself in a spot, to watch her, and to protect her as a brother. + +"And Ronayne--your friend, my husband--what will you do with him?" +exclaimed Mrs. Ronayne, greatly excited and terrified by what she +had heard. "Oh, Wau-nan-gee, can you not save us all? Will it not +be enough to tell Capt Headley what you know, and thus put him on +his guard!" + +"Suppose him tell Captain Headley, Ingin knew it--Ingin know +Wau-nan-gee tell him. Kill him Wau-nan-gee like a dog. Save him +Maria!" + +"And will you not save Ronayne? If you care for me, Wau-nan-gee, +you will save my husband." + +"Spose him love him very much husband?" he said, fixing a penetrating +yet softened look on her. + +"Yes, Wau-nan-gee, very much," returned Mrs. Ronayne with emphasis. +"If you save one you must save the other." + +Without pursuing the conversation further, it may suffice to remark +that Wau-nan-gee left not Mrs. Ronayne until he had exacted her +promise to meet him on the following afternoon in the summer-house, +when he said he would be enabled to show her a place where, with +her husband, she might be concealed as soon as it was known on what +day the Indians should have decided on their attack. This he pledged +himself to have arranged in the course of the morning, so that by +the afternoon she should be enabled to judge of the convenience it +afforded. The trunks seen by Ronayne at Hardscrabble, were hastily +packed by Mrs. Ronayne with articles of clothing for both, and +conveyed by Wau-nan-gee that night through his secret entrance to +the summer-house, and subsequently removed. + +Not liking to call attention to the circumstance of her crossing +the water unaccompanied, and moreover, really desiring the presence +of one of her own sex to sustain her in the course that had been +forced upon her, she had requested Mrs. Headley to bear her company. +On her entering the summer-house, the trap-door, which appeared to +have been made that very morning, was open; but instead of +Wau-nan-gee, she beheld standing near its entrance another dark +Indian whom she had too much reason to fear and dread. + +It has already been remarked that Pee-to-tum was not a genuine +Pottowatomie, but one of that race whose very name is a synonym +with treachery and falsehood--a Chippewa. With low, heavy features; +a dark, scowling brow; coarse, long, dark hair, shading the restless, +ever-moving eye that, like that of the serpent, seemed to fascinate +where most the cold and slimy animal sought to sting; the broad, +coarse nose; the skin partaking more in the Chippewa, of that +offensive, rank odor peculiar to the Indian, than any others of +the race; with all these loathsome attributes of person, yet with +a soul swelling with the most unbounded vanity and self-sufficiency, +based on ignorance and assumption; this man, although having a wife +and children grown up, had dared to cast the eye of desire on Mrs. +Ronayne. Long had he watched her, not as the gentle, the pure, +the self-sacrificing Wau-nan-gee, but as a tiger gloating for his +prey. To possess her had been one of his leading motives in urging +the alliance with the tribes in the British interests--to hasten +the moment she might become a prisoner in his hands, his chief aim +in stirring up the young warriors into a determination of early +attack. + +Only two days prior to the return of Wau-nan-gee he had been in +the fort, and passing near Mrs. Ronayne as she was amusing herself +at battledore with her friend, Mrs. Elmsley, remarked to a companion +as he bent his eyes insolently upon her: "The white chiefs' wives +are amusing themselves. They are wise. In a few days we shall have +them in our wigwams." + +No notice was taken of the remark at the time. Mrs. Ronayne had +more than once noticed the eyes of the loathsome Chippewa fixed +upon her with an expression she shuddered at but could not define, +and she had attributes his words on that occasion to impotent anger +and disappointment, at the dislike she had conceived for him. + +This was the loathsome being she now met, and knowing, as she did +from Wau-nan-gee, all that he meditated in regard to himself and +friend, the horror she experienced may be conceived. Rapidly, and +in time to suppress in a great measure the scream she attempted to +give, the savage placed one hand upon her mouth, and clasping her +tightly round the waist, bore her to the opening through which he +made her rudely descend, still keeping his hand upon her mouth. + +When the feet of Mrs. Ronayne touched the bottom of that seemingly +living tomb, she was so paralysed by fear that she had not strength +to support herself, and but for the arm of the dark chief still +clasped around her waist, she must have fallen. The very sight of +her weakness inflamed the Chippewa the more. He removed her hat +and threw it on the ground. The vast volume of her brown hair he +unfastened from the comb. It fell, enveloping her figure to her +knees. The eyes of the brutal Chippewa flashed fire in the half +darkness that prevailed around. The hand hitherto held upon her +mouth, now fell upon and fiercely pressed her bosom, and his hideous +lips sought hers. With a violent effort she tore them from the +pollution of his touch, and uttering a fault cry of despair, sank +fainting from his now loosening grasp. What followed she could not +tell; but when some minutes afterwards she came to her senses, weak +and exhausted from excitement, Wau-nan-gee was sitting at her side +chafing her palms with his own, and with the large tears coursing +down his cheeks. + +At the first sight of the boy Mrs. Ronayne started, for she fancied +that she must have been laboring under the influence of a dream, +and that not Pee-to-tum, but himself, had used the violence +she experienced; but when she recalled all that had passed, perceived +her own disorder of dress, and remarked the unfeigned affliction +of the youth, she knew that it could not be so. Still deeply +agitated, she asked him anxiously where the Chippewa was, and +wherefore, he and not Wau-nan-gee had been in the summer-house as +promised, when she came in. With every appearance of profound sorrow +and sincerity, the youth replied that he knew not how Pee-to-tum +had got there--that he himself, after leaving the trap-door open +ready for the descent of Mrs. Ronayne, had gone to the further +extremity of the vault for the purpose of removing a large stone +which blocked up a hole admitting the fresh air from above near +the cottage, and that he was returning by this passage, which was +narrow but nearly six feet in height, when he heard the cry for +aid, and knowing it to be hers he had flown to her assistance, but +that the sound of his approaching footsteps must have alarmed the +Chippewa and caused him to fly--stopping motionless, perhaps, till +he, Wau-nan-gee, had passed him, and then escaping by the same +outlet. He it must have been whom Mrs. Headley had remarked stealing +across the garden just before she entered it with Maria. + +Once reassured of the fidelity and truth of the boy, Mrs. Ronayne, +although painfully, distractingly ignorant of the extent to which +the insolence of Pee-to-tum had been carried, was too much absorbed +in the consideration of her husband's safety to lose sight of the +subject more immediately at her heart, in mere personal regrets +that now were of little avail. She said to Wau-nan-gee that the +place in which she then was would certainly have been well suited +to the purpose intended but for two reasons; firstly, that now +having been discovered by Pee-to-tum, it would no longer be secure; +and secondly, that her husband would never consent to abandon his +comrades to secure his own safety. She proposed, instead, that a +plan should be arranged to make them both prisoners while out on +the following day, and in such manner that it should be supposed +in the garrison that the capture had been effected by hostile +Indians; and to this the youth joyfully assented, stating that a +number of his friends less hostile in their intentions might be +procured to aid him in the matter. It was arranged that this should +be done on the following day, and this at so great a distance from +the encampment that Pee-to-tum should know nothing of the occurrence +till both husband and wife were beyond his reach. + +"It is a strange and a wild project," she remarked, "but the crisis +is desperate, and anything to save my husband's life. But now I +must go, dear Wau-nan-gee; Mrs. Headley is in the garden waiting +for me." + +"No, no go," he said; "spose him Mrs. Headley go home. Wau-nan-gee +take Maria home by by. Got canoe here. No let him go home. Pee-to-tum +wicked--Pee-to-tum got Ingin plenty yonder," and he pointed in the +direction of the cottage; "Pee-to-tum carry off Maria--go see where +he is. Shut him door till Wau-nan-gee come back. Mrs. Headley +come, no see him here; no tink him here." + +He accordingly ascended, fastened down the trap-door and departed, +as we have said, little anticipating to have been seen by Mrs. +Headley. + +He had not been five minutes gone when she heard a dull, heavy +sound which satisfied her that the stone was being rolled from the +orifice spoken of by Wau-nan-gee. Feeling assured that Pee-to-tum +had seen him depart, and knowing her to be there and helpless, +was returning to renew his odious and brutal passion, she sought +to rise in order to force up and escape by the trap-door. This she +did, regardless of her disordered appearance, and without even +thinking of hat or comb; but she had no sooner moved a step forward +when she again fell down, as much paralysed by fear as exhausted +by weakness. In her helplessness she could only sob and moan and +vainly deplore the absence of her late rescuer, while all her +thoughts and feelings were of her husband. The footsteps advanced; +she grew at each moment more nervous, more terrified. She had +scarcely the power to move herself on the spot where she half sat, +half reclined. Presently the trap-door was heard to move, soon it +opened, and there to her astonishment, yet not less to her exceeding +embarrassment, inasmuch as she could not, without compromising the +saviour of her honor--the purposed saviour of her life, explain in +what manner she had been placed in the strange position in which +she had been found, she beheld Mrs. Headley. What followed is known +to the reader. It was not, however, Pee-to-tum whom Mrs. Ronayne +had heard rolling away the stone, but Wau-nan-gee returning to set +her free for the present, as he had seen the soldiers at the gate +and knew that she was safe. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + "This is my glove--by this hand I will take thee a box on the ear." + --_Henry V._ + +The following morning was as bright and glorious as an August sun +could render it, but its very brilliancy seemed a mockery to the +gloom and despair that filled the hearts of the little garrison. +Still, notwithstanding the treachery few were ignorant the Indians +intended, there was a bearing among all, from the commanding officer +down, that, while attesting determination and confidence in +themselves, left no ground for a suspicion that the designs of +their treacherous allies had been revealed. + +The guard was mounted, as usual, and the customary formalities of +the military service complied with, and arrangements were made, +soon after the men had eaten their breakfasts, for the conveyance +of the stores to the glacis. + +At twelve o'clock all was ready, and the mass of Indian warriors, +painted and armed, moved in loose and disorganized bodies across +the plain, and grouped around their chiefs, who, seated on the +ground, received for the young men the presents which had been set +apart in divisions for every ten. The cloths, blankets, trinkets, +and provisions, were first handed over, but when on coming to the +ammunition and liquor only one cask of each was, found, the +indignation of the whole band, the chiefs excepted, was, as had +been expected, excessive. + +"My Father promised us plenty of powder and plenty of liquor," +exclaimed Pee-to-tum, stamping with his feet and gesticulating +violently; "Where is it?" + +"This is all that is left of the stores," exclaimed Capt. Headley. +"When we reach Fort Wayne you shall have more." + +"My Father lies," returned the Chippewa. "Pee-to-tum did not sleep +like a lazy hound in his tent last night; he crawled near the +fort; he heard the powder barrels knocked in with axes; he heard +the rum poured into the river like water. Even to-day," and he +pointed with his clenched tomahawk, "the river is red with liquor +till it is 'strong grog.' What should prevent us from avenging +ourselves for this cheat, by mixing the blood of our father with +the same water till it looks like strong rum also?" A terrific yell +burst from the surrounding warriors, who all brandished their +tomahawks in a menacing manner. + +"What should prevent you?" said Capt. Headley, suddenly carried +out of his usual prudence by the insolence of the ruffian--"what +should and will prevent you!" and he pointed to the bastion, which +had been manned as on the former occasion, while the burning matches +seemed only to await his signal. "Each of those guns contains a +bag of fifty bullets, and each bullet can kill its enemy. Now then, +have but the courage to lay a hand upon me and you will see the +result. See, I am alone--only Mr. McKenzie to witness the act." + +There was a pause of a few moments, during which low murmurs broke +from the younger Indians, and the dark and subtle eye of Pee-to-tum +quailed before the bold look of the commanding officer, who continued: + +"As for you, vile Chippewa, you are the sole cause of all these +troubles, all this excitement in the young men of the Pottowatomie +Nation. You are of that dark and malignant race, as far below the +Pottowatomie in everything that is noble and generous and good as +the Evil Spirit is below the Good Spirit. There is nothing but +falsehood and treachery in their selfish and avaricious nature. +They are deceitful, and so given to love rum that when an Indian +is seen wallowing like a hog in the gutter, and with the foam +disgorging from his blue and lizard-like lips, stabbing right and +left indiscriminately, as if hatred and the sight of blood were +essential to his very existence, you may at once know him to be a +Chippewa. How then can such a man, and of such a race, disgrace +and dishonor the councils of the war path of the nobler Pottowatomies? +How, I ask, can Black Partridge, Winnebeg, Waubansee, To-kee-nee-bee, +and Kee-po-tah consent to allow such a mongrel chief to exercise +an influence among their warriors hostile to the Americans, who +have ever treated them with kindness, even when they themselves do +not seem to second him in his views?" + +The scorn Captain Headley threw into his voice and manner as he +uttered these words, which they perfectly understood, was such that +Pee-to-tum, whose fingers played tremulously with the handle of +his tomahawk, could not, without difficulty, refrain from using +it; but when he glanced upwards and saw Lieutenant Elmsley attentively +watching all that passed with his glass, his rage was stifled, but +inwardly he vowed to be revenged. The young men evinced great +excitement also; and from that moment, on this occasion particularly, +it was evident to Captain Headley that they were entirely under +the influence of the Chippewa. + +"Father," said Black Partridge, rising and solemnly replying to +the appeal just made by Captain Headley, "this medal I have worn +for many years upon my breast. It was given me by the Great Father +of the Americans as a token of a friendship I never have broken; +but since everything tells me that my young men, who I grieve to +say will no longer obey the voice of their grey-headed chiefs, have +determined to wash their hands in American blood, it would +not be right in me to keep this token of peace any longer. Father," +he concluded, removing the ribbon by which it was suspended over +his chest, "I deliver the medal back to you, and may you live to +see and tell our Great Father that Black Partridge was ever faithful +to the United States, and washes his hands of all that may now +happen." + +The same disclaimer was made by "Winnebeg and the other friendly +chiefs; lastly, Pee-to-tum rose: + +"Dog!" he said, insolently, as he tore his medal from his chest +and held it up for a moment, dangling in his hands, "tell him you +serve, if you live to see him, that Pee-to-tum, the dark Chippewa, +is for ever his enemy--that wherever he can do so he will spill +the blood of the Yankee, till it runs like the rum your warriors +spilt last night; tell him that Pee-to-tum spits upon his face +thus!" Then, throwing it contemptuously on the ground and stamping +upon it with his moccasined feet, he burst forth into a laugh +intended to be as insulting as the act itself. + +This profanation was too much for Captain Headley. He rose from +his chair, and exclaiming in his fury, "take that, damned Chippewa, +in return!" first spat in his face and then hurled at him his heavy +military glove, which happening to strike the pupil of his eye +while in full glare of indignation at the first insult, it was +deprived of sight for ever. + +Great was the tumult that now ensued. Incapable of acting himself +from the intensity of agony he suffered, Pee-to-tum could only +utter fierce howlings and threats of vengeance, but several of the +warriors advanced furiously upon the commanding officer with the +most startling yells and threatening manner. The latter, hopeless +of escape, but determined to sell his life dearly, drew his sword +while he presented a pistol with his other hand. + +"McKenzie," he said quickly, "get out of the way! remember me to +Ellen!" and then elevating his voice to such a pitch as he knew +would be heard in the fort, he distinctly uttered the command +"fire!" + +But the order had been anticipated. Even as the word fell from his +lips the curling smoke from a gun was seen, and loud cheers succeeding +to the report burst from every man upon the ramparts, while a second +and smaller American flag was waved triumphantly by the hand of +Ronayne above the piece which had just been discharged. + +Astonished at this unexpected scene, the Indians, who had been +greatly startled not only at the command which had been so coolly +given by the commanding officer, but by the discharge they had +incorrectly deemed aimed at themselves, suddenly ceased their +clamor, and following the course to which the attention of those +within the garrison appeared to be directed, beheld, to their +surprise, five-and-twenty tall and well--mounted horsemen dressed +in the costume of warriors, and headed by a man of great size, +pushing rapidly along the road leading from Hardscrabble for the +fort. The nearer they approached the louder became the shouts of +the soldiers, until finally the latter all left the ramparts, +evidently to open the gates and welcome the new-comers, who soon +disappeared through the opening. + +The arrival of these strangers, small as their number was, had +evidently an effect upon the Pottowatomies, who for a moment looked +grave, and attempted no longer to molest Captain Headley. Mr. +McKenzie, who was still present and knew how to take advantage of +the occasion, profited by the surprise, and suggested to the +commanding officer, that as the conference was now over and +the presents all delivered, they should return to the fort to know +who the new-comers were. The friendly chiefs were, moreover, invited +to accompany them; and thus they returned leisurely, without further +interruption, into the stockade. Pee-to-tum, suffering severely, +had been led to his tent; and the threat bulk of the warriors, +freed from the excitement of his presence, busied themselves with +collecting together their individual shares of the presents they +had received. During the whole of the afternoon they were to be +seen wending their way leisurely, and in small and detached +groups--sometimes in single file--from the glacis to their own +encampment. + +"Headley, my dear fellow," exclaimed the leader of the party--a +tall, powerful, sunburnt man, dressed like his companions, who now +stood dismounted, holding the bridle of his jaded horse and conversing +with the Doctor, for the other officers were still at their posts. +"Is what I hear then true--and have I only arrived in time to be +too late? Is all your ammunition then destroyed--all, all, all--none +left?" These questions were anxiously put as the stranger held the +hand of the commanding officer grasped in his own. + +"It is even so," returned Captain Headley, impressed with deep +regret for the act, for in a moment he saw that this addition to +his little force would have enabled him to maintain his post until +the arrival of the British at least--"all that remains are twenty +rounds of cartridges for the pouches of the men, and a single keg +for use if necessary on the march--not six rounds of ammunition +remain for the guns." + +"By G--, how unfortunate!" returned the stranger, striking his brow +with his palm; "had I been but eighteen hours sooner you were all +saved, for here are five-and-twenty as gallant and willing hearts +as ever wielded tomahawk or rifle. Hearing of your extremity I had +hastily collected them to afford you succor. Oh, I could eat my +heart up with disappointment!" he continued, "to think that all my +exertions, my speed, have been in vain. Headley, what could have +induced you to destroy the ammunition--your only hope of salvation?" + +"What has been done," replied the commanding officer, with unfeigned +sorrow at his heart as he reflected on the subject, "cannot be +undone; but, ray dear Wells, it was impossible that we could divine +the generous interest which was sending you to our rescue; and had +not the powder and other ammunition been destroyed it must have +fallen into the hands of those who I grieve to say are but too +ready to use it against us. Moreover, purposing as I did, and do, +to march to-morrow morning, at all risks and under whatever +circumstance, I had given up this day all provisions not necessary +for our subsistence on the march. If then even the ammunition had +remained, we must have suffered from want of food." + +"What, with those five-and-twenty horses, Headley?" returned the +other, pointing to the group that stood in the centre of the barrack +square. "Not so. They would have been sufficient when killed and +dried to have yielded us food for a month. No man knows better how +to make pimmecan than myself. Still," he continued, with greater +vivacity, "there is a hope. I have shown the manner in which the +provisions can be replaced, and I know you have a well within the +sally-port into which can be received the waters of Lake +Michigan--let search be made and instantly, and no doubt out of all +that you have thrown away, sufficient serviceable powder may be +found to enable us to defend the fort for ten days longer, when +something will assuredly turn up to better our condition." + +"Would that it could be so," returned Captain Headley, with a +solemnity rendered more profound from the very smallness of the +contingency on which the safety of so much depended, "but there is +no hope. Anticipating that the Indians would attempt the very course +you now suggest--that of saving what powder might be uninjured by +the slimy bed into which it was thrown, all has been so mixed up +with rum and other liquids as to be rendered utterly useless. +Everything seems to be against us." + +"Then, since all hope is over," returned the stranger with marked +disappointment, "we will not indulge in vain regrets for the past, +but make the best preparation for to-morrow. It is only to die in +harness after all. But, alas! I pity the poor women. How is my dear +Ellen--how does she support this severe affliction?" + +"Bravely--nobly, like herself," returned the commanding officer +with emotion. "She will be delighted, yet grieved to behold +you--delighted at the generous devotion that has brought you so +far, and at the head of so small a force to our assistance; grieved +because she will know that you have only come in time to share our +fate. But dispose of your party and come in. Serjeant Nixon," he +called to that official, whom he saw passing from the rampart to +the guard-house. + +The non-commissioned officer was soon at his side, and the captain +having given him directions to quarter the Indians for the night +in the officers' mess-room, liberally supplying them and their +horses with whatever they might require, and the stranger having +himself addressed some remarks to his people in the Miami tongue, +they both repaired with heavy hearts to the quarters of the former. + +The meeting between Captain Wells and Mrs. Headley--the uncle and +niece, both of whom entertained a strong natural affection, founded +as much on similarity of character as on mere blood connexion--was +a very affecting one. They had long been separated, and year after +year a visit of a few weeks had been promised by the former to +Chicago; but the multiplicity of his public duties, for he was an +active agent in the Indian Department, had always prevented him +from carrying his intention into execution. But now when he heard +of the danger to which the garrison was exposed, and his beloved +niece in particular, he lost not a moment in appointing a deputy +to perform his duties during his absence, and collecting +five-and-twenty warriors whom he knew to be not only devoted to +him but the most resolute of the Miami race, he hurried off with +the object of forming a sort of body-guard to the ladies of the +detachment which he had been informed had received the instructions +of General Hull to proceed forthwith to Fort Wayne. Had he had +reason to doubt the faith of the Pottowatomies intended to form +the escort of the detachment generally, he might and would have +brought with him a much larger force; but it was not until after +he had traversed almost the whole of the one hundred and eighty +miles which he and his party had ridden without rest, that he +obtained information of the Indian disaffection. Alarmed lest he +should be too late, he and his party urged their harassed steeds +to greater speed, and having made a signal to the garrison, which +was seen by Ronayne through the telescope he kept constantly +to his eye, the gun was fired, the flag waved, and the shouts pealed +forth that, in all probability, in drowning his words of command +saved the life of his friend and relative. + +"Well, Ellen, my love," proposed Capt. Headley, after a good deal +of conversation on the subject of their position had taken place, +"as this is to be the last of the many days which, until within a +week, we have passed so happily in Chicago, what say you to our +all dining here together? With many of us it will, doubtless, be +for the last time. We have still a few bottles of claret left in +which to drink your uncle's health, mixed up only with a regret +that his visit to us had not occurred at a happier period." + +"Most willingly, Headley, I approve your suggestion, and shall +cause the dinner to be prepared. All I ask is the assistance of +Mrs. Elmsley and Ronayne's servants. With their aid my own servants +can even contrive to manage something for a dinner." + +"_Dum vivimus, vivamus!_" exclaimed the herculean and resolute +captain. "I can see no reason why, because we are to be shot down +and perhaps eaten to-morrow, we should not enjoy the pleasure of +a little social eating and drinking ourselves to-day! I am not one +to lament fruitlessly over that which cannot be avoided. Sufficient +for the day, as scripture has it, is the evil thereof. I certainly +go in for the dinner and a glass of claret. It will help to wash +down half the dust I have swallowed within the last forty-eight +hours." + +"Well, gentlemen," said Mrs. Headley, with a playfulness extraordinary +for the occasion, but which was induced solely by a design to set +the minds of her friends at ease, by impressing them with a belief +that her unconcern was greater, than it really was, "while I prepare +the feast, go you out into what highways and byways are left to us +and invite our friends. Uncle, you have not seen Mrs. Elmsley since +she was a young, clashing, and unmarried belle. She will be delighted +to meet with you. Tell her I will take no denial--both herself and +husband must attend. We shall dine at five, becoming fashionable +as we stand on the brink of the grave; and by the way, Headley, +all these troubles have made me quite forget it, but this is the +anniversary not only of my birth but wedding day." + +"God bless you!" said her husband, tenderly embracing her, "and +grant of his great mercy that you may see many returns of the day +under far brighter and more auspicious circumstances!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +It was a curious sight--one that could only have been witnessed in +a military community, used to scenes of excitement and ever prepared +for danger--to see under the roof of the commanding officer of Fort +Dearborn, not only men but delicate and educated and highly +accomplished women, partaking, with seeming unconcern, of a meal +which each felt might be the last but one they were fated to taste +on earth, and as it were with the sword of Damocles suspended over +their heads. There was an evident desire to banish from the mind +any thought of the morrow--to sustain each other, yet with the +conviction strong at their hearts that none of them would ever +live to see Fort Wayne. They, nevertheless, talked seriously and +deprecatingly of the change they would find between the two +quarters--the one just overtopping the wild flats of Ohio, like a +solitary oasis in the desert; the other, that which they were about +to leave--rich in rides and drives, offering every facility and +amusement to the lover of the gun and of the rod--to those whose +taste led them to prefer rowing over the comparatively tiny waters +of the Chicago, or sailing along the broad expanse of the noble +Michigan. But they could not wholly succeed in cheating themselves +into temporary forgetfulness of the much that was to intervene +before that change could be effected. Now and then there would be +a painful pause in the conversation; and then as each glanced into +the eyes of each, and could distinctly read the dominant thought +that was passing in his mind, another attempt would follow to give +a tone of indifference to the subject. + +Not so with the humbler portion of the garrison. On the contrary, +there was no attempt to conceal from each other, or from themselves, +the magnitude and extent of the danger that awaited them; but in +proportion as they even magnified the peril, so was their +determination increased to defend themselves and families if +attacked, to the last. The single men talked in groups, and hesitated +not to condemn in strong language, the course pursued by their +commanding officer, for it was obvious to all that had he at the +first decided on defending the fort, the Indians never would have +acted in the insolent and hostile manner they had manifested; and +even if they had, the provisions and ammunition preserved, they +might, with this newly arrived strength, have made a defence of +months against their treachery. The principal spokesmen were Serjeant +Nixon, Corporals Green and Weston, and Phillips, Case, Watson, and +Degarmo, who having been the last whose fortune it had been to +smell powder against the Indians, were considered as being more +immediately competent to speak on the occasion. Such of the married +men as were off guard passed what hours they could in consoling +and sustaining the courage of their poor wives, who wept bitter +tears and uttered ceaseless lamentations, not so much on account +of the trials that awaited themselves as their helpless children, +in a distressing march through the wilderness, which they regarded +with nearly as great horror as the tomahawk of the Indian itself. + +To return, however, to the quarters of the commandant. It must not +be assumed that because the excellent claret of that officer, to +which had been added a few bottles saved from Mr. McKenzie's private +stock, was enjoyed with a gusto not habitual to men in the same +position with our little band of martyrs, there was the disposition +to drown care through that very tempting medium, or to indulge in +the slightest degree in excess; or if there was an exception it +was to be found in Von Voltenberg, who managed now and then +dexterously to top off an extra glass, until by repeated little +manoeuvres of this kind he had in the end been one bottle ahead of +his companions. Soon after dinner Ronayne, whose spirits had been +cheered on the one hand and depressed on the other by the letter +of his wife, had, at the suggestion of Mrs. Headley, read for the +satisfaction and information of all the document addressed to +himself; and when this was concluded, exciting in the minds of all, +and particularly those yet unacquainted with the contents, renewed +interest in her fate, the ladies withdrew to complete such of their +arrangements for the march as were still necessary. On their +departure followed by the customary and, in this instance, +heart-impelled honors, and the health of the newly-arrived guest +being drunk, as "The Hero of the Valley of the Miami," Mr. McKenzie +took the occasion to remark: + +"I have heard much of the prowess evinced by Captain Wells, both +against General St. Clair's army and while acting with that of +General Wayne, and should like much to know from his own lips +whether report speaks correctly of him or not. Come, captain, the +opportunity may not soon occur again--will you indulge us?" + +"Willingly," returned the captain, raising his tall and herculean +frame in his chair and draining off his claret; "As you say, the +opportunity may not again soon occur; there is something here," +and he pointed with his finger to his breast, "that tells me that +of the many fights in which I have been engaged, that of to-morrow +will be the last." + +All looked grave, but no one answered. Each seemed to think that +such would be his own individual case. + +"Pass the wine, Headley," resumed his relative. "Gentlemen, you +must not expect me to enter into a history of all my old fights, +both against and in defence of my own country. That would occupy +me until to-morrow morning; and you know we have other work cut +out for us. I will simply give you an outline--a very skeleton of +the causes which found me first fighting against St. Clair, and +subsequently in the ranks of Wayne." + +Without encroaching on the patience of the readers of this tale by +using his precise words, it can only be necessary here to give an +epitome of the military career of Captain William Wells, which was +indeed one of no ordinary kind. He was a native of Kentucky, and +in early boyhood--being scarcely ten years of age--had been taken +prisoner, during a foray into that then wild state by the Miami +Indians. Being a boy of remarkable symmetry, resolution, and +intelligence, he was greatly noticed by one of the principal chiefs +of the tribe, who adopted him as a son, and trained him to battle, +into which he invariably went whenever most was to be done. This +mode of life young Wells loved so greatly, and the kindness shown +him was such that he never entertained the slightest regret at the +loss of old associations, or a desire to return to them. At the +time of the great battle between the Indians and General St. Clair, +he had gained the reputation of being one of the most formidable +warriors, both from his skill and great personal strength in the +ranks of the Miamis; and entertaining no scruple of conscience, +simply because he had not taken the trouble to reflect on the +subject, entered with all the ardor of his nature into that contest, +and it was said that a greater number of the American soldiers fell +by his hand than any other individual warrior engaged, and now he +rose higher than ever in the estimation of his tribe. But the very +circumstance of his prowess and success had the effect of dissociating +him for ever from those in whose cause he had triumphed. After that +sanguinary battle, so fatal to the American arms, he for the first +time began to reflect on the great wrong he had done to his own +race, and resolved to atone for the past by killing, in fair fight, +one Indian at least for every American that had fallen beneath his +tomahawk and rifle. Acting promptly on this suddenly-formed resolution +he at once abandoned his adopted father, and his Indian wife and +children, and hastened to Gen. Wayne, to whom he offered his +services. By that officer he was gladly employed, principally as +a scout, almost up to the close of the war; and during its +continuance many were the daring feats he performed. One example +must suffice. + +A short time previous to the great battle of 1794, Wells, on whom +General Wayne had conferred the rank of captain, took with him a +subaltern and eleven men, for the purpose of watching the movements +of his old companions in arms. His men were all well trained to +the peculiar duty they were called upon to perform, and, after +having marched three days with a caution and knowledge of the forest +scarcely surpassed by the Indians themselves, found that they were +on the fresh trail of the enemy, although how many in number they +could not tell. They followed leisurely until night, when having +seen but one large encampment, Capt. Wells came to the determination, +if the disparity of numbers should not be too great, of attacking +them. Every disposition was made. The party crept cautiously near +them and then lay down in ambush, while their leader, as had been +arranged, entered their camp fearlessly and as a friend, and sat +himself down on the right of the circle, rapidly counting their +numbers as he did so. There were found to be twenty-two warriors +with one squaw. On being interrogated he stated that he had just +come from the British Fort Miami, and was on his way to stir up +the Indians to fight General Wayne. As he declared himself very +hungry the squaw hospitably put some hominy on the fire to warm +for his supper, of which he had intended to partake abundantly had +not a misapprehension on the part of his men hastened the moment +of action, and embittered all the satisfaction he would otherwise +have derived from his success. A motion of his hand was to have +been a signal to fire, each selecting his man; and the party, +conceiving that he had given this, acted prematurely, not only +depriving him of his supper, which was not yet ready, and of which +he stood in great need, but killing the unfortunate squaw who was +standing up stirring it at the time, and whom he had intended to +save. The next moment the formidable and dreaded tomahawk of the +captain went to work among the survivors, and out of the twenty-two +warriors but three escaped; he himself receiving a wound from a +ramrod shot through his wrist, and his lieutenant being hit by a +bullet in the thigh. The greatest havoc committed on this occasion +was by Wells himself, and it was his boast that in Wayne's war he +had slain a far greater number of Indians than he had killed +Americans throughout the contest with St. Clair; and cool indeed +must have been the determination of the man who could composedly +sit down alone and in the face of twenty-two warriors, some of whom +it might have been expected would have recognised him, or to whom +accident might have betrayed the proximity of his party, and resolve +to dispatch an ample supper before proceeding to the work of blood. +But these were the usages of the war in which he had been educated, +and a nobler and more generous heart than that of Captain Wells +never beat beneath the war-paint of an Indian. + +Such was the man, the outline of whose story we have necessarily +condensed, who now, at the head of those Indians whom he once fought +for, and subsequently against, came to proffer his aid to the +unfortunate garrison of Fort Dearborn. What such an arm and such +daring might have accomplished, had circumstances combined to second +his efforts, can easily be surmised; but, unfortunately, all was +now of no avail, for the very sinews of success had been wrung from +him, and he felt that the utmost desperation of courage must +be insufficient to stem the tide of numbers that would lie in wait +for their prey on the morrow. But although h was not mad enough to +expect that if attacked anything but defeat and slaughter could +ensue, nothing would have pleased him more than an encounter on +the open prairie with the false Pottowatomies, notwithstanding +their great odds, had not the lives of women and helpless children +been at stake. These were the considerations that weighed with him +the most; for independently of his strong affection for his noble +niece, and his interest in her companions, he had never forgotten +the occasion when the poor Indian squaw was shot down across the +fire over which she was performing an act of kindness to himself; +and often and often, during his after life of repose from the +toils of war, had her blood risen to his imagination as if in +reproach for the act. If this could be called a weakness, it was +the only weak point that could be found in his character. + +As there was little reason to apprehend that the Indians would +occasion any annoyance during the night to those whom they were so +certain to take at an advantage in the morning, when far removed +from their defences, Captain Headley had caused the garrison to be +divided into two watches--the one being stationed on the ramparts +until midnight, when they were ordered to be relieved by the second +party, who in the meantime slept--thus affording to all a few hours +of that repose of which for the last week they had scarcely tasted. + +Midnight had arrived. The watches had been changed, and Corporal +Collins being of the new relief, had, after disposing his men in +the most advantageous manner to detect an approach, taken his own +station near the flag-staff, a point where the greater vigilance +was necessary, by reason of the storehouses and other outbuildings +of Mr. McKenzie; under cover it was not difficult for a cautious +enemy to approach the place unperceived. + +He had not been at this point half an hour when he fancied he could +discover in the darkness the outline of a man moving cautiously +across the ground which had been used for the council, and seemingly +endeavoring to gain the rear of the factory. He challenged loudly +and abruptly, but there was no answer. Expecting to see the same +figure emerging from the opposite cover of the building, he fixed +his keen eye on that spot, when, as he had conjectured, it fell +upon the same, outline, but now performing a wider circuit. The +challenge was repeated, but the figure instead of answering remained +perfectly stationary. A third time the corporal challenged, and no +answer being returned he very indiscreetly fired, when the figure +fell to the earth apparently shot dead. + +The report at that hour of the night naturally caused a good deal +of commotion, and brought every one to the spot--not only the +officers from their rooms but the watch that had thrown themselves, +accoutred as they were, upon their beds. Ronayne, who had retired +early for the purpose, was at the time in the act of completing a +long letter which he had written in reply to his wife, in which, +after pouring forth his soul in the most impassioned expressions +of devotion, he urged her in the strongest manner, and by every +hope of future happiness on earth, not to adopt the rash step she +had threatened, and paralyse his courage, and lessen his fortitude +to bear, by her presence in the midst of danger, but to remain +secure where she was, with Wau-nan-gee's mother, until the crisis +had passed. "I shall fight valiantly and successfully," he +concluded, "if you are not near to distract me by a knowledge of +your proximity to danger. If, on the contrary, you, in your great +and dear love, persist in your design, I feel that I shall perish +like a coward. I inclose you a part of myself, in the meantime--a +lock of my hair." + +On hearing the report of the musket a fearful misgiving had oppressed +him, for he knew that this was about the hour when Wau-nan-gee had +promised to come for his letter, and he hurried to ascertain what +had occasioned the discharge. The result of his inquiry was not +satisfactory. Had the whole Indian force been discovered stealing +upon and surrounding them for a night attack, they would not have +carried half the dismay to his soul that he experienced when Corporal +Collins told him that he had fired at a solitary individual who +was creeping up to the fort and would not answer, although challenged +three times. + +"Corporal," he said, in a low tone, "I have ever been a staunch +friend to you, and by that unlucky shot you have destroyed me. The +person you fired at was Wau-nan-gee, I feel assured. He was coming +for a letter from me to Mrs. Ronayne who is a prisoner, not with +other Indians as we had supposed, but in the Pottowatomie camp. +The only way you can repair this wrong is by going out secretly +through the sally-port and examining the body to see if it really +is he." + +"Look, look, look!" said the corporal, who had kept his eye fixed +on the dark shadow hitherto motionless on the ground; "he is not +dead--see, he rises, and walks rapidly but stealthily in the +direction he was taking when I fired." + +"And that is to the rear of the stockade, where he has discovered +some secret entrance, perhaps in consequence of the picketing having +rotted away below. Not a word of this, Collins. If it is he, as I +feel assured it is, he will go out again soon, and you must see +that he is not interfered with. He must bear my letter to my wife." + +"You may depend upon it, Mr. Ronayne, he shall not be touched. I +will again keep that post myself." + +The Virginian was right. He had not two minutes regained his room, +when a slight tap at the window announced his young and faithful +visitor. He flew to the door, opened it, and taking the boy by +the hand, let him in. He was paler than usual, and the expression +of his countenance denoted emotion and anxiety. As Ronayne cast +his eye downwards he remarked that his left hand was bound round +with, a handkerchief of a light color, through which the blood was +forcing its way. + +"My God! Wau-nan-gee, is it possible?" he exclaimed, as he grasped +him fervently by the opposite palm; "were you hurt by that shot +fired just now?" + +The Indian nodded his head affirmatively, as with an air of chagrin +and disappointment, he said, "No good fire, Ronayne--Wau-nan-gee +no mind him blood--Ingin Pee-to-tum hear gun fire--see Wau-nan-gee +hand--know Wau-nan-gee visit fort." + +Ronayne, seeing that the youth was mortified at the manner of his +reception after the service he had rendered, explained to him fully +the facts of the case. He, however, told him that he had spoken to +the man who had fired at him under the idea of his being a spy, +and that he might rely that nothing of the sort would happen +on his return. Anxious to see the extent of the injury he had +received, he untied the handkerchief, washed the wound, and found +that the bullet had cut away the fleshy part of the palm just under +the thumb, but without touching the bone. A little lint and diachylon +plaster soon afforded a temporary remedy for this, and the whole +having been covered with a light linen bandage, he gave the youth +a half worn pair of loose gauntlets to wear if he felt desirous to +conceal the wound from the observation of his fellow warriors. This +done, and his letter to his wife folded and given to the safe +guardianship of the boy, with whom he made his final arrangements +for a reunion as circumstances might render prudent and expedient, +he finally drew him to his heart, and expressed in tones that could +not fail to carry conviction of their truth as well as deep +gratification to the generous heart of Wau-nan-gee the extent of +his gratitude and friendship. + +When the young Indian had departed, not before renewing his strong +persuasion to induce the officer to accompany him to his wife, +Ronayne, determining that no mistake should occur in the compliance +of both his directions to Corporal Collins, once more ascended to +the bastion from which, he had soon the satisfaction to see +Wau-nan-gee glide away in the direction of his encampment, until +his figure was soon lost in the distance. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + "Mounted upon a hot and fiery steed which his aspiring rider + seemed to know." + --_Richard II._ + +As if in mockery of the climax of trial they were to be made to +undergo before its close, the 15th of August, 1812, dawned upon +the inmates of Fort Dearborn with a brilliancy even surpassing that +of the preceding day. Well do we, who chronicle these events, +recollect it; for while the little garrison, in recording whose +fate we take not less an interest than our readers can in the +perusal, were preparing to march out of the fort--to abandon scenes +and associations to which long habit had endeared them, and with +the almost certainty of meeting death at every step, we stood at +the battery which vomited destruction into the stronghold of him +who had counselled and commanded the advance upon Fort Wayne. It +has been a vulgar belief, fostered by his enemies, by those who +were desirous of relieving themselves from the odium of participation, +and of rising to power and consideration by the condemnation of +their chief, that the position of General Hull was one fraught with +advantage to himself and of disadvantage to his enemies. Nothing +can be more incorrect. The batteries, to which we have alluded, +had so completely attained the range of the Fort of Detroit, in +the small area of which were cooped up a force of nearly twenty-five +hundred men, that every shot that was fired told with terrible +effect, and not less than three officers of the small regular force +were killed or mutilated by one ball passing through the very heart +of their private apartments, into which it had, as if searchingly +and insidiously, found its way. To the left, moreover, was another +floating battery of large ships of war, preparing to vomit forth +their thunder, and distract the garrison and divide their fire, +which could be returned only from their immediate front bearing +on the river, that it soon became evident to the besiegers that +their enemy had no power to arrest or effectually check the fury +of their attack. But not this alone. Thousands of Indians had +occupied the ground in the rear, and only waited the advance of +the British columns, furnished also with artillery for an assault +in another quarter, to rush with the immolating tomahawk upon the +defenceless inhabitants of the town, and complete a slaughter to +which there would have been no parallel in warfare. They could not +have been restrained; their savage appetite for blood must have +been appeased, and of this fact General Hull had been apprised. +Moreover, five hundred of his force who had been detached under +Colonel Cass, were at no great distance, and had an effectual +resistance been made at Detroit--had blood been, as they would have +conceived, wantonly spilt, the exasperation of the Indians would +have been such that, in all probability, Colonel Cass would not at +the present day be a candidate for presidential honors, nor would +any of his force have shared a better fate. All these things we +state impartially and without fear of contradiction, because they +occurred under our own eyes, and because we believe that the people +of the United States do not understand the true difficulties by +which General Hull was beset. It may be very well, and is correct +enough in the abstract, to say that an officer commanding a post, +armed and garrisoned as Detroit was, ought to have annihilated +their assailants, but where, in the return of prisoners, is mention +made of artillerymen sufficient to serve even half the guns by +which the fortress was defended? The Fourth Regiment of the line +was there, but not the gallant Fourth Artillery, and every soldier +knows that that arm is often more injurious to friends than to foes +in the hands of men not duly trained to it. With the exception only +of the regiment first named, the army of General Hull consisted +wholly of raw levies chiefly from Ohio, expert enough at the rifle, +but utterly incompetent to serve artillery with effect. Again, the +greater the number of men the greater the disadvantage, unless at +the moment of assault, for it has already been shown that the +British battering guns had obtained the correct range, and half +the force had only canvas to cover them. + +We pretend not, assume not, to be the panegyrist of General Hull, +but we have ever been of opinion that, as he expressed himself in +his official despatch to the commandant at Chicago, his principal +anxiety was in regard to the defenceless inhabitants; and that had +his been an isolated command, where men and soldiers only were the +actors, no consideration would have induced him to lose sight of +the order of the Secretary of War--that no post should be surrendered +without a battle. If he erred it was from motives of humanity alone. +But we return from our short digression to the little party in Fort +Dearborn. + +As we have before remarked, the sun rose on their immediate +preparation for departure with a seemingly mocking brilliancy. None +had been in bed from early dawn; and as both officers and men +glanced, for the last time, from the ramparts upon the common, they +saw assembled around nearly the whole of the Indians, with arms in +their hands, and though not absolutely dressed in war dress, without +any of those indications of warriors prepared for a long march, +such as that meditated by the troops, while their tents still +remained standing. + +"The prospect is gloomy enough," remarked Captain Wells, gravely; +"those follows have evidently been up all night and watching +the fort from a distance, to see whether an attempt might not be +made to 'steal a march' upon them in the dark--look yonder to the +loft, do you see that band crouching as the light becomes stronger +behind those sand hills? Mark me well if that is not the point from +which they will make their attack, if attack us they do! For myself, +I am prepared for the worst; and in order that they shall know how +much I mistrust them--nay, how certain I am of what they intend, +I shall head the advance with my brave warriors painted as black +as the devil himself. And so to prepare ourselves." + +"Corporal Nixon, pull me down that flag," ordered Ensign Ronayne, +pointing to it, when the commanding officer had descended to give +directions for the formation of the line of march--"that is my +especial charge, and he who may take a fancy to it must win it with +my life." + +The corporal replied not. He was not aware of the true position of +his young officer's lady, and he was afraid to give him pain by +making allusion to her. He, however, promptly obeyed, and when the +flag was lowered, and the lines cut away, assisted him in enfolding +it somewhat in the fashion of a Scotch tartan round his body. + +At the moment when the flag came down, the Indians on the common +set up a tremendous yell. It was evidently that of triumph at the +unmistakable evidence of the immediate evacuation of the fort. + +The hot blood of Ronayne could not suffer this with impunity. At +the full extent of his lungs he pealed back a yell of defiance, +which attracted the general notice towards himself, standing erect +as he did with the bright and brilliant colors of the silken flag +flashing in the sun. Among those who were nearest to him was +Pee-to-tum, over whose wounded eye had been drawn a colored +handkerchief as a bandage. The Chippewa shook his tomahawk menacingly +at him, and motioned as though he would represent the act of tearing +the flag from his body. + +The shout and its cause were heard and known below. Captain Headley +returned to the rampart, and with much excitement in his manner +and tone, inquired of the young officer what he meant by such +imprudence of conduct at such a moment--when they were about to +place themselves, almost defenceless, at the mercy of those whom +he so wantonly provoked. + +"It ill becomes you, sir," returned the Virginian, fiercely and +sarcastically, "to talk to me of imprudence, who but follow your +example of yesterday. Where was the prudence, I ask, which induced +you to compromise not only your own life, but the lives of all, in +spitting first, then dashing your glove, into the face of the +Chippewa?" + +"If you dare to question the propriety of my conduct, sir," returned +his commanding officer, "know that the act was provoked--unavoidable, +if we would respect ourselves and command the respect of our enemies. +Pee-to-tum had insulted the American people by contemptuously +trampling under foot the medal that had been given to him by the +President. Join your company, sir! What tomfoolery is that?" alluding +to the manner in which the colors were disposed of. "Remove those +colors!" + +"That tomfoolery," returned Ronayne, his cheek paling with passion +as he descended to the parade, "means that I know what you do not, +Captain Headley--how to defend the colors intrusted to my care. I +will not remove them." + +"This fills the measure of your insolence, Mr. Ronayne," returned +the commandant; "you will have a heavy account to settle by the +time you reach Fort Wayne." + +"The sooner the better; but if we do reach it, it will be from no +merit of arrangement of yours," returned the subaltern, as he placed +himself in his allotted station in the company. + +It may and must appear not only surprising, but out of character +to the reader, that such language should pass between two +officers--and these unquestionably gentlemen--of the regular +service--the one in command, the other filling the lowest grade of +the commissioned service; but so it was. The high spirit of the +Virginian had ever manifested deep impatience under what he considered +to be the unnecessary martinetism of Capt. Headley, and there had +always existed, from the moment of joining of the former, a +disposition to run restive under his undue exercise of authority. +This feeling had been greatly increased since the resolution taken +by Capt. Headley to retreat after giving away the presents and +ammunition to the Indians, not only because it was a most imprudent +step, but because while the fort was maintained, there was the +greater chance of his again being reunited, through the +instrumentality of Wau-nan-gee, to his wife. Perhaps had he known +the sincere sympathy which Capt. Headley entertained for him at +the grief occasioned by her loss, or the knowledge he had obtained +of her supposed guilt, which, notwithstanding all their little +differences, he guarded with so much delicacy, this bitterness of +feeling would have been much qualified; but he was ignorant of the +fact, and only on one occasion, and for a moment as has been seen, +suspected that Mrs. Headley had, under the seal of confidence and +from a presumed necessity, betrayed his secret. If the history of +that time did not record these frequent and strong expressions of +dissatisfaction and discontent between the captain and the ensign, +we should feel that we were violating consistency in detailing +them; but they were so, and the only barrier to an open and more +marked rupture existed in the person of Mrs. Headley, whom Ronayne +loved and honored as though she had been his own mother, and who, +on her part, often pleaded his generous warmth of temperament and +more noble qualities of heart in mitigation of the annoyance and +anger of her husband. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +All being now ready, the gates were thrown wide open for the last +exit of the detachment, and the little column sallied forth. In +the van rode Captain Wells and his little band of Miamis, whose +lugubrious appearance likened the march much more to a funeral +procession than to the movements of troops confident in themselves, +and reposing faith in those whose services had been purchased. Next +came thirty men of the detachment, and to them succeeded the wagons, +containing, besides the women and children and sick, such stores +of the garrison, including spare ammunition, with the luggage of +the officers and men, as could not be dispensed with. Thirty men, +composing the remaining subdivision of the healthy portion of the +detachment, brought up the rear. Their route lay along the lake +shore, while the Indians moved in a parallel line with them, +separated only by a long range of sandhills. + +Both excellent horsewomen, and mounted on splendid chargers whose +good points had for years been proved by them in their numerous +rides in the neighborhood, Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley, with +Ronayne on horseback, brought up the extreme rear. The former, +habited in a riding dress which fitted admirably to her noble and +graceful figure, was cool and collected as though her ride were +one of mere ordinary parade. Deep thought there was in her +countenance, it is true. Less than woman had she been had none been +observable there; but of that unquiet manner which belongs to the +nervous and the timid, there was no trace. She spoke to Mrs. +Elmsley--who also manifested a firmness not common to a woman, to +one under similar circumstances, but still of a less decided +character than that of her companion--of indifferent subjects, +expressing, among other things, her regret that they were then +leaving for ever the wild but beautifully romantic country in which +they had passed so many happy days. "How we shall amuse ourselves +at Fort Wayne," she concluded, after one of those remarks, "heaven +only knows; for although I spent a great part of my girlhood there, +I confess it is the most dull station in which I have ever been +quartered." + +"How," remarked Ronayne, with an effort at gaiety his looks belied, +"can the colors be better flanked than by two ladies who unite in +themselves all the chivalrous courage of a Joan d'Arc and a Jeanne +d'Amboise. Really, my dear Mrs. Headley," glancing at the black +morocco belt girt around her waist, and from which protruded the +handles of two pistols about eight inches in length, "I would advise +no Pottowatomie to approach too near you to-day." + +"I think I may safely second your recommendation, Ronayne," she +answered, as uncovering the front of her saddle she exhibited a +short rifle which her riding habit concealed, "or they may find +that my life has not been passed in the backwoods, without some +little practical knowledge of the use of arms. When we were first +married at Fort Wayne, Headley taught me to fire the pistol and +the rifle with equal adroitness, and I have not forgotten my +practice." + +"And I," said Mrs. Elmsley, "though less formidably provided, have +that which may serve me in an emergency--see here," and she drew +from the bosom of her riding dress a double-barrelled pistol, +somewhat smaller than those of Mrs. Headley. + +"Well provided, both of you," said the Virginian, "and I was correct +in saying that the color and the color-bearer were well guarded, +but hark! what is that!" + +Several shots were fired. They were discharged by the Indians, +wantonly destroying the cattle browsing around the road by which +they advanced. + +"Such will be our fate," exclaimed the officer with the excitement +of indignation; "shot down, no doubt, like so many brutes." + +At that moment Captain Headley galloped up from the rear, he having +been the last to leave the fort. Ronayne's words were overheard by +him, and he demanded, hastily and abruptly: + +"Are you afraid, sir? You seem well protected." + +"Sir!" thundered the ensign, "I can march up to the enemy where +you dare not show your face." + +And, apologizing hurriedly to the ladies, he dashed the spurs +furiously into his horse's flanks and followed his captain, who +had hastened to the front. + +As the latter gained the head of the column which was only rendered +of any length by the dozen bullock wagons containing the stores +and luggage, he saw Capt. Wells, who was about a hundred yards in +the advance, suddenly wheel round with his Miamis, and push rapidly +back for the--main body. + +"They are preparing to attack us, sir," he shouted. "There is not +a moment to be lost in making your arrangements." + +Scarcely had these words been uttered, when a volley came rattling +across the sandhill from the level of the prairie, wounding, but +not disabling, two of his men. + +"We must charge them," he answered, "it is our only hope. Keep them +in check, Wells, while I form line. Now, my lads, it is death or +victory for us. Baggage wagons halt, and form hollow square, to +shelter the women and children from the bullets of the enemy. Rear +subdivision, to the front! Right subdivision, halt!" + +"Left subdivision, halt!" ordered Lieutenant Elmsley, when they +had come up. + +"Front!" pursued the captain, and the line was formed. "Men, throw +off your packs--you must have nothing to encumber you in that sand; +the drivers will carry them into the square. Ladies, you had better +retire there too." + +"To a soldier's wife the field of battle were preferable on a day +like this," calmly returned Mrs. Headley, who, with Mrs. Elmsley, +had ridden up with the rear. "Better to be shot down there than +tomahawked near the wagons. Besides our presence will encourage +the men--will it not, my lads?" A loud cheer burst from the ranks. +Each man, certainly, felt greater confidence than before. + +"Then forward, charge!" shouted Capt. Headley, availing himself of +this moment of enthusiasm; "recollect, you fight for your wives +and children; if you drive not the Indians, they perish!" + +"Nay, forget not, you fight for your colors!" cried Ronayne, +galloping furiously through the sand to the front, and heading the +centre. + +The ascent was not very steep, and as the colors, tightly girt over +the shoulders of Ronayne and hanging from the flanks of his horse, +first appeared crowning the crest, and then the little serried line +of bayonets glittering like so many streams of light in the sun's +rays, exclamations of wonder, mingled with fierce shouts, burst +from the Indians, who up to this moment had, after their first +volley, been wholly occupied by Captain Wells and his party of +horsemen, whom they seemed more anxious to make prisoners than to +fire at, and this in consideration of their horses, which they were +anxious to obtain unwounded. + +"Wells," shouted Captain Headley, on whose little line the Indians +now began to open their fire, "send half your people to protect my +right flank. Charge, men! It is all down hill work now, and we +are fairly in for it. If we are to die, let us die like men." + +Simultaneously, and without the order, the men shouted the charge +as, with their commanding officer and the colors full in view before +them, they dashed forward where their enemies were the thickest, +and such was the effect of their unswerving courage that the latter, +although in numbers sufficient to have annihilated them, were awed +by their resolution; and in many instances, those who were not in +the immediate line of their advance, stood leaning on their guns +watching them and without firing a shot; nor was this strange, for +it must be recollected that the hostile feeling to the garrison +had not been shared by all the Pottowatomies, especially by the +chiefs and more elderly warriors. + +Before the determined advance of the gallant little band the Indians +gave way, until they had retired again nearly as far as their own +encampment, but the ranks were fast thinning by the distant fire +of the enemy, whom it was found impossible to reach with the bayonet. + +"This will never do," thundered Capt. Headley; "halt! form square!" + +The order was speedily obeyed; but on hearing firing behind and +looking round for his wife and Mrs. Elmsley, to place them in the +centre, Captain Headley saw that a great number of the Indians whom +they had driven before them had turned aside and reunited behind--thus +cutting them off from their party. It has already been observed +that the horse Mrs. Headley rode was a magnificent animal, docile +yet full of life and spirit, and the excitement and sound of battle +had, on this occasion, given to him an animation--a-grace, if it +may be so expressed, which, rendered even more remarkable by the +superb figure of his rider, excited in several of the Indians a +strong desire to get possession of him uninjured. Her own scalp +they were burning with eagerness to secure; for from the first +moment of the charge down the hill, she had used her little rifle +so successfully that of three Indians hit by her two had been +killed, and they had evinced their deep exasperation. The anxiety +to extricate herself, without the horse being wounded, in all +probability saved her; for they fired so high that almost all the +bullets passed over her head, although not less than seven did +reach their aim--one of them lodging in her left arm. The Indians +were now pressing more closely upon her, when Captain Wells, seeing +the danger to which the noble woman was exposed, dashed back at +the head of his brave horsemen, and used the tomahawk with such +effect without the enemy being able to guard themselves against +the rapidity of his movements, that he soon cleared a passage to +her, cleft the skull of a Pottowatomie who had reached her side, +and was in the very act of removing her riding hat to scalp her +alive, and lifting her off her horse, covered with wounds and faint +from loss of blood, bore her rapidly down towards the lake. As he +approached it, he met Winnebeg and Black Partridge returning to +the scene of blood, to save her if possible, as they had previously +saved Mrs. Elmsley, who had had her horse shot under her, and been +wounded in the ankle. Both were hurried into a canoe, and concealed +under blankets by those good but now powerless chiefs, while the +brave but desperate captain returned to head his warriors and try +the last issue of the fight. + +Meanwhile, Captain Headley had been again attacked and with great +fury by the rallying Indians, while the only diversion in his favor +was that made by the little band of Miamis, who, however, could +not be expected to render efficient aid much longer; besides, +whatever immediate advantage might be gained, the final result +when the darkness of night should set in, was but too certain. Not +only his officers and himself, but his men felt this, and they +could scarcely be said to regret it, when, surrounding them from +a distance, the Indians renewed a fire which, from the moment of +their first being thrown into square, had in a great degree been +lulled. During that short interval they had been made to moisten +their parched lips from their canteens of water into which had been +thrown a small quantity of rum at starting, and no one who has ever +donned the buckler need be told the exhilarating, the renewing +influence of this upon men jaded with long previous watching and +fighting at disadvantage. + +"Men, husband your ammunition," enjoined the captain, "keep cool, +and when I give the word, level low and deliberately. Our position +cannot be better, for the country is all clear and flat around us. +God defend the right." + +"Commence file-firing from the right of faces," he ordered, as he +remarked that the Indians, rendered bolder by has inactivity, were +evidently closing upon him, as for the purpose of a rush. + +Steadily and coolly the men pulled the trigger for the first time; +and the effect of the caution he had given was perceptible. The +Indians were no less galled than astonished when turning from one +face to get out of the way of danger, they found the bullets coming +upon them from every point of the compass--not very many, it is +true, but quite enough to stay and to warn them that a nearer +approach was dangerous; and before the little band had discharged +a dozen cartridges each--few failing to tell--they had withdrawn +entirely out of reach of danger either to themselves or to their +enemies. + +While thus they stood, as it were, at bay, they for the first time +had leisure to look around and observe the havoc that had been done +along the slope of the sandhill and on the plain below. Nearly half +of their gallant comrades lay there scalped and tomahawked, and +with their bodies and limbs thrown into those strange contortions +which mark the last physical agony of the soldier struck down by +the bullet in the midst of life and health; but for every private +lay two Indians at least--a few of them who had been overtaken in +the furious charge down the hill, but most of them sufferers from +their fire while formed in their little but compact square. Capt. +Headley and his lieutenant looked anxiously, but silently, towards +the sand hill, where they had last seen their wives exposed to the +most imminent danger, yet gallantly defended by Captain Wells and +his Miami warriors, three of whose horses, shot under them, encumbered +the ground, but nothing was to be seen of either; and the bitterness +of sorrow was in their hearts, for they believed them to be dead, +and that their bodies were lying beyond the crest of the hill, +whence occasional shouts were heard. As for Ronayne, he kept his +eye fixed in the opposite direction, for they were not far from +the encampment of the Pottowatomies, and he felt satisfied that +his beloved Maria, who, after the great peril to which he had fears +Mrs. Headley and Mrs Elmsley were exposed, he deeply rejoiced to +know was in a place of safety, was then not far from him, and no +doubt forcibly detained from the field by the mother of Wau-nan-gee, +or by the youth himself. + +"'Twere folly to remain here longer and thus inactive," remarked +Captain Headley. "The Indians are evidently waiting for night to +renew their attack, for they are sensible that, as few of them +are provided with rifles, our muskets have greatly the advantage +of range. Hark! do you hear the yells and shouting of the hell-hounds +in the fort? It is well for us that nearly half their force has +been attracted thither by the thirst of plunder and the hope of +obtaining rum. But let us resume our position on the hill. Now +that we shall be enabled to command every thing around us, if we +are to die let us fall together like men and soldiers in our little +serried square." + +"Long live our brave captain!--huzza! We will light to the last +cartridge, and bayonet in hand," exclaimed Paul Degarmo, raising +his cap excitedly. + +The cheer was taken up and prolonged until the forest that bounded +the places they were in sent back the echo. + +Scarcely had this subsided, when terrific shrieks and cries, mingled +with fierce yells, burst from the opposite side of the sandhill. +This lasted for about five minutes, and then gradually died away. +Then many straggling shots were heard, and these died away in +distance. + +Captain Headley, who had deferred his movement towards the sandhill +during this manifestation of the presence of the enemy on the other +side of the ridge, now moved his men to its base, and there halted +them. After a little time, ordering a rush with the bayonet on the +first Indians who should show themselves in any force, he stepped +out of the square, and moved in a stooping posture to gain the +summit, that he might reconnoitre the enemy and see what they were +about. But scarcely had he reached the top when he again rapidly +descended. His face was pale--his lips compressed. He had seen a +sight to shake the nerves of the sternest soldier, and gladly did +he swallow, from the canteen of Sergeant Nixon, who offered it to +him, the cordial beverage that carried renewed circulation to his +veins. + +"Forward, men, with as little noise as possible, and gain the crest +of the hill; but, whatever you see, let not your nerves be shaken +into indiscretion. If you fire without orders from me, you are +lost without a hope. Be cool, and when I do give the command to +fire, let the front face of the square exchange their discharged +firelocks for those of the rear face, in order to be always loaded. +Now, men, be cool." + +Captain Headley was wise in issuing this precautionary order, for +the sight the little square beheld, on gaining and halting on the +ridge, was one not merely to render men reckless and imprudent, +but in a great measure to drive them mad. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + "A crimson river of warm blood like to a bubbling fountain + stirr'd with wind." + --_Titus Andronicus._ + +To understand the horrible scene that met the view, first of the +commanding officer, and subsequently of the little square, it will +be necessary to go back to certain events of the past half hour. + +When Captain Wells had returned from delivering over his wounded +niece to the charge of Black Partridge and Winnebeg, both of whom +had, with deep sorrow, beheld the fiendish excesses of their young +men, but without being able to prevent them, he was pursuing +his way across the sandhill to the assistance of Captain Headley. +Suddenly, while looking around to find out in what part of the +field his Miamis were, he saw several Pottowatomies approach the +spot where the baggage wagons were drawn up, and commence tomahawking +the children. The cries and shrieks of the mothers, as the helpless +victims perished one after the other, under their eyes, until nearly +a dozen had fallen, brought with it all the renewal of the horror +he ever experienced when women and children were the assailed, and +drove him almost frantic. + +"Is that your game?" he exclaimed furiously in their own +language!--"thank God, we can play at that too." + +The attempt to check the strong party assembled round the wagons, +he felt would be unavailing, but resolving to venture, single-handed, +into the encampment of the enemy, where their children had been +left unguarded, he turned his horse's head, dashed past the fort +again at his fullest speed, and with revenge and a threat of +retaliation racking his very heart strings, made for their wigwams. +Alarmed, in turn, for the safety of their squaws and children, the +murderers now desisted from their work and followed as vapidly as +they could on foot, the flight of the Miami leader. Every now and +then they stopped and fired, but at the outset all their shots were +in vain, for the captain, accustomed to that sort of warfare, +throwing himself along the neck of his horse, loading and firing +in that position, baffled all their attempts to bring him down, +while he waved his tomahawk on high, as if in triumph at the +successful issue of what he meditated. As the pursuing Indians +passed the gate of the fort, now filled with plunderers, many +intoxicated, Pee-to-tum, who had been there from the first--his +love of drink being even stronger than his thirst for revenge--came +staggering forth, suddenly aroused to a consciousness of what was +going on without, and demanded to know the cause of this new and +immediate tumult. The young Indians hastily informed him; when the +Chippewa, dropping on one knee, and holding his ramrod as a rest +upon the ground, ran his right and uninjured eye along the sight, +pulled the trigger, and brought down the horse of the fugitive, +which fell with a heavy plunge. A tremendous shout followed from +the band who had lost, four warriors by his fire, and who, +consequently deeply enraged, now made the greatest efforts to come +up with and secure him. Before he could disengage himself from his +horse, under which he lay severely wounded himself, two other +Indians came up from an opposite quarter, and, taking him prisoner, +sought to bear him off before the others could reach him. These +were the chiefs Waubansee and Winnebeg, the latter of whom, seeing +the danger of the captain from the moment when the massacre of the +children commenced, had left Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley under +the care of Black Partridge, and hastened to be of service to him +if possible. But all their efforts to save him were vain. With +rapid strides, and shouts rendered more savage than ever by the +fumes of the liquor he had swallowed, and with the scalp of the +unfortunate Von Voltenberg--who had been killed while returning to +the fort for a small flask of brandy which he had forgotten--dangling +at his side, Pee-to-tum advanced with furious speed, and, stabbing +the captain in the back, put an end to his misery. No sooner had +he fallen, than, like a vulture, the Chippewa sprang upon the +lifeless body, and, making an incision with his knife upon the +strong and full-haired crown, tore the reeking covering away, +and thus added another trophy to his disgusting spoils. This was +the signal for further outrage, Exasperated by the knowledge of +the revenge he had meditated, and the loss he had already occasioned +them, the warriors who had first followed the ill-fated Miami +leader, cut open the left side with their knives, and tore forth +the yet warm and bleeding heart, which, as well as the body itself, +they bore back in triumph to the very spot whence they had set out, +Pee-to-tum carrying his heart, pierced by the ramrod, as it protruded +a couple of feet from the barrel of his rifle. + +Squatted in a circle, and within a few feet of the wagon in which +the tomahawked children lay covered with blood, and fast stiffening +in the coldness of death, now sat about twenty Indians, with +Pee-to-tum at their head, passing from hand to hand the quivering +heart of the slain man, whose eyes, straining, as it were, from +their sockets, seemed to watch the horrid repast in which they were +indulging, while the blood streamed disgustingly over their chins +and lips, and trickled over their persons. So many wolves or tigers +could not have torn away more voraciously with their teeth, or +smacked their lips with greater delight in the relish of human +food, than did these loathsome creatures, who now moistened the +nauseous repast from a black bottle of rum which had been found in +one of the wagons containing the medicine for the sick--and what +gave additional disgust was the hideous aspect of the inflamed eye +of the Chippewa, from which the bandage had fallen off, and from +which the heat of the sun's rays was fast drawing a briny, ropy, +and copious discharge, resembling rather the grey and slimy mucus +of the toad than the tears of a human being. + +At the moment when the little square thus reappeared unexpectedly +before them, the revellers, who had supposed them either in the +hollow below, or long since disposed of by their comrades, were +almost instantly sobered and on their feet. Quickly they flew to +secure their guns, which lay at a little distance behind them; but, +before they could reach them, a volley from the front face of the +square was poured in with an effect which, at that short distance, +could not fail to prove destructive; and of the twenty Indians who +had composed the circle, more than a dozen of them fell dead, or +so desperately wounded, that they could not crawl off the ground. + +"Good, men!" shudderingly remarked Capt. Headley, "we have revenged +this slaughter at least. Cease firing. Pull not another trigger +until I order you. If there be a hope left for us, it must depend +wholly upon our coolness. What a pity you missed that scoundrel +Pee-to-tum. Hark, Elmsley, do you hear his brutal voice calling +upon the Indians to renew the attack!"--and then in a lower tone +to the same officer: "What can have become of our wives? Yonder +rides a Pottowatomie mounted on Mrs. Headley's charger. I pray +God they may not have made them prisoners!" + +"Heaven grant it may be so, sir!" solemnly returned his subaltern; +"but, in their present exasperated state, I fear the worst. Why, +while we were in the hollow, I distinctly saw Mrs. Headley bring +down two Indians with her rifle. They would not easily forget that." + +"And I, sir," said Sergeant Nixon deferentially, as if fearing to +intrude, "saw Mrs. Elmsley's horse shot under her; and when an +Indian came up and struggled with her, she threw her arm around +his neck, and presented and fired a pistol at him, and then tried +to get at his scalping knife which was suspended over his +chest. What the result was, I could not make out; but the last I +saw of her, she was seized by another Indian and carried in his +arms across the very spot where we now stand. See, sir, that is +her horse!" and he pointed to the animal, which lay only a few feet +from the square, and which, among the dead bodies of soldiers, +Pottowatomies, and Miamis, had hitherto escaped their attention. + +"See, sir, they are collecting in great force near the gate," +observed the lieutenant--"I can distinctly see Pee-to-tum, who has +joined them, motioning with his hand to advance." + +"Then is this the best position we could have chosen," returned +Captain Headley; "courage, men! A taste of biscuit from your +haversacks while you have time, a teaspoonful of rum, and then we +must at it again. Mind, above all things, that you keep cool, and +do not fire a shot without orders." + +From the moment that Ronayne had placed himself, with the colors, +at the head of the little party when advancing up the sandhill, he +had not spoken a word, but continued to gaze fixedly and abstractedly +upon that part of the plain or prairie which led to the inner +encampment of the Indians. His whole thought--his undivided +attention was given to his wife, whose anxiety, nay, anguish, at +hearing the sounds of conflict which denoted his imminent peril, +he knew must be intense. True, he himself was spared the anxiety +and uncertainty which filled the breasts of his comrades on seeing +those they loved best on earth exposed to all the fearful chance +of battle, but even in that there was an excitement which in some +degree compensated for the risks they ran. The very fact of their +presence had sustained them; but now that the final result seemed +no longer doubtful, and that the annihilation of the whole party +was to be momentarily expected, he felt that one last look, one +last embrace of her he loved, would rob death of half its horrors. +But this was but the momentary selfishness of the man. When Mrs. +Headley and Mrs. Elmsley were known to have disappeared, he more +than ever rejoiced in the circumstances which had removed his +beloved wife from the horrors of the day, and placed her under so +faithful a guardianship as that of the generous Wau-nan-gee. + +But there was another reason for the calm, the serious silence +which the Virginian had preserved. Independently of the aching +interest he took in all that he supposed to be passing at that +moment in the mind of his absent wife, he had been deeply galled +by the last insulting remark of Captain Headley, to which he had, +it is true, replied in a similar spirit, yet which nevertheless +had continued to give him much annoyance. His duty as bearer of +the colors being rather passive than active, he had not found it +necessary to open his lips, except to utter a few words of +encouragement and approval to the men. Formed in hollow square, as +the little force now was, there was no opportunity for display of +individual or personal prowess, or he certainly would have sought +an opportunity to test with his commanding officer the extent of +their respective daring. But now an occasion at last presented +itself, and in a manner least expected. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +From the position now occupied by the devoted little band, a view +of the whole adjacent country was distinctly commanded, even +to the very gates of the fort, from which they had never advanced +more than half a mile on their retreat, and within a mile of which +their movements had again brought them. On looking anxiously around +to see from what direction the most imminent danger would proceed, +Captain Headley remarked a largo body of Indians issuing from the +gateway, and moving slowly from the fort towards them. + +"Give me the glass, Mr. Elmsley," he said to that officer, who had +it slung over his shoulder, "let me see if I can make out what they +intend. Ha! by heaven they are moving one of the field pieces +towards us. Could they but manage a few rounds of that, they would +soon make short work of the affair, but the simpletons seem to have +overlooked the fact of the gun being spiked--even if they knew how +to aim it." + +"If it is the gun that was in the block-house, it is not spiked, +sir," remarked Sergeant Nixon. + +"Not spiked! how is that?" asked the captain quickly--almost angrily. + +"The spikes were too large, sir; and Weston, whose duty it was, +broke a ramrod off instead." + +"Ha! is it so? What a thought strikes me! Could we get hold of that +gun, we might yet make terms with those devils. Who will lead a +forlorn hope and volunteer to take it?" + +"I will," thundered Ronayne, with sudden vivacity, his eye flashing +fiercely as he met the glance of his commanding officer. "Spare me +three men from each face of the square, and I will bring it to you +or die in the attempt." The captain colored and looked annoyed with +himself. + +"One moment, Mr. Ronayne. Have we the means of removing the broken +ramrod if we should get the gun? Where is the armorer?" + +"I have them, sir," returned the man. "I thought a drill and a +hammer would be useful on the march, and so I put them in my pack." + +"Pish! there is another difficulty. Your pack is as difficult to +reach as the gun. It is in the wagon, is it not?" + +"Yes, sir, and the hammer in it, but I have the spike thrust through +a piece of beef in my haversack." + +"All right. There are stones enough around to supply the absence +of a hammer." + +"Volunteers to the front!" said Ronayne, in a low, firm tone, and +with compressed lip. "What Hardscrabble men will follow me?" + +Simultaneously, Sergeant Nixon, Corporals Collins and Green; +Phillips, Watson, Weston, and Degarmo, stepped forth, with several +others, anxious to be of the party, until the number was made up, +and again the diminished square closed upon its centre. + +"Not yet," cried Captain Headley, who, having once more applied +the glass to his eye, was closely watching the movements of the +Indian mass. "Nothing must be left to mere chance. Mr. Elmsley, +what is the position of the wagon which contains the ammunition?" + +"It was the leading one, sir," returned the officer addressed. +"What alteration has been made in the act of throwing them into +square, I cannot possibly tell." + +"See, is not that it?" asked the commanding officer, pointing to +one from the top of which several casks protruded. + +"It is," was the reply. + +"Then, Mr. Ronayne, first lead your party to the wagons and let +each man load himself from the keg of ball cartridge, and as many +grenades as he can carry--these must supply the place of larger +shot, if we get the gun. Lose no time. There is not an Indian on +that side of the sandhill now, and you will easily accomplish your +object. Sampson," addressing the armorer, "you may as well avail +yourself of the opportunity to get your heavy hammer. The stones +about here are brittle, and may break." + +In little more than five minutes, this first part of their duty +was accomplished, although under circumstances far more painful +and repugnant than the more dangerous one in reserve. On their way +to the wagons they were compelled to pass close to the scalped and +disembowelled body of the brave but unfortunate Wells, whose still +bleeding heart, only half eaten, was encrusted with sand, and bore +the ragged impress of teeth driven furiously and voraciously into +it. On their arrival near the wagons, their nerves were further +tried by the horrible and disgusting spectacle of the slain children, +whose scalped heads and mutilated remains gave unmistakable evidence +of the fate that awaited themselves unless Providence should +interpose a miracle in their favor, while their ears were assailed +by the stifled groans and sobbings of mothers who had covered their +heads up with blankets and sheets, not only with a view to shut +out the appalling sight of their murdered offspring, but to seek +exemption from a similar fate. So confused was the perception of +those poor, unhappy creatures, that they could not identify either +the voices or the language of those who were now near them--some, +the fathers of the innocents they mourned--but believed them to be +Pottowatomies, and it was not until they had departed, and were +out of sight, that they ventured again to uncover their heads, and +breathe a pure air. + +By the time the party returned, and had deposited within the square +the keg of ball cartridges, and some fifty hand grenades, the +Indians in great numbers had brought the three pounder, which was +now made out to be the calibre of the gun, to the very spot where +Capt. Headley had first formed the square, and just without the +present range of the heavy muskets of the men. There was a great +deal of clamor and bustle about the manner of manoeuvring the piece, +and with the aid of the glass it could be distinctly seen that they +once or twice applied a burning torch to the breech, for, when this +was done, the Indians grouped around retired quickly from its +neighborhood, but, on finding it did not explode, seemed for the +first time to be sensible of the cause, and again gathered near +it. + +"Now, Mr. Ronayne, is your time," said Capt. Headley to the young +officer, whose volunteers, twelve in number, with a hand grenade +in each haversack, and a second in his right hand, now stood ready, +with their muskets at the trail, to ignite the port fire, and +descend upon the formidable mass below them. "Sampson, the moment +you reach the gun, drive in the spike, and turn the muzzle towards +the thickest of the enemy. Every bullet will, doubtless, tell. The +discharge will throw them into confusion, and enable you, Mr. +Ronayne, to retire under the cover of our musketry. The gun once +here, and we may change the fortune of the day. Are your port fires +all lighted? Forward, then!" + +And down in silence dashed the little party into the midst of their +enemies. Taken completely by surprise, and dismayed at the +sight of the hissing port fire, which they did not comprehend, the +Indians at first drew back and opened a running fire from their +inferior guns, but seeing how small was the number of their +assailants, they again advanced and waited for their nearer approach, +determined apparently to save their powder and make the tomahawk +alone perform its work. Suddenly, Ronayne, who had dismounted on +the hill, halted within twenty paces of the spot, and with his men +at extended order. The Indians dared not to provoke a hand-to-hand +encounter, for that would have brought them within the range of +the muskets they saw levelled above. This was a most critical and +anxious moment to the young officer. He had descended the hill too +rapidly for the port fire to be sufficiently consumed for ignition +of the shells generally, and for nearly a minute they stood thus, +their muskets still at the trail, and at every moment expecting +the Indians to make a final spring upon them. + +At length, after the lapse of a few seconds, which seemed ages, +the fire rapidly approached the iron. + +"Now, my lads," shouted the Virginian, "throw them in lustily." + +A loud cheer burst from the lips of each, as, after having hurled +the missives of death into the dense groups of the astonished +savages, they followed up the advantage created by the confusion +of the bursting shells, by a rush upon the gun, the drag-ropes of +which were seized amid many distant shots, and so effectually used +that, before the former could recover from their panic, the piece +was withdrawn under cover of the fire from the square, and its +muzzle turned to the enemy. + +A second loud and triumphant cheer followed from the hill, and the +strong voice of Captain Headley could be distinctly heard when it +had ceased. + +"Quick, quick, Mr. Ronayne; there is another strong band approaching +the wood on your left. The work is but half done." + +"Light your second grenades," ordered Ronayne. "The sight of the +burning port fires will keep them in check. Sampson, will you never +have finished with the gun? what are you fumbling about that you +do not drive in the ramrod?" + +But the man spake not; he reclined motionless over the breech of +the field piece. The next moment the brazen plated cap fell from +his head, and a white forehead was exhibited, with a slight +incrustation of blood on the temple showing where the fatal rifle +ball had entered. + +"Ha! dead!" exclaimed Ronayne, excitedly, as he caught the man by +the collar and gently lowered him to the ground. "I must then +perform your duty." + +He caught up the drill and the heavy hammer which the stiffening +armorer had dropped, and so well and powerfully did he use it, that +after a few blows the end of the ramrod, broken short off at the +touch--hole, fell into the body of the gun, and the vent-hole was +clear. + +"All right," he exclaimed; "quick, Collins, a couple of cartridges +to prime with." + +In another moment the gun was ready. The officer passed his eye +along the sight, and saw that the muzzle pointed fully at the large +body that was approaching a small patch of brushwood to take him +in flank. + +"The moment I fire," he ordered, "throw in your second grenades, +seize the drag-ropes and retire with all speed with the gun. +I see the fuses are nearly burnt out; this is rather a short one +for my purpose, Collins, but it must answer." + +Stepping to the right side of the gun, he held forth the grenade +with his left hand, and applied the port fire to the touch-hole. +There was a fizz of a few seconds, and then the gun went off with +a loud explosion, and a fierce recoil. Yells and shrieks rent the +air, and in a moment the whole of the new band were scampering away +in full flight, leaving behind them some five-and-twenty of their +party killed and disabled by the discharge of the piece, loaded, +as has been seen, with musket bullets. + +Profiting by the consternation into which this murderous fire had +thrown the whole body of Pottowatomies, the men pealed forth another +cheer even louder than the first, hurled forward their grenades, +not yet ready for explosion, as far as they could throw them, and +seizing the drag-ropes, ran fleetly with it towards the hill. + +Stricken with disappointment, the Indians lost sight of their usual +caution, and rushed furiously forward to recover the gun, which, +however, being now discharged, was of no actual use to them. + +"Leave the gun where it is, and bring off your officer," shouted +Captain Headley in a clear voice. "See you not that he is wounded, +and the Indians advancing to dispatch him?" + +This was the first intimation the men had of the fact. In their +anxiety to secure the gun, they had not observed that Ronayne, hit +by a rifle bullet while in the very act of firing his piece, had +been brought to the ground with a broken leg, and rendered unable +to follow them. But, no sooner had Captain Headley uttered the +order than all hastened back to the spot where the Virginian reclined +on one side, with the musket of the armorer tightly grasped, and +his look still bent upon the distant forest. + +Just as they had reached, and were preparing to lift him up, the +Indians again rushed forward to dispute his possession. They were +within twenty paces, and brandishing their tomahawks triumphantly, +when, suddenly, and one after another, burst in the midst of them, +the grenades which had been hurled prematurely on the discharge of +the field piece, and striking panic into their body, caused them +once more hurriedly to retire. + +But this check was only momentary. Rendered reckless at every moment +from the liquor which all had more or less imbibed at different +periods of the battle, and ashamed that they should be kept at bay +by so mere a handful of men, the dark mass now fiercely closed upon +the little party that bore off the wounded officer, and commenced +their attack. + +Meanwhile, Captain Headley, seeing this resolute forward movement +of the Indians, and anticipating the certain destruction of the +whole, moved his little square rapidly towards the gun, causing +his men to take with them the ammunition which had been collected +there, and soon the piece was again loaded and turned to his front. +But it was found impossible to discharge the gun without endangering +the lives of his own men more than those even of the enemy, for +the Indians in immediate pursuit kept themselves so cautiously in +the rear of the former, that, in the position he then occupied, it +was impossible to reach them alone. The only movement that could +save them was a rapid change of ground, so as to enable him to take +the enemy in flank, and of this he hastened to avail himself by +again occupying the sandhill. This was done; but in the short +time taken to effect the movement, the bloodhounds had too well +profited by their advantage. + +At the head of the pursuers was the Chippewa, Pee-to-tum. His voice +had been loudest in the war whoop, as his foot had been the most +forward in the advance; and his denunciations of the dog Headley, +as he called him, were bitter, and he called loudly for him that +he might kill him with his tomahawk. + +"Save yourselves, men, and leave me to my fate," exclaimed the +Virginian, as he heard the voice of the Chippewa almost in his ear. +"Nixon, remove the colors from my shoulders and take them into the +square. I shall not die happy until I know them to be secure." + +"Nay, sir," said the non-commissioned officer, "we will not, cannot +desert you; and, if we would, it is now out of our power--we are +too closely pressed--we must fight to the last." + +"Then drop me, and turn and fight. Let us not be struck down like +dastards, with our backs to the enemy. Where is that musket?" + +"Here it is, sir," said the serjeant; "but in your present disabled +state you cannot make use of it." + +"At least I will try," returned the Virginian. "If I could but slay +the black-souled Pee-to-tum, I should revenge the treachery of this +day, and perhaps be the means of saving the remnant of our brave +fellows." + +"Oh!" gasped Nixon, as he fell suddenly dead upon the body of his +wounded officer. He had been shot through the back and under the +left rib. A fierce veil followed, and Ronayne beheld the hellish +face of the Chippewa, looking more disgusting than ever in the loss +of his left eye, as, with shining blade, he bounded forward to take +the scalp of his victim. + +The body of the serjeant lay across his shattered leg, and not only +gave him great anguish, but impeded his action, faint, moreover, +as he was from loss of blood from several subsequent wounds received +during his transit from the spot where he first had fallen. But +the opportunity of avenging his wife, himself, and his slaughtered +companions--the latter all murdered at his instigation--was one +that would never occur again, and all his energies were aroused. +Even while the half--drunken savage was in the act of taking the +scalp of the unfortunate Nixon, Ronayne removed the bayonet from +the musket, and grasping it with all the fierce determination of +hatred, drove the sharp long instrument with such force through +his exposed body, that not only the point protruded several inches +on the opposite side, but the inner edge of the socket itself cut +deeply into the flesh. + +Absolutely roaring with pain, the Chippewa left his bloody work +unfinished. The knife fell from his grasp. He sprang to his feet, +and having at once seen by whose hand the blow had been inflicted, +a sudden thought appeared to occur to him. Down again he threw +himself furiously upon the body of the wounded officer, who, +anticipating the act, had by this time armed himself with the knife +that lay with its handle on the ground and the trickling blade +across the down-turned cheek of the serjeant. He sought to encircle +him in his death grip, but, in falling, the handle of the bayonet +had struck the ground, driving the weapon even deeper in, and thus +adding to his torture. But the greater his suffering, the more +desperate became his thirst for revenge. He now managed to throw +his arms round the neck of the Virginian, and said something in +broken English, which, accompanied as his language was by a +fiendish laugh rendering his countenance more hideous than ever, +caused the latter to make the most furious endeavor to release +himself, while with his right and disengaged hand he struck blindly +with his knife at the uncovered throat of the Indian. But the weapon +was soon wrested from his enfeebled hands, and the Chippewa, +dexterously turning himself so as to get the body of his enemy +completely under him, now tried to scalp him alive. Weak as he was, +the young officer did not lose sight of his presence of mind. +Scarcely had the scalping knife touched his head, when it was again +withdrawn with the most horrible contortions of the whole body of +the Chippewa. Fixing his eye on the Indian's face above that he +might feast on the agony of the wretch who had just avowed himself +to be the violator of his wife, while threatening a repetition of +the outrage when the battle should be over, the Virginian had seized +the handle of the bayonet, and turned the weapon so furiously in +the wound as to cause one general laceration, the agony arising +from which could only be comprehended from the spasmodic movements +and wild bellowings of the savage. In order to free himself from +the torture he was too much distracted by pain to think of removing +by the instant death of his enemy, the Chippewa sprang suddenly +upwards, but this movement only tended to increase the torments +under which he writhed, for, as the Virginian held the handle firmly +in his grasp, the bayonet was half withdrawn, and the sharp point +forced, by the down-hanging weight of the socket, into a new +direction. Wild with revenge and pain, he was at length in the +act of raising his tomahawk to dispatch the Virginian, who had +abandoned his hold of the bayonet, when a shot came from the front +of the square, and Pee-to-tum fell dead across the bodies of both +his immediate victims. Singular to say, the ball, aimed by Captain +Headley himself at the upper part of his person, and during the +only period when the Indians could be reached without danger to +some one or other of the men, entered his brain over his injured +eye, and forced out the other. + +The fall of the detested Chippewa--the head and stay of their +battle--seemed greatly to dispirit the Pottowatomies, a band of +about fifty of whom had followed them in this fierce onset. Of that +number, some fifteen had perished, both in the hand-to-hand encounter +with the immediate followers of Ronayne and several shots from the +square. On the other hand, but four of the volunteers +remained--Corporal Collins, Phillips, Weston, and Degarmo--the latter +severely wounded. All the others had fallen, and, with the exception +of Serjeant Nixon, been scalped. + +A cessation of the contest now ensued, and the Indians, holding up +what was intended to be a flag of truce, asked permission to carry +off the body of the Chippewa. Sensible how impolitic it would be +to exasperate them without necessity, Captain Headley granted their +request, adding that now the bad man who counselled them had been +stricken down by the anger of the Great Spirit, he hoped they would +come to their senses and obey their legitimate chiefs. + +A low murmuring among themselves was the only reply, as they placed +the body in a blanket, drew the bayonet from the wound, from which +followed a copious dark stream, and leisurely proceeded with their +burden and the scalps they had secured to rejoin another body of +their tribe who had been watching them in the distance, and who +now rapidly advanced to meet them, evidently anxious to know +why they returned unmolested, and what tidings they brought. + +Advantage was taken of this cessation of combat to bring back what +remained of the gallant little band of volunteers within the square. +The dead were left to moisten the sands on which they had so bravely +fallen. Ronayne still lived, but he could not be removed. The +slightest motion of his body brought with it agony little less +excruciating than that which his enemy had experienced. He knew he +must die, and he begged Captain Headley to let him perish where he +was, under the shadow of the guns of his comrades, and in full +sight of the forest which he knew contained all that he loved on +earth. What he asked to be spared to him was a cloak to shield him +from the burning heat of the sand, and a little water to moisten +his parched lips. Oh! what would he not have given for a draught +of the cool claret of the dinner of yesterday! + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + "He that comforts my wife is the cherisher of my flesh and blood." + --_All's Well._ + + "What nearer debt in all humanity, than wife is to the husband." + --_Troilus and Cressida._ + +It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and a burning sun +threw its strong rays upon the sandhill where stood prepared, for +whatever further emergency might occur, the little band of American +soldiers now reduced to less than one half of their original number. +The acquisition of the three-pounder had greatly encouraged them +for the moment, but, during the inaction that succeeded to the +death and removal of the body of the fierce Chippewa, each had +leisure to reflect on the but too probable issue of the struggle. +As long as day remained to them, they felt that they could, while +possessed of the gun and a sufficient quantity of ammunition, defend +themselves; but when the darkness of night should come on, enabling +their enemies to approach and surround them from all quarters, it +must be vain to expect they could maintain the contest with the +same success that had hitherto attended their extraordinary efforts. +Inactivity, in a position of that kind, ever brings despondency, +and from one evil the mind is prone to revert to another. The +married men thought of their wives and children and the horrible +fate that awaited them, and from the men of strong nerve which they +had manifested themselves to be while in positive action, they now +were fast becoming timid, and irresolute, and anxious. The sight +of the many dead and scalped bodies of their comrades around them +was not much calculated to reassure them. + +Meanwhile, Captain Headley had kept his glass almost constantly +directed towards that part of the common adjoining the fort, where +the great body of the Indians had now collected, and appeared to +be in earnest deliberation. Among the number of those assembled +he could distinctly make out Winnebeg, Waubansee, and Tee-pee-no-bee, +the former of whom seemed to be addressing the younger Pottowatomies +in energetic terms, while he frequently pointed to the blanket +which contained the body of the slain Chippewa. At length, +when he had been succeeded by the two other chiefs just named, who +seemed to deliver themselves in a similar spirit, a yell apparently +of assent and approval came from the dark mass, and in a few minutes +a party of about a hundred detached themselves from the group, and +preceded by the same flag that had been raised by the immediate +followers of Pee-to-tum, slowly advanced towards the little square. + +"Courage, men," said Captain Headley, "we have not fought our steady +battle for nothing; but let us give the credit of success where +most it is due, We owe our preservation, if we are preserved, wholly +to the gallantry of Ensign Ronayne. Had he not removed the spike +from that gun, and fired it at the eventual sacrifice of his own +life--nay more, had he not slain Pee-to-tum, our most bitter and +relentless enemy--we should all have slept upon this field--that +sight we should never have seen;" and he pointed to the rude flag +of which Winnebeg was the bearer, and which was then half way from +the point of departure of the band. + +"Even so," observed Lieutenant Elmsley--"to poor Ronayne, if this +rag means anything pacific, and, from the fact of its being borne +by Winnebeg, I have no doubt it does, must be ascribed our exemption +from the fate of our unhappy comrades. Your ball was well aimed, +Captain Headley, and hastened the death of the loathsome and +vindictive savage; but never could he have survived that bayonet +wound. Life must have ebbed away with the blood that followed its +removal; yet," and this was said with a significance which his +commanding officer seemed to understand, "it must be not a little +satisfactory to you to know that your shot saved him from the +tomahawk that was already raised to dispatch him." + +"Would that in doing so I had saved his life," returned Captain +Headley, seriously. "How doubly unfortunate is our position--without +a surgeon to attend the wounded. Von Voltenberg I have not seen +during the day--I greatly fear he has fallen also." + +At this moment the Indians had come within about twenty paces of +the square, one face of which Captain Headley had ordered to be +opened to make a display of the gun behind which stood a man with +a lighted match. Here they halted, looking with mixed regret, awe, +and anxiety upon what they had so recently had in their own +possession, while Winnebeg advanced a few paces to the front. + +"What would the chief Winnebeg?" asked Captain Headley, with dignity. +"He brings with him a flag. Are the Pottowatomies sick with blood?" + +"The Pottowatomies are strong," returned the old warrior, in the +figurative language of his race, "but they would not slay the brave. +If the warriors of the white chief will lay down their arms and +surrender themselves prisoners, their lives shall be spared." + +"This is well to promise," rejoined the commanding officer; "but +what reason have we to believe that the Pottowatomies are serious? +They know that we will fight to the last, and they seek to save +their own lives by fair words." + +"On the faith of a chief, I pledge myself that their word shall be +kept. Pee-to-tum is dead--he has no longer power over the young +men, and they will now obey the voice of their own leaders." + +"The word of Winnebeg is always good," replied Capt. Headley, "but +I distrust his young men; they received presents from their +Great Father, and promised to escort his soldiers to Fort Wayne. +How have they kept their word? Look around. More than half my +soldiers lie there; but, not alone. If the Pottowatomie count well, +they will find more than two Indians for every white man." + +"Our Father's warriors are brave," returned the chief, "and so the +Pottowatomies would spare their blood. If they surrender their +arms, I promise, in their name, that no more shall be spilt." + +"I will consult my brave soldiers--they shall decide," observed +the commandant, "not that I doubt your word or your good intentions, +Winnebeg, but as you had not the power to restrain your young men +at first, how am I to know that you can do so now? At present we +have arms in our hands, and can defend ourselves; but if we yield +them up, we may be tomahawked the next moment. However, as I said +before, my brave, followers shall decide." + +"Mr. Elmsley," he added, turning coolly to his subaltern, "count +up our little force, and ascertain how many men of the detachment +remain." + +"Two-and-twenty, sir," returned his subaltern, who had taken but +a few minutes to enumerate them. + +"Two-and-twenty out of sixty with whom we advanced to the charge +this morning, besides two officers--one mortally wounded, the other +missing. Well, this is rather hot work; but you see, Winnebeg, +that if our loss has been more than forty, including the Miamis, +the Pottowatomies killed are more than double in number." + +Winnebeg replied not, but he looked imploringly at Captain Headley, +as if desirous that he should accept the offered terms without +irritating his people with allusions to their heavy loss. + +"Well, men," continued that officer, who had remarked the particular +expression of the countenance of the chief, "what is your decision? +I am perfectly ready to act as you shall say, either to fight to +the last, or to surrender, with the chance of being knocked on the +head afterwards." + +"Had we not better put it to vote, sir?" suggested Lieut. Elmsley; +"the responsibility will then rest with the majority." + +"A good idea, Mr. Elmsley. So be it. The majority of votes shall +decide whether we fight or surrender." + +The votes were accordingly taken, and the result was an equal +division--eleven for surrendering and taking the chances of good +faith--the other eleven, chiefly the unmarried men, for fighting +to the last. + +"The casting vote is with you, Mr. Elmsley; that given, we return +our answer," remarked Captain Headley. + +"Winnebeg," said the lieutenant, addressing him for the first time, +"one question I would ask you first: know you anything of our +wives--are they dead--and where is Mr. McKenzie?" + +"They are all alive," returned the chief with animation--"bad wound, +though--Winnebeg help save him himself." + +Human nature could stand no more. Both officers, as if actuated by +the same common impulse, met and embraced each other warmly. A +mountain weight seemed to be taken from their oppressed hearts, +and those two men, who had preserved the most cool and collected +courage through the fearful, the appalling scenes of that day, +stilling all their more selfish feelings, now suffered the +warm tears to gush in silence from their eyes. The men beheld this +sight with an emotion little inferior to their own, and many a tear +trickled over their faces and moistened and mixed with the dark +deposit left by the bitten cartridge, as they too rejoiced in the +safety of those brave and noble women. + +"There can be no doubt what my decision in this matter will be +now," remarked the lieutenant, when he had a little recovered from +his emotion. "The good Winnebeg who has done thus much--saved +those most dear to us--cannot want the power to save ourselves. My +vote is for the surrender." + +"Winnebeg," said Captain Headley, with great feeling, "whatever +doubts may have existed in our minds as to the propriety of +surrendering, they are now wholly removed. We know your worth and +humanity, and commit ourselves wholly to your good faith. Indeed, +from the moment I saw you coming at the head of this party, after +the death of the black-hearted Pee-to-tum, I felt that we were safe +from further attack. Still, it was my duty to consult the men who +had so bravely fought with me. We consent to become your prisoners, +on three conditions--first, that we be suffered to retain our +colors, which you see there wrapped round the dying body of Mr. +Ronayne, the friend of your son; secondly, that we be permitted to +bury our dead comrades; and thirdly, that we be surrendered to the +nearest British post at the earliest opportunity." + +Winnebeg, after looking at the spot where the young officer lay, +spoke for a few moments with his followers, who did not seem to +relish the arrangement, for a good deal of animated conversation +ensued between themselves; but at length the point was satisfactorily +settled, and the former assented to the conditions of surrender +Captain Headley had imposed. To have reposed any faith in the +warriors themselves after what had occurred, that officer was now +fully sensible would have been an act of madness; but he confidently +hoped that, although Winnebeg and the other friendly chiefs might +not have had the power to restrain the excitement of their young +men in the first outburst of their rage for blood, their influence +would to a certain extent be regained, now that the fiercest act +in the drama had been played, and the chief actor was no more. The +only thing that created uneasiness in him was the apprehension that +the severity of their own loss might induce such a desire of +vengeance in the minds of the warriors as to cause in them a renewal +of their fury, and an utter disregard of the pledges of their +leaders. Something however--indeed much--must be left to chance. +As prisoners they might and would be saved, if the influence of +their sager warriors and their own better feelings prevailed, while, +as combatants, every man, without an exception, must have fallen. +Moreover, the reason which had decided Lieutenant Elmsley in giving +his vote had an equal influence in sustaining himself in the +expediency of surrender. Their wives were prisoners, and a reunion +with them was not impossible; whereas if they had resolved on +defending themselves with the obstinacy of despair, that hope must +have been for ever cut off, and the noble women--not to speak of +the partners of their brave and humble followers--who had taken so +prominent a share in the combat, wounded and sustained only by the +faint possibility of a meeting with their husbands, would assuredly +be made to undergo a similar fate. + +And now commenced the most humiliating part of the movements of +the day--the breaking up of the gallant little square, and the +return, flanked by their Indian captors, of the remains of the +detachment to the fort. In compliance with the wish of Captain +Headley, expressed at the suggestion of his men, instead of taking +the route selected by Winnebeg in his advance, the party were +suffered to return past the wagons. The scene which took place here +was one of mingled consolation and despair. Such of the married +men as had survived the conflict anxiously sought their wives, many +of whom, with pale cheeks and sunken eyes, and hearts nearly crushed +by the pitiless murder of their children, still wrung comfort in +the midst of their despair, as they gazed once more on the features +of those whom they had given up as lost for ever. But then, on the +other hand, was the soul's misery complete of the poor women, +widowed within the past few hours, who sought eagerly but in vain +to distinguish the features of him who alone could console her +under a similar bereavement, and who, with tears and sobs, sank +back again into the wagon, in all the agony of increased and +confirmed despair. It required stern hearts to behold all this +unmoved; but the knowledge that their wives had been unharmed, +whatever the savage destruction of their children, brought some +little relief to the overcharged hearts of such of the married men +as had been spared, and in their secret hearts they returned thanks +to the Providence that had guarded not only their own lives, but +the lives of those most dear to them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +And with what feelings did they now re-enter the fort, and what an +aspect did it present! Half-drunken Indians were yet engaged in +the work of plunder and destruction, insomuch so that it scarcely +appeared to them the same place from which they had sallied out in +the morning; and there were moments when the stoutest-hearted wished +that they had never returned to it, but perished on the field where +their comrades lay, unconscious of the past, regardless of the +future of desolation, of which all they saw seemed to give promise. +The officers' quarters, and the blockhouses, which had afforded +them protection and shelter during many a long year, were now burst +open, and every article of heavy bedding and furniture hurled into +the square--the latter ripped open, and broken, and the feathers +and fragments strewn around as if in mockery of the neatness that +had ever been a distinctive characteristic of the well--swept parade +ground, where heretofore a pin might have been picked up without +a finger being soiled in the act. These were, seemingly, too minute +considerations to have weighed at such a moment when higher and +more important interests were at stake; but, to the well-regulated +eye of the soldier, accustomed to order and decorum, they were now +mountains of inequality and discomfort, which contributed as much +to the annoyance and mortification of his position as the very fact +of captivity itself; and if this was the feeling generally of the +men, how deep must have been its effect on the officers, and +particularly on Capt. Headley, who had ever been punctilious to a +nicety in all that regarded the internal arrangements of Fort +Dearborn. But, offensive as this was, how much more so was it to +behold many of the band fantastically arrayed, not only in their +own clothing, but in that of their wives, desecrating, as it were, +the terrible solemnity of the day, and mocking at the severity of +suffering to which the latter had been subjected. + +Of the Indians who had formed their escort, some stopped outside +the gate, others mixed with the spectators, and only about a dozen +followed them to the mess room, which Winnebeg said he had selected +for their temporary quarters, as being the least liable to +interruption or molestation. He promised to send them food, and +later in the evening, when all was quiet, to conduct the two officers +to their wives, who, for greater quiet and security, were still +lying concealed in the canoe where he had first placed them. + +"Winnebeg, Winnebeg," said Capt. Headley, solemnly, "how can we +ever sufficiently repay you for your noble conduct to-day? Depend +upon it, I shall not fail to make known to our Great Father that +you have saved the lives of one third of the detachment; but let +me remind you of the first part of our contract--the burial of the +dead. There is plenty of daylight, and I wish to send out a dozen +men for the purpose of digging one common grave for them all. Mr. +Ronayne must, if not dead, be brought in on a litter; if, however, +he is no more, no grave can be more honorable to him than that +shared with his followers. You know, Corporal Collins, where the +spades and picks are kept." + +"Yes, sir, I know where they are usually kept, and where it is not +likely they have been disturbed. What men, sir, am I to take?" + +Almost every man in the detachment expressed his anxiety to be of +the party; but the remainder of those who had been with the Virginian +when he fell, and a few others, all unmarried men, were selected. + +"Do you not think, sir," said Lieutenant Elmsley, "that I should +command this party and superintend the arrangements? Poor Ronayne +must be delicately handled." + +"If you will do so, Mr. Elmsley, I shall be most glad; but not +deeming it absolutely necessary, I did not propose it as a point +of duty. But there is another thing to be considered: Winnebeg, +what escort will you give to my people? You know your young men +are excited, and many may not know of the conditions of our +surrender." + +During this conversation, almost the whole of the Indians, to the +number of eighteen or twenty, who have been alluded to as having +plundered and offensively arrayed themselves in the dresses of the +officers' wives, and who were evidently the most turbulent of the +band, had been drawing gradually closer around the little party of +prisoners. All were more or less ludicrously painted, and exhibited +the most grotesque appearance. + +When the remnant of the detachment first entered the fort, it was +remarked that one of them--a mere youth--had closely, almost +impertinently, examined the features of the officers, and had +followed, with most of his companions. When Captain Headley made +his request for an escort, this individual suddenly went up to +Winnebeg, tapped him on the shoulder, and said something, not in +Pottowatomie but in Shawnee, accompanied by much gesticulation, +which seemed to have great weight with the chief. + +"Give him escort, dis," said the latter in reply, as he glanced +his eye quickly upon the group, and with seeming intelligence. + +"What! those men!" returned Captain Headley, with a shadow of +remonstrance in his tone. + +"Yes, all good Pottowatomie--all brave warrior--no give him dis," +and he pointed to those who had accompanied them from the field, +"all too much tired with fight already--dis men stay here all day. +No fight." + +Although by no means persuaded by the reasoning of Winnebeg, that +men who had been plundering and drinking what they could find, +during the whole of the morning, were the most proper persons to +guard prisoners from the violence of excited enemies, Capt. Headley +felt that it would be imprudent to urge any further opposition. +For a single moment, it occurred to him that the chief had offered +this escort with a hostile motive, but it was a thought which, +involuntarily forced upon his mind, was as instantly discarded as +unworthy of the chief, and, whatever might have been his latent +misgivings, he no longer opposed an objection. + +The preparations were soon made; the litter, and materials for +digging found, and the little party, who had taken off their uniforms +to avoid particular remark, and to be more free in their movements, +sallied forth. On passing near the gate, and in a direction opposite +to that by which they had just entered, they beheld the body of +Doctor Von Voltenberg, within a few paces of the pathway by which +they now advanced, which was the route taken by the Indians with +the three-pounder. He was stripped to the skin, scalped, and with +a profusion of large green flies and ants of the prairie settled +on and seemingly disputing possession of the dark and coagulated +blood that was already incrusted on the festering wound. The body +was fast becoming bloated and discolored under the rays of an August +sun, but no one could mistake the black and the peculiarly cut +whisker, and the good natured and smiling expression of face which +even in death had not wholly deserted him. + +They had now reached the point where the Indians stood when the +first grenades were thrown in among them by the followers of Ronayne. +From this could be commanded a full view of the theatre of contest +as far as the crest of the sandhill, being a full musket-shot from +the spot where he had last fallen. The intermediate space, as has +already been remarked, was thickly strewn with dead bodies amounting +in all to upwards of a hundred, and the place chosen for interment +by Lieutenant Elmsley was the small copse of underwood, from which +the flank movement had been made upon Ronayne by the fresh band of +Indians upon whom he had directed the fire of the three-pounder. + +While occupied in digging a grave of about twenty feet square, +their strangely attired looking escort amused themselves with +examining the dead uniformed bodies that lay strewed thickly around, +and it was remarked that they showed no such curiosity in regard +to their own people who were indiscriminately mixed up with them. +Gradually they approached the crest of the hill, and Lieutenant +Elmsley, who was distrustful of their intentions, and kept a close +eye upon their movements, saw the youth, already noticed, suddenly +bound with uplifted tomahawk towards the spot where poor Ronayne +was known to lie, and, after addressing a few words to his companions, +stoop over his body, with what intention he could not make out, +but he presumed to dispatch and to scalp him, for the cry uttered +by the Virginian and heard even at that distance, was piteous to +hear. Desiring the men to go on with their work, and collect +the bodies as soon as it was completed, he hurried rapidly to the +scene of this new action, and as he advanced saw another and a much +stronger party of Indians approaching the same spot. Rapidly their +escort closed in upon the officer over whom the young warrior was +kneeling, and stooping down, drew from their victim another moan +of inexpressible anguish. All then rose, and, grouped together, +moved away parallel with the said ridge until they were finally +lost behind a sudden elevation that continued the hill in an obtuse +angle towards the forest. + +Startled by the appearance of these fresh comers, Lieut. Elmsley +paused for a moment in his advance, but feeling that any appearance +of mistrust might act unfavorably upon the band, he renewed his +course, expecting at every moment to reach the mangled body of his +friend. The Indians approached the same point at the same time, +and he saw at once that the majority were composed of those who +had accompanied Winnebeg when he came to offer terms to Captain +Headley. Trusting, therefore, that there was no violence to be +apprehended from those who were aware of the fact of the surrender, +towards himself or party, he proceeded to search for his friend; +but, to his surprise, his body was not to be seen. He could not be +mistaken as to the spot where it had lain, close to Sergeant Nixon; +but, though the latter was nearly in the same position in which he +had fallen, the knife which he had used upon the throat of the +Chippewa, and the imprint of his body upon the sand, deeply moistened +with the blood of both, was the only indication of Ronayne's having +been there. It was evident that he had been carried off by the +strange party who had formed their escort, and that the cries of +agony uttered by him had been produced by the torture of moving +his broken limb. What the motive for this new outrage could have +been, it was difficult to conjecture, unless it was to secure at +their leisure, and before the other party of Indians came up to +dispute possession of the spoils with them--not only his scalp, +but the blood-stained colors which he bore--perhaps to sell the +latter as a trophy to the British. + +Without condescending to bestow the slightest notice upon the +officer, the Indians approached the bodies, and leisurely proceeded +to strip them of their clothing. Their leader, uttering a yell of +delight and surprise as he came near it, sprang upon the sergeant +and secured the scalp, which Pee-to-tum had failed to take. This +piece of good fortune led the others to hope for something similar, +and they accordingly dispersed themselves rapidly over the scene +of combat, examining every head and stripping everybody. All this +was done without Lieut. Elmsley having the slightest power to +interfere, for he knew that any attempt at remonstrance would only +be to provoke a similar fate, and thus the party passed on, stripping +every soldier to the skin. + +While he lingered hesitatingly near the spot whence his friend had +been so singularly removed, waiting for the plunderers of the dead +to depart before he should rejoin his men, his ears were suddenly +assailed by a piercing shriek from the further extremity of the +underwood in which the latter were digging, and which extended +about two hundred yards on the left of the plain below. At once he +knew the cry, and comprehended its cause; and rushing down the +sandhill without thought of the new danger to which he might be +exposed, turned the corner of the small wood, and stopping abruptly +at a point where he could see without being noticed himself, beheld +A sight as distressing as, a few moments before, it had been +unexpected. + +With his uncovered head slightly raised, and reposing upon the +projecting root of a tall tree that rose capriciously, yet +majestically, amid the stunted growth around, lay the enfeebled +and dying Ronayne extended upon a pile of clothing formed of the +very dresses that had now been doffed for the purpose by his escort. +By his side knelt his wife, disguised in the neat dress of one of +Wau-nan-gee's sisters, and gazing into his pale face with a silent +expression of agony which no language could render. But though his +face was wan, and his eye gradually losing its lustre, the arm of +the officer closely clasped around the waist of his wife, ever and +anon strained her so passionately, so convulsively to his heart +that a new fire seemed at these moments to be enkindled in both--and +to prove all the intensity of the undiminished love he bore her. +Neither spoke. Speech could not so well convey what was passing in +their sad souls as could their looks, while the exhausted state of +the wounded officer rendered exertion of any kind not merely painful +but impossible. On the other side of the Virginian, who held his +hand affectionately in his feeble grasp, stooped the young Indian +already noticed, and standing grouped round, and gazing with evident +sorrow on the scene, were his companions. The youth was Wau-nan-gee. +His companions were his immediate and devoted friends--those who +had sought to make the young officer a prisoner on a former occasion, +when, had they succeeded, all this trial of the wife's agony might +have been spared. On the first exit of the troops they had rushed +into the fort on the pretence of plunder and excess, in the hope +that their example would be imitated by many, and that thus the +detachment might be left to pursue its route comparatively unharmed. +And to a certain extent they succeeded, for many did follow them, +and Pee-to-tum among the rest, whose absence in the first onset of +the battle had dispirited the Indians, whom he had first excited, +and given the Americans an advantage of which they never lost sight +until the close. To have taken an active part in the defence, would +have been not only impossible but impolitic, but in the course they +had pursued they had no doubt saved such of the detachment as +remained, for had all been engaged--had all borne a prominent share +in the attack, the event, from the great disparity of numbers, +could not have long been doubtful. When Wau-nan-gee, whose anxiety +to know his fate had been great, first heard from his father of +the wounded condition of Ronayne, he had proffered himself and +friends as the escort of the detachment, intending to bear off the +body, without being seen by the other Indians, to his mother's +tent, where his wounds might be dressed and his life saved by the +care and attention of his own wife. + +All these particulars Lieut. Elmsley subsequently ascertained from +Winnebeg, for anxious as he was to take a last leave of his dying +friend, and to express his joy at once again beholding, even under +these disheartening circumstances, her for whom both himself and +his wife had ever entertained the strongest friendship, the officer +was afraid to move from the spot where, unseen himself, he had +witnessed all, lest by suddenly exciting and agitating, he should +abruptly destroy the life which was evidently fast drawing to a +close. To have broken that solemn and silent communion of spirits, +would, he felt, have been sacrilege, and he abstained; and yet, as +if fascinated by the sight, he could not leave the spot--he could +not abandon his dearest and best friends without lingering +to know how far his services might yet be available to both or one. + +Apparently, Mrs. Ronayne had not uttered a sound since that piercing +cry had escaped her which attested her first knowledge of the +hopeless condition of her wounded husband. The attempt to carry +him off the field, with the view not only of preventing him from +being scalped, as he certainly would have been by the party then +advancing, but of conveying him to the Indian camp of the women, +had been productive of the greatest suffering; so much so that when +he had gained the point where he now lay, and where his wife had +first met him, he declared to Wau-nan-gee his utter inability to +proceed further, and prevailed on him to place him on the ground +that he might die in quiet. + +It was now near sunset, and the condition of the Virginian was +momentarily becoming weaker. He suddenly made an attempt to rally, +and for a moment or two raised himself upon the elbow of the hand +that still encircled the waist of his wife. + +"Maria, my soul's adored!" he murmured, "I feel that I have not +many moments left, and I should die in despair did I not know that +there is one who will protect you while he has life. God knows what +has been the fate of our poor companions, but even if living, they +cannot shield you from danger. Wau-nan-gee," he said, turning +faintly to the youth, "two things I am sure you will promise your +friend--first, to conduct yourself in all things as my wife--your +sister--desires; secondly, to conceal and guard these colors until +you can deliver them up to the nearest American fort." Then, when +the youth had solemnly promised, with tears filling his dark eyes, +that he would faithfully execute the trust, he turned again to his +wife, and said in a tone that marked increased exhaustion at the +effort he had made, "Maria, sweet, it is hard to die thus--to leave +you thus; but yet you will not be alone--Wau-nan-gee will love and +protect you, obey your will: yet you need not now fear, I have +avenged your wrong--that wrong of which the ruffian boasted when +I slew him--tortured him--the monster. How different the gentle +love of this affectionate boy! But I have not strength--oh, what +sickly faintness comes over me! surely this must be ----." + +"Death!" he would have added, but silence had for ever sealed the +lips that never more would speak his undying affection for his +noble, graceful, and accomplished wife. + +For some moments the unhappy woman continued to gaze upon the still +features of her husband as though unconscious of the extent of her +great misery, and when the reaction came, it was not expressed in +shrieks or lamentations, or strong outward manifestations of emotion, +but in the calm, serene, condensed silence of the sorrow that +stultifies and annihilates. Her cheek was pale as marble, and there +was a fixedness of the eye almost alarming to behold, as she rose +erect from her bending position, and said, with severity, "This +and more have your cursed people done, Wau-nan-gee! I shall ever +hate to look upon an Indian face again! Yet that body must be buried +deep in the ground, and in a spot known only to us both, where none +may violate the dead. You have promised to obey me in all things. +This is the first charge upon you. Let us go--the night is fast +approaching, and the place remains to be reached, and the grave is +to be dug. By to-morrow's dawn we travel together and alone +through the wilderness, in execution of the will of your friend +and my husband. Mark that, Wau-nan-gee! It is his will that we +travel together--that you shall be my guide and protector. See +this dress, how well it disguises me. I shall be taken, as we +journey, for your squaw. Ha! ha! That will be excellent, will it +not? Maria Heywood--Ronayne's wife--the mistress of a fiend--then +Wau-nan-gee's squaw--and not yet six weeks married to the first!" + +She suddenly paused, put her hand to her brow--seemed to reflect, +and then turning to Wau-nan-gee, inquired why he lingered so long +and wherefore he did not replace the body in the litter and depart. + +With a pensive and serious mien the youth, who had been still +kneeling, absorbed in sorrow at the strange coldness of Mrs. +Ronayne's manner, and afraid to disturb her in a distraction which +he comprehended more from her looks and actions than her language, +now rose, and saying something in a low tone to his companions, +who had also regarded her throughout with silent surprise, the +covering on which the body of the unfortunate officer reposed, was +placed upon the blanket, which four of the party held extended, +and at the direction of Wau-nan-gee the whole proceeded towards +the forest. + +When this strange and dispiriting scene had terminated, Lieut. +Elmsley, who felt at each moment in a greater degree the uselessness +of any interference in his powerless position, was rejoiced that +at least the last moments of his friend had been consoled by the +presence of his wife; he was led to hope that it had been the result +of a momentarily-disordered brain, on which despair had now wreaked +its worst, and which, therefore, might be expected to regain a +stronger if not its wonted tone when the bitterness of grief should +have somewhat subsided. + +Proposing to prevail on Winnebeg to obtain for him a meeting with +her on the morrow, when the remains of her husband should have been +consigned to their rude resting-place, he returned towards his +party, whom he found in the act of covering up the bodies which +they had, unmolested by the Indians, brought in from the different +points where they had fallen. The grave was soon filled up--a +short and mournful prayer read by the officer from memory, and the +party returned full of gloom, and with hearts bowed down by sorrow, +to the dismantled and desolate-looking fort. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + "This act is an ancient tale twice told." + --_King John._ + +The wretchedness of that night who can tell! the despondency that +filled the hearts of all, not so much in regard to the present as +from apprehension for the future, who, untried in the same ordeal, +can comprehend? but the feelings of the remnant of that little +band, who were indebted for their safety to their own bravery, were +not selfish. They lamented as deeply the fate of the fallen, as +the dark and uncertain future that awaited themselves--uncertain +because, although the chiefs had promised, and with sincerity, that +they should be given up as prisoners of war at the nearest +post, they had seen too much of the falsehood of the race generally +to rely implicitly on its fulfilment by the warriors. Alas! where +were their comrades--friends, nay, brothers of yesterday? Where +was the brave, the noble-hearted Wells--where the once gay, ever +high-spirited Ronayne--where poor Von Voltenberg--the manly Sergeant +Nixon, a Virginian also--the faithful Corporal Green--and nearly +two thirds of the privates of the detachment? The very fact of +being in the fort again, and everywhere surrounded by objects +rendering more striking the contrast between the past and the +present, was agony in itself. There was scarcely a man among them +who would not have preferred bivouacking, in the wild wood, amid +storm and tempest, and the howling of beasts of prey, to resting +that night within the polluted precincts of what had so recently +been their safeguard and their pride. + +Fortunately, the two surviving officers were, in some measure, +exempt from these mortifications. True to his word, Winnebeg had +caused Mrs. Headley and Mrs. Elmsley to be conveyed undercover of +the darkness from their place of concealment to the mansion of Mr. +McKenzie, which, from the great popularity of the trader with the +whole of the Indian tribes, had been left untouched--he himself +having been looked upon as a non-combatant, and, therefore, spared +from all personal outrage. + +The meeting between the husbands and their wives--both the former +also slightly wounded during the day--was, as may be supposed, most +affecting. Neither had ever expected, on parting in the morning, +to behold each other; and now, although more or less injured, to +find those who were preserved, as it were, by a miracle from a +cruel death, with a prospect of future happiness, the past was for +the moment forgotten, and gratitude to God for their preservation +the dominant feeling of their souls. The examination of the wounds +of the heroines was the next consideration. Most fortunate was it +that of all the wounds received by the ladies--seven by Mrs. Headley +and three by Mrs. Elmsley--not one was of a nature to disable or +impede the motion of their lower limbs. A ball that had lodged in +her arm, however, gave the former great pain; but, alas! there was +no Von Voltenberg to cut it out. In this extremity, Winnebeg said +he knew an Indian who was very expert at incision, and that he +would procure his attendance. + +Meanwhile the party were enabled to partake of some refreshments +which had been ordered on the departure of Winnebeg for his charge; +and exhausted as all had been by intense anxiety and emotion, from +the moment of their setting out almost to the present, this was +truly acceptable, especially to the two officers. + +In the course of the repast, allusion was made to the gallantry +and suffering of the unfortunate. Ronayne, when, on Captain Headley +asking, for the first time, what had been done with the body, Lieut. +Elmsley proceeded to relate all that he had heard and witnessed a +few hours previously. + +This singular detail excited not only surprise but pain, especially +in Mrs. Headley, whose deep friendship for, and interest in, both +husband and wife had already been so strongly exhibited. It is not +often that, in the hour of our keenest suffering, we have much +sympathy to bestow upon others; but the noble woman had known the +ill-fated Maria too intimately--known her too well--not to feel +deep sorrow for the double affliction under which she labored. In +the confession, if such it can be called, which he had +committed to writing and subsequently transmitted by Wau-nan-gee, +as well as in her wild and unconnected language on the day of the +fatal occurrence itself, she had alluded to something terrible--an +attempt at outrage, but in those vague terms of violated modesty +which left the extent only to be surmised. No one of those who +knew the contents of her communication, had suspected or presumed +the worst, and had it not been for the avowal by Ronayne of his +vengeance for the avowed fulfilment of the hellish and sacrilegious +lust of the hideous monster, and the strange admission that fell +in her despair from Mrs. Ronayne herself, the secret must have died +with themselves. + +It was not exactly a subject for discussion, under ordinary +circumstances, and before everyday women; but here not only were +the parties cognizant few in number, but actuated by nobler motives +than those which would have governed mere worldly and censuring +people. Moreover, the nature of their connexion with each other, +and with the victims themselves--for it was shown that Ronayne had +received his mortal wound from the rifle of the Chippewa--even the +atrocity complained of, connected as it was with all the horrors +of the past day, not only justified but compelled it. + +"She must not be left where she is," gravely remarked Mrs. Headley, +after some moments of reflection; "cannot Winnebeg, the good +Winnebeg, whom, perhaps, we have taxed too much, be persuaded to +bring her to us? Now that the worst has happened she will be far +happier--more contented, by sharing our fortunes, whatever they +may be, than remaining in the Indian encampment, cut off from every +kindred association. What think you, Mrs. Elmsley?" + +"Oh, I shall be too delighted to see, and to soothe her sorrow. As +a sister, I have ever loved her--as a sister, I love her still." + +"Then, assuredly," returned Mrs. Headley, "will she not hesitate +to overcome her false delicacy, and to consider herself, what she +really is, the victim of misfortune, and not of guilt, when a mother +and a sister united look upon her as pure in thought as in the days +of her unwedded innocence, and offer her what home may be preserved +to themselves." + +"Generously, nobly said!" remarked Lieutenant Elmsley, pressing +the hand of his wife and looking his feelings as he caught the eye +of the last speaker. "I had intended to ask Winnebeg not to simply +go himself, but to permit me to accompany him, that I might know +her intention and offer her my aid. What I have now heard confirms +me in my design. Early to-morrow morning, if he assents, we shall +go over. But here he is himself, with the Indian who is to perform +the operation on your arm, Mrs. Headley." + +The door opened, and Winnebeg entered, followed by a tall, powerful, +good-looking Pottowatomie, who glanced inquisitively around the +apartment with the air of one who expects an unpleasant recognition, +nor was it apparently without reason, for the moment Mrs. Elmsley +beheld him, she uttered an involuntary shriek, and drew back with +every manifestation of disgust. The Indian remarked it, and sought +to retire, but Mrs. Elmsley, suddenly recollecting herself, and +fearing so to offend him as to prevent the aid he had come to +render, rose and held out her hand to him, saying, with an attempt +at a smile-- + +"Never mind--although we have fought a hard battle together +to-day, it is all over now. Let us be friends. Winnebeg, explain +this to him." + +Winnebeg did so, when, with a mingled look of astonishment and +pleasure, the Pottowatomie warmly returned her pressure. It was +the same warrior with whom she had grappled, in the desperation of +a last hope, when so opportunely extricated from her perilous +position by Black Partridge. As he had the reputation of much +expertness in making incisions and removing balls lodged in the +flesh, his attendance had been requested. + +Calm and composed, although evidently laboring under deep dejection +for the loss of her uncle, the horrible mode of whose death had, +however, been kept back from her, Mrs. Headley, dressed in the +light-textured riding habit in which she had gone forth in the +morning, and which, it has already been remarked, set off her finely +moulded bust and waist to the best advantage, prepared to submit +herself to the operation. As she raised herself up on the ottoman +on which she reclined, Mrs. Elmsley cut open the sleeve to the +shoulder, thus laying bare one of the most magnificent arms that +ever was appended to a woman's body, the dazzling whiteness of +whose contour was only dimmed in the fleshy part above, and in the +immediate vicinity of the spot where the ball had entered. + +At a sign from Captain Headley, the Indian, who had been talking +aside with his chief, now approached, but no sooner did he behold +the uncovered limb, when, either dazzled by its brilliancy, which +to him must have seemed in a great degree superhuman, or shocked +that anything so beautiful should have been thus wounded, he suddenly +stopped, and while his eyes were as if fascinated, the blood could +be seen suddenly to recede from his dark cheek. + +"No, father," he said to Winnebeg, "I cannot do it. I cannot cut +that arm open--the very thought makes me sick here"--and he pointed +to his heart. "I cannot do it." + +Although this involuntary homage to the rich, full, and moulded +beauty of a limb which was but a sample of the perfection of the +whole person, and which in a woman seldom attains its fullest +harmony of proportion before the mature age which Mrs. Headley had +attained, was not exactly that of the porter who, at an earlier +period, solicited the famous Duchess of Gordon to permit him to +light his pipe at her ladyship's brilliant eyes, it was certainly +conceived in much of a similar spirit, and Mrs. Headley could scarce +herself suppress a smile when she remarked the effect upon the +Indian. + +And yet this man had been one of the foremost in the attack, and +at his waist, even then, dangled more scalps than had been taken +by any other warrior during the day. + +"Well," said Mrs. Headley, on the Pottowatomie continuing resolute +in his refusal to touch the wound--"somebody must do this act of +charity, for the ball gives me much pain. Mr. McKenzie," she added, +with that sort of smile that may be attributed to a person seeking +to assume an air of unconcern even when most disheartened--"you +have long been accustomed to use the dissecting knife on the buffalo +and the bear: do you not think that you could find the courage +necessary for the occasion!" + +"Most decidedly; I will make the attempt if you desire it," returned +the trader; "but I fear that my surgical apparatus is Very limited +indeed. Von Voltenberg having been stripped, all his instruments +have, doubtless, been plundered, so it is no use to look for +aid there; and the only thing with which I can try my skill is a +common but very sharp penknife." + +"Try whatever you please," said Mrs. Headley; "only relieve me of +this suffering; that which you may inflict cannot possibly be +worse"--and unflinchingly extending her arm, she waited for him to +begin. + +For the first time in his life Mr. McKenzie felt nervous. There +was a greater amount of courage required to cut into the delicate +flesh, of a woman than even to _kill_ a bear or a buffalo; but as he +had promised, he summoned up his resolution and skill to the task. + +The Pottowatomie, bedizened with scalps as he was, had remained to +witness the cutting out of the ball; and nothing could surpass the +expression of surprise that pervaded his features, as he keenly +watched the almost immovability of Mrs. Headley from the moment +that the blade of the penknife, dexterously enough handled, entered +into the flesh and effected the incision necessary to enable the +ball to be removed. When the operation was finished, and the ball +produced, he started suddenly to his feet, and uttered a sharp +exclamation, denoting approbation of her wonderful courage. He +asked, as a favor, to retain the ball as a testimony of her heroism; +when Mrs. Headley presented it to him with her own hand. And with +this he departed, exulting as though he had taken a new scalp. + +This incident, perhaps unimportant in itself, was not without some +moment in the results to which it led. On the day following the +fort was filled with Indians and their squaws not only endeavoring +to assert their claims to individual prisoners, but infuriated at +the losses, seeking a victim to the manes of their deceased relatives. +Among others was an aged squaw, who had lost a favorite son in the +battle, and who, having been told by a warrior that he had distinctly +seen him killed by a shot from Mrs. Headley's rifle, repaired to +the house of Mr. McKenzie, where she knew she then was, bent upon +exciting the general sympathy of the warriors in her favor, and +obtaining their assent that she should revenge his death upon the +"white squaw." + +It happened, however, that the noble woman, feeling great relief +from the abstraction of the ball from her left arm the preceding +evening, and feeling secure in the pledge entered into by Winnebeg, +and confirmed in a measure by his people, had fearlessly mounted +her horse, which had been recovered for her, and ridden alone to +the baggage wagons for the purpose of procuring some article which, +at the moment, she much required. As she was returning, and when +near the entrance to the fort, she was met by the vixen, furious +with rage and disappointment at not having found her. + +Advancing with a cry that might be likened to that of a fiend, she +seized the bridle of the horse, and attempted to drag his rider by +her habit to the ground--shrieking forth at the same time her +determination to have her life who had taken the life of her son. +But Mrs. Headley was not one, as the reader of this by no means +fictitious narrative already knows, to be thus intimidated. She +possessed too much of the high spirit, the resolute nature of her +unfortunate uncle to submit quietly to the outrage, and, moreover, +she knew enough of the Indian character to be sensible that it was +not by any manifestation of submission that she could hope to escape +the threatened danger. Her course was at once taken. She struck +the gaunt and shrivelled hag such a violent stroke over her shoulder +with the horsewhip of cowhide she held, that the latter was +compelled to release her hold; and, as she rushed into the fort, +calling on the Indians to revenge her son and kill the white squaw, +the latter followed her completely round the square, using her +cowhide with a dexterity and an effect, as she leaned over her +saddle, that drew bursts of laughter and approval from the warriors +eagerly gazing on the scene. At one moment, there was a manifestation +of a desire to carry out the wishes of the crone and kill Mrs. +Headley, and several voices were loud in the expression, but suddenly +then stood forth the Pottowatomie of the preceding evening, the +antagonist of Mrs. Elmsley, who, from his commanding appearance, +not less than by the prestige of his bravery imparted by the numerous +fresh scalps at his side, soon made himself an object of attention. +None of the chiefs were present. + +"The white squaw shall not be killed," he pronounced, as he held +up his tomahawk authoritatively; "she is brave like a Pottowatomie +warrior. See here," holding up first five and then two fingers--"so +many balls have hit her, and yet she is here, on horseback, as if +nothing had happened. What Indian would have courage to do that? +Speak!" + +"Pwau-na-shig lies," returned the beldam, whom Mrs. Headley had +now ceased to punish, yet who, panting from the speed she had used +in her flight, was almost inarticulate, thereby provoking the +greater mass of the Indians knowing its cause to increased mirth--"the +white squaw has no wounds--where are they--she cannot show them. +If she had wounds she could not sit on her horse; but she has killed +my son, and I demand her blood. Let her be given up to my tomahawk." + +A loud and confused murmur burst from many of the group, influenced +by the words of the last speaker. Mrs. Headley sat her horse with +indifference, patting his head gently with the whip, yet looking +earnestly towards Pwau-na-shig, upon whom she now altogether relied. + +"The mother of Tuh-qua-quod is a foolish old woman, and knows not +what she says," vociferated the tall warrior; "do you doubt the +word of Pwau-na-shig--see here," and he took from his pouch and +held up to view between his finger and thumb the bullet which had +been extracted the preceding evening. "That," he said, "I saw taken +from her flesh with my own eyes--she did not move--she made no +sign, of pain--she was like a warrior's wife; but you shall see +what Pwau-na-shig says is true." + +He approached Mrs. Headley, who, comprehending his object, shifted +her rein to the whip hand, and calmly extended her left arm. Where +it had been cut open, the sleeve of her riding habit was fastened +from the wrist to the shoulder by narrow dark ribbons, which had +been sewn on the previous evening by Mrs. Elmsley, and these the +Pottowatomie proceeded to untie; then turned back the sleeve, as +well as the snow--white linen of the upper arm, soiled only with +her own blood, until the whole was revealed. + +Apparently as much struck by the brilliancy and symmetry of the +limb as Pwau-na-shig himself had been, the warriors--even those +who had been most clamorous in support of the demand of the old +squaw--were now unanimous in their low expressions of admiration; +nor was this sentiment at all lessened when, following from the +wrist the rich contour of the swelling arm, it finally rested upon +the wound she herself had divested of its slight drapery. The +incision made by the penknife of Mr. McKenzie, at least three, +inches in length, had assumed a slight character of inflammation, +and contrasting as it did with the astounding whiteness of +every other portion of the limb, gave it the appearance of being +much more severe than it really was. But it was not the wound +alone that enlisted the feelings of the Indians in favor of Mrs. +Headley. Connected with that was the coolness she had evinced +throughout the whole affair from the persevering flogging of the +harridan, who sought her scalp, to the graceful unconcern with +which she sat her horse when she must have known that it was then +a question under discussion whether her life should be taken or +not. This, with the fact of the wound which they then saw, and +their no longer doubt of the existence of many others, were undeniable +evidences of her heroism, and at that moment Mrs. Headley was +regarded by these wild people with a higher respect than she had +ever commanded in the palmiest days of her husband's influence with +the race. + +"No kill him," said Pwau-na-shig, exultingly, as he remarked the +effect produced on his companions--"white chiefs wife good warrior." + +"No, no kill him," answered another voice, in broken English also. +"Dam fine squaw--wish had him wife--get brave papoose." + +A general expression of assent came from the band, when Mrs. Headley, +whose sleeve had again been rudely tied by Pwau-na-shig, fearing +that if she remained longer another reaction might take place, +pressed the hand of the Indian with a warmth of gratitude that +brought the strong fire into his eye and the warm blood into his +cheek, turned her horse's head, and cantered out of the fort, +followed by the wild ravings of the beldam, who tore her long and +matted grey hair and stamped her feet in fury at the disappointment. +In a few minutes she was again at the door of Mr. McKenzie, and +alighted in the arms of her husband, who, alarmed at her long +absence, was in the act of leaving the house in search of her when +she arrived. + +"There come Elmsley and Winnebeg, but unaccompanied," remarked +Captain Headley, when, in reply to his inquiry as to the cause of +her long absence, she said she would tell him later. "I fear that +they have been unable to prevail upon Maria to leave the new home +of her election." + +"I am sorry for it," gravely returned his wife. "I must say her +choice is not exactly what I should have expected; but here they +are--we shall soon know. Well, Mr. Elmsley," she added, as that +officer ascended the veranda, followed by Winnebeg, "what news do +you bring of the truant?" + +"I scarcely know whether to consider it good or bad," returned the +lieutenant, with an air of disappointment; "but I have not seen +Mrs. Ronayne. There seems to have been more method than madness +in her language to Wau-nan-gee of yesterday, for this morning she +departed with him to Detroit." + +"Indeed," remarked Mrs. Headley; "you surprise me, Mr. Elmsley; +but does she perform that long journey on foot?" + +"No; Winnebeg ascertained from his wife that she was mounted on +her own horse, and that Wau-nan-gee, having visited and returned +from. Hardscrabble during the night with a couple of trunks, she +had made up two large packages, which were tied to the back of her +saddle, while the youth strapped two others similarly prepared with +provisions, behind his own pony. Thus provided, and Wau-nan-gee +with his rifle on his shoulder and otherwise well armed, they set +out at daybreak. + +"Poor Maria! what your eventful destiny will be, heaven only knows," +sighed Mrs. Headley; "for not only the road but the course you +pursue is one beset with danger. But our lots are now cast in +different channels, and we have need of attention to ourselves. +Come in, Winnebeg, while I relate to you the somewhat narrow escape +I have again had from the tomahawk since you left this morning." + +"Good God! what do you mean?" simultaneously exclaimed the two +officers. Winnebeg stared and looked as if he did not fully +comprehend. + +"Oh! quite an adventure, I can assure you; and who do you think +was my devoted knight-errant?" + +"What a subject to jest about, Ellen!" remarked her husband, half +reprovingly. "To whom do you allude?" + +"Only the tall warrior who tried so desperately to get your wife's scalp, +Mr. Elmsley." + +"What, Pwau-na-shig?" + +"The same. You cannot imagine what a conquest I have made; but let +us go in--the story is too good not to be told to all, and I presume +both Mrs. Elmsley and her father are in." + +"They are," said Captain Headley, as the lieutenant gave his arm +to conduct her into the house. + +------ + +Little remains to be added to our tale. Of the incidents that +occurred to Wau-nan-gee and his charge, after their departure from +the camp of the Pottowatomies, we might, and may, speak hereafter; +but, as it is not essential to our present design, and would +necessarily occupy far more space than is consistent with the limits +we have been compelled to prescribe to ourselves for the detail of +the attack and partial massacre of the garrison of Fort Dearborn, +we forbear. We had always intended the facts connected with the +historical events of that period to be divided into a series of +three, like the Guardsmen, Mousquetaires, and Twenty Years After, +of Dumas. Two of these, embracing different epochs and circumstances, +we have completed in "Hardscrabble" and "Wau-nan-gee;" and whether +the third, on a different topic than that of war, and which, as we +have just observed, is not necessary to the others, ever finds +embodiment in the glowing language and thought of Nature, nursed +and strengthened in Nature's solitude, will much depend on the +interest with which its predecessors shall have been received. +Yet, whether we do so or not, we trust the sweet, the gentle Maria +Ronayne--the loadstone of attraction to all who knew her, will +have excited sufficient interest in those of her own sex who have +followed her in her hitherto chequered fate to induce in them a +desire to know more of the destiny to which she seemed to have been +born. + +Of the other characters, scarcely less interesting, we can speak +with greater confidence. On the third day after the battle, the +prisoners, including Mr. McKenzie and the members of his household, +were removed from Chicago, and scattered about in small and separate +parties, at various intervals of distance from Mackinaw, then in +possession of the British. Here Mrs. Headley remained some time, +in order that she might recover sufficiently from her troublesome +wounds, when Winnebeg, in whose immediate charge she and her +husband were, learning that his people manifested impatience +at the indulgence shown to them, and with their usual fickleness +and inconsistency, desired to have them given up to their own +custody, paddled them, aided only by his squaw, from their village, +a distance of three hundred miles along the shores of Lake Michigan +to the post of Mackinaw, whence the prisoners, who had been received +with all the courtesy the knowledge of their position and the fame +of their deeds could not fail to inspire, by the gentlemanly +commander of that post, were subsequently transferred to the general +then commanding at Detroit. + +And great was the curiosity of the young British officers then in +garrison at the latter post, to behold this noble and accomplished +woman, the reputation of whose coolness and courage, under the most +trying circumstances, had been widely circulated by her friend, +Mrs. Elmsley, who, with her father and husband, had some weeks +preceded her to the same quarter. + +Little did we at the time, as we shared in the general and sincere +homage to her magnificence of person and brilliancy of character, +dream that a day would arrive when we should be the chronicler of +Mrs. Headley's glory, or have the pleasing task imposed upon us of +re-embodying, after death, the inimitable grace and fulness of +contour that then fired the glowing heart of the unformed boy of +fifteen for the ripened and heroic, although by no means bold or +masculine woman of forty. + +THE END. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wau-nan-gee or the Massacre at Chicago, by +Major John Richardson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAU-NAN-GEE, MASSACRE AT CHICAGO *** + +***** This file should be named 31745.txt or 31745.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/7/4/31745/ + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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