"He is scarcely to be disturbed at present, unless the matter be truly urgent," I replied, my plan hastily sketched6 in mind. "Have you arranged a banquet in honor of the Frenchman?"
"No such good fortune," was the grave response. "Captain Heald desires his company upon an immediate7 mission to the Pottawattomie camp."
? 202 ?
"Oh, is that all? Well, Captain de Croix will hardly be found sufficiently8 recovered from his late adventure to enter upon another one so early. 'Tis in my thought he either sleeps or is prinking himself for more pleasant conquests. But why worry him? In my judgment9, no poorer choice could be made for so serious a task as you propose. He is a mere10 French courtier,—brave enough, and rash, I grant, yet without knowledge of Indian ways and treachery. Might not I answer better as his substitute?"
"You?"
"Ay! and why not? I am frontier-bred, long trained in woodcraft and savage11 ways, and surely far better fitted for such a task than is this petted darling of the courts. Were it a flirtation12, now, the post might be truly his."
"Fully14, my friend, yet scarce think it so desperate as you imagine. It is my judgment the savages15 yonder are seeking bigger game than so small a party would afford, and will therefore allow us to go free. However, if it should prove otherwise," and I spoke16 the words with a sore heart as I recalled what had just occurred, "I am a lone17 man in the world, and to such an one death is not so terrible, even at Indian hands. Come, I will go with you to confer with Captain Heald, and offer him my services. He can do no more than refuse."
? 203 ?
Helm offered no further objection, doubtless feeling it useless in my venturesome mood; and we crossed the parade together without speaking.
Captain Wells was the first to see me as we entered, and some instinct told him instantly of my purpose.
"Ah, Wayland, my boy! I have been troubled lest you might chance to hear of our plight18, and jump in. Come now, lad! 'twas not you we sent after, nor can we use you in so grave a matter."
"And pray, why not?" I questioned, a little touched by this evidence of kindness, yet firmly determined19 to keep my pledge to Mademoiselle. "I am a better man for such deeds than the Frenchman, and am eager to go."
"So this is not your Captain de Croix?" said Captain Heald, eying me curiously20. "Saint George! but he is a big fellow,—the same who made the race last night, or I mistake greatly. And what is this man's name?"
"It is John Wayland," I answered, anxious to impress him favorably; "a frontiersman of the Maumee country, and fairly skilled in Indian ways. I have come to volunteer my services to go with you."
"You are anxious to die? have the spirit of a Jesuit, perchance, and are ambitious of martyrdom?"
"Not unusually so, sir, but I think the danger ? 204 ? overrated by these gentlemen. At least, I am ready and willing to go."
"And so you shall, lad!" cried the old soldier, striking a hand upon his knee. "You are of the race of the long rifles; I know your kind well. Not another word, William! here is a man worth any twenty of your French beaux strutting21 with a sword. Now we start at once, and shall have this matter settled speedily."
The earliest haze22 of the fast-descending twilight23 was hovering24 over the level plain as we two went forth25. In the west, the red tinge26 of the sun, which had just disappeared below the horizon, lingered well up in the sky. Against it we could see, clearly outlined in inky blackness, the distant Indian wigwams; while to the eastward27 the crimson28 light was reflected in fantastic glow upon the heaving surface of the lake. For a moment we paused, standing29 upon the slope of the mound30 on which the Fort was built, and gazed about us. There was little movement to arrest the eye. The dull, dreary31 level of shore and prairie was deserted32; what the more distant mounds33 of sand or the overhanging river banks might hide of savage watchers, we could only conjecture34. Seemingly the mass of Indian life, which only the day before had overflowed35 that vacant space, had vanished as if by some sorcerer's magic. To me, this unexpected silence and dreary barrenness were astounding36; I gazed about me fairly bewildered, almost dreaming for the ? 205 ? moment that our foes37 had lifted the long siege and departed while I slept. Heald no doubt read the thought in my eyes, for he laid a kindly38 hand upon my sleeve and pointed39 westward40.
"They are all yonder, lad, at the camp,—in council, like enough. Mark you, Wayland, how much farther to the south the limit of their camp extends than when the sun sank last night? Saint George! they must have added all of fifty wigwams to their village! They gather like crows about a dead body. It has an ugly look."
"Yet 'tis strange they leave the Fort unguarded, so that the garrison41 may come and go unhindered. 'Tis not the usual practice of Indian warfare42."
"Unguarded? Faith! the hundreds of miles of wilderness43 between us and our nearest neighbor are sufficient guard. But dream not, my lad, that we are unobserved; doubtless fifty pair of skulking44 eyes are even now upon us, marking every move. I venture we travel no more than a hundred yards from the gate before our way is barred. Note how peaceful the stockade45 appears! But for the closed gates, one would never dream it the centre of hostile attack. Upon my word, even love-making has not deserted its log-walls!"
I lifted my eyes where he pointed, and even at that distance, and through the gathering46 gloom, I knew it was De Croix and Mademoiselle who overhung those eastern palisades in proximity47 so close. ? 206 ? The sight was as fire to my blood, and with teeth clinched48 to keep back the mad utterance49 of a curse, I strode beside Captain Heald silently down the declivity50 to the deserted plain below.
It is my nature to be somewhat chary51 of speech, and to feel deeply and long; but if I doubted it before, I knew now, in this moment of keen and bitter disappointment, that my heart was with that careless girl up yonder, who had sent me forth into grave peril apparently52 without thought, and who cared so little even now that she never lifted her eyes from the sparkling water to trace our onward53 progress. Anger, disappointment, disgust at her duplicity, her cruel abuse of power, swept over and mastered me at the moment when I realized more deeply than ever my own love for her, and my utter helplessness to oppose her slightest whim54. No Indian thongs55 could bind56 me half so tightly as the false smiles of Toinette.
Plunged57 into this whirlpool of thought, I moved steadily58 forward at Captain Heald's shoulder, unconscious of what might be taking place about us, and for the moment indifferent to the result of our venture. But this feeling was not for long. Scarcely had our progress taken us across the front of the deserted agency building, and beyond the ken59 of the sentinels in the Fort, when a single warrior60 rose before us as from the ground, and blocked the path. He was a short, sturdy savage, bare to the waist save for a chain ? 207 ? of teeth which dangled61 with sinister62 gleam about his brawny63 throat, and, from the wide sweep of his shoulders, evidently possessed64 of prodigious65 strength. He held a gun extended in front of him, and made a gesture of warning impossible to misapprehend.
"What seeks the White Chief?" he questioned bluntly. "Does he come for peace or war?"
"Never since I have been at Dearborn have I sought war," he replied at last. "Little Sauk knows this well. We travel now that we may have council of peace with the chiefs of the Pottawattomies. See!" and he held up both empty hands before the Indian's eyes, "we are both unarmed, because of our trust in the good faith of your people."
Little Sauk uttered a low grunt68 of disapproval69, and made no motion to lower his threatening rifle.
"Ugh! You talk strong! Did any Pottawattomie send to White Chief to come to council?"
"No," admitted Heald. "We come because it is the wish of the Great Father of the white men down by the sea that we talk together of the wrongs of the red men, and make proposals of peace between us. There is no cause for these rumors70 of war, and the Great Father has heard that the Pottawattomies are dissatisfied, and it has made him sad."
The Indian looked from one to the other of us ? 208 ? in the growing darkness, and made a gesture of contempt.
"The real Great White Father wears a red coat, and is friend to the Pottawattomie," he said with dignity. "He no lie, no shut Indian out of Fort, no steal furs, no throw rum in river. Who this man, White Chief? He no soldier,—he long-knife."
"Yes, he is a frontiersman, and came to the Fort yesterday with Wau-me-nuk, bringing word of greeting from the Great Father to the Pottawattomies. He goes now with me to council. May we pass on to your camp?"
For a moment Little Sauk did not answer, stepping closer in order that he might better scan my features. Apparently satisfied by the keen scrutiny71, he turned his broad back upon us and strode off with contemptuous dignity.
"Come," he said shortly; and without further word we followed across that dim plain and through the thickening darkness.
The Indian's step was noiseless, and his figure cast the merest shadow; but as we moved onward others constantly joined us, stalking out of the black night like so many phantoms72, gliding73 silently in their noiseless moccasins across the soft grass, until fully a dozen spectral74 forms hedged our pathway and kept step to every movement. It was a weird75 procession, through the shifting night-shadows; and although I ? 209 ? could catch but fleeting76 glimpses of those savage faces and half-naked forms, the knowledge of their presence, and our own helplessness if they proved treacherous77, caused my heart to throb78 till I could hear it in the painful silence like the beat of a drum. Now and then a guttural voice challenged from the darkness, to be instantly answered by those in advance, and another savage glided79 within our narrowed vision, scanned us with cruel and curious eyes, and fell in with the same silent, tiger-like tread of his fellows.
It was not long that we were compelled to march thus, the gathering warriors80 pressing us closer at each step; and it was well it proved so soon ended, for the grim mockery set my nerves on edge. Yet the change was hardly for the better. Just before reaching the spot where the river forked sharply to the southward, we came to the upper edge of the wigwams, and into a bit of light from their scattered81 fires. There rushed out upon us a wild horde82 of excited savages, warriors and squaws, who pushed us about in sheer delirium83, and even struck viciously at us across the shoulders of our indifferent guard, so that it was only by setting my teeth that I held back from grappling with the demons84. But Heald, older in years and of cooler blood, laid restraining hands upon my arm.
"'Tis but the riff-raff," he muttered warningly. "The chiefs will hold them back from doing us serious harm."
? 210 ?
As he spoke, Little Sauk uttered a gruff order, and the grim warriors on our flank drove back the jeering85, scowling86 crowd, with fierce Indian cursing and blows of their guns, until the way had been cleared for our advance. We moved on for two hundred yards or more, the maddened and vengeful mob menacing us just beyond reach of the strong arms, and howling in their anger until I doubted not their voices reached the distant Fort.
We came to a great wigwam of deer-skin, much larger than any I had ever seen, with many grotesque87 figures of animals sketched in red and yellow paint upon the outside, and clearly revealed by the blazing fire without. A medicine-man of the tribe, hideous88 with pigment89 and high upstanding hair, sat beating a wooden drum before the entrance, and chanting wildly to a ferocious-looking horde of naked savages, many bleeding from self-inflicted wounds, who danced around the blaze, the leaping figures in the red glare making the scene truly demoniacal. Little Sauk strode through the midst of them, unheeding the uproar90, and flung aside the flap of the tent.
"White Chief and Long Knife wait here," he said sternly. "Come back pretty soon."
There was nothing to be seen within, excepting some skins flung carelessly upon the short trodden grass. We sat down silently upon these, gazing out through the narrow opening at the blazing fire and the ? 211 ? numerous moving figures constantly crowding closer about the entrance, both of us too deeply immersed in thought to care for speech.
The black shadows upon the tepee cover told me that guards had been posted to keep back the rabble91 from intrusion, and once I saw signs of a brief struggle in front when the swarm92 had grown too inquisitive93 and were forced back with scant ceremony. The weird dance and incantation continued; and although I knew but little of the customs of the Pottawattomies, there was a cruel savagery94 and ferocity about it which I felt held but little promise of peace.
"'Tis the war-dance," whispered Heald in my ear, "and bodes95 ill for our purpose. See! the red wampum is in the fellow's hand."
As I bent96 forward to catch the gleam of it in the flames, a new figure suddenly flitted past our narrow vista97, between us and the wild circle of dancers. It was a woman, attired98 in fanciful Indian dress; but surely no Pottawattomie squaw ever possessed so graceful99 a carriage, or bore so clear a face.
"Captain!" I ejaculated eagerly. "Did you see that white woman there, with the long skirt and red hair?"
"Ay!" he answered as though he scarce had faith in his own eyes. "I marked not the color of her hair, but I saw the lass, and, by Saint George! she looked to me like old Roger Matherson's daughter."
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1
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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4
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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6
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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7
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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8
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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9
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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14
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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strutting
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| 加固，支撑物 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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24
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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25
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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27
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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30
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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33
mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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35
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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36
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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38
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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39
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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42
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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43
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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44
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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45
stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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46
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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47
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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48
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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49
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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50
declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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51
chary
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| adj.谨慎的，细心的 | |
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52
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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53
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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54
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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55
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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56
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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57
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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58
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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59
ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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60
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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61
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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62
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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64
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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65
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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66
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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68
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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69
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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70
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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71
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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72
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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73
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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74
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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75
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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pigment
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| n.天然色素，干粉颜料 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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bodes
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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