The Hunters of the Hills Page 9

  CHAPTER VII

  NEW FRANCE

  The huge and savage warrior had never looked more malignant. His faceand his bare chest were painted with the most hideous devices, and hiseyes, in the single glance that he cast upon Robert and his comrades,showed full of black and evil passions. Then, as if they were no longerpresent, he stalked to the fire, took up some cooked deer meat that laybeside it, and, sitting down Turkish fashion like the other Indians,began to eat, not saying a word to the Frenchmen.

  It was the action of a savage of the savages, but Robert, startled atfirst by the unexpected appearance of such an enemy, called to his aidthe forest stoicism that he had learned and sat down, calm, outwardly atleast. The initiative was not his now, nor that of his comrades, and heglanced anxiously at de Courcelles to see how he would take this rudeinvasion of his camp. The French colonel looked at Tandakora, then atJumonville, and Jumonville looked at him. The two shrugged theirshoulders, and in a flash of intuition he was convinced that they knewthe Ojibway well.

  Whatever anger de Courcelles may have felt at the manners of the savagehe showed none at all. All the tact and forbearance which the Frenchused with such wonderful effect in their dealings with the NorthAmerican Indians were summoned to his aid. He spoke courteously toTandakora, but, as his words were in the Ojibway dialect, Robert did notunderstand them. The Indian made a guttural reply and continued to gnawfiercely at the bone of the deer. De Courcelles still took no offense,and spoke again, his words smooth and his face smiling. Then Tandakora,in his deep guttural, spoke rapidly and with heat. When he had finishedde Courcelles turned to his guests, and with a deprecatory gesture,said:

  "Tandakora's heart burns with wrath. He says that you attacked him andhis party in the forest and have slain some of his warriors."

  "Tandakora lies!"

  It was the Onondaga who spoke. His voice was not raised, but everysyllable was articulated clearly, and the statement came with the impactof a bullet. The tan of de Courcelles' face could not keep a momentaryflush from breaking through, but he kept his presence of mind.

  "It is easy enough to call a man a liar," he said, "but it is anotherthing to prove it."

  "Since when," said Tayoga, haughtily, "has the word of an Ojibway, abarbarian who knows not the law, been worth more than that of one who isa member of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the greatLeague of the Hodenosaunee?"

  He spoke in English, which Robert knew the Ojibway understood and whichboth Frenchmen spoke fluently. The great hand of Tandakora drifted downtoward the handle of his tomahawk, but Tayoga apparently did not seehim, his fathomless eyes again staring into the fire. Robert looked atWillet, and he saw the hunter's eye also fall upon the handle of histomahawk, a weapon which he knew the Great Bear could hurl with aswiftness and precision equal to those of any Indian. He understood atonce that Tayoga was protected by the hunter from any sudden movement bythe Ojibway and his great strain relaxed.

  De Courcelles frowned, but his face cleared in an instant. Robert,watching him now, believed he was not at all averse to a quarrel betweenthe Onondaga and the Ojibway.

  "It is not a question for me to decide," he replied. "The differences ofthe Hodenosaunee and the western tribes are not mine, though HisMajesty, King Louis of France, wishes all his red brethren to dwelltogether in peace. Yet I but tell to you, Tayoga, what Tandakora hastold to me. He says that you three attacked him and peaceful warriorsback there in a gorge of the river, and slew some of his comrades."

  "Tandakora lies," repeated Tayoga in calm and measured tones. "It istrue that warriors who were with them fell beneath our bullets, but theycame swimming in the night, seeking to murder us while we slept, andwhile there is yet no war between us. An Onondaga or a Mohawk or anywarrior of the Hodenosaunee hates and despises a snake."

  The words, quiet though they were, were fairly filled with concentratedloathing. The eyes of the huge Ojibway flashed and his clutch on thehandle of his tomahawk tightened convulsively, but the fixed gaze of thehunter seemed to draw him at that moment. He saw that Willet's eyes wereupon him, that every muscle was attuned and that the tomahawk would leapfrom his belt like a flash of lightning, and seeing, Tandakora paused.

  The two Frenchmen looked at Tayoga, at Tandakora and at Willet. Thenthey looked at each other, and being acute men with a full experience offorest life, they understood the silent drama.

  "I don't undertake to pass any judgment here," said de Courcelles, aftera pause. "It is the word of one warrior against another, and I cannotsay which is the better. But since you are going to the Marquis Duquesneat Quebec, Mr. Lennox, the matter may be laid before him, and it is forthose who make charges to bring proof."

  The words were silky, but Robert saw that they were intended to weave anet.

  "We are on an official mission from the Governor of the Province of NewYork to the Governor General of Canada," he said. "We cannot be tried atQuebec for an offense that we have never committed, and for ourcommission of which you have only the word of a barbarian who twicetried to murder us."

  The hand of Tandakora on the handle of his tomahawk again made aconvulsive movement, but the gaze of the hunter was fixed upon him withdeadly menace, and another hand equally as powerful and perhaps quickerthan his own was clutched around the handle of another tomahawk. Againthe Ojibway paused and chose the way of peace.

  "Patience, Tandakora," said Jumonville, taking the initiative for thefirst time. "If you have suffered wrongs Onontio will avenge them. Hiseye sees everything, and he does not forget his children of the westernforests."

  "When we first saw him," said Robert, "he was with the Chevalier RaymondLouis de St. Luc, who was going with belts from the Marquis Duquesne tothe council of the fifty chiefs in the vale of Onondaga. Now he has comeon another course, and is here far from the vale of Onondaga."

  "We will dismiss the matter," said de Courcelles, who evidently was forpeace also. "Since you and your friends are our guests, Mr. Lennox, wecannot treat you except as such. Take to your blankets and you rest assafely with us as if you were sleeping in your own town of Albany."

  Willet removed his hand from the handle of his tomahawk, and, rising tohis full height, stretched himself and yawned.

  "We accept your pledge in the spirit in which it is given, Colonel deCourcelles," he said, "and being worn from a long day and long toil I,for one, shall find sweet slumber here on the leaves with a kindly skyabove me."

  "Then, sir, I bid you a happy good night," said Colonel de Courcelles.

  Without further ado the three folded their blankets them and fell asleepon the leaves.

  Robert, before closing his eyes, had felt assured that no harm wouldbefall them while they were in the camp of de Courcelles, knowing thatthe French colonel could not permit any attack in his own camp uponthose who bore an important message from the Governor of New York to theGovernor General of Canada. Hence his heart was light as he was waftedaway to the land of slumber, and it was light again when he awoke thenext morning at the first rays of dawn.

  Tayoga and Willet still slept, and he knew that they shared hisconfidence, else these wary rovers of the woods would have been watchingrather than sleeping. Jumonville also was still rolled in his blankets,but de Courcelles was up, fully dressed, and alert. Several of theCanadians and Indians were building a fire. Robert's questing eye soughtat once for the Ojibway, but he was gone, and the youth was notsurprised. His departure in the night was a relief to everybody, even tothe French, and Robert felt that an evil influence was removed. The airthat for a space the night before had been poisonous to the lungs wasnow pure and bracing. He took deep breaths, and his eyes sparkled as helooked at the vast green forest curving about them. Once more he felt tothe full the beauty and majesty of the wilderness. Habit and use couldnever dull it for him.

  De Courcelles turned upon him a frank and appreciative eye. Robert sawthat he intended to be pleasant, even genial that morning, having noreason for not showing his better side, and the lad, who was l
earningnot only to fence and parry with words, but also to take anintellectual pleasure in their use, was willing to meet him half way.

  "I see, Mr. Lennox," said de Courcelles gayly, "that you are in a finehumor this morning. Your experience with the Ojibway has left no illresults. He departed in the night. One can never tell what strange ideasthese savages will take into their heads."

  "I have forgotten it," said Robert lightly. "I knew that a Frenchgentleman could not take the word of a wild Ojibway against ours."

  De Courcelles gave him a sharp glance, but the youth's face was a mask.

  "At least," he said, "the matter is not one of which I could dispose.Nor can any government take note of everything that passes in a vastwilderness. I, too, shall forget it. Nor is it likely that it will everbe taken before the Marquis Duquesne. Come, our breakfast will soon beready and your comrades are awakening."

  Robert walked down to a small brook, bathed his face, and returned tofind the food ready. He did not wholly trust either de Courcelles orJumonville, but their manners were good, and it was quite evident thatthey no longer wished to interfere with the progress of the mission.Tayoga and Willet also seemed to have forgotten the episode of the nightbefore, and asked no questions about Tandakora. After breakfast, thethree put their canoe back in the river, and thanking their hosts forthe courtesy of a night in their camp, shot out into the stream. DeCourcelles and Jumonville, standing on the bank, waved them farewell,and they held their paddles aloft a moment or two in salute. Then a bendshut them from view.

  "I don't trust them," said Robert, after a long silence. "This is oursoil, but they march over it and calmly assume that it's their own."

  "King George claims it, and King Louis claims it, too," said Willet in awhimsical tone, "but I'm thinking it belongs to neither. The ownership,I dare say, will not be decided for many a year. Now, Tayoga, what doyou think has become of that demon, Tandakora?"

  The Onondaga looked at the walls of foliage on either side of the streambefore answering.

  "One cannot tell," he said in his precise language of the schools. "Themind of the Ojibway is a fitful thing, but always it is wild andlawless. He longs, night and day, for scalps, and he covets ours most.It is because we have defeated the attempts he has made already."

  "Do you think he has gone ahead with the intention of ambushing us?Would he dare?"

  "Yes, he would dare. If he were to succeed he would have little to fear.A bullet in one of our hearts, fired from cover on the bank, and thenthe wilderness would swallow him up and hide him from pursuit. He couldgo to the country around the last and greatest of the lakes, where onlythe white trapper or explorer has been."

  "It gives me a tremendously uncomfortable feeling, Tayoga, to think thatbloodthirsty wretch may be waiting for a shot at us. How are we toguard against him?"

  "We must go fast and watch as we go. Our eyes are keen, and we may seehim moving among the trees. The Ojibway is no marksman, and unless wesit still it is not likely that he can hit us."

  Tayoga spoke very calmly, but his words set Robert's heart to beating,understanding what an advantage Tandakora had if he sought to lie inambush. He knew that the soul of the Ojibway was full of malice and thathis craving for scalps was as strong as the Onondaga had said it was.Had it been anyone else he would not follow them, but Robert foresaw inTandakora a bitter and persistent enemy. Both he and Willet, feeling thewisdom of Tayoga's advice, began to paddle faster. But the hunterpresently slowed down a little.

  "No use to take so much out of ourselves now that we'll just creep alonglater on," he said.

  "The temptation to go fast is very strong," said Robert. "You feel thenthat you're really dodging bullets."

  Tayoga was looking far ahead toward a point where the stream became muchnarrower and both banks were densely wooded, as usual.

  "If Tandakora really means to ambush us," he said, "he will be there,because it offers the best opportunity, and it is a place that the heartof a murderer would love. Suppose that Dagaeoga and I paddle, and thatthe Great Bear rests with his rifle across his knees ready to fire atthe first flash. We know what a wonderful marksman the Great Bear is,and it may be Tandakora who will fall."

  "The plan, like most of yours, is good, Tayoga," said Willet. "The Lordhas given me some skill with the rifle, and I have improved it withdiligent practice. I think I can watch both sides of the stream prettywell, and if the Ojibway fires I can fire back at the flash. We'll relyupon our speed to make his bullet miss, and anyway we must take thechance. You lads needn't exert yourselves until we come to the narrowpart of the stream. Then use the paddles for your lives."

  Robert found it hard to be slow, but his will took command of hismuscles and he imitated the long easy strokes of Tayoga. As the currenthelped much, their speed was considerable, nevertheless. The riverflowed, a silver torrent, in the clear light of the morning, a fishleaping up now and then in the waters so seldom stirred by any strangepresence. The whole scene was saturated with the beauty and the majestyof the wilderness, and to the eye that did not know it suggested onlypeace. But Robert often lifted his gaze from the paddle and the river tosearch the green thickets on either side. They were only casual glances,Willet being at once their sentinel and guard.

  The great hunter was never more keenly alert. His thick, powerful figurewas poised evenly in the canoe, and the long-barreled rifle lay in thehollow of his arm, his hand on the lock and his finger on the trigger.Eyes, trained by many years in the forest, searched continually amongthe trees for a figure that did not belong there, and, at the sametime, he listened for the sound of any movement not natural to thewilderness. He felt his full responsibility as the rifleman of the fleetof one canoe, and he accepted it.

  "Lads," he said, "we're approaching the narrowest part of the river. Itruns straight, I can see a full mile ahead, and for all that distanceit's not more than thirty yards from shore to shore. Now use thestrength that you've been saving, and send the canoe forward like anarrow. Those are grand strokes, Tayoga! And yours too, Robert! Now, ourspeed is increasing! We fairly fly! Good lads! I knew you were bothwonderful with the paddle, but I did not know you were such marvels!Never mind the woods, Robert, I'm watching 'em! Faster! A little faster,if you can! I think I see something moving in a thicket on our right!Bang, there goes his rifle! Just as I expected, his bullet hit the watertwenty feet from us! And bang goes my own rifle! How do you like that,my good friend Tandakora?"

  "Did you make an end of him?" asked Robert breathlessly.

  "No," replied the hunter, although his tone was one of satisfaction. "Ihad to shoot when I saw the flash of his rifle, and I had only a glimpseof him. But I saw enough to know that my bullet took him in theshoulder. His rifle fell from his hand, and then he dropped down in theunderbrush, thinking one of you might snatch up a weapon and fire. No, Ididn't make an end of him, Robert, but I did make an end of his warfareupon us for a while. That bullet must have gone clean through hisshoulder, and for the present at least he'll have to quit scalp hunting.But how he must hate us!"

  "Let him hate," said Robert. "I don't care how much his hate increases,so long as he can't lie in ambush for us. It's pretty oppressive to havean invisible death lurking around you, unable to fend it off, and neverknowing when or where it will strike."

  "But we did fend it off," said the big hunter, as he reloaded the rifleof which he had made such good use. "And now I can see the streamwidening ahead of us, with natural meadows on either side, where noenemy can lay an ambush. Easy now, lads! The danger has passed. Thatfiend is lying in the thicket binding up his wounded shoulder as best hecan, and tomorrow we'll be in Canada. Draw in your paddles, and I'lltake mine. You're entitled to a rest. You couldn't have done better ifyou had been in a race, and, after all, it was a race for life."

  Robert lifted his paddle and watched the silver bubbles fall from itinto the stream. Then he sank back in his seat, relaxing after his greateffort, his breath coming at first in painful gasps, but graduallybecoming long and easy
.

  "I'm glad we'll be in Canada tomorrow, Dave," he said, "because thejourney has surely been most difficult."

  "Pretty thick with dangers, that's true," laughed the hunter, "but we'verun past most of 'em. The rest of the day will be easy, safe andpleasant."

  His prediction came true, their journey on the river continuing withoutinterruption. Two or three times they saw distant smoke rising above theforest, but they judged that it came from the camp fires of hunters, andthey paid no further attention to it. That night they took the canoefrom the river once more, carrying it into the woods and sleeping besideit, and the next day they entered the mighty St. Lawrence.

  "This is Canada," said Willet. "Farther west we claim that our territorycomes to the river and that we have a share in it. But here it's surelyFrench by right of long occupation. We can reach Montreal by night,where we'll get a bigger boat, and then we'll go on to Quebec. It's afine river, isn't it, Robert?"

  "So it is," replied Robert, looking at the vast sheet of water, bluethen under a perfectly blue sky, flowing in a mighty mass toward thesea. Tayoga's eyes sparkled also. The young warrior could feel to thefull the splendors of the great forests, rivers and lakes of his nativeland.

  "I too shall be glad to see Stadacona," he said, "the mighty rock thatonce belonged to a nation of the Hodenosaunee, the Mohawks, the Keepersof the Eastern Gate."

  "It is the French who have pressed upon you and who have driven you fromsome of your old homes, but it is the English who have respected allyour rights," said Robert, not wishing Tayoga to forget who were thefriends of the Hodenosaunee.

  "It is so," said the Onondaga.

  Taking full advantage of the current, and sparing the paddles as much asthey could, they went down the stream, which was not bare of life. Theysaw two great canoes, each containing a dozen Indians, who lookedcuriously at them, but who showed no hostility.

  "It's likely they take us for French," said Willet. "Of what tribe arethese men, Tayoga?"

  "I cannot tell precisely," replied the Onondaga, "but they belong to thewild tribes that live in the regions north of the Great Lakes. Theybring furs either to Montreal or Quebec, and they will carry backblankets and beads and guns and ammunition. Above the Great Lakes andrunning on, no man knows how far, are many other vast lakes. It is saidthat some in the distant north are as large as Erie or Ontario orlarger, but I cannot vouch for it, as we warriors of the Hodenosauneehave never been there, hearing the tales from warriors of other tribesthat have come down to trade."

  "It's true, Tayoga," said Willet. "I've roamed north of the Great Lakesmyself, and I've met Indians of the tribes called Cree and Assiniboine,and they've told me about those lakes, worlds and worlds of 'em, andsome of 'em so big that you can paddle days without reaching the end. Isuppose there are chains and chains of lakes running up and down ahollow in the middle of this continent of ours, though it's only a guessof mine about the middle. Nobody knows how far it is across from sea tosea."

  "We better go in closer to the shore," said Tayoga. "A wind is comingand on so big a river big waves will rise."

  "That's so, Tayoga," said Willet. "A little bark canoe like ours wasn'tmade to fight with billows."

  They paddled near to the southern shore, and, being protected by thehigh banks, the chief force of the wind passed over their heads. In thecenter of the stream the water rose in long combers like those of thesea, and a distant boat with oarsmen rocked violently.

  "Hugging the land will be good for us until the wind passes," saidWillet. "Suppose we draw in among those bushes growing in the edge ofthe water and stop entirely."

  "A good idea," said Robert, who did not relish a swamping of the canoein the cold St. Lawrence.

  A few strokes of the paddle and they were in the haven, but the threestill watched the distant boat, which seemed to be of large size, andwhich still kept in the middle of the stream.

  "It has a mast and can carry a sail when it wishes," said Willet, aftera long examination.

  "French officers are in it," said Tayoga.

  "I believe you are right, boy. I think I caught the glitter of auniform."

  "And the boat has steered about and is coming this way, Great Bear. TheFrench officers no doubt have the glasses that magnify, and, having seenus, are coming to discover what we are."

  "Correct again, Tayoga. They've turned their prow toward us, and, as wedon't want to have even the appearance of hiding, I think we'd betterpaddle out of the bushes and make way slowly again close to the shore."

  A few sweeps of the paddle and the canoe was proceeding once more downthe St. Lawrence, keeping in comparatively quiet waters near thesouthern side. The large boat was approaching them fast, but theypretended not to have seen it.

  "Probably it comes from Hochelaga," said Tayoga.

  "And your Hochelaga, which is the French Montreal, was Iroquois once,also," said Robert.

  "Our fathers and grandfathers are not sure," replied Tayoga. "Cartierfound there a great village surrounded by a palisade, and many of ourpeople think that a nation of the Hodenosaunee, perhaps the Mohawks,lived in it, but other of our old men say it was a Huron town. It iscertain though that the Hodenosaunee lived at Stadacona."

  "In any event, most of this country was yours or races kindred to yoursowned it. So, Tayoga, you are traveling on lands and waters that oncebelonged to your people. But we're right in believing that boat has cometo spy us out. I can see an officer standing up and watching us withglasses."

  "Let 'em come," said Willet. "There's no war--at least, not yet--andthere's plenty of water in the St. Lawrence for all the canoes, boatsand ships that England and France have."

  "If they hail us," said Robert, "and demand, as they probably will, whatwe're about, I shall tell them that we're going to the Marquis Duquesneat Quebec and show our credentials."

  The large boat rapidly came nearer, and as men on board furled the sailothers at the oars drew it alongside the little canoe, which seemed amere cork on the waves of the mighty St. Lawrence. But Robert, Tayogaand Willet paddled calmly on, as if boats, barges and ships wereeveryday matters to them, and were not to be noticed unduly. A tallyoung man standing up in the boat hailed them in French and then inEnglish. Robert, watching out of the corner of his eye, saw that he wasfair, like so many of the northern French, that he was dressed in auniform of white with violet facings, and that his hat was black andthree-cornered. He learned afterward that it was the uniform of abattalion of Languedoc. He saw also that the boat carried sixteen men,all except the oarsmen being in uniform.

  "Who are you?" demanded the officer imperiously.

  Robert, to whom the others conceded the position of spokesman, haddecided already that his course should be one of apparent indifference.

  "Travelers," he replied briefly, and the three bent to their paddles.

  "What travelers are you and where are you going?" demanded the officer,in the same imperious manner.

  The wash of the heavy boat made the frail canoe rock perilously, but itsthree occupants appeared not to notice it. Using wonderful skill, theyalways brought it back to the true level and maintained a steady courseahead. On board the larger boat the oarsmen, rowing hard, kept near, andfor the third time the officer demanded:

  "Who are you? I represent the authority of His Majesty, King Louis ofFrance, upon this river, and unless you answer explicitly I shall ordermy men to run you down."

  "But we are messengers," said Robert calmly. "We bear letters of greatimportance to the Marquis Duquesne at Quebec. If you sink us it's likelythe letters will go down with us."

  "It's another matter if you are on such a mission, but I must demandonce more your names."

  "The highest in rank among us is the young chief, or coming chief,Tayoga, of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the greatLeague of the Hodenosaunee. Next comes David Willet, a famous hunter andscout, well known throughout the provinces of New York and Massachusettsand even in Canada, and often called by his friends, the Iroquois, t
heGreat Bear. As for me, I am Robert Lennox, of Albany and sometimes ofNew York, without rank or office."

  The officer abated his haughty manner. The answer seemed to please him.

  "That surely is explicit enough," he said. "I am Louis de Galisonniere,a captain of the battalion Languedoc, stationed for the present atMontreal and charged with the duty of watching the river for alldoubtful characters, in which class I was compelled to put the three ofyou, if you gave no explanations."

  "Galisonniere! That is a distinguished name. Was there not a GovernorGeneral of Canada who bore it?"

  "A predecessor of the present Governor General, the Marquis Duquesne. Itgives me pride to say that the Count de Galisonniere was my uncle."

  Robert saw that he had found the way to young Galisonniere's goodgraces through his family and he added with the utmost sincerity, too:

  "New France has had many a great Governor General, as we of the Englishcolonies ought to know, from the Sieur de Roberval, through Champlain,Frontenac, de Beauharnais and on to your uncle, the Count deGalisonniere."

  Willet and the Onondaga gave Robert approving looks, and the youngFrenchman flushed with pleasure.

  "You have more courtesy and appreciation for us than most of theBostonnais," he said. "I would talk further with you, but conversationis carried on with difficulty under such circumstances. Suppose we runinto the first cove, lift your canoe aboard, and we'll take you toMontreal, since that's our own port of destination."

  Robert agreed promptly. He wished to make a good impression upon deGalisonniere, and, since the big boat was now far safer and morecomfortable than the canoe, two ends would be served at the same time.Willet and the Onondaga also nodded in acquiescence, and a mile or twofarther on they and the canoe too went aboard de Galisonniere's stoutcraft. Then the sail was set again, they steered to the center of thestream and made speed for Montreal.