Chapter 4: Vengeance And Disaster.
The episode of Corinne, and the prophecy she had quoted to them,formed one of the bright episodes in a year which brought littlesuccess or relief to the army encamped upon the waters of LakeGeorge. There was no campaign that year. The two armies lay insidetheir respective fortifications, each keeping on the defensive; andthe bold Rangers alone did active skirmishing service, as has beenrelated, appearing at all sorts of apparently impossible points,swooping down upon an unwary hunting party or a sleeping sentinel,bringing in spoil to the fort, burning transports bound forTiconderoga, and doing gallant irregular service which kept thegarrison and the Rangers in spirits, but did little or nothing toeffect any change in the condition of affairs.
Anxiously was news waited for from England. What was the parentcountry going to do for her Western children in their hour of needand extremity? There were rumours afloat of a massing of Indiantribes to be let loose upon the hapless settlers along the Indianborder; and although Sir William Johnson, that able agent ofEngland's with the natives, was hard at work seeking to oppose andcounteract French diplomacy amongst the savage tribes, there wasyet so much disunion and misunderstanding and jealousy amongstEnglish commanders and governors, that matters were constantly at adeadlock; whilst France, with her centralized authority, moved ontowards her goal unimpeded and at ease (as it seemed to theharassed English officials), although not without her internaltroubles also.
November brought about the usual breaking up of the camps on bothsides. The French soldiers were drafted back to Canada in greatcompanies, sorely beset and harassed at times by the action of theRangers; whilst Winslow drew off the bulk of his men to winterquarters in the larger towns of New England and the adjacentcolonies, leaving Major Eyre in charge of the fort, with sufficientmen to hold it during the dead winter season.
Rogers' Rangers were independent of weather. They pursued theirhardy and adventurous calling as well through the ice-bound wintermonths as during the genial season of summer. But from time to timehis followers liked to visit their homes and friends, and Winslowwas glad enough to have their company upon his march back uponcivilization; for the Rangers were masters of the art of woodcraft,and were the most able allies when difficulties arose through therising of rivers or the intricacies of the forest paths.
Stark and his little band, now reduced from a dozen to nine,accompanied the army back to winter quarters; for John desired tosee his friends, and also to raise recruits for next season'scampaign, now that he had learned experience, and had inspiringtales to tell of adventure, victory, and quick retributivevengeance upon a treacherous and rapacious enemy.
Fritz and Charles both accompanied him, though the latter with somereluctance. He would rather have remained in the neighbourhood ofthe French lines, behind which lay the foe he was bent on meetingonce more face to face; but Stark had represented to him that hissister would wish to see him once more, and Rogers had appointedJanuary as the time when he and his Rangers would be back, when theice would be firm and hard, and they could renew their wild winterwarfare, whilst during the earlier months of the winter there wasno certainty of carrying on any successful operations. Heavy rainand soft snow were too much even for the hardy Rangers to grapplewith. They were practically useless now till the frost came andfastened its firm grip upon the sleeping world.
There was joy in many a city throughout the English colony when thetroops marched in; although there was mourning in many homes forthe loss of some son or brother killed by the foe, or by the manyforms of sickness which prevailed at the fort.
There were troubles, too, with the citizens about the billeting ofthe English contingent, and many were the heart burnings whicharose between stubborn townsmen and military rulers before thesematters could be adjusted. But all this made little matter inhouses like that of Benjamin Ashley, who was a true patriot atheart, and threw open his doors not only to his wife's brother, butto as many war-weary soldiers as he could accommodate, and wasnever tired of hearing all that they could tell as to their pastexperiences, or of discussing with them the probable result of thecoming struggle.
Fritz would sit beside Susanna's spinning wheel in the evening,telling her stories to which she listened in open-eyed amaze, andgiving eager heed to the discussion of politics amongst the othermen. Charles would sit apart, absent and dreamy--a strange figureamongst the rest--very gentle and tender in his manner towardsHannah and Susanna, but taking little or no interest in the dailyround of life, and only counting the days till he could return tothe forest and his mission of vengeance.
There was great discontent in the hearts of the colonists. Theydeclared that nothing was done for them, and yet they were neverprepared to bestir themselves actively. When Fritz asked eagerlyabout the English statesman Pitt, he was told that he and the Dukeof Newcastle were now acting together in the ministry, and thatsome hoped for better things in consequence. But it was evident toall by this time that the first move made by the new minister wouldbe directed against Louisbourg in Acadia, the only stronghold yetremaining to the French in Cape Breton Island. After driving theenemy from thence, he might, and probably would, turn his attentionto the western frontier; but meantime the colonists here would havemainly to hold back the enemy by their own united efforts, andunity of action was just the thing which appeared most difficult tothem.
It was not encouraging; but the hardy Rangers were not to bedisheartened, and true to their promise, they only stayed withinwinter quarters till after the festive Christmas season; and thengathering together a compact little body of volunteers, Stark setforward once again for the wild forest, where he was to meet Rogersand his band.
Fritz was ready to go, despite his parting with pretty Susanna,whose bright eyes sparkled with tears as she said goodbye. It wasnot a time for making new ties; yet the little maiden knew verywell by this time that her life and his were bound together by astrong and tender bond, and that into her own something had enteredwhich could never be taken away.
They met in the heart of the forest, a few miles from Fort WilliamHenry--Rogers and his large company, and Stark with his smallercontingent. But Stark was now the leader of a band of five-and-twentybold spirits; for so inspiring had been his stories of the Ranger'slife that volunteers had come crowding in, and he had had some adoto get rid of those who were manifestly unfit for the life. EvenEbenezer Jenkyns, in his wild desire to win the approval of Susanna,had begged to be permitted to join the Ranger band, and Stark hadhad some difficulty in ridding himself of the youthful Quaker,suddenly possessed of martial ambitions and ardour.
Right glad were the garrison at the fort to see the Rangers comemarching in. They had been quite quiet, save for a few minornocturnal raids from Indians, which had not done much harm. Theirchief foe was smallpox, which kept breaking out amongst the men, aswell as other forms of sickness. They did not understandsanitation, and the fort was dirty and unhealthy. Rogers would nothave his men lodged within it; but the Rangers built themselveshuts just outside, and when not otherwise occupied, spent theirtime in the construction of boats and sloops for use on the lake,in which work Major Eyre had kept his men employed during theprevious months.
But it was not for peaceful toil like this that the Rangers hadgathered together; in a little while, accordingly, a scouting partywas formed, with Crown Point as its goal.
Snowshoes and skates were looked to, and the hardy Rangers startedoff beneath the grey, leaden winter sky, gliding through the grim,ghost-like forest, silent as death, past ice-bound waterfalls, andforests of fir and larch bent and bowed by the load of snow, everonwards and northwards, always on the alert, ready for instantaction, fearless and undismayed in a white wilderness and in thosetrackless solitudes which would strike dismay into many a boldheart.
They skirted round Ticonderoga, not showing themselves to theirfoe, and encamped upon the edge of Lake Champlain, lighting fires,and making themselves as comfortable as circumstances permitted.They had travelled hard for many days, and were g
lad of a littlerest.
But this rest was not of long duration. Early the next morning,before it was well light, Charles, the sleepless watcher, awoke thecamp by his low whistle of warning.
"I hear the sound of a sledge on the ice!" he said.
In a moment every Ranger was on the alert; every man had seized hisweapons, the fires were stamped out, and preparations were made foran instant move.
A few minutes more and they heard the sound also--the sharp ring ofa sledge upon the ice, and the beat of horse hooves as it drewnearer.
Now horses were prizes greatly in demand at the English fort, andRogers was eager to obtain possession of this prize. He called outto Stark to make a dash along the lake side with a dozen of hismen, and try to head it off towards the spot where he and the restof the Rangers would wait. And hardly had the order left his lipsbefore Stark was off upon his mission.
On and on dashed the sledge with its unsuspecting occupants. Theyhad come forth from Ticonderoga, and were heading for Crown Point.Stark and his men flitted like shadows along the snowy banks. Thehorses paused. There was something amiss with the harness. Starklooked at his men, gave a fine English cheer, and rushed forth uponthe ice, with a dozen stout followers at his heels.
In a moment the occupants of the sledge saw their peril. A yellarose from the throats of all the three. They turned likelightning, and the horses sprang forward at a gallop; but in amoment they were surrounded by Stark and his men, who called uponthem to surrender, and sprang at the horses to stay their headlongflight.
But now a new terror was added to the scene. Round the bend of thelake swept other sledges--quite an army of them; and whilst theFrench sent up shouts for help, Stark looked round to see whatRogers and his company were doing.
"Here they come! here they come! Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!"yelled his men, as they saw the compact band of veteran woodsmenrushing forth to their aid.
That cry was well known to the French. For a moment there was apause, the sledges pulling up as though in doubt whether to rushforward and seek to fight their way through, or to turn and runback to Ticonderoga. But the energy with which the Rangers came onsettled that point. Every sledge wheeled round and fled, whilstRogers' men dashed helter skelter upon them, flinging themselvesupon the horses, firing at the occupants, and in spite of allresistance securing three sledges, six horses, and seven Frenchprisoners.
The rest of the sledges escaped, and Rogers and Stark met eachother with grave faces.
"They will give notice at Ticonderoga that we are here," said theformer. "They will come out against us and cut off our retreat. Wemust examine the prisoners ourselves and learn all we can fromthem, and then make our way to the fort as fast as possible throughthe forest. The enemy may be upon us before nightfall."
Fritz, who spoke French as easily as English, had already beenquestioning the prisoners separately.
"They all tell the same tale," he said gravely: "they have fivehundred regular soldiers at the fort, and Indians coming in daily.They were organizing parties to intercept communication betweenFort Edward and Fort William Henry. They are pledged to theextermination of the Rangers wherever they meet them. Directly theyknow that we are lurking in their vicinity, they will come out ingreat numbers against us."
Rogers' face was set and stern.
"We will give them a warm welcome when they do!" he said. "Meantimewe will lose no time. Light up the fires and dry the ammunitionwhich has become wet. The horses must be sacrificed and the sledgesburned. As for the men, we must keep them till the last minute.When we go, they can go back to their fort. They will have nothingto tell there which is not known already. The Rangers slay men infair fight, but they do not butcher prisoners."
The thing was done. Rogers' commands were carried out, and incautious single file the band of Rangers crept through the forestby devious tracks known to themselves, keeping eyes and ears everon the alert.
"Have a care!" came the warning cry of Charles at last; "I hear thecocking of guns."
The words had hardly passed his lips before a volley blazed outfrom the bushes, and many a bold Ranger fell as he stood, shotthrough the heart.
"Steady, men--and fire!" cried Rogers, speaking as coolly as thougha hail storm and not one of hot lead was raining about them. Bloodwas running down his cheek from a graze on the temple; and Fritzfelt for the first time the stinging sensation in his arm which hehad heard described so many times before.
In a moment they had spread themselves out in the best possiblemanner, retreating upon the hill they had just descended, andcovering themselves with the trees, from behind which they firedwith unerring accuracy. Stark and some of his men were at the topof the hill, having been the rear guard of the company. They poureda steady, deadly fire into the bushes which concealed the foe;whilst their comrades, running from tree to tree, fell back uponthem, and forming on the hilltop, repulsed again and again, withstubborn gallantry, the assault of a foe which they knew mustoutnumber them by four or five to one.
But the face of Rogers was still set and stern.
"They will try to outflank us next, and get round to the rear," hesaid between his teeth to Stark. "Stark, you must pick some of ourbest men, and stop that movement if it occurs. If they get usbetween two fires, we are all dead men!"
"Fritz, you will be my lieutenant," said Stark, as he looked abouthim and chose his company. Fritz was at his side in a moment. "Weare in as evil a chance as ever men were yet," he added, "but Ithink we shall live to tell the tale by the warm fireside at home.I have been in tight fixes before this, and have won throughsomehow. I trust our gallant Rogers will not fall. That would carryconfusion to our ranks."
Shoulder to shoulder stood Fritz and Stark, warily watching themovements of the foe. They saw them creeping round the base of thehill--saw it by the movement of the brushwood rather than byanything else; for their foes were used to bush craft, too.
"If anything should go amiss with me today, friend John," saidFritz, as he loaded his piece, looking sternly down into the hollowbeneath, "give my love to Susanna, and tell her that her name willbe on my lips and my heart in the hour of death."
"Talk not of death, man, but of victory!" cried Stark, whoseindomitable cheerfulness never forsook him. "Yet I will rememberand give the message to my pretty cousin--for I know that womenlive on words like these--if the blow has to fall. But never thinkof that!"
"I do not," answered Fritz; "I hope to come forth safe and sound.But were it otherwise--"
"Fire!" cried Stark, breaking suddenly into the commander; and asharp, deadly volley blazed forth from the guns of his contingent.
It was plain that the enemy had not expected this flank movement tobe observed. Cries of dismay and pain rang through the forest. Theybroke cover and ran back towards the main body, followed by anotherwell-directed volley from the brave Stark and his men.
Round the spot where Rogers and the main body of the Rangers stoodthe fight waxed fierce and hot. But Stark held to his post on thespur of the hill, where he saw how the foe was trying to get roundto their rear; and again and again his well-aimed volleys sent themflying back decimated to their companions.
But how was it going with the others? The firing was incessant, andshouts and cries told of death and disaster on both sides. Starkbid Fritz make a dash for the main body and bring back word. Thebrief winter's day was beginning to draw to a close. There wassomething terrible in the brightness of the fire that was streamingfrom the thickets as the daylight failed. It seemed as though thevery forest was in flames; and the crack of musketry was almostunceasing.
"They are calling upon us to surrender," said Fritz, hastening backwith his tale. "The French are calling upon Rogers by name, begginghim to trust to their honour and clemency, and promising the bestof treatment if he and his brave men will surrender. They arecalling out that it is a pity so many bold men should perish likebrute beasts. But Rogers stands like a rock, and replies by volleyafter volley. He has been hit through the wrist, and his h
ead isbound about by a cloth; but he looks like a lion at bay, and willnot yield one inch."
"Let us back to his side, and make one great charge against thefoe!" shouted Stark, who saw that no further flank movement was tobe anticipated now. His men answered by a cheer. They were readyfor any display of gallantry and courage, and swore by Stark, whowas beloved of all for his happy temper and cheerful, dauntlessbravery.
Up the shoulder of the hill and across the ridge they dashed. Theyshouted their cry of "Rogers' Rangers! Rogers' Rangers!" It wastaken up by those upon the top, who gathered together and made ablind rush down towards their foe. The French, taken by surprise atthis impetuosity, and afraid of the darkness of the forest, madeoff in haste for Ticonderoga, having worked sad havoc amongst thebold Rangers, who were left alone with their wounded and dead, theshades of night gathering fast round them, and the camp of the foewithin a few miles.
It was a situation of grave peril; but Rogers was not to bedaunted. He buried his dead; he gathered together the wounded, andafraid to allow even a night for rest, he marched his party allthrough the night, and by morning they were upon the shores of LakeGeorge.
"I will fetch a sledge for the wounded," quoth Stark, full ofenergy and enterprise as usual. "It will puzzle the enemy to findthe route we have taken. Lie you here close and keep watch andward, and I will fetch succour from the fort before the French havetime to seek us out."
This was good counsel, and Rogers followed it. Stark, after a quickjourney across the ice, brought sledges and soldiers from the fort,and in a few more days the Rangers were brought back in triumph totheir huts without Fort William Henry, where they were content tolie idle for a short while, recovering from their wounds andfatigues. Hardly a man had escaped uninjured; and some were verydangerously wounded, and died from the effects of the injuriesreceived. Fritz himself had a slight attack of fever resulting fromthe wound which he had scarcely noticed in the heat of battle.Stark was almost the only member of the company who had come forthquite unscathed, and he was the life of the party during the nextspell of inaction, telling stories, setting the men to usefultasks, making drawings of the French forts for the guidance of theEnglish, and amusing the whole place by his sudden escapades indifferent directions.
The Rangers were further cheered by a letter of thanks from GeneralAbercromby, lately sent out from England, recognizing their gallantservice, and promising that it should be made known to the King.
But the adventures of the winter were not over, although the dayswere lengthening out, and the blustering rains and winds of Marchhad come. The snow was greatly lessened; but a spell of frost stillheld the lake bound, and the rigours of the season were littleabated.
It was St. Patrick's Day; and as some of the soldiers in FortWilliam Henry were Irish, they had celebrated the anniversary by arevel which had left a large proportion more or less drunk andincapable. Their English comrades had followed their lead withalacrity, and the Fort was resounding with laughter and song.
But the Rangers in the huts outside were on the alert and as Starkremarked with a smile, they must keep watch and ward that night,for nobody else seemed to have any disposition to do so.
Major Eyre, in pity for the forlorn condition of his men, had notrestrained them from amusing themselves in their own fashion uponthis anniversary. It was well, however, that there were somesleepless watchers on the alert that night; for as the grey dawnbegan to break, a sound was heard over the ice as though of anapproaching multitude. The Rangers gave the alarm, and manned theguns. There was nothing to be seen through the murky mists of dawn;but the guns belched forth fire and round shot towards the lake,and the sounds suddenly ceased.
An hour later Charles came rushing in; there was blood upon hisface, and his eyes were wild, but in his excitement he seemed toknow nothing of any hurt.
"They are coming! they are coming! I have seen them! There arehundreds upon hundreds of them, well armed, well equipped witheverything that men can want. They are bound for the fort. They aregoing to take it, They have sworn it! And he is in their ranks. Isaw him with these eyes. He is there. He is one of them. We shallmeet again, and this time he shall not escape me!"
In a moment all was excitement and bustle. The men, sobered by thenear presence of danger, were at their posts in a moment. All knewthat the fort was not strong, and that a resolute assault by alarge force would he difficult to repel; but at least they had notbeen taken by surprise, and that was something.
A yell from without told that something was going on there. TheRangers were driving off a party of men who had crept up undercover of the mist wreaths, hoping to fire the huts outside, and soburn the fort. They were sent helter skelter over the ice to rejointheir comrades; and after a pause of some hours an officer was seenadvancing from the French lines bearing a flag.
He was blindfolded, that he might not see the weak parts of thefort, and was brought to Major Byre and the other officers. Hismessage was to advise them to surrender the fort and obtain forthemselves favourable terms, threatening a massacre if this wasrefused.
"I shall defend myself to the last!" said Major Byre calmly."Englishmen do not give up their forts at the bidding of the foe.We can at least die like men, if we cannot defend ourselves, andthat has yet to be proved."
The news of this demand and the reply flew like wildfire throughthe ranks, and inspired the men with courage and ardour. TheRangers were brought within the fort, and all was made ready forthe assault.
A storm of shot hailed upon the fort. Through the gatheringdarkness of the night they could only distinguish the foe by thered glare from their guns. The English fort was dark and silent. Itreserved its fire till the enemy came closer. The crisis was comingnearer and nearer. There was a tense feeling in the air, as thoughan electric cloud hovered over all.
Charles went about with a strange look upon his face.
"He is there--he is coming. We shall meet!" he kept repeating; andall through that night there was no sleep for him--he wanderedabout like a restless spirit. No service was demanded of him. Hewas counted as one whose mind wanders. Yet in the hour of battlenone could fight with more obstinate bravery than Charles Angell.
"Fire! fire! fire!"
It was Charles's voice that raised the cry in the dead of thenight. No attack had been made upon the fort; but under cover ofdarkness the enemy had crept nearer and nearer to the outlyingbuildings, and tongues of flame were shooting up.
Instantly the guns were turned in that direction, and a fusilladeawoke the silence of the sleeping lake, whilst cries of agony toldhow the bullets and shots had gone home.
"Come, Rangers," shouted Rogers, "follow me out and fall upon them!Drive them back! Save the fort from fire!"
Rogers never called upon his men in vain. No service was too fullof peril for them. Ignorant as they were of the number or power oftheir assailants, they dashed in a compact body out of the sidegate towards the place where the glare of the fire illumined thedarkness of the night.
Dark forms were hurrying hither and thither; but the moment theRangers appeared with their battle cry, there was an instant routand flight.
"After them!" shouted Rogers; and the men dashed over the roughground, pursuers and pursued, shouting, yelling, firing--and theysaw that some bolder spirits amongst the Frenchmen had even setfire to the sloop on the stocks which Rogers had been teaching thesoldiers how to construct.
But in the forefront of the pursuit might be seen one wild, strangefigure with flying hair and fiery eyes. He turned neither to theright hand nor to the left, but ran on and on in a straight line,keeping one flying figure ever in view.
The flying figure seemed to know that some deadly pursuit wasmeant; for he, too, never turned nor swerved, but dashed on and on.He gained the frozen lake; but the treacherous, slippery ice seemedto yield beneath his feet. He had struck the lake at the pointwhere it was broken up to obtain water for the fort.
A yell of horror escaped him. He flung up his arms and disappeared.
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p; But his pursuer dashed on and on, a wild laugh escaping him as hesaw what had happened. The next minute he was bending down over theyawning hole, and had put his long, strong arm through it into theicy water beneath.
He touched nothing. The hapless man had sunk to rise no more. Oncesucked beneath the deep waters of the frozen lake, exhausted as hewas, there was no hope for him. Charles cut and hacked at the iceblocks, regardless of his own personal safety; and after longlabour he succeeded in moving some of them, and in dragging out thelifeless corpse, already frozen stiff, of the man he had sworn toslay.
The French were flying over the frozen ice, the Rangers in pursuit.They came upon the strange spectacle, and stopped short in amaze. Adead man lay upon the ice of the lake where it was broken anddangerous, his dead face turned up to the moonlight, his handsclinched and stiff and frozen. Beside the corpse sat Charles, hisglassy eyes fixed upon the dead face, himself almost as stiff andstark.
They came up and spoke to him; but he only pointed to the corpse.
"That is he--that is he!" he cried hoarsely. "I saw him, and he sawme. We fought, and he fled. I have been running after him over iceand snow for years and years. He is dead now--dead, dead, dead! TheLord has delivered him into my hand. My work is done!"
He stood up suddenly, threw up his arms, and then fell heavilyforward face downwards upon the ice.
When they lifted him up and carried him within the fort, it was tofind that Charles Angell the Ranger was dead.