XXXIII THE CAPTURE OF MONGA
Baptiste's canoe was large enough to accommodate Hugh and Blaise, and theparty were up and away early. The lake was no longer rough, so they madegood time through Wauswaugoning Bay and around the point to the GrandPortage. Though Baptiste had been employed, in one capacity or another,by the Old Northwest Company, he was under no contract. An independentspirited fellow, who came and went much as he pleased, he did not feelunder any obligation to the Old Company and was not an ardent partisan ofthat organization, so he made no objection when Hugh proposed that theytry the X Y post for help in their undertaking. The men of either companywould be glad no doubt to lay hands on the rascally Iroquois but the X Ymen's grievance was the stronger, since Ohrante had been in the employ ofthe Old Company when he committed his first crime. The white man he hadslain was an independent trapper, affiliated with neither company, butJean Beaupre had been under contract, for the one season at least, to theNew Company. To learn that he too had come to his death through the GiantMohawk would add fuel to the flame of the X Y men's anger.
Shunning the Old Company's dock, the party crossed the bay to the X Ylanding. At the post Hugh and Blaise told as much of their story as wasessential to prove that they had really encountered Ohrante, had learnedhis plans and knew where to lay hands on him. The time for the annualmeeting of the New Northwest Company, still held at the Grand Portagepost, was approaching. None of the partners or leading men had yetarrived, but most of the northmen, as the men who wintered inland west ofthe lake, were called, had come with their furs, and a considerablenumber of Indians were gathered at the post. The agent in charge couldnot leave, but in a very few minutes the boys had recruited a dozen men,half-breeds and Indians, with one white man, a Scotchman, to lead them.
It would not do to approach the Island of Torture in too great force.Hugh and Blaise, with Baptiste and the two Indians, were to go first,find out whether Ohrante's recruits had assembled and watch for thecoming of the chief himself. The men from the Grand Portage, in twocanoes, would start later. Hugh had a very simple plan, which promised tobe effective, to prevent Ohrante from leaving his council island beforethe Grand Portage party arrived.
The plan of campaign arranged, the scouts got under way at once. As theyrounded the high point to the south and west of the Grand Portage Bay,they noticed, coming from the open lake, a large canoe with only two men.It was headed straight for the land, but suddenly swung about and turneddown shore. Blaise, who was second from the bow, raised his paddle for amoment, while he gazed intently at the other canoe.
Turning his head, he called back to Hugh and Baptiste, "Red Band! We mustcatch them. It is Red Band and I think Monga."
"_Vite!_ Make speed!" ordered Baptiste. "We will separate those two fromthe rest of Ohrante's rascals."
He scarcely needed to give the command. Keneu, in the bow, had alreadyquickened his powerful stroke. The others followed his lead and the fiveblades dipped and rose with vigorous, rapid rhythm. The Indians ahead didtheir best, bending to their paddles with desperate energy, but theircanoe was fully as large as Baptiste's and they were two paddles to five.The pursuers gained steadily. They must certainly overtake the fugitives.
Suddenly the fleeing canoe swerved towards the land. Keneu saw in aninstant what the two men were trying to do. They intended to beach theirboat and take to the woods, trusting to lose their pursuers in the thickgrowth. The Indian bow-man gave a sharp order. Baptiste's canoe swung intowards shore. It must cut off the fugitives, get between them and theland. The shore was steep and rocky, and there was no good place to beacha boat. Yet so great was the panic of Monga and Red Band that they keptstraight on. Despairing of escape by water, they were ready to smashtheir canoe on the rocks and take a chance of reaching land.
They did not even get near to the shore. In their panic haste, theyfailed to notice a warning ripple and eddy ahead. Their canoe struck fullon the jagged edge of a rock just below the surface. The pursuers wereclose enough to hear the ripping sound, as the sharp rock tore a greatgash in the thin bark. The water rushed in. Red Band sprang from the bow,but Monga remained where he was in the stern, the canoe settling underhim.
The pursuers bent to their paddles and shot towards the wrecked boat.They reached the spot just as Monga was going down, but they did notintend to let him escape them by drowning. Keneu reached out a sinewy armand seized the sinking man by the neck of his deerskin shirt, while theothers threw their bodies the other way and backed water to hold thecanoe steady and keep it off the sharp rock.
The sensation of going down in that cold water must have instilled inMonga a dread greater than his fear of capture, for he made no struggleto free himself. As if the fellow had been a fish too large to be landed,his captors passed him back from hand to hand until he came into thekeeping of the other Indian in the stern. The captive could not be pulledaboard, so Manihik ordered him to hold to the rim. Kneeling face towardsthe stern, he held Monga by the shoulders, and towed him behind the canoetill Keneu found a landing place.
Red Band had disappeared. Blaise, who had watched, felt sure Monga'scompanion had not reached shore. He had gone down and had not come up.Either he was unable to swim or had struck his head on a rock. Whateverhad happened, there was no sign of him.
When shallow water was reached, Manihik took good care that his drippingprisoner should not escape. Monga was towed ashore and his wrists andankles bound with rawhide rope. He said not a word, his broad face sullenand set.
Not until Blaise had asked him several questions in Ojibwa, did thecaptive deign to speak. Even then he answered with reluctance, a word ortwo at a time in sullen grunts. Then a question suddenly loosed histongue, and he poured out a torrent of guttural speech. The other twoIndians and Baptiste, who understood a little Ojibwa, listened intently,but Hugh could make out no word, except the names Ohrante and Minong.
When Monga paused, Blaise, his hazel eyes shining, turned to his brother."We have not so many enemies to oppose us as we thought. Ohrante has onlyfive of his old men left. The young Iroquois who captured you is dead."
"That fellow dead?" Hugh exclaimed. "Are you sure Monga isn't lying?"
"He speaks the truth, I am certain," Blaise replied confidently. "WhenOhrante found you had escaped, he was in a great rage. He held the youngIroquois, Monga and Red Band to blame, and threatened all three withdeath, unless they found you and brought you back. Because the smallcanoe was gone, they believed you had escaped by water. We hoped theempty canoe might drift up the bay, but they found it not. The Iroquoisthought you might have gone into the Bay of Manitos. Monga had no wish togo there. He was afraid of the giant manitos, he says, but he wasdesperate and at last agreed. They found our fire on the stones at theend of that island. Monga believed you had crossed the mouth of the bayand had gone on the other side of Minong, but the Iroquois wished to goup the narrow channel. They went up the channel, as we know, to what theybelieved to be the end. The shallow water and the fallen cedar deceivedthem. So they turned back and went on across the mouth of the Bay ofManitos."
"What were Ohrante and the others doing all that time?"
"They searched the western side of Minong. Monga says Ohrante would notgo into the Bay of Manitos himself."
"Then he evidently didn't suspect our trick."
"No, but I think perhaps the young Iroquois suspected, and that was whyhe wished to search the bay." Blaise went on with his tale. "Monga andRed Band were in despair when they could not find you. They proposed thatthe three of them should run away to the mainland, but the Iroquois wastoo proud to be a coward. He wished to go on with the search or go backto take the punishment. So Monga pretended he could see the end of acanoe among the trees on an island. They landed, and Monga and Red Bandmurdered the Iroquois and left him there. Then they started for themainland."
"They were the ones we saw when we were going out of the bay."
"Yes, they went around the long point, past t
hat bay, and along thenorthwest side of Minong, but the wind came up and they could not cross.This morning they have crossed over."
"We should have nothing further to fear from Monga then, even if we hadnot captured him."
Blaise shrugged contemptuously. "Monga is a coward and a fool. He says hewas angry because the traders sold him a bad musket. It exploded when hetried to fire it and blew off his little finger. So he joined the Mohawkwolf who boasted that he would drive the white men away. Monga thoughtOhrante was a great chief and a powerful medicine man, but when heproposed to go to Minong, Monga was afraid. Then Ohrante told him thatMinong was a wonderful place where they would grow rich and mighty andhave everything they wished. He said he was such a great medicine manthat the spirits of the island would do his bidding."
"And they didn't," put in Hugh with a grin.
The swift, flashing smile like his father's crossed the younger boy'sface. "Monga was disappointed to find Minong little different from themainland. When he heard the spirits threatening Ohrante and saw the chieffrightened, he began to lose faith in him. You escaped, and Ohrante'smedicine was not strong enough to find you and bring you back. He wouldnot even go to the Bay of Manitos to seek you. So Monga knew the Chief ofMinong was just a man like other men. He has run away and wants no moreof Ohrante."
"Just the same I think we had better keep an eye on him," Hugh decided."We'll take him with us."
Blaise nodded. "There is still much Monga has not told us," he replied.
It was finally settled that Baptiste and the two Indians should take theprisoner with them, while Hugh and Blaise went on ahead in the capturedcanoe. It was their plan to approach the Island of Torture under cover ofdarkness. Conditions being good, the two boys paddled steadily. Late inthe afternoon they paused for a meal. They had not many more miles to go,and would wait until nightfall. Before they had finished their supper,Baptiste's canoe came in sight. Monga had expressed willingness to wielda paddle, but Baptiste did not trust him. The "Loon" rode as a compulsorypassenger, wrists and ankles still bound. At Hugh's signal, Baptiste ranin to shore to wait with the others for darkness.