CHAPTER XII
THE WILDERNESS AGAIN
The full hospitality of Colonel Strong's house was for Robert, and hesat late that night, listening to the talk of his host, merchant andwarrior, and politician too. There were many like him in the colonies,keen men who had a vision for world affairs and who looked far into thefuture. He was so engrossed in these matters that he did not notice thathe was doing nearly all the talking, but Robert was content to listen.
As Robert sat with Colonel Strong he felt to the full the reality of hisown world to which he had returned, and his long life on the islandbecame for the time a dream, something detached, that might havehappened on another planet. Yet its effects remained. His manner wasgrave, and his thoughts were those of one much beyond his years. Butmingled with his gravity were an elation and a sanguine belief in hisfuture. He had survived so much that coming dangers could not daunt him.
The special coach departed the next morning and Robert sat upon the seatwith the driver. All things were auspicious. The company in the coachwas good, the driver was genial and the weather fine. It was a long tripand they slept several nights in inns by the way, but Robert always hadpleasant memories of that journey. He was seeing his country under themost favorable conditions, well cultivated, trim and in the fullfreshness of spring.
They reached Albany and his heart beat hard once more. He realized nowthat he was one risen from the dead. His reception by Colonel Strong hadshown him that, but he believed the joy of his friends would be greatwhen they saw him. The coach drew up at the George Inn, and, leaving itthere, he started through the streets, taking no baggage.
It was the same busy little city with its thrifty Dutch burghers. Thetide of war had brought added prosperity to Albany, and he saw about himall the old signs of military preparations. It was yet a base for thegreat campaigns to the northward. Evidently the fear of an attack byMontcalm had passed, as he did not see apprehension or depression in thefaces of the people.
He went directly to the house of Master Jacobus Huysman, that staunchfriend of his and Tayoga's, and the solid red brick building with itstrim lawns and gardens looked as neat and comfortable as ever. It washard to believe that he had gone away, that he had been so long on anisland. Nothing had been changed except himself and he felt different,much older.
He lifted the heavy brass knocker, and struck thrice. The sound offootsteps came from within, and he knew at once that they wereCaterina's. Middle-aged, phlegmatic and solid she had loved both him andTayoga, despite tricks and teasing, but he knew her very phlegm wouldkeep her from being startled too much. Only an earthquake could shakethe poise of Caterina.
The door swung slowly open. The nature of Caterina was cautious and shenever opened a door quickly.
"Good-morning, Caterina," said Robert. "Is Master Jacobus in? I stayedaway a bit longer than I intended, and I wish to make my apologies tohim, if I've caused him any inconvenience."
The mouth of Caterina, a wide cleft, opened full as slowly as the doorand full as steadily, and her eyes seemed to swell at the same time. Butshe did not utter a word. Words might be forming in her throat, thoughthey were not able to pass her lips. But Robert saw amazement and joy inher eyes. She knew him. That was evident. It was equally evident thatshe had been struck dumb, so he grasped her large and muscular hand andsaid:
"I've come back, Caterina, a trifle late 'tis true, but as you see I'mhere. It's not my fault that I've been delayed a little. I hope thatMaster Jacobus is well. I know he's in his study as the odor of his pipecomes floating to me, a pleasant odor too, Caterina; I've missed it."
"Aye! Aye!" said Caterina. It was all she could manage to say, butsuddenly she seized his hand, and fell to kissing it.
"Don't do that, Caterina!" exclaimed Robert, pulling his hand away."You're glad to see me and I'm glad to see you. I'm no ghost. I'm solidand substantial, at least ten pounds heavier than I was when I went awaysuddenly at the invitation of others. And now, Caterina, since you'velost your voice I'll go in and have a talk with Master Jacobus."
Caterina's mouth and eyes were still opening wider and wider, but asRobert gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder she managed to gasp:
"You haf come back! you wass dead, but you wouldn't stay dead."
"Yes, that's it, Caterina, I wouldn't stay dead, or rather I was lost,but I wouldn't stay lost. I'll go in now and see Master Jacobus."
He walked past her toward the odor of the pipe that came from the studyand library of Mr. Huysman, and Caterina stood by the door, stillstaring at him, her mouth opening wider and wider. No such extraordinarything had ever happened before in the life of Caterina, and yet it was ahappy marvel, one that filled her with gratitude.
The door of Mr. Huysman's room was open and Robert saw him very clearlybefore he entered, seated in a great chair of mahogany and hair cloth,smoking his long hooked pipe and looking thoughtfully now and then atsome closely written sheets of foolscap that he held in his hand. He wasa solid man of the most solid Dutch ancestry, solid physically andmentally, and he looked it. Nothing could shake his calm soul, and itwas a waste of time to try to break anything to him gently. Good news orbad news, it was well to be out with it, and Robert knew it. So hestepped into the room, sat down in a chair near that of Mr. Huysman andsaid:
"I hope, sir, that I've not caused you any inconvenience. I didn't meanto keep you waiting so long."
Master Jacobus turned and regarded him thoughtfully. Then he took onelong puff at his pipe, removed it from his mouth, and blew the smoke inspirals towards the ceiling.
"Robert," he said, after an inspection of a full minute, "why were youin such a hurry about coming back? Are you sure you did everything youshould before you came? You wass sometimes a hasty lad."
"I can't recall, sir, anything that I've neglected. Also, I wiped myshoes on the porch and I shut the door when I came in, as Caterina usedto bid me do."
"It iss well. It shows that you are learning at last. Caterina and I hafhad much trouble teaching manners to you and that young Onondaga scamp,Tayoga."
"As we grow older, sir, we have more desire to learn. We're better ableto perceive the value of good advice."
Master Jacobus Huysman put the stem of his long pipe back in his mouth,took the very longest draught upon it that he had ever drawn, removed itagain, sent the smoke rushing in another beautiful spear of spiralstoward the ceiling, and, then, for the first and last time in his life,he lost all control over himself. Springing to his feet he seized Robertby both hands and nearly wrung them off.
"Robert, my lost lad!" he exclaimed. "It iss you! it iss really you! Iknew that you wass dead, and, yet when you walked into the room, I knewthat it wass you alive! Your face iss changed! your look iss changed!your manner iss changed! you are older, but I would have known youanywhere and at the first glance! You do not understand how much youtook out of my life when you went, and you do not know how much you havebrought back when you come again! I do not ask why you left or where youhave been, you can tell it all when you are ready! It iss enough thatyou are here!"
Tears rose in Robert's eyes and he was not ashamed of them. He knew thathis welcome would be warm, but it had been even warmer than he hadexpected.
"I did not go away of my own accord, sir," he said. "I could not havebeen so heartless as that. I've a wonderful tale to tell, and, as soonas you give me all the news about my friends, I'll tell it."
"Take your time, Robert, take your time. Maybe you are hungry. Thekitchen iss full of good things. Let me call Caterina, and she willbring you food."
The invitation of the good Mynheer Jacobus, a very natural thought withhim, eased the tension. Robert laughed.
"I thank you, sir," he said, "but I cannot eat now. Later I'll show youthat I haven't lost my ability at the trencher, but I'd like to hear nowabout Tayoga and Dave."
"They're gone into the northern forests to take part in the greatexpedition that's now arranging against Quebec. We hunted long, but wecould discover no trace of yo
u, not a sign, and then there was noconclusion left but the river. You had been murdered and thrown into theHudson. Your body could not disappear in any other way, and we wass sureit must have been the spy Garay who did the foul deed. Only Tayoga keptany hope. He said that you wass watched over by Manitou and by his ownpatron saint, Tododaho, and though you might be gone long, Manitou andTododaho would bring you back again. But we thought it wass only a wayhe had of trying to console himself for the loss of his friend. Willethad no hope. I wass sorry, sorry in my soul for David. He loved you as ason, Robert, and the blow wass one from which he could never haverecovered. When all hope wass gone he and Tayoga plunged into theforest, partly I think to forget, and I suppose they have been riskingthe hair on their heads every day in battle with the French andIndians."
"It is certain that they won't shirk any combat," said Robert. "Valiantand true! No one was ever more valiant and true than they are!"
"It iss so, and there wass another who took it hard, very hard. I speakof Benjamin Hardy of New York. I wrote him the letter telling him allthat we knew, and I had a reply full of grief. He took it as hard asWillet."
"It was almost worth it to be lost a while to discover what good andpowerful friends I have."
"You have them! You have them! And now I think, Robert, that the timedraws nigh for you to know who you are. No, not now! You must wait yet alittle longer. Believe me, Robert, it iss for good reasons."
"I know it, Mr. Huysman! I know it must be so! But I know also there isone who will not rejoice because I've come back! I mean Adrian VanZoon!"
"Why, Robert, what do you know of Adrian Van Zoon?"
"I was told by a dying man to beware of him, and I've always heard thatdying men speak the truth. And this was a dying man who was in aposition to know. I'm sure his advice was meant well and was based onknowledge. I think, Mr. Huysman, that I shall have a large score tosettle with Adrian Van Zoon."
"Well, maybe you have. But tell me, lad, how you were lost and how youcame back."
So, Robert told the long story again, as he had told it to Elihu Strong,though he knew that he was telling it now to one who took a deeper andmore personal interest in him than Colonel Strong, good friend thoughthe latter was. Jacobus Huysman had settled back into his usual calm,smoking his long pipe, and interrupting at rare intervals with a shortquestion or two.
"It iss a wonderful story," he said, when Robert finished, "and I cansee that your time on the island wass not wholly lost. You gainedsomething there, Robert, my lad. I cannot tell just what it iss, but Ican see it in you."
"I feel that way myself, sir."
"No time iss ever lost by the right kind of a man. We can put every hourto some profit, even if it iss not the kind of profit we first intended.But I will not preach to one who hass just risen from the dead. Are yousure, Robert, you will not have a dinner now? We have some splendid fishand venison and sausage and beef! Just a plate of each! It will do yougood!"
Robert declined again, but his heart was very full. He knew that MasterJacobus felt deep emotion, despite his calmness of manner, and this wasa way he had of giving welcome. To offer food and to offer it often wasone of the highest tributes he could pay.
"I could wish," he said, "that you would go to New York and stay withBenjamin Hardy, but as you will not do it, I will not ask it. I knowthat nothing on earth can keep you from going into the woods and joiningWillet and Tayoga, and so I will help you to find them. Robert Rogers,the ranger leader, will be here to-morrow, and he starts the next dayinto the north with a force of his. He can find Willet and Tayoga, andyou can go with him."
"Nothing could be better, sir. I know him well. We've fought side byside in the forest. Is he going to lead his rangers against Quebec?"
"I do not know. Maybe so, and maybe he will have some other duty, but inany event he goes up by the lakes, and you're pretty sure to find Tayogaand Willet in that direction. I know that you will go, Robert, but Iwish you would stay."
"I must go, and if you'll pardon me for saying it, sir, you won't wishin your heart that I would stay. You'd be ashamed of me, if I were to doso."
Mr. Huysman made no answer, but puffed a little harder on his pipe. Verysoon he sent for Master Alexander McLean, and that thin dry man, comingat once, shook hands with Robert, released his hand, seized and shook ita second and a third time with more energy than ever. Mr. McLean, anundemonstrative man, had never been known to do such a thing before, andhe was never known to do it again. Master Jacobus regarded him withstaring eyes.
"Alexander iss stirred! He iss stirred mightily to make such a displayof emotion," he said under his breath.
"Robert hass been away on an island all by himself, eight or nine monthsor more," he added, aloud.
"And of course," said Master McLean, who had recovered his usual calm,"he forgot all his classical learning while he was there. I do not knowwhere his island is, but desert islands are not conducive to a nobleeducation."
"On the contrary, sir," said Robert, "I learned more about goodliterature when I was there than I ever did anywhere else, save when Isat under you."
"'Tis clearly impossible. In such a place you could make no advancementin learning save by communing with yourself."
"Nevertheless, sir, happy chance gave me a supply of splendid books. Ihad Shakespeare, Marlowe, Beaumont and Fletcher, translations of Homerand of other great Greeks and Latins."
Mr. McLean's frosty eyes beamed.
"What a wonderful opportunity!" he said. "Eight or nine months on adesert island with the best of the classics, and nobody to disturb you!No such chance will ever come to me, I fear. Which book of the Iliad isthe finest, Robert?"
"The first, I think. 'Tis the noble opening, the solemn note of tragedythat enchains the attention of us all."
"Well answered. But I wish to make a confession to you and Jacobus, onethat would shock nearly all scholars, yet I think that I must speak itout, to you two at least, before I die. There are times when my heartwarms to the Odyssey more than it does to the Iliad. The personal appealis stronger in the Odyssey. There is more romance, more charm. Theinterest is concentrated in Ulysses and does not scatter as it does inthe Iliad, where Hector is undoubtedly the most sympathetic figure. Andthe coming home of Ulysses arouses emotion more than anything in theIliad. Now, I have made my confession--I suppose there is something inthe life of every man that he ought to hide--but be the consequenceswhat they may I am glad I have made it."
Mr. McLean rose from his chair and then sat down again. Twice that dayhe had been shaken by emotion as never before, once by the return of thelad whom he loved, risen from the dead, and once by the confession of aterrible secret that had haunted him for years.
"When I was on the island I reread both books in excellenttranslations," said Robert, the utmost sympathy showing in his voice,"and I confess, sir, though my opinion is a poor one, that it agreeswith yours. Moreover, sir, you have said it ahead of me. I shallmaintain it, whenever and wherever it is challenged."
Mr. McLean's frosty blue eyes gleamed again, and his sharp strong chinset itself at a firm defiant angle. It was clear that he was relievedgreatly.
"Have a pipe, Alexander," said Master Jacobus. "A good pipe is asplendid fortifier of both body and soul, after a great crisis."
Mr. McLean accepted a pipe and smoked it with methodical calm. Robertsaw that a great content was settling upon both him and Mr. Huysman,and, presently, the burgher began to tell him news of vital importance,news that they had not known even in Boston when he left. It seemed thatthe Albany men had channels through Canada itself, by which they learnedquickly of great events in the enemy's camp.
"Wolfe with his fleet and army will be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence verysoon," said Master Jacobus, "and by autumn they will certainly appearbefore Quebec. Whatever happens there it will not be another Duquesne,nor yet a Ticonderoga. You must know, Robert, that the great merchantsof the great ports get the best of information from England and fromFrance too, because it is to their i
nterest to do so. Mr. Pitt iss agreat minister, the greatest that England hass had in centuries, a verygreat man."
"Colonel Strong said the same, sir."
"Colonel Strong hass the same information that we have. He iss one ofour group. And the new general, Wolfe, iss a great man too. Young andsickly though he may be, he hass the fire, the genius, the will toconquer, to overcome everything that a successful general must have. Ifeel sure that he will be more than a match for Montcalm, and so doesAlexander. As you know, Robert, Wolfe iss not untried. He was the soulof the Louisbourg attack last year. People said the taking of the placewas due mostly to him, and they've called him the 'Hero of Louisbourg.'"
"You almost make me wish, sir, that I had accepted the offer of CaptainWhyte and had gone on to Louisbourg."
"Do not worry yourself. If you find Willet and Tayoga, as you will, youcan reach Quebec long before Wolfe can achieve much. He hass yet togather his forces and go up the St. Lawrence. Armies and fleets are notmoved in a day."
"Do you know what Rogers' immediate duties are?"
"I do not, but I think he iss to help the movement that General Amherstis going to conduct with a strong force against Ticonderoga and CrownPoint. Oh, Mr. Pitt hass a great plan as becomes a great man, and Canadawill be assailed on all sides. I hear talk too that Rogers will also besent to punish the St. Francis Indians who have ravaged the border."
They talked a while longer, and Robert listened, intent, eager. Theburgher and the schoolmaster had the vision of statesmen. They wereconfident that England and the colonies would achieve complete success,that all defeats and humiliations would be wiped away by an overwhelmingtriumph. Their confidence in Pitt was wonderful. That sanguine andmighty mind had sent waves of energy and enthusiasm to the farthestlimits of the British body politic, whether on one side of the Atlanticor the other, and it was a singular, but true, fact, that the wisestwere those who believed in him most.
Mr. McLean went away, after a while, and Robert took a walk in the town,renewing old acquaintances and showing to them how one could really risefrom the dead, a very pleasant task. Yet he longed with all his soul forthe forest, and his comrades of the trail. His condition of life on theisland had been mostly mental. It had been easy there to subsist. Hisphysical activities had not been great, save when he chose to make themso, and now he swung to the other extreme. He wished to think less andto act more, and he shared with Mr. Huysman and Mr. McLean the beliefthat the coming campaign would win for England and her colonies acomplete triumph.
He too thrilled at the name of Pitt. The very sound of the four lettersseemed to carry magic everywhere, with the young English officers on theship, in Boston, in Albany, and he had noticed too that it inspired thesame confidence at the little towns at which they stopped on their wayacross Massachusetts. Like a blast on the horn of the mighty Roland, thecall of Pitt was summoning the English-speaking world to arms. Robertlittle dreamed then, despite the words of Colonel Strong, that the greatcleavage would come, and that the call would not be repeated until morethan a century and a half had passed, though then it would sound aroundthe world summoning new English-speaking nations not then born.
Rogers, the famous ranger, upon whom Tayoga had bestowed the nameMountain Wolf, arrived the next day, bringing with him fifty men whom hesupplied with ammunition for one of his great raids. The rest of hisband was waiting for him near the southern end of Lake George, and hecould stay only a few hours in Albany. He gave Robert a warm welcome.
"I remember you well, Mr. Lennox," he said. "We've had some hardfighting together around Lake George against St. Luc, Tandakora and theothers, but I think the battle line will shift far northward now.Amherst is going to swoop down on Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and SirWilliam Johnson, well of his wound, is to march against Niagara. I'llpunish the St. Regis Indians for all their barbarities. Oh, it's to be agreat campaign, and I'll tell you a secret too."
"What is it?" asked Robert.
"We're to have St. Luc against us near the lakes once more. Could youask for a better antagonist?"
Robert smiled at the man's eagerness, but his heart throbbed, as always,at the mention of the great French chevalier's name.
"He'll give us all we can do," he said.
"That's why I want to meet him," said Rogers. "The whole northernfrontier is going to be ablaze."
Robert left that very day with Rogers and his men. Mr. Huysman purchasedfor him a splendid equipment which he forced him to accept, and he andMr. McLean bade him good-by, while Caterina wept in her apron.
"Don't fear for me," said Robert, who was much moved. "Mr. Pitt willbring us all victory. His first efforts failed at Ticonderoga, as weknow, but now he has all his forces moving on all fronts, and he's boundto succeed. You've said that yourselves."
"So we have, Robert," said Mr. Huysman, "and we shall watch for yourreturn, confident that you'll come."
The next day the rangers, Robert with them, were far to the north ofAlbany, and then they plunged into the deep woods. Robert rejoiced atthe breath of the forest now in its freshest green, not yet faded bysummer heats. He had grown to love his island, but it was not like themighty wilderness of North America, in which he had spent so much of hislife. He kept at the head of the column, side by side with the MountainWolf, and his step was so strong and elastic that Rogers took approvingnotice.
"You like the woods, Robert," he said. "Well, so do I. It's the onlyplace where a man can live a free life."
"I like the woods and the towns too," said Robert. "Each in its place.Where do we camp to-night?"
"By a little lake, a few miles farther on, and as we're not yet in theIndian country we'll make it a fire camp."
The lake covered only two or three acres, but it was set in high hills,and it was as clear as crystal. A great fire was built near the shore,two or three of the rangers caught plenty of fish for all, and they werebroiled over the coals. Game had become so plentiful, owing to theravages of the war, that a fat deer was shot near the water, and, whenthey added coffee and samp from their own stores, they had a feast.
Robert ate with a tremendous appetite, and then, wrapping himself in hisblanket, lay down under a tree. But he did not go to sleep for a longtime. He was full of excitement. All the omens and signs told him thathe was coming into the thick of events once more, and he felt also thathe would soon see Willet and Tayoga again. He would encounter manyperils, but for the present at least he did not fear them. Much of hisvivid youth was returning to him.
He saw the surface of the lake from where he lay, a beautiful silver inthe clear moonlight, and he could even perceive wild fowl swimming atthe far edge, unfrightened by the presence of man, or by the fires thathe built. The skies were a great silver curve, in which floated amagnificent moon and noble stars in myriads. There was the one on whichTayoga's Tododaho lived, and so powerful was Robert's fancy that hebelieved he could see the great Onondaga sage with the wise snakes inhis hair. And there too was the star upon which Hayowentha lived and theOnondaga and the Mohawk undoubtedly talked across space as they lookeddown on their people.
Out of the forest came the calls of night birds, and Robert saw oneshoot down upon the lake and then rise with a fish in its talons. Healmost expected to see the dusky figure of Tandakora creep from thebush, and he knew at least that the Ojibway chief would be somewherenear the lakes. Beyond a doubt they would encounter him and his warriorsas they pressed into the north. Rogers, noticing that he was not asleep,sat down beside him and said:
"I suppose, Mr. Lennox, when you find Tayoga and Willet that you'll gowith Amherst's army against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. A great forcehas gathered to take those places."
"I'm not sure," said Robert, "I think it depends largely upon whatTayoga and Dave have planned, but I want to go against Quebec, and Ithink they will too. Still, I'd like to see our defeat at Ticonderogaatoned for. It's a place that we ought to have, and Crown Point too."
"A scout that I sent out has come in," said Rogers, "and he says he
'sseen an Indian trail, not big enough to be of any danger to us, but itshows we'll have 'em to deal with before long, though this is south oftheir usual range. I hear an owl hooting now, and if I didn't know itwas a real owl I could think it was Tandakora himself."
"I hear it too," said Robert, "and I'm not so sure that it's a real owl.Do you think that any band will try to cut us off before we reachAmherst and the lake?"
"I can't say, but my faith in the owl, Robert, is beginning to shaketoo. It may be an Indian belonging to the band that the scout toldabout, but I still don't think we're in any danger of attack. We're intoo small force to try it down here, but they might cut off astraggler."
"I'd like to help keep the watch."
"We won't need you to-night, but I may call on you to-morrow night, soit's my advice to you to sleep now."
The Mountain Wolf walked away to look at his outposts--he was not oneever to neglect any precaution--and Robert, knowing that his advice wasgood, closed his eyes, trying to sleep. But his hearing then became moreacute, and the long, lonesome note of the owl came with startlingdreams. Its cry was in the west, and after a while another owl in thenorth answered it. Robert wished that Tayoga was with him. He wouldknow, but as for himself he could not tell whether or no the owls werereal. They might be Indians, and if so they would probably, when theygathered sufficient force, throw themselves across the path of therangers and offer battle. This presence too indicated that Tayoga andWillet might be near, because it was against just such bands that theyguarded, and once more his heart beat fast.
He opened his eyes to find that the beauty of the night had deepened, ifthat were possible. The little lake was molten silver, and the forestseemed silver too under silver skies. The moon, large and benignant,smiled down on the earth, not meant, so Robert thought, for battle. Butthe two owls were still calling to each other, and now he was convincedthat they were Indians and not owls. He was really back in thewilderness, where there was no such thing as peace, the wilderness thathad seldom ever known peace. But believing with Rogers that the forcewas too strong to be attacked he fell asleep, at last, and awoke toanother bright summer day.
They resumed the advance with great caution. Rogers did not go directlytoward the force of Amherst, but bore more toward the west, thinking itlikely that he would have to meet the force of Sir William Johnson whowas to cooeperate with Prideaux in the attack on Niagara.
"Sir William has entirely recovered from the wound he received at theBattle of Lake George," Rogers said to Robert, "and he's again taking abig part in the war. We have Louisbourg and Duquesne, and now, if wetake Niagara and Ticonderoga and Crown Point, we can advance in greatforce on Quebec and Montreal."
"So we can," said Robert, "but there are those owls again, hooting inthe daytime, and I'm quite sure now they're Indians."
"I think so too, and it begins to look as if they meant an attack. Everymile here brings us rapidly nearer to dangerous country. I'll send outtwo more scouts."
Two of his best men were dispatched, one on either flank, but both camein very soon with reports of imminent danger. Trails were seen, and theyhad grown in size. One found the trace of a gigantic moccasin, and itwas believed to be that of Tandakora. Many scouts knew his footstep.There was no other so large in the north. Rogers' face was grave.
"I think they're going to try to cut us off before we reach the biggerpart of my force," he said. "If so, we'll give 'em a fight. You'll be inthe thick of it much earlier than you expected, Robert."
Robert also was inclined to that opinion, but he was still confidentthey could not be menaced by any very large party, and he remained inthat belief the next night, when they made their camp on a little hill,covered with bushes, but with open country on every side, an excellentsite for defense. They ate another plentiful supper, then put out theirfire, posted sentinels and waited.
Robert was among the sentinels, and Rogers, who had made him second incommand until he was reunited with his main force, stood by him in thefirst hour while they waited. There was again a splendid moon and plentyof fine stars, shedding a brilliant glow over the forest, and theybelieved they could see any enemy who tried to approach, especially asthe hill was surrounded on all sides by a stretch of open.
"It's a good place for a camp," said the Mountain Wolf, looking aroundwith approval. "I believe they'll scarce venture to attack us here."
"But there are the owls," said Robert. "They're at least thinking aboutit."
The long mournful cry came from the depths of the forest, and then itwas repeated a second and a third time at other points.
"The owls that send forth those calls," said Robert, "don't sit on theboughs of trees."
"No," said Rogers; "it's the warriors, not a doubt of it, and they'll bestealing in on us before long."
But several hours passed before there was any stir in the forest beyondthe open. Then a rifle cracked there, but no one heard the impact of thebullet. Rogers laughed scornfully.
"Their lead fell short," he said. "How could they expect to hit any ofus at such a range, and they not the best of marksmen even in thedaylight. They can't hope to do any more than to keep us awake."
The rangers made no reply to the shot, they would not deign it with suchnotice, but the guard was doubled, while the others remained in theirblankets. A half hour more passed, and a second shot came, but from apoint much nearer.
"They're trying to steal forward through the grass that grows tall downthere," said Rogers. "They're more bent on battle than I thought they'dbe. It seems that they mean to stalk us, so we'll just stalk 'em back."
Four of the rangers, fine sharpshooters, edged their way along theslope, and, when the warriors among the trees fired, pulled trigger bythe flash of their rifles. It was difficult to hit any one in such amanner, and more than twenty shots were fired by the two sides, before adeath shout was uttered. Then it came from the forest, and Robert knewthat one warrior was gone. He was taking no present part in the battlehimself, held like the bulk of the force in reserve, but he was anintent observer. Rogers, the daring leader of the rangers, stillstanding by his side, took it all as a part of his daily work, which intruth it was.
"I think it was Thayer who brought down that warrior," he said. "Thayeris one of the bravest men I ever saw, and a great scout and trailer.He'd be worthy to go with Willet and Tayoga and you. Ah, there goes asecond death shout! Any one who seeks a brush with these boys of minedoes it at his own risk."
He spoke proudly, but one of his own men came creeping back presentlywith a wound in his shoulder. Rogers himself bound it up and the man laydown in his blanket, confident that in a week he could resume his placein the campaign. Those who lived the life he did had, of necessity,bodies as hard as iron.
The deadly skirmishing died down repeatedly, but, after a little while,it was always renewed. Though the warriors were getting the worst of it,they persisted in the attack, and Robert knew they must have somemotive, not yet evident.
"Either they hope to frighten us back, or they mean to hold us until amuch bigger force comes up," he said.
"One or the other," said Rogers, "but I don't believe any big band wouldventure down here. The hope to frighten us seems the more likely."
The combat, drawn out long and with so little result, annoyed Robertintensely. As he saw it, it could have no decisive effect upon anythingand was more than futile, it was insensate folly. The original time setfor his watch was over long since and he wanted to roll himself in hisblanket and find slumber, but those ferocious warriors would not lethim. Despite their losses, they still hung around the hill, and, givingup the attempt to stalk the defenders through the grass, fired longshots from the cover of the forest. Another ranger was wounded by achance bullet, but Rogers, skillful and cautious, refused to be drawnfrom the shelter of the bushes on the hill.
Thus the fitful and distant combat was waged until dawn. But with therise of a brilliant sun, throwing a clear light over the wholewilderness, the warriors drew off and the rangers res
umed their march.