In the Wilds of Florida: A Tale of Warfare and Hunting

just in time to hear him say,"A rebel caught in the very act. Bring him in--bring him in." AndRochford, with Captain Nockelles on one side, and a guard armed with abrace of pistols on the other advanced towards the table.

  "What! a white man having the audacity to induce blacks to rebel againstthe authority of the State!" exclaimed the judge not recognising him."What have you to say to this accusation?"

  Rochford seemed to have an idea that the judge intended to ignore anyformer acquaintance with him, and replied--

  "It has not been proved that I am a rebel; and I certainly had nointention of committing any act contrary to the laws of the UnitedStates."

  "Bless my heart! are you my friend Rochford?" exclaimed the judge,jumping up, almost overturning the table in his eagerness to shakehands. "Gentlemen, there is some mistake here. Mr. Rochford came outwith me from England, and I know him to be a thoroughly honest andexcellent young man. He cannot possibly be guilty of the crime of whichyou charge him. Set him at liberty immediately. These ropes must makehim feel very uncomfortable." And the judge commenced pulling away atthe knots, not thereby expediting his object; which Captain Nockelles,finding he had made a mistake, very quickly accomplished. The judgethen shook Rochford warmly by the hand. "I am very sure that our friendhere will be able to give a satisfactory account of himself, although hemight not have been inclined to explain matters when he found himselftreated as he has been. You'll come and dine with me, CaptainNockelles, and I will hear all about it. You will meet the greatnaturalist Lejoillie, who knows Mr. Rochford as well as I do, and whowill, I am sure, answer for his being a person of high character, andnot at all likely to commit any act unworthy of a man of honour.--Oh!there's my friend Kearney. Glad to see you back, my boy. You'll joinus. I must then send you to Castle Kearney, as your father is anxiousto have you back to assist in looking after your young cousins, who,poor girls, will not only have to mourn the loss of their father andbrother, but of their mother also, of whose life, I fear, there is butlittle hope."

  I was very sorry to receive this latter piece of information, though itdid not prevent me joining the party at the judge's dinner-table, whereRochford was seated as an honoured guest, instead of being, as hiscaptors expected, sent off to the State prison. Little Paul was broughtin after dinner, and the company were informed of the gallant way inwhich Rochford had saved his life at the hazard of his own.

  My friend gave us an account of his adventures among the Indians andblacks, which fully satisfied the patriotic militia captain that he hadno hostile intentions towards the Government of the United States.

  After dinner, I found that a boat was in readiness to carry me to CastleKearney.

  "Our friend Rochford will, I suspect, be happy to accompany you," saidthe judge. "It will be as well for him to get out of this place, incase any disagreeable gentlemen should take it into their heads that hehas been too leniently dealt with. And, in truth, the sooner he leavesthe country, perhaps, the better; though we shall be delighted to seehim back again when affairs are more settled, and this Seminole war hasbeen brought to a close."

  I was not exactly surprised to find that Rochford was very willing tofollow the judge's advice.

  Wishing the judge, his wife, and their friends good-bye, we embarkedshortly before sunset, and were able to continue our journey at nightwithout difficulty. As we approached Castle Kearney, we were hailed bya voice which I recognised as that of Tim Flanagan, who was keepingwatch on the castle walls. On hearing my reply, he quickly descended tothe little postern-gate to admit us.

  "Sure, I'm glad to see you back, Mr. Maurice, and you, Mr. Rochford,though I've bad news to welcome you with about the misthress. She'sgone, sir, she's gone. An' the young ladies are in a sad way; so thatthe captain finds it a hard matter to comfort them, an' he'll be glad tohave you to help him."

  On ascending to the upper floor, we met my father, who gave a cordialwelcome to Rochford. My aunt, he told us, had died that morning, neverhaving recovered from the loss of her husband and son. The young ladiesbore up as well as could be expected, and he hoped that we should beable to assist in consoling them. Notwithstanding the report that theIndians had been driven westward, he considered it prudent to maintain astrict watch in the castle, lest another attempt might be made by herIndian admirer to carry off Juanita.

  "I congratulate myself on having come to assist you, sir," saidRochford. "Although, when I first came to the country, my wish was tobenefit the natives, I would treat them as my worst enemies should theymake so audacious an attempt."

  "I will trust you, Mr. Rochford," said my father, smiling.

  Our friend insisted on taking his turn as one of the sentries, and Ifelt very sure that the castle would not be surprised during his watch.

  Early in the morning after our arrival my poor aunt was interred in thecentre of the garden, as there was no grave-yard near to which she couldbe carried.

  My father was now very anxious to return home as soon as possible, andhe invited my two cousins, according to their father's wish, toaccompany him. Juanita was willing enough to go, but Rita showed muchdisinclination to leave Florida, though, at the same time, she had nowish to be separated from her sister. My father explained that by hisbrother's will he had no choice in the matter. He must either take themwith him, or remain with them in the country. The property, however,could only be disposed of at a great loss while the troubles with theIndians continued. He proposed, therefore, returning in the course oftwo or three years to settle their affairs. This arrangement somewhatsatisfied Rita, though she still implored me to try and persuade myfather to remain. I, as may be supposed, was very willing to do so, asI liked the country, and hoped to meet with more adventures. Rochfordwas quite ready to remain, for he had every reason to believe that hehad won Juanita's affections. How my father might ultimately have actedI cannot say, for matters were settled in a way we little expected. Thesun had set, and we were seated at supper--the pleasantest meal of theday in that hot climate. My cousins had somewhat recovered theirspirits, and Rochford was doing his utmost to make himself agreeable,when Tim walked into the room, rifle in hand, with his usual militaryair, and making a salute, said--

  "Capt'n, if ye please, step up to the gallery on the west side an' takea look-out. I was peering over the drawbridge, when I caught sight ofsome creatures moving among the plantations; either they're wolves orInjins."

  "Indians!" we exclaimed in chorus, my father, Rochford, and I jumpingup.

  "Do not allow honest Tim's report to alarm you," said Rochford to mycousins; "he has very likely mistaken a few stray cattle for an army ofIndians. At all events, let me entreat you to remain quietly here untilwe ascertain the true state of the case."

  I repeated what Rochford said, and then hurried up to the gallery, whereI found my father and Tim, with three or four of the other men. Theywere crouching down so as not to expose themselves to the view of thosebelow. Rochford and I, doing the same, looked through the loopholesleft for the purpose. Though the night was somewhat dark, by watchingattentively we could distinguish a number of figures darting here andthere among the trees, making their way towards us, evidentlyendeavouring, if possible, to keep themselves concealed as much aspossible from sight.

  "That these are Indians I have no doubt, and also that they have comehere with hostile intent; so we must be prepared for them," whispered myfather.--"Rochford, I leave you in charge of the gallery; do not fire,however, until the enemy show an intention of attacking the house.--Maurice, I must leave you and Tim, with two hands, to work the gunsabove the entrance. I will station the other men where they can bestdefend the approaches."

  All these arrangements were quickly made. It was pretty evident thatthe Indians fancied that they were undiscovered. We lay down undercover of the balustrade, which was of a thickness impenetrable tobullets. We could distinguish the figures of the Indians, as theyemerged from the wood in the distance, stealing nearer and nearer thewater which separated us from t
he mainland. It was very evident thatthey were in strong force, and fully expected to surprise the castle.We waited for my father's word to open fire. As yet, indeed, none ofthose near had shown themselves, being concealed by the shrubs whichgrew on the farther shore, and which, we were thus shown, ought long agoto have been cut down.

  There had been no light on the west side of our house, the windows ofthe sitting-room opening in the opposite direction, so that probably theIndians supposed we were all fast asleep. We kept a profound silence.The time seemed very long; and had I not been assured that I had seenhuman beings moving about, I should have fancied that we must have beenmistaken.

  I was waiting, ready to fire, when I heard the door leading to theplatform open. Looking round, I saw my two cousins.

  "What is happening?" exclaimed Juanita.

  Rita asked a similar question.

  "Go back! go back!" I cried out, louder than I ought to have spoken;"the enemy are close at hand."

  Scarcely were the words out of my mouth than an arrow whistled throughthe air. For a moment the dreadful thought seized me that one of themhad been struck; but the missile was quivering in the woodwork abovetheir heads. They quickly retreated, and I heard the door closed behindthem. I calculated the spot from which the arrow had been shot, andwith the help of my companions, training my gun towards it, fired.

  Before the sound had died away, the most fearful yells and shrieks rosefrom the brushwood before us. Showers of arrows, mingled with bullets,came pinging against the walls, the bright flashes from the Indians'muskets lighting up the whole shore. Tim was not slow to follow myexample; and at the same moment the rest of the garrison began blazingaway at our enemies, although it was difficult to distinguish them amongthe brushwood, behind which they took good care to conceal themselves.We were well sheltered; but this sort of work might continue until thewhole of our ammunition was exhausted. Though we had every reason tobelieve that some of our bullets took effect, it was impossible toascertain what number of the enemy were killed; their fire, however, didnot appear to diminish. They probably calculated on our having no largeamount of ammunition, and intended to make their assault when they foundour fire slackening. It occurred to me, while I was working away at mygun, that we ought to ascertain what quantity of ammunition wepossessed. I asked Tim if he knew.

  "Sure there was enough to defend the place for a whole day or more, whenwe first came here; but I don't know how much your uncle and his partycarried away with them, or whether any has been used since. It is to behoped the Redskins won't be any better off than we are in this respect,and will soon get tired of blazing away to no purpose," he answered.

  I was not satisfied, however, and was anxious to go and ascertain, thatwe might, at all events, reserve some for an emergency.

  We had been exchanging fire with the enemy for nearly an hour, when Iobserved some bright flashes of light circling over our heads.

  "Arrah! now, they haven't got rockets with them?" cried Tim.

  "No, these are more dangerous even than rockets," I answered. "They aresending fiery arrows on to the roof. Should any fall where they cannotbe got at, they may set the place in a blaze. I must go and let myfather know, as he may not have observed them."

  Making my way to the door so as not to expose myself, I opened it andsprang in. Hurrying down to where my father was directing the men inthe lower part of the building, I told him what was taking place. Imentioned also my apprehensions in regard to the limited amount ofammunition we possessed.

  "I am afraid you are right, Maurice. We must hope to drive the Indiansaway before the whole is exhausted," he answered. "Come with me; wemust try to prevent these fire-brands doing any damage."

  We were ascending to the top of the building, when we met my cousins inthe passage.

  "O uncle! what is happening? Cannot we help you in some way?" exclaimedJuanita.

  "Not without more risk than I would desire you to run," answered myfather. "I don't wish to alarm you, but I would advise you to collectthe valuables you possess, so that you may preserve them should it benecessary to leave the house, which the Indians are trying their best toset fire to. They may not succeed; but if they do, it will becomeuntenable. Now, brave girls, do as I bid you, and wait in the room nextthe garden, so that we may run out quickly if necessary."

  I should have mentioned that there was on the north side of the house alittle dock or harbour, in which the boats belonging to the estate werekept. The largest had that very morning been got ready to carry us andour baggage to Roseville, in case we should determine to go; while therewere three others sufficient to hold all the people on the island. Wehad thus, should we be reduced to extremity, the means of escaping.

  My father and I now hurried up to the top of the house. While heexamined one side, I looked to the other. What was my dismay, as Ipassed close under the roof, to find our worst fears realised. Alreadysparks in thick showers were falling down on the north side of thebuilding. Through a small hole I could see the flames flickering up,while the fire was running along the planks with which the roof waslined. I hurried over to tell my father.

  "The fire has burst out on the other side also!" he exclaimed; "and Ihave no hope of extinguishing the flames. No water which we could bringup could do it."

  We had no time to exchange further words, for wreaths of thick smokewere descending, filling the place where we stood, and we had quickly tomake our way down to avoid suffocation.

  "Call Tim and the men from the guns; they will not be able to serve themmuch longer," said my father. "But we must defend the lower story aslong as we can. I will prepare your cousins. We shall have but fewminutes, I fear, to get away."

  I hurried out to obey my father's directions, and tell Tim what hadhappened.

  "Let me have but another shot or two at the Redskin rascals. See whatthey're about!" he exclaimed.

  I looked down, and could distinguish a number of figures draggingforward some long trunks of trees, with which they either intended toform a bridge or float themselves across. Tim and the other men fired,but the Indians did not appear to be disconcerted; indeed, the shot fromthe small cannon did little more damage than the bullets from therifles. Had they been placed on a lower level, they would have beenmuch more effective.

  Before the guns could be again loaded, sparks in thick showers began todescend from the roof, and unhappily some fell among our cartridges. Anexplosion followed, severely injuring one of our men. To stay longerwhere we were would have been madness. We therefore retreated throughthe door, amidst a volley of bullets and arrows, dragging the poorwounded fellow with us. I told his companion to carry him into thegarden, while Tim and I hastened downstairs to assist Rochford; for themen in the lower story were as yet not aware that the building was onfire. When I told them, some showed an inclination to escape; but urgedby Rochford, Tim, and me, who set them the example, they continuedfiring away as before through the loopholes. We could, of course, seebut little of what was going on in front of us, but we guessed, by theshouts of the Indians, that they were aware of the progress the flameswere making. The hot fire we kept up, however, compelled them to remainunder shelter. We were now joined by my father, who ordered me to takefour of the men, that we might get the boats ready and the gates openedwhich enclosed them in the dock. He begged Rochford to take charge ofthe ladies, while he and Tim remained to the last to cover our retreat,so that the Indians might not discover that we were about to abandon thehouse, I lost no time in executing his orders, desiring the men to carryalong with them their wounded comrade. The Indians were probably notaware that we had the means of escaping. At all events they had not, asfar as we could see, succeeded in their attempt to reach the shore ofthe island, which they might have done on logs of wood, or by swimmingacross--at the risk, however, of being caught by alligators, had thesaurians not been driven to a distance by the noise of the shouts andfiring. Just after we had reached the dock, and were getting the oarsready for use
, I saw, to my great relief, Rochford and my two cousinsapproaching, followed by three female servants and several other women,carrying whatever valuable property they could lay hands on.

  Already the flames were bursting out from all sides in the upper part ofthe house. In another minute or two the whole roof would, I feared,come crashing down. I looked anxiously for my father and Tim, but thecontinued crack of their rifles showed that they were still at theirposts.

  "Oh, they will be burnt, they will be burnt!" cried my cousins, as theysaw the flames rapidly encircling the building.

  I was on the point of hastening back to warn them, when Rochford sprangforward.

  "I will do it. Get all hands ready for a start;" and before I couldanswer, he was already half-way across the garden.

  I had still much to do. My first care was to place my cousins and theservants in the large boat, and to distribute the women in the others,while I ordered the men on board, and got the gates of the dock opened;which required considerable exertion, as the lower parts had to beforced through the mud which had collected at the bottom. The burninghouse afforded us light enough for all that was required.

  At length the firing ceased. As I turned my eyes towards the building,it seemed as if no one could exist within it, for now, from every story,either flames or smoke were bursting forth. Again and again I looked.Had it not been my duty to remain and protect my cousins, I should nothave been able to refrain from hastening back to the house. A cry ofdismay rose from my cousins and those around me, when a loud crash washeard, and flames, brighter than before, rose from the centre of thebuilding. The