CHAPTER SEVEN.
Tarbox and Flowers had been on the watch on the side of the hill lookingtowards that part of the forest where the seeming deer had appeared, andhad observed the young officers making their way in that direction.Remembering the proverb, that "too many cooks spoil the broth," theywere afraid that were they to go also, the deer would escape, and theymight lose their share of the venison. They waited, therefore, withmuch eagerness, for the return of the sportsmen. When, however, timewent by and they did not appear, Tarbox, calling to Roger Layton, toldhim what had happened.
"Can you nowhere see them?" asked Roger.
"No, sir; maybe the deer has led them a long chase," answered Tarbox.
"The Indians may be lurking about," observed Roger to Vaughan, who justthen joined him. Vaughan naturally felt anxious, and at once proposedtaking half a dozen men and going in search of the two lads. Rogerinsisted on accompanying him. Rolfe charged them to be cautious, for,knowing the guile of the Indians, he feared greatly that Gilbert andFenton had fallen into their hands, and that they themselves also wouldrun a great risk of being surprised.
"We will keep our eyes about us," said Roger, springing down the hill tothe side of Vaughan, who, with six volunteers, had already reached thebottom. They hurried on, keeping their firearms ready for immediateuse; for, though they still hoped that Gilbert and Fenton had reallygone in chase of a deer, they knew that at any moment they might fall inwith the Indians. On reaching the forest they advanced more cautiouslythan at first, every now and then stopping and shouting out to Gilbertand Fenton; but no reply coming, they pushed on still further.
"The lads would scarcely have been so foolish as to have chased the deerfurther than this," said Roger. "I very much fear that the Indians havecaught them."
"I fear the same," answered Vaughan, with a sigh, as if unwilling toacknowledge the truth; "but if so, would they not have slain them atonce rather than have carried them off prisoners?"
"We will, at all events, make a further search through the forest," saidRoger. "We must not give up all hopes of finding them."
Though aware that they were acting imprudently, they could not resistthe temptation of going on farther, the whole party looking out amongthe trees; but nothing could they discover to enlighten them on thesubject. They were about to turn back, when Ben Tarbox, who was alittle way off on the extreme right of the line, shouted that he saw adeer feeding at some distance ahead, and, holding his gun ready to fire,he ran on in the direction he pointed. Presently the report of his gunwas heard, and the rest of the party hurrying up, saw the deer, which,strange to say, had not moved. On reaching it, great was their surpriseto find only the head of the animal supported by a stick in the ground,with the skin of the back fastened to it.
"Why, this is the very deer we caught sight of," exclaimed Tarbox; "itshows pretty clearly the sort of trick the Indians have played the younggentlemen, and tells too truly what has happened to them; though whytheir decoy was left behind is more than I can say."
Vaughan and Roger knew that Ben was right; the only question now was,whether they should try to overtake the Indians and endeavour to rescuetheir friends, if still alive, from their hands. Vaughan soon came tothe conclusion that they could not hope to do so, and, with a sad heart,acknowledged that they must at once return to the camp.
"We shall have to fight our way to it, then," exclaimed Roger; "seethere!"--and he pointed in the direction from whence they had come,where, amid the trees, appeared a large body of savages. As soon as theIndians found that they were discovered, they set up a fearfulwar-whoop, their cries and shouts echoing through the forest; while,drawing their bows, they shot a flight of arrows, by which, happily, noone was wounded.
"Reserve your fire," exclaimed Roger, "till we get near enough to makesure of our men: their shouting and shrieking will do us no harm."
Again the savages uttered a war-whoop, and seemed about to rush forwardto attack the small party of whites with their tomahawks, when theirshouts were replied to from the opposite part of the forest.
"Was that an echo, or are those the voices of another party of Indians?"exclaimed Vaughan; "if so, between the two we shall have a hard fight ofit to make our way back to the camp."
Another war-whoop sounded from behind them, and looking in the directionfrom whence it came, they could distinguish a still larger party thanthat in front coming quickly towards them.
"Keep together, lads, and we'll cut our way through those between us andthe camp," exclaimed Roger; "and if the others follow, we must turnround and keep them at bay till we can get the assistance of ourfriends."
Drawing their swords, Roger and Vaughan led the way towards their foes.Greatly to their surprise, the Indians, instead of stopping to receivetheir charge, turned round and fled away through the forest to thewestward; while, from the opposite side, the other party was seenadvancing rapidly. Roger and Vaughan, determining either to defeat themor to sell their lives dearly, ordered their men to be ready to firewhen they should give the word. As they were about to do so, they saw atall Indian whom, even at that distance, they knew by his dress to be achief, advance some way ahead of the rest, holding up in his hand abranch which he waved to and fro.
"Stay," exclaimed Roger, rushing before the men. "Do not fire--they arefriends."
As the Indian advanced they recognised Canochet, whom they now hurriedforward to greet. In a few words they explained what had occurred, andentreated him to give chase to their late opponents, whom they could notdoubt had carried off Gilbert and Fenton. On looking round, however,they found that the whole band, whom they had just before seen at theend of the forest, had disappeared. Canochet immediately waving to hismen, ordered them to advance in pursuit of the foe, and no sooner had heuttered the word of command than a hundred warriors, bow in hand, wererushing through the forest at a rate with which the party of Englishfound it a hard matter to keep up. Every instant they expected to comein sight of their flying foe, but on reaching the border of the forest,not an Indian was to be seen. Canochet, with some of his men, sagaciousbraves, searched in vain for the trail of the enemy; it was evident thatthey had turned off either to one side or the other, and that they hadmissed it, while eagerly pushing forward in pursuit. He was of opinionthat they had made for the stream, and having followed it up where theshallow water allowed them to wade, they had crossed to the oppositeside and made their way to the northward.
The question whether they had got hold of Gilbert and Fenton stillremained unsettled till Canochet heard of the discovery of the deer'shead, when he had no longer any doubt about the matter.
"The youths were deceived by the seeming deer, and have been entrappedby their foes--an Indian would have been too wise to be caught by sosimple a trick," remarked the Monacan chief.
"They were indeed foolish," observed Vaughan, with a sigh; "but havetheir captors put them to death, think you?"
Canochet considered an instant: "Revenge is sweet," he observed; "but anIndian can be moved by other motives. They may have deemed it prudentto preserve their lives, either to exhibit them to their tribe astrophies of victory, or to exchange them for any of their own people whomay be captured--though I must not conceal from you that the women andrelatives of those who have been slain will certainly demand theirdeath. It is believed, however, that our great chief Powhattan, fromhaving preserved the life of Captain Smith, is favourable to theEnglish; and they may dread his vengeance more than that of the whites,should they injure their young captives."
This information afforded but doubtful comfort to Vaughan and Roger;they would be ready, they said, to pay any amount of ransom for theirfriends, if Canochet could manage to communicate with their captors. Hepromised to do so, and at once sent off a party to discover their trailand to follow them up; though he acknowledged that he had no great hopesthat they would be overtaken. In the mean time, he and the rest of hisband, accompanied by Vaughan and Roger, proceeded to the camp. They hadnow still more rea
son than ever to hasten their visit to Powhattan, inthe hopes that he might assist in the recovery of the captives shouldtheir lives have been spared.
Rolfe ordered his men to get into marching order, and, accompanied bythe Monacan chief, they proceeded on their journey. The day was alreadyfar spent, so that they had gone but a short distance before it wasnecessary to camp, in order that the hunters might go out in search ofgame. There was no slight danger to the huntsmen, for Pomaunkee'speople might possibly have followed them, and be on the watch to cut offany one leaving the camp. Hunger, however, overcame their fears, andthe huntsmen returned in safety with three deer, sufficient to affordfood both to the English and natives. The fires had already beenlighted, and the cooks at once set to work to roast the joints ofvenison, on spits formed of wood, supported on forked sticks; while therest of the Indians squatted round with eager eyes, watching theprocess.
The Indians, confiding in their numbers, seemed to consider that noattack would be made on them, but Rolfe, after the experience he hadgained of the treachery of the natives, deemed it prudent to placesentries round his part of the camp. He advised Canochet to do thesame. "We are not so careless as you suppose," answered the chief; "wehave men on the watch, but we deem it unwise to allow them to stand upso that they may afford a mark to the enemy. We conceal our watchmenfrom the foe approaching the camp, so that he never knows when he may bediscovered; we have men on guard outside your sentries, so that if itpleases you, they may lie down and rest."
After hearing this, Rolfe and the other leaders slept far more soundlythan they otherwise would have done. The night passed away withoutinterruption, and the next morning they proceeded on their way. Vaughananxiously inquired of Canochet when he expected the return of hispeople. He had directed them, he said, merely to follow the trail toascertain the direction the enemy had taken, and to gain as much otherinformation as they could pick up. It was not, however, till late thenext day that the party overtook the main body of the Monacans. Theyhad discovered a trail which led towards the north, and that two whitemen were with the party, they were from the first certain. That thiswas the case was confirmed by a slip of paper which had been foundfastened to a tree by a thorn. It contained but a few words, signed byGilbert; Vaughan eagerly took it. "We are both alive, but our captorsglance at us unpleasantly. We will try to escape; follow if you can,and help us."
Vaughan explained the meaning of the words to Canochet. "Wonderful!" heexclaimed; "can so small a piece of white material with a few faintstrokes on it say so much?"
He promised to follow the Indians, as Gilbert had desired; Vaughanwished to set out at once with him, but he recommended that he shouldfirst communicate with Powhattan, and get his assistance. Vaughan,though still very anxious, was somewhat relieved, and agreed to followthe chief's advice.
Towards the evening, as they were proceeding along the banks of a broadstream which fell in a succession of cascades over its rocky bed,Canochet informed them that they were approaching the abode of the greatchief. He had sent on before, as in duty bound, to announce theircoming. Rolfe and Vaughan, accompanied by Canochet, were marching aheadof their party, the English following them, and the Indians at a littledistance behind; they had just turned an angle of the river, beneath theshade of some lofty trees which stretched their branches far over thewater, when they saw standing before them a man of tall stature anddignified mien, clothed in rich skins handsomely ornamented, a plate ofgold hanging on his breast, and an ornament of the same precious metalon his head. By his side was a young girl who could scarcely, from herappearance have seen seventeen summers. The pure blood which coursedthrough her veins and mantled on her cheeks gave a peculiarly rich hueto her skin, while her features were of exquisite form; her eyes large,and of a lustrous blackness. On her head she wore a circlet offeathers; her raven locks, parted at her brow, hung down in long plaitsbehind her slender waist. Altogether, Rolfe thought he had never seenso beautiful a creature. Though Vaughan could not fail to admire her,the blue eyes and fair face of Mistress Cicely were more to his taste.Fortunately for Rolfe, he had no difficult diplomatic duty to perform,or he might perchance have been tempted to yield too easily, won by thebewitching graces of the lovely savage.
The chief received the strangers with dignity as they advanced towardshim. He had heard of their coming, he said, and gave them welcome. Hiswish was to be on friendly terms with them, and the people of theirnation, one of whom, a great chief he seemed and full of wisdom, waseven now his guest. Rolfe, who already spoke the native tongue withconsiderable fluency, replied, in suitable language, that he wasgrateful to the chief for the words he had let fall; that his guest wasindeed a man of renown--his more than father and friend--and that it waswith the object of visiting him, as well as to pay his respects to themighty Powhattan, that he and his followers had made the journey intohis country. The English had come, he added, with no hostileintentions: the land was large enough for the natives and themselves;and their desire was to live on friendly terms with all around them. Heinvited Powhattan to come to the town they had built and to judge forhimself.
The Indian seemed well pleased with this address. "And now," he said,"come with me to my home; such entertainment as I can give is prepared,and my wish is that when you go hence you may say that Powhattan hastreated you in princelike fashion."
Rolfe now made further inquiries about Captain Smith. The chief repliedthat he was in safe keeping, though he acknowledged that he had nothitherto thought fit to allow him to go abroad.
"In other words, he keeps him a strict prisoner," observed Vaughan; "wemust insist on his being forthwith set at liberty, or he may think fitto detain him when we wish to take our departure."
"I will not fail to follow your advice," answered Rolfe, who thenturning to the chief, remarked that his heart yearned to see hishonoured friend, and that he begged he might without delay be broughtinto his presence.
"My daughter, Pocahontas, shall conduct you," said the chief, after someconsideration. As they proceeded on, he spoke a few words to hisdaughter. "He is in her charge," he remarked, "for as she preserved hislife, she demanded that he should be placed under her protection."
"I could not desire a better guide," answered Rolfe, bowing to thechiefs daughter. They had now arrived before a village composed ofhouses of a more substantial character than those of the Indian villageshitherto seen. While the chief proceeded towards the largest, in thecentre of the village, Pocahontas, taking Rolfe's hand in obedience toher father's command, led him towards a hut on one side, before which,hatchet in hand, was a sentry. Meantime Canochet drew up his warriorson the open space in front of the chief's house, while Vaughan orderedhis men to halt also near the same spot, in the neighbourhood of which anumber of women were congregating with baskets full of provisions.
Each moment that Rolfe was in the company of the Indian maiden, he wasmore and more struck by her beauty, her graceful carriage, and modestmanners and intelligence.
"You are the second paleface only I have seen," she observed, artlessly;"your brave chief was the first. I saw the gallant way in which, whenattacked by my countrymen, he defended himself, seizing one of our mostnoted warriors and holding him before himself as a shield; till slippingon the moist soil he fell, with numbers surrounding him. Before hecould recover himself he was overwhelmed and bound, and led captive tomy father. I felt horror at the thought that so brave a man should beput to death, and such as would have been his fate had I not at themoment our braves were about to strike, thrown myself before him andprayed my father to spare his life."
"Bless you, lady, for the merciful act," exclaimed Rolfe, gazing at theyoung girl with greater admiration even than before, "my friend mustbless you too, and my countrymen, when they hear what you have done,will endeavour to show their gratitude."
"They can best show it by remaining at peace with my people," answeredthe maiden, looking up in his face, though, as her eyes met his glanceof admiration, she turned t
hem again to the ground. She opened the doorof the hut; Captain Smith, who was seated on a mat on the floor, startedup, and on seeing Rolfe, sprang forward to meet him.
"I was sure that, should you hear of my captivity, you would not resttill you had made every possible effort to rescue me," said the captain;"were it not for this fair lady, your efforts would, however, have beenuseless." He took the hand of Pocahontas and raised it to his lips.She smiled at the act of courtesy, so unlike any to which she had beenaccustomed.
"She has already told me that she was the means of saving your life,"observed Rolfe, "and I have been endeavouring to tell her how grateful Iand all those who esteem you feel to her. She has now come to set youat liberty, and the chief will raise no objection to your returning withus. Whether he gives us leave or not, we have determined to carry youoff. I will try to induce him to accompany us; it will be of muchimportance to get him to visit James Town, where he can see our houses,and ships, and great guns, and other things wondrous to him. It willgive him a proper notion of our power, and the means we possess ofdefeating our enemies should they attack us."
Rolfe, as they walked through the village, explained to Pocahontas theirpurpose, and by his descriptions of the wonders possessed by the Englishhe raised an ardent desire in her mind to go and see them. The banquetprovided by Powhattan need not be described: it was somewhat of abarbarous kind, though the viands were not to be despised. Contrary tothe Indian custom, Pocahontas was present, seated on a mat near herfather, with Rolfe next her; while Captain Smith and Vaughan sat on theother side. Vaughan being unable himself to converse with the chief,got Rolfe to tell him of the loss of their two companions, and to begthat he would use his power to recover them.
"They must be far away by this time to the northeast, and though thosewho have captured them own my sovereignty, they are wont at times to actindependently of me. However, I will take steps to recover yourfriends." Such was the substance of the answer given by Powhattan.Vaughan then reminding Rolfe of his main object in coming to thecountry, begged him to inquire of the chief whether he knew of anyEnglishman held captive for many years by his nation. Powhattan repliedthat rumours had reached him of palefaces having been seen in differentparts of the country, but that none of them having been brought beforehim, he could not at present give his guests any exact information onthe subject; but he would on that point also, he promised, makeinquiries. He seemed pleased at the confidence they showed him, whenthey expressed their readiness to occupy a part of his dwelling,separated from their men. After the fatigues they had gone through,they slept soundly.