Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 183 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

6 Gilbert, the Guide. while the elders sat and smoked their pipes under the trees. Once or twice the youn braves strayed very near the hiding-place o Helen, but manifested no desire to break through the brambles, until one of their number happened to strike the fresh trail of the bear, and every one gave tongue in an instant, like hounds upon the scent, at the prospect of a bear- hunt. Even the older warriors arose and walked with stately step toward the place where the young warriors were lookin; at the trail and following it with bent heads. ‘*Ugh!” said one of the elders pointing to the tree, which bis keen eye recognized as the probable resting-place of the bear. A retrograde movement on the part of the younger men told that they did not deem it necessary for them to be too forward if the bear were really so near, and they suddenly became aware of the immense breach of forest etiquette they would have been guilty of if they had taken precedence of their elders. The trail was easily followed, and parting the targled briers carefully, the Indian leader saw the nose of the bear within half a yard of hisown. With an agility which would have done honor to the most finished acrobat, the Indian threw himself backward, expecting the bear to be upon his back the next moment. But as he did not follow, he took heart, and loading their weapons, two or three of the bravest advanced, and began to maneuver to get sight of Bruin again. Three rifles exploded at the same moment, and then the Indians darted back again, with commendable caution, anticipatiag that Bruin would bolt out upon them with open mouth. But he lay quiet in his lair, and made no sign to show that he lived. After waiting awhile, and satisfying himself that the bear had received his quietus, the leader advanced and peeped into the bollow. There lay Bruin, his head upon his paws, and his eyes closed in death. Seizing him by the paws and ears, the savages dragged him out with triumphant shouts, and admired his huge proportions, never dreaming that the hand of a feeble irl, and not their shots, had laid the animal low, However, the fact that they had . fired at it, took away all danger of their sus- pecting the real cause of the animal’s death, and they set to work daying the bear, preparatory to a hearty meal, while Helen sat in the tree and looked down upon them, wondering if they meant to make their camp there for the ight. 1 at once she became conscious of a new In firing at the bear a piece of burn- ing gun-wad had fallen upon the dry leaves at the bottom of the hollow, and a small, burning spot was visible near the place where the bear bad lain, which was gradually but surely wid- ening, and creeping toward t.e rotten but dry sean with which the place was lined. A smoke was beginning to rise, and it was with the greatest difficulty she restrained a cough, which would have betrayed her, for one of the Indian fires had been built witbin ten feet of the tree, immediately in front of the opening from which the bear had been dragged. . Owasco never dreamed, when he hid the fair girl in the tree, that she would be exposed to gers like this, but who can tell what an hour may bring forth? It wasa time for action, and quick action at that. The hatchet of the Onon- daga lay at the bottom, and had not been seen by any of the Indians, in their baste to drag out the bear. Could she descend and reach it, without attracting the attention of the Indian? It must be done, or she was doomed. Stepping lightly over the shelf n which she sat, she descended into that cloud of fire and smoke roll- ing up from the bottom, and reached the hatchet unperceived. The fire had now gained head- pares and was soaring fearfully, and the brave giri’s heart almost gave way. She might esca frow the fiery death before her, but would the fate which awaited her at the hands of the In- dians be preferable to that? She turned her eves to heaven in the midst of the smoke and flume, and prayed that He in whom she put her trust might look down in pity and teach her the right way. _ The men upon the island were busy strength- ening their icade, and watching for the coming of the enemy. Now and then the agent cast a quick glance at the distant tree, which enshrined the woman he loved so well, ing that she was not frightened in the solitude in which he thought her, when the darkness began to come on, and the tree loomed vague and in- distinct against the summersky, Then, all at once, as he gazed toward it, a flame flashed be- fore bis eyes and revealed the forest all about the fatal tree. That flame poured out in a fiery flood from the opening at the crotch, seized upon the hanging twigs, ran like lightning to the top, and in an instant the great sycamore was ina blaze! The young man uttered a cry of ny, and held out his hands toward the ‘*Oh, my God, what have we done? Is that your safety, your haven of refuge, Gilbert? ou have betrayed my darling to death, and her blood is on your head from this fatal hour.” “Hush!” said Gilbert. “She is in God’s hands, and if it is his will that she should die, what are you, that you should oppose your pit- iful will to his? But I cannot believe it; she, so young, so beautifnl, so brave, was not born for such a death. ‘*T tell you she is doomed,” screamed the un- are young man, ‘* Why did 1 listen to her, why let her go away to this horrible death, be- cause I wes too cowardly to defend her?” ‘** Bea man, Clinton Waterman!” said Gilbert, sternly, ‘‘and do not blame those who have done their best. I said to-night that you were young; I envied you because you were happy, and had never known a greattrouble. I feel now that I was wrong, and that God is about to set his mark of sorrow on you; but, still trust in Him,” ‘*I beg your pardon, Gilbert,” said the other, in a faint voice. ‘‘ You are not to blame in this, but the sorrow has come too suddenly upon me, and I fear that itis more than I can bear. You do not, you cannot know how I loved that girl—how I have watched her day by day, and saw each hour a new beauty in her life which made her more glorious. She was to have been my wife, and now— See, see!” The flames leaped and roared, and threw themselves into fantastic shapes in the dry tree- top; they climbed from limb to limb, until every part of the great tree was covered with the glow which made night as day al. about it, and shed a light even upon the island. A dead silence, like that of death, fell upon the assembled group, as they watched the pro- gress of the devouring flames as they leaped upward, carrying destruction in their track. At last Gilbert spoke. ‘*We can give no help to her, at any rate, and now let us do what we can for revenge, Doubtless the hand of a vile Wyandot fired that tree, and if it did, then we live for vengeance. Get torches ready to light these beacons, for it will not be long before we are attacked.” The beacons of which he spoke were arranged upon the green turf in front of the barricades, in such a position that by lighting them a flcod of light would cover the river on both sides, and reveal to them the position and plans of the enemy. : ‘+ Owasco witlugo nd try to find out w these Wvyand t dogs mean to do,” said th chief. ‘‘If you hear the loon call twice and the night-owl once, you will know that they are coming. If the night-owl calls twice and the loon once, you will know that they are not yet ready.” ‘“‘T do not like to, have you go alone,” re- marked Gilbert. ‘‘ What can do without ?? ‘“The head of an Onondaga is better than that of a Wyandot,” was Owasco’s rejoinder. ‘* T shall be safe.” ‘““Go then, and God be with you,” replied Gilbert. Owaseo stripped off everything but the breech-cloth, and dropped silently into the water, and was gone, and they waited patiently with their arms in their hands for his signal from the shore. All eyes were bent upon the burning tree, which was now nearly destroyed, and stood like a gigantic column, glowing as molten iron. No sound came from tke shore, but the silence was ominous of an assault. ‘* Hark!” said Gilbert. The loon cried out twice and the owl hooted once. ‘*Get ready,” said the guide. ‘‘ That means business.” Snatching up atorch he applied it to one of the piles of brush; the flames began to spread, and they could see some distance from the banks. As the light became greater, they per- ceived that the river was dotted with logs, floating slowly but surely toward the island, and they knew that each one of these logs con- cealed one or more Indian heads. They had laid their weapons upon the Pg ha pe them — — places by means of the knots upon the sticks. The defenders knew that little was to be gain- ed by wasting their powder upon men so con- cealed, and not a shot was fired. The river was shallow close to the island, so that they must wade some paces to reach the bank, and this was what the whites waited for. The Indians were surprised by tlhe sudden light thrown upon their movements, for it is an Indian trait to love darkness as a cover for his assault. Short, quick yells from those who had been left upon the bank told that they had not expected the fires, and were not at all pleased. “Vil give one of them a taste of pure con- tent if you give the word, Gilbert,” said one = - + palaces of the bateau. ‘‘I see his dingy ack,’ Z ‘* Give it to them,” said Gilbert. ‘‘ They need a lesson.” The voyageur brought his rifle steadily to his shoulder, and a sharp crack rung through the forest. One of the foremost savages bounded half out of the water with a piercing death-cry, and floated for a moment upon the calm sur- face before he went down forever. A quiet chuckle on the part of the man who had fired the shot told his satisfaction in per- _ forming the exploit, as be coolly commenced reloading his rifle. Seeing that they could no longer conceat themselves, those who had gained the shallow water bounded to their feet and rushed on to the attack. They were met by a withering fire. from the rifles of the defenders, which dropped two or three dead and wounded into the water, and over their bodiés their companions rushed to avenge them, They were met by the stout barricades, which bad been so carefully built, and by shots from pistols, cuts from knife and hatchet, and tre- mendous blows from a club wielded by the hands of the doughty descendant of the O’Dris- colls, who was a host in himself. Half-lying upon the barricade, with his body thrown forward, he struck out with a zeal and vigor that spoke well for his muscular develop- ment. A barrier of steel gleamed upon the top of the barricade, and the Eadtaess found what it was to deal with that indomitable race whose mission is to evangelize the world, whose stern watchword in their early day was to “trust in God and keep your powder dry.” Yet they had desperate work cut out for them, for the savages swarmed like bees outof the shallow water, and with knife, hatchet and war-club strove to make their way over the defenses. Clinton Waterman was a man trained to peril in his life of an Indian agent, and as he thought that these men had perhaps been the ones who robbed his darling of her life, his arm seemed nerved with ten-fold vigor, and at every blow he struck, he murmured that young girl’: name, who had that night died a martyr’s death, in fire and smoke, alone in the dismal coffin in which they bad enshrined her. Darromed were no cowards, and fought vali- antly and well, for they were the pick and ehoice of that fierce band, who eame down from their hunting-grounds on this bloody mis- sion, and whose deeds made them infamous in the annals of time, as long as the names of Harmar and St. Clair shall be remembered, ' “They fight well,” said Gilbert, between his teeth, as he fought on by the side of Water- man, ‘‘Ha! Take that you painted devil!” Down rolled the Indian at whom he directed the blow and lay gasping at the foot of the bar- ricade, upon the narrow strip of sand which ran along below the bank. The sturdy defense of the position began to have its effect upon the assailants, and they wavered. Some, who were half-way across the current, hesitated, and drifted slowly downward. The Ow], who had kept his position in his canoe without tak- ing any share in the battle, thou a not from cowardice, now gave the signal to i s paddlers and the great canoe, helding ten of the most desperate fichters in the band, shot rapidly across the stream. Engaged with their im- mediate assailants, the brave men in the bar- ricade could. not pay any attention to them, and they reached the island without the loss of a single man, ‘*Come!” screamed the chief, ‘“‘and let us give these white men to the crows, who dare to stand up against the = of the Wyandots. Follow me, and behold how a great chief fights in the cause of his country.” ‘‘Here I am,” cried Gilbert, rushing to the front. ‘‘I, who hate you, red fiend that you a * Meet me if Ds aorees nan instant they closed, and standing upon the top of the barricade, joined in-a duel a Voutrance. The forlorn hope of the Wyandots, aiding their leader, scrambled like cats up the sides of the barricade, fighting hand to hand with the defenders. Those who had begun to waver, seeing others ready to take the first place, came on again, and the deadly struggle was resumed with greater vigor than before. In- dian after Indian rolled down the bank into tbe water, wounded or slain, while the white men, fighting under the cover of the barricade had as yet escaped without serious loss, an no one paid aby. aitention to the desperate duel going on between Gilbert and his red foe. Each had seized the; other by the left wrist, leaying the right hand free and armed with the long knife, with which they cut, thrust and parried with deadly force, eluding blows which would have been fatal, with an agility and address which only rare forest training ety er of a Yengee!” hissed the Owl. “You shall die by the knife of a warrior— you, who ought to be only whipped to death by women. A “Gilbert answered by a thrust which pierced the knife-hand of the boaster, and with a cry of rage and agony, he dropped his blade and ppled with his foe. They tottered on the verge of the barricade, and fell headlong into an eddy which ran by the point of the island, and were swept out into deeper water, still locked in a deadly embrace. Gilbert had seized his opponent by the scalp-lock, and while strug- gling to keep above water, buried his enemy beneath the surge. But, by a convulsive effort, the Indian released himself and sunk instantly, leaving Gilbert swimming about in a bewildered, manner, almost beside himself with rage. ECOMMIC DOO KS (C The men of cor