University of Virginia Library

18. EDGAR HUNTLY.
CHAPTER XVII.

Never was any delight worthy
of comparison with the raptures
which I then experienced. Life, that
was rapidly ebbing, appeared to return
upon me with redoubled violence. My
languors, my excruciating heat, vanished
in a moment, and I felt prepared to undergo
the labours of Hercules. Having
fully supplied the demands of nature
in this respect, I returned to reflection
on the circumstances of my situation.
The path winding round the hill was
now free from all impediments What
remained but to precipitate my flight? I

might speedily place myself beyond all
danger. I might gain some hospitable
shelter, where my fatigues might be
repaired by repose, and my wounds be
cured. I might likewise impart to my
protectors seasonable information of the
enemies who meditated their destruction.

I thought upon the condition of the
hapless girl whom I had left in the
power of the savages. Was it impossible
to rescue her? Might I not relieve
her from her bonds, and make her the
companion of my flight? The exploit was
perilous but not impracticable. There
was something dastardly and ignominious
in withdrawing from the danger, and
leaving an helpless being exposed to it.
A single minute might suffice to snatch
her from death or captivity. The parents
might deserve that I should hazard or
even sacrifice my life, in the cause of
their child.

After some fluctuation, I determined
to return to the cavern, and attempt the
rescue of the girl. The success of this
project depended on the continuance of
their sleep. It was proper to approach
with wariness, and to heed the smallest
token which might bespeak their condition.
I crept along the path, bending
my ear forward to catch any sound that
might arise. I heard nothing but the
half-stifled sobs of the girl.

I entered with the slowest and most
anxious circumspection. Every thing was
found in its pristine state. The girl noticed
my entrance with a mixture of terror and
joy. My gestures and looks enjoined
upon her silence. I stooped down, and
taking another hatchet, cut assunder the
deer-skin thongs by which her wrists and
ancles were tied. I then made signs for
her to rise and follow me. She willingly
complied with my directions; but her

benumbed joints and lacerated sinews,
refused to support her. There was no
time to be lost; I therefore, lifted her in
my arms, and, feeble and tottering as I
was, proceeded with this burthen, along
the perilous steep, and over a most rugged
path.

I hoped that some exertion would
enable her to retrieve the use of her
limbs. I set her, therefore, on her feet,
exhorting her to walk as well as she was
able, and promising her my occasional
assistance. The poor girl was not deficient
in zeal, and presently moved along
with light and quick steps. We speedily
reached the bottom of the hill.

No fancy can conceive a scene more
wild and desolate than that which now
presented itself. The soil was nearly
covered with sharp fragments of stone.
Between these sprung brambles and
creeping vines, whose twigs, crossing

and intertwining with each other, added
to the roughness below, made the passage
infinitely toilsome. Scattered over
this space were single cedars with their
ragged spines and wreaths of moss, and
copses of dwarf oaks, which were only
new emblems of sterility.

I was wholly unacquainted with the
scene before me. No marks of habitation
or culture, no traces of the footsteps
of men, were discernible. I scarcely
knew in what region of the globe I
was placed. I had come hither by means
so inexplicable, as to leave it equally in
doubt, whether I was separated from
my paternal abode by a river or an ocean

I made inquiries of my companion.
but she was unable to talk coherently.
She answered my questions with weeping,
and sobs, and intreaties, to fly from
the scene of her distress. I collected
from her, at length, that her father's

house had been attacked on the preceding
evening, and all the family but herself
destroyed. Since this disaster she
had walked very fast and a great way,
but knew not how far or in what direction.

In a wilderness like this, my only
hope was to light upon obscure paths,
made by cattle. Meanwhile I endeavoured
to adhere to one line, and to
burst through the vexatious obstacles
which encumbered our way. The ground
was concealed by the bushes, and we
were perplexed and fatigued by a continual
succession of hollows and prominences.
At one moment we were nearly
thrown headlong into a pit. At another
we struck our feet against the angles of
stones. The branches of the oak rebounded
in our faces or entangled our legs,
and the unseen thorns inflicted on us a
thousand wounds.

I was obliged, in these arduous circumstances,
to support not only myself
but my companion. Her strength was
overpowered by her evening journey,
and the terror of being overtaken, incessantly
harrassed her.

Sometimes we lighted upon tracks
which afforded us an easier footing, and
inspired us with courage to proceed.
These, for a time, terminated at a brook
or in a bog, and we were once more
compelled to go forward at random.
One of these tracks insensibly became
more beaten, and, at length, exhibited
the traces of wheels. To this I adhered,
confident that it would finally conduct us
to a dwelling.

On either side, the undergrowth of
shrubs and brambles continued as before.
Sometimes small spaces were observed,
which had lately been cleared by fire.

At length a vacant space of larger
dimensions than had hitherto occured,
presented itself to my view. It was a
field of some acres, that had, apparently,
been upturned by the hoe. At the
corner of this field was a small house.

My heart leaped with joy at this
sight. I hastened toward it, in the
hope that my uncertainties, and toils,
and dangers, were now drawing to a
close. This dwelling was suited to the
poverty and desolation which surrounded
it. It consisted of a few unhewn logs
laid upon each other, to the height of
eight or ten feet, including a quadrangular
space of similar dimensions, and
covered by thatch. There was no
window, light being sufficiently admitted
into the crevices between the logs.
These had formerly been loosely plastered
with clay, but air and rain had
crumbled and washed the greater part

of this rude cement away. Somewhat
like a chimney, built of half-burnt bricks,
was perceived at one corner. The door
was fastened by a leathern thong, tied to
a peg.

All within was silence and darkness.
I knocked at the door and called, but no
one moved or answered. The tenant,
whoever he was, was absent. His leave
could not be obtained, and I, therefore,
entered without it. The autumn had
made some progress, and the air was
frosty and sharp. My mind and muscles
had been, of late, so strenuously occupied,
that the cold had not been felt.
The cessation of exercise, however,
quickly restored my sensibility in this
respect, but the unhappy girl complained
of being half frozen.

Fire, therefore, was the first object
of my search. Happily, some embers
were found upon the hearth, together

with potatoe stalks and dry chips. Of
these, with much difficulty, I kindled a
fire, by which some warmth was imparted
to our shivering limbs. The light enabled
me, as I sat upon the ground, to survey
the interior of this mansion.

Three saplins, stripped of their
branches, and bound together at their
ends by twigs, formed a kind of bedstead,
which was raised from the ground
by four stones. Ropes srtetched across
these, and covered by a blanket, constituted
the bed. A board, of which one
end rested on the bedstead, and the other
was thrust between the logs that composed
the wall, sustained the stale fragments
of a rye-loaf, and a cedar bucket
kept entire by withs instead of hoops.
In the bucket was a little water, full of
droppings from the roof, drowned insects
and sand, a basket or two neatly made,
and an hoe, with a stake thrust into it

by way of handle, made up all the furniture
that was visible

Next to cold, hunger was the most
urgent necessity by which we were now
pressed. This was no time to give ear
to scruples. We, therefore, uncerimoniously
divided the bread and the water
between us. I had now leisure to bestow
some regards upon the future.

These remnants of fire and food
convinced me that this dwelling was
usually inhabited, and that it had lately
been deserted. Some engagement had
probably carried the tenant abroad. His
absence might be terminated in a few
minutes, or might endure through the
night. On his return, I questioned not
my power to appease any indignation he
might feel at the liberties which I had
taken. I was willing to suppose him
one who would readily afford us all the
information and succour that we needed.

If he should not return till sunrise, I
meant to resume my journey. By the
comfortable meal we had made, and the
repose of a few hours, we should be considerably
invigorated and refreshed, and
the road would lead us to some more
hospitable tenement.

My thoughts were too tumultuous,
and my situation too precarious, to allow
me to sleep. The girl, on the contrary,
soon sunk into a sweet oblivion of all her
cares. She laid herself, by my advice,
upon the bed, and left me to ruminate
without interruption.

I was not wholly free from the apprehension
of danger. What influence
his boisterous and solitary life might
have upon the temper of the being who
inhabited this hut, I could not predict.
How soon the Indians might awake, and
what path they would pursue, I was

equally unable to guess. It was by no
means impossible that they might tread
upon my foot-steps, and knock, in a few
minutes, at the door of this cottage. It
behoved me to make all the preparation
in my power against untoward incidents.

I had not parted with the gun which
I had first seized in the cavern, nor
with the hatchet which I had afterwards
used to cut the bands of the girl. These
were, at once, my trophies and my
means of defence, which it had been
rash and absurd to have relinquished.
My present reliance was placed upon
these.

I now, for the first time, examined
the prize that I had made. Other considerations
had prevented me till now,
from examining the structure of the
piece, but I could not but observe that
it had two barrels, and was lighter and

smaller than an ordinary musquet. The
light of the fire now enabled me to
inspect it with more accuracy.

Scarcely had I fixed my eyes upon
the stock, when I perceived marks that
were familiar to my apprehension. Shape,
ornaments, and cyphers, were evidently
the same with those of a piece which I
had frequently handled. The marks
were of a kind which could not be mistaken.
This piece was mine; and when
I left my uncle's house, it was deposited,
as I believed, in the closet of my chamber.

Thou wilt easily conceive the inference
which this circumstance suggested.
My hairs rose and my teeth chattered
with horror. My whole frame was petrified,
and I paced to and fro, hurried
from the chimney to the door, and from
the door to the chimney, with the misguided
fury of a maniac.

I needed no proof of my calamity
more incontestible than this. My uncle
and my sisters had been murdered; the
dwelling had been pillaged, and this
had been a part of the plunder. Defenceless
and asleep, they were assailed by
these inexorable enemies, and I, who
ought to have been their protector and
champion, was removed to an immeasurable
distance, and was disabled, by
some accursed chance, from affording
them the succour which they needed.

For a time, I doubted whether I
had not witnessed and shared this
catastrophe. I had no memory of the
circumstances that preceded my awaking
in the pit. Had not the cause of my
being cast into this abyss some connection
with the ruin of my family? Had
I not been dragged hither by these
savages, and reduced, by their malice,
to that breathless and insensible condition?

Was I born to a malignant
destiny never tired of persecuting?
Thus had my parents and their infant
offspring perished, and thus completed
was the fate of all those to whom my
affections cleaved, and whom the first
disaster had spared.

Hitherto the death of the savage,
whom I had dispatched with my hatchet,
had not been remembered without some
remorse. Now my emotions were totally
changed: I was somewhat comforted in
thinking that thus much of necessary
vengeance had been executed. New
and more vehement regrets were excited
by reflecting on the forbearance I had
practised when so much was in my
power. All the miscreants had been at
my mercy, and a bloody retribution
might, with safety and ease, have been
inflicted on their prostrate bodies.

It was now too late. What of consolation
or of hope remained to me? To return
to my ancient dwelling, now polluted with
blood, or perhaps, nothing but a smoking
ruin, was abhorred. Life, connected
with remembrance of my misfortunes
was detestable. I was no longer anxious
for flight. No change of the scene but
that which terminated all consciousness,
could I endure to think of.

Amidst these gloomy meditations
the idea was suddenly suggested of
returning, with the utmost expedition, to
the cavern. It was possible that the
assassins were still asleep. He who was
appointed to watch and to make, in due
season, the signal for resuming their
march, was forever silent. Without this
signal it was not unlikely that they would
sleep till dawn of day. But if they
should be roused, they might be overtaken
or met, and, by choosing a proper

station, two victims might at least fall.
The ultimate event to myself would
surely be fatal; but my own death was
an object of desire rather than of dread.
To die thus speedily, and after some
atonement was made for those who had
already been slain, was sweet.

The way to the mountain was difficult
and tedious, but the ridge was distinctly
seen from the door of the cottage, and
I trusted that auspicious chance would
lead me to that part of it where my prey
was to be found. I snatched up the
gun and tom-hawk in a transport of
eagerness. On examining the former,
I found that both barrels were deeply
loaded.

This piece was of extraordinary
workmanship. It was the legacy of an
English officer, who died in Bengal, to
Sarsefield. It was constructed for the
purposes not of sport but of war. The

the artist had made it a congeries of
tubes and springs, by which every
purpose of protection and offence was
effectually served. A dagger's blade
was attached to it, capable of being
fixed at the end, and of answering the
destructive purpose of a bayonet. On
his departure from Solebury, my friend
left it, as a pledge of his affection, in
my possession. Hitherto I had chiefly
employed it in shooting at a mark, in
order to improve my sight; now was I to
profit by the gift in a different way.

Thus armed, I prepared to sally
forth on my adventurous expedition.
Sober views might have speedily succeeded
to the present tempest of my
passions. I might have gradually discovered
the romantic and criminal
temerity of my project, the folly of revenge,
and the duty of preserving my life

for the benefit of mankind. I might have
suspected the propriety of my conclusion,
and have admitted some doubts as to
the catastrophe which I imagined to have
befallen my uncle and sisters. I might,
at least, have consented to ascertain their
condition with my own eyes; and for this
end have returned to the cottage, and have
patiently waited till the morning light
should permit me to resume my journey.

This conduct was precluded by a new
incident. Before I opened the door I
looked through a crevice of the wall,
and perceived three human figures at the
farther end of the field. They approached
the house. Though indistinctly
seen, something in their port persuaded
me that these were the Indians from
whom I had lately parted. I was startled
but not dismayed. My thirst of
vengeance was still powerful, and I
believed that the moment of its gratification

was hastening. In a short time
they would arrive and enter the house. In
what manner should they be received?

I studied not my own security. It
was the scope of my wishes to kill the
whole number of my foes; but that
being done, I was indifferent to the consequences.
I desired not to live to relate
or to exult in the deed.

To go forth was perilous and useless.
All that remained was to sit upon the
ground opposite the door, and fire at
each as he entered. In the hasty survey
I had taken of this apartment, one object
had been overlooked, or imperfectly
noticed. Close to the chimney was an
aperture, formed by a cavity partly in
the wall and in the ground. It was the
entrance of an oven, which resembled,
on the outside, a mound of earth, and
which was filled with dry stalks of potatoes
and other rubbish.

Into this it was possible to thrust
my body. A sort of screen might be
formed of the brush-wood, and more
deliberate and effectual execution be
done upon the enemy. I weighed not
the disadvantages of this scheme, but
precipitately threw myself into this cavity.
I discovered, in an instant, that it was
totally unfit for my purpose, but it was
too late to repair my miscarriage.

This wall of the hovel was placed
near the verge of a sand-bank. The
oven was erected on the very brink.
This bank being of a loose and mutable
soil, could not sustain my weight. It
sunk, and I sunk along with it. The height
of the bank was three or four feet, so that,
though disconcerted and embarrassed, I
received no injury. I still grasped my
gun, and resumed my feet in a moment.

What was now to be done? The
bank screened me from the view of the

savages. The thicket was hard by,
and if I were eager to escape, the way
was obvious and sure. But though
single, though enfeebled by toil, by
abstinence and by disease, and though
so much exceeded in number and
strength, by my foes, I was determined
to await and provoke the contest.

In addition to the desperate impulse
of passion, I was swayed by thoughts
of the danger which beset the sleeping
girl, and from which my flight would
leave her without protection. How
strange is the destiny that governs mankind!
The consequence of shrouding
myself in this cavity had not been
foreseen. It was an expedient which
courage, and not cowardice suggested?
and yet it was the only expedient by
which flight had been rendered practicable.
To have issued from the door

would only have been to confront, and
not to elude the danger.

The first impulse prompted me to
re-enter the cottage by this avenue, but
this could not be done with certainty
and expedition. What then remained?
While I deliberated, the men approached,
and, after a moment's hesitation, entered
the house, the door being partly open.

The fire on the hearth enabled them
to survey the room. One of them uttered
a sudden exclamation of surprize.
This was easily interpreted. They had
noticed the girl who had lately been
their captive lying asleep on the blanket.
Their astonishment at finding her here,
and in this condition, may be easily conceived.

I now reflected that I might place
myself, without being observed, near the
entrance, at an angle of the building,
and shoot at each as he successively

came forth. I perceived that the bank
conformed to two sides of the house,
and that I might gain a view of the
front and of the entrance, without exposing
myself to observation.

I lost no time in gaining this station
The bank was as high as my breast. It
was easy, therefore, to crouch beneath
it, to bring my eye close to the verge,
and, laying my gun upon the top of it
among the grass, with its muzzles pointed
to the door, patiently to wait their forthcoming.

My eye and my ear were equally
attentive to what was passing. A low
and muttering conversation was maintained
in the house. Presently I heard
an heavy stroke descend. I shuddered,
and my blood ran cold at the sound. I
entertained no doubt but that it was the
stroke of an hatchet on the head or
breast of the helpless sleeper.

It was followed by a loud shriek.
The continuance of these shrieks proved
that the stroke had not been instantly
fatal. I waited to hear it repeated, but
the sounds that now arose were like
those produced by dragging somewhat
along the ground. The shrieks, meanwhile,
were incessant and piteous. My
heart faltered, and I saw that mighty
efforts must be made to preserve my
joints and my nerves stedfast. All depended
on the strenuous exertions and
the fortunate dexterity of a moment.

One now approached the door, and
came forth, dragging the girl, whom he
held by the hair, after him. What
hindered me from shooting at his first
appearance, I know not. This had been
my previous resolution. My hand touched
the trigger, and as he moved, the
piece was levelled at his right ear.

Perhaps the momentous consequences
of my failure, made me wait till his
ceasing to move might render my aim
more sure.

Having dragged the girl, still piteously
shrieking, to the distance of ten
feet from the house, he threw her from
him with violence. She fell upon the
ground, and observing him level his piece
at her breast, renewed her supplications
in a still more piercing tone. Little did
the forlorn wretch think that her deliverance
was certain and near. I rebuked
myself for having thus long delayed. I
fired, and my enemy sunk upon the
ground without a struggle.

Thus far had success attended me
in this unequal contest. The next shot
would leave me nearly powerless. If
that, however, proved as unerring as the
first, the chances of defeat were lessened.
The savages within, knowing the inten

tions of their associate with regard to the
captive girl, would probably mistake the
report which they heard for that of his
piece. Their mistake, however, would
speedily give place to doubts, and they
would rush forth to ascertain the truth.
It behoved me to provide a similar reception
for him that next appeared.

It was as I expected. Scarcely was
my eye again fixed upon the entrance,
when a tawny and terrific visage was
stretched fearfully forth. It was the
signal of his fate. His glances cast
wildly and swiftly round, lighted upon
me, and on the fatal instrument which
was pointed at his forehead. His muscles
were at once exerted to withdraw
his head, and to vociferate a warning
to his fellow, but his movement was too
slow. The ball entered above his ear:
He tumbled headlong to the ground,

bereaved of sensation, though not of
life, and had power only to struggle and
mutter.