University of Virginia Library

20. CHAPTER XX.
THE SAVAGE DECREE.

By the time that Charles Hampton (alias Stephen
Rogers, which was his real name, though for convenience
we shall still continue to call him by his
assumed one) had finished his morning repast, the
sun was gilding the tops of the hills, and the Indians
were collected together and holding a consultation
concerning their next movements.

After the brief skirmish in the vicinity of Higgins'
Block-house, as rather mentioned than described
in a preceding chapter, it will be remembered the
Indians made a precipitate retreat. In their flight
they had borne off a few dead and several wounded
warriors. The Kentuckians had hotly pursued
them, but only till dark, which had soon followed.
Then, by signals understood among themselves—
such as the hooting of owls, the howling of wolves, the
bleating of fawns and the gobbling of turkeys—the
savages had shortly managed to reunite their whole
force. Then they had held a council of war, which
had resulted in a division of opinion and a division
of number. The majority had been for a bold
marauding expedition through the country, and the
minority for getting across the Ohio in the shortest

possible time. Both parties had been permitted to
have their way—the dead having been buried and
the wounded consigned to the smaller number. If
Hampton had then been consulted and allowed to
do as he pleased, he would have gone with the latter and
taken Isaline with him; but as Blodget and
Methoto had decided to go with the main body, and
as the white savage still had the fair captive in his
charge and would not lose sight of her, the scheming
villain had of course to do the same. Being ambitious
of distinguishing himself as an Indian warrior,
Methoto had taken an active part in the attack upon
the first cabin they had come to, leaving poor Isaline
to the care of Hampton, who had guarded her to
the end of the day's journey—nor had the white
savage since said or done anything to show that
he intended to reassert his claim to her possession.

Thus matters stood as the Indians now held their
council, in which both Blodget and Methoto took
part. As it was known to the savages that the
whole country was up in arms behind them, they
decided to make a long, swift march to the westward,
and avoid all stations, settlements and single dwellings,
till the cover of another night should enable
them to continue their horried work of murder and
pillage with little risk. They had managed to steal
some twenty horses, which, not being enough for all,
would require them to take turns in riding. Among
the savages themselves this matter was easily arranged;
but when Hampton brought up the horse he

had ridden the preceding night, and was about to
have Isaline mount in front of him, he suddenly met
with opposition that he was not expecting.

Methoto stalked proudly up, with two of the partially
dried scalps attached to his girdle, and, laying
his hand upon the bridle rein, exclaimed:

“Me brave—last night much fight—two scalp got
—then walk heap. You no brave—no fight—no
scalp got—ride heap 'long white squaw. Now me
ride' long white squaw—you walk heap.”

For nearly a minute Hampton made no reply; but,
with his features flushing and paling alternately,
and his fingers working convulsively, he sat, with
his black, fiery eyes fixed, with the fierceness of
a tiger, upon the dull, gray orbs of Methoto, who
never quailed or changed expression, but remained
entirely passive, with a stolid look of dogged determination,
as if patiently waiting for the other to
speak or dismount.

At length the scheming villain turned to the
decoy, who was standing near, and, in as quiet and
steady a tone as he could command, fairly choking
down his rage, said:

“Blodget, what is to be done in this case?”

“Well,” answered Blodget, with an expression
that clearly showed he secretly enjoyed the annoyance
of the other, “I don't know anything better
than for you to do what he tells you.”

“Have I not a right to this horse?”

“Not any more'n you have to the others: they all

belong to the party in common, and will till the
Indians make a division.”

“But the girl is mine certainly!”

“I don't know about that.”

“Was it not the agreement before we started that
she was to belong to me exclusively?”

“Circumstances alter cases, you know!” returned
Blodget, in a tone of provoking coolness. “She was
yours at one time; but then, I'm told, she refused
to go with you, and sort of gave herself away to
Methoto.”

“Who told you so?”

Blodget nodded toward the white Indian.

“Oogh!” grunted Methoto, tapping his breast;
“her say come me—me take um!”

“But then you gave her up again,” said Hampton,
his eyes gleaming like a wild beast's and his lips
fairly quivering with suppressed passion, “and she
rode with me and was under my care nearly all last
night.”

“Oogh!” grunted Methoto again; “you no fight—
no get scalp—you ride 'long white squaw—me walk
big heap. Now me ride 'long squaw—you walk
big heap.”

“That seems to be fair,” grinned Blodget.

“Suppose we refer the matter to the Indians!”
said Hampton, quietly, seeing that no show of passion
or resistance would avail him under the circumstances.
“I will ask you, as a gentleman and fellow
countryman, friend Blodget, to state the matter

fairly and impartially to these brave warriors, and
assure them that the girl now prefers to go with me;
and that, as soon as we get to their towns, I intend
to make them all handsome presents, in return for
their kindness to us. Even you, too, Methoto!” he
added, in a conciliating tone, turning to the sullen,
dogged fellow, who still kept his grasp on the rein,
and his cold gray eyes fixed immovably upon him;
“you shall have a handsome present too!”

“Me no want present—want squaw—want hoss!”
sullenly growled Methoto.

“You want the devil's brimstone, and I may
put you in the way to get it, one of these days!”
thought Hampton, though he did not venture to say
so aloud.

“If I'm to tell the Indians the girl prefers to go
with you, I've got to have it from her own lips first!”
said Blodget.

“Speak then, Isaline,” said Hampton, addressing
the poor, half-distracted girl, “and say it is your
wish to go with me.”

Isaline, pale as a ghost, was standing against the
old tree, with the untasted food still in her hand,
trembling, weak in body and sick at heart. Thus
appealed to, she roused herself, as if with a painful
effort, and, glancing around, saw many eyes fixed
upon her, Methoto's among the number. She would
gladly have shrunk away, even out of existence, so
that she might forever have been rid of her tormentors;

but as this could not be, she said, in a
faint, despairing tone:

“Of the two, it is my wish to go with Mr. Hampton.”

It was her wish to go with neither—for Hampton
had proved himself to be a sort of refined, black-hearted
villain, and Methoto was a coarse, brutal,
unfeeling savage—but education, society and acquaintanceship,
had brought the former nearer to
an equality with her than the latter; and besides,
she remembered that the treatment of the one had
in the main been far more gentle and considerate
than that of the other.

Little did she dream, however, of the manner in
which her words would be received by the white
Indian, or she would have permitted the matter to
be settled by others, without herself expressing any
choice—for scarcely had she spoken, when Methoto,
with a fierce gleam of rage, strode up, and seizing
her roughly by the arm, brutally jerked her forward
a few feet, and said, in a gruff tone:

“No go him—go me—you mine!”

Isaline uttered a despairing cry of pain and fear.

“Kill me! kill me at once, and put me out of my
misery!” she exclaimed.

At that moment the forest again resounded with
the same wild, prolonged, quavering shriek; and
Methoto, turning somewhat pale, suddenly relinquished
his hold of Isaline and stepped back two or

three paces, and the superstitious Indians glanced
quickly around them, with looks expressive of awe.

What might have ensued, but for this mysterious
interruption—what desperate thing Charles Hampton
might have attempted—we will not pretend to
say; but certain it is, that when Methoto laid violent
hands upon Isaline, he turned deadly pale, quivered
all over with passion, impulsively drew his knife,
leaped from his horse, and now stood as one suddenly
arrested by some startling occurrence.

For the space of half a minute there was a deep
and almost breathless silence; and then Hampton
said, in a clear, ringing tone, addressing Blodget:

“I claim that girl as mine, according to the compact
between us; and you see the devil so wills it!”

“It looks that way, by —!” returned the other,
with a supporting oath, and a shuddering shrug of
the shoulders. “There's something about—the Lord
knows what—that I don't care to quarrel with, and
I'd advise Methoto not to do it either!”

“Let the Indians decide the point!” said Hampton;
“you have heard the girl express her own wish
in the matter.”

Blodget now addressed a few words to the Indians;
and Methoto, fixing his eyes on him, and
folding his arms across his breast, listened in sullen,
dogged silence. When the former had done, the
latter quietly advanced, and made a brief speech
and held up his two scalps. Then the warriors,
after a brief consultation, gave their decision. It

was that neither Hampton nor Methoto should have
charge of Isaline for the present, but that she should
be taken along as a general prisoner, and that whichever
of the white men could show the most scalps
by the time they were ready to cross the Ohio,
should have sole right to her ever after.

“And this is the decision of the warriors, is it?”
said Hampton, in reply to the announcement of
Blodget, suppressing his anger as much as possible.

“Such is their decision, sir!”

“Very well then, as I have no choice in the matter,
it is hardly worth while for me to waste any
more words on the subject!” returned Hampton,
turning coldly away.

“Serves you right,” muttered Blodget to himself,
offended at the manner of the other, “for wanting
the best prize without doing anything for it! Well,
as I've now got an equal chance with the pair of
them, I'll just try what I can do to secure the girl,
for she's a mighty pretty piece and will suit me
exactly!”

Thus it will be seen that poor Isaline was prospectively
decreed to the bloodiest wretch of them
all—her possession to be the reward for excelling in
murder and mutilation!

Having settled this matter, the Indians now
hurried away from their present camp, one of the
mounted savages taking poor Isaline up in front of
him. They took a westward course through the
wilderness, avoiding, according to previous arrangement,

all settlements and settlers, continued their
journey all day, crossed several creeks and small
streams, and, just before sunset, reached a wild,
gloomy place on the right bank of the Kentucky
River, where they again encamped, feeling pretty
sure they had now left their armed foes far behind
them. Here they picketed their stolen horses, in a
little valley where there was plenty of good grazing,
and then kindled a fire and prepared their evening
meal, which consisted principally of fresh meat.

In the course of the day Isaline had managed to
eat what Hampton had given her in the morning,
and she now took what the savages offered her and
put it away against a time of need, having no further
desire for food at the moment. She was dispirited
and gloomy, for the present was full of misery
and the future looked darker still. She had not
exchanged a word with a single soul since morning,
and it was some little relief when Hampton now
came to her and kindly inquired about her health.

“Unfortunately I am living still!” was her melancholy
reply; “though I am constantly praying for
death!”

For a few moments Hampton stood and looked
at her in such a position that the fire-light shone
full upon his face, and Isaline observed that he was
very pale and had a troubled expression.

“I did not have the pleasure of caring for you
to-day!” he at length said, in a low, guarded tone.

“I suppose the Indians would not permit it!” she
rejoined.

“All owing to that devil Methoto!” he answered,
glancing furtively around, to be sure that neither of
the white men were within hearing. “Ah, Isaline,”
he continued, in a reproachful tone, “it was a sad
thing for both of us when you withdrew yourself
from my protection and placed yourself in his hands!”

“You compelled me to it by your passionate violence!”
she returned, with some spirit. “It was a
wicked, cruel and cowardly act for you to strike a
bound and helpless prisoner! and then, because I
sympathized with him, who had been my kind protector
and friend, to attempt to drag me away from
him by brute force! Had a fiend been there, I
would have sought refuge in his arms to escape
from you!”

“I know I was in the wrong,” he penitently
answered, “but at the moment I was beside myself
with rage. Will you not forgive me, Isaline?”

She did not answer till he repeated the question
in a low, sad tone.

“If I can see any evidence in the future that
you have really repented of all your wicked deeds,
I will pray God to forgive you!” was her somewhat
evasive reply.

“You shall see it, Isaline, if we both live and remain
together! for I have repented, and shall atone
for them by every means in my power! Do you
know what the Indians decided on in the morning?”

“No, I did not understand what was said.”

“You have been withdrawn from my protection,
and are now held at the awful price of blood!”

“What do you mean?”

“They have decided that whichever of us three,
(Blodget, Methoto or myself,) shall produce the most
white scalps by the time they are ready to cross the
Ohio, shall have you for his reward.”

“Oh, merciful God! am I indeed to be bartered
for blood?” cried Isaline, with a wild, startled look.

“Hist! not so loud, dear lady!”

“Rather than be the cause of such horrible work,
I will destroy myself!” said Isaline, in a low, determined
tone; “for far better that I should perish and
be out of my misery, than that the innocent should
be butchered on my account!”

“Far better than either that you should escape
from these savages with me!” observed Hampton,
in a low, hurried tone.

“Escape? how? is there any way?” said Isaline,
quickly, catching her breath.

“Yes, yes, dear girl! keep up your spirits and
hope! I have a plan—I will tell you more soon.
There! hist! I see Blodget and Methoto sauntering
this way; and I will retire, lest they become suspicious!”

It was known to some of the Indians, who had
recently been in this region, that there was a small
settlement, about three or four miles above where
they now were, which was not very strongly fortified,

if at all; and scattered around, through that
section of the country, were several isolated farm-houses
also; and it was their present design to attack
these, not far from midnight, expecting an easy conquest
and much plunder as their reward. Their
horses they intended to leave where they were, that
they might be in a proper condition for a long journey
on the following day, and a few of their number
were to remain and guard their camp. They soon
began their preparations for this night expedition;
and as all were eager to go, the guard to be left
behind, five in number, was selected by lot.

It was perhaps a couple of hours after his first
interview with Isaline that evening, that Hampton
again approached her, in a careless, indifferent
manner, as if with no design. She was reclining
under a tree, a little apart from the others; and
passing around behind it, he stopped, with his back
toward her, as if looking off into the forest.

“I am now ready to speak with you again, my
dear, sweet friend!” he said, in a low, guarded tone,
barely audible to her listening ear; “and be very,
very careful that no one hears your voice, or detects
anything in your manner to excite suspicion that we
are holding a secret conversation!”

“Go on!” replied Isaline, without changing her
position, and keeping her eyes fixed upon the nearest
group of Indians.

“Will you escape with me if I show you an opportunity?”
was the question of the other.

“Whither will you take me?”

“Why ask? Will not anywhere be better than
here?”

“It can hardly be worse!” returned Isaline.

“Then I pray you use no unnecessary words, for
the present moments are important!”

“I will escape, if you will show me a way!” replied
Isaline, feeling she had nothing to lose in the
attempt.

“Listen then! The Indians, all except five, will
soon set off on an expedition against some settlers
above here, to re-enact if possible the horrid deeds
of last night. I shall start with them, apparently as
eager for the murderous work as any. I will watch
my chance and slip off from them, and come back
to within a hundred yards of you, in a line directly
behind you as you now recline. There I will imitate
the hooting of an owl. As soon as you hear
the signal, therefore, you will know I am waiting
for you and where. Then, if you can possibly steal
off unperceived, do so; but if, after repeating the
signal twice, with the lapse of half-an-hour between,
you do not come to me, I shall endeavor to create a
disturbance among the horses, in order to draw off
the guard in that direction, which will surely give
you a chance to escape. In any event you must take
the same course, and be careful not to go too far; and
if you do not readily find me, wait in some thicket
till you again hear the signal. Is everything now
understood?”

“As well perhaps as it can be!” answered Isaline.

“Then I will say no more for the present!” rejoined
Hampton; and he quietly sauntered off, as if
in a musing mood..

In the course of another hour the three white
men, and all the Indians except five, struck off
through the forest in single file. The guard that
remained seemed to take but little notice of Isaline,
and sat down together, around where the fire had
been kindled—but which had long since burned
itself out—and fell into familiar conversation, chatting
and laughing and seeming in the best of spirits.

Nearly an hour had passed away in this manner,
and Isaline was watching her foes as well as she
could in the darkness, and tremblingly listening for
the signal, when at last the sound came borne to her
ears from the direction she expected it. It was
either the real cry of the night-bird, or so good an
imitation that the savages detected no difference, for
they took no notice of it. It continued for some
two or three minutes and then stopped; and Isaline
now became greatly agitated, feeling as if life and
liberty might depend upon the next few minutes;
for if she could escape, even with the villain Hampton,
she reasoned he would be compelled to take
her among the whites, after having deserted the
savages; and once again under the protection of the
rough borderers, she might find the getting home to
her father a comparatively easy matter.

Everything now seemed favorable—for the Indian

guard was several yards in front of her, engaged
with matters of their own—and as all around was
dark, and she could slip off unperceived, she might
not be missed for a considerable time. So she said a
short prayer, asking guidance and protection of her
Heavenly Father; and then arose, turned her sad,
sweet face toward the point from which the signal
had come, and glided away through the wood as
noiselessly as a spirit.