University of Virginia Library

4. IV.
HOW CAPTAIN LONGKNIFE SAW WITHOUT SEEING, AND WHAT
FOLLOWED.

THE long hours of the night passed on, and no
sound was heard throughout the slumbering
mansion but the subdued tick of an old clock in
the passage, and the heavy breathing of the soldier.
At times he would stir in his sleep, and the heavy
sabre would rattle against the floor; but this noise would
soon shudder and die away in the remote apartments, and
again all would be silent.

Without, the moonlight slept upon the wild and solemn
scene of forest and prairie, and nothing disturbed the quiet
of the chill October night, but the cry of wild birds, or the
stealthy footsteps of the mysterious inhabitants of the forest,
abroad now, while their enemies were sleeping. At times,
the chill wind would sweep over the tall prairie, and a sobbing
sound would rise, then die away; and over all poured
the solemn moonlight, which seemed to brood upon the
wild scene like a dream.

A piercing eye, however, might have descried more than
one flitting form under the lofty forest; an acute ear have
discerned sounds which belonged neither to the bear, the
panther, nor the wind. Other eyes than those of wild beasts
were directed toward the silent mansion, which raised its
walls thus on the outskirts of civilization, disputing the
sovereignty of the great woods:—and those burning glances
were measuring its strength and weakness, the capacity of
its inmates for a mortal struggle.

The huge Borderer breathed heavily in his chair, and
resembled some gigantic statue come down from its pedestal,
and taking its rest while mortals slept. From time to

time the flitting and bubbling fire would burn out brightly,
and reveal the recumbent figure in its full proportions:—but
it already flickered and promised soon to die away. The
cool air already began to invade the apartment, and the soldier
turned uneasily.

At the same moment, the window opening into the passage
stealthily creaked, and suddenly a thread of moonlight
silvered the floor.

Then the shutter was opened still more, the window
cautiously raised, and a head appeared at the aperture. It
was the head of an Indian boy, with long, straight, black
hair, sparkling eyes, and swarthy cheeks.

The head remained perfectly motionless for about five
minutes; only the restless and ever-moving eyes roved from
side to side.

At the end of this time the window was wholly raised—
the Indian drew his body up, and falling upon his feet noiselessly,
stood within the house.

Motionless as before, he reconnoitered. The door of the
great room in which the Borderer slept, was half open, and
creeping stealthily toward it, the Indian looked in. At
sight of the warlike sleeper, he recoiled two paces, and
looked behind him fearfully, in order to be sure that the
means of escape remained. The window remained up; and
the sight of the opening seemed to reassure the spy.

He again approached the door—opened it a few inches
wider, and looked curiously in, as though to take note of
any other persons in the apartment. His eye then dwelt
upon Captain Wagner, and he placed his hand upon his
girdle, from which hung a hatchet.

As he did so, the Borderer opened his eyes, and looked
him full in the face.

The Indian, with one stealthy bound arrived at the window,
and was about to pass through, when he suddenly
checked himself. No noise had come from the sleeper,
hence he had not really waked; doubtless it was a presentiment,

the eye fixed upon his face which had waked him, or
rather disturbed him in his sleep.

The dull eye of the Indian boy glittered, and he drew
back into the deep shadow, out of the gleam of the fire.
With a muttered “ough!” he touched the forefinger of his
left hand with that of his right, apparently counting.

Then his roving eye turned on all sides, and he looked up
the short, steep stairs:—his foot rested on the first step. The
step was of firm oak and did not creak. The Indian
mounted another step, and so, stealthily, and pausing each
moment to listen, arrived at the top.

His first movement was to creep to the window opening
upon the roof—one of the dormer windows, of which we
have spoken—and raise it. From the roof of the house to
that of the long porch, was but a step. Thence he could
easily glide down.

Two or three dusky forms appeared for a moment in the
moonlight, and then vanished beneath the solemn trees of
the forest.

The spy placed his hand upon the knob of Miss Argal's
door, and slowly and noiselessly turned it. The door
opened without sound.

The moonlight streamed full upon the bed, but threw the
features of the sleeper into shadow. It was evidently the
aim of the Indian, however, to ascertain the numerical
strength in men, of the house: and he crept stealthily, like
a young panther, toward the bed.

Before he could bend down close enough to see, however;
before his black eye and hot breath had approached
her cheek, the young girl started up, and uttered a piercing
shriek, which rang through the house like a cry of
death.

The Indian seized his hatchet, and catching her by the
wrist, endeavored to raise the weapon and strike her. It
had become twisted in his belt, and before he could extricate

it, a noise in the opposite room caught his quick ear,
and he arrived by a single leap at the window.

At the same moment, the opposite door was thrown
violently open, and Falconbridge came forth quickly, fully
dressed, and hurried toward the room.

The young girl, who had risen in her night-robe, ran toward
him, threw her arms round him, and sobbing, “Oh,
father! father!” buried her head in his bosom.

All had taken place in a moment; but that had been time
enough for the soldier to rouse himself.

He now appeared at the bottom of the steps, bearing in
his hand a flaming torch, from the fire; and mounted with
a bound which shook the flooring.

“What's this? What's this? Speak!” he cried.

The lady clung closer to Falconbridge, burying her face
more deeply in his bosom.

“Oh, father! father!” was all which she uttered.

Mr. Argal and George appeared at the door half dressed,
and uttering wondering exclamations.

“How, daughter?—what? how?—the meaning of this
extraordinary scene? and that noise?”

“I don't know what it means,” said Captain Wagner, with
a sort of ironical gloom, “but the devil eat me, if I ever saw
anything as striking as that picture in all my life before.

And the Borderer, with a curl of his moustache, extended
the huge arm bearing the torch, toward Falconbridge and
the lady.

“Most extraordinary!” cried the bewildered gentleman;
“why, Bertha, something has frightened you! Look up!
are you aware, daughter”—

The young girl raised her head, and started, or pretended
to start, violently at sight of Falconbridge. No one observed
the sarcastic curl of the Captain's lip.

“Oh, father!” she cried, hastily retreating into her room,
and drawing her drapery quickly around her soldiers, “Oh,
it was so dreadful!”

“What!—dreadful?”

“Oh, yes sir—an Indian came to my bedside, and caught
my wrist, and tried to kill me—oh, sir?”

And the young girl was heard falling into a chair, and
sobbing faintly.

“An Indian in your room? you are dreaming, daughter!”

“No, sir!” said Captain Wagner, gloomily, “your daughter
did not dream it!—in my sleep I dreamed, I thought—
wretched animal that I am, to lie there like a hog—but
see!”

And stooping quickly, the Borderer pounced upon a porcupine
quill.

“Here!” he said, “here is the proof! This is from an
Injun moccasin! And that window! Friends, I for one am
no fool!”

And the Captain hurled his torch upon the floor, and
trod upon it with his iron heel.

“To your tree!” he cried, “Injuns!”

At the same instant a flight of arrows whistled through
the air, and passing within a few inches of the soldier's
head, buried themselves, quivering in the beam of the staircase.

“Bah! no rifles!” cried the Captain. “But they're on
us!” he cried, arriving at the bottom of the stairs by a single
leap, “to arms!”

As he spoke, a terrific war-whoop rang through the forest,
and a dozen Indians darted from the shadow, and threw
themselves upon the house.

Captain Wagner reached the door just as it yielded to the
powerful pressure of the assailants.

Having no time to draw his sword, the gigantic Borderer
seized one of the carved chairs, and whirling it like a straw
around his head, struck the foremost Indian a blow so terrible,
that it literally drove him through the crowd behind
him, maimed and bloody.

Set on fire by the sight of blood, and devoured with his old

fury of battle, the Borderer, without waiting for his companions,
rushed into the midst of the assailants, whirling
his broken weapon around his head, and bearing all before
him.

The Indians endeavored in vain to strike him—his gigantic
stature and sweep of arm bore them down:—they unconsciously
drew back.

The movement brought the Borderer into the moonlight,
which streamed full upon his face and person.

The Indians uttered a yell of rage and fear.

“Longknife!” burst from the crowd, and they retreated
before the soldier with almost superstitious awe.

As they did so, Falconbridge, Mr. Argal and George
rushed from the house, to the Captain's succor, and behind
them appeared the affrighted domestics with pale faces, and
uttering exclamations.

The Indians, spite of their numbers, lost heart—retreated
toward the forest—and with cries of rage dived into its
gloomy depths, and fled, followed by the chance-aimed balls
of their enemies.

Captain Wagner drew back, bending down, panting, and
knitting his brows.

“I counsel a return to the house, friends!” he said,
“you'll lose nothing; all's done!”

And he turned toward the door. Directly in his path lay
the Indian he had struck upon the head—stunned, bleeding,
and insensible.

“Take the black devil in; he's not dead!” said the soldier
to the servants, “and secure every window!”

The Indian was borne into the house; every one followed,
and doors and windows were secured.

“A very pretty little serimmage,” said the soldier, curling
his huge moustache and throwing some sticks upon the fire,
“ough! you copper colored devil!”

And he pushed the body of the Indian with his foot.

The Captain looked at him more closely.

“Playing dead,” he said, contemptuously.

“Oh no! he's dead,” said George, “look! that brand has
rolled against his foot!”

“Bah! that's all you know, master George,” said the
Captain.

And bending over the Indian, the soldier kicked away the
brand, and said “speak!”

The Indian remained motionless.

“Well if you're dead, my friend, I'll have your sealp!”

And the Captain seized the Indian violently by the lock of
hair upon the top of his head.

The eyes opened and he made a violent, though feeble
effort to spring up. In an instant the Borderer was upon
his breast and his hands were securely tied.

“Now speak, you copper-colored devil, or you are a dead
man! Speak in the Delaware! I know you, and understand
your lingo!”

And bending down, the Borderer uttered some words in
the tongue of the Delaware.

It was some time before the soldier could extract anything
from the Indian. At last he muttered a few words.

The Captain rose satisfied.

“Not a regular inroad,” he said, “only a wandering party.
I gathered that from the lies he tells me. Now my
friends be good enough to put this worthy in the cellar and
double lock the door, first tying his hands securely. My
part is over, and I'll sleep.”

His direction was obeyed, and very soon the Indian captive
was safe in the vault beneath, where Lord Fairfax kept
his liquors.

No one retired again. By common consent the affrighted
domestics huddled together in one corner of the apartment
—and the visitors arranged easy-chairs in the most convenient
manner for sleeping. Soon every one sank into uneasy
slumber—except Captain Wagner. That worthy's repose,
in his great chair before the fire, was as deep as before.

From time to time, he would growl and grunt it is true; but
this was habitual with him.

There were two other exceptions to the above statement.
Falconbridge and Miss Argal slept neither easily nor uneasily.
They conversed in a low tone in one corner of the
room:—when the first rays of dawn entered the apartment,
they were still conversing in the same low murmurs.