Chapter 27

When the King of Tars saw that sight, Wood he was for wrath aplight: In hand he hent a spear, And to the Soudan he rode full right; With a dunt of much might, Adown he gan him bear.

OLD ENGLISH METRICAL ROMANCE.

Only the accidental absence of the Knight saved him from the indignity to which his household was subjected. Well were the measures of his enemies taken, and the time chosen, for it was reasonable to suppose, that after so long a journey, he would certainly be found at his domicile the first night. His erratic habits were well known, and it was this knowledge which induced the choice of the time for the arrest, and indeed had assisted to deepen suspicions, in a suspicious community, against him. It would not have suited the purposes of Spikeman to wait, and thus afford the Knight an opportunity to present himself in town. He chose to bring in Sir Christopher as a criminal, knowing that having committed his associates thus far, to an act of violence, they would not be likely to rest until they had expelled Sir Christopher from the colony.

At the time Spikeman was rifling his house, and injuriously treating its inmates, the Knight, unsuspicious of harm, was lying in the wigwam of Sassacus, which was distant but a mile or two from his own residence. Lying on his side, with his head supported on one hand by the elbow resting on the ground, he was addressing the Sagamore, who, seated in Indian fashion, with the soothing pipe at his lips, was listening to his discourse. A flickering fire sent up now and then a bright flame, by means of which the two became ever and anon more distinctly discernible to each other, while in the intervals, there was only light enough to distinguish the outlines of their persons. Even through the studied apathy of the Pequot, it was obvious that the subject possessed considerable interest for him, for occasionally he would remove his pipe from his mouth, and gaze fixedly on the ground, as if lost in profound thought.

"Wonderful, O chief," he said, after the Knight had ceased speaking, "are the things which thou hast told, and I believe, because the white men are very strange, and I have never caught thee in a lie. Truly, as thou sayest, are the red men children, and the white men exceed them in wisdom, even as the beaver the wolf. The wise beaver is warm in his lodge, when the wolf howls for hunger and cold in the forest. The white man is the beaver, and the red man the wolf. The Great Spirit made them so, for so it pleased him, and so they must remain."

"Nay," said the Knight. "There was a time when the white race was like thine own, without that knowledge which makes them so powerful."

"And can the chief say why the Great Spirit gave Owanux the wisdom which he denied to us?"

"That is a question I cannot answer, any more than why thy skin is red and mine white; but the Christian religion was the means whereby the change was effected."

"There is but one Great Spirit, who made all things," said Sassacus, solemnly, "and we worship him as well as the white men. Lightnings are the glances of his eyes; thunder is his voice; the sun is the fire before his lodge, which he extinguishes when he sleeps, and the moon and stars are the sparks which fly up into the air when it goes out."

"Thou hast indeed, in some sort, a religion, for He hath not left even the most barbarous nations without some knowledge of himself, howbeit it is not unto wisdom. But it is only with his true religion that he has connected that acquaintance with himself, which makes men to advance in all that is worthy to be known here, and happy hereafter."

"Our wise men say," replied Sassacus, "that for the spirits of brave and just warriors there are happy hunting grounds, far away towards the setting sun, which the Indian travels to, over the white path in the middle of the sky, where deer, and elk, and bears never fail, and where the hunter is never tired, nor very hungry."

"Alas!" said the Knight; "these are but figments of the imagination--fond dreams as unsubstantial as morning mist, and deceitful as the wandering fire, which lures the ignorant traveller into the morass."

"O, wise chief," said Sassacus, "our tribes have also their traditions, and I know not why they may not be as true as thine. We do not think, as your powahs teach, that our traditions come from Hobbamocki, while yours all proceed from the Master of life."

"Hobbamocki is thy name for the Evil Spirit?"

"My brother has said it. Would he like to know how he was created?"

"I listen," said the Knight.

"A long, long time ago," said Sassacus, "the Master of Life, Kiehtan, went to a large flat island, in order to complete his work of creation. He there created a multitude of animals, some of which were so large that he was unable to control them. It is said that remains of gigantic beasts are still to be found upon the island, which were never finished. It was out of clay that Kiehtan formed the beasts, while the inferior manitos looked on and rejoiced in his labor. He made in the side of each animal an opening, whereinto he crept, and so warmed it into life. It the animals pleased him he permitted them to swim to the great pasture land, and to fill the woods; if they pleased him not, he first withdrew the life, and then turned them into clay again. Once he made so large a beast that he was afraid to give him life. There were also other smaller, to whom he gave not life, because he considered them not useful. Once he made a creature, in the form of a man, which he also rejected, but he forgot to take the life away from him, and this is the evil spirit, Hobbamocki."

"And thou believest this fable, as wild as ever sprung from the unbridled license of an Oriental story-teller?"

"Sassacus believes as the wise men of his nation believed, when he was a little pappoose, and as their fathers believed, when they were papooses, and as his people have always believed, for more summers than there are stars in the sky. But do not the white men believe in Hobbamocki?"

"They do, though they give him a different name," answered the Knight. "He was a Great Spirit, who was expelled from heaven, or the happy hunting grounds, because of his wickedness."

"Was he not very happy there, and had all that he wanted?" inquired the Pequot.

"He was happy and preeminent above all other manitos in glory and power."

"How then became he wicked?"

"That is a question which our wise men have never been able to answer. But he envied the greatness of the Master of Life, and desired to occupy his place."

"Can your Hobbamocki be in two places at once?"

"No. Being a created spirit, he is limited."

"It cannot be, then, that he was such a fool," said the chief, decisively. "Behold! the Master of Life is every where! He is like the air and the light. Manitos are very little things beside him, and all together cannot fill his place. Your powahs have deceived you, and told a foolish story of their own invention. No. Hobbamocki was vexed because the Great Spirit did not like him, and for that reason tries to revenge himself, by troubling those whom the Great Spirit loves."

"At least," said the Knight, "our two traditions agree in this--that there is an evil spirit, who injures and leads men into wickedness, and therein do thy legends confirm the truth of the Catholic religion."

"Do the people at Shawmut, under Sagamore Winthrop, believe in all things, as my brother?"

"Nay. They are heretics, and given over to believe a lie--from whom this land shall be taken, and bestowed as an heritage on others, who shall be the Indians' friends, and they shall all live together."

"Listen! My brother has spoken of this before, and Sassacus has thought much about it. It seems to me that when the Great Spirit spoke to the white men, they could not understand his words, but his voice was to them like the sighing of the wind among the trees, or the dashing of the green water on the shore, for they cannot agree about their religion. But the ears of the Indians were sharper, and they all understood alike, and therefore they do not differ about what the Master of Life said, and they also know better concerning Hobbamocki. Has not my brother told me that the white men fight and kill one another about their religion?"

"Alas! it is too true," replied Sir Christopher.

"Indians never do so. Let us do a great thing," added Sassacus, his face suddenly kindling, as with the inspiration of a magnificent thought--"we will teach the English our religion, which we never fight about, because we know it to be true, and the English shall teach us how to build ships, and make guns and powder; and, together, we will drive the Taranteens into the salt lake."

"It is in vain," said the Knight to himself, on hearing this extraordinary proposition. "He doth, ever in his childlike simplicity, say something to confound me. His untutored mind is yet incapable of receiving the mysteries of our holy religion, but, in lieu thereof, perpetually runs after the practical and immediate advantages of powder and guns. Direct the conversation as I may, this target doth it hit at last."

At this moment an Indian stepped into the lodge, and, uttering the word "fire!" accompanied by a gesture of the arm, retired.

The Knight and Sassacus sprung up, and, looking in the direction indicated, beheld the heavens all aglow with the conflagration.

"It is my lodge!" exclaimed Sir Christopher. "I will hasten thither instantly."

"Come with us, Towanquattick," said the Chief, calling to the Indian, and the three at once directed their course toward the dwelling of the Knight.

With all their haste, they did not reach it until the fire had made such progress that it was impossible to suppress it, or even save anything from the building. The flames were pouring out in billows from the doors and windows, and a moment after their arrival the roof fell in. They approached as near as the heat would permit, but were unable to distinguish anything in the interior, nor was a sound to be heard, save that of the rushing flames and falling timbers. No one was present, except the three--the natives who lived near having retired deeper into the wood on the first alarm. Leaning on his gun, the Knight gazed sadly on the burning ruin, reflecting on what had probably become of its former occupants. If he had any doubts, they were soon dissipated by Sassacus, whose attention, with that of the other Indian, had been attracted by marks upon the ground which had escaped the notice of Sir Christopher. These plainly revealed to them by the light of the fire, the two, like well-bred hounds, had been examining in every direction, until, gathering together the various tracks into one trail, they had followed it into the wood. Returning to the Knight, and pointing out the traces, the chief said:

"Many Owanux have been here, and all are gone to Shawmut."

"I surmised as much," said Sir Christopher, partly to himself. "We will follow, Sagamore, and assure ourselves with our own eyes."

No time was lost in lamentation but the three instantly started after the band.

Sir Christopher could see the trail until it reached the wood; but here, notwithstanding his experience in woodcraft, he frequently lost all trace of it, though to the Indians it seemed as plain as a beaten highway. Never hesitating, even in the obscurest recesses of the forest where penetrated no ray of a star, with rapid steps they pursued their way.

Meanwhile, the party of soldiers, conscious of their strength, and encumbered with their prisoners, though pushing on at first at a good pace, had of late been proceeding more leisurely. Even Lieutenant Venn, satisfied that they would be able without haste to reach their destination before daylight, ceased to hurry. As they approached nearer the village, their vigilance diminished--the men talked loud and jested with one another, and it was obvious that no apprehensions of danger were entertained.

This state of things had not been unnoticed by Philip, who had been meditating over the question, whether it were not better to make an attempt to escape. "There is no great hazard in it," he said to himself; "but were I to get away I should be about as badly off as now, unless I could meet Sir Christopher or the Sagamore; and perhaps they have been captured by some other party, for our folk do not things by halves. They have taken away my snap-chance, too, and I cannot shoot with arrows like a savage, so that, as one may say, I am a sort of cat without claws. I know not what they can have against me now, or why I should be afraid of them; and yet, when I think of their purgatory of a prison, it makes me crawl all over. A week's lodging there would about make an end of me. I think I have never been quite the man I was before, since they stuck me there."

Thus revolving in his mind the advantages and disadvantages of his position, the remembrance of his sufferings during his imprisonment, at last turned the scales in favor of liberty, and Philip began to think of means to accomplish his purpose. He tried, by lagging behind and falling down once or twice, to get into the rear; but this manoeuvre the vigilant eyes of Lieutenant Venn detected, who ordered him nearer to the front, and directed that he should be watched closer. Foiled in this manner, that freedom which but a moment before, and when apparently in his power, seemed almost a matter of indifference, assumed a constantly increasing importance, and the mind of Philip worked more actively than ever. In a short time they would be out of the forest, when any attempt at evasion would be folly, for, should he succeed in shaking off his guard, he would run great risk of being shot down in the open space. It was therefore necessary to think quickly.

"If I only had Prudence with me," thought Philip, "I be bound she would have invented a dozen ways to get off by this time. Sweet wench! there is some difference between sitting on a log with her and stealing a smack once in a while, though a slap be pretty sure to follow, and dragging my legs in the dark among the briers. But she is not here, and so I will e'en take up with Master Arundel, and suck his wits a bit."

"What think you," he whispered to his companion in captivity, "of making a rush, and showing our heels to the Philistines?"

"It were madness," answered the young man, in the same manner. "Thou wert sure to be retaken, perhaps shot."

"I have no fancy for either; but cannot your wit devise some mode to save me from yon lock-up? My bones ache when I think of it."

"I have no desire to get away," answered Arundel; "nor understand I how it can advantage thee, seeing that, sooner or later, thou art tolerably certain of being made prisoner again."

"Nevertheless, there is a chance of better things; and I say once more I like not the thoughts of the close quarters they intend for us. An' you will not run for it yourself, at least help a poor fellow, whose ideas are like a skein of tangled silk, to avoid the bilboes."

"Assuredly, if you wish, what I can I will do to facilitate thy escape. Only tell me how."

"You have me there in a Cornish hug," said Philip. "An' I knew, I had not asked."

"You would not have us fight for our liberty?"

"I am not so crazy as that. Ten to one is odds that any one, except Sampson, might avoid without disgrace, and even he would not stand much chance, for all his bushy head, when bullets were flying."

"We must out-manoeuvre them by some stratagem."

"If Sassacus were here," said Philip, "he could show us the way. There is not a tree or a rock but would have something to say to him about a contrivance."

"What would you think, Philip," asked Arundel, (the direction of Sassacus to sound the notes of the robin, whenever he desired to see him, occurring to his mind,) "were I to conjure up the Chief?"

"I would think thee more cunning than any powah of them all, and, moreover, advise thee to keep out of the way of the elders and magistrates."

"Keep quiet a moment, and I will try my powahing."

So saying, the young man whistled the peculiar notes of the bird, which, in the dewy silence of night, rung wide through the Woods.

"Halt!" cried Spikeman, who instantly suspected some treachery. "Close up around the prisoners. Who dared make those sounds?"

No answer was returned; and, after a vain attempt to discover their author, the party resumed its march.

"If your powahing has done no other good, Master Arundel," said Philip, "it at least frightened the General."

"I am a beginner," answered the young man, jestingly, "and it would not be surprising should I fail at first. If it raise not the sagamore or one of his men before we reach the open space, I will try the spell again."

But the notes had struck the quick ears of the Pequot chief, and at their sound he bounded forward at a pace which his companions vainly endeavored to equal, and which shortly left them out of sight; but they could hear the rustling he made tearing through the bushes, and, guided by it, followed. The noise occasioned by the movements of so large a party, and the conversation among them, prevented the approach of the sagamore being heard, especially as when he drew nearer he proceeded with more caution. Gliding from tree to tree, he was able to advance quite close without being discovered. What was the rage of the chief, when, at the head of the band, he beheld his enemy, the Assistant Spikeman, leading as prisoners his friends and the little Indian girl. Not waiting for the Knight and the Paniese to come up, fitting an arrow, he drew the deer's sinew till the head of the missile touched the hand that held the bow, and sent it whizzing through the air. The cavalcade had passed on, so that the front ranks were in advance of Sassacus, when he discharged the shaft, and the back of the Assistant was turned to him. It entered just below the right shoulder, and was sent with such vigor, that, passing between the ribs, it stopped not until arrested on the other side by the steel corselet which Spikeman wore on his breast. Shouting then his war-whoop, and drawing his tomahawk from his girdle, the Pequot leaped among the band. Like lightning it sunk into the head of one man, who fell to the ground. The chief raised it again, but before it could descend, a blow prostrated him, and, in an instant, he was overpowered and disarmed. So rapidly followed these occurrences, that before the Knight and Towanquattick came up, the chief was a prisoner, and every man on his guard was prepared and watching for an enemy. To attack would have been certain death or captivity; they, therefore, bitterly lamenting the passionate impetuosity of the sagamore, kept themselves concealed in order to take advantage of circumstances.

Having disposed his Company so as to face in every direction, to repel attack, Lieutenant Venn approached to examine the fallen men. A corpse was all that remained of Ephraim Pike, who must have instantly expired on receiving the blow. His head was cleft to the neck, and portions of the brain were lying on the leaves. He had probably been selected by the sagamore (from his neighborhood to the Assistant, by whose side he marched) as second in command, and thus expiated with his life his evil devotion to his master. Spikeman lay upon his face, groaning, while the blood slowly oozed from his wound. The lieutenant, with one of the men, raised him up, while Lady Geraldine strove to stanch the bleeding. An attempt was made to withdraw the arrow, but the pain it occasioned and the amount of blood which followed were so great, that it was abandoned. All that could be done was to carry the wounded man as gently as possible home. Venn, now at the head of half a dozen men, scoured the woods in the immediate vicinity all around; and, finding no enemy, returned, and ordered a couple of trestles to be made, on one of which was to be placed the body of Pike, and on the other the groaning Spikeman. Upon mustering the company, it was found that all were present, with the exception of Philip Joy, who had escaped in the confusion. Four men being assigned to each of the trestles, to be relieved as occasion should require, the remainder having charge of the prisoners, and composing the van and rear, Lieutenant Venn re-commenced his march--Arundel walking by the side of the Pequot chief, to whom he expressed regret at his capture.

"It is a summer cloud," said the sagamore.

As for Philip, on effecting his escape, he felt some embarrassment what to do with himself. There he was, alone and without arms, in the forest, wandering helplessly about, and, if unable to find Sir Christopher, in a worse condition than before. He had half a mind to pursue the band and surrender himself, when, remembering the powahing, as he called it, of Arundel, he determined to try it himself. Imitating, therefore, to the best of his ability, the sounds made by the young man, he sat down and waited for the effect. Presently the figure of Towanquattick, followed by that of the Knight, stole out of a thicket and stood before him.