Chapter XVIII. Northward With the Fleet

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　When Alvarez was gone, the five rose and thanked the GovernorGeneral. They, too, did not wish to rejoice over a fallen foe,but it was the moment of their complete triumph. Success hadcome better than they had ever hoped and the great three-facedconspiracy was shattered. It was Spanish cannon that they haddreaded and now they could not thunder against the wooden wallsin Kentucky. They crowded around the priest, too, and shook hishand and were grateful for his timely assistance. He had come atthe most opportune of all moments.

　　It was Paul who acted as spokesman for them with Bernardo Galvez.

　　"Your Excellency, we came this vast distance confiding in yourjustice, and we have found our confidence well placed," he said.

　　Bernardo Galvez smiled. It was a moment of triumph for him, too.A bold conspiracy against him had been crushed, and the five hadbeen the chief instruments in the crushing of it. Even withoutthe aid of his good heart, his feelings toward them would havebeen very kindly.

　　"If New Orleans has proved inhospitable to you for a time," hesaid, "she is now ready to make atonement. Your good friend, Mr.Pollock, will care for you."

　　The five withdrew with the merchant, still elated, still feelingthe full sense of victory. Mr. Pollock had been very quiet butwhen they reached the open air he burst forth.

　　"Lads," he said, "'tis a great task that you have done. You havesaved Kentucky - and these things are far-reaching - you may havesaved all the colonies beside. If the Mississippi had beenclosed to us we could not reach our friends in the east with thesupplies that they need so badly. But I can't say more. Youwere surely inspired when you set out upon this errand, and thereis a tremendous debt of gratitude coming to you.

　　He shook hands with them all, one by one. But Long Jim heaved amighty sigh of relief.

　　"Is it all over, Paul?" he asked.

　　"I think so, Jim. We seem to have destroyed for good and all thegreat three-cornered conspiracy against us."

　　"Then," said Jim, "ef it's all done I want to talk sense. I'm infavor uv our startin' to Kentucky right away, that is, in aboutfive minutes. Them big woods keep callin' to me. I heard 'emcallin' last night in my dreams, an' I hear 'em callin' now whenI'm awake. I've breathed indoor air long enough. It's layin'heavy on my lungs, an' I want to put in its place air that'sswep' clean across from the Pacific Ocean an' that ain't hitnothin' foul on the way."

　　"Five minutes is too short notice, Jim," laughed Paul, "but we'llsurely start soon, though it's a tremendously long tramp throughthe woods and even if we had 'The Galleon' we'd have to pull andsail against the current."

　　Oliver Pollock was watching them as they talked and his eyesgleamed, but he said nothing until they were within his house,where he took them and gave them refreshments. There he had aproposition to make.

　　"The boat, of course, you have lost," he said, as it belongs toSpain, but your arms and other equipment are all in my possession- they were given to me to keep for you. But our fleet of canoesloaded with arms and supplies will start north in three days.Will you go on it? Not to work, not to paddle, unless you wish,but to guide and to fight. It is no favor that I am conferringupon you, but one that you can confer upon me if you will. Weneed such as you and with you I shall feel that the fleet issafer."

　　It was a most welcome offer. They could serve cause andthemselves at the same time. All things seemed to fall out asthey wished.

　　"Sir, we thank you," said Henry speaking for them all. "You donot have to make such an offer twice."

　　"Good! Good!" said Oliver Pollock. "Then the main feature of thebargain is closed and now I must have you to know the captain ofthe fleet. Oh, I think that you will agree with him famously.He will be in charge of the navigation and the fleet, though notof you. You are to remain in your role of free rangers."

　　He clapped his hand upon a little bell on the table and one ofthe stalwart, sunbrowned clerks entered.

　　"Bring in Captain Colfax. I want him to make some new friends,"said Oliver Pollock, who was in the greatest of good humors.

　　Captain Adam Colfax of New Hampshire, who found the climate ofNew Orleans very warm, came in in a minute or two, and his was afigure to attract the attention of anybody. Middle aged, nearlyas tall as Jim Hart, red haired, with a sharp little tuft of redwhisker on his chin, and with features that seemed to be carvedout of some kind of metal, he was a combination of the seaman andlandsman, as tough and wiry as they ever grow to be. He regardedOliver Pollock out of twinkling little blue eyes that could bemerry or severe, as they pleased.

　　"Captain Colfax," said Oliver Pollock, "These are the five fromKentucky of whom you heard. They are to go with you on yourgreat journey as far as Kentucky, but they are to do as theyplease. They are scouts, warriors, and free rangers. You willfind them of great service."

　　He introduced them one by one, and Adam Colfax gave them a heartygrip with a hand which seemed to be made of woven steel wire.

　　"Good woodsmen and good riflemen I take it," he said, "and we mayneed both. I hear that the Creeks, Cherokees, and others, arefeeling full of fight. Now, I ain't looking for a fight, but ifit happens to get in my way I'm not running from it."

　　"You old war horse," said Oliver Pollock, laughing, "it's yourbusiness to get these supplies through, not to be shooting atIndians. I wish I could go with you. It's a wonderful journey,but I have to stay here in New Orleans. This is the gate and wemust see that it is not closed. How many canoes and boats havewe now, Adam?"

　　"About sixty, and they are manned by at least three hundred men.As I see it, we can take care of ourselves."

　　"Adam," said Mr. Pollock laughing, "I believe you're reallylooking for a fight."

　　Adam Colfax showed two rows of fine, white teeth, but saidnothing. After a little more hearty talk he went away to lookafter his fleet, and Mr. Pollock made arrangements for the fiveto stay at his house until their departure north. They were tooccupy a single big room, and their rifles, other arms, andgeneral equipment were already there waiting for them.

　　"I'll miss 'The Galleon,'" said Paul, "I'd like to be going backin her. I suppose it's sentiment, but I became attached to thatboat."

　　"She wuz shorely comf'table," said Shif'less Sol. "I had a goodtime floatin' down her on the Missip'. Now I reckon Jim herewill hey to row me or paddle me all the way back to Kaintuck."

　　"Ef you wait fur me to row or paddle you, you won't ever travelmore'n six inches," said Long Jim.

　　"Jest like you, Jim; you ain't got no gratitood at all fur megittin' you away from New Orleeyuns."

　　Paul, who had been speaking to Henry in a low tone, now turnedagain to Mr. Pollock.

　　"There is one more thing that we want you to do for us, if youwill, Mr. Pollock," he said. "We took the boat from Alvarezbecause he attacked us first, and we put it to what we think wasa good use. But it really belonged to Spain and Bernardo Galvez.So if any wages are coming to us we wish that you would takeenough in advance and pay the Governor General for the use of theboat and what stores we may have consumed."

　　"It shall be done," said Oliver Pollock, "and I like your spiritin wishing it to be done."

　　It was a promise that he kept faithfully.

　　When they reached their room they found their rifles and otherarms in perfect order. Lieutenant Diego Bernal had taken goodcare of them. Long Jim picked up his rifle and handled itlovingly.

　　"It feels good jest to tech it," he said. "I didn't think Icould ever like a Spaniard ez well ez I do that thar littleleftenant. I'll miss him when we go ploughin' up the river.They were preparing to leave the room and breathe air out ofdoors, as Sol put it, when they were stopped by the entrance ofFather Montigny. They crowded around him, expressing anew thegratitude that they had shown to him at the house of the GovernorGeneral.

　　"It was really you, Father Montigny, who saved everything," saidPaul.

　　The priest smiled and shook his head.

　　"No," he said, "it was not I, but your courage and tenacity. Ihad the rare good fortune to find the letter among the Chickasawsand obtain it. It was sent by the Shawnees and Miamis as a sortof token, a war belt as it were. It was only a remote chancethat brought it back to New Orleans, and even then Alvarezconfidently expected to be Governor General."

　　"What will become of Alvarez?" asked Paul.

　　"It is the plan to send him a prisoner to Spain on the galleon,Dona Isabel, as you know, but I fear that we have not heard thelast of him. He is a man of fierce temper, and now he is wildwith rage and mortification. Moreover, he has many followershere in New Orleans. All the desperadoes, adventurers, formergalley slaves, and others of that type would have been ready torally around him. But I have come to tell you good-bye. I goagain in my canoe up the Mississippi."

　　"Can't you stay a while in New Orleans and rest?" asked Paul -the sympathy between Paul and the priest was strong, each havinga certain spiritual quality that was in agreement.

　　"No," replied Father Montigny, "I cannot stay. You came on yourtask in spite of hardships and dangers because you felt that apower urged you to it. Farewell. We may meet again or we maynot, as Heaven wills."

　　They followed him to the door and when he was almost out of sighthe turned and waved his hand to them.

　　The next day New Orleans, which was already deeply stirred bynews of the plot of Alvarez and its discovery, had anotherthrill. It was Lieutenant Diego Bernal who told the five of itat the counting house of Oliver Pollock.

　　"Francisco Alvarez has escaped," he said. "The watch at theprison was none too strict; it may be that some of the guardsthemselves were friends of his. In any event, he is gone fromthe city, and his going has been followed by the departure ofmany men whom New Orleans could well spare. But whether theirgoing now will be to our benefit I cannot tell."

　　"Do you mean to say," asked Henry, "that all these men have goneaway to join Alvarez in some desperate adventure?"

　　"I have an impression, although my impressions are usuallyfalse," replied the Lieutenant, "that such is the case. TheChickasaws, the Creeks, and other tribes of these regions are hisfriends because he has promised them much. A capable officerwith a hundred desperate white men at his back and a horde ofIndians might create stirring event."

　　The five became very thoughtful over what he said, but whenLieutenant Diego Bernal was taking his leave he looked at themrather enviously.

　　"You five inspire me with a certain jealousy," he said. "I havean impression, although my impressions are usually wrong and mymemory always weak, that you are strongly attached to oneanother, that no one ever hesitates to risk death for the others,that you are bound together by a hundred ties, and that you acttogether for the common good. Ah, that is something likefriendship, real friendship. I should like to be one of a bandlike yours, but I look in vain for such a thing in New Orleans."

　　"I wish that you were going with us," said Henry heartily.

　　"I wish it, too. Often I long for the great forests and the freeair as you do, but my service is due here to Bernardo Galvez, whois my good friend. But it is pleasant to see that you havetriumphed so finely."

　　"We may encounter great dangers yet," said Henry.

　　"It is quite likely, but I have an impression, and upon thisoccasion at least I am sure my impression is not wrong, that youwill overcome them as you have done before."

　　When he was gone, and every one of the five felt genuine regretat his departure, they went down to the river, where their fleetwas anchored, and were welcomed by Adam Colfax.

　　"We're certainly going to-morrow," said the captain, "but nobodycan tell when we'll get to Fort Pitt."

　　It was indeed a fine fleet of canoes and boats to be propelled bypaddle, oar, and sail, and it bore a most precious cargo. Eightof the larger boats carried a twelve pound brass cannon apiece tobe used if need be on the way, but destined for that far-distantand struggling army in the northeast. Stored in the other boatsand canoes were five hundred muskets, mostly from France, barrelsof powder, scores of bars of lead, precious medicines worth theirweight in gold, blankets, cloth for uniforms and underclothing.It was the most valuable cargo ever started up the Mississippiand there were many strong and brave men to guard it.

　　"We carry things both to kill and to cure," said Paul.

　　"An' we're goin', too!" said Long Jim, heaving again that mightysigh of relief. "That's the big thing!"

　　They started the next day at the appointed time. Henry, Paul,and Long Jim were in one of the leading boats, and Tom Ross andShif'less Sol were in another near them. The population of NewOrleans was on the levee to see them go, and some wished themgood luck and many wished them bad. The majority of the Frenchwere for them, and the majority of the Spanish against them.But the five, now that the time was at hand, felt only elation.The breeze blew strong and fresh over the mighty river that camefrom their beloved forests and vast unknown regions beyond. Theyseemed to feel in it some of the tang and sparkle of the north.

　　"Good-bye, New Orleans," said Jim Hart, waving a long hand on along arm; "I'm glad I've seed you, I'm glad I've laid my wearyhead to rest inside your walls fur a few nights, but I'm glad Idon't stay in you, nor in any other town. Goodbye."

　　One of the brass cannon fired a salute, cannon on the fort andthe galleon, Dona Isabel, replied. Adam Colfax gave the word,and at the same instant hundreds of oars and paddles dipped intothe muddy current of the Mississippi. The great supply fleetleaped forward as if it were one whole, and soon New Orleans andits intrigues sank under the curve behind them.

　　Henry and Paul, although they did not have to work, pulled at theoars with the others, and more than one man noticed how themighty muscles of Henry Ware's arm swelled and bunched as he madethe boat leap forward. But they did not maintain their high rateof speed long. As the rivers ran it was a good two thousandmiles to Fort Pitt, and they did not wish to exhaust themselveson the first twenty. Long Jim at last let his oar rest andpatted Paul joyfully on the shoulder.

　　"Ain't you noticed nothin', Paul?" he asked.

　　"I've noticed a lot of river, and a fine little fleet on it."

　　"But somethin' better than that. Look at the trees, Paul, allalong on either side, an' not a house in sight, an' not a humanbein' 'cept ourselves, not a single trail uv smoke to dirty thesky. Nothin' but the woods ez God made 'em. I tell you, Paul,its pow'ful fine jest to live!"

　　Paul shared his enthusiasm, but his feelings went further.Beyond a doubt they had been successful in their great journey tothe south, but another and large purpose was yet left. Theirtask had brought them into contact with the world outside, andPaul devoutly hoped that the supply train would reach Fort Pittin time.

　　The day went smoothly on. The fleet kept its formation somethinglike that of an arrow, with Adam Colfax's boat the point of thearrow, and those containing the five just behind. The riverassumed a wholly wilderness aspect. Spanish or French boats werefew and they gave the fleet a wide berth. Wild fowl swarmed oncemore, and they saw a bear on the bank regarding them with a halfwise, half comic countenance.

　　When the sun was low the boats containing the five were turnedtoward the land. There they found a cove in which the boatscould be safely tied and a fine grove in which they could cook,and which would also furnish a good place for those who wished tosleep ashore. Henry Ware and Shif'less Sol scouted in thecountry about but saw no sign of anything that might disturb.

　　All five slept on land wrapped in their blankets under the trees,and early the next morning the journey was resumed. Progresscould not be rapid. They had to face the slow, heavy current ofthe Mississippi, and now and then Henry and Shif'less Sol and TomRoss walked through the woods along the shore. They earlyestablished their reputations as the best hunters and shots inthe fleet, and they kept the men supplied with game, bear, deer,and water fowl.

　　Several days passed in this manner, and Henry noticed that peoplewere even scarcer than they had been when they were coming down.Then they had seen a few, now not more than two or three, andthese avoided them.

　　"I don't believe they are really friendly to us," said Henry toPaul, "and something to injure us may be on foot. I wish that wewere beyond the last French and Spanish settlement."

　　"We are too strong to be attacked," said Paul, "I don't think wehave anything to fear."

　　Henry shook his head somewhat doubtfully, but he said nothingmore on the subject at that time, and the fleet moved steadily onwithout event. Adam Colfax exercised a stern discipline. Therewere wild men in his fleet, adventurers, fellows who had floatedabout the world, but he was a match for any of them, and thosewho did not respect his voice feared his ready hand. But eventhese were animated by the great purpose and the thrill of atwo-thousand mile journey on unknown rivers through a vastwilderness.

　　Half of the men slept ashore every night. They would build greatfires, cook their suppers, and then sit around awhile talking.Some one would sing, and others would play strange, old tunes onaccordion or guitar. Paul heard many a snatch of song in Spanishor French or Portuguese, and the wilderness would lend anadditional charm to the melody. Adam Colfax, stern ruler that hewas, never forbade these amusements.

　　"It isn't well to stop up things too tight," he would say."Children have got to make noise, and men are a good deal thesame way. If you seal 'em up they'll bust."

　　These evening scenes always made a deep impression upon Paul.There were the cheerful fires, lighted for cooking, and now dyingdown to great beds of coals, the surrounding darkness seeming tocome closer and closer, but within it a wide circle of light inwhich many men sat or reclined at ease, smoking or talking, ordoing both. All were good-natured, the weather was fair so far,the journey easy, the work not excessively hard, and the huntersbrought in fresh game in plenty.

　　They passed the mouth of the bayou near which the Chateau ofBeaulieu stood, and Henry and Shif'less Sol went to see it. Theyfound a small detachment of Spanish soldiers sent by BernardoGalvez in possession, but the followers of Alvarez haddisappeared. The place seemed lonely and deserted, as thesoldiers of Galvez kept close to the house, as if they wereafraid of the wilderness.

　　Henry and Shif'less Sol sped back through the forest toward theriver.

　　"Now I wonder," said Shif'less Sol, "what could hev become o'that Spanish feller. He wuz jest the kind, so proud he wuz, an'thinkin' so much o' his-self, to be burnin' up with hate overwhat has happened."

　　"He has made himself an outlaw," said Henry, "and it's myopinion, Sol, that he's somewhere in these regions. And BraxtonWyatt is with him, too. That fellow will never rest in his plotsagainst us. We'll hear from them both again. They'll try forsome sort of revenge."

　　They rejoined the boats at noon, and three or four hours laterthey saw a canoe ahead of them upon the water. It contained twooccupants who graded their speed to that of the fleet, keepingwell out of rifle-shot.

　　"What do you take them to be?" called out Adam Colfax to Henry.

　　"Indians, I know, and spies, I think," replied Henry.

　　Several of the more powerful boats moved ahead of the fleet andendeavored to overtake the canoe, but they could not. The twoIndians who occupied it evidently had skill and powerful arms, asthey maintained the distance between themselves and theirpursuers. Henry and Paul, stirred by the interest of the chase,also seized oars and pulled hard, but the canoe presently turnedup a small tributary river, where they did not have time tofollow it, and they saw it no more.

　　It was something that many might have passed as a mere incidentof the river, but Henry did not forget it. His sixth sense, thesense of danger, as it were, had received a definite impression,and he paid heed to the warning.

　　That afternoon clouds came up for the first time. It had beenvery warm on the river, but the heat and closeness did notdevelop into a rapid storm of thunder and lightning as so oftenhappens in the Mississippi valley. Instead, the air turnedcolder, and a raw, drizzling rain set it. It was then that theyappreciated the comfort of their well-equipped boats. Everybodywas wrapped up and protected, and they moved steadily on'.

　　Henry and Shif'less Sol, as usual, went ashore later on to seek alanding place, and a site suitable for a camp, as it wasconsidered wise always to give the men warm food. Presently theyfound a fairly well sheltered spot near the shore, a slopesurrounded by high trees, and when Adam Colfax received the wordthe boats were tied to the bank. Some tents were pitched in theopening, and with considerable difficulty the fires were lighted.A drizzling rain still fell, but the fires finally triumphed overit, and blazed and crackled merrily. Nevertheless, thislightness and merriment were not communicated to the men, whoshivered in the wet, drew close to the flames, and had downcastfaces. All the five were ashore and in the shadow of the woodsthey held a little conference of their own, talking with greatearnestness.

　　"I think," said Henry, "that we're being watched and that thereis danger, great danger. One never knows what the wildernesscontains.

　　"Suppose that all of us watch the night through," said Paul.

　　"No," said Henry, "I think, Paul, that you ought to sleep andLong Jim should do so, too. There are enough without you.To-morrow night will be your turn. We shouldn't waste ourresources."

　　This satisfied Paul and Jim, and soon they were asleep in one ofthe tents, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were in thedripping forest outside Adam Colfax's own line of sentinels,seeking the hidden danger. The three remained together, and theylooked everywhere. They were on the east bank and there wasnothing but forest. The moon lay behind sodden clouds, and thetrees were dark and shadowy. Now and then the wind swept a dashof rain in their faces, and the air remained raw and chill.Sharp as were their eyes, they could not see very far into theforest, but they could see behind them the flame of their owncamp fires, a core of light in the wilderness.

　　"It might be better to put out all those fires," said Henry, "butI don't believe Captain Colfax would hear to it. He thinks we'retoo strong to fear any serious attack."

　　"No," said Shif'less Sol, "he wouldn't do it, an' the men wouldgrumble, too. We've got to be the outside guard ourselves."

　　The three kept together, continuing their steady patrol in asemi-circle about the camp, the side of the river being guardedby the boats themselves. The rain died to a drizzle, but theclouds remained, and the skies were dark. Hours passed, andnearly everybody slept soundly by the fires, but the faithfulthree, gilding among the wet trees and bushes, still watched.They 'heard faint noises in the forest, the passage of the wind,or the stir of a wild animal, and after a while they heard thelong, plaintive and weird note, with which they were so familiar,the howl of the wolf.

　　It was characteristic of the three that when this faint note,almost like the sigh of the wind among the wet trees, reachedtheir ears, they said nothing, but merely stopped and in theobscurity glanced at one another with eyes of understanding.They listened patiently, and the low, plaintive howl came againand then once more, all from different points of the compass.There had been a time when Henry Ware was deceived for a momentby these cries, but it was not possible now.

　　"It must be a gathering of the southern tribes," he said, "and Iimagine that Braxton Wyatt is with them, giving them advice.Sol, suppose that you go to the right and Tom to the left. I'llstay in the center, and if any one of us sees an enemy he's toshoot at it and rouse the camp."

　　The two were gone in an instant, and Henry was left alone. Thatinstant all the old, primeval instincts, so powerful in him, werearoused. His sixth sense, the sense of danger, was speaking tohim in a voice that he could not but hear. There, too, was thequaver of the wolf. All the signals of alarm were set, and heresolved that he should be the first to see danger when it showedits head.

　　The clouds piled in heavier masses in the sky, and the darknessthickened. The wind blew lightly and its sound among the boughsand leaves was a long, plaintive sigh that had in it a tone likethe cry of a woman. The rain came only in gusts, but when itstruck it was sharp and cold. The trees stood out, black andill-defined, like skeletons. But the forest, its wet, its chill,and its loneliness, had no effect upon the attuned mind of HenryWare. He was in his native element, and every nerve in himthrilled with the knowledge that he would rise to meet thecrisis, whatever it might be.

　　He was crouched by the side of a great oak, his form blurringwith its trunk, his eyes, now used to the darkness, searchingevery covert in front - he knew that Shif'less Sol and Tom Rosswould watch to right and left.

　　The cry of the wolf did not come again, save for a lone note, nowmuch nearer. But when its sound passed through the forest, HenryWare's form seemed to become a little more taut and he leaneda little further forward. Beyond the slight bending motion hedid not stir.

　　He still saw nothing and heard nothing, but that voice which washis sixth sense was calling to him more loudly than ever, and hewas ready to respond.

　　In front of him, thirty yards away, lay a thicket of undergrowth,and he watched it incessantly. It seemed to him now that he knewevery bush and briar and vine. Presently a briar moved, and thena bush, and then a vine, but they moved against the wind, and thesharp eyes of the watcher saw it. He sank a little lower and themuzzle of his rifle stole forward. He made not the slightestsound, and good eyes, only a few yards away, could not haveseparated his dark figure from that of the tree trunk.

　　The same briar and bush moved a third time, and, as before,against the wind. It did not escape the note of Henry Ware. Nowhe saw a sharp, red nose appear, and then the shaggy head behindit.

　　The nose remained - projected and lifted in the air, a-sniff tocatch the fleeting scent of an enemy. Fancy could readily paintthe ugly head of the lank body behind it. But Henry Ware was notdeceived for an instant. The muzzle of the rifle that had beenthrust forward, was raised now, and taking swift aim, he fired.

　　A wild and terrible cry swelled through the forest. An Indianwarrior sprang to his feet, casting off his guise of a wolfskin,stood perfectly still for a moment, and then fell headlong amongthe wet bushes. The cry came back in many real echoes, theshouts of the warriors who knew now that there was to be nosurprise for them. Their battle cry swelled in volume, fiercewith anger, but Henry, Shif'less Sol, and Tom Ross were alreadyrunning back upon the camp, sounding the alarm, and the men,roused from sleep, were springing to arms.