Chapter XVII. The Deserted Cabin

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　When the last soldier had disappeared among the trees, Henryturned to the others. "Well, boys," he asked, "what are youthinking about?"

　　"I?" asked Paul. "I'm thinking about a certain place I know, asort of alcove or hole in a cliff above a lake."

　　"An' me?" said Shif'less Sol. "I'm thinkin' how fur that alcoveruns back, an' how it could be fitted up with furs an' made warmfur the winter."

　　"Me?" said Tom Ross. "I'm thinkin' what a snug place that alcovewould be when the snow an' hail were drivin' down the creek infront of you."

　　"An' ez fur me," said Long Jim Hart, "I wuz thinkin' I could runa sort uv flue from the back part uv that alcove out through thefront an' let the smoke pass out. I could cook all right. Itwouldn't be ez good a place fur cookin' ez the one we hed thattime we spent the winter on the island in the lake, but 'twouldserve."

　　"It's strange," said Henry, " but I've been thinking of all thethings that all four of you have been thinking about, and, sincewe are agreed, we are bound to go straight to 'The Alcove' andpass the winter there."

　　Without another word he led the way, and the others followed. Itwas apparent to everyone that they must soon find a winter base,because the cold had increased greatly in the last few days. Thelast leaves had fallen from the trees, and a searching windhowled among the bare branches. Better shelter than blanketswould soon be needed.

　　On their way they passed Oghwaga, a mass of blackened ruins,among which wolves howled, the same spectacle that Wyoming nowafforded, although Oghwaga had not been stained by blood.

　　It was a long journey to "The Alcove," but they did not hurry,seeing no need of it, although they were warned of the wisdom oftheir decision by the fact that the cold was increasing. Thecountry in which the lake was situated lay high, and, as all ofthem were quite sure that the cold was going to be great there,they thought it wise to make preparations against it, which theydiscussed as they walked in, leisurely fashion through the woods.They spoke, also, of greater things. All felt that they had beendrawn into a mightier current than any in which they had swambefore. They fully appreciated the importance to the Revolutionof this great rearguard struggle, and at present they did nothave the remotest idea of returning to Kentucky under anycircumstances.

　　"We've got to fight it out with Braxton Wyatt and the Iroquois,"said Henry. "I've heard that Braxton is organizing a band ofTories of his own, and that he is likely to be as dangerous aseither of the Butlers."

　　"Some day we'll end him for good an' all," said Shif'less Sol.

　　It was four or five days before they reached their alcove, andnow all the forest was bare and apparently lifeless. They camedown the creek, and found their boat unharmed and untouched stillamong the foliage at the base of the cliff.

　　"That's one thing safe," said Long Jim, "an' I guess we'll find'The Alcove' all right, too."

　　"Unless a wild animal has taken up its abode there," said Paul.

　　"'Tain't likely," replied Long Jim. "We've left the human smellthar, an' even after all this time it's likely to drive away anyprowlin' bear or panther that pokes his nose in."

　　Long Jim was quite right. Their snug nest, like that of asquirrel in the side of a tree, had not been disturbed. Theskins which they had rolled up tightly and placed on the highershelves of stone were untouched, and several days' huntingincreased the supply. The hunting was singularly easy, and,although the five did not know it, the quantity of game was muchgreater in that region than it had been for years. It had beenswept of human beings by the Iroquois and Tory hordes, and deer,bear, and panther seemed to know instinctively that the woodswere once more safe for them.

　　In their hunting they came upon the ruins of charred houses, andmore than once they saw something among the coals that causedthem to turn away with a shudder. At every place where man hadmade a little opening the wilderness was quickly reclaiming itsown again. Next year the grass and the foliage would cover upthe coals and the hideous relics that lay among them.

　　They jerked great quantities of venison on the trees on the cliffside, and stored it in "The Alcove." They also cured some bearmeat, and, having added a further lining of skins, they feltprepared for winter. They had also added to the comfort of theplace. They had taken the precaution of bringing with them twoaxes, and with the heads of these they smoothed out more of therough places on the floor and sides of "The Alcove." They thoughtit likely, too, that they would need the axes in other ways lateron.

　　Only once during these arrangements did they pass the trail ofIndians, and that was made by a party of about twenty, at leastten miles from "The Alcove." They seemed to be traveling north,and the five made no investigations. Somewhat later they met awhite runner in the forest, and he told them of the terriblemassacre of Cherry Valley. Walter Butler, emulating his father'sexploit at Wyoming, had come down with a mixed horde of Iroquois,Tories, British, and Canadians. He had not been whollysuccessful, but he had slaughtered half a hundred women andchildren, and was now returning northward with prisoners. Somesaid, according to the runner, that Thayendanegea had led theIndians on this occasion, but, as the five learned later, he hadnot come up until the massacre was over. The runner addedanother piece of information that interested them deeply. Butlerhad been accompanied to Cherry Valley by a young Tory or renegadenamed Wyatt, who had distinguished himself by cunning andcruelty. It was said that Wyatt had built up for himself asemi-independent command, and was becoming a great scourge.

　　"That's our Braxton," said Henry. "He is rising to hisopportunities. He is likely to become fully the equal of WalterButler."

　　But they could do nothing at present to find Wyatt, and they wentsomewhat sadly back to "The Alcove." They had learned also fromthe runner that Wyatt had a lieutenant, a Tory named Coleman, andthis fact increased their belief that Wyatt was undertaking tooperate on a large scale.

　　"We may get a chance at him anyhow," said Henry. "He and hisband may go too far away from the main body of the Indians andTories, and in that case we can strike a blow if we arewatchful."

　　Every one of the five, although none of them knew it, received anadditional impulse from this news about Braxton Wyatt. He hadgrown up with them. Loyalty to the king had nothing to do withhis becoming a renegade or a Tory; he could not plead lost landsor exile for taking part in such massacres as Wyoming or CherryValley, but, long since an ally of the Indians, he was now at thehead of a Tory band that murdered and burned from sheer pleasure.

　　"Some day we'll get him, as shore as the sun rises an' sets,"said Shif'less Sol, repeating Henry's prediction.

　　But for the present they "holed up," and now their foresight wasjustified. To such as they, used to the hardships of forestlife, "The Alcove" was a cheery nest. From its door they watchedthe wild fowl streaming south, pigeons, ducks, and othersoutlined against the dark, wintry skies. So numerous were theseflocks that there was scarcely a time when they did not see onepassing toward the warm South.

　　Shif'less Sol and Paul sat together watching a great flock ofwild geese, arrow shaped, and flying at almost incredible speed.A few faint honks came to them, and then the geese grew misty onthe horizon. Shif'less Sol followed them with serious eyes.

　　"Do you ever think, Paul," he said, "that we human bein's ain'tso mighty pow'ful ez we think we are. We kin walk on the groun',an' by hard learnin' an' hard work we kin paddle through thewater a little. But jest look at them geese flyin' a mile high,right over everything, rivers, forests any mountains, makin' ahundred miles an hour, almost without flappin' a wing. Then theykin come down on the water an' float fur hours without bein'tired, an' they kin waddle along on the groun', too. Did youever hear of any men who had so many 'complishments? Why, Paul,s'pose you an' me could grow wings all at once, an' go throughthe air a mile a minute fur a month an' never git tired."

　　"We'd certainly see some great sights," said Paul, "but do youknow, Sol, what would be the first thing I'd do if I had the giftof tireless wings?"

　　"Fly off to them other continents I've heard you tell about."

　　"No, I'd swoop along over the forests up here until I picked outall the camps of the Indians and Tories. I'd pick out theButlers and Braxton Wyatt and Coleman, and see what mischief theywere planning. Then I'd fly away to the East and look down atall the armies, ours in buff and blue, and the British redcoats.I'd look into the face of our great commander-in-chief. Then I'dfly away back into the West and South, and I'd hover overWareville. I'd see our own people, every last little one ofthem. They might take a shot at me, not knowing who I was, butI'd be so high up in the air no bullet could reach me. Then I'dcome soaring back here to you fellows."

　　"That would shorely be a grand trip, Paul," said Shif'less Sol, "an' I wouldn't mind takin' it in myself. But fur the presentwe'd better busy our minds with the warnin's the wild fowl aregivin' us, though we're well fixed fur a house already. It'scu'rus what good homes a handy man kin find in the wilderness."

　　The predictions of the wild fowl were true. A few days laterheavy clouds rolled up in the southwest, and the five watchedthem, knowing what they would bring them. They spread to thezenith and then to the other horizon, clothing the whole circleof the earth. The great flakes began to drop down, slowly atfirst, then faster. Soon all the trees were covered with white,and everything else, too, except the dark surface of the lake,which received the flakes into its bosom as they fell.

　　It snowed all that day and most of the next, until it lay abouttwo feet on the ground. After that it turned intensely cold, thesurface of the snow froze, and ice, nearly a foot thick, coveredthe lake. It was not possible to travel under such circumstanceswithout artificial help, and now Tom Ross, who had once hunted inthe far North, came to their help. He showed them how to makesnowshoes, and, although all learned to use them, Henry, with hisgreat strength and peculiar skill, became by far the most expert.

　　As the snow with its frozen surface lay on the ground for weeks,Henry took many long journeys on the snowshoes. Sometimes behunted, but oftener his role was that of scout. He cautioned hisfriends that he might be out-three or four days at a time, andthat they need take no alarm about him unless his absence becameextremely long. The winter deepened, the snow melted, andanother and greater storm came, freezing the surface, againmaking the snowshoes necessary. Henry decided now to take ascout alone to the northward, and, as the others bad long sincegrown into the habit of accepting his decisions almost withoutquestion, be started at once. He was well equipped with hisrifle, double barreled pistol, hatchet, and knife, and he carriedin addition a heavy blanket and some jerked venison. He put onhis snowshoes at the foot of the cliff, waved a farewell to thefour heads thrust from "The Alcove" above, and struck out on thesmooth, icy surface of the creek. From this he presently passedinto the woods, and for a long time pursued a course almost duenorth.

　　It was no vague theory that had drawn Henry forth. In one of hisjourneyings be had met a hunter who told him of a band of Toriesand Indians encamped toward the north, and he had an idea that itwas the party led by Braxton Wyatt. Now he meant to see.

　　His information was very indefinite, and he began to discoversigns much earlier than he had expected. Before the end of thefirst day he saw the traces of other snowshoe runners on the icysnow, and once he came to a place where a deer had been slain anddressed. Then he came to another where the snow had beenhollowed out under some pines to make a sleeping place forseveral men. Clearly he was in the land of the enemy again, anda large and hostile camp might be somewhere near.

　　Henry felt a thrill of joy when he saw these indications. Allthe primitive instincts leaped up within him. A child of theforest and of elemental conditions, the warlike instinct wasstrong within him. He was tired of hunting wild animals, and nowthere was promise of a' more dangerous foe. For the purposesthat he had in view he was glad that be was alone. The wintryforest, with its two feet of snow covered with ice, contained noterrors for him. He moved on his snowshoes almost like a skater,and with all the dexterity of an Indian of the far North, who ispractically born on such shoes.

　　As he stood upon the brow of a little hill, elevated upon hissnowshoes, he was, indeed, a wonderful figure. The added heightand the white glare from the ice made him tower like a greatgiant. He was clad completely in soft, warm deerskin, his handswere gloved in the same material, and the fur cap was drawntightly about his head and ears. The slender-barreled rifle layacross his shoulder, and the blanket and deer meat made a lightpackage on his back. Only his face was uncovered, and that wasrosy with the sharp but bracing cold. But the resolute blue eyesseemed to have grown more resolute in the last six months, andthe firm jaw was firmer than ever.

　　It was a steely blue sky, clear, hard, and cold, fitted to theearth of snow and ice that it inclosed. His eyes traveled thecircle of the horizon three times, and at the end of the thirdcircle he made out a dim, dark thread against that sheet of bluesteel. It was the light of a camp fire, and that camp fire mustbelong to an enemy. It was not likely that anybody else would besending forth such a signal in this wintry wilderness.

　　Henry judged that the fire was several miles away, and apparentlyin a small valley hemmed in by hills of moderate height. He madeup his mind that the band of Braxton Wyatt was there, and heintended to make a thorough scout about it. He advanced untilthe smoke line became much thicker and broader, and then hestopped in the densest clump of bushes that he could find. Hemeant to remain there until darkness came, because, with allfoliage gone from the forest, it would be impossible to examinethe hostile camp by day. The bushes, despite the lack of leaves,were so dense that they hid him well, and, breaking through thecrust of ice, he dug a hole. Then, having taken off hissnowshoes and wrapped his blanket about his body, he thrusthimself into the hole exactly like a rabbit in its burrow. Helaid his shoes on the crust of ice beside him. Of course, iffound there by a large party of warriors on snowshoes he wouldhave no chance to flee, but he was willing to take what seemed tohim a small risk. The dark would not be long in coming, and itwas snug and warm in the hole. As he sat, his head rose justabove the surrounding ice, but his rifle barrel rose much higher.He ate a little venison for supper, and the weariness in theankles that comes from long traveling on snowshoes disappeared.

　　He could not see outside the bushes, but he listened with thoseuncommonly keen ears of his. No sound at all came. There wasnot even a wind to rustle the bare boughs. The sun hung a hugered globe in the west, and all that side of the earth was tingedwith a red glare, wintry and cold despite its redness. Then, asthe earth turned, the sun was lost behind it, and the cold darkcame.

　　Henry found it so comfortable in his burrow that all his muscleswere soothed, and he grew sleepy. It would have been verypleasant to doze there, but he brought himself round with aneffort of the will, and became as wide awake as ever. He waseager to be off on his expedition, but he knew how much dependedon waiting, and he waited. One hour, two hours, three hours,four hours, still and dark, passed in the forest before he rousedhimself from his covert. Then, warm, strong, and tempered likesteel for his purpose, he put on his snowshoes, and advancedtoward the point from which the column of smoke had risen.

　　He had never been more cautious and wary than he was now. He wasa formidable figure in the darkness, crouched forward, and movinglike some spirit of the wilderness, half walking, half gliding.

　　Although the night had come out rather clear, with many coldstars twinkling in the blue, the line of smoke was no longervisible. But Henry did not expect it to be, nor did he need it.He had marked its base too clearly in his mind to make anymistake, and he advanced with certainty. He came presently intoan open space, and he stopped with amazement. Around him werethe stumps of a clearing made recently, and near him were someyards of rough rail fence.

　　He crouched against the fence, and saw on the far side of theclearing the dim outlines of several buildings, from the chimneysof two of which smoke was rising. It was his first thought thathe had come upon a little settlement still held by daringborderers, but second thought told him that it was impossible.Another and more comprehensive look showed many signs of ruin.He saw remains of several burned houses, but clothing all was theatmosphere of desolation and decay that tells when a place isabandoned. The two threads of smoke did not alter thisimpression.

　　Henry divined it all. The builders of this tiny village in thewilderness bad been massacred or driven away. A part of thehouses had been destroyed, some were left standing, and now therewere visitors. He advanced without noise, keeping behind therail fence, and approaching one of the houses from the chimneysof which the smoke came. Here be crouched a long time, lookingand listening attentively; but it seemed that the visitors had nofears. Why should they, when there was nothing that they needfear in this frozen wilderness?

　　Henry stole a little nearer. It had been a snug, trim littlesettlement. Perhaps twenty-five or thirty people had livedthere, literally hewing a home out of the forest. His heartthrobbed with a fierce hatred and, anger against those who hadspoiled all this, and his gloved finger crept to the hammer ofhis rifle.

　　The night was intensely cold. The mercury was far below zero,and a wind that had begun to rise cut like the edge of a knife.Even the wariest of Indians in such desolate weather might failto keep a watch. But Henry did not suffer. The fur cap wasdrawn farther over chin and ears, and the buckskin gloves kepthis fingers warm and flexible. Besides, his blood was uncommonlyhot in his veins.

　　His comprehensive eye told him that, while some of the buildingshad not been destroyed, they were so ravaged and damaged thatthey could never be used again, save as a passing shelter, justas they were being used now. He slid cautiously about thedesolate place. He crossed a brook, frozen almost solidly in itsbed, and he saw two or three large mounds that had beenhaystacks, now covered with snow.

　　Then he slid without noise back to the nearest of the houses fromwhich the smoke came. It was rather more pretentious than theothers, built of planks instead of logs, and with shingles for aroof. The remains of a small portico formed the approach to thefront door. Henry supposed that the house had been set on fireand that perhaps a heavy rain had saved a part of it.

　　A bar of light falling across the snow attracted his attention.He knew that it was the glow of a fire within coming through awindow. A faint sound of voices reached his ears, and he movedforward slowly to the window. It was an oaken shutter originallyfastened with a leather strap, but the strap was gone, and nowsome one had tied it, though not tightly, with a deer tendon.The crack between shutter and wall was at least three inches, andHenry could see within very well.

　　He pressed his side tightly to the wall and put his eyes to thecrevice. What he saw within did not still any of those primitivefeelings that had risen so strongly in his breast.

　　A great fire had been built in the log fireplace, but it wasburning somewhat low now, having reached that mellow period ofleast crackling and greatest heat. The huge bed of coals threw amass of varied and glowing colors across the floor. Large holeshad been burned in the side of the room by the original fire, butIndian blankets had been fastened tightly over them.

　　In front of the fire sat Braxton Wyatt in a Loyalist uniform, athree-cornered hat cocked proudly on his head, and a small swordby his side. He had grown heavier, and Henry saw that the facehad increased much in coarseness and cruelty. It had alsoincreased in satisfaction. He was a great man now, as he sawgreat men, and both face and figure radiated gratification andpride as he lolled before the fire. At the other corner, sittingupon the floor and also in a Loyalist uniform, was hislieutenant, Levi Coleman, older, heavier, and with a short,uncommonly muscular figure. His face was dark and cruel, withsmall eyes set close together. A half dozen other white men andmore than a dozen Indians were in the room. All these lay upontheir blankets on the floor, because all the furniture had beendestroyed. Yet they had eaten, and they lay there content in thesoothing glow of the fire, like animals that had fed well. Henrywas so near that he could hear every word anyone spoke.

　　"It was well that the Indians led us to this place, eh, Levi?"said Wyatt.

　　"I'm glad the fire spared a part of it," said Coleman. "Looks asif it was done just for us, to give us a shelter some cold winternight when we come along. I guess the Iroquois Aieroski iswatching over us."

　　Wyatt laughed.

　　"You're a man that I like, Levi," he said. "You can see to theinside of things. It would be a good idea to use this place as abase and shelter, and make a raid on some of the settlements eastof the hills, eh, Levi?"

　　"It could be done," said Coleman. "But just listen to that wind,will you! On a night like this it must cut like a saber's edge.Even our Iroquois are glad to be under a roof."

　　Henry still gazed in at the crack with eyes that were lighted upby an angry fire. So here was more talk of destruction andslaughter! His gaze alighted upon an Indian who sat in a cornerengaged upon a task. Henry looked more closely, and saw that hewas stretching a blonde-haired scalp over a small hoop. Ashudder shook his whole frame. Only those who lived amid suchscenes could understand the intensity of his feelings. He felt,too, a bitter sense of injustice. The doers of these deeds werehere in warmth and comfort, while the innocent were dead orfugitives. He turned away from the window, stepping gently uponthe snowshoes. He inferred that the remainder of Wyatt's bandwere quartered in the other house from which he had seen thesmoke rising. It was about twenty rods away, but he did notexamine it, because a great idea had been born suddenly in hisbrain. The attempt to fulfill the idea would be accompanied byextreme danger, but he did not hesitate a moment. He stolegently to one of the half-fallen outhouses and went inside. Herehe found what he wanted, a large pine shelf that had beensheltered from rain and that was perfectly dry. He scraped off alarge quantity of the dry pine until it formed almost a dust, andhe did not cease until he had filled his cap with it. Then hecut off large splinters, until he had accumulated a great number,and after that he gathered smaller pieces of half-burned pine.

　　He was fully two hours doing this work, and the night advancedfar, but he never faltered. His head was bare, but he wasprotected from the wind by a fragment of the outhouse wall.Every two or three minutes he stopped and listened for the soundof a creaking, sliding footstep on the snow, but, never hearingany, he always resumed his work with the same concentration. Allthe while the wind rose and moaned through the ruins of thelittle village. When Henry chanced to raise his head above thesheltering wall, it was like the slash of a knife across hischeek.

　　Finally he took half of the pine dust in his cap and a lot of thesplinters under his arm, and stole back to the house from whichthe light had shone. He looked again through the crevice at thewindow. The light had died down much more, and both Wyatt andColeman were asleep on the floor. But several of the Iroquoiswere awake, although they sat as silent and motionless as stonesagainst the wall.

　　Henry moved from the window and selected a sheltered spot besidethe plank wall. There he put the pine dust in a little heap onthe snow and covered it over with pine splinters, on top of whichhe put larger pieces of pine. Then he went back for theremainder of the pine dust, and built a similar pyramid against asheltered side of the second house.

　　The most delicate part of his task had now come, one that goodfortune only could aid him in achieving, but the brave youth, hisheart aflame with righteous anger against those inside, stillpursued the work. His heart throbbed, but hand and eye weresteady.

　　Now came the kindly stroke of fortune for which he had hoped.The wind rose much higher and roared harder against the house.It would prevent the Iroquois within, keen of ear as they were,from hearing a light sound without. Then he drew forth his flintand steel and struck them together with a hand so strong andswift that sparks quickly leaped forth and set fire to the pinetinder. Henry paused only long enough to see the flame spread tothe splinters, and then he ran rapidly to the other house, wherethe task was repeated-he intended that his job should bethorough.

　　Pursuing this resolve to make his task complete, he came back tothe first house and looked at his fire. It had already spread tothe larger pieces of pine, and it could not go out now. Thesound made by the flames blended exactly with the roaring of thewind, and another minute or two might pass before the Iroquoisdetected it.

　　Now his heart throbbed again, and exultation was mingled with hisanger. By the time the Iroquois were aroused to the danger theflames would be so high that the wind would reach them. Then noone could put them out.

　　It might have been safer for him to flee deep into the forest atonce, but that lingering desire to make his task complete and,also, the wish to see the result kept him from doing it. Hemerely walked across the open space and stood behind a tree atthe edge of the forest.

　　Braxton Wyatt and his Tories and Iroquois were very warm, verysnug, in the shelter of the old house with the great bed of coalsbefore them. They may even have been dreaming peaceful andbeautiful dreams, when suddenly an Iroquois sprang to his feetand uttered a cry that awoke all the rest.

　　"I smell smoke!" he exclaimed in his tongue, "and there is fire,too! I hear it crackle outside!"

　　Braxton Wyatt ran to the window and jerked it open. Flame andsmoke blew in his face. He uttered an angry cry, and snatched atthe pistol in his belt.

　　"The whole side of the house is on fire!" he exclaimed. "Whoseneglect has done this?"

　　Coleman, shrewd and observing, was at his elbow.

　　"The fire was set on the outside," he said. "It was nocarelessness of our men. Some enemy has done this!"

　　"It is true!" exclaimed Wyatt furiously. "Out, everybody! Thehouse burns fast!"

　　There was a rush for the door. Already ashes and cinders werefalling about their heads. Flames leaped high, were caught bythe roaring winds, and roared with them. The shell of the housewould soon be gone, and when Tories and Iroquois were outsidethey saw the remainder of their band pouring forth from the otherhouse, which was also in flames.

　　No means of theirs could stop so great a fire, and they stood ina sort of stupefaction, watching it as it was fanned to greatestheights by the wind.

　　All the remaining outbuildings caught, also, and in a few momentsnothing whatever would be left of the tiny village. BraxtonWyatt and his band must lie in the icy wilderness, and they couldnever use this place as a basis for attack upon settlements.

　　"How under the sun could it have happened?" exclaimed Wyatt.

　　"It didn't happen. It was done," said Coleman. "Somebody setthese houses on fire while we slept within. Hark to that!"

　　An Iroquois some distance from the houses was bending over thesnow where it was not yet melted by the heat. He saw there thetrack of snowshoes, and suddenly, looking toward the forest,whither they led, he saw a dark figure flit away among the trees.