"Did Heaven look on,
And would not take their part?--
--: Heaven rest them now!"
Macbeth.
"We will be thankful for this blessing," said Content, as he aided the
half-unconscious Ruth to mount the ladder, yielding himself to a feeling
of nature that said little against his manhood. "If we have lost one, that
we loved, God hath spared our own child."
His breathless wife threw herself into a seat, and folding the treasure to
her bosom, she whispered rather than said aloud--"From my soul, Heathcote,
am I grateful!"
"Thou shieldest the babe from my sight," returned the father, stooping to
conceal a tear that was stealing down his brown cheek, under a pretence of
embracing the child--but suddenly recoiling, he added in alarm--"Ruth!"
Startled by the tone in which her husband uttered her name, the mother
threw aside the folds of her dress, which still concealed the girl, and
stretching her out to the length of an arm, she saw that, in the hurry of
the appalling scene, the children had been exchanged, and that she had
saved the life of Martha!
Notwithstanding the generous disposition of Ruth, it was impossible to
repress the feeling of disappointment which came over her with the
consciousness of the mistake. Nature at first had sway, and to a degree
that was fearfully powerful.
"It is not our babe!" shrieked the mother, still holding the child at the
length of her arm, and gazing at its innocent and terrified countenance,
with an expression that Martha had never yet seen gleaming from eyes that
were, in common, so soft and so indulgent.
"I am thine! I am thine!" murmured the little trembler, struggling in vain
to reach the bosom that had so long cherished her infancy. "If not thine,
whose am I?"
The gaze of Ruth was still wild, the workings of her features hysterical.
"Madam--Mrs. Heathcote--mother!" came timidly, and at intervals, from the
lips of the orphan. Then the heart of Ruth relented. She clasped the
daughter of her friend to her breast, and Nature found a temporary relief
in one of those frightful exhibitions of anguish, which appear to threaten
the dissolution of the link which connects the soul with the body.
"Come, daughter of John Harding," said Content, looking around him with
the assumed composure of a chastened man, while natural regret struggled
hard at his heart; "this has been God's pleasure; it is meet that we kiss
his parental hand. Let us be thankful," he added, with a quivering lip but
steady eye, "that even this mercy hath been shown. Our babe is with the
Indian, but our hopes are far beyond the reach of savage malignity. We
have not 'laid up treasure where moth and rust can corrupt, or where
thieves may break in and steal,' It may be that the morning shall bring
means of parley, and haply, opportunity of ransom."
There was the glimmering of hope in this suggestion. The idea seemed to
give a new direction to the thoughts of Ruth, and the change enabled the
long habits of self-restraint to regain something of their former
ascendancy. The fountains of her tears became dry, and, after one short
and terrible struggle, she was again enabled to appear composed. But at
no time during the continuance of that fearful struggle, was Ruth
Heathcote again the same ready and useful agent of activity and order that
she had been in the earlier events of the night.
It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that the brief burst of
parental agony which has just been related, escaped Content and his wife
amid a scene in which the other actors were too much occupied by their
exertions to note its exhibition. The fate of those in the block was too
evidently approaching its close, to allow of any interest in such an
episode to the great tragedy of the moment.
The character of the contest had in some measure changed. There was no
longer any immediate apprehension from the missiles of the assailants,
though danger pressed upon the besieged in a new and even in a more
horrible aspect. Now and then indeed an arrow quivered in the openings of
the loops, and the blunt Dudley had once a narrow escape from the passage
of a bullet, which, guided by chance, or aimed by a hand surer than
common, glanced through one of the narrow slits, and would have terminated
the history of the borderer, had not the head it obliquely encountered,
been too solid to yield even to such an assault. The attention of the
garrison was chiefly called to the imminent danger of the surrounding
fire. Though the probability of such an emergency as that in which the
family was now placed, had certainly been foreseen, and in some degree
guarded against, in the size of the area and in the construction of the
block, yet it was found that the danger exceeded all former calculations.
For the basement, there was no reason to feel alarm. It was of stone, and
of a thickness and a material to put at defiance any artifices that their
enemy might find time to practise. Even the two upper stories were
comparatively safe; for they were composed of blocks so solid as to
require time to heat them, and they were consequently as little liable to
combustion as wood well could be. But the roof, like all of that, and
indeed, like most of the present day in America, was composed of short
inflammable shingles of pine. The superior height of the tower was some
little protection, but as the flames rose roaring above the buildings of
the court, and waved in wide circuits around the heated area, the whole of
the fragile covering of the block was often wrapped in folds of fire. The
result may be anticipated. Content was first recalled from the bitterness
of his parental regret, by a cry, which passed among the family, that the
roof of their little citadel was in flames. One of the ordinary wells of
the habitation was in the basement of the edifice, and it was fortunate
that no precaution necessary to render it serviceable in an emergency like
that which was now arrived, had been neglected. A well-secured shaft of
stone rose through the lower apartment into the upper floor. Profiting by
this happy precaution, the handmaidens of Ruth plied the buckets with
diligence, while the young men cast water freely on the roof, from the
windows of the attic. The latter duty, it may readily be supposed, was not
performed without hazard. Flights of arrows were constantly directed
against the borers, and more than one of the youths received greater or
less injuries, while exposed to their annoyance. There were indeed a few
minutes, during which it remained a question of grave interest how far the
risk they ran was likely to be crowned with success. The excessive heat of
so many fires, and the occasional contact with the flames, as they swept
in eddies over the place, began to render it doubtful whether any human
efforts could long arrest the evil. Even the massive and moistened logs of
the body of the work began to smoke; and it was found, by experiment,
that the hand could rest but a moment on their surface.
During this interval of deep suspense, all the men posted at the loops
were called to aid in extinguishing the fire. Resistance was forgotten
in the discharge of a duty that had become still more pressing. Ruth
herself was aroused by the nature of the alarm, and all hands and all
minds were arduously occupied in a toil that diverted attention from
incidents which had less interest, because they were teeming less with
instant destruction. Danger is known to lose its terrors by familiarity.
The young borderers became reckless of their persons in the ardor of
exertion, and as success began to crown their efforts, something like
the levity of happier moments got the better of their concern. Stolen
and curious glances were thrown around a place that had so long been
kept sacred to the secret uses of the Puritan, when it was found that
the flames were subdued, and that the present danger was averted. The
light glared powerfully through several openings in the shingles, no
less than through the windows; and every eye was enabled to scan the
contents of an apartment which all had longed, though none had ever
before presumed, to enter.
"The Captain looketh well to the body," whispered Reuben Ring to one of his
comrades, as he wiped the effects of the toil from a sun-burnt brow. "Thou
seest, Hiram, that there is good store of cheer."
"The buttery is not better stored!" returned the other, with the
shrewdness and ready observation of a border-man. "It is known that he
never toucheth that which the cow yields, except as it comes from the
creature, and here we find of the best that the Madam's dairy can yield!"
"Surely yon buff jerkin is like to those worn by the idle cavaliers
at home! I think it be long since the Captain hath ridden forth in
such a guise."
"That may be matter of ancient usage, for thou seest he hath relics of the
fashion of the English troopers in this bit of steel; it is like, he
holdeth deep exercise over the vanities of his youth, while recalling the
times in which they were worn."
This conjecture appeared to satisfy the other, though it is probable that
a sight of a fresh store of bodily aliment, which was soon after exposed
in order to gain access to the roof, might have led to some further
inferences, had more time been given to conjectures. But at this moment a
new wail proceeded from the maidens who plied the buckets beneath.
"To the loops! to the loops, or we are lost!" was a summons that admitted
of no delay. Led by the stranger, the young men rushed below, where, in
truth, they found a serious demand on all their activity and courage.
The Indians were wanting in none of the sagacity which so remarkably
distinguishes the warfare of this cunning race. The time spent by the
family, in arresting the flames, had not been thrown away by the
assailants. Profiting by the attention of those within, to efforts that
were literally of the last importance, they had found means to convey
burning brands to the door of the block, against which they had piled a
mass of blazing combustibles, that threatened shortly to open the way into
the basement of the citadel itself. In order to mask this design, and to
protect their approaches, the savages had succeeded in dragging bundles of
straw and other similar materials to the foot of the work, to which the
fire soon communicated, and which consequently served both to increase the
actual danger of the building and to distract the attention of those by
whom it was defended. Although the water that fell from the roof served
to retard the progress of these flames, it contributed to produce the
effect of all others that was most desired by the savages. The dense
volumes of smoke that arose from the half-smothered fire, first apprised
the females of the new danger which assailed them. When Content and the
stranger reached the principal floor of their citadel, it required some
little time, and no small degree of coolness, to comprehend the situation
in which they were now placed. The vapor that rolled upward from the wet
straw and hay had already penetrated into the apartment, and it was with
no slight difficulty that they who occupied it were enabled to distinguish
objects, or even to breathe.
"Here is matter to exercise our utmost fortitude," said the stranger to
his constant companion. "We must look to this new device, or we come to
the fate of death by fire. Summon the stoutest-hearted of thy youths, and
I will lead them to a sortie, ere the evil get past a remedy."
"That were certain victory to the heathen. Thou hearest, by their yells,
that 'tis no small band of scouters who beleaguer us; a tribe hath sent
forth its chosen warriors to do their wickedness. Better is it that we
bestir ourselves to drive them from our door, and to prevent the further
annoyance of this cloud, since, to issue from the block, at this moment,
would be to offer our heads to the tomahawk; and to ask mercy is as vain
as to hope to move the rock with tears."
"And in what manner may we do this needful service?"
"Our muskets will still command the entrance, by means of these downward
loops, and water may be yet applied through the same openings. Thought
hath been had of this danger, in the disposition of the place."
"Then, of Heaven's mercy! delay not the effort."
The necessary measures were taken, instantly. Eben Dudley applied the
muzzle of his piece to a loop, and discharged it downward, in the
direction of the endangered door. But aim was impossible in the obscurity,
and his want of success was proclaimed by a taunting shout of triumph.
Then followed a flood of water, which however was scarcely of more
service, since the savages had foreseen its use, and had made a provision
against its effects by placing boards, and such vessels as they found
scattered among the buildings, above the fire, in a manner to prevent most
of the fluid from reaching its aim.
"Come hither with thy musket, Reuben Ring," said Content, hurriedly;
"the wind stirreth the smoke, here; the savages still heap fuel against
the wall."
The borderer complied. There were in fact moments when dark human forms
were to be seen gliding in silence around the building, though the density
of the vapor rendered the forms indistinct and their movements doubtful.
With a cool and practised eye, the youth sought a victim; but as he
discharged his musket, an object glanced near his own visage, as though
the bullet had recoiled on him who had given it a very different mission.
Stepping backward a little hurriedly, he saw the stranger pointing through
the smoke at an arrow which still quivered in the floor above them.
"We cannot long abide these assaults," the soldier muttered; "something
must be speedily devised, or we fall."
His words ceased, for a yell that appeared to lift the floor on which he
stood, announced the destruction of the door and the presence of the
savages in the basement of the tower. Both parties appeared momentarily
confounded at this unexpected success; for while the one stood mute with
astonishment and dread, the other did little more than triumph. But this
inaction soon ended. The conflict was resumed, though the efforts of the
assailants began to assume the confidence of victory, while, on the part
of the besieged, they partook fearfully of the aspect of despair.
A few muskets were discharged, both from below and above, at the
intermediate floor, but the thickness of the planks prevented the bullets
from doing injury. Then commenced a struggle in which the respective
qualities of the combatants were exhibited in a singularly characteristic
manner. While the Indians improved their advantages beneath, with all the
arts known to savage warfare, the young men resisted with that wonderful
aptitude of expedient, and readiness of execution, which distinguish the
American borderer.
The first attempt of the assailants was to burn the floor of the lower
apartment. In order to effect this, they threw vast piles of straw into
the basement. But ere the brand was applied, water had reduced the
inflammable material to a black and murky pile. Still the smoke had nearly
effected a conquest which the fire itself had failed to achieve. So
suffocating indeed were the clouds of vapor which ascended through the
crevices, that the females were compelled to seek a refuge in the attic.
Here the openings in the roof, and a swift current of air, relieved them,
in some degree, from its annoyance.
When it was found that the command of the well afforded the besieged the
means of protecting the wood-work of the interior, an effort was made to
cut off the communication with the water, by forcing a passage into the
circular stone shaft, through which it was drawn into the room above. This
attempt was defeated by the readiness of the youths, who soon cut holes in
the floor, whence they sent down certain death on all beneath. Perhaps no
part of the assault was more obstinate than that which accompanied this
effort; nor did either assailants or assailed, at any time during its
continuance, suffer greater personal injury. After a long and fierce
struggle, the resistance was effectual, and the savages had recourse to
new schemes in order to effect their ruthless object.
During the first moments of their entrance, and with a view to reap the
fruits of the victory when the garrison should be more effectually
subdued, most of the furniture of the dwelling had been scattered by the
conquerors on the side of the hill. Among other articles, some six or
seven beds had been dragged from the dormitories. These were now brought
into play, as powerful instruments in the assault. They were cast, one by
one, on the still burning though smothered flames, in the basement of the
block, whence they sent up a cloud of their intolerable effluvia. At this
trying moment, the appalling cry was heard in the block, that the well had
failed! The buckets ascended as empty as they went down, and they were
thrown aside as no longer useful. The savages seemed to comprehend their
advantage, for they profited by the confusion that succeeded among the
assailed, to feed the slumbering fires. The flames kindled fiercely, and
in less than a minute they became too violent to be subdued. They were
soon seen playing on the planks of the floor above. The subtle element
flashed from point to point, and it was not long ere it was stealing up
the outer side of the heated block itself.
The savages now knew that conquest was sure. Yells and whoopings
proclaimed the fierce delight with which they witnessed the certainty of
their victory. Still there was something portentous in the death-like
silence with which the victims within the block awaited their fate. The
whole exterior of the building was already wrapped in flames, and yet no
show of further resistance, no petition for mercy, issued from its bosom.
The unnatural and frightful stillness, that reigned within, was gradually
communicated to those without. The cries and shouts of triumph ceased, and
the crackling of the flames, or the falling of timber in the adjoining
buildings, alone disturbed the awful calm. At length a solitary voice was
heard in the block. Its tones were deep, solemn, and imploring. The fierce
beings who surrounded the glowing pile bent forward to listen, for their
quick faculties caught the first sounds that were audible. It was Mark
Heathcote pouring out his spirit in prayer. The petition was fervent, but
steady, and though uttered in words that were unintelligible to those
without, they knew enough of the practices of the Colonists, to be aware
that it was the chief of the Pale-faces holding communion with his God.
Partly in awe, and partly in doubt of what might be the consequences of
so mysterious an asking, the dark crowd with drew to a little distance,
and silently watched the progress of the destruction. They had heard
strange sayings of the power of the Deity of their invaders, and as their
victims appeared suddenly to cease using any of the known means of safety,
they appeared to expect, perhaps they did expect, some unequivocal
manifestation of the power of the Great Spirit of the stranger.
Still no sign of pity, no relenting from the ruthless barbarity of their
warfare, escaped any of the assailants. If they thought at all of the
temporal fate of those who might still exist within the fiery pile, it was
only to indulge in some passing regret, that the obstinacy of the defence
had deprived them of the glory of bearing the usual bloody tokens of
victory, in triumph to their villages. But even these peculiar and
deeply-rooted feelings were for gotten, as the progress of the flames,
placed the hope of its indulgence beyond all possibility.
The roof of the block rekindled, and, by the light that shone through the
loops, it was but too evident the interior was in a blaze. Once or twice,
smothered sounds came out of the place, as if suppressed shrieks were
escaping the females; but they ceased so suddenly as to leave doubts among
the auditors, whether it were more than the deception of their own excited
fancies. The savages had witnessed many a similar scene of human
suffering, but never one before in which death was met by so unmoved a
calmness. The serenity that reigned in the blazing block communicated to
them a feeling of awe; and when the pile came a tumbling and blackened
mass of ruins to the earth, they avoided the place, like men that dreaded
the vengeance of a Deity who knew how to infuse so deep a sentiment of
resignation in the breasts of his worshippers.
Though the yells of victory were again heard in the valley that night, and
though the sun had arisen before the conquerors deserted the hill, but few
of the band found resolution to approach the smouldering pile, where they
had witnessed so impressive an exhibition of Christian fortitude. The few
that did draw near, stood around the spot rather in the reverence with
which an Indian visits the graves of the just, than in the fierce
rejoicings with which he is known to glut his revenge over a fallen enemy.