Chapter 12: The French Camp

They returned to the camp without further event. Colden and Strong were gratified to learn that the retreat of St. Luc was real, and that he was certainly going toward Champlain, with the obvious intention of joining Montcalm.

“We owe you a great debt of gratitude, Colonel,” said the young officer, frankly, to Elihu Strong. “If you had not come I don’t think we could have held out against St. Luc.”

“We did the best we could,” replied Elihu Strong. “If the Governor and Legislature of Massachusetts had done their full duty we’d have been here earlier, with twice as many men and guns, but as it is we did our best, and man can do no more.”

They decided that they would hold the point and await the coming of the great army under Abercrombie which was to crush Montcalm. The outworks were built higher and stronger and the brass cannon were mounted upon them at points, where they could sweep the forest. These fine twelve-pounders were sources of much moral courage and added greatly to the spirits of the troops. They had shown their power at the forcing of the ford and at the taking of the ridge, and their brazen mouths, menacing the forest, looked well.

Willet and his comrades considered it their duty to stay there also, and wait for Abercrombie, and, the third day after the retreat of St.

Luc, Robert and Tayoga went into the woods to see whether Tandakora had turned back again with his warriors. They reckoned that the Ojibway chief’s anger was so strong that he would make another attempt at revenge upon those who had defeated him. There was a rumor that the Indians with the French were becoming much dissatisfied, that they were awed by the reports of the mighty British and American force advancing under Abercrombie, and might leave the French to meet it alone.

“Do you think there is much in these rumors?” asked Robert, as he and the Onondaga went into the forest.

“I do,” replied Tayoga. “The warriors with the French do not like the cannon, and they say the force that is coming against Montcalm is very vast. A great battle may be fought, but Tandakora and his men are not likely to be there. They will go away and await a better day.”

“Then I’m glad they’ll desert for a while. They’re the eyes and ears of the French. That will leave our own scouts and forest runners the lords of the wild, though it seems to me, Tayoga, that you’re the true and veritable lord of the wild.”

“Then if that were so, though you praise my skill too much, Dagaeoga, you and the Great Bear and Black Rifle also are lords of the wild.”

“Lords of the wild! I like the term. It is something to be that at this time and in this region. We’re mainly a wilderness people, Tayoga, and our wars are waged in the woods. We’re not more than two miles from the camp now, and yet we’re completely lost in the forest.

There’s not a trace of man. I don’t even see any smoke soiling the sky.”

“It is so, Dagaeoga, and we are again in the shadow of peril. Dangers in the forest are as thick as leaves on the trees. Here is an old trail of our enemies.”

“I’m not interested in old trails. What we’re looking for is new ones.”

“If we keep going toward the north it may be that we will find them, Dagaeoga.”

Several miles farther on they came to other trails which the Onondaga examined with great interest and care. Two or three he pronounced quite recent, but he did not read any particular purpose in them.

“It is likely that they were made by hunters,” he said. “While the armies are gathering, the warriors are sure to seek game. Here two of them passed, and here they stood behind a tree. It is sure now that those two were hunting. I think they stood behind a tree to ambush a deer. The deer was to the west of them. The traces they left in the soft earth under the tree show that the toes of their moccasins pointed toward the west and so they were looking that way, at the deer, which probably stood in the thicket over there nibbling at its food. They must have had an easy shot. Now, we’ll enter the thicket.

Lo, Dagaeoga, here is where the deer fell! Look at the little bushes broken and at the dark stain on the ground where its life flowed out.

They dragged the body to the other side of the thicket, and cut it up there. Nothing could be plainer, the traces are so numerous. They were casual hunters, and it is not worth our while to follow them.”

Northward they still pursued their course, and struck another and larger trail which made Tayoga look grave.

“This is the path of seven or eight warriors,” he said, “and it is likely that they are a scouting party. They have come back, as we expected, to spy upon us and to cut off stragglers from our camp. We will follow it a little while.”

It led south by west and seemed to go on with a definite purpose, but, after a mile or so, it divided, four warriors, as Tayoga said, going in one direction and three in the other.

“Suppose I follow those on the north a short distance while you take those on the south,” suggested Robert.

“We will do so,” said Tayoga, “and in an hour come back to this point.”

The three warriors were on the north, and, as the earth was soft, Robert saw their trail quite clearly leading steadily west by north.

His own ambition to excel as a trailer was aroused and he followed it with great energy. Two or three times when the ground became hard and rocky he lost it, but a little search always disclosed it again, and he renewed the pursuit with increased zeal. He went on over a hill and then into a wide valley, well grown with thickets. Pushing his way through the bushes he sought the traces and was startled by a sound almost at his shoulder. Keyed to the dangers of the forest he whirled instantly, but it was too late. A powerful warrior threw himself upon him, and though Robert, by a great effort, threw him off he sprang back and another on the other side also seized him. He was borne to the earth and a third Indian coming up, he was quickly secured.

Robert at first was so sick with chagrin that he did not think about his life. In nine cases out of ten the warriors would have tomahawked him, and this he soon realized, thankful at the same time that he had been spared, for the present, at least. Yet his mortification endured.

What would Tayoga say when he saw by the trail that he had been caught so easily? He had fairly walked into the trap, and he was now a prisoner the second time. Yet he showed the stoicism that he had learned in a forest life. While the Indians bound his wrists tightly with rawhide thongs he stood up and looked them squarely in the face.

One of the warriors took his rifle and examined it with a pleased eye. Another appropriated his pistol and a third helped himself to his knife and hatchet.

“I’ve four shillings in an inside pocket,” said Robert. “If you want ‘em, take ‘em.”

But the warriors did not understand English and shook their heads.

Evidently they were satisfied with the spoil they had taken already.

“Which way?” asked Robert.

They replied by leading him to the northwest. He was hopeful at first that Tayoga might rescue him as he had done once before, but the warriors were wary and powerful, and three, too, were too many for the Onondaga alone to attack. The thought passed and by an effort of the will he resigned himself to his immediate captivity. They did not mean to take his life, and while there was no hope for the present there was plenty of it for the future. He could be in a far worse case. His unfailing optimism broke through the shell of mortification, and he became resolutely cheerful.

“Which way, my friends?” he said to the warriors.

But again they understood no English and shook their heads.

“Don’t plume yourself too much on that rifle,” he said, speaking to the warrior who had taken his favorite weapon. “You have it for the present, but when I escape for the second time I mean to take it with me. I give you fair warning.”

The warrior, who seemed to be good natured, shook his head once more, and grinned, not abating at all his air of proprietorship so far as the rifle was concerned.

“And you with the pistol,” continued the prisoner, “I beg to tell you it’s mine, not yours, and I shall claim it again. What, you don’t understand? Well, I’ll have to find some way to make you comprehend later on.”

The three warriors walked briskly and Robert, of course, had no choice but to keep pace with them. They indicated very conclusively that they knew where they meant to go, and so he assumed that a hostile camp was not very far away. Resolved to show no sign of discouragement, he held his head erect and stepped springily.

About three miles, and he saw a gleam of uniforms through the trees, a few steps more and his heart gave a leap. He beheld a group of Indians, and several Frenchmen, and one of them, tall, young, distinguished, was St. Luc.

The Chevalier was in a white uniform, trimmed with silver, a silver hilted small sword by his side, and his smile was not unpleasant when he said to Robert:

“I sent out these three warriors to find me a prisoner and bring him in, but I little suspected that it would be you.”

“I suspected as little that it was you to whom I was being taken,” said Robert. “But since I had to be a prisoner I’m glad I’m yours instead of De Courcelles’ or Jumonville’s, as those two soldiers of France have as little cause to love me as I have to love them.”

“Monsieur De Courcelles is suffering from a bullet wound.”

“It was my bullet.”

“You say that rather proudly, but perhaps I’d better not tell it to him. It seems, Mr. Lennox, that you have a certain facility in getting yourself captured, as this is the second time within a year.”

“I was treated so well by the French that I thought I could risk it again,” said Robert jauntily.

The Chevalier smiled. Robert felt again that current of understanding and sympathy, that, so it seemed to him, had passed so often between them.

“I see,” said St. Luc, “that you are willing to give credit to France, the evergreen nation, the nation of light and eternal life. We may lose at times, we may be defeated at times, but we always rise anew.

You British and Americans will realize that some day.”

“I do not hate France.”

“I don’t think you do. But this is scarcely a time for me to give you a lecture on French qualities. Sit down on this log. I trust that my warriors did not treat you with undue harshness.”

“I’ve nothing to complain of. They took my weapons, but that is the law of war. I’d have done the same in their place. As I see it, they’re not particularly bad Indians. But if you don’t mind, I’d like you to cut these rawhide thongs that bind my wrists. They’re beginning to sting.”

The Chevalier drew a knife and with one sweep of its keen edge severed the rawhide. Robert’s wrists flew apart and the blood once more flowed freely through his veins. Though the stinging did not cease he felt great relief.

“I thank you,” he said politely, “but, as I told you before, I do not hold it against your warriors, because they bound me. I’d have escaped had they given me any chance at all, and I warn you now, as I warned them, that I intend to escape later on.”

St. Luc smiled.

“I’ll accept the challenge,” he said, “and I’ll see that you don’t make good your boast. I can assure you, too, if by any possibility you should escape, it certainly will not be before the great battle.”

“Great battle! What great battle? You don’t mean that Montcalm will dare to meet Abercrombie?”

“Such an idea was in my mind.”

“Why, we’ll come with four or five to one! The Marquis de Montcalm cannot stand against such a powerful force as ours. We’ve definite information that he won’t be able to muster more than three or four thousand men. We hear, too, that the Indians, frightened by our power, are leaving him, for the time, at least.”

“Some of your surmises may be correct, but your facts don’t follow from them. The Marquis de Montcalm, our great leader, will await your Abercrombie, no matter what your force may be. I violate no military secret when I tell you that, and I tell you also that you are very far from being assured of any victory.”

The Chevalier suddenly dropped his light manner, and became intensely earnest. His eyes gleamed for an instant with blue fire, but it was only a passing moment of emotion. He was in an instant his old, easy self again.

“We talk like the debaters of the schools,” he said, “when we are at war. I am to march in a few minutes. I suggest that in return for certain liberties you give me your pledge to attempt no escape until we arrive at the camp of the Marquis de Montcalm.”

“I can’t do it. Since I’ve promised you that I will escape I must neglect no chance.”

“So be it. Then I must guard you well, but I will not have your wrists bound again. Here comes an expert rover of the forest who will be your immediate jailer.”

A white man at the head of several warriors was approaching through the woods. He was young, lean, with a fierce, hooked Roman nose, and a bold, aggressive face, tanned to the color of mahogany. Robert recognized him at once, and since he had to be a prisoner a second time, he took a certain pleasure in the meeting.

“How do you do, Monsieur Langlade?” he said. “You see, I’ve come back.

I forgot to tell you good-by, and I’m here to make amends for my lack of politeness. And how is the patient and watchful spouse, the Dove?”

Robert spoke in good French and the partisan stared in astonishment.

Then a pleased look of recognition came into his eyes.

“Ah, it’s young Mr. Lennox,” he exclaimed. “Young Mr. Lennox come back to us. It’s not mere politeness that makes me tell you I’m glad to see you. You did make a very clever escape with the aid of that Indian friend of yours. I hope to capture Tayoga some day, and, if I do, it will be an achievement of which I shall boast all the rest of my life.

But we’ll take good care that you don’t leave us again.”

“He has just warned me that he intends to escape a second time,” said St. Luc.

“Then it will be a pretty test of mettle,” said the Owl, appreciation showing in his tone, “and we welcome it. Have you any commands for me, sir?”

He spoke with great respect when he addressed the query to St. Luc, and the Chevalier replied that they would march in a half hour. Then Langlade gave Robert food, and took a little himself, sitting with the prisoner and informing him that the Dove had worried greatly over his escape. Although she was not to blame, she considered that in some indirect manner it was a reflection upon her vigilance, and it was many months before she was fully consoled.

“I must send word to her by one of our runners that you have been retaken,” said the Owl, “and I wish to tell you, Mr. Lennox, that the Dove’s younger sister, who is so much like her in looks and character, is still unmarried and perhaps it may come into the mind of the Chevalier de St. Luc or the Marquis de Montcalm to send you back to our village.”

“You’re once more most polite,” laughed Robert, “but I’m far too young, yet, to think of marriage.”

“It’s not an offer that I’d make to many young men,” said Langlade regretfully. “In truth, I know of none other to whom I’d have mentioned it.”

When they took up the march the force numbered about fifty men, and Robert walked between Langlade and a stalwart Indian. St. Luc was further on. They did not seem to fear any ambush and Langlade chattered after his fashion. He made the most of the French resources.

He spoke as if the Marquis de Montcalm had ten or fifteen thousand veteran French regulars, and half as many Indian warriors.

“Don’t consider me contentious, Monsieur Langlade,” said Robert, at last, “but I know full well that your general has not half that many troops, no, not a third, and that nearly all his Indians are about to leave him.”

“And how do you know that?” exclaimed the Owl. “Well, one Frenchman equals two of the English or the Bostonnais, and that doubles our numbers. You don’t see any chance to escape, do you?”

“Not at present,” laughed Robert.

“Not now, nor at any other time. No man ever escapes twice from the French.”

The talk of Langlade, his frank egotism and boastfulness for himself personally and for the French collectively, beguiled the journey which soon became strenuous, the force advancing at a great pace through the forest. At night a fire was built in the deep woods, the knapsacks furnished plenty of food, and Robert slept soundly on a blanket until dawn. He had seen before closing his eyes that a strict guard was set, and he knew that it was not worth while to keep awake in the hope of escape. Like a wise man he dismissed the hope of the impossible at once, and waited calmly for another time. He knew too that St. Luc had originally sent out his warriors to capture a prisoner from whom they might drag information, but that the Chevalier would not try to cross-examine him, knowing its futility.

They traveled northward by east all the next day, through very rough country, slept another night in the forest, and on the third day approached a great camp, which held the main French force. Robert’s heart thrilled. Here was the center of the French power in North America. Vaudreuil and Bigot at Quebec might plan and plot and weave their webs, but in the end the mighty struggle between French and English and their colonies must be decided by the armies.

He knew that this was the outlet of Lake George and he knew also that the army of Abercrombie was gathering at the head of the same lake.

His interest grew keener as they drew nearer. He saw clusters of tents, cannon parked, and many fires. There were no earthworks or other fortifications, and he inferred from their absence that Montcalm was undecided whether to go or stay. But Robert thought proudly that he would surely go, when the invincible Anglo-American army advanced from its base at the head of the lake. The whole camp lay under his eye, and he had enough military experience now to judge the French numbers by its size. He did not think they were much in excess of three thousand, and as Abercrombie would come four or five to one, Montcalm must surely retreat.

“I take it that this is Ticonderoga,” he said to St. Luc.

“Aye,” replied the Chevalier.

“And in effect you have Champlain on one side of you and George on the other. But you can’t hold the place against our great force. I’m here in time to join you in your retreat.”

“We don’t seem to be retreating, as you’ll notice, Mr. Lennox, and I don’t know that we will. Still, that rests on the knees of the gods.

I think you’ll find here some old friends and enemies of yours, and though your people have made a great outcry against the Marquis de Montcalm because of the affair at Fort William Henry, I am sure you will find that the French know how to treat a prisoner. I shall put you for the present in the care of Monsieur Langlade, with whom you appear to have no quarrel. He has his instructions.”