CHAPTER XV.
Bos.—"He is fled—he is fled, and dare not sit it out.
Bir.—What! has he made an escape! which way? Follow, neighbor Haggise."
JONSON.
When Ichabod recovered from his swoon, he found himself in the presence of three Senecas, who had been attracted by the struggle between him and Guthrie. It was their presence that saved him from immediate death; for as Guthrie arose panting and struggling for breath, his first impulse was to present his rifle at the motionless form of Ichabod: but it was instantly pushed aside by one of the Senecas, who had reached the spot before his companions, and the charge passed behind the tree to which Ichabod was confined. When the latter regained his consciousness, Guthrie was nowhere to be seen. The hands of Ichabod were again secured, and a thong was now passed around his shoulders, so that he was bound in an upright and a much easier position, to the tree.
The night was rapidly approaching, and by the time Ichabod had been completely secured, it was almost impossible to discover surrounding objects in the darkness. A fire was kindled near the centre of the space around which the lodges had been erected, and it was consequently much closer to the lodge occupied by Ruth and Singing-Bird, than either of the others. An Indian had taken his position, as guard, within a few feet of Ichabod, and between him and the fire; and this Indian, as Ichabod discovered, was armed, besides his knife and tomahawk, with his own old familiar rifle. How earnestly he gazed upon it, as if almost expecting and hoping to see it recognize its old master and owner!
It was at this time, and when silence throughout the Indian encampment was so well preserved that Ichabod could plainly hear the crackling of the boughs which were placed upon the fire, although he was at a distance of eight or ten rods from it, that a wild yell, but one which denoted exultation upon the part of the Seneca from whom it proceeded, was heard to arise from the direction of the lodge in which Bagsley and his companion were confined. He heard some words in the Seneca language, pronounced, at which his guard arose erect, with an appearance of excitement. In a few moments he discovered the cause of the exclamation of the Seneca, and of the excitement under which his sentinel evidently labored. An Indian came rapidly towards the fire, around which his companions were gathered, with a bottle in his hand, of which he smelt and tasted with gestures of extravagant joy.
It seemed that the lucky Seneca, while in the lodge occupied by Bagsley and the bailiff, had been attracted by a peculiar odor which came from the breath of the latter, and which his olfactories at once pronounced "fire-water." Convinced that this odor must be caused by the presence of the article itself, in some quantity, he commenced a search of the unfortunate dignitary; and, hidden in a capacious pocket, wrapped in old writs and executions, but which were unintelligible to the Indian, he found the bottle which we have seen him carry towards his companions at the fire. It was at the moment of finding it, that he had uttered the loud exclamation of joy, which had fallen upon the ears of Ichabod.
Loud and frequent were the exclamations of "Ugh!" "ugh!" among the Indians, when it was discovered that such a prize had been found. Panther, who was attracted from his lodge by the noise, endeavored to induce the Indians to surrender the pleasure of drinking the "fire-water" on this occasion, for one more appropriate, and when less watchfulness was necessary. But all his endeavors were vain; for the authority of a chief, always precarious, cannot be enforced against the wishes and demands of the tribe. Theirs was an arbitrary government, and power was held only upon a feeble tenure, viz: the pleasure of the people. When Panther found that he could not prevent the larger portion of the Indians from indulging in the pleasant intoxication which would result from imbibing the "fire-water," he took such means—with the assistance of Deersfoot and a few others, who were determined to remain sober—as would be most likely to promote their safety, should the larger portion of the Senecas become unfit to discharge their duties.
The Indians who were about the fire, and among whom the whiskey bottle circulated freely, soon began to give evidence of unwonted excitement. Dancing, singing, shrieking, they appeared, to one at the distance from them at which Ichabod was placed, more like fiends in Pandemonium, than human beings, as the red light of the fire fell upon their distorted figures. The rays of the fire, when burning brightest, fell distinctly upon the form of Ichabod; but as the drunkenness increased, and the light diminished, he was thrown into a shadow. His guard labored under a strong desire to get a taste of the whiskey; for he would occasionally walk at a distance of three or four rods from him, where he would stand, looking towards the fire, until a fear for the security of his prisoner would steal across his mind, when he would rapidly return; and, perceiving by a glance that all was right, would, after a few moments, again move slowly in the direction of the fire. His guard had thus left him, for the second time, when, as he fancied, he heard his name faintly whispered behind him. In a moment afterwards, the thongs that bound his feet, hands and shoulders, were cut, leaving fastened, only that which bound him by the waist. The friend, whoever it was, that had performed this kindly act, doubtless knew that it would not do to unbind him completely, at once, as the tightness of the ligatures, and the length of the confinement, would be apt to deprive the prisoner, for a few moments, of the free use of his limbs. The thongs that had been cut, were so disposed that the guard, on his return, without a very close observation, would not be able to discover the deception. The unknown friend had evidently planted himself behind the tree to which Ichabod was fastened, waiting for the proper moment to sever the remaining thong.
"Know friend?" asked a voice, in a whisper, which Ichabod immediately recognized.
"Ah! is it you, Eagle's-Wing? I might have known that, though. No one else would have dared to do such a thing."