Connecticut Boys in the Western Reserve: A Tale of the Moravian Massacre

by James A. Braden

“What’s that for?” demanded John.

“You’ll see. Now I’m going out, and you close the door after me. With the blanket before the fire, any one who might be watching will need to look pretty close to see the door opened and closed. And I’m going to stay outside all night, keeping in the shadow where I won’t be seen, and watch the horses and at the same time watch for that slippery Redskin. If I can capture him, I’m going to do it.”

John started to answer, protesting that Ree must not take the whole night of guard duty upon himself; but his chum interrupted him:

“We must appear to have gone to bed and be sound asleep, so let the fire die down early. One of us must be inside to watch Mr. Hatch, anyway, and you must do that. When my eyes get used to the darkness I can see all around the clearing, and all I’ll want of you is that you be ready if I call you. If we are going to be spied upon, we want to know it from the start.”

Saying no more, Kingdom slipped out of the darkened cabin and to the darkest side of the building.

Quickly John closed the door, and drew the blanket from in front of the fireplace. He saw the wisdom of Ree’s plan clearly, and was ready to do his part. Hard as it was to remain awake when he had planned on a good, sound sleep, as they were carrying in leaves to make soft beds, he resolved not to close his eyes. He fixed a snug place in the chimney corner for the dog, Ring, and then, as the stranger was resting comfortably, to all appearances, he found a seat on a deerskin on the floor, and with his back against another, spread over a chest, settled himself to wait and listen.

As the wind moaned dismally about the cabin and the swish and tinkle of the water of the river below came to his ears, he thought of Ree outside in the cold, and remembered how ever ready his chum was to take upon himself their greatest burdens. Then he recalled the necessity of their being ever keenly watchful, and admiring Ree the more, as he thought of their danger, told himself again that he must not shut his eyes. Almost at the same moment his chin dropped upon his chest, and, completely worn out, he succumbed to the pleasant warmth, to which he had not lately been accustomed, and fell sound asleep.

By no means afraid, for he was almost fearless, but considerably worried by the antics of the Indian, who seemed able to appear and disappear in a most startling and mysterious manner, whenever he chose to do so, Kingdom stationed himself in the shadows close to the cabin wall, and vigilantly watched in all directions. He was protected from the wind, but the night air was cold and raw, and for want of exercise he became quite chilled.

From all sides came at intervals the discordant howls and screams of the beasts of the forest. The melancholy dirges of the wind among the trees added to the general gloom. Still Kingdom courageously remained at his post, though as the hours dragged by, and even the horses, grazing a few yards from the cabin door, were undisturbed, he felt that his labor was lost.

Remembering, however, that the whole object of his having undertaken this plan of vigilance was to find out whether Indians or other foes were spying upon himself and John, and knowing that unless he watched all night he would not know positively whether prowlers had been about, the lad straightened himself up and with renewed determination put behind him a great temptation to go in and lie down, and turn Ring out to keep guard until morning. Still he saw no sign of any known or unknown enemy and his interest in his self-imposed task was beginning to wane again, when a sound of footfalls in the leaves at the edge of the forest, to the left of the cabin, came to him.