Satanstoe; Or, the Littlepage Manuscripts. A Tale of the Colony

by James Fenimore Cooper

“Mr. Worden, and your old acquaintance and my new tenant, Newcome. They are both armed, for a parson will not only fight the battles of the spirit, but he will fight those of the field, when concerned. Mr. Worden has shown himself a man in all this business.”

Without replying, I left Herman Mordaunt, and proceeded to the gate myself, since there was little to be done in the court. There we were strong enough; stronger, perhaps, than was necessary; but I greatly distrusted Guert's scheme, the guard at the gate, and most of all the fire.

I was soon at Mr. Worden's side. There the reverend gentleman was, sure enough, with Jason Newcome at his elbow. Their duty was to keep the gate in that precise condition in which it could be barred, or unbarred, at the shortest notice, as friends or foes might seek admission. The parties appeared to be fully aware of the importance of the trust they filled, and I asked permission to pass out. My first object was the fire, for it struck me Herman Mordaunt felt too much confidence in his means of extinguishing it, and that our security had been neglected in that quarter. I was no sooner outside the buildings, therefore, than I turned to steal along the wall to the north-west corner, where alone I could get a view of the dangerous pile.

The brightness of the glare that was gleaming over the fields and stumps, that came within the compass of the light from the fire, added to my security by the contrast, though it did not tell well for that particular source of danger. The dark stumps, many of which were charred by the fires of the clearing, and were absolutely black, seemed to be dancing about in the fields, under the waving light, and twice I paused to meet imaginary savages ere I had gained the corner of the house. Each alarm, however, was idle, and I succeeded in obtaining the desired view. Not only were the knots burning fiercely, but a large sheet of flame was clinging to the logs of the house, menacing us with a speedy conflagration. The danger would have been greater, but a thunder-shower had passed over the settlement only an hour before we were alarmed, and coming from the north, all that side of the house had been well drenched with rain. This occurred after 'Muss' had commenced his pile, or he might have chosen another side of the building. The deep obscurity of that gust, however, was probably one of the means of his success. He must have been at work during the whole continuance of the storm.

I was not absent from the gate two minutes. That brief space was sufficient for my first purpose. I now desired Jason to enter the court, and to tell Herman Mordaunt not to delay a moment in applying the means for extinguishing the flames. There was greater danger from them than there possibly could be from any other attack upon the pickets, made in the darkness of the morning. Jason was cool by temperament, and he was a good agent to be employed on such a duty. Promising to be quick, he left us, and I turned my face towards Guert and his party. As yet, nothing had been heard of the last. This very silence was a source of alarm, though it was difficult to imagine the adventurer had met with an enemy, since such a collision must have been somewhat noisy. A few spattering shot, all of which came from the west side of the buildings, and the flickering light of the fire, were the only interruptions to the otherwise death-like calm of the hour.

The same success attended me in reaching the south-west as in reaching the north-west angle of the house. To me, it seemed as if the savages had entirely abandoned the fields in my vicinity. When I took my stand at this corner of the building, I found all its southern side in obscurity, though sufficient light was gleaming over the meadows to render the ragged edges of the cliff visible in that direction. I looked along the log walls to this streak of light, but could see no signs of my friends. I was certain they were not under the house, and began to apprehend some serious indiscretion on the part of the bold Albanian. While engaged in endeavouring to get a clue to Guert's movements, by devouring every dark object I could perceive with my eyes, I felt an elbow touched lightly, and saw a savage in his half-naked, fighting attire, at my side. I could see enough to ascertain this, but could not distinguish faces. I was feeling for my hunting-knife, when the Trackless's voice stayed my hand.

“He wrong”—said the Onondago, with emphasis. “Head too young—hand good—heart good—head very bad. Too much fire—dark here—much better.”

This characteristic criticism on poor Guert's conduct, served to tell the whole story. Guert had put himself in a position in which the Onondago had refused to remain; in other words, he had gone to the verge of the cliff, where he was exposed to the light of the fire, and where he was necessarily in danger of being seen. Still, no signs of him were visible, and I was on the point of moving along the south side of the building, to the margin of the rocks, when the Trackless again touched my arm, and said “There!”

There our party was, sure enough! It had managed to reach the verge of the rocks at a salient point, which placed them in an admirable position for raking the enemy, who were supposed to be climbing to the pickets, with a view to a sudden spring, but at a dangerous distance from the buildings. The darkness had been the means of their reaching that point, which was about a hundred yards from the spot where I had expected to find them, and admirably placed for the intended object. The whole procedure was so much like Guert's character, that I could not but admire its boldness, while I condemned its imprudence. There was, however, no time to join the party, or to warn its leader of the risks he ran. We, who stood so far in the rear, could see and fully appreciate all the danger, while he probably did not. There the whole party of them stood, plainly though darkly drawn in high relief, against the light beyond, each poising his rifle and making his dispositions for the volley. Guert was nearest to the verge of the rocks, actually bending over them; Dirck was close at his side; Jaap just behind Dirck; Jumper close at Jaap's elbow; and four of the settlers, bold and hardy men, behind the Oneida.

I could scarcely breathe, for painful expectation, when I saw Guert and his companions thus rising from the earth, bringing their entire figures in front of the back-ground of light. I could have called out to warn them of the danger they ran; but it would have done no good, nor was there time for remonstrances. Guert must have felt he occupied a dangerous position, and what he did was done very promptly. Ten seconds after I saw the dark forms, all their rifles were discharged, as it might be at a single crack. One instant passed, in death-like stillness, through all the fields, and in the court; then came a volley from among the stumps at a little distance from our side of the building, and the adventurers on the rocks, or those that could, rushed towards the gate. Two of the settlers, however, and the Oneida, I saw fall, myself. The last actually leaped upward, into the air, and went down the cliff. But Guert, Dirck, Jaap, and the other two settlers, had moved away. It was at that moment that my ears were filled with such yells as I had not supposed the human throat could raise, and all the fields on our side of the house seemed alive with savages. To render the scene more appalling, that was the precise instant when the water, previously provided by Herman Mordaunt, fell upon the flames, and the light vanished, almost as one extinguishes a candle. But for this providential coincidence, there was scarce a chance for the escape of one of the adventurers. As it was, rifle followed rifle, from among the stumps, though it was no longer with any certain aim.