The river still remained fast. Darkness came on. We were now within the hut. The hostile Indians had as yet made no further sign of their proximity; but any moment might find them full upon the place, and all depended upon their method of attack. If they decided to make an assault in force upon the defences, their numbers must prevail; but as they were in ignorance of the existence of the rafts, and looked upon the ultimate capture of the little party at the hut as a certainty, there was every reason to suppose that they would not press an assault upon what in time, they deemed, must be their own.
Slowly the night wore on. Towards midnight the river showed symptoms of subsiding; the water slowly ebbed along the edge of the little bay, and the ice began to strand upon the shore; but the subsidence was so gradual that it was impossible to say whether it really meant a final break in the barrier below. About three hours before daylight, however, the decrease in the water-level grew more rapid; not only did the shore give its symptoms, but the central portions of the streams were heard in movement. At first slowly the downward motion began, then faster and faster it became, until soon, in many a wild whirling eddy, the vast mass of broken ice poured along.
The river had fully broken up, and the time of escape was at hand.
Just at this moment there sounded from the high ridge above a wild and well-known cry. It was the war-whoop of the Sircies.
The hills at the opposite side caught up the sound, and sent it ringing back in answering echoes. It was the signal for assault upon the hut.
The main body of the war party had in fact arrived upon the scene, and there no longer existed any reason for delaying the attack. The cry was rapidly followed by a ringing volley from the brushwood at the farther side of the stockade. The bullets struck right and left among the trees, but did no damage to any of our little party. As yet we made no sign by voice or weapon of our existence. Screened behind the stockade, the Sioux and the Iroquois watched with eagle eyes the open space around the hut. The Cree stood by the horses, Donogh and I watched the raft.
Another volley came crashing around the hut, but still no response was made; no shot sounded from the stockade.
The first silent flight of arrows had made the Sircies careful in their advance, and now not a brave ventured to show himself outside the sheltering screen of wood. While thus the enemy contented himself with firing at random into the surrounding trees, the river continued to pour down its flood of ice-floes, and to decrease in level; but the difficulties of withdrawing from the position in front of a watchful foe during daylight were so great that the Sioux determined to abandon the stockade before day had set in, and to attempt the work of embarkation under cover of darkness.
In order to prevent the enemy from making an assault during the last moments of night he now engaged in a pretended negotiation for surrender with them. He began by inquiring the reason for this attack. He reminded them that he had no quarrel with them, but that he was fully prepared to resist to the utmost every attack, and to sell his life as dearly as possible.