The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗

To Make An

Attempt To Escape. "There Is No Great Hazard In It," He Said To

Himself; "But Were I To Get Away I Should Be About As Badly Off As

Now, Unless I Could Meet Sir Christopher Or The Sagamore; And Perhaps

They Have Been Captured By Some Other Party, For Our Folk Do Not

Things By Halves. They Have Taken Away My Snap-Chance, Too, And I

Cannot Shoot With Arrows Like A Savage, So That, As One May Say, I Am

A Sort Of Cat Without Claws. I Know Not What They Can Have Against Me

Now, Or Why I Should Be Afraid Of Them; And Yet, When I Think Of Their

Purgatory Of A Prison, It Makes Me Crawl All Over. A Week's Lodging

There Would About Make An End Of Me. I Think I Have Never Been Quite

The Man I Was Before, Since They Stuck Me There."

 

  

Thus Revolving In His Mind The Advantages And Disadvantages Of His

Position, The Remembrance Of His Sufferings During His Imprisonment,

At Last Turned The Scales In Favor Of Liberty, And Philip Began To

Think Of Means To Accomplish His Purpose. He Tried, By Lagging Behind

And Falling Down Once Or Twice, To Get Into The Rear; But This

Manoeuvre The Vigilant Eyes Of Lieutenant Venn Detected, Who Ordered

Him Nearer To The Front, And Directed That He Should Be Watched

Closer. Foiled In This Manner, That Freedom Which But A Moment Before,

And When Apparently In His Power, Seemed Almost A Matter Of

Indifference, Assumed A Constantly Increasing Importance, And The Mind

Of Philip Worked More Actively Than Ever. In A Short Time They Would

Be Out Of The Forest, When Any Attempt At Evasion Would Be Folly, For,

Should He Succeed In Shaking Off His Guard, He Would Run Great Risk Of

Being Shot Down In The Open Space. It Was Therefore Necessary To Think

Quickly.

 

  

"If I Only Had Prudence With Me," Thought Philip, "I Be Bound She

Would Have Invented A Dozen Ways To Get Off By This Time. Sweet Wench!

There Is Some Difference Between Sitting On A Log With Her And

Stealing A Smack Once In A While, Though A Slap Be Pretty Sure To

Follow, And Dragging My Legs In The Dark Among The Briers. But She Is

Not Here, And So I Will E'en Take Up With Master Arundel, And Suck His

Wits A Bit."

  

 

"What Think You," He Whispered To His Companion In Captivity, "Of

Making A Rush, And Showing Our Heels To The Philistines?"

 

 

 "It Were Madness," Answered The Young Man, In The Same Manner. "Thou

Wert Sure To Be Retaken, Perhaps Shot."

 

 

"I Have No Fancy For Either; But Cannot Your Wit Devise Some Mode To

Save Me From Yon Lock-Up? My Bones Ache When I Think Of It."

 

  

"I Have No Desire To Get Away," Answered Arundel; "Nor Understand I

How It Can Advantage Thee, Seeing That, Sooner Or Later, Thou Art

Tolerably Certain Of Being Made Prisoner Again."

 

 

 "Nevertheless, There Is A Chance Of Better Things; And I Say Once More

I Like Not The Thoughts Of The Close Quarters They Intend For Us. An'

You Will Not Run For It Yourself, At Least Help A Poor Fellow, Whose

Ideas Are Like A Skein Of Tangled Silk, To Avoid The Bilboes."

 

 

 "Assuredly, If You Wish, What I Can I Will Do To Facilitate Thy

Escape. Only Tell Me How."

 

  

"You Have Me There In A Cornish Hug," Said Philip. "An' I Knew, I Had

Not Asked."

 

 

 

"You Would Not Have Us Fight For Our Liberty?"

 

  

"I Am Not So Crazy As That. Ten To One Is Odds That Any One, Except

Sampson, Might Avoid Without Disgrace, And Even He Would Not Stand

Much Chance, For All His Bushy Head, When Bullets Were Flying."

 

 

 "We Must Out-Manoeuvre Them By Some Stratagem."

 

  

"If Sassacus Were Here," Said Philip, "He Could Show Us The Way. There

Is Not A Tree Or A Rock But Would Have Something To Say To Him About A

Contrivance."

 

 

 "What Would You Think, Philip," Asked Arundel, (The Direction Of

Sassacus To Sound The Notes Of The Robin, Whenever He Desired To See

Him, Occurring To His Mind,) "Were I To Conjure Up The Chief?"

 

  

"I Would Think Thee More Cunning Than Any Powah Of Them All, And,

Moreover, Advise Thee To Keep Out Of The Way Of The Elders And

Magistrates."

  

 

"Keep Quiet A Moment, And I Will Try My Powahing."

 

 

 

So Saying, The Young Man Whistled The Peculiar Notes Of The Bird,

Which, In The Dewy Silence Of Night, Rung Wide Through The Woods.

 

 

 

"Halt!" Cried Spikeman, Who Instantly Suspected Some Treachery. "Close

Up Around The Prisoners. Who Dared Make Those Sounds?"

 

  

No Answer Was Returned; And, After A Vain Attempt To Discover Their

Author, The Party Resumed Its March.

 

 

 

"If Your Powahing Has Done No Other Good, Master Arundel," Said

Philip, "It At Least Frightened The General."

   

"I Am A Beginner," Answered The Young Man, Jestingly, "And It Would

Not Be Surprising Should I Fail At First. If It Raise Not The Sagamore

Or One Of His Men Before We Reach The Open Space, I Will Try The Spell

Again."

  

 

But The Notes Had Struck The Quick Ears Of The Pequot Chief, And At

Their Sound He Bounded Forward At A Pace Which His Companions Vainly

Endeavored To Equal, And Which Shortly Left Them Out Of Sight; But

They Could Hear The Rustling He Made Tearing Through The Bushes, And,

Guided By It, Followed. The Noise Occasioned By The Movements Of So

Large A Party, And The Conversation Among Them, Prevented The Approach

Of The Sagamore Being Heard, Especially As When He Drew Nearer He

Proceeded With More Caution. Gliding From Tree To Tree, He Was Able To

Advance Quite Close Without Being Discovered. What Was The Rage Of The

Chief, When, At The Head Of The Band, He Beheld His Enemy, The

Assistant Spikeman, Leading As Prisoners His Friends And The Little

Indian Girl. Not Waiting For The Knight And The Paniese To Come Up,

Fitting An Arrow, He Drew The Deer's Sinew Till The Head Of The

Missile Touched The Hand That Held The Bow, And Sent It Whizzing

Through The Air. The Cavalcade Had Passed On, So That The Front Ranks

Were In Advance Of Sassacus, When He Discharged The Shaft, And The

Back Of The Assistant Was Turned To Him. It Entered Just Below The

Right Shoulder, And Was Sent With Such Vigor, That, Passing Between

The Ribs, It Stopped Not Until Arrested On The Other Side By The Steel

Corselet Which Spikeman Wore On His Breast. Shouting Then His

War-Whoop, And Drawing His Tomahawk From His Girdle, The Pequot Leaped

Among The Band. Like Lightning It Sunk Into The Head Of One Man, Who

Fell To The Ground. The Chief Raised It Again, But Before It Could

Descend, A Blow Prostrated Him, And, In An Instant, He Was Overpowered

And Disarmed. So Rapidly Followed These Occurrences, That Before The

Knight And Towanquattick Came Up, The Chief Was A Prisoner, And Every

Man On His Guard Was Prepared And Watching For An Enemy. To Attack

Would Have Been Certain Death Or Captivity; They, Therefore, Bitterly

Lamenting The Passionate Impetuosity Of The Sagamore, Kept Themselves

Concealed In Order To Take Advantage Of Circumstances.

 

  

Having Disposed His Company So As To Face In Every Direction, To Repel

Attack, Lieutenant Venn Approached To Examine The Fallen Men. A Corpse

Was All That Remained Of Ephraim Pike, Who Must Have Instantly Expired

On Receiving The Blow. His Head Was Cleft To The Neck, And Portions Of

The Brain Were Lying On The Leaves. He Had Probably Been Selected By

The Sagamore (From His Neighborhood To The Assistant, By Whose Side He

Marched) As Second In Command, And Thus Expiated With His Life His

Evil Devotion To His Master. Spikeman Lay Upon His Face, Groaning,

While The Blood Slowly Oozed From His Wound. The Lieutenant, With One

Of The Men, Raised Him Up, While Lady Geraldine Strove To Stanch The

Bleeding. An Attempt Was Made To Withdraw The Arrow, But The Pain It

Occasioned And The Amount Of Blood Which Followed Were So Great, That

It Was Abandoned. All That Could Be Done Was To Carry The Wounded Man

As Gently As Possible Home. Venn, Now At The Head Of Half A Dozen Men,

Scoured The Woods In The Immediate Vicinity All Around; And, Finding

No Enemy, Returned, And Ordered A Couple Of Trestles To Be Made, On

One Of Which Was To Be Placed The Body Of Pike, And On The Other The

Groaning Spikeman. Upon Mustering The Company, It Was Found That All

Were Present, With The Exception Of Philip Joy, Who Had Escaped In The

Confusion. Four Men Being Assigned To Each Of The Trestles, To Be

Relieved As Occasion Should Require, The Remainder Having Charge Of

The Prisoners, And Composing The Van And Rear, Lieutenant Venn

Re-Commenced His March--Arundel Walking By The Side Of The Pequot

Chief, To Whom He Expressed Regret At His Capture.

 

  

"It Is A Summer Cloud," Said The Sagamore.

 

 

 

As For Philip, On Effecting His Escape, He Felt Some Embarrassment

What To Do With Himself. There He Was, Alone And Without Arms, In The

Forest, Wandering Helplessly About, And, If Unable To Find Sir

Christopher, In A Worse Condition Than Before. He Had Half A Mind To

Pursue The Band And Surrender Himself, When, Remembering The Powahing,

As He Called It, Of Arundel, He Determined To Try It Himself.

Imitating, Therefore, To The Best Of His Ability, The Sounds Made By

The Young Man, He Sat Down And Waited For The Effect. Presently The

Figure Of Towanquattick, Followed By That Of The Knight, Stole Out Of

A Thicket And Stood Before Him.

 

Chapter XXVII (But, Gasping, Heaved The Breath That Lara Drew, And Dull The Film Along His Dim Eye Grew.)

 

 

Byron.

 

  

 On The Arrival Of The Party At The Settlement, Lieutenant Venn Divided

It Into Two Detachments; At The Head Of One Of Which He Carried The

Assistant To His Own House, While The Other, Under The Command Of An

Inferior Officer, Was Charged With The Security Of The Prisoners. Only

The Sagamore Was Strictly Confined, Being Ironed And Placed In The

Same Dungeon Which Joy Had Occupied. Sassacus Made No Resistance, But

Submitted With A Stoical Impassivity As To An Irresistible Fate. The

Lady And Indian Girl, As Those From Whom Flight Was Less To Be Feared,

And With Whom It Would Be More Difficult To Effect, And Also Out Of

Deference To The Weakness Of Their Sex, Were Committed To The Care Of

Dame Bars, By Whom They Were To Be Closely Watched. As For Arundel, He

Was Permitted To Depart, The Lieutenant Informing Him That He Had Been

Arrested Only To Prevent The Carrying Of Information To The Knight. It

Is Doubtful, However, Whether, If Spikeman Had Still Been In Command,

He Would Have Escaped On As Easy Terms.

 

  

The Little Community Was Thrown Into Some Commotion By These Events.

The Dangerous Wound Of So Prominent A Person As The Assistant, And The

Capture Of The Renowned Indian Sachem--Not To Speak Of The Lady--Could

Not Fail To Occasion A Lively Interest. As Soon As The Results Of The

Night Expedition Were Known, (And The News Flew With Wonted Celerity,)

Every Body Was In The Streets, Giving And Receiving Information, Or

What Purported To Be Such, And Making And Listening To Comments

Thereupon. We Cannot, However, Remain To Hear The Conversation Of The

Grave Citizens At The Corners, But Must Follow Those Whose Particular

Fortunes We Have Undertaken To Portray.

 

  

The Unfortunate Spikeman, Unable To Suppress His Groans At The Pain

Occasioned By The Motions Of His Bearers--His Clothing Saturated With

Blood, Which Kept Oozing From The Orifices Of The Wound--Was Borne To

His Dwelling, And Delivered To The Weeping Household. It Would Be

Absurd To Suppose That Any Great Grief Was Felt By Dame Spikeman, And

Hers Was Partly The Feeling Arising From Early Associations And Long

Familiarity; But It Is Impossible For The Most Stoical To Contemplate,

Without Emotion, One In The Condition Of The Suffering Man, And The

Tears Of Eveline And Of Prudence Were Mingled With Those Of The