The Sun of Quebec: A Story of a Great Crisis by Joseph A. Altsheler
CHAPTER XI
BACK TO THE WORLD
Captain Stuart Whyte of His Majesty's gallant sloop of war, the _Hawk_,was standing on his own quarterdeck, looking curiously at the sceneabout him, and, taking it in, as well as he could, by the light of agreat bonfire blazing on the beach some distance away. He was a youngofficer and his immense relief predominated over his curiosity. The_Hawk_ was a fine sloop, and he loved her, but there had been a terribletime that night when he thought she was lost and her crew and himselfwith her.
He had seen more than one storm in these sudden seas, but this wasperhaps the worst. All bearings were gone, and then the signs showedbreakers. He was a brave man and he had brave officers, but every one ofthem had despaired, until suddenly a light, a pillar of fire, rose inthe darkness and the storm, almost from the heart of the ocean, as if ithad been evoked by his own signal guns. Then, by this marvelous beacon,they had scraped between the rocks and into safety. Clearly it was amiracle, and young Captain Whyte felt a deep and devout gratitude. Hehad then sent one of his best officers ashore to see the man who hadsaved them, and, meanwhile, he had stood by, watching through hisglasses.
He saw the man of the island get into the boat with Lanham and approachthe sloop. The storm had now sunk much, and it was not difficult to comeaboard, but Captain Whyte, still intensely curious, but with a propersense of his own dignity, withdrew to his cabin where he might receivethe lord of the isle in state.
He rose politely, and then stared at the tall youth who came in withLieutenant Lanham, the water running from his clothes. Yet the strangerhad a dignity fully equal to his own, and there was also something veryuncommon about him, a look of strength and confidence extraordinary inone so young.
"Won't you sit down?" said Captain Whyte.
Robert glanced at his clothes.
"I bring the storm with me," he said--he often spoke in the languagethat he had unconsciously imbibed in much reading of the Elizabethans.
"Never mind that. Water won't hurt my cabin, and if it did you'rewelcome just the same. I suppose you represent the people of the island,to whom my crew and I owe so much."
"I am the people of the island."
"You mean that you're here alone?"
"Exactly that. But tell me, before we go any further, Captain, whatmonth this is."
"May."
"And the year?"
"1759."
"I wanted to be sure. I see that I've been on the island eight or ninemonths, but I lost all count of time, and, now and then it seemed likeeight or nine years. As I've already told Lieutenant Lanham, I'm RobertLennox, of Albany, the Province of New York, and the wilderness. I waskidnapped at Albany and carried down the Hudson and out to sea by aslaver and pirate."
"'Tis an extraordinary tale, Mr. Lennox."
"But a true one, Captain Whyte."
"I meant no insinuation that it wasn't. Extraordinary things happen inthe world, and have been happening in these seas, ever since Columbusfirst came into them."
"Still mine is such an unusual story that it needs proof, and I give it.Did you not last autumn pretend that yours was a merchant ship, have asailor play the violin on deck while others danced about, and lure underyour guns a pirate with the black flag at her masthead?"
Captain Whyte stared in astonishment.
"How do you know that?" he exclaimed.
"Did you not shatter the pirate ship with your broadsides but lose herafterwards in a great storm that came up suddenly?"
"Aye, so I did, and I've been looking for her many a time since then."
"You'll never find her, Captain. Your guns were aimed well enough, andthey took the life out of her. She couldn't weather the storm. Of allthe people who were aboard her then I'm the only survivor. Her captainescaped with me to this island, but he died of wounds and I buried him.I can show you his grave."
"How do I know that you, too, are not one of the pirates?"
"By taking me back on your ship to the colonies, and proving my tale. Ifyou don't find that every word I tell you is true you can hang me toyour own yardarm."
Captain Whyte laughed. It was a fair and frank offer, but he was areader of men, and he felt quite sure that the strange youth was tellingthe absolute truth.
"He's given me, sir, quite correct accounts of events that happened inthe colonies last year," said Lanham. "He was at Ticonderoga and hisnarrative of the battle agrees fully with the accounts that wereceived."
And just at that moment coincidence stretched out her long arm again, asshe does so often.
"I had a cousin at Ticonderoga," said Captain Whyte. "A splendid youngfellow, name of Grosvenor. I've seen a letter from him in which he says'twas a terrible fight, but that we threw away our chances before wewent upon the field."
"Grosvenor! Grosvenor!" exclaimed Robert eagerly. "Why, I knew him! Hewas a friend of mine! We were in the forest together, in combat andescape. His first name was Alfred. Did he say nothing in his letter ofRobert Lennox?"
"Of course he did! I was so much interested in you that I paid littleattention to your name, and it glided past me as if I'd not heard it. Hetold of a friend of his, name of yours, who had been lost, murdered theyall believed by some spy."
"And did he say nothing also of Tayoga, a wonderful Onondaga Indian, andof David Willet, a great hunter?"
"Aye, so he did. I recall those names too. Said the Indian was the mostmarvelous trailer the world had ever known, could trace the flight of abird through the air, and a lot more that must have been pure romance."
"It's all true! every word of it. I'll see that you meet Tayoga, andthen you'll believe, and you must know Willet, too, one of the grandestmen that ever lived, soul of honor, true as steel, all those things."
"I believe you! Every word you say! But I can't keep you talking herewith the water dripping from you. We really couldn't question yourtruth, either, after you'd saved our ship and all our lives. I see youhave a naval uniform of ours. Well, we'll give you a dry one in itsplace. See that the best the _Hawk_ has is his, Lanham."
Robert was taken to a small cabin that was vacant and he exchanged intodry clothing. He went back a little later to the captain's room withLanham, where they insisted upon his taking refreshment, and thenCaptain Whyte sent him to bed.
"I've a million questions to ask you, Mr. Lennox," he said, "but I won'task 'em until to-morrow. You must sleep."
Robert's manner had been calm, but he found when he lay down that he wassurcharged with excitement. It was inside him and wanted to get it out,but he kept it bottled up, and after an hour spent in quieting hisnerves he fell asleep. When he awoke, dressed and went on deck, alltrace of the storm had gone. The _Hawk_ swung quietly at anchor and tohim she seemed the very finest ship that had ever sailed on any sea fromthe day of the galley to the day of the three-decker. He noticed withpleasure how trim everything was, how clean was the wood, how polishedthe brass, and how the flag of Britain snapped in the breeze overhead.He noticed too the eighteen pounders and he knew these were what haddone the business for the slaver and pirate. Lanham gave him a heartywelcome.
"It's half way to noon," he said, "and you slept long and well, as youhad a right to do, after saving His Majesty's twenty-two gun sloop,_Hawk_, from the rocks. We had a boat's crew ashore this morning, notbecause we doubted your word, but to see that everything was trim andsnug on your island, and they found your house. On my word, quite alittle castle, and well furnished. We didn't disturb a thing. It'syours, you know."
"I merely inherited it," said Robert. "The slaver and pirate whokidnapped me built it as a place for a refuge or a holiday, and he cameback here to die. He furnished it partly, and the rest came from hiswrecked ship."
After breakfast Robert went ashore also with the captain and Lanham, andhe showed them about the island. They even saw the old bull at the headof his herd, and Robert waved him a friendly farewell. The house and itscontents they decided to leave exactly as they were.
"They may shelter some other castaw
"We'll even leave the guns and ammunition," said Captain Whyte. "Wedon't need 'em. You rescued 'em from the ship and they belong to you.The _Hawk_ has no claim on 'em."
"I'd like for 'em to stay here," said Robert. "Nobody may ever be castaway on this island again, and on the other hand it might happen nextweek. You can't tell. But it's been a good island to me, and, though Isay farewell, I won't forget it."
"You take the right view of it," said Captain Whyte, "and even if Ididn't feel your way about it, although I do, I'd be bound to give youyour wish since you saved us. You've also taken quite a burden off mymind. It's always been a source of grief to me that the pirate eluded usin the storm, but since you've shown me that we were really responsiblefor her sinking I feel a lot better about it."
On the _Hawk_ Lanham told him what had been passing in the world.
"There's a great expedition out from England under that young general,Wolfe, who distinguished himself at Louisbourg," he said. "It aims atthe taking of Quebec, and we're very hopeful. The rendezvous isLouisbourg, on Cape Breton Island and army and navy, I suppose, arealready there. Your own Royal Americans will be in it, and what we lostat Ticonderoga we propose to regain--and more--before Quebec. The _Hawk_is bound for Louisbourg to join the fleet, but she puts in at Bostonfirst. If you choose to go on to Louisbourg with us you won't fare ill,because the captain has taken a great fancy for you."
"I thank you much," said Robert, gratefully. "I'm almost tempted to jointhe great expedition from Louisbourg into the St. Lawrence, but I feelthat I must leave the ship at Boston. I'm bound to hunt up Willet andTayoga, and we'll come by land. We'll meet you before the heights ofQuebec."
Everything seemed to favor the northward voyage of the _Hawk_. Goodwinds drove her on, and Robert's heart leaped within him at the thoughtthat he would soon be back in his own country. Yet he made littleoutward show of it. The gravity of mind and manner that he had acquiredon the island remained with him. Habits that he had formed there werestill very powerful. It was difficult for him to grow used to thepresence of other people, and at times he longed to go out on his peakof observation, where he might sit alone for hours, with only therustling of the wind among the leaves in his ears. The sound of thehuman voice was often strange and harsh, and now and then only his willkept him from starting when he heard it, as one jumps at the snarl of awild animal in the bush.
But the friendship between him, Captain Whyte, Lieutenant Lanham and theother young officers grew. People instinctively liked Robert Lennox.Whether in his gay mood or his grave he had a charm of manner that fewcould resist, and his story was so strange, so picturesque that itinvested him with compelling romance. He told all about his kidnappingand his life upon the island, but he said nothing of Adrian Van Zoon. Helet it be thought that the motive of the slaver in seizing him wasmerely to get a likely lad for sale on a West India plantation. But hisanger against Van Zoon grew. He was not one to cherish wrath, but onthis point it was concentrated, and he intended to have a settlement. Itwas not meant that he should be lost, it was not meant that Adrian VanZoon should triumph. He had been seized and carried away twice, and eachtime, when escape seemed impossible, a hand mightier than that of manhad intervened in his favor.
He spoke a little of his thought once or twice when he stood on the deckof the _Hawk_ on moonlight nights with Captain Whyte and LieutenantLanham.
"You can't live with the Indians as much as I have," he said,"especially with such a high type of Indian as the Iroquois, withoutacquiring some of their beliefs which, after all, are about the same asour own Christian religion. The difference is only in name. They fillthe air with spirits, good and evil, and have 'em contending for themastery. Now, I felt when I was on the island and even before that I wasprotected by the good spirits of the Iroquois, and that they were alwaysfighting for me with the bad."
"I take it," said Captain Whyte, "that the Indian beliefs, as you tellthem, are more like the mythology of the old Greeks and Romans. I'm alittle rusty on my classics, but they had spirits around everywhere,good and bad, always struggling with one another, and their godsthemselves were mixtures of good and evil, just like human beings. ButI'm not prepared to say, Mr. Lennox, that you weren't watched over. Itseems strange that of all the human beings on the slaver you should havebeen the only one saved and you the only one not stained with crime.It's a fact I don't undertake to account for. And you never found outthe name of the pirate captain?"
"Neither his nor that of his ship. It had been effaced carefully fromthe schooner and all her boats."
"I suppose it will remain one of the mysteries of the sea. But tell memore about my cousin, Grosvenor. He was really becoming a trailer, aforest runner?"
"He was making wonderful progress. I never saw anybody more keen oreager."
"A fine lad, one of our best. I'm glad that you two met. I'd like tomeet too that Frenchman, St. Luc, of whom you've spoken so often. WeEnglishmen and Frenchmen have been fighting one another for a thousandyears, and it seems odd, doesn't it, Mr. Lennox, that it should be so?Why, the two countries can see each other across the Channel on cleardays, and neighbors ought to be the best of friends, instead of the mostdeadly enemies. It seems that the farther a nation is from another thebetter they get along together. What is there in propinquity, Mr.Lennox, to cause hostility?"
"I don't know, but I suppose it's rivalry, the idea that if yourneighbor grows he grows at your expense. Your hostility carries over tous in America also. We're your children and we imitate our parents. TheFrench in Canada hate the English in the Provinces and the English inthe Provinces hate the French in Canada, when there's so much of thecountry of each that they're lost in it."
"It's a queer world, Mr. Lennox. In spite of what you say and which Iendorse, I'm going with an eager heart in the great expedition againstQuebec, and so will you. I'll be filled with joy if it succeeds and sowill you."
Robert admitted the fact.
"And I'd be delighted if we could meet a French sloop of about our ownsize and armament," continued the captain. "Every man on board the_Hawk_ would go into battle with her eagerly, and yet I don't hate theFrench individually. They're a brave and gallant nation, and this St.Luc, of whom you speak, seems to be the very flower of chivalry."
The captain's wish to meet a French sloop of war of his own size was notgranted. He had high hopes the fourth day when they saw a sail, but itproved to be a schooner out of Newport returning from Jamaica with acargo of sugar and molasses. The _Hawk_ showed her heels in disgust, andpursued her way northward.
As the time to reach Boston drew near, Robert's heart filled again. Hewould be back in his own land, and his world would be before him oncemore. He had already decided that he would go at once to Albany andthere pick up the thread of his old life. He was consumed, too, bycuriosity. What had happened since he was gone? His feeling that he hadbeen in the island eight or nine years instead of eight or nine monthsremained. While it was his own world to which he was returning, it wasalso a new world.
Came the day when the harbor lights of the port of Boston showed througha haze and Robert, standing on the deck of the _Hawk_, watched the cityrise out of the sea. He was dressed in a good suit of civilian clothingthat he had found on the island, and he had some money that had neverbeen taken from him when he was kidnapped, enough to pay his way fromBoston to Albany. His kindly English friends wanted to lend him more,but he declined it.
"You can pay us back in Quebec," said White.
"I don't need it," replied Robert, "but I'll keep the rendezvous therewith you both."
As the _Hawk_ was to stay two or three days in port in order to take onsupplies, they went ashore together, and the three were full ofcuriosity when they entered, for the first time, the town of which theyhad heard so much. Boston had already made such impress upon theimagination that all the English colonists were generally known to theFrench in Canada as Bostonnais. In England it had a great name, andthere were often apprehensions about it. It
"I don't know how I'm going to like it," said Captain Whyte, as theyleft the sloop. "I hear that they're very superior here, and consider usEnglish a rather backward lot. Don't you think you'd better reconsider,Lennox, and go on with us to Louisbourg?"
Robert laughed.
"I'm not afraid of the Bostonians," he said. "I met some very competentones on the shores of Lake George. There was one Elihu Strong, a colonelof Massachusetts infantry, whom I like to remember. In truth, Captain,what I see here arouses my admiration. You noticed the amount ofshipping in the port. The Bostonians are very keen traders, and they saythere are sharp differences in character between them and the people ofour southern provinces, but as I come from a middle province, New York,I am, in a sense, neutral. The New Englanders have a great stake in thepresent war. Their country has been ravaged for more than a century byFrench and Indians from Canada, and this province of Massachusetts issending to it nearly every man, and nearly every dollar it has."
"We know of their valor and tenacity in England," said Captain Whyte,"but we know also that they're men of their own minds."
"Why shouldn't they be? That's why they're English."
"Since you put it that way, you're right. But here we are."
The town, about the size of New York, looked like a great city toRobert. He had come from a land that contained only one inhabitant,himself, and it was hard for him now to realize there were so manypeople in the world. The contrast put crowds everywhere, and, at times,it was very confusing, though it was always interesting. The men weremostly tall, thin, and with keen but composed eyes. They were of purerBritish blood than those in New York, but it seemed to Robert that theyhad departed something from type. They were more strenuous than theEnglish of Old England, and the New Yorkers, in character if not inblood and appearance, were more nearly English than the Bostonians. Healso thought, and he was not judging now so much from a glimpse ofBoston as from the New England men whom he had met, that they werecritical both of themselves and others, and that they were a people whomeant to have their way at any cost.
But his attempts to estimate character and type were soon lost in hishuge delight at being back in his own country. Robert's mind was amirror. It always reflected his surroundings. Quickly adaptable, heusually perceived the best of everything, and now busy and prosperousBoston in its thin, crisp air, delighted him immeasurably. His feelingswere much as they had been when he visited New York. Here was a greatcity, that is, great for his country and time, and it was destined to bemuch greater.
As usual with sailors Captain Whyte and Lieutenant Lanham wished to goto a coffee house, and Robert, nothing loath, accompanied them to one ofgood quality to which they were directed near the water front. Here theyfound numerous guests in the great common room and much talk goingforward, mostly talk of the war, as was natural. There was muchcriticism of the British Government, not restrained at all, ratherincreased, by the uniforms of the two naval officers.
"'Tis reported that the new expedition gathered at Louisbourg will gothe way of the one that was repulsed at Ticonderoga," said a thin,elderly man. "I hear 'tis commanded by young Wolfe, who is sickly andmuch given to complaint. Abercrombie, who led us at Ticonderoga, wasfat, old and slothful, and now Wolfe, who leads the new force is young,sickly and fretful. It seems that England can't choose a middle course.Why doesn't she send us a man?"
"That I can't tell you, Master Carver," said the man whom he wasaddressing, "but I do know that if England would consult Massachusettsmore we'd fare better in this war. We should have marched over theFrench army at Ticonderoga. I can't understand to this day how we lostthat battle."
"It seems that in very truth we lacked something there."
Robert was sitting not ten feet from them and their tone being so verycritical, he could not restrain a word or two.
"Your pardon, if I interrupt," he said, "but hearing you speak in asomewhat slighting manner of Ticonderoga I'm bound to advise you thatyou're wrong, since I was there. The English and Scotch troops, with ourown Americans, showed the very greatest valor on that sad occasion.'Twas no fault of theirs. Our defeat was due to the lack of artillery,the very skillful arrangements of the French commander, the Marquis deMontcalm, and the extreme courage of the French army."
The two, who seemed to be merchants or shipping men, regarded him withinterest but with no appearance of resentment because of hisinterference in their conversation. Apparently the criticism that theypermitted so freely to themselves they were willing also to allow toothers.
"But you are English," said the first who had spoken, "and 'tis mostnatural for you to defend the generals who are sent out from the homecountry."
"I am not English. I am a native of the Province of New York, and beinga colonial like yourselves, I think we allow too little credit to theold country in the war. I speak as one who through the force ofcircumstances has been an eye witness to many of the facts. My name isRobert Lennox, sir, and my companions are Captain Stuart Whyte andLieutenant John Lanham of His Majesty's twenty-two gun sloop of war_Hawk_, now in Boston harbor."
"And I, sir," responded the thin man with much courtesy, "am SamuelCarver, wholesale dealer in cloth and leather, and my friend is LemuelMason, owner of shipping plying principally to the West Indies. We'repleased to meet His Majesty's officers and also you, Mr. Lennox, who wecan see is very young to have had so much experience in the wars. Wetrust that all of you will pardon our freedom of criticism, but we're atthe heart of affairs here, and we see very clearly. It's not a freedomthat we'll give up."
Captain Whyte laughed easily.
"If what we hear in England of Boston is true," he said, "'tis aprivilege that nothing can make you give up. Perhaps 'tis as well. I'mall for free speech myself. Through it affairs are well threshed out.But I assure you you're wrong about General Wolfe. 'Tis true that he'syoung and that he's sickly, but he's been chosen by Mr. Pitt for mostsolid reasons. He has a great gift for arms. I've been fortunate enoughto meet him once or twice, and I can assure you that he makes a mostfavorable impression. Moreover, the fact that he's been chosen by Mr.Pitt is proof of his worth. Mr. Pitt is a very great man and he has thathighest of all talents, the ability to know other men and to directthem."
Captain Whyte spoke with much warmth and his words carried conviction.
"I can well believe you, sir, when you speak so highly of Mr. Pitt,"said Mr. Carver. "'Tis evident that he has the honor and glory ofEngland at heart and 'tis evident, too, that he does not mean to neglectthe interests of the colonies, a matter of the utmost importance. 'Tisonly Mr. Pitt among the home statesmen who have recognized our greatnesson this side of the ocean."
"Believe me, sir, I'm not blind to the growth and prosperity of thecolonies," said Captain Whyte. "I've seen your cities and I know howmuch the Americans have done in the present war."
"Then 'tis a pity that England also doesn't know it," said Mr. Masonsomewhat sharply.
But Captain Whyte refused to be either angry or disconcerted.
"The width of our ocean always promotes ignorance, andmisunderstandings," he said. "And 'tis true too that the closest of kinwill quarrel, but families usually unite against an alien foe."
"'Tis so," admitted Mr. Mason, "and 'tis the business of statesmanshipto smooth down the quarrels that arise between the different parts of agreat kingdom. I trust that ours will always be equal to the task."
"Do you know a merchant of this city, Elihu Strong, who is also acolonel of the Massachusetts infantry?" asked Robert. "I met him in astrenuous business before Ticonderoga, where he also had a gallantpart."
"We could scarce be Bostonians and not know Elihu Strong," said Mr.Carver. "One of the most active of our merchants, he has ships of hisown that ply between here and England, and he has also taken a veryzealous part in the war. The regim
"Commanded?" exclaimed Robert.
"I used the past tense, not because he has fallen, my young friend, butElihu was unfortunate enough to receive a severe wound in the leg somemonths after Ticonderoga, and he is now recuperating at his own homehere near the Common. 'Tis not dangerous. He will not lose the leg, buthe will not be able to walk on it for some months yet. A great pity, sayI, that Elihu Strong is out of active service for a while, as HisMajesty's government might profit greatly by his advice and leadershipin the field."
"I've no doubt of it," said Captain Whyte with the greatest sincerity."I'm all for cooeperation with the experienced men of the colonies, andso is a far greater than I, the illustrious Mr. Pitt. They're on theground, they've lived their lives here and they ought to know."
"Our hope is in Mr. Pitt," said Mr. Carver. "You speak well of him,Captain Whyte, and 'tis pleasing to our ears to hear you, because youcannot know how his name inspires confidence in the colonies. Why, sir,we look upon him as almost the half of England!"
It was so. And it was destined to remain so. Whatever happened betweenEngland and America, the name of the elder Pitt, the great Englishman,kept and keeps its place in the hearts of Americans, who in somerespects are the most sentimental and idealistic of all peoples.
Robert saw that the two young English officers and the two middle agedBoston merchants were arriving at an understanding, that good relationswere established already, and he thought it wise to leave them together.
"I think," he said, "that I will visit Colonel Strong at his house, andas my time in Boston must be short 'twill be best for me to go now."
Both Mr. Carver and Mr. Mason urged him to spend the night at theirhouses, and Captain Whyte and Lieutenant Lanham were zealous for hisreturn with them to the _Hawk_, but he declined the offer, though sayinghe would certainly visit the sloop before he left Boston. He judged thatit would be wise to leave the four together, in the coffee-house, and,after receiving careful instructions how to reach the mansion of thatmost respectable and worthy Bostonian, Colonel Elihu Strong, he wentinto the street.
He found the Strong home to be a goodly house, one of the best in thecity, partly of brick and partly of wood, with columns in front, allvery spacious and pleasing. He knocked with a heavy brass knocker and atrim colored maid responded.
"Is Colonel Strong at home?" he asked.
"He is, sir," she responded in English as good as his own, "thoughconfined to his chair with a wound in the leg which makes his temper atrifle short at times."
"Naturally. So would mine be if I couldn't walk. I wish to see him."
"What name, sir, shall I say?"
"Tell him 'tis one who served with him in wilderness fighting, on theeve of Ticonderoga."
She looked at him doubtfully, but her face cleared in a moment. Robert'sfrank, open gaze invited everybody's confidence.
"Come into the hall, sir," she said, and then led the way from the hallinto a large room opening upon a lawn, well-shaded by many fine, largetrees. Elihu Strong sat in a chair before one of the windows, and hiswounded leg, swathed heavily, reposed in another chair.
Robert paused, and his heart beat rather hard. This was the first friendof his old life that he had seen. Now, he was coming in reality back tohis world. He stood a few moments, irresolute, and then advancinglightly he said:
"Good morning, Colonel Strong!"
The wounded man wheeled in his chair and looked at him, inquiry in hisface. Robert did not know what changes his life on the island had madein his appearance, his expression rather, but he saw that Colonel Strongdid not know him, and it pleased him to play for a minute or so with thefact.
"You did not receive this bullet, sir, when you saved us from St. Luc,"he said. "It must have been much later, but I know it was a bad momentfor the Province of Massachusetts when the hostile lead struck you."
Colonel Strong stared.
"Who are you?" he exclaimed.
"There was a battle on the shores of Lake George, at a point where ourmen had been building boats. They were besieged by a mixed force ofFrench and Indians, commanded by the great French partisan leader, St.Luc. They beat off the attacks, but they would have been overcome intime, if you had not hurried to their relief, with a strong force andtwo brass cannon."
"That is true and if the Governor and Legislature of Massachusetts haddone their full duty we'd have had twice as many men and four, six, oreven eight cannon in place of two. But what do you know about thosethings?"
"There were two boys, one Indian and one white, who came on the lake,telling you of the plight of the boat builders. The Indian was Tayoga ofthe Clan of the Bear, of the Nation Onondaga, of the Great League of theHodenosaunee, the finest trailer in the world. The white boy was RobertLennox, of the Province of New York."
"Aye, you speak truly. Full well do I remember them. How could I forgetthem? Tayoga is back there now with the hunter Willet, doing some greatservice in the war, what I know not, but it is something surely great.The white boy, Robert Lennox, is dead. A great loss, too! A fine andgallant lad."
"How do you know he is dead?"
"I had it in a letter from Master Benjamin Hardy of New York, with whomI often transact affairs of business, and he, in turn, had it from oneJacobus Huysman, a burgher of Albany in most excellent standing. Partsof the matter are obscure, but the result is certain. It seems that thelad was stalked by a spy, one Garay, and was murdered by him. His body,they think, was thrown into the Hudson and was carried away. At least itwas never found. A most tragic business. I could have loved that lad asif he had been my own son. It caused great grief to both Hardy andHuysman,--and to me, too."
A lump came into Robert's throat. He did have friends, many andpowerful, and they mourned him. He seemed to have the faculty ofinspiring liking wherever he went. He had been standing in the shadow,while the wounded man sat where the sunlight from the windows pouredupon him. He moved a little nearer where he could be more clearly seen,and said:
"But what if I tell you that Robert Lennox is not dead, that he surviveda most nefarious plot against him, that he was, in truth, kidnapped andcarried far away to sea, but was rescued in a most remarkable manner andhas come back to his own land."
"'Tis impossible! 'Tis a wild tale, though God knows I wish it weretrue, because he was a fine and gallant lad."
"'Tis a wild tale, sir, that I confess, but 'tis not impossible, for ithas happened. I am that Robert Lennox who came with Tayoga, theOnondaga, in the canoe, through the fog on Lake George, to you, askingthat you hurry to the relief of the boat builders! You will remember,sir, the fight at the ford, when they sought to ambush us, and how werouted them with the cannon. You'll recall how St. Luc drew off when wereached the boat builders. I've been away a long time, where every monthcounted as a year, and perhaps I've changed greatly, but I'm that sameRobert Lennox to whom you said more than once that if the Governor andLegislature of the Province of Massachusetts had done their full dutyyour force would have been three or four times as strong."
"What? What? No stranger could know as much as you know! Come fartherinto the light, boy! The voice is nearly the same as I remember it, butthe face has changed. You're older, graver, and there's a new look! Butthe eyes are like his! On my soul I believe it's Robert Lennox! Aye, Iknow 'tis Robert! Come, lad, and shake hands with me! I would go to youbut this wretched wound holds me in my chair! Aye, boy, yours is thegrasp of a strong and honest hand, and when I look into your eyes I know'tis you, Robert, your very self. Sit you down and tell me how you haverisen from the grave, and why you've come to comfort an old man withthis most sudden and welcome news!"
The moisture rose in Robert's eyes. Truly he had friends, and not leastamong them was this thin, shrewd Bostonian. He drew a chair close to thecolonel and spun the wonderful tale of his kidnapping, the sea fight,the wreck, the island and his rescue by the _Hawk_. Colonel Stronglistened intently and seldom interrupted, but when Robert had finish
"'Tis clear, lad, that your belief in the good spirits was well placed.We lose nothing by borrowing a little from the Iroquois beliefs. Theirgood spirits are our angels. 'Tis all the same in the essence, only thenames are different. 'Tis clear, too, that they were watching over you.And now this house is your home so long as you stay in Boston. We'refull of the great war, as you'll soon learn. Mr. Pitt has sent over anew commander and a mighty attempt will be made on Quebec, though if theKing and Parliament of Britain did their full duty, the expedition wouldbe three times as large, and, if the Legislature and Governor ofMassachusetts also did their full duty, they would give three times asmuch help."
"I'll stay gladly with you to-night, sir, but I must go in the morning.I wish to reach Albany as soon as possible and show that I'm not dead.You're the first, sir, of all my friends, to learn it. I must tell mycomrades of the _Hawk_ good-bye too. They've been very good to me, andtheir ship is in your harbor."
"But you spend the night here. That's promised, and I can give you newsof some of your friends, those gallant lads who were with us in thegreat adventure by the lake. The young Englishman, Grosvenor, thePhiladelphians, Colden, Wilton and Carson, and the Virginians, Stuartand Cabell, have all been to see me. Grosvenor joins a regiment withWolfe, the Grenadiers, I think, and the Philadelphians and Virginiansare transferred to the Royal Americans, for the term of the war, atleast."
"I hope to see them all, sir, under the walls of Quebec. Captain Whyteof the _Hawk_ offered to take me in his ship to the rendezvous atLouisbourg, but I felt that I must go first to Albany and then joinWillet and Tayoga. We'll go by land and meet the army and fleet comingdown the St. Lawrence."
"A proper plan, and a proper ambition, my lad. I would that I could bewith you, but this wound may hold me here. As for going to Albany, I mayassist you in that matter. A company of Boston merchants are sending adespatch, that is, a stage, to Albany to-morrow. I am one of thatcompany and I can provide a place for you."
"My very great thanks are yours, sir."
"Say no more about it. 'Tis just what I ought to do. 'Tis a longjourney, but 'tis a fine time of the year, and you'll have a pleasanttrip. Would that I had your youth and your unwounded leg and I'd be withyou under the walls of Quebec, whether we take the city or not."
His eyes sparkled and his thin cheeks flushed with his intense fire.Robert knew that there was no more valiant soldier than the shrewdBoston merchant, and he appreciated his intense earnestness.
"Perhaps, sir," he said, "your recovery will be in full time for thecampaign."
"I fear not, I'm sure not, Mr. Lennox, and yet I wish with all my soulto be there. I foresee victory, because I think victory is due. 'Tis notin nature for the French in Canada, who are few and who receive butlittle help from their own country, to hold back forever the whole mightof Britain and her colonies. They have achieved the impossible alreadyin stemming the flood so long, and because it's about time for theweight, in spite of everything, to break over the dam, I think thatvictory is at hand. And then, Britain will be supreme on the NorthAmerican continent from the Spanish domains northward to the Pole."
"And that means a tremendous future, sir, for England and her colonies!"
The face of Elihu Strong clouded.
"I do not know," he cried. "I hope so, and yet, at times, I fear not.You think only of united hearts in England and America and a long futureunder one flag. I repeat that I wish it could be so and yet the oldalways regard the new with patronage, and the new always look upon theold with resentment. There are already differences between the Englishand Americans, questions of army rank, disputes about credit in thefield, different points of view, created by the width of an ocean."
"But if we are victorious and overrun Canada, they will be settled."
"There lies the greatest danger, my lad. 'Tis the common peril thatholds us together for the time. When this shadow in the north which hasoverhung us so long, is removed, the differences will grow the greater,and each side will assert itself. 'Tis in our common blood. The Englishare a free people and freedom brings diversities, differing opinions anda strenuous expression of them. I see already great issues between thecolonies and the mother country, and I pray that temperate men may havethe handling of them. The wrong will not be all on one side, nor theright either. But enough of an old man's forebodings! Why should Ipoison your happy return from an adventure, in which your chance ofescape was not one in ten?"
Robert talked with him a while longer, and then he suggested that he goto the _Hawk_ and tell his friends there good-bye, as they had probablyreturned to the ship by this time.
"But be sure you're back here by nightfall," said Colonel Strong. "Youfavor me, lad, by coming. It refreshes me to see you and to talk withone who had a share with me in an eventful campaign. And have you moneyenough for this trip to Albany? I take it that you were not accumulatingmuch treasure while you were on the island, and a loan may be timely."
Robert thanked him, but said he had enough for his needs. He promisedalso to be back by nightfall, and, having said farewell to the officersof the sloop, he returned to Colonel Strong's mansion at the appointedtime.