Part 9 (1/2)

At the especial invitation of Captain Molineux Gerald Grantham dined at the garrison mess, on the evening of the day when the circ.u.mstances detailed in our last chapter took place. During dinner the extraordinary adventure of the morning formed the chief topic of conversation, for it had become one of general interest, not only throughout the military circles, but in the town of Amherstburgh itself, in which the father of the Granthams had been held in an esteem amounting almost to veneration.

Horrible as had been the announcement made by the detected and discomfited settler to him who now, for the first time, learnt that his parent had fallen a victim to ruffian vindictiveness, too many years had elapsed since that event, to produce more than the ordinary emotion which might be supposed to be awakened by a knowledge rather of the manner than the fact of his death. Whatever therefore might have been the pain inflicted on the hearts of the brothers, by this cruel re-opening of a partially closed wound, there was no other evidence of suffering than the suddenly compressed lip and glistening eye, whenever allusion was made to the villain with whom each felt he had a fearful account to settle.

Much indeed of the interest of the hour was derived from the animated account, given by Gerald, of the circ.u.mstances which had led to his lying in ambuscade for the American on the preceding day; and as his narrative embraces not only the reasons for Captain Molineux's strange conduct, but other hitherto unexplained facts, we cannot do better than follow him in his detail:

”I think it must have been about half past eleven o'clock, on the night preceding the capture,” commenced Gerald, ”that, as my gun-boat was at anchor close under the American sh.o.r.e, at rather more than half a mile below the farther extremity of Bois Blanc, my faithful old Sambo silently approached me, while I lay wrapped in my watch-cloak on deck, calculating the chances of falling in with some spirited bark of the enemy which would afford me an opportunity of proving the mettle of my crew.

”'Ma.s.sa Geral,' he said, in a mysterious whisper--for old age and long services in my family have given him privileges which I have neither the power nor the inclination to check--'Ma.s.sa Geral,' pulling me by the collar, 'I dam ib he no go sleep when him ought to hab all him eyes about him--him pretty fellow to keep watch when Yankee pa.s.s him in e channel.'

”'A Yankee pa.s.s me in the channel!' I would have exclaimed aloud, starting to my feet with surprise; but Sambo, with ready thought, put his hand upon my mouth, in time to prevent more than the first word from being uttered.

”'Hus.h.!.+ dam him, Ma.s.sa Geral, ib you make a noise, you no catch him.'

”'What do you mean, then--what have you seen?' I asked, in the same low whisper, the policy of which his action had enjoined on me.

”'Lookee dare, Ma.s.sa Geral, lookee dare!'

”Following the direction in which he pointed, I now saw, but very indistinctly, a canoe in which was a solitary individual stealing across the lake to the impulsion of an apparently m.u.f.fled paddle; for her course, notwithstanding the stillness of the night, was utterly noiseless. The moon, which is in her first quarter, had long since disappeared; yet the heavens, although not particularly bright, were sufficiently dotted with stars to enable me, with the aid of a night telescope, to discover that the figure, which guided the cautiously moving bark, had nothing Indian in its outline. The crew of the gun-boat (the watch only excepted) had long since turned in; and even the latter lay reposing on the forecastle, the sentinels only keeping the ordinary lookout. So closely, moreover, did we lay in sh.o.r.e, that but for the caution of the paddler, it might have been a.s.sumed she was too nearly identified with the dark forest against which her hull and spars reposed, to be visible. Curious to ascertain her object, I watched the canoe in silence, as, whether accidentally or with design, I know not, she made the half circuit of the gun-boat and then bore away in a direct line for the Canadian sh.o.r.e. A suspicion of the truth now flashed across my mind, and I resolved without delay to satisfy myself. My first care was to hasten to the forecastle, and enjoin on the sentinels, who I feared might see and hail the stranger, the strictest silence. Then desiring Sambo to prepare the light boat, which I dare say most of you have remarked to form a part of my Lilliputian command, I proceeded to arm myself with cutla.s.s and pistols. Thus equipped, I sprang lightly in; and having again caught sight of the chase, on which I had moreover directed one of the sentinels to keep a steady eye as long as she was in sight, desired Sambo to steer as noiselessly as possible in pursuit. For some time we kept the stranger in view, but whether, owing to his superior paddling or lighter weight, we eventually lost sight of him.

The suspicion which had at first induced my following, however, served as a clue to guide me in the direction I should take. I was aware that the scoundrel Desborough was an object of distrust--I knew that the strictness of my father, during his magistracy, in compelling him to choose between taking the oaths of allegiance and quitting the country, had inspired him with deep hatred to himself and disaffection to the Government; and I felt that if the spirit of his vengeance had not earlier developed itself, it was solely because the opportunity and the power had hitherto been wanting; but that now, when hostilities between his natural and adopted countries had been declared, there would be ample room for the exercise of his treason. It was the strong a.s.surance I felt that he was the solitary voyager on the face of the waters, which induced me to pursue him; for I had a presentiment that, could I but track him in his course, I should discover some proof of his guilt, which would suffice to rid us for ever of the presence of so dangerous a subject. The adventure was moreover one that pleased me, although perhaps I was not strictly justified in quitting my gun-boat, especially as in the urgency of the moment, I had not even thought of leaving orders with my boatswain, in the event of anything unexpected occurring during my absence. The sentinels alone were aware of my departure.

”The course we pursued was in the direction of Hartley's point, and so correct had been the steering and paddling of the keen-sighted negro, that when we made the beach, we found ourselves immediately opposite to Desborough's hut.

”'How is this, Sambo?' I asked in a low tone, as our canoe grated on the sand within a few paces of several others that lay where I expected to find but one--'are all these Desborough's?'

”'No, Ma.s.sa Geral--'less him teal him toders, Desborough only got one--dis a public landin' place.'

”'Can you tell which is his?' I inquired.

”'To be sure--dis a one,' and he pointed to one nearly twice the dimensions of its fellows.

”'Has it been lately used, Sambo--can you tell?'

”'I soon find out, Ma.s.sa Geral.'

”His device was the most simple and natural in the world, and yet I confess it was one which I never should have dreamt of. Stooping on the sands, he pa.s.sed his hand under the bottom of the canoe, and then whispered:

”'Him not touch a water to-night, Ma.s.sa Geral--him dry as a chip.'

”Here I was at fault. I began to apprehend that I had been baffled in my pursuit, and deceived in my supposition. I knew that Desborough had had for years, one large canoe only in his possession, and it was evident that this had not been used for the night. I was about to order Sambo to shove off again, when it suddenly occurred to me, that, instead of returning from a visit, the suspected settler might have received a visiter, and I accordingly desired my _fides Achates_ to submit the remainder of the canoes to the same inspection.

”After having pa.s.sed his hand ineffectually over several, he at length announced, as he stooped over one which I recognised, from a peculiar elevation of the bow and stern, to be same we had pa.s.sed.

”'Dis a one all drippin' wet, Ma.s.sa Geral. May I nebber see a Hebben ib he not a same we follow.'

”A low tapping against the door of the hut, which, although evidently intended to be subdued, was now, in the silence of night, distinctly audible, while our whispers on the contrary, mingled as they were with the crisping sound of the waves rippling on the sands were, at that distance, undistinguishable. It was evident that I had erred in my original conjecture. Had it been Desborough himself, living alone as he did, he would not have knocked for admission where there was no one to afford it, but would have quietly let himself in. It could then be no other than a visiter, perhaps a spy from the enemy--and the same to whom we had given chase.

”From the moment that the tapping commenced, Sambo and I stood motionless on the sh.o.r.e, and without trusting our voices again, even to a whisper. In a little time we heard the door open, and the low voice of Desborough in conversation with another. Presently the door was shut, and soon afterwards, through an imperfectly closed shutter on the only floor of the hut, we could perceive a streak of light reflected on the clearing in front, as if from a candle or lamp that was stationary.

”'I tink him dam rascal dat man, Ma.s.sa Geral,' at length ventured my companion. 'I 'member long time ago,' and he sighed, 'when Sambo was no bigger nor dat paddle, one berry much like him. But, Ma.s.sa Geral, Ma.s.sa always tell me nebber talk o' dat.'

”'A villain he is, I believe, Sambo, but let us advance cautiously and discover what he is about.'