by this time the short july night was drawing to a close, and there were signs of the coming dawn in the east. all through the solemn darkness the massacre had continued, and scenes were enacted on both sides of the susquehanna which the pen has never placed on paper, and which to-day come down to us only in the shuddering legends of those who looked upon and survived to tell of them.
among the miscreants none was more inhuman than jake golcher, the tory. but for his strong admiration of the pretty maggie brainerd not one of the little party of fugitives would have survived capture for fifteen minutes.
he was not the first, as he shall not be the last, bad man who has been restrained from evil by the sweet beauty of some maiden who, unconsciously to herself, has woven her subtle web around him.
had she walked up to him and promised to be his wife on condition that every one of her friends should be released, he would have complied, though he might have resorted to treachery afterward to gratify the demand for revenge on the part of his indian allies.
but the father of maggie had repudiated his claim, and the point at last was reached when he was forced to see that every one of the fugitives, including maggie herself, looked upon him with unspeakable loathing, and they would die before humbling themselves to him.
"what's the sense of my fooling longer?" he growled, standing sullenly apart and glowering upon them; "they hate me worse than satan himself, and if maggie should pledge me her hand, that old father or the brother of her'n wouldn't let her keep her promise. the injins have got so mad at my soft-heartedness that they begin to 'spect me, and they've gone over to t' other side the river to have their fun there, 'cause there ain't much prospect of gettin' it here."
the renegade spoke a significant truth, and, looking around, he was able to count precisely six senecas who remained with him. some of the others who were out hunting in the wood might return, but the chances were against it, and more than likely they had gone off to join in the orgies of which we only dare hint.
striding across the brief space, jake golcher paused in front of maggie brainerd and said:
"you have had more mercy to-night than you had a right to expect, and more than you'll get any longer."
"why do you talk to me thus?" asked the scared maiden, who could not fail to understand what he meant; "why do you feel such hatred of us who have never showed aught but kindness to you?"
"bah!" interrupted the tory, angrily; "why do you get over that stuff to me? i want no more of it. the time for begging mercy has gone by. if you had treated me right a while ago it would have been well—"
"oh, jake, how can you?"
the agonized girl was about to rush forward and throw herself on her knees before the man, when her father, with flashing eye, interposed.
"maggie, i forbid you to speak a word to such a scoundrel as he. sit down and keep silence."
the obedient girl complied, as she would have done had she known that death was to be the penalty.
she placed herself beside eva, and the two, wrapping their arms about each other, wept in silence.
aunt peggy, as if conscious the crisis had come, ceased her cooking and softly seated herself beside them, without a word.
mr. brainerd, proud and defiant as ever, sat bolt upright on the fallen tree, with arms folded, looking as keenly as an eagle in the face of the being whom he execrated above any of his kind.
the senecas watched them all, and it was easy to detect the signs of impatience among them, for they had been baffled too long of their prey.
as jake golcher retreated a step or two the indians uttered a short exclamation of surprise, as well they might, for two figures strode for-toward out of the gloom in the light of the camp-fire.
one of them was habakkuk mcewen, who led by the arm lieutenant fred godfrey, the latter stepping briskly, while a strange half-smile hovered about his handsome mouth.
mr. brainerd and the rest of the fugitives were thunderstruck, and totally at a loss to understand the meaning of the spectacle.
fortunately, they were not kept long in suspense.
the face of habakkuk was wreathed in an all-embracing smile, though there was a certain delicacy in his position that prevented his smile becoming contagious.
"well, jake, i've brought you your man!" called out habakkuk, in a voice tremulous with triumph and fear.
"you have done well," replied golcher, as soon as he could recover his breath; "you have done better than i expected."
"it's all right now, then, ain't it—that is, with me?"
"certainly; you've earned your freedom and can go. these injins won't hurt you."
golcher made a wave of his hand to the warriors grouped around and uttered an exclamation that insured immunity to the eccentric new englander.
the latter wheeled about and walked straight toward the woods where his friends were awaiting him.
one of the most difficult things for a brave man to do is to stride deliberately off, without decreasing or augmenting his gait, when he has every reason to believe that someone is taking careful aim at him, and that if he doesn't get beyond range in a brief while he is certain to be punctured.
the expectation of receiving a bullet from the rear will make the chills creep over the most courageous person, and give an impetus to his gait like the actual prick of a bayonet.
habakkuk mcewen walked only a dozen steps when he was so impressed by the situation, that he forgot his identity. with a howl he sprang several feet from the ground and dashed off at the top of his speed into the woods, muttering:
"i'll be hanged if i can stand it; i believe every injin squattin' there was taking aim at me."
fred godfrey and jake golcher at last stood face to face, and by the light of the camp-fire looked steadily in the eyes of each other.
"i'm here," said the lieutenant, in his ordinary voice, though he carefully measured his words: "habakkuk mcewen has kept his pledge, and now i'd like to know what you are going to do about it."
"you would like to know, eh? wal, i can soon tell you. i'm going to turn you over to these senecas you see around you; one of them is throwing wood on the fire now; that's for you. more than one rebel has been roasted, and you are none too good to be served the same way."
"so you intend to burn me to death, jacob, do you?"
"intend to! i'm going to do so, sartin sure—that is, i'm going to boss the job, but i've promised to let the redskins have the fun of the thing."
"that's the idea, is it? and after i'm disposed of, what then? that is, what is to be done with my friends there?"
"i've no 'bjection to saying," replied the tory, speaking loud enough for all to hear, "that the old fellow there and that she panther, aunt peggy, will be served the same way. the two girls will be taken back to york state with us, and sort of adopted by the senecas."
all the individuals referred to heard these words, but no one moved or stirred. it may truthfully be said that they were so overcome for the moment that they were speechless.
"that's an imposing programme, jacob, but, somehow or other, i think there will be a hitch in carrying it out."
"you think so, eh? wal, you'll see mighty soon that there ain't no mistake about it. the fire is burning and about ready—"
"jacob," said fred godfrey in a low voice, but with such significance that the tory was transfixed, "i hoped that you would say and do something that would give me excuse for believing you less a miscreant than you are, but you have persisted in shutting out all merciful thoughts—"
"wh-wh-what d-d-do you m-mean?" stammered golcher, beginning to feel a giving away in his knees.
"do you suppose i was such a fool as to allow habakkuk mcewen, one of my best friends, to bring me back a prisoner to you? you showed your idiocy in sending him out for me; but it is scarcely credible that you could really think he would ever show himself again. but he has, and here i am—
"and now, jacob, i have the pleasure of informing you that you are at my mercy, and i have only to raise my hand—so—to have you riddled with bullets."
