In the Wilds of Florida Part 26

On ascending to the upper floor, we met my father, who gave a cordial welcome to Rochford. My aunt, he told us, had died that morning, never having recovered from the loss of her husband and son. The young ladies bore up as well as could be expected, and he hoped that we should be able to a.s.sist in consoling them. Notwithstanding the report that the Indians had been driven westward, he considered it prudent to maintain a strict watch in the castle, lest another attempt might be made by her Indian admirer to carry off Juanita.

"I congratulate myself on having come to a.s.sist you, sir," said Rochford. "Although, when I first came to the country, my wish was to benefit the natives, I would treat them as my worst enemies should they make so audacious an attempt."

"I will trust you, Mr. Rochford," said my father, smiling.

Our friend insisted on taking his turn as one of the sentries, and I felt very sure that the castle would not be surprised during his watch.

Early in the morning after our arrival my poor aunt was interred in the centre of the garden, as there was no grave-yard near to which she could be carried.

My father was now very anxious to return home as soon as possible, and he invited my two cousins, according to their father's wish, to accompany him. Juanita was willing enough to go, but Rita showed much disinclination to leave Florida, though, at the same time, she had no wish to be separated from her sister. My father explained that by his brother's will he had no choice in the matter. He must either take them with him, or remain with them in the country. The property, however, could only be disposed of at a great loss while the troubles with the Indians continued. He proposed, therefore, returning in the course of two or three years to settle their affairs. This arrangement somewhat satisfied Rita, though she still implored me to try and persuade my father to remain. I, as may be supposed, was very willing to do so, as I liked the country, and hoped to meet with more adventures. Rochford was quite ready to remain, for he had every reason to believe that he had won Juanita's affections. How my father might ultimately have acted I cannot say, for matters were settled in a way we little expected. The sun had set, and we were seated at supper--the pleasantest meal of the day in that hot climate. My cousins had somewhat recovered their spirits, and Rochford was doing his utmost to make himself agreeable, when Tim walked into the room, rifle in hand, with his usual military air, and making a salute, said--

"Capt'n, if ye please, step up to the gallery on the west side an' take a look-out. I was peering over the drawbridge, when I caught sight of some creatures moving among the plantations; either they're wolves or Injins."

"Indians!" we exclaimed in chorus, my father, Rochford, and I jumping up.

"Do not allow honest Tim's report to alarm you," said Rochford to my cousins; "he has very likely mistaken a few stray cattle for an army of Indians. At all events, let me entreat you to remain quietly here until we ascertain the true state of the case."

I repeated what Rochford said, and then hurried up to the gallery, where I found my father and Tim, with three or four of the other men. They were crouching down so as not to expose themselves to the view of those below. Rochford and I, doing the same, looked through the loopholes left for the purpose. Though the night was somewhat dark, by watching attentively we could distinguish a number of figures darting here and there among the trees, making their way towards us, evidently endeavouring, if possible, to keep themselves concealed as much as possible from sight.

"That these are Indians I have no doubt, and also that they have come here with hostile intent; so we must be prepared for them," whispered my father.--"Rochford, I leave you in charge of the gallery; do not fire, however, until the enemy show an intention of attacking the house.-- Maurice, I must leave you and Tim, with two hands, to work the guns above the entrance. I will station the other men where they can best defend the approaches."

All these arrangements were quickly made. It was pretty evident that the Indians fancied that they were undiscovered. We lay down under cover of the bal.u.s.trade, which was of a thickness impenetrable to bullets. We could distinguish the figures of the Indians, as they emerged from the wood in the distance, stealing nearer and nearer the water which separated us from the mainland. It was very evident that they were in strong force, and fully expected to surprise the castle.

We waited for my father's word to open fire. As yet, indeed, none of those near had shown themselves, being concealed by the shrubs which grew on the farther sh.o.r.e, and which, we were thus shown, ought long ago to have been cut down.

There had been no light on the west side of our house, the windows of the sitting-room opening in the opposite direction, so that probably the Indians supposed we were all fast asleep. We kept a profound silence.

The time seemed very long; and had I not been a.s.sured that I had seen human beings moving about, I should have fancied that we must have been mistaken.

I was waiting, ready to fire, when I heard the door leading to the platform open. Looking round, I saw my two cousins.

"What is happening?" exclaimed Juanita.

Rita asked a similar question.

"Go back! go back!" I cried out, louder than I ought to have spoken; "the enemy are close at hand."

Scarcely were the words out of my mouth than an arrow whistled through the air. For a moment the dreadful thought seized me that one of them had been struck; but the missile was quivering in the woodwork above their heads. They quickly retreated, and I heard the door closed behind them. I calculated the spot from which the arrow had been shot, and with the help of my companions, training my gun towards it, fired.

Before the sound had died away, the most fearful yells and shrieks rose from the brushwood before us. Showers of arrows, mingled with bullets, came pinging against the walls, the bright flashes from the Indians'

muskets lighting up the whole sh.o.r.e. Tim was not slow to follow my example; and at the same moment the rest of the garrison began blazing away at our enemies, although it was difficult to distinguish them among the brushwood, behind which they took good care to conceal themselves.

We were well sheltered; but this sort of work might continue until the whole of our ammunition was exhausted. Though we had every reason to believe that some of our bullets took effect, it was impossible to ascertain what number of the enemy were killed; their fire, however, did not appear to diminish. They probably calculated on our having no large amount of ammunition, and intended to make their a.s.sault when they found our fire slackening. It occurred to me, while I was working away at my gun, that we ought to ascertain what quant.i.ty of ammunition we possessed. I asked Tim if he knew.

"Sure there was enough to defend the place for a whole day or more, when we first came here; but I don't know how much your uncle and his party carried away with them, or whether any has been used since. It is to be hoped the Redskins won't be any better off than we are in this respect, and will soon get tired of blazing away to no purpose," he answered.

I was not satisfied, however, and was anxious to go and ascertain, that we might, at all events, reserve some for an emergency.

We had been exchanging fire with the enemy for nearly an hour, when I observed some bright flashes of light circling over our heads.

"Arrah! now, they haven't got rockets with them?" cried Tim.

"No, these are more dangerous even than rockets," I answered. "They are sending fiery arrows on to the roof. Should any fall where they cannot be got at, they may set the place in a blaze. I must go and let my father know, as he may not have observed them."

Making my way to the door so as not to expose myself, I opened it and sprang in. Hurrying down to where my father was directing the men in the lower part of the building, I told him what was taking place. I mentioned also my apprehensions in regard to the limited amount of ammunition we possessed.

"I am afraid you are right, Maurice. We must hope to drive the Indians away before the whole is exhausted," he answered. "Come with me; we must try to prevent these fire-brands doing any damage."

We were ascending to the top of the building, when we met my cousins in the pa.s.sage.

"O uncle! what is happening? Cannot we help you in some way?" exclaimed Juanita.

"Not without more risk than I would desire you to run," answered my father. "I don't wish to alarm you, but I would advise you to collect the valuables you possess, so that you may preserve them should it be necessary to leave the house, which the Indians are trying their best to set fire to. They may not succeed; but if they do, it will become untenable. Now, brave girls, do as I bid you, and wait in the room next the garden, so that we may run out quickly if necessary."

I should have mentioned that there was on the north side of the house a little dock or harbour, in which the boats belonging to the estate were kept. The largest had that very morning been got ready to carry us and our baggage to Roseville, in case we should determine to go; while there were three others sufficient to hold all the people on the island. We had thus, should we be reduced to extremity, the means of escaping.

My father and I now hurried up to the top of the house. While he examined one side, I looked to the other. What was my dismay, as I pa.s.sed close under the roof, to find our worst fears realised. Already sparks in thick showers were falling down on the north side of the building. Through a small hole I could see the flames flickering up, while the fire was running along the planks with which the roof was lined. I hurried over to tell my father.

"The fire has burst out on the other side also!" he exclaimed; "and I have no hope of extinguis.h.i.+ng the flames. No water which we could bring up could do it."

We had no time to exchange further words, for wreaths of thick smoke were descending, filling the place where we stood, and we had quickly to make our way down to avoid suffocation.

"Call Tim and the men from the guns; they will not be able to serve them much longer," said my father. "But we must defend the lower story as long as we can. I will prepare your cousins. We shall have but few minutes, I fear, to get away."

I hurried out to obey my father's directions, and tell Tim what had happened.

"Let me have but another shot or two at the Redskin rascals. See what they're about!" he exclaimed.

I looked down, and could distinguish a number of figures dragging forward some long trunks of trees, with which they either intended to form a bridge or float themselves across. Tim and the other men fired, but the Indians did not appear to be disconcerted; indeed, the shot from the small cannon did little more damage than the bullets from the rifles. Had they been placed on a lower level, they would have been much more effective.

Before the guns could be again loaded, sparks in thick showers began to descend from the roof, and unhappily some fell among our cartridges. An explosion followed, severely injuring one of our men. To stay longer where we were would have been madness. We therefore retreated through the door, amidst a volley of bullets and arrows, dragging the poor wounded fellow with us. I told his companion to carry him into the garden, while Tim and I hastened downstairs to a.s.sist Rochford; for the men in the lower story were as yet not aware that the building was on fire. When I told them, some showed an inclination to escape; but urged by Rochford, Tim, and me, who set them the example, they continued firing away as before through the loopholes. We could, of course, see but little of what was going on in front of us, but we guessed, by the shouts of the Indians, that they were aware of the progress the flames were making. The hot fire we kept up, however, compelled them to remain under shelter. We were now joined by my father, who ordered me to take four of the men, that we might get the boats ready and the gates opened which enclosed them in the dock. He begged Rochford to take charge of the ladies, while he and Tim remained to the last to cover our retreat, so that the Indians might not discover that we were about to abandon the house, I lost no time in executing his orders, desiring the men to carry along with them their wounded comrade. The Indians were probably not aware that we had the means of escaping. At all events they had not, as far as we could see, succeeded in their attempt to reach the sh.o.r.e of the island, which they might have done on logs of wood, or by swimming across--at the risk, however, of being caught by alligators, had the saurians not been driven to a distance by the noise of the shouts and firing. Just after we had reached the dock, and were getting the oars ready for use, I saw, to my great relief, Rochford and my two cousins approaching, followed by three female servants and several other women, carrying whatever valuable property they could lay hands on.

Already the flames were bursting out from all sides in the upper part of the house. In another minute or two the whole roof would, I feared, come cras.h.i.+ng down. I looked anxiously for my father and Tim, but the continued crack of their rifles showed that they were still at their posts.

"Oh, they will be burnt, they will be burnt!" cried my cousins, as they saw the flames rapidly encircling the building.

I was on the point of hastening back to warn them, when Rochford sprang forward.

"I will do it. Get all hands ready for a start;" and before I could answer, he was already half-way across the garden.

I had still much to do. My first care was to place my cousins and the servants in the large boat, and to distribute the women in the others, while I ordered the men on board, and got the gates of the dock opened; which required considerable exertion, as the lower parts had to be forced through the mud which had collected at the bottom. The burning house afforded us light enough for all that was required.

At length the firing ceased. As I turned my eyes towards the building, it seemed as if no one could exist within it, for now, from every story, either flames or smoke were bursting forth. Again and again I looked.

Had it not been my duty to remain and protect my cousins, I should not have been able to refrain from hastening back to the house. A cry of dismay rose from my cousins and those around me, when a loud crash was heard, and flames, brighter than before, rose from the centre of the building. The roof had fallen in. I was almost giving way to despair, when I caught sight of several persons hurrying forward from among the trees. At length I recognised my father, Rochford, and Tim among them.

They were carrying three wounded men, having, I found, been compelled to abandon the bodies of two others who had fallen. My father and Tim were both wounded, and several others were more or less hurt, but they said nothing.

"On board, my lads, and shove off without delay!--Maurice, do you take charge of one of the boats; and, Tim, go in the other, and tumble overboard all those things if you find that they hamper you. Now, shove off, and give way, boys," he continued, as he sprang on board the boat into which Rochford had already stepped and taken the stroke oar. I followed as closely as I could; and Tim's boat brought up the rear. The smaller boats being lighter, we were able to keep good way with the larger.

"Keep up with us, Maurice," shouted my father; "I took a look around just as I came away, and caught sight of several objects in the distance, which I feel pretty sure are canoes. The Indians have evidently brought them down."

The island had hitherto concealed us from the enemy; but the blaze of the burning house casting its glare across the water, now revealed us to their sight, as we knew by the shots which dropped into the water astern of us. But we were already too far off to be reached, and I heard Tim cry out--