CHAPTER XVI.
The Mohawks proved to be a small party who had fled from Burgoyne, and when they were informed of the errand on which the white men had visited that lonely spot, one and all expressed unbounded terror. In coming into the wilderness they had hoped to escape the presence of the demon whose presence they associated with Vermont and Stillwater.
When they were told by Butler of the scene which he himself had witnessed on that very spot—the one described in the commencement of our tale—and learned that the Mountain Demon had frequently made his appearance in those very woods, had in fact been tracked thither, the bravest warriors trembled, and began to look apprehensively around them, to flee.
Butler checked them from flight with consummate craft.
“Whither would my brothers fly?” he asked. “If this be a demon, he will catch you in the woods; and when was he known to spare a Mohawk? With us lies your only safety. I am the Night Hawk, that sees in the thick shades, and my spirit is more powerful than his. Remain with us, and I will show you that all the demons of wood and mountain can not frighten the Night Hawk. This is a cunning medicine-man of the rebels, but I also am a cunning medicine-man, and I will show you that I am stronger than he.”
This address reassured the warriors somewhat. They had a profound respect for the partisan, and the mere fact of his coming there expressly to solve the mystery of the demon argued that he had no fear of him. When the Night Hawk called on them to follow him, they made no more objections and the party advanced.
The dragoons dismounted—part of them—and gave up their horses to the third of their companions, who remained in the saddle, under Sir Francis, to guard the horses. The men on foot, looking to their muskets, and fastening their sabers tothe saddle, under Butler’s orders, formed in rear of the Indians, both to support them and to guard against their flight.
Then, with the partisan at their head, they advanced to the hollow tree in which the demon had once disappeared, which, as Butler had surmised, proved to be the entrance to a cavern.
Looking into the hollow, a gulf of unknown depth appeared below them, and the partisan hesitated a moment. Then he drew back and called for a lantern. Several had been brought, and they were quickly lighted, when Butler, boldly taking the initiative, leaped down the cavity and found himself on firm ground, not six feet from the surface.
With a cheery call, he held up the lantern to his followers, and disclosed the entrance to a rude flight of steps, cut downward into the earth, in a bed of solid rock. In a few moments an Indian chief followed, trembling visibly, but resolved not to give way before the white men.
Fastening the lantern to his belt, and holding his rifle ready for use, the resolute partisan slowly descended the steps, emerging at last into a lofty hall, crusted with stalactites, on which the light of the lantern flashed as if on a wall of diamonds.
He heard the soft, moccasined footsteps of the Indians, then the heavy clatter of spurs, as the dragoons descended, and at last the whole party entered the chamber, and stood gazing in wonder around them.
All were much more at their ease now. There were no signs of the demon as yet, and of caves all had heard.
Butler now made a fresh disposition of his forces. Of lanterns there were seven, of that kind called bull’s-eyes, and he ordered the soldiers bearing them to form a line behind him and advance abreast, casting a broad glare ahead. He knew that the Indians would not dare to leave him in the thick darkness of that cave.
They advanced through the long chamber, the only sounds audible being their own footsteps, and the hurried breathing of the excited men. Presently a narrow passage compelled them to stoop low and go in single file over a broken, crooked path, till they emerged into a second chamber, larger than the first, and the light of the lanterns came back to them fromthe mirror-like surface of a black pool, into which Butler had nearly fallen.
As he recovered himself with an involuntary exclamation, a loud, mocking peal of laughter sounded from the roof above them, and the sound, repeated by the echoes, came with a terrible effect to the ears of the explorers. As if to test their nerves to the utmost, there was a rushing in the air, close by, and a swarm of bats swished past them, brushing them with their wings and tangling in the long hair of several dragoons.
The confusion in the narrow passage was indescribable. The German dragoons cursed in guttural accents, the Indians uttered their startled “Hugh!” and all struggled together to flee, jammed up against the rocks.
The thundering voice of Butler recalled them to their senses.
“Halt, fools!” shouted the enraged partisan. “Do ye fear the empty laugh of a single man, and a few bats? Forward, and keep your rifles ready! We are hunting this juggler to his hole at last. He is here. Follow me, and we’ll soon find out.”
No sooner had he finished than the same demoniac peal of laughter echoed through the cave, seeming to come from overhead. The bold partisan shouted defiantly back, and his men, reassured, followed him onward into the cave, skirting the black lake as they went. It was a large chamber in which they found themselves, but its border was very narrow round the lake. After the second peal of laughter, all was silent.
Butler paused at a place where the white rock shelved out into the water making a broader platform. He cast the light of his lantern all round the cave, but could see no further path on the shore. The inky waters came up to the platform and another step would only plunge them into its icy depths.
Then he turned his gaze on the wall of rock and perceived a rude pathway leading up in a zigzag and reaching a platform above that on which he stood. Beyond it was a great black opening in the midst of which stood a sheeted ghost, gleaming snow white against the black background with all the startling effect of reality.
For a moment the blood rushed to the heart of the bold partisan, so weird was the vision. The men behind him had also caught sight of the fearful figure and uttered low exclamations of terror. Butler was the first to recover.
“Follow me, fools” he said. “’Tis only a stalactite after all. See it glitter.”
“Ha! ha! ha! ha!!!”
Again the fearful hollow laugh sounded above them, with its peculiarly ghastly mockery, and the echoes in the cave repeated the sound again and again, till it seemed as if a legion of demons was loose.
But Butler was not to be longer daunted by sounds, however fearful. Up the steep path he rushed, rifle in hand, toward the white figure in the gloomy portal, and his men after a little hesitation followed him.
Hardly had they reached the top, than a bright glare of crimson fire illuminated the rocky cavern, making every thing bright as day, and turning the whole vast chamber into a palace of jewels.
The glare came from a column of red flame that shot up in the midst of the dark archway, where the great white stalactite shone out with startling vividness.
Not a living creature was visible before them, but the column of flame made it certain that some one must be near by to have lighted it. Butler rushed forward, calling to his men to follow, and then suddenly recoiled, asthreefiery figures sprung out from the wall and rushed forward waving burning swords that shone with blue flames.
The effect was instantaneous on all but Butler. The Indians yelled with terror and plunged down the path, running headlong for the opening by the merciful light of the flame. The dragoons fired a hasty random volley with their rifles and fled after them, and the next moment out went the light and the three fiery figures went sailing through the air over the black lake like birds of hell, uttering the same fearful screeches that had driven the savages to flight.
In a moment more Butler was alone on the platform, and one of the fiery figures, waving its wings, swooped down on him, and striking him with unmistakably solid feet, sent him headlong into the black lake with a splash.
Then with a final peal of demoniac laughter all three of the apparitions circled back to the rock and disappeared, leaving Indians and dragoons to find their way out as they could.