J. Macdonald Oxley

“ The manifest ill-humor of the tone brought the color to Seth's cheeks; but he was not to be checked by it, and he came at once to the point by responding:
"I want to join your Rangers, sir."
The famous scout looked him over from head to foot and then broke into a laugh that was so clearly contemptuous as to make Seth thrill with indignation, although he strove not to show it in his countenance.
"You want to join my Rangers, eh? And what good would such a youngster as you be to me? I want only men who can stand anything and are not afraid of anything." ”

“ Seth, who had a keen sense of humor, thought their conduct highly diverting, and was one of the first to reach the sledges.
The poor fellows, when they realized into whose hands they had fallen, gave themselves up for lost. They evidently expected nothing else than to be killed at once, or to be reserved for dreadful torture, and as Major Rogers himself was the only one of their captors who understood their language, their passionate pleading for mercy evoked no response from the others and intensified their terror. ”

“ They accordingly gave back as slowly as possible, firing and reloading their muskets with such celerity that the French conceived their numbers to be much greater than they really were, and were more cautious in their pursuit than they would have been if they had known the truth.
Seth was one of the last to retreat, and his slowness nearly cost him his life, as an Iroquois scout, creeping serpent-like through the long grass, got near enough to hurl his tomahawk at him with deadly aim. ”

“ So completely was the wind knocked out of him that he could not even swear at his assailant, who had disposed of him in such unlooked-for fashion; and Seth, not waiting to do him any more harm, dashed on to the fort, where the commander was anxiously awaiting his return.
"They're more than a thousand strong," he panted, "and they're coming up on the ice right away. They'll be here soon."
"Well, we're ready for them," replied the commander resolutely; "and though they are four times as strong as we are, they'll find they have no easy task to get the best of us." ”

“ While they lay curled up in their blankets in a sheltered nook several deer came out of the forest near by, and their hunter's instinct was at once aroused.
"What a splendid shot!" murmured Reuben under his breath as his hand went out toward his gun. "Just see that fine buck!"
"Not for your life!" exclaimed Seth in so emphatic a tone that it reached the acute ears of the deer, and they bounded away out of danger. "When we do fire, it must be at another kind of game," he added, and Reuben meekly accepted the reproof. ”

“ Seth felt highly gratified when to the Rangers was assigned the perilous honor of taking the lead.
"There is only one chance in ten of our getting back alive, Reuben," he said to his friend, as, with countenance whose gravity showed how fully they realized what was before them, they talked together after the council of officers had dispersed, "but we can only do our best. If we have to surrender, I pray God we may not fall into the hands of those red devils the French have with them. I'd rather be shot at once than be taken prisoner by them and tortured to death." ”

“ It was a still dark night when the procession of boats carrying the vanguard of the English, followed by the ships with the remainder, borne on the current, steered silently down the St. Lawrence, and Seth in the foremost boat, sobered by a sense of the tremendous risk, speculated as to the chances of being alive twenty-four hours hence.
"We're bound to lose a good many of our men," he said to himself, "and maybe it will be my turn to fall. I've had a lot of narrow escapes and I suppose I can't count on always being so lucky. ”

“ At length, seven days after setting out from the fort, they arrived within a mile of Crown Point, and, having concealed themselves in a thickly wooded hollow, where they were open to attack from only one direction, they awaited the further direction of their commander.
Every man fully realized the peril of the situation, and yet they were all in the highest spirits.
"I wonder how long it will take the French to find out we are so near them," said Seth to Reuben, with a smile of unconcern. "What wouldn't they give to know just where we are! ”

“ As the fierce conflict began to slacken somewhat he observed a Colonial, who had not been quick enough in retreat, stumble and fall headlong, and the next instant a stalwart Indian, hideous with war paint, sprang out from the enemy's line and dashed toward the man tomahawk in hand.
Seth had just fired and there was no time to reload. If he would save his helpless countryman it must be by exposing himself to a like fate. ”

“ It was no time for words, but for action, quick and decisive.
"Now, Rangers," said the Major in a low, grave tone that showed how deep was his feeling: "We're in a bad box, and there's small chance of our getting out of it. But if we can't save ourselves we can make a good fight of it, and sell our lives dearly. Don't be in a hurry to fire. Don't waste a bullet. Club your muskets after they're empty, and keep at it so long as you can stand." ”

“ It was well for him he did. The sudden action certainly saved his life, for close upon Reuben's timely shout came the report of a gun, and a bullet whistled viciously past the very spot where the Major had been standing.
Like an echo another report followed the first. It was from the gun of Seth, who had been watching intently the movements of the Indians, and the moment the latter exposed themselves in their anxiety to kill Major Rogers he aimed and pulled trigger. ”

“ Desperate as the situation of the Rangers seemed, not a man of them lost heart. Their dauntless leader issued his orders to them as calmly as if they were merely on parade, and they obeyed them promptly and precisely.
Seth was in perfect command of himself. Loading and firing his gun with deliberate care he wasted few of his shots, and the accuracy of his aim contributed in no small degree to checking the onset of his opponents. ”

“ Who do you think would be the best man?"
"I'm sure I don't know," replied Seth quite innocently, for he had no glimmering of the Major's drift. "I expect any of the men would be glad to be ensign."
"How would you like it yourself, my lad?" asked the Major, laying his hand upon his shoulder.
Seth started and flushed to the roots of his hair. That the choice should fall upon him had not entered his head, yet there was evident earnestness in his chief's tone.
"I?" he exclaimed, half incredulously. "I'm not fit. I don't know enough. I'm too young." ”

“ About seven o'clock the Rangers began their difficult, dangerous retreat. The rain had ceased to fall, but the snow was water-soaked and the trees dripped from every branch. Even if the men had been in good condition they could not have moved rapidly; but wearied as they were, and some of them having to be carried on extemporized litters, rudely made of boughs, their progress necessarily could be little better than a crawl, and yet at any moment out of the surrounding darkness a horde of merciless savages might burst upon them ravening for their blood. ”

“ With throbbing pulses and bated breaths the Rangers, lying motionless in the thicket, awaited the result of the discussion; and, brave men as they were, it was an unspeakable relief to all of them when the officer, who wished to go farther on, carried his point, and the boats were rowed a couple of hundred yards southward, where their occupants landed and had their dinner in full view of their hidden enemy, whose proximity was happily unknown to them. Having dined and rested they proceeded on their way, and the Rangers breathed freely again. ”

“ The burning sloop, amid the expanse of spotless snow, made a splendid spectacle, which gave no pleasure to the defenders of Fort William Henry; but it was the last blow struck by their foes, and when on the following morning the sun rose bright and strong, flooding the wintry scene with radiance, the snow-covered surface of the lake was seen to be dotted with the dark forms of Rigaud's retreating force toiling back to Canada on snow-shoes, a foiled and humiliated band of men. ”

“ With a chorus of horrid oaths the ruffians rushed after them; but Seth, thrusting Captain Lindsay into the doorway ahead of him, swung around and pinked the foremost fellow on the shoulder, causing him to fall back with a roar of pain, and ere the next one could come on, he had the heavy door closed in his face and his foot braced against it.
The men on the outside were striving furiously to force the door in when a window above them was flung up and a night-capped head appeared with the muzzle of a big blunderbuss in close proximity. ”

“ Although still in his teens he had reached the stature of a man, and his well-knit figure gave evidence of no common share of strength and activity. He was dressed in a suit of tanned buckskin that became him particularly well, and with his double-barrelled smoothbore, carved powder-horn, keen-edged tomahawk, and long-bladed hunting knife was fully equipped to meet the foe.
The son of a pioneer settler upon the northern border of Massachusetts, Seth Allen had already drunk to its depths the cup of sorrow, for at one fell swoop the dusky allies of the French had rendered him a homeless orphan. ”

“ Now did Seth's skill in wrestling serve him in good stead. The redskin's onset was so sudden and unexpected that he had almost succeeded in his brutal purpose ere his intended victim could defend himself; but the next instant by a dexterous movement he evaded the cruel teeth, and then, dropping his gun, gripped his assailant around the neck, and flung him backward with such force that the savage's senses were knocked out of him, and he lay limp and harmless. ”

“ I've been used to handling a gun ever since I was a little chap."
"Aha, that accounts for it," said Major Eyre. "Such skill is not to be acquired in the army. If all our men could take lessons from you, they'd be much the better for it. Well, you've given that poor chap his quietus. We'll see no more of him."
The loss of their leader so startled the soldiers that they scuttled off out of range in a way which highly amused those who were watching them from the fort.
"They know how to take care of themselves," was Seth's smiling comment as he reloaded his gun. ”

“ Seth and a little band of his Rangers, who had ventured out from Fort William Henry on a scouting expedition, beheld it from the summit of a lofty hill, and their spirits sank at the sight.
"Heaven help us! There's no counting them!" exclaimed Seth in a tone of consternation. "We can't possibly hold the fort against them. They've five times as many men as we have, at least."
"Let us hurry back to the fort then and tell Colonel Monro," Reuben Thayer made haste to suggest. "Perhaps he'll think it best not to attempt to defend our fort, but to retreat to Fort Edward." ”

“ Seth Allen was with the vanguard, his pulse beating rapidly, and every nerve a-quiver, for he felt it in his bones that there would be plenty of fighting before the day ended.
"I hope the French will wait for us," he said to Elisha Halley, by whom he was walking. "Maybe if they get warning of our advance they will go back to their canoes and we have nothing to follow them with on the water."
Elisha smiled contemptuously as he replied:
"It all depends upon how many they are and what they know about our strength. ”

“ Having painted themselves in startling style and practised certain incantations, the meaning of which was lost upon their white brethren, the Indians then gathered close about their chief, who held an otter-skin bag from which he took various charms, and tied them about the necks of the others.
The bag itself, much to Seth's surprise, he hung upon his neck, saying with utmost solemnity:
"Now the pale-faced chieftain cannot be killed. The bullets of the enemy will be turned away by the medicine at his neck. He will be safe no matter how many shoot at him." ”

“ FORT WILLIAM HENRY IN DANGER.
It was about two o'clock when the first volley fell upon the startled Rangers, and through the long afternoon they had fought doggedly, repelling the successive assaults of their antagonists on flank and centre, and taking toll of them for every gap in their own ranks at the rate of two to one.
The Indian allies of the French had at the first been very active, gliding hither and thither as silently as snakes, or whooping fiercely as they darted from tree to tree in their endeavors to close in on the stubborn provincials. ”

“ Their whole appearance was neither martial nor picturesque, and gave them no excuse for pride, but they were brave, brawny fellows, clear of head, quick of eye, swift of foot, and sure of hand, and incomparably better adapted for the irregular warfare of the time than the highly disciplined soldiery of either England or France. They knew the forests as the city-bred man knows the streets, and by day or night could traverse their fastnesses without fear of losing their way or falling into the hands of the enemy. ”

“ Half an hour after Seth's return the sound of many men marching rapidly over the smooth ice reached the ears of those at the fort, and the commander gave orders for the gunners to be ready to fire the cannon the instant he gave the word.
He rightly judged that the best way of showing the enemy that their hope of surprising the fort was not to be realized was by receiving them with the heaviest broadside he could manage to bestow upon them, and so he waited for them to approach near enough to render his method of greeting most effective. ”

“ Breaking up into parties of ten, they advanced upon the village from different directions, and at sight of them the terrified inhabitants fled to their houses, in which they shut themselves without any thought of offering resistance.
"I hope we won't have to set the houses on fire," whispered Seth to Reuben as they drew near a rude dwelling, which he judged sheltered women and children. "I don't mind how many barns we burn, but I don't want to have a hand in hurting the poor people."
"Oh, surely Major Rogers won't do anything to them!" Reuben exclaimed under his breath. "We're not Indians." ”