Greenway Court; or, the Bloody Ground, Chapters LXIV-LXXV [pp. 440-465]

Greenway Court; or, the Bloody Ground.
gle that, all at once, George heard a
woman scream-and this scream he recognized as issuing from the lips of Cannie. It was so wi ld and p iercing, so filled
wi th d istressd an d anguish, that the young
man's heart turned cold with apprehension. With a hurried as sur ance t o Fanlconbridge that he would return in an
instant, George threw himself backward,
and clearing, at a single bound, two or
three dead bodies, rushed in the direction
of the spot fro m w hich he had h eard the
cry of dis tr ess.
A few words will explain it.
Cannie, Mrs. Butterton, and Miss3
Argal, had been hastily conducted to the
rear of a large mass of rock, on the eastern edge of the plateau, not far from the
curious granite bust, in order to screen
them from the balls of the savages, a
large portion of whom carried rifles and
pistols, procured from the dwellings
which they had plundered on their march.
A cleft in the rock afforded a fa,vourable
hiding place, and in this cleft, accordingly, the three women crouched, listening,
with terror, to the noises of the desperate
conflict. Beside them Lightfoot leaned,
with fi)lded arms, depressed head, and
heaving bosom, against the rock. A terrible struggle was going on in his breast.
All the old instincts of the savage chief tain were aroused within him, by the din
of the combat,-by the clashing weapons,
the discharge of fire arms, the yells and
shouts, as the enemies closed in the mor tal contest. His limbs trembled —a shud der passed through his frame-and his
glowing eyes resembled balls of fire in
his lurid face. But those eyes were not
directed toward the place of combat —his
nervous fingers did not clutch the weapon
at his girdle. Ile could take no part
against either of the bands, for neither
was his foe. He was a Catawba, it is
true-but he was also a friend of the
whites-a Christian; and to terminate
any indecision which he felt, came the
thought that his presence was necessary
to the safety of Cannie.
Thus he curbed the wild battle instinct
raging in his breast —suppressed the tre mlour which agitated his frame: —his
feet rooted themselves in their place, and
The enemies were nearly a perfect
match. It is true, that the Indians exceeded the hunters in numerical strength,
but the superiority of the arms used by
the latter gave them a decided advantage,
and more than balanced the inequality of
numbers. The area upon which they
contended-the summit of the dizzy
precipice-was limnited, and thus the
whites fought under favourable circunmstances, for they could not easily be surrounded.
Captain Wagner led the party of hunters: and beside him Falconbridge advanced into the press, dealing such blows
with his sword that every opponent went
down before him. The two men seemed
possessed withl the battle ardour- in its
fullest extent-that fury of the soul
which animates the blood of men, as
animal ferocity does the blood of beasts,
turning the mildest human beings into
wolves and tigers. Captain Wagner
did not lose his presence of mind, however. He led his men with the reckless
courage of one who commands a forlorn
hope; but with the cool generalship,
also, of a veteran campaigner. lIe advanced, step by step, beating down every
opponent-delivering his orders in a loud,
strident tone, which rose above the uproar-and embracing, even at the instant when he gave his blows, the entire
field of action at a glance.
Falconbridge was beside him-and beside Falconbridge was George. The
youth was thoroughly aroused. His
habitual calmness and amiability had
completely disappeared. His head was
tossed back with fearless pride, and in
his heaving bosom, his burning eyes,
his lips set close together, might have
been seen the evidences of a nature of
immense depth and strength-of daunt less will-of inflexible hardihood and de termination. There was no longer any thing of the boy about him-he wa s tafe
full-armed warrior, rejoicing in the dead ly contest. His sword descended with
unerring precision upon the writhing
phalanx of Indian warriors, and he was
beside Falconbridge wherever he ad vanced.
It was in the midst of this mad strut,
1859.]
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