“I am to climb that? How?” she asked in a whisper.
“I will help you. Now, run fast!”
As he had promised, Skenan shimmied up the tree to a stout limb, then he bent over and offered his hand to her. And, when she put her hand into his, he pulled her up onto the limb.
He said, “I must erase our trail quickly and then discover the truth of the fight by coming in close to the enemy. Climb up as high as you can. I will join you there as soon as possible.”
She nodded.
“If I do not return here by tonight, know that I am not able to do so. Go you toward the setting sun in a straight line from here. You will easily find the fort in this way. Go immediately to the commander and give him the locket you carry. Do you understand?”
“I do, but I want to come with you, protect you!”
Amazingly, he grinned at her. He said, “I will remember you wished to protect me. Now, climb, and climb up high enough so if they look up, they will not see you.”
“I want to come with you!” she said.
But, he merely grinned at her again before, jumping to the ground, he tore away from the tree and ran into the woods, taking a northeast direction.
Abagail could find no comfortable position in this tree. It was an oak and its branches started from a higher position than those of the willow or even the maple. Finally, she chose a seat where she could sit with her back to the trunk of the tree and where there were other branches to hold on to. And, then she waited…and she waited.
The sun was high in the sky when, at last, Skenan returned to her, and, climbing up into the tree, he seemed to find her easily enough and came to sit next to her. He said, “The British, along with the Germans who aid them, as well as many Mohawk Indians are coming toward Fort Stanwix. I believe they intend to aid the enemy in laying siege to the fort. Therefore, we must hurry to the fort and warn them. Perhaps the little note in your locket is an alert about this siege and directions on what to do. We must go there with all possible speed, even daring to travel during the day.”
“And, your friend from last night? Was he with the British?”
“He was. He kept his word to me. And, I, to him to do no harm to each other. But, we neither one betrayed our true purpose to the other. Such is war, even between brothers. Now, since the danger from him has passed, we must journey to the fort as quickly as we dare. Are you ready to go?”
She sighed. “I am quite ready to do something else—almost anything else—besides sit and wait. And, whether we travel during the day or at night matters not to me.”
“Then, hold on to me or my shirt as we climb down the tree. I do not think it wise for you to try to jump down.”
She grinned. “I do not think it wise, either.”
When he smiled back at her, she was at once caught up in the simple beauty of this man.
But, when he said, “Let us climb down now,” she was more than willing to do as he asked.
Abagail and Skenan arrived at the fort during the gloom of night after having traveled fast, even though it was daylight and they could have been easily seen. For several hours now, she had smelled the smoke of battle and had seen from afar the flickering light of the struggle at Fort Stanwix. And, now she could hear the roar and the thundering of the cannons, as well as the staccato-like shots of the muskets. Indeed, the blackened night sky was alight with the flares of battle as the continuous sparks from the firing cannons lit up the sky.
She shivered. And, as she and Skenan approached closer and closer to the fort, she could hear the muffled cries of the men being hit by some bullet or unrelenting debris of a cannon. Some of those men were injured perhaps, others dying. She touched Skenan’s shoulder, her intent being to tell him she could go no farther.
She was exhausted, as well as dispirited—and the cries from the soldiers broke her heart. Her legs ached, and her calf muscles were practically crippling as the muscles contracted painfully. Indeed, the spasms affected her entire body,disallowing her to take another step. The mere thought, indeed, of going on any farther seemed beyond her capability.
But, the words didn’t leave her mouth. Instead, when Skenan looked back at her, he frowned. Then, slowly bringing up a hand to touch her cheek, he ran his fingers over her face, but he didn’t speak. Instead, as though he understood her pain, he placed an arm around her waist, and, taking her weight upon himself, he led—and most times carried—her closer to the fort.
They were soon met by a man who appeared to be another Oneida scout—a man Skenan apparently knew—and after a brief exchange of words she didn’t understand, the scout led them toward a passage into the fort. Around them were now the deafening and awful sounds of battle. Guns blasted, cannons boomed. Men who were hit cried out, some to be heard from no more.
The blaring of the guns, the roaring of the cannons, the smoke and the terrifying sparks and light from the gunfire made Abagail wish to close her ears. But, she endured the horror of the sounds instead, not wishing to bring Skenan’s attention to her at a time when all around them was the chaos of battle.
This was like no other experience she had ever before endured. Indeed, not even the storms she had experienced at sea could compare to being in the midst of a battle. So alarming was it, she didn’t know if she could bear being here another moment more. But, endure it she must.
Oddly, at this very moment, and in the midst of all this confusion of sound, smoke and fire, she realized the purpose these men were fighting for, and she applauded these Patriots who were standing up so bravely to the strongest army the world knew. This battle was being fought not to raid and divest another man of his wealth, but to free themselves from the tyranny of the English king.
And though, she, herself, was English, she became suddenly aware that she, like Skenan, sided with these Patriots. Indeed, Skenan’s enthusiasm for bringing freedom to all men, and his ideas on the fact that God created all human beings to be free, had made a deep impression upon her.
In truth, she was beginning to understand that sometimes a man or a woman had to fight for what was rightfully their own, as bestowed unto them by God. This was right and was, perhaps, the only reason a man should ever go to war: to protect himself, his family and his nation from those who would victimize and prey upon them.
And, the English were, in truth, preying upon these colonists. It seemed to her as though all these soldiers and all these people were immaterial to King George III, believing as he did that the men and women in the colonies were alive only to supply him with the fruits of their labor; and he, even though a rich king, desired the productivity and wealth of these people.
