The Kings Arrow

King's Arrow, The

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Title: The King's Arrow A Tale of the United Empire Loyalists
Author: H. A. Cody

Release Date: September 15, 2005 [eBook #16698]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING'S
ARROW***
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Transcriber's note: In the original book, the 's' in "Wu-las-tukw" is
actually "s-acute", or Unicode U+015B, and the first 'u' in "Pu-kut" is
actually "u-breve", or Unicode U+016D. In this e-text, both characters
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THE KING'S ARROW
A Tale of the United Empire Loyalists
by
H. A. CODY
Author of "The Frontiersman," "The Long Patrol," "Glen of the High
North," "Jess of the Rebel Trail," etc.
McClelland and Stewart Publishers Toronto George H. Doran
Company
1922,

To
MY ANCESTORS OF THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS
Who Came to the St. John River, May, 1783,
This Book is Gratefully Dedicated

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
WHEN THE CANNON ROARED II "COME AND TAKE IT" III
CUPID'S ARROW IV THE WARNING V "TRY IT" VI WHEN THE
BOW-STRING TWANGED VII OUT OF THE STORM VIII
BENEATH THE SPREADING MAPLE IX LOVE'S CHARM X

WHILE THE WATER FLOWS XI THE SUMMONS XII PLOTTERS
IN COUNCIL XIII THE KING'S RANGERS XIV WHERE THE
RANGERS LED XV THE LINE IN THE SAND XVI UNDER
COVER OF NIGHT XVII THE UNKNOWN QUANTITY XVIII
LOYAL FRIENDS XIX THE SMOKE SIGNAL XX TEMPERED
PUNISHMENT XXI THROUGH THE WILDERNESS XXII IN
DESPERATE STRAITS XXIII SIX CANDLES AND ONE XXIV
TIMON OF THE WILDERNESS XXV UNMASKED XXVI BEHIND
THE BOLTED DOOR XXVII THROUGH THE NIGHT AND THE
STORM XXVIII WITHIN THE LONE CABIN XXIX SHELTERING
ARMS XXX THE ROUND-UP XXXI PEACE AT EVENING TIME
XXXII AFTER MANY DAYS XXXIII SEEDS OF EMPIRE

THE LOYALISTS
(1783)
"Broad lands, ancestral homes, the gathered wealth Of patient toil and
self-denying years Were confiscate and lost. . . . Not drooping like poor
fugitives they came In exodus to our Canadian wilds, But full of heart
and hope, with heads erect, And fearless eyes, victorious in defeat."
WILLIAM KIRBY

"No one will know, because none has told, all that those brave pioneers
underwent for their devotion and fidelity. You will see to-day on the
outskirts of the older settlements little mounds, moss-covered
tombstones which record the last resting-places of the forefathers of the
hamlet. They do not tell you of the brave hearts laid low by hunger and
exposure, of the girlish forms washed away, of the babes and little
children who perished for want of proper food and raiment. They have
nothing to tell of the courageous, high-minded mothers, wives and
daughters, who bore themselves as bravely as men, complaining never,
toiling with men in the fields, banishing all regrets for the life they
might have led had they sacrificed their loyalty. . . . No great

monument is raised to their memory; none is needed; it is enshrined
forever in the hearts of every Canadian and of every one who admires
fidelity to principle, devotion and self-sacrifice."
"Romance of Canada," BECKLES H. WILLSON

THE KING'S ARROW
CHAPTER I
WHEN THE CANNON ROARED
A keen wind whipping in from the west swayed the tops of
innumerable pines, firs, spruces, and maples. They were goodly trees,
unharmed as yet by scathing fire or biting axe. Proudly they lifted their
crests to the wind and the sun, while down below, their great boles
were wrapped in perpetual shade and calm. Life, mysterious life, lurked
within those brooding depths, and well did the friendly trees keep the
many secrets of the denizens of the wild.
Through that trackless maze two wayfarers warily threaded their course
on a chill May day in the year seventeen hundred and eighty-three.
They were men, and their speed denoted the urgency of the business
upon which they were bent. They were clad in buckskin jackets, and
homespun trousers, which showed signs of hard usage. Moccasins
encased their feet, and squirrel-skin caps sat lightly upon their heads.
Each carried a heavy flint-lock musket in his hand, while at his side
swung the inevitable powder-horn, hung low enough so as not to
interfere with the small pack strapped across the shoulders.
Both travellers were peering intently forward, and when at length the
glint of shimmering water glimmered through the trees their faces
brightened with satisfaction. But just then the leader stopped dead in
his tracks, and glanced anxiously to the left. He was