CHAPTER VII.
And is this--Yarrow?--this the stream Of which my fancy cherish'd So faithfully a waking dream? An image that hath perish'd? Oh that some minstrel's harp were near, To utter notes of gladness, And chase this silence from the air, That fills my heart with sadness. WORDSWORTH.
THE scene was not without its sublimity, and the ardent, generous-mindedMabel felt her blood thrill in her veins and her cheeks flush, asthe canoe shot into the strength of the stream, to quit the spot. Thedarkness of the night had lessened, by the dispersion of the clouds;but the overhanging woods rendered the shore so obscure, that the boatsfloated down the current in a belt of gloom that effectually securedthem from detection. Still, there was necessarily a strong feeling ofinsecurity in all on board them; and even Jasper, who by this time beganto tremble, in behalf of the girl, at every unusual sound that arosefrom the forest, kept casting uneasy glances around him as he drifted onin company. The paddle was used lightly, and only with exceeding care;for the slightest sound in the breathing stillness of that hour andplace might apprise the watchful ears of the Iroquois of their position.
All these accessories added to the impressive grandeur of her situation,and contributed to render the moment much the most exciting whichhad ever occurred in the brief existence of Mabel Dunham. Spirited,accustomed to self-reliance, and sustained by the pride of consideringherself a soldier's daughter, she could hardly be said to be under theinfluence of fear, yet her heart often beat quicker than common, herfine blue eye lighted with an exhibition of a resolution that was wastedin the darkness, and her quickened feelings came in aid of the realsublimity that belonged to the scene and to the incidents of the night.
"Mabel!" said the suppressed voice of Jasper, as the two canoes floatedso near each other that the hand of the young man held them together,"you have no dread? You trust freely to our care and willingness toprotect you?"
"I am a soldier's daughter, as you know, Jasper Western, and ought to beashamed to confess fear."
"Rely on me--on us all. Your uncle, Pathfinder, the Delaware, were thepoor fellow here, I myself, will risk everything rather than harm shouldreach you."
"I believe you, Jasper," returned the girl, her hand unconsciouslyplaying in the water. "I know that my uncle loves me, and will neverthink of himself until he has first thought of me; and I believe you areall my father's friends, and would willingly assist his child. But I amnot so feeble and weak-minded as you may think; for, though only a girlfrom the towns, and, like most of that class, a little disposed to seedanger where there is none, I promise you, Jasper, no foolish fears ofmine shall stand in the way of your doing your duty."
"The Sergeant's daughter is right, and she is worthy of being honestThomas Dunham's child," put in the Pathfinder. "Ah's me, pretty one!many is the time that your father and I have scouted and marchedtogether on the flanks and rear of the enemy, in nights darker thanthis, and that, too, when we did not know but the next moment would leadus into a bloody ambushment. I was at his side when he got the wound inhis shoulder; and the honest fellow will tell you, when you meet, themanner in which we contrived to cross the river which lay in our rear,in order to save his scalp."
"He has told me," said Mabel, with more energy perhaps than hersituation rendered prudent. "I have his letters, in which he hasmentioned all that, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for theservice. God will remember it, Pathfinder; and there is no gratitudethat you can ask of the daughter which she will not cheerfully repay forher father's life."
"Ay, that is the way with all your gentle and pure-hearted creatures.I have seen some of you before, and have heard of others. The Sergeanthimself has talked to me of his own young days, and of your mother,and of the manner in which he courted her, and of all the crossings anddisappointments, until he succeeded at last."
"My mother did not live long to repay him for what he did to win her,"said Mabel, with a trembling lip.
"So he tells me. The honest Sergeant has kept nothing back; for, beingso many years my senior, he has looked on me, in our many scoutingstogether, as a sort of son."
"Perhaps, Pathfinder," observed Jasper, with a huskiness in his voicethat defeated the attempt at pleasantry, "he would be glad to have youfor one in reality."
"And if he did, Eau-douce, where would be the sin of it? He knows what Iam on a trail or a scout, and he has seen me often face to face with theFrenchers. I have sometimes thought, lad, that we all ought to seek forwives; for the man that lives altogether in the woods, and in companywith his enemies or his prey, gets to lose some of the feeling of kindin the end. It is not easy to dwell always in the presence of God andnot feel the power of His goodness. I have attended church-sarvice inthe garrisons, and tried hard, as becomes a true soldier, to join inthe prayers; for, though no enlisted sarvant of the king, I fighthis battles and sarve his cause, and so I have endeavored to worshipgarrison-fashion, but never could raise within me the solemn feelingsand true affection that I feel when alone with God in the forest. ThereI seem to stand face to face with my Master; all around me is fresh andbeautiful, as it came from His hand; and there is no nicety or doctrineto chill the feelings. No no; the woods are the true temple after all,for there the thoughts are free to mount higher even than the clouds."
"You speak the truth, Master Pathfinder," said Cap, "and a truth thatall who live much in solitude know. What, for instance, is the reasonthat seafaring men in general are so religious and conscientious in allthey do, but the fact that they are so often alone with Providence, andhave so little to do with the wickedness of the land. Many and many isthe time that I have stood my watch, under the equator perhaps, or inthe Southern Ocean, when the nights are lighted up with the fires ofheaven; and that is the time, I can tell you, my hearties, to bring aman to his bearings in the way of his sins. I have rattled down mineagain and again under such circumstances, until the shrouds and lanyardsof conscience have fairly creaked with the strain. I agree with you,Master Pathfinder, therefore, in saying, if you want a truly religiousman, go to sea, or go into the woods."
"Uncle, I thought seamen had little credit generally for their respectfor religion?"
"All d----d slander, girl; for all the essentials of Christianity theseaman beats the landsman hand-over-hand."
"I will not answer for all this, Master Cap," returned Pathfinder; "butI daresay some of it may be true. I want no thunder and lightning toremind me of my God, nor am I as apt to bethink on most of all Hisgoodness in trouble and tribulations as on a calm, solemn, quiet day ina forest, when His voice is heard in the creaking of a dead branch or inthe song of a bird, as much in my ears at least as it is ever heard inuproar and gales. How is it with you, Eau-douce? you face the tempestsas well as Master Cap, and ought to know something of the feelings ofstorms."
"I fear that I am too young and too inexperienced to be able to say muchon such a subject," modestly answered Jasper.
"But you have your feelings!" said Mabel quickly. "You cannot--no onecan live among such scenes without feeling how much they ought to trustin God!"
"I shall not belie my training so much as to say I do not sometimesthink of these things, but I fear it is not so often or so much as Iought."
"Fresh water," resumed Cap pithily; "you are not to expect too much ofthe young man, Mabel. I think they call you sometimes by a name whichwould insinuate all this: Eau-de-vie, is it not?"
"Eau-douce," quietly replied Jasper, who from sailing on the lake hadacquired a knowledge of French, as well as of several of the Indiandialects. "It is a name the Iroquois have given me to distinguish mefrom some of my companions who once sailed upon the sea, and are fond offilling the ears of the natives with stories of their great salt-waterlakes."
"And why shouldn't they? I daresay they do the savages no harm. Ay, ay,Eau-deuce; that must mean the white brandy, which may well enough becalled the deuce, for deuced stuff it is!"
"The signification of Eau-douce is sweet-water,
and it is the mannerin which the French express fresh-water," rejoined Jasper, a littlenettled.
"And how the devil do they make water out of Eau-in-deuce, when it meansbrandy in Eau-de-vie? Besides, among seamen, Eau always means brandy;and Eau-de-vie, brandy of a high proof. I think nothing of yourignorance, young man; for it is natural to your situation, and cannotbe helped. If you will return with me, and make a v'y'ge or two on theAtlantic, it will serve you a good turn the remainder of your days; andMabel there, and all the other young women near the coast, will thinkall the better of you should you live to be as old as one of the treesin this forest."
"Nay, nay," interrupted the single-hearted and generous guide; "Jasperwants not for friends in this region, I can assure you; and thoughseeing the world, according to his habits, may do him good as well asanother, we shall think none the worse of him if he never quits us.Eau-douce or Eau-de-vie, he is a brave, true-hearted youth, and I alwayssleep as soundly when he is on the watch as if I was up and stirringmyself; ay, and for that matter, sounder too. The Sergeant's daughterhere doesn't believe it necessary for the lad to go to sea in order tomake a man of him, or one who is worthy to be respected and esteemed."
Mabel made no reply to this appeal, and she even looked towards thewestern shore, although the darkness rendered the natural movementsunnecessary to conceal her face. But Jasper felt that there was anecessity for his saying something, the pride of youth and manhoodrevolting at the idea of his being in a condition not to command therespect of his fellows or the smiles of his equals of the other sex.Still he was unwilling to utter aught that might be considered harshto the uncle of Mabel; and his self-command was perhaps more creditablethan his modesty and spirit.
"I pretend not to things I don't possess," he said, "and lay no claim toany knowledge of the ocean or of navigation. We steer by the starsand the compass on these lakes, running from headland to headland; andhaving little need of figures and calculations, make no use of them. Butwe have our claims notwithstanding, as I have often heard from those whohave passed years on the ocean. In the first place, we have alwaysthe land aboard, and much of the time on a lee-shore, and that I havefrequently heard makes hardy sailors. Our gales are sudden and severe,and we are compelled to run for our ports at all hours."
"You have your leads," interrupted Cap.
"They are of little use, and are seldom cast."
"The deep-seas."
"I have heard of such things, but confess I never saw one."
"Oh! deuce, with a vengeance. A trader, and no deep-sea! Why, boy, youcannot pretend to be anything of a mariner. Who the devil ever heard ofa seaman without his deep-sea?"
"I do not pretend to any particular skill, Master Cap."
"Except in shooting falls, Jasper, except in shooting falls and rifts,"said Pathfinder, coming to the rescue; "in which business even you,Master Cap, must allow he has some handiness. In my judgment, every manis to be esteemed or condemned according to his gifts; and if MasterCap is useless in running the Oswego Falls, I try to remember that he isuseful when out of sight of land; and if Jasper be useless when out ofsight of land, I do not forget that he has a true eye and steady handwhen running the falls."
"But Jasper is not useless--would not be useless when out of sight ofland," said Mabel, with a spirit and energy that caused her clear sweetvoice to be startling amid the solemn stillness of that extraordinaryscene. "No one can be useless there who can do so much here, is what Imean; though, I daresay, he is not as well acquainted with ships as myuncle."
"Ay, bolster each other up in your ignorance," returned Cap with asneer. "We seamen are so much out-numbered when ashore that it is seldomwe get our dues; but when you want to be defended, or trade is to becarried on, there is outcry enough for us."
"But, uncle, landsmen do not come to attack our coasts; so that seamenonly meet seamen."
"So much for ignorance! Where are all the enemies that have landed inthis country, French and English, let me inquire, niece?"
"Sure enough, where are they?" ejaculated Pathfinder. "None can tellbetter than we who dwell in the woods, Master Cap. I have often followedtheir line of march by bones bleaching in the rain, and have found theirtrail by graves, years after they and their pride had vanished together.Generals and privates, they lay scattered throughout the land, so manyproofs of what men are when led on by their love of great names and thewish to be more than their fellows."
"I must say, Master Pathfinder, that you sometimes utter opinionsthat are a little remarkable for a man who lives by the rifle; seldomsnuffing the air but he smells gunpowder, or turning out of his berthbut to bear down on an enemy."
"If you think I pass my days in warfare against my kind, you knowneither me nor my history. The man that lives in the woods and on thefrontiers must take the chances of the things among which he dwells. Forthis I am not accountable, being but an humble and powerless hunter andscout and guide. My real calling is to hunt for the army, on its marchesand in times of peace; although I am more especially engaged in theservice of one officer, who is now absent in the settlements, where Inever follow him. No, no; bloodshed and warfare are not my real gifts,but peace and mercy. Still, I must face the enemy as well as another;and as for a Mingo, I look upon him as man looks on a snake, a creatur'to be put beneath the heel whenever a fitting occasion offers."
"Well, well; I have mistaken your calling, which I had thoughtas regularly warlike as that of a ship's gunner. There is mybrother-in-law, now; he has been a soldier since he was sixteen, and helooks upon his trade as every way as respectable as that of a seafaringman, a point I hardly think it worth while to dispute with him."
"My father has been taught to believe that it is honorable to carryarms," said Mabel, "for his father was a soldier before him."
"Yes, yes," resumed the guide; "most of the Sergeant's gifts aremartial, and he looks at most things in this world over the barrel ofhis musket. One of his notions, now, is to prefer a king's piece to aregular, double-sighted, long-barrelled rifle. Such conceits will comeover men from long habit; and prejudice is, perhaps, the commonestfailing of human natur'."
While the desultory conversation just related had been carried on insubdued voices, the canoes were dropping slowly down with the currentwithin the deep shadows of the western shore, the paddles being usedmerely to preserve the desired direction and proper positions. Thestrength of the stream varied materially, the water being seeminglystill in places, while in other reaches it flowed at a rate exceedingtwo or even three miles in the hour. On the rifts it even dashed forwardwith a velocity that was appalling to the unpractised eye. Jasper was ofopinion that they might drift down with the current to the mouth of theriver in two hours from the time they left the shore, and he and thePathfinder had agreed on the expediency of suffering the canoes to floatof themselves for a time, or at least until they had passed the firstdangers of their new movement. The dialogue had been carried on invoices, too, guardedly low; for though the quiet of deep solitudereigned in that vast and nearly boundless forest, nature was speakingwith her thousand tongues in the eloquent language of night in awilderness. The air sighed through ten thousand trees, the waterrippled, and at places even roared along the shores; and now and thenwas heard the creaking of a branch or a trunk, as it rubbed againstsome object similar to itself, under the vibrations of a nicely balancedbody. All living sounds had ceased. Once, it is true, the Pathfinderfancied he heard the howl of a distant wolf, of which a few prowledthrough these woods; but it was a transient and doubtful cry, that mightpossibly have been attributed to the imagination. When he desired hiscompanions, however, to cease talking, his vigilant ear had caught thepeculiar sound which is made by the parting of a dried branch of a treeand which, if his senses did not deceive him, came from the westernshore. All who are accustomed to that particular sound will understandhow readily the ear receives it, and how easy it is to distinguish thetread which breaks the branch from every other noise of the forest.
"There is the footstep of a
man on the bank," said Pathfinder to Jasper,speaking in neither a whisper nor yet in a voice loud enough to beheard at any distance. "Can the accursed Iroquois have crossed the riveralready, with their arms, and without a boat?"
"It may be the Delaware. He would follow us, of course down this bank,and would know where to look for us. Let me draw closer into the shore,and reconnoitre."
"Go boy but be light with the paddle, and on no account venture ashoreon an onsartainty."
"Is this prudent?" demanded Mabel, with an impetuosity that rendered herincautious in modulating her sweet voice.
"Very imprudent, if you speak so loud, fair one. I like your voice,which is soft and pleasing, after the listening so long to the tones ofmen; but it must not be heard too much, or too freely, just now. Yourfather, the honest Sergeant, will tell you, when you meet him, thatsilence is a double virtue on a trail. Go, Jasper, and do justice toyour own character for prudence."
Ten anxious minutes succeeded the disappearance of the canoe of Jasper,which glided away from that of the Pathfinder so noiselessly, thatit had been swallowed up in the gloom before Mabel allowed herself tobelieve the young man would really venture alone on a service whichstruck her imagination as singularly dangerous. During this time, theparty continued to float with the current, no one speaking, and, itmight almost be said, no one breathing, so strong was the general desireto catch the minutest sound that should come from the shore. But thesame solemn, we might, indeed, say sublime, quiet reigned as before; thewashing of the water, as it piled up against some slight obstruction,and the sighing of the trees, alone interrupting the slumbers of theforest. At the end of the period mentioned, the snapping of driedbranches was again faintly heard, and the Pathfinder fancied that thesound of smothered voices reached him.
"I may be mistaken," he said, "for the thoughts often fancy what theheart wishes; but these were notes like the low tones of the Delaware."
"Do the dead of the savages ever walk?" demanded Cap.
"Ay, and run too, in their happy hunting-grounds, but nowhere else. Ared-skin finishes with the 'arth, after the breath quits the body. Itis not one of his gifts to linger around his wigwam when his hour haspassed."
"I see some object on the water," whispered Mabel, whose eye had notceased to dwell on the body of gloom, with close intensity, since thedisappearance of Jasper.
"It is the canoe," returned the guide, greatly relieved. "All must besafe, or we should have heard from the lad."
In another minute the two canoes, which became visible to those theycarried only as they drew near each other, again floated side by side,and the form of Jasper was recognized at the stern of his own boat. Thefigure of a second man was seated in the bow; and, as the young sailorso wielded his paddle as to bring the face of his companion near theeyes of the Pathfinder and Mabel, they both recognized the person of theDelaware.
"Chingachgook--my brother!" said the guide in the dialect of the other'speople, a tremor shaking his voice that betrayed the strength of hisfeelings. "Chief of the Mohicans! My heart is very glad. Often have wepassed through blood and strife together, but I was afraid it was neverto be so again."
"Hugh! The Mingos are squaws! Three of their scalps hang at my girdle.They do not know how to strike the Great Serpent of the Delawares.Their hearts have no blood; and their thoughts are on their return path,across the waters of the Great Lake."
"Have you been among them, chief? and what has become of the warrior whowas in the river?"
"He has turned into a fish, and lies at the bottom with the eels! Lethis brothers bait their hooks for him. Pathfinder, I have counted theenemy, and have touched their rifles."
"Ah, I thought he would be venturesome!" exclaimed the guide in English."The risky fellow has been in the midst of them, and has brought us backtheir whole history. Speak, Chingachgook, and I will make our friends asknowing as ourselves."
The Delaware now related in a low earnest manner the substance of allhis discoveries, since he was last seen struggling with his foe in theriver. Of the fate of his antagonist he said no more, it not being usualfor a warrior to boast in his more direct and useful narratives. Assoon as he had conquered in that fearful strife, however, he swam tothe eastern shore, landed with caution, and wound his way in amongst theIroquois, concealed by the darkness, undetected, and, in the main, evenunsuspected. Once, indeed, he had been questioned; but answering that hewas Arrowhead, no further inquiries were made. By the passing remarks,he soon ascertained that the party was out expressly to intercept Mabeland her uncle, concerning whose rank, however, they had evidently beendeceived. He also ascertained enough to justify the suspicion thatArrowhead had betrayed them to their enemies, for some motive that itwas not now easy to reach, as he had not yet received the reward of hisservices.
Pathfinder communicated no more of this intelligence to his companionsthan he thought might relieve their apprehensions, intimating, at thesame time, that now was the moment for exertion, the Iroquois not havingyet entirely recovered from the confusion created by their losses.
"We shall find them at the rift, I make no manner of doubt," continuedhe; "and there it will be our fate to pass them, or to fall into theirhands. The distance to the garrison will then be so short, that I havebeen thinking of a plan of landing with Mabel myself, that I may takeher in, by some of the by-ways, and leave the canoes to their chances inthe rapids."
"It will never succeed, Pathfinder," eagerly interrupted Jasper. "Mabelis not strong enough to tramp the woods in a night like this. Put her inmy skiff, and I will lose my life, or carry her through the rift safely,dark as it is."
"No doubt you will, lad; no one doubts your willingness to do anythingto serve the Sergeant's daughter; but it must be the eye of Providence,and not your own, that will take you safely through the Oswego rift in anight like this."
"And who will lead her safely to the garrison if she land? Is not thenight as dark on shore as on the water? or do you think I know less ofmy calling than you know of yours?"
"Spiritedly said, lad; but if I should lose my way in the dark--andI believe no man can say truly that such a thing ever yet happened tome--but, if I _should_ lose my way, no other harm would come of it thanto pass a night in the forest; whereas a false turn of the paddle, ora broad sheer of the canoe, would put you and the young woman into theriver, out of which it is more than probable the Sergeant's daughterwould never come alive."
"I will leave it to Mabel herself; I am certain that she will feel moresecure in the canoe."
"I have great confidence in you both," answered the girl; "and have nodoubts that either will do all he can to prove to my father how much hevalues him; but I confess I should not like to quit the canoe, with thecertainty we have of there being enemies like those we have seen in theforest. But my uncle can decide for me in this matter."
"I have no liking for the woods," said Cap, "while one has a clear driftlike this on the river. Besides, Master Pathfinder, to say nothing ofthe savages, you overlook the sharks."
"Sharks! Who ever heard of sharks in the wilderness?"
"Ay! Sharks, or bears, or wolves--no matter what you call a thing, so ithas the mind and power to bite."
"Lord, lord, man! Do you dread any creatur' that is to be found in theAmerican forest? A catamount is a skeary animal, I will allow, but thenit is nothing in the hands of a practysed hunter. Talk of the Mingos andtheir devilries if you will; but do not raise a false alarm about bearsand wolves."
"Ay, ay, Master Pathfinder, this is all well enough for you, whoprobably know the name of every creature you would meet. Use iseverything, and it makes a man bold when he might otherwise be bashful.I have known seamen in the low latitudes swim for hours at a time amongsharks fifteen or twenty feet long."
"This is extraordinary!" exclaimed Jasper, who had not yet acquired thatmaterial part of his trade, the ability to spin a yarn. "I have alwaysheard that it was certain death to venture in the water among sharks."
"I forgot to say, that the lads a
lways took capstan-bars, or gunners'handspikes, or crows with them, to rap the beasts over the noses if theygot to be troublesome. No, no, I have no liking for bears and wolves,though a whale, in my eye, is very much the same sort of fish as a redherring after it is dried and salted. Mabel and I had better stick tothe canoe."
"Mabel would do well to change canoes," added Jasper. "This of mine isempty, and even Pathfinder will allow that my eye is surer than his ownon the water."
"That I will, cheerfully, boy. The water belongs to your gifts, and noone will deny that you have improved them to the utmost. You are rightenough in believing that the Sergeant's daughter will be safer in yourcanoe than in this; and though I would gladly keep her near myself, Ihave her welfare too much at heart not to give her honest advice. Bringyour canoe close alongside, Jasper, and I will give you what you mustconsider as a precious treasure."
"I do so consider it," returned the youth, not losing a moment incomplying with the request; when Mabel passed from one canoe to theother taking her seat on the effects which had hitherto composed itssole cargo.
As soon as this arrangement was made, the canoes separated a shortdistance, and the paddles were used, though with great care to avoidmaking any noise. The conversation gradually ceased; and as the dreadedrift was approached, all became impressed with the gravity of themoment. That their enemies would endeavor to reach this point beforethem was almost certain; and it seemed so little probable any oneshould attempt to pass it, in the profound obscurity which reigned, thatPathfinder was confident parties were on both sides of the river, in thehope of intercepting them when they might land. He would not have madethe proposal he did had he not felt sure of his own ability to convertthis very anticipation of success into a means of defeating the plans ofthe Iroquois. As the arrangement now stood, however, everything dependedon the skill of those who guided the canoes; for should either hit arock, if not split asunder, it would almost certainly be upset, and thenwould come not only all the hazards of the river itself, but, for Mabel,the certainty of falling into the hands of her pursuers. The utmostcircumspection consequently became necessary, and each one was too muchengrossed with his own thoughts to feel a disposition to utter more thanwas called for by the exigencies of the case.
At the canoes stole silently along, the roar of the rift became audible,and it required all the fortitude of Cap to keep his seat, while theseboding sounds were approached, amid a darkness which scarcely permitteda view of the outlines of the wooded shore and of the gloomy vaultabove his head. He retained a vivid impression of the falls, and hisimagination was not now idle in swelling the dangers of the rift to alevel with those of the headlong descent he had that day made, and evento increase them, under the influence of doubt and uncertainty. Inthis, however, the old mariner was mistaken, for the Oswego Rift and theOswego Falls are very different in their characters and violence; theformer being no more than a rapid, that glances among shallows androcks, while the latter really deserved the name it bore, as has beenalready shown.
Mabel certainly felt distrust and apprehension but her entire situationwas so novel, and her reliance on her guide so great, that she retaineda self-command which might not have existed had she clearer perceptionsof the truth, or been better acquainted with the helplessness of menwhen placed in opposition to the power and majesty of Nature.
"Is that the spot you have mentioned?" she said to
Jasper, when the roar of the rift first came distinctly on her ears.
"It is; and I beg you to have confidence in me. We are not oldacquaintances, Mabel; but we live many days in one, in this wilderness.I think, already, that I have known you years!"
"And I do not feel as if you were a stranger to me, Jasper. I have everyreliance on your skill, as well as on your disposition to serve me."
"We shall see, we shall see. Pathfinder is striking the rapids too nearthe centre of the river; the bed of the water is closer to the easternshore; but I cannot make him hear me now. Hold firmly to the canoe,Mabel, and fear nothing."
At the next moment the swift current had sucked them into the rift, andfor three or four minutes the awe-struck, rather than the alarmed, girlsaw nothing around her but sheets of glancing foam, heard nothing butthe roar of waters. Twenty times did the canoe appear about to dashagainst some curling and bright wave that showed itself even amid thatobscurity; and as often did it glide away again unharmed, impelled bythe vigorous arm of him who governed its movements. Once, and once only,did Jasper seem to lose command of his frail bark, during which briefspace it fairly whirled entirely round; but by a desperate effort hebrought it again under control, recovered the lost channel, and was soonrewarded for all his anxiety by finding himself floating quietly inthe deep water below the rapids, secure from every danger, and withouthaving taken in enough of the element to serve for a draught.
"All is over, Mabel," the young man cried cheerfully. "The danger ispast, and you may now indeed hope to meet your father this very night."
"God be praised! Jasper, we shall owe this great happiness to you."
"The Pathfinder may claim a full share in the merit; but what has becomeof the other canoe?"
"I see something near us on the water; is it not the boat of ourfriends?"
A few strokes of the paddle brought Jasper to the side of the object inquestion: it was the other canoe, empty and bottom upwards. No soonerdid the young man ascertain this fact, than he began to search for theswimmers, and, to his great joy, Cap was soon discovered drifting downwith the current; the old seaman preferring the chances of drowning tothose of landing among savages. He was hauled into the canoe, though notwithout difficulty, and then the search ended; for Jasper was persuadedthat the Pathfinder would wade to the shore, the water being shallow, inpreference to abandoning his beloved rifle.
The remainder of the passage was short, though made amid darkness anddoubt. After a short pause, a dull roaring sound was heard, whichat times resembled the mutterings of distant thunder, and thenagain brought with it the washing of waters. Jasper announced to hiscompanions that they now heard the surf of the lake. Low curved spitsof land lay before them, into the bay formed by one of which the canoeglided, and then it shot up noiselessly upon a gravelly beach. Thetransition that followed was so hurried and great, that Mabel scarcelyknew what passed. In the course of a few minutes, however, sentinels hadbeen passed, a gate was opened, and the agitated girl found herself inthe arms of a parent who was almost a stranger to her.
The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea Page 7
