CHAPTER XIII.
The goblin now the fool alarms, Hags meet to mumble o'er their charms, The night-mare rides the dreaming ass, And fairies trip it on the grass. COTTON.
The embarkation of so small a party was a matter of no great delay orembarrassment. The whole force confided to the care of Sergeant Dunhamconsisted of but ten privates and two non-commissioned officers,though it was soon positively known that Mr. Muir was to accompany theexpedition. The Quartermaster, however, went as a volunteer, while someduty connected with his own department, as had been arranged betweenhim and his commander, was the avowed object. To these must be added thePathfinder and Cap, with Jasper and his subordinates, one of whom was aboy. The party, consequently, consisted of less than twenty men, and alad of fourteen. Mabel and the wife of a common soldier were the onlyfemales.
Sergeant Dunham carried off his command in a large bateau, and thenreturned for his final orders, and to see that his brother-in-law anddaughter were properly attended to. Having pointed out to Cap the boatthat he and Mabel were to use, he ascended the hill to seek his lastinterview with Lundie.
It was nearly dark when Mabel found herself in the boat that was tocarry her off to the cutter. So very smooth was the surface of the lake,that it was not found necessary to bring the bateaux into the riverto receive their freights; but the beach outside being totally withoutsurf, and the water as tranquil as that of a pond, everybody embarkedthere. When the boat left the land, Mabel would not have known that shewas afloat on so broad a sheet of water by any movement which is usualto such circumstances. The oars had barely time to give a dozen strokes,when the boat lay at the cutter's side.
Jasper was in readiness to receive his passengers; and, as the deck ofthe _Scud_ was but two or three feet above the water, no difficulty wasexperienced in getting on board of her. As soon as this was effected,the young man pointed out to Mabel and her companion the accommodationsprepared for their reception. The little vessel contained fourapartments below, all between decks having been expressly constructedwith a view to the transportation of officers and men, with their wivesand families. First in rank was what was called the after-cabin, a smallapartment that contained four berths, and which enjoyed the advantage ofpossessing small windows, for the admission of air and light. This wasuniformly devoted to females whenever any were on board; and as Mabeland her companion were alone, they had ample accommodation. The maincabin was larger, and lighted from above. It was now appropriated tothe Quartermaster, the Sergeant, Cap, and Jasper; the Pathfinderroaming through any part of the cutter he pleased, the female apartmentexcepted. The corporals and common soldiers occupied the space beneaththe main hatch, which had a deck for such a purpose, while the crewwere berthed, as usual, in the forecastle. Although the cutter did notmeasure quite fifty tons, the draft of officers and men was so light,that there was ample room for all on board, there being space enough toaccommodate treble the number, if necessary.
As soon as Mabel had taken possession of her own really comfortablecabin, in doing which she could not abstain from indulging in thepleasant reflection that some of Jasper's favor had been especiallymanifested in her behalf, she went on deck again. Here all wasmomentarily in motion the men were roving to and fro, in quest of theirknapsacks and other effects; but method and habit soon reduced thingsto order, when the stillness on board became even imposing, for it wasconnected with the idea of future adventure and ominous preparation.
Darkness was now beginning to render objects on shore indistinct, thewhole of the land forming one shapeless black outline of even forestsummits, to be distinguished from the impending heavens only by thegreater light of the sky. The stars, however, soon began to appearin the latter, one after another, in their usual mild, placid lustre,bringing with them that sense of quiet which ordinarily accompaniesnight. There was something soothing, as well as exciting, in such ascene; and Mabel, who was seated on the quarter-deck, sensibly felt bothinfluences. The Pathfinder was standing near her, leaning, as usual, onhis long rifle, and she fancied that, through the growing darkness ofthe hour, she could trace even stronger lines of thought than usual inhis rugged countenance.
"To you, Pathfinder, expeditions like this can be no great novelty,"said she; "though I am surprised to find how silent and thoughtful themen appear to be."
"We learn this by making war ag'in Indians. Your militia are greattalkers and little doers in general; but the soldier who has often metthe Mingos learns to know the value of a prudent tongue. A silent army,in the woods, is doubly strong; and a noisy one, doubly weak. If tonguesmade soldiers, the women of a camp would generally carry the day."
"But we are neither an army, nor in the woods. There can be no danger ofMingos in the _Scud_."
"No one is safe from a Mingo, who does not understand his very natur';and even then he must act up to his own knowledge, and that closely. AskJasper how he got command of this very cutter."
"And how _did_ he get command?" inquired Mabel, with an earnestnessand interest that quite delighted her simple-minded and true-heartedcompanion, who was never better pleased than when he had an opportunityof saying aught in favor of a friend. "It is honorable to him that hehas reached this station while yet so young."
"That is it; but he deserved it all, and more. A frigate wouldn't havebeen too much to pay for so much spirit and coolness, had there beensuch a thing on Ontario, as there is not, hows'ever, or likely to be."
"But Jasper--you have not yet told me how he got the command of theschooner."
"It is a long story, Mabel, and one your father, the Sergeant, can tellmuch better than I; for he was present, while I was off on a distantscouting. Jasper is not good at a story, I will own that; I have heardhim questioned about this affair, and he never made a good tale ofit, although every body knows it was a good thing. The _Scud_ had nearfallen into the hands of the French and the Mingos, when Jasper savedher, in a way which none but a quick-witted mind and a bold heart wouldhave attempted. The Sergeant will tell the tale better than I can, and Iwish you to question him some day, when nothing better offers."
Mabel determined to ask her father to repeat the incidents of the affairthat very night; for it struck her young fancy that nothing better couldwell offer than to listen to the praises of one who was a bad historianof his own exploits.
"Will the _Scud_ remain with us when we reach the island?" she asked,after a little hesitation about the propriety of the question "or shallwe be left to ourselves?"
"That's as may be: Jasper does not often keep the cutter idle whenanything is to be done; and we may expect activity on his part. Mygifts, however, run so little towards the water and vessels generally,unless it be among rapids and falls and in canoes, that I pretend toknow nothing about it. We shall have all right under Jasper, I make nodoubt, who can find a trail on Ontario as well as a Delaware can findone on the land."
"And our own Delaware, Pathfinder--the Big Serpent--why is he not withus to-night?"
"Your question would have been more natural had you said, Why are _you_here, Pathfinder? The Sarpent is in his place, while I am not in mine.He is out, with two or three more, scouting the lake shores, and willjoin us down among the islands, with the tidings he may gather. TheSergeant is too good a soldier to forget his rear while he is facing theenemy in front. It's a thousand pities, Mabel, your father wasn't borna general, as some of the English are who come among us; for I feelsartain he wouldn't leave a Frencher in the Canadas a week, could hehave his own way with them."
"Shall we have enemies to face in front?" asked Mabel, smiling, and forthe first time feeling a slight apprehension about the dangers of theexpedition. "Are we likely to have an engagement?"
"If we have, Mabel, there will be men enough ready and willing to standbetween you and harm. But you are a soldier's daughter, and, we allknow, have the spirit of one. Don't let the fear of a battle keep yourpretty eyes from sleeping."
"I do feel braver out here in the woods, Pathfinder, than I ever feltb
efore amid the weaknesses of the towns, although I have always tried toremember what I owe to my dear father."
"Ay, your mother was so before you. 'You will find Mabel, like hermother, no screamer, or a faint-hearted girl, to trouble a man in hisneed; but one who would encourage her mate, and help to keep his heartup when sorest prest by danger,' said the Sergeant to me, before I everlaid eyes on that sweet countenance of yours,--he did!"
"And why should my father have told you this, Pathfinder?" the girldemanded a little earnestly. "Perhaps he fancied you would think thebetter of me if you did not believe me a silly coward, as so many of mysex love to make themselves appear."
Deception, unless it were at the expense of his enemies in thefield,--nay, concealment of even a thought,--was so little in accordancewith the Pathfinder's very nature, that he was not a little embarrassedby this simple question. In such a strait he involuntarily took refugein a middle course, not revealing that which he fancied ought not to betold, nor yet absolutely concealing it.
"You must know, Mabel," said he, "that the Sergeant and I are oldfriends, and have stood side by side--or, if not actually side by side,I a little in advance, as became a scout, and your father with his ownmen, as better suited a soldier of the king--on many a hard fi't andbloody day. It's the way of us skirmishers to think little of the fightwhen the rifle has done cracking; and at night, around our fires, oron our marches, we talk of the things we love, just as you young womenconvarse about your fancies and opinions when you get together to laughover your idees. Now it was natural that the Sergeant, having such adaughter as you, should love her better than anything else, and thathe should talk of her oftener than of anything else,--while I, havingneither daughter, nor sister, nor mother, nor kith, nor kin, noranything but the Delawares to love, I naturally chimed in, as it were,and got to love you, Mabel, before I ever saw you--yes, I did--just bytalking about you so much."
"And now you _have_ seen me," returned the smiling girl, whose unmovedand natural manner proved how little she was thinking of anything morethan parental or fraternal regard, "you are beginning to see the follyof forming friendships for people before you know anything about them,except by hearsay."
"It wasn't friendship--it isn't friendship, Mabel, that I feel for you.I am the friend of the Delawares, and have been so from boyhood; but myfeelings for them, or for the best of them, are not the same as those Igot from the Sergeant for you; and, especially, now that I begin to knowyou better. I'm sometimes afeared it isn't wholesome for one who is muchoccupied in a very manly calling, like that of a guide or scout, ora soldier even, to form friendships for women,--young women inparticular,--as they seem to me to lessen the love of enterprise, and toturn the feelings away from their gifts and natural occupations."
"You surely do not mean, Pathfinder, that a friendship for a girl likeme would make you less bold, and more unwilling to meet the French thanyou were before?"
"Not so, not so. With you in danger, for instance, I fear I might becomefoolhardy; but before we became so intimate, as I may say, I loved tothink of my scoutings, and of my marches, and outlyings, and fights, andother adventures: but now my mind cares less about them; I think more ofthe barracks, and of evenings passed in discourse, of feelings in whichthere are no wranglings and bloodshed, and of young women, and of theirlaughs and their cheerful, soft voices, their pleasant looks and theirwinning ways. I sometimes tell the Sergeant that he and his daughterwill be the spoiling of one of the best and most experienced scouts onthe lines."
"Not they, Pathfinder; they will try to make that which is already soexcellent, perfect. You do not know us, if you think that either wishesto see you in the least changed. Remain as at present, the same honest,upright, conscientious, fearless, intelligent, trustworthy guide thatyou are, and neither my dear father nor myself can ever think of youdifferently from what we now do."
It was too dark for Mabel to note the workings of the countenance of herlistener; but her own sweet face was turned towards him, as she spokewith an energy equal to her frankness, in a way to show how littleembarrassed were her thoughts, and how sincere were her words.Her countenance was a little flushed, it is true; but it was withearnestness and truth of feeling, though no nerve thrilled, no limbtrembled, no pulsation quickened. In short, her manner and appearancewere those of a sincere-minded and frank girl, making such a declarationof good-will and regard for one of the other sex as she felt that hisservices and good qualities merited, without any of the emotion thatinvariably accompanies the consciousness of an inclination which mightlead to softer disclosures.
The Pathfinder was too unpractised, however, to enter into distinctionsof this kind, and his humble nature was encouraged by the directness andstrength of the words he had just heard. Unwilling, if not unable, tosay any more, he walked away, and stood leaning on his rifle and lookingup at the stars for full ten minutes in profound silence.
In the meanwhile the interview on the bastion, to which we have alreadyalluded, took place between Lundie and the Sergeant.
"Have the men's knapsacks been examined?" demanded Major Duncan, afterhe had cast his eye at a written report, handed to him by the Sergeant,but which it was too dark to read.
"All, your honor; and all are right."
"The ammunition--arms?"
"All in order, Major Duncan, and fit for any service."
"You have the men named in my own draft, Dunham?"
"Without an exception, sir. Better men could not be found in theregiment."
"You have need of the best of our men, Sergeant. This experiment hasnow been tried three times; always under one of the ensigns, who haveflattered me with success, but have as often failed. After so muchpreparation and expense, I do not like to abandon the project entirely;but this will be the last effort; and the result will mainly depend onyou and on the Pathfinder."
"You may count on us both, Major Duncan. The duty you have given us isnot above our habits and experience, and I think it will be well done. Iknow that the Pathfinder will not be wanting."
"On that, indeed, it will be safe to rely. He is a most extraordinaryman, Dunham--one who long puzzled me; but who, now that I understandhim, commands as much of my respect as any general in his majesty'sservice."
"I was in hopes, sir, that you would come to look at the proposedmarriage with Mabel as a thing I ought to wish and forward."
"As for that, Sergeant, time will show," returned Lundie, smiling;though here, too, the obscurity concealed the nicer shades ofexpression "one woman is sometimes more difficult to manage thana whole regiment of men. By the way, you know that your would-beson-in-law, the Quartermaster, will be of the party; and I trust youwill at least give him an equal chance in the trial for your daughter'ssmiles."
"If respect for his rank, sir, did not cause me to do this, your honor'swish would be sufficient."
"I thank you, Sergeant. We have served much together, and ought to valueeach other in our several stations. Understand me, however, I ask nomore for Davy Muir than a clear field and no favor. In love, as in war,each man must gain his own victories. Are you certain that the rationshave been properly calculated?"
"I'll answer for it, Major Duncan; but if they were not, we cannotsuffer with two such hunters as Pathfinder and the Serpent in company."
"That will never do, Dunham," interrupted Lundie sharply; "and it comesof your American birth and American training. No thorough soldier everrelies on anything but his commissary for supplies; and I beg that nopart of my regiment may be the first to set an example to the contrary."
"You have only to command, Major Duncan, to be obeyed; and yet, if Imight presume, sir--"
"Speak freely, Sergeant; you are talking with a friend."
"I was merely about to say that I find even the Scotch soldiers likevenison and birds quite as well as pork, when they are difficult to behad."
"That may be very true; but likes and dislikes have nothing to dowith system. An army can rely on nothing but its commissaries. Theirregularity of
the provincials has played the devil with the king'sservice too often to be winked at any longer."
"General Braddock, your honor, might have been advised by ColonelWashington."
"Out upon your Washington! You're all provincials together, man, anduphold each other as if you were of a sworn confederacy."
"I believe his majesty has no more loyal subjects than the Americans,your honor."
"In that, Dunham, I'm thinking you're right; and I have been a littletoo warm, perhaps. I do not consider _you_ a provincial, however,Sergeant; for though born in America, a better soldier never shouldereda musket."
"And Colonel Washington, your honor?"
"Well!--and Colonel Washington may be a useful subject too. He is theAmerican prodigy; and I suppose I may as well give him all the credityou ask. You have no doubt of the skill of this Jasper Eau-douce?"
"The boy has been tried, sir, and found equal to all that can berequired of him."
"He has a French name, and has passed much of his boyhood in the Frenchcolonies; has he French blood in his veins, Sergeant?"
"Not a drop, your honor. Jasper's father was an old comrade of myown, and his mother came of an honest and loyal family in this veryprovince."
"How came he then so much among the French, and whence his name? Hespeaks the language of the Canadas, too, I find."
"That is easily explained, Major Duncan. The boy was left under the careof one of our mariners in the old war, and he took to the water likea duck. Your honor knows that we have no ports on Ontario that can benamed as such, and he naturally passed most of his time on the otherside of the lake, where the French have had a few vessels these fiftyyears. He learned to speak their language, as a matter of course, andgot his name from the Indians and Canadians, who are fond of calling menby their qualities, as it might be."
"A French master is but a poor instructor for a British sailor,notwithstanding."
"I beg your pardon, sir: Jasper Eau-douce was brought up under a realEnglish seaman, one that had sailed under the king's pennant, and may becalled a thorough-bred; that is to say, a subject born in the colonies,but none the worse at his trade, I hope, Major Duncan, for that."
"Perhaps not, Sergeant, perhaps not; nor any better. This Jasper behavedwell, too, when I gave him the command of the _Scud_; no lad could haveconducted himself more loyally or better."
"Or more bravely, Major Duncan. I am sorry to see, sir, that you havedoubts as to the fidelity of Jasper."
"It is the duty of the soldier who is entrusted with the care of adistant and important post like this, Dunham, never to relax in hisvigilance. We have two of the most artful enemies that the world hasever produced, in their several ways, to contend with,--the Indians andthe French,--and nothing should be overlooked that can lead to injury."
"I hope your honor considers me fit to be entrusted with any particularreason that may exist for doubting Jasper, since you have seen fit toentrust me with this command."
"It is not that I doubt you, Dunham, that I hesitate to reveal all I mayhappen to know; but from a strong reluctance to circulate an evil reportconcerning one of whom I have hitherto thought well. You must think wellof the Pathfinder, or you would not wish to give him your daughter?"
"For the Pathfinder's honesty I will answer with my life, sir," returnedthe Sergeant firmly, and not without a dignity of manner that struck hissuperior. "Such a man doesn't know how to be false."
"I believe you are right, Dunham; and yet this last informationhas unsettled all my old opinions. I have received an anonymouscommunication, Sergeant, advising me to be on my guard against JasperWestern, or Jasper Eau-douce, as he is called, who, it alleges, has beenbought by the enemy, and giving me reason to expect that further andmore precise information will soon be sent."
"Letters without signatures to them, sir, are scarcely to be regarded inwar."
"Or in peace, Dunham. No one can entertain a lower opinion of the writerof an anonymous letter, in ordinary matters, than myself; the very actdenotes cowardice, meanness, and baseness; and it usually is a token offalsehood, as well as of other vices. But in matters of war it is notexactly the same thing. Besides, several suspicious circumstances havebeen pointed out to me."
"Such as is fit for an orderly to hear, your honor?"
"Certainly, one in whom I confide as much as in yourself Dunham. It issaid, for instance, that your daughter and her party were permitted toescape the Iroquois, when they came in, merely to give Jasper creditwith me. I am told that the gentry at Frontenac will care more for thecapture of the _Scud_, with Sergeant Dunham and a party of men, togetherwith the defeat of our favorite plan, than for the capture of a girl andthe scalp of her uncle."
"I understand the hint, sir, but I do not give it credit. Jasper canhardly be true, and Pathfinder false; and, as for the last, I would assoon distrust your honor as distrust him."
"It would seem so, Sergeant; it would indeed seem so. But Jasper is notthe Pathfinder, after all; and I will own, Dunham, I should put morefaith in the lad if he didn't speak French."
"It's no recommendation in my eyes, I assure your honor; but the boylearned it by compulsion, as it were, and ought not to be condemned toohastily for the circumstance, by your honor's leave."
"It's a d----d lingo, and never did any one good--at least no Britishsubject; for I suppose the French themselves must talk together in somelanguage or other. I should have much more faith in this Jasper, didhe know nothing of their language. This letter has made me uneasy; and,were there another to whom I could trust the cutter, I would devisesome means to detain him here. I have spoken to you already of abrother-in-law, who goes with you, Sergeant, and who is a sailor?"
"A real seafaring man, your honor, and somewhat prejudiced against freshwater. I doubt if he could be induced to risk his character on a lake,and I'm certain he never could find the station."
"The last is probably true, and then, the man cannot know enough ofthis treacherous lake to be fit for the employment. You will have to bedoubly vigilant, Dunham. I give you full powers; and should you detectthis Jasper in any treachery, make him a sacrifice at once to offendedjustice."
"Being in the service of the crown, your honor, he is amenable tomartial law."
"Very true; then iron him, from his head to his heels, and send him uphere in his own cutter. That brother-in-law of yours must be able tofind the way back, after he has once travelled the road."
"I make no doubt, Major Duncan, we shall be able to do all that willbe necessary should Jasper turn out as you seem to anticipate; though Ithink I would risk my life on his truth."
"I like your confidence--it speaks well for the fellow; but thatinfernal letter! there is such an air of truth about it; nay, there isso much truth in it, touching other matters."
"I think your honor said it wanted the name at the bottom; a greatomission for an honest man to make."
"Quite right, Dunham, and no one but a rascal, and a cowardly rascal inthe bargain, would write an anonymous letter on private affairs. Itis different, however, in war; despatches are feigned, and artifice isgenerally allowed to be justifiable."
"Military manly artifices, sir, if you will; such as ambushes,surprises, feints, false attacks, and even spies; but I never heard ofa true soldier who could wish to undermine the character of an honestyoung man by such means as these."
"I have met with many strange events, and some stranger people, in thecourse of my experience. But fare you well, Sergeant; I must detain youno longer. You are now on your guard, and I recommend to you untiringvigilance. I think Muir means shortly to retire; and, should youfully succeed in this enterprise, my influence will not be wanting inendeavoring to put you in the vacancy, to which you have many claims."
"I humbly thank your honor," coolly returned the Sergeant, who had beenencouraged in this manner any time for the twenty preceding years, "andhope I shall never disgrace my station, whatever it may be. I am whatnature and Providence have made me, and hope I'm satisfied."
; "You have not forgotten the howitzer?"
"Jasper took it on board this morning, sir."
"Be wary, and do not trust that man unnecessarily. Make a confidant ofPathfinder at once; he may be of service in detecting any villainythat may be stirring. His simple honesty will favor his observation byconcealing it. He _must_ be true."
"For him, sir, my own head shall answer, or even my rank in theregiment. I have seen him too often tried to doubt him."
"Of all wretched sensations, Dunham, distrust, where one is compelledto confide, is the most painful. You have bethought you of the spareflints?"
"A sergeant is a safe commander for all such details, your honor."
"Well, then, give me your hand, Dunham. God bless you! and may you besuccessful! Muir means to retire,--by the way, let the man have an equalchance with your daughter, for it may facilitate future operations aboutthe promotion. One would retire more cheerfully with such a companionas Mabel, than in cheerless widowhood, and with nothing but oneself tolove,--and such a self, too, as Davy's!"
"I hope, sir, my child will make a prudent choice, and I think her mindis already pretty much made up in favor of Pathfinder. Still she shallhave fair play, though disobedience is the next crime to mutiny."
"Have all the ammunition carefully examined and dried as soon asyou arrive; the damp of the lake may affect it. And now, once more,farewell, Sergeant. Beware of that Jasper, and consult with Muir in anydifficulty. I shall expect you to return, triumphant, this day month."
"God bless your honor! If anything should happen to me, I trust to you,Major Duncan, to care for an old soldier's character."
"Rely on me, Dunham--you will rely on a friend. Be vigilant: rememberyou will be in the very jaws of the lion--pshaw! of no lion neither;but of treacherous tigers: in their very jaws, and beyond support. Havethe flints counted and examined in the morning--and--farewell, Dunham,farewell!"
The Sergeant took the extended hand of his superior with proper respect,and they finally parted; Lundie hastening into his own movable abode,while the other left the fort, descended to the beach, and got into aboat.
It is not to be supposed that Sergeant Dunham, after he had parted fromhis commanding officer, was likely to forget the injunctions he hadreceived. He thought highly of Jasper in general; but distrust had beeninsinuated between his former confidence and the obligations of duty;and, as he now felt that everything depended on his own vigilance, bythe time the boat reached the side of the _Scud_ he was in a properhumor to let no suspicious circumstance go unheeded, or any unusualmovement in the young sailor pass without its comment. As a matter ofcourse, he viewed things in the light suited to his peculiar mood;and his precautions, as well as his distrust, partook of the habits,opinions, and education of the man.
The _Scud's_ kedge was lifted as soon as the boat with the Sergeant, whowas the last person expected, was seen to quit the shore, and the headof the cutter was cast to the eastward by means of the sweeps. A fewvigorous strokes of the latter, in which the soldiers aided, now sentthe light craft into the line or the current that flowed from the river,when she was suffered to drift into the offing again. As yet there wasno wind, the light and almost imperceptible air from the lake, that hadexisted previously to the setting of the sun, having entirely failed.
All this time an unusual quiet prevailed in the cutter. It appeared asif those on board of her felt that they were entering upon an uncertainenterprise, in the obscurity of night; and that their duty, the hour,and the manner of their departure lent a solemnity to their movements.Discipline also came in aid of these feelings. Most were silent; andthose who did speak spoke seldom and in low voices. In this manner thecutter set slowly out into the lake, until she had got as far as theriver current would carry her, when she became stationary, waiting forthe usual land-breeze. An interval of half an hour followed, during thewhole of which time the _Scud_ lay as motionless as a log, floating onthe water. While the little changes just mentioned were occurring inthe situation of the vessel, notwithstanding the general quiet thatprevailed, all conversation had not been repressed; for Sergeant Dunham,having first ascertained that both his daughter and her female companionwere on the quarter-deck, led the Pathfinder to the after-cabin, where,closing the door with great caution, and otherwise making certain thathe was beyond the reach of eavesdroppers, he commenced as follows:--
"It is now many years, my friend, since you began to experience thehardships and dangers of the woods in my company."
"It is, Sergeant; yes it is. I sometimes fear I am too old for Mabel,who was not born until you and I had fought the Frenchers as comrades."
"No fear on that account, Pathfinder. I was near your age before Iprevailed on the mind of her mother; and Mabel is a steady, thoughtfulgirl, one that will regard character more than anything else. A lad likeJasper Eau-douce, for instance, will have no chance with her, though heis both young and comely."
"Does Jasper think of marrying?" inquired the guide, simply butearnestly.
"I should hope not--at least, not until he has satisfied every one ofhis fitness to possess a wife."
"Jasper is a gallant boy, and one of great gifts in his way; he mayclaim a wife as well as another."
"To be frank with you, Pathfinder, I brought you here to talk about thisvery youngster. Major Duncan has received some information which has ledhim to suspect that Eau-douce is false, and in the pay of the enemy; Iwish to hear your opinion on the subject."
"Anan?"
"I say, the Major suspects Jasper of being a traitor--a French spy--or,what is worse, of being bought to betray us. He has received a letterto this effect, and has been charging me to keep an eye on the boy'smovements; for he fears we shall meet with enemies when we least suspectit, and by his means."
"Duncan of Lundie has told you this, Sergeant Dunham?"
"He has indeed, Pathfinder; and, though I have been loath to believeanything to the injury of Jasper, I have a feeling which tells me Iought to distrust him. Do you believe in presentiments, my friend?
"In what, Sergeant?"
"Presentiments,--a sort of secret foreknowledge of events that areabout to happen. The Scotch of our regiment are great sticklers for suchthings; and my opinion of Jasper is changing so fast, that I begin tofear there must be some truth in their doctrines."
"But you've been talking with Duncan of Lundie concerning Jasper, andhis words have raised misgivings."
"Not it, not so in the least; for, while conversing with the Major, myfeelings were altogether the other way; and I endeavored to convincehim all I could that he did the boy injustice. But there is no usein holding out against a presentiment, I find; and I fear there issomething in the suspicion after all."
"I know nothing of presentiments, Sergeant; but I have known JasperEau-douce since he was a boy, and I have as much faith in his honesty asI have in my own, or that of the Sarpent himself."
"But the Serpent, Pathfinder, has his tricks and ambushes in war as wellas another."
"Ay, them are his nat'ral gifts, and are such as belong to his people.Neither red-skin nor pale-face can deny natur'; but Chingachgook is nota man to feel a presentiment against."
"That I believe; nor should I have thought ill of Jasper thisvery morning. It seems to me, Pathfinder, since I've taken up thispresentiment, that the lad does not bustle about his deck naturally, ashe used to do; but that he is silent and moody and thoughtful, like aman who has a load on his conscience."
"Jasper is never noisy; and he tells me noisy ships are generallyill-worked ships. Master Cap agrees in this too. No, no; I will believenaught against Jasper until I see it. Send for your brother, Sergeant,and let us question him in this matter; for to sleep with distrust ofone's friend in the heart is like sleeping with lead there. I have nofaith in your presentiments."
The Sergeant, although he scarcely knew himself with what object,complied, and Cap was summoned to join in the consultation. AsPathfinder was more collected than his companion, and felt so strong aconviction of
the good faith of the party accused, he assumed the officeof spokesman.
"We have asked you to come down, Master Cap," he commenced, "in orderto inquire if you have remarked anything out of the common way in themovements of Eau-douce this evening."
"His movements are common enough, I daresay, for fresh water, MasterPathfinder, though we should think most of his proceedings irregulardown on the coast."
"Yes, yes; we know you will never agree with the lad about the mannerthe cutter ought to be managed; but it is on another point we wish youropinion."
The Pathfinder then explained to Cap the nature of the suspicions whichthe Sergeant entertained, and the reasons why they had been excited, sofar as the latter had been communicated by Major Duncan.
"The youngster talks French, does he?" said Cap.
"They say he speaks it better than common," returned the Sergeantgravely. "Pathfinder knows this to be true."
"I'll not gainsay it," answered the guide; "at least, they tell me suchis the fact. But this would prove nothing ag'in a Mississauga, and,least of all, ag'in one like Jasper. I speak the Mingo dialect myself,having learnt it while a prisoner among the reptyles; but who will sayI am their friend? Not that I am an enemy, either, according toIndian notions; though I am their enemy, I will admit, agreeable toChristianity."
"Ay Pathfinder; but Jasper did not get his French as a prisoner: hetook it in his boyhood, when the mind is easily impressed, and gets itspermanent notions; when nature has a presentiment, as it were, which waythe character is likely to incline."
"A very just remark," added Cap, "for that is the time of life when weall learn the catechism, and other moral improvements. The Sergeant'sobservation shows that he understands human nature, and I agree with himperfectly; it _is_ a damnable thing for a youngster, up here, on thisbit of fresh water, to talk French. If it were down on the Atlantic,now, where a seafaring man has occasion sometimes to converse with apilot, or a linguister, in that language, I should not think so much ofit,--though we always look with suspicion, even there, at a shipmate whoknows too much of the tongue; but up here, on Ontario, I hold it to be amost suspicious circumstance."
"But Jasper must talk in French to the people on the other shore," saidPathfinder, "or hold his tongue, as there are none but French to speakto."
"You don't mean to tell me, Pathfinder, that France lies hereaway, onthe opposite coast?" cried Cap, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in thedirection of the Canadas; "that one side of this bit of fresh water isYork, and the other France?"
"I mean to tell you this is York, and that is Upper Canada; and thatEnglish and Dutch and Indian are spoken in the first, and French andIndian in the last. Even the Mingos have got many of the French words intheir dialect, and it is no improvement, neither."
"Very true: and what sort of people are the Mingos, my friend?" inquiredthe Sergeant, touching the other on his shoulder, by way of enforcing aremark, the inherent truth of which sensibly increased its value in theeyes of the speaker: "no one knows them better than yourself, and I askyou what sort of a tribe are they?"
"Jasper is no Mingo, Sergeant."
"He speaks French, and he might as well be, in that particular. BrotherCap, can you recollect no movement of this unfortunate young man, in theway of his calling, that would seem to denote treachery?"
"Not distinctly, Sergeant, though he has gone to work wrong-end foremosthalf his time. It is true that one of his hands coiled a rope againstthe sun, and he called it _querling_ a rope, too, when I asked himwhat he was about; but I am not certain that anything was meant by it;though, I daresay, the French coil half their running rigging the wrongway, and may call it 'querling it down,' too, for that matter. ThenJasper himself belayed the end of the jib-halyards to a stretcher in therigging, instead of bringing it to the mast, where they belong, at leastamong British sailors."
"I daresay Jasper may have got some Canada notions about working hiscraft, from being so much on the other side," Pathfinder interposed;"but catching an idee, or a word, isn't treachery and bad faith. Isometimes get an idee from the Mingos themselves; but my heart hasalways been with the Delawares. No, no, Jasper is true; and the kingmight trust him with his crown, just as he would trust his eldest son,who, as he is to wear it one day, ought to be the last man to wish tosteal it."
"Fine talking, fine talking!" said Cap; "all fine talking, MasterPathfinder, but d----d little logic. In the first place, the king'smajesty cannot lend his crown, it being contrary to the laws of therealm, which require him to wear it at all times, in order that hissacred person may be known, just as the silver oar is necessary to asheriff's officer afloat. In the next place, it's high treason, by law,for the eldest son of his majesty ever to covet the crown, or to have achild, except in lawful wedlock, as either would derange the succession.Thus you see, friend Pathfinder that in order to reason truly, one mustget under way, as it might be, on the right tack. Law is reason, andreason is philosophy, and philosophy is a steady drag; whence it followsthat crowns are regulated by law, reason, and philosophy."
"I know little of all this; Master Cap; but nothing short of seeing andfeeling will make me think Jasper Western a traitor."
"There you are wrong again, Pathfinder; for there is a way of proving athing much more conclusively than either seeing or feeling, or by bothtogether; and that is by a circumstance."
"It may be so in the settlements; but it is not so here on the lines."
"It is so in nature, which is monarch over all. There was acircumstance, just after we came on board this evening, that isextremely suspicious, and which may be set down at once as a makeweightagainst this lad. Jasper bent on the king's ensign with his own hands;and, while he pretended to be looking at Mabel and the soldier's wife,giving directions about showing them below here, and a that, he got theflag union down!"
"That might have been accident," returned the Sergeant, "for such athing has happened to myself; besides, the halyards lead to a pulley,and the flag would have come right, or not, according to the manner inwhich the lad hoisted it."
"A pulley!" exclaimed Cap, with strong disgust; "I wish,Sergeant Dunham, I could prevail on you to use proper terms. Anensign-halyard-block is no more a pulley than your halberd is aboarding-pike. It is true that by hoisting on one part, another partwould go uppermost; but I look upon that affair of the ensign, now youhave mentioned your suspicions, as a circumstance, and shall bear it inmind. I trust supper is not to be overlooked, however, even if we have ahold full of traitors."
"It will be duly attended to, brother Cap; but I shall count on you foraid in managing the _Scud_, should anything occur to induce me to arrestJasper."
"I'll not fail you, Sergeant; and in such an event you'll probably learnwhat this cutter can really perform; for, as yet, I fancy it is prettymuch matter of guesswork."
"Well, for my part," said Pathfinder, drawing a heavy sigh, "I shallcling to the hope of Jasper's innocence, and recommend plain dealing, byasking the lad himself, without further delay, whether he is or is nota traitor. I'll put Jasper Western against all the presentiments andcircumstances in the colony."
"That will never do," rejoined the Sergeant. "The responsibility of thisaffair rests with me, and I request and enjoin that nothing be said toany one without my knowledge. We will all keep watchful eyes about us,and take proper note of circumstances."
"Ay, ay! circumstances are the things after all," returned Cap. "Onecircumstance is worth fifty facts. That I know to be the law of therealm. Many a man has been hanged on circumstances."
The conversation now ceased, and, after a short delay, the whole partyreturned to the deck, each individual disposed to view the conduct ofthe suspected Jasper in the manner most suited to his own habits andcharacter.
The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea Page 13
