The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER XV.

  What pearl is it that rich men cannot buy, That learning is too proud to gather up; But which the poor and the despised of all Seek and obtain, and often find unsought? Tell me--and I will tell thee what is truth. COWPER.

  The meeting with the Indian and his wife excited no surprise in themajority of those who witnessed the occurrence; but Mabel, and all whoknew of the manner in which this chief had been separated from the partyof Cap, simultaneously entertained suspicions, which it was fareasier to feel than to follow out by any plausible clue to certainty.Pathfinder, who alone could converse freely with the prisoners, forsuch they might now be considered, took Arrowhead aside, and held a longconversation with him, concerning the reasons of the latter for havingdeserted his charge and the manner in which he had been since employed.

  The Tuscarora met these inquiries, and he gave his answers with thestoicism of an Indian. As respects the separation, his excuses were verysimply made, and they seemed to be sufficiently plausible. When he foundthat the party was discovered in its place of concealment, he naturallysought his own safety, which he secured by plunging into the woods. In aword, he had run away in order to save his life.

  "This is well," returned Pathfinder, affecting to believe the other'sapologies; "my brother did very wisely; but his woman followed?"

  "Do not the pale-faces' women follow their husbands? Would notPathfinder have looked back to see if one he loved was coming?"

  This appeal was made to the guide while he was in a most fortunateframe of mind to admit its force; for Mabel and her blandishments andconstancy were becoming images familiar to his thoughts. The Tuscarora,though he could not trace the reason, saw that his excuse was admitted,and he stood with quiet dignity awaiting the next inquiry.

  "This is reasonable and natural," returned Pathfinder; "this is natural,and may be so. A woman would be likely to follow the man to whom shehad plighted faith, and husband and wife are one flesh. Your words arehonest, Tuscarora," changing the language to the dialect of the other."Your words are honest, and very pleasant and just. But why has mybrother been so long from the fort? His friends have thought of himoften, but have never seen him."

  "If the doe follows the buck, ought not the buck to follow the doe?"answered the Tuscarora, smiling, as he laid a finger significantly onthe shoulder of his interrogator. "Arrowhead's wife followed Arrowhead;it was right in Arrowhead to follow his wife. She lost her way, and theymade her cook in a strange wigwam."

  "I understand you, Tuscarora. The woman fell into the hands of theMingos, and you kept upon their trail."

  "Pathfinder can see a reason as easily as he can see the moss on thetrees. It is so."

  "And how long have you got the woman back, and in what manner has itbeen done?"

  "Two suns. The Dew-of-June was not long in coming when her husbandwhispered to her the path."

  "Well, well, all this seems natural, and according to matrimony. But,Tuscarora, how did you get that canoe, and why are you paddling towardsthe St. Lawrence instead of the garrison?"

  "Arrowhead can tell his own from that of another. This canoe is mine; Ifound it on the shore near the fort."

  "That sounds reasonable, too, for the canoe does belong to the man,and an Indian would make few words about taking it. Still, it isextraordinary that we saw nothing of the fellow and his wife, for thecanoe must have left the river before we did ourselves."

  This idea, which passed rapidly through the mind of the guide, was nowput to the Indian in the shape of a question.

  "Pathfinder knows that a warrior can have shame. The father would haveasked me for his daughter, and I could not give her to him. I sent theDew-of-June for the canoe, and no one spoke to the woman. A Tuscarorawoman would not be free in speaking to strange men."

  All this, too, was plausible, and in conformity with Indian characterand customs. As was usual, Arrowhead had received one half of hiscompensation previously to quitting the Mohawk; and his refraining todemand the residue was a proof of that conscientious consideration ofmutual rights that quite as often distinguishes the morality of a savageas that of a Christian. To one as upright as Pathfinder, Arrowhead hadconducted himself with delicacy and propriety, though it would have beenmore in accordance with his own frank nature to have met the father, andabided by the simple truth. Still, accustomed to the ways of Indians, hesaw nothing out of the ordinary track of things in the course the otherhad taken.

  "This runs like water flowing down hill, Arrowhead," he answered, aftera little reflection, "and truth obliges me to own it. It was the gift ofa red-skin to act in this way, though I do not think it was the gift ofa pale-face. You would not look upon the grief of the girl's father?"

  Arrowhead made a quiet inclination of the body as if to assent.

  "One thing more my brother will tell me," continued Pathfinder, "andthere will be no cloud between his wigwam and the strong-house of theYengeese. If he can blow away this bit of fog with his breath, hisfriends will look at him as he sits by his own fire, and he can look atthem as they lay aside their arms, and forget that they are warriors.Why was the head of Arrowhead's canoe looking towards the St. Lawrence,where there are none but enemies to be found?"

  "Why were the Pathfinder and his friends looking the same way?" askedthe Tuscarora calmly. "A Tuscarora may look in the same direction as aYengeese."

  "Why, to own the truth, Arrowhead, we are out scouting like; that is,sailing--in other words, we are on the king's business, and we have aright to be here, though we may not have a right to say _why_ we arehere."

  "Arrowhead saw the big canoe, and he loves to look on the face ofEau-douce. He was going towards the sun at evening in order to seek hiswigwam; but, finding that the young sailor was going the other way, heturned that he might look in the same direction. Eau-douce and Arrowheadwere together on the last trail."

  "This may all be true, Tuscarora, and you are welcome. You shall eat ofour venison, and then we must separate. The setting sun is behind us,and both of us move quick: my brother will get too far from that whichhe seeks, unless he turns round."

  Pathfinder now returned to the others, and repeated the result ofhis examination. He appeared himself to believe that the account ofArrowhead might be true, though he admitted that caution would beprudent with one he disliked; but his auditors, Jasper excepted, seemedless disposed to put faith in the explanations.

  "This chap must be ironed at once, brother Dunham," said Cap, as soonas Pathfinder finished his narration "he must be turned over to themaster-at-arms, if there is any such officer on fresh water, and acourt-martial ought to be ordered as soon as we reach port."

  "I think it wisest to detain the fellow," the Sergeant answered; "butirons are unnecessary so long as he remains in the cutter. In themorning the matter shall be inquired into."

  Arrowhead was now summoned and told the decision. The Indian listenedgravely, and made no objections. On the contrary, he submitted with thecalm and reserved dignity with which the American aborigines are knownto yield to fate; and he stood apart, an attentive but calm observer ofwhat was passing. Jasper caused the cutter's sails to be filled, and the_Scud_ resumed her course.

  It was now getting near the hour to set the watch, and when it was usualto retire for the night. Most of the party went below, leaving no one ondeck but Cap, the Sergeant, Jasper, and two of the crew. Arrowhead andhis wife also remained, the former standing aloof in proud reserve,and the latter exhibiting, by her attitude and passiveness, the meekhumility that characterizes an Indian woman.

  "You will find a place for your wife below, Arrowhead, where my daughterwill attend to her wants," said the Sergeant kindly, who was himself onthe point of quitting the deck; "yonder is a sail where you may sleepyourself."

  "I thank my father. The Tuscaroras are not poor. The woman will look formy blankets in the canoe."

  "As you wish, my friend. We think it necessary to detain you; but notnecessary to confine or to maltreat you. Send your squaw
into the canoefor the blankets and you may follow her yourself, and hand us up thepaddles. As there may be some sleepy heads in the _Scud_, Eau-douce,"added the Sergeant in a lower tone, "it may be well to secure thepaddles."

  Jasper assented, and Arrowhead and his wife, with whom resistanceappeared to be out of the question, silently complied with thedirections. A few expressions of sharp rebuke passed from the Indianto his wife, while both were employed in the canoe, which the latterreceived with submissive quiet, immediately repairing an error she hadmade by laying aside the blanket she had taken and searching for anotherthat was more to her tyrant's mind.

  "Come, bear a hand, Arrowhead," said the Sergeant, who stood on thegunwale overlooking the movements of the two, which were proceeding tooslowly for the impatience of a drowsy man; "it is getting late; and wesoldiers have such a thing as reveille--early to bed and early to rise."

  "Arrowhead is coming," was the answer, as the Tuscarora stepped towardsthe head of his canoe.

  One blow of his keen knife severed the rope which held the boat, andthen the cutter glanced ahead, leaving the light bubble of bark, whichinstantly lost its way, almost stationary. So suddenly and dexterouslywas this manoeuvre performed, that the canoe was on the lee quarter ofthe _Scud_ before the Sergeant was aware of the artifice, and quite inher wake ere he had time to announce it to his companions.

  "Hard-a-lee!" shouted Jasper, letting fly the jib-sheet with his ownhands, when the cutter came swiftly up to the breeze, with all hercanvas flapping, or was running into the wind's eye, as seamen termit, until the light craft was a hundred feet to windward of her formerposition. Quick and dexterous as was this movement, and ready as hadbeen the expedient, it was not quicker or more ready than that of theTuscarora. With an intelligence that denoted some familiarity withvessels, he had seized his paddle and was already skimming thewater, aided by the efforts of his wife. The direction he took wassouth-westerly, or on a line that led him equally towards the wind andthe shore, while it also kept him so far aloof from the cutter as toavoid the danger of the latter falling on board of him when she filledon the other tack. Swiftly as the _Scud_ had shot into the wind, and faras she had forced ahead, Jasper knew it was necessary to cast her ereshe had lost all her way; and it was not two minutes from the time thehelm had been put down before the lively little craft was aback forward,and rapidly falling off, in order to allow her sails to fill on theopposite tack.

  "He will escape!" said Jasper the instant he caught a glimpse of therelative bearings of the cutter and the canoe. "The cunning knave ispaddling dead to windward, and the _Scud_ can never overtake him!"

  "You have a canoe!" exclaimed the Sergeant, manifesting the eagerness ofa boy to join in the pursuit; "let us launch it, and give chase!"

  "It will be useless. If Pathfinder had been on deck, there might havebeen a chance; but there is none now. To launch the canoe would havetaken three or four minutes, and the time lost would be sufficient forthe purposes of Arrowhead."

  Both Cap and the Sergeant saw the truth of this, which would have beennearly self-evident even to one unaccustomed to vessels. The shore wasdistant less than half a mile, and the canoe was already glancing intoits shadows, at a rate to show that it would reach the land before itspursuers could probably get half the distance. The helm of the _Scud_was reluctantly put up again, and the cutter wore short round on herheel, coming up to her course on the other tack, as if acting onan instinct. All this was done by Jasper in profound silence, hisassistants understanding what was necessary, and lending their aid in asort of mechanical imitation. While these manoeuvres were in the courseof execution, Cap took the Sergeant by a button, and led him towards thecabin-door, where he was out of ear-shot, and began to unlock his storesof thought.

  "Hark'e, brother Dunham," said he, with an ominous face, "this is amatter that requires mature thought and much circumspection."

  "The life of a soldier, brother Cap, is one of constant thought andcircumspection. On this frontier, were we to overlook either, our scalpsmight be taken from our heads in the first nap."

  "But I consider this capture of Arrowhead as a circumstance; and I mightadd his escape as another. This Jasper Freshwater must look to it."

  "They are both circumstances truly, brother; but they tell differentways. If it is a circumstance against the lad that the Indian hasescaped, it is a circumstance in his favor that he was first taken."

  "Ay, ay, but two circumstances do not contradict each other like twonegatives. If you will follow the advice of an old seaman, Sergeant, nota moment is to be lost in taking the steps necessary for the security ofthe vessel and all on board of her. The cutter is now slipping throughthe water at the rate of six knots, and as the distances are so shorton this bit of a pond, we may all find ourselves in a French port beforemorning, and in a French prison before night."

  "This may be true enough. What would you advise me to do, brother?"

  "In my opinion you should put this Master Freshwater under arrest on thespot; send him below under the charge of a sentinel, and transfer thecommand of the cutter to me. All this you have power to perform, thecraft belonging to the army, and you being the commanding officer of thetroops present."

  Sergeant Dunham deliberated more than an hour on the propriety of thisproposal; for, though sufficiently prompt when his mind was really madeup, he was habitually thoughtful and wary. The habit of superintendingthe personal police of the garrison had made him acquainted withcharacter, and he had long been disposed to think well of Jasper. Stillthat subtle poison, suspicion, had entered his soul; and so much werethe artifices and intrigues of the French dreaded, that, especiallywarned as he had been by his commander, it is not to be wondered thatthe recollection of years of good conduct should vanish under theinfluence of a distrust so keen, and seemingly so plausible. In thisembarrassment the Sergeant consulted the Quartermaster, whose opinion,as his superior, he felt bound to respect, though at the momentindependent of his control. It is an unfortunate occurrence for one whois in a dilemma to ask advice of another who is desirous of standingwell in his favor, the party consulted being almost certain to tryto think in the manner which will be the most agreeable to the partyconsulting. In the present instance it was equally unfortunate, asrespects a candid consideration of the subject, that Cap, instead of theSergeant himself, made the statement of the case; for the earnest oldsailor was not backward in letting his listener perceive to which sidehe was desirous that the Quartermaster should lean. Lieutenant Muir wasmuch too politic to offend the uncle and father of the woman he hopedand expected to win, had he really thought the case admitted of doubt;but, in the manner in which the facts were submitted to him, he wasseriously inclined to think that it would be well to put the controlof the _Scud_ temporarily into the management of Cap, as a precautionagainst treachery. This opinion then decided the Sergeant, who forthwithset about the execution of the necessary measures.

  Without entering into any explanations, Sergeant Dunham simply informedJasper that he felt it to be his duty to deprive him temporarily of thecommand of the cutter, and to confer it on his own brother-in-law. Anatural and involuntary burst of surprise, which escaped the young man,was met by a quiet remark, reminding him that military service wasoften of a nature that required concealment, and a declaration that thepresent duty was of such a character that this particular arrangementhad become indispensable. Although Jasper's astonishment remainedundiminished,--the Sergeant cautiously abstaining from making anyallusion to his suspicions,--the young man was accustomed to obey withmilitary submission and he quietly acquiesced, with his own mouthdirecting the little crew to receive their further orders from Cap untilanother change should be effected. When, however, he was told the caserequired that not only he himself, but his principal assistant, who, onaccount of his long acquaintance with the lake, was usually termed thepilot, were to remain below, there was an alteration in his countenanceand manner that denoted strong feeling, though it was so well masteredas to leave even the distrustful Cap i
n doubt as to its meaning. As amatter of course, however, when distrust exists, it was not long beforethe worst construction was put upon it.

  As soon as Jasper and the pilot were below, the sentinel at the hatchreceived private orders to pay particular attention to both; to allowneither to come on deck again without giving instant notice to theperson who might then be in charge of the cutter, and to insist on hisreturn below as soon as possible. This precaution, however, was uncalledfor; Jasper and his assistant both throwing themselves silently on theirpallets, which neither quitted again that night.

  "And now, Sergeant," said Cap, as soon as he found himself master ofthe deck, "you will just have the goodness to give me the courses anddistance, that I may see the boat keeps her head the right way."

  "I know nothing of either, brother Cap," returned Dunham, not a littleembarrassed at the question. "We must make the best of our way to thestation among the Thousand Islands, 'where we shall land, relievethe party that is already out, and get information for our futuregovernment.' That's it, nearly word for word, as it stands in thewritten orders."

  "But you can muster a chart--something in the way of bearings anddistances, that I may see the road?"

  "I do not think Jasper ever had anything of the sort to go by."

  "No chart, Sergeant Dunham!"

  "Not a scrap of a pen even. Our sailors navigate this lake without anyaid from maps."

  "The devil they do! They must be regular Yahoos. And do you suppose,Sergeant Dunham, that I can find one island out of a thousand withoutknowing its name or its position, without even a course or a distance?"

  "As for the _name_, brother Cap, you need not be particular, for not oneof the whole thousand _has_ a name, and so a mistake can never be madeon that score. As for the position, never having been there myself,I can tell you nothing about it, nor do I think its position of anyparticular consequence, provided we find the spot. Perhaps one of thehands on deck can tell us the way."

  "Hold on, Sergeant--hold on a moment, if you please, Sergeant Dunham.If I am to command this craft, it must be done, if you please, withoutholding any councils of war with the cook and cabin-boy. A ship-masteris a ship-master, and he must have an opinion of his own, even if it bea wrong one. I suppose you know service well enough to understand thatit is better in a commander to go wrong than to go nowhere. At allevents, the Lord High Admiral couldn't command a yawl with dignity, ifhe consulted the cockswain every time he wished to go ashore. No sir, ifI sink, I sink! but, d---me, I'll go down ship-shape and with dignity."

  "But, brother Cap, I have no wish to go down anywhere, unless it be tothe station among the Thousand Islands whither we are bound."

  "Well, well, Sergeant, rather than ask advice--that is, direct,barefaced advice--of a foremast hand, or any other than a quarter-deckofficer, I would go round to the whole thousand, and examine them one byone until we got the right haven. But there is such a thing as coming atan opinion without manifesting ignorance, and I will manage to rouse allthere is out of these hands, and make them think all the while that Iam cramming them with my own experience! We are sometimes obliged to usethe glass at sea when there is nothing in sight, or to heave the leadlong before we strike soundings. When a youngster, sailed two v'y'geswith a man who navigated his ship pretty much by the latter sort ofinformation, which sometimes answers."

  "I know we are steering in the right direction at present," returnedthe Sergeant; "but in the course of a few hours we shall be up with aheadland, where we must feel our way with more caution."

  "Leave me to pump the man at the wheel, brother, and you shall see thatI will make him suck in a very few minutes."

  Cap and the Sergeant now walked aft, until they stood by the sailor whowas at the helm, Cap maintaining an air of security and tranquillity,like one who was entirely confident of his own powers.

  "This is a wholesome air, my lad," Cap observed, in the manner that asuperior on board a vessel sometimes condescends to use to a favoredinferior. "Of course you have it in this fashion off the land everynight?"

  "At this season of the year, sir," the man returned, touching his hat,out of respect, to his new commander and Sergeant Dunham's connection.

  "The same thing, I take it, among the Thousand Islands? The wind willstand, of course, though we shall then have land on every side of us."

  "When we get farther east, sir, the wind will probably shift, for therecan then be no particular land-breeze."

  "Ay, ay; so much for your fresh water! It has always some trick that isopposed to nature. Now, down among the West India Islands, one is justas certain of having a land-breeze as he is of having a sea-breeze. Inthat respect there is no difference, though it's quite in rule it shouldbe different up here on this bit of fresh water. Of course, my lad, youknow all about these said Thousand Islands?"

  "Lord bless you, Master Cap, nobody knows all about them or anythingabout them. They are a puzzle to the oldest sailor on the lake, and wedon't pretend to know even their names. For that matter, most of themhave no more names than a child that dies before it is christened."

  "Are you a Roman Catholic?" demanded the Sergeant sharply.

  "No, sir, nor anything else. I'm a generalizer about religion, nevertroubling that which don't trouble me."

  "Hum! a generalizer; that is, no doubt, one of the new sects thatafflict the country," muttered Mr. Dunham, whose grandfather had beena New Jersey Quaker, his father a Presbyterian, and who had joined theChurch of England himself after he entered the army.

  "I take it, John--" resumed Cap. "Your name is Jack, I believe?"

  "No, sir; I am called Robert."

  "Ay, Robert, it's very much the same thing, Jack or Bob; we use the twoindifferently. I say, Bob, it's good holding ground, is it, down at thissame station for which we are bound?"

  "Bless you, sir! I know no more about it than one of the Mohawks, or asoldier of the 55th."

  "Did you never anchor there?"

  "Never, sir. Master Eau-douce always makes fast to the shore."

  "But in running in for the town, you kept the lead going, out ofquestion, and must have tallowed as usual."

  "Tallow!--and town, too! Bless your heart, Master Cap! there is no moretown than there is on your chin, and not half as much tallow!"

  The Sergeant smiled grimly, but his brother-in-law did not detect thisproof of humor.

  "No church tower, nor light, nor fort, ha? There is a garrison, as youcall it hereaway, at least?"

  "Ask Sergeant Dunham, sir, if you wish to know that. All the garrison ison board the _Scud_."

  "But in running in, Bob, which of the channels do you think the best?the one you went last, or--or--or--ay, or the other?"

  "I can't say, sir; I know nothing of either."

  "You didn't go to sleep, fellow, at the wheel, did you?"

  "Not at the wheel, sir, but down in the fore-peak in my berth. Eau-doucesent us below, soldiers and all, with the exception of the pilot, and weknow no more of the road than if we had never been over it. This he hasalways done in going in and coming out; and, for the life of me, I couldtell you nothing of the channel, or the course, after we are once fairlyup with the islands. No one knows anything of either but Jasper and thepilot."

  "Here is a circumstance for you, Sergeant," said Cap, leading hisbrother-in-law a little aside; "there is no one on board to pump, forthey all suck from ignorance at the first stroke of the brake. How thedevil am I to find the way to this station for which we are bound?"

  "Sure enough, brother Cap, your question is more easily put thananswered. Is there no such thing as figuring it out by navigation? Ithought you salt-water mariners were able to do as small a thing asthat. I have often read of their discovering islands, surely."

  "That you have, brother, that you have; and this discovery would be thegreatest of them all; for it would not only be discovering one island,but one island out of a thousand."

  "Still, the sailors of the lake have a method of finding the places theywish to go to." />
  "If I have understood you, Sergeant, this station or blockhouse isparticularly private."

  "It is, indeed, the utmost care having been taken to prevent a knowledgeof its position from reaching the enemy."

  "And you expect me, a stranger on your lake, to find this place withoutchart, course, distance, latitude, longitude, or soundings,--ay, d---me,or tallow! Allow me to ask if you think a mariner runs by his nose, likeone of Pathfinder's hounds?"

  "Well, brother, you may yet learn something by questioning the young manat the helm; I can hardly think that he is as ignorant as he pretends tobe."

  "Hum!--this looks like another circumstance. For that matter, the caseis getting to be so full of circumstances that one hardly knows how tofoot up the evidence. But we will soon see how much the lad knows."

  Cap and the Sergeant now returned to their station near the helm, andthe former renewed his inquiries.

  "Do you happen to know what may be the latitude and longitude of thissaid island, my lad?" he asked.

  "The what, sir?"

  "Why, the latitude or longitude--one or both; I'm not particular which,as I merely inquire in order to see how they bring up young men on thisbit of fresh water."

  "I'm not particular about either myself, sir, and so I do not happen toknow what you mean."

  "Not what I mean! You know what latitude is?"

  "Not I, sir!" returned the man, hesitating. "Though I believe it isFrench for the upper lakes."

  "Whe-e-e-w-!" whistled Cap, drawing out his breath like the broken stopof an organ; "latitude, French for upper lakes! Hark'e, young man, doyou know what longitude means?"

  "I believe I do, sir; that is, five feet six, the regulation height forsoldiers in the king's service."

  "There's the longitude found out for you, Sergeant, in the rattling ofa brace-block! You have some notion about a degree, and minutes andseconds, I hope?"

  "Yes, sir; degree means my betters; and minutes and seconds are forthe short or long log-lines. We all know these things as well as thesalt-water people."

  "D---me, brother Dunham, if I think even Faith can get along on thislake, much as they say it can do with mountains. Well, my lad, youunderstand the azimuth, and measuring distances, and how to box thecompass."

  "As for the first, sir, I can't say I do. The distances we all know, aswe measure them from point to point; and as for boxing the compass, Iwill turn my back to no admiral in his Majesty's fleet. Nothe, notheand by east, nothe, nothe-east, nothe-east and by nothe, nothe-east,nothe-east and by east, east-nothe-east, east and by nothe-east--"

  "That will do, that will do. You'll bring about a shift of wind if yougo on in this manner. I see very plainly, Sergeant," walking away again,and dropping his voice, "we've nothing to hope for from that chap. I'llstand on two hours longer on this tack, when we'll heave-to and get thesoundings, after which we will be governed by circumstances."

  To this the Sergeant made no objections; and as the wind grew lighter,as usual with the advance of night, and there were no immediateobstacles to the navigation, he made a bed of a sail on deck, and wassoon lost in the sound sleep of a soldier. Cap continued to walk thedeck, for he was one whose iron frame set fatigue at defiance, and notonce that night did he close his eyes.

  It was broad daylight when Sergeant Dunham awoke, and the exclamationof surprise that escaped him, as he rose to his feet and began to lookabout him, was stronger than it was usual for one so drilled to sufferto be heard. He found the weather entirely changed, the view boundedby driving mist that limited the visible horizon to a circle of about amile in diameter, the lake raging and covered with foam, and the _Scud_lying-to. A brief conversation with his brother-in-law let him into thesecrets of all these sudden changes.

  According to the account of Master Cap, the wind had died away to a calmabout midnight, or just as he was thinking of heaving-to, to sound, forislands ahead were beginning to be seen. At one A.M. it began to blowfrom the north-east, accompanied by a drizzle, and he stood off to thenorthward and westward, knowing that the coast of New York lay in theopposite direction. At half-past one he stowed the flying-jib, reefedthe mainsail, and took the bonnet off the jib. At two he was compelledto get a second reef aft; and by half-past two he had put a balance-reefin the sail, and was lying-to.

  "I can't say but the boat behaves well, Sergeant," the old sailor added,"but it blows forty-two pounders. I had no idea there were any suchcurrents of air up here on this bit of fresh water, though I carenot the knotting of a yarn for it, as your lake has now somewhat of anatural look; and if this d----d water had a savor of salt about it, onemight be comfortable."

  "How long have you been heading in this direction, brother Cap?"inquired the prudent soldier; "and at what rate may we be going throughthe water?"

  "Why, two or three hours, mayhap, and she went like a horse for thefirst pair of them. Oh, we've a fine offing now! for, to own the truth,little relishing the neighborhood of them said islands, although theyare to windward, I took the helm myself, and run her off free for someleague or two. We are well to leeward of them, I'll engage--I say toleeward; for though one might wish to be well to windward of one island,or even half a dozen, when it comes to a thousand, the better way isto give it up at once, and to slide down under their lee as fast aspossible. No, no; there they are up yonder in the dingle; and there theymay stay, for anything Charles Cap cares."

  "As the north shore lies only some five or six leagues from us, brother,and I know there is a large bay in that quarter, might it not be well toconsult some of the crew concerning our position, if, indeed, we do notcall up Jasper Eau-douce, and tell him to carry us back to Oswego? Forit is quite impossible we should ever reach the station with this winddirectly in our teeth."

  "There are several serious professional reasons, Sergeant, against allyour propositions. In the first place, an admission of ignorance onthe part of a commander would destroy discipline. No matter, brother;I understand your shake of the head, but nothing capsizes discipline somuch as to confess ignorance. I once knew a master of a vessel who wenta week on a wrong course rather than allow he had made a mistake; andit was surprising how much he rose in the opinions of his people, justbecause they could not understand him."

  "That may do on salt water, brother Cap, but it will hardly do on fresh.Rather than wreck my command on the Canada shore, I shall feel it a dutyto take Jasper out of arrest."

  "And make a haven in Frontenac. No, Sergeant; the _Scud_ is in goodhands, and will now learn something of seamanship. We have a fineoffing, and no one but a madman would think of going upon a coast ina gale like this. I shall ware every watch, and then we shall be safeagainst all dangers but those of the drift, which, in a light low craftlike this, without top-hamper, will be next to nothing. Leave it allto me, Sergeant, and I pledge you the character of Charles Cap that allwill go well."

  Sergeant Dunham was fain to yield. He had great confidence in hisconnection's professional skill, and hoped that he would take such careof the cutter as would amply justify his opinion of him. On the otherhand, as distrust, like care, grows by what it feeds on, he entertainedso much apprehension of treachery, that he was quite willing any one butJasper should just then have the control of the fate of the whole party.Truth, moreover, compels us to admit another motive. The particularduty on which he was now sent of right should have been confided toa commissioned officer; and Major Duncan had excited a good deal ofdiscontent among the subalterns of the garrison, by having confided itto one of the Sergeant's humble station. To return without having evenreached the point of destination, therefore, the latter felt would bea failure from which he was not likely soon to recover, and the measurewould at once be the means of placing a superior in his shoes.