The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER XVI.

  Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form Glasses itself in tempests; in all time, Calm or convulsed--in breeze, or gale, or storm, Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime Dark-heaving;--boundless, endless, and sublime-- The image of eternity; the throne Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime The monsters of the deep are made; each zone Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. BYRON.

  As the day advanced, that portion of the inmates of the vessel which hadthe liberty of doing so appeared on deck. As yet the sea was not veryhigh, from which it was inferred that the cutter was still under the leeof the islands; but it was apparent to all who understood the lake thatthey were about to experience one of the heavy autumnal gales ofthat region. Land was nowhere visible; and the horizon on every sideexhibited that gloomy void, which lends to all views on vast bodies ofwater the sublimity of mystery. The swells, or, as landsmen term them,the waves, were short and curling, breaking of necessity sooner thanthe longer seas of the ocean; while the element itself, instead ofpresenting that beautiful hue which rivals the deep tint of the southernsky, looked green and angry, though wanting in the lustre that isderived from the rays of the sun.

  The soldiers were soon satisfied with the prospect, and one by one theydisappeared, until none were left on deck but the crew, the Sergeant,Cap, Pathfinder, the Quartermaster, and Mabel. There was a shade on thebrow of the last, who had been made acquainted with the real state ofthings, and who had fruitlessly ventured an appeal in favor of Jasper'srestoration to the command. A night's rest and a night's reflectionappeared also to have confirmed the Pathfinder in his opinion of theyoung man's innocence; and he, too, had made a warm appeal on behalf ofhis friend, though with the same want of success.

  Several hours passed away, the wind gradually getting heavier and thesea rising, until the motion of the cutter compelled Mabel and theQuartermaster to retreat also. Cap wore several times; and it was nowevident that the _Scud_ was drifting into the broader and deeper partsof the lake, the seas raging down upon her in a way that none but avessel of superior mould and build could have long ridden and withstood.All this, however, gave Cap no uneasiness; but, like the hunter thatpricks his ears at the sound of the horn, or the war-horse that paws andsnorts with pleasure at the roll of the drum, the whole scene awakenedall that was man within him; and instead of the captious, supercilious,and dogmatic critic, quarrelling with trifles and exaggeratingimmaterial things, he began to exhibit the qualities of the hardy andexperienced seaman which he truly was. The hands soon imbibed a respectfor his skill; and, though they wondered at the disappearance of theirold commander and the pilot, for which no reason had been publiclygiven, they soon yielded an implicit and cheerful obedience to the newone.

  "This bit of fresh water, after all, brother Dunham, has some spirit, Ifind," cried Cap about noon, rubbing his hands in pure satisfaction atfinding himself once more wrestling with the elements. "The windseems to be an honest old-fashioned gale, and the seas have a fancifulresemblance to those of the Gulf Stream. I like this, Sergeant, I likethis, and shall get to respect your lake, if it hold out twenty-fourhours longer in the fashion in which it has begun."

  "Land, ho!" shouted the man who was stationed on the forecastle.

  Cap hurried forward; and there, sure enough, the land was visiblethrough the drizzle, at the distance of about half a mile, the cutterheading directly towards it. The first impulse of the old seaman wasto give an order to "stand by, to ware off shore;" but the cool-headedsoldier restrained him.

  "By going a little nearer," said the Sergeant, "some of us may recognizethe place. Most of us know the American shore in this part of the lake;and it will be something gained to learn our position."

  "Very true, very true; if, indeed, there is any chance of that we willhold on. What is this off here, a little on our weather-bow? It lookslike a low headland."

  "The garrison, by Jove!" exclaimed the other, whose trained eye soonerrecognized the military outlines than the less instructed senses of hisconnection.

  The Sergeant was not mistaken. There was the fort, sure enough, thoughit looked dim and indistinct through the fine rain, as if it were seenin the dusk of evening or the haze of morning. The low, sodded, andverdant ramparts, the sombre palisades, now darker than ever with water,the roof of a house or two, the tall, solitary flagstaff, with itshalyards blown steadily out into a curve that appeared traced inimmovable lines in the air, were all soon to be seen though no sign ofanimated life could be discovered. Even the sentinel was housed; and atfirst it was believed that no eye would detect the presence of theirown vessel. But the unceasing vigilance of a border garrison did notslumber: one of the look-outs probably made the interesting discovery;a man or two were seen on some elevated stands, and then the entireramparts next the lake were dotted with human beings.

  The whole scene was one in which sublimity was singularly relieved bythe picturesque. The raging of the tempest had a character of durationthat rendered it easy to imagine it might be a permanent feature ofthe spot. The roar of the wind was without intermission, and the ragingwater answered to its dull but grand strains with hissing spray, amenacing wash, and sullen surges. The drizzle made a medium for the eyewhich closely resembled that of a thin mist, softening and renderingmysterious the images it revealed, while the genial feeling that isapt to accompany a gale of wind on water contributed to aid the milderinfluences of the moment. The dark interminable forest hove up outof the obscurity, grand, sombre, and impressive, while the solitary,peculiar, and picturesque glimpses of life that were caught in and aboutthe fort, formed a refuge for the eye to retreat to when oppressed withthe more imposing objects of nature.

  "They see us," said the Sergeant, "and think we have returned on accountof the gale, and have fallen to leeward of the port. Yes, there is MajorDuncan himself on the north-eastern bastion I know him by his height,and by the officers around him."

  "Sergeant, it would be worth standing a little jeering, if we couldfetch into the river, and come safely to an anchor. In that case, too,we might land this Master Eau-douce, and purify the boat."

  "It would indeed; but, as poor a sailor as I am, I well know it cannotbe done. Nothing that sails the lake can turn to windward against thisgale; and there is no anchorage outside in weather like this."

  "I know it, I see it, Sergeant; and pleasant as is that sight to youlandsmen, we must leave it. For myself, I am never so happy in heavyweather as when I am certain that the land is behind me."

  The _Scud_ had now forged so near in, that it became indispensable tolay her head off shore again, and the necessary orders were given. Thestorm-staysail was set forward, the gaff lowered, the helm put up, andthe light craft, that seemed to sport with the elements like a duck,fell off a little, drew ahead swiftly, obeyed her rudder, and was soonflying away on the top of the surges, dead before the gale. Whilemaking this rapid flight, though the land still remained in view onher larboard beam, the fort and the groups of anxious spectators onits rampart were swallowed up in the mist. Then followed the evolutionsnecessary to bring the head of the cutter up to the wind, when she againbegan to wallow her weary way towards the north shore.

  Hours now passed before any further change was made, the wind increasingin force, until even the dogmatical Cap fairly admitted it was blowinga thorough gale of wind. About sunset the _Scud_ wore again to keep heroff the north shore during the hours of darkness; and at midnight hertemporary master, who, by questioning the crew in an indirect manner,had obtained some general knowledge of the size and shape of the lake,believed himself to be about midway between the two shores. The heightand length of the seas aided this impression and it must be addedthat Cap by this time began to feel a respect for fresh water whichtwenty-four hours earlier he would have derided as impossible. Just asthe night turned, the fury of the wind became so great that he found itimpossible to bear up against it, the water falling on the deck of thelittle craft in such masses as to
cause it to shake to the centre, and,though a vessel of singularly lively qualities, to threaten to bury itbeneath its weight. The people of the _Scud_ averred that never beforehad they been out in such a tempest, which was true; for, possessinga perfect knowledge of all the rivers and headlands and havens, Jasperwould have carried the cutter in shore long ere this, and placed her insafety in some secure anchorage. But Cap still disdained to consult theyoung master, who continued below, determining to act like a mariner ofthe broad ocean.

  It was one in the morning when the storm-staysail was again got on the_Scud_, the head of the mainsail lowered, and the cutter put before thewind. Although the canvas now exposed was merely a rag in surface, thelittle craft nobly justified the use of the name she bore. For eighthours did she scud in truth; and it was almost with the velocity of thegulls that wheeled wildly over her in the tempest, apparently afraidto alight in the boiling caldron of the lake. The dawn of day broughtlittle change; for no other horizon became visible than the littlecircle of drizzling sky and water already described, in which it seemedas if the elements were rioting in a sort of chaotic confusion. Duringthis time the crew and passengers of the cutter were of necessitypassive. Jasper and the pilot remained below; but, the motion of thevessel having become easier, nearly all the rest were on deck. Themorning meal had been taken in silence, and eye met eye, as if theirowners asked each other, in dumb show, what was to be the end of thisstrife in the elements. Cap, however, was perfectly composed, and hisface brightened, his step grew firmer, and his whole air more assured,as the storm increased, making larger demands on his professional skilland personal spirit. He stood on the forecastle, his arms crossed,balancing his body with a seaman's instinct, while his eyes watched thecaps of the seas, as they broke and glanced past the reeling cutter,itself in such swift motion, as if they were the scud flying athwart thesky. At this sublime instant one of the hands gave the unexpected cry of"A sail!"

  There was so much of the wild and solitary character of the wildernessabout Ontario, that one scarcely expected to meet with a vessel on itswaters. The _Scud_ herself, to those who were in her, resembled aman threading the forest alone, and the meeting was like that of twosolitary hunters beneath the broad canopy of leaves that then covered somany millions of acres on the continent of America. The peculiar stateof the weather served to increase the romantic, almost supernaturalappearance of the passage. Cap alone regarded it with practised eyes,and even he felt his iron nerves thrill under the sensations that wereawakened by the wild features of the scene.

  The strange vessel was about two cables' length ahead of the _Scud_,standing by the wind athwart her bows, and steering a course to renderit probable that the latter would pass within a few yards of her.She was a full-rigged ship; and, seen through the misty medium of thetempest, the most experienced eye could detect no imperfection in hergear or construction. The only canvas she had set was a close-reefedmain-topsail, and two small storm-staysails, one forward and the otheraft. Still the power of the wind pressed so hard upon her as to bear herdown nearly to her beam-ends, whenever the hull was not righted by thebuoyancy of some wave under her lee. Her spars were all in their places,and by her motion through the water, which might have equalled fourknots in the hour, it was apparent that she steered a little free.

  "The fellow must know his position well," said Cap, as the cutter flewdown towards the ship with a velocity almost equalling that of the gale,"for he is standing boldly to the southward, where he expects to findanchorage or a haven. No man in his senses would run off free in thatfashion, that was not driven to scudding, like ourselves, who did notperfectly understand where he was going."

  "We have made an awful run, captain," returned the man to whom thisremark had been addressed. "That is the French king's ship, Lee-my-calm(_Le Montcalm_), and she is standing in for the Niagara, where her ownerhas a garrison and a port. We've made an awful run of it!"

  "Ay, bad luck to him! Frenchman-like, he skulks into port the moment hesees an English bottom."

  "It might be well for us if we could follow him," returned the man,shaking his head despondingly, "for we are getting into the end of a bayup here at the head of the lake, and it is uncertain whether we ever getout of it again!"

  "Pooh, man, pooh! We have plenty of sea room, and a good English hullbeneath us. We are no Johnny Crapauds to hide ourselves behind a pointor a fort on account of a puff of wind. Mind your helm, sir!"

  The order was given on account of the menacing appearance of theapproaching passage. The _Scud_ was now heading directly for thefore-foot of the Frenchman; and, the distance between the two vesselshaving diminished to a hundred yards, it was momentarily questionable ifthere was room to pass.

  "Port, sir, port," shouted Cap. "Port your helm and pass astern!"

  The crew of the Frenchman were seen assembling to windward, and a fewmuskets were pointed, as if to order the people of the _Scud_ to keepoff. Gesticulations were observed, but the sea was too wild and menacingto admit of the ordinary expedients of war. The water was dripping fromthe muzzles of two or three light guns on board the ship, but no onethought of loosening them for service in such a tempest. Her blacksides, as they emerged from a wave, glistened and seemed to frown; butthe wind howled through her rigging, whistling the thousand notes ofa ship; and the hails and cries that escape a Frenchman with so muchreadiness were inaudible.

  "Let him halloo himself hoarse!" growled Cap. "This is no weather towhisper secrets in. Port, sir, port!"

  The man at the helm obeyed, and the next send of the sea drove the_Scud_ down upon the quarter of the ship, so near her that the oldmariner himself recoiled a step, in a vague expectation that, at thenext surge ahead, she would drive bows foremost directly into the planksof the other vessel. But this was not to be: rising from the crouchingposture she had taken, like a panther about to leap, the cutter dashedonward, and at the next instant she was glancing past the stern of herenemy, just clearing the end of her spanker-boom with her own loweryard.

  The young Frenchman who commanded the _Montcalm_ leaped on the taffrail;and, with that high-toned courtesy which relieves even the worst acts ofhis countrymen, he raised his cap and smiled a salutation as the _Scud_shot past. There were _bonhomie_ and good taste in this act of courtesy,when circumstances allowed of no other communications; but they werelost on Cap, who, with an instinct quite as true to his race, shook hisfist menacingly, and muttered to himself,--

  "Ay, ay, it's d----d lucky for you I've no armament on board here,or I'd send you in to get new cabin-windows fitted. Sergeant, he's ahumbug."

  "'Twas civil, brother Cap," returned the other, lowering his hand fromthe military salute which his pride as a soldier had induced him toreturn,--"'twas civil, and that's as much as you can expect from aFrenchman. What he really meant by it no one can say."

  "He is not heading up to this sea without an object, neither. Well,let him run in, if he can get there, we will keep the lake, like heartyEnglish mariners."

  This sounded gloriously, but Cap eyed with envy the glittering blackmass of the _Montcalm's_ hull, her waving topsail, and the mistytracery of her spars, as she grew less and less distinct, and finallydisappeared in the drizzle, in a form as shadowy as that of some unrealimage. Gladly would he have followed in her wake had he dared; for, toown the truth, the prospect of another stormy night in the midst ofthe wild waters that were raging around him brought little consolation.Still he had too much professional pride to betray his uneasiness, andthose under his care relied on his knowledge and resources, with theimplicit and blind confidence that the ignorant are apt to feel.

  A few hours succeeded, and darkness came again to increase the perils ofthe _Scud_. A lull in the gale, however, had induced Cap to come bythe wind once more, and throughout the night the cutter was lying-to asbefore, head-reaching as a matter of course, and occasionally wearing tokeep off the land. It is unnecessary to dwell on the incidents of thisnight, which resembled those of any other gale of wind. There were thepitching of the
vessel, the hissing of the waters, the dashing of spray,the shocks that menaced annihilation to the little craft as she plungedinto the seas, the undying howl of the wind, and the fearful drift.The last was the most serious danger; for, though exceedingly weatherlyunder her canvas, and totally without top-hamper, the _Scud_ was solight, that the combing of the swells would seem at times to washher down to leeward with a velocity as great as that of the surgesthemselves.

  During this night Cap slept soundly, and for several hours. The day wasjust dawning when he felt himself shaken by the shoulder; and arousinghimself, he found the Pathfinder standing at his side. During the galethe guide had appeared little on deck, for his natural modesty told himthat seamen alone should interfere with the management of the vessel;and he was willing to show the same reliance on those who had chargeof the _Scud_, as he expected those who followed through the forestto manifest in his own skill; but he now thought himself justifiedin interfering, which he did in his own unsophisticated and peculiarmanner.

  "Sleep is sweet, Master Cap," said he, as soon as the eyes of thelatter were fairly open, and his consciousness had sufficientlyreturned,--"sleep is sweet, as I know from experience, but life issweeter still. Look about you, and say if this is exactly the moment fora commander to be off his feet."

  "How now? how now, Master Pathfinder?" growled Cap, in the first momentsof his awakened faculties. "Are you, too, getting on the side of thegrumblers? When ashore I admired your sagacity in running through theworst shoals without a compass; and since we have been afloat, yourmeekness and submission have been as pleasant as your confidence on yourown ground. I little expected such a summons from you."

  "As for myself, Master Cap, I feel I have my gifts, and I believethey'll interfere with those of no other man; but the case may bedifferent with Mabel Dunham. She has her gifts, too, it is true; butthey are not rude like ours, but gentle and womanish, as they ought tobe. It's on her account that I speak, and not on my own."

  "Ay, ay, I begin to understand. The girl is a good girl, my worthyfriend; but she is a soldier's daughter and a sailor's niece, and oughtnot to be too tame or too tender in a gale. Does she show any fear?"

  "Not she! not she! Mabel is a woman, but she is reasonable and silent.Not a word have I heard from her concerning our doings; though I dothink, Master Cap, she would like it better if Jasper Eau-douce were putinto his proper place, and things were restored to their old situation,like. This is human natur'."

  "I'll warrant it--girl-like, and Dunham-like, too. Anything is betterthan an old uncle, and everybody knows more than an old seaman. _This_is human natur', Master Pathfinder, and d---me if I'm the man to sheer afathom, starboard or port, for all the human natur' that can be foundin a minx of twenty--ay, or" (lowering his voice a little) "for all thatcan be paraded in his Majesty's 55th regiment of foot. I've not beenat sea forty years, to come up on this bit of fresh water to be taughthuman natur'. How this gale holds out! It blows as hard at this momentas if Boreas had just clapped his hand upon the bellows. And what isall this to leeward?" (rubbing his eyes)--"land! as sure as my name isCap--and high land, too."

  The Pathfinder made no immediate answer; but, shaking his head, hewatched the expression of his companion's face, with a look of stronganxiety in his own.

  "Land, as certain as this is the _Scud!_" repeated Cap; "a lee shore,and that, too, within a league of us, with as pretty a line of breakersas one could find on the beach of all Long Island!"

  "And is that encouraging? or is it disheartening?" inquired thePathfinder.

  "Ha! encouraging--disheartening!--why, neither. No, no, there isnothing encouraging about it; and as for disheartening, nothing ought todishearten a seaman. You never get disheartened or afraid in the woods,my friend?"

  "I'll not say that, I'll not say that. When the danger is great, it ismy gift to see it, and know it, and to try to avoid it; else wouldmy scalp long since have been drying in a Mingo wigwam. On this lake,however, I can see no trail, and I feel it my duty to submit; thoughI think we ought to remember there is such a person as Mabel Dunham onboard. But here comes her father, and he will naturally feel for his ownchild."

  "We are seriously situated, I believe, brother Cap," said the Sergeant,when he had reached the spot, "by what I can gather from the two handson the forecastle? They tell me the cutter cannot carry any more sail,and her drift is so great we shall go ashore in an hour or two. I hopetheir fears have deceived them?"

  Cap made no reply; but he gazed at the land with a rueful face, and thenlooked to windward with an expression of ferocity, as if he would gladlyhave quarrelled with the weather.

  "It may be well, brother," the Sergeant continued, "to send for Jasperand consult him as to what is to be done. There are no French here todread; and, under all circumstances, the boy will save us from drowningif possible."

  "Ay, ay, 'tis these cursed circumstances that have done all themischief. But let the fellow come; let him come; a few well-managedquestions will bring the truth out of him, I'll warrant you."

  This acquiescence on the part of the dogmatical Cap was no soonerobtained, than Jasper was sent for. The young man instantly madehis appearance, his whole air, countenance, and mien expressiveof mortification, humility, and, as his observers fancied, rebukeddeception. When he first stepped on deck, Jasper cast one hurried,anxious glance around, as if curious to know the situation of thecutter; and that glance sufficed, it would seem, to let him into thesecret of all her perils. At first he looked to windward, as is usualwith every seaman; then he turned round the horizon, until his eyecaught a view of the high lands to leeward, when the whole truth burstupon him at once.

  "I've sent for you, Master Jasper," said Cap, folding his arms, andbalancing his body with the dignity of the forecastle, "in order tolearn something about the haven to leeward. We take it for granted youdo not bear malice so hard as to wish to drown us all, especially thewomen; and I suppose you will be man enough to help us run the cutterinto some safe berth until this bit of a gale has done blowing!"

  "I would die myself rather than harm should come to Mabel Dunham," theyoung man earnestly answered.

  "I knew it! I knew it!" cried the Pathfinder, clapping his hand kindlyon Jasper's shoulder. "The lad is as true as the best compass that everran a boundary, or brought a man off from a blind trail. It is a mortalsin to believe otherwise."

  "Humph!" ejaculated Cap; "especially the women! As if _they_ were in anyparticular danger. Never mind, young man; we shall understand each otherby talking like two plain seamen. Do you know of any port under ourlee?"

  "None. There is a large bay at this end of the lake; but it is unknownto us all, and not easy of entrance."

  "And this coast to leeward--it has nothing particular to recommend it, Isuppose?"

  "It is a wilderness until you reach the mouth of the Niagara in onedirection, and Frontenac in the other. North and west, they tell me,there is nothing but forest and prairies for a thousand miles."

  "Thank God! then, there can be no French. Are there many savages,hereaway, on the land?"

  "The Indians are to be found in all directions; though they are nowherevery numerous. By accident, we might find a party at any point on theshore; or we might pass months there without seeing one."

  "We must take our chance, then, as to the blackguards; but, to be frankwith you, Master Western, if this little unpleasant matter about theFrench had not come to pass, what would you now do with the cutter?"

  "I am a much younger sailor than yourself, Master Cap," said Jaspermodestly, "and am hardly fitted to advise you."

  "Ay, ay, we all know that. In a common case, perhaps not. But this is anuncommon case, and a circumstance; and on this bit of fresh water it haswhat may be called its peculiarities; and so, everything considered,you may be fitted to advise even your own father. At all events, youcan speak, and I can judge of your opinions, agreeably to my ownexperience."

  "I think, sir, before two hours are over, the cutter will have toanchor."

&n
bsp; "Anchor!--not out here in the lake?"

  "No, sir; but in yonder, near the land."

  "You do not mean to say, Master Eau-douce, you would anchor on a leeshore in a gale of wind?"

  "If I would save my vessel, that is exactly what I would do, MasterCap."

  "Whe-e-e-w!--this is fresh water, with a vengeance! Hark'e, young man,I've been a seafaring animal, boy and man, forty-one years, and I neveryet heard of such a thing. I'd throw my ground-tackle overboard before Iwould be guilty of so lubberly an act!"

  "That is what we do on this lake," modestly replied Jasper, "when we arehard pressed. I daresay we might do better, had we been better taught."

  "That you might, indeed! No; no man induces me to commit such a sinagainst my own bringing up. I should never dare show my face insideof Sandy Hook again, had I committed so know-nothing an exploit. Why,Pathfinder, here, has more seamanship in him than that comes to. You cango below again, Master Eau-douce."

  Jasper quietly bowed and withdrew; still, as he passed down the ladder,the spectators observed that he cast a lingering anxious look at thehorizon to windward and the land to leeward, and then disappeared withconcern strongly expressed in every lineament of his face.