The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER XXII.

  Spectre though I be, I am not sent to scare thee or deceive; But in reward of thy fidelity. WORDSWORTH.

  It would be difficult to say which evinced the most satisfaction, whenMabel sprang to her feet and appeared in the centre of the room, ourheroine, on finding that her visitor was the wife of Arrowhead, andnot Arrowhead himself, or June, at discovering that her advice hadbeen followed, and that the blockhouse contained the person she had soanxiously and almost hopelessly sought. They embraced each other, andthe unsophisticated Tuscarora woman laughed in her sweet accents as sheheld her friend at arm's length, and made certain of her presence.

  "Blockhouse good," said the young Indian; "got no scalp."

  "It is indeed good, June," Mabel answered, with a shudder, veiling hereyes at the same time, as if to shut out a view of the horrors she hadso lately witnessed. "Tell me, for God's sake, if you know what hasbecome of my dear uncle! I have looked in all directions without beingable to see him."

  "No here in blockhouse?" June asked, with some curiosity.

  "Indeed he is not: I am quite alone in this place; Jennie, the woman whowas with me, having rushed out to join her husband, and perishing forher imprudence."

  "June know, June see; very bad, Arrowhead no feel for any wife; no feelfor his own."

  "Ah, June, your life, at least, is safe!"

  "Don't know; Arrowhead kill me, if he know all."

  "God bless and protect you, June! He _will_ bless and protect you forthis humanity. Tell me what is to be done, and if my poor uncle is stillliving?"

  "Don't know. Saltwater has boat; maybe he go on river."

  "The boat is still on the shore, but neither my uncle nor theQuartermaster is anywhere to be seen."

  "No kill, or June would see. Hide away! Red man hide; no shame forpale-face."

  "It is not the shame that I fear for them, but the opportunity. Yourattack was awfully sudden, June!"

  "Tuscarora!" returned the other, smiling with exultation at thedexterity of her husband. "Arrowhead great warrior!"

  "You are too good and gentle for this sort of life, June; you cannot behappy in such scenes?"

  June's countenance grew clouded, and Mabel fancied there was some of thesavage fire of a chief in her frown as she answered,--

  "Yengeese too greedy, take away all hunting-grounds; chase Six Nationfrom morning to night; wicked king, wicked people. Pale-face very bad."

  Mabel knew that, even in that distant day, there was much truth in thisopinion, though she was too well instructed not to understand that themonarch, in this, as in a thousand other cases, was blamed for acts ofwhich he was most probably ignorant. She felt the justice of the rebuke,therefore, too much to attempt an answer, and her thoughts naturallyreverted to her own situation.

  "And what am I to do, June?" she demanded. "It cannot be long beforeyour people will assault this building."

  "Blockhouse good--got no scalp."

  "But they will soon discover that it has got no garrison too, if they donot know it already. You yourself told me the number of people that wereon the island, and doubtless you learned it from Arrowhead."

  "Arrowhead know," answered June, holding up six fingers, to indicate thenumber of the men. "All red men know. Four lose scalp already; two got'em yet."

  "Do not speak of it, June; the horrid thought curdles my blood. Yourpeople cannot know that I am alone in the blockhouse, but may fancy myuncle and the Quartermaster with me, and may set fire to the building,in order to dislodge them. They tell me that fire is the great danger tosuch places."

  "No burn blockhouse," said June quietly.

  "You cannot know that, my good June, and I have no means to keep themoff."

  "No burn blockhouse. Blockhouse good; got no scalp."

  "But tell me why, June; I fear they will burn it."

  "Blockhouse wet--much rain--logs green--no burn easy. Red man knowit--fine t'ing--then no burn it to tell Yengeese that Iroquois beenhere. Fader come back, miss blockhouse, no found. No, no; Indian toomuch cunning; no touch anything."

  "I understand you, June, and hope your prediction may be true; for, asregards my dear father, should he escape--perhaps he is already dead orcaptured, June?"

  "No touch fader--don't know where he gone--water got no trail--red mancan't follow. No burn blockhouse--blockhouse good; got no scalp."

  "Do you think it possible for me to remain here safely until my fatherreturns?"

  "Don't know; daughter tell best when fader come back." Mabel felt uneasyat the glance of June's dark eye as she uttered this; for the unpleasantsurmise arose that her companion was endeavoring to discover a factthat might be useful to her own people, while it would lead to thedestruction of her parent and his party. She was about to make anevasive answer, when a heavy push at the outer door suddenly drew allher thoughts to the immediate danger.

  "They come!" she exclaimed. "Perhaps, June, it is my uncle or theQuartermaster. I cannot keep out even Mr. Muir at a moment like this."

  "Why no look? plenty loophole, made purpose."

  Mabel took the hint, and, going to one of the downward loops, that hadbeen cut through the logs in the part that overhung the basement, shecautiously raised the little block that ordinarily filled the smallhole, and caught a glance at what was passing at the door. The start andchanging countenance told her companion that some of her own people werebelow.

  "Red man," said June, lifting a finger in admonition to be prudent.

  "Four; and horrible in their paint and bloody trophies. Arrowhead isamong them."

  June had moved to a corner, where several spare rifles had beendeposited, and had already taken one into her hand, when the name ofher husband appeared to arrest her movements. It was but for an instant,however, for she immediately went to the loop, and was about to thrustthe muzzle of the piece through it, when a feeling of natural aversioninduced Mabel to seize her arm.

  "No, no, no, June!" said the latter; "not against your own husband,though my life be the penalty."

  "No hurt Arrowhead," returned June, with a slight shudder, "no hurt redman at all. No fire at 'em; only scare."

  Mabel now comprehended the intention of June, and no longer opposed it.The latter thrust the muzzle of the rifle through the loophole; and,taking care to make noise enough to attract attraction, she pulled thetrigger. The piece had no sooner been discharged than Mabel reproachedher friend for the very act that was intended to serve her.

  "You declared it was not your intention to fire," she said, "and you mayhave destroyed your own husband."

  "All run away before I fire," returned June, laughing, and going toanother loop to watch the movements of her friends, laughing stillheartier. "See! get cover--every warrior. Think Saltwater andQuartermaster here. Take good care now."

  "Heaven be praised! And now, June, I may hope for a little time tocompose my thoughts to prayer, that I may not die like Jennie, thinkingonly of life and the things of the world."

  June laid aside the rifle, and came and seated herself near the box onwhich Mabel had sunk, under that physical reaction which accompanies joyas well as sorrow. She looked steadily in our heroine's face, andthe latter thought that her countenance had an expression of severitymingled with its concern.

  "Arrowhead great warrior," said the Tuscarora's wife. "All the girls oftribe look at him much. The pale-face beauty has eyes too?"

  "June!--what do these words--that look--imply? what would you say?"

  "Why you so 'fraid June shoot Arrowhead?"

  "Would it not have been horrible to see a wife destroy her own husband?No, June, rather would I have died myself."

  "Very sure, dat all?"

  "That was all, June, as God is my judge!--and surely that was enough.No, no! there have been sufficient horrors to-day, without increasingthem by an act like this. What other motive can you suspect?"

  "Don't know. Poor Tuscarora girl very foolish. Arrowhead great chief,and look all round him. Talk of pale-face bea
uty in his sleep. Greatchief like many wives."

  "Can a chief possess more than one wife, June, among your people?"

  "Have as many as he can keep. Great hunter marry often. Arrowhead gotonly June now; but he look too much, see too much, talk too much ofpale-face girl."

  Mabel was conscious of this fact, which had distressed her not alittle, in the course of their journey; but it shocked her to hear thisallusion, coming, as it did, from the mouth of the wife herself. Sheknew that habit and opinions made great differences in such matters;but, in addition to the pain and mortification she experienced at beingthe unwilling rival of a wife, she felt an apprehension that jealousywould be but an equivocal guarantee for her personal safety in herpresent situation. A closer look at June, however, reassured her;for, while it was easy to trace in the unpractised features of thisunsophisticated being the pain of blighted affections, no distrust couldhave tortured the earnest expression of her honest countenance into thatof treachery or hate.

  "You will not betray me, June?" Mabel said, pressing the other's hand,and yielding to an impulse of generous confidence. "You will not give upone of your own sex to the tomahawk?"

  "No tomahawk touch you. Arrowhead no let 'em. If June must havesister-wife, love to have you."

  "No, June; my religion, my feelings, both forbid it; and, if I could bethe wife of an Indian at all, I would never take the place that is yoursin a wigwam."

  June made no answer, but she looked gratified, and even grateful. Sheknew that few, perhaps no Indian girl within the circle of Arrowhead'sacquaintance, could compare with herself in personal attractions; and,though it might suit her husband to marry a dozen wives, she knew of noone, beside Mabel, whose influence she could really dread. So keenan interest, however, had she taken in the beauty, winning manners,kindness, and feminine gentleness of our heroine, that when jealousycame to chill these feelings, it had rather lent strength to thatinterest; and, under its wayward influence, had actually been one ofthe strongest of the incentives that had induced her to risk so much inorder to save her imaginary rival from the consequences of the attackthat she so well knew was about to take place. In a word, June, with awife's keenness of perception, had detected Arrowhead's admiration ofMabel; and, instead of feeling that harrowing jealousy that might haverendered her rival hateful, as would have been apt to be the case witha woman unaccustomed to defer to the superior rights of the lordly sex,she had studied the looks and character of the pale-face beauty, until,meeting with nothing to repel her own feelings, but everything toencourage them, she had got to entertain an admiration and love for her,which, though certainly very different, was scarcely less strong thanthat of her husband's. Arrowhead himself had sent her to warn Mabel ofthe coming danger, though he was ignorant that she had stolen upon theisland in the rear of the assailants, and was now intrenched in thecitadel along with the object of their joint care. On the contrary, hesupposed, as his wife had said, that Cap and Muir were in the blockhousewith Mabel, and that the attempt to repel him and his companions hadbeen made by the men.

  "June sorry the Lily"--for so the Indian, in her poetical language, hadnamed our heroine--"June sorry the Lily no marry Arrowhead. His wigwambig, and a great chief must get wives enough to fill it."

  "I thank you, June, for this preference, which is not according tothe notion of us white women," returned Mabel, smiling in spite of thefearful situation in which she was placed; "but I may not, probablynever shall, marry at all."

  "Must have good husband," said June; "marry Eau-douce, if don't likeArrowhead."

  "June! this is not a fit subject for a girl who scarcely knows if sheis to live another hour or not. I would obtain some signs of my dearuncle's being alive and safe, if possible."

  "June go see."

  "Can you?--will you?--would it be safe for you to be seen on the island?is your presence known to the warriors, and would they be pleased tofind a woman on the war-path with them?"

  All this Mabel asked in rapid connection, fearing that the answer mightnot be as she wished. She had thought it extraordinary that June shouldbe of the party, and, improbable as it seemed, she had fancied that thewoman had covertly followed the Iroquois in her own canoe, and had gotin their advance, merely to give her the notice which had probably savedher life. But in all this she was mistaken, as June, in her imperfectmanner, now found means to let her know.

  Arrowhead, though a chief, was in disgrace with his own people, andwas acting with the Iroquois temporarily, though with a perfectunderstanding. He had a wigwam, it is true, but was seldom in it;feigning friendship for the English, he had passed the summer ostensiblyin their service, while he was, in truth, acting for the French, and hiswife journeyed with him in his many migrations, most of the distancesbeing passed over in canoes. In a word, her presence was no secret, herhusband seldom moving without her. Enough of this to embolden Mabel towish that her friend might go out, to ascertain the fate of her uncle,did June succeed in letting the other know; and it was soon settledbetween them that the Indian woman should quit the blockhouse with thatobject the moment a favorable opportunity offered.

  They first examined the island, as thoroughly as their position wouldallow, from the different loops, and found that its conquerors werepreparing for a feast, having seized upon the provisions of the Englishand rifled the huts. Most of the stores were in the blockhouse; butenough were found outside to reward the Indians for an attack that hadbeen attended by so little risk. A party had already removed the deadbodies, and Mabel saw that their arms were collected in a pile near thespot chosen for the banquet. June suggested that, by some signs whichshe understood, the dead themselves were carried into a thicket andeither buried or concealed from view. None of the more prominent objectson the island, however, were disturbed, it being the desire of theconquerors to lure the party of the Sergeant into an ambush on itsreturn. June made her companion observe a man in a tree, a look-out, asshe said, to give timely notice of the approach of any boat, although,the departure of the expedition being so recent, nothing but someunexpected event would be likely to bring it back so soon. There didnot appear to be any intention to attack the blockhouse immediately; butevery indication, as understood by June, rather showed that it was theintention of the Indians to keep it besieged until the return of theSergeant's party, lest, the signs of an assault should give a warningto eyes as practised as those of Pathfinder. The boat, however, had beensecured, and was removed to the spot where the canoes of the Indianswere hid in the bushes.

  June now announced her intention to join her friends, the moment beingparticularly favorable for her to quit the blockhouse. Mabel felt somedistrust as they descended the ladder; but at the next instant shewas ashamed of the feeling, as unjust to her companion and unworthy ofherself, and by the time they both stood on the ground her confidencewas restored. The process of unbarring the door was conducted with theutmost caution, and when the last bar was ready to be turned June tookher station near the spot where the opening must necessarily be. The barwas just turned free of the brackets, the door was opened merely wideenough to allow her body to pass, and June glided through the space.Mabel closed the door again, with a convulsive movement; and as the barturned into its place, her heart beat audibly. She then felt secure; andthe two other bars were turned down in a more deliberate manner. Whenall was fast again, she ascended to the first floor, where alone shecould get a glimpse of what was going on without.

  Long and painfully melancholy hours passed, during which Mabel had nointelligence from June. She heard the yells of the savages, for liquorhad carried them beyond the bounds of precaution and occasionallycaught glimpses of their mad orgies through the loops; and at all timeswas conscious of their fearful presence by sounds and sights that wouldhave chilled the blood of one who had not so lately witnessed scenes somuch more terrible. Toward the middle of the day, she fancied she saw awhite man on the island, though his dress and wild appearance at firstmade her take him for a newly-arrived savage. A view of his face,although it was
swarthy naturally, and much darkened by exposure, leftno doubt that her conjecture was true; and she felt as if there was nowone of a species more like her own present, and one to whom she mightappeal for succor in the last emergency. Mabel little knew, alas!how small was the influence exercised by the whites over their savageallies, when the latter had begun to taste of blood; or how slight,indeed, was the disposition to divert them from their cruelties.

  The day seemed a month by Mabel's computation, and the only part of itthat did not drag were the minutes spent in prayer. She had recourse tothis relief from time to time; and at each effort she found her spiritfirmer, her mind more tranquil, and her resignation more confirmed. Sheunderstood the reasoning of June, and believed it highly probable thatthe blockhouse would be left unmolested until the return of her father,in order to entice him into an ambuscade, and she felt much lessapprehension of immediate danger in consequence; but the future offeredlittle ground of hope, and her thoughts had already begun to calculatethe chances of her captivity. At such moments, Arrowhead and hisoffensive admiration filled a prominent place in the background: forour heroine well knew that the Indians usually carried off to theirvillages, for the purposes of adoption, such captives as they did notslay; and that many instances had occurred in which individuals of hersex had passed the remainder of their lives in the wigwams of theirconquerors. Such thoughts as these invariably drove her to her knees andto her prayers.

  While the light lasted the situation of our heroine was sufficientlyalarming; but as the shades of evening gradually gathered over theisland, it became fearfully appalling. By this time the savages hadwrought themselves up to the point of fury, for they had possessedthemselves of all the liquor of the English; and their outcries andgesticulations were those of men truly possessed by evil spirits.All the efforts of their French leader to restrain them were entirelyfruitless, and he had wisely withdrawn to an adjacent island, wherehe had a sort of bivouac, that he might keep at a safe distance fromfriends so apt to run into excesses. Before quitting the spot,however, this officer, at great risk to his own life, had succeeded inextinguishing the fire, and in securing the ordinary means to relightit. This precaution he took lest the Indians should burn the blockhouse,the preservation of which was necessary to the success of his futureplans. He would gladly have removed all the arms also, but this he foundimpracticable, the warriors clinging to their knives and tomahawks withthe tenacity of men who regarded a point of honor as long as a facultywas left; and to carry off the rifles, and leave behind him the veryweapons that were generally used on such occasions, would have beenan idle expedient. The extinguishing of the fire proved to be the mostprudent measure; for no sooner was the officer's back turned than one ofthe warriors in fact proposed to fire the blockhouse. Arrowhead had alsowithdrawn from the group of drunkards as soon as he found that they werelosing their senses, and had taken possession of a hut, where he hadthrown himself on the straw, and sought the rest that two wakeful andwatchful nights had rendered necessary. It followed that no one wasleft among the Indians to care for Mabel, if, indeed, any knew of herexistence at all; and the proposal of the drunkard was received withyells of delight by eight or ten more as much intoxicated and habituallyas brutal as himself.

  This was the fearful moment for Mabel. The Indians, in their presentcondition, were reckless of any rifles that the blockhouse might hold,though they did retain dim recollections of its containing livingbeings, an additional incentive to their enterprise; and they approachedits base whooping and leaping like demons. As yet they were excited, notovercome by the liquor they had drunk. The first attempt was made at thedoor, against which they ran in a body; but the solid structure, whichwas built entirely of logs, defied their efforts. The rush of a hundredmen with the same object would have been useless. This Mabel, however,did not know; and her heart seemed to leap into her mouth as she heardthe heavy shock at each renewed effort. At length, when she foundthat the door resisted these assaults as if it were of stone, neithertrembling nor yielding, and only betraying its not being a part of thewall by rattling a little on its heavy hinges, her courage revived,and she seized the first moment of a cessation to look down throughthe loop, in order, if possible, to learn the extent of her danger. Asilence, for which it was not easy to account, stimulated her curiosity;for nothing is so alarming to those who are conscious of the presence ofimminent danger, as to be unable to trace its approach.

  Mabel found that two or three of the Iroquois had been raking theembers, where they had found a few small coals, and with these they wereendeavoring to light a fire. The interest with which they labored,the hope of destroying, and the force of habit, enabled them to actintelligently and in unison, so long as their fell object was kept inview. A white man would have abandoned the attempt to light a fire indespair, with coals that came out of the ashes resembling sparks; butthese children of the forest had many expedients that were unknown tocivilization. By the aid of a few dry leaves, which they alone knewwhere to seek, a blaze was finally kindled, and then the addition of afew light sticks made sure of the advantage that had been obtained.When Mabel stooped down over the loop, the Indians were making a pile ofbrush against the door, and as she remained gazing at their proceedings,she saw the twigs ignite, the flame dart from branch to branch, untilthe whole pile was cracking and snapping under a bright blaze. TheIndians now gave a yell of triumph, and returned to their companions,well assured that the work of destruction was commenced. Mabel remainedlooking down, scarcely able to tear herself away from the spot, sointense and engrossing was the interest she felt in the progress of thefire. As the pile kindled throughout, however, the flames mounted, untilthey flashed so near her eyes as to compel her to retreat. Just as shereached the opposite side of the room, to which she had retired in heralarm, a forked stream shot up through the loophole, the lid of whichshe had left open, and illuminated the rude apartment, with Mabel andher desolation. Our heroine now naturally enough supposed that her hourwas come; for the door, the only means of retreat, had been blockedup by the brush and fire, with hellish ingenuity, and she addressedherself, as she believed, for the last time to her Maker in prayer. Hereyes were closed, and for more than a minute her spirit was abstracted;but the interests of the world too strongly divided her feelings to bealtogether suppressed; and when they involuntarily opened again, sheperceived that the streak of flame was no longer flaring in the room,though the wood around the little aperture had kindled, and the blazewas slowly mounting under the impulsion of a current of air that suckedinward. A barrel of water stood in a corner; and Mabel, acting more byinstinct than by reason, caught up a vessel, filled it, and, pouring iton the wood with a trembling hand, succeeded in extinguishing the fireat that particular spot. The smoke prevented her from looking downagain for a couple of minutes; but when she did her heart beat highwith delight and hope at finding that the pile of blazing brush had beenoverturned and scattered, and that water had been thrown on the logs ofthe door, which were still smoking though no longer burning.

  "Who is there?" said Mabel, with her mouth at the loop. "What friendlyhand has a merciful Providence sent to my succor?"

  A light footstep was audible below, and one of those gentle pushes atthe door was heard, which just moved the massive beams on the hinges.

  "Who wishes to enter? Is it you, dear, dear uncle?"

  "Saltwater no here. St. Lawrence sweet water," was the answer. "Openquick; want to come in."

  The step of Mabel was never lighter, or her movements more quick andnatural, than while she was descending the ladder and turning the bars,for all her motions were earnest and active. This time she thought onlyof her escape, and she opened the door with a rapidity which did notadmit of caution. Her first impulse was to rush into the open air,in the blind hope of quitting the blockhouse; but June repulsed theattempt, and entering, she coolly barred the door again before she wouldnotice Mabel's eager efforts to embrace her.

  "Bless you! bless you, June!" cried our heroine most fervently; "you aresent b
y Providence to be my guardian angel!"

  "No hug so tight," answered the Tuscarora woman. "Pale-face woman allcry, or all laugh. Let June fasten door."

  Mabel became more rational, and in a few minutes the two were again inthe upper room, seated as before, hand in hand, all feeling of distrustbetween them being banished.

  "Now tell me, June," Mabel commenced as soon as she had given andreceived one warm embrace, "have you seen or heard aught of my pooruncle?"

  "Don't know. No one see him; no one hear him; no one know anyt'ing.Saltwater run into river, I t'ink, for I no find him. Quartermaster gonetoo. I look, and look, and look; but no see' em, one, t'other, nowhere."

  "Blessed be God! They must have escaped, though the means are not knownto us. I thought I saw a Frenchman on the island, June."

  "Yes: French captain come, but he go away too. Plenty of Indian onisland."

  "Oh, June, June, are there no means to prevent my beloved father fromfalling into the hands of his enemies?"

  "Don't know; t'ink dat warriors wait in ambush, and Yengeese must losescalp."

  "Surely, surely, June, you, who have done so much for the daughter, willnot refuse to help the father?"

  "Don't know fader, don't love fader. June help her own people, helpArrowhead--husband love scalp."

  "June, this is not yourself. I cannot, will not believe that you wish tosee our men murdered!"

  June turned her dark eyes quietly on Mabel; and for a moment her lookwas stern, though it was soon changed into one of melancholy compassion.

  "Lily, Yengeese girl?" she said, as one asks a question.

  "Certainly, and as a Yengeese girl I would save my countrymen fromslaughter."

  "Very good, if can. June no Yengeese, June Tuscarora--got Tuscarorahusband--Tuscarora heart--Tuscarora feeling--all over Tuscarora. Lilywouldn't run and tell French that her fader was coming to gain victory?"

  "Perhaps not," returned Mabel, pressing a hand on a brain that feltbewildered,--"perhaps not; but you serve me, aid me--have saved me,June! Why have you done this, if you only feel as a Tuscarora?"

  "Don't only feel as Tuscarora; feel as girl, feel as squaw. Love prettyLily, and put it in my bosom."

  Mabel melted into tears, and she pressed the affectionate creature toher heart. It was near a minute before she could renew the discourse,but then she succeeded in speaking more calmly and with greatercoherence.

  "Let me know the worst, June," said she. "To-night your people arefeasting; what do they intend to do to-morrow?"

  "Don't know; afraid to see Arrowhead, afraid to ask question t'ink hideaway till Yengeese come back."

  "Will they not attempt anything against the blockhouse? You have seenwhat they can threaten if they will."

  "Too much rum. Arrowhead sleep, or no dare; French captain gone away, orno dare. All go to sleep now."

  "And you think I am safe for this night, at least?"

  "Too much rum. If Lily like June, might do much for her people."

  "I am like you, June, if a wish to serve my countrymen can make aresemblance with one as courageous as yourself."

  "No, no, no!" muttered June in a low voice; "no got heart, and June nolet you, if had. June's moder prisoner once, and warriors got drunk;moder tomahawked 'em all. Such de way red skin women do when people indanger and want scalp."

  "You say what is true," returned Mabel, shuddering, and unconsciouslydropping June's hand. "I cannot do that. I have neither the strength,the courage, nor the will to dip my hands in blood."

  "T'ink that too; then stay where you be--blockhouse good--got no scalp."

  "You believe, then, that I am safe here, at least until my father andhis people return?"

  "Know so. No dare touch blockhouse in morning. Hark! all stillnow--drink rum till head fall down, and sleep like log."

  "Might I not escape? Are there not several canoes on the island? Might Inot get one, and go and give my father notice of what has happened?"

  "Know how to paddle?" demanded June, glancing her eye furtively at hercompanion.

  "Not so well as yourself, perhaps; but enough to get out of sight beforemorning."

  "What do then?--couldn't paddle six--ten--eight mile!"

  "I do not know; I would do much to warn my father, and the excellentPathfinder, and all the rest, of the danger they are in."

  "Like Pathfinder?"

  "All like him who know him--you would like him, nay, love him, if youonly knew his heart!"

  "No like him at all. Too good rifle--too good eye--too much shootIroquois and June's people. Must get his scalp if can."

  "And I must save it if I can, June. In this respect, then, we areopposed to each other. I will go and find a canoe the instant they areall asleep, and quit the island."

  "No can--June won't let you. Call Arrowhead."

  "June! you would not betray me--you could not give me up after all youhave done for me?"

  "Just so," returned June, making a backward gesture with her hand, andspeaking with a warmth and earnestness Mabel had never witnessed in herbefore. "Call Arrowhead in loud voice. One call from wife wake a warriorup. June no let Lily help enemy--no let Indian hurt Lily."

  "I understand you, June, and feel the nature and justice of yoursentiments; and, after all, it were better that I should remain here,for I have most probably overrated my strength. But tell me one thing:if my uncle comes in the night, and asks to be admitted, you will let meopen the door of the blockhouse that he may enter?"

  "Sartain--he prisoner here, and June like prisoner better than scalp;scalp good for honor, prisoner good for feeling. But Saltwater hide soclose, he don't know where he be himself."

  Here June laughed in her girlish, mirthful way, for to her scenes ofviolence were too familiar to leave impressions sufficiently deepto change her natural character. A long and discursive dialogue nowfollowed, in which Mabel endeavored to obtain clearer notions of heractual situation, under a faint hope that she might possibly be enabledto turn some of the facts she thus learned to advantage. June answeredall her interrogatories simply, but with a caution which showed shefully distinguished between that which was immaterial and that whichmight endanger the safety or embarrass the future operations of herfriends. The substance of the information she gave may be summed up asfollows.

  Arrowhead had long been in communication with the French, though thiswas the first occasion on which he had entirely thrown aside the mask.He no longer intended to trust himself among the English, for he haddiscovered traces of distrust, particularly in Pathfinder; and, withIndian bravado, he now rather wished to blazon than to conceal histreachery. He had led the party of warriors in the attack on the island,subject, however, to the supervision of the Frenchman who has beenmentioned, though June declined saying whether he had been the meansof discovering the position of a place which had been thought to be soconcealed from the enemy or not. On this point she would say nothing;but she admitted that she and her husband had been watching thedeparture of the _Scud_ at the time they were overtaken and capturedby the cutter. The French had obtained their information of the preciseposition of the station but very recently; and Mabel felt a pang whenshe thought that there were covert allusions of the Indian woman whichwould convey the meaning that the intelligence had come from a pale-facein the employment of Duncan of Lundie. This was intimated, however,rather than said; and when Mabel had time to reflect on her companion'swords, she found room to hope that she had misunderstood her, andthat Jasper Western would yet come out of the affair freed from everyinjurious imputation.

  June did not hesitate to confess that she had been sent to the island toascertain the precise number and the occupations of those who had beenleft on it, though she also betrayed in her _naive_ way that the wishto serve Mabel had induced her principally to consent to come. Inconsequence of her report, and information otherwise obtained, the enemywas aware of precisely the force that could be brought against them.They also knew the number of men who had gone with Sergeant Dunham,and were acquainted w
ith the object he had in view, though they wereignorant of the spot where he expected to meet the French boats. Itwould have been a pleasant sight to witness the eager desire of each ofthese two sincere females to ascertain all that might be of consequenceto their respective friends; and yet the native delicacy with which eachrefrained from pressing the other to make revelations which would havebeen improper, as well as the sensitive, almost intuitive, feeling withwhich each avoided saying aught that might prove injurious to herown nation. As respects each other, there was perfect confidence; asregarded their respective people, entire fidelity. June was quite asanxious as Mabel could be on any other point to know where the Sergeanthad gone and when he was expected to return; but she abstained fromputting the question, with a delicacy that would have done honor to thehighest civilization nor did she once frame any other inquiry in a wayto lead indirectly to a betrayal of the much-desired information on thatparticular point: though when Mabel of her own accord touched on anymatter that might by possibility throw a light on the subject, shelistened with an intentness which almost suspended respiration.

  In this manner the hours passed away unheeded, for both were too muchinterested to think of rest. Nature asserted her rights, however,towards morning; and Mabel was persuaded to lie down on one of the strawbeds provided for the soldiers, where she soon fell into a deep sleep.June lay near her and a quiet reigned on the whole island as profound asif the dominion of the forest had never been invaded by man.

  When Mabel awoke the light of the sun was streaming in through theloopholes, and she found that the day was considerably advanced. Junestill lay near her, sleeping as tranquilly as if she reposed on--wewill not say "down," for the superior civilization of our own timesrepudiates the simile--but on a French mattress, and as profoundly asif she had never experienced concern. The movements of Mabel,notwithstanding, soon awakened one so accustomed to vigilance; and thenthe two took a survey of what was passing around them by means of thefriendly apertures.