Chapter IV.
"And that timid fawn starts not with fear, When I steal to her secret bower; And that young May violet to me is dear, And I visit the silent streamlet near, To look on the lovely flower."
Bryant, "An Indian Story," ii.11-15
The ark, as the floating habitation of the Hutters was generally called,was a very simple contrivance. A large flat, or scow, composed thebuoyant part of the vessel; and in its centre, occupying the whole ofits breadth, and about two thirds of its length, stood a low fabric,resembling the castle in construction, though made of materials so lightas barely to be bullet-proof. As the sides of the scow were a littlehigher than usual, and the interior of the cabin had no more elevationthan was necessary for comfort, this unusual addition had neither a veryclumsy nor a very obtrusive appearance. It was, in short, little morethan a modern canal-boat, though more rudely constructed, of greaterbreadth than common, and bearing about it the signs of the wilderness,in its bark-covered posts and roof. The scow, however, had been puttogether with some skill, being comparatively light, for its strength,and sufficiently manageable. The cabin was divided into two apartments,one of which served for a parlor, and the sleeping-room of the father,and the other was appropriated to the uses of the daughters. A verysimple arrangement sufficed for the kitchen, which was in one end ofthe scow, and removed from the cabin, standing in the open air; the arkbeing altogether a summer habitation.
The "and-bush," as Hurry in his ignorance of English termed it, is quiteas easily explained. In many parts of the lake and river, where thebanks were steep and high, the smaller trees and larger bushes, as hasbeen already mentioned, fairly overhung the stream, their branches notunfrequently dipping into the water. In some instances they grew outin nearly horizontal lines, for thirty or forty feet. The water beinguniformly deepest near the shores, where the banks were highest and thenearest to a perpendicular, Hutter had found no difficulty in lettingthe ark drop under one of these covers, where it had been anchoredwith a view to conceal its position; security requiring some suchprecautions, in his view of the case. Once beneath the trees and bushes,a few stones fastened to the ends of the branches had caused them tobend sufficiently to dip into the river; and a few severed bushes,properly disposed, did the rest. The reader has seen that this cover wasso complete as to deceive two men accustomed to the woods, and who wereactually in search of those it concealed; a circumstance that will beeasily understood by those who are familiar with the matted and wildluxuriance of a virgin American forest, more especially in a rich soil.The discovery of the ark produced very different effects on our twoadventurers.
As soon as the canoe could be got round to the proper opening, Hurryleaped on board, and in a minute was closely engaged in a gay, and asort of recriminating discourse with Judith, apparently forgetful ofthe existence of all the rest of the world. Not so with Deerslayer. Heentered the ark with a slow, cautious step, examining every arrangementof the cover with curious and scrutinizing eyes. It is true, he castone admiring glance at Judith, which was extorted by her brilliant andsingular beauty; but even this could detain him but a single instantfrom the indulgence of his interest in Hutter's contrivances. Stepby step did he look into the construction of the singular abode,investigate its fastenings and strength, ascertain its means of defence,and make every inquiry that would be likely to occur to one whosethoughts dwelt principally on such expedients. Nor was the coverneglected. Of this he examined the whole minutely, his commendationescaping him more than once in audible comments. Frontier usagesadmitting of this familiarity, he passed through the rooms, as he hadpreviously done at the 'Castle', and opening a door issued into the endof the scow opposite to that where he had left Hurry and Judith. Herehe found the other sister, employed at some coarse needle-work, seatedbeneath the leafy canopy of the cover.
As Deerslayer's examination was by this time ended, he dropped the buttof his rifle, and, leaning on the barrel with both hands, he turnedtowards the girl with an interest the singular beauty of her sisterhad not awakened. He had gathered from Hurry's remarks that Hetty wasconsidered to have less intellect than ordinarily falls to the share ofhuman beings, and his education among Indians had taught him to treatthose who were thus afflicted by Providence with more than commontenderness. Nor was there any thing in Hetty Hutter's appearance, as sooften happens, to weaken the interest her situation excited. An idiotshe could not properly be termed, her mind being just enough enfeebledto lose most of those traits that are connected with the more artfulqualities, and to retain its ingenuousness and love of truth. It hadoften been remarked of this girl, by the few who had seen her, and whopossessed sufficient knowledge to discriminate, that her perceptionof the right seemed almost intuitive, while her aversion to the wrongformed so distinctive a feature of her mind, as to surround her with anatmosphere of pure morality; peculiarities that are not infrequent withpersons who are termed feeble-minded; as if God had forbidden the evilspirits to invade a precinct so defenceless, with the benign purposeof extending a direct protection to those who had been left without theusual aids of humanity. Her person, too, was agreeable, having a strongresemblance to that of her sister's, of which it was a subdued andhumble copy. If it had none of the brilliancy of Judith's, the calm,quiet, almost holy expression of her meek countenance seldom failed towin on the observer, and few noted it long that did not begin to feel adeep and lasting interest in the girl. She had no colour, in common,nor was her simple mind apt to present images that caused her cheek tobrighten, though she retained a modesty so innate that it almost raisedher to the unsuspecting purity of a being superior to human infirmities.Guileless, innocent, and without distrust, equally by nature and fromher mode of life, providence had, nevertheless shielded her from harm,by a halo of moral light, as it is said 'to temper the wind to the shornlamb.'
"You are Hetty Hutter," said Deerslayer, in the way one puts a questionunconsciously to himself, assuming a kindness of tone and manner thatwere singularly adapted to win the confidence of her he addressed."Hurry Harry has told me of you, and I know you must be the child?"
"Yes, I'm Hetty Hutter" returned the girl in a low, sweet voice, whichnature, aided by some education, had preserved from vulgarity of toneand utterance--"I'm Hetty; Judith Hutter's sister; and Thomas Hutter'syoungest daughter."
"I know your history, then, for Hurry Harry talks considerable, and heis free of speech when he can find other people's consarns to dwell on.You pass most of your life on the lake, Hetty."
"Certainly. Mother is dead; father is gone a-trapping, and Judith and Istay at home. What's your name?"
"That's a question more easily asked than it is answered, young woman,seeing that I'm so young, and yet have borne more names than some of thegreatest chiefs in all America."
"But you've got a name--you don't throw away one name, before you comehonestly by another?"
"I hope not, gal--I hope not. My names have come nat'rally, and Isuppose the one I bear now will be of no great lasting, since theDelawares seldom settle on a man's ra'al title, until such time as hehas an opportunity of showing his true natur', in the council, or on thewarpath; which has never behappened me; seeing firstly, because I'm notborn a red-skin and have no right to sit in their councillings, and ammuch too humble to be called on for opinions from the great of my owncolour; and, secondly, because this is the first war that has befallenin my time, and no inimy has yet inroaded far enough into the colony, tobe reached by an arm even longer than mine."
"Tell me your names," added Hetty, looking up at him artlessly, "and,maybe, I'll tell you your character."
"There is some truth in that, I'll not deny, though it often fails. Menare deceived in other men's characters, and frequently give 'em namesthey by no means desarve. You can see the truth of this in the Mingonames, which, in their own tongue, signify the same things as theDelaware names,--at least, so they tell me, for I know little of thattribe, unless it be by report,--and no one can say they are as honest oras upright a nation
. I put no great dependence, therefore, on names."
"Tell me all your names," repeated the girl, earnestly, for her mindwas too simple to separate things from professions, and she did attachimportance to a name; "I want to know what to think of you."
"Well, sartain; I've no objection, and you shall hear them all. In thefirst place, then, I'm Christian, and white-born, like yourself, and myparents had a name that came down from father to son, as is a part oftheir gifts. My father was called Bumppo; and I was named after him, ofcourse, the given name being Nathaniel, or Natty, as most people saw fitto tarm it."
"Yes, yes--Natty--and Hetty" interrupted the girl quickly, andlooking up from her work again, with a smile: "you are Natty, and I'mHetty--though you are Bumppo, and I'm Hutter. Bumppo isn't as pretty asHutter, is it?"
"Why, that's as people fancy. Bumppo has no lofty sound, I admit; andyet men have bumped through the world with it. I did not go by thisname, howsoever, very long; for the Delawares soon found out, or thoughtthey found out, that I was not given to lying, and they called me,firstly, 'Straight-tongue.'"
"That's a good name," interrupted Hetty, earnestly, and in a positivemanner; "don't tell me there's no virtue in names!"
"I do not say that, for perhaps I desarved to be so called, lies beingno favorites with me, as they are with some. After a while they foundout I was quick of foot, and then they called me 'The Pigeon'; which,you know, has a swift wing, and flies in a straight line."
"That was a pretty name!" exclaimed Hetty; "pigeons are pretty birds!"
"Most things that God created are pretty in their way, my good gal,though they get to be deformed by mankind, so as to change theirnatur's, as well as their appearance. From carrying messages, andstriking blind trails, I got at last to following the hunters, when itwas thought I was quicker and surer at finding the game than most lads,and then they called me the 'Lap-ear'; as, they said, I partook of thesagacity of the hound."
"That's not so pretty," answered Hetty; "I hope you didn't keep thatname long."
"Not after I was rich enough to buy a rifle," returned the other,betraying a little pride through his usually quiet and subdued manner;"then it was seen I could keep a wigwam in ven'son; and in time I gotthe name of 'Deerslayer,' which is that I now bear; homely as some willthink it, who set more value on the scalp of a fellow-mortal than on thehorns of a buck."
"Well, Deerslayer, I'm not one of them," answered Hetty, simply; "Judithlikes soldiers, and flary coats, and fine feathers; but they're allnaught to me. She says the officers are great, and gay, and of softspeech; but they make me shudder, for their business is to kill theirfellow-creatures. I like your calling better; and your last name is avery good one--better than Natty Bumppo."
"This is nat'ral in one of your turn of mind, Hetty, and much as Ishould have expected. They tell me your sister is handsome--oncommon,for a mortal; and beauty is apt to seek admiration."
"Did you never see Judith?" demanded the girl, with quick earnestness;"if you never have, go at once and look at her. Even Hurry Harry isn'tmore pleasant to look at though she is a woman, and he is a man."
Deerslayer regarded the girl for a moment with concern. Her pale-facehad flushed a little, and her eye, usually so mild and serene,brightened as she spoke, in the way to betray the inward impulses.
"Ay, Hurry Harry," he muttered to himself, as he walked through thecabin towards the other end of the boat; "this comes of good looks, ifa light tongue has had no consarn in it. It's easy to see which way thatpoor creatur's feelin's are leanin', whatever may be the case with yourJude's."
But an interruption was put to the gallantry of Hurry, the coquetryof his intros, the thoughts of Deerslayer, and the gentle feelings ofHetty, by the sudden appearance of the canoe of the ark's owner, in thenarrow opening among the bushes that served as a sort of moat tohis position. It would seem that Hutter, or Floating Tom, as he wasfamiliarly called by all the hunters who knew his habits, recognized thecanoe of Hurry, for he expressed no surprise at finding him in thescow. On the contrary, his reception was such as to denote not onlygratification, but a pleasure, mingled with a little disappointment athis not having made his appearance some days sooner.
"I looked for you last week," he said, in a half-grumbling,half-welcoming manner; "and was disappointed uncommonly that you didn'tarrive. There came a runner through, to warn all the trappers andhunters that the colony and the Canadas were again in trouble; and Ifelt lonesome, up in these mountains, with three scalps to see to, andonly one pair of hands to protect them."
"That's reasonable," returned March; "and 't was feeling like a parent.No doubt, if I had two such darters as Judith and Hetty, my exper'encewould tell the same story, though in gin'ral I am just as well satisfiedwith having the nearest neighbor fifty miles off, as when he is withincall."
"Notwithstanding, you didn't choose to come into the wilderness alone,now you knew that the Canada savages are likely to be stirring,"returned Hutter, giving a sort of distrustful, and at the same timeinquiring glance at Deerslayer.
"Why should I? They say a bad companion, on a journey, helps to shortenthe path; and this young man I account to be a reasonably good one.This is Deerslayer, old Tom, a noted hunter among the Delawares, andChristian-born, and Christian-edicated, too, like you and me. The lad isnot parfect, perhaps, but there's worse men in the country that he camefrom, and it's likely he'll find some that's no better, in this partof the world. Should we have occasion to defend our traps, and theterritory, he'll be useful in feeding us all; for he's a reg'lar dealerin ven'son."
"Young man, you are welcome," growled Tom, thrusting a hard, bony handtowards the youth, as a pledge of his sincerity; "in such times, a whiteface is a friend's, and I count on you as a support. Children sometimesmake a stout heart feeble, and these two daughters of mine give me moreconcern than all my traps, and skins, and rights in the country."
"That's nat'ral!" cried Hurry. "Yes, Deerslayer, you and I don't know ityet by experience; but, on the whole, I consider that as nat'ral. If wehad darters, it's more than probable we should have some such feelin's;and I honor the man that owns 'em. As for Judith, old man, I enlist, atonce, as her soldier, and here is Deerslayer to help you to take care ofHetty."
"Many thanks to you, Master March," returned the beauty, in a full, richvoice, and with an accuracy of intonation and utterance that she sharedin common with her sister, and which showed that she had been bettertaught than her father's life and appearance would give reason toexpect. "Many thanks to you; but Judith Hutter has the spirit andthe experience that will make her depend more on herself than ongood-looking rovers like you. Should there be need to face the savages,do you land with my father, instead of burrowing in the huts, under theshow of defending us females and--"
"Girl--girl," interrupted the father, "quiet that glib tongue of thine,and hear the truth. There are savages on the lake shore already, and noman can say how near to us they may be at this very moment, or when wemay hear more from them!"
"If this be true, Master Hutter," said Hurry, whose change ofcountenance denoted how serious he deemed the information, though it didnot denote any unmanly alarm, "if this be true, your ark is in a mostmisfortunate position, for, though the cover did deceive Deerslayer andmyself, it would hardly be overlooked by a full-blooded Injin, who wasout seriously in s'arch of scalps!"
"I think as you do, Hurry, and wish, with all my heart, we lay anywhereelse, at this moment, than in this narrow, crooked stream, which hasmany advantages to hide in, but which is almost fatal to them that arediscovered. The savages are near us, moreover, and the difficulty is,to get out of the river without being shot down like deer standing at alick!"
"Are you sartain, Master Hutter, that the red-skins you dread are ra'alCanadas?" asked Deerslayer, in a modest but earnest manner. "Have youseen any, and can you describe their paint?"
"I have fallen in with the signs of their being in the neighborhood,but have seen none of 'em. I was down stream a mile or so, looking to mytra
ps, when I struck a fresh trail, crossing the corner of a swamp, andmoving northward. The man had not passed an hour; and I know'd it for anIndian footstep, by the size of the foot, and the intoe, even before Ifound a worn moccasin, which its owner had dropped as useless. For thatmatter, I found the spot where he halted to make a new one, which wasonly a few yards from the place where he had dropped the old one."
"That doesn't look much like a red-skin on the war path!" returned theother, shaking his head. "An exper'enced warrior, at least, would haveburned, or buried, or sunk in the river such signs of his passage; andyour trail is, quite likely, a peaceable trail. But the moccasin maygreatly relieve my mind, if you bethought you of bringing it off. I'vecome here to meet a young chief myself; and his course would be much inthe direction you've mentioned. The trail may have been his'n."
"Hurry Harry, you're well acquainted with this young man, I hope, whohas meetings with savages in a part of the country where he hasnever been before?" demanded Hutter, in a tone and in a manner thatsufficiently indicated the motive of the question; these rude beingsseldom hesitating, on the score of delicacy, to betray their feelings."Treachery is an Indian virtue; and the whites, that live much in theirtribes, soon catch their ways and practices."
"True--true as the Gospel, old Tom; but not personable to Deerslayer,who's a young man of truth, if he has no other ricommend. I'll answerfor his honesty, whatever I may do for his valor in battle."
"I should like to know his errand in this strange quarter of thecountry."
"That is soon told, Master Hutter," said the young man, with thecomposure of one who kept a clean conscience. "I think, moreover, you'vea right to ask it. The father of two such darters, who occupies a lake,after your fashion, has just the same right to inquire into a stranger'sbusiness in his neighborhood, as the colony would have to demand thereason why the Frenchers put more rijiments than common along the lines.No, no, I'll not deny your right to know why a stranger comes into yourhabitation or country, in times as serious as these."
"If such is your way of thinking, friend, let me hear your story withoutmore words."
"'T is soon told, as I said afore; and shall be honestly told. I'm ayoung man, and, as yet, have never been on a war-path; but no sooner didthe news come among the Delawares, that wampum and a hatchet were aboutto be sent in to the tribe, than they wished me to go out among thepeople of my own color, and get the exact state of things for 'em. ThisI did, and, after delivering my talk to the chiefs, on my return, I metan officer of the crown on the Schoharie, who had messages to send tosome of the fri'ndly tribes that live farther west. This was thought agood occasion for Chingachgook, a young chief who has never struck afoe, and myself; to go on our first war path in company, and anapp'intment was made for us, by an old Delaware, to meet at the rocknear the foot of this lake. I'll not deny that Chingachgook has anotherobject in view, but it has no consarn with any here, and is his secretand not mine; therefore I'll say no more about it."
"'Tis something about a young woman," interrupted Judith hastily, thenlaughing at her own impetuosity, and even having the grace to colour alittle, at the manner in which she had betrayed her readiness to imputesuch a motive. "If 'tis neither war, nor a hunt, it must be love."
"Ay, it comes easy for the young and handsome, who hear so much of themfeelin's, to suppose that they lie at the bottom of most proceedin's;but, on that head, I say nothin'. Chingachgook is to meet me at therock, an hour afore sunset to-morrow evening, after which we shall go ourway together, molesting none but the king's inimies, who are lawfullyour own. Knowing Hurry of old, who once trapped in our hunting grounds,and falling in with him on the Schoharie, just as he was on the p'int ofstarting for his summer ha'nts, we agreed to journey in company; not somuch from fear of the Mingos, as from good fellowship, and, as he says,to shorten a long road."
"And you think the trail I saw may have been that of your friend, aheadof his time?" said Hutter.
"That's my idee, which may be wrong, but which may be right. If I sawthe moccasin, howsever, I could tell, in a minute, whether it is made inthe Delaware fashion, or not."
"Here it is, then," said the quick-witted Judith, who had already goneto the canoe in quest of it. "Tell us what it says; friend or enemy. Youlook honest, and I believe all you say, whatever father may think."
"That's the way with you, Jude; forever finding out friends, where Idistrust foes," grumbled Tom: "but, speak out, young man, and tell uswhat you think of the moccasin."
"That's not Delaware made," returned Deerslayer, examining the worn andrejected covering for the foot with a cautious eye. "I'm too young on awar-path to be positive, but I should say that moccasin has a northernlook, and comes from beyond the Great Lakes."
"If such is the case, we ought not to lie here a minute longer than isnecessary," said Hutter, glancing through the leaves of his cover, as ifhe already distrusted the presence of an enemy on the opposite shore ofthe narrow and sinuous stream. "It wants but an hour or so of night,and to move in the dark will be impossible, without making a noise thatwould betray us. Did you hear the echo of a piece in the mountains,half-an-hour since?"
"Yes, old man, and heard the piece itself," answered Hurry, who now feltthe indiscretion of which he had been guilty, "for the last was firedfrom my own shoulder."
"I feared it came from the French Indians; still it may put them on thelook-out, and be a means of discovering us. You did wrong to fire inwar-time, unless there was good occasion.
"So I begin to think myself, Uncle Tom; and yet, if a man can't trusthimself to let off his rifle in a wilderness that is a thousand milessquare, lest some inimy should hear it, where's the use in carryingone?"
Hutter now held a long consultation with his two guests, in which theparties came to a true understanding of their situation. He explainedthe difficulty that would exist in attempting to get the ark out ofso swift and narrow a stream, in the dark, without making a noise thatcould not fail to attract Indian ears. Any strollers in their vicinitywould keep near the river or the lake; but the former had swampy shoresin many places, and was both so crooked and so fringed with bushes, thatit was quite possible to move by daylight without incurring much dangerof being seen. More was to be apprehended, perhaps, from the ear thanfrom the eye, especially as long as they were in the short, straitened,and canopied reaches of the stream.
"I never drop down into this cover, which is handy to my traps, andsafer than the lake from curious eyes, without providing the means ofgetting out ag'in," continued this singular being; "and that is easierdone by a pull than a push. My anchor is now lying above the suction, inthe open lake; and here is a line, you see, to haul us up to it. Withoutsome such help, a single pair of hands would make heavy work in forcinga scow like this up stream. I have a sort of a crab, too, that lightensthe pull, on occasion. Jude can use the oar astern as well as myself;and when we fear no enemy, to get out of the river gives us but littletrouble."
"What should we gain, Master Hutter, by changing the position?" askedDeerslayer, with a good deal of earnestness; "this is a safe cover, anda stout defence might be made from the inside of this cabin. I've neverfou't unless in the way of tradition; but it seems to me we might beatoff twenty Mingos, with palisades like them afore us."
"Ay, ay; you 've never fought except in traditions, that's plain enough,young man! Did you ever see as broad a sheet of water as this above us,before you came in upon it with Hurry?"
"I can't say that I ever did," Deerslayer answered, modestly. "Youthis the time to l'arn; and I'm far from wishing to raise my voice incounsel, afore it is justified by exper'ence."
"Well, then, I'll teach you the disadvantage of fighting in thisposition, and the advantage of taking to the open lake. Here, you maysee, the savages will know where to aim every shot; and it would be toomuch to hope that some would not find their way through the crevices ofthe logs. Now, on the other hand, we should have nothing but a forestto aim at. Then we are not safe from fire, here, the bark of this roofbeing
little better than so much kindling-wood. The castle, too, mightbe entered and ransacked in my absence, and all my possessions overrunand destroyed. Once in the lake, we can be attacked only in boats oron rafts--shall have a fair chance with the enemy--and can protect thecastle with the ark. Do you understand this reasoning, youngster?"
"It sounds well--yes, it has a rational sound; and I'll not gainsay it."
"Well, old Tom," cried Hurry, "If we are to move, the sooner we make abeginning, the sooner we shall know whether we are to have our scalpsfor night-caps, or not."
As this proposition was self-evident, no one denied its justice. Thethree men, after a short preliminary explanation, now set about theirpreparations to move the ark in earnest. The slight fastenings werequickly loosened; and, by hauling on the line, the heavy craft slowlyemerged from the cover. It was no sooner free from the incumbrance ofthe branches, than it swung into the stream, sheering quite close to thewestern shore, by the force of the current. Not a soul on board heardthe rustling of the branches, as the cabin came against the bushes andtrees of the western bank, without a feeling of uneasiness; for no oneknew at what moment, or in what place, a secret and murderous enemymight unmask himself. Perhaps the gloomy light that still struggledthrough the impending canopy of leaves, or found its way through thenarrow, ribbon-like opening, which seemed to mark, in the air above,the course of the river that flowed beneath, aided in augmenting theappearance of the danger; for it was little more than sufficient torender objects visible, without giving up all their outlines at aglance. Although the sun had not absolutely set, it had withdrawn itsdirect rays from the valley; and the hues of evening were beginning togather around objects that stood uncovered, rendering those within theshadows of the woods still more sombre and gloomy.
No interruption followed the movement, however, and, as the mencontinued to haul on the line, the ark passed steadily ahead, the greatbreadth of the scow preventing its sinking into the water, and fromoffering much resistance to the progress of the swift element beneathits bottom. Hutter, too, had adopted a precaution suggested byexperience, which might have done credit to a seaman, and whichcompletely prevented any of the annoyances and obstacles which otherwisewould have attended the short turns of the river. As the ark descended,heavy stones, attached to the line, were dropped in the centre of thestream, forming local anchors, each of which was kept from draggingby the assistance of those above it, until the uppermost of all wasreached, which got its "backing" from the anchor, or grapnel, that laywell out in the lake. In consequence of this expedient, the ark floatedclear of the incumbrances of the shore, against which it would otherwisehave been unavoidably hauled at every turn, producing embarrassmentsthat Hutter, single-handed, would have found it very difficult toovercome. Favored by this foresight, and stimulated by the apprehensionof discovery, Floating Tom and his two athletic companions hauled theark ahead with quite as much rapidity as comported with the strengthof the line. At every turn in the stream, a stone was raised from thebottom, when the direction of the scow changed to one that pointedtowards the stone that lay above. In this manner, with the channelbuoyed out for him, as a sailor might term it, did Hutter move forward,occasionally urging his friends, in a low and guarded voice, to increasetheir exertions, and then, as occasions offered, warning them againstefforts that might, at particular moments, endanger all by too muchzeal. In spite of their long familiarity with the woods, the gloomycharacter of the shaded river added to the uneasiness that each felt;and when the ark reached the first bend in the Susquehannah, and the eyecaught a glimpse of the broader expanse of the lake, all felt a relief,that perhaps none would have been willing to confess. Here the laststone was raised from the bottom, and the line led directly towards thegrapnel, which, as Hutter had explained, was dropped above the suctionof the current.
"Thank God!" ejaculated Hurry, "there is daylight, and we shall soonhave a chance of seeing our inimies, if we are to feel 'em."
"That is more than you or any man can say," growled Hutter. "There is nospot so likely to harbor a party as the shore around the outlet, and themoment we clear these trees and get into open water, will be the mosttrying time, since it will leave the enemy a cover, while it puts usout of one. Judith, girl, do you and Hetty leave the oar to take care ofitself; and go within the cabin; and be mindful not to show your facesat a window; for they who will look at them won't stop to praise theirbeauty. And now, Hurry, we'll step into this outer room ourselves, andhaul through the door, where we shall all be safe, from a surprise, atleast. Friend Deerslayer, as the current is lighter, and the line hasall the strain on it that is prudent, do you keep moving from window towindow, taking care not to let your head be seen, if you set any valueon life. No one knows when or where we shall hear from our neighbors."
Deerslayer complied, with a sensation that had nothing in common withfear, but which had all the interest of a perfectly novel and a mostexciting situation. For the first time in his life he was in thevicinity of enemies, or had good reason to think so; and that, too,under all the thrilling circumstances of Indian surprises and Indianartifices. As he took his stand at the window, the ark was just passingthrough the narrowest part of the stream, a point where the water firstentered what was properly termed the river, and where the trees fairlyinterlocked overhead, causing the current to rush into an arch ofverdure; a feature as appropriate and peculiar to the country, perhaps,as that of Switzerland, where the rivers come rushing literally fromchambers of ice.
The ark was in the act of passing the last curve of this leafy entrance,as Deerslayer, having examined all that could be seen of the easternbank of the river, crossed the room to look from the opposite window, atthe western. His arrival at this aperture was most opportune, for hehad no sooner placed his eye at a crack, than a sight met his gaze thatmight well have alarmed a sentinel so young and inexperienced. A saplingoverhung the water, in nearly half a circle, having first grown towardsthe light, and then been pressed down into this form by the weight ofthe snows; a circumstance of common occurrence in the American woods.On this no less than six Indians had already appeared, others standingready to follow them, as they left room; each evidently bent on runningout on the trunk, and dropping on the roof of the ark as it passedbeneath. This would have been an exploit of no great difficulty, theinclination of the tree admitting of an easy passage, the adjoiningbranches offering ample support for the hands, and the fall being tootrifling to be apprehended. When Deerslayer first saw this party, it wasjust unmasking itself, by ascending the part of the tree nearest to theearth, or that which was much the most difficult to overcome; and hisknowledge of Indian habits told him at once that they were all in theirwar-paint, and belonged to a hostile tribe.
"Pull, Hurry," he cried; "pull for your life, and as you love JudithHutter! Pull, man, pull!"
This call was made to one that the young man knew had the strength of agiant. It was so earnest and solemn, that both Hutter and March feltit was not idly given, and they applied all their force to the linesimultaneously, and at a most critical moment. The scow redoubled itsmotion, and seemed to glide from under the tree as if conscious ofthe danger that was impending overhead. Perceiving that they werediscovered, the Indians uttered the fearful war-whoop, and runningforward on the tree, leaped desperately towards their fancied prize.There were six on the tree, and each made the effort. All but theirleader fell into the river more or less distant from the ark, as theycame, sooner or later, to the leaping place. The chief, who had takenthe dangerous post in advance, having an earlier opportunity than theothers, struck the scow just within the stern. The fall proving so muchgreater than he had anticipated, he was slightly stunned, and for amoment he remained half bent and unconscious of his situation. At thisinstant Judith rushed from the cabin, her beauty heightened by theexcitement that produced the bold act, which flushed her cheek tocrimson, and, throwing all her strength into the effort, she pushedthe intruder over the edge of the scow, headlong into the river. Thisdecided feat was no sooner accomplish
ed than the woman resumed her sway;Judith looked over the stern to ascertain what had become of the man,and the expression of her eyes softened to concern, next, her cheekcrimsoned between shame and surprise at her own temerity, and then shelaughed in her own merry and sweet manner. All this occupied less than aminute, when the arm of Deerslayer was thrown around her waist, and shewas dragged swiftly within the protection of the cabin. This retreat wasnot effected too soon. Scarcely were the two in safety, when the forestwas filled with yells, and bullets began to patter against the logs.
The ark being in swift motion all this while, it was beyond the dangerof pursuit by the time these little events had occurred; and thesavages, as soon as the first burst of their anger had subsided, ceasedfiring, with the consciousness that they were expending their ammunitionin vain. When the scow came up over her grapnel, Hutter tripped thelatter in a way not to impede the motion; and being now beyond theinfluence of the current, the vessel continued to drift ahead, untilfairly in the open lake, though still near enough to the land to renderexposure to a rifle-bullet dangerous. Hutter and March got out two smallsweeps and, covered by the cabin, they soon urged the ark far enoughfrom the shore to leave no inducement to their enemies to make anyfurther attempt to injure them.
Chapter V.
"Why, let the strucken deer go weep, The hart ungalled play, For some must watch, while some must sleep, Thus runs the world away."
Hamlet, III.ii.271-74
Another consultation took place in the forward part of the scow,at which both Judith and Hetty were present. As no danger could nowapproach unseen, immediate uneasiness had given place to the concernwhich attended the conviction that enemies were in considerable force onthe shores of the lake, and that they might be sure no practicable meansof accomplishing their own destruction would be neglected. As a matterof course Hutter felt these truths the deepest, his daughters having anhabitual reliance on his resources, and knowing too little to appreciatefully all the risks they ran; while his male companions were at libertyto quit him at any moment they saw fit. His first remark showed thathe had an eye to the latter circumstance, and might have betrayed, to akeen observer, the apprehension that was just then uppermost.
"We've a great advantage over the Iroquois, or the enemy, whoever theyare, in being afloat," he said.
"There's not a canoe on the lake that I don't know where it's hid; andnow yours is here. Hurry, there are but three more on the land, andthey're so snug in hollow logs that I don't believe the Indians couldfind them, let them try ever so long."
"There's no telling that--no one can say that," put in Deerslayer; "ahound is not more sartain on the scent than a red-skin, when he expectsto get anything by it. Let this party see scalps afore 'em, or plunder,or honor accordin' to their idees of what honor is, and 't will be atight log that hides a canoe from their eyes."
"You're right, Deerslayer," cried Harry March; "you're downright Gospelin this matter, and I rej'ice that my bunch of bark is safe enough here,within reach of my arm. I calcilate they'll be at all the rest of thecanoes afore to-morrow night, if they are in ra'al 'arnest to smoke youout, old Tom, and we may as well overhaul our paddles for a pull."
Hutter made no immediate reply. He looked about him in silence for quitea minute, examining the sky, the lake, and the belt of forest whichinclosed it, as it might be hermetically, like one consulting theirsigns. Nor did he find any alarming symptoms. The boundless woods weresleeping in the deep repose of nature, the heavens were placid, butstill luminous with the light of the retreating sun, while the lakelooked more lovely and calm than it had before done that day. It was ascene altogether soothing, and of a character to lull the passions intoa species of holy calm. How far this effect was produced, however, onthe party in the ark, must appear in the progress of our narrative.
"Judith," called out the father, when he had taken this close but shortsurvey of the omens, "night is at hand; find our friends food; a longmarch gives a sharp appetite."
"We're not starving, Master Hutter," March observed, "for we filled upjust as we reached the lake, and for one, I prefer the company of Judeeven to her supper. This quiet evening is very agreeable to sit by herside."
"Natur' is natur'," objected Hutter, "and must be fed. Judith, see tothe meal, and take your sister to help you. I've a little discourse tohold with you, friends," he continued, as soon as his daughters were outof hearing, "and wish the girls away. You see my situation, and I shouldlike to hear your opinions concerning what is best to be done. Threetimes have I been burnt out already, but that was on the shore; and I'veconsidered myself as pretty safe ever since I got the castle built,and the ark afloat. My other accidents, however, happened in peaceabletimes, being nothing more than such flurries as a man must meet with, inthe woods; but this matter looks serious, and your ideas would greatlyrelieve my mind."
"It's my notion, old Tom, that you, and your huts, and your traps, andyour whole possessions, hereaway, are in desperate jippardy," returnedthe matter-of-fact Hurry, who saw no use in concealment. "Accordin' tomy idees of valie, they're altogether not worth half as much to-day asthey was yesterday, nor would I give more for 'em, taking the pay inskins."
"Then I've children!" continued the father, making the allusion in away that it might have puzzled even an indifferent observer to saywas intended as a bait, or as an exclamation of paternal concern,"daughters, as you know, Hurry, and good girls too, I may say, though Iam their father."
"A man may say anything, Master Hutter, particularly when pressed bytime and circumstances. You've darters, as you say, and one of themhasn't her equal on the frontiers for good looks, whatever she may havefor good behavior. As for poor Hetty, she's Hetty Hutter, and that's asmuch as one can say about the poor thing. Give me Jude, if her conductwas only equal to her looks!"
"I see, Harry March, I can only count on you as a fair-weather friend;and I suppose that your companion will be of the same way of thinking,"returned the other, with a slight show of pride, that was not altogetherwithout dignity; "well, I must depend on Providence, which will not turna deaf ear, perhaps, to a father's prayers."
"If you've understood Hurry, here, to mean that he intends to desartyou," said Deerslayer, with an earnest simplicity that gave doubleassurance of its truth, "I think you do him injustice, as I know youdo me, in supposing I would follow him, was he so ontrue-hearted as toleave a family of his own color in such a strait as this. I've come onthis at take, Master Hutter, to rende'vous a fri'nd, and I only wish hewas here himself, as I make no doubt he will be at sunset to-morrow, whenyou'd have another rifle to aid you; an inexper'enced one, I'll allow,like my own, but one that has proved true so often ag'in the game, bigand little, that I'll answer for its sarvice ag'in mortals."
"May I depend on you to stand by me and my daughters, then, Deerslayer?"demanded the old man, with a father's anxiety in his countenance.
"That may you, Floating Tom, if that's your name; and as a brother wouldstand by a sister, a husband his wife, or a suitor his sweetheart. Inthis strait you may count on me, through all advarsities; and I thinkHurry does discredit to his natur' and wishes, if you can't count onhim."
"Not he," cried Judith, thrusting her handsome face out of the door;"his nature is hurry, as well as his name, and he'll hurry off, assoon as he thinks his fine figure in danger. Neither 'old Tom,' nor his'gals,' will depend much on Master March, now they know him, but youthey will rely on, Deerslayer; for your honest face and honest hearttell us that what you promise you will perform."
This was said, as much, perhaps, in affected scorn for Hurry, as insincerity. Still, it was not said without feeling. The fine face ofJudith sufficiently proved the latter circumstance; and if the consciousMarch fancied that he had never seen in it a stronger display ofcontempt--a feeling in which the beauty was apt to indulge--than whileshe was looking at him, it certainly seldom exhibited more of a womanlysoftness and sensibility, than when her speaking blue eyes were turnedon his travelling companion.
> "Leave us, Judith," Hutter ordered sternly, before either of the youngmen could reply; "leave us; and do not return until you come withthe venison and fish. The girl has been spoilt by the flattery of theofficers, who sometimes find their way up here, Master March, and you'llnot think any harm of her silly words."
"You never said truer syllable, old Tom," retorted Hurry, who smartedunder Judith's observations; "the devil-tongued youngsters of thegarrison have proved her undoing! I scarce know Jude any longer, andshall soon take to admiring her sister, who is getting to be much moreto my fancy."
"I'm glad to hear this, Harry, and look upon it as a sign that you'recoming to your right senses. Hetty would make a much safer and morerational companion than Jude, and would be much the most likely tolisten to your suit, as the officers have, I greatly fear, unsettled hersister's mind."
"No man needs a safer wife than Hetty," said Hurry, laughing, "thoughI'll not answer for her being of the most rational. But no matter;Deerslayer has not misconceived me, when he told you I should be foundat my post. I'll not quit you, Uncle Tom, just now, whatever may be myfeelin's and intentions respecting your eldest darter."
Hurry had a respectable reputation for prowess among his associates,and Hutter heard this pledge with a satisfaction that was not concealed.Even the great personal strength of such an aid became of moment, inmoving the ark, as well as in the species of hand-to-hand conflicts,that were not unfrequent in the woods; and no commander who was hardpressed could feel more joy at hearing of the arrival of reinforcements,than the borderer experienced at being told this important auxiliarywas not about to quit him. A minute before, Hutter would have been wellcontent to compromise his danger, by entering into a compact to act onlyon the defensive; but no sooner did he feel some security on thispoint, than the restlessness of man induced him to think of the means ofcarrying the war into the enemy's country.
"High prices are offered for scalps on both sides," he observed, with agrim smile, as if he felt the force of the inducement, at the very timehe wished to affect a superiority to earning money by means that theordinary feelings of those who aspire to be civilized men repudiated,even while they were adopted. "It isn't right, perhaps, to take gold forhuman blood; and yet, when mankind is busy in killing one another, therecan be no great harm in adding a little bit of skin to the plunder.What's your sentiments, Hurry, touching these p'ints?"
"That you've made a vast mistake, old man, in calling savage blood humanblood, at all. I think no more of a red-skin's scalp than I do of a pairof wolf's ears; and would just as lief finger money for the one as forthe other. With white people 't is different, for they've a nat'ralavarsion to being scalped; whereas your Indian shaves his headin readiness for the knife, and leaves a lock of hair by way ofbraggadocio, that one can lay hold of in the bargain."
"That's manly, however, and I felt from the first that we had only toget you on our side, to have your heart and hand," returned Tom, losingall his reserve, as he gained a renewed confidence in the dispositionof his companions. "Something more may turn up from this inroad of thered-skins than they bargained for. Deerslayer, I conclude you're ofHurry's way of thinking, and look upon money 'arned in this way as beingas likely to pass as money 'arned in trapping or hunting."
"I've no such feelin', nor any wish to harbor it, not I," returnedthe other. "My gifts are not scalpers' gifts, but such as belong to myreligion and color. I'll stand by you, old man, in the ark or in thecastle, the canoe or the woods, but I'll not unhumanize my natur' byfalling into ways that God intended for another race. If you andHurry have got any thoughts that lean towards the colony's gold, go byyourselves in s'arch of it, and leave the females to my care. Much as Imust differ from you both on all gifts that do not properly belong to awhite man, we shall agree that it is the duty of the strong to takecare of the weak, especially when the last belong to them that natur'intended man to protect and console by his gentleness and strength."
"Hurry Harry, that is a lesson you might learn and practise on to someadvantage," said the sweet, but spirited voice of Judith, from thecabin; a proof that she had over-heard all that had hitherto been said.
"No more of this, Jude," called out the father angrily. "Move fartheroff; we are about to talk of matters unfit for a woman to listen to."
Hutter did not take any steps, however, to ascertain whether hewas obeyed or not; but dropping his voice a little, he pursued thediscourse.
"The young man is right, Hurry," he said; "and we can leave the childrenin his care. Now, my idea is just this; and I think you'll agree that itis rational and correct. There's a large party of these savages on shoreand, though I didn't tell it before the girls, for they're womanish,and apt to be troublesome when anything like real work is to be done,there's women among 'em. This I know from moccasin prints; and 't islikely they are hunters, after all, who have been out so long that theyknow nothing of the war, or of the bounties."
"In which case, old Tom, why was their first salute an attempt to cutour throats?"
"We don't know that their design was so bloody. It's natural and easyfor an Indian to fall into ambushes and surprises; and, no doubt theywished to get on board the ark first, and to make their conditionsafterwards. That a disapp'inted savage should fire at us, is in rule;and I think nothing of that. Besides, how often they burned me out,and robbed my traps--ay, and pulled trigger on me, in the most peacefultimes?"
"The blackguards will do such things, I must allow; and we pay 'em offpretty much in their own c'ine. Women would not be on the war-path,sartainly; and, so far, there's reason in your idee."
"Nor would a hunter be in his war-paint," returned Deerslayer. "I sawthe Mingos, and know that they are out on the trail of mortal men; andnot for beaver or deer."
"There you have it ag'in, old fellow," said Hurry. "In the way of aneye, now, I'd as soon trust this young man, as trust the oldest settlerin the colony; if he says paint, why paint it was."
"Then a hunting-party and a war-party have met, for women must have beenwith 'em. It's only a few days since the runner went through with thetidings of the troubles; and it may be that warriors have come out tocall in their women and children, to get an early blow."
"That would stand the courts, and is just the truth," cried Hurry;"you've got it now, old Tom, and I should like to hear what you mean tomake out of it."
"The bounty," returned the other, looking up at his attentive companionin a cool, sullen manner, in which, however, heartless cupidity andindifference to the means were far more conspicuous than any feelings ofanimosity or revenge.
"If there's women, there's children; and big and little have scalps; thecolony pays for all alike."
"More shame to it, that it should do so," interrupted Deerslayer;"more shame to it, that it don't understand its gifts, and pay greaterattention to the will of God."
"Hearken to reason, lad, and don't cry out afore you understand acase," returned the unmoved Hurry; "the savages scalp your fri'nds, theDelawares, or Mohicans whichever they may be, among the rest; and whyshouldn't we scalp? I will own, it would be ag'in right for you and menow, to go into the settlements and bring out scalps, but it's a verydifferent matter as concerns Indians. A man shouldn't take scalps, if heisn't ready to be scalped, himself, on fitting occasions. One good turndesarves another, the world over. That's reason, and I believe it to begood religion."
"Ay, Master Hurry," again interrupted the rich voice of Judith, "is itreligion to say that one bad turn deserves another?"
"I'll never reason ag'in you, Judy, for you beat me with beauty, if youcan't with sense. Here's the Canadas paying their Injins for scalps, andwhy not we pay--"
"Our Indians!" exclaimed the girl, laughing with a sort of melancholymerriment. "Father, father! think no more of this, and listen to theadvice of Deerslayer, who has a conscience; which is more than I can sayor think of Harry March."
Hutter now rose, and, entering the cabin, he compelled his daughtersto go into the adjoining room, when he secured both the doo
rs, andreturned. Then he and Hurry pursued the subject; but, as the purport ofall that was material in this discourse will appear in the narrative,it need not be related here in detail. The reader, however, can haveno difficulty in comprehending the morality that presided over theirconference. It was, in truth, that which, in some form or other, rulesmost of the acts of men, and in which the controlling principle is thatone wrong will justify another. Their enemies paid for scalps, and thiswas sufficient to justify the colony for retaliating. It is true, theFrench used the same argument, a circumstance, as Hurry took occasionto observe in answer to one of Deerslayer's objections, that proved itstruth, as mortal enemies would not be likely to have recourse to thesame reason unless it were a good one. But neither Hutter nor Hurry wasa man likely to stick at trifles in matters connected with the right ofthe aborigines, since it is one of the consequences of aggression thatit hardens the conscience, as the only means of quieting it. In themost peaceable state of the country, a species of warfare was carried onbetween the Indians, especially those of the Canadas, and men of theircaste; and the moment an actual and recognized warfare existed, it wasregarded as the means of lawfully revenging a thousand wrongs, realand imaginary. Then, again, there was some truth, and a good deal ofexpediency, in the principle of retaliation, of which they bothavailed themselves, in particular, to answer the objections of theirjuster-minded and more scrupulous companion.
"You must fight a man with his own we'pons, Deerslayer," cried Hurry,in his uncouth dialect, and in his dogmatical manner of disposing of alloral propositions; "if he's f'erce you must be f'ercer; if he's stoutof heart, you must be stouter. This is the way to get the better ofChristian or savage: by keeping up to this trail, you'll get soonest tothe ind of your journey."
"That's not Moravian doctrine, which teaches that all are to be judgedaccording to their talents or l'arning; the Injin like an Injin; and thewhite man like a white man. Some of their teachers say, that if you'restruck on the cheek, it's a duty to turn the other side of the face, andtake another blow, instead of seeking revenge, whereby I understand--"
"That's enough!" shouted Hurry; "that's all I want, to prove a man'sdoctrine! How long would it take to kick a man through the colony--in atone ind and out at the other, on that principle?"
"Don't mistake me, March," returned the young hunter, with dignity; "Idon't understand by this any more than that it's best to do this, ifpossible. Revenge is an Injin gift, and forgiveness a white man's.That's all. Overlook all you can is what's meant; and not revenge allyou can. As for kicking, Master Hurry," and Deerslayer's sunburnt cheekflushed as he continued, "into the colony, or out of the colony, that'sneither here nor there, seeing no one proposes it, and no one wouldbe likely to put up with it. What I wish to say is, that a red-skin'sscalping don't justify a pale-face's scalping."
"Do as you're done by, Deerslayer; that's ever the Christian parson'sdoctrine."
"No, Hurry, I've asked the Moravians consarning that; and it'saltogether different. 'Do as you would be done by,' they tell me, is thetrue saying, while men practyse the false. They think all the colonieswrong that offer bounties for scalps, and believe no blessing willfollow the measures. Above all things, they forbid revenge."
"That for your Moravians!" cried March, snapping his fingers; "they'rethe next thing to Quakers; and if you'd believe all they tell you, noteven a 'rat would be skinned, out of marcy. Who ever heard of marcy on amuskrat!"
The disdainful manner of Hurry prevented a reply, and he and the old manresumed the discussion of their plans in a more quiet and confidentialmanner. This confidence lasted until Judith appeared, bearing the simplebut savory supper. March observed, with a little surprise, that sheplaced the choicest bits before Deerslayer, and that in the littlenameless attentions it was in her power to bestow, she quite obviouslymanifested a desire to let it be seen that she deemed him the honoredguest. Accustomed, however, to the waywardness and coquetry of thebeauty, this discovery gave him little concern, and he ate with anappetite that was in no degree disturbed by any moral causes. Theeasily-digested food of the forests offering the fewest possibleobstacles to the gratification of this great animal indulgence,Deerslayer, notwithstanding the hearty meal both had taken in the woods,was in no manner behind his companion in doing justice to the viands.
An hour later the scene had greatly changed. The lake was still placidand glassy, but the gloom of the hour had succeeded to the soft twilightof a summer evening, and all within the dark setting of the woods lay inthe quiet repose of night. The forests gave up no song, or cry, oreven murmur, but looked down from the hills on the lovely basin theyencircled, in solemn stillness; and the only sound that was audiblewas the regular dip of the sweeps, at which Hurry and Deerslayer lazilypushed, impelling the ark towards the castle. Hutter had withdrawn tothe stern of the scow, in order to steer, but, finding that the youngmen kept even strokes, and held the desired course by their own skill,he permitted the oar to drag in the water, took a seat on the end of thevessel, and lighted his pipe. He had not been thus placed many minutes,ere Hetty came stealthily out of the cabin, or house, as they usuallytermed that part of the ark, and placed herself at his feet, on alittle bench that she brought with her. As this movement was by no meansunusual in his feeble-minded child, the old man paid no other attentionto it than to lay his hand kindly on her head, in an affectionateand approving manner; an act of grace that the girl received in meeksilence.
After a pause of several minutes, Hetty began to sing. Her voice waslow and tremulous, but it was earnest and solemn. The words and thetune were of the simplest form, the first being a hymn that she had beentaught by her mother, and the last one of those natural melodiesthat find favor with all classes, in every age, coming from and beingaddressed to the feelings. Hutter never listened to this simple strainwithout finding his heart and manner softened; facts that his daughterwell knew, and by which she had often profited, through the sort of holyinstinct that enlightens the weak of mind, more especially in their aimstoward good.
Hetty's low, sweet tones had not been raised many moments, when the dipof the oars ceased, and the holy strain arose singly on the breathingsilence of the wilderness. As if she gathered courage with the theme,her powers appeared to increase as she proceeded; and though nothingvulgar or noisy mingled in her melody, its strength and melancholytenderness grew on the ear, until the air was filled with this simplehomage of a soul that seemed almost spotless. That the men forwardwere not indifferent to this touching interruption, was proved by theirinaction; nor did their oars again dip until the last of the sweetsounds had actually died among the remarkable shores, which, at thatwitching hour, would waft even the lowest modulations of the human voicemore than a mile. Hutter was much affected; for rude as he was by earlyhabits, and even ruthless as he had got to be by long exposure to thepractices of the wilderness, his nature was of that fearful mixture ofgood and evil that so generally enters into the moral composition ofman.
"You are sad to-night, child," said the father, whose manner and languageusually assumed some of the gentleness and elevation of the civilizedlife he had led in youth, when he thus communed with this particularchild; "we have just escaped from enemies, and ought rather to rejoice."
"You can never do it, father!" said Hetty, in a low, remonstratingmanner, taking his hard, knotty hand into both her own; "you have talkedlong with Harry March; but neither of you have the heart to do it!"
"This is going beyond your means, foolish child; you must have beennaughty enough to have listened, or you could know nothing of our talk."
"Why should you and Hurry kill people--especially women and children?"
"Peace, girl, peace; we are at war, and must do to our enemies as ourenemies would do to us."
"That's not it, father! I heard Deerslayer say how it was. You must doto your enemies as you wish your enemies would do to you. No man wisheshis enemies to kill him."
"We kill our enemies in war, girl, lest they should kill us. One side orthe other must be
gin; and them that begin first, are most apt to get thevictory. You know nothing about these things, poor Hetty, and had bestsay nothing."
"Judith says it is wrong, father; and Judith has sense though I havenone."
"Jude understands better than to talk to me of these matters; for shehas sense, as you say, and knows I'll not bear it. Which would youprefer, Hetty; to have your own scalp taken, and sold to the French, orthat we should kill our enemies, and keep them from harming us?"
"That's not it, father! Don't kill them, nor let them kill us. Sell yourskins, and get more, if you can; but don't sell human blood."
"Come, come, child; let us talk of matters you understand. Are you gladto see our old friend, March, back again? You like Hurry, and must knowthat one day he may be your brother--if not something nearer."
"That can't be, father," returned the girl, after a considerable pause;"Hurry has had one father, and one mother; and people never have two."
"So much for your weak mind, Hetty. When Jude marries, her husband'sfather will be her father, and her husband's sister her sister. If sheshould marry Hurry, then he will be your brother."
"Judith will never have Hurry," returned the girl mildly, butpositively; "Judith don't like Hurry."
"That's more than you can know, Hetty. Harry March is the handsomest,and the strongest, and the boldest young man that ever visits the lake;and, as Jude is the greatest beauty, I don't see why they shouldn't cometogether. He has as much as promised that he will enter into this jobwith me, on condition that I'll consent."
Hetty began to move her body back and forth, and other-wise to expressmental agitation; but she made no answer for more than a minute. Herfather, accustomed to her manner, and suspecting no immediate cause ofconcern, continued to smoke with the apparent phlegm which would seem tobelong to that particular species of enjoyment.
"Hurry is handsome, father," said Hetty, with a simple emphasis, thatshe might have hesitated about using, had her mind been more alive tothe inferences of others.
"I told you so, child," muttered old Hutter, without removing the pipefrom between his teeth; "he's the likeliest youth in these parts; andJude is the likeliest young woman I've met with since her poor motherwas in her best days."
"Is it wicked to be ugly, father?'"
"One might be guilty of worse things--but you're by no means ugly;though not so comely as Jude."
"Is Judith any happier for being so handsome?"
"She may be, child, and she may not be. But talk of other matters now,for you hardly understand these, poor Hetty. How do you like our newacquaintance, Deerslayer?"
"He isn't handsome, father. Hurry is far handsomer than Deerslayer."
"That's true; but they say he is a noted hunter! His fame had reachedme before I ever saw him; and I did hope he would prove to be as stouta warrior as he is dexterous with the deer. All men are not alike,howsever, child; and it takes time, as I know by experience, to give aman a true wilderness heart."
"Have I got a wilderness heart, father--and Hurry, is his heart truewilderness?"
"You sometimes ask queer questions, Hetty! Your heart is good, child,and fitter for the settlements than for the woods; while your reason isfitter for the woods than for the settlements."
"Why has Judith more reason than I, father?"
"Heaven help thee, child: this is more than I can answer. God givessense, and appearance, and all these things; and he grants them as heseeth fit. Dost thou wish for more sense?"
"Not I. The little I have troubles me; for when I think the hardest,then I feel the unhappiest. I don't believe thinking is good for me,though I do wish I was as handsome as Judith!"
"Why so, poor child? Thy sister's beauty may cause her trouble, as itcaused her mother before her. It's no advantage, Hetty, to be so markedfor anything as to become an object of envy, or to be sought after morethan others."
"Mother was good, if she was handsome," returned the girl, the tearsstarting to her eyes, as usually happened when she adverted to herdeceased parent.
Old Hutter, if not equally affected, was moody and silent at thisallusion to his wife. He continued smoking, without appearing disposedto make any answer, until his simple-minded daughter repeated herremark, in a way to show that she felt uneasiness lest he might beinclined to deny her assertion. Then he knocked the ashes out of hispipe, and laying his hand in a sort of rough kindness on the girl'shead, he made a reply.
"Thy mother was too good for this world," he said; "though others mightnot think so. Her good looks did not befriend her; and you have nooccasion to mourn that you are not as much like her as your sister.Think less of beauty, child, and more of your duty, and you'll be ashappy on this lake as you could be in the king's palace."
"I know it, father; but Hurry says beauty is everything in a youngwoman."
Hutter made an ejaculation expressive of dissatisfaction, and wentforward, passing through the house in order to do so. Hetty's simplebetrayal of her weakness in behalf of March gave him uneasiness on asubject concerning which he had never felt before, and he determinedto come to an explanation at once with his visitor; for directness ofspeech and decision in conduct were two of the best qualities ofthis rude being, in whom the seeds of a better education seemed to beconstantly struggling upwards, to be choked by the fruits of a life inwhich his hard struggles for subsistence and security had steeled hisfeelings and indurated his nature. When he reached the forward end ofthe scow, he manifested an intention to relieve Deerslayer at the oar,directing the latter to take his own place aft. By these changes, theold man and Hurry were again left alone, while the young hunter wastransferred to the other end of the ark.
Hetty had disappeared when Deerslayer reached his new post, and for somelittle time he directed the course of the slow-moving craft by himself.It was not long, however, before Judith came out of the cabin, as ifdisposed to do the honors of the place to a stranger engaged in theservice of her family. The starlight was sufficient to permit objects tobe plainly distinguished when near at hand, and the bright eyes of thegirl had an expression of kindness in them, when they met those of theyouth, that the latter was easily enabled to discover. Her richhair shaded her spirited and yet soft countenance, even at that hourrendering it the more beautiful--as the rose is loveliest when reposingamid the shadows and contrasts of its native foliage. Little ceremonyis used in the intercourse of the woods; and Judith had acquired areadiness of address, by the admiration that she so generally excited,which, if it did not amount to forwardness, certainly in no degree lentto her charms the aid of that retiring modesty on which poets love todwell.
"I thought I should have killed myself with laughing, Deerslayer," thebeauty abruptly but coquettishly commenced, "when I saw that Indiandive into the river! He was a good-looking savage, too," the girl alwaysdwelt on personal beauty as a sort of merit, "and yet one couldn't stopto consider whether his paint would stand water!"
"And I thought they would have killed you with their we'pons, Judith,"returned Deerslayer; "it was an awful risk for a female to run in theface of a dozen Mingos!"
"Did that make you come out of the cabin, in spite of their rifles,too?" asked the girl, with more real interest than she would have caredto betray, though with an indifference of manner that was the result ofa good deal of practice united to native readiness.
"Men ar'n't apt to see females in danger, and not come to theirassistance. Even a Mingo knows that."
This sentiment was uttered with as much simplicity of manner as offeeling, and Judith rewarded it with a smile so sweet, that evenDeerslayer, who had imbibed a prejudice against the girl in consequenceof Hurry's suspicions of her levity, felt its charm, notwithstandinghalf its winning influence was lost in the feeble light. It at oncecreated a sort of confidence between them, and the discourse wascontinued on the part of the hunter, without the lively consciousnessof the character of this coquette of the wilderness, with which it hadcertainly commenced.
"You are a man of deeds, and not of words, I see
plainly, Deerslayer,"continued the beauty, taking her seat near the spot where the otherstood, "and I foresee we shall be very good friends. Hurry Harry has atongue, and, giant as he is, he talks more than he performs."
"March is your fri'nd, Judith; and fri'nds should be tender of eachother, when apart."
"We all know what Hurry's friendship comes to! Let him have his own wayin everything, and he's the best fellow in the colony; but 'head himoff,' as you say of the deer, and he is master of everything near himbut himself. Hurry is no favorite of mine, Deerslayer; and I dare say,if the truth was known, and his conversation about me repeated, it wouldbe found that he thinks no better of me than I own I do of him."
The latter part of this speech was not uttered without uneasiness. Hadthe girl's companion been more sophisticated, he might have observed theaverted face, the manner in which the pretty little foot was agitated,and other signs that, for some unexplained reason, the opinions of Marchwere not quite as much a matter of indifference to her as she thoughtfit to pretend. Whether this was no more than the ordinary working offemale vanity, feeling keenly even when it affected not to feel at all,or whether it proceeded from that deeply-seated consciousness of rightand wrong which God himself has implanted in our breasts that we mayknow good from evil, will be made more apparent to the reader as weproceed in the tale. Deerslayer felt embarrassed. He well remembered thecruel imputations left by March's distrust; and, while he did not wishto injure his associate's suit by exciting resentment against him, histongue was one that literally knew no guile. To answer without sayingmore or less than he wished, was consequently a delicate duty.
"March has his say of all things in natur', whether of fri'nd or foe,"slowly and cautiously rejoined the hunter. "He's one of them that speakas they feel while the tongue's a-going, and that's sometimes differentfrom what they'd speak if they took time to consider. Give me aDelaware, Judith, for one that reflects and ruminates on his idees!Inmity has made him thoughtful, and a loose tongue is no ricommend attheir council fires."
"I dare say March's tongue goes free enough when it gets on the subjectof Judith Hutter and her sister," said the girl, rousing herself as ifin careless disdain. "Young women's good names are a pleasant matter ofdiscourse with some that wouldn't dare be so open-mouthed if there was abrother in the way. Master March may find it pleasant to traduce us, butsooner or later he'll repent.
"Nay, Judith, this is taking the matter up too much in 'arnest. Hurryhas never whispered a syllable ag'in the good name of Hetty, to beginwith--"
"I see how it is--I see how it is," impetuously interrupted Judith."I am the one he sees fit to scorch with his withering tongue! Hetty,indeed! Poor Hetty!" she continued, her voice sinking into low, huskytones, that seemed nearly to stifle her in the utterance; "she is beyondand above his slanderous malice! Poor Hetty! If God has created herfeeble-minded, the weakness lies altogether on the side of errors ofwhich she seems to know nothing. The earth never held a purer being thanHetty Hutter, Deerslayer."
"I can believe it--yes, I can believe that, Judith, and I hope 'arnestlythat the same can be said of her handsome sister."
There was a soothing sincerity in the voice of Deerslayer, which touchedthe girl's feelings; nor did the allusion to her beauty lessen theeffect with one who only knew too well the power of her personal charms.Nevertheless, the still, small voice of conscience was not hushed, andit prompted the answer which she made, after giving herself time toreflect.
"I dare say Hurry had some of his vile hints about the people of thegarrisons," she added. "He knows they are gentlemen, and can neverforgive any one for being what he feels he can never become himself."
"Not in the sense of a king's officer, Judith, sartainly, for Marchhas no turn that-a-way; but in the sense of reality, why may not abeaver-hunter be as respectable as a governor? Since you speak of ityourself, I'll not deny that he did complain of one as humble as youbeing so much in the company of scarlet coats and silken sashes. But 'twas jealousy that brought it out of him, and I do think he mourned overhis own thoughts as a mother would have mourned over her child."
Perhaps Deerslayer was not aware of the full meaning that his earnestlanguage conveyed. It is certain that he did not see the color thatcrimsoned the whole of Judith's fine face, nor detect the uncontrollabledistress that immediately after changed its hue to deadly paleness. Aminute or two elapsed in profound stillness, the splash of the waterseeming to occupy all the avenues of sound; and then Judith arose, andgrasped the hand of the hunter, almost convulsively, with one of herown.
"Deerslayer," she said, hurriedly, "I'm glad the ice is broke betweenus. They say that sudden friendships lead to long enmities, but I do notbelieve it will turn out so with us. I know not how it is--but you arethe first man I ever met, who did not seem to wish to flatter--to wishmy ruin--to be an enemy in disguise--never mind; say nothing to Hurry,and another time we'll talk together again."
As the girl released her grasp, she vanished in the house, leaving theastonished young man standing at the steering-oar, as motionless asone of the pines on the hills. So abstracted, indeed, had his thoughtsbecome, that he was hailed by Hutter to keep the scow's head in theright direction, before he remembered his actual situation.
The Deerslayer Page 4
