Chapter XXIII.
"The winde is great upon the highest hilles; The quiet life is in the dale below; Who tread on ice shall slide against their willes; They want not cares, that curious arts should know. Who lives at ease and can content him so, Is perfect wise, and sets us all to schoole: Who hates this lore may well be called a foole."
Thomas Churchyard, "Shore's Wife," xlvii.
The meeting between Deerslayer and his friends in the Ark was grave andanxious. The two Indians, in particular, read in his manner that he wasnot a successful fugitive, and a few sententious words sufficed tolet them comprehend the nature of what their friend had termed his'furlough.' Chingachgook immediately became thoughtful, while Hist,as usual, had no better mode of expressing her sympathy than by thoselittle attentions which mark the affectionate manner of woman.
In a few minutes, however, something like a general plan for theproceedings of the night was adopted, and to the eye of an uninstructedobserver things would be thought to move in their ordinary train. It wasnow getting to be dark, and it was decided to sweep the Ark up to thecastle, and secure it in its ordinary berth. This decision was come to,in some measure on account of the fact that all the canoes were againin the possession of their proper owners, but principally, from thesecurity that was created by the representations of Deerslayer. He hadexamined the state of things among the Hurons, and felt satisfied thatthey meditated no further hostilities during the night, the loss theyhad met having indisposed them to further exertions for the moment.Then, he had a proposition to make; the object of his visit; and, ifthis were accepted, the war would at once terminate between the parties;and it was improbable that the Hurons would anticipate the failure of aproject on which their chiefs had apparently set their hearts, by havingrecourse to violence previously to the return of their messenger. Assoon as the Ark was properly secured, the different members of the partyoccupied themselves in their several peculiar manners, haste in council,or in decision, no more characterizing the proceedings of these borderwhites, than it did those of their red neighbors. The women busiedthemselves in preparations for the evening meal, sad and silent, butever attentive to the first wants of nature. Hurry set about repairinghis moccasins, by the light of a blazing knot; Chingachgook seatedhimself in gloomy thought, while Deerslayer proceeded, in a mannerequally free from affectation and concern, to examine 'Killdeer', therifle of Hutter that has been already mentioned, and which subsequentlybecame so celebrated, in the hands of the individual who was now makinga survey of its merits. The piece was a little longer than usual, andhad evidently been turned out from the work shops of some manufacturerof a superior order. It had a few silver ornaments, though, on thewhole, it would have been deemed a plain piece by most frontier men, itsgreat merit consisting in the accuracy of its bore, the perfection ofthe details, and the excellence of the metal. Again and again did thehunter apply the breech to his shoulder, and glance his eye along thesights, and as often did he poise his body and raise the weapon slowly,as if about to catch an aim at a deer, in order to try the weight, andto ascertain its fitness for quick and accurate firing. All this wasdone, by the aid of Hurry's torch, simply, but with an earnestness andabstraction that would have been found touching by any spectator whohappened to know the real situation of the man.
"'Tis a glorious we'pon, Hurry!" Deerslayer at length exclaimed, "and itmay be thought a pity that it has fallen into the hands of women. Thehunters have told me of its expl'ites, and by all I have heard, I shouldset it down as sartain death in exper'enced hands. Hearken to the tickof this lock--a wolf trap has'n't a livelier spring; pan and cock speaktogether, like two singing masters undertaking a psalm in meetin'. Inever did see so true a bore, Hurry, that's sartain!"
"Ay, Old Tom used to give the piece a character, though he wasn't theman to particularize the ra'al natur' of any sort of fire arms, inpractise," returned March, passing the deer's thongs through themoccasin with the coolness of a cobbler. "He was no marksman, that wemust all allow; but he had his good p'ints, as well as his bad ones. Ihave had hopes that Judith might consait the idee of giving Killdeer tome."
"There's no saying what young women may do, that's a truth, Hurry, and Isuppose you're as likely to own the rifle as another. Still, when thingsare so very near perfection, it's a pity not to reach it entirely."
"What do you mean by that?--Would not that piece look as well on myshoulder, as on any man's?"
"As for looks, I say nothing. You are both good-looking, and mightmake what is called a good-looking couple. But the true p'int is as toconduct. More deer would fall in one day, by that piece, in some man'shands, than would fall in a week in your'n, Hurry! I've seen you try;yes, remember the buck t'other day."
"That buck was out of season, and who wishes to kill venison out ofseason. I was merely trying to frighten the creatur', and I think youwill own that he was pretty well skeared, at any rate."
"Well, well, have it as you say. But this is a lordly piece, and wouldmake a steady hand and quick eye the King of the Woods!"
"Then keep it, Deerslayer, and become King of the Woods," said Judith,earnestly, who had heard the conversation, and whose eye was never longaverted from the honest countenance of the hunter. "It can never be inbetter hands than it is, at this moment, and there I hope it will remainthese fifty years.
"Judith you can't be in 'arnest!" exclaimed Deerslayer, taken so muchby surprise, as to betray more emotion than it was usual for him tomanifest on ordinary occasions. "Such a gift would be fit for a ra'alKing to make; yes, and for a ra'al King to receive."
"I never was more in earnest, in my life, Deerslayer, and I am as muchin earnest in the wish as in the gift."
"Well, gal, well; we'll find time to talk of this ag'in. You mustn't bedown hearted, Hurry, for Judith is a sprightly young woman, and she hasa quick reason; she knows that the credit of her father's rifle issafer in my hands, than it can possibly be in yourn; and, therefore,you mustn't be down hearted. In other matters, more to your liking, too,you'll find she'll give you the preference."
Hurry growled out his dissatisfaction, but he was too intent on quittingthe lake, and in making his preparations, to waste his breath on asubject of this nature. Shortly after, the supper was ready, and it waseaten in silence as is so much the habit of those who consider the tableas merely a place of animal refreshment. On this occasion, however,sadness and thought contributed their share to the general desire not toconverse, for Deerslayer was so far an exception to the usages of men ofhis cast, as not only to wish to hold discourse on such occasions, butas often to create a similar desire in his companions.
The meal ended, and the humble preparations removed, the whole partyassembled on the platform to hear the expected intelligence fromDeerslayer on the subject of his visit. It had been evident he was inno haste to make his communication, but the feelings of Judith would nolonger admit of delay. Stools were brought from the Ark and the hut,and the whole six placed themselves in a circle, near the door, watchingeach other's countenances, as best they could, by the scanty means thatwere furnished by a lovely star-light night. Along the shores, beneaththe mountains, lay the usual body of gloom, but in the broad lake noshadow was cast, and a thousand mimic stars were dancing in the limpidelement, that was just stirred enough by the evening air to set them allin motion.
"Now, Deerslayer," commenced Judith, whose impatience resisted furtherrestraint--"now, Deerslayer, tell us all the Hurons have to say, and thereason why they have sent you on parole, to make us some offer."
"Furlough, Judith; furlough is the word; and it carries the same meaningwith a captyve at large, as it does with a soldier who has leave to quithis colors. In both cases the word is passed to come back, and nowI remember to have heard that's the ra'al signification; 'furlough'meaning a 'word' passed for the doing of any thing of the like. ParoleI rather think is Dutch, and has something to do with the tattoos ofthe garrisons. But this makes no great difference, since the vartue of apledge lies in t
he idee, and not in the word. Well, then, if the messagemust be given, it must; and perhaps there is no use in putting it off.Hurry will soon be wanting to set out on his journey to the river, andthe stars rise and set, just as if they cared for neither Injin normessage. Ah's! me; 'Tisn't a pleasant, and I know it's a useless ar'n'd,but it must be told."
"Harkee, Deerslayer," put in Hurry, a little authoritatively--"You'rea sensible man in a hunt, and as good a fellow on a march, as asixty-miler-a-day could wish to meet with, but you're oncommon slowabout messages; especially them that you think won't be likely to bewell received. When a thing is to be told, why tell it; and don't hangback like a Yankee lawyer pretending he can't understand a Dutchman'sEnglish, just to get a double fee out of him."
"I understand you, Hurry, and well are you named to-night, seeing you'veno time to lose. But let us come at once to the p'int, seeing that's theobject of this council--for council it may be called, though women haveseats among us. The simple fact is this. When the party came backfrom the castle, the Mingos held a council, and bitter thoughts wereuppermost, as was plain to be seen by their gloomy faces. No one likesto be beaten, and a red-skin as little as a pale-face. Well, when theyhad smoked upon it, and made their speeches, and their council fire hadburnt low, the matter came out. It seems the elders among 'em consaitedI was a man to be trusted on a furlough--They're wonderful obsarvant,them Mingos; that their worst mimics must allow--but they consaited Iwas such a man; and it isn't often--" added the hunter, with a pleasingconsciousness that his previous life justified this implicit relianceon his good faith--"it isn't often they consait any thing so good of apale-face; but so they did with me, and, therefore, they didn't hesitateto speak their minds, which is just this: You see the state of things.The lake, and all on it, they fancy, lie at their marcy. Thomas Hutteris deceased, and, as for Hurry, they've got the idee he has been nearenough to death to-day, not to wish to take another look at himthis summer. Therefore, they account all your forces as reduced toChingachgook and the two young women, and, while they know the Delawareto be of a high race, and a born warrior, they know he's now on hisfirst war path. As for the gals, of course they set them down much asthey do women in gin'ral."
"You mean that they despise us!" interrupted Judith, with eyes thatflashed so brightly as to be observed by all present.
"That will be seen in the end. They hold that all on the lake liesat their marcy, and, therefore, they send by me this belt of wampum,"showing the article in question to the Delaware, as he spoke, "withthese words. 'Tell the Sarpent, they say, that he has done well for abeginner; he may now strike across the mountains for his own villages,and no one shall look for his trail. If he has found a scalp, let himtake it with him, for the Huron braves have hearts, and can feel for ayoung warrior who doesn't wish to go home empty-handed. If he is nimble,he is welcome to lead out a party in pursuit. Hist, howsever, must goback to the Hurons, for, when she left there in the night, she carriedaway by mistake, that which doesn't belong to her."
"That can't be true!" said Hetty earnestly. "Hist is no such girl, butone that gives every body his due--"
How much more she would have said in remonstrance cannot be known,inasmuch as Hist, partly laughing and partly hiding her face in shame,passed her own hand across the speaker's mouth in a way to check thewords.
"You don't understand Mingo messages, poor Hetty--" resumed Deerslayer,"which seldom mean what lies exactly uppermost. Hist has brought awaywith her the inclinations of a young Huron, and they want her backagain, that the poor young man may find them where he last saw them! TheSarpent they say is too promising a young warrior not to find as manywives as he wants, but this one he cannot have. That's their meaning,and nothing else, as I understand it."
"They are very obliging and thoughtful, in supposing a young woman canforget all her own inclinations in order to let this unhappy youth findhis!" said Judith, ironically; though her manner became more bitter asshe proceeded. "I suppose a woman is a woman, let her colour be white,or red, and your chiefs know little of a woman's heart, Deerslayer,if they think it can ever forgive when wronged, or ever forget when itfairly loves."
"I suppose that's pretty much the truth with some women, Judith, thoughI've known them that could do both. The next message is to you. They saythe Muskrat, as they called your father, has dove to the bottom of thelake; that he will never come up again, and that his young will soonbe in want of wigwams if not of food. The Huron huts, they think, arebetter than the huts of York, and they wish you to come and try them.Your colour is white, they own, but they think young women who've livedso long in the woods would lose their way in the clearin's. A greatwarrior among them has lately lost his wife, and he would be glad to putthe Wild Rose on her bench at his fireside. As for the Feeble Mind, shewill always be honored and taken care of by red warriors. Your father'sgoods they think ought to go to enrich the tribe, but your own property,which is to include everything of a female natur', will go like thatof all wives, into the wigwam of the husband. Moreover, they've lost ayoung maiden by violence, lately, and 'twill take two pale-faces to fillher seat."
"And do you bring such a message to me," exclaimed Judith, though thetone in which the words were uttered had more in it of sorrow than ofanger. "Am I a girl to be an Indian's slave?"
"If you wish my honest thoughts on this p'int, Judith, I shall answerthat I don't think you'll, willingly, ever become any man's slave;red-skin or white. You're not to think hard, howsever, of my bringingthe message, as near as I could, in the very words in which it was givento me. Them was the conditions on which I got my furlough, and a bargainis a bargain, though it is made with a vagabond. I've told you whatthey've said, but I've not yet told you what I think you ought, one andall, to answer."
"Ay; let's hear that, Deerslayer," put in Hurry. "My cur'osity is up onthat consideration, and I should like, right well, to hear your ideesof the reasonableness of the reply. For my part, though, my own mind ispretty much settled on the p'int of my own answer, which shall be madeknown as soon as necessary."
"And so is mine, Hurry, on all the different heads, and on no one isit more sartainly settled that on your'n. If I was you, I shouldsay--'Deerslayer, tell them scamps they don't know Harry March! He ishuman; and having a white skin, he has also a white natur', which natur'won't let him desart females of his own race and gifts in their greatestneed. So set me down as one that will refuse to come into your treaty,though you should smoke a hogshead of tobacco over it.'"
March was a little embarrassed at this rebuke, which was uttered withsufficient warmth of manner, and with a point that left no doubt of themeaning. Had Judith encouraged him, he would not have hesitated aboutremaining to defend her and her sister, but under the circumstances afeeling of resentment rather urged him to abandon them. At all events,there was not a sufficiency of chivalry in Hurry Harry to induce himto hazard the safety of his own person unless he could see a directconnection between the probable consequences and his own interests.It is no wonder, therefore, that his answer partook equally of hisintention, and of the reliance he so boastingly placed on his giganticstrength, which if it did not always make him outrageous, usually madehim impudent, as respects those with whom he conversed.
"Fair words make long friendships, Master Deerslayer," he said a littlemenacingly. "You're but a stripling, and you know by exper'ence what youare in the hands of a man. As you're not me, but only a go between sentby the savages to us Christians, you may tell your empl'yers that theydo know Harry March, which is a proof of their sense as well as his.He's human enough to follow human natur', and that tells him to see thefolly of one man's fighting a whole tribe. If females desart him, theymust expect to be desarted by him, whether they're of his own gifts oranother man's gifts. Should Judith see fit to change her mind, she'swelcome to my company to the river, and Hetty with her; but shouldn'tshe come to this conclusion, I start as soon as I think the enemy'sscouts are beginning to nestle themselves in among the brush and leavesfor the night."
&n
bsp; "Judith will not change her mind, and she does not ask your company,Master March," returned the girl with spirit.
"That p'int's settled, then," resumed Deerslayer, unmoved by the other'swarmth. "Hurry Harry must act for himself, and do that which will bemost likely to suit his own fancy. The course he means to take will givehim an easy race, if it don't give him an easy conscience. Next comesthe question with Hist--what say you gal?--Will you desart your duty,too, and go back to the Mingos and take a Huron husband, and all notfor the love of the man you're to marry, but for the love of your ownscalp?"
"Why you talk so to Hist!" demanded the girl half-offended. "You t'inka red-skin girl made like captain's lady, to laugh and joke with anyofficer that come."
"What I think, Hist, is neither here nor there in this matter. I mustcarry back your answer, and in order to do so it is necessary that youshould send it. A faithful messenger gives his ar'n'd, word for word."
Hist no longer hesitated to speak her mind fully. In the excitement sherose from her bench, and naturally recurring to that language in whichshe expressed herself the most readily, she delivered her thoughtsand intentions, beautifully and with dignity, in the tongue of her ownpeople.
"Tell the Hurons, Deerslayer," she said, "that they are as ignorant asmoles; they don't know the wolf from the dog. Among my people, the rosedies on the stem where it budded, the tears of the child fall on thegraves of its parents; the corn grows where the seed has been planted.The Delaware girls are not messengers to be sent, like belts of wampum,from tribe to tribe. They are honeysuckles, that are sweetest in theirown woods; their own young men carry them away in their bosoms, becausethey are fragrant; they are sweetest when plucked from their nativestems. Even the robin and the martin come back, year after year, totheir old nests; shall a woman be less true hearted than a bird? Set thepine in the clay and it will turn yellow; the willow will not flourishon the hill; the tamarack is healthiest in the swamp; the tribes of thesea love best to hear the winds that blow over the salt water. As fora Huron youth, what is he to a maiden of the Lenni Lenape. He maybe fleet, but her eyes do not follow him in the race; they look backtowards the lodges of the Delawares. He may sing a sweet song for thegirls of Canada, but there is no music for Wah, but in the tongue shehas listened to from childhood. Were the Huron born of the people thatonce owned the shores of the salt lake, it would be in vain, unless hewere of the family of Uncas. The young pine will rise to be as high asany of its fathers. Wah-ta-Wah has but one heart, and it can love butone husband."
Deerslayer listened to this characteristic message, which was givenwith an earnestness suited to the feelings from which it sprung, withundisguised delight, meeting the ardent eloquence of the girl, as sheconcluded, with one of his own heartfelt, silent, and peculiar fits oflaughter.
"That's worth all the wampum in the woods!" he exclaimed. "You don'tunderstand it, I suppose, Judith, but if you'll look into your feelin's,and fancy that an inimy had sent to tell you to give up the man of yourch'ice, and to take up with another that wasn't the man of your ch'ice,you'll get the substance of it, I'll warrant! Give me a woman for ra'aleloquence, if they'll only make up their minds to speak what they feel.By speakin', I don't mean chatterin', howsever; for most of them will dothat by the hour; but comm' out with their honest, deepest feelin's inproper words. And now, Judith, having got the answer of a red-skin girl,it is fit I should get that of a pale-face, if, indeed, a countenancethat is as blooming as your'n can in any wise so be tarmed. You are wellnamed the Wild Rose, and so far as colour goes, Hetty ought to be calledthe Honeysuckle."
"Did this language come from one of the garrison gallants, I shouldderide it, Deerslayer, but coming from you, I know it can be dependedon," returned Judith, deeply gratified by his unmeditated andcharacteristic compliments. "It is too soon, however, to ask my answer;the Great Serpent has not yet spoken."
"The Sarpent! Lord; I could carry back his speech without hearing aword of it! I didn't think of putting the question to him at all, Iwill allow; though 'twould be hardly right either, seeing that truth istruth, and I'm bound to tell these Mingos the fact and nothing else. So,Chingachgook, let us hear your mind on this matter--are you inclinedto strike across the hills towards your village, to give up Hist toa Huron, and to tell the chiefs at home that, if they're actyve andsuccessful, they may possibly get on the end of the Iroquois trail sometwo or three days a'ter the inimy has got off of it?"
Like his betrothed, the young chief arose, that his answer might begiven with due distinctness and dignity. Hist had spoken with her handscrossed upon her bosom, as if to suppress the emotions within, but thewarrior stretched an arm before him with a calm energy that aided ingiving emphasis to his expressions. "Wampum should be sent for wampum,"he said; "a message must be answered by a message. Hear what the GreatSerpent of the Delawares has to say to the pretended wolves from thegreat lakes, that are howling through our woods. They are no wolves;they are dogs that have come to get their tails and ears cropped by thehands of the Delawares. They are good at stealing young women; bad atkeeping them. Chingachgook takes his own where he finds it; he asksleave of no cur from the Canadas. If he has a tender feeling in hisheart, it is no business of the Hurons. He tells it to her who mostlikes to know it; he will not bellow it in the forest, for the ears ofthose that only understand yells of terror. What passes in his lodgeis not for the chiefs of his own people to know; still less for Mingorogues--"
"Call 'em vagabonds, Sarpent--" interrupted Deerslayer, unable torestrain his delight--"yes, just call 'em up-and-down vagabonds, whichis a word easily intarpreted, and the most hateful of all to their ears,it's so true. Never fear me; I'll give em your message, syllable forsyllable, sneer for sneer, idee for idee, scorn for scorn, and theydesarve no better at your hands--only call 'em vagabonds, once or twice,and that will set the sap mounting in 'em, from their lowest roots tothe uppermost branches!"
"Still less for Mingo vagabonds," resumed Chingachgook, quite willinglycomplying with his friend's request. "Tell the Huron dogs to howllouder, if they wish a Delaware to find them in the woods, where theyburrow like foxes, instead of hunting like warriors. When they had aDelaware maiden in their camp, there was a reason for hunting them up;now they will be forgotten unless they make a noise. Chingachgook don'tlike the trouble of going to his villages for more warriors; he canstrike their run-a-way trail; unless they hide it under ground, he willfollow it to Canada alone. He will keep Wah-ta-Wah with him to cook hisgame; they two will be Delawares enough to scare all the Hurons back totheir own country."
"That's a grand despatch, as the officers call them things!"cried Deerslayer; "'twill set all the Huron blood in motion; mostparticularily that part where he tells 'em Hist, too, will keep on theirheels 'til they're fairly driven out of the country. Ahs! me; big wordsain't always big deeds, notwithstanding! The Lord send that we be ableto be only one half as good as we promise to be! And now, Judith, it'syour turn to speak, for them miscreants will expect an answer from eachperson, poor Hetty, perhaps, excepted."
"And why not Hetty, Deerslayer? She often speaks to the purpose;the Indians may respect her words, for they feel for people in hercondition."
"That is true, Judith, and quick-thoughted in you. The red-skins dorespect misfortunes of all kinds, and Hetty's in particular. So, Hetty,if you have any thing to say, I'll carry it to the Hurons as faithfullyas if it was spoken by a schoolmaster, or a missionary."
The girl hesitated a moment, and then she answered in her own gentle,soft tones, as earnestly as any who had preceded her.
"The Hurons can't understand the difference between white people andthemselves," she said, "or they wouldn't ask Judith and me to go andlive in their villages. God has given one country to the red men andanother to us. He meant us to live apart. Then mother always said thatwe should never dwell with any but Christians, if possible, and thatis a reason why we can't go. This lake is ours, and we won't leave it.Father and mother's graves are in it, and even the worst Indians love tostay ne
ar the graves of their fathers. I will come and see them again,if they wish me to, and read more out of the Bible to them, but I can'tquit father's and mother's graves."
"That will do--that will do, Hetty, just as well as if you sent thema message twice as long," interrupted the hunter. "I'll tell 'em allyou've said, and all you mean, and I'll answer for it that they'll beeasily satisfied. Now, Judith, your turn comes next, and then this partof my ar'n'd will be tarminated for the night."
Judith manifested a reluctance to give her reply, that had awakened alittle curiosity in the messenger. Judging from her known spirit, he hadnever supposed the girl would be less true to her feelings and principlesthan Hist, or Hetty, and yet there was a visible wavering of purposethat rendered him slightly uneasy. Even now when directly requiredto speak, she seemed to hesitate, nor did she open her lips until theprofound silence told her how anxiously her words were expected. Then,indeed, she spoke, but it was doubtingly and with reluctance.
"Tell me, first--tell us, first, Deerslayer," she commenced, repeatingthe words merely to change the emphasis--"what effect will our answershave on your fate? If you are to be the sacrifice of our spirit, itwould have been better had we all been more wary as to the language weuse. What, then, are likely to be the consequences to yourself?"
"Lord, Judith, you might as well ask me which way the wind will blownext week, or what will be the age of the next deer that will be shot! Ican only say that their faces look a little dark upon me, but it doesn'tthunder every time a black cloud rises, nor does every puff of windblow up rain. That's a question, therefore, much more easily put thananswered."
"So is this message of the Iroquois to me," answered Judith rising,as if she had determined on her own course for the present. "My answershall be given, Deerslayer, after you and I have talked together alone,when the others have laid themselves down for the night."
There was a decision in the manner of the girl that disposed Deerslayerto comply, and this he did the more readily as the delay could produceno material consequences one way or the other. The meeting now broke up,Hurry announcing his resolution to leave them speedily. During the hourthat was suffered to intervene, in order that the darkness might deepenbefore the frontierman took his departure, the different individualsoccupied themselves in their customary modes, the hunter, in particular,passing most of the time in making further enquiries into the perfectionof the rifle already mentioned.
The hour of nine soon arrived, however, and then it had been determinedthat Hurry should commence his journey. Instead of making his adieusfrankly, and in a generous spirit, the little he thought it necessaryto say was uttered sullenly and in coldness. Resentment at what heconsidered Judith's obstinacy was blended with mortification at thecareer he had since reaching the lake, and, as is usual with the vulgarand narrow-minded, he was more disposed to reproach others with hisfailures than to censure himself. Judith gave him her hand, but it wasquite as much in gladness as with regret, while the two Delawares werenot sorry to find he was leaving them. Of the whole party, Hetty alonebetrayed any real feeling. Bashfulness, and the timidity of her sex andcharacter, kept even her aloof, so that Hurry entered the canoe, whereDeerslayer was already waiting for him, before she ventured near enoughto be observed. Then, indeed, the girl came into the Ark and approachedits end, just as the little bark was turning from it, with a movementso light and steady as to be almost imperceptible. An impulse of feelingnow overcame her timidity, and Hetty spoke.
"Goodbye Hurry--" she called out, in her sweet voice--"goodbye, dearHurry. Take care of yourself in the woods, and don't stop once, 'til youreach the garrison. The leaves on the trees are scarcely plentier thanthe Hurons round the lake, and they'll not treat a strong man like youas kindly as they treat me."
The ascendency which March had obtained over this feebleminded, butright-thinking, and right-feeling girl, arose from a law of nature. Hersenses had been captivated by his personal advantages, and her moralcommunications with him had never been sufficiently intimate tocounteract an effect that must have been otherwise lessened, even withone whose mind was as obtuse as her own. Hetty's instinct of right, ifsuch a term can be applied to one who seemed taught by some kind spirithow to steer her course with unerring accuracy, between good and evil,would have revolted at Hurry's character on a thousand points, had therebeen opportunities to enlighten her, but while he conversed and trifledwith her sister, at a distance from herself, his perfection of formand feature had been left to produce their influence on her simpleimagination and naturally tender feelings, without suffering by thealloy of his opinions and coarseness. It is true she found him rough andrude; but her father was that, and most of the other men she had seen,and that which she believed to belong to all of the sex struck her lessunfavorably in Hurry's character than it might otherwise have done.Still, it was not absolutely love that Hetty felt for Hurry, nor dowe wish so to portray it, but merely that awakening sensibility andadmiration, which, under more propitious circumstances, and alwayssupposing no untoward revelations of character on the part of the youngman had supervened to prevent it, might soon have ripened into thatengrossing feeling. She felt for him an incipient tenderness, butscarcely any passion. Perhaps the nearest approach to the latter thatHetty had manifested was to be seen in the sensitiveness which hadcaused her to detect March's predilection for her sister, for, amongJudith's many admirers, this was the only instance in which thedull mind of the girl had been quickened into an observation of thecircumstances.
Hurry received so little sympathy at his departure that the gentle tonesof Hetty, as she thus called after him, sounded soothingly. He checkedthe canoe, and with one sweep of his powerful arm brought it back to theside of the Ark. This was more than Hetty, whose courage had risen withthe departure of her hero, expected, and she now shrunk timidly back atthis unexpected return.
"You're a good gal, Hetty, and I can't quit you without shaking hands,"said March kindly. "Judith, a'ter all, isn't worth as much as you,though she may be a trifle better looking. As to wits, if honesty andfair dealing with a young man is a sign of sense in a young woman,you're worth a dozen Judiths; ay, and for that matter, most young womenof my acquaintance."
"Don't say any thing against Judith, Harry," returned Hetty imploringly."Father's gone, and mother's gone, and nobody's left but Judith and me,and it isn't right for sisters to speak evil, or to hear evil of eachother. Father's in the lake, and so is mother, and we should all fearGod, for we don't know when we may be in the lake, too."
"That sounds reasonable, child, as does most you say. Well, if we evermeet ag'in, Hetty, you'll find a fri'nd in me, let your sister do whatshe may. I was no great fri'nd of your mother I'll allow, for we didn'tthink alike on most p'ints, but then your father, Old Tom, and I,fitted each other as remarkably as a buckskin garment will fit anyreasonable-built man. I've always been unanimous of opinion that OldFloating Tom Hutter, at the bottom, was a good fellow, and will maintainthat ag'in all inimies for his sake, as well as for your'n."
"Goodbye, Hurry," said Hetty, who now wanted to hasten the young manoff, as ardently as she had wished to keep him only the moment before,though she could give no clearer account of the latter than of theformer feeling; "goodbye, Hurry; take care of yourself in the woods;don't halt 'til you reach the garrison. I'll read a chapter in the Biblefor you before I go to bed, and think of you in my prayers."
This was touching a point on which March had no sympathies, and withoutmore words, he shook the girl cordially by the hand and re-entered thecanoe. In another minute the two adventurers were a hundred feet fromthe Ark, and half a dozen had not elapsed before they were completelylost to view. Hetty sighed deeply, and rejoined her sister and Hist.
For some time Deerslayer and his companion paddled ahead in silence.It had been determined to land Hurry at the precise point where he isrepresented, in the commencement of our tale, as having embarked, notonly as a place little likely to be watched by the Hurons, but becausehe was sufficiently familiar with the signs
of the woods, at that spot,to thread his way through them in the dark. Thither, then, the lightcraft proceeded, being urged as diligently and as swiftly as twovigorous and skilful canoemen could force their little vessel through,or rather over, the water. Less than a quarter of an hour sufficed forthe object, and, at the end of that time, being within the shadows ofthe shore, and quite near the point they sought, each ceased his effortsin order to make their parting communications out of earshot of anystraggler who might happen to be in the neighborhood.
"You will do well to persuade the officers at the garrison to lead outa party ag'in these vagabonds as soon as you git in, Hurry," Deerslayercommenced; "and you'll do better if you volunteer to guide it upyourself. You know the paths, and the shape of the lake, and the natur'of the land, and can do it better than a common, gin'ralizing scout.Strike at the Huron camp first, and follow the signs that will then showthemselves. A few looks at the hut and the Ark will satisfy you as tothe state of the Delaware and the women, and, at any rate, there'll bea fine opportunity to fall on the Mingo trail, and to make a mark on thememories of the blackguards that they'll be apt to carry with 'em a longtime. It won't be likely to make much difference with me, since thatmatter will be detarmined afore to-morrow's sun has set, but it may makea great change in Judith and Hetty's hopes and prospects!"
"And as for yourself, Nathaniel," Hurry enquired with more interestthan he was accustomed to betray in the welfare of others--"And, as foryourself, what do you think is likely to turn up?"
"The Lord, in his wisdom, only can tell, Henry March! The clouds lookblack and threatening, and I keep my mind in a state to meet the worst.Vengeful feelin's are uppermost in the hearts of the Mingos, and anylittle disapp'intment about the plunder, or the prisoners, or Hist, maymake the torments sartain. The Lord, in his wisdom, can only detarminemy fate, or your'n!"
"This is a black business, and ought to be put a stop to in some way orother--" answered Hurry, confounding the distinctions between right andwrong, as is usual with selfish and vulgar men. "I heartily wish oldHutter and I had scalped every creatur' in their camp, the nightwe first landed with that capital object! Had you not held back,Deerslayer, it might have been done, and then you wouldn't have foundyourself, at the last moment, in the desperate condition you mention."
"'Twould have been better had you said you wished you had neverattempted to do what it little becomes any white man's gifts toundertake; in which case, not only might we have kept from coming toblows, but Thomas Hutter would now have been living, and the hearts ofthe savages would be less given to vengeance. The death of that youngwoman, too, was on-called for, Henry March, and leaves a heavy load onour names if not on our consciences!"
This was so apparent, and it seemed so obvious to Hurry himself, at themoment, that he dashed his paddle into the water, and began to urge thecanoe towards the shore, as if bent only on running away from his ownlively remorse. His companion humoured this feverish desire for change,and, in a minute or two, the bows of the boat grated lightly on theshingle of the beach. To land, shoulder his pack and rifle, and to getready for his march occupied Hurry but an instant, and with a growlingadieu, he had already commenced his march, when a sudden twinge offeeling brought him to a dead stop, and immediately after to the other'sside.
"You cannot mean to give yourself up ag'in to them murdering savages,Deerslayer!" he said, quite as much in angry remonstrance, as withgenerous feeling. "'Twould be the act of a madman or a fool!"
"There's them that thinks it madness to keep their words, and there'sthem that don't, Hurry Harry. You may be one of the first, but I'm oneof the last. No red-skin breathing shall have it in his power to saythat a Mingo minds his word more than a man of white blood and whitegifts, in any thing that consarns me. I'm out on a furlough, and if I'vestrength and reason, I'll go in on a furlough afore noon to-morrow!"
"What's an Injin, or a word passed, or a furlough taken from creatur'slike them, that have neither souls, nor reason!"
"If they've got neither souls nor reason, you and I have both, HenryMarch, and one is accountable for the other. This furlough is not, asyou seem to think, a matter altogether atween me and the Mingos, seeingit is a solemn bargain made atween me and God. He who thinks that hecan say what he pleases, in his distress, and that twill all pass fornothing, because 'tis uttered in the forest, and into red men's ears,knows little of his situation, and hopes, and wants. The woods are butthe ears of the Almighty, the air is his breath, and the light of thesun is little more than a glance of his eye. Farewell, Harry; we may notmeet ag'in, but I would wish you never to treat a furlough, or any othersolemn thing that your Christian God has been called on to witness, asa duty so light that it may be forgotten according to the wants of thebody, or even accordin' to the cravings of the spirit."
March was now glad again to escape. It was quite impossible that hecould enter into the sentiments that ennobled his companion, and hebroke away from both with an impatience that caused him secretly tocurse the folly that could induce a man to rush, as it were, on his owndestruction. Deerslayer, on the contrary, manifested no such excitement.Sustained by his principles, inflexible in the purpose of acting up tothem, and superior to any unmanly apprehension, he regarded all beforehim as a matter of course, and no more thought of making any unworthyattempt to avoid it, than a Mussulman thinks of counteracting thedecrees of Providence. He stood calmly on the shore, listening tothe reckless tread with which Hurry betrayed his progress through thebushes, shook his head in dissatisfaction at the want of caution, andthen stepped quietly into his canoe. Before he dropped the paddle againinto the water, the young man gazed about him at the scene presented bythe star-lit night. This was the spot where he had first laid his eyeson the beautiful sheet of water on which he floated. If it was thenglorious in the bright light of a summer's noon-tide, it was now sad andmelancholy under the shadows of night. The mountains rose around it likeblack barriers to exclude the outer world, and the gleams of pale lightthat rested on the broader parts of the basin were no bad symbols ofthe faintness of the hopes that were so dimly visible in his own future.Sighing heavily, he pushed the canoe from the land, and took his wayback with steady diligence towards the Ark and the castle.
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