Bennett, Emerson - Prairie Flower 01

by The Prairie Flower (lit)

  tion, contrary to the advice of her friends and of Lilian the latter of whom con sented to accompany her that she might not be separated from her only parent. Enough, that she had so decided ; and that early in the spring succeeding, hav ing disposed of all her effects, she and Lilian, in company with Madame and Eva Mortimer, (whom the fashionable world of course considered insane,) and some eurht or ten families, had set out on their

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  long journey to the far, Far West.

  And here, apropos of Madame Morti mer and her lovely daughter, of whom much remains to be said at no distant) period. Although they had appeared in the, fashionable circles of Boston, reputed wealthy, nothing of their private history was known ; and of course, as regarded them, curiosity was excited to a great de gree, but without avail. They had been met among the bon ton of New York, and | invited to Boston. They had accepted the invitation, had passed the ordeal of fashionable criticism, had conducted them selves on all occasions with strict propriety, : and had departed, right in the face of all the gossips, without a single one being the wiser for his or her inquiries.

  As to who and what they were, and how connected with the foregoing and succeeding events of this life-history, the reader who continues to the end of the narrative will doubtless be enlightened.

  [t is ne-'idless for me to touch upon the jouiney of my friends westward. Like all emigrants who seek Oregon for a hciie, they had experienced severe trials n-nd vicissitudes, which upon them had fallen the more heavily, from being the nrst hardships they had e^er known. Some

  three or four days previous to my joining them, Mrs. Huntly had been taken sick; and although Lilian had been greatly alarmed from the first, yet with the others the matter had not been thought serious, until the evening in question, when her symptoms had ta^en an unfavorable turn. Having no doctor among them, application for one had been made by Lilian to some of the trappers who chanced to he pass ing and this, providentially, had brought us once more together, after the long and eventful separation of more than two years.

  Having now, reader, put you in posses sion of facts important for you to know, I will return from my digression, and go on with my narrative.

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  RECOVER FROM MT PARALYSIS THE IN VALID CAUSE OF ILLNESS REMEDY

  HAPPY RESULTS JOY OF LILIAN AH

  EVASION FAMILIAR FACES STRANGB

  MEETING REFLECTIONS.

  IT was several minutes before 1 recov ered from my paralysis ; and this was doubtless much accelerated by Teddy, who, having tried various ways to restore me, at last threw hi-s arms around my neck, and placing his mouth close to my ear, shouted :

  " I say, your honor, is it dead ye is, now or is it dead ye's jist agoing to be by the way ye's stare so, and says nothing at all, at all ! "

  With a start, as if suddenly awakened from a dream, I looked around me, per ceived myself the center of all eyes, and heard my name several times pronounced, coupled with that of Lilian, as here and there one^ who had gained the secret of our strange behavior, sought to explain it to others. To most, my name was already familiar, as the companion of young Hunt- ly, and son of the wealthy Leighton of Boston and this, probably, had no ten dency to lessen curiosity.

  My tirst. feeling on regaining myself, (if I may so express it) was one of confusion, that I had so publicly laid myself open to gossip ; my second, indignation at being

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  BO stared at ; my third, alarm as to what mio-ht be the effect of all this upon Mrs. Huntly ; and to her I immediately turned, without a word to the others. Perhaps the reader, if a lover, is surprised that my first alarm was not for Lilian. Ay ! but, dear sir, I saw at a glance that Lilian was in good hands, and in a fair way of recovery, and it would have been injudi cious, at that moment, to draw, any more ittention to her.

  Mrs. Huntly I found lying upon a fea ther bed, in a large, covered wagon, un derneath which was attached a furnace for warming it ; so that, all things considered, the patient was more comfortably situated than I had expected to find her.

  In appearance, she had altered much since I last saw her. Her naturally rather florid complexion, and full, round face, had given place to pallor and thinness, and here and there I could trace deep lines of care ; but I failed to note a single symp tom portending immediate danger. Grief, fatigue of travel, and many anxieties of mind, together with a touch of influenza, had brought on a splenetic affection, some thing like what is vulgarly termed " hypo." She had fancied herself very ill, and in fact nigh unto death ; and I saw at once, that could she be persuaded the crisis had passed, and that the danger was over, she would speedily recover and upon this I acted with decision. The cause of her grief and of her being here I did not then know for the information which I have given the reader on the subject, was not oL tained till afterward and I saw it would not d j to question her. It was ne- cessarj I should appear cheerful, whether I felt so or not ; and accordingly 1 ap- j proached her with a smile. Instantly her eye brightened as it met mine, and I per ceived, to my great satisfaction, that the alarm occasioned by the swoon of Lilian, had proved beneficial, in drawing her thoughts from herself to another, and arousing all her dormant faculties. Ex tending her hand as I approached, she said, with a sigh :

  ' Ah ! Francis, I never thought we should meet thus."

  'True,"I replied,"! had thought to meet you under other circumstances though I presume all has happened for the best?"

  " You find me very low, do you not 1 "

  " You have been ill," 1 answered, em phasising the word have ; " but everything I see has turned in your favor."

  " How !" she exclaimed, quickly, rais ing her head, and fixing her eyes intently upon mine ; " would you imply that I am not in a dangerous condition ? "

  " I would not only imply it," I rejoined, with energy, pretending to judge by her pulse, " but I will assert it as an indis putable fact. If in a week from this you are not as well as you ever were in your life, I will give you leave to call rue an imposter."

  " Really, Francis, you surprise me ! " she said, with animation. " In fact, I be lieve I do feel better. But I have been sick you admit that ? "

  " 0, most certainly," I said, rejoiced to perceive the beneficial effects of my men tal prescription. "You have been verj sick, and within an hour have been riigh unto death ; but thank God ! the crisis has passed, and you have nothing to do now but recover as fast as possible."

  " But what is, or has been my ail ment ? ' '

  Here I remembered the suggestion of Teddy, and quickly mumbled over a long string of Latin names, with scientific ex planations, much to the satisfaction of everybody but myself. The spectators who had crowded around to hear what 1 had to say^-being, with but two or three exceptions, good honest farmers and farm ers' wives nodded approvals to each other, and gave me many a respectful glance, equivalent to telling me, that rny first case, without a single dose, had, with them, established my reputation as a skill ful physician. 0, the humbug of big sounding words ! I would advise doctors and lawyers to use them on all occa sions.

  Xevs of my decision, regarding the pa tient, iiew rapidly from one to another lighting each countenance, before gloomy, with a smile of pleasure until it reached the ear of Lilian, who, just recovering from the effects of her swoon, uttered a cry of joy, and, much to the surprise and satis faction of those engaged in restoring her, suddenly sprang away from them and rushed to her mother.

  THE PRAIRIE F L OW E R ; OR,

  " O, mollier," she cried, " I have heard ood tidings ! "

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  " All true, every word," returned her mother, gaily. "My physician lias pro nounced me out of danger;" and slie playfully pointed to me.

  " God be praised ! " cried Lilian fervent ly. "What a miracle is this ! and how it relieves my anguished heart ! "

  Then turning upon me her sweet, p;ile, lovely countenance her full, soft, blue eyes, moist with tears she partly extend ed her hand, and gasped my name.<
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  The next instant, regardless of the time, place, and the presence of others, she was clasped in my arms, strained to my heav ing breast, and my lips were pressed to hers in the holy kiss of mutual love. It was a blissful moment, notwithstanding- all we had both suffered. But it was a moment only ; for the next she sprang away, blushing and abashed at what she doubtless considered her own boldness.

  "You're a wonderful docther, your honor," whispered Teddy in my ear. i' Faith ! ye jist looks at 'em, and jabbers a few Lath in names, and they're betther'n they iver was afore they've time to know what ailed 'em, jist and, troth ! a hug ging ye at that, too, the purtiest one among 'em. Is it knowing thim ye is- or does the likes of her kiss by raason of yees being a docthor ? Jabers ! it's what I'd like done to mesilf, nov, in any pertishion."

  " Hush ! Teddy. These" are the sis ter and mother of my lost friend."

  " Howly St. Path rick in the morning ! ye don't say ! " exclaimed Teddy, stag gering back with surprise.

  " Hush ! " I whispered in his ear, catch ing him by the arm, with a grip sufficient to impress the importance of my words. " Not a syllable concerning Huntly, as

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  you value your life ! '

  " Och ! " returned Teddy, placing his finger to his lips, winking his eye, and nodding his head " I'm dumb as a dead nager, I is."

  This caution was not made any too soon; for the next moment Mrs. Huntly exclaim ed:

  " But, Francis, where is my son where is Charles that he does not make his ap pearance ? "

  " O, yes, my brother?" cried Lilian.

  I was suddenly seized with a serious fit of coughing, so as to gain time for a reply. It would not do to let them know the true state of the case, and I could not think of telling them a falsehood. A happy thought struck me, and I answered :

  " Charles is not with me."

  " Indeed ! Where is lie, then? " cried both in a breath.

  " We parted in California ; I left him going eastward ; and, for what I know, he may be now in Boston."

  " God help him, then, when he hears the awful news, and finds himself home less and friendless, poor boy ! " cried Mrs, Huntly, with a burst of grief, in which Lilian joined.

  I how inquired what had happened, and learned, in the course of conversation, much of that which I have already given the reader.

  " Poor Charles ! " I sighed to myself, " it is well if thou art dead. Better be dead, than return to thy once happy home, only to find thy friends gone, and thyself a beggar ! "

  With Lilian and her mother, in their misfortunes, I sympathized deeply ; but fearing these saddening thoughts mighl prove injurious to Mrs. Huntly, I hastened to console her by saying :

  " We should bear in mind that all art born to die ; that riches are unstable ; and that whatever happens, is always for the best, though we be not able to see it at the time." 3

  " That I believe to be the true philoso phy of life," said a middle-aged lady at my side, whom, with her daughter, a meet companion for Lilian, I had more than ence noticed, as possessing superior ac complishments ; but, under the excitement [ was laboring, I had failed to closely scan the features of either. I now turned at once to the speaker, and was immediately introduced, by Lilian, to Madame Morti mer and her daughter Eva.

  " Strange ! " I said to myself, as, bow ing to each, I became struck with the familiarity of their features. " I have seen these faces before, methinks but where I cannot tell."

  The name, however, perplexed me for I had no remembrance of ever befcro be ing introduced to a Mortimer.

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  "Your countenance seems familiar," I unid, addressing the elder lady.

  " And so does yours, sir ! " she replied ; " and for the last half hour, I have been trying to recall where I have seen you but in vain."

  Suddenly the whole truth flashed upon me.

  "Were you not in New York with your daughter, some two years since?" I in quired, eagerly.

  " I was."

  " At the National Theatre, on the night it was burned ? "

  "I was."

  " Did not some one rescue your daugh ter from the flames ? "

  " Good heavens ! yes ! I remember now I remember!" she exclaimed, a good deal agitated. " It was you, sir you ! I thought I knew those features ! " and exci ted by powerful emotions, she seized both my hands in hers, and pressing them warmly, uttered a " God bless you ! " while her eyes filled with tears of grati tude. Eva was too much affected to trust her voice in the utterance of a single word but her look spoke volumes.

  What a strange combination of startling e^sents had this night revealed to me ! How. mysteriously had Providence ar ranged and put them together for some great design ! Who could have imagined that the mere act of saving a fellow crea ture's life a stranger at that, in a strange

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  city and leaving her without knowing her name, or even her residence, for a long journey of many thousand miles was to nave a direct bearing upon my future des tiny, and that of my friend ? Yet such was the fact ; and however unimportant the incident might have appeared at the time to the reader however irrelative to the main story yet on that very circum stance, unknown to any, was depending many of the important events which fol lowed those already described, and which in due time will be given.

  It was with sensations peculiar to each, that these matters were narrated and com mented upon for the next two hours ; and doubtless not one who heard the strange and romantic story of how I saved the life of Eva Mortimer, but felt his most trivial tot to result from the hidden design of a

  Higher Power. As for myself, such a .chaos of ideas crowded my brain, as made it impossible for me to describe what I thought, or what feeling had the prepon derance, unless it were a mingling of plea sure and sadness. But one thing seemed wanting to make me joyful ; and that, aks ! was my friend. Had he been pre sent, notwithstanding all adverse circum stances, my heart would have bounded with rapture. And he ! what would have been his feelings, thus to have met, in pro- pria personce, the idol of his dreams ! thus to have been placed tete-a-tete with Eva Mortimer the beautiful unknown!

  CHAPTER XXIX.

  STANDING SENTINEL DROWSINESS INTER RUPTION SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF PRAI RIE FLOWER HER WARNING, SURPRISE,

  AGITATION AND ABRUPT DEPARTURE

  ALARM THE CAMP HOSTILE PREPARA TIONS ATTACK REPULSE VICTORY

  ARRIVAL IN OREGON CONCLUSION.

  IT was late in the night, and all had be come still in the encampment. The ani mals consisting of mules, horses, oxen and cows had been driven together and tethered, and were taking their repose. In the area, formed by the wagons, two fires were burning, at one of which sat Teddy and myself, half dozing, with our rifles resting against our shoulders. We had volunteered our services as sentinels for the night but our watch could hardly be termed vigilant. In the surrounding vehicles, the emigrants were already giv- i ing evidence of that sound sleep which indicates health and weariness, and a ces sation of the physical and mental faculties. I was, as I said before, in a half dozing state. I had been conning over the many singular pranks of fortune connected with myself, and particularly the wonderful revelations of the last six or eight hours. I had been musing upon the complicated web of man's existence and already had my thoughts began to wander as in a dream.

  A rumbling sound, like the roaring ot a distant waterfall caught my ear. Gradu ally it grew louder and nearer, until 1

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  THE PRAIRIL rLOWER; OR,

  fancied I could detect the pattering of a horse's feet upon the hard earth. Nearer and nearer it came, and I found my im pression confirmed. It was a horse at full speed but what could it mean ? Sud denly Teddy sprang up, and tightly grasped his rifle. We now both darted outside the circle of wagons: By the dim I light we beheld a horse and rider rapidly ! dashing up the valley. The next moment the beast was reined in to a dead halt, some twenty yards distant.

  " Who goes there ? " I cried.

  " A fri
end," was the answer, in a clear, silvery voice. " Be on your guard, or you will be surprised by Indians ! "

  Heavens ! I should know those tones ! Could it be possible !

  " Prairie Flower ! " I called.

  " Ha ! who are you ? " was the answer ; and the next moment the coal black pony, and his beautiful, mysterious rider, stood by my side.

  " Prairie Flower ! and do we indeed meet again !"

  "Who are you?" said she, bending down to scrutinize my features. " Ha ! is it indeed possible ! " she continued, with no little agitation, as she recognised rr.c. " How you have altered ! I I but I have no time to talk ! I must not be seen here. It would cost me my life. I may see you again. Be on your guard ! How strange ! I never thought to see you again. I must go ! "

  These sentences were uttered rapidly, almost incoherently, while the voice of the speaker trembled, and there seemed a wildness in her manner. On concluding, she tightened her rein as if to depart but still lingered as if to add something more.

  "Heaven bless you, Prairie Flower! you are always seeking the good of others."

  She sighed, turned her head away, and strove to say, carelessly :

  " Your friend I I is well is he ? "

  " Alas ! I cannot answer."

  " Ha ! what ! how ! " she cried, quickly, turning full upon me, and grasping my arm, which chanced to be resting on the neck of her pony. " Explain ! " and I felt her grasp tighten.