Chapter X.
"But who in this wild wood May credit give to either eye, or ear? From rocky precipice or hollow cave, 'Midst the confused sound of rustling leaves, And creaking boughs, and cries of nightly birds, Returning seeming answer!"
Joanna Baihie, "Rayner: A Tragedy," II.L3-4, 6-g.
Fear, as much as calculation, had induced Hetty to cease paddling, whenshe found that her pursuers did not know in which direction to proceed.She remained stationary until the Ark had pulled in near the encampment,as has been related in the preceding chapter, when she resumed thepaddle and with cautious strokes made the best of her way towards thewestern shore. In order to avoid her pursuers, however, who, she rightlysuspected, would soon be rowing along that shore themselves, the headof the canoe was pointed so far north as to bring her to land on a pointthat thrust itself into the lake, at the distance of near a league fromthe outlet. Nor was this altogether the result of a desire to escape,for, feeble minded as she was, Hetty Hutter had a good deal of thatinstinctive caution which so often keeps those whom God has thus visitedfrom harm. She was perfectly aware of the importance of keeping thecanoes from falling into the hands of the Iroquois, and long familiaritywith the lake had suggested one of the simplest expedients, by whichthis great object could be rendered compatible with her own purpose.
The point in question was the first projection that offered on that sideof the lake, where a canoe, if set adrift with a southerly air wouldfloat clear of the land, and where it would be no great violation ofprobabilities to suppose it might even hit the castle; the latter lyingabove it, almost in a direct line with the wind. Such then was Hetty'sintention, and she landed on the extremity of the gravelly point,beneath an overhanging oak, with the express intention of shoving thecanoe off from the shore, in order that it might drift up towards herfather's insulated abode. She knew, too, from the logs that occasionallyfloated about the lake, that did it miss the castle and its appendagesthe wind would be likely to change before the canoe could reach thenorthern extremity of the lake, and that Deerslayer might have anopportunity of regaining it in the morning, when no doubt he would beearnestly sweeping the surface of the water, and the whole of its woodedshores, with glass. In all this, too, Hetty was less governed by anychain of reasoning than by her habits, the latter often supplying theplace of mind, in human beings, as they perform the same for animals ofthe inferior classes.
The girl was quite an hour finding her way to the point, the distanceand the obscurity equally detaining her, but she was no sooner on thegravelly beach than she prepared to set the canoe adrift, in the mannermentioned. While in the act of pushing it from her, she heard lowvoices that seemed to come among the trees behind her. Startled at thisunexpected danger Hetty was on the point of springing into the canoein order to seek safety in flight, when she thought she recognized thetones of Judith's melodious voice. Bending forward so as to catch thesounds more directly, they evidently came from the water, and then sheunderstood that the Ark was approaching from the south, and so closein with the western shore, as necessarily to cause it to pass the pointwithin twenty yards of the spot where she stood. Here, then, was all shecould desire; the canoe was shoved off into the lake, leaving its lateoccupant alone on the narrow strand.
When this act of self-devotion was performed, Hetty did not retire. Thefoliage of the overhanging trees and bushes would have almost concealedher person, had there been light, but in that obscurity it was utterlyimpossible to discover any object thus shaded, at the distance of a fewfeet. Flight, too, was perfectly easy, as twenty steps would effectuallybury her in the forest. She remained, therefore, watching with intenseanxiety the result of her expedient, intending to call the attentionof the others to the canoe with her voice, should they appear topass without observing it. The Ark approached under its sail, again,Deerslayer standing in its bow, with Judith near him, and the Delawareat the helm. It would seem that in the bay below it had got too close tothe shore, in the lingering hope of intercepting Hetty, for, as it camenearer, the latter distinctly heard the directions that the young manforward gave to his companion aft, in order to clear the point.
"Lay her head more off the shore, Delaware," said Deerslayer for thethird time, speaking in English that his fair companion might understandhis words--"Lay her head well off shore. We have got embayed here, andneeds keep the mast clear of the trees. Judith, there's a canoe!"
The last words were uttered with great earnestness, and Deerslayer'shand was on his rifle ere they were fairly out of his mouth. But thetruth flashed on the mind of the quick-witted girl, and she instantlytold her companion that the boat must be that in which her sister hadfled.
"Keep the scow straight, Delaware; steer as straight as your bulletflies when sent ag'in a buck; there--I have it."
The canoe was seized, and immediately secured again to the side of theArk. At the next moment the sail was lowered, and the motion of the Arkarrested by means of the oars.
"Hetty!" called out Judith, concern, even affection betraying itself inher tones. "Are you within hearing, sister--for God's sake answer, andlet me hear the sound of your voice, again! Hetty!--dear Hetty."
"I'm here, Judith--here on the shore, where it will be useless to followme, as I will hide in the woods."
"Oh! Hetty what is't you do! Remember 'tis drawing near midnight, andthat the woods are filled with savages and wild beasts!"
"Neither will harm a poor half-witted girl, Judith. God is as much withme, here, as he would be in the Ark or in the hut. I am going to help myfather, and poor Hurry Harry, who will be tortured and slain unless someone cares for them."
"We all care for them, and intend to-morrow to send them a flag oftruce, to buy their ransom. Come back then, sister; trust to us, whohave better heads than you, and who will do all we can for father."
"I know your head is better than mine, Judith, for mine is very weak, tobe sure; but I must go to father and poor Hurry. Do you and Deerslayerkeep the castle, sister; leave me in the hands of God."
"God is with us all, Hetty--in the castle, or on the shore--father aswell as ourselves, and it is sinful not to trust to his goodness. Youcan do nothing in the dark; will lose your way in the forest, and perishfor want of food."
"God will not let that happen to a poor child that goes to serve herfather, sister. I must try and find the savages."
"Come back for this night only; in the morning, we will put you ashore,and leave you to do as you may think right."
"You say so, Judith, and you think so; but you would not. Your heartwould soften, and you'd see tomahawks and scalping knives in the air.Besides, I've got a thing to tell the Indian chief that will answer allour wishes, and I'm afraid I may forget it, if I don't tell it to him atonce. You'll see that he will let father go, as soon as he hears it!"
"Poor Hetty! What can you say to a ferocious savage that will be likelyto change his bloody purpose!"
"That which will frighten him, and make him let father go--" returnedthe simple-minded girl, positively. "You'll see, sister; you'll see, howsoon it will bring him to, like a gentle child!"
"Will you tell me, Hetty, what you intend to say?" asked Deerslayer. "Iknow the savages well, and can form some idee how far fair words will belikely, or not, to work on their bloody natur's. If it's not suited tothe gifts of a red-skin, 'twill be of no use; for reason goes by gifts,as well as conduct."
"Well, then," answered Hetty, dropping her voice to a low, confidential,tone, for the stillness of the night, and the nearness of the Ark,permitted her to do this and still to be heard--"Well, then, Deerslayer,as you seem a good and honest young man I will tell you. I mean not tosay a word to any of the savages until I get face to face with theirhead chief, let them plague me with as many questions as they pleaseI'll answer none of them, unless it be to tell them to lead me to theirwisest man--Then, Deerslayer, I'll tell him that God will not forgivemurder, and thefts; and that if father and Hurry did go after thescalps of the Iroquois, he must return go
od for evil, for so the Biblecommands, else he will go into everlasting punishment. When he hearsthis, and feels it to be true, as feel it he must, how long will it bebefore he sends father, and Hurry, and me to the shore, opposite thecastle, telling us all three to go our way in peace?"
The last question was put in a triumphant manner, and then thesimple-minded girl laughed at the impression she never doubted that herproject had made on her auditors. Deerslayer was dumb-founded at thisproof of guileless feebleness of mind, but Judith had suddenly bethoughther of a means of counteracting this wild project, by acting on thevery feelings that had given it birth. Without adverting to the closingquestion, or the laugh, therefore, she hurriedly called to her sister byname, as one suddenly impressed with the importance of what she had tosay. But no answer was given to the call.
By the snapping of twigs, and the rustling of leaves, Hetty hadevidently quitted the shore, and was already burying herself in theforest. To follow would have been fruitless, since the darkness, aswell as the dense cover that the woods everywhere offered, would haverendered her capture next to impossible, and there was also the neverceasing danger of falling into the hands of their enemies. After a shortand melancholy discussion, therefore, the sail was again set, andthe Ark pursued its course towards its habitual moorings, Deerslayersilently felicitating himself on the recovery of the canoe, and broodingover his plans for the morrow. The wind rose as the party quitted thepoint, and in less than an hour they reached the castle. Here all wasfound as it had been left, and the reverse of the ceremonies had tobe taken in entering the building, that had been used on quitting it.Judith occupied a solitary bed that night bedewing the pillow with hertears, as she thought of the innocent and hitherto neglected creature,who had been her companion from childhood, and bitter regrets came overher mind, from more causes than one, as the weary hours passed away,making it nearly morning before she lost her recollection in sleep.Deerslayer and the Delaware took their rest in the Ark, where we shallleave them enjoying the deep sleep of the honest, the healthful andfearless, to return to the girl we have last seen in the midst of theforest.
When Hetty left the shore, she took her way unhesitatingly into thewoods, with a nervous apprehension of being followed. Luckily, thiscourse was the best she could have hit on to effect her own purpose,since it was the only one that led her from the point. The night was sointensely dark, beneath the branches of the trees, that her progresswas very slow, and the direction she went altogether a matter of chance,after the first few yards. The formation of the ground, however, did notpermit her to deviate far from the line in which she desired to proceed.On one hand it was soon bounded by the acclivity of the hill, whilethe lake, on the other, served as a guide. For two hours did thissingle-hearted and simple-minded girl toil through the mazes of theforest, sometimes finding herself on the brow of the bank that boundedthe water, and at others struggling up an ascent that warned her to gono farther in that direction, since it necessarily ran at right anglesto the course on which she wished to proceed. Her feet often slid frombeneath her, and she got many falls, though none to do her injury; but,by the end of the period mentioned, she had become so weary as to wantstrength to go any farther. Rest was indispensable, and she set aboutpreparing a bed, with the readiness and coolness of one to whom thewilderness presented no unnecessary terrors. She knew that wild beastsroamed through all the adjacent forest, but animals that preyed on thehuman species were rare, and of dangerous serpents there were literallynone. These facts had been taught her by her father, and whatever herfeeble mind received at all, it received so confidingly as to leave herno uneasiness from any doubts, or scepticism. To her the sublimityof the solitude in which she was placed, was soothing, rather thanappalling, and she gathered a bed of leaves, with as much indifferenceto the circumstances that would have driven the thoughts of sleepentirely from the minds of most of her sex, as if she had been preparingher place of nightly rest beneath the paternal roof. As soon as Hettyhad collected a sufficient number of the dried leaves to protect herperson from the damps of the ground, she kneeled beside the humble pile,clasped her raised hands in an attitude of deep devotion, and in a soft,low, but audible voice repeated the Lord's Prayer. This was followed bythose simple and devout verses, so familiar to children, in which sherecommended her soul to God, should it be called away to another stateof existence, ere the return of morning. This duty done, she lay downand disposed herself to sleep. The attire of the girl, though suitedto the season, was sufficiently warm for all ordinary purposes, but theforest is ever cool, and the nights of that elevated region of country,have always a freshness about them, that renders clothing more necessarythan is commonly the case in the summers of a low latitude. This hadbeen foreseen by Hetty, who had brought with her a coarse heavy mantle,which, when laid over her body, answered all the useful purposes ofa blanket. Thus protected, she dropped asleep in a few minutes, astranquilly as if watched over by the guardian care of that mother,who had so recently been taken from her forever, affording in thisparticular a most striking contrast between her own humble couch, andthe sleepless pillow of her sister.
Hour passed after hour, in a tranquility as undisturbed and a rest assweet as if angels, expressly commissioned for that object, watchedaround the bed of Hetty Hutter. Not once did her soft eyes open, untilthe grey of the dawn came struggling through the tops of the trees,falling on their lids, and, united to the freshness of a summer'smorning, giving the usual summons to awake. Ordinarily, Hetty was upere the rays of the sun tipped the summits of the mountains, but on thisoccasion her fatigue had been so great, and her rest was so profound,that the customary warnings failed of their effect. The girl murmuredin her sleep, threw an arm forward, smiled as gently as an infant inits cradle, but still slumbered. In making this unconscious gesture,her hand fell on some object that was warm, and in the half unconsciousstate in which she lay, she connected the circumstance with her habits.At the next moment, a rude attack was made on her side, as if a rootinganimal were thrusting its snout beneath, with a desire to force herposition, and then, uttering the name of "Judith" she awoke. As thestartled girl arose to a sitting attitude she perceived that some darkobject sprang from her, scattering the leaves and snapping the fallentwigs in its haste. Opening her eyes, and recovering from the firstconfusion and astonishment of her situation, Hetty perceived a cub, ofthe common American brown bear, balancing itself on its hinder legs, andstill looking towards her, as if doubtful whether it would be safe totrust itself near her person again. The first impulse of Hetty, who hadbeen mistress of several of these cubs, was to run and seize the littlecreature as a prize, but a loud growl warned her of the danger of sucha procedure. Recoiling a few steps, the girl looked hurriedly round, andperceived the dam, watching her movements with fiery eyes at no greatdistance. A hollow tree, that once been the home of bees, havingrecently fallen, the mother with two more cubs was feasting on thedainty food that this accident had placed within her reach; while thefirst kept a jealous eye on the situation of its truant and recklessyoung.
It would exceed all the means of human knowledge to presume to analyzethe influences that govern the acts of the lower animals. On thisoccasion, the dam, though proverbially fierce when its young is thoughtto be in danger, manifested no intention to attack the girl. It quittedthe honey, and advanced to a place within twenty feet of her, where itraised itself on its hind legs and balanced its body in a sort of angry,growling discontent, but approached no nearer. Happily, Hetty did notfly. On the contrary, though not without terror, she knelt with her facetowards the animal, and with clasped hands and uplifted eyes, repeatedthe prayer of the previous night. This act of devotion was not theresult of alarm, but it was a duty she never neglected to performere she slept, and when the return of consciousness awoke her to thebusiness of the day. As the girl arose from her knees, the bear droppedon its feet again, and collecting its cubs around her, permitted themto draw their natural sustenance. Hetty was delighted with this proof oftenderness in an animal that has but
a very indifferent reputation forthe gentler feelings, and as a cub would quit its mother to frisk andleap about in wantonness, she felt a strong desire again to catch itup in her arms, and play with it. But admonished by the growl, she hadself-command sufficient not to put this dangerous project in execution,and recollecting her errand among the hills, she tore herself away fromthe group, and proceeded on her course along the margin of the lake, ofwhich she now caught glimpses again through the trees. To her surprise,though not to her alarm, the family of bears arose and followed hersteps, keeping a short distance behind her; apparently watching everymovement as if they had a near interest in all she did.
In this manner, escorted by the dam and cubs, the girl proceedednearly a mile, thrice the distance she had been able to achieve in thedarkness, during the same period of time. She then reached a brook thathad dug a channel for itself into the earth, and went brawling intothe lake, between steep and high banks, covered with trees. Here Hettyperformed her ablutions; then drinking of the pure mountain water, shewent her way, refreshed and lighter of heart, still attended by hersingular companions. Her course now lay along a broad and nearly levelterrace, which stretched from the top of the bank that bounded thewater, to a low acclivity that rose to a second and irregular platformabove. This was at a part of the valley where the mountains ranobliquely, forming the commencement of a plain that spread betweenthe hills, southward of the sheet of water. Hetty knew, by thiscircumstance, that she was getting near to the encampment, and had shenot, the bears would have given her warning of the vicinity of humanbeings. Snuffing the air, the dam refused to follow any further, thoughthe girl looked back and invited her to come by childish signs, and evenby direct appeals made in her own sweet voice. It was while making herway slowly through some bushes, in this manner, with averted face andeyes riveted on the immovable animals, that the girl suddenly found hersteps arrested by a human hand, that was laid lightly on her shoulder.
"Where go?--" said a soft female voice, speaking hurriedly, and inconcern.--"Indian--red man savage--wicked warrior--that-a-way."
This unexpected salutation alarmed the girl no more than the presence ofthe fierce inhabitants of the woods. It took her a little by surprise,it is true, but she was in a measure prepared for some such meeting, andthe creature who stopped her was as little likely to excite terror asany who ever appeared in the guise of an Indian. It was a girl, not mucholder than herself, whose smile was sunny as Judith's in her brightestmoments, whose voice was melody itself, and whose accents and manner hadall the rebuked gentleness that characterizes the sex among a peoplewho habitually treat their women as the attendants and servitors of thewarriors. Beauty among the women of the aboriginal Americans, beforethey have become exposed to the hardships of wives and mothers, is by nomeans uncommon. In this particular, the original owners of the countrywere not unlike their more civilized successors, nature appearing tohave bestowed that delicacy of mien and outline that forms so great acharm in the youthful female, but of which they are so early deprived;and that, too, as much by the habits of domestic life as from any othercause.
The girl who had so suddenly arrested the steps of Hetty was dressedin a calico mantle that effectually protected all the upper part of herperson, while a short petticoat of blue cloth edged with gold lace, thatfell no lower than her knees, leggings of the same, and moccasins ofdeer-skin, completed her attire. Her hair fell in long dark braids downher shoulders and back, and was parted above a low smooth forehead, ina way to soften the expression of eyes that were full of archness andnatural feeling. Her face was oval, with delicate features, the teethwere even and white, while the mouth expressed a melancholy tenderness,as if it wore this peculiar meaning in intuitive perception of the fateof a being who was doomed from birth to endure a woman's sufferings,relieved by a woman's affections. Her voice, as has been alreadyintimated, was soft as the sighing of the night air, a characteristic ofthe females of her race, but which was so conspicuous in herself asto have produced for her the name of Wah-ta-Wah; which rendered intoEnglish means Hist-oh-Hist.
In a word, this was the betrothed of Chingachgook, who--having succeededin lulling their suspicions, was permitted to wander around theencampment of her captors. This indulgence was in accordance with thegeneral policy of the red man, who well knew, moreover, that her trailcould have been easily followed in the event of flight. It will also beremembered that the Iroquois, or Hurons, as it would be better to callthem, were entirely ignorant of the proximity of her lover, a fact,indeed, that she did not know herself.
It is not easy to say which manifested the most self-possession at thisunexpected meeting; the pale-face, or the red girl. But, though a littlesurprised, Wah-ta-Wah was the most willing to speak, and far the readierin foreseeing consequences, as well as in devising means to avert them.Her father, during her childhood, had been much employed as a warrior bythe authorities of the Colony, and dwelling for several years near theforts, she had caught a knowledge of the English tongue, which she spokein the usual, abbreviated manner of an Indian, but fluently, and withoutany of the ordinary reluctance of her people.
"Where go?--" repeated Wah-ta-Wah, returning the smile of Hetty, in herown gentle, winning, manner--"wicked warrior that-a-way--good warrior,far off."
"What's your name?" asked Hetty, with the simplicity of a child.
"Wah-ta-Wah. I no Mingo--good Delaware--Yengeese friend. Mingo cruel,and love scalp, for blood--Delaware love him, for honor. Come here,where no eyes."
Wah-ta-Wah now led her companion towards the lake, descending the bankso as to place its overhanging trees and bushes between them and anyprobable observers. Nor did she stop until they were both seated, sideby side, on a fallen log, one end of which actually lay buried in thewater.
"Why you come for?" the young Indian eagerly inquired--"Where you comefor?" Hetty told her tale in her own simple and truth-loving manner. Sheexplained the situation of her father, and stated her desire to servehim, and if possible to procure his release.
"Why your father come to Mingo camp in night?" asked the Indian girl,with a directness, which if not borrowed from the other, partook largelyof its sincerity. "He know it war-time, and he no boy--he no wantbeard--no want to be told Iroquois carry tomahawk, and knife, and rifle.Why he come night time, seize me by hair, and try to scalp Delawaregirl?"
"You!" said Hetty, almost sickening with horror--"Did he seize you--didhe try to scalp you?"
"Why no? Delaware scalp sell for much as Mingo scalp. Governor no telldifference. Wicked t'ing for pale-face to scalp. No his gifts, as thegood Deerslayer always tell me."
"And do you know the Deerslayer?" said Hetty, coloring with delight andsurprise; forgetting her regrets, at the moment, in the influence ofthis new feeling. "I know him, too. He is now in the Ark, with Judithand a Delaware who is called the Big Serpent. A bold and handsomewarrior is this Serpent, too!"
Spite of the rich deep colour that nature had bestowed on the Indianbeauty, the tell-tale blood deepened on her cheeks, until the blush gavenew animation and intelligence to her jet-black eyes. Raising a fingerin an attitude of warning, she dropped her voice, already so soft andsweet, nearly to a whisper, as she continued the discourse.
"Chingachgook!" returned the Delaware girl, sighing out the harshname, in sounds so softly guttural, as to cause it to reach the ear inmelody--"His father, Uncas--great chief of the Mahicanni--next to oldTamenund!--More as warrior, not so much gray hair, and less at CouncilFire. You know Serpent?"
"He joined us last evening, and was in the Ark with me, for two or threehours before I left it. I'm afraid, Hist--" Hetty could not pronouncethe Indian name of her new friend, but having heard Deerslayer give herthis familiar appellation, she used it without any of the ceremony ofcivilized life--"I'm afraid Hist, he has come after scalps, as well asmy poor father and Hurry Harry."
"Why he shouldn't--ha? Chingachgook red warrior--very red--scalp makehis honor--Be sure he take him."
"Then," said Hetty, earnestly, "he will be a
s wicked as any other. Godwill not pardon in a red man, what he will not pardon in a white man.
"No true--" returned the Delaware girl, with a warmth that nearlyamounted to passion. "No true, I tell you! The Manitou smile and pleasedwhen he see young warrior come back from the war path, with two, ten,hundred scalp on a pole! Chingachgook father take scalp--grandfathertake scalp--all old chief take scalp, and Chingachgook take as manyscalp as he can carry, himself."
"Then, Hist, his sleep of nights must be terrible to think of. No onecan be cruel, and hope to be forgiven."
"No cruel--plenty forgiven--" returned Wah-ta-Wah, stamping her littlefoot on the stony strand, and shaking her head in a way to show howcompletely feminine feeling, in one of its aspects, had gotten thebetter of feminine feeling in another. "I tell you, Serpent brave; he gohome, this time, with four,--yes--two scalp."
"And is that his errand, here?--Did he really come all this distance,across mountain, and valley, rivers and lakes, to torment his fellowcreatures, and do so wicked a thing?"
This question at once appeased the growing ire of the half-offendedIndian beauty. It completely got the better of the prejudices ofeducation, and turned all her thoughts to a gentler and more femininechannel. At first, she looked around her, suspiciously, as ifdistrusting eavesdroppers; then she gazed wistfully into the face of herattentive companion; after which this exhibition of girlish coquetryand womanly feeling, terminated by her covering her face with both herhands, and laughing in a strain that might well be termed the melody ofthe woods. Dread of discovery, however, soon put a stop to this naiveexhibition of feeling, and removing her hands, this creature of impulsesgazed again wistfully into the face of her companion, as if inquiringhow far she might trust a stranger with her secret. Although Hettyhad no claims to her sister's extraordinary beauty, many thoughther countenance the most winning of the two. It expressed all theundisguised sincerity of her character, and it was totally free fromany of the unpleasant physical accompaniments that so frequently attendmental imbecility. It is true that one accustomed to closer observationsthan common, might have detected the proofs of her feebleness ofintellect in the language of her sometimes vacant eyes, but they weresigns that attracted sympathy by their total want of guile, rather thanby any other feeling. The effect on Hist, to use the English and morefamiliar translation of the name, was favorable, and yielding to animpulse of tenderness, she threw her arms around Hetty, and embraced herwith an outpouring emotion, so natural that it was only equaled by itswarmth.
"You good--" whispered the young Indian--"you good, I know; it so longsince Wah-ta-Wah have a friend--a sister--any body to speak her heartto! You Hist friend; don't I say trut'?"
"I never had a friend," answered Hetty returning the warm embrace withunfeigned earnestness. "I've a sister, but no friend. Judith lovesme, and I love Judith; but that's natural, and as we are taught in theBible--but I should like to have a friend! I'll be your friend, with allmy heart, for I like your voice and your smile, and your way of thinkingin every thing, except about the scalps--"
"No t'ink more of him--no say more of scalp--" interrupted Hist,soothingly--"You pale-face, I red-skin; we bring up different fashion.Deerslayer and Chingachgook great friend, and no the same colour, Histand--what your name, pretty pale-face?"
"I am called Hetty, though when they spell the name in the bible, theyalways spell it Esther."
"What that make?--no good, no harm. No need to spell name atall--Moravian try to make Wah-ta-Wah spell, but no won't let him. Nogood for Delaware girl to know too much--know more than warrior sometime; that great shame. My name Wah-ta-Wah that say Hist in your tongue;you call him, Hist--I call him, Hetty."
These preliminaries settled to their mutual satisfaction, the two girlsbegan to discourse of their several hopes and projects. Hetty made hernew friend more fully acquainted with her intentions in behalf of herfather, and, to one in the least addicted to prying into the affairs,Hist would have betrayed her own feelings and expectations in connectionwith the young warrior of her own tribe. Enough was revealed on bothsides, however, to let each party get a tolerable insight into the viewsof the other, though enough still remained in mental reservation,to give rise to the following questions and answers, with which theinterview in effect closed. As the quickest witted, Hist was the firstwith her interrogatories. Folding an arm about the waist of Hetty, shebent her head so as to look up playfully into the face of the other,and, laughing, as if her meaning were to be extracted from her looks,she spoke more plainly.
"Hetty got broder, as well as fader?--" she said--"Why no talk ofbroder, as well as fader?"
"I have no brother, Hist. I had one once, they say, but he is dead manya year, and lies buried in the lake, by the side of my mother."
"No got broder--got a young warrior--Love him, almost as much as fader,eh? Very handsome, and brave-looking; fit to be chief, if he good as heseem to be."
"It's wicked to love any man as well as I love my father, and so Istrive not to do it, Hist," returned the conscientious Hetty, who knewnot how to conceal an emotion, by an approach to an untruth as venial asan evasion, though powerfully tempted by female shame to err, "though Isometimes think wickedness will get the better of me, if Hurry comes sooften to the lake. I must tell you the truth, dear Hist, because you askme, but I should fall down and die in the woods, if he knew it!"
"Why he no ask you, himself?--Brave looking--why not bold speaking?Young warrior ought to ask young girl, no make young girl speak first.Mingo girls too shame for that."
This was said indignantly, and with the generous warmth a young femaleof spirit would be apt to feel, at what she deemed an invasion ofher sex's most valued privilege. It had little influence on thesimple-minded, but also just-minded Hetty, who, though inherentlyfeminine in all her impulses, was much more alive to the workings of herown heart, than to any of the usages with which convention has protectedthe sensitiveness of her sex.
"Ask me what?' the startled girl demanded, with a suddenness that provedhow completely her fears had been aroused. 'Ask me, if I like him aswell as I do my own father! Oh! I hope he will never put such a questionto me, for I should have to answer, and that would kill me!"
"No--no--no kill, quite--almost," returned the other, laughing in spiteof herself. "Make blush come--make shame come too; but he no stay greatwhile; then feel happier than ever. Young warrior must tell young girlhe want to make wife, else never can live in his wigwam."
"Hurry don't want to marry me--nobody will ever want to marry me, Hist."
"How you can know? P'raps every body want to marry you, and by-and-bye,tongue say what heart feel. Why nobody want to marry you?"
"I am not full witted, they say. Father often tells me this; and so doesJudith, sometimes, when she is vexed; but I shouldn't so much mind them,as I did mother. She said so once and then she cried as if her heartwould break; and, so, I know I'm not full witted."
Hist gazed at the gentle, simple girl, for quite a minute withoutspeaking, and then the truth appeared to flash all at once on themind of the young Indian maid. Pity, reverence and tenderness seemedstruggling together in her breast, and then rising suddenly, sheindicated a wish to her companion that she would accompany her to thecamp, which was situated at no great distance. This unexpected changefrom the precautions that Hist had previously manifested a desire touse, in order to prevent being seen, to an open exposure of the personof her friend, arose from the perfect conviction that no Indian wouldharm a being whom the Great Spirit had disarmed, by depriving it of itsstrongest defence, reason. In this respect, nearly all unsophisticatednations resemble each other, appearing to offer spontaneously, bya feeling creditable to human nature, that protection by their ownforbearance, which has been withheld by the inscrutable wisdom ofProvidence. Wah-ta-Wah, indeed, knew that in many tribes the mentallyimbecile and the mad were held in a species of religious reverence,receiving from these untutored inhabitants of the forest respect andhonors, instead of the contumely and neglect that it is their f
ortune tomeet with among the more pretending and sophisticated.
Hetty accompanied her new friend without apprehension or reluctance. Itwas her wish to reach the camp, and, sustained by her motives, she feltno more concern for the consequences than did her companion herself,now the latter was apprised of the character of the protection that thepale-face maiden carried with her. Still, as they proceeded slowly alonga shore that was tangled with overhanging bushes, Hetty continued thediscourse, assuming the office of interrogating which the other hadinstantly dropped, as soon as she ascertained the character of the mindto which her questions had been addressed.
"But you are not half-witted," said Hetty, "and there's no reason whythe Serpent should not marry you."
"Hist prisoner, and Mingo got big ear. No speak of Chingachgook whenthey by. Promise Hist that, good Hetty."
"I know--I know--" returned Hetty, half-whispering, in her eagernessto let the other see she understood the necessity of caution. "Iknow--Deerslayer and the Serpent mean to get you away from the Iroquois,and you wish me not to tell the secret."
"How you know?" said Hist, hastily, vexed at the moment that the otherwas not even more feeble minded than was actually the case. "How youknow? Better not talk of any but fader and Hurry--Mingo understanddat; he no understand t'udder. Promise you no talk about what you nounderstand."
"But I do understand this, Hist, and so I must talk about it. Deerslayeras good as told father all about it, in my presence, and as nobodytold me not to listen, I overheard it all, as I did Hurry and father'sdiscourse about the scalps."
"Very bad for pale-faces to talk about scalps, and very bad for youngwoman to hear! Now you love Hist, I know, Hetty, and so, among Injins,when love hardest never talk most."
"That's not the way among white people, who talk most about them theylove best. I suppose it's because I'm only half-witted that I don't seethe reason why it should be so different among red people."
"That what Deerslayer call gift. One gift to talk; t'udder gift to holdtongue. Hold tongue your gift, among Mingos. If Sarpent want to seeHist, so Hetty want to see Hurry. Good girl never tell secret offriend."
Hetty understood this appeal, and she promised the Delaware girl not tomake any allusion to the presence of Chingachgook, or to the motive ofhis visit to the lake.
"Maybe he get off Hurry and fader, as well as Hist, if let him have hisway," whispered Wah-ta-Wah to her companion, in a confiding flatteringway, just as they got near enough to the encampment to hear the voicesof several of their own sex, who were apparently occupied in the usualtoils of women of their class. "Tink of dat, Hetty, and put two, twentyfinger on mouth. No get friend free without Sarpent do it."
A better expedient could not have been adopted, to secure the silenceand discretion of Hetty, than that which was now presented to her mind.As the liberation of her father and the young frontier man was the greatobject of her adventure, she felt the connection between it and theservices of the Delaware, and with an innocent laugh, she nodded herhead, and in the same suppressed manner, promised a due attention tothe wishes of her friend. Thus assured, Hist tarried no longer, butimmediately and openly led the way into the encampment of her captors.
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