CHAPTER VII.
CLARKE'S ISLAND.
"And now, Master Coppin, let us bear up for Thievish Harbor without moredelays," said Carver as the boat settled to her work, and the men intotheir places.
"Ay, ay, master," responded the pilot cheerily. "And a good harbor and agood seat shall you find it in spite of its ill-favored name."
But as the day went on the stormy sky lowered yet more and more blackly,the wind, shifting between east and north, swooped in angry gusts acrossthe black waters, or blew in so fierce a gale that the shallop scarcelybore her close-reefed sails, and more than once careened so as to shipalarming seas. The air, filled with sleet and icy snow, cut like a knifethrough the thickest clothing, and again Edward Tilley, swooning withexhaustion and cold, lay lifeless in the bottom of the boat, sadlywatched by his brother in hardly better plight and by Carver, who, likethe father of a family, carried all his children in his heart.
About the middle of the afternoon these skirmishes of the stormconcentrated in one furious and irresistible attack, before which eventhe hardy sailors lowered their heads and clung to whatever lay nearest,while Clarke, who was steering, suddenly reeled violently against thebulwark, and recovering himself with a fearful oath seized an oar andthrusting it out astern shouted,--
"We be all dead men! The rudder has broke, and no man can steer in sucha sea as this with an oar!"
"Two men may, so they be men and not cowards!" shouted John Alderton inretort, and springing to the stern he thrust out his own oar, calling toa comrade,--"Here, Cornish Jim, come you and help me, and so long as ashblades and stout arms hold we two will steer the craft."
"Good cheer, men!" hailed Coppin from the bows where he was on thelookout. "I see the harbor straight ahead! We are all but in! Carry on,carry on with your sails there, Clarke, and let us make the haven beforethe gale rises to its height."
"She'll never carry another inch of canvas," expostulated English as themate shook out a reef in the mainsail, but Coppin and Clarke were now incommand, since only they professed to know the coast, and the warningwas unheeded, especially as the wind had for a moment lulled or ratherdrawn back for a more formidable spring, swooping down as the last reefpoint was loosed with a force that snatched the great sail from themen's hands, and buried the nose of the shallop deep under water. Thesail cracked and filled until it was tense as iron, but the honestHolland duck could not give way, and it was the mast that had to go,breaking into three pieces and falling overboard with a splinteringcrash. Nor was this the worst, for with the mast went the great sailwith all its hamper of blocks and cordage, which, half in and half outthe boat, threatened to capsize and swamp her before it could be cutaway.
"Save the sail, men!" cried English through all the hubbub. "As goodlose all as lose our sail! Gather it in and stow it as best we may. Keepher before the wind, you lubbers! Handle your oars for your lives!"
For now the great boat, losing her sail, must depend upon oars, and withtwo men at each, and Alderton and the Cornish giant steering as bestthey might against a sea howling and leaping like wild beasts aroundthem, the shattered craft drove on past the headland of Manomet,steering straight for the deadly rocks off the Gurnet's Head, whichCoppin espying from the bows, he uttered a cry of dismay, shouting,--
"The Lord be merciful to our sinful souls, for I never saw this placebefore!"
"Breakers ahead!" shouted Clarke. "Beach her, Alderton! Run her ashoreon yon headland! We that can swim may save ourselves! Beach her, I say!"
"And I say no such coward thing," retorted Alderton. "About with her,men! Row, row for your lives! Bend down to it! So! Pull, pull! I see achannel ahead and smooth water! Hold on here, Jim, till I get outanother oar, this cracks! Now then! Yeo-ho! Here we go past the reef!"
And weathering Brown's Island and the Gurnet Rocks, the brave fellowsteering more by instinct than sight, for darkness had fallen with thestorm, the shallop struck the channel then dividing Saquish from theGurnet, flew through it like a hunted creature, and forging past thenorth headland of a small densely wooded island found herself in calmwater close under its lee.
"There, men, ye are safe, thanks to stout hearts and arms and good ashenblades!" exclaimed Alderton drawing his first full breath since seizingthe steering oar.
"Thanks to God Almighty who still giveth His servants the victory,"amended Carver, who had toiled with the sturdiest.
"And now, where are we and what is to do next?" demanded Standishclenching his blistered hands.
"We are between two shores, maybe islands both, maybe the lee shore isthe main," replied Coppin peering through the darkness. "And more I knownot."
"And I for one am minded to get ashore and see if there be stuff for afire and shelter, whatever name the place may hold," cried Hopkinsdashing the drops of salt water from his face and beard.
"And I," added Standish heartily. "What say you, Master Carver? Shall weland and make some sort of randevous upon the shore?"
"The place may be full of salvages, who, drawn by the light of a fire,can come upon us unaware," replied Carver hesitatingly.
"As well risk another encounter as to perish here of cold andexhaustion," suggested Winslow.
"Safety most often lies on the side of courage," declared Standishsententiously.
"And Master Tilley will die if naught be done for him," pleaded Howland,and to this consideration Carver at once yielded his careful scruples.
"Ay, John, thou 'rt right to mind me of that," said he. "Some of us willgo ashore and make a fire, whereat to comfort those who are overborne bycold and weariness, and some shall keep the boat until the first arerefreshed, and so hold watch and watch."
"And I will be of the first watch ashore," cried Clarke, the master'smate; "for I'd twice liefer meet all the salvages of the Indies than tofreeze like a clod, so here goes." And stepping upon the gunwale he madea spring in the dark, alighting upon a slippery rock and measuring hislength upon the sand. Nothing daunted, however, he grasped a handful ofsand in each fist, as if his prostration had been voluntary, andspringing to his feet cried in a braggadocio voice,--
"I seize this land for King James of England and for myself."
"Thyself!" growled Coppin, jealously. "We'll call it Clarke's Land,then; for truly 't is all thou 'rt ever likely to be master of."
"Nay, then, thou 'rt welcome to the six feet they'll give thee afterthou 'rt hung," retorted Clarke, and the sailors chuckled at the jest,while the Pilgrims gravely arranged which watch should first land, andwhich keep the boat.
Peering around in the obscurity, the pioneers soon found a shelterednook close under the bluff, and built their fire and made their campvery near the spot where a little wharf now lies, and where generationafter generation of their children has stood to meditate, to dream, todrink in the glory of summer seas and skies, or beneath the August moonto whisper in each others ears the old, old story, never so fresh andnever so real as it has come to some of them on the shores of Clarke'sIsland.
No rosy dreams, no moonlit passages were theirs however, who in thatstormy December night first trod that pleasant shore, but rather thesternest realities of life and death, as with numb and icy fingers theystruck a light and sheltered the feeble blaze loth to catch upon the wettwigs and leaves hastily collected.
"Either there are no Indians or this is an island too small forhunting," said Hopkins as he groped in the thicket at the top of thebluff for small wood.
"And how know you that?" inquired Howland who helped him.
"By this undergrowth that we are gathering, lad. The Indians burn it offyear by year in the haunts of the deer, so that they may course therefreely, but here thou seest are plenty of old and dry twigs."
"The better for our fire," returned Howland philosophically, not so muchinterested at that moment in the habits of Indians as in providing forElizabeth Tilley's father.
The more cautious brethren in the pinnace meantime had anchored and madethings as snug as possible on board, but as the fire blazed
up, and oneafter another on shore showed signs of its genial influence, the dangersof abandoning the boat grew less and less formidable, until Standish,rubbing his hands and turning to toast the other side of his person,cried exultingly,--
"Aha, I am warm! I have seen the fire!"
"So have I seen it, and here goes to feel it!" cried Coppin jumping asfar toward land as he could, and splashing the rest of the way, for hehad sulkily remained on board when Clarke leaped ashore and claimed theisland.
"Methinks the example is good if the manner be uncourteous," saidWinslow wistfully.
"Ay," replied Carver a little annoyed by Coppin's action, although heclaimed no authority over the rough fellow. "I was just about to saythat it were as well that we landed, taking our arms with us andstanding on our guard, for truly we are perishing here."
The permission calmly waited for was thankfully received, and in a fewmoments the whole party was gathered about the now jubilant fire which,fed with cedar logs, sent up clouds of perfumed smoke to float likeincense among the crests of the shivering parent trees.
The next morning broke calm and 'sunshining,' and the Pilgrims, renewingtheir fire, offered a solemn prayer of thanksgiving and confidence, andsat down to breakfast.
After this came an exploration, which showed the small size and compactnature of the island, as well as its total lack of inhabitants. Thistour was followed by an informal council about the fire, wherein it wasresolved to remain during the day, which was Saturday, upon the island,drying and cleaning their weapons, rigging a temporary mast for theshallop, baling and drying her, and restoring by rest and comfort somemeasure of strength to the feebler members of the party. Also, and thisnot the least consideration, the next day being Sunday, they would thusbe prepared to observe it with that decency and recollection which werepart of their religion.
The plan arranged, all set heartily to work to carry it out, the sailorsgoing aboard to bale the boat, and Clarke and Alderton undertaking tofit the new mast. A proud young cedar, growing straight and tall amonghis slender admirers, was soon found, and as the white man's axe for thefirst time since cedars grew upon Clarke's Island bit into the heart ofone of their number, we well might fancy that, mingling with the eastwind and the sound of the surf on Salthouse Beach rose the echo of thedirge, startling the sailors of Egean shores, long before,--
"Pan is dead! Great Pan is dead!"
Late in the afternoon when all the work was done, and the men sat or layaround the fire enjoying the Sabbatical repose long distinguishing theNew England Saturday evening, Carver, Standish, Bradford, and Winslowclimbed the hill rising sharply above their camping-ground, and pausedby what is now called Sunset Rock to look about them.
"Clarke's Island is but a small addition to King James's territory,"said Winslow with his subtle smile, as he glanced over the ninety acresof woodland lying around him.
"Our own England is not very large," replied Carver quietly, "but shehath long arms."
"And I," cried Standish gayly, "am but a little fellow, and yet am notin the way of calling upon bigger men to protect me! Despise not the dayof small things, Master Winslow, albeit you carry your head some incheshigher than mine."
"There is a great rock showing above the scrub oaks to the north," saidBradford pointing in that direction. "Let us climb it and see what liethbeyond."
"Have with you, brother!" responded Standish, and forcing their waythrough the stunted growth covering this higher and bleaker portion ofthe island the four men soon stood at the base of an enormous bowlderabout thirty feet in height, brought hither in some glacial overflow ofthe forgotten years.
On the southern side a deep crevice, worn by many rains, offered afoothold, even as it does to-day, and in a moment the four Pilgrimchiefs stood upon the summit and looked about them.
The sun was setting in lavish gorgeousness, while in the deep blue vaultarching overhead tiny points of light showed where the stars waitedimpatiently to take their places and glorify the night.
The sea, almost black in its depth of color, dashed mournfully upon therocks fallen from the high northern and western bluffs, and across thewintry flood lay the shores of what was to be Duxbury, running out atthe south into a peninsula, terminating in a bold summit. This wasCaptain's Hill, and the Captain standing there looked at it allunconsciously and said:--
"Yonder is a spot that might be made into a goodly hold against any foe.With a piece or two properly mounted on that fair height, and a palisadocutting off the headland from the main, it would fall into as pretty alittle fortalice as could be asked."
"Too small a seat for our whole company, howbeit," said Carverscrutinizing the spot.
"And we must seek a river with commodious harbor for our fishing fleet,"added Winslow, not knowing the capacities then of Jones's River andGreen Bay, hard by Captain's Hill, where he was to spend the honorableevening of his days.
"Fishing!" echoed Standish contemptuously. "It is like those gooddry-salters and drapers of London town, who have helped out ourenterprise, to expect us, landing on this barren shore in the depth ofwinter, to fall on fishing before we break our fast, or build a shelterfor our wives and children. Our first work is to subdue the salvages, tocut down the forest, to build houses, and plant crops. If we reach thefishing by this day twelvemonth we shall have done well."
"I fear me the Adventurers of whom you speak so slightingly will hardlybe of your mind," replied Winslow coldly.
"Then let them come over here and collect their profits for themselves,"retorted Standish. "And well would I like to see Thomas Weston andRobert Cushman, with some of those smug London traders who think to buygood men's lives and swords for the price of a red herring, set downhere to battle with the frost and snow, and sea and swamps, not tomention the salvages. We should hear their tune change from 'Fish, fish,fish!' I warrant me."
But at this speech Winslow, even more of a diplomatist than a soldier,looked grave, and Bradford, in whose harmonious character valor was everin accord with reason, laid a hand upon the little Captain's shoulder,and said affectionately:--
"Thy courage is still so keen, Myles, that when thine enemies are put toflight thou 'rt tempted to turn upon thy friends! Doubtless theAdventurers, mostly men of peace, traders, if thou wilt have it so, yetnone the worse for that, do somewhat fail to fathom the perils of thisour undertaking; still no man is to be condemned for an honestmisconception, and these same traders have freely risked their money tofurnish us forth. We, too, had never stood on this rock to-night had notthose men thrust their hands deep into their pockets, and is it out ofreason for them to ask to see some return for their money as soon as maybe?"
"Not out of reason for traders, mayhap," replied Myles obstinately. "Iwould that we had come at our own charges altogether."
"Those of us who had a little money were not enough to furnish forththose who had none," interposed Carver gravely; "and we have none toomany hands as it is to do the work laid out for us."
"Thou 'rt right, as thou mainly art, Governor," replied Standishgood-humoredly; "and haply 't is well that my hot head is linked withthy cool one."
"We were all ill sped, lacking thy skill and valor in war, Captain,"replied Carver kindly, and after a moment's meditative silence he slowlyadded,--
"It ill befits finite man to intrude upon the Councils of infinitewisdom, and yet it seemeth borne strangely in upon my mind that God hathcarefully chosen His weapons for the mighty conquest He hath set Himselfto make in this wilderness, and, if I may say it without grieving yourmodesty, brethren, I seem to see in you, standing with me here, threechosen leaders.
"A man of war, trained from childhood in martial tactics, and in the useof weapons, and of a singular courage and determination, you, Standish,are the strong right arm of the body corporate.
"And you, Winslow, bred among courtiers and statesmen, subtle ofintellect, ready of speech, cool of temper, and sound in judgment, inyou I see our ambassador, our spokesman, our counselor and adviser, ourChrysostom of
the golden mouth."
"And Bradford," jealously demanded Standish laying a hand upon the armof the future governor, for whom he ever entertained a mighty affection.
Carver turned and looked full into Bradford's steadfast eyes upraised tohis, and his own gaze became rapt and well-nigh prophetic. When he spokeagain it was in a lower and less spontaneous voice.
"The arm strikes, the tongue parleys, but both must be in accord withthe brain, or all is lost. The father of his people must think for all,plan for all, encourage, restrain, cherish, discipline all. Standish forthe camp, Winslow for the council, but for you, Bradford, the sleeplessvigil, the constant watch, the self-forgetting energy, whose fruits aresafety, honor, and prosperity, for those who lean on you."
"But, dear friend, it is you who still must be our governor, ourreliance, our father!" exclaimed Bradford eagerly, but Carver turnedaway and began the steep descent.
Those whom he left looked earnestly in each other's faces, yet saidnothing. A future grander, and more terrible than they had imagined,seemed suddenly defined before them, and each dimly felt the burden andthe honor of his own part therein laid upon him.
As thus they stood, three noble figures clearly defined against theamber of the evening sky, Richard Warren and Stephen Hopkins appearedupon the crest of the hill and paused to look about them.
"See yonder figures, looking as cut out of stone, and set up for idolsin the high places of Baal," sneered Hopkins. "These be our masters,Warren, if so be we yield to them."
Warren, a genial, honest gentleman of London, who had thrown his entirepatrimony, as well as his earnest soul, into this enterprise, shook hishead and laughingly replied,--
"Thou 'rt ever too jealous, Stephen, for thine own comfort. Ourbrethren, all unconscious that they make so fine a show up there, aregiving their best and their all to the common weal, and so are we. Iftheir best, chance to be gold, and ours but iron, think 'st thou Godwill value the one offering above the other? I trow not man, and I amfor my part well content as matters stand."
"Nay," persisted Hopkins, "but mark you how constantly they slight usand Dotey, because we are out of England, and not of Holland, and so notof Robinson's congregation?"
"Nay," replied Warren pacifically; "I had liefer mark the many times weare called to Council and to share in whatever good may be toward. Andmark you, Hopkins, you and I are the fathers of many children, and thosemen have none as yet, and this land whose foundations must be laid inour blood, if need be, shall become the inheritance of those we leavebehind. Please God, my five girls, coming hither so soon as I have aroof to shelter them, shall become the mothers of soldiers andstatesmen, maybe of kings, for who knoweth what is to come when the seedsown in tears shall be reaped in joy!"
Hopkins answered only by a contemptuous sniff, and the triumviratedescending from their pedestal, all six men returned amicably to thecamp.
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