CHAPTER XVI
"Watch (aside). Some treason, masters-- Yet stand close." --Much Ado About Nothing.
It was fortunate for more than one of the bacchanalians who left the"Bold Dragoon" late in the evening that the severe cold of the seasonwas becoming rapidly less dangerous as they threaded the different mazesthrough the snow-banks that led to their respective dwellings. Thendriving clouds began toward morning to flit across the heavens, and themoon set behind a volume of vapor that was impelled furiously toward thenorth, carrying with it the softer atmosphere from the distant ocean.The rising sun was obscured by denser and increasing columns ofclouds, while the southerly wind that rushed up the valley brought thenever-failing symptoms of a thaw.
It was quite late in the morning before Elizabeth, observing the faintglow which appeared on the eastern mountain long after the light of thesun had struck the opposite hills, ventured from the house, with a viewto gratify her curiosity with a glance by daylight at the surroundingobjects before the tardy revellers of the Christmas eve should maketheir appearance at the breakfast-table. While she was drawing the foldsof her pelisse more closely around her form, to guard against a coldthat was yet great though rapidly yielding, in the small inclosure thatopened in the rear of the house on a little thicket of low pines thatwere springing up where trees of a mightier growth had lately stood, shewas surprised at the voice of Mr. Jones.
"Merry Christmas, merry Christmas to you, Cousin Bess," he shouted. "Ah,ha! an early riser, I see; but I knew I should steal a march on you. Inever was in a house yet where I didn't get the first Christmas greetingon every soul in it, man, woman, and child--great and small--black,white, and yellow. But stop a minute till I can just slip on my coat.You are about to look at the improvements, I see, which no one canexplain so well as I, who planned them all. It will be an hourbefore 'Duke and the Major can sleep off Mrs. Hollister's confoundeddistillations, and so I'll come down and go with you."
Elizabeth turned and observed her cousin in his night cap, with his headout of his bedroom window, where his zeal for pre-eminence, in defianceof the weather, had impelled him to thrust it. She laughed, andpromising to wait for his company re-entered the house, making herappearance again, holding in her hand a packet that was secured byseveral large and important seals, just in time to meet the gentleman.
"Come, Bessy, come," he cried, drawing one of her arms through his own;"the snow begins to give, but it will bear us yet. Don't you snuffold Pennsylvania in the very air? This is a vile climate, girl; now atsunset, last evening, it was cold enough to freeze a man's zeal, andthat, I can tell you, takes a thermometer near zero for me; then aboutnine or ten it began to moderate; at twelve it was quite mild, and hereall the rest of the night I have been so hot as not to bear a blanket onthe bed.--Holla! Aggy--merry Christmas, Aggy--I say, do you hear me, youblack dog! there's a dollar for you; and if the gentle men get up beforeI come back, do you come out and let me know. I wouldn't have 'Duke getthe start of me for the worth of your head."
The black caught the money from the snow, and promising a due degree ofwatchfulness, he gave the dollar a whirl of twenty feet in the air,and catching it as it fell in the palm of his hand, he withdrew to thekitchen, to exhibit his present, with a heart as light as his face washappy in its expression.
"Oh, rest easy, my dear coz," said the young lady; "I took a look in atmy father, who is likely to sleep an hour; and by using due vigilanceyou will secure all the honors of the season."
"Why, Duke is your father, Elizabeth; but 'Duke is a man who likes tobe foremost, even in trifles. Now, as for myself, I care for no suchthings, except in the way of competition; for a thing which is of nomoment in itself may be made of importance in the way of competition. Soit is with your father--he loves to be first; but I only; struggle withhim as a competitor."
"It's all very clear, sir," said Elizabeth; "you would not care a figfor distinction if there were no one in the world but yourself; but asthere happens to be a great many others, why, you must struggle withthem all--in the way of competition."
"Exactly so; I see you are a clever girl, Bess, and one who does creditto her masters. It was my plan to send you to that school; for when yourfather first mentioned the thing, I wrote a private letter for advice toa judicious friend in the city, who recommended the very school you wentto. 'Duke was a little obstinate at first, as usual, but when he heardthe truth he was obliged to send you."
"Well, a truce to 'Duke's foibles, sir; he is my father, and if you knewwhat he has been doing for you while we were in Albany, you would dealmore tenderly with his character."
"For me!" cried Richard, pausing a moment in his walk to reflect. "Oh!he got the plans of the new Dutch meeting-house for me, I suppose; butI care very little about it, for a man of a certain kind of talentis seldom aided by any foreign suggestions; his own brain is the bestarchitect."
"No such thing," said Elizabeth, looking provokingly knowing.
"No! let me see--perhaps he had my name put in the bill for the newturnpike, as a director."
"He might possibly; but it is not to such an appointment that I allude."
"Such an appointment!" repeated Mr. Jones, who began to fidget withcuriosity; "then it is an appointment. If it is in the militia, I won'ttake it.
"No, no, it is not in the militia," cried Elizabeth, showing the packetin her hand, and then drawing it back with a coquettish air; "it is anoffice of both honor and emolument."
"Honor and emolument!" echoed Richard, in painful suspense; "show me thepaper, girl. Say, is it an office where there is anything to do?"
"You have hit it, Cousin Dickon; it is the executive office of thecounty; at least so said my father when he gave me this packet to offeryou as a Christmas-box. Surely, if anything will please Dickon,' hesaid, 'it will be to fill the executive chair of the county.'"
"Executive chair! what nonsense!" cried the impatient gentleman,snatching the packet from her hand; "there is no such office in thecounty. Eh! what! it is, I declare, a commission, appointing RichardJones, Esquire, sheriff of the county. Well, this is kind in 'Duke,positively. I must say 'Duke has a warm heart, and never forgets hisfriends. Sheriff! High Sheriff of--! it sounds well, Bess, but it shallexecute better. 'Duke is a judicious man after all, and knows humannature thoroughly, I'm much obliged to him," continued Richard, usingthe skirt of his coat unconsciously to wipe his eyes; "though I woulddo as much for him any day, as he shall see, if I have an opportunity toperform any of the duties of my office on him. It shall be done, CousinBess----it shall be done, I say. How this cursed south wind makes one'seyes water!"
"Now, Richard," said the laughing maiden, "now I think you will findsomething to do. I have often heard you complain of old that there wasnothing to do in this new country, while to my eyes it seemed as ifeverything remained to be done."
"Do!" echoed Richard, who blew his nose, raised his little form to itsgreatest elevation, and looked serious. "Everything depends on system,girl. I shall sit down this afternoon and systematize the county. I musthave deputies, you know. I will divide the county into districts, overwhich I will place my deputies; and I will have one for the village,which I will call my home department. Let me see--ho! Benjamin! yes,Benjamin will make a good deputy; he has been naturalized, and wouldanswer admirably if he could only ride on horseback."
"Yes, Mr. Sheriff," said his companion; "and as he understands ropes sowell, he would be very expert, should occasion happen for his servicesin another way."
"No," interrupted the other; "I flatter myself that no man could hang aman better than--that is--ha!--oh! yes, Benjamin would do extremely wellin such an unfortunate dilemma, if he could be persuaded to attempt it.But I should despair of the thing. I never could induce him to hang, orteach him to ride on horseback. I must seek another deputy."
"Well, sir, as you have abundant leisure for all these importantaffairs, I beg that you will forget that you are high sheriff, anddevote some little of your time to gallantry. W
here are the beauties andimprovements which you were to show me?"
"Where? why, everywhere! Here I have laid out some new streets; and whenthey are opened, and the trees felled, and they are all built up, willthey not make a fine town? Well, 'Duke is a liberal-hearted fellow,with all his stubbornness. Yes, yes; I must have at least four deputies,besides a jailer."
"I see no streets in the direction of our walk," said Elizabeth, "unlessyou call the short avenues through these pine bushes by that name.Surely you do not contemplate building houses, very soon, in that forestbefore us, and in those swamps."
"We must run our streets by the compass, coz, and disregard trees, hills,ponds, stumps, or, in fact, anything but posterity. Such is the will ofyour father, and your father, you know----"
"Had you made sheriff, Mr. Jones," interrupted the lady, with a tonethat said very plainly to the gentleman that he was touching a forbiddensubject.
"I know it, I know it," cried Richard; "and if it were in my power,I'd make 'Duke a king. He is a noble hearted fellow, and would make anexcellent king; that is, if he had a good prime minister. But who havewe here? voices in the bushes--a combination about mischief, I'll wagermy commission. Let us draw near and examine a little into the matter."
During this dialogue, as the parties had kept in motion, Richard and hiscousin advanced some distance from the house into the open space in therear of the village, where, as may be gathered from the conversation,streets were planned and future dwellings contemplated; but where, intruth, the only mark of improvement that was to be seen was a neglectedclearing along the skirt of a dark forest of mighty pines, over whichthe bushes or sprouts of the same tree had sprung up to a height thatinterspersed the fields of snow with little thickets of evergreen. Therushing of the wind, as it whistled through the tops of these mimictrees, prevented the footsteps of the pair from being heard, while thebranches concealed their persons. Thus aided, the listeners drew nighto a spot where the young hunter, Leather-Stocking, and the Indian chiefwere collected in an earnest consultation. The former was urgent in hismanner, and seemed to think the subject of deep importance, while Nattyappeared to listen with more than his usual attention to what the otherwas saying. Mohegan stood a little on one side, with his head sunkenon his chest, his hair falling forward so as to conceal most of hisfeatures, and his whole attitude expressive of deep dejection, if not ofshame. "Let us withdraw," whispered Elizabeth; "we are intruders, and canhave no right to listen to the secrets of these men."
"No right!" returned Richard a little impatiently, in the same tone, anddrawing her arm so forcibly through his own as to prevent her retreat;"you forget, cousin, that it is my duty to preserve the peace of thecounty and see the laws executed, these wanderers frequently commitdepredations, though I do not think John would do anything secretly.Poor fellow! he was quite boozy last night, and hardly seems to be overit yet. Let us draw nigher and hear what they say."
Notwithstanding the lady's reluctance, Richard, stimulated doubtless byhis sense of duty, prevailed; and they were soon so near as distinctlyto hear sounds.
"The bird must be had," said Natty, "by fair means or foul. Heigho! I'veknown the time, lad, when the wild turkeys wasn't over-scarce in thecountry; though you must go into the Virginia gaps if you want them now.'to be sure, there is a different taste to a partridge and a well-fattedturkey; though, to my eating, beaver's tail and bear's ham make thebest of food. But then every one has his own appetite. I gave the lastfarthing, all to that shilling, to the French trader, this very morning,as I came through the town, for powder; so, as you have nothing, we canhave but one shot for it. I know that Billy Kirby is out, and means tohave a pull of the trigger at that very turkey. John has a true eye fora single fire, and, some how, my hand shakes so whenever I have to doanything extrawnary, that I often lose my aim. Now, when I killed theshe-bear this fall, with her cubs, though they were so mighty ravenous,I knocked them over one at a shot, and loaded while I dodged the treesin the bargain; but this is a very different thing, Mr. Oliver."
"This," cried the young man, with an accent that sounded as if he tooka bitter pleasure in his poverty, while he held a shilling up before hiseyes, "this is all the treasure that I possess--this and my rifle!Now, indeed, I have become a man of the woods, and must place my soledependence on the chase. Come, Natty, let us stake the last penny forthe bird; with your aim, it cannot fail to be successful."
"I would rather it should be John, lad; my heart jumps into my mouth,because you set your mind so much out; and I'm sartain that I shall missthe bird. Them Indians can shoot one time as well as another; nothingever troubles them. I say, John, here's a shilling; take my rifle, andget a shot at the big turkey they've put up at the stump. Mr. Oliver isover-anxious for the creatur', and I'm sure to do nothing when I haveover-anxiety about it."
The Indian turned his head gloomily, and after looking keenly for amoment, in profound silence, at his companions, he replied:
"When John was young, eyesight was not straighter than his bullet. TheMingo squaws cried out at the sound of his rifle. The Mingo warriorswere made squaws. When did he ever shoot twice? The eagle went abovethe clouds when he passed the wigwam of Chingachgook; his feathers wereplenty with the women. But see," he said, raising his voice fromthe low, mournful tones in which he had spoken to a pitch of keenexcitement, and stretching forth both hands, "they shake like a deer atthe wolf's howl. Is John old? When was a Mohican a squaw with seventywinters? No! the white man brings old age with him--rum is histomahawk!"
"Why, then, do you use it, old man?" exclaimed the young hunter; "whywill one, so noble by nature, aid the devices of the devil by makinghimself a beast?"
"Beast! is John a beast?" replied the Indian slowly; "yes; you say nolie, child of the Fire-eater! John is a beast. The smokes were oncefew in these hills, The deer would lick the hand of a white man and thebirds rest on his head. They were strangers to him. My fathers came fromthe shores of the salt lake. They fled before rum. They came to theirgrandfather, and they lived in peace; or, when they did raise thehatchet, it was to strike it into the brain of a Mingo. They gatheredaround the council fire, and what they said was done. Then John was aman. But warriors and traders with light eyes followed them. One broughtthe long knife and one brought rum. They were more than the pines on themountains; and they broke up the councils and took the lands, The evilspirit was in their jugs, and they let him loose. Yes yes--you say nolie, Young Eagle; John is a Christian beast."
"Forgive me, old warrior," cried the youth, grasping his hand; "I shouldbe the last to reproach you. The curses of Heaven light on the cupiditythat has destroyed such a race. Remember, John, that I am of yourfamily, and it is now my greatest pride."
The muscles of Mohegan relaxed a little, and he said, more mildly:
"You are a Delaware, my son; your words are not heard--John cannotshoot."
"I thought that lad had Indian blood in him," whispered Richard, "by theawkward way he handled my horses last night. You see, coz, they neveruse harness. But the poor fellow shall have two shots at the turkey,if he wants it, for I'll give him another shilling myself; though,per haps, I had better offer to shoot for him. They have got up theirChristmas sports, I find, in the bushes yonder, where you hear thelaughter--though it is a queer taste this chap has for turkey; not butwhat it is good eating, too."
"Hold, Cousin Richard," exclaimed Elizabeth, clinging to his arm; "wouldit be delicate to offer a shilling to that gentleman?"
"Gentleman, again! Do you think a half-breed, like him, will refusemoney? No, no, girl, he will take the shilling; ay! and even rum too,notwithstanding he moralizes so much about it, But I'll give the lad achance for his turkey; for that Billy Kirby is one of the best marksmenin the country; that is, if we except the--the gentleman."
"Then," said Elizabeth, who found her strength unequal to her will,"then, sir, I will speak." She advanced, with an air of determination,in front of her cousin, and entered the little circle of bushes thatsurrounded the trio of hunter
s. Her appearance startled the youth, whoat first made an unequivocal motion toward retiring, but, recollectinghimself, bowed, by lifting his cap, and resumed his attitude of leaningon his rifle. Neither Natty nor Mohegan betrayed any emotion, though theappearance of Elizabeth was so entirely unexpected.
"I find," she said, "that the old Christmas sport of shooting the turkeyis yet in use among you. I feel inclined to try my chance for a bird.Which of you will take this money, and, after paying my fee, give me theaid of his rifle?"
"Is this a sport for a lady?" exclaimed the young hunter, with anemphasis that could not well be mistaken, and with a rapidity thatshowed he spoke without consulting anything but feeling. "Why not, sir?If it be inhuman the sin is not confined to one sex only. But I havemy humor as well as others. I ask not your assistance, but"--turningto Natty, and dropping a dollar in his hand--"this old veteran of theforest will not be so ungallant as to refuse one fire for a lady."
Leather-Stocking dropped the money into his pouch, and throwing up theend of his rifle he freshened his priming; and first laughing in hisusual manner, he threw the piece over his shoulder, and said:
"If Billy Kirby don't get the bird before me, and the Frenchman's powderdon't hang fire this damp morning, you'll see as fine a turkey dead, ina few minutes, as ever was eaten in the Judge's shanty. I have knowedthe Dutch women, on the Mohawk and Schoharie, count greatly on comingto the merry-makings; and so, lad, you shouldn't be short with the lady.Come, let us go forward, for if we wait the finest bird will be gone."
"But I have a right before you, Natty, and shall try on my own luckfirst. You will excuse me, Miss Temple; I have much reason to wish thatbird, and may seem ungallant, but I must claim my privileges."
"Claim anything that is justly your own, sir," returned the lady; "weare both adventurers; and this is my knight. I trust my fortune to hishand and eye. Lead on, Sir Leather-Stocking, and we will follow."
Natty, who seemed pleased with the frank address of the young andbeauteous Elizabeth, who had so singularly intrusted him with such acommission, returned the bright smile with which she had addressed him,by his own peculiar mark of mirth, and moved across the snow towardthe spot whence the sounds of boisterous mirth proceeded, with thelong strides of a hunter. His companions followed in silence, the youthcasting frequent and uneasy glances toward Elizabeth, who was detainedby a motion from Richard.
"I should think, Miss Temple," he said, so soon as the others were outof hearing, "that if you really wished a turkey, you would not havetaken a stranger for the office, and such a one as Leather-Stocking.But I can hardly believe that you are serious, for I have fifty, at thismoment, shut up in the coops, in every stage of fat, so that you mightchoose any quality you pleased. There are six that I am trying anexperiment on, by giving them brick-bats with--"
"Enough, Cousin Dickon," interrupted the lady; "I do wish the bird, andit is because I so wish that I commissioned this Mr. Leather-Stocking."
"Did you ever hear of the great shot that I made at the wolf, CousinElizabeth, who was carrying off your father's sheep?" said Richard,drawing himself up with an air of displeasure. "He had the sheep on hishack; and, had the head of the wolf been on the other side, I shouldhave killed him dead; as it was--"
"You killed the sheep--I know it all, dear coz. Hut would it have beendecorous for the High Sheriff of--to mingle in such sports as these?""Surely you did not think that I intended actually to fire with my ownhands?" said Mr. Jones. "But let us follow, and see the shooting. Thereis no fear of anything unpleasant occurring to a female in this newcountry, especially to your father's daughter, and in my presence."
"My father's daughter fears nothing, sir, more especially when escortedby the highest executive officer in the county."
She took his arm, and he led her through the mazes of the bushes to thespot where most of the young men of the village were collected forthe sports of shooting a Christmas match, and whither Natty and hisCompanions had already preceded them.
The Pioneers; Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna Page 17